Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 98

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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 98

Episode 98. The Calm Before the Storm (5)

“….”

Arwen silently faced his opponent.

Conviction was already dwelling in Jark von Haibrunn’s eyes.

It seemed his claim about identifying the culprit through Aether’s Retrospective Eye wasn’t mere boasting.

“How fascinating.”

Even so, Arwen didn’t lose his composure. He simply let out a chuckle and interlaced his fingers.

“Smuggling out sacred relics without proper procedures is an enormous crime.”

“….”

“Not only would it mean my political downfall, but the entire House of Goldhart could be expelled from the Noble Families without complaint.”

The air froze cold.

Suffocating silence filled the office, and wordless tension became invisible ropes binding them to each other.

Even so, Arwen continued his next words while maintaining his smile.

“Surely Hiverun Lord is well aware of this fact… so why haven’t you reported me, and instead come all the way to this family head’s office?”

Saaaa-.

Instead of answering the question, Jaque maintained a meaningful silence.

Various complex emotions could be seen intertwining across his coldly frozen face.

In that moment, Arwen could be certain. At least in this conversation, the initiative was his.

“Who did you hand the sacred relic to?”

At Jaque’s sharp question breaking the silence, Arwen obediently provided an answer.

“I gave it to The Protagonist.”

“…!”

Flinch-.

Jaque’s gaze wavered.

Sword Master Gaon.

The moment the expected name came up, Jaque’s expression could only become even more distorted.

“Just before the Sword Master left Middletemple, he requested the ‘Aether’s Retrospective Eye.’ He said it was urgent business, so there wasn’t time to go through proper procedures.”

“You think that serves as an excuse!”

Jaque flared up unnecessarily.

“Regardless of anything else, if you removed a sacred relic, you should have informed the other council members…!”

“Hiverun Lord.”

Swoosh-.

Arwen leaned forward and cut off his words.

Then he continued speaking leisurely with a smile in his eyes.

“Surely you haven’t forgotten? The sacred covenant The Protagonist made with The Great Ones?”

“….”

“I swear that all my future actions will follow this premise: I will save this world from its end.”

Right.

Indeed, who could forget?

It was the content of the covenant that Sword Master Gaon had spoken before everyone when the Sacred Inquisition was held a few days ago.

Arwen, who recited this without missing a single word, smiled brightly.

“Ignoring The Protagonist’s request would be tantamount to standing by and watching this world fall into ruin. Every single one of his actions is based on the premise of saving the world.”

“That’s….”

Clench-.

At Arwen’s continuing words, Jark von Haibrunn could only trail off.

Though he wanted to immediately drag Arwen away and hold a Sacred Inquisition, it was already a decided battle.

Even if a trial were held, from the moment Arwen brought up the greater cause, there would be no way to defeat him.

“Proper procedures are required to use sacred relics. Naturally, objects containing the authority of The Great Ones must not be handled carelessly.”

“….”

“But think about it, Hiverun Lord.”

“….”

“Would The Protagonist, who is bound by the covenant that ‘all actions are to save the world from its end,’ really request a sacred relic for trivial reasons?”

Jark von Haibrunn’s expression grew increasingly darker.

There was nothing wrong with those words.

That must have been why Arwen had maintained such a relaxed attitude all along.

‘Rather, I’m the one in crisis.’

The moment his deeds in the Forest of the Heavenly Sea were exposed, he would face not just political downfall but having to give up his very life.

“From the moment Hiverun Lord came to find me without officially reporting me, it’s already tantamount to confessing your own crimes. If you were innocent, you would have questioned my crimes first.”

This too was absolutely correct.

If Jaque had been innocent, he wouldn’t have come to find Arwen in this manner.

Instead, he would have reported Arwen for violating Middletemple’s regulations. If he had done so, he could have left some kind of stain on his reputation.

“But seeing that Hiverun Lord has appeared before me like this….”

Grin-.

Arwen smiled leisurely.

“You have something weighing on your mind and want a personal ‘negotiation,’ don’t you?”

“….”

A brief silence followed.

Before long, Jaque unconsciously let out a bitter laugh.

“Damn.”

He had to acknowledge what needed acknowledging.

“Even though you’re young, a family head is indeed a family head.”

Setting aside his ability to see through situations, Arwen’s skill in gradually tightening the noose through conversation was extraordinary.

“The Goldhart bastards are always sharp. Annoyingly so.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I don’t understand how someone like Adelia, who gives off such an innocent air, came from such a cunning family.”

“My innocent sister has lived a life distant from politics since childhood.”

Jaque let out a light laugh.

“Don’t take me for a fool, Arwen. Wasn’t it because Adelia was so pure that you deliberately excluded her from politics to protect her?”

“Ahaha.”

Arwen also wore a good-natured smile. Though it appeared endlessly natural on the surface, it was somehow an artificial laugh.

“Well, I won’t deny it. Hiverun Lord also has quite sharp instincts, no less than our family members.”

Thud-.

With that brief banter ended, the air in the family head’s office grew cold again.

Arwen’s face, which had been wearing a gentle smile, became expressionless in an instant.

“So… exactly what did you do?”

At Arwen’s pointed question, Jark von Haibrunn also no longer retreated and answered straightforwardly.

“I tried to make a contract with those bastards.”

“Those bastards being…?”

“Evil Gods.”

“…!”

Pause-.

For a moment, agitation flashed across Arwen’s expression.

His expression suggested he never dreamed Jaque would commit such an atrocity.

“Hiverun Lord, please speak precisely. When you say you ‘tried’ to make a contract…”

“It means I ultimately stopped midway.”

“…Phew.”

Arwen, who let out a sigh, rubbed his face with a dizzy expression.

“At least you didn’t cross the line. You almost crossed a river from which there would be no return.”

“I don’t think there was anything wrong with my actions.”

“…?”

Pause-.

Arwen’s brow furrowed sharply.

Regardless, Jaque continued speaking.

“Right now, aren’t there Sword Masters among us who have made contracts with those beings?”

A seeker who gained immortality by making a contract with the Evil Deities.

Heukgol (Black Bone).

Despite having contracted with the Evil Deities, he was the Sword Master with the closest relationship to Middle Temple.

This was evident from his recent visit to the Holy City to assist with the Sacred Inquisition.

“As you know, I’ve been stagnating for years. As one who walks the path of the sword, and as the leader guiding Middle Temple, I couldn’t accept the limitations placed before me.”

“That’s sophistry.”

Arwen said curtly.

“Don’t you think there’s something fundamentally wrong with Middle Temple’s pillar joining hands with the Evil Deities?”

Jaque shook his head.

“If it were for personal greed, then yes. But my attempt to contract with the Evil Deities was to use them as ‘tools’.”

“…Tools?”

“Yes. I planned to become a transcendent by borrowing the Evil Deities’ power, then return to the embrace of The Great Ones. It’s no different from the situation with the Black Bone Swordmasters.”

This time Arwen shook her head.

“The situation is clearly different from Heukgol. He walked that path under the revelation of The Great Ones. In contrast, you acted on independent judgment….”

“The old ways have declined.”

Jaque’s cold voice cut off the conversation. His eyes looking at Arwen were now burning with an incomprehensible obsession.

“Those were also the words that the Sword Master you supported spoke at the Sacred Inquisition.”

“….”

As Arwen was left speechless, Jark von Haibrunn continued his argument.

“I no longer intend to simply wait for The Great Ones’ judgment. Middle Temple has done so for hundreds of years, but having witnessed the result driving this world toward its end… I can no longer remain idle.”

Arwen let out a hollow laugh.

It was an absurd excuse.

“It seems you’ve been influenced by Reformist ideology in that short time, Hiverun Lord?”

Acting proactively without receiving revelation from The Great Ones.

This was the policy advocated by Middle Temple’s Reformist Faction.

But for Jaque, the leader of the Traditionalist Faction, to change his stance overnight and speak of this.

It was utterly pathetic.

Wasn’t he abandoning the beliefs he’d upheld for decades just to justify succumbing to the Evil Deities’ temptation?

“Well, thinking about it now, the Reformist arguments seem to have merit.”

“What exactly do you want?”

“….”

There had to be a reason why Jaque was defending the Reformists while abandoning the ideology he’d maintained his entire life.

Arwen asked directly to understand his intentions.

Jaque also didn’t beat around the bush and immediately stated what he wanted.

“Please speak well to The Protagonist and make this incident disappear. Then I’ll no longer be your political enemy and will fully support the Reformist Faction.”

“….”

“Think carefully, Arwen. If I’m executed in the current situation, it will only add more chaos to Middle Temple.”

It wasn’t wrong.

If Jaque were executed in this already chaotic world situation? Especially if it were revealed that the reason was succumbing to the Evil Deities’ temptation?

As he said, great turmoil would be inevitable.

Especially considering Jaque’s enormous influence on Middle Temple, Arwen had no choice but to be cautious.

Rather, quietly covering up this incident and gaining the support of House of Heibrunn might be the wiser decision.

After pondering briefly, Arwen reluctantly nodded.

“For now… I’ll have a conversation with The Protagonist.”

She didn’t know what past might be recorded in the holy relic Gaon had borrowed.

Still, she thought choosing a relatively peaceful path would be better than the extreme method of destroying the Traditionalist Faction.

Of course….

‘Whatever happens, I will unconditionally follow The Protagonist’s will.’

She only intended to have a ‘conversation’.

She had no intention whatsoever of attempting further persuasion or appeasement.

* * *

Arwen had anticipated one of two choices.

Either protect Jark von Haibrunn to maintain Middle Temple’s order.

Or accept Middle Temple’s chaos and fully expose his crimes.

But as they say, life is full of unexpected turns?

The situation flowed in a direction no one had anticipated.

Thud-!

The door opened roughly and urgent breathing could be heard.

The Butler stood at the doorway with a pale face, sweating coldly.

“M-Master! Something terrible has happened!”

“…What is it?”

Arwen’s voice was calm.

However, her eyes looking at the Butler trembled slightly.

Indeed, it was rare for the Butler to be this flustered.

“Here….”

Swish-.

The Butler extended a thick document with trembling hands.

The moment Arwen took the paper, her fingertips began trembling as well.

『Sacred Inquisition Summons』

『Defendant: Gaon』

『Charges: Forming an alliance with the Five Nightmares, activities as leader of the heretical sect ‘Shadow Sect’….』

“What on earth is this….”

Arwen’s voice cracked as she read the document’s header. After staring at the document for a long while, Arwen let out a hollow laugh.

“…I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even speak.”

Shaking her head, she continued.

“Who on earth accused The Protagonist of such charges? Are there really people who would believe such absurdity?”

“….”

“The Protagonist, who defeated Camillo von Taribas, formed an alliance with the Five Nightmares? And even operated as the leader of the Shadow Sect?”

“Th-that is….”

The Butler, who had been reading the situation, answered with a trembling voice.

“They say The Protagonist personally confessed to this.”

“…What?”

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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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