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

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Crack.

Lukas bit into the end of the arm. The black armour that got in his way was peeled off and thrown aside.

Crunch, crunch.

It wasn’t just the flesh. Lukas even chewed the bones in his hand. The short predation soon came to an end.

“Huhuhu…”

Lukas chuckled.

In no time, his face had become covered in blood. Without even thinking about removing the strips of flesh hanging from his lips, his gaze turned to Lucid once again. There was a flicker of untamed desire in his narrowed eyes.

“Ah. My head… feels like it’s melting. I can’t believe such happiness exists… I think I can now understand people who are addicted to drugs.”

[…]

“Hey. Lucid. Have you eaten any flesh since becoming an undead?”

[I haven’t.]

“I thought so.”

Lukas giggled before ripping off his left arm.

Pshk.

It happened in an instant. Blood dripped down from the cross section of his severed arm. But in the blink of an eye, Lukas’ arm regenerated. Lucid watched this scene from beginning to the end.

Lifting his severed left arm with his freshly grown left hand, Lukas threw it.

“As a show of sincerity. Try it.”

Thud.

His arm landed right in front of Lucid. It was like throwing food at an animal.

“What’s wrong? Do you think it won’t taste good because I’m skinny?”

[…]

“You really don’t need to worry about that. No matter how bad it is, it won’t be as bad as your rotten flesh.”

Instead of responding, Lucid took a single step forward.

Crack, with a loud sound, Lukas’ severed arm was crushed beneath his boot. Blood splattered across the ground like paint.

Aura blazing, the Knight of Death looked at Lukas.

[When will you become serious?]

“What do you mean?”

[Did you really think you could fool me with that attitude and tone? It’s about as interesting as watching a low level play.]

“You’re enjoying this play.”

[You’re wrong.]

“Really? Then let’s change the subject.”

Lukas smiled faintly.

“You don’t deserve to say things like that. Because you don’t know me.”

[…]

“You were only with me for a few decades or so. Compared to the long journey I’ve taken, that wasn’t even a single step. Do you understand? You look at that one step, and you talk as if you saw my destination or the direction I took.”

[If that’s what you think, then what were your previous actions?]

“Previous actions?”

[You were insulting me.]

“…”

Lukas was silent for a while before a faint smirk spread across his lips.

“Right.”

[…I see.]

Lucid slowly waved his severed arm. Then, black smoke erupted from the cross section before finally taking the shape of an arm.

Perfect restoration.

He didn’t know what the principle behind it was, but it seemed that even the black gauntlets had it.

[Then from now on, I will not let you off anymore.]

“…”

Lukas narrowed his eyes.

Lucid had just regenerated his arm, but it was fundamentally different from his ability. Lucid’s regeneration did not require any external energy. It was a power that came from within his body.

It had been like that from the beginning.

The black energy Lucid possessed, or the black smoke.

He had no idea what the source of that power was.

…Yang In-hyun.

When he had faced the Swordsman, Everlasting Plum Sword, one of the Twelve Void Lords, Lukas had thought that he was facing a Swordsman who surpassed Snow or Lucid. But now, that thought had changed.

“So you’re saying you were letting me off this entire time?”

[I knew that you were using an incomprehensible power.]

Ignoring Lukas’ words, Lucid started talking. Surprisingly, his words coincided with Lukas’ thoughts about him.

[I believe that power, which you gained after a great sacrifice, is enough to allow you to reach the level of the Twelve Void Lords.

“You talk as if you know a lot about this world.”

[I do know a lot. This happened regardless of my intentions. It is a byproduct that came with becoming the Black Knight.]

“…”

[In this world, the Knights are inviolable. From now on, I will let you understand what that means, so ‘you’*…. No, ‘you’*.] (*: The first ‘you’ is how you would address a friend, the second is kind of… you could say extremely formal and rarely used.)

The way he addressed him changed. Lukas knew what that meant.

[Should prepare yourself.]

The atmosphere changed.

Ssrng-

Lucid drew a sword from his waist. Lukas’ expression changed slightly when he saw this.

He had another sword? How had he never realised that before?

Naturally, that sword was not Deukid. However, it was clear that it was also a famed sword.

Rather than a famed sword, it would probably be better to call it a Magic Sword.

Lucid was holding two swords, one in each hand.

“…”

Dual Swordsmanship.

He didn’t understand. Dual Swordsmanship was basically incredibly inefficient and difficult to use.

It required the user to hold a sword in each hand. Muscle strength, grip strength, endurance, and balance. Of course, for a master like Lucid, those requirements were not a problem.

Instead, the most fatal drawback was the fact that using two swords limited the number of sword paths that could be used.

But Lucid probably knew this in much more detail than Lukas did.

Puk!

He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He swallowed his groan of pain, but he was unable to hide his surprise. He wasn’t surprised that Lucid threw his sword. He had two now, not one. Depending on the situation, throwing one of the swords could be considered a smart choice.

Taht.

Lucid closed the distance in the blink of an eye. His advance was also unstoppable. Just like you couldn’t push fog away with your hands… No, that metaphor wasn’t quite right. It was a feeling that couldn’t be explained so easily.

“Huu…”

Lukas slowly let out a breath.

Then, slowly, he brought his index and middle fingers to his carotid. At the same moment that his eyes glowed black.

Fwoom-

The entire area collapsed. As if a strong earthquake had occurred, the ground rose and the sky seemed to spin. Rocks, pieces of the ground, and uprooted trees swirled around like a typhoon, making it difficult to see.

Nevertheless, Lucid’s advance remained consistent. He continued to walk forward, the crumbling ground and flying debris insignificant obstacles.

[You understand the laws of this world.]

It was a compliment, but Lukas wasn’t paying attention to Lucid’s voice. Instead, he was replaying what he just said in his mind.

-In this world, the Knights are inviolable.

Inviolable.

Although the statement was arrogant, it was true. In fact, it was impossible for Lukas’ power to interfere with Lucid.

This hadn’t happened before. Lukas had been able to enter the space the Corpse Ghost was hiding in by digging into the flaws in his created world. No one there had even been aware of his presence till he revealed himself.

But that analytical ability didn’t work against Lucid. It could even be useless. That’s why he had no choice but to understand a fact at that moment.

The Knights were superior to the Twelve Void Lords. (TL: But… but…)

Paak.

He received a strong blow to his abdomen. The skin on his back almost protruded. It felt like his spine had been crushed. In this time, Lucid pulled out the sword that had been stuck in his shoulder.

[You’ve grown stronger.]

“Is that… a compliment?”

[I’m simply stating a simple fact.]

“I’m honou-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. This is because the Magic Sword, which had just been drawn, had pierced through his open mouth. The cold blade sliced his tongue and pierced his oesophagus. His mind went blank. This wasn’t because of the pain.

The blade protruded from the back of his skull.

Lucid calmly looked at Lukas for a moment before raising his sword.

Shuk.

Naturally, Lukas’ head split in two from his mouth as a result. From his neatly bisected skull, the whitish-grey brain matter was clearly visible.

But Lucid’s swordsmanship didn’t end there.

Crack crack crack!

Like lightning, a chain of sword strikes slashed Lukas’ entire body. It would be right to call it a series of heavy attacks. At that moment, Lucid was taking full advantage of the fact that he had two swords.

In an instant, Lukas’ body fell to the ground as a pile of bloody meat.

“That’s not Dreadment.”

Lucid didn’t turn to look at where the voice was coming from. Instead, he looked closely at the pile of bloody meat that he’d created and the bits of flesh that still hung on his sword.

It wasn’t a hallucination or trick. He hadn’t made a dummy either.

Without a doubt, the being that Lucid had just cut up was Lukas.

Nevertheless, Lukas was currently standing in front of him without a scratch.

[You’ve mastered the power of disappearance, one of the absolute laws of this world.]

“Personally, I prefer to call it Void. It’s a power with a lot more applications than you know.”

[Is that the source of your power?]

“Right. Do you understand now? Even if we continue to fight, neither of us will win.”

Lukas couldn’t interfere with Lucid.

Lucid couldn’t kill Lukas.

Even if they were to continue to fight like this, it would only be a waste of time since a winner could not be clearly determined.

At the very least, that’s what Lukas thought.

Chrrk, Lucid’s figure flickered as he quickly closed the distance. Black smoke billowed from his body.

Of course, Lukas wouldn’t just sit still and let him do as he pleased. This time, he tried to solidify space itself. This was because he felt like it would be a more effective obstacle than physical obstacles.

Crash!

But the result was the same.

Lucid tore through space just as easily, and the time it took for him to do that could not even be called the blink of an eye.

Crack!

Lucid’s twin swords stabbed into both of his shoulders. Unable to withstand the force of his charge, Lukas was sent flying before eventually stopping as he crashed into a huge tree.

“…indeed.”

Lukas tried to move his arms, but he couldn’t. The two swords stopped his movements like nails. They also severed his tendons and muscles, preventing any movement in the first place.

“As I expected, that power is difficult to understand.”

Paak.

He was hit in his stomach once again. This time, it was Lucid’s knee. But unlike before, his spine was not smashed. Nevertheless, most of his internal organs were crushed instead.

“Urp.”

Uwek!

Unable to stop it, he vomited blood. Lukas vomited with so much force that it seemed like he would spit out his organs. But Lucid’s assault didn’t stop. In fact, it could only be said that his ruthless violence had just begun.

Without using a sword, he destroyed Lukas’ body with his bare fists. Blood, teeth, and flesh were sent flying. Every now and then Lukas tried to do something but to no avail. From Lucid’s perspective, it must have felt weaker than the breaths of a dying old woman. (TL: Dang)

[…]

When Lucid finally stopped his violent rampage, there was a sea of blood around. There was so much flesh and blood that it was hard to believe it came from one person.

In this world, where the colours were reversed, blood didn’t lose its original gleam.

[I understand. What kind of person you have become.]

“…”

[…I was about half successful in my purpose for coming here, so I will leave now. But let me be clear. The next time we meet, you will die by my hand.]

Lucid spoke.

[Because I no longer consider you as Lukas.]

“…”

He pulled out his two swords.

He sheathed the magic sword and swung Deukid in the air. Chwak, that was enough to easily tear space apart, and Lucid walked through the crack in space without looking back.

Now alone in this world, it was so still that he could almost hear his ears ring.

Lukas had been released, but he couldn’t move. Instead, he slowly slid down the tree. His head lowered slowly and his long hair covered his face.

“…right.”

A cracked voice came out.

“That’s what I want too.”

Urk.

Lukas wanted to vomit again. He wanted to spit out everything inside him.

But he decided to hold it in.