Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 88

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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 88

Episode 88. Emergency Strategy Meeting (2)

A cold silence flowed through the hall.

Everyone began staring at Dorico Shiro with strange looks.

“Wh-what? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Sigh…”

The Knight let out a sigh as if he couldn’t handle this anymore.

“Dorico Shiro.”

“Y-yes?”

“What exactly did you do in the Forest of the Heavenly Sea?”

“What? I didn’t do anything weird!”

Dorico Shiro jumped up from her seat and protested.

“I did exactly what they told me to! I corrupted Haewolsumo, destroyed the Forest of the Heavenly Sea, and seduced that old man Jark von Haibrunn!”

Of course, the corrupted Haewolsumo had been killed by Gaon’s sword, and accordingly the Forest of the Heavenly Sea was scheduled to be restored… but Dorico Shiro didn’t bother revealing this.

“Be-besides, they were the ones who told me to get close to Gaon in the first place!”

“…”

“I wasn’t acting on my own! Really!”

The others fell into silence for a moment.

The Immortals who had been together for hundreds of years. Though they only met face to face once every few decades, they knew each other’s personalities down to the bone after all those long years.

That’s why everyone here knew.

The fact that Dorico Shiro was terrible at lying.

If she was expressing such grievance like this, it was undoubtedly the truth.

“Fine.”

The Knight reluctantly nodded.

“Dorico Shiro, if you say so, then they must have had their reasons.”

“Finally you believe me! Phew!”

Only then did Dorico Shiro let out a sigh of relief and plop back down in her seat.

“So, is that all you have to say about the Thirteenth Sword Master? Don’t you have any information about what kind of person he is, how strong he is?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t have anything…”

Dorico Shiro, who had been recalling the memories of that day for a moment, answered.

“First of all, he’s strong. Incredibly strong.”

“…”

“He looks ordinary on the outside, but don’t be fooled. That’s deception meant to make opponents let their guard down.”

The coward muttered in a trembling voice.

“J-j-just how strong is he…?”

“Of everyone I’ve ever met, the strongest.”

“…”

“It was the first time I was subdued without being able to do anything.”

Pause-.

The air in the hall turned cold.

Though Dorico Shiro’s temperament was like that of a child, that didn’t mean her skills should be underestimated.

Because any opponent would crumble helplessly before her illusion techniques.

Even among the Five Nightmares, there was no one who could break through the illusion techniques that Dorico Shiro deployed when she put her mind to it.

But…

‘…Even this Dorico Shiro was subdued without being able to do anything?’

The Knight’s black sphere became quiet.

No organs including eyes, nose, or mouth revealed themselves. This meant the Knight was extremely flustered.

The Thirteenth Sword Master.

Gaon.

After killing Camillo von Taribas, he had defeated the Adversary in less than a month.

For those who had reached a certain level to engage in life-and-death battles, and to repeat fights of that caliber in just a month.

It was proof that his martial prowess had overwhelmed his opponents.

But not stopping there, to have even broken through Dorico Shiro’s illusion techniques…

‘…Does this mean he’s reached a terrifying level not just in martial power but also in mental strength?’

Having finished that thought, the Knight let out a hollow laugh.

“Dangerous.”

“…”

“A Sword Master whose mind and body have both reached the ultimate level… The more I hear about this, the more extraordinary this person seems.”

Dorico Shiro urgently interjected.

“He’s not dangerous! He’s my friend, you know? I’m sure he’ll get along well with you all too…”

“No.”

Snap-.

The Knight firmly cut off Dorico Shiro’s words.

“Dorico Shiro. I don’t know what you experienced with the Thirteenth Sword Master, but you mustn’t let your guard down against his two-faced tactics. They are also being most wary of him.”

“What? That can’t be…”

“Last night, they said this. That stopping the thirteenth seeker with just ‘our’ power would be insufficient.”

“…!”

Everyone made surprised expressions at the Knight’s words.

…That just ‘our’ power wouldn’t be enough.

Through that short statement, they realized what the Knight was trying to say.

“Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right.”

The Knight nodded and concluded his words.

“Following the Necromancer who gifted us all with immortality, a second 「Apostle」 will descend.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message : Causality is being twisted.〕

〔Hidden Message : The descent of the second apostle「#̷̢̑@̷̜̯̋̔&̷̼̐̔͆^̷̮̹̼̊̆!̶̝̓̂̈%̷̸̵̡̛̣̭͙̳̓̂̌̎̔̌̂#̵̍̌̕」is being accelerated.〕

* * *

Special Ward Corridor.

While medical staff busily came and went, Adelia stood guard in front of the door.

“…?”

Just then, she saw two people walking toward her from far away.

A tall woman and a short old man.

Who could it be? It was Selena Servich and Professor Biyolf.

Bow-.

Selena, who had approached right in front of Adelia, politely greeted her and spoke.

“Did you rest well, Miss Adelia.”

“Yes. And you professors…”

“Thanks to you, we also rested well. We haven’t had time to rest comfortably while doing professor work, so we slept well for once.”

Selena Servich continued speaking with a gentle smile.

“The matter is, an emergency response meeting is currently being held at our university. Regarding the ‘monster’ that was hiding in the underground labyrinth.”

The faculty and board of directors of the Magic Academy were shocked beyond words by the truth about the secret ritual that had continued for hundreds of years and its victims.

For a period of time rivaling the history of Wintershield itself, it was revealed that terrible things had been happening beneath their feet.

Nothing had been discussed in detail yet.

However, it was clear that fierce debates would arise over how to handle this incident that could deal a major blow to the Magic Academy’s reputation, whether to reveal the truth or cover it up.

“In that sense… would it be possible to meet with Lord Gaon? Since he is the most important witness for this meeting, it would be better if he could accompany us to the meeting.”

The reason Selena Servich wanted to bring Gaon to the emergency response meeting was none other than this.

To prevent the risk of the Shadow Sect’s existence being exposed to the outside world, his help was needed.

Above all, to convey the situation to the Shadow Sect’s associates within the Magic Academy, borrowing Gaon’s authority was the best option.

However, upon hearing Selena’s request, Adelia firmly shook her head.

“I’m sorry. Lord Gaon instructed me not to let anyone into his room for the time being.”

“…Pardon?”

Selena asked back with a bewildered voice.

“Why…?”

“I don’t know the detailed reason either. I only received orders to guard the door no matter what happens.”

“…”

This was an all too familiar command for Adelia.

A few weeks ago, after defeating Camillo von Taribas, Gaon had made the exact same request.

And…

─Guard the door. Until I come out, absolutely no one must be allowed in.

‘…From that moment on, Lord Gaon became explosively stronger.’

She didn’t know the detailed reason.

But wasn’t this a similar situation to that time?

So no matter how much a senior professor from Wintershield Magic Academy had visited, Adelia couldn’t let them into the hospital room.

“Hmm.”

Faced with Adelia’s firm attitude, Professor Selena and Professor Biyolf looked at each other.

“What should we do, Biyolf?”

“What else can we do? Is there any other method besides waiting here?”

“That’s true, but…”

Selena trailed off.

It was Gaon who had caused this entire situation. Naturally, he would have prepared countermeasures for what came after.

At least the Gaon that Selena had observed always possessed the foresight to see one step ahead.

‘…Rather than us stepping forward unnecessarily, following Gaon’s instructions would be the most rational choice.’

Having finished her judgment up to that point, Selena nodded briefly.

“Then let’s wait here until Lord Gaon is ready.”

Selena looked at Adelia and asked.

“Would that be alright, Miss Adelia?”

“Yes.”

Nod-.

Since there was no reason to refuse even that, Adelia bobbed her head.

Selena leaned against the wall and stood, while Professor Biyolf also took a position next to her and plopped down.

How much time had passed like that?

Creak-.

Just as Professor Biyolf began nodding off, the sound of the door finally opening could be heard.

“Ah, Lord Gaon.”

Adelia straightened her back and greeted him.

Seeing this, Selena and Professor Biyolf also jumped up from their seats.

The door opened completely and Gaon revealed himself.

Behind him, the figure of a young man with pinkish hair could be faintly seen.

Gaon looked at the three people standing before him with a calm expression.

“You were all here.”

* * *

When I came out the door, everyone was waiting for me.

It’s fortunate that I don’t need to go looking for them one by one.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Professor Biyolf’s eyes sparkled.

His gaze was fixed on Strawberry Latte, who was visible through the gap in the door.

“That person is…?”

Since he was unconscious when The Adversary was performing the ritual, it seems he’s seeing Strawberry Latte’s face for the first time.

I gave him a brief answer.

“Someone The Adversary was trying to use as a sacrifice.”

“Oh?”

Excitement instantly spread across Professor Biyolf’s face. It was as if he had discovered a precious treasure.

He muttered to himself.

“I don’t know where he popped out from, but he’s someone with truly excellent magical talent. I’d like to have a conversation with him…”

Swish-.

I left Professor Biyolf’s muttering behind and stared intently at Selena.

Then she began rattling off the reason for seeking me out.

“The Magic Academy is in great chaos because of the monster. An emergency response meeting has been convened, and we would very much like Lord Gaon to join us.”

Selena continued to explain the current situation at the Magic Academy after that.

Various stories were exchanged, but the main point could be simply summarized as this.

‘…She means she has no confidence in cleaning up this mess herself, so she wants me to take responsibility.’

It was somewhat annoying, but I agreed for now.

Anyway, participating in Wintershield Magic Academy’s emergency response meeting was part of the plan.

I needed to get acquainted with several named NPCs there as well.

“Then let’s move to the meeting hall right away.”

Selena took the lead and walked, while Adelia and I followed behind her.

Professor Biyolf also reluctantly followed us.

Even while moving his feet, his lingering gaze was still fixed on Strawberry Latte.

‘There’s no need to make an effort to become a graduate student.’

Having caught Professor Biyolf’s eye, Strawberry Latte was now destined to be kidnapped as a teaching assistant even if he just stayed still.

Step, step-.

I looked around while walking down the corridor.

The atmosphere at Wintershield Magic Academy was quite different.

The students and instructors had sensed the strange atmosphere, but it seemed they didn’t know exactly what had happened yet.

After passing through the long corridor like that, we finally arrived in front of the meeting hall.

In front of the heavy wooden door protected by layers of magical barriers, Selena stopped walking.

“Inside here, all the high-ranking officials of the Magic Academy are gathered.”

Selena, who had been staring at me intently, made a request with a somewhat anxious voice.

Was she worried that I might do something foolish?

“…Please, I beg of you, Lord Gaon.”

I nodded silently.

Creeeeak-.

The door opened.

We entered the circular meeting hall with its solemn atmosphere.

A space with high ceilings and ornate chandeliers. About a dozen people sat around a round table.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward me in unison.

“Ahem!”

Then, an elderly man who appeared to be the oldest among them spoke up.

With a somewhat displeased expression.

“…Are you the rumored Thirteenth Sword Master?”

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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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