The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

Thousands of meters below the surface of the ocean.

In a place where the water pressure was so strong that it wouldn’t be strange for a human to be crushed in an instant.

Nodiesop’s ‘descent’ finally began to slow down.

“…”

After feeling the force that pressed down on him taper off, Nodiesop straightened up before looking around.

All he could see was complete darkness.

In fact, it was a bit silly to say ‘all he could see’, since there was no place in the world that would be darker than this.

This was a world of complete and utter darkness, where not even a single ray of sunlight could reach.0

Darkness was one of the greatest stimuli of human fear. But Nodiesop wasn’t afraid.

This wasn’t because he wasn’t human in the first place, or because he was an Absolute.

It was because this was an ocean.

For him, a place like this was no different from home.

In the first place, the reason he was able to stop so soon was because he’d borrowed the power of the ocean. Otherwise, he would have ended up embedded in the very crust of the planet.

‘…so that is the power of the Seven Fanged Dragon God.’

He finally had an understanding of just how weak she had become. Compared to her, the restrictions that had been placed on Nodiesop couldn’t even be called restrictions.

About 1/82,000th of her prime.

That was the most power the Priestess was capable of exerting in her current situation.

…The ‘seven fangs’ could be considered the symbols of the Seven Fanged Dragon God.

They were the vessels that contained the souls of the Absolutes who stood at the peak of the multiverse in the past.

According to the Sun Giant, the Dragon God had said that every tooth it lost meant that its strength decreased by 1/7th.

And it could be said that the Priestess had lost six of her teeth.

‘How terrifying.’

If she’d managed to recover even two of her fangs, then Nodiesop would not have been her opponent.

By his calculations, if she had managed to recover three, then she would have been 40 times stronger than she was now. And if she got four, she would be 7 times stronger than that…

‘Her condition isn’t stable.’

Whether she liked it or not, in order to exist as the Seven Fanged Dragon God, she would need to have seven personalities. This was a part of the Seven Fanged Dragon God’s identity.

So after becoming the Priestess, she would have gathered the required souls as quickly as possible. She’d probably chosen the best souls that were available to her at that point.

Nevertheless, the souls within the Priestess were beings that could only vaguely be considered ‘Absolutes’.

‘After all, there was no way the Priestess could contain the souls of seven Absolutes in her current state.’

This didn’t mean that her abilities were lacking. It was just the reality.

The weakened Priestess was no match for Nodiesop.

This was proven by the fact that she was unable to kill him with her sudden attack. She didn’t even give him a proper injury.

‘…the injuries on my neck and stomach have also healed.’

This was possible because the Priestess had lifted the restrictions around the Heavenly Realm.

Now, Nodiesop had regained most of his power.

Swoosh!

He shot upwards, going from thousands of meters below the ocean to the surface in an instant. It was a magical sight, like a Dragon soaring to the heavens. But in truth, he was a murderer who was going to kill a Dragon.

Nodiesop shot out of the ocean and reached the sky above the continent in the blink of an eye. And above him, he could see the hole in the Heavenly Realm that he’d come from. He entered the hole once again, this time going in the opposite direction.

He was once again submerged in the heavenly ocean of the continent floating in the sky, but it didn’t take him long to pierce the surface of that as well.

“…”

“…”

Less than a minute after breaking free from the force sending him downwards, he’d once again pierced through two oceans before returning from whence he came. And waiting for him there was Lukas.

The Priestess was nowhere to be seen.

Lukas was the only one there.

It was strange.

Nodiesop stared at Lukas. The difference in power between them was obvious. In fact, it was so large that it couldn’t even be described in words.

No matter what he did, it was impossible for Lukas to defeat Nodiesop.

…No.

This wasn’t the first time. From the time Lukas appeared, no, even further back. From the first time they’d met each other on ‘Earth’, this man had never been a match for Nodiesop.

He’d had many chances to beat him and even more chances to kill him.

And yet.

Nodiesop had yet to do so.

Of course, there was always a different reason for this.

Rapidly changing situations, unexpected situations, interference from a third party, and his own choice…

…But in the end, those were all just excuses, petty excuses.

As an Absolute, he should have completed his objective while ignoring the obstacles.

But now, he couldn’t help but acknowledge this man to an extent.

That’s why he couldn’t help but think again.

It was strange.

At that moment, Lukas seemed to be completely detached. His face was calm and indifferent as if he had already put everything down, as if his fighting spirit had already disappeared.

“Do you intend to just accept death?”

Although he asked this, Nodiesop inwardly denied the possibility of this being true. He didn’t think this stubborn man would accept such a futile end.

However, considering his attitude and the current situation, he couldn’t think of any other possibilities.

“What would you do if that was the case? Do you have any thoughts of leaving after killing me?”

“Of course not. The first thing I’ll do after killing you is erase everyone connected to you.”

“Then?”

“Sink this entire continent.”

“That would cause an unprecedented catastrophe on a planetary scale.”

“It certainly would be unprecedented in this world. But it’s nothing strange for me. It’s not just out of spite. By sinking this place, it will be much easier to find Letip and the Demon King, who are looking for the other statues down there.”

“…I see.”

By not bringing anyone from Earth, Nodiesop was able to receive the advantage of being able to use his power sooner than the others.

On the other hand, Lukas, Kasajin, and Letip were still under many restrictions.

For him, it was a race against time.

He wanted to finish everything before the other Absolutes managed to regain their strength, while they were still as weak as possible.

If the floating continent fell to the ground, it would almost certainly cause an enormous tsunami to occur.

The scale would be so large that even Lukas couldn’t predict the outcome.

Most of the land would be submerged, and water was the substance that could be called Nodiesop’s ‘origin’. While it was true that it wouldn’t help him find Kasajin and Letip’s specific locations, he would still be able to narrow it down to some extent.

From Nodiesop’s perspective, it was the smoothest and most natural first step towards his goals.

Lukas shook his head slowly.

Surprisingly, even though he was about to die, there wasn’t the slightest bit of agitation in his heart.

His mind and body were as calm as the mirror-like surface of a tranquil lake.

“Nodiesop.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go together.”

“…what?”

Just as Nodiesop frowned.

Darkness suddenly engulfed the entire area.

(TL: The explanation of the Priestess’ situation makes me wonder if she’s a ‘seed’ of the Seven Fanged Dragon God. Especially since she had to find her own souls. And if that is the case, then are the other fangs also seeds? Though I doubt it since Nodiesop already obtained a statue and there was no mention of it. Would be an interesting concept though.)