The Swords I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 21

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

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Chapter 21. Anomaly (1)
I find myself compelled to discuss the intricate tapestry of global affairs.
Once, I had the most to say about the United States, but now South Korea and the United States have become eternal brothers.
So this time, my discourse turns to our closest neighbor: Japan.
Years ago, an A-rank Hunter who had been raiding Gates alongside Patriot died in a drunk driving hit-and-run.
Outside the Gates, even Transcendents were merely human, and no A-rank Hunter could withstand a car hurtling at 200 kilometers per hour while intoxicated.
―A-rank Hunter Lee Jung-shin, who had sacrificed himself for the nation and cleared Gates, died in a drunk driving hit-and-run. What kind of bullshit is this?
A-rank Hunter Lee Jung-shin was a benevolent soul who had donated every mystery he obtained to the nation.
His death triggered Patriot’s rage.
Patriot made a declaration.
―All drunk drivers shall be executed!
Patriot summoned [Constellation: Yi Sun-sin] and his aircraft carriers to Gwanghwamun Plaza.
Twelve aircraft carriers soared into the heavens and deployed unmanned drones across all of South Korea.
From then on, every citizen was monitored.
Humans are far more foolish creatures than one might think.
Not long after Patriot deployed the unmanned drones, drunk drivers began appearing in droves.
The drones in [Stealth] mode remained invisible to the naked eye, and Patriot’s outbursts were hardly infrequent occurrences.
【On June 6th, thirty-six criminals convicted of drunk driving will be executed. The executions will be carried out by beheading at the scaffold in Gwanghwamun Plaza, presided over by Constellation Swordmaster Cheok Jun-kyung.】
【Patriot has declared that he shall thereby appease the spirit of A-rank Hunter Lee Jung-shin.】
Yet as time passed, the publicly executed drunk drivers remained vivid in the people’s memory.
【A miraculous occurrence! Through Patriot’s guidance, drunk drivers have vanished from all of South Korea within half a year!】
During those six months, the pseudo-religious sect Gaecheonji cultivated the Red Sea.
Before long, the Red Sea overflowed, and its masterminds fled to Japan.
There, they opened another Gate.
【The lava Gate at Mount Fuji is overflowing, spreading volcanic ash across all of Japan! Lava is melting entire cities!】
The fact that the culprit was Gye Man-hwi, the patriarch of Gaecheonji, was kept secret.
However, the Japanese government privately conveyed a message to our government.
―You take responsibility!!!
South Korea, already estranged from Japan since Patriot’s bombing incident, found itself in an extraordinarily difficult position.
It was at this juncture that the current President Lee Seok-hyun entered politics on Patriot’s recommendation.
―How pathetic! Why should I help those Japanese bastards who once invaded South Korea? Go ask those Yankees you’re so fond of!
Patriot delivered every word of this statement at an official press conference.
Patriot was a genuine patriot with deeply anti-Japanese and anti-American sentiments.
One might say he was the very embodiment of South Korean supremacy made manifest in reality.
―In any case, the problem is the pseudo-religions, right?
Patriot interpreted the Japan problem in his own way, concluding that “pseudo-religions are the problem in South Korea!”
After that, Patriot began exterminating pseudo-religious sects across all of South Korea.
【Two thousand three hundred and forty-one members of the leadership of the pseudo-religious sect Children of Jesus await their turn before the guillotine. Observe that endless line!】
Patriot placed great importance on the people’s right to know, so he ensured that every criminal he captured was brought to the execution platform.
He even expended vast mysteries to create a [Lie Detector] so that no innocent victims would suffer injustice.
【Pseudo-religions have disappeared from South Korea!】
Over 50,000 people died in the Patriot pseudo-religion incident.
The situation was so severe that the Japanese government resolved never to allow Patriot to set foot on their soil.
【Japanese Government Declares Independent Control of Mount Fuji Lava Gate!】
In truth, Japan could not control the Gate Break.
Their real intention was to prevent a madman who had publicly executed 50,000 people from ever stepping foot on Japanese land.
It was an execution so terrifying.
Public opinion in our country?
—Those pseudo-religion bastards. They brainwashed struggling people and worked them like slaves—serves them right!
—My mom gave so much money to those assholes… they said I’d become an Awakener and made her do all sorts of ridiculous things―.
This was when Patriot reached his peak.
Twelve years ago, after the first Gate incident, the world rapidly collapsed.
In that chaos, pseudo-religions flourished.
They committed heinous acts, and their victims bore wounds that could never be healed.
How many victims had accumulated over those twelve years?
—My mom’s treatment is progressing well thanks to Patriot’s sponsorship. Patriot is covering all the victims’ medical expenses.
Using all the assets confiscated from the pseudo-religious cult and Patriot’s personal fortune, a massive rehabilitation hospital powered by [Mystery] was built.
The hospital was named Jung-shin Hospital, after the late Hunter Lee Jung-shin.
Patriot is someone who performs genuine good, yet fails to maintain proper boundaries.
‘Why did he tell me all this?’
Manager Kang Mu-jin gave me this information before I entered the raid.
To summarize in one line: ‘The hidden history of Japan’s Mount Fuji Lava Gate.’
Stories I heard without any explanation.
Yet I think I understand the reason.
‘Perhaps…’
My objective is the scabbard of the Aga Sword.
To obtain it, I must go to Japan and eliminate Gye Man-hwi, the cult leader of Gaecheon Faith.
In that process, there’s a high probability I’ll directly handle the Mount Fuji Lava Gate, which would benefit Japan.
‘I solve Japan’s great calamity?’
That means Japan’s national power will rise.
The three Japanese Transcendents bound to Mount Fuji will gain their freedom.
That becomes a justification for Patriot.
‘Patriot will treat me as a traitor to the nation.’
Anyone who benefits Japan is a traitor in his eyes.
That’s Patriot’s logic, but…
‘Do I care?’
I don’t concern myself with such things.
All that matters to me is the scabbard of the Aga Sword.
‘How can I endure without the scabbard.’
In all my attempts at [Sword Cultivation], the scabbard has never once appeared.
In other words, this is essentially a perfect new item of sorts.
‘I must grow strong enough that he cannot do anything to me, even if he considers me a traitor.’
I drew my sword.
And thus, I headed toward 【Gwigok】, the colossal anomaly deemed the most ominous in South Korea.
Gwacheon City.
A sinister world swallowed by the phenomenon of anomalies.
And….
—Damn it, ever since that Gwacheon mess started, screams keep echoing from Seocho District.
—I’m having suicidal thoughts.
—If it weren’t for the barrier Si-woo cast, things would’ve gotten really bad.
—Yeah, people just get the urges and nothing more.
—Ah, truly GOD!!!
Gangnam, or more precisely, Seocho District directly above Gwacheon—the primary culprit behind the plummeting land values.
This is a problem that cannot be solved.
Gwacheon, or rather 【Gwigok】, has no Gate.
—Ep. 09 Anomalies
Gwacheon City, Gyeonggi Province.
Gazing upon the city reduced to ruins by Patriot’s bombardment, my feelings were peculiar.
As if the world itself had come to an end.
Ssssssshhhhh——.
A violet mist scattered its desolate aura, and grotesque entities appeared from all directions.
Kiiiieeeeee——!!!
A chilling scream pierced the air.
Something resembling a human figure appeared within the mist, then vanished.
That scream and the shadow of the humanoid drifting through the mist—these are the very origin of the name 【Gwigok】.
‘Gwigok-seong.’
It refers to the mournful cries emitted by spirits, a traditional anomaly passed down through South Korean folklore.
This Gwigok is similar to the phenomenon.
Some call it a spirit.
‘Regardless, it’s still an anomaly.’
But I simply call it an anomaly.
The government designated all amorphous entities emerging from Gates as anomalies, and since I was a civil servant, that terminology was more familiar to me.
Whoosh—.
I crossed the city’s boundary.
The interior of the city, devastated by bombardment, became starkly visible.
Not a single building remained intact; all that could be seen was the violet mist and the shadows of humanoid figures drifting within it.
‘So Patriot really does pay considerable attention to this place, doesn’t he?’
According to legend, Gwigok-seong is a kind of ill omen.
It brings misfortune upon those who encounter it, or devours people entranced by the spirits’ cries.
Beyond that, there are even traditions claiming it portends the nation’s ruin—such an ominous thing it is.
―The nation will fall? I absolutely won’t allow it!
Those words struck a chord in the Patriot’s heart.
Originally, the Patriot would conduct bombing raids once a week to drive out the ghosts and mist plaguing Gwacheon City.
However, such measures are currently absent.
As expected, the internal situation was dire.
Kiiiiiiiii———!!!
All directions were filled with screams.
A chilling wail that even competent A-rank Hunters struggle to endure―one that induces suicidal impulses.
And this is the aftermath of a Gate breaching reality.
‘But there’s no Gate here.’
A Gate Break phenomenon without a source.
Literally, only a transcendent being could resolve this.
And such amorphous calamity is excellent nourishment for my Fifth Sword, Iris Ruzbella.
【Ah, Master. Such a feast for this girl!!!】
Iris Ruzbella is a sword with the nature of an extreme demon.
The closer what she absorbs is to demonic essence, the greater power she obtains.
‘Not yet.’
I gripped the Aga Sword and ventured deeper into the city.
There was something I needed to verify.
Ssshhk―.
A grotesque form materialized to block my path.
Eyes devoid of pupils, torn wide open as if about to split.
Tears of blood streamed from the hollow sockets.
A ghost as tall as Jesus, with a twisted body reminiscent of a zombie.
Kiiiii――.
The ghost’s wail―a sound that drives even competent A-rank Hunters to madness―struck my ears at close range.
Yet I remained unmoved.
‘Compared to the demons Iris commands, this looks rather docile.’
By feeding her these creatures, and indeed, feeding her the entirety of the world itself, I raised my Second Sword, Iris Ruzbella, to the very end of growth.
How many sinister things did I witness while nurturing her?
Swish―.
I raised the Aga Sword and aimed at the ghost.
Without hesitation, I cut it down.
Black and white spiraled―.
[One Annihilation, horizontal slash]
Reinhardt Euclid’s transcendent technique manifested through the Aga Sword.
A rift tore through the void.
Because the balance of good and evil was shattered, the white aura grew stronger―and this proved far more advantageous for slaying such grotesques.
Splurch――!!!
The ghost, drawn into the sword mark carved upon the void, let out its final wail.
As the rumors suggested, the ghost had died in a truly horrific manner.
Kiiieeeee——.
Even as it died, it screamed and sprayed blood in all directions.
They said it was traumatic enough to leave lasting scars, but I wasn’t so sure.
Compared to Iris Ruzbella’s demon that devoured everything alive, this was nothing.
My attention was focused elsewhere.
‘The empty space is rippling in an odd way.’
The aura of [Chaos].
For now it was still classified as a ‘tendency’, but as it grew, the designation would change to ‘aura’.
Understanding the nature of this chaos was my highest priority as the [Sword Master].
‘I still don’t understand it well.’
Instead, I sought something else.
“Iris Ruzbella, can you sense the Gate?”
【Master, this girl cannot perceive anything. Alas! If only I could consume more blood and unlock my power, I could be of greater aid to you….】
Iris Ruzbella spoke in a voice filled with remorse.
Her voice sounded far younger than what I’d heard in [Sword Cultivation], but since I couldn’t see the [Sword World] myself, I figured it was just my imagination.
Regardless.
I refocused on the essence of the matter.
“If strange phenomena occur without a Gate… then it’s that, right?”
【Ah yes, a harbinger! This girl thinks the same!】
In [Sword Cultivation], a ‘Black Gate―Abyss’ appears.
And the Abyss announces its coming to the world before revealing itself.
‘The reason Patriot hasn’t cleaned this place up must be because of the Black Gate.’
The 【Gwigok】 bearing the sign of national destruction.
A Gate that Patriot should have destroyed long ago.
Yet here, no Gate had appeared—only the phenomena remained.
‘I need to understand the changes between reality and Sword Cultivation.’
I alone in this world possessed such information.
If the conditions for the Abyss―Black Gate to appear were the same….
‘Thousands of deaths, maintained for two years now.’
A Black Gate would likely appear soon.
And it would be quite a large one.
Its aftermath would be difficult to predict.
Once a Gate appeared, the situation would become far more complicated.
‘The United States took a month, didn’t it?’
That was information I’d heard from Jesus.
Over there, they were fortunate—the problem was environmental, so the harbingers were weak.
It hadn’t rained once in two years.
The Gate size was also small to medium.
By the way, the one who dealt with that Black Gate was the United States’ SSS-rank transcendent, ‘Dragon Master’.
‘Patriot will arrive a bit sooner than expected.’
With that thought, I meticulously ransacked this ghost realm.
All while slaying spirits along the way.
Szzzzap——!!!
【Delicious!】
I hadn’t realized it, but my Aga Sword could absorb even the residual essence of spirits clinging to its blade.
* * *
I had slaughtered countless spirits.
I fed them all to the Aga Sword.
As a result, I balanced the chaos’s morality ratio to exactly 50:50.
And thus, I―.
“Achieved enlightenment.”
【Ah, oh supreme Sword Master!!! This maiden is now convinced―.】
As I swung the blade, I grew more familiar with the Aga Sword.
Unlike the perfected Ego Sword, the Aga Sword and I needed time to grow closer.
Moreover, the Aga Sword still lacked a true sense of self.
That’s why it took longer.
‘Chaos is chaos in its truest form.’
As I became more acquainted with the blade, I could discern its precise capabilities.
Perhaps….
“Chaos can tear through the very fabric of space itself.”
Infiltrating Gates that haven’t yet manifested, or forcibly opening a door from within a Gate to reality.
Such attempts seemed possible.
【How could such a thing even be possible?】
I don’t know either.
But it feels like it will work.
‘The Aga Sword is my final blade.’
Surely, like the others, it possesses a distinct characteristic.
That characteristic likely relates to something concerning spacetime.
Whoooosh―.
I gripped the blade and focused.
When it became the Saint Demon Sword, the color of the blade shifted, but today it was particularly striking.
One side pitch black, the other pristine white.
Above it, a black and white aura spiraled upward in a helix.
I drew through empty space.
Szzzzzzzzack———!!!
A single slash, horizontal strike.
Yet with a distinctly different sensation.
‘I am cutting through space itself.’
Reinhardt’s Single Slash was evolving into a new technique, one born from me.
The enlightenment dwelling within me was to attune Reinhardt Euclid’s transcendent technique to suit the Aga Sword.
It was something like instinct.
If my Aga Sword truly possessed the power to tear through space?
‘I might be able to enter the [Black Gate] before it manifests.’
That was why I had been reserving the manifestation of [2nd Sword Iris Ruzbella].
Iris Ruzbella let out a sigh as she gazed at the fractured void.
【Ah… Master is giving this girl the most delicious thing!!!】
It seemed I had guessed correctly.
A pitch-black vortex appeared within the torn void.
Kiiiiiii——.
A chilling sound and an ominous sensation.
The form of the Abyss from the [Sword Cultivation] I knew.
What is called a Black Gate in this place.
I moved toward the Gate and murmured.
“Iris Ruzbella.”
The mightiest sword that destroyed the world.
The name of Iris Ruzbella.
[You have drawn the Last Empress of the World, Iris Ruzbella.]
Along with a distant sense of omnipotence, my world was engulfed in crimson blood.

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

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