The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 322

214. Platinum Dragon’s Lair (3)

Whoosh—!!

Caryl’s body shot up like a flash of light, soaring over the Chimera’s head.

[Kaaah!]!

It was a speed the eye couldn’t follow, but the beast instinctively predicted Caryl’s trajectory and lashed out with its massive tongue.

Tszzz…!!

Beneath the long, whip-like tongue, droplets of venom, steaming with heat, fell.

“Shield.”

As he slashed his palm downwards, a milky white barrier formed around him.

Chizzzzik!!

The Chimera’s venom instantly disintegrated the shield upon contact, creating a cloud of white smoke.

However, even blocking the attack once was crucial.

In that fleeting moment, Caryl’s figure moved.

Flutter, flutter…!!

The Chimera frantically flapped its transparent wings to evade the attack. A cloud of white dust, like spores, scattered from its wings.

Bang! Clash!! Crash, crash, crash, crash!!!!

The dust released from the wings exploded with a deafening roar upon contact with the air.

“Flare.”

Instead of avoiding the dust, Caryl pushed forward with a concentrated burst of ultra-high-temperature flames.

Instantly, the chain reaction of explosions ceased, and the dust vanished with a single, resounding boom!

The space where the dust had exploded was momentarily empty, as if the air had been sucked away, revealing the Chimera clearly.

With its cover gone, the beast seemed flustered, kicking off the ground with all its might and leaping upwards.

Its locust-like legs propelled it above Caryl’s head, its wings fluttering.

“Rock Storm.”

Five stone pillars erupted around Caryl, intersecting and blocking the beast’s path.

Clang!

The Chimera, unable to control its speed, crashed into the pillars and staggered.

[Krrk?!]

The beast, with its frog-like head, rolled its large eyes and looked down.

At that moment,

He pulled out Agnel from his chest.

It tried to escape by hurriedly leaping with its thick, locust-like hind legs, but Caryl’s sword was faster than its movements.

Thwack—!!

Caryl climbed onto the beast’s hard carapace [protective shell] and crushed its head.

[Kagak!!]

The Chimera screamed and clamped its mouth shut from the impact, its long tongue lolling limply.

“Stay still. Aiming is still difficult.”

As if beheading a prisoner on a guillotine, Caryl crossed his two swords towards the Chimera’s nape [back of the neck].

Oooooong…!!

Agnel and Lakna vibrated as if reacting to each other.

As Caryl slashed Agnel across Lakna’s blade, sparks flew in all directions.

In that instant,

A sharp blade of energy condensed and poured out from the point where the two swords crossed.

Pakakakang…!!

A different kind of sword strike than before.

The swordsmanship of the Sword Demon unfolded from Lakna, accompanied by the flames rising from Agnel’s blade.

Annihilation Strike.

“That’s…”

Milliana only noticed a flash around Caryl.

All she heard was the sound of an explosion and the violent wind that swept through as an aftereffect.

“Ugh.”

She quickly covered her face, shielding herself from the heat and dust that filled the hall, and turned away.

[How is it? Even a Sword Master wouldn’t be able to react.]

Arun’s voice was heard quietly.

She couldn’t understand what had happened.

“…”

Milliana could only blankly wait for the dust to settle.

When she finally came to her senses, she could only confirm that Caryl was standing next to the Chimera’s severed head, stepping on it with one leg.

“The reason Caryl said he would return Agnel to the tomb after his journey is because of that. Lakna is a blade made of magic itself, so it has difficulty condensing magic to maintain its form. But Agnel is the opposite.”

Arun spoke as if he was more excited than Caryl, as if he had fought the battle himself.

[Even though they are made of the same Blue Luster, that northern sword is strangely different. Agnel’s blade, made of 100% pure Blue Luster, was the perfect tool for condensing magic, something Lakna couldn’t do. Perhaps Agnel and Lakna are a set. A weapon for a true Great Warrior.]

“…Okay. That’s enough explanation. I can tell how ridiculously powerful that is without you having to explain it in detail.”

Milliana chuckled at his words.

However, Arun looked as if he was watching the growth of a cherished disciple.

[No. You wouldn’t understand.]

“What?”

[As you said, he’s in a realm that can’t be compared to someone like me. But the important thing is that it’s incomplete.]

Arun crossed his arms and gestured towards Caryl with his chin.

[It may sound ridiculous, but my resentment is no longer important. If I have any desire, it’s to see him not only master swordsmanship but also acquire the other half, magic, and be able to wield truly great magic perfectly.]

He shrugged his shoulders.

The ultimate mastery of magic and the sword was like a sweet temptation to those who sought power.

[Well, of course, it would be even better if he could cut off the Platinum Dragon’s head with that power.]

Thwack…!!

As soon as Arun finished speaking, the Chimera’s severed head was shattered.

Standing on the shattered remains of the giant frog’s face, Caryl put away Agnel and Lakna, exhaling a low breath.

“…”

A tingling sensation in his wrist.

Even though he had only unleashed the power once, the impact was significant.

‘Even though I reduced the power, if the recoil is this strong, my wrist would fly off if I maximized the magic power.’

For some reason, Caryl seemed pleased with the thought.

Usually, one would become cautious about a technique with strong recoil, thinking it would be difficult to use.

‘Giving up an arm is nothing. As long as I can reliably drive the sword into the enemy’s neck.’

But he was different.

He believed that the more difficult the technique, the stronger its power, which only made him focus even more.

A desire for strength.

It was undeniable that this genuine desire had shaped Caryl into who he was now.

The enemies he would face in the future were not human. He had already resolved that they would not be easy opponents that he could defeat in his current state.

Slash—!!

Caryl plunged his sword into the Chimera’s hard-shelled body and pulled downwards with all his might.

Black mucus flowed out from the beast’s body. The spilled mucus vaporized into black smoke upon touching the ground, leaving the shell empty.

[There are no muscles or bones. Yet it can move… Even golems need a basic framework. Hmm… Is this also a magical technique? It’s definitely not an ordinary monster.]

Arun said, examining the Chimera.

[This definitely can’t be made with just the dark power that I or the Immortal Guild researched. As the Spirit King said, it’s mixed with the power of light… How did Nardi Maugh have the power of light?]

Arun said, examining the Chimera’s corpse.

“Nardi Maugh.”

Crack—!

Caryl shattered the Chimera’s hard carapace and muttered quietly.

“What in the world were you doing here?”

It was then.

“Caryl McGovern.”

A faint voice reached him just as he stepped into the lair.

“…!!!”

Caryl and Milliana quickly looked up.

Thump— Thump— Thump—

Torches were lit sequentially on both sides of the passage in the dark lair, and magical circles densely covered the walls in intricate patterns.

A girl stood at the end.

Caryl immediately noticed that one of the girl’s eyes was gold, and the other was silver.

“Odd Eye…?”

Milliana said warily, cautious of the girl with the unusual eyes that were not seen on the continent.

“It is a message from him.”

However, the girl seemed indifferent to her question, focusing only on Caryl.

‘I didn’t notice.’

Caryl looked at the girl with a slightly tense expression.

Even though she didn’t fit in with this bizarre place, strangely, there was no sense of incongruity [lack of harmony].

‘Could it be…’

Caryl focused on her odd eyes.

There were many hybrids on the continent, and it was not uncommon to see people with two different eye colors. But what he focused on was the color of her eyes.

Silver and gold.

The meanings of the two colors were special.

Because neither belonged to humans.

Caryl recalled the words of Nine Darhon of the Immortal Guild. The only human on the continent with both of those colors was only one person.

“Rael…?”

The girl, as beautiful as a sculpture, spoke her name to Caryl.

“I am Rael Stalen.”

She placed her hand on her chest, bowed her head lightly as if to greet him, and said.

Caryl’s heart was pounding like crazy.

‘That kid is…’

To think that she was the leader of the fanatical cult that drove the continent mad.

Even Caryl hadn’t expected to meet the veiled figure he had been searching for here.

‘I couldn’t find her in Heim, so what in the world is she doing here? No, if she really is the Rael I know… Does she have a direct relationship with the Platinum Dragon?’

He looked at her with confused eyes.

She, unaware of how her future would change, simply continued to speak to Caryl with a clear expression.

“I have been waiting to deliver the Platinum Dragon’s message. He told me to deliver it to the one who comes here to hunt the Chimera.”

“To the person who hunts the Chimera? Then you’ve been watching us all along? You already knew we were coming here. Who are you?”

Milliana asked warily.

“Unless you are a god, you cannot know who will come here. However, if you were eaten by the Chimera, that would be the end. If that was your level, you would not have been able to hear the Platinum Dragon’s message.”

She answered as if to show off to Milliana.

“You…!”

Milliana felt a throbbing pain in her wrist, which had been injured by the Chimera, at those emotionless words.

“After the Northern Expedition, if someone comes to this lair, I was told to deliver these words to them.”

Ignoring the growling Milliana, she looked at Caryl and said.

“Whatever you desire, you will find nothing. An empty house is just an empty house. You may look around as much as you like, as it is a reward for those who have challenged the forbidden zone.”

“Ha…”

Milliana placed her hand on the hilt of the twin swords she was wearing on her waist and whispered to Caryl.

“It seems like we’ve completely failed… It seems the Platinum Dragon expected intruders in his lair from the beginning.”

“You have invaded the Dragon’s lair. Did you really think he wouldn’t have any defenses? It is easy to predict the thoughts of mere humans. He is a being with supreme knowledge.”

Rael said with a sneer, as if mocking Milliana’s thoughts.

However, Caryl rather looked at her and raised the corner of his mouth.

“What is your relationship with the Platinum Dragon?”

“…”

She didn’t answer.

“Well, fine. He already noticed, huh… Certainly, a dragon is a dragon. But he made a mistake, didn’t he?”

He said coldly with a low sigh.

“If he predicted that I would come here, he should have waited for me instead of running away and emptying the house.”

Rael looked at him with a stiff face.

“There’s nothing to take? No. Thanks to you, I have something to take. I should thank you for saving me the trouble of finding it.”

Rael, unaware of her future, would not understand Caryl’s words.

But conversely, Caryl drew his sword without hesitation.