The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 223

—————
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 223
Zeke was happy.
So he thought to himself.
He wished he could live like this forever.
He wished his life would never change.
But Zeke only came to realize later that such a thought was itself arrogance.
Thirty years later.
“Father… Mother…”
The death of his parents.
It was not death from some bodily ailment, but death from old age.
The inevitable moment of parting that comes naturally to all humans.
A moment that Zeke’s father and mother had experienced as well.
Watching it unfold, Zeke’s heart was naturally unsettled.
It was agonizing.
“I’m sorry… I should have treated you better while you were alive…”
His mother passed first from old age, and years later, his father followed her.
The death of his parents was painful, but it was something he would have to face eventually.
As all humans must.
But what was even more agonizing than that
“D-dear…”
“Sillis…”
was witnessing the final moments of his wife.
“Why don’t you age…? I’ve become this wrinkled old woman…”
“…”
“Is it because of the Draconian power you mentioned before?”
Zeke nodded silently in response.
Swallowing back his tears.
“All this time… I was happy being with you. Thank you. For accepting my confession back then…”
Sillis could say no more and closed her eyes.
It happened thirty years after his parents had passed.
‘First my parents, and now Sillis…’
A pain as if his chest were being torn apart washed over him.
To have to witness the death of his wife.
‘Why don’t I age…? Why must I endure all this suffering simply because I don’t grow old…?’
He already knew the answer to that question.
Dragon Force.
From the moment I gained the power of dragons, I could live as long as the Dragon Race.
A human capable of living ten thousand years.
Because I had become such a unique existence, I could maintain my youth all this time.
Though I had lied to others, telling them it was thanks to Draconian talent…
I couldn’t speak the truth.
I was deliberately turning away from it.
Because I couldn’t bear to accept that the moment of parting was drawing near.
It was then that I exhaled a heavy sigh.
A sudden thought flashed through my mind.
‘Wait. I have that item, don’t I?’
What I hastily pulled from the subspace was a leaf of Yggdrasil.
A miraculous object capable of reviving the dead.
If I used this, couldn’t I bring Sillis back to life?
I crumpled the Yggdrasil leaf and shoved it into Sillis’s mouth.
But there was no response.
Thinking one might not be enough, I inserted another.
Still, there was no response.
‘Can’t I revive her…?’
For the first time since my parents passed away, I found myself wrestling with a dilemma I had never faced before.
‘Should I resurrect her as an undead…?’
But I immediately shook my head.
‘No. Even if I revive Sillis, she won’t retain her consciousness.’
The Twelve Forerunners were superhuman beings who had reached the pinnacle of humanity, so they could be resurrected as sentient undead, but Sillis was different.
Even if I brought her back, she would merely become an ordinary undead with no memory of herself.
“Haah… There’s no way.”
In the end, I had no choice but to accept it.
Sillis’s death.

* * *
Zeke fell into despair for a long time.
His wife’s death struck him like a thunderbolt.
Yet the suffering was far from over.
The deaths of his brothers Peter and Russell, the passing of those close to him—
Those he knew began dying one by one from the ravages of age.
But none of it compared to this.
The death of his own child.
“Sophia….”
He had even bestowed upon her the blessing of an angel that protected against disease, yet his only daughter, Sophia McLafflin, could not overcome the passage of time.
No, not just Sophia—no human in this world could defy the flow of time.
No one could cure the disease called aging.
Such was the law of nature.
Of course, Zeke, who would live for ten thousand years, was the exception.
“Father… please take good care of my grandchildren….”
“Sophia! Sophia!”
Sophia, barely clinging to life, finally closed her eyes.
Her final words became her last testament.
‘Damn it! Damn it!’
Zeke could not accept it.
To witness his child’s death.
This could not stand.
‘There must be a way. There has to be!’
Zeke asked that Sophia’s body not be buried, then set out toward somewhere.
His destination was Elsorium, where the Elven Race dwelled.

* * *
Upon arriving at Elsorium, I entered the Spirit Realm.
It was to meet the Spirit King.
“Spirit King, where are you! Spirit King!”
[You seek me, Successor of God.]
Despite not having seen him in ages, I presented a leaf of Yggdrasil instead of offering a greeting.
“This leaf of Yggdrasil you gave me! I want to use it to bring my daughter back to life! You can do that, right?”
[A leaf of Yggdrasil can resurrect any life. Surely you know this already—why do you ask?]
“Because my daughter died of old age….”
At my words, the Spirit King finally understood.
[Ah, so you’re searching for a way?]
“Yes. Can you save her?”
[It is impossible.]
At the Spirit King’s decisive words, my eyebrows twitched.
[No matter how miraculous the leaf of Yggdrasil is in reviving the dead, it cannot restore those who have perished from old age. That is a fate all creatures must face. I cannot defy destiny itself. One cannot read the final pages of a book whose story has already ended….]
“Is there truly no way? Not even another method besides the leaf of Yggdrasil….”
[Unfortunately, there is none. You must accept this eternal truth, Successor of God—that all life is destined to perish.]
I lowered my head.
I had anticipated this, but hearing the definitive answer brought a strange sense of relief.
Now I could finally let go of my lingering hopes and find peace.
“I understand. Thank you….”
Emerging from the Spirit Realm, I walked through Elsorium with a despondent expression.
Seeing my state, the Elven princess Yupinelsia grew concerned.
“Are you alright? Zeke? You look unwell.”
“….”
“Did something happen in the Spirit Realm? You entered so urgently….”
“I asked if there was a way to save my daughter, but there isn’t. The leaf of Yggdrasil cannot revive those who have died of old age, they said….”
I closed my eyes and lowered my head.
A sorrow that pierced my chest crashed over me like waves.
“This isn’t what I wanted… I simply wished to remain with those I love for as long as possible….”
“Zeke….”
Yupinelsia raised her hand in concern, then lowered it again.
She wanted to offer some words of comfort, but sensed that silence was better.
This man needed time to fully embrace his sorrow.

* * *
Humans are infinitely pitiful before death.
I came to understand this while witnessing my family’s final moments.
‘There is no defying death.’
And so I accepted it.
The fate of humans—to live only a hundred years.
‘But I am not bound by such limits. Neither is Yupinelsia here.’
As the ages passed, I married Yupinelsia.
Elven males live up to fifteen hundred years, females up to twelve hundred, or so it is said.
Just as like must pair with like, for one such as myself—transcending human mortality—there could be no more fitting partner than an elf.
‘With Yupinelsia at my side, I could spend those long years in happiness.’
Our hearts aligned well, and our affection was genuine enough that the union of human and elf came to pass.
Ordinarily it would have been impossible, but as one chosen by the Spirit King, I found that Elsorium blessed our marriage with genuine joy.
We had spoken of this matter before, in times past.
“Do you remember? I promised to return and show you the world you had not yet seen. I have kept that promise, have I not?”
“Yes… my lord.”
Yupinelsia’s cheeks flushed as she set out on this excursion with me.
Though I typically dwell in Elsorium, I venture into the human cities from time to time.
It was because of my daughter Sophia’s dying wish—that I watch over her children.
Even without that final request, I would have cared for them willingly.
‘They are my descendants, my blood. It is only natural that I protect them.’
And so I watched over my descendants—third generation, fourth, fifth, sixth—
Protecting and caring for them in secret, those who carried my blood.
None who knew me remained among my human kin, and none of my descendants knew my face, but it mattered not.
I did it for my own satisfaction.
‘I will have no more children. My line ends here.’
Witnessing my child’s death had shaken me profoundly, and I resolved never to bear offspring again.
Yupinelsia agreed, and together we spent more than a thousand years in that resolve.
They were happy times.
Yet even amid that happiness, I could dimly sense the approaching end of this story.

* * *
“Sigh….”
I exhaled a heavy sigh that seemed to shake the very earth beneath me.
‘I knew this moment would come eventually… but now that it’s here, the pain is almost unbearable.’
Yupinelsia’s death.
It was a foreseen future.
A moment every living being must eventually face.
‘If there’s any consolation, it’s that she lived a full life…?’
Yupinelsia, who had lived to the age of 1,237, breathed her last with a serene smile.
When I first met her, she was young and radiant, but now at the end of her days, her face was etched with countless wrinkles.
“You’re still beautiful, Yupinelsia. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being with me.”
I, on the other hand, remained unchanged from the beginning.
For one who would live ten thousand years, a thousand years was merely a ripple in the current of time.
‘Now there’s no one left around me. Carbollearos is gone too….’
The Gold Dragon Carbollearos, who had been with me since my reincarnation.
She had passed away not long ago, having reached nearly ten thousand years of age.
The death of a close friend saddened me, but it did not plunge me into despair.
I had already been tempered by loss.
I had already learned to accept the deaths of those around me.
‘One day, I too will die like that. Someday….’
Though that day was still far away, I quietly accepted it.
Yupinelsia’s death.

* * *
After arranging Yupinelsia’s belongings, I prepared to depart.
Though I had grown attached to Elsorium after spending a thousand years here, it was not where I belonged.
‘There’s no one left that I know.’
I simply wished to live quietly in a place devoid of people.
Because I had learned that bonds only brought suffering.
‘So much time has passed since I spent those years on the Pangaea Continent.’
To be precise, 1,234 years had elapsed.
A dragon’s memory ensured that even this vast span of time would not be forgotten.
Even the memories I wished to forget remained etched in my mind.
‘Soon my skill will reach nine stars.’
I gazed at the skill window I had opened to the side.
[7th Awakening Skill: Limit Release]
-Achievement: ★★★★★★★★☆ (8 Stars)
-Type: Active
-Proficiency: 299,999/300,000
-Effect: Amplifies all skill abilities by 17 times for 80 minutes.
-Cooldown: 24 hours
-Special Note: Applies to all learned skills, whether active or passive. Proficiency increases with each use.
A skill that could only be used once per day due to its cooldown.
I had consistently used it daily without fail, steadily raising its proficiency.
It was hardly a difficult task.
And today.
‘Finally, I can reach nine stars.’
One more use would grant me the coveted nine-star rank.
‘Though it won’t truly matter in the end.’
For one already at the pinnacle of strength, it held little significance, yet I used the skill out of habit.
‘Limit Release.’
After the 80-minute duration ended.
[Limit Release’s duration has ended.]
[Skill proficiency has increased by 1.]
[The skill ‘Limit Release’ has reached 9 stars.]
[Limit Release’s duration has been increased from 80 minutes to 120 minutes.]
[Limit Release’s amplification rate has been increased from 17 times to 20 times.]
Messages I had anticipated.
Yet my eyes could not help but widen.
[You have mastered all awakening skills to 9 stars.]
[You, who now possess the power to save humanity, have become the strongest.]
[You may now return to your original dimension, Earth.]
[Will you return to Earth? Y/N]
Because I had seen an unexpected message about returning.

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