The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 162

Nariaduke, from an unfathomable era beyond human comprehension, one of the Three Wheels of Time…

He simply gazed at us from within the downpour.

That was all, yet the oppressive tension, crushing with such immense weight, felt utterly surreal.

Valenciadis gasped for air.

‘Even I, with my strong resistance to the Abyss, am suffering this much… Unbelievable.’

Somehow, Miria was in better shape than him, though she was also breathing heavily.

As expected, the one suffering the most was Aki, the Red Dragon and natural enemy of the Abyss. The young dragon hid behind Miria.

Protecting himself and them from the oppressive force with a barrier, Valenciadis refocused his gaze.

‘Did Nariaduke revive by possessing Rin’s body…?’

But how? The ritual shouldn’t have resulted in this.

Just then, Nariaduke, who had been moving as if to kill the young dragon at any moment, abruptly stopped.

Then, with a look of dissatisfaction, he scanned the surroundings.

「Such a trivial hatchling can be dealt with at any time… Albisis, but… Hmm…」

He reached out towards them.

Then, the fan hanging at Valenciadis’s waist, Kasyasur (Wings of Darkness), vibrated intensely… and flew swiftly into the grasp of its true owner, unfolding wide.

Kasyasur was, in fact, Nariaduke’s sacred artifact.

「Bol a shir, first, there must be a feast befitting the reincarnation of Nariaduke!」

As Nariaduke brandished Kasyasur, a damp, chilling gust of wind emanating from it tore the fabric of space-time before them into three.

Valenciadis watched in stunned horror.

Beyond the rifts in reality, he saw a chaotic night: black witches and warlocks, dark magicians, ronin [masterless samurai], and soldiers engaged in fierce battles atop various peaks.

All the scenes he witnessed, no, everyone… the moment Nariaduke snapped the fan shut, they were all sucked into an invisible vortex, ‘coming’ over.

‘Impossible.’

Miria shook her head wildly, feeling every hair on her body stand on end.

‘How could such a thing be possible?’

Yes, ‘came’.

There was no other way to explain this bizarre phenomenon.

Clearly, all of them, who had been fighting hundreds of miles away… were forcibly transferred and summoned to this Mythical Peak.

There were only two exceptions: Juliana, the Star Cluster’s priestess, and Millone Alter Gaumris, were nowhere to be seen.

“What is this place…?”

“Huh…?”

“Hmm…?”

Those who were bewildered and looking around soon succumbed to the fear emanating from the super-being looking down at them from above.

Absolute madness beyond comprehension… a demonic form hinting at a cruel nature.

In the dark rain, the third eye twitched eerily.

Some faint-hearted witches, faces pale, poured out bizarre prophecies and warnings, and the magicians shuddered in the intense cold, beginning to mutter in forgotten languages.

「Dubus, I will give you a choice…….」

‘Rin’, with fair skin and an androgynous appearance, but exuding a sinister and unholy aura unlike when he was alive, spoke.

「Kneel before Nariaduke… Geshas… transcend the vortex of causality and live on, gaining eternal life…….」

Blood burst from their eardrums. The atmosphere trembled, and the moonlight beyond the dark clouds flickered pitifully.

At that voice, some people knelt down and bowed in dismay, not even understanding why they were doing so.

Was it the fear of the ancient ruler, etched deep within their genes, that instinctively made them kneel?

「Or will you fade away here and now as dust of an era… Olfirnu, choose…….」

Unlike the lower-ranked individuals who were in a state of complete panic, the Seven Disasters, the Great Witches, and the elders of Rivendell were shocked for a more rational reason.

“L, Lord Rin…?”

That’s right. The form of this being in front of them, calling himself an ancient existence… was that of Rin, the 11th Great Magician, a hero of the Era of Upheaval.

「I, Nariaduke, am greater than the master of this body you revered… Bekerdus, I am the one who received the authority to rule the ‘present’ from the ruler of time…….」

Chaos spread as battle-hardened magicians trembled and muttered, “No way.”

“Don’t waver! Are you truly magicians bearing the name of Rivendell!”

Then, an old magician stepped forward, attempting to quell the chaos.

One of Rivendell’s Four Divine Beasts, riding a giant fire toad, the Flame Toad, was none other than Dadan Karain, the Dean of the Eight Great Schools of Rivendell.

As the Flame Toad flicked out its tongue, flames erupted along its path, and Dadan, having caught the crowd’s attention, pointed to Nariaduke’s wings.

“Look closely at that hideous sight! He claims to have ultimate power? It’s a lie! How can someone resurrected by parasitizing a human body due to a lack of power possess ultimate power!”

“……!”

“And above all, don’t you know that in such a form, the power that can be used is severely limited by the host body’s capabilities!”

That wasn’t just a bluff; Valenciadis knew it to be true.

No matter how powerful, how deep the infinite time, if the body can’t withstand that power, it’s meaningless.

Just as Rain Ludwig, merged with the soul of a True Dragon, is unstable compared to the adult form of a True Dragon.

But why does this ominous cold sweat keep flowing…?

“Rin was great, but only as a human! There’s no way he can handle all of us here! No way! What are you doing! Prepare the spell of Heavenly Flame Strike, quickly!”

Heavenly Flame Strike was the ultimate 5-star fire magic created by Orbos Karain, the 3rd Great Magician and founder of the Rivendell School.

Three Rivendell elders and three great disciples quickly scattered, forming a formation for the Heavenly Flame Strike’s magic circle, each producing a talisman wrapped in a sphere of flame.

The sight of those 12 talismans connected by countless threads of flame was awe-inspiring.

If one could observe this scene from above, they would see the Heavenly Flame Strike’s magic circle itself, as devised by Orbos.

‘This is Rivendell…….’

Not only Valenciadis but also the witches under Juliana and those under Toureina swallowed hard, mesmerized by the sight.

‘The battle mage school that has left tremendous achievements in every war that has marked history…….’

The fact that legendary heroes such as Rin and Freede praised the might of the Rivendell School even in the Antarctic War 300 years ago guaranteed its overwhelming skill.

It took less than 3 seconds for the 5-star magic circle built by the six executives of Rivendell to emit fiercely blazing flames.

Casting the ultimate 5-star magic, which one wouldn’t dare attempt alone, with several magicians in sync is called conscious magic.

Heaven (天).

Lofty (嵯).

Flame (炎).

Gush (淙).

Strike (激).

Dadan Karain, having confirmed the runes perfectly constructed in the magic circle, smiled contentedly and shouted.

“Now, show them the inferno of Rivendell!”

Heaven (天) and Lofty (嵯).

The heat soared gigantically, ready to pierce and engulf the sky.

Flame (炎).

It is only a degraded version of the root rune Fire (火), but the power of the ordinary rune far surpasses it, transforming into an absolute flame.

And Gush (淙).

Filling the horizon of the sky, the flame that flows with a rough yet serene sound of water, in the next moment.

Strike (激).

Poured down as a torrent of intense flames, so intense that it would burn away the atmosphere.

“To that unholy thing that dares to violate the divinity of the Red Mountains!”

There is no way to avoid that magic of overwhelming scale; if you can’t stop it, death is certain.

Those who were close to Nariaduke were horrified by the intense heat that caused blisters to form on their skin and ran away.

Valenciadis also had to move quickly to escape the flames.

“We have to get away!”

“I know!”

“Abu, Abu, Abut!”

Aki, held in Miria’s arms, desperately reached out towards the temple where Rain was buried alive, but….

‘But still, it’s really amazing…….’

Valenciadis was genuinely impressed.

Is this Orbos’s Heavenly Flame Strike, said to be the greatest among fire attribute magicians?

As the skill name suggests, it is a feast of flames (炎) falling like waves (激) from the sky (天).

If hit directly by that powerful flame, even Nariaduke, an existence of the Abyss….

「I will only exist in infinite time.」

But the moment Nariaduke said that, unfolding his fan….

‘No…….’

Valenciadis, just now, everything, became so frightening that he could only hear the sound of his heart beating. His steps froze.

Madness, extreme madness.

Even if Nariaduke had unleashed the power of absolute destruction and erased the Heavenly Flame Strike instantly, it wouldn’t have been this frightening.

‘What on earth is going on……?’

He could only confirm that a tremendous absurdity, some indescribable violation, had defied providence.

He couldn’t accept it.

He couldn’t understand it.

The wave of fire pouring down from the sky vanished. Not canceled out by another force, but simply, everything disappeared as if it had been a dream.

‘Hallucination? No, it can’t be a hallucination.’

There was evidence that the Heavenly Flame Strike had existed.

Embers rising from the soil of the mountain ridge and the ruins of the temple, decaying in the Abyss.

‘But why are only embers left?’

Where did the main force of the Heavenly Flame Strike, the flame of such power, disappear?

「Hehehe…… Hehehehehe…… Hehehehehehehe…… Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha……!」

Then, Nariaduke, who had maintained the etiquette and dignity of the old aristocracy since his reincarnation, burst into laughter as if extremely satisfied.

「Excellent, Keltas…… How can a mortal body be so outstanding……!」

The transcendent’s laughter assaulted mortal perception as the ultimate fear and shock itself.

“Ugh, Ughaaaaack!”

The skulls of those with weak minds suddenly exploded, scattering brain fluid and bone fragments onto nearby comrades.

「The power of Nariaduke… the authority to break the laws of space-time bestowed by the Queen of Time herself… a body that can draw out nearly 40 percent……!」

Valenciadis realized that Dadan, the dean of Rivendell, had been half right and half wrong.

It is known that Nariaduke, one of the Three Wheels of Time, was reincarnated by borrowing the body of a human being with definite limitations.

But the problem was that body.

The body that bastard occupied.

It was the body of Rin, the youngest Great Magician of all time, who had died before his limits were truly known, and who was considered a potential 2nd Great Sage.

‘Nariaduke, that transcendent, is not incompletely resurrected…….’

In this era where two sages have returned to the soil, he has been resurrected by borrowing the most supreme body available.

‘The state is perfectly preserved in the ice of Juyeoso Gye Daeban [a type of magical ice], in the state where the power of youth is at its peak…….’

Are there any modern heroes besides Fey Quarter who can stop Rin?

What about now, with the authority of the Abyss added to Rin’s power?

In other words, the absolute ruler has awakened in the body of a life form that has become close to absolute.

It is no wonder that the crowds are screaming and running away with faces whiter than paper, or sitting blankly and laughing madly.

‘Did the Water Dragon foresee this future?’

Even if he did, would it matter?

The White Dragon Corps is not built for combat, so its combat ability against the Abyss is extremely low compared to the other two of its kind.

It would be different if the Water Dragon Yeriserica came directly, but that Divine Dragon is not moving because he has to protect the World Tree.

‘The cardinals, the Yellow True Dragon, must come. But they can’t leave the Holy See because they have to protect the sick Mad Dragon…….’

Then who can stop that thing here now?

* * *

Beyond that, amidst the earth and dust falling madly as the ground trembled, a ‘brat’ was dying in the arms of a boy.

“Toureina, Toureina, Toureina.”

Pipi pecked at the brat’s face, rubbed his head against his cheek, and wailed, but the brat could only vomit blood as if all his internal organs were broken and couldn’t make a sound.

Since all life force had been absorbed, the power of the Abyss that had maintained the body’s immortality had been drained, so it was beyond the reach of magic or Juyeoso Gye Daeban.

At best, he would only die in the ice.

Only bitter guilt and a sense of loss floated confusedly in the boy’s head.

‘It’s too late.’

To meet this guy again.

To twist the magic circle with Bel Querious.

‘It’s too late.’

This idiot had been waiting for 300 years, holding onto one impossible wish, and I….

It was inside a cavity formed deep underground as the foundation of the cliff collapsed when the Belakior Temple collapsed.

The boy slowly opened his mouth to his old disciple, who was looking up at him with unfocused eyes, letting out a faint breath.

“Toureina.”

If we could meet again, there were so many stories I wanted to tell as an old friend.

There was also a lot of rage that I had to unleash as a teacher for the gruesome antics my disciple had committed.

There would have been a lot.

But as if something was stuck in his throat, his voice did not come out as he pleased, and there was only one thing he could say.

“I’m sorry.”

The words that should have been told sooner.

So that this fool wouldn’t have to wait, so that this idiot wouldn’t have to walk the path of life that must have been immeasurably painful.

Walking out of the melted ice, with an awkward and playful voice, the words that should have been told.

“Am I too late?”

It was a calm and gentle voice, as if singing a lullaby.

Was it the last lullaby of life to be heard by the disciple who had to end his long journey and fall into a deep sleep?

I wanted to give him a last smile, but the corners of my mouth did not rise and only stubbornly drooped down.

“But you know, how much of an idiot do you have to be to wait for 300 years…….”

Should I not have created Juyeoso Gye Daeban?

Should I not have used the incomplete spell?

Should I not have promised to return while using such a shabby spell?

Should I have just died that day?

So that my comrades could bury me in the tomb of memories, wash away the grief with tears, and live their lives as I am living my present life.

“You must be very tired from waiting?”

At that one word whispered by the teacher with a last sad smile, a distant ripple of memory quietly spread in the center of the disciple’s soul.

“Now, rest in peace.”