The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Book 2: Chapter 426

There was a thought that he had in the past.

Something that would never happen, and if it did happen, he would never be able to see it.

If there was a fight between Rulers, what form would it take?

* * *

The scene unfolding before his eyes could definitely not be considered a fight between Rulers.

Nevertheless, the reason Lukas suddenly recalled this thought was simple. This was a battle that far surpassed the limits of his perception.

He could not follow it with his eyes. He couldn’t even hear a sound. And yet, he knew that they were engaged in a fierce battle because of the screams of the creaking space.

This battle was a level above Lukas.

No, it was even higher than that.

Crack, crack…

The space began to crack. Grey sand poured down like a river. There were even desert monsters that appeared with the sand.

Screech!

But they didn’t last very long.

They were unable to adapt to the sudden change in landscape before they were torn apart by lightning and sword waves.

“…”

The sound of the heavy rain didn’t stop. But the sound of the sand streaming through the cracks in space mixed with it, making the surroundings noisy.

Nevertheless, Lukas suddenly felt the surroundings become quiet.

It was over.

The short but intense battle had come to an end.

The being that appeared first stood in their original position as if they had been standing there from the beginning.

Pale.

No, the Blue Knight stood with their sword held by their side. There didn’t seem to be any visible wounds. Their armour only seemed a bit scorched. But, unlike Lucid, it didn’t seem like they could easily regenerate. Instead, it felt like the faint electrical burns were the traces left after they had been electrocuted.

In the end, it wasn’t just Lukas’ void.

The Lightning God’s power was able to suppress even the powerful regenerative ability of the Knights.

Of course, that didn’t mean the Lightning God had the advantage.

Kudangtang!

The Lightning God rolled across the ground.

The Blue Knight didn’t move. Even as the Lightning God was sent flying and rolled across the ground before staggering to his feet, they simply looked on while maintaining the same posture without lifting a finger.

Those were fatal openings that Lukas would have desperately, and vainly, tried to dig into.

The Lightning God didn’t seem surprised by this fact. Instead, there was a smile on his lips.

“It’s you. The God Killer.”

However, his characteristic tyrannical smile was now filled with anger that he’d never seen before.

“It was bound to happen one day and I even wished for that guy’s end, but… It doesn’t feel very pleasant. To be honest, I’ve been really annoyed ever since I realised.”

[It wasn’t me.]

The Blue Knight responded in an indifferent voice. Their voice was completely different from the Pale that Lukas knew. Not only the age, but even the gender was hard to guess.

“However, you are somehow connected to it, Blue Knight of Famine…”

[You talk a lot.]

“I’m usually like that… So, answer me. How did that guy die?”

[…]

The Blue Knight was silent. The Lightning God had a talkative personality, but when she was Pale, the Blue Knight was no better. But now, it felt like they would only say the things that needed to be said.

God.

The Lightning God had mentioned God.

But the Blue Knight didn’t seem to feel like talking to him about it. That alone seemed to suggest that the Blue Knight held the initiative even while outside of battle.

“I guess that’s how it is.”

The Lightning God seemed to roughly guess the other party’s thoughts, so he didn’t bother continuing the conversation.

-Then he disappeared again.

His sounds and presence had completely disappeared.

Like before, he could not be detected at all. By Lukas, at least.

That wasn’t the case for the Blue Knight. Although it was impossible to tell where they were looking because of the visor of their helmet, and their stance with their sword held to their side didn’t change.

This being was clearly following the movements of the Lightning God.

Crackle-

There was a faint spark.

Lukas was only able to sense it because of his wide perspective.

The Blue Knight lifted their sword at that exact moment. And as soon as their pale sword soared upwards in a straight line, it collided with a bolt of lightning that suddenly appeared in the air.

Crack crack!

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a lightning bolt. Both of his eyes felt like they would go blind. It was a sword covered by intense lightning.

The moment the two blades met, the Lightning God’s figure became clear again.

This was the clearest that Lukas had been able to see the Lightning God’s image since the Blue Knight had first appeared.

He looked like a lion with a body made out of lightning. He also appeared to have a thunderstorm for a mane. That beast held the hilt of a sword in its mouth, and despite its unstable posture, it was able to fight the Blue Knight to a stand-still.

-Or so he thought at first.

In the next moment, he realised that was an illusion.

Rumble…

A slight tremor occurred when the two swords collided. It was in this same moment that blue light exploded out of the Blue Knight’s helmet.

Bang!

The pale blade tore through the Lightning God’s body of lightning. The torn lightning didn’t disappear. Instead, it shot up to the sky with strange momentum before becoming a bolt of lightning that struck down towards the Blue Knight.

Boom!

Space screamed once again. Although the surrounding landscape hadn’t changed greatly and a huge crater hadn’t been dug into the ground, that lightning strike seemed like it was capable of penetrating the essence of existence.

“…!”

But it had no effect.

The lightning hadn’t even managed to penetrate the Blue Knight’s armour.

Just like Lukas’ attacks didn’t reach the Lightning God.

“Is it that much?”

Did that mean that there was also a gap between them like Lukas and the Lightning God?

No. It was a bit different from that.

Unlike Lukas, who had absolutely no chance of defeating the Lightning God, the fight between them was not so one sided.

Their fight couldn’t be called one sided.

Paht!

The Lightning God disappeared once again. A storm seemed to rage in every direction. The surroundings were covered in dark clouds. Crackle, crackle. The sounds of lightning gave Lukas the illusion that he was within a thundercloud in the dark sky instead of on the ground.

Light flashed in every direction. The silhouette of a lion could sometimes be seen momentarily. Every time that happened, lightning would strike. That was all Lukas was able to gather.

Rumble. The ground beneath him shook.

“Cough…”

Although he was pretty far away, Lukas was still forced to cough up a mouthful of blood. This wasn’t even the result of a direct attack. A small spark of lightning had flowed into his body, and that alone was enough to make his internal organs explode like firecrackers.

At some point, he was no longer able to even see the silhouette of the lion.

The sounds of a sword slicing through the air, the ground being overturned, the heavy rain, and the thunder and lightning rang out. They all mixed together in a complex way, creating a pattern that no one dared follow.

Even the centre of the largest typhoon ever would be calmer than here. (TL: Isn’t the centre supposed to be the calmest part?)

‘Why?’

Why were the Blue Knights attacks causing visible harm to the Lightning God’s body?

As far as he could tell, the pale blade didn’t contain any power. Nevertheless, the Blue Knight was able to face the lightning being released by the Lightning God, and was even overwhelming him.

…He thought about Yang In-hyun once again.

His Everlasting Plum Sword was without a doubt a formidable martial art, but what was the difference between it and Lukas’ void? He was confident that it didn’t lose when it came to destructive power. Not to mention practicality.

And yet, Lukas’ void hadn’t been able to reach the Lightning God.

On the other hand, Yang In-hyun had been able to drive him to the brink of death.

Were the remaining forms of the Everlasting Plum Sword really that amazing? Of course they were. Sama Ryeong had said the power of the technique doubles with each form.

However, this was different. That wasn’t the decisive reason.

Lukas couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something.

Him and Yang In-hyun.

Void and Everlasting Plum Sword.

What was the difference between the two?

…The battle between the two absolutes was gradually coming to an end.

Lukas was only able to realise this because the deafening noise was beginning to subside.

Then, in an instant, the sound disappeared completely.

[…]

“…”

They were facing each other.

The Blue Knight’s armour was covered in numerous scratches and scorch marks. The armour at her shoulder and knee was also broken.

This proved that the Lightning God’s power, claws, and fangs were able to deal significant damage.

Nevertheless, the Lightning God’s condition was much worse than that.

He could no longer maintain his beast form. He once again appeared in the shape of Lee Jong-hak, panting and staring at the Blue Knight.

“…huuu.”

He let out a slow breath.

The Lightning God’s gaze lowered. He looked down at his own tattered body.

“…indeed, Blue Knight of Famine.”

Then he nodded as if he understood something.

“I cannot win.”

Shuk-

In the next moment, the Lightning God was decapitated.

The Blue Knight hadn’t moved a single step. They were still standing still. However, there was a weak current on their pale blade.

Crackle…

Instead of blood, sparks shot out from the severed cross section of the neck. Wiggle, the wrist holding the sword moved. Despite the lack of head, it seemed that his biological activity hadn’t completely stopped.

The Blue Knight didn’t even look at this weak resistance.

They simply swung their sword one more time and the Lightning God, no, Lee Jong-hak disappeared without a trace.

The fight had ended so vainly.

The dark clouds that filled the sky disappeared, and the sound of thunder gradually faded. The heavy rains, which fell as if a hole had been pierced in the sky, gradually weakened before eventually coming to a stop.

[…]

The Blue Knight.

Although they’d just won a formidable battle, they didn’t show any satisfaction or sense of accomplishment.

Instead, they simply turned around indifferently and started walking.

Splash-

Their blue boots stomped into one of the many puddles left by the heavy rain. Mud splattered, dirtying their tattered armour even more, but the knight didn’t seem to care.

The Blue Knight looked down at Lukas.

[To be honest, I can’t remember the taste of food from the outside. If possible, I’d wanted to preserve the body…]

Although it was the same ageless, genderless voice, the tone that they used had returned to Pale’s.

[As expected of a Ruler. It didn’t go as planned.]

“…”

[By the way, uncle, you’re in pretty terrible condition, aren’t you?]

Her face wasn’t visible, but Lukas was certain she was smiling at that moment.

Lukas didn’t respond. The wounds left by the Lightning God were fatal, and his internal organs had been shattered by the subsequent fight. Neither healing or regeneration would work.

To put it frankly, Lukas was dying.

[…still, it’s not enough.]

Chrrk.

At that moment, blue light appeared from the armour and it flowed down the sword just like it had appeared.

Soon enough, Pale’s face was revealed.

As he expected, she was smiling, but it was a much more dangerous smile than Lukas expected.

“More, more, more. You need to be much more hungry than you are now. Only then will you be qualified to become my King.”

“…”

“The hunger of the body isn’t a problem. What’s really, really important… Is right here.”

Tuk, tuk. Pale tapped her head a few times.

“Emptiness and hunger aren’t that great. You probably ate countless corpses. Didn’t you? However, even if you endlessly fill your stomach, only some parts would be satisfied while others would become dry. In other words, you would realise that you’re mentally hungry. Eventually.”

Pale smiled brightly.

“I was curious. And I was really looking forward to it. What kind of being would the deceiver use his last few dregs for? And those expectations were met.”

“…”

“But next time, I think you should fix that impulsive tendency.”

“…”

“If you meet ‘me’ again, you better hide your current condition. Because, to be honest, the current you looks really appetising. That ‘me’ might not be able to hold back since I wouldn’t know the circumstances… Now, then.”

A slender but rough hand grabbed Lukas by the neck. That alone made him feel like his entire body was restrained.

“I feel bad for watching you like this, so I’ll let you go.”

Crack-

She broke his neck.

He couldn’t use his void regression ability. This was due to the Lightning God’s power that was still wriggling in his body.

His consciousness faded in an instant.

Lukas died once again.

* * *

He opened his eyes. He felt a familiar sensation on his back. The familiar feeling of laying in the middle of the grey desert.

“…”

Lukas wasn’t surprised.

This was because this was a vague possibility that he’d considered after he’d suffered his ‘first death’ when Yang In-hyun had cut him with his sword. Pale’s words just before he died increased his confidence in that faint possibility.

[The power to struggle most desperately]

The power God had left him didn’t go away.

It surrounded his body in a realm that he could not perceive until it was manifested again.

“Wow! You’re finally awake!”

This was now his third time hearing it.

Lukas turned his head.

Pale had the same meaningless smile as always.

Throb-

His head ached.

Pressing his fingers on his temples, Lukas sighed.

His third life in the World of Void had begun.