Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 71

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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 71

Episode 71. Haewolsumo (9)

* * *

─My beloved daughter.

In the pitch-black darkness.

A voice so dearly missed brushed against Adelia’s ears.

‘Father….’

The memory of going on a picnic together to the Forest of the Heavenly Sea came to mind.

Father had carried Adelia on his shoulders as they walked the forest path.

Was she around nine years old? No, perhaps even younger.

─Haewolsumo is a divine spiritual being.

Along with that warm voice, the memories of that day vividly came back to life.

─Having lived for hundreds of years, it’s a divine beast that treasures people’s memories. Our picnic today will also be cherished forever in Haewolsumo’s memory.

Young Adelia’s eyes sparkling as she gazed at the lake where Haewolsumo resided.

And even Father’s warm touch as he gently stroked her head.

[It’s time to wake up from your slumber.]

“…?”

At that very moment.

At the unfamiliar voice echoing in her ears, Adelia slowly opened her eyes.

Her hazy consciousness gradually became clear.

As she barely managed to lift her heavy eyelids, she saw an endless expanse of gentle blue light.

“This place is….”

A scene as if she had entered inside Haewolsumo’s body.

But her breathing came naturally, and there was no suffocating feeling of being submerged in water.

[Child.]

Then, a voice came from all directions.

It was as if this space itself was speaking to her.

“Wh-who are you…?”

[I am a being that drifts through the endless heavenly sea, and one who remembers all flows. My translucent spirit reflects the past.]

“…!”

Upon hearing the voice that followed, Adelia could instinctively recognize who the owner of the voice was.

Haewolsumo.

That divine beast was directly speaking to her.

“What is this situation? I clearly… with my own hands, I….”

[This is the abyss of memories.]

“….”

[Since you have killed me, I shall bestow upon you a trial according to the laws of the Pantheon.]

Haewolsumo’s voice as it spoke contained no anger or resentment.

Rather, a calm and almost benevolent, neutral voice could be heard.

Adelia found herself asking in a respectful voice without realizing it.

“By any chance… what is the content of this trial?”

Rumble-!

At that moment, the space began to shake.

Blue light swirled around, enveloping her body, and Adelia’s physical form began to gradually change.

[Memories can be both a blessing and a curse. Accepting and handling them is entirely your responsibility.]

Her arms and legs became shorter, her hands grew smaller.

Her entire body transformed into that of a young child.

[So then, child.]

“….”

[Face the enemies from your past who brought you defeat once more, and this time achieve victory.]

Whoosh-!

The surrounding scenery completely changed.

Middletemple, the Holy City, a small circular arena bathed in sunlight.

Adelia looked down at her hands. She saw the small, delicate hands of a seven-year-old child.

[Let the first trial begin.]

A boy walked out from the opposite side of the arena.

[The fear you first encountered, and the wall against which you suffered countless frustrations.]

A blonde boy wearing silver armor.

The moment she saw his face, anger and fear simultaneously bloomed in young Adelia’s heart.

‘That bastard is….’

Sedric von Haibrunn.

He was the main perpetrator of the most terrible bullying during Adelia’s childhood.

“What are you doing, brat! I’m graciously letting you have the first move! Hurry up and come at me!”

Cedric shouted boastfully with a vile smile.

Memories from the past flashed through her mind.

A paladin trainee who was three years older than her. That bastard had always tormented young Adelia.

Bullying disguised as pranks.

Violence under the pretext of sparring.

Cedric had overwhelmed Adelia with his physical advantage, never even giving her a chance to fight back.

Tremble tremble-.

Adelia’s body was shaking. The fear carved into the instincts of a seven-year-old girl had taken control of her.

But….

‘Now I know.’

A pathetically worthless person.

A loser who filled his self-esteem by mercilessly trampling on a child three years younger than himself.

The fact that there was absolutely no reason to be afraid of such trash.

“Cedric.”

Adelia let out a snicker.

The innocent voice of a seven-year-old echoed through the arena.

“You were quite the coward even as a child, weren’t you.”

Adelia gripped her sword tightly. Then she took a stance as if she might charge at her opponent at any moment.

“Since you didn’t have the courage to spar with kids your own age, you always fought opponents three years younger than you instead.”

Moving in a child’s body felt awkward, but it didn’t matter.

With the experience she had accumulated… she could easily overcome this physical disparity and this level of size difference.

“Really pathetic, you loser.”

“…!”

Cedric’s expression twisted hideously, and Adelia wore a mocking smile as if she found it satisfying.

“Grrrrr!”

Cedric’s face turned red.

The shame of having his true feelings exposed, and the rage of being insulted by a child three years younger.

Unable to contain this, the bastard began charging straight at Adelia.

“You little shit! Are you done talking!”

Snort-.

Adelia let out a scoff. A body dominated by intense emotions was far too easy to read.

“This isn’t a trial, it’s a joke.”

Whoosh-!

Adelia swung her arm.

The training wooden sword flashed as sharp as a real blade for an instant.

* * *

“Ugh…”

Had about 10 minutes passed since Adelia began the “trial”?

Dorico Shiro, who had been unconscious, got up while clutching her head. After staggering around for a while, she barely managed to regain her balance.

“Huh?”

Looking around with a startled expression, she turned to me with a question.

“What? Why is it so quiet? Is everything over?”

“Not yet.”

I answered while gesturing toward the center of the lake.

Whooom, whooooom-!

Blue energy was enveloping Adelia’s body.

And Haewolsumo… was dead, its life extinguished.

Its once transparent body had turned an opaque grayish-white, and its gently swaying tentacles hung limp, drained of vitality.

“Nooooooo!”

Witnessing this, Dorico Shiro collapsed to the ground with a thud.

“Jelly! Jelly! Waaaaah!”

Dorico Shiro grabbed my trouser leg and wailed with a cry that seemed to pierce the heavens.

“You fraud! You said you’d save our Jelly! But what the hell is this, ugh, sniff…”

“Calm down.”

I pushed Dorico Shiro away.

Her face was a mess of snot and tears, with sticky strands of mucus dripping from her chin.

…Disgusting.

Suppressing that revulsion, I continued speaking.

“This is the only way to save Haewolsumo.”

“What?”

Dorico Shiro, who had been sobbing, looked up with vacant eyes.

“That… that’s the way to save Haewolsumo…?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“I’ll keep my promise, so don’t worry. The moment Adelia passes the trial, Haewolsumo will be resurrected as a more powerful being.”

Dorico Shiro sniffled for a while before asking in a trembling voice.

“Is… is that really true…?”

Though suspicion still lingered in her eyes, I could see her wavering emotions gradually settling.

“Sniff, sob!”

After blowing her nose once, Dorico Shiro awkwardly adjusted her posture. Then she sat cross-legged and gazed at Adelia, who was enveloped in blue light.

“But, you know…”

Dorico Shiro asked in a somewhat calmed voice.

“Just how long was I unconscious? If the domain lost its power and disappeared, I must have been out for quite a while…”

“You were only down for about 10 minutes.”

“…What?”

Whoosh-!

Dorico Shiro’s eyes widened.

She looked up at me with a bewildered expression and asked again.

“Then what about my barrier? How did you dispel this ‘Domain’?”

I gave no answer and silently watched Adelia. Dorico Shiro stood there dumbfounded for a moment before suddenly opening her mouth as if realizing something.

“Wow… you’re really strong…”

Her expression now held more admiration than wariness.

“…”

Meanwhile, Isaac Beriloff still stood to one side without saying a word.

His face was clearly tense. I could feel that he was completely intimidated.

Seeing this, I chuckled inwardly.

‘Be thoroughly scared, Isaac Beriloff.’

That would make the meeting with the Crimson Empress much easier.

* * *

“Phew.”

She fought against countless enemies and repeated victories. Adelia battled against foes from her past, overcoming her trauma.

Whoooosh-!

The surrounding environment and Adelia’s body changed once again.

The situation from her first visit to Dungard’s Abandoned Factory. And the opponent that appeared before Adelia was…

Flutter-!

…none other than the hideous monster with six arms, Peterpan.

“Ha.”

Grin-.

A smile crossed Adelia’s lips.

The fight with Peterpan ended unexpectedly quickly.

She had already achieved victory against him in “mental combat” long ago.

For Adelia, Peterpan was no longer an object of fear.

Whoooosh-!

Water mist enveloped her body once again.

Adelia moved to another location, where she faced the Celestial Dragon she had encountered in the Uncharted Wilderness.

This time she fought a fierce battle with it for nearly 30 minutes, going beyond 10 minutes. She even managed to sever one of the Celestial Dragon’s wings.

Whoooosh-!

The world turned upside down once more.

The Training Grounds of Middletemple.

There stood Jark von Haibrunn with a smile.

“Interesting.”

Jaque approached Adelia while swinging his massive executioner’s sword.

It seemed like the situation from the training ground a few days ago was being recreated exactly.

“I hear your skills have improved greatly… How about having a match with this old man?”

Adelia’s expression turned coldly serious.

Jaque’s fist cut through the air, flying fiercely toward her.

But this time, unlike the past, she wasn’t helplessly overwhelmed by his attack. Adelia already ‘remembered’ his attack patterns.

Whoosh-!

Crash-!

Taking a large step with his right foot, extending the hand holding the executioner’s sword forward to draw the opponent’s attention, then striking with his left fist.

Adelia read Jaque’s attack with a relaxed smile. Just before Jaque extended his left hand, she twisted her body in an unexpected direction.

“What…?”

Bewilderment flashed across Jaque’s face.

Adelia’s sword gleamed, and teal aura rippled sharply as it grazed past Jaque’s face.

Slash-!

Thanks to her quick reaction, she was able to avoid fatal injury, but a thin scratch remained on Jaque’s face. She had made the great master of Middle Temple bleed.

“Hehe.”

Adelia laughed as if satisfied. Unlike when she suffered that humiliating defeat a few days ago, she looked incredibly confident now.

“How about it, old man. Is my skill finally worth watching now?”

“This brat dares to…!”

Whoooosh-.

Before Jaque could even attempt to counterattack, the surrounding scenery changed once again.

“…Huh?”

But what was this about?

This background was completely different from any environment Adelia had faced so far.

Vast grasslands and meadows.

Warm sunlight was gently caressing Adelia’s cheeks.

And a little distance away, she could see the back of someone all too familiar.

“…!”

That person she had longed to see.

That scent she had missed.

Those shoulders, unchangingly tall and reliable.

Though the dazzling sunlight shining from behind prevented her from seeing his face completely, Adelia could recognize who it was at once.

“Could it be…?”

Step-.

Adelia moved her feet, and the figure slowly turned around.

That warm smile, those gentle eyes, those reliable arms began to slowly draw closer.

“Dad…”

Adelia’s voice trembled.

She never knew taking a single step could be this difficult.

Though she was someone who wouldn’t get out of breath even after running for hours in heavy armor, this short distance felt like an endless journey.

“You’ve grown so much, my daughter.”

The wind blowing through the grass blades carried Father’s voice. That voice held the weight of years within it.

At that voice which remained unchanged despite the passage of time, emotions that had been buried deep in Adelia’s heart for so long began to stir.

One step, then another step.

Her legs began to tremble. So much that she couldn’t control her whole body, like those awkward first steps when she used to try to climb onto Father’s knee as a child.

Father, whom she had missed endlessly, welcomed Adelia with a smile on his face.

“Congratulations on passing through the trial.”

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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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