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

Editors: Ana_Banana, Sei

The next day.

As she faced Lukas, the Great Medium realised that he’d made a decision.

She could tell from the first moment that she looked at him. Because Lukas’ face was no longer covered by a shadow.

‘He will fight.’

This man had chosen to fight Diablo in the end. He knew the consequences, but he still chose to help the cause.

…The cause?

No. Those words were an insult to Lukas. The Great Medium didn’t know what kind of thoughts he had when he made the decision. And there was no one qualified enough to ask.

So she would just complete the rest of the role she’d been given.

Because there were still things she needed to tell Lukas.

“Diablo isn’t in this world right now. Iris couldn’t track him either.”

“Do you mean he went to another universe? That’s impossible for anyone but an Absolute.”

The wall between universes wasn’t so low that it could be crossed by beings who only had ‘the chance of becoming an Absolute’.

It was similar to the power of disappearance in that external force, which only Absolutes were capable of using, was the only power that could counter it. In the case of universal travel, it would be impossible to withstand the pressure that came with crossing dimensions without external force.

“I don’t mean a different universe. I mean a different world. Don’t you remember? There used to be two worlds that neighbour this continent.”

“The Celestial World, and the Demon World.”

He recalled one of the truths of this world that he’d heard from God in the past.

The Demigods were originally beings who would become angels, and the Celestial World was the world they were supposed to live in. But things had gone awry and everything went down the drain.

“Is Diablo there?”

“He’s not in the Celestial World or the Demon World. After you left, a new neighbouring world appeared.”

“Another one?”

“That world is a bit strange. That world existed for a long time, but no one discovered its existence. Diablo and I were only able to learn of its existence through the void records.”

Lukas thought of the black box.

And the remnants of Frey Blake that he found inside it.

…He had a vague idea of what that world was like.

“Let me backtrack a bit. Yesterday, I told you that the reason that some people could remember you was because of a combination of two factors. I only explained one of those things to you.”

That was true. At that time, his mind had been in too much of a mess so he didn’t realise.

The first factor was Diablo. He had managed to access the void records, which allowed him to learn about Lukas’ existence. And that was why Lukas hadn’t been destroyed.

Then what was the other reason?

“…”

The Great Medium hesitated for a long time. Her mouth opened and closed over and over again.

Lukas realised that she was afraid to say the words that waited on her tongue.

“…I can’t feel his aura.”

“But him, you mean…”

“Dawns.”

Dawns.

The name of the god worshipped by the Great Medium and Hitume Ikar.

It was also another name for God, the creator of the multiverse.

“He’s always busy. Unless it is a Cosmic Event then he probably wouldn’t even care about it.”

“I know that. But even then, I could still feel his ‘presence’, albeit vaguely. I could always feel the existence of a thread that connected me to him.”

“…and you can only barely feel that thread now?”

“Yes. It’s like…”

The Great Medium’s expression seemed to say that she didn’t want to say her next words, but she forcibly finished her sentence.

“Like his existence will soon disappear.”

* * *

Diablo was walking through a desert the colour of the sky.

His only companion was an undead knight that he’d created by pouring all of his knowledge and essence as a Necromancer.

For him, the Sword King Lucid alone was enough.

No. To be precise, any being that wasn’t at least on the same level as Lucid could not enter this world.

Crunch.

For a while, the only sound that could be heard was their footsteps in the sand.

It was almost impossible to tell just how long they had been walking without saying a word.

After a while, Diablo heard the footsteps of other people besides Lucid and himself.

They didn’t even try to hide themselves.

Soon, the owners of the footsteps appeared.

There were three people.

Diablo continued walking as if he hadn’t noticed them.

They all had similar appearances to Lucid. In other words, they were knights. Just like Lucid, they were all completely covered in armour such that not even an inch of skin was visible.

Their destinations were probably the same. And they wouldn’t hurt Diablo.

He knew that.

And yet, Diablo still felt chills as though his life was in danger. It felt like he was walking naked beside three tigers. Even if they didn’t show any intention to hurt him, he had no choice but to feel fear while being so close to an apex predator.

Right.

Even Diablo, who was a 9-star Wizard, was nothing but prey for these three beings.

It was at that moment.

One of the three knights, the knight in red armour, turned to look at Lucid.

“…”

The other knights turned to follow him.

For a while, the three knights silently looked at Lucid.

That was when Diablo started to grow nervous.

‘Don’t tell me they can’t accept a being like Lucid…’

Even if they were to draw their swords and swing at Lucid, there was nothing Diablo could do about it.

He would have no choice but to watch as the weapon that was vital to his plan was destroyed.

Trying to suppress his anxiety, he watched the situation. However, Diablo was worrying for nothing.

The knights looked away and started walking once again.

—After walking for another indiscernible period.

The knights finally came to a stop. And Diablo did as well.

However, their reasons were different. For the knights, it was because they had arrived at their destination, but Diablo’s body stiffened because he was unable to control his emotions.

A castle loomed before their eyes.

When he finally was able to see this castle with his own eyes, his entire body trembled without him realising it.

‘I see it…!’

He was finally able to see the castle!

That meant that Diablo finally had the qualifications to enter.

The Red Knight spoke.

“Follow me.”

[…]

His long awaited statement of permission.

Unable to overcome his excitement, Diablo tried to take a step forward.

“Not you.”

But the Blue Knight standing beside him stopped him.

[What?]

“You are not yet qualified. Go collect more lost items.”

[…]

The knight was not joking. In the first place, it was not even possible.

That was why Diablo couldn’t help but stare at them blanky.

If the permission wasn’t directed at him, then it could only be for one person.

Diablo looked at Lucid.

It was an unexpected development. This dead man, the knight of death that had been revived by Diablo, had been granted permission to enter before Diablo himself.

[This… I brought him back…!]

Diablo shouted fiercely.

He knew that he could not force these knights to change anything for him. Nevertheless, he couldn’t back down so easily.

Even if it was ineffective in the end, he was only one step away from the truth of the world that he had longed for for so long.

He could not walk away like this.

[If Lucid has the permission to see, then I, his owner, should naturally have the same right.]

“…”

[I can also see ‘the castle’! I’ve met the conditions you told me about! So why won’t you allow me in?]

“You’re not qualified.”

Once again, he heard that inorganic voice.

Just as Diablo began to grit his teeth.

—-.

A voice. No. A trace.

He heard something as if someone was whispering to his very soul. Or at least, he felt it.

The movements of the knights froze for a moment, then the Red Knight turned to look at him.

“Follow me.”

[What…]

“You are qualified. The King has acknowledged your entry.”

[…!]

King…!

Would he finally be able to see that being?

If Diablo had a heart, it would definitely have been beating heavily at that moment. He followed the Red Knight into the castle.

And when he witnessed the scene within, Diablo sucked in a deep breath.

It was as if dozens of worlds had been broken, crushed, and roughly mixed together before being left as they were.

The background reminded him of the universe. Stars scattered within a pitch black space shined their light on the surroundings.

But in the centre of it all, the space had the appearance of broken glass. Everything that spread beyond that broken space had a completely different appearance.

In one shard of space, there was a large civilisation of intelligent lifeforms that he’d never seen before, in another, a primitive race could be seen hunting creatures several times larger than themselves.

‘Different universes…!’

Diablo shuddered slightly.

Each and every one of those shards of space was the entrance to a different universe…! It was a treasure trove of knowledge that Diablo had spent so long searching for.

The three knights walked steadily through the dark, chaotic space.

Lucid was already with them as if he had become one of them.

[…]

When he saw this scene, Diablo couldn’t help but have a strange feeling.

For some reason, Lucid suddenly felt very distant from him.

‘…no, that’s not possible.’

After all, he was an undead that Diablo himself had raised.

He was his greatest masterpiece. A soul that he had taken a long time to corrupt, the perfect body, and the greatest command techniques he could find.

Just like a craftsman might sometimes feel unfamiliar with his work, this strange feeling was only temporary.

Pushing aside his unnecessary thoughts, Diablo followed after them.

Hundreds of worlds. Thousands. Perhaps they had passed even more than that.

Diablo slowly became uneasy.

It felt like he was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss. Could he even return to his own universe? Just as his anxiety was beginning to reach its peak.

Thud!

The three knights suddenly fell to their knees and bowed their heads.

Diablo was startled.

He looked around quickly before he eventually caught sight of it.

A grey throne that sat so far away it was hard to see.

‘I can’t reach it.’

Perhaps it was just a feeling. But Diablo felt that even if he were to run as fast as he could, he would never get any closer to the throne.

In truth, the throne was in a shabby state. There were many cracks on it, and it was covered in dust.

In addition, there was no one sitting on it.

[…]

Nevertheless, Diablo gritted his teeth as he looked at it.

Someone was there.

However, Diablo could not tell who it was. He knew that someone was there, but he could not see them.

It wasn’t just about power or authority. It was something far beyond that, that existed between Diablo and that being.

—-

Once again, he heard the strange voice.

Then the three knights slowly rose to their feet.

“As the king commanded.”

“We have brought the deceiver.”

“Who broke the rules.”

The three knights spoke one after the other.

Afterward, they drew their swords in an orderly manner and pointed them downwards.

Puk!

The swords pierced the space in front of them.

The three swords then gave off different coloured lights, forming a triangle.

And after a while, a figure appeared in the centre of the triangle.

A figure that was familiar to Diablo.

[Lord?]

…No.

It wasn’t.

It wasn’t the Lord of the Demigods who had terrorised the continent in the past. They were surprisingly similar to Lord, but it wasn’t him.

Something was different… Like it was a higher level being.

But…

‘Why are they so weak?’

He could tell that much.

This Lord-like being was very weak.

Diablo believed that it must have originally been a cosmic level being that he couldn’t even lay his eyes on. Probably a being on par with the one sitting on the throne.

But now, they were so weak that even Diablo could kill them.

[Who the hell… is that…?]

The three knights didn’t answer him and instead raised their swords again.

Then, they slowly approached the Lord-like being.

It was clear that they intended to swing their swords and cut the being’s head off in an instant.

Just as Diablo was certain of this.

—-

The voice sounded once again.

And for the first time, the knights expressed surprise. Then they turned to the throne as if to verify what they’d just heard.

Srrng—

After a while, the knights returned their swords to their sheaths.

And as one, turned their heads to look in a particular direction.

The direction Lucid was standing in.

“Black Knight.”

“Draw.”

“Your sword.”

Diablo snorted at those words.

[He won’t listen to your orders. I’m the one that made…]

However, before Diablo could even finish his sentence, Lucid drew his sword.

[Ah…?]

Then, as if he understood his role, he began to walk towards the being that resembled Lord.

The following events happened in an instant.

Shuk-

A single slash.

It sliced through both sides of the neck without resistance.

There was no blood. In fact, nothing came out of the body. It was like cutting the head off of a puppet.

The severed head wavered like smoke for a moment before disappearing without a trace. The body soon followed suit.

The ‘being’ disappeared without leaving a corpse behind.

[What… the hell is this…]

Diablo could not understand anything at that moment.

He simply stood there in shock.

Rumble-

But at that moment, the space around them began to shake.

A creak echoed as if the very dimension itself was screaming.

Even the ‘universes in the fragments’ seemed to feel the vibrations as they all shook in fear and wondered what was happening.

‘…is this not happening only in this space but throughout the entire multiverse?’

Was that even possible?

Diablo had seen the void records. He knew that there were an infinite number of universes.

His gaze flickered sharply.

[Who the hell did you guys just kill?]

It was not a question that expected an answer. It was more like a cry of fear.

But the knights replied in a blunt tone.

“God.”

[What?]

“God.”

“Was killed.”

“At last.”

The knights then spoke together for the first time.

“And now it begins.”

That statement was the truth. Because something actually started with that declaration.

A Cosmic Event on a scale that could not be found in the long history of the multiverse.

The death of God that they spoke of was not a lie.

Because all of the Absolutes in the Three Thousand Worlds immediately realised the death of God.

And of course.

The Rulers were no exception

(TL:…)