The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 489

Extracurricular 2

2. Not Over Yet

[Where do you think you’re taking me?]

Emerging from the tomb, Oliver was still held by Carryl.

“Instead of asking that, why don’t you look around? If I were you, I wouldn’t waste time talking. Can’t you see the scenery?”

[Krrr…]

The wyvern’s low growl sounded as if agreeing with his words, or perhaps scolding Oliver.

[Saying that is meaningless to me as well…]

Oliver looked down.

Seeing his grumbling cut short, Carryl smiled faintly, as if expecting it.

“What do you think?”

Carryl’s question seemed to demand a grand reaction, but in reality, the capital’s scenery wasn’t much different from when he was alive.

The bustling market scene.

Children splashing in the fountain in the square. It seemed ordinary, but their appearances were slightly different.

[Gray… eyes?]

Oliver, with his keen eye, immediately noticed that the eyes of some children mixed in the square were different.

And he fully understood what that meant.

[…Hybrids?]

“That’s right. The god is gone, but the remnants he left behind still exist. The presence or absence of magic that distinguished races cannot be controlled by human power.”

Foreigners and Imperials.

Those who were thought to never be united were now living together within the same community. Oliver asked Carryl in a low voice.

[How long has it been?]

“Five years.”

[Five years… Can they smile like that in just that time?]

“The amount of time isn’t important. From the beginning, it was those who reigned above who tried to distinguish races. They needed an enemy to justify their rule, but these people don’t try to rule anyone, nor do they need to, so there’s no reason for animosity.”

[…….]

Oliver didn’t respond to Carryl’s words.

[Yes, everything is the fault of the rulers. They did nothing wrong. They are just living.]

“Do you think so?”

[……What?]

“If that’s all you can conclude after seeing this, I’m disappointed. It might have been better if you had simply lost to me in the war.”

[What are you trying to say?]

Oliver frowned and looked at Carryl.

“They are not just living. They are also moving forward with their own will. God made humans distinct with magic, but they themselves have broken down the distinctions that God made. Do you not recognize how significant that is…?”

Carryl, who spoke reproachfully, pursed his lips as if unable to say something at the end.

‘That’s right… The you in your past life, who fought for the people and the country, is no longer here.’

All that remained was the cruel emperor who killed his own family for the throne.

Carryl felt as if his mouth was gritty, as if he were chewing on sand.

“Let’s go back.”

[Why? I want to see a little more.]

“It’s a waste of time for someone who doesn’t appreciate its value. I don’t know what you wanted to say to me, but I don’t expect much.”

Carryl pulled on the wyvern’s reins. Unlike him, who was about to turn around, Oliver was still looking at the people in the square.

[No, this is the fault of the ruler. It is clearly my fault for not leading them to peace. The greatness of the people is manifested on the foundation laid by the one who became king.]

“……”

[In the capital of the empire, where I have lived for decades, I have never seen them smile. They would be the same in the history of the empire before I was born. But you changed that.]

Oliver said.

[Five years was enough for a smile.]

The spirit descended from the wyvern and landed on the ground as if riding the wind. He knelt down to match the eye level of the children playing in the square.

Carryl stared blankly at Oliver.

[Let me ask you one thing. If you really defeated Yula… what happened to Pharerl?]

“It collapsed. After the god disappeared, the tower, which had lost its power, crumbled and broke apart on its own.”

[That’s good.]

Oliver nodded at his answer.

[What about the Pharerl in the Millennium Ice Cave? Did that break too?]

“No. That remains. It seems to be because it’s not from our world. It seems to have been unaffected even after Yula died.”

At Carryl’s answer, Oliver slowly got up and approached Carryl on the wyvern again.

[Let’s go back. I think I’ve seen enough of the world you talked about. After all, I’m just a ghost now, so I shouldn’t have any lingering attachments to the world.]

Carryl grabbed the wyvern’s reins.

“Are you satisfied with the answer?”

[Enough. You really made them live freely. I don’t know how long this peace will last, though.]

“Go ahead and curse me.”

[Krrr…]

The red scaled wyvern growled lowly and moved its wings.

[Still, they will be happy. At least, they won’t have to run away to Tatur to gain freedom before peace.]

Carryl let out a low sigh at Oliver’s bitter muttering from behind him, not interrupting him.

Whoosh—!!!!

The wyvern flew through the sky at a slippery speed.

Only the sound of the wind brushing against his cheeks was heard, and silence ensued between them again.

“By the way…”

The one who broke the silence first was Carryl.

“How do you know that?”

[What?]

“Pharerl. When you were alive, Yula’s descent didn’t even happen.”

Carryl looked at Oliver with a stiff face.

“Besides, the Pharerl in the Millennium Ice Cave was a secret matter at the time. How do you know that?”

The pupils in his stiff face were trembling.

“You bastard… Don’t tell me.”

His head was shouting that it wasn’t true, but his heart was harboring vain expectations of what if.

[Didn’t Lord Quell tell you about the Pharerl in the Millennium Ice Cave? Although it was top secret, there were definitely people who knew of its existence.]

“Don’t be ridiculous. Quell forbade anyone from mentioning the Pharerl in the Millennium Ice Cave except for his close friends. Knowing that means you are…”

Carryl swallowed the last words.

It was because he almost blurted out the word ‘regression’ while swayed by emotions.

[Well, that secret is ultimately limited to humans. There’s one more person who knows about gods and corruption far longer than humans.]

“The Platinum Dragon?”

[Yes, that’s right. Nardi Maugh was the only dragon who studied God-slaying. As the guardian dragon of the empire, he told me about the Millennium Ice Cave when he lent me his power. He also knows about corruption and Pharerl. I, too, prepared to destroy corruption with the Platinum Dragon.]

His words were correct.

Certainly, in his past life, unlike others who were confused when Yula descended and the oracle was given, he calmly prepared for the fight against corruption.

Moreover, now that he knew the Platinum Dragon was behind him, unlike in his past life, he couldn’t say that Oliver’s words were wrong.

‘Is it true?’

However, the words that fit too perfectly only made Carryl more suspicious.

‘No. What I doubt is not the reason. It’s just… my greed.’

Carryl shook his head slightly.

The expectation that Oliver knew about the existence of the secret Pharerl because he, like himself, had regressed.

‘Impossible.’

Looking at Oliver’s face, Carryl forgot that his expectations were absurd.

He knew better than anyone that going back in time required enduring terrible pain.

Besides, even a skilled person like himself took eons to defeat the Pharerl’s corruptions and climb the floors, so there was no way Oliver could have defeated those monsters.

‘Peace has dulled me.’

What kind of expectation was he hoping for?

Was he trying to atone for his past life’s friend?

It was just a past life after all.

In this life, Oliver was just an enemy who took his life.

[You kept your promise. I guess it’s my turn to keep my promise to you this time.]

Oliver said to Carryl, who was lost in thought.

[Go to the Millennium Ice Cave.]

“What?”

[I told you I had a story I wanted to leave for you, right? If even the Pharerl in the Millennium Ice Cave had disappeared, that story would have been unnecessary… but it seems it’s not over yet.]

Oliver raised his head towards the north.

[You’ll find the last piece of the puzzle you need to solve there. And you’ll be able to meet the end in the place where it all began.]

Whirr…!!

Carryl felt like his voice, as a spirit, was buried in the wind and whispering.

[The God-slaying is not over yet.]

“……!!!”

He hurriedly turned around.

But Oliver had already disappeared, and Carryl was left alone on the wyvern.

Squeeze-

Carryl tightened his grip on the wyvern’s reins.

“Oliver…….”

Then he called his name in a low voice and thought.

‘What did you know?’

Whoosh—!!

As if reacting to Carryl’s trembling, the red scales inherited from the blood of the Flame Dragon cried out uneasily and began to fly faster.

* * *

“Lord!!!!”

The wolf-fox tribe’s sentries reported as soon as the red scales appeared in the sky. Hashir moved faster than anyone else and ran to the place where the wyvern was landing.

“Have you been well?”

“What happened to you! Why couldn’t we contact you? Even if I said it was top secret, Israfil said that we couldn’t contact you until you ordered it.”

“Ah… I had something to do, I needed to meet someone for a while. I didn’t want to be disturbed.”

“Still, it’s a relief. I can’t believe you came to the north in person.”

It was a reunion after a long time, but Hashir showed more urgency than joy, so Carryl looked at him with a puzzled face.

“What’s wrong?”

“We just received a report from Zigra.”

“The Moon Night [Special forces composed of the Black Eyes tribe]?”

“Yes.”

At Hashir’s answer, Carryl recalled the order he had given to them, the special forces composed of the Black Eyes tribe.

And the fact that it had something to do with what Oliver had said.

“There are intruders in the Millennium Ice Cave. The Moon Night is currently monitoring them.”

Carryl’s face hardened at Hashir’s report.

“Intruders? I clearly ordered that no one should intrude there.”

“That’s…”

At Carryl’s words, Hashir pulled the robe he was wearing over his head and lowered his head.

“They didn’t even know there was an intrusion. The Moon Night, that is. They only realized it later because he came to find Zigra.”

“What does that mean…”

Carryl looked incredulous.

Although they didn’t have magic power, the Moon Night were the elite of the north, comparable to the Dark Shadow.

“I’m sorry. Our wolf-foxes didn’t know about his intrusion either. Just in case, the troops of the Monkey Tribe, the Red Moon, and the Tiger Leopard Tribe are guarding the Millennium Ice Cave.”

‘Hashir and Zigra’s defenses are hard to avoid even for a Sword Master… Who the hell is it?’

Carryl felt uneasy for some reason.

“He told me to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

Hashir hesitated for a moment.

“Tell me.”

He said, urging him.

“The God-slaying is not over yet.”

“…….”

Carryl felt like the uneasy feeling he had was coming back as reality. Hashir’s report was exactly the same as Oliver’s words, as if repeating them.

“Funny. I’ll have to find out who’s talking such nonsense. If it’s an incendiary tongue, I won’t let it go.”

Carryl said sharply towards the Ice Cave.