Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Sword of the Sun
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"The method is simple. Come here, place your palm against mine, and close your eyes. Don't resist when I cast the spell."
"Got it."
Cheon-ho approached Leon, and Leon did the same. The two met in the middle, pressed their palms together, and closed their eyes.
And after a dozen seconds or so.
The moment Leon completed the incantation.
A shock enveloped his soul. It felt like being hit by a torrent of water, and when he opened his eyes, Leon was gone.
Silphian Plateau.
No, Mitra's spirit world.
There, on the distant草原, Mitra and Leon stood facing each other.
They were both familiar faces, yet they felt strangely unfamiliar.
For Leon, it was especially natural.
The Leon before him wasn't the giant he was now. He was a beautiful boy, only a head shorter than Cheon-ho himself.
The young Leon? Probably around the time of his first adventure. He knelt on the草原, looking up at Mitra. His eyes sparkled brightly.
And Mitra? In the form of a woman with golden eyes, she gazed down at Leon with a benevolent smile.
That was their first meeting.
The boy chosen as the hero of world salvation, encountering the holy sword.
The scene before his eyes shifted.
But every time, Leon and Mitra appeared the same.
Mitra encouraging Leon.
Mitra training Leon.
Mitra rejoicing in Leon's growth.
All familiar sights. But at the same time, unfamiliar. There was a strong sense that something was different.
It wasn't just because Mitra appeared as a woman with golden eyes, not as a slugman or a girl.
The difference lay in something more fundamental.
The relationship between Mitra and Leon.
It was different from his own with her.
To Mitra and Leon, they were master and disciple.
They were close enough to call each other by name casually, but a clear wall of teacher and student existed between them.
And it was only natural. Having viewed the memories in sequence, he could naturally understand.
It had been different from the start, compared to himself.
Leon was undoubtedly a genius in battle, but he wasn't prepared like Cheon-ho.
The Leon who met Mitra was an incredibly immature boy.
While Mitra didn't give Cheon-ho much guidance outside of hero skills, it was different with Leon.
She even advised him on everyday life skills like cooking.
Moreover, to Leon, Mitra was the holy sword bestowed by the gods.
A sacred sword spirit who could be called the highest-ranking angel.
It was inevitable that his attitude toward her differed from treating an ordinary woman.
Unlike Cheon-ho, who saw Mitra as a talented comrade or partner, Leon revered her as an object of worship.
With such a different start, the process naturally diverged as well.
They didn't meet often in the spirit world.
Even after growing close enough to speak casually, they only met when absolutely necessary.
"Hmm."
Cheon-ho focused on Mitra.
She still cried and laughed easily, with that lewd side to her.
But it was different from now. Definitely different. And Cheon-ho preferred the Mitra of now.
Mitra looked at Cheon-ho.
Since it was Leon's memory, their eyes couldn't truly meet, but Mitra smiled as if she were seeing Cheon-ho. Not the elegant smile she often wore with Leon, but a bright, childlike grin.
Another shock enveloped his soul.
Cheon-ho opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
It was satisfying. Quite a pleasant memory journey.
So Cheon-ho lifted his head with a smile, only to flinch. Leon's face before him was slack-jawed in shock.
"Uh, um, huh?"
It was what Leon finally spat out after blinking.
He looked like a foreigner in the grip of culture shock.
"U, uwang?"
Mitra's trademark.
But not to Leon. It was a side of Mitra unimaginable to him.
It wasn't just the uwang that was new to him.
Mitra loving to pillow her arms.
Mitra giggling in Cheon-ho's embrace.
Mitra pouting cutely, insisting she wasn't cute.
It wasn't just Mitra. Cheon-ho's attitude toward her was shocking too.
"Y-Yeah, as expected of another worlder."
To treat the world's mightiest and most noble holy sword like that.
No one from this world could even imagine it.
"Ahem."
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed for no reason, Cheon-ho cleared his throat, and Leon muttered a small uwang again.
The uwang shock must have been massive.
'What is this sense of superiority?'
He felt oddly good. Leon's gaze toward him seemed tinged with a bit of envy.
"A-anyway, Mitra seems to be doing well."
"Y-yeah, yes."
Silence flowed between them for a moment. And once again, Leon broke it first.
"Anyway, I get the gist. After my death, hundreds of years later, this world was invaded by something called the Demon God, and to counter it, the benevolent gods and angels summoned heroes from other worlds. You're one of those summoned."
"Yes, exactly."
"Huh."
Leon shook his head as if dizzy, then plopped down on the stone coffin.
It was a perfectly natural reaction.
The current Leon was the Leon from the time of the Aiter Empire's founding.
After nearly a decade of fighting to defeat the demon king and regain peace, to learn an even greater calamity awaited.
It would be weirder if he wasn't distraught.
Moreover, unlike Cheon-ho, who had glimpsed fragmented parts by compressing a decade of meetings, Leon had examined the story between Cheon-ho and Mitra in detail.
So Leon knew.
That the empire would fall and the imperial line would end.
"Sigh, sorry in advance. Just one curse. What a fucking shitty..."
He'd only just begun, yet to learn it all ends in ruin.
Of course, Leon hadn't thought the empire would last forever. But he hadn't imagined this kind of end either.
In the stories salvageable from the angel network, Leon was a perfect superhuman. But no perfect being existed in the world. Leon was human, with emotions.
"It might be belated, but... thank you. For freeing the last child of the imperial house."
Cheon-ho pursed his lips. He wanted to offer comfort, but no words came to mind.
"It's fine. It's the distant future, something unavoidable. And this is a bit odd, but... the mountain folk are my descendants too. I'm satisfied knowing they're thriving."
The official count of children Leon left behind in his lifetime exceeded thirty, nearing forty. Unofficially, far more, so even if the imperial line ended, Leon's blood endured.
Of course, it wasn't that having many descendants made losing one okay.
It was just Leon's way of consoling Cheon-ho.
"Anyway... we've strayed off topic. Back to the main point. I didn't remain here just to eavesdrop on the future."
With that, Leon took a deep breath, changing not just his posture and expression, but his speech as well.
"To meet me here, one condition is needed. Be acknowledged by Mitra as the holy sword's user. Wield the hero's power."
None of Leon's descendants were heroes. Some could borrow Mitra's power partially, but none were recognized as her master.
Thus, countless descendants visited this place after Leon's death, but none met him.
"I want to leave even a little help for my descendants starting a new fight. Inside the stone coffin, my armaments sleep."
The hero's helm and armor.
The hero's shield.
"They're fine equipment, no doubt. But equipment in the end. What matters is the hero himself."
Leon rose and looked down at Cheon-ho. Eyes that seemed to pierce through anything.
"I saw you while examining the memories. You're prepared. Astonishingly skilled in so many things. Not just knowing them, but mastering each to expert level. But that's why it's messy. Too many skills, lacking harmony."
The martial arts learned from Father: Four Guardian Kings Martial Arts and Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
He incorporated them into hero skills, but they still felt separate.
Four Guardian Kings Martial Arts was too shallow to advance beyond basics, Heavenly Demon Divine Art too low in attainment for proper techniques.
Pure swordsmanship was worse.
Based on Dal Senyo Kingdom Swordsmanship, mixed with self-developed combat styles and Empire Swordsmanship from Mitra.
On top, learning hero skills. Mimicking the hero's sword too.
And all the other things Cheon-ho had learned.
Mother's blood and Father's blood.
Solar mana and divinity.
"I don't know the martial arts you've learned. So I'll advise on the hero's sword."
It was natural Cheon-ho's swordsmanship was a jumble.
Leon didn't see it as bad.
He had been the same.
"You likely know already. My sword derives from Mitra's sword. From the hero's sword Mitra presented, I forged my own—the sword of Hero Leonhardt. You must do the same. Only then can you reach the true hero's sword."
Ultimately, it was self-cultivation.
Forge your own path, not follow another's.
"You're using the lightning sword. Not wrong. As Mitra says, lightning is heaven's power, a hero's power. But you don't stop there. Your power isn't just lightning. You hide a greater power."
Leon asserted.
Not because he was a hero who attained the realm himself. Nor from examining Cheon-ho's memories.
Because Cheon-ho himself unconsciously already knew.
"You've learned many things. Too many, so you need a center."
A power standing tall amid all powers.
A power harmonizing and leading all others.
"You already know. What your hero's sword is. What your true power is."
That was it. No more words needed.
Leon approached Cheon-ho. Placed their hands together once more.
"You could awaken it alone, probably. But since we've met, I'll give a little push. Even if it's a slight cheat."
Leon smiled faintly and closed his eyes. Cheon-ho followed suit. No explanation needed; he knew what Leon would do.
Cheon-ho and Leon's souls connected.
Leon's form appeared to Cheon-ho.
Like what he'd seen on the 4th floor.
Leon wielding the hero's sword.
But unlike just watching then, now—
Cheon-ho became Leon. Became Leon and wielded the hero's sword.
Immense power. Power to cleave sky and earth, even the world, packed into the hero's sword.
But what Leon wanted to convey wasn't just the power's magnitude.
The method of wielding it.
Let him experience the higher realm, grasp the feel.
The connection severed.
Sky and earth vanished.
In place of Silphian Plateau, only pitch-black space remained, with Cheon-ho and Leon.
In that darkness-covered place, Leon nodded in understanding. He comprehended why this scene unfolded.
He felt he understood why the Labyrinth World chose Cheon-ho as hero.
Cheon-ho unleashed his power.
Crude and immature, but not mimicry—Cheon-ho's own hero's sword.
One slash split the darkness.
It withered before intense light illuminating all.
The Sword of the Sun.
The great power driving out night's darkness, ushering morning's glory.
Cheon-ho looked at Leon.
Leon smiled.
Welcoming the Hero of the Sun.
* * *
When Cheon-ho began conversing with Leon, time flowed in the real world outside the spirit realm too.
Mitra and Lucille sensed the anomaly with Cheon-ho almost simultaneously.
[Cheon-ho?]
"Hero?!"
They called to him nearly at once, but their tones differed.
Lucille's was startled and flustered.
Mitra was surprised but not panicked. Slightly confirmatory, even.
The reason for their differing reactions was simple.
Mitra had anticipated something like this might happen since deciding to visit Leon's tomb.
'He prepared things for his descendants.'
An old memory, yet vivid to Mitra like yesterday.
Hundreds of years ago, right after the empire's founding.
Even as a shrine to the five goddesses, they'd complained about building a tomb at such a young age, and he'd answered thus.
Having watched him so long, Mitra knew.
He'd done something. Not just left hero armaments.
Especially since mage Gillian's expression had been meaningful.
Briefly reminiscing, Mitra smiled wryly and looked at Cheon-ho. In the golden gem's reflection, he stood utterly still.
But his body was fine. Breathing and pulse normal.
Just like when accessing Mitra's own spirit world.
[Leon...]
Truthfully, a bit miffed.
If meeting in the spirit world, why not include her too?
It was the past Leon.
A replica recreating one moment from time's flow—not truly real.
But still Leon.
Comrade who'd fought the demon king's army alongside her for nearly a decade, her disciple.
To meet Cheon-ho alone, excluding her.
Felt a bit stingy.
Mitra examined Cheon-ho again. Compared him anew to the past Leon.
Both splendid heroes, but so many differences.
Looks and build, especially personalities.
Mitra unwittingly smiled. Just looking at Cheon-ho made laughter bubble up. She didn't know why.
And right then.
"Mitra, could the hero have entered a spirit world? Like, the first hero's arrangement?"
Lucille asked tentatively, lacking confidence.
From the direction of her gaze, clearly to Mitra.
So Mitra reflexively answered.
[Lucille, just as you guessed.]
[Cheon-ho is currently accessing the spirit world via Leon's prepared arrangement.]
She explained calmly, but as feared, it was true.
Mitra's voice didn't reach Lucille.
'Why is this?'
Even when weaker with Leon, she'd communicated with others.
Now, strangely, only with Cheon-ho. Impossible with anyone else.
At first, she'd worried she was broken somewhere, but apparently not.
All other functions normal.
So why? What reason hid behind it?
'Please don't be actually broken...'
If so, problems could arise at critical moments.
She worried more for Cheon-ho than herself.
And so minutes passed.
As Mitra fretted in her very Mitra-like way.
"Ahem, Mitra. Could the hero have entered a spirit world per the first hero's arrangement?"
Lucille asked again. More composed than before.
From her throat-clearing, she seemed awkward too.
Naturally, repeating the exact question in uncertainty.
[Um, just as you guessed.]
Mitra answered reflexively again, but it didn't reach Lucille.
And minutes more.
Lucille, pursing and pursing her lips, lowered her stance and brought her face close to Mitra's golden gem.
"Um, Mitra..."
And repeat.
Answering diligently, doing her best, Mitra observed Lucille's reaction. When Lucille repeated the same for the fourth time, Mitra couldn't help her usual response.
[Uwaang!]
Hurry up and come back, hurry!
As Mitra inwardly grumbled at Cheon-ho, Lucille—equally woebegone—looked up at him.
Frustrating for her too. No way to know if Mitra heard the question or gave an answer.
Sure, they could ignore each other cleanly, but these angel and holy sword were too kind and diligent for that.
Unlike Mitra, Lucille lacked certainty Cheon-ho was in a spirit world. Maybe she repeated from worry.
Agreement from Mitra would ease her mind greatly.
Angel and holy sword gazed at Cheon-ho simultaneously, speaking almost in unison.
"Come back soon, Hero."
[Hurry back, Cheon-ho.]
Communication impossible, but their thoughts aligned.