Episode 749

Antagondals certainly had a personality befitting a magical criminal.

Even when faced with the pitiful fate of a boy soon to die, he couldn’t stop himself from laughing in genuine amusement.

“…I just might pull it off, you know?”

“Sure. And I’ll soon become an immortal being myself.”

“…Pardon?”

“Oh dear. I thought this was the part where we both talk about impossibilities! Or was I mistaken?”

“……”

Seeing Antagondals’ mocking look, Lee Han made a firm resolve in his heart.

He would absolutely complete this before the day was out!

• * *

Antagondals stepped outside the workshop in a much better mood than before.

Few things delighted this magical criminal more than seeing young, wet-behind-the-ears magicians destroyed by overreaching ambition.

“Perish, young magicians. Hahaha. Perish!”

“Be quiet.”

“…Forgive me, master.”

Antagondals was a bit surprised to find the crazy doppelgänger still waiting so close to the workshop.

Given the doppelgänger’s personality, he’d expected him to lose interest and wander elsewhere by now.

“Do you need anything else?”

“……”

“Master?”

When there was no reply, Antagondals cautiously raised his head.

The crazy doppelgänger said nothing, just stared far into the distance.

At that, Antagondals realized his opponent’s mania was acting up again.

He would have liked to probe him about magic, but the lingering ache from the last session of the dark blade made him decide to just keep his head down this time.

“Is this right?”

“……”

Antagondals did not invite a beating like Lee Han by saying, “What do you mean?”

He simply waited in silence.

Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t get struck.

Thwack!

Even while in a strange mental state, the crazy doppelgänger sent Antagondals flying. As he healed his shattered bones, Antagondals replied:

“It is, master.”

“What is?”

“Everything!”

The crazy doppelgänger sent Antagondals flying once again.

With a much stronger blow than before, Antagondals began to seriously consider fleeing.

If the crazy doppelgänger was truly going into a deep mania and meant to kill him today, this could be his last chance.

“Don’t flatter me when you don’t even know what royalty is thinking, trash.”

“……”

“I’m not sure if raising a disciple this way is right. Trash, what do you think?”

“Of course, it’s right!”

Antagondals honestly didn’t care what the crazy doppelgänger was thinking.

He just focused on the situation and flattered as needed.

In fact, Antagondals’ own philosophy wasn’t much different from the crazy doppelgänger’s.

For a mage to raise a disciple was, after all, to nurture a lion that could bite the neck of the master.

The master would teach while keeping the disciple in check, and the disciple would steal the master’s secrets while looking for a gap to strike—this was the true inheritance of magic.

“But is it really right?”

“…?”

Antagondals had no idea what the crazy doppelgänger was agonizing over.

Why keep asking the same question?

‘Is it the limit of a dense-mana thought entity? Maybe he’s about to dissipate…’

The world naturally rejects anything that isn’t itself.

Like most beings of other dimensions, the mana-thought entity before him was the same.

Though ancient magic allowed for bypassing the world’s rejection and extending its stay, signs such as more frequent babbling meant the end might be near…

“What about the disciple inside?”

“!”

As the crazy doppelgänger’s voice turned even colder, Antagondals realized he’d returned to normal—well, to his usual insane self.

“He is training, master.”

“I can hear the contempt in your maggot-like voice.”

At the crazy doppelgänger’s words, Antagondals felt a chill, as if a blade were at his throat.

Facing this being made him feel like a helpless child again.

A frigid tension—just a slight shift in mood could mean decapitation.

Antagondals admitted frankly:

“I’m sorry, master. I don’t think he’ll succeed.”

“He won’t succeed?”

Normally, he would have unconditionally agreed with the crazy doppelgänger, but this time was different.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no way a mere second-year Einrogard student could fully master the 5th-circle telekinesis domain.

Antagondals was far more knowledgeable about Einrogard’s level than the doppelgänger.

He knew not only the general level of the students but even the acclaimed “genius” alumni professors couldn’t reach that at such an age.

Not to mention, if he were given more time maybe—but to pressure someone to learn it in a single day?

Under such pressure, even a genius would struggle to perform.

‘If I go along and the kid fails, he’ll take it out on me even worse.’

With cold realism, Antagondals responded.

“Yes.”

“If he fails, then you kill him, trash.”

‘?’

At the crazy doppelgänger’s diabolical smile, Antagondals hesitated, a chill crawling up his spine.

‘What is this, what’s going on?’

Why make Antagondals kill the student with his own hands?

Was he trying to pin the enmity of Einrogard on him?

But either way, this land wouldn’t allow true death. The imperial court wasn’t so leisurely as to brand you an enemy for a fake death.

Thwack!

While Antagondals puzzled over it, the crazy doppelgänger smashed his body once more.

The old magical criminal groaned as he replied.

“Understood. If he fails, I’ll kill him.”

Antagondals didn’t mind killing a young magician. In fact, he preferred it.

It wasn’t hard to kill a second-year student.

“If he succeeds, I’ll kill you instead.”

‘Of course.’

Antagondals shuddered at the crazy doppelgänger’s vicious temperament.

He must have gotten angry at his negativity. At this point, even if the boy failed, he might kill Antagondals anyway.

“Forgive me, master. How can I put my petty life above your judgment…? Since you’ve said so, I’m as good as dead.”

Antagondals grovelled, pretending to sob.

The crazy doppelgänger replied with disgust.

“If you let out one more sickening drop of liquid from your eyes, I’ll kill you. As a reward for your pitiful labor, I’ll let you cross over with both arms intact.”

“Yes, yes!”

Assured by this reply, Antagondals felt a little relieved.

That showed some of his anger had cooled. Even if the second-year failed, it seemed Antagondals wouldn’t also become a target of wrath.

“Begone.”

“Yes! Thank you, master.”

The crazy doppelgänger gazed off into a distant cliff.

He wasn’t just staring at nothing, but watching the flow of countless lives moving beyond sixteen mountain peaks.

Those lives were trying to break through his grand magic.

And over them, like a curtain, lay the silent gaze of the lord.

If the crazy doppelgänger stepped outside the magic-guarded range of the mountains and touched that swarm of ants, there would be no more compromises—a war would begin.

He called them dregs, but he did not look down on them. In the end, they’d sprung from the same root as himself.

He had no need to provoke them without cause. As long as his goals were met, there was no reason to mix with the dregs.

But…

Why did that “dreg” value the ant swarm so much?

“…I don’t get it.”

• * *

“It’s time, master.”

The crazy doppelgänger nodded as if granting permission.

When Antagondals swung his staff, the door to the workshop-cave opened.

“Come out. It’s execution time.”

“……”

The boy walked out silently, angry at the mockery.

It was a natural reaction for someone so young.

“Have you accomplished your magic?”

Again, there was no reply. Antagondals hadn’t expected one anyway and looked over at the crazy doppelgänger.

“May I begin, master?”

“Do your absolute best to attack.”

The crazy doppelgänger looked at Lee Han, not Antagondals, and said firmly.

“As if you’re ready to kill.”

Being no longer a student, Antagondals would not be resurrected by the domain’s power if he died, but he didn’t care.

Spinning his staff, Antagondals spoke:

“Whenever you’re ready…”

Bang!

Antagondals was startled to see the three defensive spells on his body activate in rapid succession.

Power, more densely compressed than expected, flew at him like a storm far faster than he’d guessed.

“Impressive! Barrier of Elements, part!”

Even so, true to his criminal experience, Antagondals responded immediately.

Apparently, the opponent had gotten quite used to firing telekinesis as a straight-line projectile.

It was the simplest and easiest form, so it was an obvious advantage to master with little time.

Choosing and focusing like that at the edge of a blade deserved praise, but that didn’t mean he intended to go easy.

A barrier woven with multiple elements blocked the way between them. Lee Han didn’t lose concentration and swung his staff.

The telekinetic force twisted out long like a whip, circling around the barrier and striking Antagondals.

Thwack!

‘He managed that much transformation—without incantation?!’

Even Antagondals had to be surprised by this.

This was a far more advanced area than before.

It was as if the boy before him had fully internalized telekinesis.

‘But that can’t be!’

When Antagondals tried to call forth a wicked spell, the crazy doppelgänger gave a subtle warning.

A warning that should he try to brute-force matters without judging success, he’d be killed on the spot.

Annoyed by the interference but understanding the intent, Antagondals quickly changed spells, attacking the boy again.

Crackle crackle crackle!

Venomous insects appeared in the air in various forms and flew at Lee Han to bite him.

These insects were ideally optimized for exploiting weaknesses in simple defensive magic.

Even defenses usually did not perfectly protect a mage from every angle.

These fast and unpredictable insects would swiftly slip through defense gaps and poison the mage.

But Lee Han swept his staff twice, forming a perfect shield and then smacking the bugs away.

The venomous insects, scraping to find a gap in the telekinetic barrier, were thrown aside by precise strikes.

‘A more difficult form…!’

By now, even Antagondals was starting to sweat.

Once he acknowledged that the boy had fully internalized telekinesis, it meant his own arms would be chopped off.

Antagondals distorted his form and transformed into a complex-shaped monster.

Most of his body was covered in rocky armor, making it difficult to wound him from outside.

Thunk!

But the boy focused his telekinetic force into a thin, sharp tip and stabbed at the weak point.

The crazy doppelgänger watched with satisfaction. The outcome was already all but decided.

“You’ve clearly understood the lesson.”

“……”

For a moment, Lee Han nearly lost concentration.