The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 227 – Decisive Battle (8)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
He could see many faces. Faces he’d seen before.
They were looking up at him in fear.
“S-, stop.”
“We don’t want that.”
Frey looked at them and reached out his hand. No. He wasn’t the one who was moving.
It seemed that Frey was only conscious, but it was someone else who was controlling his body.
[Don’t be afraid, my people. You will understand soon.]
It was Lord’s voice.
Only then did Frey realise that this was Lord’s body. And the beings who were shivering in front of him were the Demigods.
These transcendent beings, who had trampled upon humans like bugs, were now even more miserable than those they killed.
They never even thought about fighting back. They had no choice but to watch on in horror as death approached them.
The feast began.
Crunch, crunch…
Although Lord expressed it as accepting them and becoming one, that was not the case. No, he literally devoured them.
A huge mouth appeared on Lord’s face, and with it, he bit the Demigods, chewed their bodies, and swallowed them.
Lord didn’t seem to hesitate when moving his mouth. He could feel it now that he was a part of him.
He did not feel even the slightest repulsion in his actions. In fact, there was even a sense of satisfaction in his mind like he was truly doing the right thing.
Frey felt speechless.
‘These are Lord’s memories.’
Only then did he understand his situation.
Frey and Lord’s wills had been stirred violently, and fragments of their memories had been scattered everywhere.
What Frey was currently witnessing was one of those fragments. It was possible that Lord was viewing his memories as well.
He was drawn into another memory.
This time, he saw a silver-haired man.
[Killing our people is unforgivable, Riki.]
“I know.”
[I want to ask. Why did you betray us? You weren’t like this before. You understood me better than anyone else and agreed with my goal.]
“That’s obvious, Lord.”
Riki looked at Lord with a firm gaze.
“It’s because I realised at the time that we were in the wrong.”
Right after hearing Riki’s words, it was like a large, irreparable crack appeared in Lord’s mind. It caused his emotions, which didn’t so much as shake when he devoured dozens of his people, to waver.
Their conversation continued.
Lord pretended to be calm, but he was burning on the inside. He felt impatient. He felt confused.
He’d never expected the betrayal of the person he trusted the most.
He felt that he had to change Riki’s mind somehow. His impatience made him say something that never should have been said.
[Then let’s pretend this never happened.]
“…what?”
[We have to put on a good act. I will pick one of the Demigods who comes here. There will be no suspicion, and everything will go smoothly. You will have nothing to worry about…]
“…you’re going to falsely accuse and then kill an innocent Demigod?”
[It is unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. Because you are more important than anyone else.]
It must have been exactly at this point. The first distortion in Lord’s mindset and all the subsequent changes began with this very proposal.
Naturally, Riki did not accept his offer, which further increased the speed of the cracks spreading throughout Lord’s psyche.
‘I was willing to give up so much for you! Yet you!…you…!’
Lord screamed desperately on the inside. For more than tens of thousands of years, he had treated and loved every Demigod equally.
It was because of this that he was able to gain the title ‘Lord’ and was able to win every Demigod’s blind loyalty.
Yet he’d committed the first act that went against his beliefs for Riki.
It was an act that violated his own identity.
But he didn’t even realise that his thoughts were already crooked. He was just angry because his dedication wasn’t rewarded.
He didn’t care about the confusion that the other Demigods would feel if this were revealed.
The biggest problem had already sprung up in Lord’s mind. And for the first time, he felt hate towards the race known as Demigods.
‘This is.’
This was Lord’s weakness.
It was the only thing that could pierce through the iron fortress that was his conviction.
I can win.
The moment Frey had this thought.
Crack.
‘Kuk…’
He woke up from the assimilation in intense pain.
* * *
“Huk… huk…”
Frey panted heavily.
After waking up from the memories, he noticed his condition. He had poured out everything he had.
The power used in the Endtongue word <Die> was beyond imagination.
Frey’s body had even become faint like an illusion. He forcibly raised his head and looked around.
Lord was standing there. His current state could only be described as a mess.
The glow around his body flashed like a candle ready to go out. There were cracks all over his body that revealed the flesh beneath. And his presence could barely be felt.
This was enough to show just how much damage he’d taken.
The most important thing was that despite this damage, his condition was still better than Frey’s.
Defeat.
This word suddenly popped into his mind.
Frey bit his lip as he tried to erase this negative thought, but it didn’t work. Even considering all the means he had, no way to reverse the current situation.
At that moment, having such a clever brain felt like a hindrance.
[I won.]
“…”
Frey saw Lord’s face for the first time. This face, which was usually blank, had clear features.
Lord also had a smug smile on his lips, but his expression was still somber.
He didn’t have a choice.
He had no choice but to change his decision at the last minute.
He didn’t intend to kill Frey. But he might have disappeared if he so much as touched him.
Therefore, he did his best. And he won.
[We became assimilated after that clash. And most of your power came to me. Just as the river flows into the sea. This is proof that I have greater power.]
‘It was a really… really long and hard fight.’
Lord had no choice but to admit this fact.
It wasn’t even a Dragon, a Demon, or even God.
Instead, it was this man before him, a human, who was Lord’s greatest enemy.
But that was it.
In the end, it was Lord who won.
[You will die here.]
“…”
Frey opened his mouth for a moment before closing it again.
He had nothing to say.
He had challenged him, fought, and lost. His will dampened.
Now, he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
In the end, all this scene showed was Lord’s conviction which was still stronger than his own.
In truth, he couldn’t believe it. There was no way he could believe it considering everything he’d gone through throughout the years.
Lord’s conviction was clouded. It was twisted and contradictory. If it were to be expressed as a color, it would be dark while giving off a dull aura.
That was why he couldn’t believe that he’d lost to such a perverse conviction.
Nevertheless, it was undeniable that he’d lost.
The results didn’t lie.
“…”
Frey closed his eyes.
‘…I didn’t think it would end like this.’
He’d thought he could win. He’d even learned Lord’s decisive weakness.
But in the end, he still lost. Just like 4,000 years ago.
Of course, it was different from back then.
Lord could no longer look down on Frey. Therefore, he would not do something like locking him in the Abyss again.
He had clearly recognised just how threatening Frey was, so he wouldn’t leave even a piece of him behind.
There would be no miracles this time.
“…I lost. But…”
Frey’s voice was clear as he spoke.
“Humanity didn’t lose.”
[…Frey Blake, do you not yet understand? For me, your existence was more troublesome than every other human on the continent combined.]
Lord looked down at him for a moment before muttering softly.
[Goodbye.]
Puk.
Lord’s hand stabbed into his chest.
Then, his consciousness disappeared. It was as though he had been sucked into a dark space. Like he had fallen into an abyss from which he would never escape.
It was useless to even struggle. Instead, the darkness would only pull him deeper and deeper like quicksand.
And so.
‘Frey Blake’ died.