The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 419

Phinis had awakened from his long slumber.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

Umbra ignored Phinis’s words, as if she had no intention of conversing with him.

“Even if times have changed, I don’t want to waste my breath on a pathetic hypocrite like him.”

Umbra glared at Phinis’s relic with a displeased look, then shook her head.

‘You…’

Phinis’s voice was filled with anger.

He was clearly insulted by Umbra’s words.

“See you later.”

Umbra ignored Phinis’s words once again.

It was as if she was saying, ‘Is that a dog barking or a cow mooing?’

She greeted me with that kind of expression.

‘Wait, Umbra!’

Umbra began to disappear instantly as she greeted me.

Umbra’s body vanished in an instant.

‘…’

Phinis’s breath was filled with rage.

Even just from his breathing, I could clearly feel his sharp anger towards Umbra.

‘…You told me to talk to him? What am I supposed to do when you make him this angry and leave?’

If she was going to help me meet Phinis, she should have helped me until the end.

Why did she have to ruin it like this at the last minute?

I couldn’t understand Umbra’s thoughts.

‘…’

I sighed inwardly, looking at Phinis, who was still breathing out in anger.

How should I start a conversation with Phinis in his current state?

What topic should I bring up to minimize his resistance?

“Hello.”

There was only one answer.

‘…Who are you?’

“I apologize for the late introduction. I am Shin Hayul. I am the successor of Ray Bell Bytenner, to whom you, Phinis, have transferred your power.”

Straightforward approach.

‘Considering that Umbra called him a hypocrite and the atmosphere I feel from his voice, he must be a rigid god who blindly believes in good.’

When dealing with this type, a straightforward approach is the best.

‘So, he’s that man’s successor.’

Phinis’s voice was filled with doubt.

‘Why would that man’s successor come to me with Umbra in tow?’

He seemed quite displeased that Umbra was with me.

Just as Umbra disliked Phinis, Phinis also disliked Umbra.

“The only way to awaken you, Phinis, was to borrow power from Umbra.”

‘…Awaken me?’

Phinis was silent for a moment.

He seemed to be thinking about what it meant to awaken him.

‘I see. After transferring my power to that man, I fell into a deep sleep with a sense of exhaustion.’

It seemed he wasn’t even aware that he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Well, being in a place with no flow of time or change of space inside the relic, with only his spirit remaining, it’s understandable that he wouldn’t realize he had fallen asleep.

‘So, you borrowed Umbra’s divine power to forcibly awaken me.’

“Yes, that’s correct.”

‘…I see. That’s why Umbra’s divine power is in my body…’

Phinis clicked his tongue softly.

He clearly didn’t like the fact that Umbra’s divine power was within his body.

‘…I understand why you brought Umbra with you.’

His voice still had a hint of anger, but it was much less than before.

‘Then, I’ll ask a different question. Why did you come to me?’

I understand that you brought Umbra. I also understand that it was the only way.

I don’t like that you borrowed the power of evil, but I can make allowances for it.

‘What do you want from me?’

However, only if the reason you came to me is reasonable.

‘If it’s for a trivial reason…’

If it’s for a trivial reason, I don’t think I’ll have anything to say to you.

So, answer carefully.

Those questions had that meaning embedded in them.

If I gave a pointless answer here, Phinis would disappear.

He would disappear and never show himself before me again.

“I have something I want to ask about Mora.”

But that won’t happen.

I didn’t come to Phinis for a trivial reason.

‘Mora?’

“Yes.”

‘…Why are you looking for Mora?’

If he knew how the current situation was unfolding, Phinis would naturally cooperate with me.

“To eliminate the End God, we need Mora’s power.”

‘Eliminate the End God…?’

The enemy of all the remaining gods.

The betrayer of the gods, the destroyer of the divine realm.

The death of the End God should be Phinis’s wish.

No god could ignore this topic.

‘…Tell me in detail.’

The anger in Phinis’s voice grew even stronger.

It wasn’t anger towards me, but anger towards the End God.

‘What do you mean by eliminating the End God?’

“I will explain.”

I slowly began to explain the current situation to Phinis.

* * *

All the explanations were finished.

‘…’

Phinis had been silent for 10 minutes.

He must be overwhelmed with too much information at once.

‘…It’s hard to believe, but there’s no reason not to believe it.’

After 12 minutes had passed, Phinis opened his mouth.

‘I understand. The only way to overcome this situation is to borrow Mora’s wisdom.’

Fortunately, he seemed to believe my words. I was worried about what to do if he said he couldn’t believe me. It seems it was an unnecessary worry.

‘I promise to help as much as I can.’

“Thank you.”

The 1 hour and 30 minute persuasion of Phinis ended successfully.

‘As you know, I received power from Mora.’

“Yes.”

Actually, I didn’t know that he had received power, but I knew there was some kind of connection. I guess I can just let it slide.

‘If you use the divine power of Mora that is within my divine power, you will be able to find Mora.’

Light emanated from Phinis’s relic.

‘Of course, you can’t find her by simply using my power. The divine power of Mora within my power is about 10%. If you use my power normally, Mora’s divine power will be submerged in my divine power.’

The power to manipulate boundaries and gaps.

From the center of that power, something different was flowing out.

‘To find Mora, you must suppress my divine power and express only Mora’s divine power to the outside.’

A radiant light.

The pure white glow began to form a core.

‘From now on, I will separate and release only Mora’s divine power. I can only do it once. Remember it well.’

The pure white light began to form a small bead.

It was completely different from Phinis’s power.

Is this Mora’s divine power?

‘The divine power that has been leaked and crystallized like this will try to return to its original place according to its homing instinct.’

The homing instinct of divine power.

It was the first time I had heard of it.

‘Right now, it’s too far away, so there’s no reaction, but if the distance gets close enough, it will definitely react.’

That bead of divine power was a kind of dowsing pendulum [a tool used to find underground water or minerals].

Just as a dowsing pendulum moves towards a water vein, that bead of divine power moves towards Mora’s divine power.

‘That’s all.’

With Phinis’s words, the bead of divine power disappeared.

‘You’ve seen it once, so you should be able to follow it. Next time, make it yourself and use it.’

His voice was full of fatigue.

‘I’ll tell you in advance, it’s impossible to do it twice. I don’t have the strength left to do that now.’

Phinis had already transferred all his power to his master.

The current Phinis was just a shell.

The reason he could move like this now was because Umbra had transferred some of her divine power.

And all of that transferred divine power was used up to show how to create the bead of divine power.

Re-demonstration was impossible.

“It’s okay. I think I can do it.”

‘…That’s a relief then.’

Phinis chuckled.

It was a chuckle that conveyed a somewhat languid feeling.

‘There’s one thing I want to ask of you.’

His voice sounded like he was about to fall asleep.

‘If you ever meet Mora… could you convey these words to her?’

His voice was dragging.

Forcing himself to stay awake, Phinis said,

‘I love you. Mother. …He said.’

Mother.

It was a word filled with many meanings.

‘A god calling someone mother…’

Since gods are beings born from divine power, a mother cannot exist.

If a mother exists, it would be divine power, not another god.

‘Was Mora Phinis’s spiritual pillar?’

But a mother doesn’t only mean someone who is biologically connected by blood.

Perhaps Mora was Phinis’s spiritual pillar.

‘I’m asking you.’

Phinis said in a dying voice.

As if it was his last wish.

As if not saying that one word was his greatest regret.

“Yes.”

I could tell from those words.

Once this moment was over, Phinis would completely disappear.

He had succeeded in forcibly igniting the dying flame, but it was only a temporary measure.

The wick of life had completely burned out.

“I will definitely convey it.”

Phinis was about to die.

He was about to completely disappear from this world.

‘…I believe you.’

The light emanating from Phinis’s relic began to decrease rapidly.

This was truly the end.

‘Ah. Right. I forgot to say this.’

In the midst of dying, Phinis spoke, defying death with his desperate will.

‘Before you came to me, there was someone who approached my relic.’

I quietly listened to Phinis’s story.

Knowing that Phinis didn’t have much time, and that he didn’t have the energy to answer questions.

I focused only on listening quietly.

‘At the time, I was asleep, so I don’t know who it was. But there are definitely traces left on the relic.’

Phinis’s voice was filled with disgust.

‘Very unsettling traces…’

Unsettling traces.

Did it mean corrupted mana? Or did it mean the power of the End God?

‘It’s probably… that guy you mentioned, Veil Stoll. After hearing your story, I’m convinced it’s him.’

Veil Stoll.

Was Veil Stoll the one who created this situation after all?

‘So… be careful. The one who possesses the power of the End God. Veil. That guy, like you… is trying to use the power of the gods.’

Veil Stoll was after the relic. It was a plausible scenario.

“Yes. I will be careful.”

I engraved Phinis’s warning deep in my heart.

‘…Okay.’

Phinis replied as if he was relieved.

And then.

Thud….

That was the end.

Phinis’s relic lost its light and fell to the dirt floor.

Phinis, the god of boundaries and gaps, had disappeared.

I slowly approached Phinis’s relic and held it in my hand.

“…What disappeared was only the personality of the god Phinis.”

The power of boundaries and gaps remained intact in the relic.

What disappeared was only Phinis’s personality.

The divine power remained as it was.

“Mimir.”

I called out to Mimir while holding Phinis’s relic in my hand.

“Is the conversation over?”

Mimir, who had been hiding his presence, reappeared at my call.

“It’s over.”

The ‘hypothesis’ I heard from Umbra cannot be told to Mimir.

To avoid making the same mistake as before, to avoid being trapped by fixed ideas.

That’s why I had sent Mimir back to Danteora for the time being.

“And I also have a way to find Mora.”

It might be difficult to reproduce the bead of divine power right now, but with a little training, I will be able to reproduce it as it is.

If I succeed in reproducing that, I can find Mora.

“As expected, Phinis had a method.”

Mimir let out a sigh of relief.

“Then, since we’ve gotten everything we need, let’s get out of here quickly…”

That’s when it happened.

Kugugugung-!

The cave was shaking violently.

It was shaking all around, as if it would collapse at any moment.

“…It’s starting to collapse.”

The structure that was being maintained by Phinis’s power had begun to collapse.

“Successor! Let’s get out of here!”

Almost simultaneously with Mimir’s warning, I finished preparing to rush outside.

“Make an oxygen pouch!”

“Ah.”

I almost forgot for a moment.

If I go out like this, I’ll be poisoned.

I quickly made an oxygen pouch and put it in my mouth.