The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

“Kuh, ah, ack…”

Ugkas was still holding his face while groaning in pain.

Nevertheless, Kran didn’t think he would remain in that condition for very long.

This meant that he would have to finish this as soon as possible. Even at the moment, Ugkas’ demonic energy was slowly regaining strength.

Kran slowly lifted his gun. As he did, his arm muscles began to tremble violently. It was as if this gun, which was only about as large as a dumbbell, weighed as much as a mountain.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about aiming. After all, Ugkas was very close to him, so it would be impossible for him to miss his shot.

Nevertheless, for courtesy’s sake, he did his best to aim for the heart.

—And pulled the trigger.

Boom!

The sound wasn’t something an old-fashioned revolver should have been able to make.

Unable to withstand the force of the explosion, the revolver broke apart as a large black bullet shot out, cutting through the scattered pieces.

Puk—

And when it reached Ugkas, it made a dull sound.

It was a sound that one would have easily ignored.

“…”

Ugkas was no longer groaning in agony. Instead, he slowly looked down at his chest in disbelief.

A big hole.

In the place where his heart should have been, there was a big hole, large enough that an adult man’s fist could easily fit.

“Gurk.”

Ugkas spat out a mouthful of blood before falling to the ground.

“Is it finally over?”

Just as a panting Sedi asked this question.

Sss…

Sipakna suddenly stopped attacking.

Instead, it withdrew its hundreds of tentacles and opened its enormous mouth.

Screech!

“…!”

When Sedi froze for a moment in surprise, it quickly sent its tentacles out and picked up Ugkas before immediately running away.

“You bastard! …Ugh!”

Kran tried to chase after him, but he was suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness and stumbled. The side effects were much worse than he expected. He felt incredibly dizzy, and his stomach churned heavily. Unable to resist the urge to vomit, he collapsed to one knee.

Sedi shook her head and smiled bitterly as she approached him.

“Do you want to chase after him? That would be really hard.”

“I know that. However…”

“You don’t think it’s over. Is that it?”

“…”

“Relax. That tin can is on the verge of death. His death is nothing short of a fact.”

Sedi, who had been relatively proficient in the domain of death in the past, was almost certain.

That the Iron Duke, Ugkas, would die.

Kran was someone who couldn’t believe something unless he saw it with his own eyes. Nevertheless, even though he was skeptical about Sedi’s words, he still had to regain his strength before he could move.

“Hoo…”

“Is that weapon you just used disposable?”

“Right.”

As he nodded, Kran looked down at the pieces of the completely destroyed revolver.

This gun was actually a high-grade magical item and had been reinforced by all kinds of spells and runes, but it still could not withstand a single bullet before being smashed to bits.

‘If it really did manage to kill one of the five Dukes, then it would be worth it, but…”

It bothered him that Sipakna had escaped with the body.

…They had to chase after them.

Just as Kran had managed to stabilise his condition enough to stand on his feet…

Kaboom!

At that moment, a deafening explosion ripped through the air.

For a moment, Kran couldn’t help but wonder if the sky had fallen.

“What was that…?”

He looked up at the sky with a blank expression on his face. This was the first time that he’d been so shocked by a simple sound. However, the explosion had been so loud that his shock was not strange at all.

After all, just that single explosion had been loud enough to tear the eardrums of anyone who heard it.

Kaboom!

However, this sound came once again.

It was like tens of thousands of fireworks had all exploded at the same time.

Of course, the scene that unfolded in the dark sky after this sound was not as beautiful as fireworks. With every explosion, it looked like the sky was trembling.

As she watched the sight, Sedi muttered in a low voice.

“It seems that they’ve finally started fighting in earnest.”

“Started fighting? Who are you talking about?”

“Human and Demon.”

…The Absolutes that represented them.

Sedi swallowed her last words. She knew it wasn’t a concept that a mortal like Kran would be able to understand.

Kaboom…! Boom!

Sounds similar to thunder rippled through the sky again and again.

Kran focused as much as he could as he looked up at the pitch black sky.

And beyond the faintly flickering clouds, what appeared to be the shadows of two beings were occasionally revealed.

He could easily guess the identity of one of them.

And that was a monster who had destroyed half of the Korea Branch Headquarters with just two punches. A being Kran would never want to face.

The Demon King.

The one facing him seemed to have a small physique that was similar to a human’s. He couldn’t be sure since he was only looking at their shadows, but against the Demon King’s incredible stature, it seemed that this figure was in a precarious situation.

Bang!

Suddenly, a spark from the sky struck the ground like a bolt of lightning. Just the force being exerted from this spark caused a ten story building that appeared to be in relatively good condition to immediately collapse to the ground.

That wasn’t all.

When the spark hit the ground, it caused the ground to shake and crack as if there was an earthquake.

“…”

Cold sweat immediately began to run down Kran’s face.

This was nothing more than the aftermath of the fight between the two beings in the clouds. A stray fragment of an attack.

And yet, this stray attack had been able to completely destroy an entire area.

“…wouldn’t it be better for us to find cover?”

“Cover? Where? Now that they’ve started fighting, there is no safe place on this planet.”

Sedi grinned slightly as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

“Maybe you should pray. Pray that none of the stray sparks from their fight hit us.”

* * *

Each of the Five Dukes had a special ability that no other Demon Duke had.

For Gullard, it was his ‘wings’.

For Ugkas, it was his ‘skin’.

His skin could be described as the most powerful mortal defense, and it bordered on the realm of transcendent. It was capable of blocking any martial art, spell, or curse.

An invincible shield that he had been certain would never break.

And yet, this shield had now suffered irreparable damage.

“Gurk!”

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

The feeling of his body slowly cooling down was very strange for him. Ugkas realised that he was gradually becoming more and more sleepy, and he knew that if he were to close his eyes, he would never open them again.

In other words, he was going to die here today.

‘In such a vain way…’

He couldn’t help but feel that it was too harsh a price to pay for just a moment’s carelessness.

Ugkas lamented this fact, but he didn’t know.

He didn’t know that most things lost their lives due to a moment’s carelessness. For beings like the Five Dukes, who were born innately strong, their deaths usually only came from such circumstances.

Suddenly…

Guruk guk.

Sipakna, who hadn’t said a single word since their arrival, opened its mouth.

[Mission… continuation… difficult…]

It slowly spat out those words.

Ugkas’ eyes widened in surprise.

Although he knew that Sipakna was intelligent, this was his first time actually hearing it speak.

But the words that it spoke were even more shocking.

[You… are now… no longer… useful. And soon… you… will… die. So…]

Sipakna’s mouth widened considerably.

[I… will eat… you.]

At those words, Ugkas’ shock slowly wore off. And his eyes, which had been widened in surprise, grew calm.

Guguk guk.

Sipakna’s mouth continued to expand until it was many times its size. No matter how hard its teeth were, it wouldn’t be able to break through Ugkas’ skin.

However, it would be possible to swallow him whole and slowly melt him with its acid.

With its large mouth, swallowing Ugkas whole would be no trouble at all.

“I see. So I wasn’t your insurance. You were my insurance.”

He calmly looked at the hundreds of spinning teeth.

…If it is the King’s will…

Ugkas slowly closed his eyes while muttering.

“Eat well, Sipakna. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Sipakna didn’t respond.

Crack! Crack!

And the intraspecies predation began.

(TL: I’ll be honest… this is not what I was expecting.)