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

Lukas had once said to Arid.

—I have wandered through countless universes, but I’ve never encountered a power with more potential than your ‘communication’.

It could be used to access the void to obtain information, heal most injuries, be lent to others, and be used to increase the target’s strength.

Arid used this power to boost Leo and Min Ha-rin’s physical abilities.

‘…I told them about it beforehand.’

He’d already told them that if the time came when they would have to fight against Nodiesop, he would use his power on them without asking for permission first.

Nevertheless, Arid felt a bit worried in his heart.

‘We can’t let this drag on for too long.’

Some facets of his power, especially those that were used to increase another person’s physical abilities, came with a significant burden. And in most cases, it was the person who borrowed his power that had to bear the burden, not Arid, who lent it to them.

Min Ha-rin and Leo had become stronger.

It was obvious that their physical abilities had risen to an extent that was completely incomparable to before.

Nevertheless, the time that they would be able to remain in such a state was very short. From his calculations, they would only be able to endure it for around 10 minutes or so. If they tried to hold on longer than that, they would probably cease to exist. Their bodies would slowly but surely collapse from the inside.

However, there was no way for Nodiesop to know that, so they would just have to hide the burden somehow and end the battle as quickly as possible.

“A technique that uses up lifespan, huh?”

Arid’s expression immediately became stiff.

Nodiesop stroked his chin slightly. The cut had already disappeared. Although it wasn’t a big achievement, it was still an injury that they’d managed to inflict after much difficulty. They expected such an outcome, nevertheless, seeing it disappear without any issues still filled them with a sense of emptiness.

“You forcibly increased your physical abilities to a level that your bodies would never be able to handle. I see, is that what you used to cut me?”

As if he found it amusing, Nodiesop’s mouth twisted in a mocking sneer.

“Your counterattack begins now? Don’t make me laugh, mortals. Look at me. Take a good look at just what you’re fighting against.”

In an instant, their surroundings became quiet.

This wasn’t an illusion.

In the first place, the sounds in their surroundings had mostly been generated by the water flowing around them. As the entire island was flooded, the sound of water was loud enough to be obnoxious. Therefore, the absence of that sound was deafening.

The water had stopped moving. It wasn’t just the waters around them. Even the whirlpool surrounding the island had frozen in place in the air. It was as if time itself had stopped.

“What?”

But time didn’t actually stop.

They could definitely move and hear each other’s voices.

Nevertheless, the strange sense of incongruity created an eerie atmosphere that gave them goosebumps.

“Restrictions, restrictions, restrictions, in the end, if it weren’t for those, you wouldn’t even have the slightest hope for victory against me. Nevertheless, your predictions are wrong. You can’t defeat me just because you weakened me a little.”

Nodiesop stretched his arms out wide, his lips drawn into an ominous line.

“Now, I’m going to change the field.”

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the water around them began to flow in the opposite direction.

No. That wasn’t it.

As if it had a mind of its own, the seawater began flowing freely in every direction. It was the first time they’d ever witnessed water flow in such a chaotic manner. Large and small waves swirled around and crashed into each other.

The quiet surroundings became a cacophony in an instant.

‘This is bad…! The water is rising…!’

Before he could even finish the thought, seawater swallowed the entire area.

Leo couldn’t help but gasp slightly as he looked around. No matter how much their physical abilities had increased, they were bound to be restricted if they had to fight underwater. In addition, the current was too strong.

‘Kuk!’

Nevertheless, Leo remained calm. Firstly, he took a deep breath and imprinted the locations of everyone around him before he was completely submerged in the water and his sight was blocked.

“With my lung capacity, I should be able to last for 10 minutes without needing to breathe…”

However, because of the pressure Arid’s power was putting on his body, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to last that long.

In addition, the time that he could hold his breath would definitely decrease as he moved his body around.

On the other hand, Nodiesop—.

“…!”

His gaze shifted to their enemy.

Even as the currents pulled and tugged in every direction, Nodiesop’s body remained standing in the same position he’d been in before.

Right. He was an Absolute who controlled water. It would be strange if his movements were restricted or he was incapable of breathing in the liquid.

Perhaps… This situation was even worse than he’d initially thought.

If it turned out that he was even more powerful in water…

Whoosh.

Nodiesop suddenly turned to look at Leo and reached out his hand. At that moment, Leo’s body, which had been entangled by the currents, suddenly froze.

‘Kuh…!’

It was like pressure had been applied to his entire body. At that moment, Leo felt like his muscles were being torn apart, and his bones were being crushed.

This pressure… came from the water. The water was exerting pressure strong enough to crush his entire body.

“Surprisingly, water pressure is something you can’t ignore, right?”

Even though they were underwater, Nodiesop’s voice sounded even clearer than when they were on land.

Nodiesop began to walk towards Leo. As if they were still on land, his footsteps were firm and steady. Naturally, the sound of his footsteps couldn’t be heard. (TL: It would be kind of cool if they could be heard)

“You haven’t exhaled yet. I must admit, your coolheadedness is commendable. But I wonder how long you’ll be able to last. It would probably be more fun if I slowly increased the pressure like this…”

Creak.

Nodiesop slowly clenched his fist.

At the same time, the tremendous pressure on Leo’s body gradually increased.

“—”

Leo’s eyes rolled backward in his skull.

This… couldn’t continue.

He had already been having difficulty holding his breath before, but now, he was struggling to even remain conscious. Unable to hold it any longer, Leo’s mouth opened up and bubbles of air rushed out. More than half of the air stored in his lungs had escaped at that moment. This means that the time he could remain underwater was significantly reduced.

“I don’t have any more time to waste on you mortals. So just di-.”

Unable to finish his sentence, Nodiesop moved his head backward.

In the same instant, a sword swept through the space that his head had just been occupying.

‘The magic swordsman girl.’

A hint of displeasure appeared in his eyes. She’d also interrupted him when he was trying to finish things off earlier.

…But that attack just now.

The speed that it was launched at was considerable, the same was true for the force behind it. How was she able to move so freely underwater?

He soon realised the reason.

‘She’s using some kind of spell.’

Min Ha-rin wasn’t swimming. Instead, her body swayed and moved like a puppet being controlled by strings. She was probably using something similar to a flying spell in order to manipulate her body.

She seemed to still be under some form of restrictions because she was underwater, but it was still several times faster than swimming.

However.

“Did you expect that to work?”

Paht.

He stretched out his other hand.

Shortly after Min Ha-rin appeared, her body also became frozen in place.

“Do you not understand where this is? Do you think that you’re just underwater? Who was it that created the tsunami that practically submerged this entire island? How have you not understood by now? You are already in my jaws.”

Crunch.

He clenched his fist.