The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 168

131. Kalduan

[Krooooooooaaar……!!!]

Carryl staggered, involuntarily dropping his gauntlet as the divine beast’s roar threatened to burst his eardrums.

“Ugh?!

He hastily covered his ears, but the screeching penetrated his hands, shaking his head as if it were ringing inside his brain.

“To think a divine beast, believed to be extinct, would be sealed in a place like this. In some ways, the elves might be a more cruel race.”

Shaking his head to clear the dizzying pain, Carryl looked at the massive divine beast before him.

“Not extinct since the Magic Era… Could it be that it became a material for a Divine Relic?”

Carryl picked up the gauntlet he had dropped.

Among the Blader’s five Divine Relics, two couldn’t be found in his previous life because their materials were unknown.

He had a feeling this gauntlet might be one of them.

‘No. It’s almost certain. A Divine Relic capable of sealing a divine beast couldn’t be ordinary.’

In the past, the three divine beasts, known as the Three Phases, were said to possess power comparable to a spirit king or a dragon.

The Verdant Deer, Alcar.

The Soul White Wolf, Lorebrok.

The Azure Turtle, Kalduan.

However, unlike spirits, they had bodies that weakened over time, and unlike dragons, they didn’t live long enough to pass on their power through offspring.

But the blood, skin, and flesh of the divine beasts became precious materials, and during the Magic Era, there was even a profession called divine beast hunters, along with dragon hunters.

[That’s all old news. And divine beast hunters never actually existed. The Three Phases were actually protected.]

Whirrrrr-!!

Raminu’s flames erupted from Carryl’s body. Although it was a subspace, the power of the natural world was so abundant that the Ain Trigger maintained a larger spherical shape than usual.

[Carryl, I guess you’re human after all. Seeing you make mistakes, I mean.]

The fireball moved, and a small spirit form was created. Raminu stretched out as if inhaling the long-missed air.

[It’s definitely a place with the power of a spirit. The scent of the Great Earth Lord is strong, which is a bit much, but it’s still much better than the stuffy air of the human realm. Magic power has weakened compared to the Magic Era, making it even more frustrating.]

“Great Earth Lord? Are you talking about Maktun, the Earth Spirit King?”

The little Raminu nodded at Carryl’s question, his head flickering like a candle as he shook it.

[That’s right. Kalduan was born with Maktun’s power. He has a strong connection to the power of the earth.]

“What about you? Didn’t you leave behind a divine beast?”

[Not all spirit kings agreed to leave behind creatures that resembled their power. The divine beasts called the Three Phases are just a consideration from the spirit kings to make human lives a little more prosperous.]

Raminu said haughtily with his arms crossed.

[Fire itself has already given humanity the greatest evolution of life, so there’s no need to leave behind a divine beast.]

“That’s not wrong.”

Carryl looked at the giant blue turtle in front of him. It initially roared sharply at Carryl, as if wary, but then it put its head back into its shell and closed its eyes.

“But what do you mean by mistake?”

[Look closely. Don’t you feel anything strange?]

The little Raminu flew up and circled around Kalduan, saying to Carryl.

[It’s not a real body. The elves didn’t cruelly seal it, like you said. And Zarka Hochi didn’t do it either. A romantic who lived captivated by past memories wouldn’t do something like this.]

“Even though only bones are left.”

Carryl slowly approached the sleeping Kalduan. When he reached out to grab the Azure Turtle, surprisingly, his hand passed right through it.

“You’re right.”

As Raminu said, it wasn’t a real body.

“What’s going on?”

[The divine beast isn’t sealed or anything. It’s just… someone’s memory is contained in the gauntlet.]

“Memory? Whose?”

At Carryl’s question, Raminu shrugged.

[Well. We’ll find out from now on.]

“……!!!”

At that moment,

Raminu’s flames engulfed Carryl.

No, it seemed to engulf him.

Carryl’s consciousness shook once again, and he sank into the abyss with a red light.

His body felt heavy, as if he were deep in the sea, and this sense of incongruity was similar to when he ate the dragon’s heart in Einherjar [a hall in Norse mythology where heroes who have died in battle are received] and looked into the memories of the Flame Dragon.

“…….”

But unlike then, Carryl did not lose consciousness even as he floated in an unknown world.

Unlike when he was assimilated into Liselria’s body, there was no unpleasant experience of his consciousness or soul turning off and on again inside his body.

Whirrrrr…….

He realized that Raminu’s flames, which had engulfed him, were actually protecting him from the memories of Kalduan that had been swirling around him.

“It’s been a while.”

Carryl said in a low voice.

He had entered someone’s memory, but unlike then, he knew that his consciousness was clearly present and that he was not assimilated into Kalduan’s body.

“Raminu.”

Carryl called out the name of the Flame Tyrant, feeling the power of fire enveloping his body in a thin shield.

However, although he could feel the power, that was it.

It seemed that maintaining his current form was a difficult task.

“It was worth the wait. To think that someone who can communicate would come to me.”

It was then.

A faint and beautiful voice, like a song, was heard.

“……?!”

Carryl hurriedly turned his head.

Then, the world of night, which had been pressing down on his entire body with a dark and sticky energy, disappeared, and he felt the fresh scent of grass.

He didn’t even realize that the surrounding scenery had changed, but as if it had always been that way, Carryl was standing in the middle of a field.

“…….”

He could hear the sound of waves creating white bubbles, but he couldn’t smell the salt.

The blowing wind was so warm that it was hard to believe it was a subspace.

“Who… are you?”

Carryl asked cautiously.

It was funny, but he knew he was nervous. Even when he had the emperor in front of him or fought against the Sword Master, who was said to be the strongest on the continent, it wasn’t to this extent.

“…….”

It was understandable.

A fluttering dress swayed in the wind.

A face hidden behind layers of opaque fabrics was visible.

Gulp-

Carryl swallowed hard without realizing it.

There was a woman with a face so white that one would believe she was a Nephilim [a biblical race of giants or beings of mixed human and divine parentage], a race closer to gods than humans.

A sense of oppression that could not be explained simply by saying she was beautiful was felt.

‘This woman… is she human?’

Carryl thought as he looked at her, but he didn’t seem sure.

Her snow-white hair was whiter and clearer than the blizzards of the north, and her luscious, red lips seemed to be filled with water whenever she moved.

Her gaze slowly looked at Carryl as if sinking into the water.

“Nice to meet you. I am Quonitera.”

“……!!!!”

At that moment,

Carryl’s eyes widened in surprise, and he almost screamed.

‘The greatest spirit caster of the century, a pioneer who created a new lineage with only the affinity of spirits, not magic power. The one and only being who has a contract with all the spirit kings.’

The number of modifiers that honored her was countless. But now that the number of spirit casters has dwindled to the point where they can be counted on one hand, her biography is nothing more than a legend that has passed, like the achievements of Kaie Essier.

“How much time has passed?”

“Well, I don’t know when the days you’ve lived are, since there were rumors that you were an elf, or even a high elf, which is nobler than that.”

Carryl pointed to her ears.

“But I don’t think it’s either of those.”

“Will there be those who remember me?”

“There will be. Because I know you. But not as much as the Council of Seven Elders. Magic is worshiped, but spirit casting is not.”

“That’s a sad thing…….”

“It might be better to be forgotten altogether. Sometimes, even if it’s the same magic, depending on the situation, it can turn into a past that has passed, let alone a legend.”

Carryl recalled the abandoned Einherjar.

It was a report left by him, who was the founding contributor of the empire and had the alias of dragon hunter, but now that his bloodline no longer had value as a magician, it was now treated as an old warehouse on the outskirts.

Just looking at the imperial family’s habit of swallowing when it’s sweet and spitting it out when it’s bitter, the fall of the Essier family was predictable enough.

“Well, I’m surprised that you can speak. Not only is the memory of the divine beast left, but I’m meeting a great spirit caster. Should I be surprised at the Blader’s ability…? Or are you also a member of the Blader?”

“You don’t seem to have much change in expression for someone like that.”

“Well, I’ve been through a lot myself.”

She slowly shook her head.

“Dragon magic power… To think that a human would have the strongest colorless power in the world. You’re a more interesting kid than Kaie Essier, who I was interested in.”

Quonitera slowly got up and approached Carryl.

“If I could materialize, there would be so many things I would want to do with you. It’s a shame.”

“You don’t want to use me as a test subject, do you? I’ll pass on that.”

Quonitera smiled faintly at Carryl’s words.

“I am neither a member of the Blader nor a memory sealed by the elves. I was only left here to give a message to the one who would obtain Kalduan’s gauntlet by my will.”

“A message… I didn’t know that using the Blader’s five Divine Relics was that dangerous.”

At her words, Carryl showed his ice claws and said.

“I honestly didn’t know that the owner of the ice claws would obtain Kalduan’s gauntlet. But…….”

She looked at Carryl in a low voice.

It felt like her golden eyes, like a full moon, were piercing through Carryl.

“Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use this gauntlet.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because that’s why I exist here. Kalduan was a divine beast who followed me in the past.”

Carryl pursed his lips slightly at her words.

‘Not only did she make a contract with the spirit king, but she also tamed one of the Three Phases, the divine beast. I can’t even fathom her abilities.’

“I’m not trying to belittle you. On the contrary, I’m saying it because I see you as outstanding.”

Whirrrrr……!!

When Quonitera’s hand touched near Carryl’s chest, the Ain Trigger shone.

“The blood flowing in your body is more suited to the fire than the energy of the earth. Perhaps that’s why the Flame Tyrant chose you.”

Quonitera said as she took the gauntlet in Carryl’s hand.

“Just like your brothers.”

“…….”

At her words, Carryl felt a pang in his heart without realizing it.

That’s right.

The magical power that proves the McGovern family is fire.

Of course, he could use other attributes of magic power because he ate the dragon’s heart, but when he thought about it, the attribute he used the most was also fire.

“Don’t try to match us up. We’re brothers who don’t even share blood. I hate it when people try to shake my heart with sentimentality like family love or brotherhood.”

But Carryl sneered at her words.

“Perhaps… are you one of the two people who were with Kaie Essier 250 years ago?”

Quonitera shook her head at Carryl’s words.

“No. I can guess who you’re asking about, but I don’t think Kaie would like me to say their names.”

Carryl frowned slightly at her words.

“But why are you asking that?”

“It was written in Kaie Essier’s will. He said there were two more bastards who looked like him. You’re saying nonsense, so I was wondering if you were one of them.”

“…….”

Even Quonitera, who had lived for hundreds of years, seemed to be at a loss for words at his scathing remarks.

“I didn’t open the Blader’s box to get permission.”

Carryl snatched the gauntlet from her hand and showed it to her.

His eyes shone coldly.

“I’ll decide whether I can use it or not.”