The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

“You will probably fight the Demon King.”

In the Omega before they arrived in Manjuri City, Lukas said.

“The Demon King and Diablo. Although both of those guys are my targets, and they will both be aiming for me too… if we fight, it would be better for me to take Diablo on.”

“The reason?”

“Beside Diablo is the Black Knight. You don’t want to antagonise the Four Knights, right?”

Yang In-hyun neither confirmed nor denied.

Instead, he asked another question.

“What kind of person is the Demon King.”

“He used to be one of the Twelve Void Lords, the 0th Demon. He was able to escape the World of Void some time ago through a certain method and now he has become the subordinate of a Ruler.”

Lukas fell silent for a moment before continuing.

“He stole everything from my friend.”

“Stole?”

Then Lukas explained.

About how the man named the Magic Warrior King Kasajin came to the World of Void, and what he went through there.

And exactly what the 0th Demon was.

“…I can tell you the disposition of the man named Kasajin that I know. It should be of some help to you when you fight. But don’t trust it blindly.”

Lukas spoke in a bitter voice.

“Because that thing can already not be called Kasajin.”

* * *

Even when he looked at Mount Tai, he didn’t really get the impression that it was that ‘high’.

Even when he looked at the sea, he didn’t think it was that ‘wide’.

Yang In-hyun had never been overwhelmed by nature.

This was because he had already known that he had become a being that was higher and wider than them.

In a similar way, when he had noticed the existence of a mechanical structure in the space beyond, he had only felt a little wonder.

In terms of whether Yang In-hyun could cut something or not, distance was not much of a restriction.

Only a few beings could understand the sense of alienation Yang In-hyun felt due to the form of the world that he could see.

“…”

It had been a while since Yang In-hyun thought about the Demon King.

—He was a huge being.

Of course, his figure was big. This was true when considering his simple height, but in terms of bulk, he was muscular enough for dozens of people.

However, more than that, it was the aura that the Demon King released that made him appear dozens of times larger.

‘…certainly.’

This was the first real enemy he’d faced since coming to the outside world.

His opponent was a former member of the Twelve Void Lords, a current Absolute, and probably had some other special element besides that.

[…]

The Demon King.

Didn’t seem willing to make the first move. This fact surprised Yang In-hyun.

To put it simply, between him and the Demon King, who was in more of a hurry?

The answer came quickly.

Both of them. Neither could afford it.

Past these ruins was an enormous time bomb that had already started counting down. If things went wrong, there was a chance that a huge mark would be engraved on the planet. There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be caught in the aftermath.

‘…it can’t be helped.’

It didn’t suit Yang In-hyun’s temperament to just watch his opponent forever.

Raising his drawn sword, he pointed it towards the Demon King. The pointing of the tip of his sword was what the Demon King wanted. The Demon King, who had been standing with his arms folded until now, also changed his stance.

Then, with a faint swoosh sound, the blade became indistinct. Yang In-hyun’s blade disappeared in an instant.

However, it hadn’t disappeared.

The sword territory(劍域) expanded. The traces of the sword blade vanished, it could be estimated that dozens of kilometres had been added to Yang In-hyun’s new ‘cutting range’.

[Kuhu.]

The Demon King couldn’t hold back a brief chuckle.

The world in his eyes had become a sword domain(劍界) with millions of swords. Sword hilts swirled like a gale.

[Don’t the Swordsmen from Mount Hua usually use the Plum Blossom Method or something like that?]

“That’s one of the prejudices I hate. That is just one of the many sword techniques of Mount Hua.”

[Kuku. Indeed, I see.]

Boom!

The Demon King clapped his fists together hard. This caused a massive amount of wind pressure to rage around, scattering the pieces of the shattered buildings like pieces of trash.

The sword domain created by Yang In-hyun disappeared like fog after dawn.

[I don’t like probing attacks.]

“Then?”

[From start to finish, full power.]

Crack crack.

Cracking his knuckles, the Demon King grinned.

[Our sword or fist will only stop when one of us dies. What do you think?]

“It’s barbaric.”

[I see. Is that your answer?]

“Everlasting Plum Sword. First Form.”

The Demon King closed his mouth that he’d opened to say that.

He could see the colourless buds rising up like haze. The buds that bloomed faintly and vaguely looked pitiful as if they could be buried with the wave of a finger.

The world of swords. Next was a flower garden?

This situation felt like a joke, but the Demon King couldn’t afford to laugh.

A feeling of pressure, which was completely incomparable to what he’d felt before, pressed down on his entire body. All of the Demon King’s nerves tensed to the limit in preparation for the coming impact.

The furled buds unfolded.

Dozens of blinding lights exploded from within.

“— Murim Annihilation.”

It felt like both of his eyes went blind.

Time was compressed, space was compressed.

And compressed some more.

Compressed…

…

Compressed.

…

-Stab.

Crack!

He realised the true nature of the attack.

And caught it.

Just before it could pierce his chest, the blade Yang In-hyun thrust forward was caught in the Demon King’s thick hand. His palm, which was big enough to match his physique made it look like he was holding a toothpick, but blood still dripped from his tightly clenched fingers.

But, the Demon King laughed, regardless of the wound or pain.

[Murim Annihilation? It doesn’t quite match its grandiose name. Isn’t it just a simple stab? No way, with this much power-]

“Everlasting Plum Sword, Second Form.”

The moment Yang In-hyun continued to talk with an expressionless face, the Demon King swallowed the rest of his words.

“Flower Cultivation.”

He felt a tremendous weight from the sword tightly held in his grip. There was no time to react.

The hand holding the blade sank. The Demon King’s waist and knees also bent, causing him to fall to his knees.

[What…]

The weight hadn’t been put onto the blade.

Looking at the Demon King’s puzzled expression, Yang In-hyun muttered.

“The kneeling look suits you better than I expected. My neck hurts less now.”

As soon as he heard that emotionless voice, the Demon King’s eyes became red.

[—!]

Letting out a beastly roar, he raised his hand up from the ground. Piles of dirt were sent flying in every direction, and black energy covered the city.

Yang In-hyun opened space with his sword. The wide expanse of black energy moved across the sky in inconceivable motions and attacked at the same time as Yang In-hyun as if they were in sync.

Clang clang clang!

Deflect, block, dodge.

It wasn’t difficult to defend perfectly, but he couldn’t relax.

This kind of rotten attack, he felt that it would be annoying if he let it hit him even once.

‘And in this case, the hunch isn’t wrong.’

Then, the Demon King, who had jumped up, crouched down. Yang In-hyun felt him concentrate his strength on the tips of his toes.

He was coming.

Perhaps, a charge?

It would be hard to dodge. The black energy in every direction completely blocked his retreat.

He was forcing a head on collision.

Yang In-hyun narrowed his eyes.

Of course, even if his movement was restricted it would be possible to release an attack. However…

“…”

Right. Fine.

He’d put together the sum for once.

What he needed was his fastest sword. Yang In-hyun quickly sheathed his sword and took a stance.

The movement of the black energy flowing in every direction slowed for a moment. This was because he entered the minimal time zone.

‘This pitch black energy is the Demon King’s arrangement.’

However, he wasn’t the only one who made arrangements.

“Did you know, Demon King?”

Just before the collision, Yang In-hyun whispered.

“Seeds planted will one day germinate.”

This time, he didn’t say it and instead just thought it in his head.

My root, my life, my belief.

The things that shaped ‘Yang In-hyun’ repeatedly rose and fell like water droplets.

…His most precious memory.

A goblet filled with starlight, a bitter smell, the sweet aftertaste on the tip of his tongue.

The image of a woman who shined brighter than anyone else.

A scene that should be protected. A scene he couldn’t protect.

The smile of the woman as starlight wrapped around her body was more beautiful than blooming flowers.

Everlasting Plum Sword, Third Form, Full Bloom(滿開).

He drew his sword.

A ray of light flashed across the frozen world.

Gugugugu…

A tremor shook the ground.

The seeds had already been planted.

The Everlasting Plum Sword, Second Form, Flower Cultivation, was technically not an attacking form. Instead, it was more like preparation in advance.

Preparation to link the third form and the final form.

The entire area brightened.

A blade jutted out from the ground. Swords also rained from the sky. Countless swords pierced the Demon King’s entire body. This wasn’t an illusion or trick. The Demon King could clearly feel the cold touch of the blades as they dug into his skin.

His ferocious charge, which wouldn’t stop even after destroying a world, was stopped directly.

The Demon King’s body was skewered by swords. The swords were pierced in so many places that even his flesh could not be seen.

Despite shedding blood, the Demon King laughed.

[Kuhaha, hahaha!]

His eyes, which were filled with madness, turned to Yang In-hyun.

[Is this your nirvana? Is the sword you pursue transforming mental reality into physical reality? Answer me. The Everlasting Plum Sword. Is that what your sword is?]

“…”

[The erasure of a world, Murim Annihilation, the planting of seeds in that ruined world, Flower Cultivation, and after a while, the blooming of the bed of flowers once again, Full Bloom… then what will the next form be?]

The Demon King chuckled.

[What do you want to put into your sword, destruction, or regeneration? Can you answer that? No. You can’t.]

“Contrary to what I heard, you actually talk a lot.”

Yang In-hyun spoke in a dry voice.

“I tend to listen to what people say just before they die, but for the first time, I feel like it will be hard. So I will set a time limit. You better think of better last words before your time runs out.”

[Kuhaha!]

The Demon King burst into laughter again.

[Contrary to what you heard, I talk a lot… I see. So you heard about me from Lukas. Interesting.]

Yang In-hyun stopped walking.

At that moment, the sense of danger he felt was on a completely different level from before.

[But did he tell you about this?]

Paht!

Strange beings appeared from every direction. That was the best way to describe them. Maybe they should be called flesh instead. They were sinister fleshy beings that looked as if they were made from compressed shadows.

Yang In-hyun didn’t panic. He knew that there were things hiding nearby even before Lukas left.

But what happened next was unexpected.

The bizarre creatures curled up like pill bugs. Then, their physiques, which were similar to Yang In-hyun up to that point, became smaller than the palm of his hand.

The black balls then tried to pierce Yang In-hyun’s arms and legs.

He could stop them.

And it certainly would have been the case if not for the pitch black thorns that suddenly rushed towards him.

Yang In-hyun swung his sword with all his might.

The moment the silent collision occurred, heaven and earth darkened. Boom boom boom! And a formidable explosion followed.

“…!”

Yang In-hyun’s body stumbled, unable to withstand the shock.

In an instant, he felt his four limbs lose strength. His vision blurred and his body felt as if it weighed thousands of lbs.

It wasn’t because of the horrific clash that just happened.

His limbs began to turn black.

[I made my limbs dwell on you.]

“…”

[They are one time consumables made for that purpose. I think your physical ability should now be around 10% of your full capacity. How is it? Doesn’t the weight of the sword in your hand feel different now?]

“…you used the power of a Ruler.”

Yang In-hyun exhaled deeply. This was to catch his breath.

“We are sensitive to that. I don’t understand. Why would you, who was once one of the Twelve Void Lords become the subordinate of the Demon God?”

[Does it look like I’m the Demon God’s subordinate? Not at all. You really don’t know anything, rookie Void Lord. You don’t even know what the World of Void truly is.]

“…”

[Do you really think there were so many worlds in the beginning that it could be called the Three Thousand Worlds? If so, then why did God leave the rest of the multiverse unattended? Why would he recklessly create a universe that he didn’t have the confidence to manage? Did he really need to create the Absolute system? Why are there beings stronger than the omnipotent God?]

As if he was humming to himself, the Demon King, who asked one question after the other, lowered his tone.

[…what I want to say, Yang In-hyun.]

The Demon King’s entire body became covered in pitch black thorns.

Yang In-hyun watched this scene with a sunken gaze.

[I didn’t borrow or receive these thorns from anyone.]

Laughing, the Demon King said.

[I too am the Black Horned Demon God.]