The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 285

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – 284

Susanoo-no-Mikoto (3)

“I haven’t eaten this well in a while!”

Takehaya patted his full stomach, a happy expression on his face.

He had devoured the food with joy, remarking on how long it had been since he had such a feast. He then sprawled out in front of the lit bonfire and said,

“Today is a truly happy day! I got to meet my brother, and I ate so much delicious food!”

He seemed genuinely pleased. However, Takehaya soon let out a deep sigh.

“But it’s really a shame. You’re going to leave soon, aren’t you, brother?”

“Leave?”

“Everyone who’s come here has done that. Besides you, there were other brothers and sisters too…”

Takehaya turned his back to the meteor shower, seemingly truly disappointed.

“They all left. Did they not like me? Will you do that too, brother?”

What did he mean by ‘leave?’

Yuseong pondered the meaning of Takehaya’s words, poking the bonfire with a fire poker.

The boy in front of him was indeed Susanoo.

Susanoo’s full name was Takehayasusanoo-no-Mikoto, after all.

However, unlike what Yamata no Orochi [a mythical eight-headed serpent in Japanese mythology] had said, Susanoo’s cruel side wasn’t showing.

In his current state, it was hard to believe he was the one who had put Nox to sleep.

“I won’t leave.”

Not until he had completed his purpose on this island.

And in all likelihood, that would involve beheading Takehaya.

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing Yuseong’s confident reply, Takehaya rose to his feet and looked at him with a bright smile.

“So, you’re going to stay here? And go fishing with me, and stuff like that?”

“Probably.”

At his answer, the boy jumped up and down.

He was so happy that he even spun around.

“I’m so glad! Everyone who’s come here has just been busy running around trying to go somewhere. You’re the first person who’s ever gone fishing with me.”

That was understandable.

This was Susanoo’s world.

Reaching the realm of the sea god, which one would not normally enter, likely meant they were offered as a sacrifice.

If a strange child suddenly appeared while they were struggling in an unfamiliar environment, they would be even more confused.

“When was the last time someone came here?”

“It wasn’t that long ago. I think someone came a few tens of nights ago… It was a sister, but she disappeared quickly.”

Yuseong frowned.

Reaching Susanoo’s world meant being offered as a sacrifice…

If Takehaya wasn’t mistaken, that meant there were still crazy people somewhere in Japan offering human sacrifices.

Anyway.

Yuseong said,

“Are you really the only one on this island? It seems quite large.”

“Yeah. I’m the only one. The only people I see on this island are people who suddenly wash up on the shore like you… and those people disappear before I know it. Overnight…”

His voice was sorrowful.

He wished the people he met after so long wouldn’t leave him, but they disappeared in an instant against his will.

The emotion in Takehaya’s voice seemed genuine.

Even his deep sighs seemed full of regret.

“Have you ever seen them disappear?”

“No, I’ve never seen it. They disappear after I fall asleep and wake up.”

“They disappear after you fall asleep and wake up.”

Yuseong sensed something strange in Takehaya’s words.

It was one thing if they were fine when Takehaya was awake, but did it make sense that they disappeared every time he fell asleep?

Especially to the point where they vanished overnight.

Although the island was large, one could easily circle it in a day if they were determined.

So, something definitely happened when Takehaya fell asleep.

Or perhaps there was something about Takehaya himself.

Either way, it was something Yuseong had to face.

“Then fall asleep right now. I’ll prove that you don’t disappear even after you fall asleep.”

“R-Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Right now might be a bit… I’m full, but… Do you want to go to my house? There’s a place where you can sleep comfortably.”

“Sure.”

Takehaya jumped up and walked into the forest, and Yuseong followed behind him.

Takehaya navigated the forest well, even in the darkness.

And before long, a small hut appeared.

“This is my house!”

The two entered the hut.

The small hut was large enough to comfortably sleep three or four people.

On the floor were a few large pieces of grass.

The weather was mild, so there didn’t seem to be a need for blankets.

“It’s quite meager.”

“It’s enough! Here.”

With that, Takehaya lay down on the grass and yawned widely.

He had been fishing and was full, so he seemed sleepy.

Yuseong found a suitable place and sat down.

“Aren’t you going to lie down and sleep?”

“I’m comfortable like this.”

“Well then… good night, brother. Please don’t disappear.”

“That won’t happen.”

And soon, only Takehaya’s soft breathing could be heard.

Yuseong sat silently, heightening his senses.

From now on, anything could happen.

“……!”

Yuseong sensed Takehaya’s presence.

It was completely different from before he fell asleep, and Yuseong’s gaze turned involuntarily.

A sharp aura, completely unlike before, emanated from Takehaya, who was lying with his back turned.

The hair on his entire body stood on end without him realizing it.

“So that’s what it was?”

The secret of Takehaya was being revealed.

The sleeping Takehaya rose. The body of the boy grew larger and larger, eventually becoming a young man.

Then, he turned his head to look at Yuseong, his face like that of a fierce god.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a sacrifice.”

The voice that flowed out was full of malice. He looked at Yuseong with the eyes of someone who was planning to devour an easy prey.

Susanoo, his blue eyes resembling the sea shining in the darkness, said,

“These days, humans don’t offer human sacrifices…”

“I should have spread the word that Susanoo is a crazy god who accepts human sacrifices. Then, without me doing anything, believers would have fallen away.”

Susanoo looked at the human who wasn’t afraid of him with puzzled eyes, as if he had never seen such a person before.

“What are you? Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“Probably because I’ve met someone scarier than you.”

Honestly, when it came to being scary.

Amaterasu was more so.

Yuseong summoned Ilseong, held it in his hand, and continued,

“Tonight is going to be a long one.”

And the next moment, Susanoo rushed forward and reached out his hand.

Yuseong reacted accordingly, and the hut exploded in the clash between the two.

“I don’t know where you came from, but I’m going to chew you up and swallow you!”

Susanoo shouted and swung his fist. The power contained in the punch was terrifying.

Yuseong chose to deflect rather than block, and the deflected power created a huge pit on the island.

“Showing off petty tricks in front of a war god?!”

Susanoo’s fist flew again. Dozens of strikes approached at a rapid pace, making it impossible to avoid.

However, it wasn’t a speed that he couldn’t react to.

His level, honed by absorbing the divinity of Yamata no Orochi, had reached a point where he could be called a ‘god.’

All of Susanoo’s flying fists missed.

Yuseong himself was surprised, and so was Susanoo.

He never imagined that his fist, the fist of the sea god and war god, one of the three most important figures in Japan, could be so perfectly evaded.

“Ha! Did someone from another sacred war come to kill me? How did you get up to the 5th floor of Takamagahara [the heavenly realm in Japanese mythology]?”

“Your sister opened the way. You should have been nicer to your family.”

Yuseong went on the offensive.

He took a step forward and swung his sword.

It was an ordinary sword strike. A sword that was neither slow nor fast, aimed at Susanoo’s neck.

Susanoo sneered at the sight of his sword, but then he felt a sharp sensation and quickly retreated.

“……!”

He looked down at his body and hardened his expression.

Scratches were already all over his body.

He had clearly swung his sword only once, but what he faced was a series of ultra-fast sword strikes flying from all directions.

Susanoo, realizing that he was not an easy opponent, frowned even more and shouted,

“Reveal your name!”

“Why is a name important? Ah, do Japanese people have a foolish custom of revealing their names and fighting when they attack?”

Something about honor, I think.

Unfortunately, Yuseong had no such honor.

He only had the petty desire to defeat his opponent.

“You son of a bitch!”

“So what, you bastard.”

Susanoo rushed in again and swung his fist.

However, Yuseong took a few steps back, maintaining his distance and unilaterally swinging his sword.

A one-sided attack from the difference in reach between a fist and a sword.

Of course, both of their attacks had reached an area beyond distance, but rather, the sense of distance became even more chaotic.

Shockwaves spread out from Susanoo’s outstretched fist.

Yuseong cut through the shockwave from the front and sent out a sword aura.

The two men’s attacks intertwined in the air, creating a roar and tearing up the ground.

A tense balance continued, with neither side backing down.

In the midst of this, Susanoo pushed Yuseong far away with a shockwave and opened his mouth.

“I’ve felt your divinity before. Orochi, you’re Orochi’s child! Did a dragon want to become my servant and come on its own accord?”

“Everything you say is just nonsense.”

This guy is one of the three most important figures?

One of Japan’s highest gods?

It was a completely different atmosphere from Amaterasu, who was playful but had a sense of dignity.

Yuseong shook his head and gripped his sword firmly.

“Didn’t I say the night would be long? If you want to know something, you can beat me down and ask.”

“Yes, that’s the fastest way. I’ll make you tell me everything, where you came from and what you came for!”

Divinity erupted from Susanoo. As he maintained his position as the highest god in Japan, it was a terrifyingly powerful divinity.

Yuseong solidified his divinity internally instead of releasing it externally.

If he was a storm, he would become an unshakeable boulder.

A huge rock that would not fall, even if it was eroded by the sea breeze.

Susanoo, covered in a ferocious divinity, kicked off the ground and rushed in.

Yuseong also raised his tension to the highest level, gripping his sword tightly at the sight of his clearly different appearance from before.

Is now the time to take out the Eight Stars [likely a powerful weapon or technique]?

No. Not yet, he hadn’t seen the end of Susanoo.

He also hadn’t fulfilled the wishes of Yamata no Orochi and Shuten-doji [another mythical figure in Japanese folklore].

He hadn’t completed himself either.

“You are also just a wall for me to overcome.”

He spoke incomprehensible words. Susanoo swung his fist with an expression that said, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

The fist wrapped in a storm stretched out, tearing through space and spreading in all directions before converging on one point, towards Yuseong.

In that intense storm, Yuseong raised the corners of his lips and muttered.

“Here I come. Susanoo.”