The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 135

—————
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 135
Upon teleporting to where Terion Maldorado was located, Zeke McLafflin couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
‘There’s no one here at all?’
It was some sort of cave, much like the Illusion Cave, yet he sensed no presence whatsoever in the surroundings.
His hunter’s instinct clearly told him there were no living creatures here.
‘I don’t sense any traces of other mana either. Did he simply walk out of the cave?’
He considered using his backtracking skill again, but if Terion Maldorado had left on foot, there would be no way to find him.
He glanced around with the intention of conducting a cursory search, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
‘Is this cave merely used as a place to teleport without drawing attention?’
Otherwise, the complete absence of any traces made no sense.
“Damn, I missed him.”
Though I had no choice but to return, it wasn’t a complete loss.
At least I had memorized the coordinates, so I could visit this place again whenever I wished.
“Teleport.”
As I chanted the spell, my body returned to the original cave.
Esca and the two dragons, who had been waiting, greeted me enthusiastically.
“Master!”
“Zeke, you’re back faster than I expected.”
“Where did you go?”
“I went to the place where Terion Maldorado teleported to, but there wasn’t much to gain.”
“What? You tracked the teleportation coordinates?”
Carse’s eyes widened in surprise, and she soon asked with curious eyes.
“How is that even possible?”
“By sensing the lingering mana and backtracking the mana pattern.”
“That’s impossible. How could you do something that even we dragons cannot?”
“Tsk tsk, no wonder they say you’re a Blue Dragon. Just accept it as is. Zeke is troubled enough as it is.”
Carbollearos, standing beside her, rebuked her, but Carse continued muttering, “How is that possible?”
“Let’s leave this place for now. We don’t know who might come.”
Zeke and his companions, in agreement, thus escaped the Illusion Cave.
“What now, Zeke? We don’t even have a clue about the other Lich Dragon.”
“Hmm.”
At Carbollearos’s question, I fell into deep thought.
For now, no other solution came to mind.
“We have no choice but to wait for Carbollearos to recover Carrocksina’s memories.”
“What do we do in the meantime?”
“First, Esca, it would be best if you moved the gravity field device to a place only you know. Baluduk, whom we thought was dead, will come to retrieve it.”
“Understood, Master. I’ll go move it right away!”
“Ah, once you’ve moved it, contact me.”
“Yes!”
With those words, Esca disappeared using teleportation.
“And the two of you….”
I looked back and forth between the humanized Carbollearos and the curious Carse, then let out a sigh before gesturing with my chin.
“Follow me. I’ll introduce you to my comrades.”

* * *
The new year had dawned.
The Pangaea Continent, being a place where people lived, held deep significance in the turning of the year.
Everyone offered their pledges and wishes with hearts full of new beginnings.
Their faces adorned with smiles.
But Baluduk could not smile.
Everything had gone awry on the very first day of the new year.
[I heard contact with Carrocksina has been lost. What happened?]
“I, I sincerely apologize….”
Though no one stood before him in the virtual space, Baluduk bowed his head respectfully to the First Forerunner.
He desperately hoped the First Forerunner’s anger would subside.
[I was told you instructed Carrocksina to extract information from the prey called Esca, and that Esca entered the Illusion Cave without incident. So why are the results like this? Shouldn’t there be at least some meaningful outcome?]
“My apologies… I myself am uncertain as to what transpired….”
[You don’t know? If you don’t know, shouldn’t it be your responsibility to investigate?]
“I had my subordinates investigate the Illusion Cave, but there were no significant traces….”
[No traces? Not of Esca, nor the enslaved dragon, nor the Lich Dragon?]
“Yes….”
[How is that possible? Did they all hold hands and vanish together amicably?]
“I cannot say….”
[This isn’t something that ends with not knowing! You’re ruining my mood on the very first day of the new year!]
“I, I shall investigate once more.”
Baluduk disconnected and withdrew from the virtual space, exhaling a long sigh.
Being human, he naturally desired recognition from his superiors.
But when things refused to go as planned, sighs were all that remained.
‘What in the world happened? Why is there no one in the Illusion Cave?’
The Lich Dragon, who had boasted confidently that extracting information posed no problem, had vanished without a trace, and Esca’s corpse was nowhere to be found either.
His thorough search through several subordinates left no room for doubt.
‘If only Terion, that bastard, were by my side at a time like this….’
Terion, Carrocksina’s subordinate, might know something.
The problem was that contact with him had been severed for quite some time.
As he bit his lip firmly.
“…!!”
Baluduk’s eyes widened at the presence of someone accessing the Luminous Portalsphere.
‘Terion? Terion has logged in?’
The Luminous Portalsphere was a technology that materialized one’s consciousness and manifested it in virtual space.
Seeing Terion make contact with his domain, it appeared he had something to discuss.
Baluduk quickly crossed his legs and closed his eyes, attempting to establish a connection. Soon, he found himself face-to-face with Terion’s consciousness.
“Terion! Where have you been all this time without a word?”
Though Baluduk’s tone was sharp and reproachful, his expression was filled with concern—the worry of a parent welcoming home a wayward child.
Terion’s face remained composed and grave, as though the matter was of little consequence to him.
“Baluduk. I have a question for you.”
“I was about to ask you something as well.”
“Forgive me, but I must ask first. Can you reach Carrocksina?”
“Who?”
“The one I serve. Her communications have suddenly ceased.”
“I was about to ask you the very same thing regarding her whereabouts.”
….
….
A heavy silence fell between them.
Even Terion, who could be called the Lich Dragon’s right hand, had no knowledge of her location?
‘Where in the hell has that cursed dragon disappeared to?’
Baluduk grumbled inwardly, his expression betraying nothing outwardly.
After all, Terion might be lying to him.
“But Terion, why haven’t you contacted me all this time? What’s been——”
“My apologies, Baluduk. I’ll explain another time. Farewell.”
Terion’s form vanished abruptly.
He had severed the connection.
“Damn it! That bastard!”
Faced with a Forerunner acting on his own whims, Baluduk had no choice but to unleash his fury.

* * *
‘Even Baluduk doesn’t know where Carrocksina is….’
Terion Maldorado sighed deeply, his head bowing low.
“Ah… Carrocksina. My master… where could you be?”
He called her his master, but in truth, Terion harbored desires that ran far deeper than mere servitude.
So when the new year arrived, he had made a wish—that he might finally become something more to her.
It mattered not whether such a wish could ever be fulfilled.
‘Simply thinking of Carrocksina sets my heart ablaze, beyond my control….’
His flushed ears bore witness to the sincerity of his longing.
Yet the very woman he yearned for in solitude had now vanished without a trace.
He had ventured to the Illusion Cave on the chance she might be there, but found no sign of her presence.
‘The only thing that disappeared was a book.’
A tome containing demonic sorcery—that was all that had gone missing.
The fact that she had taken that book, which she claimed to have received from someone far greater and more exalted than herself, suggested she had withdrawn for a reason. Perhaps some matter of importance had arisen.
Or perhaps she had been forced to hide for her own safety.
‘Regardless, I will find her. She cannot abandon me and simply disappear, Carrocksina.’
As long as I remain upon this earth, there is no one I cannot track down.
Such was the power of one called the First Forerunner.

* * *
With the recent territorial disputes in the Baiso Kingdom resolved, the Golden Eagle Mercenary Company found themselves enjoying an unexpected reprieve.
Yet prolonged leisure breeds complacency, and with it, a creeping unease.
Peter and Mary fell into the latter category.
“When exactly will Zeke arrive?”
“Who knows? If he doesn’t want to be dismissed, he’ll show up on his own.”
“He’s been so busy lately, it’s hard to even catch a glimpse of him. What on earth could he be doing….”
“Maybe he’s out seducing some woman? Hehehehe.”
Peter chuckled at his own jest, but a carelessly thrown stone can still kill a frog.
Mary’s expression froze over like thin ice, suggesting his words held more truth than he realized.
“Don’t say things like that, even in jest.”
“…Oh, wasn’t that funny?”
Peter felt embarrassed, scratching the back of his head as he watched Mary’s stern expression.
Though they had grown closer through their time together, he had never seen her look so serious before.
‘What kind of contract did she make that has her worrying about Zeke all day long?’
Zeke hadn’t said it outright, but Peter understood well enough.
That damned golden pen had bound her with an unbreakable vow, making betrayal impossible.
But Mary’s devotion seemed to exceed even that.
She spoke of nothing but Zeke from morning to night—one might call it an obsession.
“Mary. Why do you care for Zeke so much?”
“Eh? Me, what do you…?”
“Look at her, would you? Pretending she wasn’t. She’s been waiting for Zeke this whole time without fail.”
“I, I never said that!”
Mary feigned innocence, but her flustered expression was unmistakable.
Just then, someone abruptly pushed open the Dormitory door and stepped inside.
It was Captain Chris.
“Peter, Mary, so you were here.”
“Captain. What’s the matter?”
“Zeke still hasn’t arrived?”
“No, he hasn’t. Why are you asking us? You’d get word before we would, wouldn’t you….”
“Last time he breached security and snuck into the Dormitory. I was wondering if he’d do it again this time.”
“But what do you need Zeke for?”
“We have a guest. They wanted to meet him, but unless it’s a Territory battle, it’s hard to see his face….”
Chris, who had been muttering, was about to turn and leave.
If only the communication device hadn’t flashed with light.
“Ah, right. What? He’s here? Tell him to come to the Dormitory at once.”
Chris, who had been speaking with security through the communication device, smiled and ended the call.
“Looks like the fellow just returned.”
“Really?”
“Zeke has arrived?”
“This time he came in boldly instead of sneaking around.”
At the news that she could finally meet her master, Mary’s eyes lit up.
Peter was eager, anticipating all the questions he wanted to ask about what Zeke had experienced outside.
Moments later, the door opened and someone entered.
No, three people had entered.
Beside Zeke were two women who appeared to be in their early twenties, clinging closely to him.
“Ah….”
“Um….”
Mary and Peter opened their mouths as if they’d made a pact.
“It’s been a while. Everyone. Oh? Captain, you’re here too.”
“Zeke. It’s been hard to see you. But who are these ladies beside you…?”
“Ah, people I recently met. Allow me to introduce them.”
“I’m Carbollearos.”
“I’m Carse.”
Chris, who had been gazing at the two women as if entranced by their beauty, quickly came to his senses.
“Right, Zeke. I have something to tell you….”
“Perfect timing. I came because I have something to say too.”
“Something to say?”
Soon enough, Zeke spoke without hesitation.
“I’m planning to quit being a mercenary.”
For Captain Chris, it was nothing short of a bombshell announcement.

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