The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 418

256. Oliver Stehan

“I’ve done all I can do.”

Kay Rothschild said in a low voice, looking at the corpse with its eyes open.

“If it’s for interrogation, I won’t be of much help. I only forcibly woke him up with puppetry, and since he didn’t make a contract with me, I can’t give him orders.”

She shrugged.

Watching the dead awaken so calmly, she seemed unfazed by handling corpses now.

“However, if I stop sending mana to him, he will fall into eternal sleep. If he still has a lingering attachment to life, it could be used for blackmail. Whether that will be a meaningful card in your conversation is up to you. That’s all I can do.”

Caryl nodded.

“I should step aside, right?”

Although he didn’t say anything, Kay thought there was a reason why he woke up the Emperor’s corpse at this point, especially when forming the Parell Assault Team.

“I’d appreciate it if you would.”

“Okay. I won’t tell anyone what happened here, but when using necromancy, mana inevitably leaks out, even if only slightly. Archmages will probably notice. Especially that old mage from the Empire; he must be eager to come in right away.”

[Kadin Luer…]

It was then.

The corpse lying in the coffin slowly raised its body.

The pale face showed no signs of life, and the unfocused eyes were evidence that he was no longer among the living, but for some reason, Caryl found it difficult to hide the emotions surging from within as he looked at him.

[Caryl.]

Aln Zevius called his name as if giving a warning.

“Don’t worry.”

Caryl let out a low sigh, as if he knew what he was worried about.

[You must have awakened me. Seeing that this is the Imperial tomb, I suppose that scene in my last memory wasn’t a dream but reality.]

Oliver looked at Caryl and said, surprisingly calmly accepting the reality.

[Has the Empire sworn allegiance to you?]

“To come back from the dead and have your first question be about the Empire, you’re quite something.”

Caryl looked at him.

“Well, I wouldn’t say allegiance, but thanks to your corpse, Kadin Luer is helping me. The Knights haven’t caused any significant problems either.”

[I see.]

Oliver closed his eyes as if organizing his thoughts at his answer.

[So the Empire really did fall.]

“Yes.”

[What about the Platinum Dragon?]

“Dead. By my sword. I have his heart, and the other three dragons have returned to their lairs under my command.”

At Caryl’s words, Oliver seemed surprised, his Adam’s apple moving as if swallowing dry saliva.

But as a corpse, he had no saliva to swallow, so he wiped his dry lips with the back of his hand and gave a bitter smile.

[Unbelievable… but among the worst stories, that’s somewhat fortunate to hear.]

“Did you want the Platinum Dragon to die?”

[I just wanted the Empire to be free.]

“Why?”

At Oliver’s words, Caryl frowned slightly and asked as if urging him, but Oliver slowly raised his head and gave his characteristic sneer.

[I have no reason to tell you that.]

“You annoying bastard. Still scheming even in death. What do you gain from it?”

[Even if I gain nothing, I can still annoy you. It would be strange to obediently help the guy who killed me, wouldn’t it? Besides, the fact that you woke me up means that even if I have nothing to gain, you must have something to gain from me. If I become an object of trade… shouldn’t I also start thinking about what I can get from now on?]

He certainly wasn’t an ordinary person. Most people wouldn’t be able to accept their death or treat him so casually in front of them.

But Oliver quickly accepted the things about himself and instead sought to make a deal for those left behind.

“Heh heh…”

Caryl burst into laughter at his words.

[First, let’s hear what you want from me.]

“The blood of the Imperial Family.”

Oliver looked at Caryl with a puzzled expression.

[You could just extract it from my corpse.]

“It’s a bit different. If it were just for blood, I wouldn’t have gone through this trouble. What I need is to undo the Platinum Dragon’s oath made with the Stehan family.”

[Ah.]

Oliver nodded with a strange smile, as if he finally understood.

[I should thank my ancestors. The weak descendants were just swept away and died without doing anything, but the covenant made by the ancestors is somewhat preserving our worthless value.]

He said with a self-deprecating expression.

“Don’t pretend to know. What’s valuable about it? The flow of the great powers is completely different from when you were alive. An era of upheaval is beginning that cannot be compared to the war you waged like a game of soldiers when you were alive.”

Caryl said coldly, looking at him.

“A prophecy has been given, and God has called the Nephilim [Biblical giants, offspring of angels and humans] to the earth.”

[……]

“Moreover, monsters called the Corrupted, a disaster, will pour out from Parell, which is built on the earth.”

Woo-oong…

As Caryl raised his hand, the tomb reacted to his mana, and the walls, which had been empty, created magic mirrors in various places as if glass windows were opening, reflecting the outside.

The dark tomb was filled with light, and Oliver’s expression hardened at the familiar snow-covered mountains and fields.

It was the scenery around the capital.

[…It’s been a while since I’ve seen this scenery.]

“If you don’t help me, you’ll see a landscape engulfed in flames. Do you see that tower in the distance? It’s dormant now, but soon it will spew out monsters.”

Caryl said, pointing to one side of the magic mirror artificial window.

“God gave us Parell, but he didn’t explain why Parell is appearing in this world or why that damn tower is spewing out monsters. He just told us to stop that tower.”

He took a step closer to Oliver and said.

“Without knowing any reason, our land will be attacked and destroyed in God’s game. The people of the Empire you loved will suffer terrible fates.”

[So what? It’s not my country anymore.]

“Is that so?”

Caryl paused for a moment, looking at him.

“The position you tried to climb, even stepping on your brother and destroying your brother, couldn’t have been solely for material desires.”

‘Caryl. Listen carefully.’

One year after the prophecy was given,

Oliver said to Caryl on the ramparts of the Imperial Palace.

‘Do you see the three flagpoles at the end there? Everyone just thinks they’re decorations symbolizing the Empire, but they’re not. There’s old magic on them. They’re artillery towers that fire when there’s a treasure in the Imperial Palace.’

‘……’

Caryl looked at where Oliver was pointing.

‘The projectiles fired are also flames made of magic. You’ll be able to see these flames all over the continent.’

‘So?’

‘If those flames rise into the sky, come back here and protect the Empire in my stead. It means I’m dead.’

In the silence, Caryl recalled the memory and felt a gritty feeling in his mouth as if he had swallowed sand.

‘You wanted to protect the Empire so much that you were willing to entrust it to me, a foreigner, if you died. You wanted to protect it even by putting forward me, a foreigner who wasn’t an Imperial knight. The Empire wasn’t insignificant to you, even if your family was.’

Why?

In his past life, Caryl simply thought it was because he was a benevolent king. But after learning about the bloody throne he ascended by killing his brothers, he didn’t think he was so obsessed with the Empire just because he was benevolent.

There must have been a reason.

Clearly, a past he didn’t know.

The memory of his past life, when he told him the secret of the Imperial Palace that the third flame meant assassination, was used as a cruel tool to drive Oliver in this life, but ironically, this time Caryl wanted to use it as a tool to know his true feelings.

“Because of your mother?”

Oliver’s face hardened at Caryl’s words.

“The fact that you’re a bastard is a publicly known fact among the people of the Empire. If it’s just for that reason, you have a soft personality. It’s no wonder you were swayed by the Platinum Dragon.”

[You annoying bastard. I knew from when I saw you in Heim that you were someone I couldn’t be with.]

Caryl gave a bitter smile.

It was natural that his eyes lacked vitality since he had revived a corpse, but for some reason, it felt like his eyes were looking directly at him.

Oliver looked at him slowly.

[Or maybe you’re the only one I can entrust my land to.]

“……”

At that moment, Caryl was speechless as if taken aback by his words. In a feeling where many emotions crossed, he swallowed the words into his throat several times.

The words that he could entrust the Empire to him were no different from his past life, but the situation then and now was so different.

“You crazy bastard. Be satisfied with that coffin, which is less than one pyeong [A Japanese unit of area, approximately 3.3 square meters] of your land.”

[Interesting… It’s more comfortable to talk to you in death. When we were alive, we were polite to each other but aimed our swords at each other with our words, but now it’s just funny even if we use vulgar language. It’s not like you and I have become friends.]

Suddenly, Caryl was reminded of the scene when he killed Oliver just before climbing the last tower in his past life, and he said he was a friend.

“…Undo the Platinum Dragon’s oath.”

He said in a low voice, turning his head.

[I have a request.]

“What is it?”

[When everything you want to do is over, wake me up one more time.]

“Were you such a guy who clung to life?”

[There’s something I want to see.]

“……”

[This is a deal. But I refuse a soul contract. I’ve only been able to see what you’re carrying since I died, and it’s amazing that you haven’t gone crazy even though you’re stuffing so many souls into that small body.]

Oliver said, staring at Caryl’s back.

Like a giant barrier, the immense pressure felt like he was carrying sins on his back, from the spirit kings as vast as mountains above Caryl’s head to Aln’s soul and Mael’s form wrapped around his neck as if strangling him.

[What are you going to do when you can properly use the Platinum Dragon’s power by undoing the oath?]

“I will attack the tower.”

[Are you also thinking of challenging God? Those with power eventually do reckless things. But in the end, they will be defeated by a stronger being. Just like the Platinum Dragon lost to you.]

“Humans are stronger than God.”

Caryl shook his head and said coldly.

“Well, it’s me who’s strong.”

[Heh heh…]

Oliver chuckled.

[If you survive God… can the Empire prosper under your name now?]

“Impossible. The Empire has fallen.”

Caryl answered without changing his expression at Oliver’s words.

“But the Free State will prosper. From the north to the south. From the east, across the strait, to the west where the sun sets, people will live under the name of freedom, not my name. If you just help me.”

[…That’s the dream I wanted to achieve.]

Oliver muttered to himself as if in vain.

[It’s also a sight I want to see.]

He raised his wrist and took out the sword from Caryl’s waist and cut it.

The flesh was cut off without sensation as if frozen.

Swish-

Unlike the pale skin, the blood inside seemed to still have warmth as it flowed down.

[I will undo the restriction.]

“What about the contract? There should be a covenant contract left in the Imperial Palace report. Even the dead can do that.”

[No need. Whether it’s a covenant or a soul, it’s meaningless to me now. I just hope you make a promise. That’s the most human way.]

Oliver said in a low voice.

[And if you keep your promise and wake me up again, then I can tell you one story left in my heart.]

“What?”

Woo-oong…

[Although my heart has died.]

At that moment, his body began to disappear with a flurry of light as if it were being oxidized.

[Because you are alive. Caryl McGovern.]