The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 225

225.

“What, it’s all over?”

Elamas began to chuckle as if Valenci’s words were not even funny.

“It’s just beginning, what are you talking about? Redrawing a magic circle is nothing.”

I felt a chill down my spine at the wicked glint in Elamas’s eyes, but that was it.

‘Is this really one of the pillars of the Black Church, like Zerniques?’

I don’t feel the overwhelming presence that only transcendents possess. Just facing Zerniques or Tureina was enough to make me suffocate.

‘Can I even win?’

This was not the time to be thinking such things.

Right now, Obin and Obira’s safety must be the top priority.

The best course of action is to pretend to fight, then retreat from this place and disappear.

“I couldn’t do this to the princess because she’s too young and might faint from such a thing, but a mute prince who’s been rolling around outside the palace is a different story.”

“……!”

“Now, your beloved uncle is here. If you don’t want him to die, play the final movement and release Rigwind’s seal.”

It seemed like he was proposing a threatening deal.

But Elamas immediately snapped his fingers… and the limbs of the Predal Regent, who was being transformed into a primitive man, were torn apart.

Obin’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat as he watched the body thrashing on the ground. He was only able to cover his younger sister’s eyes belatedly.

“Hmm~ I guess my uncle is such a bad guy that it doesn’t serve as a warning? In that case…….”

It was around then.

The palace guards, having confirmed that an unidentified object had infiltrated the inner palace, rushed in.

The guards immediately reached for their swords at the horrific sight, but then they spotted Obin and couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Your Highness.”

“It’s His Highness!”

“His Highness has returned!”

But what’s going on?

Is that man the enemy?

But why is His Highness trying to get away from the priest, not that man?

‘Unfortunately, there’s no time to explain everything.’

I need to take Obin and escape from here while they buy me time. If Obin dies, everything is over.

“Soldiers of Solond! The priest was the mastermind behind all of this! He killed the late king to break Rigwind’s seal, and he tried to kill the prince as well, but he failed!”

The guards couldn’t believe their ears.

Only a few guards who had been serving Obin knew the truth…….

They couldn’t immediately accept that the priest, who had dedicated himself to the country for years, was the mastermind.

“Well, those guys look good.”

Elamas could have refuted that statement to cause confusion, but instead, he chose to give a playful smile.

“Prince, from now on, I’m going to kill your loyal guards one by one.”

Suddenly, a huge shadow covered Asahat’s Mausoleum.

In that moment, all mortals froze with terror, their minds going blank…….

As soon as that shadow landed on the ground, the earth shook violently, and the guards lost their balance, falling on their butts or kneeling on one knee.

‘No way…….’

Valenci shuddered at the coldness of the cold sweat running down his mouth.

It was a True Dragon.

An absolute life form with a presence as vast as a mountain and a majesty like a storm. One of the five avatars who received the power of the Divine Dragon.

‘Was Elamas using his power like this?’

Recently, I had forgotten such majesty because of that little True Dragon’s ridiculous behavior…….

But how could this be…….

Is it possible for a mortal to control an immortal? There’s no chance of winning. I have to run. As soon as possible.

“Everyone, stay still. The show starts now. Absolute Territory.”

The True Dragon stretched out its neck and let out a roar.

My eardrums burst, and a fishy smell like rusty iron assaulted my sense of smell.

A confusion of hearing and smell, and I saw some kind of hallucination.

The world I saw turned into a lake, and as dark blue droplets fell on the surface of the lake, ripples spread.

Because of that confusion, I was half a beat late in realizing the anomaly.

‘What.’

My body won’t move.

Not my arms, not even a fingertip, not my legs, not my toes, not my tongue.

It was as if time had stopped…… but my five senses were definitely alive. Tense cold sweat flowed like rain.

‘Absolute Territory that only absolute beings like True Dragons can create…… he can even manifest that power?’

The only person allowed to move was Obin.

In that stopped world, Elamas approached one of the stopped guards.

Giving Obin a playful look, he drew a sword from the guard’s scabbard.

“I said I’d kill them one by one, right? You can’t move your body, but your senses are definitely working.”

“……?!”

“So, you’re going to slowly savor the feeling of the sword piercing your heart, the feeling of dying.”

Elamas loosened the guard’s armor seam and fully exposed his chest.

“And you’ll think. Why isn’t the prince saving us? Ah, how resentful~!”

And he slowly, slowly began to push the tip of the sword into that heart, as if dipping a brush in ink.

“H, h, don’t do it────!”

The tip of the sword tore through the skin, broke the ribs, and pierced the heart that was beating inside.

Blood gushed out, but the guard couldn’t even scream.

He just spoke of the fear of death with his widened eyes.

“What, you could talk? Were you pretending to be mute? Why?”

Obin, who was panting painfully, let out a tearful scream.

“Wh, why, what did those people, what did they do wrong!”

“Don’t you know that it’s a sin for the weak to live and breathe? Even as the prince of a country?”

“……?!”

“Now, quickly blow the flute of your own will! Until then, I will be diligently killing all fifty of these guards one by one.”

* * *

Flashes of light clashed and explosions erupted in the mid-eastern district of Bara.

“Drunken Master, Goblin Needle.”

Intoxication 30%.

Like a goblin fire that bewitches people’s hearts, the blue, glittering arrow split into three in an instant, aiming at the target.

“Drunken Master, not bad shooting.”

Pel yawned as if he was bored, easily intercepting the attack in mid-air.

“But even so, it’s archery that’s hard to be considered in the ranks of masters.”

Rem raised an eyebrow as if he found it ridiculous.

“Are you such a famous archer?”

“I’ve been called the best in the continent.”

“The best shooter among the fairies [elves]?”

“Elven warriors don’t train in archery in the first place. They think it’s a cowardly weapon.”

“Idiots.”

“My point exactly. Anyway, my only competition was humans, and it was too easy. Human physical abilities are too insignificant compared to elves. I became a top-notch archer with skills that weren’t even that great.”

In fact, it was impossible not to not know about Pel’s name as an archer.

He was called the best archer of the next generation after the legendary Archsaint Keyes, and the fact that he was an elf who despised archery garnered even more explosive attention.

That very fact, the fact that the opponent in front of him had such a reputation, made his palms tingle with tension and aroused fierce anticipation.

“This is a very amazing situation.”

“?”

“If I beat you in archery right here, wouldn’t that mean I become the best archer?”

Rem smiled, and Pel burst out laughing as if he was dumbfounded.

“Come to think of it, that hair color of yours, could it be that you’re a descendant of that Archsaint guy? No need to ask. I can see it from the bow you have.”

After laughing for a moment, he sighed and took something out of his pocket.

“Do you know what’s most important to an archer?”

I wondered if he was taking out some special equipment, but what he was holding in his hand was…… a simple gold coin.

Is it just a gold coin in appearance, or is it a special magic tool?

“Spatial awareness? Marksmanship? Wind direction calculation ability? Shoulder and arm strength? All wrong.”

Pel had never lost to any archer since he mastered the Luck Shot using this gold coin.

“It’s luck.”

Just once.

Except for the unofficial match with Archsaint Keyes.

“Now, let’s see how long you last?”

Drunken Master.

A unique archery that utilizes intoxication to execute only curved shots to the limit, not direct shots.

One of the best archery techniques created by Archsaint Keyes, who pacified the turbulent times in the past.

“──!”

Rem, who was about to drink alcohol from the gourd on his waist, had to twist his body. Heat brushed past his temple.

“If you have luck, you don’t even need to aim!”

Arrow……?

What, this rapid fire?

“When luck is on your side, you can just shoot randomly and hit!”

He flipped his body into the air, dodging the endlessly flying arrows, but no matter how he thought about it, it was abnormal.

‘What’s going on?’

An archer who handles proper archery must have three preliminary actions.

1. Warm up the mana heart.

2. Nock the arrow on the bowstring.

3. Aim and shoot.

But what’s wrong with that guy, he’s completely skipping number 3?

“Drunken Master, Triple Shot Amusement Star!”

Intoxication 70%. The arrow that left Serwebon’s bowstring scattered in three directions.

One to the sky, another to the left, and the last to the right.

The arrows that flew out of the opponent’s sight changed their trajectory from there, aiming at the target the archer was aiming for.

This is one of the most difficult high-level techniques to master among the Drunken Master’s simultaneous impact shooting methods.

“Oh, this is?”

Pel, who was chasing Rem, whistled as if he was quite surprised and nocked an arrow on the bowstring.

He doesn’t even aim, he just shoots in any direction like a child playing. There is no skill or proficiency felt in his archery.

But those arrows…… shot down Rem’s arrows in the air so accurately.

“Now you’re starting to understand, right? No amount of effort or talent can keep up with innate luck.”

That’s ridiculous…… the saying that you doubt your eyes is used in times like this.

‘How am I supposed to win this?’

Rem ran around the roofs and outer walls of the chaotic city with the nimble movements of an archer, doing somersaults in the air.

‘He shoots three or four arrows for every one I shoot.’

The arrows containing the poison of the abyss relentlessly chased after him, and even if he ran away, intercepted, and intercepted again, the number only increased.

The endless collision of arrows dancing in the sky looked like acrobatics to anyone who saw it.

In fact, martial arts that have been trained to the extreme are said to give aesthetic beauty like acrobatics.

‘Is he really just shooting with luck? Is there some kind of trick to confuse me?’

That guy said it was luck rather than talent, but if that’s the case, it doesn’t make sense.

It’s not luck, that guy was born with a truly unrealistic talent.

It was when Rem jumped off a three-story building and fired two arrows at Pel while in mid-air.

“!”

Three of the ten arrows chasing him were stuck in the ground.

The ground corroded and crumbled from the poison, and the landing was not stable.

Six arrows sharply twisted their trajectory and were stuck in the market buildings on both sides…… melting the pillars and collapsing the structures. Towards this way.

‘This crazy…….’

Before he could judge the situation and take action, a hot pain appeared in his side, and he vomited blood uncontrollably.

The arrowhead that had pierced through his side was glistening with blood. The skin near the penetrating wound immediately began to rot black…….

And countless debris from the collapse poured down on top of it…….

Kugugugugugugugugu……!

Pel nodded in satisfaction as he watched the buildings pour down like a landslide, swallowing all the targets in between.

“After all, that guy was abnormal. There’s no one in this world who can beat this Pel in archery.”

I knew I didn’t have talent, Rem thought.

So I’ve been training like crazy. I’ve honed myself by challenging countless crises where I had to risk my life.

And yet, is there a realm beyond genius that I can’t even reach with such effort…….

– Uncle, Uncle!

In the moment that could be called the final chapter of his life, the memory that flashed through his mind was the ‘memory of the beginning’ from that distant summer day.

Amidst the cicadas chirping loudly, two sounds permeated into the rhythm.

The sound of an arrow cutting through the air, the continuous sound of rupture piercing the target accurately.

– Hmm?

In the midst of the summer heat that had been going on for about two months, Rem had urgently looked for Leoren.

– I heard that our ancestor founded our archery clan and left Serwebon to help Lin, is that true?

– That’s what’s known.

Leoren loosened the bowstring he had been tightly pulling and turned to look at Rem.

– But why is our tomboy suddenly curious about that?

– Then I want to become a super strong archer like Uncle! So I want to use Serwebon!

– Hmm? Why that conclusion all of a sudden?

– Then I can explain it to Lin later when I meet him. How hard our grandfather, father, and uncle have lived.

Following Keyes’ teachings, following the will to help Lin, how hard they are working.

Rem’s father and grandfather, the heads of the Empire’s Three Great Archery Clans, were always busy, so they didn’t have time to take care of Rem as a daughter and granddaughter. They were only strict.

The descendants of Keyes were staking their lives on producing a successor to Serwebon. Because that is directly linked to the family’s prestige.

It was enough to feel 섭섭 [seopseop – a feeling of being slightly hurt or sad] about that, but rather, to reach such a great idea…… Leoren was more proud of his nine-year-old niece than ever.

– And I feel so sorry for Keyes. So I’m going to become a master archer and convey that feeling someday.

Leoren messed up Rem’s hair.

She was always a cute and lovely child, but today he wanted to cherish her even more than usual.

– Listen carefully, Rem. There are plenty of guys who want Serwebon as a symbol of success, but you’re the only archer who wanted it because you understood his heart.

– Even Uncle?

– …….?

– You will definitely become a great archer. Serwebon seems to know your heart someday and choose you.

Serwebon, which is famous for having a self, chooses its owner of its own will.

– So until you become a great archer, I will continue to keep this Serwebon.

A person who has not been chosen as the owner cannot even dare to handle Serwebon even if he gets it.

– But can I…… do it? My dad says I don’t have even a speck of talent and tells me to go out and beg.

Leoren gave a kind smile and dispelled Rem’s worries in an instant.

– The ancestor also said that. I didn’t fight alone, I just fought with Serwebon.

Since you know Keyes’ true heart, Serwebon will surely respond to your true heart.

Fight with Serwebon……?

I don’t know if that’s possible. I can’t read Serwebon’s true heart. I just guess his heart by the light he emits.

Srrrrrrrr…….

Pel, who was moving towards the inner palace before being scolded by Elamas, turned around and opened his mouth in amazement.

“He’s alive?”

The verdant branches that sprouted from Serwebon were pulling Rem out of the debris.

What was felt there was absolute vitality, removing the poison of the poison arrow and injecting tremendous vitality into the body.

Rem, covered in blood, slowly calmed his breath, which was on the verge of breaking. A body that would have already died without Serwebon’s vitality…… but.

‘What’s going on…….’

Normally, nothing should be visible because Serwebon’s vines are covering both eyes.

But I can see.

To be exact, I can feel the vibrations emitted by not only living things but also objects. It was in a field of vision where that vibration was accurately detected.

‘Is Serwebon showing me?’