The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 177

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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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Chapter 177 68. Unexpected Ally (2)

 

Baku, who had finished the blood oath—no, the oath of manhood—guided Lumian to his dwelling. An open place was not suitable for discussing how to defeat the Son of the Demon God. A strict barrier was necessary.

 

“Actually, I can’t be completely certain we’re avoiding Sekaros’s eyes perfectly… but it should be better than where we were earlier. Even though I may not look it, I’m quite an accomplished mage, so I have some expertise in this area…”

 

“I trust you. You don’t need to explain if you don’t want to.”

 

Lumian nodded and spoke.

 

This was someone who had cut off his manhood—which could be called a man’s everything—to show his resolve. There was no way he could doubt the words of such a person.

 

‘Baku, was it… I can trust anything this person says. Even if he told me to jump into lava or stick my head into a monster’s mouth, I could follow him.’

 

Baku’s words carried more trust than friends with whom he had built thick friendships like Teoro, Bumer, and Cal Krone, and even more than Knight King Philip III, who had devoted decades of loyalty to him. Lumian obediently followed Baku’s guidance into a cave with various magical spells, and only after reaching the end did he speak.

 

“By the way, may I ask what circumstances led you to harbor resentment against Sekaros?”

 

“That’s not difficult to answer. He killed my older brother. No, perhaps he might still be alive… but even so, he’d be in a state worse than death. Ugh…”

 

Baku grimaced. It seemed pain was surging from his wound. Lumian, startled, jumped up from his seat and said,

 

“A-are you alright? If it’s difficult, you don’t need to force yourself to speak…”

 

“Ugh, it’s bearable. Sorry, but I need to lie down…”

 

“Of course. Of course. I’ll help support you.”

 

Lumian helped Baku with the devoted attitude of serving his own father. After lying down and showing a much more comfortable expression, he said thank you and sighed.

 

Then he slowly opened up about the story of himself, his sworn brother, and Seks.

 

“…That’s how it happened.”

 

“I see.”

 

Baku’s story was quite shocking.

 

The part about coming here to avenge his sworn brother Seks was understandable. He did briefly think, ‘What deep brotherly love, to sacrifice his manhood to such an extent! How admirable!’

 

However, the fact that Seks was actually the Previous Demon King and had been monitoring him 24 hours a day to strike at him was content he couldn’t help but be surprised by.

 

And the content about how, after discovering the secret that he was living a second life, Seks decided to abandon his duties as Demon King and overturn the plan to invade the Human Realm was even more shocking than that.

 

Lumian asked with a rigidly hardened face,

 

“Why on earth did he make such a decision? For the Demon King, who should be at the forefront of conquering the Human Realm, to give this up…”

 

“Didn’t I already say that earlier? It’s because of you. He didn’t want to harm you or your world, as you had suffered for so long and were finally finding happiness in life. That’s all.”

 

“That’s the part I don’t understand. You and your sworn brother are demons, while I am human…”

 

“Just because we live in different worlds, just because we’re different species, do you not understand a man’s heart? Do you not understand the pain of being castrated, the sorrow of virginity?”

 

Baku spoke with a serious expression. Intense light blazed from his wide-open eyes. Exposed to this, Lumian flinched in surprise and stepped back. Then he looked at him in the same way.

 

Silence flowed for a while. In the gazes they exchanged, an even stronger bond and trust bloomed.

 

Lumian bowed his head.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Don’t mention it. I know that even if you had been in the same situation as us, you would have made the same decision.”

 

Lumian nodded heavily.

 

It was true. Even between mortal enemies, there are lines that must be protected.

 

Seks and Baku had simply protected that line as men.

 

“But the being currently ruling the Demon Realm… the Son of the Demon God, Sekaros, thought differently from us.”

 

Crack—the sound of grinding teeth flowed from Baku’s mouth. Lumian also clenched his fists with a crackling sound, his face full of rage.

 

Demon King Seks and sworn brother Baku had protected a line that he had crossed.

 

The line that those two true men had protected—that bastard had crossed it.

 

This should not be allowed. No matter how much of a demon he was, he shouldn’t push forward with plans while holding someone else’s manhood hostage.

 

“…A bastard who committed acts that shouldn’t be done in either the Demon Realm or Human Realm.”

 

“Let’s definitely defeat him. To avoid leaving shameful history for future generations, let’s change what’s wrong to the right direction.”

 

Lumian and Baku clasped hands firmly.

 

At least in this moment, things like species didn’t matter at all.

 

Having confirmed the hearts of true men in this way, the two soon discussed plans for the future with serious expressions. Lumian smiled slightly at the much brighter future ahead.

 

However, it wasn’t a bright smile. Rather, emotions like bitterness and sadness were more deeply embedded in it.

 

The current harmony hadn’t come about easily. It was an alliance that bloomed from pain, one that could only be achieved because Baku had sacrificed his manhood.

 

Lumian decided to never forget this for the rest of his life. He decided to keep it as an eternal debt.

 

‘I’m sorry. And thank you, Baku.’

 

I will never let your sacrifice be in vain.

 

A strong aura rose from his body as he made this vow inwardly.

 

* * *

 

After Baku’s wounds had recovered to some extent, Lumian began taking action. He started sweeping away the 108 Clans of the Demon Realm one by one—clans that could be called Sekaros’s hands and feet.

 

Until now, this had been impossible because he couldn’t find traces of those bastards, but now it was different. Baku was truly an excellent mage as he had claimed, and he could detect about half of the barriers that high-ranking demons had painstakingly set up.

 

This meant that Lumian now had over 50 locations where he could cause havoc.

 

“H-how! This place!”

 

“It’s the Hero! The Hero has invaded!”

 

“Spare me! I’ve done nothing wrong!”

 

Boom!

 

“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”

 

A terrible scream echoed along with a violent shockwave. It was the voice of a high-ranking demon dressed in splendid clothing. And not just any high-ranking demon, but the head of the Ashen Skull Clan, one of the 108 Clans.

 

However, now he was nothing but a eunuch. Sticky blood flowed from his hands as he clutched his emptied center. A voice filled with anguish leaked out.

 

“You filthy bastard! How dare you bring such humiliation upon me!”

 

“Don’t you think about what you bastards did to me?”

 

“Th-that… it was unavoidable. I had no choice! I couldn’t disobey the words of the great Son of the Demon God, Lord Sekaros!”

 

A face full of indignation.

 

But Lumian still maintained a cold expression.

 

He asked in a voice like cold ice,

 

“Lies.”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t sense it from you. The hot heart that a true man should possess.”

 

“What kind of bullshit is that!”

 

The Head of the Ashen Skull Clan screamed as if wailing. However, Lumian wasn’t joking around. Right now, he could truly distinguish the heart of a real man.

 

Different species no longer mattered. Just as he had become able to read the hearts of the continent’s people through training in the Divine Realm, now he had become able to grasp the essence of male demons.

 

Therefore, Lumian’s following words could only be filled with conviction.

 

“There’s no need to make excuses. You definitely didn’t oppose or hesitate at Sekaros’s words—you actively agreed with them.”

 

“No! As I said before, it was an order, so I had no choice but to…”

 

Lumian didn’t listen to any more words. After destroying the Ashen Skull Clan, he left the place, leaving only cold eyes behind.

 

In the ruined landscape, only the castrated family head remained. With a hollow expression, he couldn’t pull himself together for a long time and continued to suffer.

 

Of course, not all heads suffered such a fate.

 

As mentioned earlier, Lumian had become able to roughly discern what kind of hearts male demons harbored.

 

Naturally, he could also pick out those who had shown reluctance toward Sekaros’s plan, and he showed a bit of mercy to such individuals. Instead of taking their belongings and giving them a miserable life, he cleanly took only their lives.

 

One month after beginning this massive attack on the 108 Clans.

 

Lumian had taken the manhood of exactly 35 heads and the lives of 16 heads.

 

The remaining ones couldn’t even sleep properly, worrying about when the mad Hero might appear before them and take away their precious things.

 

Even the ordinary citizens of the Demon Realm, who had nothing to do with this incident, couldn’t hide their anxiety about the current ominous situation. The entire Demon Realm was truly gripped with fear because of Lumian alone.

 

However, despite all this, the Son of the Demon God, Sekaros, did not reveal himself.

 

Baku spoke with an expression full of worry,

 

“Sekaros is more despicable than I imagined. Even though half the clans have been attacked, he still won’t show himself…”

 

“I expected as much. A bastard who would think of a curse of impotence wouldn’t personally step forward for his subordinates.”

 

“That’s true, I suppose. Sigh… I’m sorry, Hero. If I were more skilled, I could have identified Sekaros’s hideout…”

 

“That’s nonsense. The help I’ve received so far is more than enough.”

 

Lumian spoke with sincerity.

 

If not for Baku’s help, he would have withered away miserably without being able to do anything. Without even being able to take revenge on those bastards who agreed to the impotence curse plan.

 

Of course, the current situation where he couldn’t deal with Sekaros himself was regrettable beyond measure, but this wasn’t something to blame Baku for.

 

Of course.

 

“It seems… there’s no more hope.”

 

“…”

 

Regardless of Baku having done his best, it was clear that the current situation wasn’t good.

 

He continued speaking.

 

“There’s nothing more we can do. We’ve attacked every place we could attack, and yet Sekaros still hasn’t appeared. Meanwhile, Hero’s strength continues to weaken.”

 

“…That’s right.”

 

“Unfortunately, at this point, creating a dimensional rift to return to the original world would be more feasible than finding Sekaros’s hideout.”

 

“Is returning possible? I heard that subordinate has been interfering…”

 

Lumian asked, and Baku answered with a dark expression.

 

“It is difficult. Normally in the Demon Realm, creating a passage to the Human Realm wouldn’t be hard, but as you said, Hero, the current situation is…”

 

“…”

 

“Of course, we still have to try. It would be better than remaining in the Demon Realm like this, exhausting all our strength, then facing that subordinate’s counterattack.”

 

“Sigh.”

 

A sigh poured from Lumian’s mouth. Moisture also formed around his eyes. Just a little.

 

He simply couldn’t maintain his sanity. Before this immense sorrow he couldn’t resist, he thought.

 

He wanted to catch Sekaros.

 

He wanted to defeat that subordinate, break this ridiculous curse, and stand tall again. Thus becoming a real man, not just biologically male. Yes, he wanted to have sex.

 

But what was his current state?

 

It was utterly miserable. His initial vigor was nowhere to be found, and gripped by the helplessness of being unable to do anything, he was planning his escape.

 

Suddenly he missed Tania.

 

But he didn’t want to see her. Not in this state.

 

Nevertheless, at the fact that he had to return, at the grim reality that even that might be impossible, a teardrop finally fell from Lumian’s eyes.

 

“…”

 

Seeing his tears, Baku also became melancholy.

 

Though he had castrated himself for his brother’s revenge, though he had become a body that could no longer engage in acts with the opposite sex, his life was still much happier than Lumian’s.

 

‘At least I had my fill until now. But he…’

 

Drip drip. Tears flowed from Baku’s eyes as well.

 

They were tears of sympathy. Tears of pity. The clear but thick liquid flowing down contained his emotions.

 

And shortly after, a miracle occurred.

 

In Lumian’s energy center, immersed in sorrow, new aura began to rise.

 

Wooooooong!

 

It wasn’t the first time. It was a phenomenon he had experienced several times before.

 

Through Tania Eloise’s love.

 

Through the friendship of acquaintances including Teoro, Bumer, and Cal Krone.

 

And through the faith and wishes of the continent’s people. The noble power built up through the hearts of many who existed in the Human Realm.

 

Such a miracle manifested once again, based on the emotions of Baku, a being from the Demon Realm.

 

Enormous energy rose from Lumian Calard’s body.

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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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