The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 410

The Rebirth of a Mythical Archmage-411

My mind went blank at the unexpected situation.

‘What in the world is going on?’

It felt like I’d been told that everything I thought was real wasn’t.

‘If that guy isn’t the real Bale, then who is? What is he, anyway?’

The real truth was layered over the truth I already knew.

The clash between what was and what is struck my head hard.

My head throbbed.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Bale spoke, still maintaining his relaxed attitude.

“Kill me. If you kill me, this space will disappear, and you’ll be able to move on to the next stage.”

No, in the first place, is the Bale in front of me really the ‘real Bale Stoll’?

Is it possible that this Bale is fake and the one outside is real?

‘……No, that’s impossible.’

It’s not possible.

That could never happen.

There’s no way my master would have prepared a fake.

There’s no reason to.

‘The Bale in front of me right now is real.’

That’s for sure.

‘Then that means the newly resurrected Bale is fake…’

Mana is like a fingerprint; you can’t change it even if you try.

Different mana is proof of different beings.

The Bale outside and the Bale in front of me are different beings.

That means the Bale outside is fake.

‘No, it can’t be 100% fake.’

The Bale outside knew Aslan and Elena.

He also had complete memories of the war between the Empire and the Four Nations.

That’s why I was so sure he was 100% real.

The only people who could remember the history of the Empire and the Four Nations are those who lived through that era.

‘The Black Speech too.’

There’s more evidence that the Bale outside isn’t fake.

The restriction placed on the Black Magic King, the Black Speech [a forbidden language of immense power].

The only one who can wield the Black Speech is Bale Stoll.

The existence of the Black Speech is proof that the Bale outside is real. Considering the Black Speech, the Bale outside can’t be fake.

‘……What in the world is going on?’

The Bale in front of me and the Bale outside.

Two beings with distinctly different mana are proving themselves to be real in different ways.

The situation was beyond comprehension. My head throbbed.

“Hmm. Staying still like this isn’t so bad either. It’s just a waste of your time anyway.”

Bale said with his usual expressionless face.

“If you don’t believe me, then just stay there.”

Bale used mana to create a black chair.

A black throne was completed in an instant.

Bale sat on the throne and rested his chin on his fist.

“……Successor.”

Mimir spoke to me in a slightly trembling voice.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but the Bale in front of us doesn’t seem to know anything about the situation outside.”

Bale’s gaze was only fixed on me.

I wondered if Bale in his prime would be able to sense Mimir’s presence, but.

He didn’t react to that, so it seems that’s not the case.

“We might be able to get some information out of him now.”

It’s presumed that Bale has no idea what’s going on right now.

I can’t say for sure, but it’s highly likely.

And not knowing the current situation means that his perspective on the importance of information is likely skewed.

It’s a good situation to get information out of him in many ways.

I nodded slightly to Mimir to show my agreement.

At the same time, I slowly began to speak.

“……Why aren’t you trying to kill me?”

If I jump straight to the point, he’s likely to notice.

First, I need to ask about things I’d be curious about right now, and act as naturally as possible.

Moving to get information is something I’ll do later.

“I told you. I have restrictions placed on me.”

“You ‘might’ have restrictions. That’s just an assumption. There’s a good chance you could kill me.”

Bale scoffed as if it were ridiculous.

“There’s no way Ray would have thrown me in here without any precautions. He must have placed restrictions on me 100%.”

Bale’s eyes were shining black with the light of trust.

There’s no way my rival, my main enemy, wouldn’t have prepared at least this much. That was the look on his face.

“……So you’re just going to die without resisting?”

“That’s right.”

Bale crossed his legs while resting his chin on his hand.

“I’m just a fake anyway. Even if I die, it won’t harm the me who will be reborn in this era. All I can do now is not give you any information or experience. To not move according to Ray’s will.”

In a haughty, throne-like pose, exuding the aura of an absolute being, he twisted one corner of his mouth.

“If you understand, then kill me. Thinking about the benefit of my future self, wasting your time isn’t so bad, but…”

Bale frowned.

“It’s just that this situation, where I’m no different from being Ray’s puppet… It’s so unpleasant that it’s hard to suppress my displeasure. Even though I know I’m fake.”

Bale took his hand off his chin and crossed his other leg.

“So kill me. You wouldn’t want to waste any more time making a fake feel unpleasant.”

It was perfect logic and perfect rhetoric.

‘……Everything Bale is saying is true. Bale really has no intention of fighting me at all.’

He was sure that fighting would only be a loss.

And in reality, it would only be a loss.

Just like Bale said, there’s no way my master would have prepared Bale here without any precautions.

‘He must have prepared restrictions that Bale can’t sense no matter what he does, and prepared for me to show high-level magic…’

Bale’s ability to assess the situation was beyond imagination.

My master probably didn’t expect Bale to react so calmly.

“I understand. There’s no room for argument.”

I’ve roughly finished grasping the situation.

The topic has also progressed naturally to a conclusion.

If I’m going to change the subject, now is the right time.

“As you said, I don’t want to waste time here for no reason, so I’ll kill you right now.”

“A wise choice.”

“However, I have one question before that.”

Bale frowned.

“I told you. I won’t give you any information. I refuse.”

Everything Bale has said so far has only been helpful in the current situation.

There was no information that would be helpful for the future.

He would never give an answer that could be considered information.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

But what if it was a question that wouldn’t be considered information?

“I’ll ask a question.”

What if it was a question that had little chance of giving me information, and that Bale himself couldn’t help but be curious about?

Even if it’s Bale, wouldn’t he have to answer?

“I know from my master that you and he were originally one being.”

Bale’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

For the first time, Bale’s emotions wavered.

“You and my master. When you were still one god…”

Looking at Bale’s expression, I uttered a keyword that Bale could never ignore.

“I have a question about the time when you were called the End God.”

The End God.

A name that even my master didn’t know.

If my master didn’t know, then Bale wouldn’t know either.

Bale can’t ignore my words.

He’ll definitely react.

“The End God…?”

As expected, Bale reacted immediately.

“Me being the End God. What nonsense is that?”

Indeed.

He didn’t seem to know that his past was as the ‘End God’.

“Don’t you know? When you were still a god. You were known as the End God…”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know anything. Successor of the Vaitener style.”

Bale cut me off with a dumbfounded expression.

“Who told you that nonsense? Was it Ray? If so, then there must be a fatal flaw in Ray’s memory.”

Bale unfolded his crossed legs and looked at me with the most ferocious expression.

“I was going to ignore it, but I can’t ignore that. To mistake us for the End God.”

Bale slowly opened his mouth with a deeply furrowed brow.

“Listen carefully. Successor of the Vaitener style. When Ray and I were still one, people called us this.”

All my attention was fixed on Bale’s lips.

“The Human God. The god of humans.”

A name I’d never heard before came out of Bale’s mouth.

The Human God. The god of humans?

“Another name was the Last Hope. We were also called the Hero God.”

“The Last Hope…”

“Yes. It’s an unintentional title for me now. But there were many who actually called us that.”

Bale clicked his tongue and said.

“Well, it was a natural title. The mad god who destroyed the divine realm and tried to destroy the human realm as well. We were the only gods who could stand against him.”

“A mad god who destroyed the divine realm and tried to destroy the human realm as well…?”

A three-syllable noun flashed through my mind.

There’s only one god who could be called that.

“The End God, you fool.”

The End God.

“The End God is the name of the mad god that we desperately tried to defeat when we were still gods.”

My mind went blank at the unexpected words.

Not the End God, but the god who fought against the End God?

“To mistake me for that trash. It’s truly unpleasant.”

Bale frowned as if he couldn’t be any more unpleasant.

“Really… you have no connection to the End God?”

Bale’s expression became even more distorted.

“Can’t you understand? We are connected. I said we were the gods who fought against him.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

I couldn’t speak properly.

My mind was blank, and I didn’t know what to say.

“Tsk. It’s unpleasant even thinking about it again. To mistake us for the End God. That arrogant madman… To compare us to that loser…”

“……Wait a minute.”

There was something I couldn’t just ignore.

“Did you just say loser?”

A loser? The End God was a loser?

“You don’t know anything properly.”

Bale looked at me with a pathetic expression.

“What did Ray teach you? I can’t understand it.”

Bale shook his head.

“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you. The End God was defeated by us. The god born in the divine realm could not defeat us, the gods born in the human realm.”

“……That monster-like god… lost?”

They won against the monster that destroyed the divine realm at birth?

How?

“Do I have to explain everything? Ask Ray about the rest.”

Bale scoffed with an annoyed expression.

“Thanks to you, my displeasure has only increased. I won’t answer anything more. Kill me.”

Bale leaned back on the throne and said with a disgusted look.

I have nothing more to say to you.

No matter what you say, I won’t answer anymore.

So just kill me.

That was the look on his face.

“……”

I looked at Bale and fell into thought.

‘Bale and the End God have nothing to do with each other. The End God has already been destroyed.’

My mind was filled with a huge question.

‘Then what is the current Bale?’

The Bale outside, exuding the aura of the End God.

Who is he?

‘He’s not fake, yet he has the memories and power of the real one. He’s not real, yet his mana is different from the real one, and he possesses the aura of the End God that shouldn’t be felt. A man who calls himself Bale Stoll… What is he?’

Something is wrong.

I was sure of it.