The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 130

130

“Bell Curios.”

Infinitely amplified concentration stretched my sense of time to its limit, making everything happening before my eyes appear gradual and distinct, like watching hundreds of paintings in succession.

This was Bell Curios’s true power, pushed to its limit by the endless magical power swirling within me.

This magical power, unlike ordinary magic, was not non-attribute but fire-attribute. All magic used, including Bell Curios, was cast with fire attributes.

“……!”

“……!”

“……!”

The warriors and adventurers who witnessed the spiderwebs that had swept through the heavens and earth instantly reduced to ashes were speechless.

He blocked it?

He actually blocked it?

That attack from the ancient noble, Duke Shar’Kars?

‘I’ve gained such tremendous power, but….’

The thought consuming the boy’s mind, the emotion pressing down on his heart, was an indescribable sadness.

【Alakish hugging the hatchling dragon that has just broken out of its egg.】

Every time I concentrated magic into one place and weaved it to create a torrent of flames, a mournful vision flashed before my eyes.

【Alakish watching the hatchling dragon playing in the snowfield with a smile.】

The echo of the future that Alakish cherished and longed for, the lingering image of the future he didn’t want to give up, the regret left in the overlaid soul….

【Alakish watching the hatchling dragon eating the food he made with a bright smile.】

He must have wanted to hug it himself, wanted to take it south himself, wanted to see all those scenes himself.

“You’re…….”

You’re entrusting all of that to me now?

The future you had envisioned, so pathetically humble, so sadly simple… why did it have to end like this?

“I will never forgive you…….”

It’s because of this bastard.

It’s all… because of this bastard.

「Interesting. What do you intend to do if you can’t forgive me?」

With a stench that could make your nose fall off, hundreds of strands of spiderwebs rushed in from all directions.

“Rain───!”

No sooner had Kasena’s urgent cry been heard than I struck the ground with the Staff of Fire, and ancient flames surged forth, incinerating the incoming spiderwebs.

As if those spiderwebs were just a distraction, Shar’Kars appeared from behind and aimed to pierce the boy’s heart.

But in that instant when he thought he had succeeded, the Four Ring Leader flew in, wielding flames, and deflected the attack.

‘That… does that weapon have a will of its own?’

He retreated, glaring at the brat constructing a magic circle. Come to think of it, I can sense the aura of Asura’s clone from that weapon.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but if this was KarenDen’s plan…’

I must never let him leave alive. I, Shar’Kars, will take care of him here and now. I can only draw out 20% of my power, but that’s enough.

The next moment, dozens of fireballs fiercely flared and plummeted.

Shar’Kars swung his spiderwebs, bisecting the fireballs in mid-air, and their fragments scattered everywhere, shaking the earth.

In that moment of chaos, Shar’Kars closed the distance again in an instant, his spider leg aiming for the boy’s heart, but.

Kaaaaaang────!

Once again, with an irritating metallic sound, sparks flew everywhere, and the spider leg bounced off.

This guy……?

Unlike KarenDen, does he have a knack for close combat as well as a weapon?

“Rune Modification, Chase, Point.”

As soon as those words were spoken, the barrier of Flow spewed out fierce flames, and the fireballs that had been scattered and were burning floated up, flying as if to surround Shar’Kars.

「Your movements are better than before.」

Shar’Kars didn’t block the attack; instead, he extended a dozen strands of spiderwebs towards the boy.

The threat of spiderwebs that profanely tore the sky, ravenously devoured the atmosphere, and blackened the ground as they flew.

There, contrary to Shar’Kars’s expectations, the boy didn’t switch from offense to defense but emitted a silver-white glow from his eyes.

“Bell Curios.”

Insight into and calculation of the establishment of the old god’s power that blasphemes providence, scattering the framework that makes that power into power.

Whirrrrr───!

The soul of the True Dragon is fire. When I defiled the power of the old god with the magic derived from it, the spiderwebs that were about to pierce my pupils were not simply cut off but burned to charcoal.

「!」

At the same time, the fragments of the fireballs I had raised earlier struck Shar’Kars, and a dazzling explosion and an indescribable heatwave swirled.

“Did we get him……!”

I heard Griffion shout that.

No…….

Sweat streamed down Rain’s forehead as he could see through the explosion with Bell Curios.

「You’re just a human, no matter how much you struggle.」

I don’t know when, but Shar’Kars, who had formed a cocoon with countless spiderwebs to defend his entire body, scattered the flames with the spiderwebs and walked out leisurely.

As expected, I need to be prepared.

To defeat this guy, this monster, I need to be prepared to die. While this guy is still exploring me, while he’s off guard…….

「So, what’s next?」

In the endlessly stretching time, the ancient fire and the primordial darkness intersected countless times, and cracks began to spread across the strata of the area.

Once, ten times, thirty times…….

Just when I thought a pillar of fire would illuminate the sky, darkness would engulf the earth, and in the center, spider legs and the staff collided incessantly, scattering sparks.

‘I’m pouring out 4-star magic amplified with *jon* [a Korean honorific suffix] almost infinitely, but I can’t even make a scratch……?’

I desperately caught my breath and spun the staff to deflect the spider leg that had come right before my eyes.

‘With the power of 4-star magic, I can’t defeat this immortal. It just regenerates easily…….’

But this guy said it earlier.

If he had been careless against the 5-star magic, Thunderous Bloodbath, which had been amplified by Yuryang Sejon [a powerful mage], he would have suffered a fatal wound.

Then, whether I can somehow hit him directly with that or not will be the turning point of the battle…….

“Rune Creation, *Jong* [a Korean word meaning ‘end’].”

Creating the trait of ‘covering the caster with wings,’ I solved the mathematical formula presented by the rune of *Yang* [a concept of duality], and wings of flame firmly covered my body.

This isn’t a shield; it’s a trap.

A trap to make Shar’Kars think he’s won…….

Whirr───!

At that moment, I hurriedly flapped the wings of flame to incinerate the spiderwebs that had torn through dimensions and flown in from all directions. I thought I had, but.

「It’s insignificant compared to Asura’s clone.」

In that instant, I vomited blood with a searing pain spreading through my side.

Cough…….

A strand of spiderweb wriggling with a strange light tore through the wings of fire and flew in, piercing my side.

「It was so full of flaws that it wasn’t even worth guarding against.」

The spiderweb that pierced my side crawled out on the other side, wrapping around my body and trying to crush my bones, at that moment.

“That’s right, it’s a flaw…….”

I opened it on purpose… to create this one moment when you’re completely off guard.

I’ll make my move here and now.

My first and last move.

Immediately, I spat out the resentment that had filled my chest like a lead weight along with blood and formed the hand seal of *Gyeong* [a Korean word meaning ‘boundary’ or ‘limit’].

“Bind… Oath Restricting Shackles!”

With the sound of flames rising, the circle of *Gyeong* ignited dazzlingly, and from within it, chains of pure karmic fire soared.

Clatter───!

Perhaps sensing an ominous energy from the chains that were rushing in, scattering embers, Shar’Kars’s body dissolved into pale vapor, leaving a long tail and retreating.

I won’t let you go.

I will never let you go.

Bloodlight, red wavelengths burst from two eyes that see through the essence of all nature, causing ripples in the providence that the Duke of White had altered.

「What……?」

For a moment, Shar’Kars’s eyes widened.

What, what’s going on?

I certainly should have transformed my body into an amorphous state… but suddenly, the form has returned to the body of a one-armed boy.

Before I could get the answer to that question, chains of flame burning with transcendent heat pierced Shar’Kars’s soul.

「This is……?」

Shar’Kars spat out black blood, grabbing the chain of fire that pierced his chest… but whirr, his fingers were helplessly burned away.

‘Ultra-high-speed regeneration isn’t happening either.’

Is that human brat using fire that’s even more powerful than Asura’s clone? No, that’s not it.

It’s those eyes.

Those eyes are doing something.

But how on earth… can mortal perception interfere with this immortal body?

“They say gods don’t go to hell, right……?”

By the time I heard that voice, the red-eyed boy had already formed a hand seal.

It was a sequence of characters preparing power, a familiar preparatory motion even to Shar’Kars’s eyes… that’s definitely that thunder technique from before?

But one thing was different. That one difference shook Shar’Kars’s eyes with terror.

Fire.

Field.

Cast.

Drop.

Reap.

That’s dangerous… As the Duke of White glared, the mountains and rivers creaked so much that the entire foundation was lifted, but the chains’ restraints were so strong that they endured even that.

「How dare you, a human……!」

Perhaps it was that which was so unforgivably offensive, the Duke of White unleashed the immortal power, which was of a different standard from mortal beings, for the first time.

Shar’Kars’s body, not yet bound by the flames, dissolved into countless spiderwebs, then rushed to the boy’s eyes in an instant, and merged into a gigantic, extremely repulsive alien form.

Primordial madness with thousands of eyeballs wriggling… hundreds of fangs wriggling blasphemously in a terrifyingly large maw….

In that one moment when a cosmic nightmare, like a vortex, was about to suck in and corrupt the entire dimension and swallow the boy’s body whole.

“For someone like you, I’ve prepared hellfire, take it.”

Fire Realm: The flames that soared simultaneously from all the magic circles of Yuryang Sejon were concentrated into the form of a dragon and ascended into the sky, and the blinding flash that seemed to burn the cornea painted the heavens and earth.

‘I don’t have time to divide it into seven shots.’

The next moment, the flaming lightning that burned away the three phases of soul, matter, and spirit that make up all things as a concept was driven into the ground, taking away all color, light, and sound from the world.

‘One shot, I’ll end it with one shot containing all the infinite magic.’

Along with a roar that was more of an impact than a sound, a heatwave that seemed to melt the skin swirled with intense heat, melting all the snow and ice in the area.

Whoooooo…….

The heatwave that had overwhelmed a radius of hundreds of meters became a thick fog, creating an eerie silence.

For a moment, I thought a warm warmth would dominate the world, but the chilling wind of madness that governs this land blew again, and pain ran through my whole body.

Pressing my hand against the hole in my side, I painfully vomited blood, and Pipi flew over and rubbed her face against my cheek.

“Pipi…….”

Whether it was because poison had been injected when my side was pierced, my whole body was paralyzed.

Fortunately, it seems that the erosion of the abyss is not taking place, perhaps because of the power of the Red Dragon flowing through my body….

I had already gone beyond the stage of exceeding my limits long ago, in fact, by using Bell Curios and the mental barrier at the same time.

‘That’s why I made a desperate move…….’

Even if I had magic power close to infinity in my hands, the vessel of a human was too weak to use that power.

“It has to end. If I can’t end it with this…….”

There is no next… Just as I was thinking that, the absolute nightmare that made my whole body tremble walked out from beyond that vapor, and my heart pounded.

It was the Duke of White, Shar’Kars.

Nearly half of his body was scorched by the ancient flames, and a bluish-black mass of bubbles was creating countless eyeballs and dissolving into spiderwebs.

“Run, Pipi. Quickly.”

“No go, no go, no go.”

“Listen to me! Look at that, it’s regenerating… slowly but surely…….”

Even on his face, which had been so breathtakingly beautiful, only one part was intact: his right eye.

「How dare, how dare a mere human…….」

The rest was completely scorched, leaving only the skeleton and dripping with sticky mucus, and the sight was truly horrifying.

「Don’t be ridiculous… I am Shar’Kars… a body reawakened by the call of the king…….」

Even in this moment, as he staggered as if about to fall, the aristocratic dignity emanating from his words and actions was so firm.

「For the new cornerstone of that eternally infinite dynasty… the true aristocrat and royalty awakened directly by the king… Duke Shar’Kars, that is……!」

Even Griffion, the warrior of warriors, could not resist that power, and after struggling for nearly 10 seconds, one of his wings was cut off, and he was thrown far away.

“Even you, go, Pipi, quickly! Please!”

Even though that nightmare was approaching slowly but surely, my body didn’t move, whether it was because of the side effects of the intense power or because I was overwhelmed by fear.

“Pipi!”

“No, no, no, promised Friede, Pipi, protect Rain.”

“I said go───!”

The moment Shar’Kars, who had already come before my eyes, cast an ominous shadow over my face, the moment Pipi flew in front of him as if to block him.

Pipi’s defeat, Pipi’s death, was as clear as day, so in the very moment I screamed as if begging.

Suddenly, an invisible hand pulled me and Pipi back with all its might, and at the same time, something red flew and covered Shar’Kars, and they rolled on the ground together.

‘Red……?’

I felt a strong sense of incongruity in that something I had just seen. I blinked my eyes repeatedly and looked back in the direction it had flown from and the direction I had been pulled.

It was Kasena.

Kasena’s face was covered in tears.

She was drawing strange runes in the air, runes I had never seen before, and I felt a sacred energy.

“No way…….”

I gasped and turned my head again, and what covered Shar’Kars and rolled on the ground with him, even as his limbs were being torn apart by spiderwebs… was Alakish.

That was the promise.

The promise Kasena had made with Alakish.

– The reason this Alakish is designated as the guardian here is one: all True Dragons are vessels of sealing.

– ……?

– Even if Rain awakens, he will not be able to destroy Shar’Kars’s divinity, so at that time, you will use this body of Alakish…….

The curse of sealing that KarenDen had engraved on all True Dragons, so that this body could become a new vessel of sealing and protect humanity from the abyss.

– What, what are you talking about right now……?

– This Alakish is going to die anyway.

– No die, no die! Why die! Why are you saying that?

– I beg you, Kasena Page… you are the only friend I can ask to fulfill the end of my mission…….

At that time, Kasena stared blankly at Alakish, and when Alakish gave a sad smile, she finally closed her eyes tightly and could only nod.

That’s why now.

She had finished drawing the last stroke of the rune with trembling fingers filled with tears…….

“Goodbye, Alakish…….”

At that moment, the runes that had been engraved on Alakish’s back in a more complex pattern began to glow as if resonating.

「This light is……?」

Alakish’s body was transforming into the framework of a dragon, and it began to bind not only Shar’Kars’s body but also his powerful soul.

It was a sealing that was so perfect and elaborate that it was on a different level from the chains Rain had used.

Thump, thump, thud… The dragon’s ribs pierced the boy’s chest without hesitation, and the shoulder blades and leg bones were driven deep into the ground, firmly fixing the framework to the ground.

「What, what are you doing… to this sacred body that the king has created……!」

In the instant that Shar’Kars struggled and frantically swung his spiderwebs, everything in the area was swept away as if a dimension had been cut off.

But that was all.

Perhaps it was because he could not withstand KarenDen’s sudden technique in this weakened state, the scream he uttered sharply in an overwhelming sense of humiliation was Shar’Kars’s death throes.

「These lowly… things that are less than vermin… how dare, how dare youuuuuu─────!」

The abyss contained in that scream was so powerful that the heads of the Suin warriors nearby exploded miserably, scattering brains everywhere.

Was that really the end?

Just when I thought an overwhelming silence was flowing, suddenly the old ones and the dead who had been attacking the Suin from all directions began to twist their bodies grotesquely, or collapse, or run wild, or run away somewhere.

“……?”

Everything, all the important events, had happened so suddenly that it felt unreal.

What is this?

What, what happened?

I somehow managed to raise only my upper body, which was paralyzed, and Kasena ran to the framework, hugged it, and began to cry loudly. Pipi flew over her head.

“Alakish, Alakish, Alakish.”

Even though I finally understood the situation, something like a lead weight filled my chest, and I couldn’t cry. Something, something, frustratingly…….

It was at that moment.

Crack, crack, crack… The sound that came from behind, the small and faint but tenacious sound of life, made my heart sink.

“Uh……?”

In the eyes that hurriedly turned around, I could see the cracks spreading more and more on the dragon egg… and the next moment, something poked its face out.

The red scales were not fully healed.

The wings were covered in mucus.

The golden dragon eyes, which should have been dignified, were still round because it was still a hatchling.

For a long time, as if time had stopped, I was just listening blankly to the pounding heartbeat that echoed in my ears.

This is, this is, the moment of miracle that Alakish had cherished for a long time… At that moment when I was breathless, I made eye contact with the hatchling dragon.

As soon as that happened, the hatchling dragon smiled brightly and barked, and I felt a pain that felt like my heart would burst.

“Ma kiome!”

Ma kiome.

The meaning of this dragon language was ‘My mother.’

The hatchling dragon finally broke the rest of the egg and crawled out.

Lovingly clumsy, it flew into the sky and fell, crawling on the ground on all fours, and finally came to my feet, rubbing its head against my leg and continuing to bark.

Ma kiome, it said.

“No, it’s not me…….”

My mouth hung open blankly. The existence that should be called mother by you, the existence that deserves to be, is not me.

No matter how much I shook my head madly and denied it, it was meaningless.

Before I knew it, the hatchling dragon, which had climbed up my leg to my chest, was excitedly babbling, licking my cheeks, chin, and nose.

“Ma, mama, ki, kiome.”

The hatchling dragon’s body was pleasantly warm and smelled like firewood on a winter day, just like Alakish did.

Did that familiar warmth and scent of life awaken my sense of reality and the memories of the past three months? In an instant, tears streamed down from both eyes.

As in the future that Alakish had envisioned, humble yet dazzling, I finally hugged the hatchling dragon tightly and began to sob quietly.

Yes.

That was the moment I met you.