The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 452

270. The Relic of the Wild (2)

“Suhan has left for training with Gordon.”

Aidan grinned as he delivered the news.

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye properly.”

“It couldn’t be helped. He was unconscious and slung over Gordon’s shoulder when he left.”

Kail gave a wry smile.

Suhan, who possessed such great stamina that he could travel up the Poneine River in a small boat, was no match for Gordon Fabian after all.

‘Maybe he’s just that much of a monster.’

When Kail first conceived the Ten of Divine Slaughter, he had given a lot of thought to Gordon.

Gordon hadn’t existed in his previous life, and in this life, he was the closest friend Kail had among the past Five Sword Masters.

Skill and trust.

He was the best member, perfectly equipped with everything. But Kail excluded him from the Ten. Gordon was a great comrade, but because of that, they regarded each other as equals, regardless of strength.

However, in the conquest of Pharell, they would face many forks in the road.

In preparation for such cases, there must be only one leader.

That’s why Kail valued Suhan’s absolute loyalty more.

‘If Balbont enhances Suhan’s abilities even further, it will be good for me.’

Kail closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them as if he had sorted out his thoughts, and looked at Aidan.

“Then the reason you came to me must be because of the relic of the wild.”

Aidan’s lips twitched slightly, as if Kail had read his mind.

“The Thunderclap and Thundercrack I gave you are definitely magical artifacts made in the Magic Era [a period of advanced magical technology]. The relic in the box must be the real artifact. It’s tempting for you, with your lightning attribute.”

“How could I covet my lord’s power? I know that you will contract with all the Spirit Kings.”

“Then?”

“However… If possible, I would like to use Thundercrack and Thunderclap at least until Rice is eliminated, as Anchar said.”

“Why?”

Aidan looked at Kail.

“In the rescue of the Silver Wing Fleet, I confidently told Anchar that I was faster than Rice’s bugs. But I couldn’t even touch his main body, let alone catch it.”

Aidan gave a bitter smile.

“However, in the process, when Lord Ganes gave me his mana, I experienced a new realm I had never felt before. It felt like time had stopped.”

“Hmm.”

Kail stared at him intently. The expression on his face as he spoke showed not disappointment in his own shortcomings, but a stronger will to challenge a new realm.

“I dare to say that the Thunder Lord will be the compass that points me in a new direction. Spirit Kings have much purer mana than humans.”

Aidan said to Kail with a tense expression.

“Alright.”

“…Yes?”

“If you want, you can contract with the Thunder Lord. I was even thinking of keeping the contract with Maktun for Suhan if necessary.”

“Really?”

“But there’s something you need to keep in mind. Your mana attribute is wind. I understand that you want to use lightning to achieve extreme speed, but if you’re not careful, your mana could be consumed by the lightning attribute.”

“Don’t worry.”

Kail chuckled at Aidan’s determined appearance.

“Gale might be upset. But if you can really handle the power of the Thunder Lord… you might be able to transcend the realm of wind that hasn’t been defined yet.”

Gulp-

At his words, Aidan unconsciously swallowed hard, a tense look in his eyes.

“But remember this. If that happens, I’m giving you a Spirit King. If you contract with him, you and Suhan must reach the battlefield where I am, no matter what. Do you have the confidence?”

“Of course.”

Aidan answered Kail’s question without hesitation.

“Do you know what kind of fight I’ll be in? Do you know what battlefield I’ll be on, and you answer so easily?”

“Do you remember? Suhan and I have been by your side since we first set foot in Tatur. So shouldn’t we be there until the end? I can’t even imagine a situation where we’re not by your side.”

[You’re good at saying cheesy things. Why don’t you just date each other? It’ll be time for this guy’s coming-of-age ceremony soon. There’s less than a month left until the new year.]

“What nonsense…”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

It was then.

The moment Kail was about to respond to Allen’s words, a shrill voice cut through the air.

“Who’s eagerly waiting for the new year to give Kail to a guy like this? Are you senile, even as a ghost…? Huh?”

[A noisy one has come.]

Allen shook his head and disappeared like smoke.

“Hey, where are you going?!”

The person who made the great archmage disappear was none other than Milliana.

“Hmph.”

She waved her hand at Allen’s lingering presence in the air and snorted.

“Haha, then I’ll step back. Talk amongst yourselves.”

Aidan gave Milliana a slight glance, then disappeared with a strange smile.

“Why are you here?”

“Why? I came to watch you to make sure you’re not doing anything stupid.”

Milliana replied with a sulky face.

“Doing anything stupid? That’s ridiculous.”

“Why? You didn’t even look for me as soon as you came back to the capital, and you were chatting with a man in the middle of the night.”

Kail gave a wry smile. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand her feelings. In fact, she was a comrade from his previous life, and he never thought they would become so close in this life.

It wasn’t that he disliked her.

However, the only reason he couldn’t easily approach her was that he was the only survivor among the Ten of Divine Slaughter who had returned to the past through Pharell.

That meant he had witnessed the deaths of all nine of his comrades with his own eyes.

‘I don’t want to lose you again.’

Kail had achieved countless feats in his previous life, but all of them were just preparations for this war. He had never acted for his own benefit.

But for the first and last time, he was trying to be greedy.

That’s why he was deliberately keeping Milliana at a distance.

But Milliana wouldn’t know his thoughts.

Kail just stared at her silently and gave a bitter smile.

“You’re planning to go alone, aren’t you?”

“……”

At that moment, Kail showed a hint of embarrassment at her words, but soon hid his expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“The stupid thing I’m talking about isn’t just fooling around with Aidan. I’m saying, aren’t you actually trying to go to Pharell alone, pretending to be one of the Ten of Divine Slaughter?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think conquering Pharell is something that can be done alone? You’re overestimating me too much.”

“It’s okay to go alone.”

“…What?”

Kail was more surprised by her unexpected words than by having his inner thoughts revealed.

“If we’re a hindrance… But if you can use us as shields, take us with you. If one life can buy you one swing of the sword, then at least we can create nine opportunities for you.”

Kail couldn’t say anything to Milliana’s words.

“Why? Is it not enough? Well, considering the opponent is a god, it would be greedy to seize an opportunity with just one human life.”

She said with an indifferent expression.

“You and I. Eight excluding us. Well… then have them create opportunities in pairs. At least I’m different from those guys. I’m good enough on my own.”

“Show off…”

Endless confidence was her strength, but Kail couldn’t help but chuckle at her nonchalant words.

“You’re finally smiling a little. I can only see you smile when I risk my life… Haven’t you become too boring since you became the master of the world? At least when you first came to find Digon, you were an arrogant but interesting man.”

Milliana shrugged her shoulders lightly at the sight.

“Kail.”

“Why?”

“Aidan and Suhan are working hard. They weren’t trustworthy at first, but now they’re the ones you can trust your back to more than anyone else.”

“I know.”

“So never go alone.”

She said to him once more, as if to get a promise.

“That’s what I came here to say.”

Then she waved her hand lightly and left Kail.

“Oh, I almost forgot to say one more thing.”

Milliana stopped and turned around.

“What is it?”

“If you can’t sleep, you can come to my chamber.”

“…No thanks.”

She chuckled at his refusal.

“If you miss the warmth… I’ll wait until the coming-of-age ceremony is over.”

After she left, Kail turned his smiling face away and looked down with a troubled expression. Even though it was dawn, the people of the capital were bustling with activity, starting their day.

Even in the moment the world was ending, they would have lived just an ordinary day, without determining their own fate.

Clench-

He didn’t want to make that happen.

[Hmm, is that a woman’s intuition? Scary. I thought no one would notice. I was surprised.]

Allen reappeared and stood next to him.

“What are you talking about?”

[There’s no need to play dumb. You don’t have to hide it from me. To be honest, you were really thinking of going to Pharell alone, weren’t you?]

“……”

[You said that in the process of climbing Pharell, when Anchar and Aidan were fighting, there might be times when you have to leave the Ten behind and go up alone.]

“So?”

[But really? The way you look at those guys, it doesn’t seem like you can coldly abandon them. And you, who have walked through countless eons for the comrades who died in your previous life? Can you easily abandon them to death again?]

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, just go back quietly.”

Kail answered roughly to Allen’s words, but that appearance was enough to raise suspicion.

[You always said that you have to be cold-hearted in everything. But in some ways, you’re endlessly foolish.]

“If you’re going to nag, stop it. I’m not going alone.”

[Really?]

Allen said in a low voice next to him.

[I think it’s okay to go alone.]

“…Are you trying to play word games like Milliana?”

[No. I’m talking about probabilities. I’m not spouting emotionally like her.]

“Probabilities?”

[If you can’t abandon them and you’re going to carry them, it’s better not to create baggage in the first place.]

Allen said coldly.

Kail neither denied nor affirmed his words.

Silence flowed between the two.

[Why did Ollivon try to kill you?]

At the sudden question, Kail frowned slightly.

“What are you talking about? Of course…”

[I’m not talking about this life, I’m talking about the previous life.]

“……”

[You said that you climbed Pharell to come to the past. That means Pharell was still there, and in the end, the Ten of the Oracle didn’t stop all the disasters.]

“That’s right.”

It was a past he didn’t even want to think about.

Kail nodded with a low sigh.

[So far, the corrupted ones we’ve met have not been easy monsters. And the power of the previous life was much weaker than now. But why would he try to kill you, the only hope?]

“That’s…”

Kail couldn’t answer Allen’s question easily.

[The you in the previous life was someone who didn’t have any desire for the throne. You just fought to survive. Did Ollivon really think you were a threat to his position? Was that appearance of calling the aliens friends just a mask?]

At that moment, Kail’s eyes wavered.

Even if he had the memories of his previous life, that was just the past. He had no memories of Ollivon in this life. Besides, didn’t he end him with his own hands in this life?

[Maybe that’s something Yula promised Ollivon that he couldn’t refuse.]

Allen said, looking at the tomb below.

[What could that be?]

“Are you saying that Yula made another deal with Ollivon back then?”

[As someone who serves God, I don’t know if it’s a deal or a unilateral order under the name of the Oracle… I was just suddenly curious about the reason why he had to kill you.]

“It’s just a matter of the previous life. If it happened after the Oracle was given and after several battles, then it has nothing to do with the current Ollivon. He died to me without even seeing the Oracle being given.”

[Well. Who has given us the certainty that the first time God appeared on the continent was when the Oracle was given?]

“…What?”

[Of course, I’m not talking with any certainty either. It’s not as accurate as a woman’s intuition, but should I call it an old man’s intuition? No, it would be more accurate to call it a ghost’s intuition.]

Allen Xavius said with a strange smile.

[Ollivon might know something.]

Why was that?

At that moment, Kail remembered when he went to find Ollivon to undo the White Gold Dragon’s seal.

The last thing he said before he disappeared.

“I can tell you one story left in my heart…”

Kail murmured those words in a low voice.