The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 221 – Decisive Battle (2)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
Frey understood Lord’s words.
Lucifer didn’t absorb the Dragon Lord. He accepted him. This meant that every part of these two independent beings had been combined.
‘Their egos, consciousness, and even their memories.’
They were each other’s other half. It couldn’t be expressed in any other way.
Even if black and white were separated after being mixed, they would never return to their original colors.
And that’s exactly what Lucifer did. It was no longer possible to distinguish Lucifer or the Dragon Lord as independent beings.
They had literally been ‘reborn’ as an entirely new being.
“Just Lucifer is fine. That’s how we decided to do it… I am a bit closer to ‘Lucifer’ in nature.”
Lucifer said these words with a terrible expression. He didn’t try to refute Lord’s words.
He admitted that he was neither Lucifer nor the Dragon Lord but an entirely new being.
There was a faint hint of madness in his eyes as he continued.
“Lord of the Demigods, you can’t imagine how long I… no, how long we have been waiting for this moment. I naturally don’t think it would be easy, but we will definitely be the ones to win in the end.”
[…]
“I’ll show you everything I have. You don’t need to restrain yourself anymore. —Then, firstly.”
Flash.
A golden glow shined within Lucifer’s eyes. His pupils were torn vertically, and the golden glow made his eyes seem like those of a predator.
<Stop.>
Thud!
Dragontongue!
The most powerful ability of the Dragons was now being displayed in Hell. In addition, it was the Dragontongue of a being who had once been the Dragon Lord. No matter what Lord tried to do, his movements would most certainly be stopped.
Puk!
Then Lucifer’s body swelled up, and his skin was torn apart. Of course, no flesh was shown, and no blood poured out of the gaps.
Instead, scales could be seen under his skin.
‘There was never a Dragon with black scales.’
Frey couldn’t help but recall Lord’s words. But now, he was witnessing a scene that made him doubt those words.
The scales that covered Lucifer’s body were so black that they didn’t reflect any light.
Nevertheless, although he could freely use Dragontongue and his body was covered in scales, it was still not enough to call Lucifer a Dragon. He was much too small to be a member of the ancient race.
He was much larger than a human, but he was still far from the giant body that exceeded tens of meters in height.
At best, he was three times Frey’s size, but the pressure that was constantly flowing off his body was far stronger than that of his teacher, Isolla.
Juk.
Lucifer’s mouth opened. Behind his sharp teeth, flames could be seen fluttering in his throat.
Frey slightly anticipated what was about to happen.
Fwoosh!
Black flames poured out of Lucifer’s mouth, moving so quickly that they engulfed Lord’s body in an instant.
But even up to that point, Lord didn’t move in the slightest.
Crackle…
‘Those flames are definitely not ordinary.’
As though he heard Frey’s thoughts, Lucifer muttered quietly.
“It’s not Dragon Breath.”
Even though he was talking to Frey, his gaze didn’t move from Lord’s position.
“But I can’t say it’s completely different. It’s the Dragon Lord’s Dragon Breath combined with Lucifer’s destructive powers.”
“…”
“I’ve defeated many powerful beings with this power. Because of the nature of Hell, powerful monsters would appear in places beyond imagination. Those guys all had power that was at least comparable to those of the current Rulers.”
Fwoosh!
The flames died down, and Lord’s figure was revealed once again. There were still no burn marks on his body.
Lucifer simply shrugged at the sight.
“But this power is still not enough to deal with the real monster.”
“…what are you trying to say?”
“That guy has dominion over space itself. You could say that he has a thin veil covering his skin. Every attack disappears upon touching that veil. Well, to be precise, they are sent to another place.”
This meant that no attack would work against Lord while he was able to use his powers to the fullest.
Like a Dragon, unless it was an attack that exerted pressure on his very existence, it would be impossible for any attack to reach Lord unless he ran out of energy.
“It should be obvious by now, but soul attacks would never work on this opponent of ours. However, it appears that you have the power to pierce Lord’s space.”
When Frey moved to protect Lilith, he saw his power collide with Lord’s. At the same time, he saw Lord’s power falter.
If Lucifer’s predictions were correct, Frey’s attacks would be able to reach Lord.
“So you intend to block Lord’s movements, and you want me to end it.”
“Right. Think about it carefully. Right now, he-”
“You don’t have to keep talking. I don’t plan on helping you.”
“…hmm?”
Lucifer tilted his head to the side as though he was genuinely confused.
“Why? Isn’t that what you want?”
“It is, but… your sudden change of attitude is pretty suspicious. I was hit in the back of the head just recently.”
He looked at Lord as he said those words.
Then Frey continued without even smiling at his own lame joke.
“As you said, you only just decided to join forces with me.”
That was his answer, but Frey felt a strange desire surging in his heart.
Lucifer believed that his divine magic power could threaten Lord’s life.
This wasn’t wrong. But it also wasn’t completely true. It could hurt him, but it wasn’t enough to kill him.
‘Will alone is not enough.’
Frey had realised this fact in his brief skirmish with Lord. His ‘willpower’ was enough to kill the other Demigods, even the Apocalypses, but he could only use it to inflict damage to Lord.
‘I have to take it a step further.’
He would have to move to the next level.
-In truth, it was not that difficult.
Frey looked down at himself.
His body was currently on the continent. It was his soul that was in Hell.
However, the ‘string’ that connected his body and soul was still present. He knew that the string was the compass that would help him return.
Frey’s current appearance was the best proof of that. He still looked like Frey Blake.
It wasn’t just his body. Even his soul had taken this appearance.
‘If I cut that string.’
Many things would change.
It wasn’t just his appearance. His thoughts and personality would be reset.
Just like Lucifer and the Dragon Lord had combined to create a third persona, an entirely new being with Frey’s power and memory would appear.
Shuk.
But Frey still cut the string. There was no hesitation.
And a bitter smile still appeared on his face.
‘I didn’t hesitate at all.’
Instead, it could even be said that he was happy with this situation. Frey felt that he might have been waiting for a situation like this.
An unavoidable situation where he was forced to make this choice.
This was probably because he wanted an excuse in order to relieve his own guilt even a little.
‘How pathetic.’
And this was what made Frey feel bitter.
* * *
Frey’s thoughts seemed to have taken a long time to process, but for Lucifer, who was in front of him, the change happened in the blink of an eye.
This meant that the changes he was worried about didn’t take that long.
Juk, juk.
‘He finally decided to become transcendent.’
As Lucifer was so close to him, he was able to grasp what was happening much faster than anyone else.
As if it was an eggshell, Frey’s skin began cracking. And underneath this cracked skin, he could see a shimmering blue glow.
Crack!
His skin felt like cracked pottery.
Then Lucifer laughed when he saw his new appearance.
“Is this your transcendent appearance?”
“…”
All of “Frey”’s external features had disappeared. However, in Lucifer’s eyes, there was no significant difference.
He still looked like a human. Instead of gray hair, his hair had become blonde, and even though his facial features and physique were different from before, he was clearly still human.
But as soon as Frey opened his eyes, Lucifer’s thoughts changed.
‘This…’
Only blue energy could be seen fluttering in his eyes. His pupils had disappeared.
That was the only thing that made him different from a normal human. Nevertheless, Lucifer could easily tell that this man in front of him was anything but human.
However, if Anastasia had been present, she would have been surprised. Frey’s appearance had become that of Lukas Trowman, the Great Mage who had been renowned around the continent 4,000 years ago.
Lucifer smiled gently.
“How interesting. Show me your strength.”
“…”
Frey’s gaze turned to Lucifer.
“Lucifer.”
Even his voice had changed. While thinking this, Lucifer responded.
“What is it?”
“You’re blocking Lord’s movement with Dragontongue.”
“You could tell just from looking.”
“Then if I attacked you right now, you’d die.”
“…what?”
Lucifer glared at Frey.
He had a smile on his face that he had never seen before. It was not a smile that contained any cynicism or ridicule. Instead, it was a real smile filled with genuine joy.
“Why are you so shocked? It was just a small joke. Laugh.” (TL: was tempted to put ‘why so serious?’)
“…I thought you didn’t like jokes.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know.”
Huhuhu.
Frey chuckled softly. The sound was soft, but somehow, it still filled the area.
Lucifer subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
‘What is going on?’
Something had changed. Of course, Lucifer didn’t know enough about Frey to point out exactly what that was.
However, he at least knew that he was not the type of man who would crack jokes at such an important moment.
‘Has his personality changed completely?’
That was bad.
If that was really the case, then the situation might have been worse than he expected.
Lucifer couldn’t help but question whether urging him to become transcendent was really a good idea.
Frey didn’t seem to care about Lucifer’s inner turmoil. There was even a soft smile hanging on his lips.
To Lucifer, this was a smile that dripped with arrogance.
Then Frey lifted his hand and said.
“Shall I give it a try?”
Paht.
A blue beam of light shot out from his hand. This beam did not make a sound. At the same time, it was so clear that the sight of it was engraved on one’s retina.
This beam of light reached Lord in the same instant it appeared. To be precise, that was how fast it was.
Crunch!
[…mm!]
Lord was hit for the first time. His body couldn’t handle the force of the light, and he was pushed backwards.
His power to control space had not been able to prevent it.
“Did it work?”
Lucifer asked in a bright tone.
“It was still too shallow. Hmm… even though I’ve become transcendent, it seems I’m still not able to reach Lord’s core.”
As he said this, Frey dropped his hand.
Then he shot an admiring gaze at Lord as he continued.
“You really are an incredible being, Lord.”
“…Great Mage, you’re making me wonder if something went wrong in your head. What the hell are you saying?”
“Do you have a problem with me?”
“A problem? I do. You don’t seem to be sane at this moment. Think about it. You’re standing there, voicing admiration for the being you hate the most in this world.”
“Mm.”
After thinking for a while, Frey finally responded.
“Should I really get rid of Lord?”
“…what are you talking about?”
“I suddenly remembered a deal I discussed with him. He said that if I helped him kill you, he would not dominate the mortals on the continent and he would even release Iris.”
Lucifer’s expression hardened.
He looked at Frey and spoke in a harsh tone.
“You don’t really believe that bullshit, do you?”
“Lord ‘swore’ to me. I think it’s worth trusting him at least once.”
Frey’s gaze turned to Lucifer once more.
The moment he saw the blue energy swirling in those eyes, Lucifer felt a chill down his spine.
“So what do you think I should do, Lucifer?”
(TL: I think… I think… Frey’s… broken…)