Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 90

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 90

Episode 90. Emergency Strategy Meeting (4)

As soon as Professor Biyolf’s final words ended, the conference hall was enveloped in complete silence.

The atmosphere had completely shifted to his side. Not missing this momentum, Biyolf continued speaking.

“Unlike you all, I am someone directly involved in this incident. I fought that monster that had been hiding underground for hundreds of years.”

His voice echoing through the conference hall was trembling slightly.

“I guarantee you this. Even if all the faculty of Wintershield Magic Academy had rushed in together, they wouldn’t have been able to handle that monster called The Adversary.”

“…”

“That thing wasn’t just a simple immortal, but a monster standing at the pinnacle of dark magic. If we had gone in by ourselves, half the faculty wouldn’t be here right now.”

Biyolf looked at Tordham sitting in the chairman’s seat.

“So rather than reprimanding the Sword Master, I think expressing gratitude should come first. Isn’t that common sense?”

“…Common sense?”

Tordham frowned.

“Say something that makes sense. How could expressing gratitude to someone who broke the rules be ‘common sense’…”

Bang-!

Biyolf suddenly shot up from his seat and slammed the round table hard, then growled in a low voice.

“You.”

Tordham’s face turned pale.

He looked much more shaken than when I had drawn my feather sword.

“Did you forget my personality, you fucking bastard?”

Instantly, the hall stirred.

Even though Professor Biyolf was famous for his fiery temper, no one seemed to have expected him to spew such profanity even in a meeting with everyone present.

“S-Senior.”

Tordham quickly changed his stance.

“E-even so, this is a meeting, so you should maintain some dignity…”

“Dignity? Is that something for you to say? And what senior! Since when have I been your senior, you bastard!”

Professor Biyolf berated him with no trace of dignity to be found.

“Stop being pathetic. Who do you think doesn’t know your scheme to use the Sword Master for this opportunity?”

“B-but…”

“Shut up! Such despicable behavior is a disgrace as a mage! Can’t you stop this pointless act right now?”

The authority of the elder mage suppressed all arguments.

Tordham ultimately couldn’t make any rebuttal and simply closed his mouth tightly before slowly sitting down.

“…”

Thud-.

Right. The reason Tordham became chancellor wasn’t solely due to his excellent administrative abilities.

The position of chancellor was one that had to shoulder numerous tasks and responsibilities.

That’s why Biyolf and several other senior professors had deliberately pushed that burden onto their junior.

‘In other words, he got stuck with the chancellor position.’

That’s why, no matter how much of a chancellor he was, he couldn’t stand up to a distant senior who had graduated from the Magic Academy a hundred years earlier.

After confirming that Chancellor Tordham had submitted, Biyolf let out a deep sigh and continued in a much softer voice.

“Phew, let’s hear what The Protagonist has to say first. There must have been a reason for urgently dealing with The Adversary even while breaking the treaty.”

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere in the conference hall had completely changed.

The mages who had been trying to tear into me just minutes ago couldn’t make a peep.

In that absurd situation, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

‘Wait, Selena.’

Why on earth did you drag me to this conference hall? If you wanted to establish discipline, Biyolf alone would have been enough.

‘This is really unexpected.’

I could have predicted that Professor Biyolf would defend me, but I never imagined he would come out this aggressively.

Was his trauma regarding Sword Masters beyond my imagination?

Or perhaps trust in me had formed during the process of subjugating The Adversary together.

‘Whatever it is doesn’t matter.’

Thanks to that, the effect was certain. After Professor Biyolf’s sudden outburst(?), the atmosphere in the conference hall had reversed.

The mages no longer tried to reprimand me. It was the moment when the initiative that Biyolf had seized passed to me.

‘Now it’s time to play the final card I prepared.’

There couldn’t be a more perfect timing than this to reveal the real purpose of my participation in this emergency strategy meeting.

Sheath-.

I put away my feather sword and placed my hand on the round table.

It was finally time to fasten the first button.

* * *

The atmosphere in the conference hall entered a temporary lull. With everyone’s gaze directed toward the Sword Master, Gaon opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“First, let me make one thing clear – I have never broken the treaty.”

“…?”

“The treaty has one exception clause. It states that entry into Wintershield’s Inner Tower is permitted for the execution of heretics.”

Tordham’s eyes narrowed.

“What nonsense are you… Don’t tell me you’re claiming there are heretics inside the Magic Academy?”

“That’s right.”

Gaon nodded.

“Those who worshipped the monster hiding underground, The Adversary, like a god are hidden throughout the academy. Even among the professors.”

The conference hall began to stir again.

Some professors exchanged meaningful glances, while others showed signs of wanting to rebel with angry expressions.

Tordham’s expression hardened.

“Do you have any evidence to support your claim?”

Gaon answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Who do you think built the underground facilities and altar of the Magic Academy? The passage connecting to the ‘Abyss’?”

“…”

“…”

Everyone who heard those words kept their mouths tightly shut.

The professors had already inspected the underground facilities before starting the emergency strategy meeting.

The scale was too large to consider that outsiders had come in to build it.

Moreover, maintaining such facilities secretly for hundreds of years didn’t make sense.

As Gaon said, unless there were informants hidden inside the Magic Academy.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Tension filled the conference hall.

Several professors exchanged uneasy glances.

Watching that situation, Gaon slowly continued speaking.

“Inside the Magic Academy exists a secret society that worshipped The Adversary and built and maintained the underground facilities. A group called the ‘Shadow Sanctuary’.”

Shadow Sanctuary.

As soon as that name was mentioned, the atmosphere in the conference hall instantly froze.

Some professors’ faces turned pale, while others wore expressions of disbelief. Even Professor Biyolf looked shocked.

Isaac Beriloff kept his gaze fixed on the floor without moving. Selena Servich looked at Gaon with an expression asking what his intentions were.

Swoosh-.

Gaon’s gaze, which had been scanning the mages sitting at the round table one by one, soon turned toward Tordham.

“Why are you feigning ignorance with that clueless expression?”

“….”

“When you yourself, sitting in the chairman’s seat, are a member of the Shadow Sanctuary.”

Tordham’s expression contorted.

“What kind of ridiculous false accusation…!”

“Chancellor Tordham.”

Thud-.

Right then, Gaon cut off the chancellor’s words.

Then he commanded in a voice that was utterly cold.

“Slam your head on the round table, and keep your mouth shut until I give you permission.”

Kuuuuung──!

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Tordham’s upper body bent forward and his head struck the round table. Like a puppet controlled by invisible strings, in a truly bizarre movement.

Trickle-.

A thin stream of blood that started from his forehead soon flowed down onto the table.

Gaon slowly rose from his seat. His face contained no emotion whatsoever. At his machine-like cold movements, the tension in the conference hall reached its peak.

Thud, thud-.

Gaon began walking along the round table.

Only the sound of his footsteps echoed through the silent conference hall.

The closer Gaon approached, the more rigid Tordham’s body became. Still with his face pressed against the table.

* * *

As I was taking my steps, whispers could be heard from various corners of the utterly quiet conference hall.

“Wh, what in the world is….”

“Wh, what’s happening? Could it be that he used 「Word Magic」?”

Most were professors with low seniority.

They could only wear blank expressions, unable to even gauge what had happened.

In contrast, the professors who seemed to have some experience… that is, the mages belonging to the 「Shadow Sanctuary」 all looked at me with eyes filled with terror.

They knew exactly what had happened to Chancellor Tordham just moments ago.

Wuung, wuuuung-!

The faint light seeping from the 「seal」 carved on my chest.

Due to the effect of absolute command, Chancellor Tordham had no choice but to obey my words without a peep.

The moment they realized I had become the new leader of the Shadow Sanctuary, all the mages belonging to the organization began looking at me with shocked eyes.

“Wintershield Magic Academy. The continent’s greatest academic institution and the center of magical research. Outwardly, it faithfully follows the teachings of the 「Masters of Mana and Mysteries」 but….”

I paused mid-sentence and stopped briefly in front of Tordham.

“Wintershield being infiltrated by the Shadow Sanctuary happened long ago. You can tell just from the fact that even the chancellor is a puppet.”

Slowly raising my head, I continued speaking.

“But I have no intention of condemning the Shadow Sanctuary. There’s nothing strange about pursuing transcendence through magic and attempting to reach divinity. Rather, it’s a value that those who walk the path of magic should naturally pursue.”

“….”

“The Shadow Sanctuary is not heretical. They simply tried to approach the Great Ones through different methods. Though they did give birth to tragedies like The Adversary in the process, we now face a much greater threat.”

No one dared to open their mouth.

They seemed unable to believe that such words were coming from a Sword Master’s mouth.

After all, Sword Masters were merely beings who faithfully carried out the commands of the Great Ones.

They weren’t in a position to discuss political interests or alliances between factions.

But….

‘…I’m different.’

Didn’t I say it earlier?

That I’m not a ‘typical Sword Master.’

In that sense, I planned to walk a completely different path from the existing Twelve Sword Masters.

If it meant survival.

And if it meant saving this world.

I was willing to dive into a world rife with politics, schemes, and all manner of machinations.

“The end is approaching.”

At those words, the air in the conference hall froze.

“To prevent the coming disaster, Wintershield, Middle Temple, and the Shadow Sanctuary must join forces. Even the Ruin Guild. Only when all the continent’s powers unite as one will we have even a glimmer of hope for victory.”

Everyone wore bewildered expressions at my words.

Naturally they’d be confused.

A seeker who values the will of the sacred Elders was talking about alliances with forces that were essentially the axis of evil.

But we can’t distinguish between good and evil alignments.

To prevent the world crisis that’s about to strike, humanity—and furthermore, all races—have no choice but to join forces.

Of course….

“I know this too. As long as the traditionalist faction exists in Middle Temple, they will never tolerate the existence of the Shadow Sanctuary. And they’ll absolutely never tolerate exchanges with the Ruin Guild either.”

…that process wouldn’t be easy at all. There were far too many obstacles blocking my plan.

But it doesn’t matter.

The knowledge of a 200th playthrough player slumbers within me.

Something only I, who sees through all the secrets of this world, can accomplish.

Having finished that thought, I opened my mouth again.

“My name is Gaon.”

The lengthy speech I’d given to seize control of the Shadow Sanctuary, Wintershield Magic Academy, and the mages belonging to both groups was finally reaching its end.

At last, the true game had begun.

Toward the true ending of Lost Elder that no one had ever seen, I would carve the path myself.

From now on, it’s my turn to set the rules and arrange the board. I will no longer be bound by the game’s constraints.

As if engraving this resolve in my heart, I declared before everyone.

“Before the end approaches, I will personally unite all the major powers of this world as one.”

“….”

“Even if it means eliminating Middle Temple’s traditionalist faction with my own hands.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————