The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 447

Veil descended, walking through the air, as if on invisible stairs. He moved with a grace that belied the power he possessed.

‘Thanks to your unexpected moves, I’ve finally made up my mind,’ Veil said, holding a strange object in his right hand.

‘…A horn?’ Sein thought, observing the object. It wasn’t exactly a horn, but it resembled one. If demons existed and had horns, they might look like that. It was a horn with a sinister appearance.

‘What do you mean by making up your mind?’ Sein asked, stepping forward and switching places with the Black Magic King once more. The disposal of the executives was complete, and there was no issue with the switch.

‘It means exactly what it says,’ Veil replied, stopping at a similar height to Sein. ‘You’re just like Ray. You never move the way I expect.’ The distance between them was about 20 meters, well within each other’s range.

‘So, I’ve decided. I’ll deal with you right here, right now,’ Veil declared, slowly raising the horn in his hand. ‘Even if it’s a bit of a stretch, I feel like I’ll regret it if I don’t deal with you now.’

‘……’ Sein’s eyebrows twitched. He could sense the sincerity in Veil’s words.

‘Sein……’ the Black Magic King murmured.

‘I know,’ Sein responded. Veil was serious, genuinely trying to end everything at that moment.

‘That horn. There’s something about it,’ the Black Magic King said in a low voice.

‘I know there’s something about that horn too,’ Sein replied. Veil wouldn’t have brought something meaningless at this crucial time. There was definitely something significant about that horn.

‘No. It’s not just that there’s something about it. The structure of the horn is abnormal,’ the Black Magic King’s voice became even more rigid. ‘That horn. I can’t feel anything from it.’ The strange sensation from the horn sent shivers down his spine.

‘What does that mean?’ Sein asked. Perhaps the horn was a type of artifact, and it was probably not activated yet. It was natural that he couldn’t feel anything. What was so strange about that?

‘Don’t you get it? Even though Veil is pouring mana into it, there’s no reaction,’ the Black Magic King said with a frustrated expression. ‘Artifact or whatever, with that much mana, there should be some kind of reaction. But I can’t sense any power from that horn.’ The Black Magic King’s eyes sharpened. ‘It’s as if it’s not from this world……’

‘If it’s not from this world, what is it?’ Sein questioned.

‘I don’t know,’ the Black Magic King admitted. He didn’t know, and that’s why he felt a chill. ‘Anyway, that horn is dangerous. We shouldn’t fight him now.’

‘……I have no intention of fighting,’ Sein nodded slightly. He couldn’t understand why the Black Magic King was so anxious, but he understood that they shouldn’t fight. They shouldn’t fight Veil now. Even without that horn, they would definitely lose if they fought Veil now. With Sein’s condition at its worst, there was a 0.0001% chance of winning. They had to escape somehow.

‘But even if we escape, how……’ The problem was that there was no way to escape. They had no way to escape even when facing the five executives. How could they shake off Veil? Sein bit his lip.

‘I should also thank those three over there,’ Veil said, his gaze shifting to Adela, Jisun Chan, and Stella, who were huddled together on one side. ‘Thanks to you interfering with my work in the Black Fortress, I was able to make a firm decision. If you hadn’t dealt with Mora, I wouldn’t have been able to move now. I would have most likely crouched down once more, relying on Mora’s power.’ Veil had watched the situation inside the Black Fortress through the eyes of Jenarin and Hoderiam. Those three had dealt with Mora. It was certain, as Mora’s presence had disappeared after those three took her.

‘As a reward, I’ll grant you a painless death. Be grateful,’ Veil said, gripping the horn in his hand even tighter. He glared at everyone in the area, raising his killing intent.

‘……Ugh,’ Jisun Chan and Adela’s bodies trembled under the intense killing intent. The force of the unimaginable killing intent made their legs buckle for a moment.

‘This much should be enough for a final farewell,’ Veil said, very slowly raising the horn he was holding. ‘This tiresome battle ends today.’

*Thud!* He plunged the horn straight into his chest. Crimson light poured out from the horn embedded in Veil’s heart.

‘I will become a god again, and judge you,’ Veil declared. Mana began to expand rapidly, centered on Veil’s heart.

‘Kuh……!’ The energy was so immense that Sein was being pushed back by the aftereffects.

‘Kyaa!’ Stella cried out.

‘Adela!’ Jisun Chan positioned himself in front of Adela and deployed the Octagonal Gate [a magical barrier] at maximum output. ‘Stella, get over here too……!’ Stella quickly moved behind Jisun Chan as well.

*Kwaaaang-!* Immediately, a massive amount of energy engulfed Jisun Chan’s Octagonal Gate. It was an incredible power.

‘It’s too strong. I can’t hold on……!’ Even though it was just the afterimage of the power, it was this strong. What on earth was that power? Jisun Chan bit his lip tightly and focused even more power into the Octagonal Gate.

‘Rejoice, humans,’ Veil said. However, Jisun Chan’s efforts were immediately in vain. ‘Your god has returned.’ The already powerful energy had become even stronger.

‘Gulp……!’ Jisun Chan’s lip was bleeding from how hard he was biting it. His arms, supporting the Octagonal Gate, were trembling. He really couldn’t hold on any longer.

‘It’s collapsing……!’ Just as the Octagonal Gate began to break.

‘I’ll support you,’ Sein moved behind Jisun Chan. He placed his hands over Jisun Chan’s, assisting with his magic.

‘This is……Lady Sophia’s……?’ It was Sophia Anetscheff’s unique mana flow. She must have judged that Sophia was the best fit for the situation and switched control with Sein.

*Kugugugugung-!* The Octagonal Gate became even more solid thanks to Sophia’s help. It collided with the energy Veil was emitting, and the creaking sound echoed loudly. Even with Jisun Chan and Sophia combining their strength, they were barely holding on.

‘Just the afterimage of the power is this strong,’ Sophia thought, in awe of Veil’s power.

‘Applaud. Praise. Worship,’ Veil commanded. The energy suddenly reversed. As if trying to swallow the entire world, the energy that had been scattering reversed and began to be absorbed by Veil.

‘He can……absorb all that power?’ Sophia’s eyes trembled. If he could absorb all that power completely, if Veil succeeded in absorbing all that power, ‘We can’t win.’ That wasn’t a human. A monster beyond the realm of perception. No matter how much people combined their strength, they couldn’t win.

*Ssssh…….* Suddenly, everything stopped. Like seeing a flashback before death, the world completely stopped moving. And he revealed himself.

‘The return of the Human God,’ Veil Stoll, no, the Human God, said. He stroked the horn embedded in his chest, smiling with satisfaction.

* * *

The horn that Veil had plunged into his heart was a type of divine artifact. A divine artifact from the mythical era that he had obtained ten thousand years ago. It contained immense power, but he had been reluctant to use it because he couldn’t understand the basis of its power.

‘……Hmm. Is there anything wrong with my body?’ The risk of using it recklessly was too great. Therefore, Veil had strictly sealed this horn in the past. He wanted to use it as a last resort if the situation became very unfavorable, and he had sealed it tightly to prevent it from falling into Ray’s hands. He was confident that he would win even without using such a horn. He had chosen to seal it, wary of Ray using the horn’s power as a last resort.

‘It feels good. I regret not using it until now,’ Veil thought. Looking back now, it was a foolish thing to do. If he had known that it was a power without any side effects, he would have absorbed it right away. If he had, this fight wouldn’t have dragged on like this. It was regrettable.

‘It seems I should offer a sincere thank you, not just sarcasm,’ Veil said, clenching and unclenching his right hand, turning his gaze towards Sein. ‘Thank you. Thanks to you, I have become a god again.’ It was a genuine thank you, unlike his previous sarcasm. He was sincerely thanking Sein for making him use the horn.

‘As a reward, I would like to make you a good offer,’ he said, clenching and unclenching his hand, then clenching it tightly and slowly opening it again. Then, he extended his hand towards Sein. ‘Sein Vinoche. Become mine.’

‘……’ Sein’s eyebrows twitched as he watched the situation from behind Jisun Chan’s Octagonal Gate. He had a look that said, ‘What nonsense is that?’

‘The reason I wanted to kill you was because I needed to absorb the divine power within your Bytenner style,’ Veil explained. Veil’s goal was to return to being a god, to regain the power of the Human God while maintaining his own memories and personality. That was why he fought Ray. To become a god again, he had to take the divine power that Ray possessed.

‘But not anymore. I have already become a god. I have achieved my goal by absorbing the divine power contained in this horn,’ Veil smiled with a look of joy. ‘I have returned to the position of god as a complete individual. The tiny bit of divine power you possess is meaningless to me now.’ Veil had already achieved his goal. There was no reason to take the divine power within the Bytenner style. In other words, the reason to kill Sein had disappeared.

‘If you promise to become mine and dedicate your soul, I will spare your life. I promise to preserve that power as well,’ Veil offered. If the opponent had been Ray, he would have killed him without question. Regardless of whether it was necessary or not, there was no reason to keep a detestable man like Ray alive.

‘Be grateful. I have acknowledged you,’ Veil said. But Sein was different. Sein Vinoche wasn’t exactly not detestable, but the direction of his detestability was a little different from Ray’s. It wasn’t the kind of detestability that made him want to avoid him like Ray, but rather the kind that was subtly enjoyable to watch. It seemed like it would be quite enjoyable to have him by his side.

‘Of course, you’re the only one I’ll spare. I will erase everyone else here. I’m not nice enough to leave the impurities of the past as they are. I will recreate everything from scratch. There are no exceptions,’ Veil declared. He would reset the world and then create his own world again. That was Veil’s new goal. To achieve that goal, he had to erase everything. Sein Vinoche was the only exception. He couldn’t allow any other exceptions.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll recreate all your companions with the same personalities you know. Dying will only be for a moment,’ Veil said, slowly approaching Sein. ‘Refusal is not an option. This is not a request, but an order.’ The distance between them had narrowed to 10 meters.

‘Whether you refuse or not, I will take your soul. After taking your soul and making you obey me, I will have you watch the world perish and the new world be born,’ Veil said. How beautiful would it be to see him shed tears of blood while watching the dying world? How charming would it be to see him look at the birth of the new world with resentful eyes? Knowing that the new world was innocent, but unable to look at it favorably because it was born at the cost of the destruction of the original world. The sight of him tormented by such a contradictory feeling would surely be like a painting. That sight was worth watching.

‘You are mine,’ Veil said, standing right in front of Sein.

‘……Why do all the black mages confess their love to me?’ Sein frowned as he replied. ‘It feels like I’ve been confessed to by a cockroach. I feel very bad.’ In the past, Sein had received a similar offer from the Black Magic King. That memory overlapped, making him feel even more unpleasant.

‘So, you refuse,’ Veil smiled slightly as he looked at Sein. ‘Typical of you.’ Veil’s expression twisted fiercely. ‘Then, there’s no choice. I’ll take you by force.’ Veil reached out his hand towards Sein. He would take Sein’s soul and force him to obey.

‘Do you think I’ll just stand by and watch that?’ Almost simultaneously with Veil’s movement, Sein also began to move. He drew his sword and swung it at Veil.

‘With your current strength, you can’t even touch my clothes,’ Veil scoffed as if it were ridiculous. He had confirmed through the eyes of the other executives that Sein’s condition was not good. He had somehow managed to defeat the executives by using a strange technique to stop black magic, but that was all. There was definitely a problem with his swordsmanship. He must not be in good condition.

‘Look,’ Veil said. Sein’s sword was blocked by Veil’s neck, unable to go any further. Sein’s sword couldn’t even scratch Veil’s skin. ‘You have no hope. Give up.’ Veil felt the sensation of the sword on his neck and leisurely reached out his hand. ‘Aren’t you being too careless?’ Sein said as he struck Veil’s neck with his sword.

‘I can’t help but be careless. The difference in power is so obvious,’ Veil replied leisurely. His hand was 1cm away from reaching Sein’s head. Soon, Sein’s soul would be in his hands. Veil focused his attention on his hand with a relaxed smile.

‘Thank you. Arrogant god,’ Sein said, grinning at that moment. ‘Thanks to your carelessness, I was able to seize an opportunity.’ And at that moment, the mana imbued in Sein’s sword expanded. A high-level mana that was on a different dimension from the weak mana from before. A sword aura that was incomparable to the level when he faced Hekil and Sabin before was imbued in the sword.

*Swoosh-!* Sein’s sword cleanly severed Veil’s neck. Veil’s head separated from his body and flew into the air.

‘If you have anyone to blame, blame your arrogance for even releasing the Black Tongue [a black magic restraint],’ Sein said. The black magic restraint that had been suppressing Sein’s body, the Black Tongue. Sein had just been freed from that shackle. He had overcome the side effects and regained his best condition.

‘Release the Black Tongue?’ Veil frowned with a look that said, ‘What nonsense is that?’