Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 184

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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 184

Episode 184. Apostle (1)

“Haa, haaak…!”

Puppet Master Batu gasped roughly with bloodshot eyes.

Pain that felt like his lungs were tearing pressed down on his chest.

No. To be precise, there was no ‘pain.’ Ataraxy’s drugs had numbed all sensation.

However, the aftereffects remained vividly throughout his entire body.

It felt like barely surviving after being swept away by a massive tsunami. His strength drained as if every bone in his body had scattered, and even his consciousness wavered faintly.

“Th-this is… what the hell…”

Tremble tremble-.

Batu’s hands shook violently.

He couldn’t move a single finger properly, and even when he tried to clench his fist, no strength would enter it at all.

Thousands of puppets.

The threads of mana connected to all of them had been severed in an instant.

The perfect link that Batu had painstakingly created over long years had been shattered to pieces by a single sword strike.

“Haa, kkeuk…! Keuaaaak!”

If he had been an ordinary mage, he would have died instantly and then some.

The shock of thousands of mana links being destroyed simultaneously was enough to completely collapse a sorcerer’s mind.

But Batu was an Immortal.

And his 「Immortality」 would never permit death.

Instead, a harsh aftermath swept over him.

His body had already reached its limits.

He couldn’t properly control his limbs, and his vision was blurred and distorted.

The final signals sent by thousands of dying puppets were endlessly echoing in his brain.

“Tsk.”

The First Apostle, who had been watching from right beside him, looked down at Batu with contemptuous eyes.

A cold gaze as if looking at a bug rolling on the ground. There wasn’t a trace of sympathy or pity in her eyes.

“I came to check just in case… but you’re in a pathetic state as expected, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Well, it never made sense to face someone who had accumulated that much karma with such a stupid method anyway.”

Sneer-.

A sneer that seemed to have anticipated this situation from the beginning was seeping into the First Apostle’s lips.

As if she had never expected Batu’s success in the first place.

“Ah, not yet…!”

Then, Batu cried out desperately as if having a seizure.

It was the sight of him trying to gather the last hope remaining to him with a trembling voice.

“I still have a trump card left!”

“…”

“This hideout is a labyrinth I’ve spent hundreds of years creating! Countless traps and dangers are lurking! I can definitely eliminate that bastard while he’s making his way here…!”

“Hey, you moron.”

Flinch-.

When the First Apostle coldly cut him off, Batu’s body instantly stiffened.

All hope seemed to tear like paper at that merciless remark.

“Right now our target isn’t Gaon, it’s the Brain Core. Completing the Second Apostle’s descent through it is our top priority.”

The First Apostle continued while glaring at Batu.

“But what can you do when you’ve already lost all thousands of your puppets? Now you’re just useless trash. Isn’t that right?”

Those words pierced Batu’s chest like an awl.

Everything he had built up until now. The despair of hundreds of years of effort and obsession being treated as worthless in an instant.

“Follow me.”

The First Apostle turned her head toward the Golem Knight indifferently.

“While Gaon is dealing with this trash, we need to go directly and retrieve the Brain Core ourselves.”

“Directly… you mean…?”

The Golem Knight asked back with a reluctant voice.

He sensed something ominous in the First Apostle saying she would act directly.

“Yeah.”

The girl answered with a sneer.

“The Authorities gave permission too. Thankfully, they broke the 「Heavenly Laws」 first, so we can intervene as well.”

“…”

“Let’s move quickly. We don’t have much time given to us.”

Thud, thud-.

The girl said this while moving her steps toward the exit.

However, the Golem Knight didn’t move a muscle.

A subtle wavering passed through his gaze looking at Batu.

Although no expression showed from the pitch-black sphere, he was certainly conflicted about something.

Of course, that conflict didn’t last long.

“What are you doing, not following?”

“…”

When the First Apostle muttered in a cold voice, the Golem Knight had no choice but to take heavy steps.

“…Sorry, Batu. Just hold on until we return.”

An emotion of helplessness seeped into the Golem Knight’s voice. But that was brief too, as he disappeared into the darkness following the First Apostle.

“Ugh, uuk…”

Thus Batu was left alone.

It wasn’t anything new. He had always been alone anyway.

Always.

“…”

Surge-.

All kinds of emotions surged up to his throat.

Sorrow, fear, terror, anger. All of them tangled together and pressed down on his chest.

The despair of being abandoned by comrades he had been with for hundreds of years.

The emptiness of his life’s masterpiece crumbling in an instant.

And even the trembling hatred toward Gaon who had brought all of this upon him.

Batu rummaged through the inner pocket of his robe with trembling hands.

Slosh-.

There wasn’t just one potion.

The prototype drugs that Ataraxy had given him filled the pocket.

Glass bottles with liquids of different colors and concentrations swaying inside.

Batu began taking out those potions one by one and forcing them down his throat.

Bitter taste. Fishy smell. Sometimes even sweet liquids went down his throat. Strange heat began circulating throughout his body, and his blurred vision gradually became clearer.

Batu was desperately trying to endure by gulping down the unidentified potions. It was a desperate struggle to grasp at the last rope.

But even he couldn’t clearly understand what it was for.

Revenge? Survival? Or just habitual malice?

Everything had tangled together and transformed into one primitive impulse.

Like a wounded beast instinctively baring its claws, Batu was moving his body driven by a vague desperation that he simply had to do something.

It was when the sole driving force of somehow having to survive was burning like an unextinguishable ember in Batu’s chest.

─Child.

Startle-.

A low, gentle voice echoed in his ears.

Batu’s entire body stiffened.

How could he not remember that voice?

It was the voice of the one who had extended a saving hand to him from the depths of despair.

─I have always been by your side.

“….”

─Why do you think you are alone?

“Ah….”

Batu’s voice trembled.

He slowly stretched out his hand.

Toward the sky from which that benevolent voice came, slowly.

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message : Causality is being twisted.〕

〔Hidden Message : Puppet Master Batu’s #̶̨̛̭͖̜̮̦̖͓̥̣͍̳̩̳͑͂͆̓̈́͘͘͝@̵͔͔͍̯̲̭̞̹̠͍̫̦̰͙̦͆̽̋́̇̔͑̈́́$̵͈̅̿̔̆%̷̢̢͈̭̥͊̔͝͝…̷̡̛̟̿̌̃̒̈͗̋̈́̑̄́͠…̸̢͈͇̘͇̔̓̄̀̆̾̽͑͜ͅ is proceeding.〕

* * *

‘What’s this?’

Thud, thud-.

I walked through the corridor of the hideout, frowning.

I felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

‘Originally, that puppet should have jumped out at this section….’

I looked at the marionette hanging on the wall.

It looked like an ordinary doll, but in the game, it was a trap that would immediately jump out and launch a surprise attack when it detected a passing player.

But now there was no reaction at all.

Shing-.

I drew the Feather Sword and lightly poked the marionette.

Thunk-!

The blade pierced through without any resistance.

“…?”

My confusion deepened.

Why wasn’t the trap I knew working?

Could it be that the links to thousands of dolls were severed at once, causing aftershocks?

If all the dolls Batu was controlling were destroyed simultaneously, and the shock from that paralyzed even the hideout’s defense system….

‘…Actually, that would make the situation much easier.’

Still, something felt unsettling.

In all my time playing Roel, things had never gone this smoothly, not even once.

That’s when it happened.

Kwaaaaaaaaa──!

“…?”

An ominous energy erupted from far away.

At the same time.

Ding, ding, ding, ding-!

Red, ominous notification windows began covering my vision.

〔Part of the Hidden Message is being revealed.〕

…

〔Causality is being twisted.〕

〔Hidden Message : The First Apostle intervenes in the scenario.〕

〔Hidden Message : The Second Apostle 「#̷̢̑@̷̜̯̋̔&̷̼̐̔͆^̷̮̹̼̊̆!̶̝̓̂̈%̷̸̵̡̛̣̭͙̳̓̂̌̎̔̌̂#̵̍̌̕」 intervenes in the scenario.〕

〔Hidden Message : Puppet Master Batu’s #̶̨̛̭͖̜̮̦̖͓̥̣͍̳̩̳͑͂͆̓̈́͘͘͝@̵͔͔͍̯̲̭̞̹̠͍̫̦̰͙̦͆̽̋́̇̔͑̈́́$̵͈̅̿̔̆%̷̢̢͈̭̥͊̔͝͝…̷̡̛̟̿̌̃̒̈͗̋̈́̑̄́͠…̸̢͈͇̘͇̔̓̄̀̆̾̽͑͜ͅ is proceeding.〕

“…?”

…What the hell is this?

* * *

Murmur murmur-.

The Auction House of the Ruined Guild was filled with heated excitement.

The true highlight of tonight had finally begun.

The Brain Core of the Celestial Dragon.

A mysterious crystal emitting mixed blue and silver light. Lightning continuously rippled within it, displaying its vitality.

“2 trillion!”

Professor Biyolf shouted at the top of his lungs. His face was blazing with greed.

─Ah, 2 trillion! 2 trillion has been called! Is there anyone who would like to offer a higher price….

“3 trillion.”

Right next to him, from the VVIP section, Markus Koshate responded calmly.

His voice was as composed as always, but the slight trembling at the tip of his paddle-holding hand showed he was clearly nervous too.

“Oh, brother.”

Natalia beside him whispered in Markus’s ear, unable to hide her confusion.

“Are you crazy? Even if we use our entire Investigation Team budget, that amount is….”

“It’s fine. The Director told us to try up to 4 trillion.”

Murmur murmur-.

Whispers could be heard from the audience seats.

Already an unimaginable amount.

It had become a battle only between big players that ordinary people, and even decent mid-sized merchant guilds, couldn’t dare to join.

“3, 3 trillion 500 billion shillings…!”

Biyolf shouted again with a trembling voice.

It was already an amount that far exceeded the budget Wintershield Magic Academy had prepared, but his obsession with obtaining the Celestial Dragon’s Brain Core was driving him.

His obsession with somehow getting the Celestial Dragon’s Brain Core was driving him.

Natalia looked at Markus with even more worried eyes.

Swish-.

Just as Markus was about to raise his hand to play his final card.

“100 trillion.”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

Silence-.

At the suddenly heard clear, melodious voice, the entire auction house instantly fell quiet.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward one place in unison.

Not in the VVIP section, but in the middle of the general audience seating.

There, a hooded girl stood with her hand raised.

“Ah, is 100 trillion not enough?”

The girl tilted her head as she spoke. Her voice carried an innocence like a child buying candy with pocket money.

“Then 300 trillion! No wait! How about 500 trillion?”

The auction house fell into complete silence.

“Ugh! I’m feeling generous! I’ll make it a special 1,000 trillion!”

An eerie laugh leaked out from beneath the deeply pulled hood.

Wriggle wriggle-.

The unidentifiable black mass of flesh in the girl’s hand began writhing.

“Uhahaha! Then I can take it now, right? Thanks!”

Professor Biyolf furrowed his brow deeply and muttered.

“…What the hell is that crazy bitch?”

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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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