The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 442

Sein Vinoche was as flustered as he could possibly be right now.

‘Is he really immortal?’

Despite using every method Sein could think of, he couldn’t inflict any significant damage on Hekil.

Even when crushing his heart, beheading him, or severing his mana, the guy regenerated his body as if nothing had happened.

His regeneration was at a level that made one wonder if he was truly immortal.

‘Sophia. Black Magic King. Do you know anything about that guy? Anything is fine. Tell me if anything comes to mind.’

While slashing at the chimera-like Hekil, he asked the two inside him.

‘……No.’

Sophia replied in a low, subdued voice.

‘I’m sorry. I’m still observing, but…’

She was still observing, but she hadn’t obtained a single piece of useful information.

‘……You don’t need to apologize. It would be stranger if you knew something.’

That man’s power was something that far exceeded the bounds of common sense.

Because it was a power that was beyond the realm of common sense, there was no way there would be any information about it.

Sein had just asked, hoping to grasp at any straw.

‘I see… Then, I guess that means I’ll have to figure it out while fighting.’

Just as Sein finished thinking that and was about to swing his sword again.

‘Aren’t you going to listen to my answer?’

The Black Magic King spoke in a mocking tone.

Sein frowned and stopped his attack for a moment.

Then, he immediately shifted into an evasive maneuver.

Kooong!

He lightly dodged Hekil’s massive fist that came flying at him.

‘Do you know something? Since you didn’t say anything, I naturally assumed you didn’t know anything.’

He asked the Black Magic King while dodging.

‘I was just watching a bit longer because I wasn’t sure.’

The Black Magic King’s eyes gleamed fiercely.

‘I would have told you to speak even if it was uncertain information.’

Sein said, as if demanding an answer, while dodging Hekil’s attack again.

He easily evaded three consecutive punches with just three steps.

‘It’s against my nature to speak uncertain information.’

‘……You annoying perfectionist.’

‘Perfectionist, you say. That’s high praise.’

Sein clicked his tongue.

Kooong!

On top of that, Hekil’s fist came crashing down again.

Sein lightly rotated his body, dodging Hekil’s attack once more.

‘Enough with the sarcasm, just tell me. What do you know about him…’

While dodging, he asked the Black Magic King again.

No, he was about to ask.

“Kuhahahaha!”

He would have if Hekil hadn’t interrupted with a loud shout.

“What’s wrong? Are you already tired? I thought you were something! You’re just a glass cannon?”

Hekil roared with laughter and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Sein.

Two fists, larger than an elephant, were swung alternately.

As if proving that mass equals power, the force was no joke.

If one were to be grazed by that attack, they would be minced meat.

Even Sein wouldn’t be unscathed.

“……How noisy.”

But that was all.

It was just powerful.

“I’m organizing my thoughts right now. Don’t interrupt me.”

Such punches.

They wouldn’t work on Sein.

Sein swung his sword as it was.

Swish-!

A flash of a single strike.

Shortly after, Hekil’s body was rolling on the ground, split into dozens of pieces.

Clack!

The sound of the sword being sheathed rang out clearly.

‘Keep explaining.’

While sheathing his sword, he spoke to the Black Magic King again.

‘It wasn’t me who was talking, it was you.’

‘……Was it?’

‘It was.’

‘Now that I think about it, it seems like it was,’

The Black Magic King clicked his tongue.

‘Has your memory started to fail now? It seems your condition is worse than I thought.’

Sein frowned.

‘My memory is fine. I just forgot because I was focused on my sword.’

‘That’s what it means to be in bad condition. If it were the usual you, you would have been able to use that level of mental sword while being sarcastic.’

‘……’

Sein fell silent.

There was no room for rebuttal.

‘……I admit it. Certainly. My condition isn’t good.’

There was no point in being stubborn here.

Sein coolly admitted that his condition was not good.

‘I can’t even hear you guys when I’m swinging my sword.’

Just wielding the mental sword was difficult. Right now, Sein didn’t have the capacity to focus on anything else while wielding the mental sword.

When he wielded the mental sword, he couldn’t talk to the two of them.

That’s why he had only been dodging Hekil’s attacks from before.

Because he couldn’t have a conversation while counterattacking.

‘Is it that bad? That’s really dangerous.’

The Black Magic King’s expression became serious.

The fact that he couldn’t afford to focus on anything else while wielding his sword meant that Sein was currently giving it his all.

‘Sein Vinoche. I seriously recommend you flee. The tide of the battle has already turned.’

‘I also want to flee more than anything…’

Sein frowned and looked around.

Just as the Black Magic King had said, the situation was not good.

Shin Hayul, Kim Kangin, and Charles were all struggling.

They were just being dragged around by the high-ranking black mages who had appeared out of nowhere.

If the battle continued like this, it was almost certain that they would lose.

Just as the Black Magic King had said, fleeing was the best option right now.

‘There’s no way to flee. I don’t have the leeway.’

But there was no way to flee.

Fleeing was only possible when the battle lines were somewhat even.

In this situation where they were being overwhelmed, it was not easy to retreat.

‘To flee now, at least two of them have to be sacrificed.’

Shin Hayul, Kim Kangin, and Charles.

Two of these three had to be used as pawns.

Only then would they be able to establish a foundation for escape.

‘That’s what I’m telling you to do.’

The Black Magic King replied as if he was stating the obvious.

‘This operation was entirely our misjudgment. Since we made a mistake, we have no choice but to pay some price.’

The current situation was the result of them misjudging the enemy’s strength.

To cover up this mistake, they had no choice but to endure some sacrifices.

‘Don’t talk nonsense. What are you going to do by reducing our forces even more?’

Sein replied with sharp eyes.

‘With five additional unknown high-ranking black mages appearing, reducing our forces any further is just a self-defeating move.’

‘Well, I think that if you can safely escape from this place and regain your strength, you can more than make up for the loss of forces.’

‘……That’s just your opinion.’

‘Hmm. You’re trying to cover the sky with your palm [an idiom meaning to deceive oneself]. You should know. The worst thing that could happen is you dying here.’

The Black Magic King chuckled.

‘Is your camaraderie clouding your judgment?’

‘……Shut up.’

Sein gritted his teeth.

‘Enough, just explain what you found out.’

‘I don’t think it would be meaningful to explain it in your current state.’

‘I’ll decide whether it’s meaningful or not. Explain.’

‘Is that a threat?’

‘It’s a request.’

‘How is that a request? Anyone can tell it’s a threat.’

‘Then it’s a threat. Speak.’

Sein glared at the Black Magic King as if he would kill him.

The Black Magic King chuckled and began to speak.

‘Hekil. That guy is not a black mage.’

‘……Not a black mage?’

‘Yes. He might have been a black mage at first, but he’s not now.’

‘What do you mean?’

The Black Magic King pointed to Hekil’s regenerating body.

‘That guy is a monster.’

A strange light flashed in the Black Magic King’s eyes. He licked his lips with a very pleased expression.

‘He absorbed a monster into his body. I don’t know if he performed a chimera procedure or developed a special black magic that allows him to accept a monster into his body, but it’s certain that he replaced his own body with the monster’s body itself.’

‘……So he’s a real chimera? Not just someone who changed his body to look like a monster through physical manipulation?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m sure. I gained certainty after seeing him regenerate just now.’

Because the Black Magic King was more sincere than anyone else about chimera research, he could tell.

His body transformation was not like metamorphosis.

His body was, without a doubt, a real monster.

‘Then the reason he keeps reviving even after his mana is blocked is…’

‘Monsters have regenerative abilities inherent in their bodies. Blocking mana doesn’t completely neutralize their regeneration.’

‘You’re saying a monster’s regeneration is withstanding my sword?’

No matter how great a monster’s regeneration was, it couldn’t be at a level that could withstand a mental sword.

‘Of course, there are no monsters in this era that can withstand a direct hit from your mental sword, but…’

The Black Magic King looked at the squishy skin on Hekil’s torso.

That squishy skin seemed to be the foundation of his regeneration.

‘Those guys are the ghosts of the Bytener Empire era. If he absorbed a monster that only lived in that era, then it’s a different story.’

It was a type and texture of skin that even the Black Magic King, who had observed all kinds of monsters, had never seen before.

What he was absorbing was not a monster from this era.

‘I heard that in the past, all sorts of monstrous monsters, including divine beasts, lived. If he absorbed such beings, it’s possible that he could have such regeneration.’

‘……Divine beast.’

Sein thought of the divine beast, the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Even though it hadn’t fully grown, it possessed great power.

If he had absorbed such an existence, then such regeneration was plausible.

‘……I understand. That’s a plausible hypothesis.’

‘It’s not a hypothesis, it’s a fact.’

‘Yes. It seems like a hypothesis that is infinitely close to the truth.’

Sein gripped his sword again.

He glared at Hekil, who had finished regenerating, and took a stance to counterattack at any moment.

‘So. What’s the way to defeat him?’

‘The way to defeat him is…’

At that moment, Hekil lunged again.

He threw a punch with the exact same speed and the exact same power as when they first fought.

Sein frowned as he dodged the attack.

‘Don’t hesitate, just tell me. What’s the way?’

Looking at Sein, who was shouting urgently, the Black Magic King replied indifferently.

‘Unfortunately, there isn’t one.’

Sein’s expression crumpled.

‘If it were a monster I knew, there would have been a way somehow. Unfortunately, I don’t have any data on the monster that makes up his body. Since I don’t know anything, I can’t come up with a way to deal with it.’

‘You…’

Sein clenched his teeth.

‘If there’s no way, why did you even say anything?’

‘Didn’t you tell me to say anything, no matter what it was? I just did as you said.’

‘……’

Sein clenched his teeth again.

‘You have a bad personality…’

He had certainly said that, but he never expected that after such a long speech, the answer would be that there was no solution.

As expected of the Black Magic King, his personality was very, very bad.

‘I still don’t like you.’

‘Hmm. Is that so? That’s a shame. I quite like you.’

The Black Magic King chuckled.

At that moment, Hekil started attacking again.

‘So, I’ll say it again. Flee. You can abandon two of them. If you and Shin Hayul are there, you can somehow make up for the lack of forces.’

‘……Shut up. I’m organizing my thoughts, so be quiet for a bit.’

Sein was about to swing his sword again, as if further conversation was useless.

“Ah. How annoying. It’s finally over.”

Sabin, another black mage who had left all the fighting to Hekil and was waiting alone in the back, said as he swept back his hair.

“Okay. The preparations are done. Everyone, get out of the way.”

Then, he spoke to the other black mages in a nonchalant voice.

“Haha! I can’t believe I’m seeing this again.”

“Sabin! If you target me again, I’ll really kill you this time!”

“If Sabin is going to use that… I have no choice but to retreat.”

At those words, the black mages reacted all at once.

Some were happy, some hesitated, and some were wary.

Sabin smiled very slightly as he watched the black mages’ reactions.

“You’re all overreacting.”

Thud!

Sabin kicked the ground hard.

Crack, crack.

The sound of bones being crushed was heard from all directions.

And.

“It’s just death at most. You’re all making too much fuss.”

Sabin’s mana spread out in all directions, along the ground.