The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR) Vol 1 Chapter 184

Dreadful Flames. Flames that could end the world.

Agni's power was the control of these destructive flames, but Silkid was not a very good place for him.

There was nothing he could burn in the desolate desert. Most of the buildings were made of stone or sand, and trees or buildings made from wood were extremely rare.

However, this didn't mean that Agni's powers weakened. His flames would continue to burn even if there was nothing to burn.

Taht.

He heard the sound of someone kicking off from the ground.

It was Snow.

Agni noticed her posture. It reminded him of Riki.

This caused him to suddenly feel an intense wave of displeasure. This wasn't because it felt intimidating but because it reminded him of Riki.

He didn't like this flimsy imitation of Riki.

This thought took him by surprise.

Did he still consider Riki as his kind?

Boom!

Agni swung his left hand to Snow, who hurriedly raised her sword to block it, but it wasn't a good block.

Without being able to negate the force of the attack, she was sent back to the ground at a much faster speed than her leap.

Boom!

Snow's body crashed into a watchtower. After that, the momentum kept carrying her as she bounced and rolled across the floor a few times.

She only managed to stop after rolling over a dozen times.

Smoke rose from her body. This was proof that each and every one of Agni's attacks was accompanied by terrifying heat.

'He's a monster.'

Snow grit her teeth. As an Ice Elf, Agni's Dreadful Flames had a particularly terrible effect on her.

Using her sword like a cane, Snow finally rose up from the ground. Then she glared at Agni, forcing herself to ignore the pain from her burns.

[You're terrible.]

“What are you talking about?”

[You don't deserve to use Riki's swordsmanship.]

It was a voice so cold that it was hard to imagine it came from a literal body of fire.

Snow couldn't help but shudder at those words.

[You must be Riki's real Apostle. Now that he's dead, you should have even more control of your divine power. But look at your swordsmanship now. Do you think you can be a threat to me?]

“…that-”

[You didn't accept Riki's power into your body.]

Snow didn't refute his words.

This was because she knew it was true.

'Perhaps…'

Of all the people participating in the fight, it was possible that she was the least useful. This gave her a sense of helplessness that Snow had never experienced before.

For Snow, it was harder to get over the feeling of uselessness than to get angry at Agni.

Agni reached out to her.

He'd changed his mind. He decided to kill Snow before Beniang.

It was at that moment that Nora made her move.

There was a red aura around her body, but it wasn't Agni's fire.

Warrior King's Fist Secret Technique. Flame Spirit.

Nora shot forward, leaving a long red trail like a meteor falling in the middle of the night. She'd only lightly tapped her foot along the ground, but she instantly reached Agni's face.

[…!]

Agni was also surprised by this fact.

He hadn't thought it was possible to jump up to such a height without the use of magic. She had jumped twice as high as Ivan.

But he was only surprised for a moment.

Agni opened his mouth wide, and blue flames erupted from his throat.

Nora loosened her bandages and spun them around like a whirlwind. (TL: Primary Lotus?!)

Agni's flames were sucked into the bandages.

'These bandages are not ordinary.'

Even if he felt a bit apprehensive at the sudden attack, Agni wasn't worried. Instead, he stopped breathing fire and swung his arm.

Despite his giant size, he was able to move at an unimaginable speed. This was because Agni's body was made entirely from flames.

But this time, Nora was faster.

Nora kicked her foot against the empty air. Her fist connected with Agni's chin.

Crack!

Agni stumbled backward, losing his balance again.

At first, it seemed as though half of Agni's face had been blown off, but Nora didn't let down her guard.

She'd already seen what happened after Ivan's attack. This kind of wound wouldn't have been fatal to him, nor was it too big of a threat.

Above all, she didn't feel like she'd hit his core.

Nora continued sending her fists forward.

Every time her fists landed, a large part of Agni's giant fire body collapsed. This caused the small number of survivors who were watching her offensive to feel a bit hopeful.

This was because this was the first time Agni was being attacked without the ability to retaliate.

“…”

However, Nora's expression wasn't good.

She started feeling anxious and swung her fists even more fiercely as if to erase that feeling.

Agni didn't fight back.

As if he'd lost his ability to fight back, his body simply shook as he took each of Nora's attacks.

After this situation continued for a while, the faces of the hopeful survivors who thought Nora had the advantage gradually became stiffer and stiffer.

'It's not like there is no effect.'

Nora had this thought.

Just because Agni didn't fight back didn't mean he couldn't. However, Nora's offensive did have some effect.

The problem was that as mentioned early, she was unable to attack his core.

This level of attack only served to pressure him at best. It wasn't enough to actually finish Agni off.

'I can't reach Agni's core even with Flame Spirit?'

Just as Nora felt true despair, the giant being of flames suddenly disappeared.

It was as if Agni's body had evaporated.

“Wh, what's going on?”

“Is it over?”

This caused a stir to spread through the Warriors on the ground.

The heat that had been engulfing the area up to a moment ago had suddenly disappeared. It even had the illusion that cold air was blowing.

“Don't let your guards down!”

Just as Nora shouted a warning in a loud voice.

Boom!

There was suddenly a huge explosion. A body of a warrior who was close to the explosion was sent sailing through the air.

This warrior crashed into a nearby building so hard that his body became a meat pile, no longer recognisable as a human.

“Wh-, what?!”

“What just happened?”

While the Warriors were trying to figure out what happened, more explosions happened one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

To Nora, who was still in the air, these explosions were like the footsteps of an invisible giant.

The target wasn't the survivors. Those who were killed by the explosions were the unfortunate ones who happened to be in the explosions' path.

These explosions were steadily heading in a certain direction. And when she realised where these explosions were headed, Nora's expression changed.

“Beniang Argento!”

“…”

Beniang also felt that these explosions were getting closer to her. However, at her current level, it was impossible for her to avoid or block them.

There was only one thing that Beniang could do.

Dragontongue.

Just as she was about to call upon this power again.

“Kyah!”

Ivan grabbed her and escaped the range of the explosions.

He then spoke in a blunt tone.

“I owe you for a while ago. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead.”

“, ahh. Yes. I'm glad you're okay.”

Ivan glanced back at the explosions persistently following Beniang and moved his legs faster.

The explosions weren't very fast. In addition, Nix and Isaka began to stop their advance.

And when they thought they'd finally stopped, the explosions transformed into a firestorm.

Kooo-

Agni reappeared once again in the storm.

The terrifying heat covered the area once again. And everyone felt despair when they saw his newly healed form. (TL: he's like the worst kind of rpg boss)

'Did Master's secret technique have no effect?'

Nora was the strongest attacker among those present. But it seemed that even her secret technique had made no difference.

'…so be it.'

He wasn't prepared to give up like this. So it wasn't the time to have unnecessary thoughts.

She has to use that. Instead, he turned to Beniang with a stiff expression and said.

“It seems he is determined to get you.”

“Yes. It seems so.”

Beniang nodded.

Frey had always told her that her Dragontongue ability would be vital to defeating the Demigod.

She didn't doubt those words, but she did doubt whether she'd be able to play the role he said or not.

However, she had used her Dragontongue and forced Agni to stop.

For three seconds.

“Can you stop him again?”

“Huh?”

“I want to give that guy a punch.”

Ivan clenched his fist as he said this.

Beniang nodded.

“It's possible.”

“Good.”

Ssss-

Ivan took a deep breath.

First, it was Nora, followed by Snow, Nix, and Isaka. Then, the Great Chief Tuarik, Berserker Guarus, and Twin Blade Urha stood in front of Ivan.

They also understood that Beniang was Agni's target.

Even at that moment, Agni was looking at her.

[How annoying.]

Agni muttered honestly.

He wasn't exaggerating. He had already used a considerable amount of force to get rid of this group; though, it couldn't be said that he'd gone all out.

Nevertheless, it still wasn't enough. It was possible that their potential far exceeded his expectations, but…

Agni turned to look at Nix.

In the end, the biggest obstacle was this woman. If it wasn't for her, his Apostle, he would have already used Heart of the Sun to turn this entire area into a sea of fire.

He looked around. The number of mortals who were struggling against him had decreased greatly.

Agni felt that any formations they could create would be much smaller, so there was no need for him to keep this appearance.

Agni originally had absolute confidence in this form, but after the fight with Riki, he couldn't help but change his mind slightly.

Riki had overpowered him, Ananta, Leyrin, and Nozdog while in a human form.

This small and fragile appearance had its own advantages. Especially when it was necessary to control his power.

Fwoosh.

Flames engulfed Agni's body, and he gradually began shrinking to a size similar to that of the humans.

However, his entire body was still burning fiercely like an incarnation of fire.

As his size grew smaller, the overwhelming aura and heat that he exuded gradually calmed. But none of the people watching relaxed.

Agni shook his hand.

Fire roared up from the ground. This time, it wasn't a pillar of fire like he had used before.

Instead, it took the appearance of a snake. This fire snake then wrapped its tongue around Nix and pulled her into its mouth before anyone could react.

“Kuk!”

Nix struggled fiercely, but the power of the snake's jaws were beyond imagination. She couldn't move at all.

Then she heard Agni speak in a dry tone.

[If you try to force yourself out, your body will break in two. Regardless of whether you're a Phoenix or not, you will not survive.]

“If I die, won't you die too…?”

[I won't kill you. I'll simply absorb you. Don't you see? You're already in my hands.]

Nix bit her lip.

Agni enjoyed the sight of her struggle.

[I don't know if it will work or not. But you're welcome to take the gamble. I'm curious regardless of the outcome.]

Agni's dry tone seemed to stem from confidence.

Nix couldn't even lift a finger. If it was true and she struggled to escape despite the risk of death, then it might just speed up the death for the others.

'Indeed. It feels like my powers have concentrated.'

Agni nodded with a satisfied expression.

It felt like he had an easier time making minor adjustments and his control of his power was more comfortable than in his original form.

It was only at that moment that he slightly understood how Riki was able to overpower them despite being in human form.

Nora and Snow quickly narrowed the distance to Agni. But neither was in good condition, which meant they wouldn't be much of a threat to Agni.

Boom!

They weren't able to do much before they were struck down.

Nora was buried into the ground, bleeding.

Did he crack her skull?

The duration of Flame Spirit had already ended, and it was difficult to hit Agni in her current state.

She knew this. Nevertheless, she couldn't back down.

Snow was the same. In fact, she was even a bit more desperate than Nora was.

'…if only I could use Riki's divine power.'

If so, she would have been able to cut his flaming body.

In truth, Snow had a bit of a repulsion towards divine power. She also had pride in her own swordsmanship.

At least, she never thought she could ever be so useless. It was such that her power was unable to contribute at all.

Nothing would change even if she was to leave the battlefield right at that moment.

She infused her divine power into her sword once again and charged at Agni.

Agni didn't pay much attention to her.

She wasn't actually using the power; she was simply covering her weapon with divine power. Her method was completely wrong.

An explosion occurred once again.

Snow was sent flying with blood covering her entire body.

[Pathetic.]

Agni looked at Snow with contempt.

The more they fought, the more his displeasure increased. This woman needed to be burned to death immediately.

As soon as he made up his mind to attack, he felt a huge wave of power.

It was Ivan.

Agni could feel powerful, condensed mana pulsating within his body.

It felt rough and dangerous, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. Nevertheless, Agni didn't seem worried at all.

Kooo-

Ivan drew back his fist, which was pulsating with mana.

The secret techniques of the Warrior King's Fist were not passed down. Instead, every successor created their own technique.

This was something that occurred after they witnessed the previous successor's secret technique.

Ivan had only witnessed Nora's Flame Spirit today, but he had been thinking about his own secret technique for a long time.

Nora's secret technique was Flame Spirit. It involved changing the property of her mana to fire and then using that fire mana to explosively amplify her own strength.

It was an extremely powerful technique, but Ivan had realised with just a glance that it didn't suit him.

'I prefer one punch.'

He had deliberated upon it for a while.

For him, a special move was a single lethal attack.

Nora's secret technique was one that truly deserved admiration, but it did not match Ivan's ideology.

All of the mana in Ivan's body gathered in his fist. It was literally filled with mana.

The pure and enormous amount of mana was compressed over and over as much as he was able to. The explosive force in his face was completely incomparable to the Iron Fist he'd used before.

But it wasn't enough. He also knew for a long time that it wouldn't be enough.

So there must have been a reason for him to have this idea.

The desperate situation he was in.

The shock of seeing the defeat of his master, who he considered even higher than the heavens.

The overwhelming aura of Agni himself.

And, most importantly, his lack of confidence.

'This won't be able to do it.'

His opponent wasn't one who could be defeated simply because he'd compressed his mana to the limit.

As Nora had said, she was a bit better when it came to offense.

So what should he add?

What could he do to make up for the shortcoming?

Except for his mana, there was nothing else that a Magic Warrior could…

'Ah.'

Ivan felt like a lightning bolt had struck his head.

'My thoughts.'

His thoughts, his feelings, his beliefs.

Couldn't he put those in too?

“Kuhaha…”

Ivan burst out laughing.

Right. That was it.

He wasn't sure why it took so long for him to notice something so simple.

He blinked.

At that moment, Ivan was no longer standing in the Amakan Desert. Instead, he was standing in the empty space known as his mental world.

He was the only one standing in this place.

Fwoosh!

Then a stream of flames suddenly shot up. These flames were so powerful that it seemed as though they would burn Ivan's mental world to ashes.

Ivan understood.

This was Agni. He was the one who made Ivan feel such a way.

To put out those flames, he would need a typhoon. Weak winds would only make the flames stronger.

Instead, what he needed was a powerful typhoon that would sweep away everything in his way.

Ivan was a true genius.

The scene before him was the path that Kasajin had taken in the past, and it was a sign that he was at the gateway to the Warrior King stage that Nora was still pursuing.

Kugugu-

His body pulsed, and an explosive aura erupted from within him.

[…!]

Danger.

For the first time since they'd started this battle, Agni had this thought.

A typhoon seemed to have appeared from this seemingly fragile human body. That alone made him feel a sense of crisis.

He couldn't let it go.

Agni's body began to swell once again.

He'd already captured the Nix, who was the most troublesome one of the group. So now he could just wipe out the entire group with Heart of the Sun.

It was at that moment that Beniang's Dragontongue froze Agni's body once again.

Sparks of rage seemed to flash in Agni's eyes.

[Dragon-!]

It was at that time that Ivan made his move.

The speed he moved at wasn't particularly fast. But it didn't matter.

Agni was in a situation where he couldn't move. Three seconds were more than enough for him.

Ivan's body was so close to the ground that he was almost rubbing against it.

In that state, he looked up at Agni's chin.

'My arm… no, my entire body is creaking.'

It was his first time doing this. His condensed mana was stirring inside of him, begging to be released.

Right. Stir to your heart's content.

Ivan laughed and punched upwards.

He didn't have a good naming sense, so he decided to keep it simple.

Warrior King's Fist. Ivan's Punch.

Crack!

A storm of mana suddenly erupted in the Amakan Desert.

(TL: Such a long chapter T~T. 3.1k words)

Chapter end