Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Southern Kingdom (6)
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Kyle Bensht slowly opened his eyes.
The back of his head throbbed, and a metallic tang lingered in his mouth.
Before him loomed the rotten beams and spiderwebs of a dark warehouse ceiling.
His hands and feet were tightly bound with leather straps.
The two other comrades lying unconscious beside him were in the same state.
Where is this place? What was I doing?
Enduring a headache that felt like his brain was being wrung out, he dredged up his last memory.
Just before losing consciousness, Kyle Bensht had seen a woman with silver-blue hair.
She'd approached with her sword drawn, promising to cut him down.
'And then... and then――'
As Bensht tried to piece it together, the sound of footsteps reached his ears.
Kiiiek!
A man placed a chair right in front of him and sat down.
Bensht forced his blurry vision to focus on the man.
Narrowed slit eyes. Lifeless scars zigzagging across his lips and forehead.
The faint curve of a smile hid any emotion.
Objectively handsome, but those slit eyes amplified an air of suspicion.
"Who... who are you..."
"You're finally awake. I held back, but I didn't expect you'd sleep for a full two days."
"What bullshit..."
His skull ached like it was splitting open.
His stomach had been churning for a while now, his vision spinning.
And the back of his head felt suspiciously damp.
Bensht shook his head this way and that, trying to clear his fogging mind.
The slit-eyed man continued indifferently, ignoring Bensht's reactions.
"Well, let's start simple with introductions. Who wants to go first?"
"...Intro...ductions?"
"Yes, introductions. You woke up first, so I'll be polite and let you go."
"Polite, my ass. Urk. You... fucking... kidnapper playing noble."
The slit-eyed man smiled in a way that sent chills down the spine.
Just seeing that killing-intent-laced grin, something slithered down Bensht's spine.
His vision sharpened in an instant.
"I'm... the Sword Lord. Leader of the Sword Lord School, or something like that."
Sword Lord. A name he'd heard before.
One of the most frequently mentioned lately.
'...Wait. That face... those scars, those slit eyes...'
A memory pierced Bensht's mind.
It was a day when his half-drunk comrades had gathered, spouting wild rumors under the influence.
"You know that guy? The weirdo called the Sword Lord who's been making waves in the city lately."
His comrades had gossiped about how he'd deliberately ruined every local training hall, then broken their swords out of some twisted hobby.
And yet, he taught swordsmanship for free to everyone.
As if declaring no one else could teach it but him—that's how he got the title Sword Lord.
Bensht had dismissed it as half-fabricated ghost story.
But now, the eerie aura flickering beyond those slit eyes perfectly matched the rumored figure.
A few months ago, he'd appeared like a comet, taking over Adel.
Teaching swordsmanship for free while shattering every other blade, earning the title Master of Swords―
"You're... the Sword Lord himself...!"
"I said that already. Sword Lord."
Bensht twisted his lips.
He swallowed, forcing a smile laced with unease and defiance.
"I was wondering who I'd run into. Heard you're hot shit in the south lately. Stealing swords wasn't enough, now you're kidnapping people too? Are you insane?"
"Not sure what you mean by 'stealing swords,' but yeah. Spot on."
A chilling aura spread from the Sword Lord's slit eyes.
"But to be precise: one, I'm perfectly sane right now. Two, after the kidnapping, I plan to add torture."
With those words, the Sword Lord picked up a tool from beside him.
A thick needle with a strangely blunt tip.
"Dealing with Red Star scum got me into a lot of torture lately. Picked up some know-how. Like how to extract info fast with minimal wounds."
Bensht gulped involuntarily.
"Personal advice: better listen. You'll talk whether you want to or not, so don't bother resisting."
His heart began pounding madly.
He swallowed, but the saliva wouldn't go down.
"Alright. Back to introductions? I went, your turn."
The Sword Lord tapped the chair armrest coolly with a smile.
"You get five seconds to speak."
It took less than ten minutes for Bensht to spill everything he knew.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A few hours later.
I interrogated the three, including Bensht, one by one.
After cross-verifying their statements, this is what I learned.
They were guards from an unofficial organization in northern Adel, protecting some research facility.
Subcontractors of subcontractors, basically.
They knew little about the experiments themselves, but they knew where they happened.
Adel's outskirts, the underground prison in Green Ridge.
A place once used to imprison and exploit mixed-blood slaves.
I could raid it right now if I wanted, but I had no plans to rush in.
I glanced at the sleeping girl.
'The vessel, they called her.'
They'd mobilized guards just to capture her, so she was clearly important.
As long as we had her, the initiative was mine.
No matter who they were.
For the time being, I'd keep her with me and gather info on the experiments.
Over the next few days, I split time between the training hall and fieldwork, keeping the girl close.
Her wary eyes gradually softened with time.
"...Luella. Luella Bailey."
"Got it, Luella."
In the mornings, I'd have her fetch water and chop firewood.
Sitting idle made her hands tremble; even small noises made her whip her head around.
She seemed less anxious with tasks to occupy her.
When Luella returned from chores, faint needle marks dotted the back of her hand.
They reddened every time sunlight brushed them.
And after some time passed.
The slightly settled Luella began answering my questions bit by bit.
"Green Ridge Prison... inside, it's way deeper than it looks from outside."
Her voice trembled.
Luella steadied her breath with every word.
She said she'd been chained there and injected with some unknown black liquid into her veins.
Most died without even screaming; survivors were few.
Luella was one of them.
But the price was cat ears sprouting on her head.
"These... weren't here before."
She pinched one ear lightly with her fingertips, then let go and bowed her head.
Her expression mixed shame and fear.
I pondered her cat ears.
In this world, beastkin were called hybrids of Transcendent Beings.
But her ears were odd.
Not innate, but acquired after experiments.
Circumstances pointed to something Transcendent-related injected into her.
'They weren't capturing beastkin from the start for experiments...?'
In the game, the south experimented on monsters.
That's what I'd thought until investigating Red Star.
But suddenly Transcendent Beings?
After some thought, one possibility emerged.
Transcendent Beings connected to monsters.
With so little public info, real speculation was impossible.
Thus, days passed again.
On the fifth day, a crack appeared in the calm routine.
The pursuers had finally pinpointed Liel's location and closed in.
I sensed the time had come and quietly waited at home until nightfall.
As night deepened, the air grew heavy.
Dogs outside stopped barking; the wind died.
Soon, five figures in sedge-hat-like headgear landed in the courtyard.
Dozens more formed a siege around the house.
"Sword Lord. Even if you're aiming for Adel's throne, you've crossed the line this time."
A giant over two meters tall.
A beast tail swished behind his hips, lifting the black cloak draped over his body.
"No idea what you're talking about."
"Spare us the flimsy lies. We know everything. Hand it over now."
"Be specific. 'It' doesn't ring any bells."
The giant grunted as I kept mocking him.
He pulled his sedge hat low, yellow beast eyes glinting from the shadows.
"It's more important than you can imagine. Many powerhouses are involved."
He tapped his scabbard rhythmically, continuing calmly.
"If you think you can face them all... that's a grave miscalculation. Be wise."
"Powerhouses involved—meaning the Southern Seven Powers?"
"..."
"But here's the thing."
I stepped down from the porch and picked up a wooden sword.
"Trash hiding behind us, ungrateful for our protection while leeching benefits—if that's the Southern Seven Powers or whatever, it doesn't impress me much."
Before my words finished, screams erupted beyond the fence.
Dust clouds burst forth with explosions.
Countless shadows flew back amid them.
It was Irena.
"Truth is, we could crush the south anytime we wanted."
The method was simple.
Storm Delgaria's palace alone and unleash a black wave.
We hadn't because we wanted to strike at the perfect moment for maximum gain.
I finished as I eyed the silent man.
"You didn't spare us—we spared you. Don't get it twisted."
"...Indeed, the self-proclaimed Sword Lord. Your arrogance pierces the heavens...!!"
The air ripped with a sonic boom, splintering the porch.
Wood shards exploded like fireworks; blue waves distorted time before my eyes.
Six silhouettes shot out like lightning, clashing together.