The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 209

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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 209
“Esca is probably with Dalpred right now.”
“With Duke Bigsland? What are the two of them doing?”
“I heard they’re exchanging opinions about magic.”
Probably because they’re both 9th Circle mages, they had common ground.
Zeke hurried toward Dalpred’s chamber.
Knock, knock—
“Who is it?”
“It’s me. Zeke.”
“Oh, come in!”
As the door opened, I saw Dalpred greeting me warmly.
And Esca was there beside him.
“You were here too, Esca?”
“Ah, Zeke.”
When Zeke pretended not to know, Esca also dropped the formal speech to hide the fact that he was a slave.
“What were you doing here?”
“I was exchanging views on magic with Duke Dalpred Bigsland.”
“Haha! Esca, this fellow really knows a lot. There’s much to learn from him.”
“You flatter me, Duke Bigsland.”
‘Friend?’
Seeing how warmly he addressed him, their relationship seemed to have improved considerably.
‘Before, he treated me hostilely, saying I had invaded the kingdom….’
Well, it had been quite some time since the misunderstanding was cleared up, so it was about time they became closer.
Hadn’t they worked together to stop the Forerunners multiple times?
‘Still, something feels off….’
The reason Zeke sought out Esca was to kill him now that his usefulness had expired and claim the Quest reward.
Seeing Esca laugh peacefully, unaware that his master had come to kill him, I felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.
It was like watching a dog unaware it was being abandoned by its owner.
‘There’s no helping it. The Twelve Forerunners were judged, so I can’t make an exception for Esca. It’s already been decided long ago.’
Esca, who had sworn the ancient covenant.
He had faithfully carried out his duties as a slave, but that didn’t mean I could grant him the special privilege of forgiveness.
The fact that Esca had aided the Forerunners through human experimentation and various research could not be erased.
“Esca. I have something to discuss with you. Would you step outside for a moment?”
“Ah, understood.”
“Zeke. You didn’t come just to see me?”
“Ah. Dalpred, I’ll come back later….”
Just then, the door suddenly opened and someone entered.
“Master! Hm? Zeke? Why are you here….”
It was Gerard, my father.
“Perfect timing. Zeke, take a look at this.”
Gerard, speaking with an inexplicable excitement, suddenly conjured mana in his palm and manifested flames within his grasp.
Whoooosh!
It was Hellfire—said to mirror the infernal flames of the abyss itself.
As he demonstrated the 9-Circle spell as if to prove his worth, the wrinkles around Dalpred’s eyes softened.
“What? How did this happen, Gerard? That’s not a 9-Circle spell, is it?”
“Ha ha. Well, Zeke helped me recently. He told me to pierce the meridian point between the eighth and sixth rings. He said that would create the foundation for forming the ninth ring. I followed his advice, and sure enough, the rings accumulated!”
“What? Zeke told you that?”
Deliberately avoiding Dalpred’s astonished gaze, I offered my congratulations.
“You’ve reached 9-Circle. Congratulations, Father.”
“Thank you. This is all thanks to you.”
Following Dalpred, Gerard became Decan’s second 9-Circle mage.
Now that he had reached the pinnacle of magic, the McLafflin Family’s standing would surely rise even further.
‘I need to leave quickly before more questions arise. I have Esca Robins to kill.’
Just as I was about to move with that thought in mind.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
A sound like tearing echoed from the sky.
‘What is that noise?’
The others wore expressions not so different from mine.
“Did you hear that sound just now?”
“Yes. It sounded like thunder of some kind.”
“It didn’t quite sound like thunder. More like something tearing….”
An ominous thought flashed through my mind.
‘Could the Heavenly Demon War have opened?’
If so, the timing was nothing short of exquisite.
Of all moments, this had to happen when I came to kill Esca Robins.
Then the mysterious sound echoed once more.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz―!
“What on earth is causing this noise….”
“Master! Master!”
The desperate voice of an Attendant searching frantically.
“P-please, look outside. Something terrible has happened!”
“Something terrible?”
“J-just come see for yourself.”
Urged by the frantic tone, Gerard and the others hurried outside.
And there, they witnessed a shocking sight.
“No…?”
“The, the sky…?”
A black chasm stretched across the center of the heavens.
As if it had truly been torn asunder.
“In all my years, I have never witnessed such a sight.”
The Five Lords, hearing the commotion, stepped outside to witness the spectacle.
It was truly an astonishing sight, but knowing the truth as I did, I couldn’t simply stand there in awe.
‘It’s certain. The Heavenly Demon War has begun.’
As matters unfolded this way, I grew desperate.
An event I could have prevented had come to pass—how could I simply watch with open eyes?
‘I have to stop it. Right now.’
But first, I needed to find Esca’s gravity field.
“Esca! Come with me!”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
“Zeke. Where are you going?”
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Where? If it’s dangerous, I should come with you——”
“No!”
I cried out and turned to Dalpred Bigsland with urgency.
“Duke Dalpred. You haven’t forgotten the promise you made to me before, have you? You agreed to help me if I asked.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m calling in that favor now. Please don’t leave this place and protect my family. That’s all I ask of you.”
“If you say it like that… very well. Don’t worry.”
Dalpred, unless he were a fool, could sense that something was afoot.
And that it was connected to me.
Reassured by his confirmation, I hurried into the room with Esca.
Once out of sight, I dropped the formality.
“Esca.”
“Yes, Master.”
“That gravity field you created—where is it? I told you to hide it somewhere no one would find it.”
“The location is——”
“Just teleport us there. I’ll follow.”
“Understood.”
Esca nodded and activated teleportation.
Light enveloped him, and he vanished.
Moments later, I followed suit.

* * *
Upon receiving the Demon King’s command, Stella immediately began her preparations.
Preparations to open the Heavenly Demon War.
‘Normally I would wait for Clifford and the Lich Dragons from the Western Continent… but since I cannot reach them, there’s no choice.’
No matter where they are or what they’re doing, attempts to contact them through the Luminous Portalsphere go unanswered.
The same applies to Baluduk, my second-in-command.
‘Where is everyone? What are they doing? Time is of the essence!’
There’s no help for it.
I must open the Heavenly Demon War without them.
I cannot refuse the Demon King’s direct command to proceed immediately, can I?
‘The current number of sacrifices gathered is one hundred thousand. With this, I can only summon fifty thousand demon soldiers at most.’
The original demon forces intended for the Heavenly Demon War were two hundred thousand strong.
Considering that one demon soldier could be summoned for every two human sacrifices, four hundred thousand human sacrifices were needed.
Yet I’ve managed to gather only one hundred thousand.
‘Even if I open the Gate, only fifty thousand soldiers will be able to enter. Curse it, if only I had more time…’
Since the Demon King commanded me to summon even that, I have no choice but to obey.
‘In any case, the preparations are complete.’
In the Desolate Wasteland chosen as the site for the Heavenly Demon War, only I existed.
The only preparation worth mentioning was the massive magic circle drawn upon the ground.
But that’s fine.
I can open the Gate alone without difficulty.
‘I can use the sacrifices remotely. I’ve already embedded the symbol of the Mados Religion within the bodies of the humans.’
There was no need to gather all one hundred thousand sacrifices in one place.
‘Then shall I begin?’
Stella closed her eyes and began chanting an incantation.
It was an incantation to activate her magical power.
What was known as manifesting her true form.
A brilliant flash erupted!
As radiant light burst forth, wings sprouted from Stella’s back.
Flutter—
The angelic wings, each spanning some six meters, were truly magnificent.
Yet upon closer inspection, the wings bore stains scattered across their surface.
This signified that Stella, as a fallen angel, had not received the proper blessings of the Celestial Realm.
‘It matters not. My master is, above all else, the ruler of the Demon Realm—Beelzebub.’
Stella, gripping an angelic staff in her hand, released her sealed magical power and radiated her true strength.
The magic circle drawn beforehand resonated, and a beam of light shot skyward.
Flash—!
The sky, which had been beginning to brighten with the rising sun, became as luminous as midday.
Celestial light poured down through the gaps between the clouds.
A miraculous spectacle that could only be called wondrous.
Yet this was closer to a nightmare than a miracle.
After all, it was a ritual to open the Gate, accompanied by one hundred thousand sacrifices.
‘The humans won’t know. That one hundred thousand followers of the Mados Religion just died from that burst of light.’
The one hundred thousand followers of the Mados Religion I had been deceiving all this time had just moments ago been completely sacrificed as offerings.
Likely, no one except those standing nearby would ever know this truth.
They were simply marveling at the brilliantly shining sky.
But that too would be short-lived.
‘At last, it begins. The Heavenly Demon War.’
Soon after, a deafening sound tore through the heavens.

* * *
Kraaaaaash!
Another deafening roar echoed.
Esca turned his gaze toward the sky before looking back at his master, Zeke.
“Master. Could that sound possibly be….”
“Probably the Heavenly Demon War has begun.”
“As I suspected.”
Even as he nodded, doubt flickered in Esca’s eyes.
“But didn’t you eliminate all of the Twelve Forerunners, Master?”
Zeke shook his head.
“I couldn’t kill Stella. And you.”
“What?”
Before Esca could even respond, his chest was pierced through.
By Zeke’s blade.
“Cough….”
“You’ve worked hard all this time, Esca.”
Perhaps I found the sight of Esca collapsing in a spray of blood distasteful?
I chanted the incantation with lightning speed.
“Imr Imnaij Diénai Isisir (Rise, my servant).”
Without exception, all the Pioneers had been reborn as sentient undead.
Esca was no exception to this.
Thud.
The undead Esca knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully.
“I am Esca. Through your mercy, I have obtained eternal life.”
“Good. Return to your vessel.”
I sent him back through reverse summoning and checked the message window that appeared before me.
[Esca Robins eliminated!]
[Main Quest cleared!]
[As your first reward, you have acquired a new basic skill.]
[As your second reward, an item has been granted. You can check it in your subspace inventory.]
The rewards I obtained from killing Esca Robins were rather meager.
[Basic Skill: Mana Gun]
―Effect: Summons a Mana Gun. When the Mana Gun strikes an opponent with a Circle, you can reverse the flow of their mana.
―Special Property: The skill can be toggled On/Off.
[Magitech Jacket]
―Classification: Upper Body Armor
―Effect: Reduces incoming magical damage by 50%. Grants understanding and mastery of magitech engineering.
―Durability: Infinite
―Usage Restriction: Bound to Zeke McLafflin
―Description: A jacket worn by a Forerunner of Engineering. Thirteen items exist in total, and set effects can be obtained.
An item with an incomprehensible description—that I could understand magitech engineering.
It wasn’t bad, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
‘I need to get to the Heavenly Demon War location quickly. With this gravity field.’
Before my eyes lay the massive ring-shaped device that Esca Robins had hidden.
I could simply place the device in subspace, so moving it posed no problem.
Whoosh―
I swiftly stored the gravity field away and located the teleportation coordinates.
The location was none other than the Desolate Wasteland where the Heavenly Demon War was taking place.
‘I’ll confirm exactly what’s happening right now. Teleport.’
A brilliant flash of light transported my body to the Heavenly Demon War location.

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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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