The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 103
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 103
There are many reasons why people fear the undead.
Beyond the primal terror of corpses walking about, what truly terrifies them is that these creatures know no fear.
An immortal army that rises again and again, no matter how many times you kill them, suffering no pain in the process.
That is what makes the undead so terrifying.
‘I thought the same thing until now….’
I lopped off the head of an undead rushing toward me and surveyed the remaining creatures in the hall.
‘This is almost too easy, isn’t it?’
About ten undead remained in the hall.
The other twenty were meeting their second death on the cold floor.
‘Aren’t undead supposed to be hard to kill?’
That’s what the books said, but one slash and they don’t resurrect anymore—they just shudder and crumble to dust.
‘Could it be because of Soul Severance?’
Soul Severance was one of the skills I’d acquired long ago.
A passive skill that severs the target’s very soul whenever I wound them with a weapon—it had a flashy name but was a skill I’d found no practical use for until now.
‘But it seems I’ve just discovered its advantage.’
I grinned and quickly dispatched the remaining undead.
[Undead Eliminated 30/30 Complete!]
[Sudden Quest Cleared!]
[You receive 10,000 5th Circle Skill Proficiency as a reward.]
[Proficiency Remaining Until 8-Star Achievement: 68,120/100,000]
I was grinning at the sweet rewards when—
My senses detected two people rushing toward this location.
‘One is Count Ridermond, and the other must be a necromancer controlling the undead.’
There’s no way the Count would possess such power.
When I first saw him, he was just an ordinary noble without a single Circle mark on his chest.
‘Then….’
I pulled the Shadow’s Hood from my subspace.
With this, there was no way I’d be discovered regardless of who my opponent was.
Whoosh—
I concealed myself and waited. Moments later—
“Zakar Patrick? Zakar Patrick!”
A wall opened and a robed man burst through, with the Count following behind him.
‘Zakar Patrick? Is that this man’s name?’
I observed the situation silently.
As expected, the man called Zakar Patrick didn’t detect my concealment.
Even though I could sense the rings of a 9-Circle mage on his chest.
‘Could he be one of the 12 Pioneers?’
Zakar Patrick stared at the thirty corpses I’d torn to pieces.
“You destroyed my servants beyond resurrection and vanished. Just who in the world….”
The man muttering to himself fixed his gaze on the Count and pressed him further.
“Describe the intruder you saw earlier in detail!”
“Ah, well, that is… black hair and…”
As the Count described the intruder’s appearance, Zakar Patrick’s pupils gradually dilated.
It was the reaction of someone who recognized the person.
“Maligore. Did that bastard betray me…?”
From the way he muttered in disbelief, I could piece together the situation to some degree.
‘I see. The Dark Lord and Zakar Patrick were in cahoots. The two of them conspired with the Count to orchestrate this territorial war for some reason.’
It appeared that Zakar Patrick was a Forerunner with the ability to raise corpses.
‘So the 12 Pioneers and the Dark Lord are on the same side… I’ve stumbled upon an unexpected windfall.’
With this revelation, I couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity.
‘Zakar Patrick, Maligore, Count Ridermond. I need to eliminate all three simultaneously.’
I pulled the corners of my mouth upward beneath the hood.
* * *
‘What’s going on?’
Maligore had to arrive at the Lord’s Castle a day early.
Zakar Patrick had summoned him abruptly.
‘Didn’t he tell me to come tomorrow since he needed to prepare the ritual today?’
Even when Maligore asked what was happening, Zakar Patrick only told him to come immediately without explanation, leaving Maligore puzzled throughout the journey.
All he could discern was that Zakar Patrick’s voice through the communication device was seething with anger.
‘I’ll find out what’s going on once I get there.’
Upon arriving at the Lord’s Castle, Maligore descended from the magic carriage and ascended to the top floor.
The party was still in full swing, and raucous noise filled the air, but it gradually diminished as he climbed higher.
When Maligore finally reached the Forbidden Chamber, he frowned slightly as he tried to open the door.
‘The doorknob is… broken?’
Wondering if something had happened, he pushed the door open forcefully.
Two familiar faces stood in the hall.
One was the portly Count Ridermond, and the other was the immortal Forerunner he served.
“Are you Count Ridermond? It’s a pleasure to meet…”
“That’s him!”
Maligore’s brow immediately furrowed as he approached with an extended hand.
No matter how much of a supporter this faction was, being pointed at so rudely upon first meeting left a bitter taste.
“What are you doing being so rude? Do you know who I am… hm?”
Maligore paused and scanned his surroundings.
Dismembered corpses were scattered everywhere as if something had occurred.
“Zakar Patrick? What happened here? These appear to be the corpses you prepared for the ritual, but why are they so damaged? What’s going on?”
“You shameless bastard.”
Zakar Patrick’s first words were a scathing accusation.
“Pretending this is your first time here when you already came to sabotage the ritual. Your audacity knows no bounds.”
“What? What are you talking about, Zakar Patrick?”
“Don’t provoke me. I can kill you.”
The aura of a 9th Circle Grand Archmage rippled from Zakar Patrick’s body.
An overwhelming presence that even Maligore, a Grand Aura Master, would struggle to withstand.
Zakar Patrick glared with a murderous expression.
“Speak. Why did you interfere with my consciousness?”
“W-wait, Zakar Patrick. There’s been some misunderstanding….”
“You’re playing dumb in front of me?”
The fully unleashed magical aura constricted around Maligore’s body.
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
‘Ugh, ugh…!’
Even Maligore, one of the Five Lords, struggled against the overwhelming pressure, but what was truly difficult was Zakar Patrick’s demeanor.
“Tell me what your true intentions are.”
“M-my intentions?”
“Are you still playing dumb?”
“I-I really don’t understand what you’re saying!”
Being threatened so abruptly and constantly demanded to reveal his intentions—Maligore felt like he was going mad.
Whoosh—
In an instant, Zakar Patrick’s dark aura vanished completely.
“Gasp, gasp….”
Maligore, who had dropped to one knee under the vast magical power like an ocean, had grown gaunt.
“Raise your head.”
At his master’s command, Maligore looked up with fearful eyes.
“Do you truly not understand the meaning of my words?”
“I truly don’t….”
“You truly never interfered with my consciousness?”
“Interfere? I only just arrived here. Having sworn the Oath of Death with you, why would I interfere with Zakar Patrick? That makes no sense.”
The Oath of Death was a covenant and contract where both parties set one condition each.
Similar to a Mana Oath, but the difference was that whoever broke it would pay the price of death.
“Didn’t I swear to become your slave for life in exchange for you sharing your dark power with me? If I had lied, I would deserve to die right here and now.”
At this reasonable argument, Zakar Patrick turned his head toward the Count.
“Then, are you saying this worm lied to me?”
“What? N-no, no! How could someone as lowly as me ever dare…!”
The Count, flustered by the sudden accusation, desperately waved his hands.
For Zakar Patrick, it was unclear whom to trust.
If neither was the culprit, there was only one answer.
“Then someone impersonated the Dark Lord and killed my undead?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“…!!!”
“…!!!”
At the third voice, everyone’s heads snapped toward the source in unison.
“That would be me.”
Zeke McLafflin pulled back the hood of his cloak, revealing himself before the assembled crowd.
“Gasp!”
A figure materialized from thin air, and Count Ridermond jolted in shock.
Zakar Patrick, who had been observing from the sidelines, felt the same jolt of surprise.
‘What is this? How was he concealed?’
There was no way a 9-circle mage like Zakar Patrick could have missed someone hiding with invisibility.
He was more attuned to the flow of mana than anyone—he should have sensed the slightest disturbance.
Yet he had detected nothing.
He hadn’t realized someone was lurking like a rat, eavesdropping on everything.
But the person most shocked by Zeke McLafflin’s appearance was none other than the Dark Lord Maligore.
“H-how did that bastard get here!?”
“Who is he? Do you know him?”
Maligore nodded vigorously at Zakar Patrick’s question.
“That’s the Spellblade I told you about! Zeke McLafflin!”
‘Zeke… McLafflin?’
Learning the Spellblade’s identity for the first time, Zakar Patrick’s eyes widened.
After all, the target he was supposed to eliminate was also named Zeke McLafflin.
“Hah, what an extraordinary coincidence.”
“What is it, Zakar?”
“The Spellblade you failed to assassinate—he’s the target I was sent to kill.”
“What? That man is your target?”
Maligore stared at Zeke McLafflin with astonished eyes.
Regardless, Zeke McLafflin maintained an air of composure throughout.
“You lot—what exactly are you doing here? And what’s this ceremony business?”
At the mention of the ceremony, Zakar Patrick’s expression hardened.
“So you saw everything.”
“Saw it and dealt with it. I killed the undead, after all.”
There was a logical flaw in saying he’d killed those already dead, but the facts were the facts.
Zakar Patrick knew this better than anyone.
Which was why he couldn’t hide his shock.
“You… were that intruder?”
“I said it when I first appeared. I was the one who infiltrated in the Dark Lord’s form. How many times do I have to repeat myself? Are you deaf?”
“You insolent wretch!”
The one who burst out shouting wasn’t the loyal Maligore, but Count Ridermond.
“Do you have any idea who you’re addressing with such disrespect? Have you no fear for your life?”
“The man himself stays silent, yet you make a bigger fuss beside him.”
“W-what did you just say!?”
The enraged Count seized Maligore’s arm.
“Dark Lord! Please, tear out the tongue of this wretched cur at once!”
“Don’t touch him. Unless you want to die.”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
Maligore stepped forward, shaking his arm with visible displeasure.
It was clear he had already decided to kill me anyway.
“Zakar Patrick. May I dispose of this whelp? I would be grateful for the opportunity to redeem my failure at assassination.”
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
Maligore’s lips curved upward at the casual permission, and he conjured an Aura Blade.
Tssssss—
As befitted a Grand Aura Master, the luminous edge was far more massive than I had imagined.
“Say, Dark Lord? Couldn’t we settle this through conversation?”
“Stop spouting nonsense and come at me, Sword Mage. I’ll bury you right beside Creos’ Tomb.”
“How considerate. You’re even thinking about a burial.”
I exhaled slowly and prepared for combat.
‘There’s no way around this. Words won’t reach him. Well, I revealed myself knowing it would come to this anyway.’
The true reason I had revealed myself was singular.
The Quest.
【Main Quest: Kill Zakar Patrick!】
└You have encountered Zakar Patrick, the Immortal Forerunner, at Ridermond Lordship Castle.
└Slay Zakar Patrick so that the innocent souls he has claimed may find peace.
【Conditions】
└Eliminate Zakar Patrick within 30 minutes
【Rewards】
└Acquire Skill ‘Backtrace’
└Acquire Item ‘Immortal Pendant’
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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