Chapter 270
“I hate Grandpa!”
The red-haired girl puffed her cheeks with an indignant voice.
With her adorable little arms crossed, she quickly turned her head away.
This little troublemaker always threw tantrums, but today she seemed particularly upset.
Her mother, noticing the girl’s puffy cheeks, sat down next to her to make eye contact.
“Why is our Paula so grumpy again? Why do you hate Grandpa?”
“Grandpa always says he’s busy and doesn’t come to see me!”
“Paula, Grandpa really has a lot on his plate. He has to teach other important people and study hard, too.”
“I’m studying too! I’m busy as well!”
Paula had just dipped her toes into magic.
Perhaps because she was a descendant of a great magician, she was quite rebellious, but when it came to magic spells, she showed an astonishing level of concentration.
On one side of the desk lay a thick book.
It was a book that Gulemashia had prepared for his only granddaughter, outlining the basics of magic in an easy-to-understand way.
Paula had read it over and over again.
And she understood and learned it as her own.
Her mother glanced at the book and smiled nostalgically.
“Grandpa should see Paula’s magic. Is that why you’re feeling down?”
“I don’t know. I hate Grandpa.”
“That’s tough… Grandpa loves you so much.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Oh dear, that’s not a lie. Just think about how he’s splitting his already busy schedule to come today.”
“…Liar.”
“He’s not lying. Besides, your dad right now…”
Knock knock—
“Look, he must be here! Yes, I’m coming out now!”
“……”
A remote mountain house far from the Troa Empire.
The cozy home prepared by Paula’s mother, who had fallen in love with a woodcutter.
Even though she inherited the blood of Gulemashia, she was born frail and unable to blossom her talent, but she found happiness in this space.
The symbol of that happiness was her daughter. Paula straightened up her pouting head and peeked at the door.
Though she wasn’t completely over her anger, the anticipation that Grandpa might really be here made one corner of her mouth slightly rise.
“You came quickly! I thought you would take longer…”
Screech—
“I found you, the hidden child of Gulemashia.”
Young Paula couldn’t quite remember the events that followed.
But the one thing that lingered in her mind was the moment she heard those words, and the space in their home distorted as Grandpa appeared.
In that fleeting moment outside the door, she caught a glimpse of the face of a retired hero who was secretly protecting Paula’s family and her father’s face, both rolling around like balls nearby.
Roll roll.
Rumble rumble…
“Grandpa… Mom is dead.”
“……”
“Dad is dead… Uncle is dead…”
Paula’s family, who had to deal with the loss…
Gulemashia stood before the monument, where they had turned to stone.
Holding the hand of his only granddaughter.
He mourned for them.
Paula dropped tears that resembled chicken droppings and said,
“…I want to die with them.”
“…I’m sorry, Paula.”
Gulemashia apologized to the young girl.
The sorrow of losing his only daughter and her family was indescribably heavy.
The emotions this little child must be experiencing would likely not be less than that.
Thus, the great magician knelt down.
With eyes that were once filled with tears, he poured out his sorrow while looking at Paula.
“I’m really… sorry.”
* * *
『What an extraordinary skill. Gulemashia.』
The church was completely destroyed.
Before him stood Cardinal Gamigin, who had completed the Liberation.
He lifted Gulemashia by his collar, like a wet rag.
Gulemashia’s full body was already dyed in a shade of purple like Altife’s mana.
The deadly poison spread throughout his body and his power was steadily gnawing at Gulemashia’s flesh and soul.
『It’s been a while since I’ve had a different perspective on your kind. Yes, you are weak but not powerless. Like a weed that grows back no matter how much it’s trampled.』
Drip. Drip.
Gulemashia’s beard hung down like strands of corn.
At the ends, wet red blood dripped to the floor, pooling beneath him.
The wise man’s eyes, once as deep as a well, had lost their color.
It felt as if all the cool water within had dried up.
“……”
Gulemashia barely moved his shriveled eyes to look at Gamigin.
In those aging eyes reflected Gamigin.
Having completed the Liberation, he exuded an even more ominous aura, yet he bore deep wounds all over.
Though blood did not flow, the damage that could not be healed was glaringly evident.
This was an achievement of Gulemashia that boldly damaged Gamigin’s skin, despite the risk of oblivion.
『I didn’t expect to be brought down like this even after completing the Liberation. It was enjoyable to engage in a real fight for the first time in ages.』
Gamigin twisted the corners of his mouth upwards.
He was genuinely delighted.
The fact that he fought against a powerful opponent like Gulemashia, from the beginning to now, every moment made him feel truly alive.
It quenched his long-thirsted instincts.
『However, living beings ultimately grow old and forget. Your current state is a perfect example. All past grandeur has vanished, leaving only bare bones.』
Even though the one accelerating that oblivion was Gamigin himself, he lamented the cruelty of time.
As if regretting he couldn’t have faced Gulemashia for longer.
He looked at the great magician, who was spitting blood and torn like rags.
Gulemashia was magnificent.
Though the magical achievements he once displayed dwindled with time, he did not cower and maximized the use of magic suited for the circumstances.
Every one of them was threatening.
If one wasn’t careful, the vessel that had undergone Liberation could be destroyed…. Gulemashia displayed a level of power and versatility that even he, who had lived for thousands of years, found surprising.
『Kahaha. Do you still intend to struggle?』
Gulemashia, trying to move his fingertips somehow.
With his movements, the mana that had not yet descended from transcendence ignited into a ball of fire.
This was neither a Unique Spell nor a concept of Transcendence or Comprehension.
Just ordinary High Rank elemental magic.
『An old and sick dog barking is simply ridiculous.』
With a whoosh—
As Gamigin said, the fireball that Gulemashia collided with burst like a droplet of water.
Then, Gamigin threw Gulemashia away.
Gulemashia flew at high speed, colliding with the paved blocks repeatedly.
After smashing through several building walls, he finally came to a stop against the thick main building of Academia.
“…Cough!”
He was spitting out blood as if his intestines were about to burst.
Crimson blood soaked his clothes again, and his mind was dangerously close to losing consciousness.
『Looks like you can’t even handle your aura anymore.』
Gamigin, who had come close in the blink of an eye, commented on Gulemashia’s current state.
Basic elemental magic, considered the foundation of magic, was high rank.
Telekinesis, which used all kinds of objects and environments as weapons, was high rank as well.
The divine magic that had once shone brilliantly was middle rank.
Almost everything else was ‘lower rank’.
This was far too shabby for the accomplishments of someone called a legend.
『At least your total mana hasn’t fallen short of transcendence and you’re still holding on. But that won’t last long.』
The vast mana that seemed endless would soon revert to the rank of comprehension.
When that happens, Gulemashia’s body won’t be able to withstand the accumulated damage.
He would meet his end.
“…”
Gulemashia saw the grim reaper approaching him.
Strangely, he looked horrifying, as if he carried disaster within.
The reaper extended his hand. Death was approaching.
Gulemashia moved his mana to resist. But something felt off.
It was as if the weapon he had used his whole life had changed.
He tried to manifest a spell but felt a sense of alienation. It was hard to describe, but he hazily sensed it.
『Finally, your total mana…. It took a long time.』
The black reaper laughed.
He had to defeat the author.
Only then… Only then…
…Only then?
…Why?
Why do I have to fight?
“…Cough cough!”
His whole body screamed in pain.
His body, depleted of almost all magic and stamina, was dying.
Was it really necessary to fight to this extent…?
If he was going to die anyway, wouldn’t it be better to die a little more comfortably?
Why was he trying to move his body so desperately?
Why were his hands like this? Why did he look like an old man?
Polymorph? Hallucination? Did that reaper cast some curse on him?
Where was this place, and who was this reaper?
Why was he here?
What the hell was he fighting for?
—Grandpa…. Mom is dead.
—Dad is dead…. Uncle is dead….
Gulemashia was quickly losing memories under Gamigin’s power.
Amidst the loss of personality and confusion, he heard Paula’s voice from the fragments of memory still left.
—…I want to die together too.
On a rainy day, the three monuments stood sorrowfully.
A small hand was clasped together.
A little girl was shedding tears like chicken droppings.
Paula…. Our lovely granddaughter.
『Kuh, khwaaaac!』
At that moment, Gamigin suddenly vomited black poison from his mouth.
A stream of poison flowed out continuously from his gaping mouth like smoke from a chimney.
The poison that made up all of Gamigin’s being. His body, which had been balanced around his heart, began to disperse into the air.
『W-What has this old dog done… Khwaaac!』
It seemed unusual; Gamigin rarely looked so desperate.
His crimson eyes were even more bloodshot, appearing to glow with heat.
His legs faltered on the ground.
Gamigin was experiencing the worst moment of agony he had ever faced, and he saw blue mana.
The mana that had been transparent until now was Gulemashia’s.
Gamigin finally grasped the situation.
『So, Gulemashia…! I see now that you aren’t an old dog but a hundred-year-old serpent!』
“It’s not just any old snake, but a century-old cursed one…!”
The faint remnants of mana lingering in the air.
A complicated, metaphysical, and extremely secretive nature of magic.
While it was too crude to be called a spell, it was a technique only possible in the scenario where Gulemashia’s situation was gradually deteriorating with time.
The backflow of mana.
Using the difference created by the rapid decrease in the density of Gulemashia’s mana, which had once reached four times its maximum capacity.
While Gulemashia fought directly against Gamigin.
Even in the moment he was hanging by the collar, he was secretly waiting for the instant when his mana total’s rank dropped by stealthily pushing in the maximum concentration of magic power.
And.
What made that possible was the transcendent amount of mana.
Others sang praises of that overwhelming mass.
Yet, what those who had transcended valued most was something entirely different.
Subtlety.
Due to the enormous mana, the pressure created by the transcendent mana was all the more manageable under that stage’s name.
He could suppress the movements of those nearby with increased intensity.
And at times, he could completely hide his presence, making it impossible to detect.
Of course, to handle this properly required training and higher achievements.
But there was no way Gulemashia lacked such conditions.
“Kuhaaaak—!!”
Gamigin spewing endless black poison.
Even just moments ago, Gulemashia’s mana, which had been barely maintaining balance within him, suddenly lost its original mass and became unstable. No matter how well-trained the body was, even if it was that of a monster, it could only withstand so much.
“Do you think I’m going to die from such a petty scheme…?!”
Even as he swayed like smoke before the wind, Gamigin tried to separate Gulemashia’s mana from within.
His non-human body astonishingly made possible what should have been impossible.
It wasn’t fast, but the separation was slowly progressing.
“Kuhaaaak!”
Of course, the pain and damage were so severe that dying would seem preferable. Yet, Gamigin continued his task.
So Gulemashia moved his mana.
To exert the last power he could muster.
To seize this opportunity.
“This… old snake bastard…!!”
Struggling to rise, Gulemashia grasped at Gamigin’s heart.
With all his effort, he tried to crush it using telekinesis, yet that solid heart wouldn’t budge at all.
Gamigin grasped Gulemashia’s arm with both hands, trying to throw him off.
Due to the abominable poison and power emanating from Gamigin, blood streamed from Gulemashia’s eyes, nose, mouth, ears…
Every possible exit was leaking blood.
Veins burst, muscles twisted.
“Graaah—!!”
Yet, Gulemashia did not release his grip on the heart.
From high rank to middle rank.
From middle rank to lower rank.
The level of understanding dropped rapidly, yet he tried to break it with all the power he could muster.
Thus ensued a final tug-of-war for a while.
Eventually, Gulemashia’s hands were severed.
His telekinetic power fading away.
The victory tilting away from him.
Like a dying ember, Gulemashia breathed life into his waning magic and spoke.
Despite the wheezing of age, the coercive force of the long-held magic was tremendous.
“Grip it tightly.”
Thud—!
Severed fingers dug deep at his command.
Like ten worms gnawing at a heart.
Gamigin’s poisoned fingers plunged into it.
“Kuhaaaak—!!”
Then, Gamigin spat out even more poison than before.
Gradually becoming clearer.
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