The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 246

246

This is absurd.

It’s a greatsword. Its size and mass are enormous.

To wield such a sword with such unreal speed? And I couldn’t even follow the movements?!

“My head? Ha, stop with the nonsense!”

I just let my guard down for a moment.

Kashanu pulled a syringe from her chest. It contained a blood transfusion.

As soon as the needle pierced the severed area, the severed arm began to regenerate rapidly.

‘Fayquarter’s super-fast regeneration?’

Miria’s eyes narrowed.

No, that’s not the dragon blood used by the Fayquarters, but human blood. Then that means…….

Kashanu, her face covered in cold sweat from the backlash of the regeneration, shouted fiercely.

“It’s your head that’s going to fly off!”

No matter what, I can’t lose. I can’t afford to fail at anything.

I can’t disappoint him. Or else I might be abandoned by Father.

Kashanu is a half-demon.

Half-elves, being a mix of elves and humans, are at least only treated negatively by the elves, but Kashanu was a hybrid of human and Blood Demon.

Blood Demons, one of the six major demon races, are born with appearances quite similar to humans, which seemed to pique her father’s interest.

He kidnapped her mother, a princess of a Blood Demon kingdom, imprisoned her, and made her bear his child—Kashanu.

Her mother was banished from the kingdom for having her blood mixed with that of a disgusting and lowly human.

And somewhere on the outskirts of the desert, she cursed Kashanu, tried to kill her, and then died with her head exploding.

Kashanu was the last word her mother uttered, said to be a curse used by the Blood Demons.

– This is surprising. Demons don’t usually have emotions like affection, you know? Power, slaughter, and domination are all they care about. They’re more like beasts than actual beasts.

– ……?

– Craving affection from parents is a weak trait that only humans have. I came to see how our feisty little darling was doing, and it turns out to be quite an interesting result?

It was her father who saved Kashanu.

Her father was human and claimed to be a great mage who left a significant mark on human history.

But he didn’t allow her to call him father, and he would coldly react if she kept doing so.

It wasn’t until she was old enough to understand that she finally mustered the courage.

– Th-that, um, what do I have to do for you to let me call you Dad?

– I hate those without talent, so if you get stronger? Well, I don’t know. I’m busy, so get out of here.

– A-a Diamond-ranked adventurer! They say that’s the strongest among humans right now, so if I become that?

There was no particular response, but he didn’t deny it, so she took it as permission.

She did her best.

She really did her best.

She always acted alone, fearing that her lineage’s secret would be exposed if she got involved with others. Many people suggested forming a party, but she only acted alone.

‘But it was okay. I wasn’t lonely or struggling.’

Because what really mattered to Kashanu was her father.

If she could just gain recognition from her father, who had saved her, fed her, and sheltered her, she didn’t care about relationships with other humans.

It took 20 years, but thanks to the Blood Demon powers inherited from her mother, she was eventually able to claim the throne of supremacy.

‘Now I can finally call him Dad. Now Dad is finally starting to acknowledge my usefulness.’

The magic sword ‘Starfall’ was also something her father had stolen from her mother’s kingdom and brought to her…….

“How could I let you destroy what I’ve built up?!”

Kashanu’s body turned into a red mist and then dissolved into the atmosphere.

‘Transformation into mist…… a royal?’

Watching the eerily shifting air, Miria calmly lowered the tip of Shirpen’s sword.

‘Being able to separate the body into numerous bats is for nobles, and being able to use mist like this is for royals.’

Even during the turmoil 300 years ago, she had only faced a royal once.

But that one experience was enough.

Royal Blood Demons are called incarnations of evil and wield extremely powerful forces, but this one is nothing compared to the king I met back then…….

‘The sensation of broadly extending tactile senses externally.’

Spreading the antennae of sensation widely, she instantly detects the approaching killing intent. Just like now.

Flowing Time Sword Style, 14th Form.

The blade of the holy sword, swung at an absurd speed, deflected the star blade and cut the flesh of the opponent wielding it.

“Got you?”

As soon as she said that, the flesh exploded, and Miria’s body was soaked in blood. Her vision, hearing, and smell were all blocked by the blood that drenched even her face.

Blood Death Disease.

A power used by blood clans who manipulate blood, causing the blood of those exposed to it to flow backward, killing them or breaking their minds to control them as puppets.

“The battles of apexes are originally decided by a hair’s breadth!”

She was certain that she had defeated this impudent human. She was clearly at the stage of deciding how to kill her.

‘Clearly.’

But that feeling of victory vanished like a lie the next moment.

‘Clearly, I dissolved into the atmosphere.’

She felt as if her body was being crushed by a rock, and then, *thud*, a cold, empty, and fearful sensation of death crossed her waist.

The dimension around the flesh, returning to human form, was shattering like a pane of glass.

I’m currently in a state of inanimate matter that can’t be cut, but you can cut that? Can you cut the very providence with a sword?

‘I hate it.’

I hate the enemy who destroys the happiness I barely built up so much that I want to kill them.

But the trail of blood drawing a long arc in the sky above her head clearly indicated death.

A futile and lonely fear began to gnaw at her mind, turning it white. The same fear she had felt 28 years ago.

‘No.’

If I get into this state, Dad will come to help me.

It’s the same as back then.

He’ll come to protect me. He’ll come to help me. So, I can’t give up, Kashanu.

Right, Dad?

Most of the parents she had seen while living in the human world would drop everything important and rush to their children’s aid.

“Right, Dad……?”

The last thing that flashed before Kashanu’s eyes was a dreamlike scene she had never seen in her life. Zerniks and Kashanu laughing intimately together…….

“Keuh, ha…….”

Only after confirming that Kashanu’s pulse had stopped did Rista collapse to her knees. She still couldn’t see ahead because of the blood covering her.

‘Shirpen, my body can’t handle Shirpen’s power.’

Shirpen had clearly lent her power. It allowed her to use the power of her past life. But there would be a price to pay.

“Stay still, I need to extract the tainted blood that entered your body.”

Had she fainted for just a moment while sitting there? When she came to, Shirin was taking care of Miria’s condition.

The magic of water cleansed her body, and the magic of healing gently caressed the bleeding areas.

Through her bleary vision, she saw Pipi. Having regained some energy, it was sitting demurely on Shirin’s head.

“Pipi.”

“Pipi, Pipi.”

“Have you been well?”

It was an extremely ordinary question, but the weight that the speaker and the listener placed on it was immense.

Even though it wasn’t in a state to fly properly yet, Pipi came over to Miria’s head and pecked at the crown of her head.

Shirin, who was chanting a spell while watching the play, said.

“The top of your head has turned completely white.”

“Really?”

“It seems you used up your lifespan wielding the holy sword with a body that isn’t a Fayquarter [a race known for their longevity and dragon blood]…… Ah, you shouldn’t get up already! You won’t have any energy.”

I probably haven’t used that much lifespan yet. And even if I have used a lot, I have to use more today.

“Did Aki, did Aki come down?”

“No, you were the only one here when we arrived. Um, Rista-nim!”

“Don’t call out the names of people who died a long time ago.”

Miria stumbled as if she were about to fall, but she rushed into the lighthouse.

The neatly turned-to-ashes bodies of the demons were scattered everywhere. Aki’s skills were already at a level that ordinary demons couldn’t approach.

But why hasn’t he come down yet? Did something happen? Was there a more powerful Black Church leader?

‘I shouldn’t have sent him alone……!’

Her heart felt like it was about to burst with anxiety.

She leaned against the inner wall several times, stopping to catch her breath, and only managed to reach the top with Shirin’s support.

And what she saw in those two eyes…… first, the dragon’s flames blocking the entrance to the top of the lighthouse.

「You have come.」

Aki was lying on the altar of fire, seemingly unconscious, and a dragon, its form made only of flames without substance, was embracing such Aki.

Whether that should be called pure or impure…….

The dragon was tinged with the dark blue light of the abyss, except for its head. Miria caught her breath and said.

“Phyras-nim…….”

「I never thought I would meet you again. The gods always accomplish things we can’t even imagine.」

She had roughly guessed it, but Shirin had to look at Miria with a renewed look of surprise.

“Give Aki back. And withdraw that barrier.”

“Give, give, give him back.”

「I cannot.」

“I don’t want to hurt you. Lynn and Rain are inside there.”

“Lynn, die, Lynn is dead. Rain, Rain, Rain.”

「If you cannot bear even a moment’s wait and try to use force, I will not stop you.」

“What do you mean?”

At that time, Miria didn’t know, but Aki was also talking to Phyras.

Not in this space of reality, but sitting in the pavilion that stood on the Red Mountains in that distant era of origin.

The young man sitting next to Aki had the same fiery hair as Aki and was wearing dragon scale armor.

「The era when my body died was an era filled only with corpses and lamentations due to terrible turmoil that lasted for many years.」

“Lamentation……?”

「After banishing the abyss beyond the boundary line, the Great Fire was planning to build a barrier of flames with his own body.」

That is the origin of . The boundary of the civilized world guarded by the Red Dragon Legion.

「But the cities built on the coast would surely continue to suffer endlessly from the invasion of the abyss.」

“Suffering……!”

「Therefore, I ordered that this lighthouse be built with my bones. Though my body dies, my spirit remains here to watch over the abyss forever.」

It was relatively recently that a man named Zerniks came to find me.

– Hey, you old dragon. Take away that fiery eyeball guarding the coast.

– You are…….

– You better cooperate. Otherwise, I’ll destroy this insignificant lighthouse in an instant and annihilate your soul too.

I was going to confront that human.

I didn’t have a proper body, while that human’s abyss was powerful, so the resistance didn’t seem likely to produce great results, but I had to.

「But that wicked human spoke of your existence.」

“Aki?”

「He said that Alakish’s daughter was coming here…… Then, the longing for my sister, from whom I had been separated a thousand years ago, dug into my heart. The abyss always digs into the weak gaps in the soul.」

A silent sigh settled in Phyras’s eyes as he looked up at the sky of the distant mountains.

「I shouldn’t have cooperated, even if it meant my soul would be annihilated. Now I can’t even withdraw my power at will, so to remove that barrier, I have to annihilate my soul.」

“Aki, the story is too complicated.”

「Whether I cooperated or not, the result of the abyss ravaging this city wouldn’t have changed much, but as a result, I ended up defiling even the noble lives of my brothers and sisters.」

“N-noble……?!”

「I have failed. Your mother guarded the Arctic for over 1,400 years, and Shalesarum ended her noble mission and died, bringing 200 years of peace.」

I, their younger brother, couldn’t control my longing and ended up like this.

「So, my heart aches.」

Phyras himself didn’t know why he was telling his sister’s daughter these stories at the end of his life.

Now his soul would be annihilated. Having succumbed to the whispers of the abyss, his soul would be eroded and meet a miserable end.

Still…… even at the very end, selfishly, he thought this wasn’t so bad either. He had seen Alakish’s daughter.

“Phyras Uncle.”

Then, suddenly, a small, white hand gently stroked Phyras’s head.

“It’s okay.”

With the intelligence of a young dragon, she hadn’t understood all of this long and difficult story.

However, Phyras looked too sad, so she simply did what Rain used to do for her when she was in this situation.

But that was…… somewhere in a distant memory, it was too similar to the comfort that Alakish used to give to the young Phyras.

– It’s okay, Phyras.

In the whisper of memory, Phyras’s two eyes widened…… and tears poured from his eyes.

Tears streamed endlessly from Phyras’s eyes as he knelt and hugged his young niece, sobbing quietly.

And it was Alakish’s hand, a miracle created by the soul dwelling in her daughter’s orb, that placed a hand on Phyras’s shoulder.

「You’ve worked hard, Phyras.」

The energy of the abyss that had been eroding his soul burned away in the flames…… his soul was being restored to purity.

“……!”

Unaware of what was happening in the mental world, Miria’s two eyes widened as she worried outside.

‘What is it? Why? How? Phyras’s soul is being absorbed into Aki’s body.’

Is he inheriting the power of the orb?

Can one true dragon possess two orbs?

“There, there, there.”

Then Pipi, who was sitting on the outer wall’s window frame, called out to Miria. Hope and determination mixed in Miria’s eyes as she turned to look.

“The barrier is disappearing…….”

“Rain, Rain, Rain, help urgent.”

Miria quickly turned to look at Aki.

However, the flames blocking the entrance had not yet disappeared, and the dragon made of flames was still absorbing into his body.

‘Phyras still had reason. And I didn’t feel any malice either…….’

And he’s clearly giving him power now. So, I need to go do something more urgent than waiting for Aki here.

“I’ll be back, Pipi!”

As she ran down the stairs, Pipi landed precariously on Miria’s head with its injured body.

“Together, together, together, we are friends. Pipi, Lynn’s friend. Pipi, Rista’s friend.”

Knowing what kind of sadness Pipi had lived with for 300 years with just those words, Miria had to bite her lip.

On the day of the final battle, Pipi was left behind with Tureina. And she never met Lynn again.

She had been heartbroken her whole life for not being able to follow her back then…… Miria placed her hand on Pipi’s head.

“Yeah, let’s go together this time. So, let’s end everything.”

* * *

I finally succeeded. I succeeded in burning off the Mage Slayer’s left arm.

Draw out all your power.

It’s not time to relax yet.

Now, judging that he could cook as much as he wanted without any damage, the guy finally appeared from within the dimensional barrier.

“Hehehe, you’ve worked hard to get here, so let me show you some of this great senior’s magic skills properly.”

It was really the first time I had faced the main body this close.

The explosively overflowing magic power and poison were overwhelmingly suffocating.

It was as if lightning struck the waterfront, and electricity spread in all directions.

‘The enemy has a stronger presence than Baek Do-ryeong Shar’kas for the first time…….’

Those manipulated by possession were foaming at the mouth even though they were unconscious, and many could be seen with their heads or internal organs exploding.

Damn it, I feel like my knees are going to buckle any minute now. But even more than fear, a rage that made my teeth grind came first.

“……?”

Then, suddenly, a warm force caressed my whole body and began to soothe the pain and fatigue that had been rampaging throughout my body.

This is a miracle of healing.

And the woman who is chanting that miracle is…… the Priest Slayer, who was also a member of the Slayers.

“What are you doing? So that when I go to heaven, I can’t make excuses like Zerniks fought dirty and lost.”

At that moment, when my spine was chilling, the puppets began to fall to the ground one by one like dolls with their strings cut.

‘Someone outside broke his magic.’

Zerniks muttered, “Is there one left?” while stroking a certain spirit that was caught in his grasp.

It was hard to tell whether his expression was one of embarrassment or a smile because he was so dark inside.

But it was obvious to anyone that the opportunity to turn the tables had come at this moment. Rain crossed his hands and made a seal.

“You only fight battles you can win? So, after living for a thousand years, this is all you’ve got.”

“Oh, is that so? How many great battles have you fought?”

“I’ve never fought such a battle. My whole life has been nothing but battles I had to win. I’ll show you what that kind of battle was like.”

Because our defeat meant the world’s defeat.

We had never been able to choose a battle we could win. That was our battle 300 years ago.

Zerniks raised his eyebrows as if he was taken aback, and then, the next moment, he smirked.

“I thought that stone staff and bamboo hat looked strange no matter how I looked at them, so you really are the 11th [referring to Rain’s position in a group]? A little brat who wasn’t even a handful has grown quite a bit, huh?”