The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years-Chapter Season 2 610

Translator: Alpha0210

This body.

He thought it would no longer move. Functionally speaking, that was the case. It wasn't just a matter of broken bones and damaged muscles. The body, ravaged by multiple Lords, had been destroyed so thoroughly that healing was impossible.

However, Residue moved.

With creaking knee joints, he took another step forward, his arm, with bones jutting out, swayed limply. Each breath felt as if his lungs were being torn apart, yet he continued to breathe.

Residue was still alive.

"……."

Suddenly, he felt his cheeks growing wet.

Residue didn’t know why he was shedding tears. Was it because his situation was too bleak? Or had he suddenly become afraid of death?

I……

Splash…

He collapsed forward, his face plunging into a puddle. Residue abruptly lifted his head. Then, he saw his reflection in the water. His appearance was so pitiful that it was almost laughable.

Residue suddenly recalled memories of the past and tried making different expressions in front of the puddle. However, his facial muscles wouldn’t move as he wanted, as if they were paralyzed.

Rumble…

A sound of something collapsing came from the city. This wasn’t the first time. Residue had heard a similar noise more than five times in the short distance he had walked.

Rumble, the ground trembled as if it were terrified.

In the meantime, he saw a massive tentacle rising toward the sky from the UMC headquarters. Could that even be called a tentacle? It looked more like the largest tree trunk in the world. The tree continued growing explosively, rapidly increasing in size, until it finally reached beyond the sky.

To the entrance of Destruction, to that abyss.

"……."

The rain stopped. In truth, it was merely blocked by the tree.

And Residue stood up once again. Perhaps because the rain had ceased, he found it easier to move his legs than just moments before.

“R-run away!”

“The apocalypse is here! The end has come!”

“Aah… O God….”

As he walked a little further, he saw humans.

They were fleeing in a frenzy, running in the opposite direction of the tentacle tree. Not a single one showed any intent to fight.

Of course.

Even if one searched the entire world, there would be only a handful of humans capable of walking toward that thing.

But… if that were the truth, then why had Lukas gone beyond Destruction? Why had he been willing to erase himself to become their god?

Now, Residue knew. Losing oneself was the most terrible punishment of all.

“Hyung!”

Residue’s steps halted at the familiar form of address. Someone suddenly grabbed his forearm.

“It’s dangerous if you go that way!”

Luca?

Residue slowly turned his head.

Of course, it wasn’t that child.

This boy was a little younger than Luca, had short, cropped hair, and most importantly, he was truly just a boy.

“That way is dangerous, so you have to run this way! The other direction….”

Residue…

had nothing to do with this child. The boy didn’t know Residue either.

Strangers, unrelated.

And yet, this boy had stopped a man walking mindlessly into hell and tried to lead him to safety. It wasn’t an action taken for personal gain. One could call it the most beautiful instinct.

Yes. The world calls those who do things without seeking any benefit good people.

“Go.”

“Huh?”

“I’m fine, so go.”

Residue muttered, and the boy responded with confusion. Residue gently shook off the boy’s hand.

“Ah, hyung, hey!”

The boy’s urgent voice called out, but he was soon swept away by the fleeing crowd. Residue faintly smiled at the boy.

Once the evacuating humans had disappeared, Residue walked for a long while once more.

Rumble…

“Aah…! My child, my child….”

And yet, there were still those who were not evacuating.

A mother was digging through the rubble of a collapsed building with her bare hands, tears streaming down her face. Her nails had peeled off, her fingers were broken, yet she did not stop.

Residue watched her for a moment before moving his fingers slightly.

Whoosh-

The pile of debris that had once formed an entire building suddenly floated into the air. The mother, stunned by the miraculous sight, froze for a moment before spotting her child beneath it.

“Aah, my daughter…!”

She rushed toward where her daughter lay. After confirming that she was still alive, she broke into uncontrollable sobs.

Crunch-

Meanwhile, Residue completely annihilated the floating debris in the air.

Then, he walked away.

“Thank you!”

A voice rang out from behind him, causing Residue to stop in his tracks.

“Y-you saved my daughter, didn’t you? Thank you…! Thank you so much…!”

"……."

─Does a person need a reason to save another?

A phrase he thought he had forgotten suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

Ah. I see.

In that moment, Residue felt as if he had realized something.

“Thank you…! Thank you…!”

The mother expressed her gratitude in a cracked voice, continuing to do so until her voice faded into the distance as Residue walked on, out of her sight.

He looked toward the UMC once again.

Those tentacles there, they seemed calm for now, but for how long? It wouldn’t be surprising if they suddenly spread in all directions and wiped out every living creature.

If that happened, then saving that mother and daughter would have been meaningless.

Trivial thoughts, unresolved reflections continued to flow through his mind.

Then, he saw another group of humans.

“Grab your weapons!”

“So what if the world is ending! We’ve got nowhere else to go anyway!”

“Defend the city! We can’t let that monster turn Meltown into ruins!”

“It is already in ruins, though!”

“You bastard, what did you just say?”

“Hahaha!”

"……."

There were those who did not run away.

Residue had to admit that he had underestimated humans. Surprisingly, there were still people who had prepared themselves to fight against Destruction.

They climbed onto their vehicles and charged toward the UMC, roaring like beasts. He didn’t need to see the outcome to know their fate. They would be annihilated without leaving so much as a scratch on those tentacles. A meaningless death.

And yet… the sight of them rushing toward their deaths with smiles overlapped with the image of Symetra, who had tucked tail and fled at the sight of the tentacles.

Lords and humans.

What was the difference between them?

Because they were weaker than the Lords? Because they were ignorant? Because they were fools who didn’t even comprehend the gap between them and their enemy, was that why they could fight?

Symetra, is that how you would justify yourself?

Rumble…

Once again, the ground trembled.

Residue snapped out of his thoughts and, as if entranced, began following them.

But what stopped his steps this time was not a human.

It was a building. A towering, abandoned structure, leaning slightly as if it might collapse at any moment.

A place that was clearly unfit for human habitation, reeking of dampness after having been neglected and left unmaintained for an incredibly long time.

And yet, for someone, it had been home.

Perhaps… this place could have been Residue’s home as well.

“Why?”

Residue muttered.

"Why did you leave that group of Lords?"

He turned around.

Standing there was Retip, covered in blood. His clothes were torn, his sunglasses shattered, and a massive bruise darkened his chest, gruesome even to look at.

When their eyes met, Retip let out a deflated chuckle.

“No reason.”

"……."

“I just didn’t feel like it. I didn't want to run into you either. And I certainly didn’t want to see you in this weakened state.”

“I am not the Lightning God. Your misconception is fundamentally wrong."

“Yes. But you have broken away from him. That much is undeniable.”

“…‘We were originally the same being’, how ridiculous. Just because of that fact, you couldn’t suppress your emotions? A man like you?”

“What can I do? That’s just how my heart feels.”

Retip let out a sigh. His expression was serious, yet there was something strangely playful about it.

Residue watched him for a moment before declaring,

“The Lightning God has no deep feelings for you.”

“Is that so? That’s a bit disappointing… but, well, it’s not like I served him expecting anything in return.”

"……."

Seeing him, Residue thought.

Perhaps, back when he was the Lightning God, he had lacked the ability to see people for who they were. After all, could an ant’s thoughts be understood simply by bending down to its level?

“Leave this city.”

Retip spoke in a serious tone.

“As far away as possible. The Lightning God has no intention of relentlessly hunting you down.”

"……."

“That thing is expanding its territory. It likely won’t stop until it engulfs an entire small planet. At the very least, you should move beyond its range. In any case, that monster will be taken care of by the Half King.”

“What happened to the Black Witch?”

Residue asked.

“How did you know I had any business with her?”

“I didn’t know. But she mentioned that she planned to stay in this building for about two days. And then, not far from here, I found you. A bit too strange to call it a coincidence, isn’t it?”

“…I see. So that’s how it is.”

Retip let out a small chuckle.

“My original purpose was to kill her. The Lightning God doesn’t seem to be fond of the fact that she came into contact with the Void Record.”

“Did you fail?”

“If you look at the results, yes… But to begin with, if that witch is determined to flee for self-preservation, then there isn’t a single person in the world who could kill her. I thought today might be a special case since I even borrowed a sacred weapon for the occasion.”

Retip laughed again.

“She’s a meticulous woman. Even when she sleeps, she takes triple, quadruple precautions.”

To wield the power of space with such proficiency…

It wasn’t just a matter of improving her skill. From the start, the ability had been well-suited to Iris PeaceFinder’s nature.

Residue glanced down at Retip briefly before turning his gaze back toward the UMC.

“Are you still going?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll die.”

“To be honest.”

Residue spoke.

“I want to run away right this moment.”

At the candid confession, Retip blinked in surprise.

He looked as if he couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard.

“My fear is making it hard to move my legs. But I’m forcing myself to walk anyway.”

“Why?”

“I figured… maybe this way, I’d understand something.”

"……."

“Take care of yourself.”

Residue said shortly and started walking again.

“…What?”

A step too late, Retip questioned him.

Residue could feel the bewildered gaze on his back, as if he were some bizarre phenomenon, but he said nothing and simply continued forward.

"Well. Indeed......"

A quiet murmur came from behind him.

Splash-

The rainless street felt different simply due to the absence of rain. For the first time, Residue didn’t find this place entirely suffocating.

He checked his body once more.

To his surprise, his condition had visibly improved. Come to think of it, at some point, he had stopped limping.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the UMC.

Now, even if he tilted his head back at a ninety, degree angle, he could no longer see the tentacle tree. That meant he was close.

There were no strict guards. The presence of life was almost nonexistent here. The ground bore marks as if an enormous worm had slithered across it.

Residue crossed the checkpoint.

He kept walking.

Then, when he happened to look up at the sky, he saw someone fighting against the tentacle tree.

The Black Witch.

Bloodied, she was locked in battle with hundreds of writhing tentacles. No, rather than fighting… it seemed more like she was desperately holding them back with all her might.

Was this the reason the tentacle tree had been relatively calm?

“I made the wrong judgment.”

Residue turned his head.

Lying there, covered in blood, was Frey Blake.

With a gaping hole in his chest, he leaned against the wall, clinging to the last threads of life. His lifeless eyes suggested he wouldn’t last much longer.

It wasn’t an unexpected outcome.

Frey was the one who had driven Luca into a rampage, and he was also the one who had taken the child away. And now, Luca, the last Destruction, was running wild without restraint. It would be difficult to consider Frey unharmed.

“I can’t understand its intentions. That thing is not something that can be stopped at this point. It will likely continue growing in size, spreading trials across this world. Countless lives will be lost, but through that, it will only grow stronger.”

"……."

“I don’t know why you’ve come here. But right now, you have two choices.”

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“Choices?”

“The Black Witch is not someone who is meant to die here.”

Frey’s voice, clearer than Residue had ever heard before, cut through the air.

“The abilities and knowledge she possesses will be crucial in dealing with the Destruction that is to come. It is a role that no one else can replace. So, Residue.”

"……."

“Save Iris PeaceFinder. Even if it costs you your life.”

That was his final voice.

Frey’s head slowly drooped.

Residue had the sudden thought that perhaps he had been holding on until now just to say those words.

…For some reason, the sight of him collapsed there overlapped with the image of Lukas.

Frey had said,

There were two choices.

One was to die in Iris’s place.

And the other, the unspoken choice, was likely the same as Retip’s proposal.

To run away from here.

Which was the right choice?

Before he could think.

Taah-

Residue soared toward the darkened sky.

*****

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