The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

“…The situation isn’t good.”

Before beginning his explanation, Peran Jun decided to make that point perfectly clear.

Everyone present already knew that, of course, but there was a certain difference between having a general awareness of something and hearing someone say it aloud. Perhaps it was a matter of making it feel real. Then again, how many of the people here truly failed to grasp the reality of their current situation?

In the end, Peran realized that he had said those words for his own sake. It was a bitter realization.

His face seemed to sting beneath the gazes boring into him from all sides, and the extraordinary pressure accompanying them made his stomach ache.

Forcing himself to remain composed, he continued.

“First, in order to clearly distinguish the enemies, we have provisionally designated the eastern giant as the ‘Third Destruction’ and the western giant as the ‘Fourth Destruction’. The names may change once the enemies’ identities become clear, so please consider them temporary designations.”

“…….”

“We have confirmed that conventional attacks of virtually every kind are ineffective against the giants. What we have determined so far includes various weapons wielded by experts of the Master rank, extreme long-range magic from mages of the Magic Planet, the Colony’s insect army launching desperate assaults, the External Force of the Absolute troops, and…….”

Peran paused for a moment and looked at Futurix.

Futurix had been sitting silently with her arms crossed. When she noticed his gaze, an irritated expression crossed her face, but she soon let out a faint sigh and continued.

“…Gunpowder-based weapons such as firearms and bombs, optical weapons capable of molecular disintegration, armies of biological weapons capable of destroying an entire small universe without much difficulty, as well as the nuclear and biochemical weapons mounted on them. It seems none of them had any effect.”

One of those who had been listening quietly raised a hand. It was the Executor, one of the Twelve Void Lords.

Peran nodded.

“Yes. Please speak.”

“‘We suspect’, ‘half-confirmed’, ‘it seems none of them had any effect’. Nothing you’ve said is certain. Is there a reason you’re being so ambiguous?”

“There is. I was just about to explain… The greatest characteristic of the giants that we have definitively identified is that they cannot be properly observed.”

“Hmm.”

After a brief pause, Peran continued.

“We don’t know exactly how attacks fired from long range are being nullified. And not a single person who approached to point-blank range and swung a weapon at one has returned. The one thing we’ve managed to determine, even through uncertain observation, is that the giant’s skin, what we believe to be its outer shell, possesses terrifyingly high defensive strength.”

“It’s been quite some time since the giants began advancing, and that’s still all you’ve managed to determine?”

The clear voice belonged to Beniang Argento.

Since they came from the same universe, Peran should have found her somewhat easier to deal with… but knowing that what resided within her was one of the Rulers who had stood at the very pinnacle of that universe did nothing to ease his tension.

“Yes. My apologies.”

“I’m not blaming you. I simply wanted to understand the situation precisely.”

Beniang waved a hand gently.

It meant that he could continue his explanation.

“…At present, we’ve identified only one means of attack used by the giants. ‘Stomping’. No matter what stands in their path, they crush everything beneath them through sheer overwhelming size. The strongest fortress walls, the tallest mountains, scorching deserts and fields of lava, swamps, even oceans whose depths cannot be measured. The giants destroyed everything they trampled.”

Someone else raised a hand.

It was Death Worm, the gloomy-looking man among the Twelve Void Lords.

“How did they destroy an ocean? Was an ocean something that could be destroyed just by stomping on it?”

“We don’t know.”

“Hmm?”

“But we couldn’t find a more appropriate way to describe it.”

“What do you mean?”

Peran felt his heart constrict. He licked his lips once before continuing.

“The most frightening thing is what happens to the places the giants have trampled. Any location destroyed by a giant becomes impossible to observe by any means.”

“Impossible to observe?”

“Yes. Everything behind the giants becomes like a world of nothingness, where nothing exists……. No. In truth, even that is merely an interpretation made for convenience. Perhaps some concept beyond even that has taken hold there. After all, even the fact that ‘nothing exists’ would have to be observable before we could know it.”

Death Worm blinked with a blank expression.

The reactions of the others were much the same. But Peran had nothing more to say. They had learned nothing beyond that, and the enemy was far too dangerous for him to indulge in uncertain speculation.

So Peran continued to state only the facts.

“The reconnaissance teams never returned, while familiars sharing their senses from a distance and machine armies equipped with high-performance cameras showed nothing but pitch-black darkness.”

Because of this phenomenon, fear had begun spreading among the insects and machine armies that had once known no fear, and even among the Absolutes. Since ancient times, the root of fear had always been the unknown.

At first, there had been no shortage of people declaring that they would personally subjugate the giants, but at some point even volunteers willing to undertake simple reconnaissance missions had disappeared. A heavy atmosphere settled over the encampment as though a plague had begun to spread through it.

Peran stopped there and remained silent for a little longer than before.

That was because what he was about to say contained a great deal of his own judgment. He quietly took a deep breath and met Harun’s eyes.

“…….”

Harun was there not as Peran’s teacher, but as the Beginning Wizard, a member of the Twelve Void Lords. Strangely, that realization eased Peran’s tension slightly.

“Since ancient times, only heroes could hunt the giants of legend.”

“……?”

Confused reactions followed, but Peran continued with the seemingly abrupt remark.

“So, if we are to truly fight the giants, the Destructions, perhaps we need to choose more primitive means ourselves.”

As puzzled expressions spread among those present, someone spoke.

“‘Giant Slayer.’”

It was the Red Knight.

She attended the regularly held meetings, but it was quite rare for her to speak.

Unconcerned by the gazes converging on her, El continued with a languid expression.

“You’re saying they’re opponents we have to face with courage alone, throwing aside all the useless tricks.”

“That’s correct.”

“Why?”

“…Because giants have always been slain by heroes, and the birth of a hero has always been accompanied by a reckless battle.”

A derisive chuckle came from somewhere.

El, on the other hand, remained completely serious.

“Is that another guess?”

“No. I said a moment ago that not a single person who faced a giant had returned. In truth, that wasn’t entirely accurate. There is one person who encountered one and survived.”

No commotion spread through the room, but there was clearly a different sort of ripple than before. They were people who did not openly show their agitation, but that did not mean they were incapable of surprise.

[Who is it?]

Subaek, an Absolute who had placed himself under the Sun Giant – the foremost of the Nine Fingers, asked.

Peran had no particular reason to conceal the answer, so he told them the truth.

“The Everlasting Plum Sword, one of the Twelve Void Lords.”

“Everlasting Plum Sword Yang In-hyun. Did he fight the giant?”

“We don’t know that much yet.”

“……?”

“The Everlasting Plum Sword is currently unconscious.”

“Ah.”

Subaek nodded as though he understood.

“…We don’t know whether he actually engaged it in battle, but we do know for certain that he made contact with it. About a month ago, the Everlasting Plum Sword headed toward the western giant, the ‘Fourth Destruction’. Only Her Highness the Half King knew of this.”

“…….”

“And the day before yesterday, he was found unconscious near the Northwest Army. His condition is quite critical, but…….”

As Peran trailed off, Beniang spoke.

“Do you think he’ll wake up?”

“…Everyone is hoping so.”

“…….”

“To continue, I should first say that I’m far too lacking to accurately judge the true capabilities of everyone gathered here. If the Everlasting Plum Sword fails to regain consciousness, who among you would be capable of carrying out the same mission?”

He had phrased it indirectly, but what he was really asking was who among them was unquestionably stronger than the Everlasting Plum Sword.

It was a fairly important question, so even Futurix, who had been sitting there with a sullen expression until then, answered with relative sincerity.

“Yang In-hyun is one of the Twelve Void Lords. Even among them, if we judge solely by combat strength, he could easily rank near the top. The only ones who could definitively be called stronger than him would be the Four Knights, the Rulers, and Her Majesty the Half King.”

“Hmm.”

Peran let out a low hum.

Half of the Four Knights were already absent, and the situation with the Rulers was even worse.

The Black Thorn Demon King and the Lightning God, both of whom still possessed their original power, had left, while the Sun Giant was dead. The only one remaining was Beniang, the former Seven-Toothed Dragon, and she could hardly be considered to be in proper condition at the moment.

In other words, excluding the Half King, the only ones who could realistically act were the Black Knight and the Red Knight.

“…….”

El, the Red Knight, wore an unreadable expression. That was still the case even though she must have heard everything they had just discussed. Peran had no particular intention of forcing her into the mission, but he wished she would at least take part in the exchange of opinions more seriously.

…Above all, they had far too little information.

The most urgent thing they needed to determine was what characteristics the giants possessed. Why had not a single person who had seen one up close returned? Did they possess some means of attack other than ‘Stomping’, or perhaps some special ability? And what means could be used to overcome it?

Yang In-hyun was the only person who possessed any clues to those questions.

If he woke up and shared what he had seen and heard, it would be an enormous help to the war effort.

It was then.

“Hmm……?”

Futurix’s eyes widened, and she suddenly pressed a finger firmly against her temple. She was unlikely to have suddenly developed a headache. Peran had spent enough time around Futurix by then to know that this was the gesture she made when receiving information.

Whoever was reporting to her should have known that she was in the middle of a meeting.

Was it important information?

Peran waited for a moment. Once the transmission seemed to have ended, Futurix raised her head. Her gaze immediately turned to Peran, and she wore a somewhat peculiar expression.

“What news is it?”

“…The Everlasting Plum Sword has awakened.”

“……!”

Peran’s eyes widened.

“What condition is he in? Can he communicate?”

“Calm down. His condition is good. It seems he can hold a conversation as well. But that isn’t what we need to focus on right now.”

“What?”

And with Futurix’s next words, Peran understood why she had been wearing such a peculiar expression.

“Apparently, ever since he woke up, he’s been asking for a mage from the Magic Planet. It seems we need to get there as quickly as possible.”

*****

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