Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

“Oh, wow. Lydkan’s dead?”

Arthus was indeed waiting for Henry on Lizark Hill, and as he did so, he made himself comfortable in his blood-filled bathtub, intending to enjoy each of his planned entertainments.

Lydkan had been the first of those entertainments.

Amused, Arthus said, “Good. They shouldn’t be struggling with just Lydkan, but anyway, the rings... I see they’ve picked up something interesting on the way.”

There was a giant mirror in front of Arthus, and through it, he could see Henry’s expedition team in real-time.

The power of a god was indeed a most convenient power. Of course, Arthus was technically only a demigod, but he didn’t complain, as he was still on par with deities and dragons, enjoying powers that normally only such beings possessed.

Arthus quickly erased Lydkan, who had been reduced to ashes, from his mind. The reason he had chosen Lydkan for the first spectacle was simple—he was the weakest one of the apostles. Well, Grumpy had died first, so technically Lydkan was the next weakest apostle.

In any case, he had still been the weakest out of the remaining apostles, which was why Arthus had used him as the first spectacle.

“Hmm, after Lydkan is... that guy, right?”

There were still plenty of apostles left to entertain Arthus, so as he soaked himself in the bathtub full of blood, he ecstatically waited for the next spectacle.

***

After passing Radenmann, Henry continued to confidently lead the expedition.

They were all in high spirits after killing Lydkan, whom they had expected to be harder to deal with. Thanks to this, everyone had a look of confidence on their faces, including the nine knights.

Henry checked the next stop on the route.

‘We'll reach the Havid River soon.’

They were taking the shortest possible route to Lizark Hill, so when Henry had planned the journey, he hadn’t taken into account any obstacles they might encounter because he could just deal with mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers with his magic.

This was the same for the Havid River, which they would reach soon.

The Havid River was far too wide to be called a river. One would be more inclined to call it a lake.

But in order to cut down on time, they had no choice but to cross that river.

‘I’ll just have to use Blink again.’

Henry wasn’t worried. No matter how wide it was, it was still a river after all. Besides, the expedition team had him, an 8th-Circle Archmage, as well as Linky Black, the head of the movement school.

The team traveled for another half day before finally reaching the Havid River.

‘This is it.’

As soon as he could see the river in the distance, Henry immediately prepared to cast Blink on the entire group.

Henry stabilized himself with his legs tightly around Jade, who was galloping, then clasped his hands together to cast the spell.

‘Blink!’

Ptzzz!

The second he cast Blink, the expedition team, which traveled at high speed, vanished in an instant, as though they had been erased from existence.

When they reappeared, they found themselves at a different part of the Havid River, where Henry's vision had extended the farthest before casting Blink.

They were above the middle of the river.

‘One more time!’

Blink could transport the target as far as the caster could see. Henry would’ve preferred to use Teleportation to cross the river in one go, but Arthus had forbidden them from using that spell, so Henry resorted to Blink just to make sure that there wouldn’t be any consequences.

But just when Henry was about to cast Blink again...

“Hello?”

“...!”

An unfamiliar face appeared before him, making him almost lose track of the spell he was about to cast.

“I can’t let that happen.”

‘What?’

The stranger smiled and grabbed Henry’s hands as he was about to cast the spell. However, Henry didn’t panic.

Even though this stranger had grabbed his hand, Henry had already cast the second Blink spell.

However...

“...!”

The mana that should’ve been released along with the spell wasn’t activating, which naturally baffled Henry.

If Henry didn’t manage to release his mana right then and there, he would fall into the Havid River along with the expedition team.

“Damn it...! Linkyyy!”

Although he couldn’t release any mana, his voice was just fine, so he desperately shouted at his allies.

The Seven Sages quickly grasped the situation and hastily attempted to form a spell.

“F-Fly!”

The expedition team plunged downward from high up in the air. Just before they fell into the depths of the Havid River, Lore, the most skilled in magical calculations, cast Fly on the entire team in a split second.

“Phew...!”

It had been a close call. They had been so close to falling into the river that they could’ve touched the water with their hands in that split moment.

One of the team members, who had a fear of heights, had turned pale from the scare.

“Is everyone okay?”

They had almost fallen into the river, but Lore’s reflexes had saved them from drowning like mice.

Henry glanced back at his people to make sure they were safe, but then...

“How funny.”

‘Funny?’

The stranger’s remark was so outrageous that Henry and the rest of his team looked up to see the face of the one who dared to mock them.

However, that accursed visage was sadly one they had never seen before. He was none other than Cann, the apostle who had destroyed the Sore Empire. His face was that of a clown, with prominent cheekbones and full of mischief.

However, instead of having a big physique that one would expect from such prominent cheekbones, Cann had a lean body that would look good in a uniform.

He ran his fingers through his curly bangs and said, “Nice to meet you. My name is Cann. I’m one of Sir Arthus’ nine apostles, and I’m here to have some fun with you guys and entertain Sir Arthus.”

“Fun?”

“Yup. The fact that you’re here means that you beat Lydkan, so I have pretty high expectations for you guys. Even though Lydkan was weak, his firepower was impressive.”

“Hahaha!”

It was none other than McDowell who laughed at Cann’s statement.

Thanks to Fly, McDowell was dangling his feet right above the river’s surface. He enthusiastically told Henry, “Commander! Let’s quickly deal with this guy just like with the last one!”

McDowell’s insistence to quickly strike Cann down was, in a way, the right way to go. If anything, that was their only choice.

‘Did he pick this place on purpose?’

It wasn't clear what ability Cann had just used, but it was evident that it involved tampering with one’s transmission of mana. In other words, he excelled at suppressing wizards. After all, he had disrupted Henry’s Blink as though he had been waiting for it.

‘Is this part of Arthus’ scheme?’

Since Arthus was obsessed with his ascension to divinity, there was a strong possibility that Cann had intercepted Henry and his team at Arthus’ planning, not because he himself had thought of it.

Otherwise, there was no way Cann would’ve shown up at this exact timing to stop them in their tracks, right above a river.

After finishing his thoughts, Henry replied to McDowell, “You’re right. I think that’s the best way to go about it.”

Henry agreed once again with McDowell.

At this, Cann smirked and giggled, “Hihi, of course you should! But it’s going to be harder this time because my power runs all over this Havid River.”

“That power... Does it interfere with the flow of mana?”

“You’re right. To be precise, I’m preventing your mana from leaving your body in the first place.”

Henry didn’t hide his curiosity, and Cann didn’t hesitate to answer his question. This conversation between them, two enemies who were eager to kill each other, was rather ridiculous.

However, Cann’s willingness to explain his ability to the enemy stemmed from his arrogance. He completely disregarded Henry’s entire expedition team, so he didn’t feel the need to hide the secrets of his power.

“I see.”

Henry felt rather grateful for Cann’s arrogance in answering his question.

“Consider the magic you just used as the last instance of my mercy. Don't tell me you’re at a loss now that you can’t use magic.”

Cann was insidiously mocking Henry, taking a jab at his ego while boasting about his own power.

Henry thought that Cann was quite despicable, which matched his appearance quite well. He smirked and said, “You must be joking.”

“What?”

“You’re acting all calm, but you look scared to me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have set up a trap and waited for us all the way in the Havid River like this.”

Henry made a pretty good point. He hadn’t meant for that comment to be disparaging, but Cann took it like an insult.

However, the apostle merely chuckled and said, “Haha, nice try... But you won’t be able to provoke me with something like that.”

“I’m not trying to provoke you.”

“What?”

“I was merely pointing out that you’re not as confident as you try to make it seem, given that you were waiting to ambush us, and...”

As he was speaking, Henry subtly tried to concentrate mana at his fingertips, but even though his mana was extraordinary, far different from that of an average wizard, not a single drop of it formed in his grasp.

But this wasn’t a problem.

Henry had already anticipated that this would happen at one point, and he had only asked Cann a question to confirm his suspicions, and Cann, blinded by his arrogance, hadn’t hesitated to give Henry the answer he needed.

At that point, there was only one thing left for Henry to do.

“Sir Valhald, Sir Herarion,” Henry called out with a smile.

“Yes, Commander.”

Henry needed the two of them for a specific reason.

“Take care of the sun please.”

“Alright.”

At Henry’s command, the two recognized his intent, and nodded.

“Saint, please create a large and sturdy reflective shield so that our team is protected from the sun,” continued Henry.

“Alright.”

Those were Henry’s orders.

It wasn’t a strategy they had come up with beforehand in their meeting. Henry had improvised it on the spot and commanded his team to follow it.

Valhald and Herarion unsheathed their swords and raised them above their heads, releasing their respective Auras.

As they did so, the Saint also released her divine power along with the Twelve Apostles.

Valhald and Herarion exchanged glances and said at the same time, “Sunrise.”

Tzzzzz...!

The tips of their swords emanated a scorching energy. This was none other than the power of their respective suns.

“Protection Holy Code, deploy!”

As the heat of their suns started to radiate from the tip of their swords, the Saint and the Twelve Apostles also activated the Protection Holy Code.

Tzzz!

The Protection Holy Code gently enveloped the expedition team as they floated above the river.

However, the heat of the suns that the two men summoned was so powerful that the outer surface of the Holy Code was almost melting, but this much damage was to be expected.

Soon, the two suns rose above the Havid River.

Valhald and Herarion exchanged glances again as they brought up the suns and nodded to each other.

They both knew what the outcome would be.

With the Blue Sun and the Red Sun in the sky, the two shouted in unison.

“...Sunset!”

“...Mega Drought!”

The two suns above the river devoured each other, resulting in an unimaginable cataclysm that would evaporate the pesky waters of the Havid River.

The fiery sphere of destruction descended upon the Havid River, and it seemed like it could melt away the entire world.

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