The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Book 2: Chapter 334

There were moments when you were certain of your victory in battle.

Of course, the timing of this ‘moment’ varied greatly depending on the person, but in Peran’s case, because of his calm personality, he was never certain of his victory until there was irrefutable evidence.

But this time was different.

Just before the enhanced blades of wind hit Nix, Peran was already certain of his victory. He’d vowed to never let his guard down in the battle against Nix, but it was different when he was just about to win.

It was only for a moment, perhaps only a few seconds or less, but he relaxed.

He let his guard down.

Crackle!

So by the time he realised, it was already too late.

A crack appeared in the Ice Vine cocoon covering Nix’s body.

Just before the blades of wind hit the block of ice.

Boom!

A huge explosion erupted from Nix.

“What?”

Peran couldn’t help but let out a startled exclamation.

The instantaneous eruption of light was so intense that for a moment he lost his vision.

He could feel the flames shooting in all directions. The roar of the flames was deafening.

The force of the explosion was so great that Beginning Wind was no longer capable of containing the flames.

This was understandable since the duration of the spell was almost over.

‘Fire…’

Through his vision, which was blurred from his tears, Peran was able to see that the sky had once again turned crimson.

Fwoosh!

Even Peran was not free from the fire.

The end of his robe had caught fire.

Without hesitation, he threw his robe to the side.

This wasn’t an exaggeration, instead, it was an accurate response.

The small speck of flame, which was only about as large as the flame from a match when it first landed, quickly grew in size until it consumed the entire robe.

‘…that was a magic robe covered in numerous high ranking resistance runes.’

That was amazing incineration ability. If Peran had been even a moment slower in throwing it away, his body would have been mixed in with the rest of the ashes.

Cold sweat covered his back.

With just that single explosion, the Ice Vine was instantly destroyed and his magic robes were burned to ashes.

‘The temperature of the flames rose?’

That wasn’t all.

The momentum was much fiercer, and the explosive power felt more like a rampaging bull.

Could it be that she was using this fight to improve herself? Was he helping this monster gain exp?

…No.

It felt a little different from that.

“Ahhh!”

Boom boom boom!

Following a scream, he heard a series of explosions.

Pillars of fire burst into existence before intertwining around Nix, occasionally releasing gouts of flame, creating a phenomenon similar to a solar flare. Soon, the only sound that could be heard was the constant rumbling explosion and the sound of the air gradually beginning to burn as the ambient temperature rose sharply.

“Huff, huff…”

As his heat resistance disappeared together with the loss of his robe, it was becoming difficult for him to breathe. The heat stung his skin and sweat quickly soaked his body.

Roar!

As the flames broke out once again, Peran had to admit that the situation was a bit more twisted than he expected.

‘This… is not good.’

In all honesty, it could no longer be considered a level of ‘not good’, it was now extremely dangerous.

Heavy breathing, heat, sweat.

Factors that interfered with his concentration were beginning to pile up one after the other.

The worst one was the sweat that was constantly flowing without end.

The moisture in his body was rapidly disappearing. His vision was beginning to blur, and his throat was swiftly becoming dry.

These were all signs of a case of dehydration that was rapidly becoming more severe.

‘…did I make the wrong judgement?’

He bit his lip lightly.

First, he used strong winds to extinguish the flames then a relatively weak ice spell to restrain Nix’s movements. Afterward, he tried to finish it off with wind magic.

His plan had been almost flawless, and he was even on the verge of completing it.

Nevertheless, Peran failed.

He couldn’t help but be filled with regret.

He couldn’t help but wonder if it would be possible for him to change the outcome if he were to use the 8-star spell Ice Age together with a 7-star spell.

‘I don’t have enough mana.’

Before coming here, Peran had fought a battle at the mansion. He’d faced two opponents, and none of them were easy.

Then, after receiving the signal from Snow, he forcibly withdrew from that battle. At that time, he’d already used a large portion of his mana by then, but in the process of flying to the Amalgam Forest, he consumed even more mana.

Of course, all of his battles occurred at unexpected moments, so he could only complain about his luck…

Bang!

An explosion occurred a short distance away from him. It was getting harder for him to avoid.

The entwined flames, the pillars of fire… The flares and explosions were starting to become more frequent and Peran was having a hard time responding to each one.

This was natural.

Who could predict the paths of hundreds and thousands of flames.

Peran couldn’t help but accept the fact as he saw the flames shooting toward him.

His chances of victory had completely disappeared.

‘Should I escape?’

After thinking that, his gaze turned to the ground.

He could see Lukas groaning beneath a tree, and the fainted Swordnaz scattered in all directions.

The explosions that Nix had created in the sky had produced a lot of embers. For those on the ground, it would be like a rain of fire.

Their wounds needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

Of course, Peran didn’t have any intention of personally treating them, but he would at least take measures to prevent them from getting worse. The more serious the wound, the more important it was for them to receive some form of first aid.

Lukas was in the most serious condition. The amount of blood seeping from his abdomen was by no means healthy.

It wouldn’t be strange if he were to die in a few minutes if he didn’t receive any aid.

Crunch.

He grit his teeth in frustration.

…He’d finally managed to find a clue. He wouldn’t let it go like this.

He had two options.

One would be to somehow end this battle against Nix.

The other was to take Lukas and Snow and escape.

Both options carried their own risks. The probability of death was higher for the first one, but there was no guarantee that he would be able to successfully escape.

Boom!

—The explosion caught him by surprise.

His field of view had narrowed momentarily and he took his attention away from above him.

The five overlapping barriers he’d created just in case were shattered in an instant. The first thing Peran felt was a burning sensation on his back before he shot towards the ground.

Thud!

Just before hitting the ground, he barely managed to cast the Fly spell, but it wasn’t enough to fully absorb the impact of the fall.

Peran’s figure crashed into the ground. One of Wizards’ greatest weaknesses was their abysmal defence, so receiving even a single attack would usually place them in a near death state.

Today was no different.

Although he didn’t receive the attack directly, the resulting collision with the ground was enough to cover him in scratches and bruises.

“…dammit.”

With a soft swear, he got to his feet and looked up at the sky. Did he hit his head? There was a cut on his forehead from which a trickle of blood rolled out.

For a Wizard, such an injury was near fatal since it hampered his ability to calculate. If flares and explosions were to pepper him like before, he would have no way to stop it.

But, fortunately, Nix didn’t pursue Peran.

“Ahhhh-!”

Instead, she continued to scream, still creating almost instantaneous explosions without any warning.

“Tweh.”

Peran spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground before turning back to the sky.

If it was the state the Monster Queen was in now…

“…falling.”

A voice came from his right.

It was Lukas.

‘Did I fall in his direction?’

Peran examined Lukas’ appearance. His complexion was pale, and his lips were bluish, but he looked strangely calm despite this.

“…your injuries are very serious.”

Peran muttered in a low, cold tone that was almost the opposite of his usual, gentle tone. This was probably because his nerves were still stretched thin due to the fight with Nix.

“The flames falling from the sky…”

“What?”

Without another word, Lukas moved his hand away to show his abdomen.

There, his torn, discoloured skin was visible.

Peran’s expression froze. It was clear now that this man had been wounded by the flames that littered the ground.

“You’re insane…”