The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 188

The Reincarnated Hero Party’s Archmage – Episode 188

No. 188

Island No. 3, where the training facility was located.

As soon as Valencidi arrived at the dock on the ship provided by the Trickster Slayer, he raised his eyebrows in astonishment.

“What the hell happened here?”

It wasn’t just an unconscious expression of his thoughts; the scene was truly shocking.

Was this the aftermath of some natural disaster?

The place that was once a port village was utterly devastated. The ground was cracked, the houses were shattered and burned….

There were many places where the geological layers were misaligned, and a huge lake had even formed in the middle of the village.

“There was an earthquake some time ago. The island’s access is restricted because of these issues. Nothing for you to worry about,” the Trickster Slayer explained. He was riding in a fancy palanquin carried by boy soldiers, but the Slime Slayer’s version of events was quite different.

“It was four years ago. A man from this Atusen village swam all the way to Linkland [the main continent].”

“That far?”

“He was fortunate enough to encounter the witches there and tell them about the island’s true state… but this is the result. The Dragon Slayer, as a disciplinary measure, turned the entire village into a wasteland.”

The Dragon Slayer was on a completely different level from the other Slayers in terms of power.

Valencidi had seen him once five years ago at a Black Church executive meeting when he was escorting Tureina… and in terms of sheer presence, he surpassed even Tureina.

Still, to be able to completely reshape this vast terrain….

“They never forgive traitors. This is made an example of,” the Slime Slayer stated grimly.

“Then what will happen to your village?”

Her expression was hidden behind a veil, but Cora’s voice was filled with deep sorrow.

“By now, they’re probably dead. Or dying. But I… I couldn’t turn a blind eye to this anymore.”

She knew all too well what kind of lives Miria and Millea had lived for them.

“……”

Master-level Slayers were stationed at various points along the island’s passageways, leading their respective subordinates. The security was truly airtight.

They stared strangely at these unusual visitors. It was quite rare for anyone to come to the island.

“What’s all this commotion?”

Around that time, a loud disturbance halted the procession, and soon a butcher with a rusty, twisted knife dragged a young girl along.

“This girl tried to run away because she couldn’t kill her cat.”

The girl hugged the cat in her arms and pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

“I, I can’t kill it. Please, please, just this once.”

The Trickster Slayer let out a sigh of annoyance.

“Why can’t you kill it? What’s so difficult about killing one little thing?”

When Slayer training begins, each trainee is given a cat.

With the instruction, ‘This is your companion in pain, so take good care of it!’

And when they enter their second year, they are ordered to cut open the cats’ bellies and take out their hearts.

“This one’s still not obedient enough. Hey, drag her to the butcher shop and chop her limbs off about five times. By then, she’ll be crying and begging to kill the cat herself.”

“Of course, sir.”

As Valencidi watched the butcher drag the girl away with a meaningful gaze, the Trickster Slayer smiled politely and shook his head.

“It’s nothing. We’re not killing them! We’re just helping them to be reborn as great mercenaries.”

“By chopping them up?”

“There’s no sensation that corrects people as quickly as pain. They’ll regenerate anyway, so you don’t have to worry. Now, let’s go.”

Just as they were about to enter the forest along the gravel path, someone emerged from the entrance.

“Dur-Moris, Trickster Slayer, reporting to the Commander-in-Chief!”

A chilling, instinctive fear sent shivers down Valencidi’s spine. His heart pounded.

‘This is….’

A tremendous presence that seemed to grip not the body but the soul.

A strong image formed in his mind.

In the darkness where even the sense of distance became faint, golden dragon eyes flashed open….

‘This is….’

His hands trembled uncontrollably. Cora couldn’t even breathe.

‘The man who was called the greatest swordsman of mankind.’

The man who appeared from the forest, his gold-threaded robe fluttering, was none other than the Dragon Slayer.

“Huh? What are those things?”

“Those, those, those.”

The Beast Slayer, perched on his shoulder, opened his eyes wide and then landed on Cora’s head.

PiPi flew in front of him to stop him.

The two sun parakeets stared intently at each other in the air, then spread their fiery wings wide and began to assert their dominance.

“Wow, look at this. Beasle, are you happy to meet a member of your own kind?”

“Fake, fake, fake.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up.”

Just then, as the Trickster Slayer waddled out of the palanquin and tried to whisper something, the Dragon Slayer lightly waved his hand.

“That’s enough. I can’t stand a man blowing wind in my ear.”

“Umm….”

“Let anyone do whatever they want. I’ll take care of everything in the end anyway.”

The Dragon Slayer smiled at Valencidi and Cora as he passed by.

Valencidi couldn’t turn around to look at him. He couldn’t even move until he disappeared from sight.

A presence that could only be described as overwhelming, as if it had broken his limbs….

“Beasle, stop playing and come here.”

“Come, come, come.”

Only after PiPi, who had finished the inter-species war of nerves, landed back on Cora’s shoulder did Valencidi finally gasp for breath.

‘Didn’t that guy recognize me?’

Or did he know but pretend not to?

That can’t be.

There’s no reason for that.

But what if that’s the case? What if he’s planning something big?

* * *

On the left side of the Tersh Archipelago, the islands clustered around Linkland were lush with tangerine, olive, and lemon trees.

Originally, it was a refreshing land where nature and artificial creations harmonized, but now there were too many trees.

If you looked closely, you could see that they were not originally trees from this land.

They were summer spot grass, which extracts narcotic raw materials that grow in the land of the demons far to the south.

The people who harvested the drugs were mostly old, and even the young ones seemed to be in their 40s.

“Geez, this village is still full of the smell of old people.”

The residents were all forcibly kneeling in front of the village hall. Outlaws with swords and spears surrounded them menacingly.

The tall woman looking down on these pitiful people wore a black conical hat and a witch’s robe, and spun two iron balls in her left hand, making an unpleasant metallic noise.

The second-in-command of the Slayers, Witch Slayer Spiela.

“You know why I’m here, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

A sturdy old man with a thick beard replied. His face was covered in bruises, as if he had been beaten for resisting.

He was Dos, the village chief of this Logitello village.

“You’ve come to vent your anger again. You human scum are always like that.”

One of the outlaws approached and punched Dos in the solar plexus.

Dos collapsed and coughed up blood, causing the residents to sigh, and Spiela smirked.

“Human scum? Where else is there an organization that keeps its promises as honestly as we do? If it weren’t for that bitch Miria, you useless old people would have been dead a long time ago. Like Atusen Village.”

“Don’t you dare say that child’s name with your dirty mouth!”

“What a joke. What’s so great about that goblin girl? Anyway, that’s that, and this is this. Hey, Fish Slayer old man. Do you know what I hate most in the world?”

The high-frequency sound of the iron balls rubbing together suddenly stopped, and Dos’s body was caught by an intangible force and floated into the air.

It was telekinesis.

The telekinesis was so powerful that intangible fingerprints were deeply imprinted on Dos’s neck, pulling his face up to Spiela’s eyes.

“It’s breaking the trust between people.”

“What, what are you talking about…!”

“Didn’t you know? Your granddaughter, that Slime bitch, betrayed our trust and ran away. So this is a joint responsibility.”

Telekinesis lifted Dos high into the sky and slammed him to the ground, splattering blood everywhere. The villagers wept.

“If things like this keep happening at this important time when the plan is slowly ripening, it’ll be really annoying.”

Telekinesis lifted Dos off the ground again, this time smashing his face into the pillar of the village hall.

“I’m going to kill you more painfully than anyone else as an example so that the other Slayers don’t have any other ideas.”

Fragments of broken teeth rolled on the ground mixed with blood, and one of the residents, a woman, couldn’t bear it any longer and shouted.

“Stop it, please stop… that’s enough, you’ve done enough…!”

She was a woman with a pale face, and she was quite young, appearing to be in her late 30s. She coughed painfully between words.

“Enough? You’re kidding me.”

Spiela snorted.

“Stay still. I won’t lay a hand on you first because of my promise with Miria, but it’s different if you pose a threat to us.”

Then she showed Dos, who was spitting blood with unfocused eyes, to the residents.

“In that case, I’ll kill you in self-defense just like this guy.”

“……!”

“So, how does it feel, Fish Slayer? To die because of your granddaughter’s mistake. Complain a little. I’ll listen to that much as your last words.”

It was a barely wheezing voice, as if there was a hole in his lungs, but Dos was smiling at that moment.

“That child did the right thing… unlike you guys… she’s a good and kind child… I don’t have any resentment, if I were next to her, I would have praised her….”

“Oh my? Did I not give you enough pain? This old man is still pretending to be strong even though he’s crazy?”

Then a Master Slayer who looked like a rat said.

“How about pulling out all of his teeth one by one, boss? Or his fingernails.”

“Oh, that’s a really good idea? But no. I don’t want to be here any longer. I can’t stand the smell of these old people’s breath.”

“Hahaha! You’re absolutely right!”

“Instead, I’ll tear you apart and kill you. Now, bark like a pig in a slaughterhouse.”

Telekinesis began to pull the village chief’s limbs in different directions.

The speed was quite slow in order to maximize the pain, but Dos did not beg for his life or groan in pain.

Instead, he simply recited a short curse.

“Someday… the gods… will send you… to the hell that you deserve….”

Then Spiela and the outlaws briefly widened their eyes and looked at each other, then began to laugh, holding their stomachs and patting each other’s backs.

“Hell? Heeeell?”

“Does that old man still believe in that kind of bullshit even after seeing us!”

“There’s no such thing as heaven or hell! It all ends there when you die!”

As the loafers cackled like that, Spiela snorted.

“Hey, you dumb old man. Who’s going to judge us? The city’s Witch Association is under my command. The Inquisitors of the Papal States are our friends too?”

The moment the joints of Dos finally began to creak.

“Do, Dos!”

“Oh, no…!”

The moment the residents screamed and turned their heads one by one.

“You bad guys, stop it!”

The moment several people tried to resist and stood up.

“Then I’ll judge you.”

Along with that voice, a fragment of power received from the True Dragon, who burned his body to illuminate the lowest place in this world, was released.

The flames of judgment that burned all the darkness of this land without a shred of compromise covered the beings of darkness resurrected from the old abyss.

In that storm of fire, the thugs who were instantly reduced to ashes didn’t even have time to scream.

“Village Chief Dos…!”

At the same time, Dos, who was about to have his limbs torn apart, rolled on the ground, and several residents ran to him.

It was such a powerful attack that even Spiela had to turn all her power to a defensive barrier.

Only Spiela and two of her Master-level Slayer subordinates survived; all twenty of the remaining subordinates became uninvited guests [dead].

“……?”

Before they knew it, everyone’s eyes were focused on the place where the dragon’s fire had poured out.

“Who is it?”

In the midst of the heat haze shimmering over the blackened ground, a young man who walked out of the center of it slightly raised his bamboo hat.

“It’s a dragon on a business trip from hell.”

“I am Aki Dat!”

Behind his back, something cute and adorable waved its fist!

‘Black witch’s robe… a shaman? No, there’s not even a scroll of exhortation, let alone a psalm.’

Rain Ludwig examined Spiela’s attire and in just 0.7 seconds!

As Spiela stretched out her hand, hundreds of pebbles scattered on the gravel path rose up all at once and rushed in like arrows!

Whoosh, but a barrier of fire instantly melted these pebbles!

“Huh?”

Spiela was puzzled by the power!

This time, three houses were twisted and crushed by telekinesis, then split into countless bricks, planks, and nails and charged!

But even this was instantly eliminated by the barrier, and suddenly three pillars of fire rushed towards Spiela… but.

“Not gonna happen. You’re underestimating me too much?”

As Spiela stretched out her left hand, she was caught by the telekinesis released from it and stopped in mid-air.

What telekinesis!

Rain Ludwig couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, as it was the first time he had seen telekinesis that even controlled natural phenomena.

‘She uses telekinesis as a 4-star spell?’

Bell Quirius was explaining the secret of that power in a simplified way. Of course, interference was impossible as it was a high-level spell.

“It seems like fire attribute is your main strength, but I have a way to deal with guys like you!”

The houses on both sides of Spiela collapsed as if they had been hit by an invisible hammer.

Dust billowed up like an explosion, and the wreckage of the collapse poured out from within.

From pieces of wood to hinges and furniture… in the end, was it the same attack as before? No, it wasn’t!

“Do you know why telekinesis is strong?”

People were stuck in between the wreckage. Innocent villagers.

“Because it’s omnipotent. I can use this kind of attack too!”

What heresy!

If he didn’t get rid of the fire barrier, it was obvious that those poor residents would turn into charcoal along with the projectiles in an instant.

Rain clicked his tongue briefly and finally scattered the barrier that was protecting him!

“Hahahaha! It’s over!”

Pow, pow, pow, projectiles of all sizes rained down from all directions!

As Spiela intended, would Rain Ludwig be minced into pieces? If he had been alone in this place, he might have been.

“Aki Punch.”

A heavy crack spread through the ground, and the intense shockwave that followed stopped the projectiles in mid-air.

As the force of the headwind blew all kinds of projectiles in the opposite direction, Rain ran forward!

The body of the Handsome Slayer, who had blocked his path, was surrounded by flames and emitted white smoke!

“Kyak!”

The Chief Slayer, who had rushed in from the side, was pierced through the solar plexus by the staff and coughed up blood before collapsing.

“Kyak!”

Next, the staff that had shaken off the Chief Slayer rushed towards the Witch Slayer’s eyes.

But an invisible wall, that is, a barrier of telekinesis, blocked this attack!

Spiela gave an evil sneer.

“Okay, I know how good you are. Then shall we get serious too?”

Spiela’s eyes flashed.

At that moment, a torrent of telekinesis swirled, and everything in the area became Spiela’s weapon.

“The gravel on the ground? Seawater? Or a corpse? A human? A sword? A spear? A tree? It’s all my power!”

Spiela flicked her finger.

The gravel field wriggled for a moment, and then the gravel poured down like thousands of arrows.

Thud, thud, thud─────!

Immediately, a red barrier surrounded Rain, but before that, several pebbles pierced Rain’s thigh and entered his body.

“Kuh…!”

Then, the barrier expanded in the next moment, changing its shape into tentacles of fire and reaching out fiercely to cover Spiela.

Magical transformation…?! [referring to Rain’s barrier]

Before she could be surprised, Spiela, who had grabbed the fire with an intangible force, burst into laughter.

“You idiot! Don’t you still get it? Attacks like this are useless against me!”

Spiela’s telekinesis was at its peak.

Unlike ordinary telekinesis, which is only focused on attack, she had reached the point where she could block all of her opponent’s attacks.

That’s why she was called this in her lifetime: Telekinetic Lord.

“It’s not an attack?”

At that moment, Spiela’s vision turned white. The tentacle exploded with a deafening roar.

‘Was she planning to block my vision from the beginning? Or was it a situational judgment?’

A white frenzy of power that made it impossible to see anything for a moment, as if the optic nerves had been completely burned.

Dangerous.

This is very dangerous.

Spiela immediately lifted her body high into the air with telekinesis. No sooner had she done so than an explosion of fire covered the ground she had just been standing on.

‘I’m going to die if I’m too relaxed… what, that bastard?’

Spiela’s eyes flashed blue… and plunged all the villagers who were watching this battle into despair.

Crack, all the houses in Logitello village were pulled out of the ground and soared into the sky!

Not only that, but even the olive trees that densely covered the sea cliffs!

And crack, several of the giant rocks that made up the cliff screamed and were torn off!

Seawater, gravel, and everything that could be lifted in the area soared to the horizon, and then, in the next moment, plunged towards Rain!

“Rising into the sky is your downfall.”

At that time, the magic circle that had been crackling with transcendent current on Rain’s palm shattered.

Fire Field Defense Hole.

With a roar that tore the sky apart, a whirlwind of hot air covered the area.

“Second Thunder.”

Pillars of fire erupted and hot winds raged… in the face of that absolute fire, all the projectiles that had been poured out with telekinesis turned into charcoal.

“Third Thunder.”

The second and third lightning strikes were stopped in mid-air by telekinesis at the moment they were about to hit Spiela. Master!

But Spiela was panting roughly. Blood flowed from her eyes and nose.

Even if she was a master of telekinesis, she had to be prepared for the corresponding backlash in order to suppress this powerful force.

“What to do? You still have four shots left.”

It is said that the most painful way to die is by fire. Burning at the stake.

Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh…!

Spiela miraculously blocked up to six lightning strikes, but eventually screamed in unbearable pain.

“Keeeeeeeeaaaaaak────!”

Spiela, who was slammed into the ground, screamed as she writhed in the pain of being burned alive.

“You bastard… do you think you’ll be safe after touching me…?”

She frantically tried to reduce the fire with telekinesis, but it was a meaningless struggle.

“Dragon, the Dragon Slayer will find you… and kill you in the most painful way in the world, ha, ha, ha ha ha ha…!”

Spiela’s laughter, driven mad by pain, stopped as her legs, torso, arms, and finally her head turned to ashes.

Rain Ludwig stomped on the ashes and replied.

“Okay, please tell him to come quickly. To this Dragon Slayer Slayer.”