The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 186

The Reincarnated Great Magician of the Hero Party – 186

Chapter 186

It was an uninhabited island blanketed in cedar trees.

Lying on the white sandy beach, Rain stared blankly at the relentlessly blue sky.

Then, a bright red figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.

“Aki loves being on oppa’s [older brother/term of endearment] back.”

Looking at the brightly smiling face perched on his chest, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her, and only let out a weary sigh.

“I can’t handle you, I really can’t.”

He stretched her cheeks out to both sides playfully, and Aki giggled, oblivious to any wrongdoing.

“Haa…”

Last night, the fourth thunderbolt of the Blazing Bloodshed was charged to maximum output, possessing enough power to incinerate any mortal being on earth.

He was certain that the power would have turned both the Giant Slayer and the Mage Slayer into charcoal in an instant.

Of course, that was if he hadn’t heard that voice from across the deck at the critical moment.

– Abat!

Aki… Why are you here?

Whether she had used a light-body skill or some kind of footwork that Valenci didn’t have time to intercept, or whether she had transformed into a dragon and flown over….

He was certain that he wouldn’t be harmed by his own flames, but what about Aki? He had never tested her resistance.

– Tsk!

That realization instantly reduced the power of the Blazing Bloodshed to less than half.

He released the Mage Slayer’s hand and rushed towards Aki, embracing her tightly.

At the same time, the Giant Slayer seemed to briefly shield the Mage Slayer….

– Fifth Thunderbolt, Sixth Thunderbolt, Seventh Thunderbolt!

Originally, he was going to create a large tsunami with the remaining three lightning strikes and head towards the land. But would Aki be able to survive in that tsunami without drowning?

That consideration also played a part, so he poured all three strikes on them at the same time as he hugged Aki and jumped into the sea.

The ship was reduced to ashes and scattered on the sea surface, and it was definitely enough power to obliterate those two, but the outcome was somehow unsettling.

“What are we going to do about this situation, you little rascal….”

After drifting for about half a day holding onto a plank, they ended up on this deserted island, and now he had no idea what to do.

“How about trying to call some whales with dragon language? We can ride on their backs.”

As he abruptly sat up, Aki tilted her head.

“How do you call whales?”

“There’s a dragon language for that. Dragonkin are absolute beings; they can control all living things.”

“?”

“???”

“Aki doesn’t understand! Aki is hungry. Give me food!”

Well, whatever… It’s enough that she’s safe. He was grateful that she wasn’t hurt in this incident.

So what if she’s a little… simple.

He ignored the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

“Shall we eat grilled fish, Aki? I’ll let you eat until you’re full.”

He created a fierce pillar of fire deep in the water, and countless fish washed up on the beach half-cooked.

“Tteongtteon tteongtteon tteongtteon! Give me tteongtteon! [onomatopoeia for dancing] Tteongtteon tteongtteon!

While the fish was deliciously grilling over the bonfire, Aki danced around the fire with a lively Pipi Dance!

* * *

“What exactly is the problem?”

Sharon, the vice-captain of the ‘Golden Children,’ asked, unable to comprehend the situation.

It was because of the boatmen who had brought the skiffs this far.

At first, when she said she wanted to go to Rinkleland Island, they showed an almost hysterical fear and repeated only these words.

“You can’t enter that island now. You mustn’t enter without permission.”

“Whose permission?”

“That, that is, the, the mayor.”

“We came with permission from the mayor.”

“If you’ve come to pray to the Demon Slayer, please go to the central cathedral… It’s been relocated there for quite some time.”

Originally, until 10 years ago, Rinkleland was an island thriving with tourism.

Because the hero of the Era of Upheaval, the Demon Slayer, lived on that island and was buried there.

But at some point, the flow of tourism stopped abruptly.

The City Council had relocated Cassel Rinkan’s bones to the city’s central cathedral.

And access to Rinkleland Island was also blocked due to abnormal signs being detected in the volcano.

The mayor of announced it first, and the reports from the Magic Society Special Task Force, the Witch Association, and the former ‘Golden Children’ also confirmed it.

However, recently, an anonymous report came in, and the Papal Conclave dispatched the ‘Golden Children’ again to investigate it.

“We are the ‘Golden Children’ of the Papal States. We have business on Rinkleland. We have to go there.”

The boatmen seemed to finally muster their courage, but as soon as the boat reached the pier of Rinkleland Island, they covered their heads with both hands and trembled.

But no matter how much she pressed them for the reason, they wouldn’t answer.

Sharon sighed and said to Captain Ocelot.

“Captain, why are these people acting like this?”

“There must be something going on, right? We’ll have to find out from now on.”

Four squads of the ‘Golden Children’ disembarked from the four skiffs onto the pier.

The golden armor engraved with the emblem of the Mad Dragon Haraderi shone brilliantly in the sunlight. All of them carried large square shields and war hammers.

It was the formal attire of the ‘Golden Children,’ renowned as holy warriors.

But no sooner had they stepped onto the pier than an eerie fog enveloped the island.

“If you want to live long and be embraced by your precious gods, you’d better turn around and go back the way you came.”

And a voice echoed from somewhere within the fog.

It was a sweet voice.

It was a frighteningly sweet voice, and the smoke it carried was even sweeter.

“Poison!”

Sharon instantly realized that it was poisonous smoke… and immediately deployed a divine barrier around her body. The other holy warriors followed suit.

It was then that someone emerged from the fog.

“Brothers and sisters, it is said that the ghost of the old Slayer roams this island. It is said to capture people in the fog.”

It was a woman wearing a nun’s habit and holding a Bible respectfully. She was a slender, gentle-looking beauty, but something was unsettling….

There were three reasons.

The Republic was a land where witches preached the teachings of dragons, and it seemed strange that there was a nun of the Empire.

“It’s a dangerous place, so please turn back.”

And that old habit… It was an old-fashioned dress from hundreds of years ago.

It was a dress that you couldn’t get now unless it was custom-made.

Still, the strangest thing was the huge coffin she was carrying on her back. What on earth was it? Why was she carrying a coffin?

“Ghost?”

Sharon raised her war hammer threateningly and shouted.

“Stop talking nonsense. There are no such things as ghosts in this world. If you had read the Bible even once, you would know that everyone dies and goes to heaven or hell. Who are you?”

Then, the nun’s lips twisted into a chilling smile, and she clasped her hands together.

“That’s strange. Then what am I?”

“……?”

“The one talking to you is that ghost! Dur-Morris, Priest Slayer. Death to all clerics.”

Priest Slayer.

That blasphemous name….

The nun burst into laughter and lifted the coffin. There was a large hole in the body of the coffin, and a long handle was pulled out from there.

“Aha ha ha ha! Now, I’ll send you all to the embrace of the gods!”

It instantly transformed into a hammer… a hammer with enormous weight and size.

“She’s a madman!”

“Fight back!”

The holy warriors immediately tried to retaliate, but their movements became sluggish for a moment as their bodies felt heavy.

“……?!”

It was because an invisible force was grabbing their wrists and ankles.

“This is… telekinesis?”

One of the holy warriors said, but he couldn’t believe it.

There was such strong telekinesis?

A sweet voice came from the fog.

“Dur-Morris, Witch Slayer. Death to all witches. I told you to leave if you wanted to live long.”

At that moment, Sharon, struck by the Priest Slayer’s coffin hammer, tumbled across the ground.

The shield reinforced with divine power was shattered, and the breastplate was grotesquely dented.

“V, Vice-Captain!”

“Find him! The one using telekinesis!”

The holy warriors hurriedly tried to form a line, but they were frustratingly slow because of the telekinesis.

It was like wading through a swamp.

It was as if they had fallen into an invisible swamp….

“Aha ha ha ha! I’m having fun, this blood! This blood is the best gift the gods have given me!”

While the holy warriors were being knocked down onto the sandy beach one by one by the Priest Slayer’s hammer in the front, the holy warriors in the back also began to fall one by one.

A nimble, lightly armed female knight was binding their bodies with chains and kneeling them down.

The female knight did not give the Slayer salute. If she had, she would have identified herself as ‘Goblin Slayer.’

The massacre didn’t even take five minutes.

“Hey, what are you going to do if you make it this bad?”

A black witch appeared from the quickly dissipating fog.

Witch Slayer, Spiela.

Spiela chanted a healing spell on the holy warriors who were barely breathing.

“I just taught them the love of the gods. Love, that is pain! Because you realize true love in pain!”

The Priest Slayer, Lucia, who was covered in blood in her nun’s habit, also answered, chanting healing scriptures to the injured.

“You’re really out of your mind, no matter how many times I see you.”

And… no way.

The ‘Golden Children’ Captain Ocelot also began to perform miracles of healing on his subordinates.

He had a familiar attitude with the Slayers and did not antagonize each other.

“Ocelot, you bastard. What’s going on? Why did you show up without any notice?”

“Because the Cardinal read the letter directly and issued the order. It was an immediate execution order. I couldn’t help it.”

Goblin Slayer, Miria, watched the scene with despair.

None of the ‘Golden Children’ died. They will all return alive.

And they will report this way. That there is no problem in that land. As it has been, and will continue to be.

“Oh~ho, your skills are still really clean.”

By this man.

A man holding a heteromorphic spear that can only be described as gigantic, the Dragonbone Spear, lightly in one hand.

She didn’t know when he appeared, but the man was looking down at the holy warriors Miria had bound.

“Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho.”

And the sun parrot sitting on his shoulder, mimicking its master’s words, Beast Slayer.

It was a warrior wearing dragon scale armor made of dragon scales.

Even in such heavy armor, how could he always appear without leaving a trace?

Lucia and Spiela even realized his arrival only after hearing his voice, and greeted him warmly.

“Ah, Big Brother!”

“What, when did you come?”

The man’s name was Dragon Slayer, Arthur Brius.

The world called him the strongest mercenary of all time. He was a ghost of the past who had actually reached the diamond rank, the position of the Supreme.

The Vice-Captain Sharon, who was lying face down on the sand, spat out blood and glared at Ocelot.

“C, Captain… What on earth are you….”

“Don’t glare at Ocelot too much. He’s just following my orders.”

“Ocelot, you, how could you… You swore to serve the gods, the gods and the dragonkin…!”

Arthur knelt down on one knee in front of Sharon and gently lifted her chin.

“No, no. We serve power. Both that guy and you. And Ocelot realized that my power is stronger.”

“……?”

“Why are the gods called gods? Why are the dragonkin called absolute beings? Because they are noble? Because they are cool? No. Purely because they are strong. Because they are strong, we serve them, and because they are strong, we follow them. That’s the law of nature.”

“How dare you blaspheme the gods with that impious mouth─”

Sharon couldn’t finish her words.

It was because Arthur took off his helmet and revealed his face at that moment.

Beneath the topaz-like transparent blonde hair, facial features imbued with a beauty that did not seem to belong to this world.

But the reason why the words stopped was not because of that beauty, but because of the eyes.

Those eyes, those eyes….

With a power of intimidation and fascination similar to… no, the same as… the great dragons….

“You’ll follow that law too, right?”

“Follow, follow, follow.”

A golden light flashed in Sharon’s iris for a moment.

Life slowly disappeared from her eyes, and soon she stood up with a very happy expression and raised her arms vigorously.

“Yes! Of course! Long live Arthur Brius! Long live the Slayers!”

The other holy warriors were also fascinated by the strange power of that dragon eye, and soon performed the same strange behavior as Sharon.

“Long live the Slayers! Long live Arthur Brius! Long live the Slayers!”

They will now return to the Papal States with their memories of this place manipulated. And they will report that there is no problem.

Help does not come from anywhere.

While Miria closed her eyes with a sigh, Ocelot took his subordinate holy warriors and boarded the skiff again.

“I’ll take care of this. Well, there won’t be any problems since you directly brainwashed them.”

“Yeah~ goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Brother Ocelot! Let’s have dinner together next time!”

The boatmen also rowed away from the island with the same expressions of despair as Miria.

As she watched that, Arthur suddenly put his hand on her shoulder.

“So, when are you going to become one of us? What would you like? Assassin Slayer? You feel more like a thief than a warrior, so Thief Slayer?”

“Get lost.”

Just looking at this guy’s face and hearing his voice made her want to vomit.

The enemy of her father.

And the enemy of her sister.

Her hands trembled. If only she had a little more power….

Witch Slayer, Spiela, said.

“Why do you keep trying to promote that arrogant bitch to Arc Slayer?”

“She’s pretty and skilled. You can’t easily find a woman like this anywhere. Especially among swordsmen.”

“Skilled my ass. And even if she is good, I hate her because she smells like goblin filth.”

“Have you ever seen my eyes wrong? You can wash off the smell. Hey, Spiela, are you limping? Shall I wash you?”

“I told you to get lost.”

“That’s the kind of girl she is?”

The reason why Miria was now tolerating these guys who made her want to vomit just by being with them was because she had plotted a betrayal last time.

The Slayers seemed to be planning to use Miria within the archipelago rather than sending her out of the archipelago now. As their henchman.

Miria glared at Arthur.

Arthur looked quite similar to that guy. The way he wielded the power of the dragon, and the way he carried around a sun parrot….

But excluding that, everything was on the opposite side of him. From personality to values in life, everything.

Spiela said, stroking the Beast Slayer affectionately.

“But why are you here already? I heard you were going to the Decadence Zone to unwind.”

“Zernyx that bastard came and ordered me to kill someone. It was an order, but no matter how I looked at it, it seemed like he was begging.”

“Directly to Big Brother? That detestable black magician has lost his mind.”

“No, no. It seems like he’s that strong. It seems like it’ll be fun. Hehe, it looks like it’ll be my twelfth dragon hunt.”

“Dragon hunt? Whew~ I feel like I’m going to cum already. But Zernyx, that guy, feels too much like he’s using us. He’s a very disgusting guy.”

Arthur slammed the Dragonbone Spear into the sand.

It was hard to believe, but Miria felt her body float into the air for a moment because of the impact of that moment.

She couldn’t even guess how much weight it had. She didn’t know how he handled it with one hand either.

“What did I always say, Spiela? Trust is the most important thing for a mercenary, right? Finish any request you take on for sure. Even if you get a request to slit the throat of that client the next day.”

Arthur Brius said, pointing to his dragon scale breastplate.

“Zernyx saved us and helped us quite a bit for 10 years. He was the one who recovered our equipment. It’s time to pay him back.”

“You’re just saying you feel like you’re being used. Can’t you even say that?”

“I’m not an idiot, I know that much. Maybe it’s because my power is coming back, but it seems like he’s planning to use me as a shield and throw me away before I get out of control.”

“Well, if it was a guy you really had to kill, you would have come and fought together. Would you just leave it to us?”

“Ah, he’s really a detestable person, using us and then throwing us away, yes, the gods will not forgive him.”

“Heh, let him do as he pleases. Now our plan is in its final stages. Then this archipelago will become our kingdom. He heard from that guy that the True Dragons are now struggling just to protect their territories.”

“Haha, then there will be mountains of cities and kingdoms that will start fights saying they can’t tolerate it, right? We can kill them all legally, right?”

As Spiela giggled as if she was really excited, Arthur, who was holding Lucia in one arm, nodded with an expectant expression.

“Of course. It’s different from 500 years ago. Both continents will become our playground.”

At that time, a skiff appeared, and one of the Master-rank Slayers descended to the pier.

“Have you arrived, Commander?”

“Ongya, but who decided to skip the Slayer greeting?”

“Dur-Morris, Gladiator Slayer. Death to all gladiators. We need you to come to urgently.”

“What’s with the low voice? Just say it.”

“It’s another runaway. The Mage Slayer took his direct pirate crew out right away, but she’s that girl’s friend.”

The Gladiator Slayer glanced at Miria.

Runaway?

My friend? Could it be Kora?

She could only hope that everyone was safe. But she couldn’t understand why anyone would run away when their family was being held hostage on the island.

Arthur sighed, slinging the Dragonbone Spear over his shoulder.

“The trust is a mess. Even your friend ran away, so what can you do.”

“What, what, runaway, kill, kill.”

“Still, the mercenary industry is based on skill, so you’ll be recognized soon. Rest. This punishment must be carried out firmly.”

Following Arthur, Spiela passed by Miria, giving her a nasty smile.

“Then see you again. You have some time, so wash off the goblin smell even a little.”

Miria could only clench her fists helplessly until the guys who were agonizing over how to kill her friend disappeared over the horizon.

‘Damn it….’

All she could do was clench her fists.

10 years ago, and now too.

A tear flowed from her tightly closed eyes into her mouth, and a salty taste lingered on the tip of her tongue.

‘This damn….’

* * *

There were those who were carefully watching the Golden Children getting back on the pier southwest of from afar.

They were merchants who exchanged spices brought in from across the sea for ‘s specialty fruits.

But to say that they were ordinary merchants, the flow of magical power they possessed was unusual.

“They’re intelligence agents. How long has it been since they went in, but they’re already coming out. It seems like they didn’t even have time to see one island properly.”

As the woman with her hair hanging down abundantly reported, the old man who was fanning himself leisurely smiled.

“As expected, something is happening inside. I thought I smelled something.”

If it weren’t for the disguised beard and the reverse dragon technique that strangely twisted his skeleton, all the magicians of the Empire would have recognized who he was.

His name was Doran Slade.

He was one of the new generation masters leading the Empire Magic Society Special Task Force.

“Then where, shall we find out what secrets they are hiding?”