The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 385

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – Chapter 384

Knot (4)

When the battle that would determine the fate of the world began at the edge of the Sword Realm, the boundary between Earth and the universe, those on the ground were plunged into chaos.

All sorts of disasters struck.

Earthquakes occurred, and floods engulfed the world. People faced these sudden disasters without any preparation.

The calamities that Jehovah [God in Abrahamic religions] unleashed to wipe out humanity in the past unfolded on Earth once more.

It was an absolute disaster of despair, meant to return everything to a blank slate.

“What is this out of the blue!”

Perhaps this disaster wasn’t limited to the Sword Realm.

The same thing was probably happening in other countries as well. South Korea was relatively better off.

Most of the disasters were directed at the Sword Realm, so other regions would likely face manageable levels of calamity.

A storm raged over the barrier of the Sword Realm. Tidal waves crashed, and hail, thunder, and lightning fell incessantly.

Some of the thunder and lightning belonged to Thor, the god of thunder, but the number of lightning strikes from the dark clouds far exceeded those summoned by Thor.

Backed by such disasters, angels flapped their wings and swarmed the Sword Realm.

The angels, armed with various weapons, battered the barrier of the Sword Realm. However, the strengthened barrier not only prevented their intrusion but also emitted intense magical power, driving them away like swatting mosquitoes.

“How can those things be called angels?! Fucking gnats!”

Curses escaped my lips involuntarily.

Outside the barrier of the Sword Realm, Baek Woo-hyun used the falling lightning as his power, traversing the battlefield with unmatched speed.

The abundant moisture from the floods and the lightning created an ideal environment for Baek Woo-hyun to rampage.

Generating electric currents throughout his body, he assessed the situation while cutting down thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of low-ranking angels.

Covering the Sword Realm was a swarm of angels. Among them were gods and demigods mixed together.

They hid themselves, waiting for the barrier of the Sword Realm to break.

After roughly grasping the situation, he immediately turned around and retraced his steps. Quickly throwing himself back into the barrier of the Sword Realm, he spoke to Veronica, who was waiting breathlessly.

“The number of two-winged angels alone exceeds a hundred. There seem to be about five or six three-winged ones.”

“That’s not good…”

The one-winged angels were low-ranking ones who hadn’t attained godhood, but those with two wings or more had achieved godhood and were beyond the capabilities of ordinary Divers [individuals with unique abilities].

There were over a hundred of them.

The only demigods in the Sword Realm were Yoo Seong-woo and his sword.

Although support was coming from other Holy Star Pavilions, the number of gods and demigods was overwhelmingly insufficient.

In the end, all they could do was to reduce the number of enemies within the barrier as much as possible.

“…I’ll do it.”

Among them, the one who stepped forward was Schuel. Holding a staff of ancient wood in one hand, she wore various accessories.

Adorned with various divine artifacts that enhanced magical efficiency, she opened and closed her eyes as the rain fell on her.

“It’s impossible to wipe them all out, but I can certainly hold them back to some extent.”

All eyes turned to Schuel. There were quite a few people here who didn’t know Schuel.

She was an extreme shut-in and rarely showed her face outside. She even used magic to avoid the attention she attracted wherever she went.

Most people recognized her as ‘the elf next to Yoo Seong-woo.’

The fact that she was a High Elf was a secret known only to a select few.

That meant few knew what abilities she possessed or what she could accomplish.

She had participated in the war, but her contributions weren’t significant.

“You’re not even a god, so how are you going to stop them?”

Medea, equally soaked in the rain, asked. She wasn’t trying to rebuke her.

She hoped that Schuel would explain something to reassure the others. But Schuel glanced at her and then turned her gaze back to the sky.

“I’m watching.”

And then, she uttered a single word.

In the sky at the end of her gaze, the sun was not visible.

All that met her eyes were falling raindrops and flashing lightning.

“…If you’re trying that hard, I can’t just sit back and do nothing.”

Schuel muttered quietly and took out a glass bottle from her waist, drinking it down.

Medea, recognizing the identity of the golden liquid, shouted.

“Yo, you’re doing what—!”

Medea’s words trailed off. She held her breath at the overwhelming magical power emanating from Schuel.

What she had just drunk was a potion made by grinding the golden apple of Olympus [in Greek mythology, an apple that grants immortality] and mixing it with nectar and ambrosia [foods of the gods].

The result of combining and drinking three elixirs, each of which would bring about a massive boost on its own, was obvious.

The body would not be able to withstand the immense magical power and would explode, leaving only futile magic swirling in the air.

However, the scene unfolding before Medea’s eyes was different from what she had imagined.

“…I am the highest branch of the Great Sephirot [a Kabbalistic concept representing the emanations of God].”

High Elf Schuel.

The last High Elf remaining in this era, a race born closest to the gods.

Her snow-white hair fluttered, sparkling in the rising white light. Surrounding her was a warm breeze that didn’t match the current weather.

“Come, spirits.”

Normally, it would be impossible to digest a potion combining three divine elixirs.

However, High Elves were different from humans. They could handle any amount of magical power, and they could become gods whenever they wanted.

I just hoped she wouldn’t do that. But Schuel had made up her mind.

If he had something he wanted to protect, she would protect it with him.

“The spirits…”

Colors of light appeared from somewhere and surrounded Schuel.

It was the yet-unexplained mystery, ‘spirits.’

Only a select few could control them, and even then, only lower or middle-grade ones. They were considered outside the norm, said to be uncontrollable without special aptitude.

Hundreds, thousands of them.

Gathering at Schuel’s call, they formed a swarm and then swirled, dominating the space.

After a moment, six beings emitting the most brilliant light ever seen appeared.

Schuel looked up at them and said.

“Lend me your strength. To protect what is precious…”

Fire, water, earth, wind, light, and darkness.

The spirits of the six attributes that governed the world, and not just middle or high-grade ones… but king-level beings.

Schuel, who had summoned six Spirit Kings at once, bled from her nose and mouth.

“…Cough.”

Some tried to approach her, but she shook her head, waved them away, and did what she had to do.

“…Unique World, Deploy.”

[Unique World]

[Fairy Forest Memorandum]

What she desired was a fairy forest. The memorandum of the vast forest where countless elves lived and where the Great Sephirot was located revealed its form.

Saplings sprouted from around Schuel and instantly grew into towering trees that pierced the sky.

Colorful flowers bloomed in the sunlight that shone through the dark clouds pushed away by the spirits.

Schuel, standing alone in the forest with the ancient wooden staff planted in the ground, was the epitome of beauty.

As if she were not of this world, she fluttered her hair, blinked her eyes, and looked up at the sky.

Her gaze reached where Yoo Seong-woo was.

The highest point of the Sword Realm, the boundary between the universe and the earth.

“…You saved my life, so it’s only right that I use this life for you as well.”

I had decided to spend my life with you, but I had a feeling that might not be possible.

But Schuel did not hesitate. She brought her hands together to her mouth.

What flowed from her lips again was a spell, a divine word.

By uttering a divine word with a body that had not reached godhood, she took a step closer to becoming a god.

“I’ll give you everything I have, so give me the power to protect this land… this world.”

Immense magical power erupted from her once more. It was so vast, like a great ocean, that one would wonder why she hadn’t reached godhood, easily overwhelming most gods.

Those who watched her widened their eyes at the overwhelming magical power.

Was this truly magic that a human body could handle?

Trying to handle such magic would surely break her. Some of the mages who realized this tried to shout, but the flow of magic was somehow strange.

The overflowing magic was instantly sucked into the ancient wooden staff in front of Schuel, and the staff took root in the ground.

Roots stretched out from the staff, and then branches grew, wrapping around Schuel in front of it.

Schuel, instantly surrounded by branches, gradually disappeared, and a tree was born.

“Wait, what are you doing?! Stop it right now! Do you think that person will be happy if you become a barrier to protect this land yourself?!”

Medea shouted loudly.

What Schuel was doing now was using herself as a sacrifice, as a medium, to form a barrier. If the barrier broke, she, the medium, would die, so why was she doing such a reckless thing?

It was something Medea’s mind could not comprehend.

Others also seemed to understand the situation and threw out a word or two, but only one voice returned.

-He will definitely find me again. Because he promised…….

A tree gradually grows larger. The size of the trees she had created before seemed ridiculous, stretching high without knowing how high the sky was.

The tree grew bigger and bigger.

It took even the surrounding trees as its nourishment and took root, and soon it became a Great Tree covering the entire Sword Realm.

The branches and leaves of the tree blocked the raindrops pouring down from the hole-filled sky, and the roots absorbed moisture and firmly supported the ground.

People looked at the tree that had suddenly appeared and felt reverence. They knew what to call the giant tree that protected them.

Someone muttered.

“World Tree…….”

Yggdrasil [Norse mythology’s tree of life], the Divine Tree, Irminsul [a sacred pillar-like object of the Saxon people]… a tree that supports the world, called by various names.

Schuel chose to become the World Tree herself. To protect this land, to protect everything she loved.

That range of love would include herself, but this was not a permanent farewell.

It was just a temporary farewell for the next time. Whether it was a High Elf or a god.

Both were beings not bound by lifespan.

“Sister, Sister—!!”

Someone shouted from under the World Tree. The small figure called Schuel, shedding tears.

A small dragon born from the night.

Nox kept calling Schuel’s name, but Schuel, whose consciousness was fading, could only convey one word to the girl.

-Someday, we’ll meet again…….

I don’t know how long it will take.

Surely, if it’s Yoo Seong-woo, it won’t take that long.

Schuel thought so and closed her eyes, and Nox sat down on the floor and turned her head.

From outside the Sword Realm, a strange power began to be felt.

As if not allowing her to sit down and cry.

Others also felt it, and after being fascinated by the World Tree for a while, they could see the black hole that appeared outside the Sword Realm.

At first glance, it looked like a passage to the Abyss, but it wasn’t.

It was even darker than that…….

-KRUAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!

What followed and covered the Sword Realm was undoubtedly a dragon’s roar.

In the past, it had turned the world upside down and slipped away leisurely.

The dragons revealed themselves from the black passage.

And at the forefront of the dragons was a jet-black dragon.

A deep, dark, pitch-black dragon that didn’t even reflect light.

Nox, who captured the sight in her eyes, muttered.

“M… Mom?”