Chapter 584. Eventually (5)

'It's not like that bastard Kang Changho was much help anyway, so it's for the best. I—I am absolutely not angry about losing my assistant!'

To be honest, I feel like I could stay up for three days and nights just explaining how unfair this is.

'Absolutely...'

Isn't South Korea's 3rd S-rank traditionally a law unto himself anyway? Again, I had more or less anticipated my comrade's betrayal even before this crucial battle began.

Slither.

Furthermore, a monster the size of a mountain was breathing down my neck right in front of me.

'Ugh.'

No more complaining. I steadied my mind and shifted my thoughts in a constructive direction.

'What a life I lead.'

How on earth did things get to this point? I decided to reflect on the past few minutes. By ruminating on past actions like this, a living being could often find a way out through previous experiences.

A few minutes ago. Inside the artificial island created by the power of soil-related Awakened.

'I managed to put together some greenery, but...'

At this point, the surrounding environment was still intact.

'Even though the scenery was created naturally, not a single flying insect can be seen, so the fine details are definitely awkward.'

This is a space prepared with the intention of being thoroughly thrashed anyway, so I'll ignore the minor flaws.

'But it should be fine.'

The moment the last Magic Master of Alphauri stepped onto another's land. As soon as the Lead Engineer and I confirmed the target's movement, we took these top-priority measures.

=======

① Cast movement magic on the enemy's tentacles that seeped out of the gate.

② Once the enemy is safely lured to the uninhabited island, immediately exercise the quality of [Guardian] to erect a prison made of mana.

=======

If that Ancient Mage had hoistered himself up inside his trademark "gate," it would have been quite a headache.

“Hmm.”

But contrary to my worries, the early phase of the plan was resolved smoothly without any interference.

'Yeah. Stuck inside a burrow like that, it's hard even for the party in question to work miracles.'

It had been a while since the enemy burst out from inside the gate. And with a vast number of winged magical beasts to boot. So, to repeat, the chief engineer and I brought the ancient sorcerer to a certain artificial island according to the original plan. During the process of [Spatial Teleportation], a few minions it produced were dragged along together, but it didn't matter much.

'It worked out well.'

If anything, it weighed on my mind that I couldn't bring all the white underlings.

Regret. I heard that mammals mainly feel this sensation during the process of parting, but to think I would fall into such a feeling while reuniting with a "thing that doesn't even look like a living creature."

'A monster in the literal sense.'

Sshhhhhh.

An eerie sound of wind, like something that would blow on a mountain ridge at dawn, settles low against the ground. I met my nemesis again on the island where I had prepared all sorts of traps and magic. However, the target was clearly in a more damaged state than when I saw him back in the binary star system.

'_How did this b*stard get so huge in the meantime...?'_

At a glance, his bulk might make him feel grand, but the other reactions, such as the sound of his breathing and his magical power, were pathetic.

'_For starters, it's explicitly near death, alright._'

At this point, it feels almost impressive that he's still alive in that wretched condition.

'_Ah, you stubborn prick. Anyway, if you were going to live this long, you should have taken better care of our home world from the start._'

Drip. Drip.

The mage, who had drifted far from being a living thing, incessantly dripped an unidentified black oil. His bodily fluids are polluting Earth's soil. Therefore, just looking at this state, it's certain that the enemy must be killed as soon as possible—

'_Let's trap that guy here securely._'

I activated the special ability to draw in all the environmental mana while a single thought occurred to me.

[Perhaps there was a reason why Alphauri remained silent all this time?]

Seeing a mage who lived in the same era fallen to such depths... a sudden suspicion truly bloomed within me. As a rule, there is a magic called [Precognition] in this world. Until now, it was used at best for accurate weather forecasting, but regardless, the Lead Engineer and the Magic Master clans presumed to be his ancestors certainly developed such technology.

[Precognition] means it is a technique that even individual mages like the Lead Engineer and I can use. However, in this day and age where future prediction has become so convenient, could the source of all mysteries embedded in the planetary core really have been ignorant of its future?

"..."

In the world, it is natural for flowers to bloom and eventually wither. In fact, the future befalling a specific object can be predicted to some extent. Thus, I decided no longer to regard my home, Alphauri, as a taciturn fool. If it was possible for us mages, then there is a high probability that the epicenter of mystery achieved the same feat.

'_If it knew for sure that the beasts occupying its body would eventually grow like this, well, it wouldn't want to talk to them._'

If so, is the wretched sight before my eyes a picture already drawn a long time ago?

'_What a hideous end._'

Sniff.

Anyway, if it knew about such a dog-awful future, it could have at least given a slight tip-off to the handsome genius. I was right at the moment I faced the fallen Magic Master. To be honest, I had already wiped away a tear once.

'_Ugh, suffocating._'

Because from now on, all that remained was a difficult struggle atop this artificial island. Such... It was then. The thing draped in hideous skin spoke its first words from the front.

Inside the well... you too... will be the same...

The sentence that followed was severely dissociated, like protein submerged in hydrochloric acid. In other words, it was hard to understand.

'His speech has become far too clipped!'

But it wasn't to the point where communication was entirely impossible.

'Still, what that guy is about to spew right now is obvious.'

There's no need to get bogged down in trivial points.

The question the Ancient Mage was likely harboring now was simple. He was probably asking, "If you set up a mana prison like this, won't you be just as trapped in this area for a while?" The talent chosen by the planetary core receives truly powerful benefits, but that doesn't mean they can wield everything in the world according to their own will.

'He read the situation correctly.'

I used the natural phenomenon called [Guardian] to form a thick layer of mana.

Sparkle, sparkle.

Using high-density mana to wrap a sphere around the uninhabited island, this phenomenon appears to human eyes like a sudden occurrence of a blue aurora. But I emphasize again, this was merely crudely drawing the world's resources to the vicinity of 'this body.'

[I want to trap the bad invader, so I request to proactively increase the mana saturation of a specific area -> (X)]

Making such a specific request to the central core is impossible.

'In the first place, I haven't even confirmed if the thing sending mana to me... is a normal living creature...'

The raw material for the sorcery merely gathered by following my location. Just as that tattered creature said, while I caught the enemy at a specific location, I have also become unable to leave this island for a while.

'The fact that I can't run away from the coming battle is a burden.'

But just because I worry about the future doesn't mean I'm scared of the enemy.

Flap, flap, flap.

Long story short. From here on out, it's a battle. Now that the last pure Alphaurin has personally come here to create monsters, we first dealt with the underlings spread all around.

—Rumbleeeee!

Yes. Truly up until this point, 'we' had acted together.

"You punk, you had so many complaints, but you're actually quite something in combat."

For the record, Kang Changho was originally waiting on a boat slightly away from the island, citing that he wanted his safety guaranteed no matter what. Fortunately, a little distance doesn't affect the control of golems much. Kang Changho displayed remarkable control skills and provided this kind of help in the early stages of the fight.

Grroooooooowwhl????????.

[Behemoth].

Furthermore, no less than two of these heavy-duty golems appeared simultaneously.

'To think he'd replicate the self-destructed entities again in that short time.'

He's definitely not on the level of this Great Archmage, but he is indeed a genius worthy of leaving his name in history in his own right. Kang Changho controlled the giant golems with skill so excellent that a generous evaluation came naturally.

—Splat!

As [Behemoth] surged from beneath the sea, the white monster that was high in the air was snatched in its teeth and dragged down in an instant.

—Thud!

What followed was the noise of the monster falling, a sound hard to believe came from meeting splashing water. Because the monster with massive mass was dragged in, a tsunami struck the surroundings of the island. However, even if the seawater was surging like that, there was no need to worry.

"Hmm."

Whether it was a girl or a boy. A jumbled voice that was truly indistinguishable.

‘What kind of bullshit is this from the very first word?’

The opponent conveys his intent with a harmless mental magic that has no aggressiveness at all. Perhaps it's because it became difficult for him to complete language due to some physical problem, so he's just revealing his thoughts directly without filtering them now.

[Let us reconcile.]

To think he would dare to convey such a notion twice.

[Come to think of it...... why did we have to fight to this extent in the first place.]

To explain further, I was bleeding profusely after being hit properly by a certain Ancient Mage. The enemy had reduced the creature right in front of him to this state and was suddenly making a gesture of peace. It was absurd.

[The reason is insufficient. In fact, we are the same. So let's stop.]

But separate from my bewildered feelings, the opponent in black leather was expressing his opinion without rest.

[Please do not attack me... And tell me how to settle on this blue star.]

[If you do that, I no longer will die with you.]

[Ancient Magic Master. You likely have a place to return to, right?]

[Is that not why you are fighting like this to protect your home?]

A fairly reasonable threat had arrived.

‘Release the reincarnation magic if you don't want us to perish together... that's what he's saying.’

The enemy is already in a moribund state after being hit by Gaia's power.

And now, he's emerged into a foreign land called Earth and death is approaching in real-time, so he must be scared since a cool Great Mage in front of him quickly wiped out his underlings.

‘I understand.’

I understand overall.

Furthermore, perhaps the opponent realized, smarter than expected, that I had set a trap. I once deeply researched how to harm my own body. Such an absurd experience has been substituted in the present for “a miracle that will surely kill the appearing mage of the same era.”

‘If I stall for just a little more time, I can activate the magic.’

Therefore, this artificial island naturally had a weapon built-in for the Ancient Mage. I thought for a second. Perhaps the opponent sensed this dangerous factor and chose a pathetic surrender?

[This is the last warning.]

But the prediction was soon proven wrong.

[In fact, even I can now... move my “soul” a little.]

[Truly.]

[Even if I lose my body and am abandoned in the harsh air here, I will be able to preserve my ego for a few minutes.]

[At this rate, someone will definitively perish along with the binary stars.]

Looking back, it's clear now. This was the very point where things began to go wrong in earnest.

[But in truth, I do not want to kill a noble mage whose genes are similar to mine.]

[So let's coexist.]

[Once we clear away all the previous intelligent beings attached to this land, we can start civilization anew from the beginning in a clean environment.]

[I've already finished the calculations. Whether “Earthlings” disappear completely or not, it won't have a negative impact on the history of this ecosystem...]

For the record, at that same moment. The information on Kang Changho's internal mana, which had been flowing incessantly from near the island, vanished without a trace.