Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 77

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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 77

Episode 77. Wintershield Magic Academy (2)

* * *

“Haa, ha…”

The young man pulled the cold, wet rags around himself, wrapping his body tightly.

The dampness of the underground prison had seeped into his bones, and the blade-like cold cut into his flesh.

‘There isn’t much time left now.’

Even in this extreme situation, his mind remained clear.

It was thanks to the「Cold Rationality」trait he had added when creating his character.

This trait allowed him to maintain rational judgment even under extreme fear and pressure.

“…”

Ah, of course.

In a situation like this, it was nothing short of a curse.

[The Protagonist]: I’ll come to you, so wait.

[The Protagonist]: It must be confusing, but hold yourself together.

[The Protagonist]: I’ll do whatever it takes to save you.

The Protagonist.

The young man knew this player all too well.

A user who had never once lost the number one spot in the Hall of Fame.

And in reality, his older brother by three years.

When he first opened his eyes in this damned world, the messages he sent had been a great comfort.

But…

‘…How is he going to save me?’

As time passed,「Cold Rationality」only erased even the slightest glimmer of hope.

‘According to brother, it’s only been about a month and a half since the main story started…’

At this point in time, there was nothing a player could do.

‘Isn’t this just when they’ve barely finished reviving and crawled out of the corpse pit?’

To reach Wintershield, the Magic City, from this situation would require at least a year.

Especially in the early stages, with low levels and no proper means of transportation, crossing the continent took quite a long time.

On top of that, entering Wintershield’s Inner Tower District, then accessing the Magic Academy’s main building, and rescuing him from the underground prison was…

‘…Practically impossible.’

Therefore, the young man reached the following conclusion.

That message was nothing more than empty words meant to reassure him.

No.

Perhaps even this message was his own hallucination.

A fantasy created by his desire to escape this terrible reality.

‘Damn it.’

Having finished that train of thought, the young man covered his face with his trembling hands.

Cold rationality only made him accept this grim situation even more realistically.

Ding, ding-!

“…?”

At that very moment, notification sounds rang out consecutively in his ears.

[The Protagonist]: I’ve arrived at Wintershield and just met the Crimson Empress.

[The Protagonist]: Wait just a little longer.

“…?”

The young man’s eyes widened. He checked the message once more with an expression of disbelief.

‘Could it be… really?’

* * *

Just before entering the professor’s office, I sent a message to Strawberry Latte. To somehow inform him of the current situation.

‘How frustrated must he be?’

The unexpected situation of possession.

On top of that, being trapped in an underground prison and destined to become a sacrifice for the ritual.

In a situation where he couldn’t even receive detailed information due to the daily message limit, his heart must be unbearably frustrated.

Ding-!

However, Strawberry Latte showed no signs of gloom at all.

(b˙◁˙ )b

Instead, he only responded with positive emoticons every time.

‘That’s just like him.’

Chuckle-.

Confirming this, I smiled inwardly and organized my thoughts.

Right.

Now it was time to continue the negotiations with the Crimson Empress.

“…”

The frozen atmosphere of the professor’s office.

The Crimson Empress sat with her eyes wide open, unable to close her mouth.

Her reaction of disbelief at being told to give up her position as head of the Shadow Sanctuary.

Everything was going according to my plan.

After all, negotiations tend to proceed much more favorably when one side loses their grip on reason.

‘That’s why I threw out that bombshell statement.’

I didn’t give the opponent even a moment to prepare mentally.

“Berillov.”

The Crimson Empress, having barely regained her composure, muttered in a low voice.

Then Isaac Beriloff tactfully rose from his seat and began casting magic.

Whooom, whooooom-!

The spell he had cast a few weeks ago when visiting the Golden Caravan of Durdamel.

It was「Silence Barrier」, a magic that prevented sound from leaking outside.

How long had that suffocating silence lasted? The Crimson Empress suddenly burst into cold mockery and sneered.

“Listen here, Swordmaster.”

Her gaze toward me changed completely in an instant.

The gentle and elegant professor had vanished without a trace.

Now before me existed only the ruthless leader of a secret organization.

“Don’t tell me this is all you came to The Organization for?”

Chuckle-.

A faint smile escaped me involuntarily at her confident attitude.

At least she wasn’t making excuses. Her attitude of acknowledging that she was the Crimson Empress was quite refreshing.

I hoped our conversation would continue to flow this smoothly.

“I don’t understand. From what I heard from Berillov, you said you would help The Organization achieve what it ‘truly desires’…”

“I did.”

I nodded indifferently.

“Taking over the leadership of the Holy See is the first step.”

“Ha.”

The Crimson Empress let out a hollow laugh and immediately objected.

“This is ridiculous. Do you even know what our Holy See pursues before saying such things…?”

“Ascendant.”

“…!”

Startled-.

The Crimson Empress’s eyes widened upon hearing my words.

Regardless, I continued speaking.

“Isn’t that the ultimate goal of the Holy See?”

Ascendant .

This referred to those who had cast off mortal fate and risen to the position of gods.

The Middle Temple worships the Elders and follows their will. But the Shadow Sanctuary wasn’t satisfied with just that.

They were a group that went beyond admiring the Elders, pursuing to reach an equal position with them.

It would be more accurate to say they revered the power itself that the Elders possessed rather than holy intentions or doctrines.

‘This is also why the Middle Temple thoroughly treats the Shadow Sanctuary as heretics.’

After all, the goal of standing shoulder to shoulder with gods was an absolutely unacceptable blasphemy for believers.

Anyway.

Having organized these various thoughts, I continued speaking.

“In the current situation, you can never truly achieve what you desire.”

“…”

“So I will help you. To accomplish that task.”

After a long silence, the Crimson Empress asked a question.

“Help? That’s certainly welcome.”

“…”

“But the price for merely receiving help is handing over the leadership position of The Organization? And to someone I’m meeting for the first time today?”

When I gave no answer, the Crimson Empress, taking this as silent affirmation, shook her head.

“It’s an absurd proposal. Do you really think it’s realistic for a seeker who follows the will of The Great Ones to know how to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Elders?”

Right.

The Crimson Empress’s words weren’t wrong at all.

Sword Masters were paradoxical beings, closest to ascendants yet furthest from them.

Those who moved according to the Elders’ instructions could never rise to the same position as their masters.

But…

‘I am an exception.’

Unlike other seekers chosen by The Great Ones, I was a being who chose to become a Sword Master directly.

Making a sacred covenant with the Elders was entirely my own will.

Therefore, I had different 「rules」 from other Sword Masters. The general constraints they had didn’t apply to me.

But that wasn’t important right now, so I’ll skip it…

“You’re misunderstanding my words.”

“…?”

I cut off the Crimson Empress’s words decisively.

“I clearly said I would help The Organization achieve what it ‘truly’ desires.”

“…”

“But becoming an ascendant isn’t the urgent goal you need to achieve right now, is it?”

Flinch-.

Cracks appeared in the Crimson Empress’s expressionless face.

“Wh-what are you talking about…?”

“The Heaven Defier.”

“…!”

I looked at her endlessly trembling pupils and calmly finished my words.

“Killing that ‘monster’ is what The Organization truly desires, isn’t it?”

* * *

『Follow me! Join me in defying the given fate and standing shoulder to shoulder with The Great Ones!』

The Heaven Defier .

One who met tragic failure in the process of ascension.

He, who was the first leader of the Shadow Sanctuary, surpassed everyone’s expectations and advanced to just before obtaining divinity.

But at the final moment, the price for a mortal daring to invade the realm of the heavens was horrific.

『Kraaaaaaak…!』

The failed ascension ritual grotesquely twisted his body and soul.

He had stepped one foot into the realm of immortality beyond mortal limits, but was simultaneously left as an eternally incomplete being.

He was no longer human.

But he wasn’t a god either.

A monster suffering from endless hunger and pain.

A being embodying the frustration and rage of failed ascension.

Eventually, the Heaven Defier, who hid in the underground maze 「The Abyss」, regularly performed rituals to soothe his unbearable pain.

He needed sacrifices made of fresh blood. And a great many sacrifices at that.

‘Although the Crimson Empress is the leader of the Shadow Sanctuary…’

In truth, she was merely the Heaven Defier’s puppet.

She had to regularly offer human sacrifices for the Heaven Defier, continuing endless rituals in the underground of Wintershield Magic Academy for this purpose.

This bizarre phenomenon had continued for decades, and at some point, the Shadow Sanctuary took the form of a cult worshipping the Heaven Defier.

‘And…’

The Crimson Empress wanted to correct this twisted situation.

Exploring the truth of magic, surpassing the 9th tier to reach the legendary 10th tier. Thus achieving transcendence and obtaining divinity.

Like this, she wanted to reclaim the original spirit that the Shadow Sanctuary had pursued. To do so, she had to somehow eliminate the Heaven Defier, who was the source of the corruption.

‘However, the Heaven Defier is a monster that even the Crimson Empress, a 9th-tier Grand Mage, doesn’t dare to face.’

The Heaven Defier wasn’t simply a powerful being.

Having taken on a twisted fate, he was the only being who possessed 「immortality」 without making a contract with evil deities.

Therefore, completely killing the Heaven Defier was virtually impossible.

But.

“I will kill that bastard for you.”

“…!”

Only one person, only I was an exception to that law.

Because…

━━━━━━━━━━━━

【Eternal Slayer True】

(Available for use)

━━━━━━━━━━━━

…Even any immortal being could not escape death before my sword.

“Wait a moment.”

Of course, the Crimson Empress still looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“You? You’ll kill the Heaven Defier…?”

She let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd.

In a way, this could be considered a natural reaction.

That was understandable, since how could he have unwavering faith in the bold claims of a Sword Master he’d just met today?

But that was fine.

I had a good means to break through this situation.

“Your Majesty.”

Just then, someone’s voice echoed through the room.

A robed member who enjoyed the Crimson Empress’s deep trust.

And someone who had directly witnessed the ‘miracle’ I had accomplished during the course of carrying out his mission…

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t know, but if it’s Lord Gaon, it should be possible.”

“…?”

Isaac Beriloff.

He began to defend me.

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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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