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

Platinum coloured hair, skin so pale that even the veins beneath were visible, and greyish white eyes.

A man who gave the impression that he would disappear at any moment, but he also possessed features that were almost inappropriately perfect. In other words, he was a man with an unrealistic appearance.

‘He’s not human.’

While he looked similar to a human, he was different. He felt like an entirely different being from humans. This wasn’t because of his identity as one of the four Knights. As far as Lukas knew, all four Knights were from the ‘multiverse outside’, in other words, the Three Thousand Worlds. And there were countless humans in every universe in the Three Thousand Worlds.

What was it that made humans humans? Lukas had struggled for a long time to find an answer to this question. And then he realised. Even he would not be able to make a perfect judgement. This was because, in the end, he was also nothing more than a being with an ego. This meant that he would inevitably classify humans according to his own personal and self-centred views.

The explanation was long, but what Lukas was thinking boiled down to one thing.

This man was far different from even the broad standard for ‘human’ that Lukas had set.

Sss-

This could be clearly felt from every part of him, especially his eyes. The White Knight’s greyish white eyes made Lukas want to immediately avoid making eye contact with him. He knew this feeling.

‘This…’

It was the same feeling that was similar to when he met the Rulers.

[Hoh. A Perfect One…]

The Lightning God’s voice interjected at the right time. Lukas felt the faint fear that was making him hesitant disappear, and asked without even the slightest hint of that fact.

‘Perfect One?’

[Indeed, it wouldn’t be strange for one of them to still be around in this world. No. Instead, I should say that it’s natural for one to be in this world… Nevertheless, I never thought that this would be the White Knight’s identity. Kukuku.]

The Lightning God seemed to be genuinely happy and didn’t try to hide it. And he even started talking without him needing to ask.

[There was once an unprecedentedly large universe in the past. That universe was so large that all four Rulers could have been there at the same time. The Perfect Ones were the conquerors who ruled over that entire universe… with only a few hundred individuals.]

“…!”

He couldn’t help but be surprised by those words.

Naturally, not every universe had the same standards.

Some universes were smaller than planets, and some were larger than dozens of universes combined.

And the larger the size, or in other words, capacity of the universe, the higher the average number of beings that filled it. In the larger universes, there was a higher probability of the birth of an innately Transcendent or Absolute being.

[In terms of species alone, the Perfect Ones were able to compete with the Giant Spirit Clan, which the Sun God hailed from. With their natural ability, nigh infinite lifespan, and highly developed intelligence… they were probably the race that was closest to perfection.]

…Perfect One.

He thought of the name once more. It was a phrase Lukas had never encountered before. According to the Lightning God’s words, this was natural as it appeared as if they had been destroyed and forgotten a long time ago.

Why did that happen to such a perfect race?

[They destroyed themselves.]

The Lightning God immediately resolved Lukas’ confusion.

[It was a dull ending, but it was a shame. If the Perfect Ones hadn’t gone extinct… perhaps another being like us would have been born from that race.]

He was talking about the Rulers. Lukas shuddered quietly at the Lightning God’s statement. This was probably the highest praise the Lightning God could give. He believed that the Perfect One had the racial potential to reach the level of a Ruler.

His tension increased by several times.

Lukas stared at the White Knight, assuming and preparing for all manners of unexpected situations.

At almost the same time, the White Knight opened his mouth.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“..”

An unexpectedly polite attitude.

This reaction was even more unexpected since he’d acknowledged the other as a being comparable to a Ruler. In a sense, the White Knight had done the one thing that Lukas never would have expected.

‘No.’

After thinking about it, he realised it wasn’t that much of a surprise.

Aside from her annoying attitude and floaty voice, when she wasn’t the Blue Knight, Pale basically only spoke politely— Lucid was also a stickler for manners.

So it wasn’t that strange that the White Knight was polite and respectful.

…But that didn’t change the awkwardness. Lukas stared at the White Knight without saying anything.

“You don’t have to be so tense. I’m not so savage as to launch an attack in the middle of a conversation.”

“…”

“Of course, considering the fact that Pale was the Knight accompanying you, I suppose it wouldn’t be easy for you to let go of your suspicions. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

He smiled bitterly, he quietly added… Among the four Knights, Pale was the most audacious. So it wasn’t that much of a surprise.

“You want to talk to me.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you are a Void King Candidate.”

“…”

This was said with full confidence.

Pale, and now the White Knight in front of him.

What exactly did they see that made them conclude that he was a ‘Void King Candidate’?

“…White Knight of Conquest.”

“I don’t really like that name. Can you call me ‘Agolet’ instead?”

He asked this with such politeness that it would be impossible to say no. Feeling strangely uncomfortable, Lukas asked.

“Why are you here? Who is the ‘Void King Candidate’ that you follow?”

Every Knight had their own Void King Candidate. This was only Lukas’ guess, but considering the case of Diablo and Lucid, it seemed like a reliable hypothesis.

But the White Knight shook his head, no.

“I don’t have such a thing.”

“What does that mean?”

“How much do you know about the being called the Void King?”

Of course, he could say that he knew almost nothing. But instead of answering, Lukas remained silent. This was because he didn’t want to display his own ignorance to an enemy.

“It seems you don’t know anything.”

But remaining silent at a time like this was no different from directly saying that you didn’t know anything.

“All this while, the World of Void has been at peace. Although it might be hard to accept, there definitely is order and balance in this place.”

“…”

“But if a new Void King appears, that peace will be broken.”

Agolet’s voice became cold.

“There will be all kinds of intrigue*. It’s a situation that will cause all kinds of incidents. I don’t want that kind of chaos.”(*: In this case using the definition – the secret planning of something illicit or detrimental.)

[Hmph.]

The Lightning God snorted coldly.

[That’s some really interesting bullshit. That’s not something that someone responsible for accelerating the collapse should say.]

“What do you mean?”

[Originally, we would never have been able to set foot in this place. We had knocked on the door countless times before and it never opened. It was like someone was blocking it with all their might.]

“…”

[It was none other than these guys that killed that being and broke the chains.]

Lukas realised who ‘that being’ was.

God.

“…I want to prevent the conflict.”

Agolet spoke with a troubled expression.

“The ‘Great Game’ that the Rulers are trying to play will cause a war of slaughter filled with flesh and blood. And I am tired of such wars.”

[…]

He couldn’t tell if he was serious or just acting. But he could clearly feel the contempt the Lightning God held for the White Knight.

It was a strange feeling.

It was as if he was being swayed by the Lightning God’s emotions.

“Did you know? In order to become the Void King, you must ultimately receive the loyalty of all four Knights.”

Of course, he didn’t know that.

“That’s why I won’t vow my loyalty to anyone. The birth of a new Void King will cause even more chaos, so I will remain silent. And I will eliminate everything that tries to disturb the order. And you…”

“…”

“Are not the right person to be the Void King. So give up. All I wanted to do was give you that warning.”

“And if I don’t give up?”

Lukas displayed his defiance almost reflexively.

At that moment, it felt like the temperature in the space dropped by several tens of degrees. Agolet looked at Lukas with cold eyes.

“Then you…”

The moment he put the helmet in his hand back on his head, Agolet became the White Knight once more.

[Will die here.]

His tone changed, and so did his aura.

[You are a fool of fate, but you do not need to live as a toy anymore. In the first place, you shouldn’t be in this world.]

“…that might be true.”

The things he’d felt the most while wandering the World of Void were confusion and anxiety.

“However, the guy who brought me here seemed to think differently.”

There was a role the God hoped Lukas would play. He wasn’t entirely sure what that role was yet, but it was clear that he had some expectations of him.

[…you mean that deceiver.]

Disgust was evident in the White Knight’s voice.

[That was probably his final struggle before he died.]

“…”

[I will tell you one thing. You do not deserve to be tested by me. The ‘Exile’ will probably understand that. Go back to where he is… then you will see where you really need to go.]

Boom-

After that, the space shattered like glass, and Yang In-hyun could be seen on the outside.

Lukas sneered.

“Go back? It seems you are mistaken. You are not the owner of this-”

The White Knight swung his sword without bothering to listen to the rest of his words. Suddenly, tremendous wind pressure appeared and shoved Lukas’ body away.

Should he endure it, fight back? That thought occurred to him for a moment, but Lukas eventually allowed himself to be carried by the wind pressure. Then, as intended, he found himself expelled from the world he had created.

Outside once more.

Yang In-hyun approached Lukas, who had fallen to one knee.

“What happened?”

“…well.”

Straightening his knees, Lukas got up. Then he agonised for a moment.

It wouldn’t be difficult to reenter the world that the White Knight was in. However, he had the feeling that if he entered again, he would be risking his life.

‘…I have no choice but to go back to the Exile.’

Among the things the White Knight had said, there was something he found particularly disturbing.

* * *

It wasn’t that difficult to return to the place that the Exile was. As mentioned before, Lukas could return to any place that he’d been before.

Then, as he arrived at the abandoned spacecraft, Lukas was greeted by an astonishing sight.

It was the image of the Exile grilling animal meat over a bonfire. In front of him, Pale was devouring a leg that she was holding in both hands.

The figure of the animal over the fire was familiar. It was the one the Exile had been dragging when he first appeared.

‘…food.’

In this world, there was no food other than jerky, so how?

Now that he thought about it, it was strange from the beginning. In the World of Void, bodies disappeared almost instantly, but the animal that he had been dragging didn’t

Questioning that fact, Lukas looked around.

The space that he was in right now… was it really the World of Void?

Suddenly, the Exile rose to his feet. Then he looked at Lukas and nodded.

[Indeed… you came out like that…]

When she heard his tone, Pale, who had been frantically devouring the meat, changed. Her eyes became sharp as she glared at the Exile.

“Hey. Like I said earlier, don’t do anything stupid.”

Despite this menacing threat, the Exile ignored her and waved his hand. Just as her expression changed like a demon.

“What are-”

Her voice was cut off.

In an instant, the surrounding space changed. It became a place that could never be interfered with from the outside.

Lukas watched it all in silence.

[You didn’t… stop me…]

The Exile spoke. His green eyes seemed blank, but Lukas felt that he was looking right at him.

[With your ability… my spatial movement… you could’ve interfered… Answer… why didn’t you stop me…?]

“Because it didn’t seem like you intended to harm me.”

[Is that all…?]

Glancing around, Lukas nodded.

“No matter what space I am dragged to, I have confidence in my body.”

[Hmm… everything was correct…]

Nodding, the Exile said.

[And I do… have no intention to harm you… I called you here… to help you…]

“Help?”

[I know… where you really want to go… not the Magic Planet…]

“You are mistaken. My goal is the Magic Planet.”

[No… it’s different… Think a bit more deeply… Lukas Trowman… your real goal from the start… what is it…?]

“…”

Lukas, of course, had no memory of introducing himself to the Exile. But this had already happened several times before. For some reason, the strong beings here knew Lukas.

As if they had been paying attention to him for a long time.

“Just be honest. You don’t want to send me to the Magic Planet.”

[It doesn’t matter… if you can think like that… However, before that… I want to show you… where you really want to go… the places…]

At this moment, the Exile waved his arm again.

“…!”

Lukas’ eyes widened. His mind went blank.

This was because two cracks in space appeared before him.

Of course, that alone wouldn’t have been enough to surprise him.

“Th-, this…”

Through the cracks, he could see familiar faces.

On one side, he could see Peran, Nix, Ivan, and Iris. It was none other than the scene from Lukas’ home universe.

And on the other side… he could see Min Ha-rin.

It wasn’t just her.

Lukas’ other disciples, Arid, Leo, and even Venian* were also there. (*: Beniang*. I said I’d change it to what the author said it was the next time it came up. So here we go.)

[Choose…]

“Choose…?”

[Where you want to go… if you do…]

The Exile stretched his hands out as he spoke.

[I will send you to the world you want…]

(TL: Which do you think Lukas will pick?)