The Swords I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 96

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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 96. The Approaching Calamity (1)
A black lamb cried out.
The bleating of the creature flowed into Seol-ah’s ears.
I heard it as well.
My emotions were turbulent.
‘Is it trying to find us by sound?’
Disturbingly familiar, yet—
Utterly abhorrent.
On the other hand, a welcome sound.
In Sword Raising, it appeared as a harbinger of an Outer God—a deity that overlapped with the Earth mythology I had mentioned before.
There too, the black lamb was—
‘A Dark Young.’
The offspring born of a deranged Outer God.
The black lamb itself was problematic, but the true threat was the Outer God that served as its mother.
An Outer God whose very name should not be uttered carelessly—an Outer God.
[Shub-Niggurath]
In Sword Raising, she was called by the epithet ‘the Black Goddess of Fertility.’
Furthermore, in cycles where the World Tree fell into corruption, there existed a peculiarity: she competed with the World Tree over the title of [Mother of the Earth].
The World Tree and Shub-Niggurath shared many similarities.
Especially with the corrupted World Tree.
‘Their essences are alike.’
The corrupted World Tree devoured everything and created a tainted world.
The Sword who encountered the corrupted World Tree most frequently was the Second Sword—Yulia Lanestia.
“Sword, the man-eating tree and the tentacles that spawn monsters are fighting recklessly!”
In certain cycles, occasionally—
The World Tree and Shub-Niggurath would clash directly.
The corrupted World Tree was a mad tree that transformed worlds into fertilizer.
Shub-Niggurath was a grotesque Outer God that mutated humans into monsters and twisted the ecosystem into abomination.
There were cycles where the two battled against each other.
Meeeeeeeee———!!!
When the World Tree fell to defeat, the black lamb consumed the entire world.
Conversely, when the World Tree triumphed, an ‘Outer God-Corrupted Tree’ was born, nourished by the Outer God as fertilizer, and brought the world to ruin.
In any case….
‘The black lamb is certainly the harbinger.’
For now, addressing the already-observed threat was the priority.
Iris Ruzbella, reaching the same conclusion, posed a question to Seol-ah, who knelt before the throne.
“Did you perhaps consume its milk?”
“Eh, when I was young? I, I don’t remember well….”
She interpreted the question as asking whether she had been nursed by her mother.
The President shared the same misunderstanding.
“W-well, Seol-ah grew up on formula…”
It was a somewhat oblivious answer.
Normally, when asked if one was breastfed, that’s the standard response.
The President and Seol-ah’s awareness was perfectly correct.
Of course, Iris’s question meant something entirely different.
“Hahaha! What an amusing pair.”
Iris laughed in exasperation.
The “milk” she spoke of was like a potion of “dehumanization” that the Outer Deities dispersed.
Gaining momentary omnipotence in exchange for eventually transforming into a monster.
Becoming the child of Shub-Niggurath.
“How intriguing.”
Iris’s eyes narrowed.
Despite her small, cute girl form, an aura of bloodlust emanated from her—
Like that of a predator about to devour its prey.
“Hahaha!”
A palpable killing intent filled the air.
For Iris, murderous intent was pure exhilaration.
‘Iris has always savored Dark Spirits as a delicacy.’
A Dark Spirit is a round, bulbous creature composed entirely of tentacles.
Their size varies from ten to fifty meters depending on nutritional state, and some exceed one hundred meters when all their tentacles are fully extended.
“Little girl, I’m hungry.”
Iris speaks to me.
She is the absolute being who killed and consumed everything in existence.
I cannot afford to provoke the Outer Deities yet.
However…
“Soon, let’s go eat lamb skewers.”
If my sister heard the bleating of sheep,
then a Dark Spirit may have already descended somewhere on Earth.
A spawn of the Outer Deities is acceptable.
That black lamb must be consumed the moment it’s detected.
Once Iris devours it, she’ll be capable of something truly entertaining.
“This one awaits with great anticipation.”
Iris grins widely.
Her short legs kick about in unbridled joy.
Then she turned her attention back to Seol-ah.
“Are you truly human?”
An ordinary person who heard the bleating of that black lamb.
That’s who Seol-ah is.
I couldn’t believe it either.
“…Y-yes, I am.”
Seol-ah answered Iris’s question in a trembling voice.
However, sensing that the situation was unusual, President Kang Mu-jin added his own words.
His passion for his daughter was excessive, but he was truly a good man.
“S-she’s my daughter! The child my late wife bore with love! A pure human being!!!”
Under normal circumstances, Iris would have snapped at him to shut up, but she glanced at me instead.
I nodded slowly.
A signal to let it pass.
‘Kang Mu-jin, Kang Seol-ah.’
Was there some hidden secret in the Kang bloodline?
It was absurd that an ordinary person could stand before Iris like this.
However, because I knew these two well, I had created this opportunity.
And as a result, I witnessed the impossible become possible.
“Raise your head.”
Iris seemed deeply interested in Seol-ah.
And Seol-ah felt the same way.
Whoosh—.
Seol-ah dares to raise her head before the Empress.
And then….
She opens her eyes wide upon seeing the young Iris.
“Oh?!”
Having kept her head bowed until now, this was the first time she had seen Iris’s face.
Seol-ah loved all things cute.
Therefore—.
“Oh… how adorable. Oh! I-I’m sorry.”
She praised Iris as cute.
‘Iris might dislike this….’
I recalled how Iris had just moments ago called her a “brat” and reacted sharply.
I felt somewhat worried, but what happened instead—.
“Thou possessest beauty equal to the goddesses.”
Iris praised another person.
Moreover, she said her appearance was exceptional.
It was a miraculous phenomenon I had never witnessed even once.
“Come closer.”
Iris showed interest.
Seol-ah gladly responded to that interest.
“Really?”
“I despise repeating myself twice.”
Carefully, yet confidently.
Seol-ah moved toward the throne where Iris sat.
Iris summoned a Demon, and Seol-ah sat upon it quite naturally.
“I beheld you through the Sword Master’s eyes. Truly, you know how to handle a Demon.”
“Haha, I heard you were Her Majesty’s subject… but you’re surprisingly docile and adorable.”
“You have a discerning eye!”
And so, a conversation between the women began.
“How can you be so cute?”
“Haha! Your taste is refined. I raised her exactly as the Sword Master desired.”
I was the one who crafted Iris Ruzbella’s beauty.
I’m talking about the real Iris Ruzbella, not this small child form.
The secret lies in nutrition and balance.
And consistent exercise, naturally.
Most exalted Empress of the deepest blood.
Supreme and awe-inspiring crimson goddess.
To perish buried in that rich blood—even the world’s destruction would be welcome.
She too received praises befitting any god.
Hymns like these even circulated about her.
But then…
“W-who desired her to grow that way?”
“The Sword Master, Shin Si-woo. Soon to be her master.”
My sister paused for a moment.
“Si-woo’s preference?”
“Indeed. She grew splendidly according to the Sword Master’s taste. That is how she came to witness the world’s end.”
My sister’s eyes turned cold.
She scanned the small Iris Ruzbella from head to toe, then shifted her gaze to me.
She regarded me with eyes as if looking at an insect.
This was a misunderstanding.
─Ep. 32. The Approaching Calamity.
Excluding the Patriot, everyone around me possessed high intelligence.
“I know well that Si-woo’s taste doesn’t run to little children like that.”
“…”
“So what you’re saying is, originally you raised her to be an extremely seductive and stunningly beautiful woman, but now she’s become this small child, right?”
The misunderstanding was cleared.
Yet my sister’s sharp words became a dagger that pierced me.
“Just joking∼.”
My sister chuckled softly.
But she maintained her gaze with a distinctly menacing edge as she spoke.
It was the merciful gesture of the caustic Kang Seol-ah, choosing to let this slide.
“But where did that pretty young lady go?”
“If you call her that in front of others, we’ll have a problem.”
“Come on, don’t you know beautiful women always prefer beautiful women most?”
My sister, who typically refrained from commenting on appearances.
Upon seeing Iris Ruzbella, I go mad.
‘Iris Ruzbella certainly has her share of interests.’
Beauty recognizes beauty, as they say.
Oddly enough, there was truth to it.
Both of them showed little interest in men whatsoever.
“So where did you go?”
“I returned briefly to the Sword Realm.”
Iris Ruzbella said she would prepare to eat lamb skewers, then returned to the Sword Realm.
Unlike when she vanished due to a penalty, a voluntary return meant she could come back whenever she wished….
‘It’s definitely become clearer.’
My swords are growing stronger.
It’s merely a trivial change—crossing into the present world and returning to the Sword Realm.
Yet when my swords become the standard, even that makes a difference.
“Lamb skewers?”
Lamb skewers.
My swords shared memories with one another.
The moment Muratan skewered a ‘black sheep’ on the [Skewer Sword] and roasted it became an enormous topic of discussion.
⦗Sword Master, you’re being a nuisance. That little demon and that foolish Saint keep pestering me to make skewers!!!⦘
Currently, Muratan is developing [Skewers].
He complained that materials were scarce and he could only use demons, urging me to summon him to reality as soon as possible.
⦗I don’t particularly care to see your ugly mug. I simply desire richer materials. The passion of a blacksmith, you might say.⦘
Yes, I’m sure that’s the case.
I let Muratan’s voice drift past and refocused on reality.
My sister glanced toward the window and asked me.
“Hey, lamb skewers… is the numbing spice flavor possible too?”
She had been checking the position of the Aircraft Carrier.
The phenomenon that emerges whenever South Korean citizens mention ‘Chinese cuisine’.
‘Malatang.’
I had eaten it a few times with my mother and father when I was young.
Now only traditional ancient Korean cuisine—things like jjajangmyeon—are legal, while Chinese dishes like malatang and kung pao chicken are all prohibited.
Subversive food, as it were.
“It depends on where you eat it, but it should be possible for the most part.”
“Ooh….”
Whether she’ll eat it even knowing it’s dark essence—lamb skewers—remains to be seen.
I deliberately refrained from mentioning that.
Once our idle chatter ended.
President Kang, who had been lost in thought for some time, posed a question to me.
“That person… is not human, are they?”
President Kang Mu-jin showed no interest in any of the topics we had been discussing.
He had focused his attention on Iris Ruzbella’s very existence.
Children follow in their parents’ footsteps, they say.
It seems my sister has only now become curious about that.
“Did a Sword transform into a person? Or did you turn a person into a Sword and then back into a person again….”
It was a question closer to the root than what the President had asked.
I pondered it carefully.
A solitary girl.
A cruel woman.
A contented empress.
Iris Ruzbella’s life was nothing but transformation.
Throughout all those changes, she existed as a singular, coherent person.
There were countless words to define her, yet I could explain her with just two characters.
She was both Sword and person.
And yet she transcended both, becoming an absolute being.
But still—.
“She was my closest friend.”
The companion of my childhood, after I became an orphan.
That would be how to describe Iris Ruzbella.
“A friend?”
“Can there really be friendship between a man and a woman….”
Both of them tilted their heads with complicated expressions.
Then my sister asked me.
“By chance, might I hear the name of that lovely friend?”
Iris Ruzbella.
My Sword, whose name had never been properly spoken aloud on Earth even once.
The Sword who was loneliest, yet found happiness in being with me.
Perhaps it would be possible before my sister and the President.
So I spoke.
“———.”
* * *
India, where the New Caste System had been established.
Brahmin: Transcendents—SSS-rank Hunters
Kshatriya: SS~A-rank Hunters
Vaishya: B―F-rank Hunters
Shudra: Guided Awakened
Untouchable: The Unawakened.
Though India’s class system had changed, the foundation of the nation remained the same.
A system over three thousand years old, rooted in Hindu doctrine, had become this new hierarchy.
And so—.
“Nngh.”
A man dragged himself across the floor.
Thud!
My head struck the ceiling, barely fifty centimeters high.
The dwellings of the Untouchables were cramped and suffocating.
The man, crawling like a beast, squeezed his body through what resembled nothing more than a tiny sewage opening.
That wretched aperture was the entrance to the Untouchables’ home.
Stepping outside….
Screeeech—screech—.
Figures hunched at the waist, crawling through the streets, came into view.
This was the life of the Untouchables—humans stripped of dignity, condemned to perform the ‘defiled’ labor that demanded they never straighten their spines.
The lowest caste: non-awakened beings too impoverished even to volunteer for ‘guided awakening’.
Their work was to collect contamination from the eroded zones.
Labor designed exclusively for the Untouchables.
——Mooooooooo!!!!!
Even reaching the workplace was a trial.
In India, there existed a creature called ‘Nandi’—a pristine white cow.
Commonly, it was called ‘Mother’.
The mount of Shiva himself, the supreme pinnacle among SSS-rank transcendents.
He habitually left the cow unbound, allowing it to roam freely across the lands of India.
Boom—!!! Boom!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The earth twisted beneath its hooves.
Mere humans were trampled to oblivion by the white cow, towering two hundred meters in height.
Yet all the Untouchables bowed in reverence to the white cow.
Even crushed beneath its feet, they ceased not their praises.
Sanctity and abundance.
And purity.
Connection to Shiva.
These were what the magnificent white cow symbolized.
That symbolism was genuine, and in recent times, the veneration of the white cow had only deepened.
——Mooooooooo!!!
Drinking the cow’s milk granted awakening.
It was common knowledge.
“O Mother!!!!”
Whether its cries had changed in tone.
Or that it possessed the troubling tendency to trample far too many humans to death.
Such questions were forgotten in the face of the milk’s miraculous efficacy—transforming Untouchables into awakened beings.
Mooooooooo———!!!
The white cow.
Bellowed with resounding force.

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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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