Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 222

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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 222

Episode 222. The Sisterhood of the Forsaken, and Muwolcha (5)

* * *

Dorico Shiro shouted as if genuinely upset.

Her large eyes were filled with sorrow. Her puffed-up cheeks clearly revealed that she was sulking.

Pfft-.

Seeing that sight, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

‘If you only look at her speech and attitude, she’s a very innocent girl.’

But I know.

I know Dorico Shiro’s true nature hidden behind that innocent facade.

Purity without concepts of good and evil. An impulse to do anything that piques her curiosity. And overwhelming power that makes all of it possible.

I must never forget.

Dorico Shiro was one of the Five Nightmares.

She was a dangerous Worshipper of Evil Gods on par with Camillo von Taribas and Puppet Master Batu.

She was an even more dangerous monster precisely because of her bright and innocent nature.

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[Passive Effect]

Your ‘Mental Power’ stat is permanently maintained at ‘MAX’.

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Ah, of course.

Dorico Shiro’s mental attacks don’t work on me.

My mental power could always be maintained at maximum thanks to the Soul of the Sword Master.

But…

‘…That doesn’t mean I should ever let my guard down.’

Haaak, haaaak-!

Before my eyes, there was still the Tyrant Dragon suffering trapped in illusions, and Adelia trembling in fear.

The surviving Dwarves were also under threat.

If Dorico Shiro set her mind to it, their minds could be shattered to pieces at any time.

‘If such a situation unfolds, I’d have no choice but to eliminate Dorico Shiro…’

But that should truly be a last resort.

If Dorico Shiro died at this point, the scenario would be twisted beyond control, and all the various plans utilizing her would turn to nothing.

Having finished my assessment up to that point, I spoke in a cold voice.

“Dorico Shiro.”

“Yeah?”

She tilted her head and answered. Still with that innocent expression.

“Release the illusions you’ve cast on the Tyrant Dragon and Adelia. If you withdraw right now, I won’t hold you responsible for the rampage you’ve caused here.”

“Huh? No, wait!”

Dorico Shiro protested as if absurd after hearing my words.

“Rampage! What are you talking about? I just came to see you, but these guys blocked my way first and charged at me! This is self-defense! Self-defense!”

The way she placed both hands on her hips and made her claim confidently looked truly aggrieved.

But the carnage visible behind her starkly showed what horrific results her ‘self-defense’ had brought about.

The scene of destroying Vilopozy’s defensive facilities and massacring over a dozen Dwarves wasn’t enough.

‘As expected, words won’t work.’

Swoosh-.

I silently reached toward the Feather Sword at my waist.

Then Dorico Shiro’s eyes widened as she frantically began waving her hands.

“Gasp! Okay! I’ll release them!”

* * *

“Disgusting half-wit bastard.”

Haa, ha-.

Along with the cold voice echoing in his ears, old memories flashed through the Tyrant Dragon’s mind.

Countless epithets that had followed him since childhood.

Half-breed. Incomplete being. Ambiguous mongrel.

As a mixed-blood, he never received complete recognition from the Dragon Clan. Just because he didn’t have pure dragon blood, he was always treated as less than vermin.

He only realized after reaching a certain age, but it wasn’t simple discrimination.

To them, the Tyrant Dragon’s very existence was blasphemy. He was proof that noble dragon blood had been defiled.

But that didn’t mean other races accepted him either. They only feared or were wary of him as a monster mixed with dragon blood.

‘What… am I really?’

A being that belonged nowhere.

Endless concerns about identity tormented the Tyrant Dragon.

Am I a dragon? A human? Or an ambiguous monster that couldn’t become either completely?

Sometimes he even thought he couldn’t tell what difference there was between himself and disgusting chimeras made by mixing various life forms.

No.

He even thought he might be worse than them.

At least chimeras had a clear identity as beings created for specific purposes.

‘But what about me?’

An ambiguous being from birth. An outsider never fully accepted anywhere.

Perhaps that’s why.

‘I am…’

The Tyrant Dragon had asserted his identity even more strongly. As a dragon, a superior race. If he didn’t believe it strongly himself, it felt like he would completely collapse.

‘…I am of the Dragon Clan.’

If even the pillar of identity disappeared, all that would remain for him was emptiness.

He would become a hollow being unable to know who he was, where he belonged, or what he should live for.

He absolutely couldn’t accept that.

So the Tyrant Dragon constantly tried to prove himself.

He tried to live like a dragon. He displayed the pride and spirit that dragons should naturally have to an excessive degree.

Others might see it as arrogant and rough, but that was the only way he could protect himself.

Then…

Dragon.

What exactly was this ‘dragon’ he was so obsessed with?

“Dragons are creatures of obsession.”

Hundreds of years ago.

When the still-young Tyrant Dragon was wandering in search of his identity.

He would visit Pure-blooded Dragons and ask about the essence of dragonkind.

Most drove him away or ignored him, but one among them was different.

He too looked at the Tyrant Dragon as a disgusting being like his other kin, but at least taught him about the essence of dragonkind.

“If one is a true dragon, they must be obsessed with something. And during the eternal years given to them, they dig into only that.”

According to his explanation, obsession was the most essential characteristic that distinguished dragons from other races.

The first dragon who was obsessed with magic grew beyond becoming a superior archmage to anyone else, becoming a celestial being.

Dragons obsessed with gold and silver treasures amassed more wealth than anyone else, using that economic power to treat the leaders of countless nations like servants.

Those obsessed with wisdom became the greatest sages of their time, and those obsessed with art left behind immortal works.

“But you have nothing you’re obsessed with.”

The last words the Pure-blooded Dragon threw at the Tyrant Dragon.

That single sentence dug deep into his heart.

It felt like it had precisely stabbed his most painful wound.

‘I am…’

But those words were wrong.

No, at least the Tyrant Dragon of that time believed so.

Even he, who considered himself part of the Dragon Clan, certainly had something he was obsessed with. Something he had been best at since the past, and had endlessly yearned for.

Namely, fighting against the strong.

Struggle.

Feeling the sensation of being truly alive in fierce duels where life and death hung in the balance.

‘…Why did it have to be struggle?’

The reason was simple. On the battlefield, things like origin or bloodline didn’t matter. It was the only domain where one could be evaluated purely by strength itself.

The label of being mixed-blood, the mockery of being half-breed, all of it became meaningless the moment sword clashed against sword.

It didn’t matter whether the opponent was a Pure-blooded Dragon, a noble elf, or a powerful Sword Master. In that moment, everything was decided by pure skill.

And… the Tyrant Dragon was strong.

Truly strong.

To a degree that no one could deny.

Strong enough that even The Great Ones chose him as a Sword Master.

Every time he won in struggle, he could finally prove that he was a true member of the Dragon Clan.

Through skill, not bloodline. Through effort, not birth.

That was the Tyrant Dragon’s unique obsession.

It was the only way he could prove his worth and maintain his pride as a dragon.

“But.”

Someone’s voice was heard.

The world turned upside down.

The rapidly flowing afterimages of the past suddenly came to a halt.

And everything was swallowed into darkness.

“If you’re obsessed with struggle, why did you abandon us and run away?”

It was a cold, mocking voice.

That voice carried the chill that only the dead could possess.

It wasn’t the voice of a living person.

‘Run away?’

The Tyrant Dragon’s consciousness became confused.

‘When did I…?’

“Why?”

Right at that moment.

Kwaaaaaaaaa-!

Suddenly, massive flames began to soar before his eyes.

Everything around was burning. Houses, streets, even the sky itself was all engulfed in red flames.

Screams reached his ears. He could see human figures melting in the fire.

Even as their flesh dripped down, they reached their hands toward the Tyrant Dragon.

And through them.

Swish-.

One charred black corpse turned its head toward the Tyrant Dragon.

Laughter leaked from its burned throat. From its melted face, only two eyeballs glowed white as they stared at him.

“Now… don’t you… even remember us…?”

“Graaaah!”

Kwaaaaang-!

The Tyrant Dragon instinctively swung his fist.

A sudden impact felt in his hand.

Along with intense vibration that seemed to shake his bones, his fist trembled violently.

“Haa, ha…!”

As the Tyrant Dragon gasped for rough breaths and looked around, the outlines of his surroundings gradually began to return to his vision.

There were no burning streets, no melting corpses. Instead, what entered the Tyrant Dragon’s eyes were familiar ceiling and walls.

Only then could the Tyrant Dragon realize that he was sitting on a bed with only his upper body raised, breathing roughly.

‘A dream…?’

No.

It wasn’t a dream.

It was the aftermath of the illusion magic that Dorico Shiro had cast.

“…Huh?”

Right at that moment.

Right in front of his extended fist, he could see Gaon’s Feather Sword precisely blocking it.

‘Wa, wait a minute…’

The Tyrant Dragon looked around with a bewildered heart.

Inside a room in Villopoze, the Dungeon Town.

Adelia and Mangnyeom, the Village Chief, and even the Girl from the Order of the Mute. Everyone was looking at him with wide eyes.

Of course.

The most bewildered one in the current situation was the Tyrant Dragon himself.

“Wh, what the hell is this…?”

“You have terrible sleeping habits.”

Gaon answered calmly as if it was nothing.

Sling-!

He sheathed his Feather Sword and added.

“You lost consciousness and collapsed, so we moved you to a room to rest, and the moment you wake up, you immediately throw a punch?”

* * *

‘Wow…’

I maintained an indifferent expression on the outside while letting out a sigh of relief inside.

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【Ultimate Auto Parry】

(Cooldown : 23 hours 59 minutes 50 seconds)

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Anyway.

Roel really is a trash game, I tell you.

‘…I almost died without being able to do anything.’

It was truly an attack from a completely unexpected situation.

If it hadn’t been for Ultimate Auto-Parry, by now there would have been a hole punched through my face.

Gaon’s face donut, they’d call it.

Just imagining it is horrifying.

[No!]

Just then, Feather Sword shouted.

[Hey! You got ambushed and you’re just going to end it like this? We need to pay them back the same way! Go behead that lizard bastard right now!]

‘Calm down. I’ll give him a proper beating later.’

[Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down? That lizard bastard threw a punch at my face! My only joy almost disappeared! What if the nose bone had been crushed…]

‘I said be quiet. I won’t say it a third time, got it?’

[…Yes.]

Thud-.

Feather Sword immediately stopped talking.

Is it because the frequency of being locked in the silent box has increased recently?

He was obediently listening well.

“Wow!”

Right at that moment.

The Hooded Girl suddenly exclaimed and approached me.

Her eyes were sparkling with amazement. As if she had witnessed something incredible.

“Amazing! How did you block that punch so fast? I couldn’t even see how quickly you drew your sword!”

Those eyes resembled Adelia’s.

A gaze of pure admiration, truly thinking something was amazing.

Flinch-!

Seeing this, Tyrant Dragon suddenly looked surprised and tried to interrupt.

It seemed like he was going to say he could do that too.

But…

“Mister, fix your sleep talking first.”

“…”

At the girl’s cold remark, Tyrant Dragon shut his mouth tight and turned his head toward me.

I could see his brow furrowing strangely.

─This bastard! Don’t tell me you’re planning to steal even my prospective disciple!

It was an expression that seemed to say exactly that.

‘No…’

Tyrant Dragon.

Don’t look at me with that expression.

‘…Did I seduce that brat?’

I did nothing wrong.

But the situation gets twisted because you keep screwing up.

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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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