The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)
chapter-303

It was a good idea to let go of his anger.

Lukas looked around. Of all the beings gathered in that room, he was, without a doubt, the weakest. At this point, comparing himself to them was like an insult. (TL: Sometimes I feel like Lukas forgets who he is…)

Only the strong were allowed to act in an emotional manner. The weaker someone was, the more they had to rely on reason.

If he showed off his emotions for no reason, he might end up dying in vain. Although it could be said that Peran and Snow had developed a strange liking for him, it would be better for him to not bank on that.

With that in mind, Lukas had stayed silent and listened to their discussion. That alone allowed him to obtain a lot of valuable information.

First of all, it was clear that the Circle had become divided. Despite her silence, he believed that a confrontation between Ivan and Iris was the root cause of this.

Secondly, the appearance of undead, who were causing havoc across the continent, was closely related to Diablo.

‘…Diablo.’

The Archlich of the Frozen Lands was a member of Paragon, which had been led by Cairo Wilsemann, and a true 9-star Wizard.

‘What changed?’

Although he was an undead, his goals had always been clear. Also, his hatred and resentment for the Demigods overflowed…

“…”

Lukas furrowed his eyebrows.

The Demigods were all dead. Diablo’s long awaited dream had been achieved.

Was that the reason?

He might not have been able to handle the deep emptiness that came after completing his only purpose in life, causing him to sway.

Right. In the first place, undead were beings who embraced the darkest emotions. Diablo had probably only cooperated with Paragon because they shared a common enemy.

If that was the case, then Diablo’s change was understandable.

—Finally, the third thing.

It was just his guess, but it was about the reason Snow left the Circle.

“I see, so as Snow’s subordinate, you’ve decided to die first.”

Lukas stopped pondering for a moment when he heard Ivan’s words.

He was looking directly at Lukas.

This was the first time he’d met his eyes since they reunited.

…Snow had just said that his Master was dead.

Naturally, Lukas knew who she was referring to.

Nora. The previous Successor of the Warrior King Fist, who had a petite figure that didn’t suit her age. (TL: Legal loli died T~T)

He knew just how much Ivan looked up to her. She was the one who taught him and raised him like, who was basically an orphan, like a mother.

…If Ivan lost her due to some event, it wasn’t impossible for it to break his mind.

It wasn’t just that, there should be much more.

Lukas believed that an unimaginable number of things had happened, which gradually eroded Ivan’s iron will.

“Diablo is a formidable opponent.”

Snow’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. The same was true for Peran.

He spoke as if he knew the Archlich…

But neither of them had told Lukas about Diablo.

“Do you think you can win on your own?”

Ivan, who wasn’t sure where he was going with this, just smiled violently.

“Do I look like that much of a joke? To the point where you doubt whether I can handle an Archlich? Right. Now I get how you guys see me. It’s been a while since I have been looked down on like this.”

“Don’t get me wrong. If I was looking down on you, I would have said something more insulting.”

“It doesn’t matter what intentions a bastard has when he talks. All that matters is how it makes the listener feel. And I feel dirty after hearing those words. Of course, the most important reason is because your boss already touched my bottom line.”

“…”

“Unless you’re deaf, you should have heard the way she talked about my Master. She did something like that when I was already on the brink of snapping. Don’t you think that’s enough reason to die?”

Indeed.

Coming from Ivan, it truly was a logical statement. Moreover, it could be seen that he was still exercising some patience. If it was the past Ivan, he would have just swung his fists without bothering to say so much.

Nevertheless.

“You don’t have any intention of killing me.”

“What?”

“Even if you were to try to stab my skull with two fingers right now, I would be unable to stop it or dodge it. I probably wouldn’t even be able to react before my brain was destroyed and I died. You know that. You can clearly see how weak I am, and yet, you’re just talking to me instead of killing me directly.”

“…”

At those words, not just Ivan, but the entire room became silent.

Those that had only taken Lukas for a crazy person before were now beginning to look at him in a different light.

This man was able to tell Ivan’s personality with just a glance.

A man like Ivan would never lower himself to resort to violence against the weak.

As long as he didn’t cross the line, he wouldn’t kill him.

It might appear that Lukas was being rude to Ivan at first glance, but he had never actually crossed the line.

“…”

Ivan’s eyebrow began to twitch and his expression darkened.

On the other hand, Cairo, who was standing beside him, had a displeased expression.

“You sure do talk a lot. But we don’t even know your name yet.”

“My name is…”

Lukas gaze shifted slightly to the left. Iris was sitting there, but she seemed to be an independent party to everything happening in the room. From beginning to end, her gaze had never left the map that Sheryl had spread out.

“…not important.”

“Ha.”

Cairo snorted derisively.

To speak up against the Grand Master of the Circle but be unwilling to share his name. This man was truly shameless.

With the thought that words wouldn’t really work here, he turned to Snow.

“Is your Majesty really intending to cut all ties with us? When the true discussion hasn’t even begun yet?”

Snow shrugged.

“Don’t misunderstand. As I’ve always said, this Queen’s aim is true neutrality… Well”

A sharp smile spread across her lips.

“It’s sad that there are people who can’t seem to stop doubting that and keep sending attackers.”

“…”

Cairo’s expression disappeared completely.

Ivan looked up when he heard this.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Ohhh… Are you going to pretend to not know?”

“What did you say?”

Their eyes met.

Snow, who paused for a moment after seeing the look in his eyes, suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ahahaha! Ah. I see. You’ll have to excuse me for that. I forgot you weren’t that sly. Indeed… So that’s what it was. Huhu.”

Snow chuckled.

“It seems the Circle’s condition is even worse than I thought.”

Ivan wasn’t the type to ponder things for a long time. In fact, it could even be said that he was completely clueless when it came to battles behind the scenes and wars of wits.

Nevertheless, he was by no means a fool.

He looked back. Cairo flinched when he met his gaze.

“What the hell did you do?”

“…”

“We will talk about this later… Then.”

Ivan’s gaze once again returned to Lukas.

White hair.

An extremely thin body.

A left arm with several paralysed nerves.

And a right leg that had severely deformed joints.

‘…where have I seen him before?’

Although he thought this, Ivan felt that even if he saw a man like this once, he wouldn’t easily forget him.

Despite his paltry strength, he left a very distinctive impression.

It gave him a strange feeling.

Until now, Ivan’s heart had been brimming with uncontrollable rage. This was because of the remarks Snow made. Her words dug into the biggest wound in Ivan’s heart.

And he had no intention of forgiving that.

He even had thoughts of putting an end to Snow right then and there.

But… the anger had dissipated to an extent.

He didn’t know if it was intentional, but as he talked to this man, his intense anger slowly began to cool down.

He had a somewhat eccentric expression, a calm voice, and an aura that made it seem like he knew every detail about one’s essence.

Just as he was beginning to have a familiar feeling.

“…”

His head began to hurt a bit, so he shook it before looking at Lukas again.

“I’ll answer your earlier question first. Naturally, I have no intention of initiating a fight I have no confidence of winning. So I will say it clearly and plainly. I alone am enough to kill that Archlich.”

(TL: I think Lukas’ stubbornness about not revealing himself makes this situation much more complicated than it should be. But from the start, Lukas has always been an arrogant character who doesn’t want to rely on anyone, so I suppose this is understandable.)