The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 263

263

#8 At Trident Point: (2)

“Don’t forget to double-check for anything missing and pack it well. Think of it as your lifeline. Shovels, jerky, starch, biscuits, dried fruit, water pouches, humidity control charms.”

After paying for the expedition equipment at the extreme west branch, they immediately entered the jungle of Trident.

*Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle….*

The eerie wailing and the thick, white fog that blocked the view were exactly the same as before.

‘Just like when I came with Kasena, this place is still unpleasant…’

Just as he thought that, Miria suddenly tugged at his ear. When Rain asked why with his eyes,

“You were thinking about another woman just now, weren’t you?”

She asked with a gaze that felt almost chilling.

“No, I mean…”

As Rain hesitated, she burst into a playful laugh.

“Just kidding. But it’s all over your face. I like that honest side of you.”

Miria said that herself, then blushed, cleared her throat, and walked away.

‘Sometimes, it feels like Rista’s personality gets mixed in like that.’

Rain sighed in relief, but then he saw Aki staring intently into the fog with a serious expression.

‘Is Aki feeling the same ominousness as before?’

But something several times more intense, a presence that felt like icy claws scraping down his spine, lurked in the unseen.

‘My intuition is telling me.’

There’s something here.

And on the 32nd day of the expedition, that premonition became a certainty.

The three siblings sensed the presence even before Rain. Dragonkin were born with an innate and powerful animosity toward the abyss.

“Evil! Evil is approaching!”

As Rain reached out, a shockwave close to an explosion spread from the old swamp, scattering wastewater in all directions.

And those who were approaching, submerged in the swamp, were caught by a powerful telekinetic force and lifted into the air.

Aki and Miria gasped. Rain narrowed his eyes at the reunion with that disgusting form.

“Necroarachne…”

The ribs of humans, bursting through rotten flesh and spreading out like spider legs—the undead.

‘Truly a hideous and terrible appearance, I haven’t forgotten it for a moment.’

The power of Baekdoryeong [a powerful Korean spirit or entity], Shar’kars, and fundamentally, the form of the undead controlled by his master, the Spider Lord Ashron.

What was perplexing was that one of them was wearing the uniform of the Imperial Special Forces. Although even that had become tattered.

‘Why are the undead that only appeared in Harbardonia, and only when Shar’kars was present, here…?’

Aki, standing guard and baring her fangs, had flames of extreme heaven blazing fiercely in both hands.

“Wait, Aki.”

Her desire to protect her younger siblings was admirable, but he couldn’t let her use those flames. Otherwise, they would all burn to death.

“Attribute conversion, Light.”

The external pressure of the telekinetic power holding the undead was converted to the Genesis Rune, Light.

A wave of creation beautifully caressing this land of the abyss.

The bodies that had already lost their souls found rest in that light, and the bodies with souls remaining slowly returned to their original forms.

He thought that now he could wait for them to regain consciousness and then hear their story.

“Hmm~ this is surprising?”

It was at that moment that they encountered the first minion of High Duke Beshansidug.

“The Asura’s [a powerful demigod in Hinduism and Buddhism] avatar, how dare those disgusting creatures come all the way here!”

Like all the old nobles, a beauty with purple hair possessing a beauty that was not of this world.

The First Adjutant, Tayak.

But resembling a human was only the basic appearance; the evil true nature hidden within was so far from human that even its presence was unbearable.

Ribs spread out like huge wings.

Numerous people were hanging from the spiderwebs that connected those ribs in a viscous manner.

“How pleased would he be if I were to cut off your heads and offer them to him? Umhehehehehe.”

They were not undead but living people, toys who had to laugh madly when he laughed.

If their laughter lacked enthusiasm, he would kill them on the spot or cut off their scalps and devour their brains.

Even then, two people instantly turned into gruesome masses of blood….

Nen gasped, squeezed her eyes shut, and hid behind Aki’s legs.

“Ah, evil… Sister, Nen is scared.”

Tayak’s henchmen appeared one by one from the jungle, surrounding the group.

“Don’t touch the children.”

Miria warned, placing her hand on the hilt of Schirpang.

“Miria, don’t interfere.”

“Huh?”

“Aki, Nen, Mir, the three of you each take on one of the guys I designate and deal with them.”

He didn’t want to make them fight if he could help it; he wanted to protect them for the rest of their lives if he could.

But he couldn’t.

Because someday, the end will come to the relationship of those living a mortal life.

“If you can’t do it, go back to the continent with Miria. There’s no point in bringing you along if you can’t be of any help.”

He had to push them.

So that they could grow, so that they could leave the nest and fly far away. So that someday, they could leave his side.

“Miria, only intervene when it seems dangerous.”

Then Rain pointed directly at Tayak with his index finger.

“If you move without my permission, you’ll die on the spot.”

A moment of silence.

Tayak burst into a twisted laugh.

“What? Ha, heh, hahahaha! How dare you, a creature less than a bug, give me orders?”

When a few of the humans hanging from the spiderwebs didn’t respond to his laughter, Tayak’s mouth stretched grotesquely as if smiling.

“This is why I use human words, for this fun. Now, who didn’t laugh?”

Just as he was about to kill them as an example and turn them into undead.

“I told you not to move.”

The moment Rain clasped his hands together, Tayak felt a trembling sense of unease.

Something’s wrong.

He could barely grasp the identity of that unease from the string of words flowing from Rain’s mouth.

“Mind construction, Black Cloud Shading the Sun.”

Jet-black fog spread in all directions.

The fog, swirling around their feet and flowing heavily, was depicting the shape of absolute power.

It was impossible to discern the power dynamics or aura hidden by that fog. Because the fog itself was the embodiment of transcendent power.

“Y-you, how… ?”

It was an unbelievable sight.

This déjà vu, the fear that was imprinted so deeply that his whole body trembled involuntarily, the oppressive feeling that made even swallowing difficult.

“According to the memories of you humans, I was supposed to have disappeared without a trace?”

This was the spell that ‘that guy,’ who single-handedly subjugated High Duke Beshansidug that day, mainly used….

It’s the same.

Completely the same.

Does that mean that only the appearance has changed, but it’s him?

“Karenden, you again───!”

The moment Tayak tried to unleash his power in rage, five radiant spikes pierced his arms, legs, and heart with precision.

It was an instant.

An attack so fast that even amplifying vision with concentration wouldn’t allow one to capture it with their retinas.

Not only Tayak, but the same number of spikes flew and pierced the 138 demons, excluding the young dragons’ opponents, at the same moment.

“I am not Karenden.”

Those who received authority from the old king transcend even death, and their existence itself cannot be extinguished.

Sealing them like this is the best option.

The spikes sealed the flow of the abyss that was explosively flowing through his entire body.

“I use similar powers, but that’s all. I’m still far off.”

As the circulation of power was blocked, his body instantly began to wither.

Life vanished at the end of a curse-filled scream.

The heteromorphic power extending from his back, the spiderwebs, also faded away, freeing the people who were bound there.

Those who were frantically untangling the remnants of the spiderwebs from their bodies spoke in disbelief.

“W-who are you… ?”

Some were about to ask questions filled with bewilderment, while others were about to offer tearful words of gratitude, but Rain raised his index finger to his lips.

“Shhh.”

Turning his gaze toward the side where the young dragons were engaged in a fierce battle under the strict supervision of Miria, who was clutching Schirpang.

‘Where…’

Shall I observe whether these guys have the strength to withstand the cruel future that will inevitably come to them?

‘First, Aki.’

Aki, who had even fought with Zerniks.

As expected, there was no need to worry, as she had already turned her enemies to ashes long ago.

And it was so lovely to see her anxiously pacing back and forth, watching her younger siblings.

‘Mir…’

Mir, who was the youngest and therefore the most worrisome, was instead showing considerable talent in combat.

“Oufari (Water) Gurs (From both sides) Diale (Torrent).”

Perhaps because of the fragment of Toureina’s soul, she was already handling spell combat using dragon words that Friede had reached after 300 years of asceticism.

The water of the swamp was lifted by immense pressure and crashed down on the enemies from both sides.

Mir remained expressionless as the enemies’ limbs were torn apart by the water pressure.

‘And Nen.’

It was Setsnen who unexpectedly made a smile mixed with amazement and pride appear on Rain’s face.

“Come forth, Rod of Justice!”

Aki’s fighting style was martial arts, so there was no room for Rain to teach her anything.

She was cute, but she was too dull-witted, so magic didn’t suit her.

And Mir, who was close to a complete fluid, was already freely handling dragon words, so this was also far from Rain’s fighting style.

But what about Setsnen?

She was creating a rod with the power of lightning and using rod techniques, and she was imitating Rain’s magic by using the microscopic manifestation of dragon words.

– Rin, this magic is like this.

It was the moment when he realized how the Dean must have felt when he saw Rin often imitating his magic.

‘Was the experience of fighting as one with the Yeouiju [a mythical wish-granting orb in Korean folklore] accumulated as it is?’

Even if he didn’t know the exact reason….

Surprisingly, Miria seemed to feel the same way, as she gave Rain a dumbfounded look.

Whispering with her lips, ‘When did you teach her that again?’

‘I didn’t teach her.’

Even though he hadn’t properly taught them anything, these guys were already far ahead in an instant.

These children will become strong.

So they will pass on the light to the next generation. They will protect that light until the era when Karenden returns.

“Thanks to you, we lived, how can I ever express my gratitude…”

The adventurers and special forces mages who had been captured were trembling so much that their teeth couldn’t mesh together.

“Is this the time to be saying thank you? We have to run away quickly! You look incredibly strong, but you can’t stay here!”

One man was screaming like a mad beast, so he had to be knocked unconscious to hear his story.

The fear and desperation in the survivors’ voices were unusual, so it was necessary to listen carefully.

“Please tell me more.”

“There’s a guy who’s so strong that he can’t even be compared to this guy… a guy who makes your head explode the moment you lose focus!”

A rampage of madness….

A technique that Shar’kars often showed.

To be precise, it wasn’t a technique, but rather being crushed by his presence, like a person unintentionally stepping on and killing an ant.

“Your head explodes?”

“It’s a mercy to have your head explode and die. He sinks people into the swamp. So he suffocates them to death… The guys who come up from there turn into monsters, no matter who you are.”

Eldvige’s words when they passed through this place before flashed through his mind, and he felt a chill.

– Beshansidug enjoyed imprisoning primitive people in spiderweb prisons and drowning them in the swamp.

When he pulled the prisons back up from the swamp, only monstrous bodies that exhaled cold breaths into their hard hearts, creating fog, came out.

“And the guys who come out of there use magic and swordsmanship just like before. Going any further is insane.”

Like that……?

If left unchecked, a truly terrible disaster would occur.

“We came to find that guy. Perhaps the Magic Star, Seigan──”

There was no need to go looking.

Because the owner of this commotion had come to find them.