The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 394

241. Dimensional Power

“Dimensional Power…?”

Caryl asked again.

[Indeed. As you know, Yula, who created this world, isn’t the only god. She too has an origin, and it’s only natural that there was a beginning before mythology.]

“A power above even the gods… That would be a truly terrible prospect for those who aim to slay gods… But conversely, it proves that even gods aren’t perfect.”

[Indeed.]

Caryl replied to Mael as if he understood.

“This so-called dimensional power is further proof that there’s more than one god. It’s not just a legend that remained in the teachings of the Order, but a fact.”

He recalled the phrase written on the monument he found in Riceria’s lair, reminding himself that it matched the first verse of the Order.

“Beneath the first god were four children, who competed over dimensions. One disappeared, and two of whom met and conceived seventeen children.”

[You remember well.]

“Even so, I was the leader who led the ten who carried out the Divine Mandate. There was much talk about a non-magical foreigner leading them, but at that time, Yula appointed me as the leader. Thinking about it now, I wonder if even that was just a divine prank.”

[One shouldn’t try to understand the thoughts of gods. They are capricious. They, too, competed like humans, as their predecessors did. Five of them disappeared, and one of the remaining twelve gods is the current Yula.]

“We at least fight directly for ourselves. But humans have become pawns in the gods’ competition, fighting and destroying. That’s the dirty habit of the gods, and we’re the ones who die because of it.”
Mael continued, and Caryl replied with a blazing gaze.

“That’s not competition. It’s just a game.”

[Well, creation arises from destruction. Rifts occur in chaos, and new races such as spirits and demons are born.]

“Don’t call chaos a method. Destruction is creation? What a joke! You preach chaos and destruction, yet you force humans to abide by the rules of defeat and uphold the covenant after the defeat in the Divine War.”

As Caryl retorted, Mael tilted his head slightly and stuck out his long tongue.

“I released you, and only then could you show your fangs to Yula, right? What would have happened without me? That’s just an excuse for those who are afraid.”

[Cluck…]

Mael laughed, a sound that felt self-deprecating, as if he were acknowledging Caryl’s words without refuting them.

“But why is this left here? If what you say is true, dimensional power isn’t a power that gods possess, but a power granted to gods. It can’t be something Yula left behind…”

Whooooong…

As Caryl brought his hand to the small fragment, it resonated, drawing a circle lightly on his palm.

“…!!!”

At that moment, he widened his eyes in surprise.

“Cough!!”

He staggered, his knees weakening, and gasped as if coughing. For a brief moment, as the fragment touched him, a flood of information rushed into his head.

It was an overwhelming pressure, far beyond opening Aln’s repository of knowledge, a feeling close to fear, unlike the fullness he felt when he unfolded Folsetia.

[Ho… For you, who is not a god, to touch the fragment and not die. That would be even more surprising.]

“Are you crazy? Is that what you’re going to say now? Are you saying you tested whether I would die or not?”

Caryl shouted nervously and summoned Mael.

Swish…

As he grabbed the neck of the blue snake that appeared on his wrist, the creature stuck out its tongue with a painful expression, as if suffocating.

“Do you want to die? You still haven’t realized your place, have you? Just because I treat you well, do you think you can covet my body?”

[Kuh… Kukuk.]

[Calm down, Caryl. The words of that guy, who is a mythical poison, are more vicious than the devil, but if he intended to kill you, we would have stopped him.]

“Then what is this? Even if you didn’t test me, the result is that you were trying to see if I could withstand this fragment.”

[Caryl, I understand your bewilderment about things you didn’t expect, but you must remain calm.]

Aln Zaberus appeared next to him.

“Can I calm down right now?”

[You know the future, but you don’t know fate. It flows in a completely different way from the future you already know, so you can encounter secrets beyond what you know.]

Raminu appeared from the darkness, illuminating the surroundings in the form of the 폭염왕 [Flame Tyrant].

[Yes, you’re right.]

[We had to confirm it too.]

[But we didn’t intend to kill you. We knew the possibility.]

“Possibility?”

[It wasn’t impossible for you to handle the fragment of dimensional power. You have the dragon’s magic power as well as the blood of a Blader, and you can build dimensional power with the power of Folsetia.]

Duaht echoed Raminu’s words.

[Mael must have been for that reason as well. Even if it’s understood in the head, there’s still a question of whether a human can really handle dimensional power.]

[Cluck… The fact that Dimension Spiral remains here in the first place is absurd. Only one dimensional power should exist in one dimension.]

Mael said, a hint of self-mockery in his voice.

[Keck…!!]

Caryl twisted the snake’s neck nervously, and Mael screamed strangely.

[Such a miraculous event happened by chance, but it would have been impossible without his preparation to seize the chance.]

Raminu lightly pressed Caryl’s back and reached out from his shoulder to grab the fragment.

[Look.]

Caryl looked inside the fragment.

Inside, something was spinning, trembling like a vortex.

“…”

Caryl unfolded 만환(卍環) [Manhwan, a swastika-like symbol].

As his vision expanded, the vortex inside the fragment became clearer. But even so, he couldn’t perfectly grasp the reality of the tiny vortex.

Small but vast.

A size that couldn’t be captured with the eyes.

Ironically, there was no other way to explain what he was seeing.

“…Universe?”

[To be exact, it’s a dimension. Dimension Spiral contains one dimension. Dimensions collapse and create other dimensions. In that way, the realm expands, and there are other dimensions governed by gods other than Yula.]

“I’m going crazy… Raminu, are you saying that if I have this, I can become a god?”

[It’s not impossible.]

Thump-

Caryl’s heart fluttered for a moment.

[But you can’t. Neither can we. Even if it’s a dragon or a demon.]

Caryl frowned as the trembling subsided at Raminu’s words.

“Why?”

[I don’t know how a human named Kaie Esir found this, but he handed it over to the Demon King. Why didn’t the most sinister race among the races, especially the Demon King, take this attractive power and only kept it?]

Caryl looked at him.

[The reason is simple: because he can’t use it.]

“It’s unpleasant to equate the Demon King with me. It’s troublesome to think that I can’t do it just because he can’t.”

[I’m not trying to belittle your abilities. This is a problem other than strength.]

Raminu smiled faintly.

[Whether it’s a human, a dragon, or a demon, they are ultimately creatures created by God. The same goes for Bladers. Judex’s swordsmanship or the absolute magic, the Great Magic Book Folsetia, are also ultimately under the power of God. No matter how strong we are, we are only subordinates of God, who is the existence of absolute strength.]

“But you rebelled against such a god.”

[And failed.]

“What do you mean? Are you saying that I will fail too?”

[No. On the contrary. That’s why we wanted to confirm it.]

Whooooong…!!

As Raminu raised his hand, the fragment began to rotate slowly once again.

[God can use dimensional power, but you don’t necessarily have to become a god to use dimensional power. Creation is destruction. Dimension Spiral contains that power, so it destroys everything unless it is a permitted power. But you are alive even though you touched this fragment.]

Thump-

Caryl felt his heart beat faster.

“Could it be…”

[Yes. It’s a miracle created by chance. If you didn’t have dragon magic, spirit power, the blood of a Blader, and Folsetia, you would have turned to ashes and disappeared the moment you touched this fragment.]

“…”

[Dragon magic allowed you to withstand the dimensional power, spirit power purified the power, and the blood of the Blader, who was a follower of God even though he rebelled, allowed the fragment to accept you. Folsetia allowed that power to manifest in this world, not in another dimension.]

“You’re saying I was lucky.”

[You created that luck. It’s your achievement.]

Caryl smiled faintly at Raminu’s words. The 폭염왕 [Flame Tyrant], who first made a contract with him, was the one who watched his changes and growth more than any other spirit king.

“But even so, you’re saying that humans can’t enter the realm of God.”

[Do you want to become a god? The you I know isn’t someone who wants that. If you, like those who have power, are intoxicated with power and want more power, we would not have followed you.]

“Raminu, do you still not know me?”

Caryl smiled.

Crack-

Surprisingly, Caryl, who had been shocked to the point of fainting just by touching it at first, now gripped the fragment without any problems.

“Just as you were curious about whether I could handle this, the reason I’m curious about the realm of God is always for one goal. I don’t have any desire to become a god, but I have a desire to kill God.”

Swish…!!! Kwagang…!!

As soon as he finished speaking, the pitch-black darkness disappeared as if a curtain was being drawn, and pure white light poured in.

“I’ll change the question. Even if I don’t become a god, can this fragment be a weapon to kill God?”

[Of course.]

Mael said as if he had been waiting.

“Then I will make this mine.”

Crack-!!

As if no further explanation was needed, Caryl put strength into the hand he was holding. The fragment shattered, scattering light dust in all directions.