The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 443

265. Spirit Realm (3)

“Pfft….”

Laughter trickled from Yula’s lips. She slowly closed her eyes and gave a slight shake of her head.

Zzzzzzz….

Karrl’s sword halted a hair’s breadth from her cheek, as if stopped by an invisible barrier. If only his blade could sever the head of a god with such ease, but the sword would go no further.

“The Grimoire of Toska, is it? Truly… even with such good fortune, you remain within my sight, yet you surpass my expectations. Not only a Spirit King, but also wielding the magic of a Golden Dragon, the bloodline of a Blader, and even possessing the hearts of a Platinum Dragon and a Flame Dragon… ?”

Yula slowly turned her head to look at Karrl.

“Can all of this truly be explained by mere luck?”

KWA-BOOM!!!

With a casual wave of her hand, Karrl’s body was sent hurtling backward.

“I thought I told you I wanted to have a conversation. Yet you’re so rash, drawing your sword the moment you see me.”

“Conversation? Do you think I would listen to the likes of you!”

“Are you also trying to repeat the same mistakes as those others?”

She looked at Karrl with pity.

“Didn’t you all vow not to draw the blade of revenge so easily, unless perfectly planned?”

POW—!!! CRASH—!!!

As Yula snapped her fingers, Karrl’s body twisted grotesquely, and in that instant, black smoke billowed out and scattered.

[Kuh…?!]

The smoke coalesced, transforming into the figure of Aln Zabis. He clutched his chest with a pained groan and collapsed to the floor.

“Even the great archmage of the Mythic Age is helping you, Karrl. Truly, I can expect much from this fight with you. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Yula knew everything.

Even the conversation Karrl had with Aln when preparing to face the Platinum Dragon.

However, from her demeanor, it was clear that she did not consider Karrl a significant threat.

That was only natural.

No matter how great he might be, he was ultimately just a creation in the eyes of a god.

“…….”

Unlike before, Karrl offered no rebuttal to her words.

“At first, no one paid any attention. But as time passed, gods began to watch you, and when you rejected the oracle and killed the Nephilim [a race of beings often depicted as the offspring of angels and humans], some gods started to take an interest in you.”

Thud- Thud- Thud-

She walked towards Karrl with light steps.

“But… why is such a thing happening in my dimension? Not just once, but twice.”

“Maybe you’re just messing up the world.”

Spit-!!

Karrl spat, growling as if to bite, aiming at her face. Surprisingly, his sword, which had delivered a blow with all his might, had not reached her, yet the saliva he spat accurately trickled down Yula’s cheek.

“…….”

She closed her eyes briefly, as if barely suppressing her anger, then opened them and wiped the saliva away with the back of her hand.

“Yes, you’re right. The gods laughed. How could a creation rebel against its master? But do you know why the Oracle War happened? Why Parell was created on the continent?”

A sharp, almost cutting aura emanated from her, but her voice remained calm.

“It is because the master of the divine seat disappeared. Frankly, even I didn’t know. That Rothra, the king of the receding gods, Sekhmet’s Parell, would be here. After his seat became vacant, the gods of the dimensions decided to compete for that position.”

Swish……!!

Crack…!

As she reached out her hand, the form of Parell appeared in the air. And with another wave of her hand, Parell split vertically, with each of its pieces dividing.

“A dimension is like the Parell you see now. Each layer is divided, and there are gods who manage each layer. And the god at the very top is Sekhmet. But for some reason, he disappeared and his seat became vacant.”

Yula flicked her fingers, and one of the layers of Parell, created by magic, was extracted like a piece and unfolded before them.

The shape of the layer expanded, stretching out like a map.

Familiar terrain formed in Karrl’s eyes.

“Because Sekhmet’s Parell happened to exist in my dimension, my dimension became a battlefield for the gods.”

“So that’s why Parell appeared?”

“Corruption is an existence from outside the dimension, and Parell can be said to be a divine construct. It is like a miniature of the dimension, so it contains the creations of gods from other dimensions. They are like their pawns.”

“Pawns?”

Yula smiled lightly at Karrl’s question.

“Like gladiators in an arena representing their gods. If someone among the monsters pouring out from there conquers my dimension, at that moment, the master of that corruption will gain the seat of the divine throne.”

Karrl’s eyes slightly hardened.

“The reason the oracle to stop the corruption was given is precisely because of that. It’s not just the end of your destruction. If my world collapses, I too will lose my dimension.”

The corner of her lips lifted, but it was somehow a bitter expression. The expression was so human-like that Karrl felt a sense of incongruity.

“So… I was trying to strengthen your forces through the Nephilim.”

“Help? You were trying to use us as tools.”

“From your perspective, it may feel that way, but to me, humans and Nephilim are just creations. However, I admit my mistake. The gods laughed at me for not being able to control my own creations, but I discovered potential in you. A sure pawn of victory, different from the pathetic ones in Parell, who will lead me to godhood.”

Yula pointed at Karrl.

“You. You will be able to truly destroy Parell.”

She said to him with a satisfied, fulfilled expression.

“Stop the disaster. And destroy Parell. If they all fail and you survive, it will ultimately prove that my world is the strongest.”

“Cut the crap.”

Karrl repaid her words with a cold retort, having barely contained his anger.

“In the end, you’re saying that this land I live in is your chessboard, and you want me to fight on your behalf! I’m not fighting for you, but to sever your head!!”

Despite his outburst, Yula’s face remained calm.

Rather, her eyes showed a lonely and poignant emotion, so that if an ignorant person saw it, Karrl holding the sword would look like the villain.

“This is not a game. This is also a war. A war so vast that you, a mere human, cannot even imagine.”

“Then do it yourselves.”

Despite Karrl’s growling words, Yula slowly approached Karrl and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Whether you harbor hostility towards me or not, it doesn’t matter. In the end, you will have to destroy Parell to survive.”

She placed the heart of Maktun in Karrl’s hand.

“Rather, I’m just here to help you. The Stone Monarch is a frustrating friend. Obtaining the power of spirits isn’t just about contracts.”

“…What?”

“If you break the heart, that power will be absorbed directly into you. The most certain way to amplify spirit power is actually absorption, rather than contracts.”

She glanced at the other Spirit Kings around Karrl and said.

“The same goes for those guys. It would be better to just eliminate them. A gathering of cumbersome trash is useless. Only one strong person is needed. I acknowledge you.”

Yula’s lips lightly touched his ear. Her sweet voice sounded like a temptation.

“If you truly want to fight me, I will accept your sword. But fighting alone might be a more advantageous option.”

[Kuh…!!]

[Yula…!!]

[…Shut up!!]

The Spirit Kings were furious, but none of them dared to challenge her. The memory of their previous defeat may have been strongly imprinted in their minds.

Crack—!!

Yula grabbed the blade of Polsetia, which Karrl was holding. The blade, imbued with Toska’s magic, emitted black smoke as if burning, but she spoke with an indifferent face, as if unconcerned.

“Don’t trust the blue snake hiding in your arm either. All he can do is wag his three-inch tongue and lust after your body. The Master Key doesn’t seem so special, does it? Why do you think the Blader who had it lost to me… Just look at the results, and you’ll see how incompetent they are.”

“You talk too much. Are the other gods like that? Or is it just incompetent gods who only know how to talk?”

“Kukuk… It seems you’re better at wagging your three-inch tongue.”

“Get lost.”

Looking at Karrl, who answered boldly, she lightly stroked his chin as if handling a pet.

“I don’t care what you think. But you must destroy Parell. Your animosity will lift me up.”

“Either way, there’s only one choice. Even if I don’t attack Parell to defy your orders, the continent will be destroyed by the corruptions.”

Karrl said with a blazing look in his eyes.

“I will destroy Parell.”

“Yes. You’re different from the other fools.”

Yula handed him Maktun’s heart and said.

“Struggle for me. When we meet again, you will offer me your victory and your heart.”

Whoosh—!!!

A wind stirred around her. The sky, which had turned red a moment ago, returned to its original color, and Karrl finally exhaled the breath he had been holding in.

Thud- Thud-

“How was it.”

Brushing the dirt off his clothes, he said in a calm voice.

[That was a bit much. It made me nervous. With the way you’ve been acting, shouldn’t you have been more composed? To charge in from the start.]

“Well, it was partly my true feelings.”

[I’m not sure if you completely fooled her… but at least it’s going according to plan.]

Surprisingly, after Yula disappeared, the conversation between the two was unusual. It was as if they had expected this encounter.

No, rather, their faces were filled with confidence.

[Damn it… Karrl, I kept my mouth shut because you told me to endure, but what? All I can do is wag my three-inch tongue? Next time, I’ll tear your throat out.]

Mael stuck out his tongue and shuddered.

Karrl chuckled at his appearance.

“I learned more than I expected. Yula wouldn’t have thought that she would blurt out the answers to the questions I was curious about.”

[So, Parell is really a war to determine the divine seat… She doesn’t seem to know that you have the Dimension Spiral [a powerful artifact or ability related to manipulating dimensions].]

“Yeah. That’s what I wanted to know. And now it’s certain. That the gods are not absolute. If Yula wanted to meet me, she had opportunities before. Even if she couldn’t descend to the human realm because it had to be used as a battlefield for the gods, there was the Demon Realm.”

[That means that even though it is her own dimension, she cannot exert influence on other realms besides the Spirit Realm.]

“That’s why Kaie Essir hid it in the Demon Realm.”

Karrl’s eyes gleamed.

“The fact that there is a place where Yula’s influence doesn’t reach is a really big gain. There is definitely a gap. We’re aiming for that.”

[As planned.]

He looked at the sky where Yula had disappeared and replaced his words with a burning gaze.

‘What you don’t know is that I’m not attacking Parell for you. The moment Parell ends, you’re the one who’s finished.’

Clench-

Karrl clenched the stone heart and vowed.

“Hey, are you going to stay still after hearing that? You’re receiving the disgrace of fleeing to the Spirit Realm, but leaving your power in the Gauntlet of the Azure Ogre Kalduan means you haven’t given up your will to fight, right? Stone Monarch.”

The heart in his palm trembled lightly.

“If you’re curious about what I’m going to do, recover and come back no matter what it takes. Come and see for yourself. I’ll leave the dimensional gate connected to the Spirit Realm open, so you’ll have to bring your will to fight with you then.”

Karrl placed the heart on the shattered rubble and said.

“My plan hasn’t even started yet.”