A Returner's Magic Should Be Special

Chapter 136. The Pinnacle (4)

‘So it was in a hurry.’

Desir realized the source of the unpleasant feeling that had been gnawing at him ever since he saw the Homunculus.

“Damn it! Why is this great truth unable to handle such petty magic?!”

The Homunculus had a mana circle embedded within its body. Actually, it had multiple mana circles. By drawing on these mana circles, it could both utilize it’s heaven defying ability and enhance the power of its regular attacks.

However, the dozens of mana circles in its body were only of the First-Circle. There was no way they could compete against a beyond-top-tier powered spell of a higher circle.

“Is it no longer possible for it to recover?” “It has reached its limit.”

Desir answered Romantica’s question while heavily breathing.

Desir had used up most of his mana with that last attack. He wouldn’t be able to cast any more spells, let alone defensive ones, if the need arose.

But it didn’t matter. The recovery ability of the Homunculus seemed to be out of commission. The once terrifying Homunculus had been reduced to the point where it could easily be handled by Romantica.

Romantica aimed at Pureus. “Should I kill the Alchemist first?”

“No, I have something to ask him. Please attack just the Homunculus.” Romantica nodded and aimed at the Homunculus.

*Crack*

The Homunculus’s leg was sniped and exploded in a terrible mess of gore.

In an instant the leg recovered. However, there was still a deep penetrating wound through which blood poured out of.

“Kiaaaaaaaak!”

Energy once again gathered in front of the Homunculus, but Romantica’s sniping speed was much faster.

*Bang*

A wind bullet pierced the Homunculus’s forehead.

It was truly beyond restoration this time. The Homunculus did not so much as twitch after falling over.

“Phew… ”

Romantica lowered her rifle and let out a long sigh. After wiping off the cold sweat that had formed on her brow, she pointed at Pureus.

“I think he’s still alive.”

Desir and Romantica passed by the Homunculus. There was an alchemist lying on his back in the middle of the old lab room.

“Sigh, if only I had managed to complete my experiment, it wouldn’t have been nearly this easy to defeat me. My deepest regret is dying without being able to… complete it.”

While the Homunculus was able to erase casualty on damage it had received, this ability did not extend to the area, or people, around itself.

Pureus had been severely burnt by Desir’s magic and had even lost one of his legs. It was a serious injury. It was a miracle that he even managed to survive this long.

“Any experiment created through such inhumane methods would never receive approval from the Association of Alchemists.”

“You… will never understand… ever.”

Pureus’s face was scrunched up into a frown from the severe pain he was in. Desir asked Romantica to stand back for a moment before addressing Pureus.

“There is one thing I want to know. No matter how good of an alchemist you are, it’s impossible to conduct this kind of experiment by yourself. Who helped you?”

“Why… should I answer that… ?”

“Because I’ll end your life as painlessly as possible.” Desir stomped on his remaining leg.

“Kaaaaaaaah!”

Pureus shrieked in pain, but Desir’s face did not betray the slightest intention of lifting his boot.

However, Desir eventually relented and lifted his boot slightly. Pureus stared at him fiercely while gasping in pain. His face, that seemed to be stuck in a perpetual frown, was accentuated by the burns. Children would cry in fright if they saw him in this pathetic state.

“I’m already… dying anyway. I can’t trade the name… of my benefactor.” “So you have someone behind you after all.”

“… !”

Pureus realized that he had been misled by Desir. His eyes snapped open and his breath soon ceased.

A notification sounded.

[Rare Hero, Pureus Niftion is dead.]

[You have completed the quest “The Truth of Eternal Life.”]

[-As you have freed the city from the grasp of evil alchemists, the city lord will hear out one request.]

[You have dealt with the threat brilliantly. However, the danger to you has not yet subsided.] [Pureus Niftion was executed, but you have discovered an unknown force behind him, supporting his experiments.]

[-Exterminate them to foil their dastardly plot.]

* * *

Witnessing the collapse of the mansion, soldiers of the fief rushed in. Identifying the fallen bodies of Pureus and one other person, they arrested Desir and Romantica. To the soldiers, they had caught criminals red-handed.

For them, Pureus was a savior often referred to as a sage.

However, survivors from the experiments quickly exposed the misdeeds of Pureus. Their stories were supported by the wounds that remained on their bodies.

Subsequently, traces of the battle soon revealed that the entire city would have been blown away if not for the Aurora System deployed by Desir.

Desir and Romantica were treated as heroes who fought on behalf of the city, and the Lord of the Desert Flower City invited them to the castle in an expression of gratitude.

“Wizards, thank you for saving the city. Thank you on behalf of the Desert Flower City. As a reward, I will do my best to answer any request you may have of me. Is there something you want?”

“Please allow us to use the teleportation gate.”

Desir answered the Lord’s question without any hesitation. “A request that simple? I’ll prepare it for use right away.” The work was conducted swiftly.

While waiting for the teleportation gate, Desir and Romantica changed outfits and packed away their damaged Clothes Lines.

Romantica, never one to ruminate on something for too long, voiced her concern.

“Desir, isn’t it strange that the story of this Shadow World is different to the actual history we studied?”

It was as Romanica had surmised: In the real world, Pureus’s study of eternal life never saw the light of day.

Desir could not recall any story of a Homunculus, let alone one that powerful, being created in his previous life.

However, this made it clear that Pureus had almost finished his research into eternal life. There had never been a Shadow World that showed a false past. Only by comparing what they knew to what they had found here, could the real history be discovered. It was through this method that historical inaccuracies were corrected and gaps in recorded history filled… However there wasn’t any precedent of a Shadow World uncovering an alternative past.

“The quest we received in this Shadow World was to defeat the Homunculus. This should mean that the quest would be cleared after the Homunculus was eliminated. However, the follow-up quest indicates that someone hid this research in the real world.”

“Why?”

“I don't know why, but it’s impossible to say that it was hidden for a good purpose.”

The Homunculus’s power to manipulate causality was truly in the realm of God. It was a stage that human power could never reach.

The Homunculus they had just dealt with was overwhelming, despite being an incomplete product. If it had a higher level mana circle or two, it would be unimaginably stronger.

‘We have to reduce the number of variables.’

Desir had been held up with another problem that originated from an unexpected place. “But finding the shadowy supporters of this… I don’t know where to even begin.”

“I have a clue.”

Desir revealed something he had stowed in his sleeve. It was a piece of a broken crystal. “What’s that?”

“The initial form of a mana circuit. It was used as a tool to store mana in the past. It was one of the things that I saved from the remains of the Alchemist’s lab. I’m sure he used this in his experiments.”

“So?”

“At this time, there was only one country in the world that could make mana circuits. And that country strictly forbade the export of mana circuits to prevent their technology from leaking. That country was the Magic Kingdom.”

“You mean, the Magic Kingdom… !”

As the gears seemed to visibly turn in Romantica’s brain, it didn’t take too long for her to realize something. The initial destination of the main quest was the Magic Kingdom too!

“We may have some clues as we progress through the first main quest.”

Both wizards felt a sense of foreboding, intimating that things likely wouldn’t turn out as planned.

After organizing their thoughts, they turned to the teleportation gate that had been activated.

* * *

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Five days had passed since they had entered the Shadow World. It was an afternoon filled with the splendorous sight of wonderful sunlight.

The soldiers loitered on the ship’s deck, soaking up the sunshine. “Don’t neglect the maintenance!”

“Is engine no.4 still unstable?”

“I definitely finished inspecting it. It looked fine to me.”

The soldiers were all excellent and thanks to them the journey continued smoothly.

Monsters had attacked from time to time, but these were all minor skirmishes and before too long the frequency of monster attacks had decreased dramatically. After passing through this rough patch, the voyage had been nothing but stable.

Adjest looked at the unoccupied chair. It was the place Desir had sat in before.

When Desir jumped out of the airship to follow Romantica, she was worried at first, but she knew they were safe as there had been no special notification.

Adjest was relieved that they were alive, but as time passed, she began to worry again.

Desir and Romantica had jumped out and presumably landed in the middle of a desert. It was practically impossible for them to rendezvous again on the airship.

This meant the quest had to be cleared by just Adjest and Pram. The already difficult Level Three Shadow World had just increased in difficulty again. However, Adjest was optimistic that this set back was only minor, and that they still had the power to progress and clear the main quest.

The problem was whether Desir and Romantica were able to remain safe until the quest was completed.

With limited options, the only thing Adjest could do was to focus on clearing this quest as quickly as possible to facilitate their escape. Desir and Romantica’s lives hinged on it.

With her mind now set, she hardened her resolve to complete the escort mission to the best of her ability.

Pram, who fully trusted Desir, focused on honing his sword skill without any care in the world.

Kei appeared to enjoy assisting Pram in polishing his sword skill. He spent most of his free time with Pram and even sparred with him on occasion.

“Thank you, Mr. Kei.”

“No problem. This has been beneficial to me too.”

Naturally, practicing with Kei, a Grand Master of the Sword, improved Pram’s ability by leaps and bounds in a short period of time.