The Great Ancient Wizard, the Decisive Battle (2)

  Evan was prepared for the idea that he could fight the Devil at any time, but he didn’t think it would be this way. He looked around the chaotic battlefield and thought so vacantly.

  ‘Isn’t this situation very different from the game…?’


  The final match in Yo-Ma Great War Zero had a solemn atmosphere. There was something clear that even the hearts of the players were broken in the pitiful images of the High Elf Mirole, who accompanied the Ancient Great Wizard with the determination to die instead of letting the Ancient Great Wizard get hurt. The tribal coalition, which the Ancient Great Wizard managed to collect himself while struggling… fought for their lives in the fight for the fate of the world, even if their thoughts were different.

  “There’s another crack over there! It looks like the Demons are trying to fuse with the monsters of the Magic world!”


  “Aim at the crack, Elf shooters…fire! Destruction complete!”


  “Ha, such a crappy magic cannot scratch this dragon scale armor!”


  “God is watching us! As long as he’s with us, we won’t fall apart!”


  [Succubus 2nd squad, let’s put them in a hallucination!]

  [We’re not a service agency! Take the grudges built up from the Demon Realm!]

  “…”


  It was also essential to discuss the Divine beings who had appeared in person for the first time in the series and even fought. The noble beings, who dealt with forces that humans would dare not understand, had strained the Ancient Great Wizard as neither enemies nor allies while disposing of the demons and monsters. The tension of walking a tight rope controlling the strong allies who might stab them in the back remained vivid until the final match.

  [The Devil will be here soon!]

  [This is crazy; I need to get out of here!]

  [The energy of that world is flowing out of control and into Middle Earth. What the hell is going to happen?]

  [I want to step back, I want to step back, but…I’ve already spent a lot of my energy on the descent, so if I step down now, I’ll lose a lot. Damn it, damn it!]

  “…”


  What was the strength of the enemy? The power of the Demon King, who led an army that gathered the power of all the Demons to summon the evil spirits who have the power to destroy the world, shuddered. Even the Divine monsters, who had breathed along with the land’s long history, had also been pressing for the World Water.

  The monsters of this world, who were constantly flocking from cracks until the final round, gave rise to all sorts of variables. Middle Earth and Spirit Realm monsters didn’t hesitate to hold hands with the demons and created an eerie sense of fear in the abyss where nothing was seen.

  [Oh, no! I can’t stop the ritual! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

  [His Majesty is angry…he will destroy this world.]

  [What the hell is that monster wizard? Run! Run! Run away from him!]

  [You’re too strong for a human!]

  [Monsters of the Magic world, attack the Elf over there, not me…ahhhhh! ]

  In Evan’s review of the friendly and enemy figures, Maybell spoke in a cold tone as she recovered the demon’s body that Evan had just killed.

  “This situation, most of it is as it was made by the Master.”


  “So, when is the Devil coming? When are you coming out?”


  Meanwhile, Leo, who was heated up ahead of the battle against the enemy, was too excited. Aria, who achieved the remarkable achievement of keeping the gods and the Allies together in the main camp of the Demon Tribe, calmed her husband down.

  “Hey, wait a minute. Before that, let’s get the Demon King over there.”


  “Wow, that’s the Demon King!”


  “Oh, that’s just his alter ego.”


  While all the other ten Demons participated in the war in their bodies, the crafty Demon King came to earth with his alter ego to take care of his safety. It was possible because he signed some agreement with Keiha, Prince of the Demon Realm, who wasn’t part of the Ten Demons and had more power than them. He promised to cooperate with Keiha’s plan in return for remaining in the Demon Realm and protecting himself.

  “Of course, after the Demon King’s betrayal, Keiha was trapped in the Sherden Dungeon.”


  ‘Come to think of it; I couldn’t meet Keiha in the Demon Realm.’


  Evan tilted his head, belatedly recalling the fact, but it was only natural in retrospect. If he had met Keiha in the Demon Realm, he would have killed him so that he wouldn’t have met him in the dungeon in the future.

  “Hmm.”


  Evan squinted as he looked back at the pillar of the Dark Magic, which showed no sign of stopping the runaway. It was expanding upward and sideways, absorbing many cracks in the Spirit Realm, which still regularly appeared, a hundred times more anxious than the summoning ceremony in the game. Evan thought the Demon King was coming to get it back to normal somehow…


  He thought killing the ritual would reduce the momentum, but it was going the other way around. It was a mistake. Should he bring in the Demon King to stabilize it? But soon, his troubles were forced to a halt. Suddenly, the gate opened between the Dark Magic, and inside…the existence of a man in a shabby robe appeared.

  “…What?”


  The moment he saw it, Eva’s breathing shallowed. He didn’t know why that suddenly appeared there. No, wait. Was this reality now? Maybe he wasn’t reincarnated as Evan, but was enjoying the Yo-Ma Great War series with full-dive VR? If not, suddenly over there…


  “The Ancient Great Wizard…”


  He couldn’t show up. He couldn’t.

  “Looks like Zero…?”


  “That? No, it can’t be.”


  At Mirole’s inadvertent response, Evan denied as much as he could. The face certainly looked like him, but it wasn’t the face that mattered to the Ancient Great Wizard. It was a short period, but it was an entertaining game, and it remained so impressive that you could learn it well. That was the Ancient Great Wizard that had nothing to do with Evan. It had to be like that.

  “What? But…”


  “He’s different.”


  “No, Zero. You both look similar.”


  “Oh, for sure. He’s similar to the Master. But just looking at him makes me feel rejected…to the point where I want to stab him right away.”


  “No way…that can’t be right.”


  He didn’t know the source, but he had great strength in his body. Very taciturn but willing to do anything as far as one’s ability went. A true hero who sacrificed himself for the stability of the world. Evan was willing to replace him if he didn’t exist. He had thought that all along.

  “The truth is…that there was a separate Ancient Great Wizard…?”


  “…”


  The moment Evan casually uttered it. He and Evan looked at each other. As soon as Evan faced the deep, vain eyes, he realized instinctively.

  “You are…”


  [Broke the whole plan.]

  He opened his mouth and spoke. It was a strange voice, neither male nor female.

  [Fake man.]

  Who? Evan? An Ancient Great Wizard?

  [But eventually, you won’t be able to stop him.]

  [Rather, he will come down in the worst form.]

  [Destroy the whole world, and only the accurate me will remain.]

  Evan instinctively reached out and tried to crumple him. However, no matter how powerful Evan may be to cut through the sea and destroy the earth, he couldn’t hold him, and the pillar of high-density energy soared with the world’s energy.

  “If this happens, the unique armor…”


  “No, Zero. It’s a relief if you can pull him out and stop him, but if you can’t, you have to deal with him without your unique armor.”


  “…”


  Mirole activated her unique armor, which was less burdensome than Evan’s. She shot a spirit arrow, but of course, her attack couldn’t penetrate the pillar. It was then that the Demon King and the Fifth Demon arrived.

  [What, you’re Nave…?]

  [Don’t call me that. It’s just a temporary name to prevent extinction.]

  The hooded man responded with a snort. Every time he spoke, his lips opened, and his throat was as deep as his eyes. For a moment, there was a hole in his chest as if he had been shot. Of course, the hole was black, too.

  [The promise to the Devil, I’ll keep it now.]

  “A promise to the Devil…?”


  The Demon King looked back at Evan when Evan muttered casually.

  [Is it you; the man called Zero? The man that my friends feared…whoops!]

  [Ahhhhhhhhhh!]

  Now not in the mood to have a leisurely conversation with the Demon King, Evan shook his hand to destroy him. He also smashed the female demon next to him. Now that he had to fight the Devil, he couldn’t afford to pay attention to the Demon King, who was about to leave anyway, in this situation where the Ancient Great Wizard unexpectedly appeared.

  “Who the hell are you?”


  [It’s you who ruined the clean scenario, so you’ll have to pay for it.]

  A distorted voice like a collapsing body. How should Evan react to the existence of the author who suddenly appeared and blamed him endlessly?

  “Scenario? You.”


  [I will take what is due to be mine.]

  “Zero…”


  Mirole took Evan by the arm with a fearful voice. An Ancient Great Wizard, who already had dozens of black holes in his body and could no longer be called a human being, reached out to them from the middle of the pillar…


  “Haaaa!”


  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”


  The moment he was going to do something. One more gate opened, and two faces that Evan knew well popped out of it. Although there was a startling difference in growth, it was undoubtedly the children he knew.

  “You little bastards! It’s dangerous to jump in all of a sudden, so I…!”


  No, including that little fairy-looking person, they totaled three faces.

  “Liz!?”


  “Oppa imitator, die!”


  Elizabeth popped out of nowhere and struck the Ancient Great Wizard hard. He completely collapsed, shaped like black sticky tar, and was naturally absorbed into the pillar. The problem was that some of the tar was transferred to Elizabeth’s weapon at the moment of the attack, covering Elizabeth’s body instantly.

  “Oh!”


  Elizabeth’s actions at that moment were swift. With her remaining power, she pushed Eir and Rose out of the pillar. Then she was sucked into a pillar and disappeared, leaving no trace, as the same happened to the Ancient Great Wizard.

  “What…?”


  After a series of mysterious events, Evan couldn’t think usually. But what was certain was his precious sister, Elizabeth, just disappeared, absorbed into the pillar-like the mysterious Ancient Great Wizard.

  “Liz!”


  “Stop it!”


  It was Rose who stopped him from exerting force on the pillar.

  “If you touch it now, it will only harm the little one!”


  “Rose, what the hell are you doing?”


  “What am I supposed to do with that little girl jumping in at will? Plus, look where we got out, damn it! Back off, the Dark Magic is about to burst!”


  Rose stopped talking and stretched out a myriad of thorny tree trunks to push everyone back. Immediately after, the Dark Magic expanded significantly and sprayed terrifying energy in all directions. The Devil’s pillar absorbed from the Ancient Great Wizard and Elizabeth, finally fulfilling everything it needed…


  It was trying to bring the Devil to this land.

  “We need to save Liz!”


  “I’m thinking of away, too! But we can’t break that!”


  Leo looked back and responded as Rose shouted face to face at Evan’s screaming.

  “Oh, my God, the gods are coming.”


  “Let’s block it for a while, Leo.”


  “Grandpa Leo, Aria.”


  “Zero, you can do it.”


  The two heroes moved. At that time, Evan, who sent away the elders he could rely on, was staring blankly at the pillar of Dark Magic soaring high in the sky with a bewildered heart. A tiny fragment of something from the pillar of the Dark Magic touched his hand.

  The memory of the fragment had then been regenerated.