Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 295
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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 295
Episode 295. Creepy Creepy Rashutku (4)
They had made thorough preparations.
Dorico Shiro had laid formations throughout the Raven Hill Forest, and Hodupayi had also launched a preemptive strike using chimeras he had hastily created here.
However, the Golem Knight handled all of that far too easily, then killed Dorico Shiro with a single strike.
‘Wh-why on earth…?’
He couldn’t understand it.
At a time when the assault on Wintershield was imminent.
Surely it was a situation where the Worshippers of Foreign Deities should have joined forces.
But why had internal strife broken out? Why had the Golem Knight eliminated the Five Nightmares, who were his own comrades?
However…
‘…Get it together. Now isn’t the time to worry about such things.’
Survival was the top priority for now.
Answers to all questions were only permitted to those who survived.
Thud, thud─.
The Golem Knight’s footsteps could be heard from far away.
Slowly. Terrifyingly slow.
Thump, thump-!
Hodupayi’s heart began beating like crazy.
He held his breath. Tears streamed down his face, but he couldn’t dare cry out loud.
Scrape-.
The footsteps stopped.
…Had he been discovered?
Hodupayi squeezed his eyes shut.
Rustle─.
Right at that moment.
A small sound coming from the opposite direction.
“…?”
Hodupayi held his breath and listened carefully.
Whoosh-.
The Golem Knight turned around.
Footsteps gradually growing distant as he headed in the opposite direction.
But Hodupayi didn’t move immediately and waited until the Golem Knight had gone far enough.
And then…
‘Now!’
Dash-!
Judging that sufficient distance had been created, Hodupayi finally began sprinting frantically in the opposite direction.
It felt like his lungs were tearing. His legs were trembling.
Tree branches scratched his face, and he stumbled over rocks. But he couldn’t stop.
How long had he been running like that?
The forest began to gradually brighten. He was getting close to the outskirts of Raven Hill.
Just a little more, if he could just run a little more…
“Hey.”
Stop-.
Instantly, Hodupayi’s feet came to a halt. Because someone was standing near the entrance.
Moonlight illuminated that figure.
Long hair swaying in the wind. A yellow talisman stuck to the forehead. Antique clothing rustling as it brushed past.
“…!”
Hodupayi’s eyes widened in shock.
“Do-Dorico Shiro…?”
“That’s right. It’s me.”
“What! How are you…!”
“Obviously it’s an illusion technique, you bastard. Did you think I’d die that easily? I’m one of the Five Nightmares, you know?”
As if asking why he was questioning something so obvious, Dorico Shiro sighed deeply and swept back her bangs.
“Let’s move for now.”
Tug-.
Dorico Shiro grabbed Hodupayi’s sleeve.
“We need to escape quickly. It’s an illusion technique I activated in haste, so I won’t be able to hold the Golem Knight for long.”
“Huh? But what about Zahhar…?”
“I already evacuated that bastard outside the forest. So stop talking nonsense and follow me quickly. Right now.”
Trudge, trudge-.
Dorico Shiro led Hodupayi as she moved forward.
Complex emotions flickered across her expression.
‘My intuition has never been wrong even once.’
Fighting the Golem Knight meant death. No matter how she calculated it, there was no way to survive. The moment she faced him, she would definitely lose her life.
That’s why Dorico Shiro chose.
To run away.
But Hodupayi would absolutely not run away. Even when the Tentacle Woman couldn’t be contacted, even when she said the Golem Knight was dangerous, Hodupayi dismissed it all as paranoid delusions.
‘Right now Hodupayi is obsessed with procuring materials for chimeras.’
Words alone wouldn’t be enough to persuade him.
‘That’s why…’
Grin-.
A subtle smile appeared on Dorico Shiro’s lips.
‘…I showed him directly.’
Everything Hodupayi had seen just before.
The sight of the formations crumbling and the scene of Dorico Shiro’s head flying off. Even the Golem Knight’s overwhelming skill.
This was an illusion created by Dorico Shiro.
The Golem Knight hadn’t even arrived at Raven Hill yet. But if he did reach this place, then the illusion would become reality.
That’s why she had shown it in advance. The sight of the Golem Knight killing her. The overwhelming difference in power. The desperation that they must flee.
‘Sorry for deceiving you, but.’
Dorico Shiro thought.
‘You’ll thank me later.’
This was the only way to save both Hodupayi and herself.
If they had carelessly waited for the Golem Knight to come without a deadly resolve…
They both would have died without question.
* * *
“…”
‘It’s already been half a year. Since that day I first met The Protagonist.’
Adelia was lost in thought.
From the day she came to know Gaon until now.
Because so many things had happened, that time felt like 6 years rather than 6 months.
To that extent, Adelia had also come to know much more about Gaon than she had initially.
‘In that sense….’
─At first, I couldn’t believe it. The only great one remaining in the Lower Realm.
When she heard from Jeungmu that Gaon was not a being of the Lower Realm.
Adelia wasn’t surprised at all.
Rather, she felt like everything finally made sense.
‘There were too many strange things from the beginning.’
Pean’s subsequent explanation was the same.
Even the shocking fact that Gaon was the only Elder remaining on this land wasn’t surprising to Adelia, but rather….
It felt like scattered puzzle pieces were finding their proper places.
‘So that’s how it was.’
In fact, she could have reasoned it out anytime.
She had simply stopped thinking because she considered it rude to her master to pry into matters when Gaon hadn’t first revealed his own story.
But now that she had heard Pean’s confirmation.
‘Now I can understand.’
Everything became clear.
Why Gaon’s moment was said to be like an eternity for other mortals.
Why he could freely wield the powers and abilities of other Sword Masters as if they were originally his own.
Why the curse of the Evil Gods was deeply embedded in his soul.
Why he possessed abilities completely beyond the category of mortals, such extraordinary capabilities.
‘It all makes sense.’
Swoosh-.
Having finished her reasoning, Adelia slowly raised her head.
Jeungmu cautiously asked a question.
“So have you found an answer, Miss Goldhart?”
“Yes.”
Adelia nodded briefly and began her explanation.
“A few months ago, you’ll remember when Lord Gaon, after receiving the Saintess’s oracle, was carried to Middle Temple’s infirmary.”
“….”
“….”
Nod-.
At those words, both Pean and Jeungmu nodded simultaneously.
As if they naturally remembered.
“Since you were both there together, you already know.”
“….”
“The fact that Lord Gaon’s spirit is bound by the curse of the Evil Gods.”
Adelia’s voice became heavier.
“There’s an additional fact I’ve learned.”
A moment of silence.
Soon Adelia opened her lips with difficulty.
“My master’s lifespan has already nearly reached its end.”
“…?”
“…?”
Psshhhh-.
Steam leaked from Jeungmu’s body upon learning that Gaon had limited time.
Regardless, Adelia continued her explanation.
“The life remaining to him is not much.”
“….”
“Of course, even that time would be close to an eternity for mortals like us, but it doesn’t change the fact that the time granted to Lord Gaon is limited.”
Taking a deep breath, Adelia began to carefully unfold her conclusion.
“From here on, this is my personal reasoning.”
As everyone focused on her words.
Adelia calmly laid out her thoughts.
“Lord Gaon’s long seclusion since the end of the primordial era was probably to avoid the eyes of the Evil Gods.”
“….”
“Bearing countless prohibitions alone, he would have revealed himself only when truly necessary. He must have spent those long years holding his breath in hiding.”
Conviction filled Adelia’s voice.
“But.”
She continued.
“The reason Lord Gaon has revealed himself fully and is burning even his last remaining life is… because he judged that at this moment, the world cannot be saved unless he steps forward.”
“….”
“Every one of Lord Gaon’s actions is for the salvation of the world. No matter how great he may be, the sacred covenant made with the vessel of the Lower Realm must have binding force.”
Silence flowed.
Adelia looked at each Sword Master in the room in turn as she continued.
“In other words, we must support and follow all of Lord Gaon’s actions.”
“….”
“Even if they seem completely incomprehensible by our common sense.”
Strength entered Adelia’s voice.
“Because that would be the only hope remaining in this world.”
“….”
“….”
Drip-.
Silence flowed.
The air in the room grew heavy. A silence where no one could readily speak.
In that quietude, Adelia spoke her final words with a more resolute voice than ever.
“That is the conclusion I have reached.”
To summarize Adelia’s words in one line, it was this.
From now on, follow Gaon’s judgment.
And trust his words unconditionally.
‘Hmm.’
Psshh-.
A faint steam sound leaked from Jeungmu’s body.
His eyes visible through the monocle gleamed sharply.
‘So everything Pean said was true.’
The story was so absurd it was hard to believe.
However, now that the circumstances had become this clear, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
The fact that Gaon was the only great one remaining in the Lower Realm.
‘By the way….’
Jeungmu muttered to himself.
‘Did Adelia know how to speak so logically?’
The Adelia that Jeungmu had seen until now often showed somewhat clumsy behavior.
A genius swordswoman who was pure and honest, but seemed somewhat distant from theoretical reasoning or systematic explanation.
But now?
She was unfolding her thoughts so coherently.
Chuckle-.
Having finished that thought, Jeungmu smiled slightly and thought to himself.
‘When it comes to matters related to her master, she becomes that brilliant.’
Right at that moment.
Pause-.
A sudden question came to mind.
‘Wait, but why didn’t she notice that Gaon had been taken over by the doppelganger?’
Someone who understood Gaon so deeply should have naturally felt something was off.
However, Adelia was the only one in the group who failed to notice Gaon’s strangeness.
Faced with this contradictory situation, Jeungmu couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
‘Why was she like that yesterday?’
However.
There was a reason for this that Jeungmu didn’t know.
Adelia held Gaon in such high regard that she couldn’t even imagine the possibility of him losing his body to another being.
An absolute faith that Gaon would naturally be in control of everything.
Yes.
Ironically, that was the very reason why Adelia failed to notice the doppelganger.
* * *
Adelia made a resolution.
To absolutely follow Lord Gaon from now on.
It was actually a resolution she had made since first meeting him, but now she had declared that determination even in front of the other Heretics.
‘This is no longer just a personal belief.’
This was nothing short of an oath that must be kept.
“….”
Yes.
That’s certainly how it should have been.
“L-Lord Gaon?”
No matter how determined she had been, when actually faced with this situation, Adelia couldn’t help but be flustered.
The fourth morning at the Imperial Palace.
Gaon had made a truly absurd request of her.
“…W-why exactly do we need to go inside the toilet?”
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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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