The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 164

164

“I bestow upon you the gift of truth.”

As Nariaduk gracefully unfurled his fan like a dancer, the festival of madness began.

Sobbing souls.

Chromatic aberrations of spacetime.

A night where madness runs rampant,

The cosmic timbre echoing from the graveyard beyond time.

“Serve my will, the vortex of causality… Kya syu bar [an incantation, likely of ancient origin], may the truth of the stars reshape your bodies into their true forms…!”

Those who had glimpsed into the abyss even once, the black witches, transformed into something inhuman amidst horrifying screams.

A third eye sprouted on their foreheads… their skin was covered in black feathers… their very skeletons twisted, morphing into avian structures…

The nauseating and repulsive sight caused many to vomit or collapse to the ground, clutching their heads.

“I don’t know about Rin or whatever, but he’s definitely a bastard worth taking down!”

Cleansing Divine Step.

It was Rekair, the investigation team leader of the Martial God Union, who instantly penetrated Nariaduk’s blind spot in a single stride.

With a speed and interval that allowed no reaction or response, he slammed two palm strikes into his back, simultaneously unleashing the power drawn into his Manaheart [a core of magical energy] from his fingertips.

This was a technique that completely distorted the target’s blood and breath circulation… but the sensation in his hand felt strange.

‘It’s not just strange. What is this? I definitely used the technique just now. But why is the execution already over?’

That was the same question that Dadan Karain, who had launched a counterattack against Nariaduk almost simultaneously with Rekair, felt.

The fire tongue of the fire toad, the Flame Toad, had definitely engulfed this guy before he could react just now.

Whether it was a critical hit or not, he should have been engulfed in flames.

But what is this…?

‘It’s as if the event of being engulfed in flames has disappeared….’

His consciousness faltered. That moment of doubt led to death.

“……?!”

“……?!”

In what gap, the two masters were caught by the face in Nariaduk’s hand, flailing in the air.

“You are worthy of receiving the gift of darkness. Eat my flesh and become loyal servants of the great kingdom to be rebuilt.”

A painful scream as if squeezing out the last air inside their lungs….

“Kk, Kkyaaaaaaa──!”

By the time that gruesome scream ended, the bodies of Dadan and Rekair, who had been writhing in agony, had already transformed into winged monstrosities.

“Good heavens, Headmaster…!”

“T, Team Leader…!”

The faces of the Rivendell mages and the Martial God Union’s ronin [masterless samurai], who had witnessed the unbearable tragedy, turned pale.

‘Something happened again….’

Valensid carefully observing Nariaduk’s actions, took a steep breath.

‘Something incomprehensible that human perception cannot dare to interpret has happened again.’

Just like how the Rivendell School’s Heavenly Flame Strike had vanished like a lie… that ronin’s martial art clearly worked.

But it returned to nothing. It’s not that the power was neutralized, nor that it was as if it never happened, but as if only the ‘time when the technique was executed’ had disappeared….

‘Wait, what am I saying…?’

By that time, the humans who had turned into grotesque birds were unfolding a hellscape in the pouring dark green rain.

Crushing the skulls of the living, extracting spines, and tearing apart limbs….

Only the elders and archmages of the Rivendell School managed to regain their composure and reorganize their formation to respond to this wave of destruction.

“Form ranks! If you run, you die! Fight back!”

“Chant! Don’t be afraid!”

But their cries did not reach the ears of the lower-ranked individuals who were fleeing in terror, and they were all mercilessly slaughtered.

“Stop! Thousand Steps, that way has turned into a cliff!”

Miria cried out in dismay, but no one listened.

Those who rushed towards that direction in the darkness fell one by one over the cliff or were caught and devoured by the grotesque birds in the air.

The dense stench of blood permeating the night air was chillingly thick and heavy.

“This, this is…unbelievable.”

Miria bit her lip behind the barrier that Valensid had erected. Holding the trembling baby dragon tightly in her arms.

‘If only that dragon were an adult.’

Valensid lamented inwardly.

Even though he had resurrected by borrowing Rin’s body, if he were the Red True Dragon created for the sake of destroying evil, he would have been able to suppress it after a bloody battle.

“Take that baby dragon and go down the mountain.”

Without time to feel regret, Valensid made a cold-blooded decision.

“Nariaduk may take root in the Red Mountains, but if the Cardinal Corps [a powerful religious order] steps in, the story will be different. Your goal is to protect that dragon until it becomes an adult.”

“What? Then what about you?”

“I have something to confirm.”

Valensid butchered the grotesque bird approaching Miria with a blade of wind, then opened his palm and recited a sacred incantation.

Simultaneous casting of magic and sorcery.

A combination of providence alteration possible only because Valensid received direct disciple education from Tureina.

As four magic circles intertwined above his palm, the incantation constructed three runes.

“Oh, power of the sphere hidden in the shadow of light, oh, wind of the star piercing through the forest, oh, power of stillness darker than shadow and brighter than light.”

The runes created by the incantation overlapped the magic circles, and the magic circles began to flicker dazzlingly, sparking with yellowish electricity.

“In accordance with my, Valensid’s, plea, show your power here and now!”

The moment he grabbed and shattered the magic circles as he finished the incantation, a sharp wind sound that seemed to burst eardrums echoed.

‘Now, bring it out again.’

The wind swirling with fierce pressure is a condensed power in the form of a crescent moon, and those colorful crescent moons flew countless towards Nariaduk’s rear the next moment.

‘I’ll make it so you have no choice but to bring it out. With this power that explodes with fire attribute upon impact.’

Tearing the flesh and bones of the grotesque birds in its path as easily as paper, the crescent moons that stained the world with blood red struck Nariaduk the next moment….

“……?!”

Valensid’s eyes narrowed.

His reaction was different.

Unlike before, when he stood still with arrogance and neutralized the power, he flapped those deformed wings fiercely.

‘Did he recognize what I was observing and hide his power?’

The storm of poison caused by that flapping, that wind easily offset Valensid’s ability, turning all the creatures that touched it into rotten pus.

‘No, it doesn’t make sense for the Three Wheels of the old era to hide their power to be wary of the likes of me.’

Amidst the screams of agony of being melted alive echoing in the rain, Valensid quickly rotated his head while unfolding a wind barrier.

Hypothesis.

It’s still just a hypothesis, but.

He uses the power to manipulate time. But that power is not something he can use indefinitely.

It requires a certain cooldown period after use.

‘Now I have to convey this. To someone who can defeat him….’

He was so focused on the power of time that he overlooked Nariaduk’s other powers.

The next moment, Nariaduk was standing in front of him.

Did he move with transcendent speed? No, he didn’t move. Valensid was forcibly transferred to that guy’s front.

The hairs on his head stood on end.

His body immediately entered evasive action.

He tried to move his limbs as far back as possible, but the hand of the absolute being reaching out to grab his neck was half a beat faster─

“I am Milone Alter Gaumris.”

─At that moment, the origin of the Holy Sword (Prayer) created a rift of light in the world that had been only darkness.

“I wish to annihilate the darkness and illuminate the dawn.”

The middle name ‘Alter’ of Fayerquery [a lineage of holy warriors] means proxy. In other words, Milone Alter Gaumris means Milone, the proxy of Gaumris.

From Milone’s hand, the Supreme Holy Sword Gaumris, a holy sword in the shape of a great hammer, emitted a faint light at the proxy’s call and entered a state of readiness for battle.

「This is…….」

For the first time, there was a hint of wariness in Nariaduk’s voice, who had been so relaxed since his reappearance.

Gaumris, who had been diving at an almost vertical angle, struck Nariaduk’s, Rin’s, head directly.

No sooner than that, the hammer began to blaze with brilliant flashes, and Gaumris’s legendary special ability to evaporate the enemy with transcendent light pressure was unleashed.

“Time, it’s time!”

When Valensid’s cry was heard, Milone had to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

What on earth is going on?

Gaumris was stuck in the ground, not in the enemy’s head, and the power of light pressure had also disappeared.

“That guy blows away time! The time he was attacked!”

A human who was not a Fayerquery would have lost his life at this moment.

But Milone was a hero.

Releasing Gaumris from his hand, he moved his arm at an unnatural angle, concentrating the power condensed in the Chain (ManaChain) [a network of magical energy] into his fist.

「……!」

He punched Nariaduk’s outstretched arm head-on, breaking that arm and dragging it deep into his solar plexus.

The magic chained like a chain exploded with golden light from the end of the fist along with a clear sound, blowing that Nariaduk far into the darkness.

The aftershock was so intense that Valensid, who was standing behind him, had to kneel on one knee to avoid falling.

“Blows away time?”

Milone retorted in a blunt voice as his short, pure white hair fluttered fiercely.

“Then what was that just now?”

Cutting off his wrist, which had begun to rot black from contact with Nariaduk, with a dagger, he took out a syringe from his waist and stuck it in his wrist.

A miraculous sight of tendons, blood vessels, muscles, and skin rising up from the severed surface, weaving together to form a new hand.

Ultra-fast regeneration using Dragon Blood Serum.

Fayerqueries who fought with the soul of a dragon embodied the power of absolute life in this way, even if only partially.

“It seems to take time to reuse. Not exactly, but about 10 seconds.”

10 seconds…….

Milone, narrowing his golden dragon eyes, hung Gaumris over the shoulder of the plate armor that heavily wrapped his entire body.

“He completely smashed my corps. It’s a bit annoying, isn’t it?”

By that time, Yuliana, who had brought Milone here, also descended from the broom to the ground.

Aerial levitation using a broom was the privilege of witches skilled in spell control. Did the barrier that Tureina had erected disappear, making flight possible?

Yuliana immediately began to recite the sacred words of the Holy Scripture, the Scripture of Love and Faith, from her waist.

“편지결자지채령(遍地結子之菜零) [May seeds be scattered across the land], 여범수소생회핵지과(與凡樹所生懷核之果) [and fruit-bearing trees flourish], 아구사이위식(我俱賜爾以爲食) [I grant them all as sustenance].”

If the power of the Scripture of Creation is binding, the power of the Scripture of Love and Faith is protection and healing.

The circle constructed with sacred letters grew larger and larger, healing the wounds of everyone who entered the circle, lifting curses, and protecting them from evil.

The abyssal grotesque birds could not enter the circle, and the moment they touched the circle, they were bounced off by the power of light, screaming in pain, and slowly burned to death.

Those who entered the barrier and survived all lost consciousness amidst the extreme fear being resolved.

Only a few elders and archmages barely maintained consciousness.

“Valensid, what’s going on? Is that Nariaduk? Did you fail to stop the ritual?”

Yuliana’s whole body was soaked with sweat, with her long scrolls, hair, and clothes fluttering in the wind, with her hands clasped together.

As the Seven Scriptures of Creation require extreme magical power, it is a tremendous burden even for her, a great shaman.

“No, it doesn’t seem like we failed. It’s the other side that failed. So, after sucking up Tureina’s life force, he seems to have been reborn by borrowing the body of the archmage Rin.”

“What?”

“Then what about the True Dragon’s fetus?”

I couldn’t give the answer that I entrusted it to Goblin Slayer…….

A chill was running down my spine. Why is Nariaduk so quiet?

“No way.”

Milone clicked his tongue and searched every corner of the darkness with his dragon eyes. Eyes that brighten the dark and draw the distant closer soon captured it.

「Just for a moment…… Ro o tam [likely an incantation], if I just have a moment to tame this body…….」

The sight of dragging Goblin Slayer, who was desperately running down the hillside from the endless threat of the grotesque birds, out of the gap in the torn space.

No way…….

Did he judge that he had no chance of winning in his unfamiliar body? It seemed like he was planning to hide after dealing with the baby dragon.

「But that hateful race alone…… I will kill here and let the world know of the true king’s rebirth with that blood……!」

Was it because he was confused by his spatial awareness due to the sudden transfer? It was the moment when Miria stopped.

It was the moment when Nariaduk stretched out his dark blue wind-whipped arm towards the baby dragon Aki clinging to her back.

In that moment, Milone closed the distance of nearly fifty steps with a single run-up, grabbing Gaumris with both hands. But in that moment.

「……I knew you’d come out like that, hehehehehe.」

Nariaduk smiled with an indescribable malice.

This bastard…….

Was this his aim……?

Once again, the ‘time when the upper body was crushed by Gaumris’s strike’ disappeared.

「Humble human being…… Al rem [likely an incantation], did you think that this Nariaduk would really run away from you, a counterfeit who uses a false sword?」

And as Nariaduk, who had been waiting in advance beyond the flown time, waved his fan.

“Milone-nim!”

At the same time as the fan lightly cut off Milone’s sword-wielding arm like silk.

“Ugh, ugh……!”

He poured out the wind of the universe that instantly rots and melts all things in this dimension.

「Balpakir [likely an incantation]! This Nariaduk serves wisdom…… I know the principles of action of barbaric things like warriors even without the knowledge of the stars!」

Having lost Gaumris, Milone, who was knocked down and rolled on the ground with his body bent, barely managed to brake his body and spat out blood.

「You must have been arrogant in knowing what power is.」

In the midst of the vortex of poison, he is somehow protecting his body by deploying all the Chain (鎖) [referring to ManaChain] on the surface of his skin…… Without the Holy Sword, the direction of victory or defeat is clear.

「Oldos shin [likely an incantation], true power comes from the head trained with knowledge and insight, not the body.」

That bastard, he never intended to target the baby dragon from the beginning. He was just trying to draw out my weaknesses…….

「Hehehehehe, you offer that annoying imitation as a sacrifice to the king…….」

No sooner than that order was given, countless grotesque birds cried out with long, tearing cries and fell from the sky towards Milone.

「How long can you last? Sher tas [likely an incantation]? How much? She geru tas [likely an incantation]? How much?」

Smashing their heads, folding their spines, tearing off their wings…… Milone struggled, but Fayerqueries are not swordsmen or martial artists.

「Even those unholy things that became your origin couldn’t use much power without this sword!」

The spells and magic that Valensid flew to help could not penetrate the storm of poison that Nariaduk emitted with his fan and fell helplessly.

“Don’t go, Valensid!”

“──!”

“If you go outside this barrier of the Scripture of Love and Faith, you’ll melt away in an instant. Milone is a Fayerquery, so he can withstand that storm.”

The moment Milone’s breath and posture were disturbed in the storm of poison where he couldn’t even see an inch ahead, the moment the grotesque birds poured down on him, and the moment Nariaduk turned his gaze to the baby dragon.

“──?!”

“──?!”

“──?!”

Firelight soared to the sky, an overwhelming and violent wave of fire covered everyone’s vision and consciousness for a moment.

It swept away the storm of poison that had been melting the terrain that was once a mountain ridge into ash, and the grotesque birds dancing in the storm turned into charcoal without even screaming.

The flames that had created a huge crater in the ground unbelievably did not cause any damage to Milone.

The fire that had burned everything in its original form except for the place where Milone was standing became a wall of fire the next moment and ran like an arrow.

A huge barrier dividing Miria and Aki, and Nariaduk.

“Ah, Abuut [likely an exclamation of surprise and recognition]!”

The power that modern humans only know through knowledge, but that Nariaduk knows by directly experiencing it in the pre-Christian era.

「No…….」

That’s why the corners of this body’s mouth are twitching on their own.

「This fire is surely…….」

The divine flame that the red dragon head of the three-headed dragon Asura [a powerful mythical being], who received the authority of destroying evil from Karen Den [likely a deity or powerful entity], spewed out.

That flame did not burn the target’s body, but the establishment ceremony itself.

It was a power that no human could reproduce. In short, it was a power of a different dimension.

When the outline of a bamboo hat with a transcendent presence appeared in the midst of the frantically blooming haze, Yuliana was blankly muttering like this.

“Master……?”

But this was impossible.

Even Tureina could not handle such a powerful flame.

And decisively, the old girl had already fallen into eternal sleep in the arms of the old boy.

Clang…… Clang…… Clang…….

Until the figure wearing a bamboo hat became clear in the clear and clear sound of metal, even the world seemed to hold its breath, and even the rain stopped for a moment.

‘This presence is similar to the cardinals…….’

Milone trembled.

He could feel the orbs of the wyverns dwelling in his soul instinctively expressing reverence for the orbs of a higher level.

‘That guy, he was alive…….’

Miria, who was holding Aki who was trying to go towards the boy, felt her chest aching for some reason.

Because of the joy of reunion?

No. On that face she met again, she saw a grief that was indescribably miserable.

“…….”

The young man who stood face to face with the absolute being of time slightly lifted his old bamboo hat to show his eyes.

Under the shadow of the bamboo hat where the rain was flowing down, eyes that burned redder than any blood in this world.

The eyes with dried tears were no longer those of the ‘boy’ whose time had frozen at eighteen.