Chapter 132 – Paragon (1)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
“Paragon? What is that?”
“Was there a circle by that name?”
This was the first time the Demigods had ever heard of Paragon.
Believing them to just be another circle, they narrowed their eyes and stared at this new group while releasing an intangible pressure.
The Lich ignored them and spoke to Frey.
[Are those two the only enemies?]
“That’s right.”
[Hmm.]
The Lich looked at Frey for a moment.
It seemed he was quite interested in him.
[Hoh… indeed. Cairo was right.]
“What do you mean?”
[It’s nothing.]
The Lich responded in a strangely indifferent tone before turning his head away.
Frey frowned inwardly.
‘This guy…’
He had gone beyond the limit of Liches.
Even Frey felt a little intimidated by his aura.
It was impossible to compare him to the Lich he’d met on the boat or the undead Oydin had summoned. In fact, he felt more like Nozdog, who had the power of death.
But he wasn’t a Demigod.
In other words, this Lich was a being who had surpassed the limit of his species enough to exude an aura similar to a Demigod.
[It’s going to be a long fight. You guys can head over to Cairo first.]
“Do you not need my help?”
Then the Lich turned to glance at Frey again,
[If you had been in perfect condition, I would’ve agreed, but now, you would only be a burden.]
“…”
Frey agreed with the Lich.
If he were to stay beside him in his current state, he would only be a hindrance.
The Lich turned to look at the two Demigods before continuing,
[Don’t worry. It won’t be hard to kill these two.]
These words definitely reached the Demigods above as they froze for a moment.
…
…
A heavy silence fell.
It was the male Demigod on the left who broke this silence.
“Ignorant fool…”
Frey felt a huge build up of energy in the Demigod’s hands, so he tried to gather his strength.
He called upon the little scraps of mana he had left.
It would be impossible for that little bit of mana to defend against the Demigod’s attack, but his body instinctively began to circulate mana anyway as he quickly tried to think of a way to overcome this situation.
But soon, he realised that he didn’t have to.
Crack crack crack!
In an instant, thousands of hands tore through the ground. These hands, which were made of bones without a single bit of flesh, grabbed the Demigods.
“Useless struggle…”
After trying to break free of the restraints, the Demigods’ expressions became hard. At that moment, they realised they couldn’t move at all.
The Demigods’ expressions changed.
[You were careless.]
They recalled the words Lord had once told them with a solemn tone,
Lord had said that sometimes, such people would appear among the worm-like mortals.
He told them to not be careless.
To not look down on them.
Because mortals who were able to threaten them would occasionally appear.
“I-, is this guy…”
Crack.
Thousands of bones wrapped around the Demigods’ bodies without leaving any spaces. The Demigods roared and struggled to break free, but it wouldn’t be that easy.
Frey turned his head to look at the Lich.
His expression was full of surprise, astonishment, disbelief and anticipation – things that had rarely appeared on his face.
Even after receiving his gaze, the Lich’s eyes remained locked on the Demigods with a murderous glint.
“Are you a 9 star Wizard?”
He didn’t receive an answer.
* * *
Shuk.
Frey allowed himself to be sucked into the spatial movement casted by one of the Paragon members. (TL: should I call them ‘Paragons’?)
The reason why he called it ‘spatial movement’ and not Warp was because he could not figure out what trick they’d used.
The one who had cast the spatial movement was an Orc Shaman with deep wrinkles on her green skin.
Still, he hadn’t been able to tell her exact age. Perhaps around middle-aged.
She wore a necklace made of bones, and spoke a human language in a somber tone.
“Follow me.”
When they followed the Orc Shaman, darkness surrounded them. And darkness that Sheryl could not see through could not be natural.
“Master, is this Paragon’s hideout?”
“Perhaps. Do you know about Paragon?”
Heinz was curious because this was the first time he’d heard this name.
Sheryl shook her head.
“I only know their name and goal. I came into contact with them about ten years ago. They asked if I would leave the Circle and join them.”
There was no need for him to ask what her response was.
If she’d agreed, then she wouldn’t still be in the Circle.
“They said the Circle was rotten and that they were the ones who truly followed the cause. I refused because they still hid a lot of things.”
“…”
The Orc Shaman listened to Sheryl’s words without making any comments.
After walking down a brief hallway, they arrived at a wooden door.
“Go in.”
The Orc Shaman spoke in a cold voice, but then, she shook her head when Frey, Heinz and Sheryl all moved forward.
“Only Frey Blake can enter.”
“…”
Displeasure was clear on Sheryl’s face. Heinz, on the other hand, was expressionless as always.
Frey glanced at them before going in alone.
Dak.
In the room was a mysterious person in a robe. Frey could tell who it was from a glance. It was Third Princess Fiore’s teacher, the Imperial family’s hidden protector, and Schweiser’s descendant.
The Eleventh Tower Master, Cairo Wilsemann.
“Welcome to Paragon.”
As he said this, Cairo gestured in front of him, and Frey sat on the chair that was placed there. Then he bowed his head.
“Thank you for your help. You saved my life.”
“That’s okay. To be honest, it was an opportunity for us as well. Chances to kill Demigods are rare.”
“…”
Was he so sure that the Lich could kill the Demigods?
Frey looked at him with a strange expression for a moment before saying.
“…if I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t expect you to send reinforcements.”
He heard the robe flutter slightly. He wasn’t entirely sure, but Frey believed Cairo had a perplexed expression.
“Why?”
“I thought you were a person who wouldn’t make a move unless you were completely sure about it. I thought you wouldn’t believe me so easily.”
“…huhu!”
Cairo chuckled.
“You know me well. I wouldn’t think this was our second meeting.”
Then he removed his hood.
“…!”
The moment he saw the exposed face of a middle-aged man, Frey subconsciously sucked in a breath of air.
White hair and golden eyes.
Although the specific characteristics were different, he definitely looked like Schweiser.
“You’re right. I don’t make any moves unless I’m certain. Well, call it an occupational habit. Anyone who leads an organisation more covert than the Circle for decades would be the same.”
He let out a laugh.
“But I sent reinforcements because I was convinced. After listening to your words, I investigated it for myself and learned the truth about the situation.”
“The truth?”
“Exactly. We were able to figure out the location of the other three Apocalypses as well as Lord. They are now on Mount Roxeo in the Livindak mountains.”
“…!”
“The situation doesn’t look too good. Lord is instilling his divine power into the other Demigods. He was so focused he didn’t even notice us even though we were so close.”
This was definitely something that wouldn’t have been possible before.
Cairo shrugged.
“As you said, Lord was in a position where he could not move easily. The three Apocalypse have also been confirmed to be in near-fatal conditions.”
That was right.
In order to convince Cairo, Frey told him that the other three Apocalypse, as well as Lord, were unable to move at the moment.
But he didn’t tell him how he knew that because he would definitely have to mention Riki in order to do so. And Frey didn’t trust this organization called Paragon enough to tell them something like that.
Naturally, this caused Frey’s information to have many flaws. He was aware of that, but he didn’t think that mattered at that moment.
This was because Frey hadn’t known that Leita had called for reinforcement from three Demigods.
In other words, there was a lack of urgency.
He thought it would be the same regardless of if they came or not. The request for reinforcements was simply for insurance, and he thought that even if they didn’t come, he would be able to overcome the situation together with Sheryl and Heinz.
‘If I didn’t make that request, it would’ve been over.’
They would have died at the hands of the two Demigods.
Frey sighed.
“…but can they really defeat those Demigods?”
“Of course. Didn’t Diablo go?”
“Diablo?”
“The Archlich. I’m sure you noticed. He’s a 9 star Wizard.”
That was true. But when Frey heard Cairo confirm it, he couldn’t help but feel shocked.
There were 9 star Wizards other than him, and they were even fighting against the Demigods.
Frey felt his heart pound.
“Archlich… He is the Archlich of the Frozen Lands.” (TL: After seeing this, I realised that it wasn’t a name ‘Akrich’… I’ve already changed it in the previous chapters, sorry for the mixup)
“How do you know that?”
Cairo couldn’t help but ask this with a perplexed tone. There should be less than ten people on the entire continent who knew about Diablo.
After a moment, Frey said.
“I heard it from Hector.”
“Hector? I didn’t realise he knew. Hmm. You are a very mysterious person.”
Cairo was truly surprised.
Then as if he had been convinced about something, he nodded firmly.
“If that’s the case, do you know what he is and what he’s like?”
“I do.”
“…I see.”
Frey hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Are there any other 9 star Wizards in Paragon besides Diablo?”
“Huhu. You’re trying to know too much. I’m sorry, but that’s not information I can give to an outsider.”
Frey thought he had asked at a good time, but it seemed it was still too early.
After all, Cairo wasn’t an easy opponent.
Frey concealed his regret and said.
“Even if he’s 9 stars, it would be difficult for him to kill two Demigods.”
“If Diablo was alone, that would certainly be the case, but those people with him are the elite forces of Paragon. They will win.”
Cairo was certain. Paragon’s current strength was equal to or even higher than that of the Circle
Frey had been a bit dubious at first, but he also realised that it might’ve been the truth.
Then Cairo’s voice became serious as he said.
“Frey, I will offer you once more. Join Paragon.”
“…”
“You are the talent we need.”
“Why are you fixated on an 8 star Wizard?”
“I’m certain that you will reach 9 stars in time.”
As he said this, Cairo’s expression was firm.
Of course, Frey thought the same. He didn’t know how long it would take, but he was certain he would reach 9 stars in the near future.
“Before I hear your answer. This may sound strange, but there is a question I’d like to ask. Do you think a 9 star Wizard can defeat the Lord of the Demigods?”
“No.”
It was a question that should have required some thinking, but Frey answered without hesitation.
This took Cairo by surprise. He blinked before laughing dumbfoundedly.
“Hoho. I didn’t expect that answer.”
“Is it surprising?”
“Of course it is. Isn’t 9 stars considered a mythical level for those who walk the path of magic?”
He wasn’t wrong.
Officially, there were no Wizards on the continent who had reached 9 stars. That was the reason why most Wizards regarded a 9 star Wizard as the most powerful existence in the world.
“You seem to know a lot about the 9 star level. How strange. To know so much about a level that has never been achieved…”
“…”
“In any case, it will make this conversation easier. As you said, it is impossible to kill Lord even if you’re a 9 star Wizard. This is because Lord’s abilities are the perfect counter for a 9 star Wizard’s abilities.”
Absolute field.
This ability that 9 star Wizards gained, which allowed them to gain complete control over a portion of space around them, had absolutely no effect on Lord.
When Frey was thrown into the Abyss, he’d despaired over this fact. Lord, at least had the power of ‘space’, and it was unclear how many other powers he had besides that.
But Frey was surprised that Paragon knew so much about Lord’s abilities.
“Paragon has been researching ways to get rid of Lord and the Demigods more than anyone else on the continent. So we quickly realised that no matter how many 9 star Wizards worked together, they still wouldn’t be able to kill Lord.”
That was right.
Only
Frey agreed with Cairo.
No matter how many 9 star Wizards teamed up to face Lord, they would never win. The most they would be able to do is draw out the battle.
“We thought a lot about it. Lord’s control over the Demigods is absolute. He is their head, so if we manage to kill him, the rest of the Demigods will become disorganised. But even if we know that, we are still far away from killing Lord… so, ten years ago, we came to a conclusion.”
“A conclusion?”
“We have to remove the shackles of mortality first.”
Cairo looked at Frey and spoke with a firm tone.
“Frey, we’re thinking about creating a 10 star Wizard.”