The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR) Vol 1 Chapter 223

[Now, you can stop acting.]

When Frey didn't answer, Lord turned to look at the head of Lucifer that rolled forward. (TL: I'm pretty sure this should have been destroyed since blood and brain matter rained down)

Crack!

Then, he stepped on the head with a simple motion and crushed it. Lucifer, who was already dead, might not have realised, but Lord had shown a similar nonchalance as Lucifer did when he destroyed Zefar's head.

Lord then continued as though nothing happened.

[I know that you were acting to deceive this trash. As far as I can tell, personality changes are never so radical. It is very slow and subtle, such that it happens sometimes without the individual even noticing. Just like a drizzle that you might not pay attention to might end up soaking your body.]

“Are you certain that I was acting?”

Frey finally opened his mouth again. His face and voice became cold once again.

Lord chuckled.

[You were curious about Lucifer's final card. In order to make him reveal it, you intentionally made him feel like he was in danger, causing him to increase his vigilance. Your awakening was a great opportunity that made it impossible to doubt your performance.]

[In the end, Lucifer judged you as unpredictable, a potential enemy. Therefore, he summoned Kaltud to threaten me with a hostage. That was Lucifer's last card. The plan was actually pretty good. The only thing he overlooked was our unity.]

“Don't try to twist it, Lord. Your actions were just to satisfy yourself.”

[Don't say it like you were any different.]

Lord's voice contained some emotion, but it was faint.

Frey looked at him with a solemn gaze.

His guess was right. Frey had only acted as though his personality had suddenly changed. He had done this to force Lucifer into a corner and make him take out the cards he was hiding.

Frey's plan had succeeded much more easily than he expected. Perhaps because, as Lord said, using his awakening as a pretext was very effective.

Lucifer believed that Frey had been reborn as a transcendent being, so he didn't find his change of attitude strange.

Therefore, he could only take out his card to threaten Lord.

However, what came after did not go according to Frey's intentions.

'I thought I could push Lord a bit further.'

Lucifer's plan had been ineffective to the extent that it could be called futile. Nevertheless, he couldn't dismiss it as his fault.

If he had used it on Lord ten years ago, it might have gone just as he expected, if not better. Lord treated all the Demigods equally and loved them more than anything. Every single Demigod could have been considered a weakness to take advantage of.

But the current Lord was different. At some point, his way of thinking had changed.

“Now, I understand. The reason for your change of attitude.”

Lord wanted to consume Frey as well. That's why he treated him as his kind.

“The biggest piece.”

Recalling how he'd referred to him, Frey continued.

“…that's probably referring to Riki.”

[Hmm.]

Lord hummed as though he was surprised.

Frey's words were correct. Riki, the second Demigod to appear on the continent, was the biggest piece that Lord wanted. And Riki's crystal had now merged with Frey.

[It's not just Riki. I can also feel the power of Indra and Milled. And you also have the crystals of Norn and Sunsir. Every crystal left in the world by my people is a piece of the puzzle that I cannot miss.]

“I don't understand. Why did you suddenly think of your own kind as pieces?”

[I swallowed Leyrin. I absorbed her after she fell into hibernation, and with her energy, I was able to heal the others. Do you know what happened to me in the process?]

Lord spoke in a heated voice.

“It was 'memory'. Memories came back to me. And what came back to me weren't things that I'd forgotten but things that had been wiped from my memory!]

Frey furrowed his eyebrows.

Not memories that had been forgotten but memories that had been replaced. Was that referring to the memories he had when he was Michael?

[I don't know what the principle behind it is. However, I found out as soon as I became one with Leyrin. We, Demigods, are all pieces… when we're separate, it's impossible to determine the whole picture, but the more pieces I combine, the clearer the image becomes.]

“Is that why you started swallowing your own people?”

[That's right.]

He no longer denied the word 'swallowed'. Perhaps Lord knew exactly what he'd done.

[The more pieces I gathered, the more I learned the truths of the world that no one else knows. Thanks to that, I was able to learn about Lucifer…. And then, I realised. I knew what my mission was. What I had to do. We had to become one.]

In Lord's voice, conviction and madness could be heard in equal parts.

Now that he was actually saying it out loud, he was becoming even more certain. He was convinced that he was doing the right thing, that he wasn't wrong.

[I persuaded the rest of my people. I wanted them to understand my mission. Some of them agreed, but the majority of them could not understand. It was a pity, but I understood. It's not a concept that could be understood simply by explaining in the first place. So I used a bit of coercion… And in the end, I was proven right.]

Brruk.

Suddenly, bubbles began appearing on Lord's skin. Then, faces began to appear all over his body. It was a very frightening and gruesome sight.

“Ahaha…!”

“Aha, ha!”

“Hi, hihi.”

It was the faces of the Demigods. Probably those who had been absorbed by Lord. Not only did he see Heimdall, whom he'd met only a few days ago, but even Leyrin's face was there.

All of these faces burst into laughter. The laughter of dozens of completely different voices at the same time created an incredibly creepy feeling.

But that wasn't the only sound coming from the body.

[Listen, Frey. This is the laughter of my people. I'm certain now. Everyone who became one with me is satisfied. In every instant, we are all feeling a sense of fulfillment that we never would have felt as individuals. We have finally understood and achieved the concept of perfection and true unity!]

Frey was now certain.

At some point, Lord had gone completely insane. Frey couldn't help but snort in disgust.

Lord tilted his head to the side as he heard the sound.

[Do you not understand?]

“…in my mental world, I accepted Milled and Indra. Not just their power but their memories and personalities, too. The method was different, but in a way, it is similar to the absorption you are talking about.”

[Hoh…]

Lord gasped in admiration.

Two Demigods. As well as Riki.

Perhaps it was just residual thoughts, but they were still not things that a human could absorb.

If it was an ordinary human being, that is.

He let out a laugh.

As expected, it was an incredible waste for Frey Blake to live as a human.

“That's why I can understand. Just what every Demigod thought of you, Lord. I learned of the respect and awe they had for you.”

That was why… he'd come to acknowledge Lord to an extent.

He didn't have a choice. Of course, this didn't mean he would ever forgive him for what he'd done. He didn't even want to justify it.

He was still Frey's greatest and most hated enemy. But from the perspective of the Demigods, Lord was a hero.

They were transcendent beings who didn't know why they'd suddenly fallen to the Continent. Each of them had the power to destroy a country with ease.

Nevertheless, their minds were delicate and fragile. They were afraid. They were like newborn babies who had yet to understand themselves.

The transcendent power that was given to them was a curse, not a blessing.

They didn't know what to do, where they were, or even who they were.

It was Lord who reached his hand out to these Demigods, who were trembling in fear, and united them.

He was the first Demigod, their leader. He was also like a parent to the other Demigods.

Perhaps even more terrifying things would have been done to the continent if it weren't for Lord. Predators who didn't know restraint were much more terrifying than purposeful tyrants.

If the Demigods, who had overwhelming power, simply saw other living beings as food… If they didn't dominate them but instead chose to eat them…

Frey looked at Lord and said.

“The Demigods didn't become beasts because of you. Because of your teachings.”

“But now, I understand. You are no longer my enemy. The Demigods no longer have the right to rule over the Continent. And you, Lord, no longer deserve to be called 'Lord'.”

Frey spoke with confidence.

“Now, you are nothing but a monster.”

Shuk.

All the Demigods' faces that were protruding out of Lord's skin disappeared.

He sighed and muttered.

[Right. You don't understand me after all. Even if you have Riki's piece.]

“Don't distort the facts. Riki never understood in the first place. Not even once. If you felt that way, then it was only your one-sided delusion.”

[That's a lie. I can tell.]

Frey stopped talking.

Just because they were talking didn't mean they were having a conversation. It was foolish to try to have a conversation with someone who was covering his ears and only listening to the things he wanted to hear. Even if he was a powerful being like Lord.

This meant there was only one thing left to do.

Koo.

Divine magic power surged in Frey's body.

[Do you intend to fight? It's not like you don't know it's pointless. Haven't you realised what kind of being I have become?]

Lord spread his hands. It was a holy gesture as though he had become a supreme being.

His body slowly rose into the air.

Crack!

The sky split open. Then a crack appeared on the ground.

A black space could be seen behind these cracks.

[I brought the Abyss to this place… the 'world I created' has overlapped with Hell.]

[I suddenly remembered something you told me, 4,000 years ago. You said we don't have the right to claim to be gods. What about now? My existence isn't far away from that state.]

This wasn't pretense. Lord was now the being closest to the level of God. Even though Lucifer was only half of a being, his power was comparable to that of Frey, who was a transcendent being.

Yet Lucifer had died after one attack from Lord.

Even his 'power of space' had evolved. It was also possible that he could use the powers of the other Demigods as well.

It was impossible that Lord would be able to immediately digest all the power he received from the Demigods. This meant that he was becoming stronger even at this moment.

When he was finished digesting all of the divine power, Lord might truly become God-like.

He knew that, but Frey still stepped towards Lord.

Instead of avoiding eye contact, he looked up directly at Lord's face.

[…so this is your answer.]

It was a pity.

Following Lord's mutter, there was no more conversation.

And so began the most arduous battle of Frey's life.

Chapter end