The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

There was little life on the Great Galactic Union’s artificial island, the Next Stage.

Or at least in this area.

The only things moving around the long and pointlessly flashing buildings with differently coloured artificial lighting that dazzled the eyes were machines that busily traveled along the ground or in the air.

[…….]

Withdrawing her outstretched hand, Pale looked around.

The world she saw was dyed red. The moment she had come to terms with the death she didn’t want to accept, her vision became like this.

She hadn’t fully vented the anger pent up in her chest. Proof of this being the fact that this planet was still intact.

But her patience was gradually reaching its limit.

This was because she couldn’t get rid of the causes of that anger.

Especially one of them. A being who would suddenly appear, change the battle situation, and quickly disappear again.

Pale knew who it was.

“…”

First, she turned to the woman, who was also looking at her.

Because of that woman.

Because of her annoying ability, Pale had failed to achieve her goal until now.

Nevertheless.

[This is the limit.]

“…….”

[That’s right. That power far exceeds the capacity of a mortal.]

“Well. I don’t think it’s that amazing of a power.”

Although Iris said this with a smile, to Anastasia it seemed like nothing more than a pitiful bluff.

‘Iris, what the hell kind of power are you using…?’

The veins on her forehead were clearly prominent, and her eyes were so bloodshot it seemed like she would cry tears of blood at any moment.

With the exception of Lucid, everyone that was still alive was doing so under the protection of Iris.

Of course, Anastasia was no exception.

‘Shit. Iris’ plan is screwed.’

Of course, she didn’t know what exactly the plan was. From the start, Iris never shared the plans or strategies she concocted. She was really distasteful.

No. That wasn’t the point.

The sudden appearance of ‘Lukas Trowman’ ruined the operation Iris had designed.

Of course, he wasn’t an ally of Pale, but in the face of his indiscriminate bombardment, the Blue Knight didn’t suffer any damage. Instead, it could be said that his actions had worsened the situation as it had only roused her anger.

And their battle formation suffered.

The body of Diablo, who had just joined them, was split in two.

‘Wouldn’t it have been better to run away when the Blue Knight pursued [Lukas]?’

However, Lucid and Iris followed the Blue Knight as if they didn’t have to think about it. The rest of them were forced to follow, and the situation eventually reached this point.

“…shit.”

Anastasia was one of the few beings that were still alive, but she had surprisingly little influence on the situation. Her being there or not made no difference to the situation.

She wanted to say that fighting wasn’t her specialty in the first place, but such an excuse could only be seen as cowardly when considering the fact that she possessed the body of a battle golem.

‘Even the Blue Knight isn’t completely unscathed.’

Her armour had quite a few scars on it. Lucid’s wounds were far more severe so they couldn’t really brag, but still…

Shuk.

Suddenly, Lucid’s chest was cut deeply. There was the sound of not only his armour, but also the flesh inside being cut.

Although there was no blood splatter, Lucid’s body instantly staggered. His sword shook as if it would fall to the ground at any moment. Had he reached the point where he couldn’t even maintain his grip?

Anastasia belatedly tried to join, but Pale’s series of attacks continued before she could. Instead of withdrawing her sword which was explosively drawing a straight line to the sky, she extended her right leg and shoved Lucid’s chest.

Clang!

Looking at it again, rather than shove, it was better to say she launched him. Lucid’s body flew like a cannonball, striking a wall so hard it created a sound that threatened to tear their eardrums.

Iris’ expression hardened.

Lucid’s absence from the frontline was equivalent to the collapse of the frontline.

The term ‘desperate situation’ flashed in her mind.

Shuk.

The last thing she noticed was the disappearance of Pale’s figure. From the start, Iris’ sensory organs were unable to keep up with Pale’s movements.

The same was true for Anastasia and the few survivors that were left.

Lucid was the only one who could respond to her, but now, he was implanted in a wall with injuries that could not be ignored.

When she noticed Pale’s presence again

‘─ah.’

The thing that entered Iris’ sight was a pale blade.

Glowing under the artificial lighting, the blade slowly fell. As it did, her mind went blank, and her entire body was still as if she had been frozen.

But the blade stopped just before cutting Iris.

“…”

Cold sweat broke out.

Just now, Iris almost died without realising.

But just before, Pale stopped her slash.

[…why?]

Soon after, a powerless voice leaked out.

The blue eyes within the helmet shook violently.

[Why did you block it?]

Whoosh─

Then, when someone appeared through space, Iris’ eyes couldn’t help but shake like Pale’s voice.

“…enough.”

Panting, Lukas spoke.

His head ached. Was this the backlash from forcibly using spatial movement? Nevertheless, if he had hesitated for even a moment, it would have been too late.

“Stand back.”

He said this without looking back.

He could feel the slight inhalation of breath behind him.

[…]

Pale looked at that figure before taking a few steps back.

Then she took off her helmet, revealing a face covered in blood and sweat. Pale’s expression was not something that could be described in a few words.

It looked like she was about to cry, angry, and expressionless all at the same time.

“Why did you block it?”

The same question came once again.

“Why are you siding with them?”

“…Pale.”

“Do you know what those guys did?”

“They didn’t kill Butterfly.”

“They’re the same group.”

“That’s a misunderstanding. VIP is—”

“Even if it’s a misunderstanding, that changes nothing.”

Pale raised her sword.

“From the start, they are the ones that wanted to fight me. They had a chance to end the fight but they kept persisting.”

That was right.

They could have stopped the fight when Pale chased after ‘Lukas’. But, instead, they chose to pursue Pale to the end.

Lukas also kept his mouth shut.

Subduing the Blue Knight was one of the cornerstones of Diablo’s plan to become the Void King.

And these people… were those that agreed with Diablo’s ideals.

The only variable was that Pale was much stronger than they’d expected.

“I see.”

Pale suddenly giggled.

“Lukas is also putting them before me. You want to kill me to protect them.”

“No. These people you’re trying to kill can no longer…”

It took a bit of time and courage to spit out the rest of the sentence.

“…be my meaning.”

“Is that so? From the look on your face, I don’t think so.”

She didn’t look at Lukas as she said this.

He wondered who Pale was looking at and talking to, but he couldn’t afford to turn around at that moment. In the first place, it could be a lie.

“In the end, Lukas is trying to trick me too. Haha. Ahaha.”

Holding her face, Pale burst into laughter for a while.

Then, she slowly put her helmet back on, as if donning a heavy crown.

[Right. At best, it can only be said that we met in a garbage dump*.](*:This is actually the same ‘Dump Site’ as the territory, but considering they didn’t go there this life, I’m assuming she is referring to the world of void as a whole)

“You’re wrong.”

[Then what is it?]

“For you.”

Pale’s movements suddenly stopped.

“Pale. I’m stopping you here, for your sake.”

[What the hell…?]

“They never intended to kill you from the start. Diablo’s goal wasn’t to kill but to subdue.”

[…]

“They are just annoying you. Something about them just offended you. And if that’s your only reason for killing them… you will be ruined. You might not realise it right away, but it will slowly eat at your mind. Then, one day, you will think of this moment, and you will regret it terribly.”

[Regret? That’s not something I’ve done before.]

“I heard something similar before coming here. So I know. That’s a lie.”

With a smile, Lukas said.

“I know you. You are not a Ruler. You can’t be like that.”

If that were the case, then even if she did regret, it would not be until the moment she died.

Lukas only knew this fact because he was the one who had seen Pale’s most diverse forms.

[…bullshit. Don’t pretend like you know me.]

Pale spoke in a dangerous voice.

[If that’s really true then you kill them. I can kill them with Lukas’ hand instead of my own. Then there would be no reason for anything to eat away at me.]

“That’s far-fetched.”

[Haha. Right. I knew you’d answer like that. Then I… I…]

Pale’s voice dropped.

The air shook.

This was dangerous. Lukas knew. Pale’s ego was very unstable. Compared to the other Knights, it was more fragile than glass.

That was why she hadn’t yet been told the ‘truth of the world’ that Diablo had told him.

Crack, crack…

Cracks began to appear on the ground and surrounding buildings.

[No. Not this. This isn’t what I wanted…]

Pale continued to mutter in an unstable voice.

Still staring at Pale through the rubble of the collapsing buildings, Lukas said.

“Leave.”

He said to Iris.

“And don’t do anything stupid like trying to subdue the Blue Knight again.”

“…why are you protecting us?”

“Since I am the one that brought Pale to this world, I am obligated to send her back to her original world.”

“…”

“Sorry, but I don’t think I can afford to take care of other people.”

A moment of hesitation.

“I can do it.”

At this time, Iris was swift. She quickly made up her mind and began taking care of those around her.

Just before leaving, she left a word.

“…don’t die.”

Lukas pretended not to notice the emotion in her voice.

His words to Pale weren’t lies. Iris… could no longer be Lukas’ meaning. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It just, just happened like that. And it was very difficult to revive a broken relationship.

It wasn’t long before Iris’ presence disappeared completely. The same was true for the other presences in the surrounding area.

Then, looking at Pale again, Lukas said inwardly.

‘Lightning God.’

[What is it?]

‘What are my chances of winning?’

[Zero.]

His certainty was a bit annoying. Although he agreed.

Lukas laughed at that thought.

‘Then, what are my chances of survival?’

[The probability of that is also low. The Blue Knight’s mind is extremely unstable. It seems that you managed to somehow build a relationship with her, but that probably doesn’t mean much in the current situation. Look. Isn’t she already unable to distinguish her surroundings?]

After a moment of silence, the Lightning God continued.

[To put it simply, she already lost her mind.]

‘…’

[What a contradictory being. Such power, yet such an unstable ego… hmm. It is understandable why she hates God more than anyone else.]

At that moment, Pale’s figure disappeared.

Lukas’ eyes widened and he raised his concentration to the limit.

—Minimal time zone.

In the world where everything moved slowly, Lukas grasped Pale’s movements. Surprisingly, despite being in the minimal time zone, she was still moving at an alarming pace.

It was a terrifying sight. If it hadn’t been for the slowly moving objects in the surroundings, Lukas might have mistakenly thought that he hadn’t actually entered the minimal time zone.

‘Shit.’

He had to overpower that? Him?

He already began to feel dizzy.

Pale’s movements were devastating.

With every step she took, the ground cracked, and he could see a shockwave that turned the surrounding buildings to dust spreading outward in every direction. This was a mess that she was creating simply from her momentum.

Not allowing approach.

This was a battle method that Lukas had adopted some time ago, but this time, it was a necessity.

He could not allow Pale to get within five steps of him.

Paht.

A storm of magic unfolded from his outstretched hand.

‘This isn’t the time to worry about the surrounding space.’

If he left Pale as is, the universe itself would be destroyed.

Countless spells scratched Pale’s armour. But, at best, all of the scratches were not even worth being called scratches.

This was proven by the fact that the speed of Pale’s approach was not reduced in the slightest.

‘What should I use?’

Lukas thought of all the means he had, but none of them led to the image of him defeating Pale.

His throat burned with anxiety.

Now, the distance from Pale was about 20 steps, he still had time to—

—Think.

Piht.

Disappeared.

Pale disappeared.

Puk!

Immediately after, Lukas felt a burning pain in his stomach. Instead of letting out a scream, he used space leap to widen the distance as much as possible.

‘What happened…’

The cool touch of the blade was still vivid.

The pain Pale left behind was so severe that Lukas almost screamed for a moment.

The Lightning God commented calmly.

[It’s nothing grandiose. It’s just instantaneous acceleration.]

‘She moved at a speed that I couldn’t perceive, in the minimal time zone?’

[Kuku. Lukas Trowman…. Do not underestimate the being in front of you.]

The Lightning God chuckled.

[That is a monster.]

This was even heavier considering the fact that it came from none other than a Ruler.

Lukas used void to heal his wound in an instant.

Unable to perceive her movement even in the minimal time zone, Lukas realised that he was completely mistaken.

The level of power revealed by the Four Knights far exceeded his expectations.

Monsters comparable to the main body of a Ruler.

If that was the case, then Lukas didn’t have time to choose between means and methods.

Right. Means and methods…

‘Lightning God.’

[What is it?]

Gritting his teeth, Lukas said.

‘Lend me your power.’

[…!]

He could feel the Lightning God’s surprise.

Then, for a moment, he also felt his immense joy.

[Uhahaha!]

The Lightning God burst into laughter.

[I’ve been waiting for those words, Lukas Trowman!]

‘I can’t afford to waste time, hurry!’

[Kuhahahaha! Good! I’ll let you taste a bit of extreme power!]

The next moment, Pale’s figure disappeared.

Rumble!

And a bolt of lightning struck the world that had ground to a halt.

(1/2)

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