The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Book 2 Chapter 590

It had been some time since Residue inherited Lukas's body.

But in truth, it had only been a short period, less than a month, and during that time, there hadn't been a single occasion when he had fully acted like Lukas. After all, there was no one around who had known Lukas.

Everyone on the Magic Planet was the same. They wouldn’t have sensed anything strange about Residue. It was only natural, since they didn’t know what kind of being Lukas had originally been.

Even after that, Residue’s attitude did not change.

The Twelve Void Lords, including the Death Worm, the Void King, the knights, yes, even his old friend Lucid, he didn't need to be overly cautious in his speech or actions around them. It had been quite a long time since they had last seen Lukas.

So using change as an excuse, he acted quite freely.

“Master?”

“…It’s fine.”

Now, he could no longer do that.

From this moment on, Residue decided to devote all of his attention to recreating 'Lukas Trowman'. Not just his manner of speech, but also his tone, gaze, expressions, gestures, and even the occasional lighthearted attitude.

First, looking at Beniang, he forced himself to put on a faint smile, even though he truly didn’t want to.

“It’s been a while, Beniang.”

“…Yes.”

Beniang’s expression was relatively calm, but her voice was not. It trembled faintly, like a candle flickering in the breeze. Looking closely, even her eyes were the same.

It was absurd.

Residue knew that this woman was capable of hiding her emotions more skillfully than anyone in the world if she wanted to.

And yet, just from hearing a greeting from 'Lukas Trowman', she was this shaken.

‘…….’

Residue fell silent at this crucial moment. An emotion he couldn’t easily ignore was welling up inside him.

Just before the silence could turn awkward, someone interrupted.

“Father, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Only then did he look at Sedi.

Her face was filled with discontent.

It brought to mind the time when she had shown a furious obsession in some timeline. Her affection and obsession toward Lukas had manifested in a dark way, where she tried to bind him, imprison him, and even ruin him if it meant keeping him by her side.

In the current Sedi, those anxious symptoms were no longer visible.

She only looked displeased that he had spoken to Beniang first, but that was all. Compared to the darkness she had shown back then, this was a mere, endearing pout.

Even in this moment, Residue thought about how Lukas would act, and when he arrived at the answer, his expression almost stiffened.

'Damn it.'

It was something he could never do with a straight face, but he had no other choice.

Residue reached out his hand.

Rustle-

He placed his hand on Sedi’s hair. The soft sensation of her hair felt rough and uncomfortable, like gritty sand.

Because of the horn that grew near her temple, even petting her required a bit of finesse.

"Ah, come on. Don’t do stuff like this.”

Sedi grumbled, keeping a sullen face, but it didn’t seem like she was genuinely upset. Pretending to give in to her complaint, Residue withdrew his hand and sighed inwardly.

“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

“Yes. But… it doesn’t seem like this is the right place to have a conversation.”

Due to Sedi’s grand entrance, the ceiling was nearly caving in. Though the area had been sturdy enough to withstand the battles of the Four Knights, it wasn’t a suitable place to stay in for long.

“Let’s go up for now.”

He nodded in response to Sedi’s suggestion.

He now had a short reprieve. Since escape was no longer an option, he needed to shift his thinking.

To survive among these monsters, he would need a camouflage.

*

The moment they emerged from the underground cave to the surface, Residue’s face twisted at the scene that unfolded before him.

“…….”

They were in the middle of a dark jungle.

It was a little hot, humid, and he could even sense the presence of living creatures around.

‘The aftereffects of the Great Fusion.’

A shifting, unstable coordinate system had similarities to the original Void World, but there was one decisive difference: the entire area wasn’t divided into 'territories'.

‘And life force.’

Unlike the desolate Void World of the past, now this place was brimming with life. Thick vines grew in clusters, towering ancient trees shot up, and in the darkness, the occasional rustle of insects and the distant howls of beasts could be heard.

If there was one thing that hadn’t changed, it was probably the sky, though even that looked slightly different.

The ominous black hole, as if embodying misfortune, still loomed there, but now, countless meteor showers surrounded it, shining so brightly it was almost blinding.

Residue knew what those were, and it made his skin crawl.

‘Destruction….’

Each of those meteors was a small-scale Destruction.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

…It was a revolting, disgusting sight.

It looked like countless tadpoles writhing, as if being sucked into a thick, filthy vortex.

“They just keep circling like that.”

Sedi noticed where Residue’s gaze was directed and spoke up.

“They don’t fall, nor do they veer off course.”

“Is that so.”

“…By the way, the location has changed again since the last time I came. We weren’t that far from the King’s Castle, but now I don’t even know where we are.”

“…….”

“It’s because the Great Fusion has tangled up space so badly, right?”

She looked at him, seeking confirmation.

It was a natural reaction. Lukas was known for his mastery of spatial manipulation. Among those here, he should be the one with the most specialized knowledge in that area.

It would have been best if he could respond with Lukas’s insights, but despite possessing the Lightning God's knowledge and perspective, he wasn’t particularly well-versed in spatial matters. So he just gave a slight nod.

“…At this rate, I don’t even know where Demonsio is.”

All residents of a territory should at least know the location of their own territory. Even if they were thrown to the other side of the world, they would be able to sense it and find their way back, a perception that would manifest the moment they were bound to their territory.

And right now, Sedi was a Territory Lord.

Not just of any ordinary territory, but of Demonsio, a territory that ranked within the top ten in terms of size even within the Void World. Yet, her sensory perception was so scrambled that she couldn’t locate Demonsio.

“And it looks like a storm is brewing.”

Weather changes in this world?

Though she hadn’t been here long, Sedi knew enough to understand how absurd that was, and she let out a dry chuckle.

“Hold on a moment.”

Beniang pulled something out from her robes.

It was a small stick, but upon closer inspection, Residue realized it was actually a very short staff.

She waved it.

No, rather than waving it… it was more like she was using the staff as a brush, drawing something in the air. Staring a bit longer, the staff began to look like a conductor’s baton.

A gentle breeze blew, causing Beniang’s hair to flutter.

“What are you doing?”

“A summoning.”

“A summoning? Of what?”

“A dragon.”

"...Huh?"

It was in that bewildered moment that Sedi noticed something stirring at the edge of the gloomy sky.

CRACK—! Just then, a bolt of lightning illuminated its form.

It was, just as Beniang had said, a dragon. It was massive, nearly as large as half of a castle.

Was she suggesting they use that to travel? But was that really necessary? None of them here lacked mobility enough to need a dragon for transport.

However, the moment the dragon approached, Sedi realized she had been wrong.

Boom!

Its mere landing created a powerful gust, bending the trunks of trees. Yet, the four figures, those in human form who stood at barely half the height of these massive trees, did not budge an inch.

On the dragon’s back, there was something. Something that could not have formed naturally, something that could only have been crafted by human hands- a structure.

In other words, the dragon was carrying a large mansion on its back. There were even ladders and ropes hanging down from it.

“Shall we board?”

Beniang lightly leapt up and landed effortlessly in front of the mansion’s entrance, several dozen meters above. After hesitating for a moment, Residue glanced up at the sky that looked like it might start pouring at any moment, and then followed her. Only then did Sedi finally move.

The last to act was Pale, who, despite having the best physical abilities of anyone present, deliberately climbed up one rung at a time on the ladder.

"Please come in. There won't be any discomfort."

The mansion was a four-story structure, and as Beniang had said, it looked perfectly suitable for a temporary stay.

“…Phew.”

Click. As soon as everyone entered and the door closed, Beniang let out a low sigh. It was only then that the others noticed her face looked extremely fatigued.

“Let’s… head to the main room first.”

The room she led them to was fairly spacious and furnished properly.

There was a suitable table and, as if someone had anticipated this situation, exactly four chairs. Before Beniang could even guide them, Pale had already claimed one of the seats. Sedi took a seat a little distance from her, and Beniang…

“Beniang?”

“…Ah, yes.”

Beniang responded a bit belatedly.

She was rubbing her eyes as if she were drowsy.

“…It seems I’ve overexerted myself. Since I succeeded in rescuing Master, I’ll take a little rest. I’ll leave the general explanation to… someone else.”

“To someone else?”

"Yes... that is... well... who would be..."

Beniang struggled to continue speaking, fighting to stay awake, but in the end, her head drooped.

In that instant, her hair started to change color, beginning from the ends.

From green to blue.

The atmosphere changed, too.

When she raised her head again, a cold voice emerged.

“I’ll take over the explanation from here.”

Her facial features hadn’t changed, but Beniang now looked like a completely different person.

Residue let out a quiet breath inwardly.

‘One of the other six personalities, then.’

The dragon had lost six of its seven fangs and fallen from the position of Ruler.

Yet, in order to preserve the identity of the 'Seven Fanged Dragon', it had scoured the entire universe to gather souls with matching frequencies. One of those souls was the half-dragon, 'Beniang Argento'.

…In other words,

‘There’s one among the seven personalities who possesses the personality and memories of the [Dragon].’

…Residue felt an odd sense of kinship. This fallen state of the dragon wasn’t all that different from Residue himself, who was but a remnant.

But despite these emotions, this was also the person he had to be most cautious of. It might even be better than talking to Beniang, who knew Lukas well, but─

As he pondered this alone, a cold gaze turned in his direction.

“You’re not surprised, are you? The only one here who hasn’t met me before is the woman sitting back there.”

“…….”

The other blue-haired woman was sitting with a faint smirk on her face.

As she had said, Sedi didn’t seem surprised by the shift in personality either.

“It’s tiring to crane my neck, so why don’t the two of you take a seat already?”

At the curt suggestion, the remaining two also took their seats.

Inside the mansion, there was no sense of shaking. Considering that this was a structure built on the dragon’s back, the ride should have been very uncomfortable, but there was no sign of that.

Thanks to this, a silence settled in the room, creating an intense stillness.

The first to speak was Beniang.

No, it was Dragon.

“Meeting again like this brings back memories. Was the last time we met at the ‘Great Field’?”

“…….”

“A lot has changed since then. In more ways than one.”

Yes.

In many, many ways.

“…Before we start talking, it seems like it’s been a long time since father and daughter have reunited. Would you like to take some time to catch up? It’s an urgent situation, but I can allow a bit of time for that.”

“Forget it.”

“Hm, then let’s get straight to the point.”

The Dragon nodded.

"Though we don't completely understand everything about each other, let's first focus on your perspective, Lukas, as we proceed with the discussion."

…That was not a very welcome suggestion.