The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 367

The Mythical Archmage’s Rebirth-368

I had a dream.

A very mysterious dream.

In the dream, I was someone else, not myself. No, I was a dragon.

‘Give up.’

In the dream, I was pouring out sticky blood all over my body, glaring at a man beyond my blurry vision.

‘You have been defeated.’

A man with huge, elegant white wings stood out.

A man who 100 out of 100 people would call an ‘angel’ was quietly muttering with a dry expression that showed no emotion.

‘If you admit defeat now, acknowledge your mistakes, and repent, I will end it here.’

Numerous other angels were positioned around the man.

They were all looking down at my tattered body.

‘I am showing mercy, appreciating your achievements in carrying out the important role of protecting the middle realm for tens of thousands of years.’

It was a situation that was enough to make me feel bad.

But I didn’t feel particularly bad.

The only emotions I felt now were disgust and fear.

‘How comical. How absurd.’

Their gazes towards me contained no emotion.

That’s why I didn’t feel bad.

That’s why it was scary.

Because I couldn’t know what they were thinking. Because they were beings that I couldn’t even begin to guess with my perception, it was even more terrifying.

‘For puppets who don’t even know what mercy is to talk about mercy. As befits the puppets of the gods, you have a talent for clowning around.’

Even at my sarcasm, the angels’ expressions did not change at all.

A terrible blank expression.

That insensitivity felt like a needle piercing me.

‘Choose. A death forged by resolve, or a survival of acceptance and humiliation.’

The angel continued to speak as if he hadn’t even heard the man’s sarcasm.

Looking up at such an angel, I sneered in my dream.

‘Ridiculous. Truly ridiculous.’

I wanted to laugh out loud, but my body was so messed up that I couldn’t open my mouth wide or make a loud noise.

‘Choose.’

‘It’s ridiculous that you’re giving me a choice that has no meaning, and it’s ridiculous that I’m in this situation. My situation is ridiculous.’

‘Choose.’

My sneer soon turned into a chuckle.

This situation was the world’s greatest comedy, and I was the world’s greatest clown in this situation.

‘Puppet. I ask you. If I choose one of the options you presented, will anything change?’

‘An answer to that question is not permitted.’

‘I’m asking for your opinion, not your master’s.’

‘…….’

The man was silent.

It seemed like he was pondering my words.

‘I don’t know what you mean, but since it’s the last time, I’ll give you a special answer. The fate of you and your race will change.’

My expression stiffened.

My body was so messed up that my facial muscles couldn’t move properly, so it didn’t look like a surprised expression, but I was more surprised than I could ever be.

‘……It seems like I’m hearing an answer for the first time.’

An angel. I had a conversation with a puppet of God for the first time in 10 years.

‘So, you also have a will?’

I thought they were just puppets without any will or emotion.

It seemed that wasn’t the case.

‘So, as I expected. You guys were just toys of a god.’

A bitter smile spread across my lips.

I had only thought of them as enemies until now.

It seemed they weren’t enemies.

‘As I thought. You guys were our future selves.’

‘……I don’t know what you mean.’

The man stared at me with the same blank expression.

He looked like he didn’t understand my words at all.

‘If you have time to talk nonsense, make a choice. There’s not much time left.’

The murderous puppet that had only seemed vicious.

But now, in my eyes, it only looked like a pitiful rag doll.

‘Pitiful puppet. Seeing your appearance, I’ve become even more certain.’

It’s cold.

Is it because I’ve lost too much blood?

My eyelids are heavy, and my mind is fading.

‘I choose a death forged by resolve.’

Beyond my fading vision, only the angel’s face was clearly visible.

‘I’d rather die than become like you.’

‘Like us…… become?’

For the first time, there was a change in the angel’s expression.

An expression that seemed like something was about to come to mind.

‘That’s right. Rather than living a humiliating life, becoming a puppet of God and being used for the rest of our lives. We choose to die as ourselves.’

‘…….’

The angel’s blank expression cracked.

‘Puppet……? Ugh!’

The angel grabbed his head.

As if trying to recall something, as if forcibly releasing a memory that had been sealed somewhere in his mind.

He grabbed his head and widened his eyes.

‘Think about it. You guys also had a previous life, your own lives.’

Watching him, I desperately shouted.

It was just a weak cry, not a shout.

But it was loud enough to reach the man in front of me.

‘Our…… our previous selves…… previous? What is previous…… Kuaaaak!’

The man screamed even louder and grabbed his head.

Watching him, I had hope.

If they were to become aware of their true selves. If the angels were to become allies, we might be able to turn this situation around.

‘Remember!’

I shouted, spitting out blood, with my last wish.

Hoping that my heart would reach them.

I squeezed out all the remaining strength.

‘Hmm. This rebel is quite something.’

However.

‘I never thought you’d notice that far.’

My hope was soon shattered.

‘How did you notice?’

The blank expression that was the trademark of the angels disappeared in an instant.

They were smiling brightly.

‘To accept our offer and choose survival. That it means falling into our puppets. How did you notice?’

Not only the expression, but also the tone, gestures, and every single look in their eyes changed.

‘You are…….’

This man was not the angel leader I had been talking to just a moment ago.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet.’

The man said quietly, with his hands behind his back.

‘God. That’s what you call me.’

A crescent-shaped smile filled my retina.

‘Well. Now that the introduction is over. I’ll ask again.’

It was a chilling gaze that made my heart tremble.

‘How did you notice?’

Fear began to envelop my whole body like air.

* * *

‘……!’

When I opened my eyes, a familiar face greeted me.

‘Successor?’

Mimir.

She was looking at me with a worried expression.

‘Why, why? Are you sick?’

A restless expression.

She was looking around my body, repeatedly extending and clenching her hands. Extending and folding them.

‘Successor? Successor! Why aren’t you saying anything?’

Even though she wanted to check my condition by touching my body, Mimir couldn’t because she didn’t have a physical body.

That’s why she was just extending and folding her hands repeatedly.

‘Ugh……. Is there really something wrong with my body? Crap……. If only I had a body at times like this…….’

Mimir bit her lip with a bitter expression, as if she couldn’t be more regretful that she didn’t have a body right now.

‘Successor! Successor!’

The only way Mimir could convey her intentions to me.

She was trying her best to wake up my mind using her voice.

‘……I’m listening.’

They say that when you see someone more anxious than you, you become calm.

It seems that’s true.

‘Sorry. My head is a little fuzzy.’

Seeing Mimir, who was so restless, I became calm.

‘Is your head fuzzy? Is it serious? Should I call someone?’

The more anxious Mimir looked, the clearer my mind became.

‘It’s okay. It’s just because of a nightmare. It’s not like I’m in pain or anything.’

‘A nightmare?’

Mimir’s expression became a little calmer.

‘Yeah. So that’s why you were sweating so much.’

Come to think of it, my whole body was wet.

It was as if I had gone into the bathtub with my clothes on.

‘So, there’s nothing wrong with your body?’

‘Yeah. I’m a little fuzzy, but it’s not a problem.’

‘Really? That’s a relief.’

Mimir let out a sigh of relief.

She was genuinely relieved that there was nothing wrong with my body.

‘Really…… I was so flustered because it happened just when everyone was out. I was so worried about what would happen to the successor’s body…….’

Mimir said, grumbling.

As Mimir, who didn’t have a body, it would have been impossible for her to do anything for me.

She would have had to just watch without being able to do anything.

She must have been worried.

‘I’m sorry for making you worry.’

‘No, it’s not the successor’s fault. It’s not like the successor had a nightmare on purpose…….’

Mimir moved her fingers around with an awkward expression.

‘I just… I was just so resentful of my body…….’

She smiled bitterly, touching her fingers.

It must be bitter that the only thing she can touch with her hands is her holographic body.

‘I need to get the research on track as soon as possible…….’

‘Research? What research?’

Is there anything to get on track?

She wouldn’t have meant getting the restoration of the research lab on track.

‘Huh? Ah, that. Um. There’s something. The successor doesn’t have to worry about it. You already have a lot of things to worry about.’

‘…….’

Things to worry about…….

‘That’s…… true.’

There are many.

I just added one more this time.

‘……?’

Mimir looked at me with a surprised expression.

She didn’t expect me to back down so easily.

She was curious and couldn’t stand it, so she thought I would have jumped in, but I backed down too easily, so she seemed to be worried.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘What do you mean, what’s wrong?’

‘Why are you backing down so easily, unlike the successor?’

‘There’s no particular reason. Just like you said, Mimir. My head hurts too much right now. I don’t have the time to worry about other things.’

‘Is it because of what you heard from the dragon?’

‘That too…….’

I paused for a moment and then said.

‘Something I saw in my dream is bothering me…….’

‘A dream? The nightmare you had right before you woke up?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What did you see there that’s making your head hurt?’

‘……I saw a bit of the dragon’s end.’

‘The dragon’s…… end?’

Mimir frowned.

She had an expression that she didn’t understand what I was saying.

‘I think I saw the memories of the red dragon who gave me his power.’

‘The red dragon’s memories?’

Mimir continued, now with an expression that she understood a little.

‘So, you saw the memories of that dragon through the medium of a dream. And the content of that dream was about the dragon’s last day?’

‘That’s right.’

That’s accurate.

‘In the dream, I was dying as a red dragon. And in front of me, there were countless angels.’

‘The end of the war. A dragon killed by angels. Just like it’s recorded in the books.’

‘It’s like that if you only look at that scene.’

‘……Only that scene?’

A dragon defeated and destroyed in the war with the angels.

This is exactly as it is recorded in the books.

But that’s where the similarities end.

If you go into the details, there are many differences.

‘First of all, the dragons were not captured by arrogance and chose death after fighting to the end.’

I only had fragmentary memories, so I couldn’t say for sure.

But based on the personality of the red dragon I saw in my dream, the probability of that was very low.

In the first place, the personality of the red dragon in the state of being possessed by Drake was also far from arrogance and haughtiness.

‘There’s another reason why the dragons were destroyed.’

‘Another reason?’

‘I don’t know that far. As I said, what I saw was the dragon’s end. Only the events at the end of the war.’

I slowly recalled what I had seen in my dream.

‘In the dream, the red dragon said. He said he would choose death rather than become a puppet of the gods.’

‘Puppets of the gods……?’

‘Yeah. He said he would choose a righteous death rather than become like the angels. That’s what he said.’

‘Are the angels puppets?’

‘I don’t know either…… Their expressions and actions were like puppets.’

In fact, the angels I saw in my dream looked like puppets.

‘Explain it in more detail. I don’t understand at all.’

‘……Okay. I’ll explain it slowly from the beginning. That would be better.’

I slowly explained everything I had seen in my dream, one by one.

The conversation with the angel.

The sudden change of the angel.

After that, the god who revealed himself by borrowing the body of that angel.

‘After asking the red dragon how he noticed, the god said this when the red dragon didn’t answer.’

I recalled the end of the dream.

‘If you don’t want to answer, it can’t be helped. I’m a kind god. I’m someone who respects the will of my creations.’

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

Even thinking about it again, it was a chilling smile and words.

‘Instead, I’m a little annoyed, so I’m going to give you a punishment. What would be good…… Ah, yes. This would be good.’

While saying contradictory words that he would respect them, he would give them a punishment.

‘Shall we trample on the resolve of your dragon race?’

He smiled eerily.

‘To get rid of all the living things in the middle realm. On this continent.’

It was a very light tone, as if he was declaring that he would trample on an ant on the street.

‘Then, I won’t need to find out how you found out our secret. It’s a win-win, right?’

To protect their secret, they would erase a world.

That’s what he said.

‘Immediately after that, along with those words, the silhouette of a person who seemed to be a god appeared behind the angel’s body.’

‘A silhouette?’

‘Yeah. Maybe…… his true form was reflected beyond the spirit body while using his power.’

‘Is it like a projection of the soul? Hmm…… Anyway, why that silhouette?’

A mysterious silhouette that appeared like a guardian spirit.

I slowly spoke, recalling the silhouette again.

‘That silhouette…… it was too similar.’

‘Similar? To whom?’

Eyes, nose, mouth.

And the shape of the face.

Everything from one to ten.

‘To my master.’

‘To Father…… the face of that god-like person was similar?’

‘Yeah.’

Ray Bell Vaitern.

The face of the god-like person was a carbon copy of my master’s face.

‘Except for the fact that his hair color was black.’

Only one thing, except for the hair color.