The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 433

After the fake Stella disappeared, the flesh mass that had been fighting her also began to turn into dust and vanish.

It seemed that the flesh mass was just a fake, prepared by the fake Stella to look similar for the act.

‘……Haa.’

With that, the fake Stella and the fake flesh mass completely disappeared.

The real Stella let out a small sigh and turned her gaze towards me.

‘Are you okay?’

She looked at my chest with eyes full of worry.

‘Look at all that blood…’

‘It’s just a lot of blood. The wound isn’t deep.’

‘How can it not be deep when there’s so much blood?’

She stared at the wound I had received from the fake Stella with a distressed look, then took out a first-aid kit from the small backpack she was carrying.

‘Stay still. I’ll treat you.’

And then, she slowly began to administer first aid.

She disinfected the wound, applied medicine, and put on a bandage-like material.

‘Can you try moving around?’

I moved my body this way and that.

‘Hmm. It’s well secured. No blood is leaking. I think it’s good.’

The first aid seemed to have been done well.

Stella put the first-aid kit back in her bag and looked at me with an apologetic expression.

‘I’m sorry. I should have come sooner.’

‘……Huh?’

Sorry?

‘Why are you sorry?’

‘If I had moved a little faster, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.’

‘…….’

What kind of novel nonsense is this?

‘It’s all my fault that Hayul got hurt…’

Nonsense was abundant.

I lightly tapped Stella’s head.

‘……Ouch. Why did you hit me?’

She clutched the spot she was hit with both hands and pretended to be in pain.

‘Because you were talking nonsense. It was to tell you to be quiet.’

Late? What late?

You came to help at just the right time.

Why are you saying sorry after saving me?

‘Nonsense… That’s too much.’

She pressed down on her head with a sulky expression.

It was an action that seemed to say, ‘It hurts so, so much.’

‘Don’t pretend to be in pain. You don’t even feel it.’

‘My head doesn’t hurt, but my heart does. Thinking that I was hit by Hayul… sob sob.’

‘Oh, please.’

Even pretending to cry.

‘Looks like you’ve regained some composure? To the point where you’re even acting out crying.’

It wasn’t the latest version of Stella, who was all about being apologetic and lacking confidence, but a reaction more like the old Stella from before France was destroyed.

‘Hmm… A little?’

Stella smiled faintly and said, ‘Just this much?’ while slightly separating her index finger and thumb.

It was only a little in words, but judging from the composure in her expression, it seemed that her condition had improved quite a bit.

‘What happened when she was separated?’

Come to think of it, the fake Stella had said something strange before she disappeared.

And Stella’s reaction to those words was also unusual.

It seemed like something had happened.

‘Anyway. I’m sorry. I should have moved faster.’

‘……You’re talking nonsense again.’

Stella quickly moved back, creating some distance.

This time, she wouldn’t get hit.

That was the intention evident in her movements and expression.

‘No. It’s not nonsense. I’m really sorry. I was a bit out of it back then. Even after confirming that the barrier was destroyed, I was spacing out for quite a while.’

I stared intently at Stella’s expression.

Amidst her apologetic expression, a strange confidence was visible.

The previous groveling feeling was nowhere to be found.

‘I just thought I should be a bit more careful next time. That’s all.’

‘…….’

That wasn’t just an apology that came out of habit, without any reason.

It was a proactive reflection.

‘I made a mistake this time, so I shouldn’t do it next time.’

It was a future-oriented reflection.

‘……What happened when you were separated?’

Not much time had passed since we were separated in the room.

What on earth happened that made her change so much?

‘Nothing much happened. I just met and fought the fake Adela Stert. That’s all.’

‘……Fake Adela?’

‘Yes.’

‘So, Adela appeared on your side.’

I had expected it, but it seemed that fakes had appeared in other places as well.

It had appeared on Stella’s side too.

‘But how did you manage to figure out it was a fake?’

The fake Stella that appeared before me was so identical to the real one.

From mana to memories, actions, and speech habits. Everything was Stella herself.

If it was an entity identical to Stella, then the fake Adela would also be no different from the real Adela.

How on earth did she figure out it was a fake?

‘I noticed thanks to Elena.’

‘Why Elena… Ah.’

I understood what she meant.

‘Elena couldn’t be replicated?’

‘Yes. That’s right.’

They had only replicated Adela, and not Elena, who was residing in Adela’s choker.

‘In a divided situation, there’s no way Elena would leave her side. But she wasn’t there. So, I immediately noticed.’

‘Yeah. That’s something you’d notice.’

In that situation, it was something you’d notice.

‘On the other hand, I don’t have a separate AI originally. It’s understandable that Hayul didn’t notice.’

‘……That’s right. I didn’t notice at all.’

The fake Stella was so real that I didn’t even think she was a fake until the very end.

‘But. The fake wouldn’t have had this choker you gave me… the connection device, so she wouldn’t have been able to see Mimir. Didn’t you feel anything strange there?’

‘Hmm… I didn’t really feel anything. I didn’t even talk to Mimir.’

Looking back, there were some slightly awkward situations.

The fact that she didn’t respond to Mimir’s words, or that she didn’t focus her gaze on Mimir.

‘I just thought she was being cautious. Mimir didn’t directly talk to her either.’

In reality, even at the beginning, she didn’t really turn her gaze towards Mimir.

So, I just thought that was how it was.

‘Ah, I see. I can see how you’d think that.’

Stella nodded, as if she understood.

‘Whatever the case. It’s a relief in the end. That my fake didn’t cause any major problems…’

Stella shook her head with an expression that said she didn’t even want to imagine it.

‘If my fake had gone to Sunchan or Adela instead of Hayul…’

She shuddered, as if she was getting goosebumps just from imagining it.

‘Wait a minute. Fakes would have gone to Sunchan and Adela too. Isn’t that dangerous? If your fake had appeared on their side…’

As I said, the fake Stella was indistinguishable.

Not only Sunchan but also Adela wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

There could have been a problem with their safety.

‘It’s okay. The replicated fakes are only one per person.’

One per person?

‘You mean there’s one replica of me and one replica of you?’

‘Yes. There’s also one replica each of Sunchan and Adela.’

‘……How do you know that?’

‘I heard it while arguing with the fake Adela. She was so excited that she told me all sorts of things.’

Stella gritted her teeth.

She had an expression that said she was still angry even thinking about it.

What on earth did she hear and how?

‘Then it’s okay.’

‘Yes. It should be okay.’

As long as it’s not the fake Stella.

My fake, Sunchan’s fake, as long as they have an AI, it would be easy to identify them.

Both of them would have easily noticed they were fakes and dealt with them.

‘But. Regardless of whether they’re safe or not. How do we join up?’

Adela and Sunchan being safe was one thing.

We had to find a way to join up.

‘Hmm. I think they’ll come if we wait.’

‘……This way?’

‘Yes. It seems that this boss room is located at the end of each room. That’s how it was in my room.’

Stella slowly turned her head.

‘They’re here now.’

And right after that.

KWA-AAANG-!

‘Cough! Cough!’

Along with the sound of a wall being smashed, a familiar voice was heard.

‘Ugh. Ptooey! Ptooey! Look at all this dust. Ugh.’

It was Sunchan’s voice.

The sound of him spitting out repeatedly in the dust cloud was heard.

‘Be careful. There have been cases of people dying from their lungs hardening after accidentally inhaling the labyrinth’s pollutants.’

Adela’s voice was heard right next to him.

‘Lungs, lungs hardening? You crazy… Tell me that sooner! Ptooey! Ptooey!’

Sunchan seemed terrified as he came out of the dust cloud and spat on the floor.

‘Ah, but this seems okay. It just feels like dirt dust.’

After that, Adela also appeared.

‘……Are you giving me medicine after giving me the disease? Or are you making fun of me?’

Sunchan’s body stiffened slightly while he was spitting.

Then, he slowly looked at Adela and grinned.

‘That wasn’t my intention…’

It was when he was waving his hand, saying it wasn’t Adela.

‘Elenaaa~!’

Mimir called out to Elena with a face full of joy.

Sunchan and Adela’s shoulders twitched simultaneously at Mimir’s voice.

‘Mimir?’

Mimir instantly flew into the sky and hugged Elena.

‘…….’

‘…….’

Sunchan and Adela were looking at me, as if they didn’t care about the two of them hugging.

‘This time, it’s real… right?’

There was a very slight hint of suspicion in Sunchan’s eyes.

‘……Hayul is probably real. Because Mimir is here. The problem is Stella Vinoche next to him…’

Adela’s eyes were openly filled with suspicion.

‘Stella. Would you please step away from Hayul for a moment?’

Adela warned Stella while preparing her magic.

‘……What did you say?’

Stella’s eyes trembled.

It was a reaction that seemed like she was desperately trying to hold back her anger.

‘Because we need to determine if you’re real or fake. I said, please step away for now.’

‘Fake…’

Stella smiled faintly.

It was a very scary smile.

‘I never thought I’d hear the same words from both the real and the fake.’

I didn’t know exactly, but it seemed clear that those words were a switch that pressed Stella’s reverse scale [a metaphor for a trigger that sets off her anger].

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just step away.’

‘What if I don’t want to?’

At this rate, a big fight might break out.

‘Both of you. Calm down.’

I immediately stepped between the two of them.

‘Adela. The Stella here is real. We’ve already dealt with the fake.’

‘……Ah.’

Adela immediately canceled her magic.

‘I see. Then I apologize.’

Then, she bowed her head to Stella.

‘…….’

Stella was still smiling as she looked at Adela.

‘How… polite.’

It was an expression that seemed like she didn’t like something.

‘It seems like something definitely happened with the fake Adela…’

What on earth happened?

What happened that made her react like that?

‘You’re hurt?’

Adela came straight to me and asked, looking at my chest.

‘Yeah. I overdid it while fighting the boss…’

Sunchan also came up behind Adela.

‘Huh? What? You’ve already dealt with the boss?’

‘Yeah.’

I pointed with my chin in the direction where the flesh mass had disappeared.

‘It’s all done. And I got what I wanted.’

I was referring to Mora.

‘……Huh? What?’

‘Huh?’

‘……You got what you wanted?’

At my words, all three of them widened their eyes at the same time.

‘Yeah. I got it. Mora’s relic.’

All three of them turned their heads at the same time and looked in the direction I was pointing.

And then, they made expressions that said they didn’t understand in their own ways.

‘There’s nothing there?’

‘What’s supposed to be there?’

‘……Can’t you see it?’

Sunchan nodded as the representative.

‘Yeah. I can’t see anything?’

‘Really?’

It seemed that these three couldn’t see Mora.

‘Looks like only I can see it.’

Whether it was because it was a relic, or because time was fixed, I didn’t know.

But it was certain that only I could see it.

‘I don’t know why I can’t see it… but anyway, you got Mora’s relic?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Then that means we can leave this labyrinth.’

A gleam of excitement flashed in Sunchan’s eyes.

‘That’s right.’

Then, he let out a silent cheer.

‘Kuh. Finally, we’re getting out of this labyrinth.’

‘……It hasn’t even been a day since we came in. Such a fuss.’

‘Is every day the same? For me, it was like a year.’

Sunchan shook his head with a disgusted expression.

‘Ugh. I don’t even want to look at a labyrinth anymore.’

Sunchan shuddered again and said.

‘Then go get it quickly. And let’s get out of here quickly.’

‘It’s hard to get it quickly. There are various circumstances. I have to negotiate directly with Mora here.’

‘……Here?’

‘Yeah.’

‘…….’

Sunchan’s excited expression sank again.

‘How long will it take?’

‘I’ll have to go inside to know, but it won’t take too long. Time flows differently inside and outside the relic. Since the outside flows 10 times slower, it’ll take 10 minutes at most?’

Ten minutes outside was 100 minutes inside the relic.

That should be enough.

‘Ah, what? Just 10 minutes? I thought it was something else.’

Sunchan’s expression brightened again.

‘Then go quickly and come back.’

As if he wanted to get out even a second faster, he pushed my back towards the relic.

I was led by the force and arrived in front of the relic.

‘Leave the preparations for departure to us. We’ll have everything ready by the time you come back.’

‘Okay. I’ll leave it to you.’

I turned my gaze to Stella and Adela, who were looking at me from over Sunchan’s shoulder.

‘I’ll be back. Wait for me.’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay.’

The two nodded.

‘Mimir.’

Mimir, who was being spoiled by Elena in the distance, reacted to my call.

‘Ah, right.’

With an expression that said she had forgotten, she flew to me and prepared to assist me.

‘Ahem. Time stop. I’ll release it.’

Apart from forgetting, it seemed that she had finished all the preparations in advance.

She immediately began supporting me.

‘Just move according to my guidance.’

I moved my mana according to Mimir’s instructions.

And finally.

‘Finis.’

‘Finis.’

I recited the activation words for Finis.

At that moment, Finis covered Mora’s relic.

My vision was filled with light.

And.

‘Welcome.’

A pure white woman appeared from within the light.

‘I’ve been waiting for you.’