The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 18

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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 18
‘This bastard?’
At Zeke McLafflin’s words, Peter McLafflin’s eyebrows twitched.
Despite his threat, the boy showed not the slightest intimidation—only unwavering confidence.
‘Has he lost his mind? What nerve does he have without even a Circle?’
Though it was absurd, Peter found himself suppressing his excitement.
He suspected Zeke McLafflin had some hidden scheme in mind.
‘There’s no way he’d stand before me so boldly without an escort otherwise.’
Perhaps his father was waiting behind the door.
Just as with Alex McLafflin.
That was the reason Zeke McLafflin was acting so confidently.
‘If that’s the case, I mustn’t attack recklessly. I can’t fall for provocation.’
First, I’ll put him to sleep with a Sleep spell and simply seize the recording device.
It was at that very moment Peter began gathering his mana.
‘Huh?’
Peter’s expression shifted subtly.
‘The mana… it won’t gather?’
He attempted to cast the spell, but the mana that should have coalesced at his fingertips was scattering at some point.
An unprecedented force was preventing him from casting magic.
Peter’s pupils trembled faintly at this incomprehensible phenomenon.
“What’s wrong, brother? Is your mana not gathering?”
“…Surely this isn’t your doing?”
“Yes. I have no desire to die by your hand, brother.”
Peter drew mana from his surroundings once more.
He channeled it through the five Circles at his heart’s core, purifying impurities.
He infused the predetermined amount of mana into the pre-arranged incantation.
Normally, manifestation should occur at this stage, but absurdly, the gathered mana vanished without a trace.
‘Nothing works. There’s no manifestation at all.’
His shock at this incomprehensible phenomenon was brief.
“So that’s why you’re so confident—you’ve been secretly learning some sinister technique.”
Peter concluded that Zeke McLafflin must have sold his soul to a demon.
How else could gathered mana be scattered?
“But you made a mistake.”
Peter withdrew a scroll from his robes.
It was a magic scroll he carried as a backup.
“You didn’t know I had this.”
Riiiiip—
As the scroll tore, the incantation contained within activated.
With mana already infused, it would trigger the moment it was torn.
There would be no timing to block it with mana absorption.
Peter had also used an expensive scroll based on that same prediction.
Screeeech!
As Peter watched the Wind Cutter stored within the scroll manifest, the corners of his mouth lifted.
Soon, the blade of wind would tear through that bastard’s body.
But Peter’s eyes immediately betrayed him.
[Absorbing the cast spell ‘Wind Cutter’.]
[Skill proficiency increased by 30.]
[Proficiency remaining until 2-Star achievement: 30/100]
[Spell ‘Wind Cutter’ stored in dimensional rift.]
[Stored spells: 1/2]
[You may release the spell within the time limit.]
[Time remaining: 00:09:59]
The Wind Cutter, flying with enough force to sever limbs instantly, was absorbed into Zeke’s body.
Or rather, just before it could touch him, an invisible barrier swallowed it into nothingness.
“How… how is this possible?”
“Brother. How disappointing. I never thought you’d actually try to kill me.”
Zeke gazed down at the weaker man with contemptuous eyes, then simply returned the spell.
“Release.”
Screeeech—!
“What is this?!”
The Wind Cutter manifesting from Zeke’s hand grazed past Peter’s body.
Slash!
“Ugh!”
The blade of wind carved wounds across Peter’s body in multiple places.
Fortunately, none were severe, but had the aim been true, his limbs would have been severed.
“I missed on purpose, so don’t worry. If I’d meant to kill you, you’d have been dead long ago.”
‘I’m… insane… what is happening here?’
Despite the provocation, Peter’s face was blank, as though struck by a hammer.
How could it be otherwise? A half-wit without a Circle had suddenly cast magic.
And the very same spell he himself had used.
‘No Circle, yet somehow…’
Pain was secondary in this moment.
The real problem was that magic scrolls were useless.
‘Damn it, if only I could use magic…’
He still gathered mana, but it wouldn’t reach the manifestation stage.
An exceptionally talented 5-Circle mage had been reduced to an ordinary commoner.
“Brother Peter. I was trying to resolve this amicably through conversation. But what is this? You attacked unprovoked and only escaped without serious injury?”
“You bastard, what did you do? How can someone without a Circle cast magic…?”
“Is that really what matters right now?”
“…You’re right. That’s not the priority. The urgent matter is exposing your treachery to everyone.”
“Unjust deeds?”
“I will report this to Father. No matter how desperately you crave power, to consort with demons and learn such sinister arts, bringing shame upon our family name—Father will punish you for your crimes.”
“By all means, go ahead and report it. After all, my elder brother who conspired with the Tower Master to sell me out won’t escape unscathed either.”
“….”
Peter’s eyes glared daggers at me.
His gaze burned with murderous intent, yet there was nothing he could do.
‘Damn it. Without magic, I’m utterly helpless.’
Peter regretted not having learned martial arts, though he didn’t realize one crucial fact.
Even if he had, he could never match me—someone who transcended the rank of Aura Master.
“So, what shall we do? Should we go to Father and settle who’s truly at fault?”
“…What do you want? You wouldn’t have come here without reason.”
Of course not.
There was a purpose behind my decision to let Peter live.
“My desire is simple. Become my ally. That’s all I ask.”
“What?”
Peter couldn’t hide his bewilderment at such an unexpected demand.
“That’s truly all you want?”
“Yes. Did you think I’d ask you to step down as a candidate for family head?”
“…I honestly thought you would.”
“Don’t worry. As I said before, I have no interest whatsoever in the position of family head. I simply need allies.”
“….”
He wanted me as an ally despite knowing I’d tried to sell him as a test subject?
It was impossible to tell if he was magnanimous or merely foolish.
“Of course, I don’t mean for you to become my ally without safeguards. We’ll bind ourselves through a Mana Oath.”
“You bastard….”
So that was it—he wasn’t merely asking for Peter’s allegiance through words alone.
He intended to bind him securely through a Mana Oath.
But Peter let out a scoff of derision.
“Unfortunately, there’s a problem. I’ve already sworn a Mana Oath with the Tower Master.”
“What are the terms?”
“If I betray the Tower Master, my Circle will collapse. I have no choice but to remain a loyal servant.”
“I see. That’s fine. We can simply forge a new oath.”
“What?”
Peter stared at me with a vacant expression before his senses returned.
“Haha! You clearly don’t know—once a Mana Oath is sworn, you cannot make another.”
“That’s incorrect. It is possible. With this item.”
I withdrew an object from my pocket.
A ballpoint pen coated in gold—something I’d retrieved from Carbollearos’ Treasure Vault.
“Write on the parchment here exactly as I instruct using this pen. You’ll achieve the same effect as a Mana Oath. The existing oath binding you to the Tower Master will vanish.”
“Where did you obtain such an item….”
“Just do as I say. While I’m being nice about it.”
“….”
Peter glared at me for a moment, but I remained composed.
“Why no response? You don’t like it? If you don’t, there’s no helping it. I’ll simply take the recording to Father right away. Then won’t the Family Head position crumble, along with the entire Circle? Since it’s not my Circle, I don’t particularly care what happens to it.”
“….”
Accepting the proposal would buy him time, but if Father found out, the worst possible outcome would follow, just as I said.
Choosing the lesser evil was, in a sense, the wise course of action.
“Sigh… You’re a demon.”
“That’s quite a thing to say from someone who was about to sell out his own brother.”
“You don’t back down an inch. Sigh, fine. What do I need to write?”
“I, Peter McLafflin, swear that I shall never betray Zeke McLafflin. Should I break this oath, my Circle shall collapse according to the laws of the Almighty El. By the way, you’ll need to infuse mana into the ink for it to appear.”
“But if I truly make a contract with you, the oath with the Tower Master disappears, you say?”
“Yes. Your master changes from the Tower Master to me. Simple, isn’t it?”
“That, that would be a disaster, wouldn’t it? If the Tower Master were to find out….”
“As long as you don’t tell him, the Tower Master won’t know. He won’t even realize the oath has been released.”
“Then I suppose that’s fortunate….”
Peter grasped the pen and hesitated before writing.
He seemed displeased about changing masters.
“Why? You don’t want to contract with me? If you don’t, I’ll just go to Father….”
“Ah, fine. Who said I didn’t want to? You’re quite impatient.”
Peter had no choice but to reluctantly write on the parchment.
As he inscribed each character without a single error, golden light flowed from the words.
‘Perfect. I’ve bound him with an ancient oath.’
What I had just made Peter write was an ancient oath used by people of old.
I had learned from Carbollearos that it took precedence over mana oaths, so any previously made oaths would be nullified.
“Well done.”
“I don’t want praise from you. So what task do you have for me? Making me swear an oath not to betray you means you must truly want something, doesn’t it?”
At Peter’s words, I nodded.
“You’re not entirely oblivious. Then I’ll tell you. What I truly want is….”

* * *
The Southern Continent was home to five kingdoms and one empire.
Among them, the Decan Kingdom was a minor power, yet it held a certain reputation in the magical arts.
One might assume the Tower Master of such a nation would be a mage of considerable attainment, but reality painted a different picture.
Gregor Fontaine, the Tower Master, was merely an eighth-circle mage.
‘Gerard… that man must still be far from reaching the ninth circle, wouldn’t he?’
Since childhood, Gregor had been constantly compared to Gerard.
Same age, same station, similar circumstances, even the same master—comparison was inevitable.
As a child, I had despised it.
‘In the past, I cared about being rivals and all that nonsense, but now it doesn’t matter. Whichever of us succeeded, it was me.’
Though we shared the same circle, Gerard was merely the patriarch of a Prestigious Magic Family.
He could hardly compare to myself, the Tower Master of the Decan branch.
‘Yet that old fool Dalpred still favors Gerard above all.’
I had heard that my former master, Dalpred Bigsland, had recently ascended to the ninth circle, but I paid it no mind.
I offered not a single word of congratulation.
He was once my master, but that was a closed chapter of my past.
There was no reason to contact him now.
I had no desire to witness his shameful favoritism toward Gerard.
‘What is there to boast about, reaching the ninth circle after eighty years? He’s nothing but a talentless old man.’
In any case, no one could stop me.
Even Dalpred, a ninth-circle mage, could not act recklessly before me.
Such was the position of Tower Master—power and politics incarnate.
This was why Gerard could not refuse magical training.
Everyone hoped their children would enter the Magic Tower. For one family alone to refuse?
It was tantamount to declaring war against the Tower’s mages.
‘Summoning Peter under the guise of magical training was a brilliant move, in hindsight. Who could have predicted he harbored ambitions similar to my own?’
His willingness to abandon morality for his goals—that too mirrored myself.
It was precisely why I had extracted a loyalty oath through a mana contract.
To use Peter as my puppet.
‘Still, it’s a pity. If I had acquired the youngest as well, it would have been even better.’
I needed test subjects for my research, but more than that, I had heard the youngest was someone Gerard lavished extraordinary affection upon.
How could I not covet such a prize?
‘I was so curious what expression Gerard would wear upon learning his youngest son had perished as a mere test subject… but now such an opportunity will never come.’
When I heard that Zeke McLafflin had died, I could only suppress my disappointment.
If he was destined to die anyway, wouldn’t it have been better to watch him waste away as my test subject?
I could have savored Gerard’s despair.
‘A shame, but there’s nothing to be done. I can always find more test subjects.’
Yet my disappointment was short-lived.
Through the communication crystal I had given Peter, I received welcome news.
“Peter? What is it?”
-Zeke McLafflin is alive. He survived the Monster Forest.
“What?”
My initial shock swiftly transformed into exhilaration.
The mere thought of witnessing Gerard McLafflin’s despair was intoxicating.
“Regardless of how he managed to survive, this is fortuitous. I’ve been lamenting the shortage of suitable test subjects. I can simply summon him back to the Magic Tower and put him to use as an experimental specimen once more.”
-That may prove somewhat difficult.
“Why is that?”
-The timing is unfavorable. The family atmosphere remains unsettled due to the assassin’s intrusion, and the succession trials have been postponed until next year. Should you send Zeke McLafflin for magical training under such circumstances, Father’s anxiety will only intensify further. The scrutiny upon him would be equally severe.
“In other words, Father’s nerves are too sharp right now for any operations, is that what you’re saying?”
-Precisely. I would suggest postponing this matter until at least next year’s succession trials. When undertaking delicate work, it is far preferable to act when one’s target is off guard.
“Hmm.”
There was merit to the argument.
The timing was indeed unfavorable at present.
While I could hardly refuse the Magic Tower’s invitation, proceeding with my plans while Father remained vigilant could invite unforeseen complications.
‘A reasonable assessment.’
The troubling aspect was how remarkably detailed this opinion was for something originating from Peter McLafflin’s mind.
“Did you truly devise this strategy yourself?”
-Of course. Who else would it be?
“Hmm.”
Peter McLafflin would never betray me.
Had I not already bound him with a mana oath?
“Very well. I shall inform Gerard myself that there is no immediate need to send Zeke McLafflin for magical training.”
-Thank you for heeding my counsel. May you fare well.
After the communication severed, Gregor Fontaine’s lips curved upward in a subtle smile.
‘He escaped the Monster Forest? Whether fortune or misfortune, I cannot yet say.’
Of one thing, however, I was certain.
My curiosity regarding Zeke McLafflin had intensified considerably.
‘I must acquire him by any means necessary.’

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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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