The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 202 – Hitume Ikar (6)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
Beelzebub looked back at Lucifer. Black hair and eyes, unusually pale skin, and a dwarf-like figure.
He couldn’t help but hold his breath as he looked at this being who didn’t appear to be a demon.
This was a thought he’d had since the first time he’d seen him.
Of course, this was an impression that one would get from the outside. The demonic energy swirling around inside his body was much greater and purer than any other demon’s.
Hiding his personal thoughts, Beelzejub opened his mouth.
“Is it okay for you to leave the Corrupted Hell empty and wander around? Lord’s movements are still unclear.”
“My men are on guard. I can have faith in them.”
Beelzebub couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of incongruity at those words.
He couldn’t help but want to find the reason for this sense.
It wasn’t difficult.
In fact, he could immediately think of a quick and simple way.
‘If I mention this feeling…’
He was certain that Lucifer would react. And he would be able to find a clue based on his reaction.
Nevertheless, Beelzebub couldn’t easily say those words. Instead, his instincts were ringing alarm bells in his head.
In the first place, Lucifer had broken into the deepest part of his castle without anyone knowing.
“I’m sorry, but I overheard your conversation.”
He’d thought this, but he hadn’t dared to mention this himself.
Beelzebub forcibly swallowed his saliva.
He wasn’t scared. But it was true that he was pressured.
Beelzebub admitted this fact to himself.
However, as the Lord of the Bloody Hell, he could not show such a pathetic appearance.
“That’s rude. This isn’t the Corrupted Hell, Lucifer.”
“That’s why I apologized.”
Lucifer smiled as he said this.
When it was said so stiffly, Beelzebub could not stand it any longer.
As an Archduke, he had no choice but to defend his authority.
Just as he was about to make a quiet warning.
“You have a point.”
“What?”
“The traitor. I had the same idea. The Demigods’ movements have been strange. I think they know a lot about Hell.”
He had lost the initiative.
This made it hard for him to question him any further.
As Beelzebub rolled this problem only in his head, Lucifer continued in a quiet voice.
“One of my men disappeared quite a while ago.”
“Who is it?”
“Kaltud.”
“…the Red Devil.”
Beelzebub couldn’t help but mutter the demon’s moniker. This was a moniker that came from his red skin.
Kaltud was one of Lucifer’s closest aides and one of the most powerful demons.
He was definitely among the top 100 demons in the entire Demon World.
Beelzebub had the most information about these demons, so naturally, he knew more about Kaltud than the other Demon Lords.
“I had thought that it had been a long time since I last heard of him, but he’s missing?”
“This happened decades ago. The time matches too. I thought he’d run over to the human world, but I never thought he’d go under the Demigods.”
“…”
Beelzebub felt strange again.
What was that tone?
He seemed to be convinced that it wasn’t just disappearance and that Kaltud had betrayed them.
‘What if I put a stop to it here?’
He had such a thought for a moment, but he soon shook his head.
He alone wasn’t enough.
If Lucifer denied it to the end, there was no way to pressure him any further.
‘Also, this place is not good.’
He didn’t want to make a fuss in his territory. And he couldn’t defeat Lucifer in a one-on-one battle.
All of the Demon Lords except Asura would have the same thought.
Beelzebub decided to follow his instincts.
‘I’ll try to press him later. By then, I should have conclusive evidence as well as the support of the other Demon Lords.’
He just needed to bear the humiliation for the time being.
At the meeting, Lucifer said that if the Demigods were driven out, he would give up all of his rights over the Corrupted Hell and step down as a Demon Lord.
Even Asura, who had been pressuring Lucifer at that moment, couldn’t help but step back with his mouth open in shock.
‘He lowered his head and it worked.’
Because Lucifer had lowered his head at that time. And that’s why it was natural that everyone had only paid attention to that fact.
Demons were extremely proud beings.
Therefore, even Lilith, the most insidious and cunning demon, couldn’t help but respect Lucifer’s position.
Beelzebub didn’t.
He was able to vaguely feel how strong Lucifer’s pride was and just how arrogant he was.
‘What could he be planning that he would willingly abandon that pride?’
It was a simple belief.
However, Beelzebub’s belief was quite firm. He believed his senses.
Lucifer’s actions made him feel a strong sense of peculiarity. Like something was off or out of place. Even though he was doing the same thing as before, it felt different, and it caused his suspicion to increase.
“Do you know about Satan?” (TL:…what is this novel turning to?)
Once again, an unexpected topic was brought up.
Beelzebub responded in a calm voice.
“You mean the Demon King? I have no interest in the old days.”
“I see. Then you don’t know about his peril.”
Lucifer seemed amused as he said this.
Beelzebub couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine in that moment.
Lucifer could have been described as living history in the Demon World. Even Beelzebub didn’t know just how long he’d been alive.
Satan, whom he had mentioned, was also a legend.
He was the only one who had ruled over the entirety of Hell and who had been called the Demon King.
Of course, Beelzebub had never seen Satan for himself, so he wasn’t completely certain about his legend.
Compared to mortals, demons had near infinite lifespans, but they were not immortal.
Satan had disappeared a long time before Beelzebub had come into existence. However… it was possible that Lucifer had met him.
‘Why did he suddenly mention the Demon King?’
Beelzebub couldn’t figure out the reason.
“Then I will go look for traces of Kaltud. I will inform you if I make any progress.”
“Wait. You didn’t tell me when you came here.”
“Ah.”
Lucifer turned around and laughed heartily.
“Accidents are bound to happen, Beelzebub.”
“What?”
He didn’t receive an answer.
Lucifer had disappeared after saying those words.
Beelzebub stood there for a moment before collapsing onto his throne, shivering.
Satan’s peril. He’d said he wasn’t interested, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know.
Instead, it could be said that he knew it better than any other demon.
The Demon King, the ruler of Hell stronger than any other demon, suddenly went missing one day.
* * *
[Lucifer swallowed the balance of the Demon World.]
“Swallowed?”
[He absorbed him.]
Absorbed.
This was a very ominous statement.
“Then, did Lucifer become the balance of the Demon World?”
[If it was so simple, the Demon World would have already become Lucifer’s world. In any case… there aren’t just one or two dangerous guys.]
Dauns spoke in a light tone before he suddenly froze.
[Tch. I guess this was too much fun. I lost track of the time.]
It felt like he sighed.
Flash.
Then, his body started shining brightly.
Frey couldn’t help but squint his eyes, finding it difficult to look at him directly.
It felt as though he was being sucked or merged into that light.
Dauns turned to look at Frey.
[Anyway, this was interesting. Personally, I’m rooting for you. But that doesn’t mean I will intervene directly. You should be thankful that I’m giving you this bit of advice. This alone can be considered special treatment.]
“Wait. You still haven’t told me what a candidate is.”
[You want me to help you chew the food I gave you? No matter how nice I am, there’s no way I’d do that. I gave you the pieces of the puzzle; it’s up to you to assemble them.]
The light shined even brighter.
Frey felt like his eyes were burning.
Just when he couldn’t handle it anymore and was about to close his eyes.
“…!”
He realised that the features on Dauns’ face were slowly beginning to appear.
As he tried to squint his eyes in order to see more clearly.
[See you later.]
“…”
Frey felt that he’d returned to the shrine. The sense of disorientation that he’d had disappeared.
He was once again facing the statue.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit strange standing on solid ground again. It felt like the meeting he’d just had with God, where he’d been able to talk face-to-face with the strongest being in the world, was a dream.
…But he knew it wasn’t a dream.
See you later.
He never expected this being to mention a reunion.
Frey left the shrine with a strange expression on his face.
The Great Medium, who was standing in the distance, asked in a puzzled voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why did you leave immediately after entering?”
Immediately after entering?
Frey frowned at those words.
He was certain that they’d talked for a few dozen minutes, if not longer.
‘Even the time?’
Frey had no choice but to admit that the being he’d just met was truly God.
He sighed heavily.
Then he turned to the Great Medium. He wondered how she would react if she learned the true nature of her God.
“…”
It would probably be one of two things.
She would either immediately shake her head without believing me or agree unhesitatingly.
In any case, he had nothing to gain from enlightening her.
Therefore, Frey chose silence.
Then the Great Medium spoke with bright eyes.
“I guess Dauns didn’t show any reaction. It seems he has judged that you’re not qualified.”
It didn’t really matter to him, so Frey simply nodded and asked.
“So will I not be allowed to enter Hitume Ikar?”
“…I’ll listen to your reason first.”
As the Great Medium said this, she prepared to use her sorcery again.
“Wait. Can’t we just talk here?”
“Only Great Mediums are allowed to enter this place…”
She paused, looked at Frey, and sighed.
“…fine, let’s do that. Then tell me why you want to get into Hitume Ikar.”
“There is an Apostle in that country.”
“Hmm.”
The Great Medium’s eyes shined slightly.
She knew about the Apostles. In other words, this meant that she’d already known about them before the Demigods revealed their intentions.
Well. She had lived for a few hundred years, so she should have at least known that much.
“His name is Jenta. He is quite famous and is known as the Assassin King.”
The Great Medium’s expression suddenly changed.
She frowned.
“I see.”
“Do you believe me?”
“I just realised that it really could be Jenta.”
“It seems you know him.”
“He’s an exiled royal.”
Frey’s expression became strange.
For some reason, there seemed to be similar cases before. Wasn’t there Oydin from the Elf Forest?
At that time, when he found out that Oydin was Snow’s brother, he’d clicked his tongue. He didn’t expect his target this time to be an exiled royal.
“Although he was exiled, for a member of the Royal family to join under the Demigods…”
“Jenta had always been an ambitious child. He would do anything to achieve his goals, even if it meant shedding blood. He was heartless, and he killed without hesitation. Therefore, this is no surprise. And Jenta isn’t the only one working with the Demigods.”
Frey was unable to prevent his expression from changing. He was aware that there was a high possibility of this happening, but he didn’t expect to hear it from the lips of the Great Medium, the top executive of the country, herself.
“Then this country…”
“It’s not the entire country. This is only an issue of the high-ranking persons.”
If one was to talk about high-ranking people in Hitume Ikar…
“The King?”
“Right. Morgid, the current king. That man… huhu.”
The Great Medium chuckled for a while before turning to Frey.
“In any case, if it’s Jenta, then I have no choice but to cooperate.”
“Can you tell me where he is?”
“It will take a while.”
After saying that, the Great Medium paused for a moment.
“…Lutaha is the only port open to outsiders, but you don’t have to enter the city through the sea route. I’ll show you another way.”
Frey nodded.
Of course, now that he had her cooperation, Frey didn’t actually need her to do anything.
The woman in front of him was probably the only person in the entire country who could faintly sense his magic. If she condoned his actions, then Frey was certain that no one would notice.
In addition, she could even tell him Jenta’s whereabouts.
‘Maybe this will end sooner than I thought.’
(TL: I really thought Lucifer would kill Beelzebub.)