Chapter 46: Sage Defeat (3)

An expulsion story.
A tale of a hero who saved the world, only to be exiled to another world, or back to his original one, due to the greed of others.
And the people left behind come to regret it.

But.
I wanted to believe that at least you were a true comrade.
Because we overcame so many hardships together.
Because we saved each other’s lives countless times.
But now, there are no more comrades with whom I can laugh and talk at ease.
I’ve already come too far to turn back.
There is only one thing left.
Taking a life.
Whether it’s his, or my own.
The outcome of this duel will bring an end to it all.
Knowing this, I couldn’t just stand still.
The overall situation was turning in Yushin’s favor.
Cutting off his arm with the first blow was the biggest factor.
But he couldn’t let his guard down.

‘That guy always had a lot of trump cards.’

The Sage always used to pull out unexpected trump cards.
Back when they were comrades, it was incredibly reassuring, but as an enemy, it was terrifying.
Just like right now.
Yushin forcefully struck the Sage’s only remaining arm.
Unable to withstand the force, it flew upwards, leaving the Sage’s upper body completely exposed.
It seemed like a golden opportunity, but Yushin’s accumulated experience sounded an alarm.
An alarm that had never been wrong before.
This time, too, Yushin trusted his intuition and backed away.
And as soon as Yushin retreated, flames flickered in the spot where he had just been.

“Your intuition is as sharp as ever.”

The Sage said, clicking his tongue in disappointment.
The flickering flame took the shape of a human arm.
I know what that is.

“The Fire Spirit King, Ifrit. So you had him after all.”

“It’s a mutually beneficial relationship through a formal contract.”

“A fraudulent contract is still a contract, I suppose.”

The Fire Spirit King, Ifrit.
He was originally a comrade who had contracted with the Sage and fought alongside him as a partner.
But after the Sage’s corruption, he was captured.
Now, his will had been completely removed, and he was reduced to being used as a mere weapon.
Yushin let out a sigh of relief internally.
An arm imbued with the essence of the Fire Spirit King.
Even for the current Yushin, enhanced by reinforcement magic, that was bound to be dangerous.
In the first place, even in his prime, that attack had been extremely threatening.

‘But I can’t let the distance between us grow here.’

It was certainly threatening, but he couldn’t afford to increase the distance now.
If he did, the Sage would regain his pace and unleash a fierce assault.
Closing the distance again in that situation would be extremely difficult, even for Yushin.
In that case, he had no choice but to be as careful as possible of Ifrit’s prosthetic arm.
He had to aim for an opening.
Having quickly made his decision, Yushin attacked again.
Seeing Yushin closing the distance again, the Sage clicked his tongue.

‘So he won’t go down easily, huh.’

Even when I introduce a variable, he figures out a countermeasure or a way to deal with it in a very short time and executes it without hesitation.
Indeed, I suppose a hero is still a hero, even if he’s rotten.
But that’s just a correctable error.
In the end, I will be the victor.
The Sage clenched his fist as if grasping a lifeline.
With a crackling sound, flames shot up from the ground.
Yushin frowned.
That wasn’t magic.
Rather than magic, it was a foreign power.

“You can even use Kang Hyunwoo’s power?”

“Wouldn’t you say I have to be able to do at least this much to claim I’ve stolen his vessel?”

“Quite the boast, isn’t it?”

The nerve of him, after being defeated.
It wasn’t enough for him to survive so disgracefully, now he’s even stolen the body and life of a complete stranger.
To say such things.
No, I shouldn’t look away.
This is my fault, too.
What if I had finished the Sage off properly back then?
If I had, at least this wouldn’t have happened.
But unfortunately, Yushin didn’t have the means to reverse this situation.
So, what should he do?
The answer was simple.
Revenge.
At the very least, bringing judgment upon that trash who stole a life.
That was the minimum duty and courtesy Yushin could offer, not as a hero, but as a human being.
This time, the prosthetic arm, Ifrit, detached from the Sage’s shoulder.
Calling it a prosthetic arm was putting it mildly; it was practically an all-purpose hand.
It could be used like a prosthetic.
Or, like now, it could fly through the air and spew fire.
It could also grab and melt things.
Ifrit’s will was gone, but his essence remained.
In other words, getting caught by that thing once meant game over.
However, Yushin was confident he wouldn’t be caught even once.
He had already fought against countless enemies this absurd.
The Sage was no different.

‘I will definitely crush him.’

With a heart forged like steel, Yushin stepped forward again.
At the same time, the Sage also rushed towards Yushin.

30 minutes.
It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, only 30 minutes had gone by.
From the continuous fighting, the Sage was gradually becoming physically exhausted.
On the other hand, Yushin was still relatively fresh.
The difference between a front-liner and a rear-guard was clear.
But despite this, the Sage hadn’t lost his composure.
What was it?
What is he hiding?
Feeling an ominous premonition, Yushin began to push the Sage even harder to end it quickly.
The Sage spoke with a smile.

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

“None of your damn business.”

Brushing off the Sage’s taunt, Yushin didn’t stop moving.
The battle was certainly in Yushin’s favor, but he couldn’t shake off his anxiety.

‘What is it? What on earth is that guy planning?’

Come to think of it, the Sage already had a variety of magic.
For instance, teleportation, or other reinforcement-type spells.
And so on.
He should have plenty of spells he could even use in close combat.
But aside from Ifrit, he hadn’t used any of them.
Was it taking a toll on him?
Or was he plotting something else?
I couldn’t figure out his intentions at all.
But I couldn’t stop attacking.
Attack, and attack again.
Crack!
BOOM!
Yushin’s fist finally broke through the Sage’s defense and dealt direct damage.
The Sage was sent flying into a wall.
Yushin opened his mouth.

“What have you been doing all this time?”

Yushin wanted to end it quickly in his own way.
But this guy had been pouring all his strength into defense, making it difficult to break through.
No, wait a minute.
Defense?
Yushin had experienced a similar fight before.
A very recent one at that.
Something finally clicked in Yushin’s mind, but it was already too late.

“You’re slow on the uptake. No, did you not expect it at all?”

“You son of a btch!!”

“I see, so this is the power called ‘Blooming’ here.”

“……!!”

“For now, I can only manifest it as it is… but this is more than enough for the moment.”

And then, wings of flame appeared on the Sage’s back.
It was the power of Blooming that Hyunwoo had used himself.
But Yushin heard words he couldn’t just ignore.

“You can manifest it as it is? Does that mean you can manifest other things as you please?”

“Something like that. Blooming, in the end, is a power that manifests one’s values. It’s not that different from magic. It’s just that the direction of its use is different.”

“……I see. I understand perfectly now.”

There’s no chance if not now.
If I don’t defeat him here and now, I won’t be able to beat him anymore.
Yushin felt that with certainty.
It wasn’t just about magic.
This guy is always researching new powers and growing stronger.
What’s more, if he obtains the power called Blooming in this place… he’ll become stronger than I can imagine.
But what method was there to turn this situation around?
Yushin pondered.
However, he no longer had any time to think.
Using his wings, the Sage instantly soared into the sky.
Yushin moved to block him belatedly, but it wasn’t easy due to the barrier of blazing flames.

“The distance between us has grown, hasn’t it?”

“Sht.”

The Sage snapped his fingers.
As if summoning a maid or a servant in a restaurant.
And then, numerous magic circles began to form in the sky.
The sight of the countless magic circles laid out like stars in the sky was a spectacle, if you could call it that.
The only problem was that I was the target of those magic circles.
Flames, ice, lightning, poison, rocks, acid.
Even sharp blades, axes, and meteors.
There were countless, innumerable spells.
Soon, the countless spells rained down mercilessly upon Yushin.
At first, Yushin defended himself with his sword to some extent, but that was only for a moment.
Soon, Yushin was buried under the numerous spells and completely disappeared.
Looking down at the devastated academy, the Sage laughed loudly.

“Thank you, my old friend. Thanks to you, we have been able to obtain salvation.”

“What did you say, you son of a b*tch?”

“!”

For the first time, the Sage was astonished.
Just when he thought he would never hear it again, feeling a hint of loneliness.
Because he heard that voice once more.
Slice!
With a gruesome sound, one of the Sage’s wings was sliced off.
The Phoenix’s wings; he wouldn’t fall even from a fatal wound.
But as a price, one wing is severed.

“How, how on earth?!”

On the outside, there was no significant change.
But the Sage noticed it immediately.
That guy had also used Blooming.
Yushin said with a smile.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Did you think you were the only one who could use that fancy ‘Blooming’?”

It was a simple principle, if you thought about it.
To paint the ideal image of oneself.
That was the Blooming Yushin had reached.

The Returning Hero