The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 395

242. Preparing for the Hunt (1)

“Karrl?”

Millyana, who had been waiting at the entrance of the report room, hurriedly called his name as soon as the door opened.

“Let’s go back.”

His nonchalant expression caused those who had been waiting to exchange bewildered glances.

“Are you alright?”

“Was there any trouble?”

People asked him, but Karrl simply shook his head.

“Hagane.”

“Speak.”

“You and Altemann are the only two who have met Kaie Essir. But he wouldn’t have told Altemann, his comrade, about his contract with you.”

“That is my understanding.”

Hagane replied to Karrl’s words.

“Then you are the only one who knows what power he left behind. Do you also know how Kaie Essir obtained it?”

“No, I do not. But I can tell you one thing… he is from beyond the realm.”

“From beyond the realm… meaning he is not an ordinary human. Or rather, is he even human?”

Hagane simply stared at him with a strange expression. Karrl had somewhat expected this, and he nodded, a more confident look upon his face seeing Hagane’s reaction.

‘Dimension Spiral. It is definitely a fragment containing the power of another dimension. In other words, it is also the power of a god. But in this dimension, where there is already a god named Yula, there cannot be another fragment. It must be from another dimension.’

Karrl organized his thoughts.

The problem was how Kaie Essir was able to bring a fragment from another dimension to this one.

His eyes gleamed.

A shift in perspective.

It was a phrase that had always followed him since he learned magic, a constant reminder to look at things differently.

‘Instead of bringing an object from another dimension, what if he himself is a being from another dimension?’

Thump-

Karrl’s heart began to beat rapidly. But that too was just speculation. He tried to remain calm, suppressing the excitement of encountering another secret.

‘The only solution is to uncover his identity.’

There is a clue.

Hagane said he was a being from beyond the realm.

And the fragment he obtained.

Karrl had a feeling that he might find new clues about the questions he had in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave.

“This…”

Hagane took out a small bottle from his chest.

“While waiting for the king, I heard about the incident with your comrades. I have a guess. If it was caused by the Black Spores, applying this to their foreheads will awaken them.”

Karrl looked at Millyana at his words, and she nodded.

“As far as I know, Black Spores have the effect of showing powerful hallucinations. Are there any other properties of the spores that I am not aware of? Why did Wooden Cloud try to obtain and cultivate them from you?”

“Hallucinations… That is certainly the main effect of the fruit, but if you were to ask about its uses, there are various possibilities. Hallucinations are ultimately a matter of the mind.”

Clack-

As he snapped his fingers, black smoke appeared from his body and formed into a figure.

It was a familiar face.

Agares, one of the Four Horsemen of the Demon Realm.

“He is a demon who oversees the plants of the Demon Realm. It was probably him who made the deal with Wooden Cloud. Isn’t that right?”

“That is correct. They said they would create a god with the Black Spores.”

“…A god?”

“It was a despicable idea that only humans could come up with, but it was also quite interesting. Hallucinations are, after all, about creating illusions.”

“Are they trying to make people worship illusions?”

“If everyone across the continent were to see the same hallucination, it would no longer be an illusion. It would become real, even if it does not exist.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“There is no doubt that they intended to spread the Black Spores across the continent.”

Fanaticism.

Karrl immediately recalled his past life upon hearing Agares’ report.

After the duchy disappeared and the empire took over, Rael Stalen of Wooden Cloud became the leader of a fanatical cult called Blue Lore.

‘Now I know for sure how Blue Lore was born.’

But Rael, the leader, was dead.

Now, all that remains is to eradicate the remaining remnants.

Karrl asked again with a stern face.

“Why did you make a deal with them? You must have gained something from the contract as well.”

“Sacrifices.”

Hagane answered Karrl’s question in place of Agares.

“They agreed to send sacrifices on a fixed month in exchange for cultivating the Black Spores.”

“It goes without saying that the sacrifices mean humans.”

“That is correct.”

Swish-

Karrl slashed Agares’ torso with his sword.

Before he could even realize that his sword had moved, Agares simply widened his eyes and fell to the ground, his waist severed.

“If it’s a clone created by your power, you won’t die even if I do this. Even if it’s natural for demons to sacrifice humans due to their nature, I can’t help but feel angry as a human listening to it.”

“That is perfectly understandable.”

Hagane simply nodded without refuting his words. However, the fact that his demonic knight, who was like his own clone, had disappeared meant that he had also taken a hit.

“Demons can see into the deepest parts of the human mind. Therefore, you would be better at selecting humans than we are.”

“The order you wish to give… ?”

Hagane wiped the blood that was slightly flowing from his lips and asked. It seemed that the blow he had taken from Karrl a moment ago was more significant than he had thought.

“I order you to eliminate all the Wooden Cloud remnants remaining in the human realm.”

“I will gladly do so. I will release the Nightmares [夢魔, incubi/succubi] right now to wipe out their seeds.”

However, Hagane nodded with an expression that was more fascinated by Karrl’s power, which had bisected the demonic knight in one strike, than the pain he felt.

“Open the gate.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a dimensional gate was created in the sky of the Demon Realm, and Karrl entered without hesitation.

* * *

Whooooooooosh….

Whooooooooosh….

Karrl slowly opened his eyes.

A familiar landscape unfolded before him, and as he scanned his surroundings, the people who had gone to the Demon Realm with him were standing behind him.

“We’re back.”

“It feels a bit anticlimactic.”

“You’ve left the Demon Realm at your feet, and you say it’s anticlimactic.”

“Because we didn’t really do anything.”

Gordon Fabian chuckled at Millyana’s words.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“There are many things to do. I need to go to the Thousand-Year Ice Cave you mentioned, and it will take time to adapt to the power Kaie Essir left behind.”

Karrl spread out his palm, and a transparent fragment appeared on it, emitting light.

“Hmm… Is this his essence?”

Gordon looked at the fragment with curiosity.

“Judging by your expression, it seems you don’t intend to explain any further.”

“You know me well. Just as you wouldn’t answer even if I asked you about another Thousand-Year Ice Cave.”

Gordon chuckled and shrugged at Karrl’s answer.

“Alright. What do you need? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“There’s nothing else. But if you have time, please meet Kwell McGovern. I’ve already spoken to Tyren, but he probably won’t move from his mansion.”

“Do you think he’ll follow you just because I say so?”

“It’s not that I want him to pledge allegiance to me. I just want him to come to the palace on the day I mention.”

“The day you set?”

Gordon looked at Karrl.

“The night of the new year.”

“Hmm… That’s only about a month left. I see. Time has passed so quickly.”

After the war,

People realized that time had passed and winter was coming to an end.

“Well, if it’s just delivering a message, it’s not a difficult task. I’ll stop by his mansion on the way in the airship. It seems I’ve been on land for too long.”

“Calipson will have reinforced the airship further.”

“That’s good news to hear. It’s time for me to part ways here. The mercenary should step aside. From now on, it’s your free kingdom’s time.”

Gordon waved his hand lightly and said.

“Give my regards to the Old Man of the Fist. He’s probably still here emptying the warehouse of alcohol.”

“I will.”

Karrl smiled faintly and sent him off.

‘We’ll meet again soon.’

But only Karrl knew that the place of reunion would be a battlefield, remembering what would happen in the future.

* * *

“Cough…!! Cough…! Huff…!!”

The first thing Karrl did upon returning to the castle was to use the medicine Hagane had given him on Su-an and Israfil.

“Oh…!!”

“Are you alright?!”

As Hagane had said, the two woke up without much difficulty, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wh… Where is this?”

Israfil looked around with a parched voice. A maid brought him warm water, and as he barely swallowed it, he tried to stand up hastily at the sight of the black figure standing in front of him.

[Don’t do anything unnecessary and lie down.]

“Master…”

Arhn Zabiuss clicked his tongue as he looked at Israfil, but he seemed relieved that he had woken up.

“My lord. How did you…”

Su-an struggled to get up and knelt down to greet Karrl.

“Yes, you should. Are you in your right mind?”

Israfil looked at Su-an, not knowing what to do, and Arhn clicked his tongue, saying, ‘Anyway, his personality is…’ but everyone knew that he was matching the mood because Su-an’s personality would not allow him to lie still even if Karrl told him not to.

“I told you to investigate the Blood Cave, not to get cursed. Su-an Hazar, you would have been dead if you weren’t the Fist King.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you should be sorry. I raised you with so much effort, but you didn’t even get to perform properly. The war is over while you were asleep.”

“Is that… Is that really true?!”

“Ah…”

Su-an and Israfil realized that they were in the former imperial palace of the empire, and unlike Israfil, who was surprised, Su-an accepted the fact surprisingly quickly.

“I have no excuse.”

“But even if the war is over, the battle is not over. We must prepare for an even greater war in the future. Your muscles are messed up because you haven’t used your body. It will take time just to get back to the beginning. I’ll give you two days to recover.”

“…I’ll get up in one day.”

“Do as you please. The Fist King is still here. Let him complete your martial arts.”

Karrl said to him mercilessly.

Su-an had been unconscious for several months. The recovery period might have to be even longer than that, but he was only given one day of rest.

Thud-

Karrl received something from Anthem and threw it in front of him.

It was none other than the gauntlet of the Azure Ogre, Kalduan.

“The Rock Lord Maktun has hidden his body in the Spirit Realm. To meet him, we must eventually open the gate to the Spirit Realm. But to do so, ironically, we need the power of all the spirits.”

Su-an grabbed the gauntlet he had handed him.

“The Azure Ogre is a sacred beast with the power of earth among the three phases. Temporarily, you can replace the Rock Lord’s vacancy with that power. Your gauntlet will be the key to opening the dimensional gate connecting the Spirit Realm. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I will be able to handle the gauntlet perfectly.”

“There is no next time. The power of the spirits used to open the gate to the Spirit Realm can even risk your life. I will never tolerate mistakes this time.”

“I understand.”

Su-an nodded at Karrl’s words with a pale face. It was a harsh order for someone who had not yet fully recovered, but rather, his order would be an opportunity to whip Su-an himself.

“And Aidan.”

“Yes.”

Karrl handed him a long box that was standing behind him. When Aidan opened it, there were two swords inside.

“These are the twin swords, Thunderclap [雷擊] and Lightning Flash [雷電], the last of the five great weapons of the Blader. According to Arhn, these were not made in the Magic Era but were newly made after that. The real one is said to have the Lightning Spirit King, Thunder Lord Kungen, sealed inside.”

Aidan drew the two swords Karrl had given him. One was a small dagger, and the other was a small sword longer than that.

“Your magic attribute is wind, but your compatibility with lightning is not bad, and you are no less skilled in handling daggers than Moon Night [月夜], so I will entrust it to you.”

When the name of Moon Night came out of Karrl’s mouth, Ziggs looked at the sword Aidan was holding with a slightly regretful expression.

However, as he had no magic power, he was unfortunately not enough to handle the twin swords.

“Like Su-an, before opening the gate to the Spirit Realm, you must fill the vacancies of the two Spirit Kings that I have not obtained.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

After hearing Aidan and Su-an’s answers, Karrl slowly nodded.

[You too. Good. When your body is tired, your senses become more sensitive and your mind becomes sharper. You will rest for half a day and then have class right away.]

“I, I’m sorry, Master.”

Arhn, sensing the atmosphere, playfully said to Israfil, and the heavy air seemed to lighten a little at his helpless appearance.

“And lastly…”

Karrl pointed to the calendar hanging on the wall. Only one last calendar sheet remained, signifying winter.

“Soon, we must welcome the god.”

“…A god?”

“Yes. Anthem. Build an altar. So huge and splendid that it can be seen from above. Soon, the messenger of God will come to us.”

Anthem Howard looked at him, surprised by Karrl’s order.

“And don’t forget to set up a coffin next to the altar.”

Looking at Anthem’s face, who didn’t know what he meant, Karrl said in a low voice.

“Make the coffin size generous. The wings on the Nephilim’s back are quite large. Well, if they don’t fold and fit, we can just cut them off.”

Winter, when the year changes.

Karrl once again reminded himself that the day he had been waiting for was approaching.

The hunt for God is coming.