The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 119

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 119
Thirty minutes earlier.
Trapped in the Solitary Cell wearing Esca Robins’s appearance, I wasted no time the moment the guards withdrew.
I hadn’t allowed myself to be captured just to sit here in a daze.
Clink.
As I exerted force, a strange sound echoed through the cell, and the shackles around my wrists fell away.
‘Restraints like these are nothing—brute strength handles them just fine.’
While mages possessed only ordinary physical capabilities, I was different.
To be precise, I was far closer to an aura user.
‘Escaping from a prison cell is child’s play.’
The Solitary Cell door blocked my path, but transforming into the shape of wind and slipping through the gaps was trivial.
Without a shred of tension, I surveyed my surroundings with a hunter’s senses.
‘The guards are thirty meters away—no problem there. Rita Rose is crouched in that cell across the way.’
Now was the perfect moment to move.
I donned the Shadow’s Hood and transformed into the shape of wind.
Whoosh!
I slipped effortlessly through the door gap and infiltrated Rita Rose’s Solitary Cell.
Not a single soul noticed.
Not the guards, and certainly not Rita Rose, who sat vacant-eyed against the wall.
‘She’s in the same cell with me and has no idea I’m here.’
I released the wind form and returned to my true body, but Rita Rose didn’t even glance in my direction.
I was grateful I’d thought to wear the Shadow’s Hood beforehand.
‘Now, shall I cast an illusion?’
My purpose was straightforward.
Use illusions to deceive Rita Rose and extract information from her.
Normally, illusions wouldn’t work on a 9-Circle mage, but with restraints in place, the rules changed.
‘While her mana is being drained, she won’t have the capacity to see through the illusion.’
As expected.
Even when I showed her an absurd illusion of the guard leaving behind a communication device, Rita Rose detected nothing amiss.
The fact that she communicated naturally with Baluduk was proof the illusion had taken hold completely.
She had no idea she was muttering to herself.
‘She’s spilling information all on her own. Excellent, excellent.’
Rita Rose had received three directives from Baluduk.
First, to monitor whether Esca Robins committed treason.
I already knew this part, so I skipped ahead.
Second, to assassinate the King and the elf.
I’d anticipated this as well, but the true objective lay elsewhere.
‘The real goal was to break into the Royal Treasury?’
Deep within the palace lay a treasure vault.
Accessing it required the King’s mana signature—and that was why they’d planned his assassination.
‘I was planning to kill the King and extract his mana pattern. Open the vault and plunder the treasures inside.’
This was the third set of instructions Rita Rose had received.
Using the King’s mana pattern to strip the vault of its contents.
Since I had visited before to receive compensation, I knew well what precious items lay within those walls.
‘Even Carbollearos would have his jaw drop at the magical artifacts crammed in there.’
So they had been trying to kill the King all this time just to steal those treasures….
‘Why are they so obsessed with those treasures?’
I didn’t understand, but there was another reason for killing the King.
‘By openly revealing that Rita Rose carried out the assassination, they planned to deteriorate relations with the Ber Kingdom. Furthermore, by killing the elf as well, they intended to sever the alliance with the elven race.’
That was why they had chosen today as the assassination date.
To eliminate both the King and the elf simultaneously.
Having grasped their objectives, I decided to extract more information using Baluduk’s voice.
-Is that all? Surely the tasks I assigned you aren’t limited to just this?
“Ah… there’s more? I thought I’d told you everything….”
[The target you are currently observing is speaking the ‘truth’.]
Rita Rose’s murmured words, deceived by the illusion, were truthful.
There was nothing more she knew.
Having determined this, I looked up at the ceiling.
‘See? There’s no more information to extract from her. So give me my reward.’
I demanded the system render its judgment immediately.
Whether it was listening to my thoughts or mere coincidence, a reward was granted.
[Disguising as Esca Robins and following—Complete!]
[Uncovering the conspiracy—Complete!]
[Sudden Quest cleared!]
[Reward: Random Stats increased by 1,000.]
[Reward: 5th-tier Skill Proficiency increased by 50,000.]
[Proficiency remaining until 9-Star Achievement: 110,760/300,000]
‘Okay. That’s good….’
I thought that was the end, but more messages appeared.
Not just one, but two.
【Main Quest: Kill Rita Rose!】
└You have extracted all information from Rita Rose, a Forerunner of the Wind Deity.
└Having extracted everything of use from her, kill her and escape the Prison.
【Conditions】
└Eliminate Rita Rose and escape the Prison
【Rewards】
└Acquire Skill ‘Spirit Affinity’
└Acquire Item ‘Boots of the Wind Deity’
【Sub Quest: Meet the Elf Knight Ugritto】
└The Elf Knight Captain Ugritto, who came as a guest of Shane II, wishes to meet you.
└Meet with him and have a private conversation.
【Conditions】
└Speak with Ugritto
【Rewards】
└5th Circle Skill Proficiency increased by 50,000
Killing Rita Rose was a Quest I had been anticipating.
Looking at the Quests so far, it seemed the system’s primary objective was dealing with the Forerunners.
‘But this is unexpected? Converse with an elf?’
There was certainly an elf present when I entered the Throne Hall to stop Rita Rose.
Fair skin and pointed ears—exactly like the elves from fantasy films.
‘But I’m supposed to seek that creature out and talk to them? What in the world would we even discuss?’
The reward was tempting enough that I had no intention of refusing the Quest, but once we actually met, I’d likely have nothing to say.
Moreover, they supposedly wanted to meet me?
Honestly, I was learning the elf’s name—Ugritto—for the first time.
‘No use dwelling on it. I’ll do as instructed.’
Trusting the system, I accepted the Quest and resolved to kill Rita Rose first.
“Hah!”
The moment I dispelled the illusion, Rita Rose stared down at her palm in bewilderment.
The communication stone had vanished like a ghost—a natural reaction.
“No need to be startled, Rita Rose.”
“Eeeek!”
At the voice echoing from empty air, she stumbled backward and pressed herself flat against the wall.
I removed the hood of my shadow cloak and revealed myself.
Not as Esca Robins, but in my true form.
“Who… who are you…?”
“There’s only one thing you need to know.”
Poof!
My form vanished once more.
Leaving behind billowing clouds of toxic mist.
“The person you just saw was the Grim Reaper.”
“Cough, cough! Hack!”
Rita Rose, now poisoned, coughed up blood and collapsed to the floor.
“Gasp… wheeze!”
Then, with a final agonized groan, she stopped moving.
‘Dead.’
With this, I had completed half of the main Quest.
Once I escaped the Prison, the rewards would arrive.
‘But before that, there’s something I want to try…’
I gazed down at Rita Rose’s corpse.
I was curious whether resurrecting her would make her an undead with sentience.
‘Maligore and Zakar Patrick both worked, so I wonder how this one will turn out?’
Unable to contain his curiosity, Zeke McLafflin decided to test the skill.
“Imr Imnaij Diénai Isisir (Arise, my servant).”

* * *
The path descending into the dark and cavernous Underground Dungeon.
Under normal circumstances, one would feel tension, but Shane II’s heart was filled with anticipation and excitement.
‘Could that man truly be Laila’s son?’
Laila.
A maid who had served him when he was a crown prince in his youth.
Even now, fifty years later, her name and face remained unforgettable.
For the simple reason that they had been in love.
‘As she was my first love, those memories remain vivid, but… I’ve had no news of her for the past fifty years.’
After she sent word one day that she was leaving her position, I could hear nothing more of Laila.
For the two years that followed, I took no other woman into my arms and abstained from food and drink entirely.
I barely overcame the pain of our parting and began a new life through a political marriage, yet it seemed my heart remained filled with thoughts of her.
Seeing how vivid Laila’s memory still was.
‘Though it was only a brief moment, I saw Laila’s face in that man Esca Robins. I must confirm whether I was mistaken.’
The reason I came all this way myself to see the intruders was because of this.
More precisely, it was to see Esca Robins rather than Rita Rose.
“Guard Captain.”
“Gasp! Y-Your Majesty? What brings you to this place…?”
“I must see the intruders. Guide me.”
“Y-Yes, Sire!”
The Guard Captain, startled by the King’s arrival, led the way to the Solitary Cell.
Bringing guards with him to prepare for danger, he came to a halt before the Solitary Cell where Esca Robins was held.
“Please step back for a moment, Your Majesty. I shall open the door.”
Shane II nodded and took a step backward.
In one corner of his heart, he harbored the hope that this might be Laila’s child.
Perhaps after fifty years, he would be reunited with his son.
But what Shane II hoped for did not come to pass.
“Gasp, what? The prisoner is… where…!”
“What is the matter, Guard Captain?”
When Shane II cautiously peered inside, he saw the empty Solitary Cell.
“There is no one here, is there?”
“T-That’s… I don’t understand how this happened either…”
“Could you have mistaken the room?”
“N-No, that’s impossible. I personally locked the prisoner in this very cell…”
“Then the prisoner escaped while still wearing the restraint shackles?”
“…”
Panic was written all over the Guard Captain’s face.
A prisoner who should have been quietly confined in a solitary cell had vanished without a trace?
A chilling thought seized the Guard Captain, and he hastily opened the door to another solitary cell.
Inside, the scene was exactly as horrifying as he’d feared.
“Gasp! The prisoner… she…!”
Rita Rose lay collapsed, foam flecking her lips.
The guards rushed to check her pulse, then shook their heads grimly.
“She’s dead.”
“How… how could this happen…?”
While they stood in shock, Shane II arrived belatedly and witnessed the scene.
Fury naturally etched itself across his features.
“A prisoner dead? What manner of incompetence is this?”
“Your Majesty, we… we’ll need to investigate the details…”
The prisoner named Esca Robins had vanished without a trace, and Rita Rose lay dead—whether from poison or curse, it mattered not.
An impossible situation.
Gerard McLafflin, who had entered with the King, observed the situation and added his assessment.
“Your Majesty, judging by her condition, it appears she died from a death curse activation.”
“Like what happened with Gregor Fontaine?”
“Yes.”
Shane II recalled how the Magic Tower Master had died just before disclosing information last year, and could only sigh with regret.
There was no denying that Baluduk’s death curse had been placed upon her.
“Then where has this prisoner Esca Robins gone?”
“I cannot say for certain, but it’s possible he’s escaped…”
“If you knew that, we wouldn’t be standing here! He couldn’t have gone far. Find him at once! Now!”
The King’s roar echoed thunderously through the Underground Dungeon.

* * *
As the King had anticipated, I didn’t get far.
‘Even so, they won’t be able to find me. I’ve dropped the disguise.’
With the cooldown expired, I reverted to my true form and glanced back over my shoulder.
The commotion I heard suggested they’d discovered Rita’s corpse.
‘They must have realized I’ve escaped the Prison as well.’
Before breaking out of the Prison.
I had resurrected Rita as an undead.
Fortunately, she was unlike ordinary undead.
―You called for me, Master.
She spoke to me with perfect articulation.
‘Rita has become an undead with intelligence.’
Recalling the situation from moments ago, I let out a quiet laugh.
Now I had three undead capable of conversation.
However, bringing Rita along presented complications.
‘If Rita and Esca Robins both vanish simultaneously, they’ll certainly believe we escaped together.’
Regardless of Esca Robins, Rita had to remain behind.
Otherwise, following Baluduk’s plan, the King would hold the Ber Kingdom—where Rita belonged—responsible, and the neutral nation would swiftly shift its stance to that of an enemy.
‘To prevent that, I need Rita’s corpse. Once they discover she died of her own accord, they’ll attribute it to Baluduk’s doing, not the Ber Kingdom’s.’
That’s why I staged it to look as though she’d died from the magical seal.
Of course, I used another person’s corpse.
‘I’m glad I stored Azrahil’s body in the subspace. I never imagined I’d use it like this.’
Using phase transformation on the corpse of Azrahil I’d kept beforehand, I disguised it as Rita’s remains.
In other words, what people discovered wasn’t Rita, but Azrahil’s corpse.
The real Rita, now an intelligent undead, I’ve quietly stored away in the dimensional realm.
‘I’ve killed Rita and secured a summon, escaped the Prison—now the rewards should come through.’
The moment the thought crossed my mind.
The Main Quest completion reward materialized before my eyes.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————