The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

A heavy silence fell.

Lukas stared at the Priestess with an indiscernible expression. He found it hard to open his mouth. What she had just said was enough to make him speechless for a while.

Nevertheless, it was the Priestess that changed the mood yet again.

“You don’t believe~?”

Her tone was lively.

There was no flicker this time, so he hadn’t noticed when she changed. Lukas’ gaze shifted to the surface of the water where he could see her reflection. Her hair glistened.

Gold… No. Was it blonde?

“Instead, those words have made me trust you even less.”

“Hnng. Why’s that?”

“There’s no way we Absolutes wouldn’t know if a Ruler died.”

There were four Rulers, whose influence was as tall as mountains, that maintained the balance and harmony of the multiverse. It would be impossible for no one to notice if one of them were to disappear. This was true even for the Absolutes who hadn’t entrusted themselves to the Seven Fanged Dragon God.

“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. I didn’t bring it up to persuade you.”

The Priestess let out a laugh.

“But haven’t you ever thought it was strange?”

“What was?”

“The Black Horned Demon God. He hated you so much. But suddenly, his attitude changed as easily as flipping a palm. He wanted you to participate in the qualifier. And he even tried to entice you to do so by telling you that he would immediately leave earth alone in the event that you won.”

“…is there another reason for this qualifier?”

“You’re pretty quick on the uptake.”

The Priestess praised Lukas’ wit, but he couldn’t figure out more than that. Because there were no more clues to go on.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the Priestess expected him to ask anything more.

“The purpose of this qualifier is to find someone to fill my vacant spot.”

“You mean they’re looking for another Ruler?”

“Umm. It’s not that amazing.”

“…”

Lukas furrowed his eyebrows.

They were trying to fill the vacancy, but they weren’t looking for another Ruler. It sounded contradictory at first glance, but…

“The Sun Giant bet on Nodiesop, the Lightning God bet on Letip, and the Demon God bet on Kasajin. And they all support them in their own ways.”

“…support?”

“It’s not material help. It’s more like giving them helpful advice at the right moment. In fact, they might have heard voices too. Similar to the ‘voice’ you heard.”

Lukas’ eyebrow twitched slightly.

The voice he heard. He’d just heard from her own mouth that that voice belonged to none other than the Priestess, the Seven Fanged Dragon God.

But that wasn’t the part that Lukas paid attention to.

“Does that mean you bet on me?”

Nodiesop, Letip, and Kasajin all had their own Rulers. This allowed him to guess that every Ruler could only support a single Absolute.

In other words, the Priestess had no choice.

Among the Absolutes that had entered the qualifier, Lukas was the only one who didn’t have an affiliation.

“Not really.”

But the Priestess’ blunt words shut that thought down as quickly as it appeared.

Lukas felt like he couldn’t keep up with her. In fact, it was quite annoying. By the time he started to figure out the nuances of a personality, she would switch to another. No. Didn’t she say that it wasn’t such a simple concept? In any case…

“Didn’t those guys tell you? The Seven Fanged Dragon God is against this qualifier.”

“They told us that you didn’t agree to it.”

“There’s no way that anyone with even a hint of common sense would easily agree to have their seat taken away.”

“Are you aiming for a comeback?”

“Right. By the way, aren’t your words becoming more and more informal? Should I let Borang come out again?”

Borang?

Lukas thought for a moment before remembering the personality with purple hair who spoke in an incomprehensible manner.

“I apologize.” (TL: Finally someone to keep Lukas’ rudeness in check kekeke.)

Lukas hurriedly apologized.

The Priestess folded her arms with a soft ‘hmph’ before continuing.

“I’m betting on myself.”

“…then why are you helping me?”

“There are two reasons.”

“The first one is that I don’t think you would be very hostile towards me. Besides, if you become stronger, you’ll be able to keep the other Absolutes in check. Huu. It would have been better if Kaz hadn’t died.”

It seemed that the Priestess lamented his death more than he expected.

“What’s the other reason?”

“I can’t say it.”

“…”

For a moment, Lukas contemplated whether he hated this personality more than Borang.

“That isn’t so important right now. I just told you that Nodiesop is on his way to Dragon God Island. His powers are a bit restricted now that he is in the Heavenly Realm, but it would still be fairly easy for him to sink Dragon God Island. That includes burying you.”

“It’s impossible to know before we try-”

“Are you serious? Have you forgotten your physical condition? Even now, Arid’s power is not enough to fully heal you. How serious do you think your injuries were while you were unconscious…?”

“…”

“Nodiesop will arrive at Dragon God Island in four days at the latest. No matter what you do, it would be impossible for you to fully recover in that time. No, even if you were to somehow heal your injuries, it wouldn’t change anything. Your chances of winning wouldn’t increase in the slightest.”

“I see.”

Her tone was cold, but he had no choice but to agree.

Even if Nodiesop was restricted to an extent while in the Heavenly Realm, Lukas was not his match. Everything the Priestess had said so far was true.

Even if he were to fight him after fully recovering, his chances of winning were probably less than 0.01%. However, Lukas’ current condition could only be described as the worst.

This caused a question to arise once more.

“Then why did you bring me to this island? If you had continued to maintain the barrier, then even if I died or not, you would have been able to block Nodiesop from even entering this place.”

“Right. Or I had the option of throwing you out to Nodiesop while you were in a near-death state. Although the probability is low, it’s still possible that I could’ve developed good relations with him as a result.”

“But you didn’t do that.”

The important thing was now. There was no meaning in thinking about what could have happened in the past.

“It’s not just me, either. All of the participants that I selected are currently on this island. Dragon God Island is a sanctuary that can’t be accessed without your express permission.”

That’s why he had worked so hard to try and win the Championship.

Lukas shook his head and continued.

“Were you the one who gathered them on Dragon God Island?”

“Right. I told Arid to bring them all here. Was it Sedi? I found the fallen Absolute all on my own. You sent her away through time and space. She landed all the way on the end of Peace Island.”

“That… thank you.”

“Well, it’s fine. The important thing is what we will do from now on.”

The Priestess’ expression changed.

“If we allow this to continue as is, we will all die.”

Her manner of speaking became rough, and he could hear the rage bubbling within her voice like magma before an eruption.

Lukas’ eyes naturally turned to the reflection in the water.

Her hair was now red.

“And there is nothing you can do about it in your current state.”

“Don’t be so quick to judge.”

“It’s not a judgement, I’m just stating the facts.”

“…”

“However.”

For an instant, a violent smile spread across the Priestess’ lips.

“There is a way for you to fight Nodiesop.”

“…a way to fight him?”

“It’s the only sure method. And it wouldn’t be bad for you either, Lukas.”

Lukas no longer questioned her. If what she was saying was true, then he had no reason to refuse. He didn’t have the option to.

However, from his experience so far, proposals like this were never to his liking.

“You just have to kill all of the participants.”

“…all of the participants?”

“I’m talking about those you brought into this world with you. If you kill them all, you will be able to stand on the same line as Nodiesop.”

“I don’t understand. I’m not like Nodiesop, he didn’t even bring a single participant from the start…”

“It will work because you have someone in front of you who will make the comparison possible. After you kill all of your participants, I will also give you the special statue. Only then will Nodiesop not be a threat.”

Lukas’ gaze turned cold.

“Do you really think I would accept such an offer?”

“Offer? Do you think you have a choice? Unless you consider suicide to be an option then that’s the only thing you can pick. Either everyone dies or one survives. There’s no need to even talk about which one is the smarter option.”

It was a cutting remark.

It was absolutely impossible for Lukas, who was so badly injured, to recover in four days.

He couldn’t even use magic. If he were to rouse his mana, instead of unleashing the spell he desired, he would only make his injuries worse.

The same was true for divine power. In fact, the consequences would be even more severe than if he tried to use mana. His entire body would melt into a pool of blood.

So for now, Lukas was nothing more than an injured person without a hint of power.

Then what about the forces standing behind him?

Min Ha-rin, Leo, Arid, Sedi.

They’d grown stronger. It could even be said that they were completely incomparable to how they were before the qualifiers began.

However, were they strong enough to face Nodiesop who had already regained his power as an Absolute?

They weren’t. It was impossible even for them to subdue a half Absolute like Kaz.

“Lukas, if you are aiming to become a Ruler, I will give you one piece of advice.”

The Priestess spoke with a cold voice.

“Open your eyes wider. Make a clear distinction between small and large. If you die here, what do you think will happen to the other humans in the endless multiverse? Didn’t you say that you wanted to save all humans? Or do you think there will actually be another Absolute like you?”

“…”

“The Black Horned Demon God has developed an inherent hatred for the Human Race because of you. When this qualifier ends, all of the humans in the outside world will wish they were dead. It could also be said that this is karma created by you.”

The Priestess’ voice dug into Lukas’ ears and made his heart sink.

It wasn’t that this was something he was unaware of, but hearing someone else say it gave him a completely different feeling.

“Please answer one question for me.”

“Say it.”

“What happens to those who die in the qualifier?”

When she was asked this question by Lukas, the Priestess responded in a noncommittal manner.

“Death is death. It doesn’t matter where it occurs.”