The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR) Vol 1 Chapter 179

Frey's loss percentage had reached 10%. And it had been a long time since it had reached this stage.

Indra realised that Frey had learned to control his new power perfectly.

He had even acquired his treasured secret lightning abilities.

“…I can't call you human anymore.”

Frey looked at Indra.

At some point, he seemed to have lost his will to fight. Or he seemed to be feeling a deep sense of futility.

He understood how he felt.

But he was also confused by that feeling. This was because he never thought the day would come when he would be able to understand a Demigod.

But soon, he realised it wasn't that strange.

After all, this world was virtual space created by Frey's spirit. Being here meant Indra and Milled could feel Frey's emotions and view his memories.

But this wasn't a one-sided transaction. Frey was also able to view their memories.

“Indra.”

It was Milled who called out to him.

Riki no longer dismissed his residual thought ever since he noticed a change in Milled's feelings.

“I peeked at Riki's memories. And I'm sure you did too.”

“Right.”

“So what do you think?”

Milled continued bitterly when Indra didn't answer.

“I'm confused. We called him Lord because we felt he was perfectly fulfilling a role that only he could. In the first place, we're all independent individuals who cannot be grouped together in a single frame. But under the banner of Demigods, we were able to love each other for being of the same race…”

“That's because Lord was there. Treating us fairly and without discrimination, always leading us to the right path… a leader.”

That's why they couldn't believe it.

The suggestion Lord made to Riki.

To put the blame on an innocent Demigod and destroy them.

The moment he saw that, the trust Milled had in Lord, which had been embedded deep within his heart, was uprooted.

Frey looked at Indra for a moment before turning to Riki.

“How long has it been?”

Riki glanced at Frey.

This was the first time he'd mentioned time since he got there.

“About 90 years.”

Frey turned to Indra again.

“A hundred or so years have passed.”

“…what does that have to do with anything?”

“You probably feel that we're assimilating, don't you? Milled saw Riki's memories. I'm sure you saw them too. You probably saw not only Riki's but mine as well. I did too… but I didn't really understand how Demigods think.”

“…”

“What about you guys? Do you still think humans are wrong? Do you still think that we should be dominated by you and that we should surrender to you?”

This was a very important question for Frey.

He didn't take his eyes off of Indra's lips. In truth, it wasn't difficult for Frey to completely erase their existences.

After all, this was his space. In a sense, it was his world. So just by taking the initiative, he could wipe them out completely.

That was why Indra and Milled hadn't revealed themselves till Frey was weakened.

“…”

Indra shook his head with a confused expression.

It was as Frey said.

He'd looked at Riki's memories, and he'd felt Frey's emotions. And his pride as a Demigod, which was as strong as an iron fortress, cracked.

He was gradually being influenced by Frey.

At first, he felt shame and humiliation by that fact, but it didn't last very long.

He felt himself changing. He began to understand how the weak felt… he felt sympathy.

Regret.

When this word appeared in his mind, Indra couldn't take it anymore and said.

“What is it that you're trying to say?”

It was probably the softest tone he'd spoken in for more than a hundred years.

Milled didn't stop him.

Frey opened his mouth.

“You can say that you are residual thoughts formed by divine power.”

“…that's right.”

“In that case, if I were to destroy you here, my own powers would diminish.”

“You don't want to lose your divine power. Now that you created that strange new power, your divine power is also a part of your energy.”

“It's not just that. I am… hoping that I can make you change your minds.”

Frey said those words with difficulty.

Indra and Milled's eyes widened.

This was a natural reaction. Because they would never have imagined he was thinking this if he hadn't said those words himself.

Perhaps this was even more startling for Frey himself, who had said those words.

Changing Demigods.

If it was Lukas 4,000 years ago, he never would have imagined something like this. But it was different now.

He'd met Riki… and Elliah.

“Do you expect me to beg for forgiveness?”

Indra's voice was filled with rage.

But Frey simply shook his head.

“You're already dead. I don't want to hear that from your residual thought.”

For the Demigods, death meant complete destruction. Because their bodies were their souls.

That was why these forms were called 'residual thoughts'. Indra and Milled's real bodies were already dead.

It was the same for Riki.

“…”

Indra was unable to make a decision.

Frey looked at him and said.

“Think about it carefully and decide. I'm not urging you to choose right away. There's plenty of time.”

“You're not leaving here yet?”

Frey nodded casually to Indra's confused question.

“…I hate to admit it, but you've completely overwhelmed Indra. Don't you know what this means? It means your mental power has already surpassed the Demigods' and has truly entered the level of the transcendents.” (TL: not sure if it's Milled speaking or Indra calling himself in third person, so I didn't change it)

“I know.”

“You also stole the proper way to use my powers. And that strange power… Is there anything else you need to do here now that you can switch freely between mana and divine power?”

It wasn't perfect yet.

Frey replied.

“Right.”

This human in front of them had already surpassed the limits of what was considered mortal a long time ago. Nevertheless, he still wanted to grow stronger.

He wasn't sure if this was arrogance or ambition.

He never felt any murky thoughts in Frey's mind before.

Frey murmured.

“Because it's still not enough.”

“What?”

“This is still not enough to defeat Lord.”

“…”

Indra was speechless.

Defeat Lord?

Was he still sane?

He really wanted to ask to confirm. And if they weren't currently in the mental world, he just might've.

But now, Indra was able to feel Frey's emotions directly. He knew that this man wholeheartedly wanted to defeat Lord.

* * *

Since then, Frey began fighting against Indra and Milled at the same time.

It was incredibly difficult to defeat the two Demigods. Even though he had been overwhelming Indra before, this fact didn't change.

At first, they simply fought without any coordination. This was natural as the Demigods were known for their independent and individualistic tendencies, which made it difficult to match their movements and attacks.

But it was only after they became accustomed to each other that the nightmare truly began.

The battles that came after that were arguably the hardest and bloodiest in which Frey had fought to date.

It wasn't simply that their powers doubled.

Indra and Milled made up for each other's shortcomings and pressured Frey. Demigods were truly terrifying creatures when their strengths were combined.

The first dozens of times, he was unable to even retaliate and was constantly pressured until he was torn apart. It couldn't even be called a fight.

It was as though he'd returned to his first days in the mental world, constantly tortured by arrows and bolts of lightning.

He only found the first clue after his number of deaths exceeded 100.

'It's meaningless to use them separately.'

He needed to use his mana and divine power at the same time.

This was truly a difficult task. It wasn't the same as adding lightning to the power of Absolute.

Instead, it was making use of both powers at the same time. It was a task that was much more difficult than painting with one hand while solving a complex equation with the other. And this wasn't even an exaggeration.

But it didn't matter how difficult it was; Frey had no choice but to do it.

-Time passed.

How long had it been? He still didn't know.

However, he couldn't help but think that Frey was tired. But he quickly shook his head at that thought.

“He's really amazing.”

Eventually, Indra couldn't help but mutter. Milled also agreed with him.

Their eyes were locked onto Frey. He didn't look fine, but he also didn't appear to be too injured.

It was clear that Frey had won this fight.

“I admit it.”

“You are stronger than the two of us now.”

Indra and Milled, two Demigods, bowed their heads towards Frey.

“…”

Frey felt strange.

It couldn't be helped. After all, an unbelievable sight was unfolding before him.

Even if they were just residual thoughts, they still had the self awareness that they were Demigods. Transcendent beings filled with pride and arrogance.

It was these beings who bowed their heads.

* * *

The bodies of the two Demigods broke into small pieces before flowing into Frey's body. He accepted them without hesitation.

Frey realised what these particles were. It was the divine power that formed Indra and Milled's residual thoughts.

What Frey had absorbed was the foundation of their existence as Demigods.

It wasn't forcefully injected. Instead, the memories of these Demigods, who willingly split themselves, flowed into Frey.

There were no side effects. After all, they were no longer hostile towards Frey.

That fact alone didn't mean much for his ego.

If it had been a normal person, these memories would have made him go crazy and he wouldn't have been able to accept them. But it was no problem for Frey; his mind was fully capable of digesting the memories of two Demigods.

“…”

By accepting these particles, he was able to gain a better understanding of their powers. He learned how to use them as though they were his powers from the beginning, not someone else's.

His body felt an absolute sense of fulfillment, but it was too early to be satisfied.

A mountain still remained. And it was also the highest mountain. Just looking up at it made one want to give up.

Unsheathing his sword, Riki said.

“You won't be able to defeat Lord with just that power. That's just a clue.”

He knew what Riki meant by that.

“Did you know about divine magic power?”

“No. But I understand what kind of power it is.”

Frey nodded.

Riki had borne witness to everything that happened there. This naturally meant he'd been able to observe the divine magic power for a long time as he used it.

Even if he couldn't identify the essence of it, he would still have been able to understand some of its characteristics.

He was also the person who had the most accurate understanding of Lord's power. Therefore, he would be able to determine whether Frey's power had reached that stage or not.

“Then what should I do?”

When Frey asked this question honestly, Riki gave him an answer.

“Subdue me.”

“…”

“If you have my power, you will be strong enough to threaten Lord.”

“You mean the power of the sword?”

Obviously, Frey knew that Riki's power was amazing, but it wouldn't be very suitable for him as he had no talent in that field.

Riki shook his head as though he could see the true meaning behind Frey's hesitation.

“You're not wrong. But more precisely, it's the power to cut anything. Even the space Lord creates.”

Riki looked at the places where Indra and Milled once stood.

“They decided to help you. In the future, their residual thoughts will no longer appear, and you will have to learn how to completely control Milled's power as well as Indra's lightning.”

“Milled's power?”

“Clairvoyance.” (TL: the author added hanzi (chinese characters) and the literal meaning was 'thousand mile eyes')

“It'll be difficult to grasp it right away, but it will definitely be useful in the upcoming fight. At least you won't have anything to lose if you can use it perfectly.”

Riki's words made sense.

In short, he had to make the powers of the two Demigods his own.

He didn't have to think too hard about it. He just needed to increase his familiarity with them step by step.

It was okay if he was slow. After all, he still had plenty of time.

Of course, he didn't know how long it would take to defeat the man standing calmly in front of him.

(TL: So I've been bouncing this around in my head for about two weeks now and I decided to get some feedback. As some of you may know, I was temporarily the translator for Second Life Ranker(only a few chapters), and while there, I saw that they translated what I simply(and lazily) called power(i.e. Power of sword, power of lightning, etc.) they called authority. And I was wondering if I should change to follow them, because the context was the same, the power(or authority) of gods, or in this case, demigods. Tell me what you think about this guys, I know it's pretty late in and it doesn't matter that much, but I'm still curious about your opinions about this.)

Chapter end