The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 397

244. Inauguration Ceremony

After a long time, the Imperial Capital was bustling once more.

The era of upheaval had ended, and the plaza was vibrant with life.

It was as if the war had never happened; the Imperial Capital had returned to its former glory in just a few months and was now buzzing with excitement for the upcoming festival.

“The pillars go here!”

“Raise the flags in order from the left! Make sure the rows and columns are aligned!”

“Yes, sir!”

The fountain from the days of the Empire was gone, replaced by a massive altar. Workers were busy with the final touches, and the fluttering flags each bore unique patterns.

The three flags of the Lanion Alliance, the flags of the northern barbarian tribes, and the flags of the southern regions and principalities all fluttered in the wind behind the altar.

“It’s been a month as promised, but why hasn’t our lord appeared?” Dusalla looked at the completed altar and let out a low sigh.

“Is it really okay to hold the inauguration ceremony?” Milliana was equally worried, and the large coffin erected next to the altar gave off an eerie feeling.

“It is the date set by our lord. The people of the Lanion Alliance have already gathered, and the principalities have already crossed the border. Their magic-powered chariots should arrive in half a day,” Anthem Howard replied, trying to shake off their anxiety.

“Magic-powered chariots? Ah… you mean those running iron carriages that Wingel made. They move without a driver, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I heard they’re faster than Kargon [a type of fast horse-drawn carriage]. I’d like to see one. But isn’t it time for the principalities to change their name? How long do we have to call them that?”

“I believe he will revise it when our lord returns. I will let him know,” Anthem nodded at Milliana’s words, and she looked anxiously at the sky as the inauguration ceremony time approached.

“What on earth is he doing? That human.”

When she activated her mana sight [a magical ability to see magical energy], she caught sight of a procession of people rushing towards the Imperial Capital in the distance.

“The main character still hasn’t shown up…”

The only reason so many people were gathering here was that today was the day to declare the master of the continent.

Whoosh…!!

It was then.

The white sunlight of a winter midday was momentarily obscured, and Milliana, who was looking at the sky, spotted something.

Thud-!!

The giant wings that had blocked the sun fell from the sky to the ground at an incredible speed.

“…?!

“…!!”

The question soon turned to surprise.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

Everyone’s eyes turned to the man who had fallen from the sky, and he moved slowly as if nothing had happened, despite the dizzying height.

Flutter…! Thump!!

The fluttering giant wings folded.

Strangely, the man had two pairs of wings on his back and four arms, two on each side.

He had a very handsome appearance, but everyone knew that he was not an earthly being because of the wings and arms that humans could not possess.

“No way…”

“Isn’t that only in the literature?”

“They actually exist…”

His appearance overshadowed the person who was supposed to be the main character of the inauguration ceremony.

“…Nephilim?”

Someone murmured the name of the now-forgotten race of gods, and the man looked down at the humans on the altar with an expressionless face.

“Hey.”

It was then.

“Who said you could go up there?” Before she knew it, Milliana was behind him, holding a sword to his neck.

“Get off now.”

The moment he turned his head.

“…!!”

She felt her body stiffen involuntarily at his gaze. It wasn’t a tremor from fear or anything like that.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she felt holiness in every one of his movements, and her body stiffened with reverence, as if she had encountered a god.

“Amazing. There is a human who does not kneel even when facing me.”

“…!!”

The moment the man reached out his hand, everyone in the plaza seemed to lose strength in their legs and collapsed.

They couldn’t lift their heads from the pressure they felt, and they knelt towards the man as if they were bowing.

Crack-

Only Milliana withstood the pressure he created and did not lower the sword she had drawn. But the tip of her sword was already trembling.

“Hmm.”

The man looked at her again with an interesting face.

“I see. Elven blood flows in your body. Then it is understandable. Elves are the only race on earth that has been given the grace of God.”

He smiled faintly.

“But the grace that mere earthbound races receive cannot be compared to ours. How arrogant.”

Smash…! Bang!!!

The man flicked Milliana’s sword, which had been aimed at his neck, with his finger, and her body was pushed away like a bullet and crashed into a building in the plaza.

“Are you the king of humans? Then I will forgive one act of arrogance. A king must be like that.”

“What nonsense. The king I serve is not as weak as me.”

Milliana brushed off the debris of the building and wiped the blood from her mouth.

“And he’s different from a loser like you, too?”

“…”

The man laughed at her as if he was dumbfounded.

“You’re human, but you’re fearless.”

“I warn you again. Why has the Nephilim, who has not interfered in the human realm, set foot on this land?”

Thump-!! Chaak-! Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!!

As soon as she finished speaking, the soldiers standing on the walls aimed their bows at the Nephilim, and the barbarian warriors and freedom fighters in the plaza all raised their weapons and aimed at him.

“This is not a question, but a warning.”

“You’re already getting up from my pressure. How interesting. I see. You were protecting yourself with Azure Scale [a magical artifact]. A weapon made from the filth of a dirty rift… Indeed, it is fitting for humans.”

Despite being surrounded by thousands of soldiers, the man still looked down at them with a relaxed face.

“Why is this continent human land?”

“What?”

“This is God’s land.”

The man’s wings moved slightly.

The low voice echoed like a trumpet in the plaza, and two swords and two shields appeared in his four arms.

Whoosh-!!!

Her figure disappeared as if shaking, and at the same time, sharp swords and spears flew towards the man.

Serica Loren’s and Ganes’ spears, Mikhail’s and Nine Darhon’s magic, and Hwarin’s and Suan’s fists aimed at all directions around him like a net.

Bang! Kwakwakwang…! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

With a loud noise, their attacks struck the man.

“…Evade!!!!” But at that moment, Milliana shouted.

Kwaaaaaaaang—!!!!!

The people surrounding the man were thrown back by the intense impact. What was unbelievable was that everyone was at the level of Sword Masters and Archmages.

“Hmm.”

He looked at the fallen.

“What power…”

“Is he stronger than a dragon?”

“Are all Nephilim that strong…?”

It was only a single blow, but his majesty came with chills. The inauguration ceremony, which should have been a joyous occasion, was not only a mess, but people were in confusion due to the damage that was close to an attack.

“Humans. As God’s messenger, I have come to deliver God’s message to you. Receive the oracle.”

He slowly raised his hand.

“My name is Virtus, Bytram. Soon, the demon of corruption, a rift, will attack this land created by God.”

Flutter…! Flutter!

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden curtain like an aurora unfolded in the sky.

At the same time, the shape of a tower appeared inside, and the phantoms of the monsters pouring out from within were clearly etched in people’s eyes as if they were real.

“Aaaagh!!”

“Ugh, ugh… Aaaagh…!!”

The citizens in the plaza screamed and ran away in surprise at the flying phantoms, and some people sat down on the spot, crying and trembling in fear.

“What is this…”

Anthem Howard and Dusalla were at a loss as to what to do, seemingly embarrassed by the sudden chaos.

“From now on, uphold the oracle and protect humans from corruption.”

“Protect humans? That’s what humans should do, not something you should be telling us to do.”

At that moment,

A voice was heard from above Bytram’s head.

[Krrr…!!]

A red-scaled wyvern soared in the sky as if circling, and everyone’s eyes were focused on it.

“…L, Lord!!!!”

A familiar face standing on the wyvern. Everyone shouted in surprise at Carryl’s appearance.

“Looks like I was just in time. But why are you making a fuss at my inauguration ceremony?”

“Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing?” Milliana looked at him and shouted as if she was angry, but the corners of her mouth were already raised in a smile.

“Before that…” Swish-

Carryl drew his sword.

The sword drawn from the Great Magic Tome, Polsetia, made a sharp metallic sound as if it had been drawn from a scabbard.

“Why is this God’s land?”

When he pulled on the wyvern’s reins, the red scales stopped flapping in front of Bytram’s face.

“It’s my land,” Carryl said, raising the corners of his mouth.

Thump-

He came down from the wyvern’s head and slowly walked up the altar.

“…What?”

Bytram looked at Carryl with a serious face, not with the arrogant expression he had shown in front of Milliana and the soldiers earlier.

His gaze was focused on the sword of Polsetia that Carryl had just drawn.

“…The sword has changed?”

Milliana, who had a good eye, noticed that Bytram was wary of Carryl’s sword and realized that the sword was in a different form than before.

[Don’t be surprised, human wench.]

“Wench? What are you saying? How dare you, you corpse puppet. Should I break you and send you back to your grave?”

[…] Zarqa Hoch laughed as he watched Milliana growling.

[That temper is still the same. Well, you have to be that way to point a sword at a Nephilim.]

“I haven’t even shown my true skills yet?” As soon as she finished speaking, she concentrated her magic power on both arms. Then, hard scales like dragon scales sprouted from her wrists, covering her arms and climbing up to cover her shoulders and chest.

“The range has increased even more. Amazing.”

At first, only one arm was possible, but now the transformation covered her entire upper body, so she had achieved tremendous progress in that short amount of time.

“Who are you again?” Milliana glared at Deril Harian.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m just an audience member.”

Milliana gave Deril, who was speaking indirectly, a wary look, but Zarqa Hoch blocked them and said, [It’s amazing, but that’s nothing. Compared to what he got in the north.]

“…What?”

Rustle-

It was then.

A large chunk of meat fell in front of Milliana with a gruesome sound of bones being cut.

“…!!!”

At that moment, large feathers containing red blood floated over her face.

“Anthem. I told you to make the coffin big, but it’s smaller than I thought. Or are those Nephilim’s wings unnecessarily too big? I can’t fold them to fit.”

Milliana confirmed that the Nephilim, who her sword couldn’t even reach, was now kneeling with one wing cut off.

“Kuh… Kuaaaagh!!”

Surprisingly, Bytram’s face, which had been arrogant until just now, was full of pain.

“I have to cut it off.”

Woo woong…

Carryl put his foot on Bytram’s shoulder, who was staggering and falling, and pressed down on him. Then, he grabbed the remaining wing with both hands.

“Kuk…! Keuk?! You…!! Stop it!!!” Crack-!!

But as if he couldn’t hear Bytram’s screams, Carryl twisted and broke his remaining wing as it was. A loud noise like a giant tree breaking was heard, and

“Ugh… Uaaaaagh!!!!” A scream filled with unspeakable pain echoed through the altar.

Swish-

Carryl took out the sword he had stuck in the ground again.

The blood flowing from the severed wings of the Virtus soaked the floor of the altar and seemed to seep into the sword blade stuck in the floor.

Woo woong…

The sword of Polsetia that he was holding was emitting an emerald light that he had never seen before.

“What the hell…”

Milliana looked at him as if she couldn’t believe it.

She didn’t know what had happened during the month he had left for the north, but what was clear was that he had returned stronger.

“Has the monster really become a god now?”

She felt chills at his overwhelming appearance, to the point where she felt that her achievement of dragonification was ridiculous.

“Anthem. We will hold the inauguration ceremony from now on. A very good sacrifice has come. It will be the most magnificent inauguration ceremony that no one in history has ever done.”

Carryl stepped on Bytram’s back, who was crawling on the floor after losing his wings, and pointed the sword of Polsetia at him.

“I will tell the one above with the blood of the Nephilim.”

The emerald blade touched the Virtus’s neck.

“That I am the master of this land.”

Swish-

At that moment,

Carryl’s sword pierced Bytram’s neck.