Chapter 313: TRANSLATED
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 313
Eligos' abilities can be divided into a total of seven.
One was a supplementary ability to eliminate devil presence and an ability called the whisper of devils. Both were bestowed by the King of Niflheim, and thanks to these abilities, he could secretly wander throughout the empire and find those worthy of entering Niflheim.
Besides that, the ability to make the opponent's equipment feel heavy.
The ability to make the opponent feel out of breath.
The ability to create a room of time and control time within it.
And the ability to extract and consume the opponent's vitality.
Excluding supplementary abilities, Caesar can counter all four attacking abilities. He had the immunity that could perfectly defend against mental attacks.
Being trapped in the room of time could be escaped using the ability of 'Storge' that grants freedom in any situation. And when the opponent tries to extract vitality, they must face the opponent's body or sword for at least 1 second, so if one can somehow break away within that time, they can avoid having their vitality extracted.
But when that guy pulled out the fifth horn, it's a different story.
The ability Eligos first awakened, the one that elevated him to the leader of Mugeuk.
Han (恨) [Resentment]
Eligos could project all the moments of failure from his efforts of shedding blood and sweat to reach the extreme of martial arts onto his current self.
"You with your shining talent would never understand my pain."
Eligos has meager talent.
But his desire for improvement is higher than anyone else's.
With unbreakable willpower and endless desire for improvement, Eligos honed his sword for eons. He doesn't know how long that time was. It was to the extent that he forgot why he was trying to reach the extreme of martial arts.
Eligos' sword deflected Thunder that came from behind. A thrilling current flowed through the sword, but...
Thunderbolt Reflection.
The current that flowed through the sword was shot toward Caesar.
Caesar received the current with Lefty and deflected it.
Since the handle was made of non-conductive iron, it was not difficult to receive the current.
Rather, the straightforward vertical slash that followed was hard to handle.
Clang!
It's a heavy attack that makes the whole body tingle. Though it was a single sword strike, it felt like receiving hundreds of sword attacks.
"I spent eternal time to gain a hair's breadth of enlightenment."
Caesar avoided his opponent's sword.
Clang!
Lefty screamed.
Looking at it, the side of Lefty was thinly shaved off. Even the current Yan cannot thinly shave off an axe made of solid terra while cutting through Caesar's aura. This is a level only possible with Eligos' sword strike, who failed tens of thousands of times for just one enlightenment.
"I'm jealous."
Eligos' sword became faster and faster.
"If I had your talent..."
Through the psychometry Caesar was using to block his attacks, fragments of his opponent's memories flowed in.
"Ah..."
A discarded wooden sword. Both knees digging into the squelchy mud. Blood drops dispersing in a puddle of water. And someone's disappointed gaze reflected in the puddle.
-Is that what you call swordsmanship.
Whose eyes and whose voice is this? Eligos' sword was swung.
Blood drops spread along the sword. A crude sword path. Neither fast nor lethal.
But Caesar couldn't escape that sword path. Because while it looked crude to Eligos, it was too sharp in Caesar's eyes.
-Incompetent fool.
-You're bringing shame to the family name.
With each sword strike, the voice of an unidentified man mixed in. The disappointment in that voice was so cold and painful it made Caesar's heart freeze.
-Perfectly.
-More perfectly.
-More! More! More!
-Put your spirit into the sword!
-When you swing once, put your world into it!
The two blessings Eligos received from the King of Niflheim were:
One was the whisper of devils, and the other was the ability to control his own abilities. The ability called 'Han (恨)' is not, strictly speaking, a technique to put one's failures into the sword. It's an ability to accumulate one's failures.
To put one's failures into swordsmanship, correct it, correct it again, and correct it yet again to complete the perfect sword strike containing the truth of this world.
The more he swings his sword, the more he faces his failures, and his swordsmanship becomes more complete. But at the same time, as he faces his disappointing past, the longer he uses Han, the closer he gets to becoming a 'disaster'.
-I need to be more perfect.
-I'm lacking.
-I need to try harder.
Eligos' sword became increasingly violent and rough. Lefty and Thunder were becoming tattered under Eligos' sword. Raven applied a one-man support magic while sweating coldly.
'What are you thinking, Caesar.'
At this rate, the weapons won't hold up and will shatter.
But Caesar continued to receive attacks regardless of whether Thunder and Lefty were becoming like rags.
At the moment when Raven should stop support magic and coordinate with other combat magic, she read Caesar's magic wave.
Although the magic wave was stiff with tight tension, the shape of the magic wave spreading through the air was consistent. It's like throwing a stone into a calm pond.
Raven had read such magic waves several times before. When Caesar fought the devil Twin-headed Ogre or when he fought the Knight of Perfection, Tatiana.
Or when Barre dug in alone among the vampires and created havoc. This is what it looks like when one finds composure even as death approaches.
Eligos' sword strikes moved so fast they were invisible to the eye. Since it was a movement that even the Dawn Knights couldn't possibly detect, Caesar thought he would be cut to pieces in an instant.
Caesar's Lefty moved to deflect such a fast sword strike.
Thud!
Like Aurora deflecting Gloria's greatsword, the sword was deflected sideways with an empty sound and crashed into the floor.
"Finally it came out."
Raven couldn't understand Caesar's words. But seeing the suddenly changed battle operation, it seemed that what Caesar had been waiting for had appeared.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Caesar began to deflect all of Eligos' invisible attacks.
Not only the Dawn Knights around but also Raven couldn't believe it. To perfectly parry Eligos' such fast attacks. Caesar began to block and deflect his attacks more and more comfortably. The injured Dawn Knights cheered as they watched Caesar's battle.
"What is this......"
"He's parrying all of Eligos' attacks."
"How is this possible?"
Logically, it should be impossible to receive Eligos' attacks. Even Yan would probably struggle when facing him for the first time.
Since his sword is so heavy and aggressive that it can shave off terra, blocking his sword head-on is nothing short of suicidal. But Eligos has a fatal weakness - the moment he uses Han (恨), his attack pattern becomes consistent.
First, the basic Dior Kingdom standard swordsmanship. After using all the standard swordsmanship from the first form to the end, next comes the Todd family swordsmanship from the first form to the end. Then Lantern swordsmanship, then Sea swordsmanship, then Thunder Reflection swordsmanship…
He always uses the forms of swordsmanship he learned and mastered in order. He even had the habit of repeating a form if it was interrupted by a parry.
So Caesar had been waiting until Eligos used a swordsmanship technique that Caesar knew perfectly. The technique Eligos is currently using is the Count Vex family's 'Falling Flower'.
Although said to be the fastest swordsmanship form in the world, it was a form he had received through Gideon in the past, so he could easily counter it.
Eligos used Falling Flower again.
Thud!
Caesar deflected his attack, destroying the sword path.
-This isn't it.
Eligos used Falling Flower again.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Though fast, Caesar twisted his sword path randomly, preventing Eligos from creating a sword path that satisfied him.
"No! No! No! No!"
Eligos' sword became more violent and faster. The ‘resentment’ in his sword also grew denser.
"This is not it!"
A burning castle appeared before Eligos' eyes. Not just any castle, but Eligos' hometown and home.
-You are not worthy to continue the family name.
-I will adopt someone else, so you should leave voluntarily.
Eligos knelt before the burning castle.
-Father. Please forgive me.
-What should I do now?
-What must I do to return?!
A middle-aged man appeared in front of the collapsing castle.
Eligos didn't know who this man was. But seeing that man made him so scared his whole body stiffened... and simultaneously, he missed him.
-They say when you become a Sword Master, you can capture the world in your sword.
-When you become a Sword Master, I will acknowledge you.
Eligos didn't understand what it meant to capture the world in a sword. No one explained it to him.
Eligos only knew how to swing his sword.
Eligos swung his sword. He thought if he kept swinging, he would eventually understand. He would eventually gain that man's acknowledgment.
However... If there was one thing Eligos overlooked, it was that humans age. Skin wrinkles, hands lose strength, and breathing becomes labored.
Eligos, who lived with only persistence, collapsed in the face of time.
Eligos devoted his entire life to the sword but couldn't become a Sword Master.
-$%#@ has passed away...?
Time flowed not only for Eligos but also for that man.
Who is that man?
Eligos kept searching. The more he dug into the past, he only remembered being scolded by that man. But... Just once.
-This kid, already holding a sword.
-A Sword Master will be born in our family.
When he was praised by that man.
That day, Eligos decided to become an excellent knight.
'One more time.'
If he could be praised one more time. If he would smile just once more and pat his head.
But who is that man?
That person is... A dull gray cemetery appeared before Eligos' eyes.
"Ah... Father."
Father had passed away. The father who seemed eternal had knelt before time. It was as if the world was denying Eligos. It seemed like his father's grave was denying the years soaked with Eligos' blood and sweat.
Eligos struck down his sword in front of the grave.
-Father.
A breeze, too light, pushed away the thick tears.
-Is the world contained in my sword?
Eligos' sword flew through the air.
Along with his severed wrists.
Eligos blankly looked up at Caesar. Eligos' arms were cut off, and white holy flame was burning his entire body. On Caesar's body, a red aura like blood blended with green in one place.
A beautiful rose bush seemed to be woven around Caesar's body.
Caesar's aura crept along the floor.
Successfully parrying Eligos' attacks was one thing, but landing an attack on him was another matter.
To squeeze through the momentary gap and drive the axe into his body, Caesar had to use the awakened skill 'Storm’s Eve'.
His dry lips quivered.
"Let me ask one thing... Caesar."
Eligos' purple tears evaporated instantly when they touched the holy flame.
"Was the world contained in my swordsmanship?"
"No."
Caesar raised his Lefty.
"Only despair." [TL/N: Nasty]
"Ah..."
Slash!
Eligos' head flew through the air.
What have I been doing until now…
***
Count Vex gasped for breath and stood up using his sword as a cane.
No matter where he looked, there were only corpses.
Moreover, they were all faces that Count Vex knew. These were all knights who had sworn to dedicate their lives to Count Vex. They were Ascension Knights. The Ascension Knights' limbs were all torn off as if someone had wrung or ripped them out.
Count Vex saw the devil who committed this atrocity. The devil emerged from the shadows of the dark underground prison and revealed itself in the burning torchlight.
It had one head with four faces, four pairs of arms sprouting from its sides, and hideous black wings on its back. Six of the four pairs of legs that had grown from its crotch and buttocks were beginning to regenerate after being cut off.
"Didn't I say resistance is futile? Count Vex."
Count Vex spat out saliva mixed with blood.
"I've heard about you."
"About me?"
"Yes. Andras, the devil of self-harm. The holy knights of the Dre Order were burning lights looking for you."
All four of Andras' faces smiled simultaneously. The laughter was so bizarre it made one's skin crawl.
"Well, that's true. But the necks of all the knights who entered the Dior Kingdom to find me..."
Crack!
As Andras' neck turned, the neck of the guard who was pretending to be dead while holding his breath also turned. The guard died without even screaming. Andras spoke with the face attached to the back of his head.
"I killed them like this."
Count Vex's hands trembled. Not from fear but from anger.
Nevertheless, Count Vex couldn't even attempt to swing his sword at Andras. Because all of Count Vex's Ascension Knights who had swung their swords at Andras had their limbs broken and necks snapped.
"You vile devils, what do you want?"
"The question is wrong, Count Vex."
Andras turned his neck back with his hands.
"You should ask what I want."
Andras slowly approached Count Vex.
"My king seems to want to turn this world into a world of devils, whom you hate. Well, I don't mind either. But there are two reasons why I personally came all the way to Vexilla."
Andras cut the back of his knee with sharp claws.
Slash!
Count Vex's armor was cut away, and his tendons were severed.
"...!"
Count Vex knelt on one knee.
"One is the revival of my city, Sodom."
Slaaaash!
"The other is to find a worthy servant to protect my restored city."
Count Vex couldn't move his hands and feet as the tendons in both arms and legs were cut. Andras grabbed Count Vex's neck, lifted him up, and smiled.
"You seem like you'll make a pretty good servant."