The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 458

Inside the black barrier created by the collision of mana.

Dissolutio and the End God’s mana clashed, filling the surroundings with remnants of mana and corrupted mana.

Even though they were separated from their main bodies, they retained their original properties, making them incredibly volatile.

So volatile that they were fighting each other even after being separated.

Just as Dissolutio and the End God’s magic collided, the remnants of Dissolutio and the End God’s magic continued to clash.

‘I can’t see what’s happening outside because of the barrier.’

The remnants of the two magics, which had begun to collide countless times, formed a dome-shaped barrier.

Thanks to this, it was impossible to know what was happening outside.

The mana barrier created by the clash of the two energies was not just dense; it was impenetrable.

Whether I used my divine eyes or anything else, I couldn’t see outside at all.

‘It looked dangerous overall. Are they holding up well? Or have they collapsed?’

Not being able to see anything only amplified my anxiety.

‘Please, just hold on a little longer.’

I thought of the people fighting outside and prayed inwardly.

I knew it was a prayer that wouldn’t reach them, but I prayed earnestly and desperately, as if grasping at straws.

‘Three minutes. Just hold on for three more minutes.’

Three minutes remained until the ten minutes Mimir had mentioned.

If they could just hold on a little longer, Mimir would come to help.

‘Mimir’s arrival will coincide with Adela’s group joining the fight. Then, things will somehow work out outside.’

Three minutes until the golden time.

If we could endure that time, my victory would be solidified, and if we couldn’t, the End God’s victory would become even more certain.

“Hmm. I don’t understand why you’re so concerned about the situation outside.”

The End God spoke to me then.

As he spoke, he scattered his mana again.

He was using supplementary magic to reinforce the magic that had begun to weaken.

“It doesn’t matter whether your friends outside are holding up well or not.”

At that moment, the balance between the two magics began to tilt rapidly.

Dissolutio, which had only been consuming power, could not fully resist the End God’s parasitic magic, which had been replenished and restored to its full condition.

Dissolutio was slowly being pushed back.

“You will die here. Without even seeing what’s happening outside.”

Dissolutio’s momentum was weakening.

At this rate, it would be difficult to hold out for even one minute, let alone three.

As the End God said, now was not the time to worry about the outside.

It was time to worry about my own life.

“Dissolutio!”

I recited Dissolutio’s activation phrase once more.

Then, the fading vitality of Dissolutio ignited.

As if it had never been overwhelmed.

The balance was restored to a parallel line.

“A futile struggle.”

Then, the End God scattered his mana again.

It was similar to the supplementary magic he had used earlier, but subtly different.

If I had to give it a name, it would be expansion magic.

The End God’s mana became even denser, and the output of his parasitic magic became even stronger.

“Your magic. The weakness of mythical magic is its slowness. You cannot keep up with the speed of my magic.”

The balance, which had barely been maintained, began to tilt rapidly again.

Dissolutio was collapsing much faster than before.

“If you had achieved the same level as Ray Bell Bytenner… if you were a 9th Circle Master, it wouldn’t have ended so easily.”

Currently, Shin Hayul’s achievement was at the 9th Circle [a high level of magic mastery].

The End God had fully absorbed the Veil and possessed the power of a 9th Circle Master.

If the two fought, Shin Hayul would naturally lose.

“It’s a shame. If you had a little more time, you might have had a chance to win.”

“Dissolutio!”

Shin Hayul recited Dissolutio’s activation phrase again.

Dissolutio’s momentum was somewhat revived.

“It’s useless.”

Then, the End God scattered his mana again.

Following the supplementary magic and expansion magic, he used reinforcement magic.

“Your incantation cannot keep up with my magic processing speed.”

With this, the supplementary magic applied to Dissolutio was two times.

And the supplementary magic applied to the parasitic magic was three times.

Even though the supplementary magic was cast at the same time, a 1.5 times difference had occurred.

“The gap will continue to widen as time passes.”

When the End God used supplementary magic six times, Shin Hayul could only use it four times.

The parasitic magic, which had been reinforced six times, would completely crush Dissolutio, which had been reinforced four times.

Nine times, twelve times, fifteen times.

The more supplementary magic was used, the faster the balance would tilt.

“You’ve lost. You cannot defeat me.”

The End God’s fourth supplementary magic was completed.

Dissolutio screamed.

Shin Hayul belatedly reinforced it with her third supplementary magic, but it was only enough to barely hold on.

Dissolutio’s momentum continued to weaken.

“Looking at your pathetic state, I am suddenly reminded of something your ancestor said in the past.”

It seemed he was recalling the memories he had absorbed from Veil Stoll.

“The Bytenner style is a power for the future. Or so it was.”

The Bytenner style is a power for the future.

Black magic is a power for the present.

The identities of the two magic systems.

“In the distant future, the Bytenner style will evolve one step further. He was so confident…”

The End God laughed as if it were ridiculous.

“Where exactly is it supposed to have evolved?”

His words strongly implied mockery.

Nothing had changed from the past, so how could that be a power for the future?

It seemed his goal was to deny the very existence of the Bytenner style.

“Miho!”

I lightly ignored the End God’s sarcasm and called out to Miho.

It was truly dangerous now.

I couldn’t maintain Dissolutio on my own.

I needed Miho’s help.

Whirr-whirr-whirr-!

As if reading my mind, Miho immediately took action.

She gathered the spirit flames that filled the surroundings and reformed them into high-density spirit flames.

“You plan to reinforce Dissolutio with spirit flames.”

That was correct.

Until now, the spirit flames had only been used to restrict the End God’s movements and prevent him from escaping.

If they didn’t do that, the End God would surely roam all over the battlefields and create chaos.

If that happened, there would be no chance of victory.

Even if it meant taking some losses, it was necessary to bind the End God’s feet with spirit flames.

“Not a bad decision. After all, neither you nor I can go outside right now because of those dark barriers.”

But now, there was no need for that.

The mana barrier created by the clash between Dissolutio and the parasitic magic was blocking the End God’s movements.

Now, there was no problem even if all the spirit flames were withdrawn.

“But. That is also just a temporary measure.”

As the spirit flames reinforced Dissolutio, the power of the parasitic magic also increased.

The End God had reinforced the parasitic magic again with his sixth reinforcement magic.

“The result will not change. Your defeat is already decided.”

It was hard to deny his words.

My magic processing ability was currently far behind the End God’s.

I could temporarily replenish my power with Miho’s help, but that was all.

In the end, I was destined to be pushed back again.

“One minute at the fastest. Two minutes at the most, even if you give it your all.”

Two minutes at the most.

My defeat would be decided within that time.

“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what your friends will think when they see you, having been taken over by the parasitic magic and become my puppet.”

The magic the End God was currently using was parasitic magic.

Originally, it was a magic used to parasitize mana into spirit flames and make them his own.

But now that the spirit flames had disappeared, that goal could not be achieved.

The current purpose of the parasitic magic was to completely devour my Dissolutio and then parasitize my body.

If Dissolutio was destroyed, my body would be directly hit by his parasitic magic, and he would take over my body.

As the End God said, I would be reduced to a puppet doll of the End God.

It was truly a desperate situation.

But why?

I didn’t feel that desperate.

“That look… You. You’re waiting for something.”

The End God narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

“You think there’s a way. That you can win when the time comes. That’s what you’re thinking.”

The End God clicked his tongue as if he were displeased.

“Are you waiting for someone’s help? Or have you prepared some kind of trap?”

Caution filled the End God’s eyes.

“No. There is no trap. There can’t be.”

I could clearly feel the strong will in the End God’s eyes, telling me that he would never let his guard down.

“Then, are you waiting for someone?”

The End God scoffed.

The deep caution disappeared in an instant, and ridicule filled the space where caution had been.

“That’s ridiculous. Who could possibly come to help you in this situation?”

The End God spread his arms and sneered.

“Look around you. A thick magic barrier, so thick that neither you nor I can do anything about it, is blocking all sides.”

The mana barrier was becoming thicker and thicker as the battle continued.

The barrier was so thick and strong that even if I used Dissolutio or Ignis at maximum output, it would be impossible to break through it.

“You’re waiting for someone to break through that barrier and come to help you in this situation? That’s not even funny.”

The End God shook his head and sneered again.

He looked like he was speechless at how absurd it was.

“Don’t have useless hope. No one can come to help you. You are the only one who can protect your body.”

The End God cast his eighth supplementary magic.

Finally, Dissolutio began to disappear.

It seemed impossible to hold on any longer.

“No, that’s not quite right. It’s impossible for you to protect your body either.”

The End God’s parasitic magic completely swallowed Dissolutio.

Dissolutio would completely disappear within 10 seconds.

At the same time, my body would be handed over to him.

The moment my body was handed over to him, defeat would be certain.

“It’s over. Half-human.”

I looked at the disappearing Dissolutio.

It was a scene that anyone would consider desperate, but I didn’t feel that way.

“…You’re late.”

It was only natural.

“I’m not late.”

There was no reason to despair, so why would I?

“You said it would take 10 minutes, but you came in 9 minutes. You came 1 minute early, so how can you say I’m late?”

The moment Dissolutio disappeared, a warm presence settled behind my back.

Someone was hugging me from behind.

“Don’t you know you’re supposed to arrive at the meeting place 5 minutes before the appointment time? You should have come 4 minutes earlier.”

It was definitely a warmth I was feeling for the first time, but it felt somehow familiar.

“Just be grateful that I came on time.”

Her voice was trembling.

It sounded like she was crying, and also like she was angry.

It was a trembling that conveyed a mix of emotions.

“You foolish successor. You irresponsible successor. You just dump everything on me…”

Mimir lightly pinched the back of my neck. She seemed angry.

“I trusted you.”

“I know. That’s why I’m even more angry.”

Then, an arm stretched out over my shoulder.

“You… where did you come from?”

The End God stared intently at my back and asked.

I heard a sound of someone sticking out their tongue behind me.

It seemed she didn’t even want to talk to the End God.

“Successor. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

At that moment, Dissolutio completely collapsed.

“There’s no way I could have forgotten.”

I slowly reached out my hand as well.

“That’s a relief. I was going to kick you in the shin if you said you had forgotten.”

A slender woman’s hand was placed on top of mine.

I felt that warmth and smiled lightly.

I couldn’t help but smile.

I turned my head slightly.

I could see the familiar face of a woman right next to mine.

“I’m counting on you, Mimir.”

“Yeah. Leave it to me.”

Mimir.

She replied with a bright smile.

“Dissolutio.”

“Dissolutio.”

Together with Mimir, the lost no-chant mythical magic was back in my hands.