Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 117
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 117
Episode 117. Midnight Secret Meeting (2)
Saaaa-.
Cold night air swept through the corridor.
Pean quietly raised his hand, revealing the softly glowing “Sword Master’s Pact.”
And Seorineul’s sword sheath, faintly glimmering in that light.
A subtle tension began to circulate between the two of us.
“….”
“….”
A suffocating silence flowed.
Who would move first? No, who should move first?
Amid the heavy tension pressing down on the space, only the tick-tock of the clock tower echoing from the end of the corridor could be heard.
Ting-!
〔Mental Power ‘MAX’ resists the opponent’s intimidation.〕
Kugugugu-.
Right then, I felt an eerie chill.
Pean had released killing intent to threaten me.
Of course, I didn’t even blink.
Mental attacks didn’t work on me at all to begin with, and I was ‘certain’ that Pean would never actually attack.
“Hmm.”
As expected.
Before long, Pean withdrew his killing intent and scratched the back of his neck.
At the same time, the taut tension was released in an instant.
“Well, there’s no law saying I must kill you today.”
Swish-.
Pean smiled slyly and slowly lowered his hand.
The “Sword Master’s Pact” that had been illuminating the dark corridor also gradually lost its light.
“I’m not a fool either, Gaon. I know how reckless it would be to fight against you.”
Pean continued while scratching the back of his neck.
“Your overwhelming swordsmanship that cut down Jark von Haibrunn in one strike. Even your transcendent skill that deflects explosions.”
“….”
“There’s no reason to risk my life fighting such an opponent right now. Unless I gather sufficient information about you first.”
Right.
I had expected Pean to react this way from the beginning.
He was the most cunning and calculating among the Twelve Sword Masters.
He avoided reckless fights and wouldn’t even start if there was no chance of victory.
In a situation where information about me was already lacking, the probability of Pean picking a fight first approached zero.
Because I had such confidence, I could remain completely unshaken by his threats.
“But….”
Of course, there was no way Pean could know my inner thoughts. Witnessing that I didn’t budge at all, he let out an amused chuckle.
“How truly fascinating. Usually when I show this much hostility, people at least pretend to reach for their weapons… But you, Gaon, show no reaction at all.”
“….”
“Are you that confident in your own abilities? Confident enough to believe you could easily defeat me?”
Pean asked as if testing me.
Instead of answering his question directly, I asked back.
“Were you that disappointed that I didn’t draw my sword?”
“No. Of course not.”
Pean immediately shook his head.
“I don’t want to fight Lord Gaon. Especially if it’s because of the ‘Sword Master’s Pact.'”
“….”
“I don’t think there’s any reason to become enemies over this matter. If the rules lack flexibility, can’t the parties involved resolve it flexibly?”
I silently looked at Pean.
The Sword Master’s Pact was Roel’s most powerful protection measure and an oath with absolute binding force.
But this oath had a blind spot.
Namely, there was no precise timing set for when revenge must be carried out.
‘Of course, most Sword Masters move for revenge immediately when the pact activates.’
After all, anyone granted a “Sword Master’s Pact” would certainly be someone special, and whoever killed such a person would already be a mortal enemy.
‘But Pean’s case is different.’
He was deceived by Haibrunn’s founder into making an unfair contract.
In such circumstances, since I had brought down the entire House of Haibrunn, Pean couldn’t help but feel favorable toward me.
That was why he was showing such an ambiguous attitude now.
“Of course, rules are rules, so I’ll have to fulfill my oath with Haibrunn someday… but I am an elf. A race born with the blessing of eternal life.”
Pean the Sword Master.
Like Demarion the Great Sage, he was someone who had lived for nearly thousands of years.
Having trained for eons with his sword as companion, he was recognized as one of the top masters among the Twelve Sword Masters.
If such a person sided with me, there would be no more reliable ally.
“I have plenty of time. Having lived through eternal ages, I’m also very accustomed to waiting.”
“….”
“So I’ll wait this time too. Until you grow old and sick. And just before your last breath ends, I’ll fulfill my oath with Haibrunn. Without pain, peacefully.”
One of the reasons I eliminated Jark von Haibrunn.
It was precisely to gain Pean’s favor.
By completely destroying House Haibrunn, I would free him from the shackles of an unfair contract.
That was the surest way to bring Pean to my side.
“Of course, it would be troublesome if you died to someone else before then. If I can’t fulfill my oath with Haibrunn, my life would be in danger too.”
“….”
“So….”
Pean finished his words with a meaningful smile.
“…Don’t die without my permission, Gaon.”
* * *
Murmur murmur-.
Late at night when the sky had darkened.
A heated discussion was in full swing in Middle Temple’s conference room.
There were mountains of agenda items to process.
Jark von Haibrunn.
The ripple effects of his corruption and death were beyond imagination.
“And finally….”
Only at dawn could Arwen bring up the last agenda item with a tired voice.
“Could you please report on the disposal of Jark von Haibrunn’s corpse, Baron Bauer?”
“….”
“….”
Swish-.
At Arwen’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to Investigation Team Leader Sikan Bauer.
Even though it was completely incinerated and melted beyond recognition, they couldn’t carelessly leave a worshipper of evil gods’ corpse unattended.
After all, most who contracted with evil gods possessed “immortality.”
This meant that until the matter was completely resolved, one must never let their guard down until the very last moment.
“We collected every last speck of ash perfectly with the investigators and sealed it deep beneath the Holy Sanctum. Currently, the High Priest is confirming whether ‘immortality’ has been obtained…”
As Sikan Bauer’s report continued, Adelia rested her chin on her hand and let his explanation go in one ear and out the other.
“…”
Sword Master Gaon.
His sword didn’t simply cut flesh, but possessed the power to deny existence itself.
Camillo von Taribas, Barbarian the Slayer of Men who returned as an immortal, and even The Apostate of Wintershield.
All of those beings met their death before his sword.
‘…Well, this time will probably be the same.’
That’s why all these cleanup procedures felt like a fuss to Adelia.
But since there was no need to voice her inner thoughts, Adelia simply watched the meeting quietly.
Either way, it was better to be thorough with handling matters.
“Then with this, all agenda items are… hmm?”
Swoosh-.
Just as the meeting was about to end.
An elderly councilor raised his hand and cautiously interjected.
“I apologize. There’s just one more thing I’d like to confirm.”
Arwen nodded.
“Please speak.”
“How was the Fallen Sea Goddess in the Forest of the Heavenly Sea dealt with? According to what was revealed in the Sacred Inquisition, Jark von Haibrunn had neglected that corruption…”
The councilor’s gaze turned toward Adelia.
“Since Miss Adelia von Goldhart was directly present at the scene, you would know the situation best. What happened to the Forest of the Heavenly Sea and Haewolsumo?”
Suddenly, all the councilors’ gazes in the meeting room turned toward Adelia at once.
Adelia, who had been sitting blankly, startled at the sudden attention.
“Uh, that is…”
Just as Adelia was about to answer.
Pop-!
Something peeked its face out from her bosom.
A being with a transparent jelly-like body emanating a gentle blue light.
“My, my goodness.”
“What in the world…?”
Though it had shrunk to the size of a fist, it was unmistakably the form of ‘Haewolsumo’ that everyone remembered.
“W-wait a moment! I’ll explain everything!”
Murmur murmur-.
Adelia frantically waved both hands and began explaining, but the meeting room had already been turned upside down.
* * *
“Hmm~”
Outside Middletemple, the Holy City.
Over the endlessly sprawling desolate land, a hooded girl was humming a tune.
The girl bouncing around was holding something in both hands.
It was a black star… no, an object with a form too bizarre to simply call a ‘star’.
The black mass constantly writhing and changing shape was pulsating like a living creature.
“Ugh! No way…!”
Then, the girl suddenly screamed and stopped walking.
The ground bore blackened scorch marks.
It was the very spot where Jark von Haibrunn had died after a fierce battle.
“Too clean! They cleared it away without leaving a single trace!”
The girl grumbled with a frustrated expression.
“What a shame.”
[…]
“A single drop of dried blood… no, even just a speck of ash would have been a great help. Right, ‘Star’?”
Writhe writhe-.
As if responding to the girl’s words, the ‘Star’ began to undulate. It twisted its form violently as if something was displeasing.
Though no voice could be heard, the girl understood the black star’s meaning just from its movements.
“Hmm… But don’t be too disappointed. The ‘third one’ will appear soon anyway.”
[…]
“How about seizing that body instead? Or attacking Wintershield Magic Academy to steal the ‘second one’s’ body wouldn’t be bad either.”
Writhe writhe-.
The black star twisted its form once again.
The girl’s expression instantly became troubled.
“Th-the first one? That guy is…”
The girl trailed off. After pondering for a moment, she let out a deep sigh.
“That won’t work. You saw it earlier too, didn’t you?”
Swoosh-.
The girl’s gaze swept across the burned earth.
Flames stretching all the way to the horizon.
It was the trace left by the swordsmanship that deflected Jark von Haibrunn’s self-destruction with a single strike.
“That guy doesn’t seem like someone we can carelessly mess with yet.”
[…]
“What kind of ‘Authority’ did he layer on so thickly… Just how much karma did he accumulate in ‘that world’ to gain this level of power? Don’t you think?”
A brief silence flowed.
Writhe writhe-.
Before long, the black star made some kind of suggestion.
“Oh?”
The girl who heard those words showed an intrigued expression.
“The Celestial Dragon’s corpse? That’s not too bad either…”
The girl fell into thought with her hand on her chin.
“…Alright. Let’s return to headquarters first and think about it carefully.”
Having made her decision, the girl hugged the black star tightly to her chest.
Woong, woooong-!
Space began to distort.
The very next moment, the two apostles disappeared.
A cold silence once again settled over the desolate land.
* * *
Ding-!
〔Hidden Message: Causality is being twisted.〕
〔Hidden Message: The encounter with the second apostle「#̷̢̑@̷̜̯̋̔&̷̼̐̔͆^̷̮̹̼̊̆!̶̝̓̂̈%̷̸̵̡̛̣̭͙̳̓̂̌̎̔̌̂#̵̍̌̕」is being accelerated.〕
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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