Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage - Chapter 381: Returning the Favor (2)

Henry saw everything he had been waiting to see come out from underground: skeleton soldiers, Death Knights, Hoosler, the Warlock who served the Messiah, and even the temple where the Messiah resided.

It surely was spectacular to see all of them being yanked out of the ground like tied-up potato roots.

However, Henry didn’t just gaze at them. He proceeded to slaughter every single undead creature. The reverse gravity magic spell had done all the dirty work, so taking out his enemies from this point was a piece of cake.

Amid the chaos, Hoosler twisted in the air to face Henry.

“What in the world is going on?!” Hoosler yelled with a dumbfounded expression.

The Warlock seemed relatively young, unlike how Henry remembered him. But for some reason, seeing him put a smile on Henry’s face. However, he decided to postpone their reunion for a little bit and finish taking care of the undead, not caring that Hoosler was watching.

Once the last Death Knight fell, Hoosler’s expression darkened.

Snap!

All the wood and earth in the air suddenly fell when Henry canceled the spell. However, Hoosler and the Messiah were still floating in the air. Henry snapped his fingers again, bringing the two right in front of him.

The Messiah was still sleeping, whereas Hoosler looked Henry straight in the eye. But before the Warlock could say anything, Henry spoke up first.

“Long time no see.”

“Wh-what…?”

Hoosler looked bewildered as he had no clue why Henry spoke as though they had met before. His reaction was only natural, given that this was indeed their first encounter in this timeline.

In the other timeline, Henry had killed the Messiah, and Arthus had killed Hoosler.

Of course, Henry didn’t have the same emotions toward Hoosler as he did toward his old comrades. Nevertheless, he was still glad to have encountered someone he had seen perish in his previous life.

Henry sent the Messiah away before continuing the conversation.

“Alright, since the Messiah is over there now, do what you can do.”

“D-do what? What in the world are you talking about?!”

“What do you mean? Do your special move. Blow yourself up.”

“Ho-how do you…!”

“You don’t want to? Well then…”

Henry was alluding to Hoosler’s trump card—a self-destruction technique that released extremely potent acid from his skin.

Before, Henry had survived the blast thanks to the Venom’s Heart and his magic. Hoosler had been on the brink of death following his suicide attack, but Henry had saved him using Elagon’s powerful recovery spell.

Henry was deliberately provoking Hoosler because he knew everything he was capable of. But this time, since Elagon was not there, he would just have to watch Hoosler die in case he did actually use his ultimate move.

‘Of course, there’s another way…’

Henry did have another way of bringing Hoosler back even without Elagon, but he wanted to finish everything as quickly as possible on his own terms. Thus, he tried to convince Hoosler right from the get-go that his suicide attack would be futile.

Fortunately enough, things went according to Henry’s plan, and Hoosler didn’t even move a finger.

Snap!

With that, Hoosler and the Messiah flew in front of Henry again, the boy still asleep.

“You’re Hoosler, right? The head of the Church of Nephram and the Messiah’s sole assistant?” asked Henry as he shifted his gaze from the Messiah to the Warlock.

“And how do you do that?”

“You… Do you not know who I am?” Henry asked while pointing at himself with his thumb.

Hoosler took a closer look at Henry’s face, and after a good minute, his eyes widened as he finally realized who was standing in front of him.

“I-I can’t believe it… Are you Henry Morris?”

“Yep, in the flesh.”

Henry realized once again how convenient it was to have his original face, as he and Golden were currently two of the most talked-about figures on the continent.

Having realized who was before him, Hoosler looked like he wanted to take a few steps back. Noticing this, Henry quickly spoke up to explain.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not here to kill you. Rather, I’m here to save you.”

“Sa-save me, sir? What do you mean by that?”

Out of fear, Hoosler had immediately changed his tone to a more polite one, and Henry smiled at that.

“How do you think I found you guys even though you’d been hiding deep underground?”

“I have no idea, sir…”

“Tsk, tsk… Try using that brain of yours, will ya? The leader of the Church of Peace has sold you out. He’s already told others that your Messiah can communicate with the Demon God and also that you guys are preparing for the descent of the next Demon King.”

“…!”

At this, Hoosler opened his eyes even wider than before. This encounter was getting more and more shocking as time went on.

“And let me tell you something else. I defeated Vegarus not long ago. You see what I’m getting at?”

Hoosler had no choice but to listen to Henry’s blunt explanation, and as he did so, he sighed and closed his eyes in despair.

Henry frowned, not understanding why Hoosler reacted like that.

“Uhm… Hello? What’s up with that dejected look on your face? Didn’t you hear me? I’m here to save you guys?”

“…Sorry?”

“Are you deaf? I said I’m here to save you. I bet the Holy Knights from the Church of Peace are already on their way to kill you. If you don’t believe me, just wait here and see for yourself.”

At this, Hoosler frowned in confusion as though he didn’t understand this sudden turn of events.

“Let’s talk about the details somewhere.”

“Somewhere else? Where on earth would we go…”

“Just be quiet and follow me.”

Henry then grabbed both of their hands and cast Teleport.

Flash!

With that, the three vanished with a brief flash of light, leaving behind the traces of the Church of Nephram.

***

With a flash of light, the three emerged in what looked like a laboratory. Hoosler looked terribly anxious, and he was holding onto the Messiah tightly.

The Messiah looked very young, but Henry knew that his appearance wouldn’t change. The boy looked the same as he had when Henry had gone to the Church of Nephram to seek out the divine power necessary to deal with Arthus.

The Messiah was still in a slumber, completely unaware of what was happening around him.

“You’re still sleeping like a log, just like last time,” said Henry while looking at him from above.

Hoosler had no clue why Henry kept on talking in such a strange manner. However, that was less important than the fact that Henry had kidnapped him and the Messiah.

Hoosler then slowly got himself together and looked around.

“Where are we?” asked Hoosler, hiding behind the Messiah. His eyes were full of apprehension, given that his situation was dire and that he knew who Henry was.

“My lab.”

“…Pardon?”

“Are you actually deaf? We’re in my lab…” Henry replied with a hint of irritation.

They were on the top floor of the Magical Spire built next to the imperial palace in the capital of Lindbergh.

Hoosler looked at Henry as though he didn’t understand why he had brought them here.

Looking at his face, Henry smirked and asked, “Don’t you guys want to live?”

Henry’s question was cold and rather self-evident, as almost no one wanted to die. Hoosler was no exception, and he nodded without realizing it.

At this, Henry smiled in satisfaction.

“Alright, then let’s make a deal.”

“A deal…?

“Yeah, a deal. If you take up my offer, I’ll not only save you but also hide and protect you until the Demon King can descend.”

“Wh-what? Could you please repeat that, sir?”

“You must be really deaf.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that, but…”

Hoosler was dumbfounded by what Henry was saying and thought he had misheard him. It made no sense for someone who had just defeated the Demon King to want another one to descend.

The Warlock simply couldn’t believe that Henry was actually saying such things, but he knew that everything happening at this moment was real.

“What do you think? Isn’t this a pretty tempting offer?”

“Yes, sir… But…”

Although everything seemed to align with his interests, it was a bit early for Hoosler to celebrate, as he assumed that Henry’s conditions would be difficult to meet. Everything in this world came at a price, and this bargain would be no exception.

“Sir, what do you want?” Hoosler asked after gulping nervously.

“Should I take that as a yes?”

“Could I hear about the conditions first, sir?”

“The conditions… Alright then. I guess I can just tell you. I want to borrow the power of the Demon God.”

“The power of… the Demon God?”

Hoosler furrowed his brow at Henry’s unexpected goal. He wasn’t sure how much Henry knew, but given that he knew that the Messiah could communicate with the Demon God, he figured that Henry had no reason to lie.

Moreover, Hoosler was genuinely curious why the great wizard who had conquered the continent coveted the power of the Demon God.

“I bet you wouldn’t know even if I told you, but I’ll tell you anyway, since without you, there won’t be anyone to take care of the Messiah. You know the Demonic Beast Forest right? Have you ever been to the end of it?”

“I have not, sir.”

“Well, at the end of the forest, there is a dimensional gap connected to the Demon Realm. In the Demon Realm, they call it a dimensional disaster, and the Demon God has the power to open and close such gaps.”

Henry explained everything without bothering to reveal how he knew all of that.

“My requirements are simple. I want the Demon God to close that gap. Countless lives are taken each year by that dimensional gap.”

“Hmm…”

“Come on, what’s there to think about? I know it’ll take several decades to summon the next Demon King anyway. I’ll take responsibility and protect the Messiah until then, so please ask the Demon God to close the gap.

Although Henry’s offer seemed somewhat absurd, it was still valid and seemed mutually beneficial. However, it wasn’t easy for Hoosler to make a decision on the spot. The proposition was appealing, but given the current circumstances, Hoosler really had no other options on behalf of the Church of Nephram.

In fact, without this offer, he would have faced immediate execution for threatening the peace of the continent.

However, although Hoosler was the leader of the Church of Nephram, the one who actually communicated with the Demon God was the Messiah, so Hoosler had no right to make any decisions. As he stayed silent, Henry smiled and knocked on one of the walls.

Knock, knock-!

With that, the wall collapsed, revealing a secret door. As Henry opened it, the interior of an enormous mansion, which couldn’t possibly be part of the spire, unfolded before his eyes.

Hoosler’s jaw dropped to the floor as he saw this.

“This is a warp gate connected to a secret mansion. As you may have guessed, the mansion can only be accessed by those I give permission to. Moreover, I’m the only one who even knows of its existence, since I created this space specifically for you. How about it? I don’t think anyone would find you for decades, maybe even for hundreds of years.”

Seeing that Hoosler wasn’t fully convinced, Henry decided to show him his hideout. It seemed like an old-fashioned, elegant mansion.

Realizing that the mansion could be his home, Hoosler’s days in the underground temple flashed before his eyes. He remembered all the trouble and suffering he had endured while living in darkness, isolated from the rest of the world.

Hoosler shook his head ruefully, realizing that he had to accept this offer because it would allow him and the Messiah to comfortably prepare for the next Demon King with Henry’s full support and protection.

He cleared his voice as if he had finally made up his mind.

“When the Messiah wakes up, I will convince him no matter what.”

“Of course, like you should.”

After receiving confirmation, Henry led both of them into the secret mansion, which was filled with clean clothes, various foods, clean water, and even alcohol.

As Henry gave them a tour, Hoosler smiled as he carefully scanned everything, knowing that everything had become his. His smile was that of a poor housewife who had finally received everything she had dreamed of after a life full of hardships.

“Once you get confirmation from the Messiah, tear this up. I’ll appear in front of you right away.”

“Yes, sir!” Hoosler shouted confidently while taking the caller scroll from Henry.

Having sealed the deal, Henry returned to his study in the spire and leaned back in his chair, stretching and crossing his legs in satisfaction.

‘I bet that damned Demon God didn’t see this one coming.’

This idea had struck Henry when he saw the dimensional gap in the First District during his late-night quest. However, he wasn’t certain whether he could actually execute this plan. But as things stood, it seemed to be progressing smoothly.

He reached for his notebook to check his remaining plans.