The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 274

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-275

The fierce battle that seemed like it would never end was finally drawing to a close.

The tide of the battle was rapidly turning in one direction.

“…So, it was too much after all.”

Veil Stoll was at an overwhelming disadvantage.

The goddess of victory had chosen Ray Bell Vaitener.

“With just this much mana and such a clumsy implementation… it seems this is the limit.”

Veil clicked his tongue as if in regret.

“How unfortunate. So very unfortunate. If I had just a little more power, I could have defeated you this time.”

The residual mana he had planted with the curse wasn’t a large amount.

Therefore, time was up.

Veil Stoll couldn’t draw out any more mana than this.

“I could have defeated you… and grasped the future.”

Veil looked at Shin Ha-yul, who was shining brightly outside the multi-dimensional barrier.

“It’s a shame, but there’s no helping it. Killing your successor will have to be postponed.”

A brilliantly shining gaze.

It was an unpleasant gaze, so much like Ray Bell Vaitener’s.

“This was your last chance.”

Ray smiled confidently.

“Now you have no chance. You can never defeat my disciple in the future.”

It was a battle with a handicap, so he looked much more exhausted than Veil.

But his expression was as bright as could be.

“My disciple didn’t flinch even after seeing our full power.”

Ray looked at Shin Ha-yul with an expression that couldn’t be any happier.

“That child will become strong. Beyond comparison to me. He will reach a much higher level than I am now.”

The radiance emanating from Shin Ha-yul’s eyes thrilled Ray.

“You, who were defeated by me, have no way to defeat my disciple who will surpass me. Your dream ends here.”

Veil Stoll could not grow any further. His time was frozen in the present.

His limit was right here.

He was only on par with Ray Bell Vaitener.

It was impossible for him to rise above that.

Therefore, Veil could not defeat Shin Ha-yul.

There was no way to defeat Shin Ha-yul, who would surpass Ray and reach a new level.

“Are you done talking?”

Veil chuckled.

“That was quite an amusing thing to say. That I can’t defeat that fledgling.”

Veil chuckled again.

“Well, I wonder about that.”

A meaningful smile.

Ray’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Don’t think that you’re the only one who has a trump card prepared.”

One corner of Veil’s mouth curled up slightly.

It was a very condescending smile.

“I assure you. In some future, your disciple will be kneeling before me.”

A dark smile.

A repulsive smile filled with desire.

“With his head bowed, he will despair, agonize, and scream.”

At that, Veil’s body began to slowly disappear.

The mana that had been maintaining Veil’s body completely vanished, and his body began to disappear along with it.

“I look forward to it. The day when that gaze is stained with the color of despair.”

Lower body, waist, chest.

Veil Stoll, with only his head remaining, glared at Shin Ha-yul with a sticky gaze.

And with that, Veil Stoll completely vanished.

From this world.

He completely disappeared from the sixth trial page.

“…”

Ray, left alone, slightly raised his head and looked up at the sky.

“…No.”

He closed his eyes and murmured softly.

“Things won’t go as you think, Veil.”

At the center of the slowly disappearing multi-dimensional barrier.

Ray wore a confident smile.

* * *

As the barrier was released, the world began to distort.

Everything that had been forcibly changed by Veil Stoll was returning to its original state.

“Hmm.”

“It seems like this is the end for us.”

That the world was returning to its original state meant that the two people who had flowed in from the third and fifth trial pages were also returning to their original positions.

The two of them began to slowly disappear.

“I kind of expected this, but I can’t help but feel regret.”

Elena-nim approached me.

“I wanted to hear more of your story. What happened, what kind of training you did, who you met, and who you fought.”

She stroked my head with her half-transparent hand.

Perhaps because it was a hand losing its substance, I could barely feel any warmth from it.

“And…”

Elena-nim took her hand off my head and turned her head with a slightly resentful look.

“I wanted to talk to Ray a little more.”

Elena-nim’s cheeks puffed up slightly.

“Really… don’t you think it’s too much?”

My master, standing with his back turned at the center of the collapsing barrier.

Elena-nim looked at him as if he were the most hateful person in the world.

“Do you think it makes sense for him to just stand there blankly without saying anything when he’s about to say goodbye to a friend he hasn’t seen in a long time?”

She was pretending to be upset, but it didn’t seem like that was all there was to it.

“Really… he’s such a consistent man.”

A myriad of emotions flashed across Elena-nim’s face.

Joy, longing, regret, resentment.

There were so many emotions that it was hard to describe her expression.

“He’s so hateful that I want to give him a good smack on the head before I go…”

Elena-nim smiled bitterly.

“Right now, I don’t even have the legs to run over there, nor the hand to hit him.”

Elena-nim’s body was disappearing at a rapid pace.

Her hands and feet no longer had any form.

“But well… I should be grateful that I was able to see Ray one more time like this.”

Elena-nim’s eyes were filled with longing.

She had met a friend she had once let go, even if it was just like this.

Her expression was one of being satisfied enough with just that.

“Okay. Are you done talking?”

At that moment, Aslan, who had been silent all along, casually spoke.

Like Elena-nim, Aslan’s limbs had all disappeared.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’d like a little time as well.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. You must have a lot to say too.”

“No. I only need one word.”

Aslan, whose body was disappearing from his stomach to his chest, chuckled as he looked at me.

“Keep striving. That’s all.”

“…You’re so like you.”

Looking at Aslan, Elena-nim burst into laughter.

“That’s what he says. Do your best. I’ll be cheering for you from afar.”

“Yes. I will try my best.”

Elena-nim smiled kindly at me.

And finally, the nine-tailed fox approached me.

In her semi-transparent state, she rubbed her face against me.

The nine-tailed fox cried pitifully, as if she was sad about her farewell with me and her farewell with my master.

“Don’t be too sad. We’ll be together forever.”

I gently stroked the nine-tailed fox’s head.

And a little while later.

The three of them vanished at the same time.

They had each returned to their original trial pages.

In this world, only my master, Mimir, and I remained.

“Mimir. No, Princess.”

I cautiously called out to Mimir.

If this world had returned to its original state, Mimir should have also returned to the Mimir of seven years ago, who didn’t remember me.

If that were the case, this situation would be utter chaos for the current Mimir.

I needed to reassure her first.

“Well, you must be surprised, but…”

“What are you talking about? What’s there to be surprised about?”

“…Huh?”

But what was this?

Mimir hadn’t returned to her original state.

Mimir wasn’t the Mimir of seven years ago who didn’t know me, but the same Mimir I knew.

Why was she still the same?

“Unlike Aslan, Elena, and the nine-tailed fox, I just overwrote my personality onto the Mimir who was originally in this world, right? Maybe it’s not something that needs to be corrected?”

Come to think of it, Mimir’s case was a bit different from the other three.

As Mimir said, maybe it wasn’t treated as an error.

“No.”

At that moment, a voice was heard from right behind me. It was my master. When did he move behind me?

“Mimir. I used my authority to adjust you so that you could stay in this world.”

“…Ah.”

So, my master had intervened.

“If that was the case, I wish you could have let everyone stay.”

I smiled bitterly, thinking of the two people and one fox who had disappeared with such regret.

“You don’t need to worry about that. After our conversation is over, they will each move to their respective trial pages. I plan to have a short conversation with them.”

“Ah…”

So that was it.

“So, let’s have our conversation.”

My master used mana to create a table and chairs.

“Sit down.”

“…Yes.”

It wasn’t a sculpture using earth, but magic that seemed to create something from nothing.

What kind of magic was this?

I was thinking about that as I touched the chairs and table here and there.

My master looked at me as if I were cute and smiled, then turned his gaze to Mimir.

“Mimir. You sit down too.”

“…Yes.”

Mimir sat on the chair hesitantly.

“First, I’ll tell you in advance. You have passed the sixth trial page.”

“…Yes?”

Passed?

I didn’t do anything?

“The sixth trial page was a page that tested the successor’s will, not their skill.”

“Will…”

“Your will was firm. You did not falter even in the face of the great enemy, Veil Stoll. You wanted to move forward without an inch of retreat. You have perfectly passed the sixth trial page.”

“Is that… so?”

I felt a bit strange.

It didn’t feel like I did anything, but I passed.

Was it okay for it to be this easy?

No, I almost died, so it’s not like it was easy.

…Is this really okay?

“There’s no need to be puzzled. From the beginning, the fact that this place, the sixth trial page, was opened meant that your skills had reached the level to pass. You have already surpassed the passing line in terms of skill.”

“Ah…”

In short, what I thought was the minimum requirement to take the test was actually the passing line. That’s what he meant.

After that, he checked my will.

…It’s structured like a job interview at a company.

“That’s all I have to say.”

“…Yes?”

That’s it? Just a notice of passing?

“Of course, there are many things I want to say. But there isn’t enough time to say all of those things.”

My master smiled bitterly and rolled up his left sleeve.

Just like Elena-nim earlier, my master’s body was also slowly disappearing.

“I pushed myself quite a bit while fighting Veil. I don’t have much time to talk at length.”

“…I see.”

Considering the level of the battle, it was only natural. Veil himself had disappeared due to a lack of mana.

“Of course, if I squeezed out every last bit, I could make about 30 minutes. But if I do that, this world will disappear at the same time after 30 minutes.”

The trial page that had finished its role of testing me would disappear.

It was only natural.

“But if I erase my existence now and use my remaining mana to inject a little more vitality into this world… it would last for another day.”

I couldn’t understand my master’s words.

Erasing his existence to keep this world alive for one more day.

What was the meaning of that?

“It’s only one day, but it will be enough time for a final farewell.”

“…A final farewell?”

“Yes.”

“With whom? You and me, Master?”

“No.”

My master looked at Mimir, who was hanging her head next to him, and smiled bitterly.

His eyes and expression were full of apology.

“It’s Mimir’s and your final farewell.”

“…Yes?”

“…”

Mimir hung her head and bit her lip.

“That, what do you mean by Mimir’s and my final farewell…”

“Yes. So, you didn’t tell her.”

My master closed his eyes and smiled sadly.

“The longer we drag this out, the shorter the grace period will be. I’ll just tell you the conclusion.”

My master spoke directly without hesitation.

“Just like the Book of Idred, the Book of Mimir also shares its fate with the disappearance of the sixth trial page.”

My eyes slowly widened.

“That… means…”

“Yes.”

My master looked at Mimir with a regretful expression.

“Today. Mimir will disappear along with the Book of Mimir.”

Mimir hung her head and trembled, her lips quivering as if she were about to cry.