The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 130

—————
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 130
“You’ve been abandoned.”
The Tavern Owner’s words struck like a blade, and Esca Robins flinched, his body trembling.
Now he was even denying reality itself.
“N-no, sir. A technician of my caliber is far too valuable to simply discard. I haven’t even completed the gravity field—it’s only at eighty percent—and I possess extensive knowledge of other technologies….”
“Then why would he install such a device to prevent anyone from leaving?”
Zeke McLafflin gestured with his chin toward one side, and Esca Robins’ head turned.
The entrance to the Cave they had walked through moments before was now sealed behind a wall.
An illusion had been woven to ensure no escape.
Esca Robins had no way of knowing where the exit lay.
“W-well, wasn’t the original purpose of this place to trap intruders? Surely you’re not specifically targeting me….”
“A moment ago you were urging me to leave because it was a trap. Now what’s changed?”
“When I think about it, there’s no reason to kill me.”
“No reason? You’re a traitor who killed Rita Rose and failed the mission—that’s reason enough.”
“….”
The Tavern Owner was right.
I am an abandoned Hunting Dog.
I understand that much, yet something doesn’t add up.
“But why abandon me when the gravity field isn’t even complete? What about all that technical information?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps there’s a device here designed to extract the information. For now, we have no choice but to venture deeper.”
“Are you going to meet Baluduk’s true form?”
“Yes. I sense living presences deep within this cave. One is at three hundred eighteen meters, and the other is closer—two hundred fifteen meters.”
“H-how can you detect movement from such distances? How do you even possess such an ability….”
“As I said before, don’t ask for details. Trade secrets.”
Zeke McLafflin gestured with his chin as if to say stop wasting time and start moving.
“Lead the way.”
He was using Esca Robins as a shield in case anything emerged, but the technician stepped forward without complaint.
He viewed himself as a slave, so obedience seemed only natural.
Zeke McLafflin followed behind, scanning the Cave from all angles.
Though no light existed here, his optic nerves, now adjusted to the darkness, allowed him to discern shapes and forms.
“Stop.”
His senses guided him forward.
“There’s a cliff ahead.”
“A cliff?”
Esca Robins’ eyes widened as he peered forward, but he saw no cliff.
“I only see a flat path…?”
“That’s an illusion. A false image woven into this place.”
Esca Robins could not doubt the Tavern Owner’s words, so his eyes simply widened in shock.
An illusion deceiving a Ninth Circle mage like himself?
How could anyone accomplish what even Brahm’s Illusionists could not?
“Could there be an illusionist even stronger than Azrahil hidden within this cave?”
“Who knows? We’ll find out once we get there.”
“Which way should we go?”
“Stay close to the wall and follow me.”
I pointed toward the wall, indicating which path we should take.
With the Sage’s Eye skill, piercing through illusions was effortless, so finding the way presented no difficulty.
201 meters….
182 meters….
The distance to my mysterious opponent steadily decreased.
Along the way, I spotted pit traps and blocked passages, but they posed no obstacle to our progress.
Nothing could deceive my eyes.
However.
“Huh?”
The traps proved more than sufficient to fool Esca’s perception.
“Esca!”
“Shane II… Your Majesty?”
“My son! You’re alive!”
The King of Decan suddenly appeared from beyond the cave.
Suspicion would have been the natural response, but Esca’s mind had frozen entirely.
He never expected to hear himself called “son” by the King.
“You… what did you just say….”
“Esca. My son! How long has it been? Sob….”
The King of Decan approached Esca with tears streaming down his face.
Still dazed, Esca only snapped back to reality when I grabbed his hand and pulled him away.
“What are you doing? Does that really look like the King to you? Does he seem like your father?”
“Huh?”
I had already drawn the feather blade from my subspace and swung it at the King without hesitation.
Slash!
“Gahhhhh!”
The way blood sprayed and the figure collapsed seemed utterly authentic.
But I drove the blade through once more, killing Shane II.
Or rather, I destroyed the illusion.
Fzzzzzzz-
“Impressive. They even designed the death scene as an illusion.”
“….”
As the corpse vanished into thin air, Esca belatedly realized what he had witnessed was nothing but illusion.
“This cave is plastered with illusion traps. Keep that constantly in mind. The King wouldn’t be imprisoned in a place like this, would he?”
“I’m… I’m sorry. It seemed so real that I was deceived.”
“The fact that the King appeared suggests they intended to extract information from you through the illusion. If I’d left you alone, your judgment would have clouded, and they would have pried information from you under the guise of the King being your father.”
“…I’ll be more careful from now on. Whatever appears, I won’t be caught off guard again.”
“Fine. I’ll trust you.”
But my faith didn’t last long.
Despite my resolve, Esca wavered once more at the phantom that materialized before him.
“Y-you are?”
“Esca Robins. Do you remember me?”
Esca found himself nodding unconsciously.
How could he forget the man who, decades ago, had confessed under the King’s orders that he nearly killed him as an infant?
“I received the King’s command back then, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill you as a newborn. I never imagined we’d meet in a place like this, though.”
“Neither did I….”
Esca, answering almost reflexively, suddenly caught himself and fell silent.
Then, as if regaining his senses, he muttered to himself.
“What am I doing? This is just an illusion.”
“An illusion? What are you saying, Esca?”
“Shut up!”
The man who appeared to be a phantom wore a disappointed expression.
“That’s harsh. I didn’t expect you to greet me with accusations. Did growing up without a mother make you this way?”
“A phantom like you—”
It was then that Esca raised his staff, about to unleash magic.
“Calm yourself. Your mother is alive.”
“What?”
“This woman here is your mother.”
An elderly woman appeared behind the man.
She possessed the kind of beauty that must have been striking in her youth.
And she bore many resemblances to Esca.
“Esca… my son. How long has it been?”
“You… are my mother?”
“I am. We never had the chance to see each other’s faces, but I’m certain.”
“Mother, why are you here… I was told you passed away back then….”
“That’s a complicated story….”
“Esca.”
I cut off the old woman’s words and interjected into their conversation.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Sir, there’s someone claiming to be my mother in front of me….”
“Your mother? How is that your mother? I’ve been watching, and you’re just standing here having a conversation with an illusion.”
It was a harsh rebuke, but I knew the truth.
This cave wasn’t designed with mere illusions alone.
After all, messages had been appearing before me all this time.
[Hallucinogenic harmful substances have entered your body.]
[Resistance nullifies the harmful substances at 100%.]
‘They’ve also dispersed mind-altering incense throughout this place. Esca had no choice but to fall for it.’
How could my eyes not widen in shock when a woman I thought was dead suddenly appeared before me?
At this level of illusion, anyone would be ensnared unless they severed all five senses.
‘It seems I have no choice but to step in myself.’
Zeke drew his sword and swept away the phantoms before him.
Shing!
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”
Blood sprayed and screams echoed, but only for a moment.
Once they dissolved like smoke, Esca Robins was certain they were illusions.
“So you tried to convince me by even summoning my dead mother. How naive.”
“I apologize again, Master. I’m ashamed of my weakness….”
“Forget it. Just keep moving forward. We’re almost there.”
“Yes….”
As Esca Robins trudged forward dejectedly, he encountered no more illusions after that.
Though he did face several bottomless chasms and Dead End Corridors along the way.
“Don’t worry. They’re just illusions—ignore them and keep walking.”
Under his master’s guidance, he could find the right path forward.
As they passed through several more illusory traps.
“We’re almost there. Be careful now.”
“Yes, understood.”
Esca Robins’ tension heightened at his master’s words.
The same was true for Zeke McLafflin, who had spoken.
‘Could it be Baluduk? Or someone else entirely?’
Either way, a little further and they would know for certain.
The figure was positioned roughly twenty meters ahead.
Soon Esca Robins took the lead, and they closed the distance.
A flickering yellow light ahead suggested the presence of torches.
From this point on, they moved with utmost caution.
As they approached without making a sound, a shadow came into view.
Only then.
‘Hm?’
Could I discern the figure’s true identity.
It was a person.
Well, a person of sorts—but with horn-like protrusions sprouting from their head.
‘A beastman? But weren’t beastmen only found on the Western Continent?’
-It is not a beastman.
Carbollearos, who had been silent until now, spoke in a trembling voice.
-That is a member of the Dragon Race. A dragon… the same species as me!
‘That? Not a Lich Dragon?’
-Not a Lich Dragon. They have a completely different scent!
Perhaps it was the joy of meeting a fellow dragon, but Carbollearos’s voice carried an unmistakable elation.
Unlike him, I watched the horned female dragon with cautious eyes.
‘Well, we’ll find out soon enough when we clash.’
I pulled off my shadow hood and spoke up.
“Hey.”
The moment I did—
“Gasp! A, a human!?”
The dragon recoiled in shock at the sight of me and Esca Robins.
Regardless, I approached calmly and deliberately.
With my future foresight activated.
‘An immediate attack without any attempt at conversation… I need to cut off the mana first.’
Having glimpsed the future three seconds ahead, I immediately severed the surrounding mana.
The Dragon Race tried to gather mana and attempt something.
“…!?”
Confusion flickered across her face as the mana refused to gather.
“Who are you? Are you Baluduk’s subordinate?”
“I, I heard a human had entered, but I never thought they’d come this far…”
“What are you muttering about?”
-Zeke! Talk to me! Please let me talk to her!
‘Won’t that be dangerous?’
-What danger is there if I’ve cut off her mana?
Pressed by Carbollearos’s insistent demands, I reluctantly removed the necklace.
“You. Dragon who’s taken human form.”
“H, how did you know my true nature…?”
“Take this necklace. Your fellow dragon wishes to speak with you.”
The moment the dragon felt the draconic power flowing from the necklace, her expression transformed.
She accepted it, then gasped again in surprise.
Watching her expression shift continuously was quite the spectacle.
‘They seem to be discussing something.’
After conversing for some time while clutching the necklace, the dragon turned to face me.
The wariness had vanished from her eyes—she’d clearly heard my explanation.
“You are Zeke McLafflin?”
“Yeah.”
“Is what Carbollearos said true?”
“I can’t know what you two discussed alone. How would I know what you talked about?”
“Ah, I, I see. Then, Carbollearos will explain.”
The chastened dragon returned the necklace to me.
I put it back on and asked casually.
‘Did you two have a good talk?’
-Yes! More importantly, Zeke! We need to go deeper inside immediately.
‘Why?’
-There’s a Lich Dragon inside!
‘A Lich Dragon?’
Now that I think about it, my hunter’s senses picked up one additional presence—was that the Lich Dragon?
‘What exactly is this creature? Just a dragon?’
-Yes. Her name is Carseapinus, a Blue Dragon, but she’s been captured by the Lich Dragon and forced into servitude like a slave.
‘What? A slave?’
Looking at her now, those tattered, ill-fitting rags she’s wearing are certainly… concerning.
-We have to help her right away!
‘Wait, wait. Calm down.’
Shouldn’t we understand the full story before rushing to help?
‘What exactly happened here?’

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