The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 463

“100 years? What’s with that vague time frame?”

Sharle seemed more fixated on the 100-year timeframe than the fact that the End God was going to resurrect.

“If he’s going to resurrect, he should do it right away, or much later. What’s with 100 years?” she grumbled.

She didn’t seem to think the End God’s resurrection was a big deal at all.

“100 years… As the Captain said, it’s a rather vague time, isn’t it?” Kim Kang-in’s reaction was similar.

They were more focused on the 100-year timeframe than the resurrection of the End God, a being of immense calamity.

“100 years… That would make us 123 years old. Will we even be alive by then?”

“Hmm. I think it’s possible? Mana users tend to have longer lifespans anyway…” Ji Soon-chan and Adela’s reactions were no different from the previous two.

Everyone was remarkably relaxed.

“Considering the pace of technological advancement, living to 120 shouldn’t be a problem, I think,” Stella’s reaction was the most composed of them all.

‘……Ugh. I hope I don’t smell sweaty?’

However, even Stella wasn’t composed because she heard the End God would be resurrected. She was just still bothered by the fact that she came without being able to wash up.

“I just said that Ragnarok [the final battle between gods and monsters in Norse mythology] could happen again within 100 years. You guys are very relaxed?” Shin Ha-yul looked at everyone with a slightly surprised expression.

The five of them all focused their gaze on Shin Ha-yul.

“Ragnarok?” Sharle snorted.

“Well, I don’t think there’s even a 0.0001% chance of that happening.”

Kim Kang-in chuckled softly. All five of them had expressions that asked why they should worry about that.

“Right. If he said he’d resurrect in a thousand years, I might be a little worried?” Ji Soon-chan leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs leisurely.

“I think I could handle it in about 100 years,” Adela was practically radiating fighting spirit. She looked like she was looking forward to the day she would fight the End God again.

“Adela. You can’t do it alone. Ha-yul said it before, right? You can’t win without a way to counter divine power,” Stella casually interjected. So far, it was a very reasonable statement.

“So, I’ll be the one to face him.”

However, the next statement was not.

“You said you can’t win without a way to counter divine power, right?”

“It’s okay. It’ll come about in 100 years,” Stella smiled brightly and added, ‘Because there’s nothing Vino Sugar’s sword can’t cut!’ It was a very optimistic statement.

“According to that theory, I can also find a way to deal with divine power in about 100 years,” Adela said with a slightly irritated expression. You can’t, but I can. Stella’s words sounded like she was looking down on her.

“I’m not looking down on you. I’m just thinking about the difference between a mage and a swordsman,” Stella looked at Adela with a serious expression.

“Mages are different from swordsmen. To counter divine power, a swordsman just needs to train to cut divine power, but a mage needs to train to handle divine power.”

Refining an existing system versus refining a new system. There’s no need to say which one is more difficult.

“So, when the time comes, leave that guy to me, and you can relax in the back,” Stella smiled brightly.

“No way. I’ll be the one to face the End God,” Adela replied with a firm expression. As Stella said, learning a new system called divine power would be very difficult, but that didn’t matter at all. It would work out somehow in 100 years.

“……”

“……”

The two stared intently at each other. The will to not back down an inch was palpable.

“Why are you guys fighting over something like that?” Sharle shook her head.

“Just let the stronger one fight when the time comes. Why make a fuss over something so simple?”

“……Ah?”

“Ah……?” Stella and Adela widened their eyes at the same time. ‘There was that way!’ Their expressions clearly said that.

“And in the first place, do you think you’ll even get a chance? That monster over there will take care of it,” Sharle leaned back on the sofa, put her arms behind her neck, and slightly turned her head to look at Shin Ha-yul.

“You never know what might happen.”

“We have to consider all the variables,” Stella and Adela expressed the same thing in slightly different ways.

“What might happen? Variables?” Sharle smiled playfully at the two of them.

“So, in other words, you guys think Ha-yul will die in 100 years?”

“……Huh?” The two froze at the same time.

“Well, I mean. I just thought the only situation where something might happen is when something happens to Ha-yul.”

“That’s……” That was true. The only situation where these two would fight the End God is when something happens to Shin Ha-yul.

“Well, there’s definitely a possibility of that, but……” Sharle looked back and forth between the two and Shin Ha-yul with an expression that said it was too much.

“Still, it’s a bit much. It’s 100 years in the future. Are you already holding a memorial service for him?”

“We’re, we’re not holding a memorial service……!” Stella was flustered and stammered.

“No, I understand. Ha-yul might not be around in 100 years.”

“That’s not what we meant……” Adela was less flustered than Stella, but she seemed flustered nonetheless. Even though they didn’t mean it at all, it was true that they had said something that sounded like they were wishing for their friend’s death. Their conscience was pricked for no reason.

“It’s okay. I said I understand,” Sharle looked at the two of them and laughed as if it was the most amusing thing in the world. ‘Ah. This is fun.’ As expected, teasing Shin Ha-yul is the most fun thing in the world. His reactions are truly amazing.

“Um. Ha-yul, it’s not like that. You know that, right?”

“I just wanted to prove my strength by defeating the End God,” The two approached Shin Ha-yul and made excuses for no reason.

“Of course, I know,” Shin Ha-yul smiled brightly.

“Well, you never know what might happen. I might be dead in 100 years.” It was a very playful smile that didn’t lose to Sharle’s.

“I could die tomorrow. You know, things like that?” Cold sweat ran down Stella’s back. Somehow, saying it like that made it seem like she had said something she shouldn’t have.

“So, that……”

“It’s not like that……” The two opened and closed their mouths like broken toys.

Ji Soon-chan laughed out loud as he watched the three of them.

“Stop tormenting the innocent Stella and Adela.”

“Wasn’t I the one being tormented?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, you villain. Anyone can see that you’re the one tormenting them,” He told them to stop, but he was smiling. Ji Soon-chan was also enjoying the situation.

“It’s refreshing and nice to see,” Kim Kang-in was also smiling. He just liked the peaceful atmosphere right now.

“……Tsk,” Stella, who had finished grasping the situation thanks to Ji Soon-chan’s words, glared at Shin Ha-yul with a sulky expression. Shin Ha-yul made a ‘whoops’ expression.

‘That expression where her cheeks are about to puff up. It’s the prelude to Se-in’s certified sulking stage 3.’ If he left it like this, she would definitely sulk properly. Was it a bit too much to joke around with people’s lives? ‘Whatever, let’s quickly fix this first.’ Shin Ha-yul finished thinking and immediately took action.

“Ahem. Anyway, the conversation went a bit off track. The End God will definitely resurrect within 100 years.” Even though it was an action, it wasn’t a big deal. He just changed the topic back to the original one.

“Looking at what you all are saying, it seems like you think it doesn’t matter if the End God resurrects, is that right?” Stella was about to argue, but since it was about the topic, she closed her mouth for now. She took deep breaths repeatedly and put her upset feelings inside. Being sulky was being sulky, and important things were important things. Listening to those words was the priority. ‘Thank you, Se-in.’ Se-in said. Stella has a personality that strictly distinguishes between public and private matters, so if something disadvantageous happens privately, bring up something important publicly to change the topic, and it will work well. It was exactly as she said.

“Well, yeah. You beat him at 23, so wouldn’t you be able to beat him at 123?” Sharle answered on behalf of everyone.

“Frankly, even if he resurrected in 10 years, wouldn’t 33-year-old Shin Ha-yul be able to handle it somehow?” It was a natural thought. 23 years old. An age far from the prime of a mage. Shin Ha-yul defeated the End God at such a young age. It was natural to think that it didn’t matter if the End God reappeared in the future.

“Hmm. I can see why you might think that, but……” Shin Ha-yul looked at everyone with a very serious expression.

“That’s not the case. The reason I was able to overwhelm the End God this time was because the End God had absorbed Veil Stole’s body. If he resurrects without such restrictions, it won’t be like this time.” If he didn’t absorb Veil Stole’s body, it would be difficult to gain an advantage in divine power. If he was pushed back in divine power, the battle would become very difficult.

“And this resurrection isn’t like the incomplete resurrection using Veil Stole. It’s a complete resurrection.”

“……Complete resurrection?”

“Yes.” Everyone looked at Shin Ha-yul with eyes that asked what that meant.

“Is a complete resurrection something that can happen so easily?” Adela asked on behalf of everyone.

“It’s normally impossible,” Shin Ha-yul looked at Adela and answered, then turned his gaze back to everyone. The End God barely managed to succeed in an incomplete resurrection using Veil Stole’s body after 170,000 years. Now that the medium of Veil Stole has completely disappeared, a complete resurrection should be impossible. But.

“……The time acceleration I used to deal with him this time has become a problem.” The situation was now turning out to be a bit of a mess.

“Time acceleration?”

“Yes. It’s a divine technique that pulls my future potential into this era to fight the End God, but……” Shin Ha-yul’s expression became serious.

“Because of this divine technique, time was distorted, and a change occurred in the End God’s existence itself.”

“Change? What kind of change?”

“It’s hard to explain everything. It’s a theory that I was barely able to understand with the help of Mimir and Umbra [likely referring to characters or entities with knowledge of the arcane].”

There is no such thing as power without a price. Just as mana is used as a price for using magic, everything requires a price.

“To put it simply, as a price for pulling in my future power, the End God has also become able to pull in future power.” This is the reason why the End God, who should have resurrected in the distant future, was able to resurrect within 100 years.

“The End God will bring ‘possibilities’ from the most ideal future he envisions.”

“The most ideal future…… That’s a complete resurrection, then,” Sharle said with a sharp expression.

“Yes.” If this continued, the monster that led the past, the mythical era, to destruction, the End God, would resurrect with the same power as that era. If that happened, even Shin Ha-yul wouldn’t be able to guarantee a 100% chance of victory. Unless he was given a full 100-year preparation period. If he suddenly appeared in 10 or 20 years, there would be no way to stop him.

“……That’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Yes. That’s why I called everyone here.” If it wasn’t a dangerous situation, he wouldn’t have bothered to gather everyone.

“Then we need to find a way, right?” Sharle was lost in thought. What should they do to face the End God who would resurrect in a complete state? Naturally, nothing came to mind. Since divine power and gods were unknown entities to Sharle, there was no way she could come up with a countermeasure.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I have something prepared.”

“Ah, what? You do?” Sharle sighed in relief.

“You should have said you had something. I was worried.” She had finally been able to sleep comfortably, but she was about to have insomnia again.

“What’s the method?”

“I’m going to block the possibilities that the End God will bring from the future in advance.”

“……Block the possibilities? How? Are you going to go to the future or something?” Is it possible to go to the future if you use divine power?

“No. That’s impossible.” Moving through time to the future is impossible even for Mora, the goddess of time. If they could freely move through time, they would have freely moved to the past or future and erased the End God’s existence itself.

“Then how are you going to do it? If you can’t move to the future, it’s impossible to block the possibilities of the future.”

“It’s possible.” Even if they can’t move to the future, it’s possible to block the possibilities of the future.

“I’m going to observe the future in advance and control all the major branching points that have the possibility of flowing favorably for the End God.”

“Observe the future? Isn’t that the problem in the first place?”

“It would normally be a problem.” Now that Mora has disappeared, there is no way to observe the future. Normally, it would be impossible to use this method.

“But. I’ve seen all the future possibilities where the End God and I are intertwined.”

“Ah.” I had seen countless futures to pull in the future possibilities that I would have. I had indirectly experienced all the major branching points where I and the End God were intertwined. In other words, I don’t need to observe the future. The observation has already been completed.

“Of course, just because I know the future doesn’t mean I can easily change it.”

“Yeah. I guess so.” There are countless major branching points. There was no way that the task of controlling them one by one would be easy.

“So. I’d like to ask for your help.”

“……Us?” Sharle tilted her head slightly.

“What can we do?”

“I’m not asking you to do anything too big.” The future changes with very trivial things. Shin Ha-yul, who had directly experienced Mora’s power, knew that fact very well.

“First, Captain Sharle. Do you have any thoughts on taking on a disciple?” Trivial things accumulate and accumulate, and the future changes. Therefore, what they need to do now is not big things, but trivial things.

“……A disciple? Out of the blue?”

“Yes. I think you’ll enjoy raising them.” For a better future, they take one more step forward today. That’s the method I found to defeat the end.