The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 412

253. Blood (2)

“Kugh?!

Soo-an hurriedly gathered his magical energy, focusing it into his gauntlets. Kalduran’s gauntlets responded, emitting a blue light. He raised his arms to shield his face, preparing to block the monster’s scythe, when Caryl’s shout pierced the air.

“Soo-an, don’t block it, dodge! Your arm will be severed!”

“……Pardon?”

Soo-an, startled by the warning, stumbled backward, losing his footing. The monster’s scythe seized the opportunity.

Whooooong—!!!

The scythe, a blur of terrifying speed, screamed as it aimed for his neck.

“……Damn it!!!”

Aidan cursed, throwing himself forward with desperate speed.

Skang-!!

Lightning crackled beneath his feet as he launched himself from the ground. Aidan sprinted, pushing his massive frame forward, intercepting the monster’s scythe just as it threatened Soo-an.

4th Stage Awakening of Ultra-Roar Technique, Shadow Contraction.

He yanked Soo-an backward, the scythe’s razor edge narrowly missing him. Soo-an, caught by Aidan, was flung back like a ragdoll, increasing the distance between him and the monster.

“Cough, cough……!!”

Soo-an, barely managing to stop, felt a sickening rush, his insides churning. He collapsed, retching.

“You owe me one.”

Aidan chuckled, lightly clapping Soo-an’s twitching shoulder. The ground where Aidan had launched was charred black, smoldering.

Thud… Thud…

Embers ignited the dry weeds, the flames slowly spreading.

“Damn it, I feel like my internal organs are twisted.”

Soo-an said, wiping his mouth.

“You’ll get used to it after a few times.”

Aidan chuckled again, his gaze fixed on the monster emerging from the flames. Unlike the previous slime-like corruptions, this monster walked upright.

The creature towered over Soo-an, standing roughly 1.5 times his height. Black smoke swirled around its skeletal frame, obscuring what might have been clothing. A pair of thick, bone wings, like those of a Bone Dragon, creaked with each step.

As the black smoke coalesced, blood-red armor materialized, and the scythe it wielded trembled, emitting a mournful wail, as if announcing its name.

“It sounds ridiculous, but it looks like it came straight from hell. I’ve raided countless demon nests, but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Then…

“……!!”

Aidan’s face hardened. He swiped at his left cheek, his hand coming away smeared with blood.

‘I didn’t dodge it completely.’

A thin cut marked his cheek, blood trickling down. Even at his maximum speed, the wind pressure from the scythe had broken through his defenses.

The assassin felt a chill, unnerved by the monster’s presence.

[I can’t believe it… How is this possible?]

[A higher corruption can’t be summoned without other omens… It’s impossible for that to appear before the first corruption has even fully manifested.]

The Spirit Kings, as bewildered as Aidan, voiced their disbelief.

“Step back.”

Caryl moved to shield them, his eyes locked on the monster.

“Master, what is that?”

Aidan asked, his voice trembling slightly.

[Caryl, it seems God is particularly displeased with you. To send out the Reaper of Corruption, a being rarely seen even during the Holy War, right from the start…]

Sreung-

Caryl drew the sword of Folsetia, unfazed, and pointed it at the monster.

[Are you curious about what that is?]

Aln Zaviuz, cloaked in black, appeared, channeling the power of Duat, and answered Aidan’s question.

[Malek. That monster’s name. One of God’s highest subordinates. To think it actually exists… Honestly, it’s surprising even for me.]

“……Malek?”

Aidan was stunned that Caryl seemed more intrigued than afraid, despite the monster’s terrifying aura.

[Corruption is divided into four types. The most basic is Sekhmet. The corruption you fought earlier.]

“Wait a minute… Didn’t you say Sekhmet was a god from another dimension?”

[That’s correct. But Sekhmet is both the name of a god and the name of God’s subordinate. We once called him Lord, who ascended to the throne among several gods. He, who became the king of gods, created a creation modeled after his own image and gave it his name.]

Flame King Laminu answered.

[As all gods have done so far, it is a truly arrogant act.]

“……Modeled after his own image? If that slimy appearance really resembles God’s appearance, it would be utterly disgusting.”

Aidan spat, looking at the Reaper’s skull.

[The appearance of Sekhmet in the literature is similar to that of a human. Perhaps it is still incomplete.]

‘In the Blue Lore [a collection of myths and legends], a cult created by Rael, who served Yula in my previous life, called corruption Sekhmet. I wonder who told them that name. If Yula told them directly, I wonder how he felt.’

The gods who survived the Divine War came to take charge of each other’s dimensions. Caryl now knew that the place where he was was not the only dimension.

Now that he knew that the owner of the dimension was no longer the pinnacle of God, Yula was just a defeated god who had not ascended to Lord for Caryl.

Caryl smiled bitterly, recalling the past.

[What’s important is that that guy is different from Sekhmet. If Sekhmet has the appearance of a Lord, his superior species, Scudron, has the power of light and darkness, which is the power of the Lord. And Morax and Malek, who are above him. The two of them are the ones who have maximized the power of light and darkness, respectively.]

Laminu continued.

“I guess I know what that guy is without you explaining it. His appearance already exudes a dark presence. That guy… is that Malek?”

Aidan asked, trying to sound playful.

[That’s right. For the highest corruption to appear already when the oracle hasn’t even started properly… Even Yula would have difficulty summoning Malek.]

“A boss from the start. They have no consideration. Even S-class demon nests have the decency to gradually increase the difficulty. Is this just going to end it all at once?”

As Laminu finished speaking, Aidan’s playful expression hardened. The humor vanished, replaced by the cold focus of an assassin.

“Let’s go.”

Soo-an Hazar, seemingly recovered, gripped his gauntlets, determination in his eyes.

“Where to? Master told you to step back, right?”

“We have to fight.”

“Didn’t you hear what the Spirit King said? He said it’s the highest corruption among corruptions.”

“Look around. He’s not the only one here. There are still plenty of annoying small fries. There will definitely be something for us to do.”

“Crazy bastard. That’s why I like you.”

Even as he spoke, a sharp sword materialized in Aidan’s hand. He was missing one of his twin swords, lost when he used lightning to counter the electricity surrounding the Blood Cave, and he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“I’ll take the left.”

Aidan didn’t dwell on his weapon.

Retreating from the battlefield was never an option.

‘……Will it work?’

He felt the throbbing wound on his cheek, a reminder of the scythe’s speed.

“Damn it, I thought I was finally catching up a bit… Now even monsters are a new wall.”

But it wasn’t a bad feeling.

The desire to become stronger.

It had started with envy and inferiority towards his colleagues, but now it was a powerful motivator.

“We have to kill him anyway. What does it matter if he comes out first or later? This is war. It doesn’t make sense for the enemy to consider our circumstances.”

Caryl’s low voice cut through the air.

“Bringing out a strong card first means they value the opponent that much. Look closely. The stronger the enemy, the more evidence that the god is afraid of us.”

[Krrr…….]

The monster, who had swung his scythe without hesitation at Aidan and Soo-an, hesitated after Caryl appeared.

“And having fear also means that you are not immortal.”

[ϪstωφϪ????……!!]

As if understanding Caryl’s words, Malek suddenly roared and charged forward.

[Rune?]

Aln exclaimed in disbelief, hearing the shout.

As the rune [a symbol imbued with magical power] flowed from the monster’s mouth, a faint light emanated, as if flesh was being grafted onto the bone wings.

[It feels dirty to see a rune, a crystallization of sacred magic, flowing from that guy’s mouth.]

Aln bit his lip, disgusted. Magic was often called God’s grace, but as someone who had dedicated his life to exploring magic, he hated the thought of that power belonging to God.

“Don’t worry, Aln.”

The sword of Folsetia began to hum.

Aln knew that Caryl was drawing upon two dragon magic powers simultaneously.

“Just as a sword has no eyes, even if we use the same magic power, we are different from God. Depending on who uses it, this power can become the power to kill God.”

[You…….]

“There were countless corruptions in Parell. And I stepped on them and reached the top.”

Kwaaaaaang—!!!!

Caryl blocked Malek’s sweeping scythe with his sword.

Kageuk……! Kageugeuk……!!

“I killed so many corruptions, but I don’t even know their names. But I remember that face.”

Caryl leaned in, his face inches from the gruesome skull.

“Small fries, get out of here.”

Everyone was stunned by his casual dismissal of the highest corruption.

[ϪstωφϪ???? stϪω φφϪ……!!]

They couldn’t understand Malek’s babbling, but they could see the desperate bewilderment in his eyes as Caryl pushed him back, bending him further and further.

Without mercy, Caryl pressed harder. As Folsetia’s sword seemed poised to crush the monster, Caryl grabbed his skull.

Cheeeeeeeek……!!

The moment the power of black light, a mixture of Lacis’ light and Duat’s darkness, touched it, black smoke billowed from the monster’s head, as if branded with a hot iron.

[Kua……! Kuaaaaak!!!]

A painful scream erupted.

“See? Nephilim and corruption, in the end, the screams are the same.”

Wooddeuk……!!

Malek’s spine snapped, the sound echoing clearly.

“That goes for you too.”

Kugeugeugeugeu…….

Caryl said to a figure standing at the entrance of the Blood Cave.

“The first corruption, Blood.”

Sreung-

He said, stepping on the remains of Malek.

“I’ll confirm your scream too.”