The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Season 2 Chapter 575

Season 2 Chapter 575

Translator: Alpha0210

“That’s a ridiculous misunderstanding. If you judge the excellence of a male by the number of matings, then I am the most outstanding among the males you know.”

The Death Worm neither seemed surprised nor interested in those words, simply motioning with his chin as if to continue.

Experiencing this kind of insult for the first time, his mind went blank.

At the same time, he felt self-deprecating.

Why am I making excuses to this kind of creature?

“…Tell me what type of female you want. I can give you advice on how to make her your mate. But first, let me ask you one thing. You’re not a virgin, are you?”

“What is a virgin?”

“It means an idiot who has never had sexual intercourse.”

“I see. Then yes, I am a virgin.”

Good grief.

“But I cannot agree with your viewpoint.”

“Why?”

“The males of our species die immediately after mating. Therefore, many preparations and careful considerations are required before mating.”

Such unfortunate circumstances. In that case, it’s much better than some fool Residue knows.

Anyway, it’s clear that the species this Death Worm belongs to has a very unique ecology and habits.

It might be a species that is not even recorded in the Void Record and exists only in the Void world. Considering even the extensive knowledge of the Lightning God, there is no species that comes to mind.

“…Anyway, I don’t mind helping you, but there are a few conditions first.”

The Death Worm nodded, seemingly thinking it was a reasonable suggestion.

“Speak.”

“First, attend the meeting.”

“…”

He frowned openly at this suggestion.

“Did you not understand my words properly? I said I couldn’t control myself if I attended the meeting.”

“Then send a representative, or move with just one worm. Even if you lose control and go berserk, you’ll be subdued quickly, so it won’t escalate into a big issue.”

“…”

“I just encountered you. Even I could come up with such solutions after some quick thinking. There must be far more practical solutions. Why don’t you be honest? Right now, you’re simply avoiding her because you don’t want to face her.”

The Death Worm’s face hardened.

Indeed, it was easier to read his emotions now compared to when facing worms.

“I’ll stop you if you are about to go berserk. How about that?”

“…If my berserk state worsens the relationship with her.”

“That won’t happen, but in the extremely unlikely event it does, I’ll grant one wish of yours. Anything.”

“…”

The Death Worm seemed to be deep in thought.

Residue expected his deliberation wouldn’t last long, and that was true.

“…Alright.”

A heavy voice was heard.

“With the cooperation of the Beginning Wizard, it might be possible to restore a deteriorated relationship.”

“Then shall I consider the contract concluded?”

“Yes.”

Ssss…

The Death Worm’s human form began to collapse, turning back into its insect form.

A cool fellow.

Since his business was concluded, he seemed to leave without hesitation.

If he was heading to the meeting right now, it wouldn’t matter to accompany him, but Residue decided against the suggestion. His two subordinates on the ground might not be able to accept the sudden presence of a companion. It was also a hassle to explain everything.

“Hey, there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“Speak.”

“Who is the female you mentioned? As far as I know, there are very few females among the Twelve Void Lords.”

He asked, recalling the entities from the Beginning Wizard’s documents.

Among the Void Lords, there might be more entities without gender or without a specific gender.

The Death Worm’s human form had almost disintegrated, but only his mouth remained. The rest of him was swarming with insects, creating a horrific scene where it looked like a human was buried in worms, with only his mouth moving, but Residue’s expression remained indifferent.

Until he heard the voice.

“You seem to be mistaken about something. The one I am targeting is not among the Twelve Void Lords.”

“What?”

What on earth is he talking about?

As Residue was taken aback, the disintegration of the Death Worm continued. Now, even his mouth had disappeared.

In the meantime, the worms formed letters again.

[─The Blue Knight of Famine, Pale.]

[She is the most perfect female fit to be my mate.]

Residue’s face hardened.

*

He had judged the ‘Apple’ could no longer be used… but that wasn’t the case.

Surprisingly, Hyke nodded as he looked at the completely shattered Apple and said,

“Fortunately, the core is intact. With this, we can repair it.”

“Repair… Is that even possible?”

“Yes.”

Hyke nodded and placed his hand on the large seed-like object he called the ‘core’. The seed was about the size of an adult man’s head, densely engraved with magical patterns. It was of a kind that Residue’s knowledge couldn’t decipher.

Woooong—

As he infused it with mana, something began to resonate, and the fragments of the Apple started to float.

Then, the restoration began automatically. Altata helped by moving the scattered fragments to more manageable positions.

Residue watched them silently, curious about the fact that they didn’t say a word about what had just happened.

Did they vaguely understand the situation? That couldn’t be. It was a battle of the Void Lord level. Even though neither had fought with full strength, it wasn’t something they could comprehend.

Residue saw the pride within them.

‘They do not recognize me as the new Beginning Wizard, yet they hold expectations.’

They resist but secretly hope that Residue possesses the charisma to win their hearts. Their behavior was highly contradictory… and thus felt human.

Residue silently laughed. Though their puzzled gazes turned his way, he didn’t stop laughing.

There was no need to earn the loyalty of Altata and Hyke. So he wanted to tell them to drop their futile expectations and simply obey orders, but their ridiculous pride amused him, so he decided to let it be for now.

Watching their quiet accumulation of dissatisfaction would also be an amusing pastime. Eventually, it would explode.

Residue wondered what form that explosion would take.

“It was the Death Worm.”

After the Apple’s restoration was complete, boarding was finished, and the flight towards the King’s Castle resumed.

Residue murmured as if in passing.

The two Seven Magicians blinked at each other. Judging by the unmistakable surprise and agitation on their faces, they seemed to know about the relationship between the Death Worm and the Magic Planet.

“…Why did he?”

“He said he came to see the new Beginning Wizard’s face.”

“And?”

“He congratulated me. Also said to look forward to working together.”

A casual lie,

Naturally, distrust appeared on their faces.

“We exchanged greetings and I sent him off. He’s a very communicative friend.”

“……”

A lie. Their expressions now clearly showed they were thinking exactly that.

Indeed, the aftermath of the clash with the Death Worm must have been observable even from the ground.

But Residue decided to stop explaining further.

They had just reached their destination.

“Is that it? The King’s Castle.”

The place where the Void King, once the god of this world, resided,

And the powerful presences felt from within.

“……”

His heartbeat quickened a little.

Residue smiled faintly as he thought.

This is where the real beginning starts.

─These were the events that occurred before the meeting began.

*

And now,

Inside the meeting room prepared within the King’s Castle.

Residue, having taken his seat, looked around once again.

The twelve seats were all filled, but not everyone present was a Void Lord.

Some had sent representatives, others had only sent their spiritual bodies without showing up in person…

Still, this could be considered a full attendance in a formal sense.

Residue suddenly felt the gazes directed at him and the emotions contained within them.

‘Hmm…’

Not favorable. Most of them, at that.

How strange.

“‘Let us begin the meeting’… he says.”

The being who opened his mouth in response was a familiar face.

The head of Mount Hua,

Yang In-hyun, the Everlasting Plum Sword.

His characteristic contemplative gaze was directed at Residue.

“You are quite bold. Considering you are the last to arrive.”

It was said that Yang In-hyun had a good relationship with the Beginning Wizard.

His voice was oddly sharp.

Residue hid his suspicion and said,

“There was an incident.”

“What kind of incident?”

“I’m not obligated to explain. It’s a personal matter unrelated to the issues to be discussed from now on.”

Responding thus, he turned his gaze to a man with a grim appearance.

The Death Worm had arrived here before him and was quietly occupying a seat at the meeting.

Since he didn’t exude immense power, it seemed he had taken Residue’s advice.

[Do you… think that can be.… an excuse…?]

A voice, unpleasant and dragging, was heard.

This speaker was also known to him.

The master of the Occultic Hand,

Exile of the entire universe.

Like Yang In-hyun, he was one of the Void Lords who had some acquaintance with ‘Lukas.’

And among the Void Lords, he was one of the few whose true identity Residue clearly knew.

“Then make it clear.”

[What…?]

“Do you want to hear my lame excuse, or a proper apology? I’ll settle it with whichever you prefer.”

[…….]

Residue knew that being late was his fault. He was aware that this attitude was inappropriate. But there was no time to explain everything now.

…Everyone here should know that the situation was dire.

As beings at the Void Lord level, some of them might even consider the situation more serious than he did.

That’s what he thought.

‘What are you thinking, you fools?’

There were numerous issues to address, and they wanted to argue over lateness? Were the Void Lords really a group of idiots?

Residue didn’t hide his irritation as he glared at Yang In-hyun and the Exile. They remained silent and didn’t speak further.

Maybe they weren’t complete fools after all? That would be nice.

“First, let’s verify the participants. It seems quite a few haven’t attended in person. Do the representatives have a way to identify themselves?”

“……”

The reaction was worth seeing as he spoke as if he were a superior. It felt as if silence and discontent had been materialized and were pricking his skin.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Residue still hadn’t figured out the appropriate demeanor to adopt with these people. So at least he had to maintain an air of confidence.

He suddenly wondered how Mark Trowman managed to coordinate and lead these individuals.

[Diablo Kairak.]

Diablo, Elder Lich.

He spoke.

[Participating as the representative of the Corpse Ghost and the master of the Black Knight.]

Unlike the horrific voice that sounded like the damned souls of Hell screaming, the tone was exceedingly polite. Several of the Void Lords glanced at him briefly.

It was likely that the identity they were interested in was the latter rather than the former.

Residue nodded as well.

“I’ll acknowledge it.”

Diablo didn’t need to prove himself.

Because he was accompanied by the Black Knight.

“But where is the Black Knight?”

[He said he had business at the King’s Throne.]

…The Throne?

Did he mean the physical throne that the Void King once sat upon, or something more abstract…?

…The Beginning Wizard might know exactly.

So, without delving further, he shifted his gaze elsewhere.

“I am [Optic Nerve].”

The strange introduction came from a man who, despite his odd self-identification, looked rather normal. Except for the eyepatch he wore.

When the Beginning Wizard looked at him with an indifferent expression, Optic Nerve, perhaps feeling the gaze despite the mask, flinched and quickly added,

“I’m not joking. Please call me that.”

“And you are?”

“I am the representative of [Golden Eye]. He cannot leave the [Golden Room], so I came in his place.”

“……”

The Beginning Wizard’s documents had noted that Golden Eye had no allies.

Well. Had it been noted as a presumption?

“Your proof.”

“What?”

“The proof that you are Golden Eye’s representative.”

“Oh, yes.”

Optic Nerve nodded and removed one of his eyepatches. A brilliantly glowing golden eye was revealed.

‘Indeed….’

A supreme power that didn’t match his feeble physique.

Golden Eye must have lent part of his power to his representative.

Residue nodded.

“I’ll acknowledge it. Then next is…”

“Hello, Void Lords. I am [Tamer].”

Residue turned his gaze. If his assumption was correct, this would be the last representative.

The owner of the voice wore a mask like Residue, but it didn’t cover the entire face as his did.

It covered the area around the eyes, forehead, and partially the cheeks.

The exposed lower face and the voice indicated that Tamer was a woman.

But Residue was more concerned with something else.

This voice,

He had heard it somewhere before.