Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 153 - New Power (1)

After he returned to his mansion, Henry couldn’t help but smile from satisfaction.

As a father, Alfred’s situation was tragic. He couldn’t deny his son the cigarettes despite knowing that they were essentially poison.

It was just too good for only Henry to see.

‘Since you’ve made other parents cry, now it’s your turn to shed tears and despair.’

Henry didn’t feel guilty because he couldn't even count how many of his comrades died because of the Three Great Families.

Seeing Henry’s cheery expression, Hector asked, “What are you so happy about?”

Hector was eating a plate full of grilled skewers, and Henry wasn’t even surprised by this anymore.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, nice timing. I was actually looking for you.”

“Me?” replied Hector with a mouthful of skewers.

“I’ve run out of cigarettes, so you need to go back to Shahatra now. Your main duty is to turn Herarion into the sword of the desert, isn’t it?”

“What? Wasn’t I just supposed to teach him swordsmanship?”

“If you’re going to teach him, do it properly. What’s the point if you’re just going to teach him a little bit? Anyway, get ready. We’re leaving now.”

“What? Right now? Can’t we have dinner before we leave?”

“No.”

He firmly refused. There were more things to prepare now that his plans were moving faster than expected.

Henry grabbed Hector by the shoulder and attempted to use Teleportation.

Buzz!

‘Huh?’

Henry felt an unfamiliar vibration coming from the ring on his finger.

‘Klever?’

Inside the darkened white gold ring was Klever, still processing Henry’s mana.

Klever had stayed silent ever since his rapid growth started, but the fact that Henry’s ring was suddenly vibrating meant that something had changed.

Drip!

“Oh?”

Gray slime started to ooze from the ring.

Henry merely looked at the ring and refrained from doing anything because he was very curious about what Klever would do next.

“H-Huh? What is this?”

However, Hector reacted differently. The slime from Henry’s ring flowed down from his finger and covered Hector’s shoulder.

Hector moved his shoulder in surprise, but Henry still didn’t let go.

“What are you doing! Let go!”

“Stay still. This guy is my servant, so calm down.”

“What?”

Hector had almost released his Aura, but he couldn’t do so when he heard that this was Henry’s servant.

The slime on his shoulder was starting to get unpleasant as it spread down his arm, getting closer and closer to the plate of skewers in his right hand.

“W-wait! Not this!”

Tzzz!

Hector could somehow endure the slime covering his body, but he definitely couldn’t let it touch his skewers. These skewers had not been made by the chef of the mansion, but it was still his favorite food that he had bought at the market. Thus, Hector quickly released his Aura, completely forgetting what Henry had just said.

However, the moment he released his Aura, the two of them witnessed something incredible.

Tzzz, slurp!

Hector’s Aura was sucked into the slime, and then absorbed by Klever.

“H-huh!”

Smash!

Hector was so dumbfounded by the fact that his mana had just been absorbed that he dropped his plate on the floor.

The slime changed its direction.

Klever slid down Hector’s upper body towards his legs, spreading his slime over the scattered skewers on the floor.

Slurp!

The slime absorbed everything, from the broken plate to the splash of sauce on the floor. By the time all the skewers were gone, the large amount of slime that had been pouring out of Henry’s ring also stopped.

“Klever.”

Squirm squirm.

Henry put his hand down and called Klever’s name.

The gray slime on the floor was rising upwards, shifting into a shape akin to a tower, and soon grew to the size of a little boy.

Squirm squirm.

However, it didn’t stop there. Klever was transforming into a familiar shape after growing big enough.

“...!”

Hector was using the Korun’s body, and Klever had transformed into Hector’s mirror image.

“Oh?”

It was a perfect clone. Klever had even perfectly replicated the skewer sauce around Hector's mouth.

Klever bowed to Henry and spoke in a polite tone.

“You called, Master?”

“I-isn’t this me?” said Hector.

Hector was undoubtedly the most shocked, unable to conceal his astonishment at the sight of his perfect clone.

Henry smirked and asked Klever, “Are you well rested?”

“Yes, Master. Your power is so great that it took a long time for me, a lowly being, to absorb all of it. I deeply apologize for making you wait so long, Master.”

During the time Henry hadn't seen him, Klever had undergone significant changes. If Klever was comparable to a kitten before, he was now like a great lion.

“Henry, have you always had a servant like this? It’s crazy how much we look alike,” said Hector.

“It’s not like this. This is Klever, whom I forced into an egg.”

“Klever? Klever, as in… That cute cat?”

“Yes.”

“Oh wow… That cute cat changed this much?”

Learning that the unpleasant slime was actually Klever, Hector was astounded once again.

Klever bowed to Hector and thanked him, “I’m grateful to you too, Sir Hector. Thanks to you, I was able to lay the foundation for my evolution process.”

“Hmm, I guess… Anyway! I’m glad you grew up so well!”

Even though Hector had once made a fuss about the cat becoming an egg, he was now awkwardly complimenting him. However, Henry didn’t call him out on that because he was currently more curious about the completely evolved Klever.

‘I should delay my plans for now.’

Henry’s plans were important, but confirming his newly acquired power was also important because he didn’t know how Klever could help him in his new form.

This time, Henry really used Teleportation with Hector and Klever.

* * *

Arthus gently closed his eyes as he manipulated Selene, a puppet under his control.

Selene blinked her red eyes and pulled out a knife that she had secretly prepared.

- Who are you?

Chills.

Arthus was horrified, never having heard such a chilling voice that sent shivers down his spine. The cold tone echoed in his head, and realizing that something was wrong, Arthus quickly looked up. This way, he could break the connection between Selene’s subconsciousness and him. However, he was still seeing Janus’ temple, which he had just seen with Selene’s eyes, and not his office.

‘What the…!’

- Why are you surprised?

“...!”

This time, it wasn’t in his head. He could clearly hear someone’s voice from behind him.

Arthus’ muscles froze, and his body hardened. He was completely paralyzed.

Step step.

He could hear footsteps approaching from behind, the sound getting closer and closer. However, Arthus couldn’t turn around because his muscles had become rigid like dried plaster due to the overwhelming fear.

He was utterly terrified, as he broke out into a cold sweat.

The moment he realized that he was afraid, Arthus murmured in disbelief.

‘A-am I afraid right now?’

Being different from the average person, he had never felt scared of anyone before. However, for the first time in his life, he was dominated by fear and couldn’t move one bit.

- How fun.

The footsteps stopped just behind Arthus.

He felt as if dozens of sharpened spears were being pointed at him.

Arthus was terrified, but he was also surprisingly curious.

‘Who is it? Who on earth could make me so scared?’

The unknown being behind him continued.

- You want my power.

‘My power?’

As soon as he received the subtle hint, Arthus tried to think as hard as he could, but before he even had the chance to consider anyone else, only one thing popped up in his head.

- That’s right. I’m Janus, the one who can offer you the power you so desperately want.

‘...!’

He felt chills once again.

The one who had filled him with terror was none other than Janus.

- You’ve got some nice talent. All right then, I’ll give you the same opportunity as Herarion.

Despite Arthus not having said anything, his desire for power was sufficiently conveyed to Janus.

Janus raised his hands, resembling a human but dark like the night sky, and covered Arthus' face from behind.

Sizzle!

Arthus could smell his skin burning, and that was the last sensation he remembered.