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Translator: M.S
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: A Return Gift
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Kain's eyes held the faintest trace of heat, but on the whole, they remained lukewarm.
Staring into those eyes, which seemed to find the entire world tedious and boring, was enough to make one feel utterly foul.
“A bit… troublesome.”
Kain’s voice was a mumble of annoyance.
But the swordsmanship he began to unfold was anything but dull.
CLANG!
It was dazzling.
He wasn't some kind of magician…
‘Can aura really be that versatile…?’
It lengthened, then thickened.
It bent, then vanished, only to reappear in an instant.
Each strike in the relentless barrage was a difficult puzzle.
‘This is fun.’
And for that reason, my heart began to pound.
Right now, I had one goal.
To analyze the realm of a Grand Master.
In a short time, a vast amount of information piled up.
First,
A Soul Blade could manipulate the surrounding mana and aura at will.
Consequently, ordinary aura would extinguish before a Soul Blade like a candle in the wind.
But I was able to withstand it with my Sword Ki and Aura Blade.
Second,
A Soul Blade does not disappear.
K-K-K-KANG!
Even when I pushed back the advancing Soul Blade with Vanroah,
even when I barely dodged it,
and even when I exploited a weakness in the elongated Soul Blade and shattered it,
the Soul Blade did not vanish.
Light-green snakes of aura flowed from his sword, floating around me and steadily restricting my movements.
‘The Soul Blade offers a massive tactical advantage.’
Beyond its ability to freely change form, its trajectory lingered in the air, pressuring me.
But I could endure this with the state of the Entrusting Sword.
Here, like this.
Over there, might this path work?
Now! Dangerous!
I continuously conversed with my sword, carving out a path to survival.
And surprisingly,
it was enjoyable.
There were difficult problems,
and there was me, solving them instantly.
This feeling of my entire body, every last corner of my mind, awakening.
Was I always capable of this?
The ecstasy tasted beyond my limits!
This isn't the end, is it?
You’re a Grand Master.
There’s more, right?
A smile spread across my face.
Kain Manus’s gray eyes slowly scanned my lips.
He didn't look particularly pleased.
CRAAAAACK!
Just after I parried Kain Manus’s sword once more,
he muttered.
“…Here I come.”
A murderous intent flickered in his dry pupils.
Something big was coming.
RUMBLE—!
I heard the sound of rolling thunder.
‘Ah…!’
A light-green wave crashed down upon me.
In addition to Kain's sword rushing before my eyes, the remnants of the Soul Blade that had been floating about, refusing to disappear, all moved in unison to target me.
Every sword strike until now had been nothing but preparation for this one devastating blow!
The scent of the burning atmosphere stung my nose.
Every hair on my body stood on end.
Hoo!
I exhaled sharply and squeezed my aura core with all my might.
Charging technique, [Tempest].
KWAAAANG!
The world compressed before my eyes.
Leaving a shockwave in my wake, I charged head-on into the torrent of light-green Aura Blades.
‘Cut.’
Aura, pushed up from my lower body, stimulated my core.
Nearly a third of the aura filling my core gushed out.
It passed through my chest, down my arm, and into my sword.
The key was this:
to keep the aura coldly condensed the entire time, then instantly vaporize it at the sword’s tip.
The Vanroah Royal Swordsmanship, ultimate technique.
[Executioner].
CRAAAAAAACK!
The aura erupted, unleashing immense power. My deep-blue aura sliced off a corner of the light-green aura storm.
Like a curtain parting, I thrust myself into the sliver of life that seeped through.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
The sound of thunder faded behind me.
Having emerged to Kain Manus’s left, I slowly turned around.
There,
Kain Manus’s distinct ‘expression’ was blooming.
“…You dodged?”
Irritation. Anger. Annoyance. Displeasure.
Raw emotions were etched onto a face that had previously held only boredom.
How about it?
Getting interesting now, isn't it?
I’m having fun, too.
It was precisely the fifth exchange.
On the very fifth exchange, the one he said would count as a pass if I endured, the bastard had decided to settle the match.
Which meant,
I had passed.
But,
but still.
I was still thirsty.
As if reading my mind,
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue in annoyance and swung his sword again.
Flash! I couldn't see the movement in between.
Suddenly, a light-green Soul Blade flared up before my eyes.
A super-speed strike!
CRAAAAAAACK!
‘Wow, how did I even block that?’
It was so fast I surprised myself.
Vmmm, vmmm—
Vanroah trembled, and so did I.
‘He’s this fast?’
I had never seen anything like it. No, I hadn't even seen it. I had merely blocked it by following my instincts.
Without a moment to breathe, the next attack followed.
BOOOOM!
This time, a slow vertical slash descended. But it was as heavy as a mountain.
“Ugh…!”
The moment I received it, bile rose in my throat. The overwhelming weight in that vertical slash seized every single one of my muscles.
Kain’s eyes were the same.
He feigned indifference and boredom, but beneath the surface, he was seething with irritation and anger.
‘You block it? How dare you?’
Just as I had the illusion of hearing those words,
the third strike fell.
SWIIIIISH—
This time, my ears sensed the danger first.
With a deafening screech, the kind one might hear when something falls from a great height, Kain's sword bent along an impossible path to strike at me.
KAAAAANG!
A chill ran down my spine.
Even as I parried the sword, goosebumps broke out all over my body.
‘If I were even a little less skilled… I would have just died.’
I blocked that attack purely because I was a Sword Master who had ‘transcended.’
My senses, focus, and reaction speed, all sharpened to a superhuman degree through my metamorphosis… combined with the Entrusting Sword and all the combat experience I had accumulated—wasn't this a strike that could only be blocked when all of those things came together?
Kain seemed displeased that I had blocked his last attack. His gray eyes sank, growing even gloomier.
Suddenly, I felt a chill.
‘There’s more?’
The realm of a Grand Master was like an onion; no matter how many layers I peeled back, I couldn't seem to reach the end.
A crack, small, very small, but a crack nonetheless, appeared in my sky-high confidence.
CLANG! CRACK! KAAAAANG! KSHAAAAA!
Fast, then heavy, then powerful, then curved, then feinting to strike elsewhere…
Every imaginable type of sword strike poured forth from Kain’s hand.
I continuously retreated, dodging and blocking them.
It was a time of total mobilization, relying on my five senses, my intuition, and even a bit of luck to endure.
‘Again? Still? There’s more?’
And yet,
I blocked them.
They were blocked.
They were also dodged.
I grew more and more accustomed to it.
To myself.
My limits were far beyond what I had anticipated.
‘It’s thanks to the synergy between my metamorphosis and the ancient swordsmanship.’
A body that surpassed human limits, imbued with the sharp energy and nature of the sword.
The effects of that unimaginable synergy were what allowed me to hold on.
Vanroah and I, constantly surprising each other, faced Kain's sword together.
Ten exchanges.
Fifteen exchanges.
And finally, at the thirtieth exchange.
“I’m bored…”
His face contorted in a deep scowl, Kain swung his sword in an upward diagonal slash.
KWAAAAANG!
Like the [Executioner] I had used, a ferocious burst of aura exploded in an instant.
CRAAAAACK—!
“Keuk…!”
The moment I blocked it, my chest churned, and the taste of iron filled my mouth.
Pushed back by the force, Vanroah was flung upward.
Can a Grand Master really pull out an ultimate technique like this without any preparation?
But even that wasn't the real attack.
The true fangs aiming for me descended from above.
CRACKLE!
With the sound of a thunderbolt, a light-green aura plummeted toward the crown of my head like lightning.
A shiver.
Goosebumps erupted all over my body.
The sword clearly swung from bottom to top, so why was the aura falling from above my head?
Was he a magician?
I had already exhausted my strength blocking the attack from below, so…
I couldn't block this.
“It’s over.”
Just as a satisfied smile began to grace Kain’s lips,
the choice I made was to trust my sword, Vanroah.
VWOOOOOM!
Vanroah cried out.
In that instant, my Sword Ki flared and grew.
Mana, gathering from all directions, flowed through Vanroah, converted into aura, and enveloped the space above my head like an umbrella.
CRAAAAAAACK!
The transparent aura created by Vanroah and the light-green aura that struck like lightning collided above my head, creating a magnificent aurora.
What Vanroah had created was not the deep-blue aura. I hadn't yet been able to grasp the enlightenment that led me to my metamorphosis.
Sword-Self Unity. The state of an upper-Expert I had briefly tasted while lost in a trance had scattered like a dream the moment I awoke.
I was still, by ancient standards, an upper-Expert.
Still, a faint glimmer of that enlightenment remained.
Though my sword couldn't produce the deep-blue aura of the Iron Heart on its own, it could generate a tremendous amount of its inherent transparent aura from Sword Ki.
That saved me.
The light-green aurora scattered above my head.
And now, it was my turn.
Perhaps that last strike had been his trump card, for Kain stood there dumbfounded, his eyes slightly wide.
“What…?”
I did not miss that opening.
My core's aura was nearly depleted, and the flow of aura in my battered chest was unsteady, but…
If you don't have teeth, you use your gums.
Vanroah, imbued with only pure, ancient Sword Ki, aimed for Kain’s outstretched wrist.
Swish!
It cut through empty air.
Kain had already retreated a good distance.
A boiling killing intent in his eyes.
“You…”
A chilling voice slipped past his lips. The bored and annoyed attitude from the beginning was nowhere to be seen.
I was satisfied.
‘I’ve seen it all.’
So much so that my chest felt hot.
People often said that a Sword Master had the power to rule a province, while a Grand Master could easily found a nation…
Today, I had witnessed that essence with my own two eyes.
‘He was stronger than I imagined.’
I had originally planned to break Kain's sword, but I couldn't go that far.
So,
this is as far as I go today.
My aura was already running on fumes, but Kain still looked perfectly fine.
If we fought any longer, I would be at a disadvantage.
It would just be me revealing all my cards for nothing.
“I’ll kill you…!”
Kain looked thoroughly enraged.
Left alone, he seemed ready to charge again.
“Take this.”
So I quickly threw the piece of cloth in my hand at him.
I couldn't break his sword, but I had gained this instead.
“…What is this?”
You don't know what it is?
I silently pointed to my own sleeve.
Kain's face turned red.
His sleeve was cut short by about a hand's breadth.
It was the sleeve I had sliced off with my final strike, the one that had aimed for his wrist.
This was my return gift.
“Quite fitting as a return gift for an ill-mannered envoy, don’t you think? A Grand Master’s severed sleeve. That's quite a rare item, isn't it? That's my gift to you, so be sure to deliver it to the emperor.”
Grind.
I thought I heard the sound of a molar breaking somewhere.
Kain glared at me for a long time, then, without a word of reply, clutched his severed sleeve and exited the audience chamber.
Right. You have to endure it. You may want to kill me, but that's impossible, isn't it? Even if you're slightly stronger than me, the gap isn't that large, and this place is crawling with my subordinates.
I quietly watched Kain’s retreating back, his anger burning brightly, then,
“Gods, I’m exhausted…”
I collapsed onto the floor after his presence had completely vanished.
“Are you alright?”
“My lord! Are you alright?”
Katrina and Rivera rushed over in a panic.
I waved my hand to stop them.
I had a lot to think about right now.
‘Grand Masters are monsters, too.’
There was a time when I had thought otherwise.
I had wondered if the realm of a Grand Master was one of communicating with a Sword Spirit.
Not at all.
From what I saw today, modern Grand Masters had nothing to do with Sword Spirits. They were simply beings who handled aura to an extreme degree.
A superhuman who could perform all sorts of magic-like feats because they handled aura to its absolute limit. That was the true nature of a Grand Master.
‘Right. I think I get what it is…?’
If a Sword Master was one who mastered the mana within their own body to the extreme, a Grand Master freely handled not only the mana inside their body but also the mana outside it.
I understood that part for certain.
The problem, however, was,
‘But how do I reach that state?’
I couldn't figure out the method.
‘My head hurts.’
I couldn't even begin to guess how I should train to reach that level.
I ran my hands through my hair.
Worrying about it would be useless. I had too little information to begin with.
‘In times like these, I should start with what I can do right now.’
If the Empire was interested in me, and the Empire's Grand Master was that strong…
There was only one thing I had to do.
Get stronger, as fast as possible.
‘The Book of Fate. I’ll use it now.’
The time was finally ripe.
* * *
Lokstehlen Gallotti.
The emperor of the great Gallotti Empire, a man who ruled a third of Gloryland, held another third as vassal states, and made the remaining third watch his every move.
He seemed to be in a very good mood right now.
“Kain. My dear Kain. What did you say? Was it, ‘I don't see the need to go there…’? But perhaps you meant ‘fatigue,’ not ‘need’? How fatigued must you be to come back with your sleeve torn off?”
If that was a joke, it was a horrendous one that made one question the speaker's character.
Kain, prostrated before the emperor, forced an awkward smile.
At that, the emperor's face hardened.
“You’re smiling?”
“My… my apologies.”
Kain hastily bowed his head.
The arrogance and boredom he had shown in front of Lansen were nowhere to be found now.
His trembling eyes betrayed his fear.
—A Grand Master need not bow their head even before an emperor.
That was the common rumor, but the scene unfolding in the imperial court was the complete opposite.
“Still, it’s amusing, isn't it? When else would you get your clothes torn? Your neck, maybe, but your clothes? Right?”
Lokstehlen’s eyes glinted coldly as he spoke.
His violet eyes seemed to ask, *Shall I cut that neck for you right now?*
Kain trembled.
It wasn't because he feared death.
It was because the emperor was a being from whom not even death could offer an escape.
Just as he was about to press his head to the floor in apology,
“You’re not smiling?”
the emperor’s voice rang out.
Kain quickly raised his head.
And he forced the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“Ha… haha…”
Only then did Lokstehlen show a small smile before losing interest in Kain.
Instead, he flipped through a report.
According to its contents, Lansen clearly knew the exact purpose of the heart.
Far from being flustered, he was delighted and had sealed it well with ‘magic’ and enshrined it in a ‘chapel.’
‘This should be enough verification for now.’
Lokstehlen muttered.
“In any case, the lineage of ‘it’ continues. After Deulkashu came Ksias. And now Lansen, is it?”
At his words, a man standing at attention behind him bowed and spoke.
“But Your Majesty, that man Lansen is a remnant of Vanroah…”
“I know. But he’s been captivated by ‘it,’ hasn’t he? To someone like that, country, love, and family mean nothing. Our ‘father’ proved that himself, didn't he?”
At Lokstehlen’s mention of his father, everyone in the great hall flinched.
Only the man standing behind him carefully continued.
“Then what kind of support shall we provide for Lansen…”
“Support? Why? We should be going all out to kill him.”
“What? But if he is a follower of it, then with us…”
Lokstehlen cut the man off with a wave of his hand.
“It would be one thing if he were a long-term piece like Ksias or Deulkashu…”
The sleeve cuff Kain had brought back fluttered from his hand and fell.
“He sent this as a return gift, didn't he? Then we, too, must do our best. If you're going to strut around as a follower of ‘it,’ you need to devour chaos, not be devoured by it, right?”
Before the emperor's throne.
A map of Norverge was spread across a wide table.
It was a map that did not show places where people lived, like Kushan City or Kashu City, but only the gray, uninhabitable lands.
“Let’s prepare something even grander. For our newcomer, who might one day become a comrade.”
The emperor’s eyes sparkled like a child who had found a fun new toy.
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