The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 203 – Hitume Ikar (7)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
“I need some time to prepare, so please wait in your room for a moment.”
Frey nodded gently at her words. He too, needed time to organise his thoughts.
It was Jose who then led him to his room. He still seemed to be upset with Frey, but he also seemed to fear him greatly.
Frey allowed him to guide him without further threatening or pressuring him.
The room was one that overlooked the island’s scenery.
Without greeting him any further, Jose left.
Frey sat down by the window, immediately diving into his thoughts.
‘God said that he’d given me all the pieces.’
The pieces were clues. Clues needed to find the ‘conclusion’ that solved the question.
‘Lord’s goal is to be the balance of the Mortal World.’
For that goal, he buried the Dragon Lord in the Demon World without killing him.
Absorption.
This was another clue that he’d received from God. He suggested the possibility of absorbing the balances.
This meant that it was possible that Lord’s goal was to absorb the Dragon Lord. Frey didn’t know the details, but it was highly likely that the reason Lord imprisoned the Dragon Lord in the Demon World for over 5,000 years was in preparation to absorb him.
‘And Lord’s reason for going to Hell now is…’
Probably because he was ready to absorb him.
In other words, he was ready to become the Mortal World’s balance. (TL: but didn’t god say it wasn’t so easy?)
Frey’s expression became severe when he had this thought.
‘If Lord becomes the balance, I can’t kill him.’
Now that he had divine magic power, he thought he could finally see some hope of victory. The method to attack Lord, who’d he’d had no chance of defeating before, seemed to have finally fallen into his hands.
But he couldn’t guarantee victory by himself yet. After all, he’d never witnessed Lord’s true power.
Nevertheless, Frey was not alone.
If he fought together with his companions, it was no longer impossible to truly defeat Lord. But even this assumption would be pointless if Lord became the balance of the Mortal World.
‘If I kill Lord then, the continent would be destroyed.’
Then what should he do?
The first thing that came to his mind was a seal. Similar to what Lord did.
But was it possible for them to drive him to the brink of death?
It wasn’t possible for them to fight equally with Lord. The only way one could overpower their opponent was if they were several times stronger.
And even if he did manage to seal him, there was still a problem.
Lord was the ruler of space. So no matter how perfect the seal is, it wouldn’t be able to hold him for very long.
‘It would be fine as long as the Rulers of Hell win.’
If he is not able to get a hold of the body of the Dragon Lord, Lord wouldn’t be able to become the balance.
Originally, Frey thought about helping them. By killing Jenta, he would be able to weakened the Demigods’ main forces.
However, he couldn’t help but hesitate because of Lucifer.
‘The flaw of the Celestial World. The fallen angel. The being who absorbed the balance of the Demon World.’
Yet he was still not the balance. He must have done it incorrectly.
‘The most arrogant man.’
Those words stuck in his throat. Frey wasn’t sure exactly what Lucifer was thinking.
He was the one who conspired to have the Demigods go to the Demon World. It was even possible that Lucifer was manipulating the stage from behind the scenes.
This thought made Frey’s heart feel heavy.
‘Iris.’
The only Contractor Lucifer had ever chosen. Asura said she’d been moving around in the Demon World with Lucifer.
This caused Frey to think of a new question.
Lucifer, the Ruler of Hell whose goals were still unclear, could never be trusted.
So how did Iris manage to bring this being over to her side?
‘No, in the first place.’
Were they even on the same side?
* * *
‘First, I’ll kill Jenta.’
This was Frey’s conclusion.
First, he judged that the most important thing was the presence of Lord, who wanted to become the balance of the Mortal World.
Lucifer’s intentions were still unknown, but he decided to put that aside for now.
Frey looked down at the summoning circle in front of him. It was Asura’s summoning circle.
He no longer responded to Frey’s calls.
Frey couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. He had information that could help him and there were also things that he wanted to know.
They could have been of great help to each other as long as contact had been made.
‘I know he’s busy, but I’m still disappointed.’
Frey got up from his seat, shaking his head.
When he opened the door, he found the Great Medium standing there with her hand raised as though she was about to knock.
“I’ve finished my preparations.”
“How are we going to get into Hitume Ikar?”
“I will use the same sorcery I used to go to the shrine.”
“Then wait a minute before you do that.”
“Aht. Where are you going?”
Walking outside, Frey didn’t answer.
He headed over to Neptunus, who was still waiting in the fog.
Neptunus trembled when he saw Frey.
It wasn’t that he didn’t think about running away. Instead, he had already tried dozens of times. But there was no way for him to escape this monster-like man.
‘He can pull me out even if I try to hide at the bottom of the sea.’
Neptunus’ fate was completely in this man’s hands.
Frey looked at him carefully for a moment before speaking.
“There are two hearts beating in your chest. One of them belongs to my teacher. At first, I was going to kill you and recover her heart.”
[…sp-, spare me.]
“Listen to the end.”
[…]
Neptunus obediently became silent.
Frey sighed.
Perhaps because it involved his teacher, his tone was many times sharper than usual.
“…however, you are also a victim. You were kidnapped by the Demigods and forced to undergo body modifications.”
[Of course I am! If it wasn’t for those bastards, I Neptunus would…]
Neptunus, who was about to profess his innocence, went silent again as he saw Frey’s eyes.
“You must not kill humans in the future. And you must help those who encounter sea disasters around here. Keep that in mind.”
[A-, are you saying I can’t return to my homeland?]
Frey looked at the dejected Neptunus and said.
“100 years.”
[Huh?]
“You can return in 100 years. Keep in mind, Neptunus. The heart in your chest belonged to my teacher. You are not allowed to disgrace her. I’ll be watching.”
Then he turned around without saying any more words.
Looking at his back with a blank expression, Neptunus then helplessly muttered.
[…how long is 100 years?]
Frey returned to where the Great Medium was once again.
She seemed to have just been calmly observing what happened, but the look in her eyes wasn’t very nice.
“I don’t think that monster will listen to you.”
“He will listen.”
“A monster’s patience is not that deep. It will pretend to listen to you for a while out of fear, but it will eventually reveal its true nature when its memories of you have faded.”
“That’s just your preconception. He has intelligence, that means he can become a better being. Knowing the joy of doing good would make him a spirit creature, not a monster.”
“He sank many ships. Hundreds of people died because of him.”
“He will save many more people than that.”
“Will that bring the dead back to life?”
Their eyes met for a moment.
The Great Medium thought Frey would be upset at her questioning, but he was only looking at her with a sad expression.
“Do not mistake the wrong person to vent your anger.”
“…”
The Great Medium closed her mouth.
The moment she heard those words, she had a strange feeling.
‘Preceding Great Medium.’
Talking to Frey felt like talking to her teacher.
And as she pondered the reason for this feeling, the answer came to her immediately. The more she talked to this man, the more intimidated and small she felt.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
She couldn’t help but have this thought.
The Great Medium shook her head.
Maybe he had twisted the conversation so that she’d think like that.
“Can you take me to the royal family of this country?”
“…it’s possible.”
“Then please do so. I think it would be better if I was able to see and talk to the king personally.”
The Great Medium nodded.
Regardless of whatever disagreement they had, she couldn’t snub him right after agreeing to help him.
The Great Medium used sorcery to create a rift in space once again.
Seeing this, Frey asked.
“What is the name of this sorcery?”
“It’s called God’s Steps.”
“…”
Without realising Frey’s strange gaze when she said those words, the Great Medium continued.
“Morgin is suspicious in many ways at this point, but in the end, he is still the king of the country. You will not be forgiven if you act as rudely towards him as you do to me. So you’ll have to be polite.”
“If he is someone who deserves my politeness, then I will.”
The Great Medium couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious since those words were neither positive nor negative. But she quickly put aside her anxiety.
No matter how rude he was, he shouldn’t act the same way to a king.
“Let’s head over first.”
Frey nodded and followed the Great Medium into her space rift. He immediately felt a sensation that was very different from a Warp.
As if they were moving at high speeds, the surrounding objects blurred past them. And suddenly, Frey found himself standing in front of a castle.
“Please wait here for a moment. I will return after receiving permission.”
After saying that, the Great Medium walked into the castle.
Frey looked up at the castle without answering her.
“…ha.”
He let out a laugh.
He’d seen it for himself.
The castle of Hitume Ikar. The safest and noblest place in the entire country had traces that shouldn’t have been here.
Frey’s expression became cold and his heart even colder.
He felt that he couldn’t listen to the Great Medium’s words.
He’d changed his mind a bit after meeting God. He needed to move faster and with more focus. He couldn’t afford to take his time any more.
Frey’s figure disappeared.
The place he reappeared was the deepest and safest part of the castle. The King’s chambers.
He looked up to the middle-aged man sitting on a throne. This should be Morgid, the King of Hitume Ikar.
“W-, who are you?”
The man looked at Frey with a frightened expression.
The Samurai around him hurriedly drew their swords.
“Who are you?!”
“Do you know where this is….?!”
They were the elite Samurai of Hitume Ikar. They were all probably close to being First class Magic Warriors.
In no time, they drew their swords and charged towards Frey.
A swift and ferocious aura seemed to burst out from their bodies. It was clear that anyone they faced would feel threatened by their movements.
But their swords weren’t able to even touch Frey.
Swish.
Just a gentle swing of his hand was enough.
Dozens of Samurai collapsed to their knees in the middle of the room.
“Kuk!”
“K-, kuk…”
Their bodies shook uncontrollably. It felt like a mountain was sitting on their shoulders.
They felt as though their entire bodies were crumbling. Some of the weaker fights even fainted on the spot with their eyes still open.
“How impudent.”
“…”
Morgid’s expression changed when he heard that.
He quickly asked.
“A-, are you a Demigod?”
“…”
Frey didn’t answer.
He just looked at Morgid’s face with a cold expression.
“I came here to kill you.”
“H-, huh? Wh-, why…”
“You should know it well. Do you have anything to say? Human.”
Morgid’s expression changed in an instant.
Without even the slightest hint of hesitation, he leapt from his throne and knelt before Frey with his forehead on the ground.
“I-, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… God’s race…”
He cried out in a tearful voice.
Frey’s eyes shook and a feeling of bitterness overtook him.
This was not the attitude he expected to see from the king of a country.
He had mistaken Frey for a Demigod, and it was natural that he’d feel that way. Frey was currently unleashing his divine power freely, and the way he spoke was similar to the Demigods.
He’d also used divine power when subduing the guards.
Therefore, they believed that only a Demigod would be able to show such a performance.
The race of God.
That was what Morgid had just referred to the Demigods as. Perhaps the reason they gave in was because they felt the Demigods were close to their god of creation.
Of course, that wasn’t important to Frey.
“Please forgive me… please… please…”
Morgid believed that his actions were the most suitable to guarantee his survival.
For those who bowed their heads and gave in, the Demigods showed an appearance of merciful gods.
However, he wasn’t.
This was a mistake. Because the one standing before him was not a Demigod, nor did he want Morgid’s subservience.
‘…he’s not just doing it for appearances sake.’
He expected to see something different.
If he had risked his life to go against him, if he had shown himself worthy of the title King, if he had remained calm despite his fear… but he didn’t.
Anyone could tell from Morgid’s current appearance.
This was a man who had completely submitted in body and in mind. He was someone who would lick the soles of his feet without hesitation just to survive.
For people like this, there was only one thing Frey could do.
“Stand up.”
“Y-, yes.”
Morgid hurried to his feet.
Frey closed his eyes.
Ever since he thought about going to Hitume Ikar, he’d had a thought.
If the reason that this country was able to remain peaceful was because they had shady dealings with the Demigods. And if it was completely voluntary, without any signs of force or intimidation. If the senior executives in this country proved to be rotten and were eating it from the inside.
Then he would stop treating them like human beings.
“Morgid, King of Hitume Ikar.”
“Y-, yes.”
Morgid looked at him in anticipation.
Frey looked at him like he was no longer human and said.
“Die here.”