The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 387

After that, we sat at a small table nearby and talked.

“If you have any questions, ask me anything. For ten minutes. Until I disappear, I will answer as much as I can.”

Ten minutes.

The master, in his materialized state here, would disappear after ten minutes.

Because he had achieved his goal of testing me. Because he had completed his given task. Now, he would return to mana [the fundamental energy of magic].

That’s what my master said.

“Then, since there’s no time, I’ll ask right away.”

Ten minutes is a short time.

I quickly asked my first question.

“During the previous battle with the dragon, I heard these words.”

“……Dragon?”

My master’s eyes narrowed.

How could a dragon, which had been extinct long ago, be resurrected?

That was the look in his eyes.

“Your magic is very similar to ours.”

If there had been enough time, I could have cleared up my master’s doubts.

But there isn’t time now.

I’m sorry, but clearing up my doubts comes first.

I ignored my master’s question and continued with my own.

“In terms of ratio, it’s about 85%. The other 15% is mixed with something foreign.”

“……”

My master’s eyes momentarily trembled.

I could roughly guess what I was going to say next.

That was the expression he had.

“What is that 15% sin? ……Is that what you’re going to say?”

My master stared straight into my eyes with a stiff expression.

His pupils were trembling slightly.

It was an expression and eyes that conveyed his complex feelings.

“And Veil Stole. He said the same thing.”

“……Veil Stole?”

My master’s eyes widened.

Beyond surprise, it was shock.

Veil Stole couldn’t possibly be resurrected at this time.

It should still be a long way off.

Why was Veil Stole already resurrected now?

That was the look in his eyes.

“Unless the sin that makes up your magic disappears…” He clearly said that.”

I ignored my master’s question again.

As I said, there’s no time to clear up my master’s doubts right now.

“What exactly is the Vaitner style sin?”

Even after spending dozens of hours with Mimir, pondering and contemplating, I couldn’t find any clue.

What exactly is the Vaitner style sin?

“And one more thing. What does it mean that you and Veil Stole were originally one?”

Since there was no answer in thinking about it.

I poured out all the questions I had desperately tried not to think about until now.

“……”

My master closed his eyes.

His eyelids were trembling slightly.

He must be organizing his thoughts.

“To have heard that… it means you’ve met Veil in person.”

“Yes. I met him.”

My master slowly opened his eyes and met mine.

“You, who are still only at the 7th Circle [a level of magical power], how could you have met Veil and still be alive? I’m very curious about that, but…”

A strange light flowed from his eyes.

He looked like he had made up his mind about something.

“I won’t bother asking. I can’t waste this precious time on such useless things.”

The master who is here will disappear soon.

There’s no point in clearing up my doubts.

That’s what my master meant.

“Likewise, since time is precious, I’ll get straight to the point without beating around the bush.”

My master paused for a moment and slowly opened his mouth.

“Veil and I. We originated from one being.”

“Do you mean you’re brothers?”

One of the hypotheses that Mimir and I had established.

Ray Bell Vaitner and Veil Stole are brothers with the same parents.

If they were of the same bloodline, Veil Stole’s words, ‘originated from one being,’ would make sense.

“No. It doesn’t mean we’re brothers. It literally means we were derived from one being.”

“……”

I don’t understand what he means.

Derived from the same being?

“I don’t understand what you mean. It can’t mean that we were originally one person, then split into two, becoming you and Veil Stole…”

People aren’t amoebas.

How could they split into two?

“That’s right.”

“……Huh?”

“As you said. It’s true that we were split from one being.”

“……”

……Is that right?

“How… how can a person split into two? It’s not like we’re gods from mythology…”

“You have a good sense.”

My master smiled bitterly.

“Veil and I. We were gods from the mythical era.”

“……God?”

At that moment, one hypothesis flashed through my mind.

Division.

God.

Vaitner style.

The dragon’s words.

And the dragon’s last moments I saw in the dragon’s dream.

“Is that god perhaps… the god who led to the destruction of the dragons?”

The man who introduced himself as a god in that dream had the same face as my master.

Although the atmosphere he exuded was completely different, his features were so identical that I could believe they were the same person.

“……How do you know that?”

“I saw it through the dragon’s dream.”

“Why would you have a dragon’s dream…”

My master was about to say something, but he closed his mouth.

“……No, that’s not important right now.”

I suppressed the rising questions again and returned to the main topic.

“Yes. You’re right. The god who led to the destruction of the dragons. That god is the form of Veil and I when we were one.”

“……I see.”

The puzzle pieces of my scattered questions are now slowly falling into place.

“I don’t know why we split. I don’t have that memory, and probably neither does Veil.”

How could a being with the power to easily destroy dragons have split?

My master didn’t seem to know about that.

“When I came to my senses, Veil and I were divided into two.”

With only the memory of being a god in the past, they were divided into two.

But they don’t know why they were divided.

That’s what he meant.

“I possessed ‘good’ and ‘order,’ and Veil possessed ‘evil’ and ‘chaos.’ That’s how we became two.”

Good and order.

Evil and chaos.

Those are words that suit my master and Veil Stole well.

“When I became aware that I was me, I also became aware that Veil was trying to destroy this world.”

Just as my master became aware of who he was.

Veil Stole must have also become aware of who he was.

Veil Stole, having become aware of his identity as evil and chaos, would have immediately moved to destroy this world.

“That’s why I wanted to build up my strength. Faster than Veil could build up his. As the embodiment of good and order, to protect this world from Veil. I tried to create my own weapon.”

“My own weapon…”

I immediately knew what that weapon was.

“Because we were divided into two, I had almost none of my power as a god at the time. The only way I could build up my strength was to copy and evolve the power of the strongest race in the middle realm.”

It seems my guess is correct.

“Dragon. I imitated the power they wielded, and by infusing the remaining divine power in my body, I created my own weapon. That is…”

“The Vaitner style…”

My master nodded.

“Then, the 85% similar structure and the 15% sin that the dragon mentioned…”

“The Vaitner style is based on dragon magic, with the addition of my ‘good’ and ‘order’ properties.”

“Good and order are the ‘sin’ that the dragon mentioned.”

“That’s right.”

“……So that’s what it was.”

I understood.

‘I don’t know why good and order are sins, but…’

I understood 100% of what the dragon meant.

“Then, the black magic that Veil Stole created…”

And at the same time, I could understand one more thing.

“Yes. He had the same idea as me, and using dragon magic as a framework, he added ‘evil’ and ‘chaos’ to create his own weapon.”

“I see. That’s black magic.”

Veil Stole.

What he said.

Why he mistakenly thought that the Vaitner style had absorbed black magic.

That question was now answered.

‘Good and order. Evil and chaos. They were originally one power. Since the Vaitner style and black magic are magic from the same root. They can absorb each other.’

He was just stating the obvious.

Black magic and the Vaitner style.

Since they were originally from the same source, it’s not difficult for one to absorb the other.

“After that, it’s as you know. Veil and I. We built our own castles to defeat each other, and we fought to achieve our own goals.”

Suddenly, a research log came to mind.

A research log analyzing the myth of Ray Bell Vaitner.

In that research log, this phrase was written.

[The magic system created by Ray Bell Vaitner was too sophisticated and perfect for a magic that was created for the first time.]

The answer to that question has now come out.

The Vaitner style was not a completely new magic system that started from zero.

It was an evolved copy that copied and evolved dragon magic.

It was just an evolution of an already completed magic system, so it was bound to be sophisticated.

‘Black magic is the same.’

The puzzle pieces are falling into place one by one.

It was like watching the hazy scenery due to the fog gradually clearing up in real time.

“This is the truth between the Vaitner style and black magic, and between me and Veil.”

“……I understand.”

I feel refreshed in many ways.

My head is clear.

‘I understand why the Vaitner style was able to forge myths as magic.’

Because the Vaitner style is mixed with divine power.

It was able to handle the power of the mythical era.

The fact that the Black Magic King could handle myths was also understandable for the same reason.

“Then, the next question.”

The biggest question has been resolved.

But not all questions have been resolved yet.

I immediately asked the next question.

“Veil Stole resurrected faster than expected…”

What do you think is the reason?

Also, Veil Stole is regaining his power by devouring the souls of dragons.

What is the meaning of this act, and how should we respond?

…I was about to ask.

But.

“……Unfortunately. It’s time.”

My questions didn’t even have a chance to come out of my mouth.

“I tried to explain as concisely as possible. But 10 minutes was too short.”

Ten minutes had passed, and my master’s body began to disappear.

“Let’s postpone the next question to the next opportunity.”

It’s a scene I’ve seen before in the Book of Idred and the Book of Mimir.

A scene where the color fades from the paint, returning to a complete blank.

Soon, my master will disappear.

He will disappear without a trace along with this place.

“The current me will disappear here, but another me will be waiting at the next trial gate.”

In the center of the disappearing world, my master smiled.

“Your remaining questions will be resolved in the near future.”

It was a lonely smile.

“Lastly, I wish I could see Mimir’s face at least once before I go.”

Regret was evident in his loneliness.

“I was so focused on defeating Veil that I couldn’t properly care for my daughter, Mimir. It’s a little, just a little, regrettable that I can’t see how wonderfully she has grown.”

My master stared straight into my eyes.

“Successor. I want to ask you one thing.”

“Please tell me.”

“Please convey a message to Mimir.”

Now, my master’s face is hard to see.

Like a picture drawn on a piece of paper that has fallen into water, the colors are fading away, slowly blurring.

My master’s form became very faint.

“This is the last gift that a foolish father gives to you.”

Now, I can’t even see his features properly.

“Look at the books on the bookshelf in the next area, B-3. There you will find the answer you seek. And…”

But.

Somehow, he seemed to be smiling.

“Please, be happy in this era.”

I couldn’t see his expression, but somehow, that’s what it felt like.