Chapter 186
Chapter 186
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Sword Saint
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sword Saint.
Begris Fernando.
He was in an incredibly dire situation right now.
"You're hopeless with directions. Just stick close and follow my lead."
The words of the girl who always strode ahead of him.
Just as she said, the Sword Saint was notoriously directionally challenged.
But back then, it hadn't been a problem.
There had always been that girl leading the way ahead of him.
The eldest daughter of Shiron Creis, the 29th captain of the White Lion Knights—an existence now erased from the world. Before becoming captain, he had been Shiron Ephelia.
Karis Ephelia.
The woman the Sword Saint had longed for over many years, and also his longtime friend.
Karis was a wild, free-spirited girl.
She charged headfirst into anything that sparked her curiosity and preferred hanging out with the boys over other noble ladies.
Yet, despite her boyish side, she possessed a woman's beauty as well.
That's why she was incredibly popular among the other ladies.
Even the children her age, regardless of gender, envied her to no end.
"Hanging around like a servant—why not just marry a girl?"
"Mingling with men like that is so vulgar."
That drew criticism from some young lords and ladies.
But even amid their barbs, Karis always stood tall.
"Sorry, but my marriage partner is already decided."
She flashed a radiant smile, her sea-colored hair tied back and swaying behind her.
"I've got this amazing guy I like more than anyone in the world."
A woman with an androgynous, magnetic charm.
That was Karis Ephelia.
She had been the Sword Saint's first love.
And his rival, too.
Karis had shown exceptional talent in swordsmanship as well.
99 wins, 100 losses, 102 draws.
That was the final record between Karis and the Sword Saint.
"Karis, why the Blue Sparrow Knights of all places?"
The Sword Saint voiced his doubts when she joined the Blue Sparrow Knights.
At the time, they were mockingly called the Blue Chickens.
That was because the order had become a dumping ground for knights with bad attitudes.
Men whose personalities had gone off the rails or who caused various issues.
They were too ambiguous to strip of their knighthoods outright, so they got shoved into the Blue Sparrow Knights.
Once you were in the Blue Sparrows, you were done for.
That was how abysmal their reputation was.
But she just laughed boldly in response.
"I want to build my own knight order as soon as possible. Joining another one would make that tough."
Forming her own knight order—a dream she'd talked about for ages.
For that dream, she took command of the Blue Sparrow Knights.
"Above all, ■■■ strongly opposes ■■■ becoming a knight order captain. No choice."
Every time the Sword Saint thought of Karis, static interference crept in.
That was precisely why uncovering the truth of her death had been so difficult.
Every crucial detail got drowned out by noise, stalling his memories.
He hadn't realized it back then.
"So come join our knight order, Begris. I like it best when you're by my side."
That smile of hers—so bright and alluring.
When they finished training together and lay back to watch clouds drift across the sky, it felt like he had everything.
With her, he could do anything.
That's what Begris believed.
Until that day when rain poured down in sheets.
"The Blue Sparrow Knights were annihilated by the Vampire Queen."
Right up until he heard that news.
"■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■!"
A man choked with static roared and charged out into the rain.
The Sword Saint just stood there, rooted to the spot.
After learning of her death, his world lost all color.
No matter how he looked up at the sky, it was nothing but gray.
The Sword Saint howled in grief.
Before long, he became obsessed with his sword.
To kill the Vampire Queen, he gathered information and wandered the world.
In the process, he uncovered several mysteries surrounding Karis's death.
But his eyes were already clouded.
His judgment had long since crumbled.
He trained fanatically, sparing no means or methods.
Yet his grudge remained unresolved to the end.
He couldn't kill the Vampire Queen or uncover the truth of Karis's death.
'Karis.'
The Sword Saint gripped the [Faded Holy Sword] at his waist tightly.
The grudge from back then still burned fiercely within him.
Today was finally his chance to reveal the truth of her death.
But before he could seize it, he'd gotten trapped in this labyrinth.
'Can't wander in here forever.'
The Sword Saint was innately directionally challenged.
He knew it full well.
Escaping the labyrinth on his own was hopeless.
In the end, he decided to change tactics.
He drew his sword.
Holy power rippled along its blade.
A path could be forged if none existed.
This labyrinth was ultimately dark magic.
Holy power would surely damage the magic if he slashed it.
In other words, breaking the spell was possible.
Of course, shattering the magic could backfire on him too.
But dying while blindly searching for a way out wasn't an option.
'I've got Saintess's Protection [SSS].'
A skill that reduced damage by 90% against life-threatening attacks.
It activated automatically three times a day.
Long ago, when Leyzon had hit him with Abyss, it was this that kept him alive.
The Sword Saint decided to bet on it.
The moment massive holy power gathered on his blade—
Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble!
Something approached at tremendous speed, ringing in the Sword Saint's ears.
The entire labyrinth shook as if it were transforming.
Bricks shifted or trembled between the walls.
'What is it?'
The Sword Saint scanned his surroundings in alarm.
Soon, he realized someone was coming this way.
A chill—
Goosebumps spread across his entire body.
Insane killing intent emanated from beyond the passage.
The Sword Saint's eyes widened.
He drew in a deep breath.
This was dangerous.
Pressure made his whole body tingle.
Whoever was out there, he couldn't hold back, or he'd die.
'First time since Abyss.'
The undead fusion of Abyss.
It was the first such sensation since then.
Explosive power erupted from the Sword Saint's body.
His muscles swelled to their limit as he poured strength into his sword.
'Come on.'
He'd cut them down the moment they appeared.
The instant he committed his full power to the strike—
Boom!
The wall where he stood caved in, opening a path.
Beyond it stood a single figure.
Or rather, a dwarf far smaller than a human.
A dwarf wearing a diamond crown.
His face was familiar to the Sword Saint.
"Oh, found you."
He grinned innocently, as if delighted at the discovery.
Seeing that, the Sword Saint deflated, releasing his sword.
"...Abyss."
He'd thought it was someone on Abyss's level, but it turned out to be Abyss himself.
Leyzon had scoured the labyrinth and finally found the Sword Saint.
He wore a deflated expression for some reason, but Leyzon ignored it.
Probably just exhausted from wandering so long.
"...And what's with that form?"
"It's similar to the one I showed you before."
Just how much stuff did he have crammed in there?
The Sword Saint sighed and straightened up.
He'd overexerted himself needlessly and felt drained.
"What brings you here?"
"What do you think? Came to fetch the lost lamb. You were probably about to smash the magic or something, right?"
The Sword Saint fell silent at Leyzon's words.
They pierced his thoughts exactly.
"That stance earlier was for slashing the spell, wasn't it? Obvious."
The Sword Saint stayed quiet.
"...Yeah."
Then admitted it a beat late.
Leyzon found it odd but didn't pry.
"Let's get out now."
As soon as he spoke, the entire labyrinth rumbled.
Soon, the ceiling parted, and stairs descended.
Leyzon led the way up.
The Sword Saint followed a step behind.
"Sword Saint."
As they climbed, Leyzon spoke up.
His gaze stayed fixed upward.
"The Blue Sparrow Knights might be tangled in something even messier than we thought. Like, empire secrets."
Leyzon had steadily gathered info in the meantime.
And one thing had crystallized into certainty.
The Blue Sparrow Knights knew the empire's secrets.
And those secrets were a massive weakness for the empire.
Anything tied to the empire wouldn't be easy to resolve.
Obviously, crossing the nation's leadership would make life here impossible.
"So let's uncover it all the way."
But rather than deter him, it fueled the Sword Saint's resolve.
The Sword Saint's eyes widened.
A grudge for which no path to resolution had ever appeared.
Even he felt suffocated at the thought of facing the empire.
He knew full well how disastrous it was for one man to make an enemy of a nation.
Yet Leyzon urged him on without a hint of hesitation.
"..."
The Sword Saint fell silent.
Karis's vengeance, with no way to repay it.
A feeling of sinking endlessly into a vast ocean.
That suffocating sensation had defined his life for over a decade.
But now, for the first time, a lighthouse gleamed on that endless sea.
"Right."
The Sword Saint clenched his fists tight.
"For the truth of Karis's death, I'll do anything."
His ironclad will came through loud and clear.
Leyzon sensed it and smiled faintly.
'Wouldn't even complain if I told him to infiltrate the imperial court as a spy.'
He had no intention of honoring that resolve—just using the man.
Just then, the stairs ended.
Climbing the final step shifted their view.
They arrived back in the room from earlier.
"Eden, Pauli."
Leyzon immediately released the undead fusion.
The longer the fusion lasted, the more power it drained.
Now that he knew he could dispel it with his recent strength, he ended it promptly.
Leyzon's height returned, along with his normal field of vision.
In contrast, Eden and Pauli shrank from the fusion's aftereffects.
Their bodies ached, but they were otherwise fine.
"Master Leyzon, you're back~!"
Right on cue, Syria flung herself at Leyzon in delight.
Leyzon barely braced for the impact and caught his breath.
"Syria, nothing happened?"
"Nope! All quiet~?"
Good to hear.
Just then, the Sword Saint snapped back to reality.
Crack!
The labyrinth box containing the two collapsed and crumbled.
The box disintegrated into dust in an instant.
"Abyss."
Watching it, the Sword Saint called to Leyzon.
"Take me somewhere that might hold clues."
The Sword Saint hadn't found any traces while lost in the maze.
With a nod, he headed into the ruined house.
Soon, the Sword Saint opened a door leading to the backyard.
It was structured so you had to enter the building first to reach it.
The backyard was overgrown with weeds.
The Sword Saint approached a large tree among them.
Several sword slashes marked its trunk.
He carefully inspected the base.
Spotting something, he knelt and dug into the soil.
A wooden sword connected to the tree roots emerged from the dirt.
Pulling it revealed a split in the tree, opening a compartment.
Just big enough for letters.
"Talk about going all out."
"This was originally a rendezvous spot. A place for Isis's mother—the lady of Gaibel—and the man she loved to communicate secretly."
Isis's mother was a lady of the House of Gaibel.
Meanwhile, the White Lion Knight captain she loved, Shiron, was already in a political marriage.
This had been the lady's and Shiron's secret meeting place.
'Isis was Karis's half-sister, the illegitimate child.'
He could roughly piece together how it all intertwined.
The Sword Saint reached into the tree's compartment.
"Isis told me and Karis about this spot, which she'd heard from her mother.
Being the wild kids we were back then, we used it to stash our secret treasures on a whim."
A few items came out.
Just the sort of junk kids would hoard for fun.
"And when time passed and we got too busy to meet often, we'd sometimes leave messages here."
Finally, a document envelope emerged.
Leyzon and the Sword Saint knew exactly what it was.
"...This is it."
The former 29th captain of the White Lion Knights.
Shiron Creis.
They had finally found the trace he'd left behind in his search for his daughter's death.