Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 303

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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 303

Episode 303. The Fourth Night (4)

* * *

‘Anyway.’

I admired inwardly.

‘He really is an amazing person.’

Just like the previous doppelganger breakthrough method, this route was also something Kongiabum had discovered first.

The combination of the Imperial Palace’s curse and avatar manifestation.

And even the approach that transcends space and time by utilizing the “Realm of the Dead”.

Right.

Even thinking about it again, it was truly a creative strategy.

Creeeeak, thud─!

Just then, I heard the sound of a door closing.

It was the sound of Pean leaving the room.

As soon as I disappeared, he moved to die at the hands of the Gravedigger.

‘No way.’

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

‘He could have hesitated a bit, but he goes straight out to die like that…?’

…I have no idea just how deep his trust in me runs.

Anyway.

Then I should also gradually focus my consciousness on the avatar side.

‘Of course, there’s something I need to handle before that.’

Whoooosh-.

I regenerated my main body.

As the untargetable state was lifted, my appearance was reflected in the mirror again.

[…?]

[…?]

[…?]

The expressions of the reflections watching me from within the mirror all contorted at once.

Bewilderment, confusion, and anger.

Their murderous gazes seemed to ask how the one who should have died from the curse had returned alive.

Swoosh-.

Watching that scene indifferently, I slowly reached my hand toward ‘me’ in the mirror.

The moment my palm touched the cold surface of the mirror.

“Get lost already.”

[…!]

With a thunderous roar, the entire Room of Necessity began to shake.

Ding-!

〔You have used Active Skill: [Barrier Destroyer].〕

〔You have used Authority Skill: [True Eternal Slayer].〕

〔The effect of the sub-skill [Soul Kill] is activated.〕

Crash crash crash crash crash crash-!

The mirrors began shattering into pieces.

The ceiling, walls, and even the floor.

The mirrors covering all sides cracked simultaneously and poured down like a waterfall.

Kieeeeek-!

Hundreds of screams filled the room.

Hundreds of reflections trapped in the mirrors vanished along with the fragments.

Whoooooosh-.

Finally, when all the fragments had fallen to the floor, quiet silence arrived.

‘Now I won’t be disturbed for a while.’

I was the only person left in the Room of Necessity.

[What is this…?]

Ah.

Let me correct that.

There was one more person left in the Room of Necessity besides me.

[…What on earth just happened?]

Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword.

Her bewildered voice came through clearly.

The shock of me completely destroying the mirror’s curse with [Barrier Destroyer] and [Soul Kill] must have been overwhelming, but…

Right now, there was something else that would be far more confusing for her.

[The feeling of the space where the avatar is located is too alien.]

“…”

[And I don’t understand why sword energy isn’t being consumed… No, what exactly is this situation?]

It was natural for her to be this flustered.

As I mentioned before, the space the avatar had crossed into wasn’t a place where time flowed unilaterally from past to future.

Even I, who was connected to the avatar through senses, felt slightly nauseous from the strange sensation I was experiencing for the first time.

‘So this is what a world where you can freely travel through time feels like.’

That was also why sword energy wasn’t being consumed.

Avatar Manifestation was a skill that operated on per-second consumption values, but in the “Realm of the Dead” where time didn’t flow unilaterally, the very concept of ‘seconds’ was meaningless.

That’s why sword energy consumption didn’t apply.

“Phew…”

Having finished that thought, I let out a deep breath.

‘About 7 hours left now, I suppose.’

A time that could be long if long, short if short.

I had to take full advantage of this gap to gain every possible benefit from the space of the dead.

“Yeonwoo.”

[Yes.]

“Focus on the dimension where the avatar is trapped.”

[…?]

“There’s something I need to resolve in the space of the dead.”

A brief silence flowed.

Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword showed signs of confusion at my command.

However…

[…Yes. I understand.]

Soon she obediently followed my words.

Without demanding explanations or asking for reasons, silently trusting me.

Ding-!

〔Your bond with Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword deepens.〕

〔Skill: [Avatar Manifestation] proficiency has increased. (24%→25%)〕

Hmm.

I don’t know why my proficiency increased in the midst of all this, but…

‘…Well, good things are good things.’

For now, I brushed it off as nothing significant.

* * *

Snap-.

Pean regained consciousness.

He began touching his body with a confused expression.

‘What? Am I alive…?’

No, more than that.

‘…Can I even call this current state “being alive”?’

His head was complicated.

Pean, struggling to calm his confused mind, slowly recalled what happened right after Gaon disappeared.

Creak-.

A few minutes ago.

Pean, who had opened the door of the Room of Necessity and stepped outside, was able to face ‘that thing’ standing in the middle of the corridor.

Keeeeeeek-!

A monster holding a dimly flickering lantern in one hand and a blood-stained chain whip in the other.

The Gravekeeper of Rashutku.

The moment he encountered it, Pean realized why Gaon hadn’t fought it head-on and had been avoiding it instead.

‘Ah…’

It was like an unavoidable natural disaster.

It seemed as if death itself had manifested.

Just facing the Gravekeeper gave him an overwhelming feeling that his breath would stop.

Whoooosh──!

Like that.

With the light bursting from the Gravekeeper’s lantern as the last thing he saw, Pean’s consciousness was cut off.

And when he regained consciousness again, Pean was here.

‘This place is…’

Pean began spreading his enhanced senses to examine his surroundings.

‘What on earth is this place for?’

Drip, drop-.

He heard a sound.

An echo as if water drops were falling from somewhere.

Under his feet, he felt the sensation of a cold, hard floor, and the air carried the smell of old dust mixed with moisture.

Each sensation was clear. But the way they were woven together was the problem.

‘…I can’t tell when that sound from earlier was heard.’

Whether the water drop fell now. Or a little while ago. Or perhaps it was the sound of a drop that would fall in the future, heard in advance.

Right.

The flow of time was ambiguous.

He could definitely sense that something was happening, but he couldn’t distinguish whether it was the beginning or the end.

A strange sensation as if cause and effect were lumped together into one mass. This was a bizarre feeling that completely denied the common sense Pean had known until now.

‘I feel… nauseous…’

Retch-.

Having lived for thousands of years and experienced all sorts of strange phenomena, this was the first time he’d encountered such a confusing situation.

It was just as Pean was desperately holding back the dry heaves rising up while trying to adapt to this alien sensation.

“We’ve arrived.”

“…!”

A voice coming from somewhere.

Due to the distorted time disrupting his enhanced senses, it was difficult to clearly grasp the situation, but…

Even so, Pean could infer who it was.

“Could it be, The Protagonist?”

“That’s right.”

Gaon nodded and answered.

“You must have many questions, but I’ll take them later.”

“…”

“Follow me. Time is of the essence.”

Pean kept his mouth tightly shut.

As Gaon said, he had many questions and so many things were confusing.

However.

“Yes, understood.”

Still, Pean decided to follow Gaon’s words without complaint.

Because Gaon’s plans were always right. No matter how impossible they might sound.

Rather…

‘I wonder what he’ll show me this time?’

…Pean even looked forward to Gaon’s next move.

* * *

“…”

Sleep wouldn’t come.

Adelia sat with her back against the wall, hugging her knees.

‘…What is The Protagonist doing right now?’

The moment the door closed kept coming back to her mind.

Gaon’s back as he disappeared into the darkness wearing Tristan’s cloak.

And his firm voice telling her to absolutely not come outside until tomorrow morning.

How many hours ago was that exactly?

It had been such a long night that even her sense of time had become hazy.

“Sigh…”

Adelia sighed and reproached herself inwardly.

‘…I’m pathetic.’

It was just last night.

When she had made that bold declaration in front of the Seekers.

Hadn’t she said she would believe in and follow all of Gaon’s actions?

Even if they were things that couldn’t be understood by common sense at all?

‘But in reality, I…’

Just because Gaon had disappeared outside the room, she was trembling with anxiety and staying awake all night.

“…”

What would it have been like if it were Pean?

He surely would have slept peacefully, believing that Gaon must have a plan.

Because he trusted Gaon that firmly.

‘But I…’

Was worrying anxiously that something might happen to Gaon.

So much so that she couldn’t go to bed even with important schedules ahead.

‘…I suppose my faith in my master is lacking to that extent.’

Huu-.

Unable to overcome the overwhelming guilt, Adelia let out another sigh.

How much more time had passed like this?

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong──.

Finally, the sound of bells rang throughout the entire Imperial Palace.

7 AM.

It was the signal that night had ended.

“…!”

Click, creeeeak-.

The door opened by itself.

Hearing that sound, Adelia quickly raised her head.

Bright light poured in through the gap in the door. Having grown accustomed to the darkness, Adelia instinctively squinted her eyes.

Right then.

“You have dark circles under your eyes, Adelia.”

“…!”

A low, calm voice reached her ears.

“I never thought you’d neglect taking care of yourself like this, especially before such an important raid.”

“G-Gaon…!”

Adelia’s eyes widened in surprise.

Gaon had returned.

In perfect condition, making it hard to believe he had wandered the Imperial Palace all night.

* * *

Adelia’s lips trembled.

There were countless things she wanted to ask.

What exactly had happened last night. How he was able to return safely. What he had been doing outside.

But those questions never made it past her lips.

Rumble-.

As soon as the 7 AM bell finished ringing, everyone who had been staying in their respective rooms came flooding into the office all at once.

It was routine to gather here every morning for meetings.

Murmur murmur-.

But today’s atmosphere was different.

Unrest. Anxiety. And fear. The traces of what people had experienced throughout the night remained clearly etched on their faces.

“Um, over there….”

Someone pointed at the stone tablet on the wall with a trembling hand.

The newly carved 14th rule.

The Koshat Siblings read its contents clearly for everyone.

And….

“…Not finding them would probably be better for you.”

The moment Markus Koshate finished speaking, silence fell.

No one could misunderstand the meaning of the 14th rule.

The teammates who hadn’t returned. Those who had been thrown outside their rooms during Rashutku’s night.

What fate they had met was clear without needing to be said.

The air in the office instantly grew heavy.

“Gaon.”

Hiss-.

Then, Jeungmu quietly approached.

His voice was low and subdued.

“Pean has disappeared too.”

It was a brief statement, but it contained multiple meanings.

That he was worried about Pean. And a question about what they would do now that a key member of the raid had vanished.

However.

“Nothing changes.”

Gaon’s answer was short and resolute like a blade.

“The raid proceeds as planned.”

“….”

“….”

That single statement quieted the murmuring in the office.

Adelia looked at her master’s profile.

The same cold, rational expression as always. She couldn’t tell what kind of plan was hidden within it.

But strangely.

That one statement seemed to ease her anxiety.

“…Understood.”

Hisss-.

Jeungmu was the first to bow his head.

With a thick hissing sound, he slowly took a step back.

“I will follow Gaon’s judgment.”

Nod-.

Seeing this, the others began nodding one by one as well.

The Relic Investigation Team members who had been paralyzed with fear just moments ago. Those who had been biting their lips after losing their comrades.

Everyone was looking at Gaon with unwavering eyes.

If Gaon said so.

They held onto the belief that there must surely be a way.

* * *

‘What?’

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment internally.

I had expected some resistance deep down.

Protests about what grounds I had for proceeding with the raid when Pean had disappeared.

Or questions about whether we shouldn’t go look for our comrades or Pean, even if it meant breaking the rules.

I had naturally expected at least that much….

‘…Why are they accepting it so readily?’

These guys.

They weren’t even suspicious anymore.

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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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