The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 120

120

‘Faster.’

My lungs felt like they were about to burst, but I couldn’t stop. Not mentally, nor by the force of the spell.

‘Before something happens to Alakish, please, faster.’

Hugging Kasena tightly, I used telekinesis to pull the reins of the pony carrying the unconscious white wolf, continuing south.

I need to get Kasena and this wolf to the barrier to break this spell….

The barrier, glowing purple in the dawn light, seemed within reach, but the distance hardly closed.

‘If I hadn’t focused on training my stamina with Logan, I would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago, wouldn’t I?’

No sooner had I thought that, the day I was practicing magic volleyball with my 1388th class, chattering noisily, flashed before my eyes.

‘Hubert and Logan bickering, Cayden writing down weaknesses in his notebook to say what he wanted….’

Lilian and Nora, and the mischievous Gertrude Fanton, Krista Warden who loved clay, and Aunt Elin and Professor Owen also came to mind.

‘I liked those guys, the everyday life I had with them, more than I thought I did….’

Why am I thinking about this now, in such an urgent situation?

This isn’t the time to be sentimental. This isn’t the time to shed tears and miss them. Now is the time to think and act.

That’s why I called Pipi, who had been circling above, watching over me.

“Pipi!”

“Pipi, Pipi, Pipi.”

“Go to Barzhen right now. Tell him that an absurd monster, a power that can control the old ones, has really appeared.”

What I need to figure out is the purpose of that transcendent being.

Why did it attack the white wolves?

From what I read in books before, beings from the abyss turn the living into the dead to create an army of darkness.

– I heard the leader of the wolves led a large-scale expedition.

Did it attack them because they were white wolves, or was it just targeting the larger group? What if Alakish can’t defeat it?

The hairs on my arms stood on end. Then Lavenfell will be nothing more than a slaughterhouse….

There has to be something, some way. I have to find a way. Then, the words came out of my mouth on their own.

“…That’s right, the Battleship Base.”

“Battleship, Battleship, Battleship?”

“Battleship Base, Pipi! Tell them to move to the Battleship Base! I’ll open the gate to the barrier near there.”

The judgment I blurted out in a panic was definitely not random.

The Battleship Base was located southwest of Harbardonia, across Silverscale Bay. Roughly half a day’s journey from Lavenfell, with Silverscale Bay in between.

First of all, it was much closer to the barrier than Lavenfell, but the biggest reason was Frisvia, the number one platinum adventurer there.

– You can’t reconcile those two, never.

He’s a shady guy whose intentions are hard to read, but he’s nothing compared to what I just met. Right now, I need all the help I can get.

“Rin said, go to the Battleship Base. Pipi, tell Barzhen Rin’s words.”

“They won’t understand if you say Rin, so say Rain.”

“Rain said, go to the Battleship Base. Pipi, tell Barzhen Rain’s words.”

Pipi repeated my words, and after confirming that everything was okay, it immediately fluttered its wings and headed northwest.

Was it loneliness? I felt even colder as Pipi left….

No, that’s not it. This cold that tears at my body through the Arctic lynx fur coat is not an illusion from a sudden emptiness, but a real pain.

‘Could it be….’

One step, two steps… my pace, which seemed to be slowing down, stopped on its own.

‘It’s gone, Alakish’s power is gone.’

The power of the spell that forced my body to move, the warmth that always warmed my body, suddenly disappeared.

All of it, as if it were a short dream, just fleeting and empty, without any warning.

A cold sweat broke out, and my heart pounded so hard it hurt as I turned around as if I was being pulled. The world was just silent.

‘No, no. There’s no way Alakish lost.’

He’s a red true dragon with the power of a demigod; there must have been a reason why he had to cut off the connection of power, like he had to use his full power….

‘Yeah, there’s no way he lost.’

I had to move, not think.

I couldn’t let the time Alakish bought me go to waste.

I started walking towards the barrier again, gasping for breath, this time on my own.

‘There’s no way he lost, there’s no way….’

I convinced myself, who had become as heavy as lead and wouldn’t move, to turn north right now.

I convinced myself, convinced myself, and convinced myself again.

In the Arctic dawn that heralded the start of the day, I got closer and closer to the , which was burning pink.

……Boo-oooo-oooo……

After leaving the pine forest and walking for a while across a wide field lit by the morning sun, a low, thick horn sounded from somewhere above the barrier.

No sooner had that happened than the Clearfall Water Gate, the miraculous gate that seals the abyss by pouring sacred water like a waterfall, retracted the waterfall, opening a long tunnel leading to the civilized world beyond the barrier.

It was the moment the main gate of opened, but there was no time to admire it.

“Quickly, this way!”

The passage of the barrier was brightly lit by a magical tool whose workings I couldn’t understand, and three white wolves ran out of the gate as if to protect us.

One of the wolves took the pony’s reins, checked the condition of the wolf who had fainted in the saddle, and let out a suppressed groan.

“Ah, Leni, what happened….”

In the meantime, the waves poured down again with a deafening roar, sealing the entrance.

“Thank you for bringing Leni back safely, but who are you guys anyway…?”

The wolves looked at Rain and Kasena with suspicion, and I gestured to Kasena’s hair color.

“I am Rain Ludwig, the heir to the Ludwig family, and this is Kasena Page, the young lady of the Page family.”

Has the fame of the Page family and the rumors of their unique hair color spread to this northern end?

“Page……?”

“Page, you say……?”

“Page, huh…….”

As if that alone was enough to confirm their identities, the wolves exchanged glances, swallowing hard. I didn’t even have the time to wait for such glances.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no time to be talking like this. Please guide me so I can talk to your executives, quickly!”

* * *

Beyond the long passage of the barrier, Whitecenter, famous as the headquarters of the white wolves, spread out in pure white.

Whitecenter, which had served as the control room of for 1400 years, was a beautiful and massive fortress, though not as much as the barrier.

“Ha…….”

Feeling like I had come to a completely different world, the tension that had built up over the months melted away, and my legs gave way.

This is the north, a cold land.

It’s definitely a cold land… but compared to the north of the barrier, it was truly a paradise and a land of civilization.

The sunlight shone several times warmer, and instead of the suffocating abyss fog, clear and fresh air filled my lungs.

‘But…….’

Even though the building was so large and magnificent, the number of members was surprisingly small.

The white wolves were an elite unit that boasted a large number of members in history, ranging from at least three thousand to as many as seven thousand, and northerners were proud to serve here.

Did the large-scale expedition really fail, and did that many numbers dwindle like this?

“Members aren’t only stationed here.”

Perhaps sensing my concern, the wolf who was guiding me opened his mouth. He started using honorifics after hearing my identity.

“There are five fortresses centered around Whitecenter in . Well, even so, it’s true that the situation is desperate.”

“I heard the expedition failed… how many members did you lose?”

“Five thousand wolves went out, but less than four hundred came back alive. I’m still young, and my combat skills are poor, so I couldn’t follow….”

So I was disappointed, but looking back now, it seems like it was the grace of the gods, he added, trailing off.

While having such a conversation, I was guided to the command and control room located on the top floor of Whitecenter.

“The executives will meet with you, young master. Then I’ll stop here.”

It was a vast room with a long table made roughly of pure white spirit wood.

Over a dozen windows were formed on the table, which were high-level clairvoyance [magical viewing devices] that could observe the situation above and below the barrier.

And ten wolves sat facing each other on both sides of the table, staring straight at me. Eight of them had bandages on their arms, legs, or faces, probably injured in the expedition.

“You said you have something urgent to say?”

The old wolf sitting on the left glanced up and down at my appearance and frowned.

“But is he really a Ludwig? There are more than a few guys impersonating nobles in this remote place.”

“He is.”

It wasn’t me who answered that, but the young wolf sitting across from him.

He was a young man with crimson hair who retained the noble demeanor of a noble even in this northern polar region, and he looked at Kasena, whom I was holding, as if he couldn’t believe it.

Strangely, he was a familiar person. Where did I see this person?

“I’m not sure about the Ludwig side, but I’m sure about Kasena. The image I saw at the Sega Council remains strong.”

The Sega Council….

Then could it be Count Blado?

Then, a middle-aged woman with a sturdy physique, whose long hair was starting to turn gray, raised her eyebrows.

“Kasena Page, the child who went missing during the Black Spot incident? Then that guy is Rain Ludwig, who was said to be dead?”

I died?

That was strange. Kasena is missing, and why am I dead?

“Yes, I’ll have to hear later how you came from beyond the barrier… so what’s going on? You said you have something urgent to tell us?”

I didn’t have the time to explain the situation calmly and in detail, so I quickly told them about what happened on this trip.

Even in this situation, Alakish is fighting that monster… I had to solve the problem quickly and go back.

Impatience was distorting my composure and impairing my keen judgment.

“So the beastmen were gathering in Lavenfell after all. I couldn’t see them even when I went deep inside; the light was under the bushel [hidden from view]….”

“I’m sorry to say this, but.”

While the officers were whispering like that, the old scholar of Whitecenter stroked his white beard and looked at me.

“I can’t believe it, that the beastmen took care of you like that. It doesn’t make sense that two people who went missing in the Blade Peninsula suddenly appeared above the barrier.”

“Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth. The existence of the abyss has awakened too. If things continue like this, all the beastmen above the barrier will die and become the dead.”

“…….”

“Everyone knows better than anyone else that the abyss eats the living to build up its forces, right?”

No one answered.

Was it because they knew the answer from the beginning, but their pride wouldn’t allow them to act according to that answer?

“We have to open the gate to save the beastmen.”

“It’s not that simple. Above all, you’ve been deceived because you’ve been living with the beastmen—”

“—I haven’t been deceived. Everything is due to a misunderstanding… Shar’kas. Alakish clearly said that monster’s name was Shar’kas.”

“What?”

“The name of the monster that wiped out the white wolves!”

The moment I conveyed those words that suddenly came to mind, the inside of the command and control room froze coldly. The scholar’s face turned pale.

“Shar’kas? No, that can’t be….”

“You know who he is, right? Alakish is fighting that monster alone right now. We have to go help him!”

If I persuade them a little more here… how should I say it?

Be careful.

This can be said to be the crossroads of the battle.

“I thought he was suspicious, so he was a spy sent by the beasts.”

Right then, the white-haired old general sitting across the table, that is, at the head seat, suddenly tapped the table with his finger.

“A Ludwig imposter, did you think I would fall for your lies?”

“Yes?”

“We know that the existence of the abyss has awakened because we lost all our main forces! I was already writing a letter to His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Pope.”

“If you know that, why don’t you open the gate?”

“Why should we open the gate for the beastmen? They are all minions of the abyss.”

“What are you talking about? The beastmen are not minions of the abyss, but humans like us—”

“—Shut up! How dare a beast talk back? Search that guy’s body; he must have hidden the beast’s mark somewhere.”

The wolves standing on both sides of the door hesitated because of the problem of status, and the white-haired commander-in-chief roared.

At that moment, what flashed through my mind was not a sense of despair like, it’s all over… but extreme vigilance.

Thanks to Bell Curios’s opening ability, the strangely fluctuating flow of magic was creating a strange shadow behind the commander-in-chief’s back.

“Who are you?”

The flower that bloomed mysteriously from the boy’s eyes, scattering silver-white light, was the blade of wisdom that mathematically interprets all the abilities of the world.

Bell Curios.

0100101010010101010…… I took a breath for a moment at the strange sight seen through the cross-section cut out in blood by the blade.

‘A possessed spirit…?’

How can I describe the form created by the countless numbers swirling and clumping together like a storm?

Something with dozens of tentacles writhing horribly was giggling as it stuck the number-made tentacles into the commander-in-chief’s eyes, mouth, and nose.

There was something after all… an unpleasant cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

“You, what did you say just now?”

There was a behind-the-scenes force in the conflict between the beastmen and the wolves. And maybe this guy possessing the commander-in-chief is the mastermind.

“Even if you’re the son of a count, what kind of manners is that to the commander-in-chief of the barrier?”

And he’s no pushover. The black magic that builds this possessed spirit was a whopping 5-star. It’s no wonder the other wolves didn’t notice it.

‘But I heard the position of archmage is currently vacant… who cast this magic?’

The moment I thought that, the mollusk-like possessed spirit suddenly opened its eyes wide and caught me.

That was the starting point of the fight.

The moment he pulled out all the tentacles that had been eroding the commander-in-chief’s intelligence and sent them flying towards me, the moment a cadre roughly grabbed my shoulder.

“Sorry, but you picked the wrong opponent.”

Bloodlight, a dazzling light burst out from my center and swept away in a fierce storm of magic, pushing the cadre who had grabbed my shoulder against the wall.

“Wh-What such a strong magic power……?!”

“You bastard, what are you trying to do……!”

“Commander……!”

The cadres who were sitting down had to hold on tightly to the table to avoid being swept away by the storm, but an even fiercer battle was taking place in the world they couldn’t see.

‘Analysis complete, inverse compensation.’

The runes used in all the magic circles analyzed in a fleeting 1.8 seconds were formulaic Rutichen, with some forbidden Orbios mixed in, but the main force was Rutichen.

Possession was famous as traditional black magic, but this was a magic that focused more on the strengths of Rutichen; in other words, black magic implemented with magic.

In short, it’s my specialty… I easily twist the mathematical formula to change the real root to an imaginary root, forcibly creating flaws in the magic circle.

[……?]

The tentacles that had rushed up to my eyes, about to pierce them, began to disappear as they were sucked into a vortex that returned all abilities to nothingness.

Like that, one, one, and another… and when the last one was left, I reached out and grabbed the main body that was being sucked into the vortex.

I’m not going to end it by just getting rid of the possessed spirit. I’m going to find out who you are and where you are now. I won’t feel better otherwise.

‘The coordinates of the magic’s activation… so where are the caster’s coordinates now?’

Just before I was about to analyze the central circle of the magic circle, that is, the core framework, the possessed spirit’s mouth grinned.

[Oh, it’s amazing that a kid like you has that eye? But this great senior didn’t fail to take out insurance either.]

At that moment, the possessed spirit spewed out black numbers from its maw, filling my vision… and before I could even analyze it, a dizzying dizziness pierced my mind.

And the moment the extremely amplified concentration was disturbed, the main body of the possessed spirit that was being held in my hand exploded.

A magic explosion at close range.

I felt a dazed sense of floating engulf my whole body, and before I knew it, my body was lying on the cold floor next to Kasena.

‘What……?’

It tried to devour my body in that short moment of explosion… to think that such a high-level possession was possible, it’s a power I’ve never heard of.

‘I was barely able to erase it with Bell Curios just before I was eaten….’

There are two problems: first, I can’t move my body due to the aftermath of the explosion.

And the commander-in-chief was also pushed back by the wave of magic and hit his head against the wall and fell down as the shadow that had been eroding his soul disappeared.

This series of events made them mistakenly believe that I had attacked the commander-in-chief.

“……C, Commander……!”

“……That guy, the Commander……!”

“……Catch him, he’s an assassin……!”

The voices of the cadres who had jumped up in a fluster rang in my ears, and when the pain of having my arms twisted back and tied with rope spread into my bones, Alakish’s face came to mind.

‘Alakish…….’

Alakish’s face as he looked at me at the last moment and asked me for something with a sad smile….

What should I do? I, I think I failed after all….

With that thought, I lost consciousness.