Chapter 90 – The Mage Never Returned

I came face to face with the skeleton mage on the apartment rooftop.

It was worth running after seeing magic being cast.

Seeing how it still looked ready to throw off its rags at any moment, I surely would have missed the lich if I’d been a little late.

It was thanks to the unmanned aircraft.

Though it only talked to me without showing itself until the end, it revealed itself unable to endure this world’s weapons.

If people had been riding the aircraft, it would have handled them quickly and fled, but unfortunately all aircraft sent by the US military were unmanned.

Moreover, thanks to the last aircraft irritating the lich’s nerves until the end, I could arrive not too late like this.

‘Since Zahina said she’d collect what the aircraft dropped at the end, I can leave that to her.’

Though I had many questions about the US military that sent the aircraft, I decided to think about that later.

Now I had to deal with the skeleton before me.

I greeted first before fighting.

“Long time no see? Lich?”

Having not seen it directly for years, I was quite glad to meet the lich.

But the lich burst out angrily at my greeting.

[How dare you! Don’t call me lich! I am Archmage Josef Buck.]

Ah, so noisy.

I knocked my helmet with my sword hand.

It was an incredibly loud voice. Though only heard in my head, it made my head ring.

The lich seemed really angry.

But I didn’t stop talking.

“That was before death, now you’re a lich.”

It was impolite to call an intelligent being lich instead of its name.

Moreover, I knew the lich’s name from when it was alive well.

It was quite a famous mage, and famous as a lich too, so I’d heard about it from mages.

I had no reason to show courtesy to the lich or let it know I knew its name.

[Death cannot erase my continuity. I now am no different from Josef when alive!]

The lich stretched its hand toward me while spewing angry words.

Mana began gathering in its hand. The lich seemed about to attack in anger.

I quickly spoke before magic could be cast.

“Then you remember your living friends’ names?”

[Of course. He was…]

The lich started answering but stopped. The mana gathering at its bone fingertips scattered in the air.

I continued with questions.

“You’d remember family names too, and teacher and student names?”

[…]

This time it couldn’t even answer.

Though there was magic, a skull-only head couldn’t contain all memories from life.

Of course, even living people would have trouble remembering after well over a hundred years, but that wasn’t my concern.

[…Though I don’t remember well now, I still remember important things. That I am a mage, and accepted becoming undead to continue magic!]

The lich that had hesitated burst out speaking again. Its voice contained sincerity.

Its words befitted someone who had resolved to die for magic.

However, that sincerity meant nothing after death.

“So have you developed any existing magic since becoming a lich?”

Other mages were greatly disappointed when they first saw senior mages who became liches.

Of course, the senior mages who became liches showed new magic using death energy, death mana, and showed several times stronger power with magic used in the past.

That was all.

From what I heard from mages, magic using death energy wasn’t technically impressive magic, nor high-level magic.

It was just quantity-focused magic created by pouring in enormously increased mana.

Past magic was the same.

The increased power was due to having more mana. The lich’s magic skill hadn’t changed at all from when alive.

Mages who had some expectations of liches befitting mages were disappointed by the unchanged senior mages and gave up expectations of liches.

Honestly, magic-obsessed mages not betraying humanity and switching to the Demon King’s side was thanks to the lich before me now.

Though meant to shock, it seemed to really shock.

The lich froze stiffly at my words.

No voice came, and the moving skeleton and fingers all stopped.

Though hard to tell with a skeleton, this was clearly an opportunity.

All the talking until now was for this one moment.

I spread the waiting mana throughout my body.

The mana seeped into my legs and feet, flowed through my arms and hands into the sword.

The moment mana flowed in, I launched myself.

My mana-filled legs pushed my body toward the lich, and my arms swung the mana-filled sword powerfully.

Clang!

Though I swung the sword right in front of the lich, unfortunately the sword didn’t reach it.

The sword bounced off in the air before touching the lich’s bones.

A mana barrier.

I swung the bounced sword again, but the barrier didn’t break.

It seemed to have regained its senses from the barrier being struck.

The frozen lich opened its mouth.

[Too bad. You spouted nonsense earnestly but it didn’t work.]

I answered its words while continuing to swing the sword.

“You know it’s not nonsense.”

[It is nonsense. I’m still growing stronger under the Demon King.]

It raised its bone finger pointing at the bouncing sword.

Indeed, as it said, the mana barrier was incredibly sturdy.

An ordinary mage couldn’t block a knight’s mana-imbued sword with a mana barrier.

That’s why mages received protection in formations, and knights were mobilized to kill mages.

But the mana barrier the lich spread now was incomparably stronger than ordinary mages’ barriers.

Moreover, the lich could use magic normally while maintaining the mana barrier.

Mana began gathering in the lich’s hand again.

Though the situation didn’t look good, I didn’t stop my sword. And I kept talking too.

“And I’m not disappointed either. What mage doesn’t spread defenses, this went exactly according to plan.”

[What plan? What can you do when you were used as a guide dog being inferior to other knights.]

The lich clearly remembered seeing me before.

As it said, then I played more of a role finding the lich than fighting it.

The role of fighting the lich was mostly taken by elite order knights.

There were various reasons.

Partly because I was a free knight, and partly because I wasn’t very old.

Partly because of my specialty in mana detection, and as the lich said, partly because my skills were still lacking then.

Though everyone looked down on me then as the lich said, I had no complaints.

Because most knights who charged at the lich died.

Knights threw away their lives for honor, but I who remembered my previous life knew surviving was more important than honor.

Now I was different from then.

After the lich, I gained experience through countless battles with undead, and had become quite strong even after coming to this world.

If it were then, charging alone would have been crazy as the lich said, but not now.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sword kept bouncing off but the barrier wasn’t intact either.

Crack! Crack!

The mana barrier started cracking.

This was why I kept swinging the sword.

[Cracks appeared? Impossible! This barrier doesn’t even get scratched by knights’ swords!]

The lich seemed to notice the cracks and shouted angrily.

It certainly was a mana barrier worth saying that.

I didn’t think there was a high chance of breaking it before actually striking it.

I planned to beat it with words and run if it didn’t work.

But striking with the sword, I saw possibility.

Because I could see the mana flowing in the mana barrier shaking when the sword collided.

Others would say it’s impossible, but mana detection and enhanced senses let me see the mana in the mage’s mana barrier.

Though barely visible only when striking with the sword right in front, just being able to see completely changed things.

I learned how mana flowed in the mana barrier and where its weaknesses were from the mana movements.

Though such a sturdy mana barrier couldn’t be broken immediately upon seeing weaknesses, striking the weaknesses continuously could create cracks like now.

Crack!

[This can’t be possible! I don’t understand. The magic formula can’t be wrong…]

Though the lich seemed to panic seeing the cracking mana barrier, it quickly regained its senses.

[First, I should kill the enemy.]

However, seeing it suddenly become calm, it seemed not to have regained its senses on its own again.

Though inhuman again, unfortunately this time it didn’t help me.

Magic spread from the lich’s hand.

Black smoke poured out wrapping the surroundings.

Whoosh!

Death energy, death mana.

Simultaneously flames erupted before my eyes.

Whoosh!

The sun descended on the rooftop.

It was like night and sun appeared simultaneously.

It was an impossible sight, but magic, the lich’s magic made such things possible.

Though I teased hard, the lich was an impressive mage.

To maintain the mana barrier while casting two such powerful spells simultaneously.

No wonder knights who charged at the lich died.

If I were an ordinary knight, I would have died immediately caught in these spells too.

But I was no longer an ordinary knight, and the lich was no invincible mage.

Letting a knight who could break the mana barrier approach was a huge mistake as a mage.

Boom!

I broke through the flames and bounced off the rooftop.

Emerging from the flames, my armor was glowing red hot, and exposed blistered skin was turning black and dying.

Because I couldn’t properly dodge two powerful spells.

Though I received near-critical wounds in an instant, I could still achieve my goal.

The lich was before me as I fell below the rooftop.

My longsword was embedded in the head of the lich falling with me.

That sword was my longsword that broke through the mana barrier at the last moment.

The lich’s mistake was maintaining the mana barrier while casting other spells.

The barrier had to weaken while casting other spells, and I pierced that weakness.

Though successfully executed, it was a tightrope walk I never want to do again.

Thud.

Reaching the ground came quickly.

Perhaps due to the severe wounds, I ended up tumbling.

Still, I managed to drive the lich into the ground before tumbling.

Not being a fantasy novel lich, this much should be enough to kill it.

Thinking that, I got up.

“Ugh.”

Even standing was difficult.

Everything hurt.

Still I forcefully got up and approached the lich driven into the ground.

Perhaps being undead, the lich with the sword still embedded was still moving.

“Grk, why, why did this happen?”

The lich made sound moving its jaw bone.

How it made sound was more amazing than speaking in minds.

Fortunately the lich was dying.

Black smoke was escaping from the lich’s head.

Embedding the sword in its head was the right answer.

“Magic, I need to learn more magic…”

I told the truth to the skeleton spouting nonsense until the end.

“It’s already over. Accept death and return to dust.”

The lich briefly stopped speaking at my words.

Death flash? Light of reason seemed to return to the lich’s skeleton eyes.

“Dead? Y-yes. I still had things to do.”

The lich raised its trembling hand.

Though I stepped back startled by the sudden movement, the death energy flowing from the lich’s hand didn’t create magic or attack me.

The death energy shot skyward and disappeared into the distance.

Simultaneously a roar was heard from afar.

It was the octopus monster’s scream.

“A-at the end I was able to fo-follow the Demon King’s orders.”

Hearing the roar, the lich left those words and dropped its bone hand.

And I felt the approaching octopus monster turn around.

Boom. Boom.

After the lich returned to a corpse, the octopus monster turned and began heading to the safe zone.