Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 161

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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 161

Episode 161. True Name Release (1)

Pean was accustomed to darkness.

Having lived for thousands of years without sight, perceiving the world without relying on his eyes had become an ingrained instinct.

Even in situations like now, where thick darkness covered everything, it didn’t matter. Pean could ‘read’ the world just as he always had.

The loss of sight meant the expansion of other senses. Sound, vibrations, the flow of mana, even the slightest distortions in the air.

All these senses reached him more clearly than seeing the world with eyes ever could.

‘…Gaon also said he had mastered this heightened perception.’

It probably wasn’t boasting.

He had indeed responded preemptively to crises that even Pean himself had failed to detect.

‘But…’

Even so, this time he couldn’t help but worry.

The energy detected from above was far from ordinary.

Kugugugu──!

The air resonated heavily.

The entire atmosphere trembled as if vibrating, and those waves penetrated deep through Pean’s skin.

Turbulence created by invisible energies intertwining. Even alien forces that seemed to crush and envelop space itself.

‘At this rate…’

Pean’s expression hardened.

He detected a tremendous flow of mana powerful enough to collapse the entire Underground Shrine and more.

‘…This could be truly dangerous.’

Pean hesitated for a moment.

Should he use the “Transcendent Command” even now?

Just then.

“Hide behind me, Pean.”

“…!”

Gaon commanded in a calm voice.

Whoosh-.

Pean reflexively moved behind Gaon’s back. The ingrained trust drew out an instinctive movement.

Kwaaaaaaaang-!

The next moment, an ear-splitting roar echoed.

Lightning pouring simultaneously from all directions.

Blue lightning bolts began devouring everything at once.

Kugugugu-!

The air became scorching hot in an instant.

The heat that surged up burned his skin like fire, and the intense magnetic field generated by the electric current pressed down on his entire body.

Pean instinctively knew.

This terrifying force would soon engulf both him and Gaon.

Buuung-!

In that instant, wind stirred beside him.

Gaon’s sword moved.

The subtle sound of his clothes fluttering in the air.

And even the sharp sound of the blade cutting through wind.

Chaeeeeeng──!

Soon after, a metallic ring cut through the atmosphere.

‘Ah.’

The sound of a sword cutting through something.

No, more precisely, it was the sound of ‘deflecting’ something.

The moment the lightning met the blade, the intense magnetic field that had been crushing everything completely reversed.

Like a massive wave changing direction, the pouring lightning began surging toward the sky instead.

Kwagwagwagwa-!

The fierce energy that had been pouring toward them just moments ago writhed like a living snake and rushed toward the sky in reverse.

And the next moment.

The divine beasts detected above were swept up in the thunder.

Pajijijik-!

Consecutive sounds of electrocution.

And even the dull sounds of heavy things falling one by one onto the water.

Kwaang, splash-!

The warmth felt from the divine beasts’ bodies rapidly cooled.

Their hearts had stopped, electrocuted by the current they themselves had unleashed.

‘This is…?’

Pean’s expression was colored with astonishment.

It had all happened in less than a second.

That sword strike that deflected lightning pouring from all directions with a single movement.

Gaon’s movement was impossibly precise.

‘…It’s the exact same movement from when he blocked Jark von Haibrunn’s self-destruction.’

Right.

The swordsmanship itself was identical.

But there was one thing completely different from that time.

What Gaon had shown in the duel with Haibrunn was, at best, a reactive response.

No matter how fast his movements were, he had responded only after the situation erupted.

But this time was different.

Gaon had already completed all preparations before the lightning even fell.

The timing of drawing his sword. The angle of raising the blade. Even his body posture. Everything had been perfectly calculated in advance.

As if he had been seeing exactly what would happen a few seconds later.

‘Foresight…?’

Right.

There was no other way to explain this amazing situation.

Splash, splash─.

“…”

Just then, the sound of footsteps spread across the water.

Gaon began to move.

Toward the four stingrays that had crashed to the floor and were convulsing.

Sring-!

The sound of raising his sword. And the sound of flesh being cut that followed.

Kwadeuk-.

The first stingray’s life was ended.

Gaon was personally finishing off the divine beast’s life.

Then, Pean’s heightened senses caught a strange change.

‘…Something’s wrong.’

Uuung, uuuung-.

An alien energy seeping from somewhere within Gaon’s embrace. Something was absorbing life force.

Thud, crack—!

The second and third times were the same.

Each time a divine beast’s life was severed, a faint vibration arose from within Gaon’s chest.

His ‘egg’ was reacting to the deaths of the divine beasts.

‘Just what kind of being is sleeping inside that shell…?’

Crack—!

The blade pierced the fourth ray.

At the same time, the egg’s movements began to grow even more violent.

However, Pean couldn’t continue thinking deeper about its identity.

Snap——.

Suddenly, the world froze.

The gently rippling water surface hardened like glass.

Even the droplets of blood flowing from Gaon’s sword tip stopped, suspended in mid-air.

“….”

Swish—.

In the quieted world.

Gaon, who had killed the fourth ray, slowly looked around.

The world had stopped.

Pean was frozen like a statue with a surprised expression, and the Mukgyeon Lord’s tentacles that had been flying in at terrifying speed from afar were also motionless, suspended in the air without even a twitch.

Everything was frozen as if the flow of time itself had been severed.

But even in that surreal silence, Gaon remained utterly calm.

As if he had expected all of this, he simply stood there quietly, waiting for something.

Swish—.

Gaon slowly closed his eyes.

At the same time, the world changed.

The pitch-black darkness lifted and everything began to be dyed in pure white light.

Whoooooosh—!

The underground shrine was instantly submerged in brilliant white radiance.

And when he opened his eyes again.

“….”

Before him spread a completely different space.

* * *

〔Hidden Message: Feather Sword’s first 「Jinmyeong Geopbang」 is activated.〕

…

〔Corrupted Sanctuary: Moving to Jeongmyeongcho.〕

* * *

“….”

Swish—.

I slowly opened my eyes.

What spread before my eyes was a scene that transcended reality.

An endlessly stretching white void.

Countless fragments were floating in a weightless state.

Pieces of broken pillars. Cracked floor materials. Even parts of shattered statues.

It seemed as if an ancient temple had been shattered to pieces, and its remains were drifting eternally through frozen time.

[It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.]

“….”

An elegant and gentle voice spread through the space like an embrace.

Far away, a woman was standing.

Her silver hair rippled slowly as if defying gravity, and despite the space being without even a breath of wind, her pure white dress swayed mysteriously.

The woman’s pearl-colored eyes were filled with pure white radiance, even in her pupils.

She bowed her head politely and continued speaking.

[You must be quite startled by this sudden situation?]

“….”

No.

I wasn’t particularly surprised.

It was a familiar situation I had already experienced many times in the game.

[Don’t worry. After I finish explaining everything, I plan to return you to the original world.]

“….”

[There’s no need to worry too much…]

The woman glanced at me and corrected herself.

[Ah, you’re already calm. That’s fortunate. This will make the explanation much easier.]

Her tone was calm and polite. But somehow, there was a businesslike and mechanical coldness seeping through it.

‘She’s pretending to be refined.’

That woman… or rather, knowing the Feather Sword’s true nature, this situation was simply absurd to me.

Well.

Come to think of it, even in the game, she always acted like this during first meetings with players.

While I was having these thoughts, the Feather Sword continued speaking.

[Nice to meet you. I am the spirit dwelling in your sword.]

“….”

[And this place is the mindscape where my inner self is projected.]

As expected, the predictable explanation continued.

She had been waiting to awaken in this sword for thousands of years, she could only reveal her true form at special moments like this, and so on…

From the way she recited the lines like memorized dialogue, I could guess that she had already repeated this kind of introduction countless times.

[Now then, let me explain how I awakened from my slumber.]

Clap, clap, clap—!

Right then, the Feather Sword suddenly began clapping her hands.

It was clearly a gesture of admiration, but somehow no emotion could be felt from her expression or voice.

[Congratulations. You managed to cut down as many as six divine beasts with an ordinary sword that has no special abilities other than being light and sturdy.]

“….”

[To accomplish such a feat with trash like me. You must surely possess remarkable swordsmanship skills… huh.]

Pause—.

The woman suddenly trailed off and began making a blank expression.

Soon she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and muttered.

[What was the next line again.]

“….”

[I forgot since it’s been so long since I gave an introduction.]

Sorry, but the lines you spouted earlier were already messed up from the start.

To evaluate herself as useless trash except for being light and sturdy.

Her real personality was completely revealed through that extreme and direct way of speaking.

No matter how much she tried to act noble and demure, her true nature couldn’t be hidden in the end.

[Hmm.]

The Feather Sword struggled for a long time trying to recall the next line.

Unable to bear it any longer, I continued the conversation on her behalf.

In the game, I would have had to skip through over 150 meaningless scripts to hear the next line, but now there was no need for that.

“By killing the 6 divine beasts, your ego has been liberated, and now it’s time to awaken your true abilities. Is that it?”

[Ah, that’s correct. Thank you…]

Pause-.

That’s when it happened.

As if sensing something strange, Feather Sword stared at me intently.

[…How did you know my next line?]

I answered nonchalantly.

“Since I came straight to this space right after defeating the 6th divine beast. Naturally, I could predict that much.”

[Oh.]

Hearing those words, Feather Sword let out a quiet exclamation of admiration.

[Your deductive skills are quite impressive.]

“Anyone who isn’t an idiot could reason that out.”

[Yes, well. Actually, I think so too. I was just trying to lift your spirits with some empty flattery I didn’t really mean…]

Stop-.

Feather Sword, who had been continuing to speak, suddenly closed her mouth.

She glanced at me nervously and politely bowed her waist.

[I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to someone, so I keep saying the wrong things.]

“How direct.”

[I hear that a lot. My previous masters all said the same thing.]

Though I already knew all this content, I asked for confirmation.

“Did you have many previous masters?”

[Easily hundreds of them.]

Feather Sword answered matter-of-factly, then seemed to remember something and added.

[But I got rid of them all.]

“…Got rid of?”

[Yes. They were all disagreeable fellows, so I deliberately drove them into death traps. If I talked to them during combat to break their concentration, they’d die on their own.]

“…”

[Anyway, as I kept getting rid of masters like that, one day the one who created me got furious and…]

Stop-.

A brief silence flowed.

Feather Sword, who had been speaking thoughtlessly, hastily added.

[I misspoke. Of course I don’t do that now. That’s all ancient history. I’ve reformed myself.]

“…”

[Well, in that sense… would you form a contract with me? I’ll serve you with my utmost effort from now on.]

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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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