The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 248

248

Akhee.

Akhee.

Wake up, Akhee.

Lying on the altar of the Phyrus Lighthouse, Akhee opened his eyes, feeling a gentle touch stroking his hair.

“Ugh…”

It was different from Rein’s touch, but it was just as pleasant and warm.

However, when he raised his head and looked back, he saw no one, but he heard a voice.

Not from the direction of the touch, but from deep within his soul.

「Rein needs you.」

* * *

“What are you? What did you do? What did you do to that body!”

Shirrping was weeping sorrowfully.

The holy sword’s light grows stronger when aimed at the abyss, but strangely, this blade is aimed at Rein right now.

Baffled, Miria shouted, gasping for breath.

“Shall I tell you? Heh heh, ever since my rotten master killed me with those eyes, I’ve always wanted them.”

“I’m not curious about that story!”

“You need to hear it all to understand, right? But my master was kind enough to put a restriction on it through bloodline inheritance, so to get these eyes, I had to take over the entire body.”

Zernice stretched the joints of his reversed body. He was explaining kindly to buy time to adjust to the body.

“So, I created a spell to switch souls. And it succeeded beautifully.”

“You…!”

“Don’t get excited, Rem.”

Bart moved to a position to cover Zernice’s rear, saying,

“Rein should be able to use the body that guy has trained for a thousand years. We just need to protect Rein while fighting.”

“Heh heh, we’ll see? If my calculations are correct, that guy will die soon. The abyss’s body and the dragon’s soul will cause a backlash.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Well, break time is over. Let’s play. I want to test the performance of my new body.”

The first to charge at Rein, or rather Zernice, was Miria. Bart shouted.

“Miria!”

“There’s no other way right now! If we defeat and subdue him, maybe we can find a way!”

Was it only natural that the old voice was revived in Miria’s ear as she ran, holding the roaring Shirrping in both hands?

– Let’s protect each other. Let’s help each other not to do evil. Let’s give peace to the soul. So that the soul can reach the embrace of the gods.

Because I said that.

I have to act as I said.

We’ve met again like this after 300 years, but was our story an impossible fate from the start?

‘I clearly said that…’

Tears scattered from Miria’s eyes as she dissolved into shimmering heat and instantly seized Zernice’s rear.

“Heh, unlike all the talk, I don’t feel any killing intent in your charge?”

Secret Art, Elemental Deployment.

Perhaps because the soul’s essence remained the same even though the body had changed, the eight fundamental runes were certainly deployed.

Amazing, was it because my magic circuit was trained while possessing the dragon’s power? It possesses magic power comparable to my prime.

‘It’s not easy to face such strong opponents, so shall I adapt to the body a little more?’

Shirrping’s blade was deflected by an ice wall that suddenly sprang up.

“Gothl!”

A combination of Ice and Lightning.

The current flowing on the surface of the ice wall electrocuted the body, causing painful convulsions.

As Zernice was about to finish off Miria, Soonchun’s arrow flew in, but… the dimension twisted instantly, and the arrow flew into another world.

“This arrow isn’t very threatening, whether it’s sincere or not.”

Rem, who had taken a big gulp of gourd wine, shot arrows indiscriminately.

It may seem indiscriminate, but this is one of the secret techniques of a drunken archer, where multiple arrows scattered in different directions hit a single point simultaneously.

Simultaneous impact shooting, often used by the legendary archer Kies.

“Hmph, insignificant. You talentless things.”

Rem has grown stronger during the journey.

He must have become strong enough to be counted among the top five archers on the entire continent.

“Compared to that mute bastard’s arrows, these are truly insignificant. I had to concentrate just to block each and every one of his arrows.”

With Serwebon’s map, he was able to read the waves and aim for the gaps in the waves.

However, none of Rem’s shots worked at all.

The arrows imbued with Serwebon’s radiance were all powerless and crumbled within the magic that manifested in an instant.

Therefore, he couldn’t support Bart, who was engaged in close combat with Zernice, at all.

As if not even paying attention to Rem’s shots, he lightly blocked them as if deflecting sunlight and faced Bart.

It was truly overwhelming skill. Even the battle between a warrior and a magician, where being at a disadvantage in terms of compatibility was natural, was too easy for Zernice.

“Except for that dying 11th generation brat over there, you guys are just inferior versions. Heh ha ha ha! Compared to those guys back then, you’re not even worth garbage!”

Yes, this is natural.

Was it even possible for four such monsters to exist in one era and form a party together?

Because of those guys, Zernice had to go into physical recuperation for as long as 300 years without being able to come to the fore.

‘A magician who blocked magic that used nearly 50% of his magic power with the intention of annihilating them.’

The mute master archer remembered by history, a priestess trained by the Fire Dragon, and Feyqueria, who was said to have been born with extraordinary talent.

“As a bonus, we even have Carenden’s Black Lambkin. And this Seresia, I created it in the first place!”

It feels like I’ve finally regained everything I’ve lost, I feel so good.

“This bamboo hat is a bit much, but with this face, it wouldn’t be hard to make a lot of women cry. Heh heh heh.”

With this power, I can win against anyone. I can even win against that old hag who I wish would get dementia.

“Now is the era of Zernice!”

As the battle moved away from the plaza and far away, Rein could do nothing in the darkness.

The darkness was hardening in his head and the blood vessels throughout his body, pressing down on his entire body.

Not only that, it hurts, it hurts, my arms hurt as if they were melting, no, both arms are actually burning and melting into a viscous substance, pooling on the floor.

[Ah, Aba, Abaa!]

Only after focusing his mind on his eyes, the outline of Setsnen’s gauntlet and the top he was wearing, which were lying on the floor, vaguely formed in his retina.

‘My body, it can’t withstand it.’

It was glittering gold, so I could recognize it somehow, but everything else was blurry and dull.

‘It’s burning from the inside out.’

Fear came with the pain.

The world went dark and bright again and again.

The battle seemed to be moving further and further away from the plaza, and a desolate silence settled over the plaza.

“Se, Setsnen…”

It took a great effort to put sound into this short word. It felt like his voice was being sucked into a hole somewhere in his lungs.

“Get, away, from me…”

His heart was beating uncertainly, irregularly, and laboriously.

Even that was painful and hurt.

As if cold fingers were forcibly pulsating his heart, his whole body convulsed in pain every time his heart beat.

“If you stay with me, you’ll also…”

The dragon’s flames are rising higher and higher.

His body is being burned in the intense pain.

The thousand-year abyss that had been consuming this impure body dripped down, forming a puddle.

“Aba, Aba.”

Setsnen shook his shoulder with a tearful face.

This is Zernice’s body, but the dragon can see the essence of the soul, so he recognizes me.

Cold sweat poured down his face like rain, and the saltiness of the sweat hurt his eyes.

“Find Akhee, I… Nen, I’m…”

Do I have to say goodbye here? Was my second life destined to end so futilely?

It’s not like writing Joo Yeo So Gye Dae Ban [a meaningless phrase] will do anything. The soul and body hate each other and are trying to destroy each other, so no matter what I do, I’m going to die.

The dragon’s flames had already burned both arms and reached his shoulders.

There wasn’t much time left.

His throat must have been swollen, and it was difficult to breathe. He writhed like an earthworm, collapsed in a puddle of the abyss.

“Rein, Rein, Rein.”

Pipi landed on his head and pecked at the crown of his head as if to wake him up, but he didn’t even have the strength to react to it.

“Pi, Pipi, I, I’m, now, more…”

It felt like the gravity of the universe was pulling his body and soul to the floor.

The cold realm of death was extending a tempting hand. The destination leading to the end of life offered a dense temptation.

It was terrible that his body was so cold. How could it be so cold even though it was burning? It was no different from a corpse, was it?

“So, Pi, Pi, Ne, Nen, safe…”

That’s when it happened.

A huge winged shadow swept over his head, and a mysterious hot wind filled his whole body with the energy of life.

The sound of the shadow landing in front of him was strangely similar to the sound of flames burning. At the same time, the sound of footsteps became lighter.

“Awoong……?”

Rein moved his jaw and neck and turned his head so he could see. He was able to regain a little bit of energy because of the warmth just now.

“Ah……”

Am I seeing a hallucination before I die?

Alakish?

Has Alakish come to pick me up?

He had hair burning with flames and was wearing dragon scale armor, but he was subtly different from the person in my memory.

「Hmm?」

It’s strange, though.

Rather, this is more unbelievable, but that playful voice, those deep and clear eyes….

Rein could only stare at the person approaching him without even thinking of breathing. For a moment, he even forgot the pain.

「I don’t know about your height, but your eyeballs have gotten a little bigger while I haven’t seen you? Don’t tell me your dream was to become an adult with eight eyeballs? Did you trade them for your arms?」

A warm wind swept over the plaza.

Like the spring wind that heralds the end of a long winter, like the spring wind blowing in the winter that I thought would never end in eternal solitude since I was reborn.

「Oh my, oh my! It’s been 300 years and you’re still a crybaby. Pipi, what were you doing while coming here without properly educating him?」

The chain of the box hidden deep somewhere in the soul was broken. It was a box named hope.

“Ah, Ah, Aaa……”

His eyes blurred.

Why is the warmth of the tears pouring down his face more distinct than the heat of the flames burning his body?

The only thing that barely flowed out of his mouth was sobbing that could not become language.

Even if he could have made a sound, Rein would not have been able to say anything at this moment because of the overwhelming tears.

Even if he could have made a sound, Rein didn’t need to say that name at this moment. Because Pipi was already shouting that name.

The owner of that name, flitting busily with his injured wings over the head and shoulders of the bond that he thought he had left behind beyond the barrier of 300 years.

“Friede, Friede, Friede, Friede, Friede.”