The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Season 2 Chapter 514

She hated people that lied.

People who tricked or deceived others— regardless of their reason, she hated them.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

If someone noticed something and asked them, that was how they’d answer.

From the beginning.

Even though they always said that they were okay, and whispered that they loved her with a gentle expression, from the beginning, she knew they didn’t actually think that way.

But for a long time, she denied it.

She pretended not to notice the light of fear and resignation hidden within their words of love.

…They.

Did they only whisper that they loved her because they didn’t want to die?

There was a time when death visited every night.

Sometimes, when she woke up from her sleep, she would see the face of her mother stabbing her with a kitchen knife. Sometimes, it changed to the figure of her father strangling her.

At first, she thought it was just a terrible nightmare.

She realised that it was all real.

After taking in these scenes and realising they were real, she…

Just closed her eyes.

Maybe they had been trying to kill her for as long as she could imagine.

However, their attempts only ended in failure. She didn’t die. Her body was already one that couldn’t die.

So all they could do was accept the reality.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

That’s what they said.

In warm voices while pretending to be gentle.

Just before they died.

Maybe they were rejoicing.

There was definitely a sense of relief in the movements that beckoned to her.

At last, they had a legitimate excuse to escape from this horror.

—Ahh.

They really were cowards.

After revealing the truth, they continued to play the role of good parents until they died because they didn’t even have the confidence to be hated by her. And they tried to atone for their sins by being eaten by her.

[Puhuhu…]

She let out a laugh like a whisper of wind.

She hated people that lied.

Really hated them. Such that she couldn’t forgive them.

And in the end, he lied to her too.

From the start, their relationship was filled with lies.

[Ahaha, ahahaha…]

Bursting into laughter, she drew her sword. It was fortunate that she was wearing a helmet.

Because she didn’t want anyone to see her face.

* * *

Omniscience.

At best, the range that Lukas could exert this authority was only in a 1km radius.

However, that alone almost shattered his mind.

Within the brain melting, head splitting pain,

‘A perspective, that’s, one, level, higher.’

The unfolding scene made Lukas feel like he was watching on from a distance.

Then he realised something.

If it was someone other than him that saw this scene, they would have gone mad.

[Look away.]

Through the pain, the Lightning God’s voice reached Lukas.

[Don’t look at it directly. You should only look at such a scene with narrowed eyes.]

It wasn’t unreasonable for that guy to say something like that.

After all, let alone mortals, this was a scene that even Absolutes would not be able to bear.

What Lukas was now witnessing was ‘every frame of time that exists in this particular space’.

From the first explosion that created this universe, to the formation of time and space in this specific coordinate flashed through his mind like a panorama… a scene too large and magnificent to be captured from the perspective of one person.

It was this sight that reminded Lukas of a surprising truth.

‘Time is also… just a coordinate…’

[…]

‘Lightning God… did you… know this…?’

[That’s wrong.]

The Lightning God denied.

[If time is just a coordinate, that would mean that everything, from the birth to the destruction of this universe, were determined from the beginning. If that were the case, a place like the World of Void would not exist… it’s not what you think it is. Didn’t I tell you? The future is fluid.]

‘…’

[That is what makes the burdens you carry feel heavier… Instead, if the future was already set from the beginning, that would make it possible to handle. Even in the next instant, there are countless diverging paths. So that would be the same as limiting the near infinite branches of space. So even if you take in all of that information, don’t try to digest all of it. No one can handle that.]

Those words were not wrong.

The only realm that Lukas had digested by that point was the past, and that alone was enough to almost cause his mind to collapse.

That much was the easy part.

After all, no matter how vast it was, the ‘past’ was already set.

What he had to digest from now on was the ‘future’, which was divided into countless branches. And the ‘present’, which contained the most possibilities.

If he really tried to digest all of it, Lukas’ consciousness would directly be swallowed by the torrent of information and disappear without a trace.

However… could he compromise?

[Stop.]

Noticing Lukas’ hesitation, the Lightning God issued a stern warning once again.

[I am not disregarding your computational ability, but you only need to know a fraction now.]

‘…I can’t.’

[You can’t?]

‘Right. I can’t.’

He was already used to it a bit.

Forcibly ignoring the throbbing pain, Lukas continued.

‘I need to know everything. There is no point in acquiring information piecemeal.’

[I’m sure you understand that this isn’t a situation where you can act stubborn.]

‘As you said, filtering the incoming information to an extent is the most efficient method. That alone should be enough to win this fight. However… that is not enough. I can’t just win.’

Lukas spoke again.

‘I… need to know about Pale.’

[…]

‘I need to know what she’s feeling while pointing her sword at me. Otherwise, it is meaningless.’

[…you, weren’t you angry at the Blue Knight?]

The Lightning God spoke in an absurd tone.

[Iris Peacefinder, even though the Blue Knight killed that woman while she was trying to protect you, you don’t blame her. What you blame is─]

‘It’s a bit cliche to say, but I blame myself.’

Lukas smiled bitterly.

‘Because I had the chance to prevent all of this tragedy.’

[…fine. I already said that I would help you. Regardless of the circumstances, I have no intention of taking back the words I said. Go ahead and do whatever you want.]

The moment he nodded, his consciousness hyper-accelerated.

Then, once again, he saw a scene that was thousands of times wider than before.

‘Kuok…!’

The moment he let it in, it could no longer be stopped.

Now that this had happened, there were only two things that could happen.

Either his consciousness would be unable to withstand it and collapse, or it would endure it all.

And in the midst of that, Lukas,

‘I can see…!’

Was clearly looking at Pale’s movements.

Her figure, which he couldn’t see at all before, was now clearly visible.

Paak!

With his blood splattering, Lukas was sent flying.

Smiling, the Lightning God explained this situation.

[You avoided her sword, but you couldn’t avoid the kick. You need to broaden the range of your consciousness some more.]

“…twet.”

[I’m sure you didn’t completely miss that kick, right?]

“Of course.”

Spitting out a tooth fragment, Lukas affirmed.

“That’s why it only ended up being a scratch.”

Blood leaked from his head.

[…Well. A scratch like that might as well be an attack from the Blue Knight. So how do you plan to fight? Omniscience is a powerful authority, but it is only an auxiliary function, and it cannot be considered as a main means for combat.]

That was right.

Even if there was an ant that knew everything, it still wouldn’t be able to win against an elephant.

[Void? Or magic as well?]

“No. I can’t use either.”

[Mm?]

“I don’t have enough brain capacity.”

The Lightning God looked into Lukas’ head for a moment before nodding.

[…you certainly have reached your limit just from processing the incoming information. If you continue in this state, the Blue Knight might not be able to mortally wound you, but… it’s the same for you. And if you drag time on, you will be the one to lose.]

“That’s why I have a request.”

[What is it?]

“I will give you control of my body.”

[…]

Hearing this, even the Lightning God couldn’t help but be speechless for a moment.

But he was able to vividly understand Lukas’ intention.

[You want me to control your body?]

“Is it not possible? There is already ‘Thunder’ in my body. I still need to spend time to activate the authority, but you can do it in half the time.”

[Indeed. You want me to fight with that excess energy…]

The Lightning God said as if it was interesting.

[However, it seems that your sense of crisis is dropping. The possibility that I’ll swallow this body that you cherish so much─]

“Is zero.”

Lukas affirmed.

“I have not seen even a single of ‘such a future’.”

He also knew the reason.

It was because the Lightning God had declared.

That he would help.

‘He’s an incredible guy.’

Perhaps this was the first time that Lukas felt genuine admiration for a Ruler.

A simple statement.

Because of that statement, an event that was unchanged in a near infinite number of futures was created.

The possibility that the Lightning God would betray Lukas in the fight with Pale had completely disappeared. Now that he had the authority of Omniscience, he could understand just how amazing that was.

Lukas was also certain about one thing.

Although he had been dubious all this while, the Lightning God really never lied. Whatever words he said were kept.

[Enough.]

The Lightning God retorted in irritation.

[This Lightning God is not a level that can be praised. Know the subject, Lukas Trowman.]

Did he read his thoughts?

Even though he was caught, instead of displeasure, it was laughter that leaked out.

“Huhu. Sure.”

Lukas got to his feet.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Lightning God. I hope this division of roles will lead to a good result.”

[I won’t make a mistake. You’re the only one who needs cheering.]

Feeling relieved at those arrogant words, Lukas smiled.

* * *

Lukas couldn’t use magic or void.

Having obtained this body, the Lightning God clenched his fist hard.

Boom!

Blue lightning bolts scattered in every direction.

With eyes overflowing with lightning, the Lightning God smiled and looked at Pale, who had come out right in front of him to meet his gaze.

“Let me see it. The ‘hunger’ you have.”

He saw a storm of pale blades.

He could see thousands, tens of thousands of swords at the same time.

However, all of those possibilities started to disappear one after the other. ‘Lukas’ had started calculating.

“Kukuku, kuhahaha!”

Letting out a roar of laughter, the Lightning God extended his fist.

The pale blade and fist collided. Pale’s blade, which had cut through everything until now, could not even scratch Lukas’ fist.

The ‘Thunder’ used by the Lightning God was so much stronger that it couldn’t be compared to when Lukas was using it. Of course, the output didn’t actually increase. It was simply a matter of usage method and aptitude.

What occurred next could only be described as world shaking hand to hand combat.(TL: Hand to sword?)

The Lightning God and Pale continued their scuffle in extremely close proximity.

“How fun!”

The Lightning God shouted in a joyous voice.

In his long, boring life, he had never had such a thrilling fight. This was the case from the moment he started to fight with someone else.

Right.

At that moment, the Lightning God wasn’t fighting alone. Since Lukas was showing him all the moves Pale would make afterwards, he was able to confront the Blue Knight with only this amount of Thunder.

This method that was adopted by Lukas could be called the expedient of expedients, but it was also correct to call it the choice closest to the right answer.

And.

[…]

Pale was also experiencing something for the first time.

Never in her life had she fought for her life against someone whose strength was equal to hers.

But in this moment, Pale felt.

‘I too, have to risk my life in this fight.’

For the first time in her life, she felt the pressure to live.

At such a time, a normal being should be somewhat panicked.

—Naturally, the Blue Knight, Pale, was not.

“…!”

In the blink of an eye ‘Pale’s next movement’ which was reflected in the Lightning God’s sight, split into two. The Lightning God hesitated for a moment that was shorter than an instant, then immediately threw himself backwards, but the result of that brief hesitation was not small.

Shuk!

An arm was severed.

Naturally, this could be considered a fatal loss.

Now that Lukas was using all of his computational power to assist him, he could not afford to use void to regenerate his severed arm.

After losing one of his limbs, the Lightning God let out a frustrated laugh.

“Kukuku! What a ridiculous being. Fighting a being with similar strength for the first time, rather than panicking, she is learning and growing…”

With the minimal portion of his consciousness, Lukas heard the voice of the Lightning God.

“…sorry. I didn’t read the future properly.’

“Hmph. I was already expecting you to make mistakes.”

Although he commented out of anger, he didn’t argue.

Then, he looked at Pale again.

…To be honest, he couldn’t help but shiver as he faced her.

With the current Lukas, even if he were to face three enemies who were at the same level as Lukas before he learned Omniscience, or that is to say, Lukas who used void, he could guarantee victory.

In other words, even in a battle against three people at the level of the Twelve Void Lords, he could win. And if the goal was just to hold them, he could even fight four at the same time.

However, the being he was currently facing far surpassed the level of common sense.

…The ‘winning future’, of course he’d seen it.

However, the gap was narrower than the eye of a needle, and there were all kinds of variables and obstacles lurking along the way.

‘One by one. We need to erase the possibilities of defeat.’

With the signpost of victory in hand.

The rest was in Lukas’ hands.

Even the slightest mistake could no longer be tolerated.

‘Lightning God.’

“What is it?”

‘I won’t make any more mistakes.’

“Sure.”

The fierce battle began once again.

Lukas kept his word. There were no more mistakes.

With that alone, the battle situation gradually began to change.

The wounds on the Lightning God’s body didn’t increase, but the lines on Pale’s armour gradually increased.

Gradually, but undoubtedly, the tide of battle was changing.

“This way of fighting, it’s not my type.”

‘Patience and perseverance are the most important factors.’

“Hmph. It’s incredibly boring.”

In the next moment, the Lightning God’s body suddenly stretched out.

Pale responded instantly, but her pale blade could only vainly cut through the air.

[…!]

It was the first time such a thing had happened in this not so short skirmish.

Then.

Clang!

With a clear sound, Pale’s helmet was sent flying.

“However… right.”

Looking at the blue hair that flowed down like a waterfall and the blood that dripped, the Lightning God grinned.

“Splendid, Lukas Trowman.”