The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR) Vol 1 Chapter 104

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Riki, are you out of your mind?”

Anger was evident on the other Demigods' faces.

This was a natural reaction.

After all, what Riki had just said had clearly crossed the line.

Even Agni and Leyrin, who had simply been observing the situation from the side, stared at Riki with fierce expressions.

However, it was Nozdog who was most angry.

He looked at Riki as if he wanted to tear him apart.

[If Lord doesn't reveal his, you won't reveal yours? Don't be ridiculous. Are you now considering yourself equal to Lord?]

All Demigods were inherently equal.

But by calling Lord 'Lord', the Demigods were paying homage to the being who was the very first Demigod.

[Stop spouting nonsense. He is the only one who can handle the work and responsibility that comes with being Lord. On his own, he can do things that even all of us combined would fail to do.]

“You're not wrong. But there are things I can do that Lord can't.”

[You…!]

The terrifying aura of death rose from Nozdog's body.

This time, Riki also put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

With just these actions, the atmosphere in the room became as taut as a bowstring waiting to be released.

Once again, it was Lord who broke the tense silence.

[Enough.]

But this time, Nozdog didn't intend to back down.

The flames in his eye sockets burned fiercely with rage.

[Do not stop me any more, Lord. It is clear that Riki is suspicious. I'm not the only one who thinks that.]

“Kukuku. That's right.”

Ananta nodded.

From the moment he had learned of Hydra's death, he had begun to have doubts about Riki.

He was the only one who could get rid of such a resilient person without a trace.

Leyrin and Agni were clearly hesitating, but it was obvious that their suspicion had grown stronger.

[Nozdog, your suspicion is valid. However, it would be best to pay attention to your words and actions until everything is confirmed.]

Nozdog grit his teeth.

However, since he wanted to gain the authority that came with Lord's recognition, he could not continue to be disobedient.

The deathly aura disappeared as if it had been washed away, and Riki also let go of his hilt.

[…The thing that truly makes me angry is the fact that Riki is not even trying to alleviate our doubts. His attitude makes it seem like it doesn't matter if we are suspicious of him. It's impossible for me to not feel upset by this.]

[…]

Lord fell silent for a moment.

He felt that Nozdog had a point.

After thinking for a while, he finally said.

[I understand.]

“You understand?”

When Leyrin asked with a confused expression on her face, Lord spoke in a flat tone.

[After this meeting ends, I will personally check if Riki is the traitor or not.]

“…”

Silence fell at those words.

This was because they knew Lord was not one to lie.

Lord turned to look at Riki before saying.

[Of course, you will cooperate, won't you?]

[woopread, woopread]

“Sure.”

[Good.]

Lord then stood to his feet.

[Now then, will you show me your Apostles?]

“…that.”

“Well…”

[…]

At Lord's words, the other Demigods showed uncomfortable expressions.

They all glanced at Riki.

If Riki was truly the traitor, it would be very risky for them to reveal their Apostles to him.

When he saw this, Lord waved his hand.

[There's no need to worry. I've put a barrier around this place. People can enter, but it is impossible for anyone to leave.]

This explained why the Black Dragon Knights had been able to enter this place.

Frey turned to Lord.

[I will not release the barrier until we have confirmed the identity of the traitor. Even if it takes a week, a month, or a year.]

“…I see.”

“It can't be helped.”

The Demigods all nodded since it was understandable.

“Then I'll go first.”

It was Agni who stepped forward.

In the first place, he seemed to have very little hesitation when it came to revealing his Apostle.

Looking at him, Frey couldn't help but feel that he was quite similar to Ivan.

He seemed to be the type who could burn with passion from his very soul if he found something interesting. Conversely, he also seemed to be the type that wouldn't care what happened if it was something uninteresting to him.

And to Agni, this meeting seemed to be the latter.

He turned to the Apostle standing behind him and said.

“Take off your mask.”

The Apostle stepped forward slowly, removing the mask from their face.

“…”

The face revealed was that of a woman Frey had never seen before.

She was very beautiful, with full lips, a small nose and burning eyes.

The hair that could be seen from under her hood showed a color that was reminiscent of boiling lava.

However, Frey felt a connection to this woman.

Babump.

[read at woopread]

His heart beat felt exceptionally loud at that moment.

He knew that she was probably feeling the same.

'Phoenix.'

Her appearance had changed, but she was definitely the Phoenix he had left in Torkunta's body.

Frey was certain.

The reason he felt this was simple.

He had absorbed half of Torkunta's heart.

A slight exaggeration would be to say that Frey felt like she was his other half.

It wasn't too surprising that she'd gained a human form.

In a near death state, the Phoenix had absorbed Torkunta's body and half of his heart.

The enormous amount of energy she had absorbed would have made it easy to construct her body.

In fact, there would still be a lot of energy left after the reconstruction, and there was a chance that the great change in the Phoenix's appearance might have been influenced by her will.

But… he never imagined that she'd become Agni's Apostle.

'Was she forced to become Agni's Apostle? Or… was it of her own volition?'

He couldn't tell, but Frey sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter.

Leyrin narrowed her eyes before saying.

“The outer shell looks human, but within… I'm not sure. What exactly is she?”

“A Phoenix. I found her when I was passing over the Ispania Mountains. She's a dozen times stronger than a normal phoenix.”

“A Phoenix? Those are really rare nowadays, yet you managed to find one. But it seems to be… mixed with something… It doesn't appear to be a half-breed. Hmm. It is certainly a unique entity. How interesting.”

Leyrin's eyes sparkled.

If it wasn't for Lord's next words, it was quite possible that she would have said something ridiculous like wanting to dissect it.

[Next.]

At Lord's words, Ananta beckoned.

The Apostle standing behind him took off his mask. (TL: I even double checked, the author did not mention anything about the others bringing their apostles, only Riki, Agni and maybe Lord.)

It was a man with a very common appearance. Brown hair and eyes with a blank expression on his face.

Nozdog didn't look pleased as he said.

[Ananta. We're in front of Lord.]

“Right. Jenta, take it off.”

“…”

The man named Jenta pulled on his face without a word.

The skin on his face ripped easily and revealed his real face beneath.

The man's face gave off a very sharp feeling, especially because of the large wound that went across his nose.

'Is he an assassin?'

The mask made of human flesh caused Frey to have an idea about the man's identity.

The man had a very formidable aura, and Frey was sure that he was a very skilled assassin.

'If this kind of assassin decided to hide…'

He would be difficult to find even if one had thousands of troops searching.

Ananta must have taken that into account when making his decision.

Even 4,000 years later, he was a tricky and wicked old man.

[Next.]

It was Nozdog's turn.

When he beckoned his Apostle to remove their mask, the person that was revealed turned out to be a Demon.

“A Demon? Isn't that a Demon?”

Leyrin couldn't help but ask in surprise.

“How did you make a Demon into your Apostle? No. More importantly… isn't this this Demon's true body?”

Moreover, it wasn't a weak Lower Demon. For it to be of any use, it would have to be a Superior Demon at the least.

“How did you manage to do that?”

[I had help.]

Help.

Frey thought of Iris.

She had researched for a long time for a way to allow a Demon to project its full power to the continent.

At that time, she hadn't made any progress, but 4,000 years had passed, so it was possible that she'd made a breakthrough.

It was also suspicious that Oydin knew Asura's summoning circle.

'…Nozdog has some connection to Iris.'

Frey thought that this speculation was pretty credible.

[Next]

When Leyrin beckoned, the Apostle behind her also took off their mask.

The person behind the mask was a woman with a very cold, expressionless face.

She looked to be about 30 years of age, but Frey knew she was older than that.

…Riki had said there was a high chance that Isaka Blake was Leyrin's Apostle, and Frey agreed with him.

He felt that even if it wasn't him, it would still be a member of the Blake family.

The eldest son, Mischael, or even Heinz… the second son.

But it wasn't any of them.

Leyrin's Apostle was none other than the Lady of the Blake Family, Reita Blake.

[Good. Thank you for fulfilling my request despite the risk, my companions.]

When Lord spoke out with satisfaction, the Apostles placed their masks back on their faces.

Frey realised that everyone's eyes were on him.

They must have been curious.

Because he was the only Apostle who hadn't revealed their appearance.

'…come to think of it.'

Lord's Apostle was not among the people gathered here.

It seems he did not intend to reveal his Apostle from the beginning.

Or maybe he could summon them at any time.

Nevertheless, Frey had learned the identities of all the Apocalypses' Apostles.

However, none of them were easy opponents.

One was a Demon who was able to use its full strength, one was the Lady of the Blake family, and one was a formidable assassin whose identity could be changed at any moment.

And the other one… was someone he'd promised to reunite with in the future.

Nevertheless, it was too soon for him to think about them.

Frey recalled Lord's words.

[I will not release the barrier until we have confirmed the identity of the traitor. Even if it takes a week, a month, or a year.]

A barrier created by Lord himself.

Warp would definitely not work, and there was a chance that not even Riki's space/time movement would work.

He intended to use this opportunity to flush out the traitor.

He had even let the Apocalypses reveal the identities of their Apostles.

Only

Even if Lord had another reason for doing so, one thing was made clear by this.

And that was the fact that Lord was confident he could find the traitor.

He would do it somehow, regardless of the method.

'This situation has become rather amusing.'

Although he thought that, this situation wasn't funny at all.

The disconnected space, Lord's unexpected move and Riki's incomprehensible actions.

Frey had begun to seriously wonder whether he'd be able to leave this place alive.

Chapter end