The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)
chapter-460

He needed to pour out everything he had.

It could be said that Lukas was, without a doubt, in his best condition at that moment, and could display more strength than he originally had. This was because this was none other than his imaginary world. In this place, it was possible for him to turn his imagination into reality.

But his opponent was the Lightning God. Even though his presence was extremely limited in this place, his strength would still be enough to compete with him, who had absorbed countless ‘Lukases’.

Lukas created dozens of spaces. Then, he applied a tremendous amount of gravity to each of these spaces and sent them towards the Lightning God. The words of the disappeared ‘Lukases’ had been right. Even when instantly carrying out this kind of calculation, there wasn’t much of a burden. This meant that he no longer needed the help of their computational ability.

The Lightning God frowned at the small black holes rushing towards him. Gravity was one of the most troublesome forces for him to deal with. This was because he had been through many battles at this point.

Nevertheless, he made no attempt to dodge.

Crackle-

The Lightning God covered both of his hands with electric currents before grabbing a black hole with his bare hands. Then he tore the black hole apart as if it was a ball of cloth.

“Not even a mass of gravity can withstand my ‘Thunder’.”

“…”

That madman had just ripped a black hole apart with nothing but his physical strength. Of course, its principles and strength were different from an actual black hole, but it was a shocking feat nonetheless.

Lukas stretched his hand towards the sky. In this place, the most important thing was his imagination. He would need to use his imagination to crush this overwhelming being into dust.

Rumble…

In an instant, the sky brightened. This wasn’t because of the lightning wriggling in the dark clouds lingering in the sky.

The Lightning God asked with a provoking tone.

“Are you dropping a meteor? That’s too common.”

“That’s true. That’s why I prepared a lot.”

The dark clouds were swept away as around ten meteors appeared. They all had shocking sizes. Each one was comparable to an asteroid*. (*: For reference, meteors are usually fragments of asteroids or comets.)

“In any case, a spell of this scale would be impossible to use in real life. If anything goes wrong, it could have a nigh permanent negative impact on the entire planet.”

His head was pounding. Apparently, this level of calculation was still a considerable burden for Lukas.

“…kuhahaha!”

With a loud laugh, the Lightning God stretched his hand towards the sky.

Crack! A blue torrent of lightning shot out of his hand into the sky. When the torrent reached about halfway to the meteors, they separated into thousands of different branches, quickly taking the shape of enormous nets.

Then, they wrapped around the meteors.

Rumble, the meteors, which had been falling at a slow but steady pace, stopped moving.

The Lightning God wagged his finger at the sky.

“The black hole was a bit better.”

Crash! The lightning nets destroyed the meteors they wrapped around. The meteors were crushed into dozens of pieces the size of boulders which poured from the sky. Of course, stones that size couldn’t even scratch the Lightning God’s body.

“That would have been the case. If my desire was to show off.”

“What?”

“Do those look like normal meteors?”

The falling stones trembled. The Lightning God sensed the energy in the trembling stones.

“No way, Lukas, you…”

“Those meteors were all made of spells. There were hundreds of millions of spells in each meteor.”

Hundreds of millions. It was a joking unit, but it was by no means a joke.

In the first place, it was a situation that he never would have expected, more than that, he never would have expected the man in front of him to cast such a number of spells at the same time.

The falling fragments froze at the same time. Then, all of the falling fragments transformed into spells. Right. There had to be a reason why it was so burdensome for him to summon only around ten meteors.

He had realised that Lukas was up to something, but he never would have expected a method like this.

Looking up at the sky, the Lightning God shook his head.

“There is still something I don’t understand.”

“What is it?”

“Why bother starting with the meteors in the first place? If it were you, you would be able to create this number of spells from the beginning.”

“Presentation.”

“Presentation?”

“By using magic in this way, I would be able to shake you up a little bit.”

“…”

“In this regard alone, I’d say my presentation was a success.”

“…ku, kuhaha.”

After a while, the Lightning God burst out laughing and said.

“You, you know exactly how to fight a Ruler.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“It is a great compliment. Let it seep deep into your heart, Madman.”

Smiling at that, Lukas waved his hands.

Then, the greatest spell bombardment in history began.

* * *

Each meteor had hundreds of millions.

Ten or so meteors meant billions.

Was that possible? To deal with such a number of spells at the same time.

-Of course, it was possible.

Lukas looked directly at the Lightning God through the billions of spells. He was erasing all of the incoming spells by emitting lightning in every direction. Every second, dozens of spells were wiped out. That was a pointless act. After all, as mentioned before, the spells numbered in the billions.

The Lightning God was probably aiming for something else.

[Are you aware of the phrase ‘Nothing in the world is certain’?]

That guy suddenly let out a voice. A voice capable of reaching Lukas through the violent roars of the spells.

[The things that make up the universe change constantly. There is no unchanging self, no everlasting nature… those are just the banal arguments of philosophers.]

“…”

[You really match that phrase, Lukas Trowman.]

The Lightning God had been paying attention to Lukas’ changes from the very beginning. He’d always been interested in the versatile nature of Lukas’ existence.

[Those who advocate nihilism understand the fickleness of life. They accept that you can lose anything you have obtained at any time without being able to do anything about it. They are certain of the fickleness of all things.]

“…”

[Interestingly, the more enlightened they become, the more they hold on to the nostalgia of the absolute. They begin to fantasise about something that will not change even after hundreds of millions of years, something that is eternal. Kuku… don’t you think that is amazingly similar to Absolutes?]

Piht!

A wound appeared on the Lightning God’s body. The spells were beginning to pierce through the lightning that he was emitting, and scratch his body.

Wounds began to appear all over the Lightning God’s body. There were no decisive blows, but there were fewer and fewer wounds that could be considered minor.

But Lukas was paying too much attention to the Lightning God’s words to be pleased by this fact.

[Unchanging beings exist. There is such a being right in front of you. I am one who can stand independently of cause and effect.]

“…”

[So it can be said that this is a battle between an agent of change and an unchanging being.]

Crack, the Lightning God’s right hand twisted and fell off. It was undoubtedly the most effective wound that he had inflicted so far.

[I will not attack before this magic has ended. Instead, I will recover my power. I will tell you in advance. There is nothing that piercing thunder cannot penetrate.]

“…”

[If I’m still standing after all of these spells have ended… It will be your defeat, Lukas Trowman.]

* * *

Yang In-hyun looked at Lukas. Except for the lack of life in his eyes, and the occasional shaking of his body, it looked like he was just standing still.

But at that moment, a war on a scale that he couldn’t even imagine was happening inside this man.

Flinch-

Lukas’ shoulders shook. It wasn’t a weak movement like before… It seemed that something big was happening inside.

Ssrng.

He drew his sword. He couldn’t use the Plum Blossom Sword Method.

After preparing to use the Everlasting Plum Sword, he looked at Lukas. In truth, it hadn’t been that long. It felt like it had only been ten minutes or so.

The struggle, which could be called short or long, was about to end-

Crackle-

When Lukas opened his eyes, an electric current swept across his pupils. Yang In-hyun didn’t hesitate.

Everlasting Plum Sword, Second Move, Flower Cultivation.

—Just before he could use it.

Paht!

Someone caught Yang In-hyun’s half drawn sword. No. It couldn’t be ‘someone’.

There were only three people in this place, and Lee Jong-hak, who was fainted in the corner, wouldn’t have been able to stop this move even if he was awake.

So Yang In-hyun looked at the only person it could be, Lukas.

“How did you manage to do that?’

“…”

Lukas stared blankly at his hand that was holding the blade. The look on his face seemed to say that he hadn’t yet come to his senses… How much time had this man spent inside?

Holding back that question, Yang In-hyun asked again.

“Did you win? Against the Lightning God?”

“…for now.”

Lukas took a while to answer.

“Then, the Lightning God’s power…”

“You don’t have to worry about me. In any case, the Lightning God will no longer pose a threat to Flower Mountain.”

“…”

“How much time has passed?”

“About 10 minutes.”

A surprisingly long time had passed.

This was also a testament to how long the battle between Lukas and the Lightning God had lasted.

Pressing down on his throbbing head, Lukas said.

“Lee Jong-hak… appears unharmed.”

Although he was unconscious, his life didn’t seem to be in danger.

“The wounds on his back didn’t heal fully. He will need to be treated. I can leave that to my disciples.”

“Thanks. Then can we leave Lee Jong-hak to them and leave right away?”

“I don’t care, but what about you? There will probably be side effects.”

“…it’s not perfect, but we need to hurry because I don’t know where my companion will suddenly pop up.”

“Understood.”

Yang In-hyun picked Lee Jong-hak up.

“I’ll be right back.”

Lukas stood there until Yang In-hyun left before seemingly speaking to himself.

“…shut up… a bit.”

* * *

Yang In-hyun returned quickly, and Lukas moved with him to the desert. Yang In-hyun seemed a bit surprised by this power that he was seeing for the first time*, but he didn’t hesitate to step into the gap in space. That calm step showed his confidence in his ability to deal with any situation. (*: Pretty sure this is the second time he’s seen it… but oh well)

“Spatial movement*… So there is someone else in the World of Void other than that man that can use this power.”(*: It was practically unanimous)

“That man?”

“The Exile.”

“…”

“At first, I mistook you for that man.”

The Exile. The exile of the entire multiverse.

Lukas had heard the name before.

Without a doubt, he was one of the Twelve Void Lords.

‘Now that I think about it, it was said that Yang In-hyun had been injured by The Exile before his battle with the Lightning God.’

He wanted to ask him about that, but it hadn’t yet happened in this life. He considered questioning him further on their relationship but decided not to because of the strange reverberation when Yang In-hyun said the words ‘The Exile’.

He figured that Yang In-hyun probably had a bad relationship with The Exile.

After stepping out of the spatial movement, Lukas looked around. And he easily found what he was looking for.

In the middle of the desert, he saw Pale laying happily on the sand.

As Lukas walked over to her, Yang In-hyun hesitated for a moment before following with a mutter.

“…so it was real.”

As he expected, Yang In-hyun had recognised Pale at a glance. It was something that he’d already experienced in a previous life, so he wasn’t surprised by it.

Although he’d mentioned the Blue Knight when talking about the Magic Planet, with Yang In-hyun’s personality, it would be impossible for him to blindly trust him. He could feel the boundary between them become a bit less clear. Although he didn’t think he trusted him completely-

Lukas, of course, didn’t expect him to treat him completely like a comrade. He didn’t have to.

A relationship where they helped each other to the specified extent depending on the need. That was all he wanted.

“I don’t know what her goal is as the Blue Knight.”

“Mm?”

“…you could say that we’re still testing each other. It is complicated to explain.”

“I see.”

Yang In-hyun roughly nodded his head. It seemed that this man rarely asked questions or talked back. In fact, his first impression of Yang In-hyun had been so unfamiliar to Lukas that it had revived the fear he’d forgotten.

‘This is probably closer to his essence.’

As he had this thought, he walked over to Pale. Tilting her head, Pale looked at him, before looking towards Yang In-hyun at the back.

“I was wondering who you were going to bring.”

Then she let out a laugh.

“Who are you, uncle?”

“…well.”

At that moment, he really didn’t know.

“Huh?”

At that moment, Pale jumped up from the ground and stuck her face so close to Lukas that their faces were almost touching.

“…”

At a distance where they could feel each other’s breaths, Pale looked at Lukas with her calm blue eyes.

This was probably one of the tensest moments of his life.

“…mmm?”

Pale tilted her head to the side and scratched it.

“What is it?”

“No. I must have been mistaken.”

After speaking in her usual carefree tone, she turned around.

And Lukas…

He held back the desire to let out a sigh of relief.

[Kuhaha… are you trying to hide it? That’s fun too.]

‘Please shut up.’

He shot at the voice resounding in his head.

He had to hide it. Of course he had to hide it.

He couldn’t say it anyway.

If he were to say that he tied in a fight against the Lightning God and his consciousness was now in a corner of his mind.

Even if Yang In-hyun would forgive him, Pale wouldn’t. That woman would draw her sword without hesitation. And she would cut off Lukas’ head without hesitation. (TL: Lukas has ptsd now)

[Why are you so scared? As you are now, you’d be able to fight the Blue Knight.]

…There was no need to take the chance. Because Lukas’ main enemy wasn’t the Four Knights or the Twelve Void Lords. (TL: Definitely ptsd)

“Now. Since we’re all gathered, let’s go to the Magic Planet!”

With a bright smile, Pale began to walk, and Yang In-hyun followed.

Looking at their backs, Lukas couldn’t help but think.

Pale, one of the Four Knights, at the head, followed by Yang In-hyun, one of the Twelve Void Lords, and finally, Lukas, who had the Thunderous Lightning God in his body.

With such a member composition, it wouldn’t be hard to understand even if their goal was to destroy the universe. Although it was only a temporary group, it was an unprecedented event in history for such beings so capable of creating a ripple effect throughout the entire multiverse to gather in one place.

“…”

All of a sudden, Lukas realised that all of them had something in common, a record of killing him.

‘…I really have lost my mind.’

With a strange expression, Lukas also began to walk forward.