〈 Chapter 157 〉 End of Swordsmanship
*
I was a little late.
I hesitated to take the Awakening Pill.
And thanks to that, Elsie was already in a state beyond her limit.
‘Elsie, you did well.’
As I took the sword that was supporting her, Elsie collapsed.
She had been holding on solely with mental strength, just before reaching the brink of death.
Well, if she wasn’t going to fight, I’d rather her rest deeply like that.
‘From here on, I’ll do whatever it takes.’
With both hands gripping the Royal Sword, I glared at the 72nd Demon King before me.
A massive figure with appropriately huge wings and thick black scales.
It perfectly resembled a dragon.
And I had seen this guy before.
It manifested at the end of the third trial and devoured the relics stored in the Church Headquarters, thus reaching Awakening.
But thinking back, that place was one of the devices indicating it was a trial.
‘Of course, absorbing a whole Royal Sword is slower than absorbing a lot of weaker relics for his Awakening…’
This guy wouldn’t give up the Royal Sword.
Above all, he was obsessively clinging to becoming the ‘real princess.’
Therefore, I could use the fact that he would keep Elsie alive, wanting to show that he was becoming the ‘real princess’, as part of my strategy.
‘And Elsie executed that strategy well.’
She snatched the Royal Sword, and while the situation worsened as he finished awakening, he still seemed to be suffering from the aftermath of having lost the Royal Sword.
If that’s the case, it might be worth a shot.
‘I have a plan.’
Just then, the guy said to me.
– Chattering like this with the enemy right in front of you.
As if he was saying he had shown mercy.
But I knew.
“Well, you must have recovered quite a bit in the meantime.”
At that, his body trembled.
I seemed to have provoked him.
– But what can you possibly do with that sword?
He pointed at the Royal Sword I was holding.
I calmly responded to him.
“I can use it.”
– Use? Are you just talking about swinging it around?
“I guess I was unclear.”
I corrected him.
“Activate.”
Then, light began to flow from the Royal Sword.
That was thanks to the [Authority of the Royal Family (Small)] that I had inherited.
Moreover, the trait [Inheritance Suitability] of the [Emblem of Inheritance] assisted me, even though I shouldn’t have been able to activate the Royal Sword at all.
– You…
The 72nd Demon King, taken aback for a moment, soon realized the truth.
That this was my limit.
– What? You can’t properly activate it?
“Not yet.”
But I still had one more card up my sleeve.
It was the skill I received as a reward for the trial from the God of Connection.
I had never applied it to a 5-star relic, so I wasn’t sure.
[Sublimation]
Increases the rank of a skill or trait for a certain period. You lose part of your life as a cost.
For someone like me, who relied heavily on inherited skills, Sublimation might be the most useful skill.
Of course, the penalty was quite severe.
Losing life.
I couldn’t feel how much life I lost each time I used it yet.
But I could taste blood in my mouth and feel a bit of fatigue; it was certain that it didn’t hinder my fight right now.
So, I decided to use it actively when needed.
‘Sublimation.’
I tasted blood in my mouth.
At the same time, I felt the Authority of the Royal Family embedded deeper within me.
The 72nd Demon King seemed to have noticed it too.
– What the hell is that…!
“Activate!”
At that moment, light burst forth from the Royal Sword.
It was certainly responding.
In contrast, my consciousness began to twist.
“Ugh!”
The light saturates my entire mind.
It felt like my head would burst from the piercing and painful light.
And as the light that filled my head flickered and withdrew, a dull pain and emptiness clouded my consciousness.
‘This is…’
It hurt.
No matter how much I had raised the rank of the [Emblem of the Royal Family (Small)] with Sublimation, it still wasn’t enough to fully handle the 5-star Royal Sword.
Then an unimaginable pain began to surge in my head.
(What is a king?)
The echoing question began alongside the light.
As the light faded and surged back, that echoing voice followed.
Each voice was different.
As if the thoughts contained within the sword were speaking to me.
(I did not want to be a king.)
Or perhaps this was just someone’s lament.
(Why did the God of Light choose us?)
My head felt as if it would explode.
It was an intense rejection, as if not letting go would kill me.
(Why must only the legitimate Leim Royal Family be the king?)
Nausea washed over me, but since my stomach was empty, only a watery liquid came up.
(Because my hair was golden like the sun?)
(Just for that reason?)
(There needed to be one who could lead on behalf of everyone.)
In an instant, multiple voices began to intertwine in my mind, creating a mess.
The sword’s flickering light also became increasingly unstable.
Seeing me in such a state, the 72nd Demon King sneered.
– It’s a sword that can’t be used without the Emblem of the Royal Family! You’re no different from me!
Not yet.
There was still more I could do.
Compared to the pain Elsie had endured until now, this much was bearable.
‘Shut up, all of you.’
I spoke to the echoing voices in my head.
‘Yes, I have no qualities to become a king.
The king will be Elsie.
But…
‘Libero said.’
The end of swordsmanship lies in the will.
‘The strike I’m about to wield includes Elsie’s will.’
Her will as a king to protect the kingdom.
That was contained within this sword.
‘So please, just help me once.’
At that, all the voices I had been hearing went silent.
Simultaneously, the sword lost its light.
But soon, a voice emerged.
(Can you truly handle her will?)
It resembled Elsie’s voice, a woman’s voice.
I responded.
‘Of course.’
Then, other voices began to follow.
(Don’t think it’ll be easy.)
(You may not be able to handle it with your body.)
Whether I can or can’t handle it is my decision to make.
And with Elsie dying in the current situation, that criterion was singular.
As long as I didn’t die.
(If you truly think so.)
(And for the kingdom.)
(I permit it.)
At that moment, tremendous light began to burst forth from the sword.
It was a different light than that of the Emblem of Inheritance.
But within that surging golden light, there was certainly a will to protect the kingdom.
“See, it works.”
At that, the 72nd Demon King shouted in shock.
– How could you…!
Feeling that the situation was dire, the 72nd Demon King began to gather breath at his mouth once more.
I prepared to slash at him.
In the current circumstances, it would be quicker for him to unleash his breath than for me to reach him.
Thus, I had to make the most of Libero’s swordsmanship and instantly cut him down right here.
But…
‘The Power of the Wind doesn’t work.’
It was too heavy, perhaps due to its greatsword form.
Because of that, it was difficult to achieve enough acceleration with the Power of the Wind.
And without that, I had never tried to implement Libero’s swordsmanship.
Honestly, unlike Libero, I didn’t believe in such things as ‘karma’.
In the end, no matter how hard I tried, there were limits.
So I thought that just as I imitated using the Power of the Wind, Libero must have had a different method.
But…
‘There was none.’
He was trying to cut something he couldn’t cut.
To do that, he transcended space and time.
Libero could leap through time and space with just his sword.
However, legend said this about his sword.
‘In the end, chaos could not be cut.’
But there was one fact the legend did not mention.
His sword was not finished yet.
‘The end of swordsmanship lies in the will.’
I inherited his will.
At the end of the strike I wielded, was the end of his swordsmanship.
If his will truly passed onto me, then the strike I was going to wield was just as if it were his sword.
‘So… I will borrow your power.’
I took my stance.
‘I’ll protect the kingdom.’
With that single determination, I swung the Royal Sword with all my might.
I didn’t know the tricks, but I tried to make it as similar to his strike as possible.
Cutting through chaos, containing his will to protect the kingdom.
And at that moment, for some reason, I saw Libero’s figure.
He was shimmering before me, wielding his pitch-black sword like a phantom.
No, perhaps it was just a mirage.
Yet one thing was certain; the breath that was about to reach me was suddenly halted.
Though the breath was stopped, the Royal Sword continued to move.
Thus, Libero’s swordsmanship, which sought to cut the impossible, transcended time and space in that moment…
And spread throughout the Leim Kingdom 500 years later.
(This swordsmanship is…?)
A voice emerged from the brightly shining Royal Sword.
That was probably the voice of the Nameless King.
In response, Libero’s apparition spoke.
(You took long to arrive, having come to cut through chaos.)
The sword slash tore through the 72nd Demon King.
Kraaak!
With the light blazing like the sun, the 72nd Demon King was obliterated into pieces.
But my gaze wasn’t on him.
‘Libero?’
Particles of light shimmering splendidly.
That form was undoubtedly Libero.
And next to him stood a woman.
‘Nameless King?’
As the particles of light gradually lost their form and scattered, they enveloped me.
It was a warm light, reminiscent of the light Elsie created during the third trial.
The lights passed by me, flowing into the Barrier Stone of the Leim Kingdom, which was within a magical barrier.
The Barrier Stone seemed to radiate even brighter.
‘What just happened…’
It was too clear to be a mirage or an echo.
But the now silent White Tower was engulfed in stillness.
No trace of miracles or echoes remained.
‘This isn’t the time to think about that.’
There was no time for such sentiments.
Elsie’s condition was critical.
“Elsie, are you alright?”
Elsie had lost consciousness but thankfully was still breathing.
I carried Elsie on my back.
And hurriedly began to exit the White Tower.
“Just hang in there a little longer.”
*
