Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 47

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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 47

Episode 47. Middletemple, the Holy City (1)

Heukgol grumbled as he looked out the window.

The top floor of the spire that pierced the sky.

The holy city viewed from the elegant guest hall was like a painting crafted from pure white marble.

As if adding charm to that sacred atmosphere, holy hymns were echoing from the corridors.

“Ah, damn. How annoying.”

Whoosh-!

Right then, Heukgol irritably turned around with annoyance.

Listening to the chorus that kept repeating the same monotonous melody was boring him to death.

“Hey, can’t you tell that choir to shut up? It’s driving me crazy.”

“I apologize, seeker.”

The priest standing in the corner of the guest hall answered respectfully.

“It’s impossible to interrupt the hymns midway. Offering praise to the great ones is one of Middle Temple’s most important morning duties.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Heukgol sneered with a thoroughly spiteful voice.

“But what should we do about this? I just received a new revelation.”

“A revelation… you say…?”

“That’s right. The great one says your terrible voices are unpleasant to hear, so please stop the hymns.”

The elderly priest burst into a benevolent laugh.

“Haha, that’s quite unfortunate. If our praise is unsatisfactory, then we’ll have no choice but to put even more devotion into it until the great ones are pleased.”

“Ugh…”

Heukgol gave up on the conversation and turned his back.

“Damn… What a stuffy priest…”

“I sincerely apologize for disappointing you. I’m truly sorry that our humble hymns fall short of your excellent musical discernment, seeker.”

“…Just don’t respond. That’s even more annoying.”

Heukgol let out a deep sigh. Resting his chin on his hand and shaking his head, he asked another question.

“So when exactly is that guy called Gaon or whatever supposed to arrive?”

“Hmm.”

The priest who had been deliberating gave his answer.

“According to the report that just came in, the investigation team members have just departed from Bertas, the Free City.”

“…What?”

Irritated emotion began to build in Heukgol’s voice again.

“They just departed? Then how much longer will it take? Will they arrive tonight?”

“Unlike the great seeker, Middle Temple’s investigation team members are those who carefully examine the path ahead with slow steps. So it will require a bit more time.”

“Speak directly to the point. Don’t unnecessarily drag out your words.”

The priest who had been choosing his words for a moment answered.

“At the very earliest, it will take a week…”

“Hey!”

Heukgol, who had shouted loudly, shot up from his seat.

“Are you people in your right minds? If you were going to make me wait a whole week, why did you summon me so early! Huh?”

“That’s…”

“You could have called me after that guy arrived! Making a person, no! Making a Death Knight get all excited for nothing!”

The priest couldn’t give any answer.

Sword Masters were willful by nature. It generally took several months just for them to respond to Middle Temple’s summons.

But who could have predicted that Heukgol would arrive this early?

However, the priest couldn’t bring himself to voice that excuse. After all, it was Middle Temple’s fault for making the seeker wait.

“I sincerely apologize. We couldn’t even dare to imagine that you would grace us with your precious presence so quickly, seeker.”

“…”

“Please forgive our shortcomings with a generous heart.”

With those words, the priest respectfully bowed.

Heukgol, who had been staring at him, sighed and slumped back into his seat.

“Phew… Fine. I got it. I’ll forgive you, so bring that guy here as fast as possible. I’m seriously going crazy from boredom.”

The priest, who had been contemplating for a moment, finally nodded.

“Yes. Then I’ll arrange to send a sky whale to Bertas.”

“…Tsk, you should have done that from the start.”

* * *

I moved together with the investigation team members wearing gray robes. They surrounded me while maintaining an appropriate pace.

“…?”

Pause-.

Right at that moment, Sikan Bauer, who had been walking in the lead, stopped in place.

Nodding his head slightly, he looked around at the team members and spoke.

“New instructions have come from above. We’re to change our route to the holy city.”

Sikan Bauer changed direction, and the investigation team members silently followed behind him.

Before long, we were able to pass through the fortress of Bertas, the Free City, and emerge outside the Uncharted Wilderness.

An endlessly sprawling wasteland revealed itself. Under the blazing sun, Sikan Bauer turned to me and spoke.

“Do you see that rock?”

Sikan pointed to a massive rock visible in the distance.

“Once we reach there, we’ll arrive at Middle Temple in no time.”

Ah.

I thought we’d be walking, but they’re planning to travel by riding ‘that thing’?

Then, Adelia, who had heard Sikan Bauer’s words, tilted her head.

“Huh? What do you mean by that, Sir Bauer?”

Adelia continued with a rather confused expression.

“There’s still quite a long distance left to the holy city, isn’t there? Besides, it’s in the completely opposite direction from that rock…”

“Once we arrive at the rock, you’ll understand, miss.”

“…?”

Sikan Bauer didn’t answer further and turned his head with a chuckle.

Adelia looked at me with an expression that said she didn’t understand.

“Do you understand what that means, The Protagonist?”

“I understand.”

But I didn’t bother to explain.

“Usually when someone understands, don’t they also provide an explanation…?”

“That’s right.”

“…”

But I didn’t add any explanation either.

Because I wanted to see Adelia’s surprised reaction when she witnessed ‘that thing’.

“You’ll find out once we reach the rock.”

“…”

I repeated the exact same answer as Sikan Bauer. Adelia pouted, but I lightly ignored it.

Even while crossing the parched wasteland, the investigation team members didn’t break formation.

Under the scorching sun, we walked for about 30 more minutes and were able to reach our destination, the rock.

“Please wait a moment.”

Soon after, Sikan Bauer pulled something from inside his coat.

It was a whistle made of white bone.

He took a deep breath and brought the whistle to his mouth.

Screeeech-!

A sharp sound cut through the wasteland and echoed.

As that cry spread to the ends of the sky, clouds began to slowly gather.

Kuoooooo──!

A roar that shook heaven and earth.

A strange cry that seemed like a mixture of a whale’s roar and thunder resounded.

I couldn’t help but be amazed. A massive shadow was descending through the clouds.

Soon, a spectacle far more magnificent than what I had seen on the monitor began to unfold before my eyes.

【Lv. 90】

A body covered in pure white scales sparkled like a rainbow in the sunlight, and fins transparent as moonlight cut through the air, leaving trails of blue light.

The sight of the spirit creature swimming through the sky as if it were the sea was so sublime it defied description.

I quietly murmured the name of that creature to myself.

‘…Celestial Whale.’

Also known as the Sky Whale.

Like the Celestial Dragon, it was one of the Twelve Divine Beasts chosen by the Great Elders.

And in a world heading toward destruction, even as the divine beasts fell to corruption one by one, it was the guardian that stayed by humanity’s side until the very end.

“Wow.”

Adelia stared at the whale in a daze.

Even she, a member of the Noble Families, seemed to lose her words before the Celestial Whale’s majesty.

The reactions of the other investigation team members weren’t much different.

‘But still…’

Just then, a question suddenly crossed my mind.

‘…Why would Middle Temple send the Celestial Whale?’

There were more than a few strange points.

First of all, Middle Temple had no reason to send the Celestial Whale for someone who wasn’t even confirmed to be a Sword Master.

Especially when I was under suspicion for killing the Celestial Dragon.

‘Did someone apply pressure?’

But there were suspicious points to simply attributing it to ‘someone’s’ pressure.

The Celestial Whale was like a symbol of Middle Temple.

Moving such a spirit creature required considerable authority.

‘And it’s also strange how urgently they’re moving.’

Like most religious institutions, Middle Temple was famous for having complex and cautious procedures.

But suddenly sending the Celestial Whale to fetch me didn’t make sense.

Judging from Sikan Bauer’s reaction earlier, the decision to deploy the Celestial Whale seemed to have been made out of the blue.

‘Let me see…’

I retraced my existing reasoning.

First, Middle Temple needed a legitimate reason to send the Celestial Whale.

Second, that reason had to be based on religious authority or tradition.

Third, there had to be urgency enough to make an unusually quick decision.

‘…Ah.’

Soon I was able to form a hypothesis.

‘A Sword Master must have already arrived.’

The Sword Master’s 「Trial」 was one of the most important ceremonies for identifying seekers.

But what if a Sword Master who arrived before me had requested to hurry the trial?

Middle Temple couldn’t dare ignore such a request.

‘Then who is my opponent?’

There weren’t many candidates.

First, it had to be someone among the Twelve Sword Masters who maintained good relations with Middle Temple.

At the same time, they had to be influential enough to strongly push through their opinion, and impatient enough to not wait even a week.

Before long, I was able to deduce my opponent.

‘…The Sword Master of Heukgol.’

Right.

It had to be him.

Heh-.

As I finished that thought, a chuckle escaped me without realizing it.

Heukgol was often considered the worst possible opponent among the Sword Masters.

He was someone who could never be killed by ordinary means, and he had a tenacious personality that would pursue anything that interested him to the very end.

But…

‘…For the current me, he’s the perfect opponent.’

Hadn’t I been saying it all along?

That I needed to prepare for that insane Sword Master as soon as possible.

Right. That guy was Heukgol.

And I had already finished all preparations to face him by acquiring 【Immortal Slayer】.

‘Things are going too smoothly, aren’t they?’

While I was having such thoughts alone.

“Please climb up, Lord Gaon.”

Whoooosh-!

Along with Sikan Bauer’s voice, a golden ladder extending from the sky to the Celestial Whale’s back descended.

I nodded briefly and began climbing the ladder.

From now on, the whale swimming through clouds and wind would carry us to Middle Temple.

* * *

“…”

Kuoooooo-!

In the distance, a massive whale could be seen flying through the clouds.

On a distant peak.

The person sitting at its summit watching that scene couldn’t help but wear a confused expression.

‘What the hell is this really?’

Isaac Beriloff pressed his fingers firmly against his forehead.

His head was throbbing so much he felt like he was going crazy.

The Celestial Whale was a divine beast that Middle Temple only sent when welcoming the most distinguished guests.

Considering that the last recorded use of the Celestial Whale was over 30 years ago, it was sufficient proof that Gaon was no ordinary person.

But…

─You must already know well that I killed the Celestial Dragon.

─…

─Arrange a meeting with the Empress. I’ll help your organization achieve what it truly desires.

…Such a big shot wants to help the 「Shadow Sect」?

When Middle Temple has their eyes blazing to eliminate them?

The current situation was completely incomprehensible.

‘He definitely didn’t seem to be lying though…?’

To make matters worse, the confusing points didn’t end there.

‘And why is Middle Temple sending the Celestial Whale for someone who killed a divine beast?’

His mind became endlessly complicated.

He couldn’t even begin to fathom what was happening.

After pondering for a long while, Isaac was forced to reach the following conclusion.

‘This isn’t something for me to judge.’

For now, he would have to arrange the meeting with the 「Crimson Empress」 as Gaon had requested.

She would be able to handle this situation wisely.

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message: Causality is being twisted.〕

〔Hidden Message: The encounter with the Crimson Empress is being accelerated.〕

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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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