The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years - Season 1 Ch. 183

Nora was probably the one who was analyzing the situation with the most level-headedness. Among those present, she was the one who had the most experience fighting Demigods.

Of course, Agni’s strength was still beyond her imagination.

Nora’s eyes quickly swept over the surroundings as she analysed their situation.

Only a few of the hundreds of Warriors were left standing. And among them, those who had the power to do anything could be counted on two hands.

The opponent wasn’t good. Numerical superiority had absolutely no tactical effect on the fight with Agni.

The power of Agni’s ranged attacks was particularly formidable among the Demigods. And when he utilised his power, he basically changed the landscape, transforming the battlefield into a chaotic, hellish scene.

In all honesty, there were times when even Nora was almost caught up in the chaos. The only reason she and the others were able to move around freely was because of the two reinforcements Frey had sent.

Fwoosh!

Agni’s flames once again tried to cover the area. Then someone jumped into these flames.

Nora didn’t try to stop her. Even a Fire Spirit might not have been able to withstand these flames, but this red-haired woman was different.

Fwoosh!

“Kuk…”

The red-haired woman, Nix, gulped audibly.

Normal flames would not even be able to even leave a mark on her body, but Agni’s flames were different.

If he truly wanted to, Agni had the power to burn her to a crisp.

‘…in the first place.’

Agni couldn’t kill Nix.

That was why she was doing her best. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she was his Apostle, Nix would have probably been the first Phoenix to be killed by fire.

Crack!

A spear of ice shot towards Agni from behind. Agni felt it and swung his arm.

A tidal wave of flames shot up from the ground and swallowed the spear. But the ice spear was not melted by the flames and instead stabbed into Agni’s body.

[…]

It had little effect. The spear of ice also melted soon after.

Nevertheless, the fact that the wave of flames couldn’t melt the spear made Agni uncomfortable.

‘Elliah’s power.’

It was annoying.

Moreover, the divine power possessed by that man, Isaka, obviously surpassed that of an Apostle.

If a Demigod other than him had encountered him, they might have been in danger.

Crack!

Agni felt pain.

His body lost its balance, and he stumbled. His left leg had been destroyed by someone’s attack.

The missing foot was quickly regenerated from the flames, but that attack was clearly quite fierce.

“Mmm…”

Nora clenched her fist, which had been badly disfigured by the burn she suffered. The pain was unimaginable.

The bandage that had been meticulously wrapped around her fist had also been destroyed.

‘Even the bandages Cairo made for me became like this. His body is hotter than lava.’

It was absurd.

She couldn’t believe that the one who attacked ended up suffering more. At this rate, it would be impossible for her to launch many attacks.

Her fists would melt before Agni died.

Then Agni shot his flames towards Nora. It was too late to avoid them.

She clenched her fist again, preparing to block it, but Ivan appeared.

He shook his lion-like mane and said.

“Did you get sluggish after we hadn’t met for a while?”

Martial King Fist. Wind Wave.

The pressure from his fists pushed the flames back.

‘He’s better than I expected.’

Nora felt proud of her student’s achievements, but she spoke with an expressionless face to keep her dignity as a teacher.

“I guess my ‘discipline’ was sluggish. Since you dare to say such bullshit to me.”

“…that’s not it.”

Ivan scratched his cheeks meekly when he heard her words.

Nora almost burst out laughing at his reaction.

‘He’s gotten a lot stronger.’

Not only his body but his willpower was also much stronger. She felt that he’d reached a level where she probably wouldn’t be able to guarantee her victory if they were to fight.

Ivan was almost certainly aware of that fact too.

Nevertheless, when they finally reunited, he accepted Nora’s angry punches without any thought of avoiding or blocking them.

This was proof that Ivan still considered her his teacher.

In fact, Ivan considered Nora as more than just his martial arts teacher. She was his benefactor.

To him, Nora was a being whose grace he’d never be able to repay in this lifetime. If he hadn’t met her, he would have already become a cold corpse from fighting in the streets.

That was the reason why Ivan would never forget to show the proper respect to his teacher. As the years passed, he became more and more arrogant, but his attitude towards Nora would always remain the same.

Looking at Ivan’s strong body, Nora said.

“Ivan, your defense is probably higher than mine.”

“It’s natural for a young man to be tougher.”

“Young? Are you mocking me now?”

Ivan grumbled.

“Let’s skip this part. For a bit longer.”

“Hmm. In any case, I think my attacks are still a bit stronger.”

“I agree.”

As if by habit, Ivan cracked his knuckles.

“What’s the plan?”

“Get Agni’s attention. I’ll try to attack his core.”

“Will that work? His regenerative powers are enough to make a troll cry; it wouldn’t be hard for him to create a new flame body.”

“This is a good opportunity. I’ll show you the secret of the Martial King Fist, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled and look carefully.”

“…”

Ivan’s expression became serious.

“Did you not say you’d only teach me the secret techniques when you were about to die? No way, Master…”

“Don’t make such a dumb expression… I’m not going to die just yet.”

“…ah, really. Even though I’m worrying, you’re still being such a pain in the ass.”

“Huhu. Don’t swear.”

Nora chuckled.

Ivan also smiled and said.

“You must not die.”

“Yeah.”

“Because I still have a lot to learn from you, Master.”

“You already know what you’re lacking. I think tears might really come from my eyes when I see that my poor snot-nosed student has finally grown up properly.”

“Hmph….”

Ivan turned around.

If they continued this banter, it was possible that they would lose their tension. In battle, a certain level of tension was necessary.

Draw attention.

It sounded simple, but it was not easy with an opponent like Agni.

‘I have to make him focus his eyes on me.’

So that he would no longer pay any attention to Nora.

However, Agni’s field of view was high. If one was to look down on the battlefield from that height, it was easy to tell the battle situation with just a glance.

Unless he caused a ruckus, it would be very hard for him to get all of his attention.

‘I have to do something loud.’

Ivan murmured to himself before kicking off from the ground. Snow then appeared beside Ivan, who was rushing forward.

She drew her sword and said.

“Which side?”

“Left?”

“Then I’ll take the right.”

They exchanged glances for a moment before splitting off to the two sides.

Ivan then called out to Isaka, who was constantly sending out shards of ice.

“Uh. So… old man who looks like Frey, can I ask for your support?”

“My name is Isaka.”

Although Isaka replied in an unpleasant tone, he didn’t hesitate to support Ivan.

He had already realised he couldn’t defeat Agni with his own powers.

‘Is it because of the difference in mental strength?’

He thought about it for a while before eventually shaking his head.

That wasn’t it.

Regardless of whether he controlled fire or ice, the results would be the same. The amount of divine power that the two sides could handle were just too different.

Among the Demigods, the Apocalypses were on a completely different level. He once again realised this fact.

Fwoosh!

Pillars of fire shot towards Ivan. Isaka managed to use his ice to neutralise several of the pillars, but he wasn’t able to block all of them.

Ivan crossed his arms towards the pillars.

Warrior King Fist. Rock Shield.

Mana wrapped around Ivan’s body as he activated his ultimate defense technique.

In this way, Ivan forcibly broke through the pillars of flame.

[…]

Agni turned to Ivan and raised his right hand. His fist, which had been clenched, slowly opened, and flames poured down from his palm.

Kwaah.

“Hah…”

Ivan couldn’t help but gasp slightly at the scene that unfolded.

Hundreds of flames poured down from the sky, each one giving off an aura that made one feel like one’s end was nigh.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what it felt like to face a meteor with his bare body.

‘Goddammit!’

He didn’t have time to get lost in such a frivolous sentiment.

Ivan hurriedly rushed across the burning ground to escape the flame bombardment. The flickering flames made it almost impossible to see the surroundings.

Ivan moved his body purely on his instincts.

His senses were astonishing, so he was able to avoid most of the flames. But it was impossible to avoid everything.

Boom!

“Kuk!”

The flames engulfed his left arm. The pain was so terrible that for a moment, he felt like cutting off his arm.

Ivan had been burned countless times by that point, but this was the first time that his body and mind had actually cried out in agony.

It was like his soul itself was being burnt.

“Dammit!”

But he couldn’t afford to stop because of the pain.

Ivan just swore and continued running.

‘Not being able to breathe properly is the worst thing ever!’

The inability to control their breathing was fatal for Magic Warriors who had to constantly move their bodies.

Since air wasn’t being properly supplied to their bodies, there were some deficiencies in their ability to manage their mana, which, in turn, made it harder for them to properly use their martial arts.

When the distance to Agni was narrow enough, Ivan kicked off from the ground and leapt into the air.

His body flew up like a cannonball, and in an instant, he appeared in front of Agni’s waist.

Considering the fact that Agni’s giant body almost reached the clouds, the power behind this leap was clear to all.

Guuuuuk.

Ivan put most of his mana into his fist. This caused the defense from his Rock Shield to decrease, and his entire body began to burn.

It couldn’t be helped.

After all, he wouldn’t be able to do much damage to Agni in one shot unless he used a large amount of mana.

Warrior King Fist. Iron Fist. (TL: wanted to call it Tekken so bad T~T)

Boom!

Ivan’s fist struck Agni’s abdomen.

Considering his size, such an attack should have been like a mosquito bite, but the power behind that punch was unimaginable.

The wind pressure from the punch temporarily halted the pillars of fire burning around them.

Agni’s body tilted once more.

‘Did it work?’

Just as Ivan made this hopeful observation.

[I suppose I should end this.]

Agni muttered softly.

His body, which had collapsed, returned to its original shape as if he’d reversed time.

Fwoosh!

In fact, the flames around him burned even brighter.

Regeneration? Or was it the effect of his power?

Ivan wasn’t sure.

He looked up at Agni with a bewildered expression.

[I thought we’d had enough control over the development of intelligence over the past few thousands of years, but it seems we didn’t. You all were growing endlessly in the dark. And in the end, you became much more troublesome than we expected.]

Right. He had no choice but to accept it now.

They posed a threat to the Demigods. They had already reached this level.

If the mortals in front of him had decided to target another Demigod, any Demigod other than the Apocalypses would certainly die by their hands.

Therefore, they were unlucky.

[It is your bad luck to have met me here.]

Just as Agni was about to release his hottest flames that even rivaled the sun’s core.

[…]

This voice was probably heard by everyone on the hellish battlefield.

More surprising than that was the fact that Agni’s body actually obediently followed this command.

Agni was stunned.

‘This feeling…’

It was something he’d felt in the past.

Even though it had been thousands of years, it was such an unpleasant sensation that he was unable to forget it. The unique power of the continent’s overseers that even the Demigods were unable to avoid.

[Dragontongue.]

He could feel who the caster was.

Agni’s eyes turned to a woman standing far away. A green-haired woman.

Looking at her, he couldn’t help but feel some doubt. She was certainly not a Dragon.

He could tell with just a glance. She was a far cry from the beings who could be called the Demigods’ only rivals in history.

The same was true for her use of Dragontongue.

It would last three seconds at most. After that, Agni would regain his freedom.

She was not a Dragon.

He was certain that there were no more Dragons on the continent.

Half…

‘Right. She should be a Half Dragon.’

[I see.]

Despite her flimsy appearance, she was definitely the most troublesome one there.

Agni had found the most difficult one of those gathered.

“Hup.”

Upon receiving Agni’s burning gaze, Beniang’s face turned pale and she took a step back.

Her legs shook.

She was afraid. She wanted to run away.

What had she just done?

Was it that she’d done something bad?

She should’ve just stayed still….

Beniang froze.

She felt a warm sensation in her head. It was the warmth she’d felt at that time.

That voice. Those gentle eyes.

He said… he believed in her.

“…”

Beniang’s expression changed.

Then, she took a big step forward before raising her head and looking directly at Agni’s face.

[…]

Agni’s eyebrow’s furrowed.

Dragontongue was a power that most Demigods would have a hard time countering.

Even though her skills were lackluster, as long as it was used at the right time, even Lord could be in danger.

So for the sake of the future, this woman had to die here.