The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 118

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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 118
Rita the Wind God’s murderous gaze fixed upon Esca Robins.
It was that bastard’s doing.
The reason her mana wouldn’t gather stemmed from him.
I didn’t know the details, but he wielded petty techniques like Soul Burst, Mana Burn, and Dispel—so it was likely his work.
Most of all, that sneering expression directed at me was proof enough.
“Esca! Have you lost your mind? How dare you obstruct me?”
“The celebrated Rita the Wind God of the Ber Kingdom is nothing but an ordinary person before me. How amusing.”
“Stop your nonsense, you bastard! Don’t you see I’m working? Restore it to its original state immediately!”
“Rita—or rather, Rose. If you possess a mind, use it. Can’t you see you’re interfering right now?”
As he laughed mockingly without restraint, Rita’s face flushed crimson like an active volcano.
There was nothing else she could do.
Just as Esca said, without access to her mana, she was nothing but an ordinary person.
“You… damned bastard… So you came to interfere with me from the start. Baluduk’s prediction was correct. All this to rescue my father, the King…”
‘Interesting. Baluduk anticipated this outcome?’
Zeke, wearing Esca’s mask, couldn’t help but admire the foresight.
He hadn’t realized that Baluduk, the one who sent him, harbored suspicions about Esca.
‘Was this a test to see if Esca could be trusted? He’s more cautious than I thought.’
I had believed I’d earned complete trust, yet apparently I hadn’t.
Though I felt the sting of that realization, it was Rita who received the true blow—both mentally and physically.
Literally, in fact.
Crunch!
Rita crumpled ungracefully under Ugritto’s punch and lost consciousness immediately.
Without access to magic, her body was as fragile as any ordinary person’s—an inevitable outcome.
His gaze now turned toward Zeke.
“Spirit of the earth, heed my call.”
The moment Ugritto finished speaking, Zeke’s body grew impossibly heavy.
Thud!
Releasing his resistance, his knees and hands touched the ground.
‘Did he amplify gravity using the spirit’s power?’
In truth, I could have endured it with effort, but I chose not to resist.
‘For now, allowing myself to be captured is the right move.’
No matter that I stopped Rita and rescued the King, in everyone else’s eyes I remained an undeniable intruder.
Since I was actually an ally, being imprisoned was the logical course of action.
And it was precisely what I intended.
‘To extract information from Rita, I have no choice but to be captured alongside her.’
That’s why I surrendered without resistance.
Soon, feigning submission to the gravity, Zeke lay prone as the King’s voice rang out.
“Imprison all the intruders!”

* * *
The situation had reached a temporary resolution.
The Wind Giant had been vanquished by the Royal Court Mage Order’s efforts, and the intruders had been rendered unable to cast magic through restraint collars and binding iron cages.
With that, no further casualties occurred.
All that remained was the King’s fury.
“How could this happen! The Royal Palace’s security breached so effortlessly!”
“My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty.”
“I am ashamed beyond measure, Your Majesty.”
Dalpred Bigsland and Gerard McLafflin, both responsible for security, bowed their heads in unison.
Even ten mouths would have nothing to say in such a situation.
Of course, it wasn’t as though they had been negligent in their surveillance or derelict in their duties.
Upon hearing that the King would be receiving guests, they had specially reinforced security and instructed the guards on duty to pay even closer attention to surveillance.
The only problem was that the intruder turned out to be an unforeseen monster—Rita the Wind God.
Perhaps aware of this, Shane II refrained from further reproach toward the two men.
“What is the extent of the damage?”
“We have confirmed 52 casualties total: 38 wounded and 14 dead. Most of the fatalities occurred in the Throne Hall.”
For a major incursion, the damage was remarkably light.
After all, these Forerunners were creatures capable of swallowing entire kingdoms whole.
Yet no one dared voice relief aloud.
The ease with which security had been breached was far more shocking than the scale of the damage itself.
“How in the world did Rita the Wind God manage to infiltrate?”
“We are still investigating that matter.”
“We will begin interrogation shortly, Your Majesty.”
Gerard and Dalpred spoke in turn, but Shane II’s stern expression showed no sign of softening.
“What possible reason could that vile woman have for targeting me?”
“While we must investigate further, we suspect it is retaliation for the poisoning incident that occurred previously.”
“You mean the incident involving the Poison Pioneer?”
“Yes.”
At that time, Shane II had nearly died after consuming poison created by the Poison Pioneer.
Had it not been for Zeke McLafflin’s warning, I might not be standing here now.
“Both then and now, the Forerunners are involved. What in the world is their reason for trying to kill me?”
The King spoke as though lamenting, but no one could answer his question.
It would be impossible to learn the truth without torturing Rita for information.
The King sighed and turned his gaze toward the elf, his expression apologetic.
“I am deeply sorry to have subjected you to such an ordeal, Lord Ugritto.”
“Not at all, Shane.”
“And I am grateful. Without you, the Decan Kingdom would have suffered grievously.”
“I did little of consequence. Even I, versed as I am in spirit magic, nearly fell to her. Had that man not appeared, I would have perished.”
At those words, the King’s eyes suddenly shifted.
Having been present at the scene, there was no way he could fail to understand which man Ugritto was referring to.
I couldn’t discern the man’s true identity.
“Dalpred. Have you investigated who the man is that Rita and you’ve been holding captive?”
At the King’s question, Dalpred shook his head.
“I’m afraid not, Your Majesty. All I know is that his name is Esca Robins, that he’s strong enough to escape even against me, and that he was allied with the Forerunners.”
“There’s one more thing. He saved me.”
“That may be true, but it appears he only did so because of a conflict between them—not out of any deliberate intention to rescue you, sire.”
Though Dalpred denied it, Shane II’s thoughts diverged.
‘Amid the chaos, I’m certain I heard him say something about trying to save the King, my father…’
If he hadn’t misheard, then this man Esca would be his son.
For a king who had fathered only three sons, such a thing was virtually impossible.
‘Wait… could it be…?’
A long-forgotten memory surfaced from the depths of his mind.
A woman he had loved with all his heart in his twenties.
And a woman who had left, burdened by something, at some point.
He bolted upright.
Shane II suddenly rose from his seat and commanded his attendant.
“Take me to them. I must meet these intruders myself.”

* * *
‘Damn it. Here I am, a Forerunner, locked away in this wretched cell.’
Confined in the solitary cell, Rita the Wind God looked around, wondering if this was all a dream.
Yet the cold floor and the restraints binding her wrists confirmed this was reality.
‘Who in the world invented these restraints? They’re absolutely infuriating.’
Wearing restraints for the first time in her life, Rita the Wind God attempted to draw upon her mana once more.
But the restraints, forged from Arcnium, absorbed her mana like a sponge.
Just as Esca had done when he interfered with her.
‘Because of that bastard, I couldn’t achieve my great work. I never thought that cursed fool would betray me…’
Truth be told, she had never fully trusted him from the start.
But when he proved so obedient despite harsh treatment, she had come to regard him favorably—and now this?
‘I told you so, Baluduk. I said I could have handled the work alone.’
There was no point in regretting what had already passed.
No one was here to listen to her complaints.
She wanted nothing more than to find Esca and kill him, but that was impossible now.
‘Damn these restraints…’
What would unfold next was obvious to anyone with a modicum of sense.
‘Those dog-like guards will come with their spears and demand I divulge information while they torture me.’
But torture would only reveal that Rita the Wind God was far more ruthless than she appeared.
They would never extract what they desired from her.
“Go ahead and try. I’ll grit my teeth and endure whatever you throw at me.”
Her lips curled into a cruel smile, her eyes gleaming with malice.
Click!
A door suddenly creaked open a crack, someone tossed something spherical inside, and slammed it shut.
Thud!
‘What…?’
As I picked up the sphere, I immediately recognized it as a communication orb, and my mind flooded with questions.
Who on earth had slipped me a communication orb?
Providing one to a prisoner was tantamount to treason.
‘Could there be a spy among the guards? Well, that’s not the issue right now.’
Setting aside my curiosity for a moment, I tapped the communication orb.
Though my restraint cuffs were active, the orb itself contained a mana stone, so communication posed no problem.
‘The real question is who this orb connects to.’
Shortly after, the orb’s flickering ceased, and the connection established.
―Who is this?
‘That voice…?’
My eyes widened, and I spoke with barely concealed delight.
“It’s me, Baluduk. Rita.”
―Rita? Why are you contacting me on an emergency line?
“Ah, well… the thing is…”
I hesitated, but had no choice but to tell him the truth.
Bracing myself for a scolding.
“I’m currently imprisoned in the Underground Dungeon of Decan…”
―What? What are you talking about?
“It’s all because of Esca Robins. He ruined everything.”
―Explain in detail.
I reluctantly recounted the circumstances of how I’d been captured.
Naturally, Baluduk’s voice grew cold and sharp.
―So you’re telling me you failed the mission I assigned?
“Yes… I told you from the start. That Esca Robins would be a liability.”
―Which is precisely why I told you to watch him carefully. He might commit treason.
“That’s true, but… I never expected he could actually stand against me.”
―Tsk! Why did you underestimate him and bungle the operation?
“…I apologize.”
―I entrusted you with confidence, and this is the result? The title Rita the Wind God seems wasted on you.
I had nothing to say in my defense.
Before the mission began, I’d been brimming with confidence.
―What will you do now? The mission?
“Ah, it seems impossible in this state. As you can see, I’m bound and imprisoned…”
―Tell me yourself. I need to confirm once more what task I assigned you.
At his request to confirm, I would normally have found it suspicious, but I divulged the information without hesitation.
Already scolded and intimidated by Baluduk’s authoritative tone, I had no mental space to think objectively about the situation.
All I could do was follow orders without question.
But she never suspected.
Who would hear the information she had divulged.
And that all of this was nothing but an illusion Zeke McLafflin had fabricated.

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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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