The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 197

155. Behind the Bookshelf

“……What are you doing? Are you here to pick a fight with the Immortal Guild? What you’re doing is something even the Emperor wouldn’t do.”

“Ah… I suppose so.”

Caryl responded nonchalantly to Nine Darhon’s words.

“The Emperor values human lives less than you do, so he wouldn’t bat an eye at this. But, you know, a settlement of that size would have at least 300 people living there. To wipe them all out… and hide it without a trace. Are you even human?”

“……?”

“I’ve only seen magic like that once in my life. No, not magic.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Nine Darhon stared blankly, as if he couldn’t understand Caryl’s words.

‘The first Corruption, Blood.’

The higher the grade of the Mana Nest, the lower the stage Mana Nests appear before its creation, which are called harbingers [precursors or signs].

Pharel was the same.

Before Pharel, who received the Oracle and began pouring Corruption onto the continent, ten Corruptions revealed their fangs to the world like harbingers of Mana Nests.

Humanity called them the Ten Disasters.

History named those terrible monsters, like a true calamity, as Disasters, and no one disagreed with that name.

In the process of destroying Blood, they found a way to hunt Corruption.

‘Cut the heart.’

A very simple method.

But in exchange for finding that simple method, the lives of the Empire’s First Legion had to be traded.

Thanks to that, they learned that there was a stage of cutting the heart to hunt Corruption, but…

It was too great a loss.

‘In the process of destroying Blood’s heart, its heart exploded, and tens of thousands of lives in that place disappeared.’

The explosion was intense, but the traces were surprisingly clean.

In fact, there were no traces to speak of.

The area around it had completely disappeared as if it had been scraped away, and the space was only black.

‘Why didn’t I realize it back then?’

That the ruins around Antium were exactly the same as when the heart of Corruption exploded.

Well,

It couldn’t be helped.

At that time, Corruption hadn’t appeared yet, so they didn’t take it seriously that the area around the Grand Library had turned black.

Besides, Caryl was busy gathering the Ten of the Oracle.

He didn’t even know that the death of Corruption left behind black debris.

No,

To be exact, it should be called the explosion of Corruption.

Because after the hunt for Blood, they succeeded in hunting without explosions.

But now that he knew about the explosion of Corruption, he could immediately feel the strangeness of Antium.

“You.”

When Caryl looked at Nine Darhon, he made a dumbfounded expression.

“You?”

No one had ever called him that before.

He was the head of the Immortal Guild and one of the four Archmages on the continent.

“Is this crazy…”

“What is your relationship with the Council of Seven Elders?”

Just as Nine Darhon was about to shout at Caryl, Caryl interrupted him and asked.

“……What?”

Nine Darhon, who had been growling as if he would pounce on him, stopped at his words.

Caryl recalled catching a monster similar to Corruption at the Gray Academy where he met Aln Zabius.

‘I was wondering then. Why was there something like that when it wasn’t Pharel? Especially since the Gray Academy is a relic of the Magic Era.’

But it was difficult to easily associate the Council of Seven Elders, who lived in the Magic Era, with Nine Darhon.

‘Unless the vampire’s blood really worked and Nine Darhon has actually lived for nearly 1,000 years….’

The Antium Grand Library only had books from 250 years ago at most, let alone the Magic Era.

Of course,

It is possible that Nine Darhon, who created this place, deliberately did not display relics from the previous era in the Grand Library.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why are the Council of Seven Elders suddenly coming up?”

“Because they did something similar to the research you’re doing now. No, should I say you’re copying their research?”

“…….”

Instantly,

The air in the hall grew heavy.

“You must have been the one who created the magic web, not that stupid Benedict. The condition that it is activated by spirits is correct, but the web had not only magical power but also physical lethality.”

“…….”

“Why would you, an Archmage, create such a crude trap?”

Caryl said, looking at Nine Darhon’s pale face.

“You probably don’t know. You don’t even know if it’s a spirit, a byproduct of magic, or a living being, even you, the creator. Isn’t that right?”

“……What?”

“You threw everything in because you don’t properly know the identity of the byproduct of the rift called Void Dust. To catch the monster created by your mistake.”

Caryl took another step forward.

Clack-

The sound of the mechanism operating was heard, but rather, when he put strength into his foot that stepped on the floor, the marble floor shattered as it was, and the trap inside stopped.

“The black spirit that you guys are trying to catch that appeared around Antium right now. That’s not a spirit, is it?”

Caryl said.

“If the Void Dust you failed to create is similar to the monster created by the Council of Seven Elders, there is a way to hunt it.”

“What is it?”

“You guys can’t catch the Void Dust. I’ll help you. If you leave it alone, it could wipe out hundreds of lives. No, it will wipe them out.”

Nine Darhon frowned slightly at Caryl’s definitive words.

“Be grateful that we got caught in the magic web. If an explosion had occurred in the process of destroying the heart….”

It was no wonder that the area around Antium had become a black ruin in his past life.

“How far has the research progressed?”

“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t be nervous. I’m not trying to scold you. It’s the opposite. The research you’re doing might be related to the necromancy I’m looking for.”

Nine Darhon tilted his head at Caryl’s words.

“Necromancy?”

“To be exact, it’s summoning vengeful spirits… But if it goes well, you might be able to complete your research. There is a pioneer who started researching rifts before you.”

“Nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense. There really is. And he didn’t handle it clumsily like you.”

His face shook slightly at Caryl’s words.

He, the head of the Immortal Guild, was clearly researching Corruption. But if Aln Zabius started his research 1,000 years earlier and achieved much greater success, he would faint.

“Well, that’s not urgent right now. I’ll remove the Void Dust for you, but there’s a condition.”

“What do you want?”

“Allow me to browse behind the study.”

“…….”

Nine Darhon frowned slightly at Caryl’s words.

“To be exact, I want to check the box behind it.”

“Crazy bastard….”

He chuckled without realizing it.

“How do you know about the Dark Tome [a book of forbidden or secret knowledge]? Only I and the librarian know about this.”

He said, glaring at the hunchbacked man standing next to him.

“Ah, no. I….”

Then he hurriedly waved his hands and bowed his head in embarrassment.

He seemed to be the current librarian.

‘Well, the fact that he’s the librarian now instead of Israfil means he was swept away and died in that explosion.’

There was no way he could say that he heard about the Dark Tome from Israfil, the future librarian.

“Ah, is that a book? I only knew there was a box. How can secrets be kept when the head is so talkative?”

“You….”

Caryl said to Nine Darhon.

“It’s nothing. I’m looking for someone. A necromancer from 250 years ago… I thought there might be a clue about him in the Grand Library’s Dark Tome. Or will you tell me? You’ve lived a long time, so you might know.”

“……Arrogant bastard.”

Nine Darhon was speechless at Caryl’s appearance, who didn’t back down.

“There’s no such content in that book. You don’t need to see it, so don’t worry about it.”

“Then I can’t help you catch the Void Dust. Be careful. If you’re not careful, Antium itself will be eaten by that thing. You know what I mean, right? You created that monster.”

Nine Darhon’s face hardened at Caryl’s words.

The librarian next to him seemed to have been unable to hide his surprise from a while ago, as if he didn’t know that the identity of the Dust was a product of his research.

“Hoo….”

Caryl let out a low breath for a moment.

He felt like he knew a little bit why he had been feeling unnecessarily nervous and sensitive ever since he set foot near Antium.

‘This energy….’

This sticky and unpleasant energy that surrounds the entire library is similar to the breath exhaled by Corruption.

His body was instinctively on guard.

‘Nine Darhon researched Corruption just like the Council of Seven Elders. Does that mean that the existence of Corruption already existed in this world before Pharel?’

Caryl had only thought of Corruption as a monster of the Oracle until now.

But if those guys are monsters that can be created by humans….

‘It’s not an absolutely unassailable monster.’

* * *

-Nine Darhon? He’s a bizarre person. He’s like a child, but on the other hand, he endlessly pursues magic. Shall I tell you a fun story? There’s a secret that’s only passed down to the librarian.

-Is it okay to tell me that?

-The Immortal Guild is gone anyway, so what.

After destroying the tenth Corruption, Son,

On that day, rejoicing that all the disasters were finally over.

Israfil sat on the pillar of the ruined Antium and said in a hollow voice.

-The head always kept a small box in a secret place in the study. Just like children leave candy baskets.

-Is that a funny story?

At Caryl’s indifferent reaction, he smiled faintly and stroked the debris.

-No one can open the box. I once asked him what it was. Every time, he said this.

《I have locked away my mistakes and sins.》

-……?

Caryl turned his head as if he wasn’t very interested in Israfil’s monologue-like words.

He was a man who often told such boring stories.

-Nine Darhon said that there is an untouchable nightmare inside. It’s sudden, but why do I wonder what’s inside? This world is a living nightmare right now.

He looked at the remnants of Corruption remaining in the ruined Antium and let out a low sigh.

The black energies cut off from the tenth Corruption, Son, wriggled and moved as if they were alive.

The black monsters seemed to be looking for prey. The people here instinctively knew that they would have to fight those things in the future.

-Nightmare…….

Caryl said quietly, looking at such Corruptions.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Remembering a passage from the past that he had forgotten, Caryl thought.

‘Israfil. If I stop Nine Darhon’s mistake first, maybe what’s in that box isn’t a nightmare, but hope.’

He looked at the hidden bookshelf behind the study and thought as if he were talking to Israfil in his past life.

‘Yes, there’s no story about Kaie Essir’s colleague, the necromancer, in the book inside, but there will be something more important instead. If my prediction is correct….’

Caryl wanted to see the book inside right away.

‘What’s in the box hidden in the study must be the Dark Spirit King.’