Episode 788

Antagondals was momentarily lost for words at Lee Han’s brazen attitude.

‘As expected, he’s as cunning and wicked as a monster would want in a disciple!’

He felt ashamed remembering how he had once wondered, ‘Why did the monster bring that kid along?’—the boy was truly devious.

You could see it from the way he’d blackmailed and used an evil magic criminal during his escape.

However, Antagondals did not explode in anger or lose control. Like the seasoned magic criminal he was, he responded calmly.

“Looks like you’ve forgotten… ha ha… When you escaped from that mad incarnation of old… didn’t I help you…”

“Sorry?”

“When you needed to get out… you desperately pleaded with me to cause a distraction…!”

“Sorry?”

“You damn brat… are you going to keep pretending you don’t know!!!”

The centuries-old magic criminal finally exploded in earnest.

As if he expected this, Lee Han struck. -Wardanaz’s Telekinesis- was cast, smashing Antagondals’ chimera form against the wall.

Bang!!!

“Nillia, attack!”

“Ah… okay!”

Nillia wasn’t really sure who the opponent was, but she decided to trust her friend.

It didn’t matter if the monster pretending to know Wardanaz really didn’t, or if it was a monster tricked by Wardanaz. Family comes first.

Whoosh!

As the sharp arrow flew in, Antagondals groaned in pain.

‘This wicked one. He pretended not to know me just to catch me off guard…!’

With that reflex, he no doubt planned to ambush him the moment he appeared.

To make matters worse, he was feigning ignorance to get the drop on him.

Truly fiendish—just as one would expect from the mad incarnation’s disciple.

Ssscchhh—

‘Ugh!’

Attacks he could have repelled with a glance in his original state now hit his flesh hard, one after another.

It was because of the punishment the mad incarnation had inflicted on Antagondals.

Antagondals felt a profound sense of gloom.

It wasn’t the pain that made him despair—a great mage wouldn’t despair over pain.

What made Antagondals truly gloomy was Lee Han.

‘For him to see that I’ve grown weak!’

“Did you… use too strong a poison?!”

“Nillia, where’s the ruthless northern hunter you once were! Become your old self!”

“I was never that! I was just a regular hunter!”

Though Nillia protested at Lee Han’s scolding, she immediately readied her next attack.

Specializing in enchantment magic and alchemy, Nillia knew how to employ her strengths.

The magic arrow she’d made during class shimmered as it passed along her bow, wriggling like a snake in search of her foe’s flesh.

At the same time, a thick black potion coating the arrowhead dissolved mana and spread a dark curse into the bone.

Antagondals plucked out the arrow with one hand, cursing at last after so long.

“Merge… into the wall!”

Melting into the wall, Antagondals barely bought himself time and spoke.

“You… not only ungrateful but foolish as well… What do you think would happen if I delivered you to your master right now…!”

“Is that so? It seems to me, if you could, you’d have done it already.”

At Lee Han’s words, Antagondals felt his heart sink.

The boy of the Wardanaz family had apparently already figured out his situation.

“What… do you mean…?”

“At first, when you appeared, I thought you were here on an errand for the incarnation, trying to kidnap me. But the way you spoke was a bit odd.”

Lee Han spoke with conviction.

The main campus of Einrogard wasn’t a place outsiders could just enter as they pleased. Especially not powerful ones.

Not to mention, this semester, the skull principal was aware of both the incarnation and Antagondals.

And Antagondals managed to slip in like this?

‘That must be an incarnation too weak to even trigger the wards.’

Starting with how he got inside, all the way to not being able to react to Lee Han’s ambush or Nillia’s attacks, and getting beaten up.

Lee Han was sure of his judgment.

“You came as an extremely weak incarnation, didn’t you?”

“…Cursed child, your insight is annoyingly sharp!”

Antagondals couldn’t hide his disappointment and admitted it frankly.

Once discovered, there was nothing else to be done.

“This… is an incarnation as weak and poorly made as a mud pile… I can’t even kidnap you… and it’s your fault…!”

Antagondals, his voice full of resentment, began to explain what had happened after Lee Han’s escape.

He may have been a lenient mad incarnation who let Lee Han and even some silly royal kid go, but not so to Antagondals.

-You helped them, did you not? Isn’t that right?

-I think you’re mistaken, master…

-Don’t call me master. That title has been revoked for betrayal. How dare a wretched slave interfere with his master’s business?

-Master, if you mean to kill me, I will accept…

Sensing a different level of danger than usual, Antagondals attempted to destroy his body and die temporarily.

Before coming to the mad incarnation, Antagondals had, of course, prepared a contingency plan. No magic criminal approaches an ancient mad being to learn magic without precautions.

Antagondals’ contingency: a spare body.

A spare body, created by ancient magic from the Three Kingdoms era, would transfer his soul there if his current body was destroyed, allowing him to revive.

This was a secret technique so powerful and complex that most magicians wouldn’t even dare attempt it. Of course, Antagondals trusted it.

Otherwise, would he have dared approach the mad incarnation?

-Transferring your soul? A feeble trick. Who knows who even made that secret spell? Did you really think you could fool your master with his own teachings?

-!!!

Antagondals, overwhelmed by the realization he’d been found out, immediately destroyed his body and tried to send his soul out.

But before his soul could escape, the mad incarnation gestured and sealed the magic criminal’s soul. Then he shoved the soul back into the destroyed body.

-Scum. Your prison will be your own flesh, and your sentence will last until your soul is worn away. If you hope even for a hint of mercy, make it up to me—make up even a ten-thousandth of what you ruined!

-K… Kuaaaagh!

The mad incarnation not only shoved his soul back in, but cast a curse to bind him, preventing any escape.

The curse was so vicious that even a body made sturdy by magic became a hideous chimera.

Antagondals could only admit that he had underestimated the ancient archmage far too much.

No matter how crazed and twisted he’d become, he still had enough power to completely destroy the likes of Antagondals.

“Because of that… I ended up like this… I can’t even use proper magic… Even making this incarnation… took me days just to establish contact!”

Antagondals pointed at himself, hidden inside the wall.

He’d suffered a lot just to create this weak, pitiful incarnation.

If he’d just been able to use his magic, it would have taken seconds to make such an inferior incarnation.

“I see. Truly, you’ve had a hard time.”

Lee Han replied with feigned sympathy. Antagondals could hear the insincerity in his tone and glared fiercely.

“Your master wants to see you again.”

“Sure. I’ll try to visit sometime.”

“Right now!”

“I have things to do. Why are you like this?”

“……”

Antagondals stared for a long time, then grudgingly accepted that this was not a situation where he could use force.

With this incarnation, even one more hit could destroy it, let alone a kidnapping.

“What are you so dissatisfied about…? Your master loves and cherishes you… He is waiting to teach you secret arts!”

‘Does he think I’m Gainando or something?’

Lee Han was shocked at the level of lying from this magic criminal.

Who would ever fall for such a story?

“He was going to kill me if I couldn’t master the magic, though.”

“And then he would have revived you… It’s a blessing to learn under such conditions! Why don’t you realize how lucky you are…?”

“Ah, yes.”

Lee Han answered apathetically.

“All right. Tell him maybe we’ll have a meal sometime. I’ll certainly go.”

“If you return… your master will treat you more kindly…”

“So instead of a painful death, he’ll kill me painlessly?”

‘Hopeless.’

Antagondals gave up trying to convince Lee Han.

The boy of the Wardanaz family was as cunning and stubborn as Antagondals himself and could never be deceived.

Instead, Antagondals looked at Nillia. Maybe the naïve hunter girl could be swayed.

“You there… young magician… listen to me… To save your kidnapped friend there… I risked my life… and this is what became of me… Don’t you feel sorry for me?”

“By the way, he’s Antagondals the magic criminal.”

Lee Han whispered. But Antagondals didn’t give up.

“Of course… I… have committed a few magical crimes… and I won’t deny I’m an enemy of the empire…! But… if you look at favors and grudges… I did you a great turn… Shouldn’t a magician never forget kindness…?”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s right!”

“All right. Then come out, face to face, and swear: if Wardanaz helps you, you’ll never do harm.”

“Of course…!”

Antagondals, delighted, emerged from the wall.

He could make a vow like that as many times as he liked.

Whoosh!

Nillia drew an arrow—-A Blade Stolen from Professor Verdus—-which shot through Antagondals’ forehead the moment he emerged from the wall.

The incarnation, never expecting an ambush in that situation, melted away pathetically.

“Hey! What are you trying to pull, you magic criminal?!”

“……”

Lee Han stared at his friend in shock. Realizing his gaze, Nillia became flustered.

“What?? That magic criminal was trying to kidnap you, Wardanaz!!”

“Y-yeah, you’re right. I just didn’t expect you’d fool him so easily.”

“…That sort of trick is basic.”

“Really?”

“It’s basic!”

Nillia burst out in anger.

A moment later, she said in a low voice,

“…Keep the fact I pulled that trick a secret. Got it?”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

Lee Han nodded as if she could trust him.

What was so hard about keeping a little secret for a friend who’d helped you out?

At that moment, a bat shot out from the melting incarnation and cried out in a mournful voice.

“I, Antagondals, was defeated by a mere young hunter…!”

“Huh?!”

Nillia jumped in shock, reaching for her bow to shoot the bat, but it flew away far into the distance.

It was racing to return to Antagondals somewhere out in the mountains beyond the main building.

“I, Antagondals, was defeated by a mere young hunter…!”

“W-what’s with that?”

The bat continued to contort and repeatedly say the same thing as if possessed.

“The incarnation’s still reeling from the shock of its destruction; it hasn’t recovered yet.”

Even though he was trying to return just the incarnation’s core, the shock of destruction had left it in an uncontrollable state.

“Let’s chase it down quickly!”

“It’ll destroy itself soon. In that state a few minutes’ flight will shatter it.”

“R-really?”

Nillia wavered, but then heard the bat’s voice far away again.

–I, Antagondals, was defeated by a mere young hunter…!

“…No, we have to catch it now! Before the rumor spreads even louder!!”