Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 205

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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 205

Episode 205. Order of the Holy Maiden (2)

My mind began to tangle in complex knots.

The situation was already piled high with questions like a mountain, and Upapa’s appearance had doubled the confusion.

‘Why on earth is he here…?’

According to the original storyline, the “Master of Latent Potential and Rebirth” should have been completely missing at this point in time.

He only appeared in Rashutku’s Nightmare. It should have been normal to find no trace of him anywhere else.

Upapa had stayed in the aquarium until the very end to protect the spirits he had created, eventually meeting his final fate.

But…

How could he now appear so brazenly before me?

‘Moreover, among the Pantheon, only a very few high-ranking deities can communicate by borrowing The Saintess’s body?’

I furrowed my brow.

In fact, there had been strange signs from before. The Upapa I met in Rashutku’s Nightmare wasn’t simply a dummy for recreating the past.

‘For something like that, he showed quite meaningful reactions.’

The statements he had made at that time flashed through my mind.

─Upapa, you’re a well-mannered child, unlike what I heard.

─Yes. The others also praised your skills, so let me try believing in you once, Upapa.

Both the comment about being well-mannered unlike what he had heard, and the statement about others praising my skills, were words that couldn’t have been said without being connected to the current Elders in some way.

They were also scripts that couldn’t be found Inside the Game.

Whew-.

Just then, The Saintess let out a deep sigh and shook her head back and forth.

“Extinction… I understand what you meant by that, but is such a rude remark all you have to greet me with after I came all the way to the Lower Realm for you, Upapa?”

The voice coming from behind the veil carried a hint of displeasure.

Well, it was natural for her to be upset after being treated like a dead god right from the start of our meeting.

Upapa had always been extremely particular about manners. If a player showed even the slightest arrogant attitude, he would immediately refuse to continue the conversation.

Remembering this, I hurriedly bowed politely.

“I apologize. Please forgive my thoughtless words.”

“…”

“It is truly an honor to meet again the ‘Master of Latent Potential and Rebirth,’ creator of the Twelve Divine Beasts and one who conceals truth beneath a youthful shell.”

Nod nod-.

Upon hearing those words, The Saintess nodded as if satisfied.

While adding his characteristic interjection.

“Upapa.”

“…”

How should I put it?

Since it wasn’t the pink salamander but The Saintess’s body performing such actions, the atmosphere felt strangely discordant.

‘There’s some… cognitive dissonance.’

The situation felt oddly twisted.

The Saintess was originally a pious and dignified being, but overlapping with Upapa made her seem cute somehow.

Anyway.

Now it was time to stop such useless thoughts and focus on the conversation with Upapa.

Swish-.

Just then, Upapa pointed to the hourglass and spoke.

“Time is short, so I’ll only take one question.”

I looked down at the hourglass in my hand.

Fine grains of sand were falling from the top.

‘Only one question, huh…’

That meant two-way communication was impossible.

I could guess that Upapa had a lot of content to convey unilaterally in this meeting.

‘Then I need to choose my question carefully.’

I pondered for a moment.

How could a deity I thought had been extinguished appear here? Among all the many deities, why was Upapa specifically conducting this meeting with me?

And most importantly.

What was the real purpose behind summoning me to Middle Temple?

There were many things I was curious about, but I only had one chance.

The sound of sand grains falling in the hourglass created small echoes within the temple.

Time was flowing, and I only had one opportunity. After a brief moment of consideration, I chose the most essential question.

“How, and for what reason, did you come to see me?”

Chuckle-.

Upapa let out a small laugh from behind the veil.

His slightly raised lips carried a satisfied expression. It was as if I had given the correct answer.

“Good. I was going to explain everything anyway.”

Upapa began his full explanation.

“I didn’t completely disappear. More accurately, it would be correct to say I couldn’t disappear.”

“…”

“I secretly hid fragments of my consciousness within the remnants called Rashutku’s Nightmare. Through that, I was able to maintain at least a tenuous connection with the Heavenly Realm.”

“…”

“But in that state, free expression of will was impossible. To avoid being discovered by ‘those bastards,’ I had no choice but to follow past behavioral patterns exactly within the trial.”

I nodded. Now the subtle reactions of Upapa I had met in Rashutku’s Nightmare were explained.

“But the situation changed when you passed the trial, Upapa.”

The Saintess’s voice became more serious.

“The process is extremely complex and involves content that could violate the ‘Heavenly Laws,’ so detailed explanation is difficult. If I’m careless, ‘those bastards’ might come looking.”

“…”

“But to start with the conclusion… thanks to you, I was able to return to the Pantheon. Thank you.”

It was simple.

Upapa hadn’t completely disappeared but had hidden part of himself within Rashutku’s Nightmare.

And when I cleared that trial, a path for him to return to the Heavenly Realm must have opened.

“Then, that process…”

“Cannot be explained.”

Upapa cut off my words decisively.

“The Heavenly Laws strictly forbid disclosure. Speaking carelessly could bring disaster.”

He continued his explanation.

“The Heavenly Laws are complex, Upapa. They were created in the age of prosperity and took effect at the starting point of the apocalypse.”

“…”

“But there’s only one great principle that runs through all these complex provisions.”

Upapa paused briefly before adding importantly.

“Namely, that the Heavenly Realm and Lower Realm cannot directly interfere with each other in any way.”

Nod-.

I silently bobbed my head.

It was content I had already become familiar with through 200 playthroughs. That absolute principle was one of the most fundamental laws governing this world.

In fact, that great principle was widely known even to the high-ranking mages of Middle Temple and Wintershield.

Not as mere legend or speculation, but as verified truth.

─Impossible! You cannot directly harm us! According to the ‘Heavenly Laws’…

Suddenly, a scene from the past flashed through my mind.

The desperate cry Selena had shouted when facing the Adversary.

Her voice contained unwavering conviction. The Heavenly Laws were that absolute and inviolable.

Just then, Upapa’s explanation continued.

“That’s why the gods of the Heavenly Realm make ‘contracts’ with beings of the Lower Realm to wage proxy wars.”

“….”

“If the continent is a chessboard, then we’re moving pieces on it and fighting battles, Upapa.”

These words weren’t unfamiliar either.

After finishing the Haibroon subjugation, Pean had come to my room and said the exact same thing.

─We Sword Masters are beings who have made direct contracts with the Great Ones. We are guardians who carry out their will and maintain the balance of the world.

Monsters, worshippers of Evil Gods, even the Five Nightmares. All of these were nothing more than chess pieces manipulated by the Evil Gods from behind.

Similarly, the Sword Masters were also chess pieces of the Great Ones.

This was precisely why I had defined the ‘Evil Gods’ as my primary enemy all along.

Everything else moved within the ‘framework’ of the original game, but the Evil Gods were opponents who changed in real-time according to my actions.

“However.”

At that very moment.

The Saintess gazed at me through her veil.

With an expression suggesting that all the explanations so far had been merely a preface.

“There are beings who are ‘relatively’ free from these Heavenly Laws, Upapa.”

Upapa’s voice dropped lower. Speaking with the wariness of someone who might be overheard.

“To use an analogy… it would be like chess pieces moving on their own without anyone making a move.”

I listened to his explanation in silence.

A story about beings who had escaped the absolute constraints of the Heavenly Laws.

It was content I had already somewhat anticipated.

“On the Evil Gods’ side, there are the ‘Apostles’. Since they weren’t originally beings of this world, the Heavenly Laws apply to them relatively loosely.”

My encounter with the Necromancer came to mind.

Though it was a conversation lasting only a few minutes, I could tell they were different from other ordinary chess pieces.

Not only could they detect changes in fate in real-time…

─To you, I’m probably the 200th, right?

…they had even seen through the fact that I was a Possessed One at a glance.

“And on our Elder side…”

Upapa paused meaningfully.

Silence flowed through the temple. Only the sound of sand grains falling in an hourglass could be heard.

I finished his sentence for him.

“I would be a chess piece that moves on its own.”

“….”

“More precisely, all Possessed Ones including myself.”

Nod-.

Upapa slowly nodded his head.

The reason I held a special position in this world. The reason I could become a heretic without receiving a ‘selection’ like other Sword Masters. And even the reason the Great Ones directly appointed me for important roles.

Everything converged into a single fact.

I had never been a being of this world to begin with.

A Possessed One who had crossed over from another world as a player. A being relatively free from the constraints of the Heavenly Laws.

That’s why I became the most useful weapon for the Elders, and the most threatening enemy to the Evil Gods.

“However…”

Upapa’s voice became even heavier.

“…you have crossed that line, far beyond it.”

Gulp-.

Hearing those words, I swallowed hard.

Before the Great Ones’ oracle came down, I had originally intended to visit Middle Temple because of this very problem.

The sense of unease I felt when pushing my authority to its limits beyond the boundaries of Remnant. The ominous intuition that I was touching forbidden territory.

And immediately after, even the strange System Messages that appeared in my vision.

〔Error : Cannot access with current …#̶̺͍̾̓@̴̻̕͜?̴̗̭͑&̶̙͖͒%̵̯͑ ….]

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〔Error : Heaven■!̴̛͍̑͊͐̂#̶̨̰̮̣̝̔̔̐͒̍̌̀̎$̸̛̣̓̉͒͘■ #̸̛̪͉͕͍̣̝̗̃͊̓̎̅͘ͅ■Laws@̴̷̢͖̟̤̲̼͔̥͓̖̤͕̙̆̋̓̈́̐̂̋̇̎͂̕͝ violation■….〕

〔@̴̛̬̪̭̖̼̤̹̦̻̖̟̜͖̃͗̿̌̚͜͠*̵̡͍̘̯̞̮̜̹̥̬͔͉͍̊͗͆̈͗̽͐͑͋̕ͅ&̵̡̨̝̫͓͍͙̯̖͉̼̭͚́̈̋̃̈́͘͝(̸͉͎͛̾̅̾͐̓̔̊̈́̋̄̕͝#̴̬̐́́̊̂̑&̶̜̗̲̞̼̽͑̈́̆̇̆͗̑̃̎̆̒*̵̢͎̯̦̯͉̼̟͉͉͆̔̔͝!̴͓͔̙͊̏̃̋̔̏͒̀͒̌̊^̵̝͖̩́̅͛̔̐̓̇̈́̇̆̋̚̕̚͝*̶̧̫̽̅́$̵͚̬̮̼͉̌̿̃͌͠ͅ!̸͚͉̠̹̺̽̽͛͗̂̈́$̷̧͍͓̍͗͐(̶̢͕͎̘͍͍̯̼̰̲͚̏̈̕̚͘̚͜*̷̢̲̻͓̦͈̤̾́̋͒͋̊ͅ〕

〔Error : The Outer Circle strongly objects to the current situation.〕

I had definitely ascended to the Heavenly Realm.

But my memories of that time were hazy, like right after waking from a dream.

Only the sensation that something important had happened remained, while the specific details had scattered like mist.

“What did I…”

Having grasped the situation up to that point, I carefully opened my mouth.

“What did I do in the Heavenly Realm?”

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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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