Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 66

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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 66

Episode 66. Haewolsumo (4)

* * *

Thud-.

Dorico Shiro stopped about five steps away.

I felt no hostility at all. Rather, she was just fidgeting with the hem of her martial robe like a shy girl.

“This martial robe is pretty, isn’t it? It’s from 300 years ago. It’s hard to find silk with this kind of texture these days.”

Swish-.

As Dorico Shiro raised her arm, the sleeve of her martial robe fluttered.

The black martial robe was worn by time and faded in places, but its surface still had a subtle luster.

As she said, it was quite a mysterious fabric.

At some moments it just looked old, but at other moments it glowed mysteriously like starlight scattered across the night sky.

“How is it? Quite mystical, isn’t it?”

“….”

“Hehe, once I put this on, no other clothes catch my eye. I originally like mystical things.”

Whirl-.

Did she want to show off her clothes?

Dorico Shiro spun around in place. Following her movement, her hem and hair fluttered like flower petals on a spring day.

Through her disheveled bangs, crimson eyes were revealed. In that gaze staring intently at me was playful curiosity.

“In that sense… I like you.”

“….”

“How should I put it? Gaon, you’re quite mystical.”

Dorico Shiro, who had paused for a moment, slowly continued speaking.

“Camillo von Taribas, that perverted lich bastard dying wasn’t in ‘fate’. And the birth of the Thirteenth Sword Master wasn’t predestined ‘fate’ either.”

Fate.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what that meant.

Like the Sword Masters, the 「Five Nightmares」 also receive revelations. From the Evil Deities they worship.

But….

“Usually before such major incidents occur, those beings give us hints in advance. But strangely, this time there were no signs at all.”

…It seemed even those Evil Deities couldn’t predict my actions at all.

‘This is new information.’

Why couldn’t the Evil Deities give revelations about me?

Could it be that while they know the future, they can’t reveal it due to some 「restriction」 placed on The Heavenly Realm?

Or could it be that because I’m a Possessed One, I’m an existence beyond the predictable range?

The possibility that the Evil Deities fell into confusion as variables not in the original scenario appeared couldn’t be ruled out either….

‘…I don’t know.’

All I could do was list meaningless possibilities.

With only the information I had now, there weren’t enough clues to continue reasoning.

While I was thinking such thoughts, Dorico Shiro slowly approached.

“Hey.”

The corners of her mouth twisted eerily. A smile mixing playfulness and cruelty hung on her lips.

“Don’t just stay quiet, explain a bit.”

“….”

“How do you keep exceeding those beings’ expectations?”

I kept my mouth shut for a moment. My mind began spinning rapidly.

‘Something is strange.’

There was a contradiction in Dorico Shiro’s words.

For an Evil Deity to be unable to predict the future, her actions didn’t make sense.

Indeed, Dorico Shiro had been waiting leisurely as if she knew I would come here.

─You arrived earlier than expected?

Could she be hiding something?

To confirm that doubt, I asked a question instead of answering.

“Then, you didn’t hear that I would come to this forest either?”

“Yes yes!”

Dorico Shiro nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

With an expression that seemed quite moved by the fact that I had spoken for the first time.

“I had no idea! They only told me after you arrived!”

…Ah.

Even if they can’t know the distant future, it seems they can at least inform about things that have already happened.

Whatever the case, it was good news.

‘In the end, the main enemy I have to face is none other than the Evil Deities.’

Monsters, Evil Deity worshippers, or NPCs who would become hostile to me were all just ‘moves’ that those Evil Deity bastards made.

If the opponent couldn’t see through the future, it meant the battle of wits would take place on the same level.

Then it was worth trying.

This meant I could minimize variables. In such a situation, I could sufficiently seize victory.

Swoosh-.

Having finished thinking that far, I glared at Dorico Shiro.

Then I firmly gripped the handle of the feather sword hanging at my waist.

“So that’s why you were so calm.”

“…What?”

Shing-!

With the now-familiar metallic sound, ripples spread across the lake.

The feather sword emerged from its sheath. The sharp blade reflected the moon on the lake and glowed with blue light.

Witnessing this, Dorico Shiro’s expression instantly hardened.

“What are you… doing right now?”

I silently raised my sword. A chilling killing intent settled on the cold blade tip.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to fight me?”

Dorico Shiro’s voice trembled.

“Hey! This is a bit much! After how kindly I treated you, does this make sense?”

“….”

“I don’t want to fight you! I’m serious! I’ve wanted to be friends with you since we first met!”

Dorico Shiro shouted with a voice full of injustice. Sweat beaded on the forehead of her as she waved her hands frantically.

Of course, I knew those words were sincere.

Perhaps solving the problem through dialogue with Dorico Shiro might have been a good option.

That is, if the situation had been different from now.

‘But….’

I had a clear purpose for seeking out the Forest of the Heavenly Sea.

And to realize this ‘plan’ of mine, I had no choice but to take a strong stance.

Inhale, exhale-.

I took a deep breath.

And I began the familiar act I had repeated countless times since falling into this world.

Pretending to be strong.

And pretending not to be afraid of this situation.

Acting with gravity as if I were a transcendent being who could see through everything.

“It seems your great deity you serve failed to inform you of one important fact.”

Dorico Shiro slowly stepped backward as she witnessed my eyes turn cold and sink.

My voice spread low across the lake.

“Today is the very day you die.”

* * *

Dorico Shiro’s expression twisted sharply.

‘What the hell is with this bastard…!’

Unlike the old saying that kind words bring kind responses, my opponent was only treating her harshly.

Honestly speaking, she felt hurt.

After all, Dorico Shiro had shown a friendly attitude from the moment she first encountered her opponent.

Was that why?

She simply couldn’t understand that Sword Master’s cold attitude.

“Hey!”

Finally unable to bear it any longer, Dorico Shiro burst out shouting.

“This is really too much! Why are you being so mean? What did I ever do wrong to you! Huh?”

“…?”

Hesitation-.

The man who had been taking a stance as if he would charge at any moment froze.

He asked back with a rather bewildered expression.

“You did nothing wrong?”

“Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!”

“Is that something to say after corrupting the Forest of the Heavenly Sea?”

“…Ah.”

Right?

It was a part she hadn’t thought about at all.

Now that she thought about it again, her karma was too great to claim innocence.

“Uh, um… that’s…”

Scratch, scratch-.

Having nothing to say, Dorico Shiro fidgeted with the back of her head.

An awkward silence flowed over the lake.

How much time had passed like that?

Dorico Shiro, who had been pouting her lips as if embarrassed, suddenly let out an eerie mad laugh.

“Damn it!”

Snap-!

As she flicked her finger, a clear sound cut through the air.

At the same time, the world turned upside down.

It wasn’t a simple optical illusion or metaphor. Reversal. Literally, the sky and earth began to switch positions.

The lake that had been rippling beneath their feet shot up overhead to become the sky, while the endlessly spread sky sank below their feet to become a deep abyss.

The two people who had originally been standing on the lake suddenly found themselves hanging in empty air.

“Hehe, how’s that?”

Dorico Shiro grinned wickedly.

“It’s a technique I can only use within the Domain I’ve carefully cultivated.”

“This is…”

Sword Master Gaon, who had been looking around for a while, muttered.

“…Illusion magic.”

Dorico Shiro smiled and nodded her head.

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Illusion magic.

This was Dorico Shiro’s specialty.

A technique that creates non-existent phantoms to deceive opponents.

But her illusion magic didn’t stop at simply ‘deceiving the eyes.’

“Seeing how you answered right away, you seem to know something about illusion magic… but you’d better be careful.”

Dorico Shiro smiled lightly.

“…My illusion magic is very different from what you know.”

Snap-!

As soon as she finished speaking, Dorico Shiro flicked her finger.

At the same time, her opponent’s complexion darkened.

“How’s that? Does it hurt a bit?”

“…”

Slowly-.

Gaon slowly lowered his gaze downward.

His two arms had disappeared.

The severed cross-sections left terrible marks as if they had been mauled by a giant beast.

“…What a childishly pathetic trick.”

Gaon muttered.

Though he wasn’t showing it outwardly, he must be experiencing terrible pain right now.

Because Dorico Shiro had ‘orchestrated’ such a situation.

The agony of bones being crushed.

The pain of flesh being torn.

The illusion of sticky blood flowing down his skin.

Though it might not be reality, he would certainly feel those sensations.

“You can’t tell it apart from reality at all, can you?”

Distorting senses and dominating the mind to make it impossible to distinguish whether that pain was real or hallucination.

This was the true terror of Dorico Shiro’s illusion magic.

No matter how strong an opponent’s martial power was, it didn’t matter. The moment they set foot in this Domain, everything was as good as being in the palm of her hand.

In a space where the boundary between reality and illusion had collapsed, Dorico Shiro could reign as a being no different from a god.

“If you stand still, I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt. So… let’s not fight for no reason and have a nice conversation instead. Okay?”

Dorico Shiro wore a bright smile. As if she felt pleased about subduing her opponent so easily.

“Hehe! By the way, you’re nothing special!”

“…”

“I wondered how amazing you’d be, being the first Sword Master born in hundreds of years after killing Camilla, but you’re just as helpless when trapped in illusion magic, aren’t you?”

Dorico Shiro took a step toward Gaon with a triumphant expression.

“Anyway, don’t be too tense. I’m not trying to harm you. I’m just curious about what kind of being you are…”

Step-.

That was the exact moment.

Before Dorico Shiro could even finish her words, Gaon took a step forward.

His body, which had been floating in the air, slowly began moving forward.

“Huh?”

And…

The arms that had been horribly severed just a few seconds ago.

Were perfectly attached in their original place, as if nothing had happened.

“Huh, huh, huuuh?”

Dorico Shiro stepped backward with wide, startled eyes.

She retreated one step, two steps, but the distance between her and Gaon only narrowed.

“What, what, what…”

Bewilderment spread through Dorico Shiro’s pupils.

Within her domain, and in the space where her illusion magic was deployed…

Someone moving freely meant just one thing.

“How did you break through my illusion magic…!”

…Namely, that the illusion had been broken.

That’s right.

An illusion that had never been penetrated even once in hundreds of years had been completely neutralized by a single person.

Dorico Shiro gazed at Gaon with eyes that seemed to peer into the deep abyss.

Fear.

It was the first real emotion that showed on her face.

“Interesting.”

A faint smile crossed Gaon’s lips.

“Just a moment ago, you seemed to say that mysterious things were good.”

“….”

“Why, now you seem a little afraid.”

* * *

Ding-!

〔Mental Power ‘MAX’ demonstrates superhuman will.〕

〔Resisting highest-level illusion.〕

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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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