Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 315

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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 315

Episode 315. Ancient Legacy (1)

[….]

The Ghost Prime Minister silently stared at the spot where the emperor had vanished.

His expression was indescribably complex.

Relief and sorrow.

Comfort and guilt.

Various emotions mixed together, making it difficult to define his face with any single emotion.

Heh-.

A bitter smile appeared on the Ghost Prime Minister’s lips.

It was a gaze that seemed to have laid down all burdens, yet still showed lingering attachment in some corner.

‘What must he be feeling right now.’

I couldn’t dare judge his feelings.

What the heart of one who had finally let go of a lord he had served for thousands of years must feel like.

[It’s truly over now.]

Swoosh-.

Soon the Ghost Prime Minister slowly raised his head to face me.

He respectfully bowed his waist.

[On behalf of all the people and subjects of the Rashutku Empire, I express our deepest gratitude to you all.]

“….”

[Without your courage and dedication, we would have suffered eternally bound by this curse.]

It was formal speech.

This wasn’t simply a word of thanks, but an official expression of gratitude as the empire’s last prime minister.

The Ghost Prime Minister slowly straightened his back and continued in a calm tone.

[As promised, all the legacy of the imperial palace has been subordinated to you all.]

“….”

[This is not limited to merely material things. ‘Everything’ that constitutes this imperial palace has passed into your hands. However….]

The Ghost Prime Minister’s gaze fixed on me.

[…It seems the greatest ‘authority’ has been granted to you.]

Nod-.

I silently nodded my head.

As if responding to this, a notification window that had appeared earlier blinked.

〔Your contribution has been ranked 1st among raid participants.〕

In the battle against Tarosk, I hadn’t lifted a finger.

I had left the fighting to Jeungmu, Balhwan, and Adelia while quietly watching everything from behind.

However.

‘From the moment I entered the imperial palace, I was the one who led the entire raid.’

Breaking through the curse’s mechanics, devising strategies to clear three trials simultaneously, and directly executing them.

There wasn’t a single place my influence hadn’t reached.

That’s why my contribution was rated the highest.

〔Reward: All legacy of the Rashutku Empire is subordinated to you.〕

Thanks to this, all the legacy of the imperial palace was subordinated to me.

And this ‘legacy’ wasn’t limited to merely material things like treasures, books, or artifacts.

[The curse that binds our souls is also in your hands.]

“….”

That’s right.

The imperial palace’s curse was also subordinated to me.

It too was part of this place.

[Please.]

The Ghost Prime Minister spoke with solemn courtesy.

[As promised, please release the souls bound to this imperial palace.]

“….”

[This grace, as a prime minister and as a mere soul, I will never forget.]

A moment of silence passed.

I quietly looked at the Ghost Prime Minister and slowly opened my mouth.

“Do you have any regrets or resentments?”

[….]

The Ghost Prime Minister fell silent.

His translucent form trembled slightly.

Regret.

And resentment.

It was a silence that seemed to weigh the gravity of these two words.

Eventually, the Ghost Prime Minister, who had been lost in thought, slowly opened his mouth.

[I believed the Ancients would return.]

It was a calm voice.

[When the Evil Deities devoured the empire, we waited for them. Since the Great Ones had caused this, they would surely come to clean up the mess. Since this was the world they created, since these were the people they loved… they would definitely return to save us.]

“….”

[But they never returned in the end.]

The Ghost Prime Minister’s gaze turned toward the sky above.

[I resented them. I cursed the Ancients endlessly. For thousands of years… no, perhaps even after death.]

His low voice echoed through the underground chamber.

[His Majesty’s anger was so deep that he used the Evil Deities’ power to prevent even sending the people’s souls to the Heavenly Realm.]

That’s right.

The curse Emperor Tarosk had placed on the entire imperial palace.

It wasn’t simple madness.

It was desperate revenge against the Ancients who had abandoned the people and fled.

[It was the Ancients who summoned the Evil Deities. But they fled to the Heavenly Realm.]

“….”

[We were the ones who bore all the damage. The empire’s innocent people paid that price.]

The Ghost Prime Minister smiled bitterly.

[How could we not feel wronged? How could there be no regrets?]

His voice carried resentment accumulated over thousands of years.

[However….]

Then.

The Ghost Prime Minister slowly shook his head.

[At some point, we realized.]

“….”

[No matter how much we resented, nothing would change.]

Returning to a calm voice, he continued speaking.

[Blaming the Evil Deities, cursing the Ancients, biting our lips at the world’s unfairness wouldn’t make the fallen empire rise again.]

The Ghost Prime Minister’s gaze turned toward me.

[Why should I bear this burden when it’s not my fault?]

“….”

[It’s a natural question. I too asked it countless times.]

The Ghost Prime Minister paused briefly and quietly added.

[But someone must bear that burden. Only then will the next generation not carry the same burden as us.]

The Ghost Prime Minister’s gaze turned distant.

[Just look back at the Empire’s history.]

Though I had heard this speech dozens of times before.

I silently listened to his words.

[In the early days of the nation’s founding, when great famine struck the Empire, it was caused by the previous generation’s misrule. But it was the people of that era who endured hunger and cultivated the Wasteland.]

“….”

[When a tyrant sat on the throne, it was that one person who spread tyranny. But it was the innocent retainers who bled in resistance.]

“….”

[When plague ran rampant, it was spread by neighboring countries’ Merchant Guilds. But it was the Empire’s physicians who collapsed while caring for the sick.]

The Ghost Prime Minister’s voice continued calmly.

[None of them caused the disasters.]

“….”

[But all took responsibility in their respective positions.]

After pausing briefly, he spoke with composure.

[And thanks to that.]

“….”

[The Empire of Rashutku was able to continue its lineage.]

Silence flowed.

[I am the same.]

The Ghost Prime Minister said quietly.

[I lived upon the burdens others carried. I enjoyed Rashutku’s golden age built upon what previous generations constructed with blood and sweat.]

“….”

[That is karma.]

It was a low voice.

[And history rolls forward by that karma.]

The Ghost Prime Minister’s form glowed faintly.

[It’s unfair. Regrettable.]

“….”

[But that must not stop us.]

The Ghost Prime Minister smiled bitterly.

[If there is work to be done, doing it is right. Guarding this place for thousands of years, waiting for you all in the end… it was all because of that sense of responsibility.]

His gaze turned toward where the emperor had disappeared.

[Thanks to the karma built up by previous generations, I was born in an age of prosperity. I enjoyed that abundance.]

The Ghost Prime Minister slowly turned his head to face me.

[And finally, we paid the karma we had to bear.]

A moment of silence passed.

The Ghost Prime Minister took a deep breath.

No.

Since he was a ghost anyway, he couldn’t actually breathe, but it was a similar motion.

[Now it’s your turn.]

Swish-.

The Ghost Prime Minister’s gaze slowly swept over the group.

The Relic Exploration Society members.

Jeungmu.

The Diviner.

Adelia.

And finally… me.

[You all.]

A strange light appeared in the Prime Minister’s translucent eyes.

[What choice will you make?]

* * *

Wooong, woooooong-.

The moment the Imperial Palace’s curse became subordinate to me, a new sensation I had never felt before rushed in.

‘This is…’

It was like when I entered the「Realm of the Dead」- the feeling of the world’s rules naturally seeping into my mind.

What I could do. How far was possible. How to do it.

The moment I gained ownership of the Rashutku Imperial Palace, all of that was naturally understood.

‘For now…’

Thud, thud-.

I silently moved my steps.

I left the Underground Chamber and climbed the stairs, with the group following behind.

The place we finally arrived at was the Imperial Palace Gates.

The massive iron gate that had been firmly closed for thousands of years stood towering before us.

Swish-.

When I reached out my hand, the iron gate began to open by itself with a heavy metallic sound.

Grrrrrrrk-!

At the same time, the same sound echoed from all over the Imperial Palace.

The tightly closed doors in the corridors opened, and the sealed rooms were unlocked.

The spaces that had been bound by curses for thousands of years began to breathe one by one.

Thunk-.

Finally, the main gate opened completely.

“….”

The vast Imperial Palace Gardens revealed themselves.

A landscape that must have once been beautiful.

But now everything was rotted and crumbled ruins.

Withered and twisted trees stretched out their bare branches, and black water pooled in broken fountains, giving off a foul stench.

Stone statues scattered everywhere were corroded beyond recognition.

‘Now I need to finish this.’

I slowly closed my eyes.

And…

Wooong-.

…I released part of the curse.

Woooooong-!

The Imperial Palace vibrated intensely.

The sound of shackles that had bound souls for thousands of years being released.

Whooooosh-.

Light bloomed from all over the gardens.

One.

Two.

Three.

Countless points of light rose into the air.

They were the souls that had been bound to this Imperial Palace for thousands of years.

Citizens, retainers, soldiers, maids.

Those who had lived their own lives and were bound here for their own reasons.

They were finally liberated and ascending to the sky.

“….”

I silently watched the scene.

Slowly-.

The Ghost Prime Minister’s form began to fade.

[Thank you.]

A final farewell.

[May your choices lead toward the light.]

With those words, the Ghost Prime Minister’s figure completely disappeared.

Whoooosh──!

The points of light continued rising toward the sky.

It was beautiful.

And at the same time, wistful.

“….”

Karma.

And choice.

It was a story I’d heard dozens of times while playing the game.

Yet somehow.

Every time I heard the Ghost Prime Minister’s words, my thoughts always became complicated.

‘Well, getting lost in thought can wait until everything is resolved.’

I shook my head and brushed away the contemplation.

There were still matters that needed to be handled.

‘First of all….’

Pean.

Muwolcha.

And the Relic Expedition Members who had been executed by the「Gravekeeper of Rashutku」.

It was time to bring them back to life.

* * *

I closed my eyes and concentrated my mind.

「Realm of the Dead」.

I could faintly sense the presence of those trapped within that space created by the curse.

Like something sunken deep underwater, a distant and hazy presence.

But now I could reach out to them.

Swoosh-.

I grasped the chain of the curse and slowly pulled it up.

Rumble-!

The air vibrated.

Cracks appeared in the empty air, and brilliant light leaked through the gaps.

And….

Flash-!

“Urgh!”

“Wh, where is this…?”

As the light faded, people appeared in that spot.

The Relic Expedition Members who had gone missing due to the fourteenth rule.

They looked around with dazed expressions.

“D, Director!”

“We’re alive…! We’re really alive!”

“This isn’t a dream? We really came back?”

Wahahahaha-!

The members embraced each other and shouted with joy.

Some were sobbing, others burst into laughter.

It was an intense outpouring of emotion as they welcomed back teammates who had returned from death’s door.

I watched the scene and then turned my gaze.

Step, step-.

Pean was approaching.

His usual quiet gait, unchanged as always.

But a faint smile had appeared on his lips.

“Though I couldn’t intervene, I watched everything.”

“….”

“How you overcame the trials. And how you conquered this Imperial Palace.”

Pean stopped in front of me.

His expression became strangely bitter as he paused.

“But… I’m quite ashamed that I accomplished nothing at all, ahaha.”

It wasn’t humility.

It was a voice tinged with genuine powerlessness felt by a seeker who had lived for thousands of years.

At those words, I slowly shook my head.

“No.”

A short answer.

But it contained multiple meanings.

‘Pean’s role begins now.’

Perhaps it could become the most important role in this conquest.

‘But that’s a story for later.’

There was something else that needed to be done right now.

“Let’s take a look around the grounds first.”

Swoosh-.

I said while gazing beyond the Imperial Palace gardens.

In the distance, the ruined capital of the Empire could be seen hazily.

‘And….’

The Golem Knight that would be somewhere out there.

If it had seen the light that burst from the Imperial Palace the moment the curse was lifted, it would surely be heading this way.

‘Before encountering that thing.’

I needed to secure the core rewards first.

More precisely.

Tools that would be helpful when facing it.

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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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