Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: A Grave Misunderstanding
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A burning forest. Erupting blue lightning. A battlefield filled with blood and screams. The sharp clang of steel.
In an instant, all of it fell silent.
At the appearance of a single man, every element on the battlefield froze.
The sharp longsword at his hip and the numerous daggers hidden beneath his coat hinted at his profession.
However, despite being a warrior on the battlefield, the man wore no armor. Yet, not a single person present dared to worry about this man who appeared with his white clothes fluttering in the wind.
The Sword Saint.
Two rigid, archaic words had appeared on the battlefield.
“That’s enough.”
With the Sword Saint’s simple phrase, the Overlord’s arm, which had been clutching the boy’s neck, was severed. Black blood, laced with a potent toxin, gushed out like a fountain.
The Sword Saint, who had surely been standing in the middle of the forest path, had somehow swung his sword, now gleaming in the moonlight. And just as quickly, he had caught the falling boy and landed softly on the roadside.
“...You’re here sooner than I expected. Has it even been a minute and twenty seconds?”
“I had a mission nearby. Unlucky for you.”
The Overlord’s expression twisted in annoyance as he flapped his wings. The parts of him scorched by the boy’s lightning had long since regenerated with new skin.
“Where are the others? Did you come alone, you brat...?!”
The Overlord, seemingly acquainted with the Sword Saint, asked after his comrades with a murderous look.
“They’re a slow bunch. I came on ahead. Why, hoping for a reunion after all this time?”
After setting the boy down by the roadside, the Sword Saint twisted in mid-air and aimed his silver longsword at the Overlord’s neck.
“After I take your head, I’ll give everyone a chance to offer their formal greetings. So don’t feel too left out.”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, the Sword Saint kicked off the air and charged.
Overlord Maltiel, with a look of utter disgust, twisted his wings to change his trajectory in the air.
*Thump!*
Maltiel’s wing was torn, and the Sword Saint landed on the ground. A crater formed around his feet, as if a meteor had struck.
“Tsk...”
The Overlord glanced between the boy, now surrounded by soldiers, and the Sword Saint, slowly rising from the ground. He clicked his tongue in disappointment and flew higher into the sky.
‘A one-on-one fight with the Sword Saint is a losing battle. And there’s always the chance that white-haired, 7th-circle mage could regain consciousness and join in.’
It was truly a shame he couldn’t kill the mage here and now, a boy who would undoubtedly become a great monster in the future.
‘...I have to admit it. My only option left is to escape.’
But if Maltiel were to act recklessly here, he wouldn’t just fail to kill the white-haired boy; he would lose his own life as an Overlord without inflicting any real damage on the humans.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Of course, the Sword Saint wasn't about to stand by and watch the Overlord flee.
A sharp dagger embedded itself in the wing of Maltiel, who was now floating high in the sky where the air grew thin.
A throwing dagger, hidden within the Sword Saint’s leather coat, had flown in a perfect straight line to pierce its target.
Maltiel momentarily faltered in the air, and the Sword Saint, seizing the opportunity, kicked off the ground and leaped.
Upon the crater that had just formed, another, even larger one, appeared.
An earthquake spread across the surrounding land with the Sword Saint’s push-off.
Trees screamed as they fell, their massive roots exposed. The archer mutants, who had been perched among the branches of the great trees drawing their bowstrings, fell powerlessly like acorns at harvest time from the sudden impact.
*Slice—*
With a sharp sound, the Overlord’s head was severed from his body.
“...How unpleasant.”
Even with his head cleanly cut off, the Overlord did not die. From the severed head, a spinal column instantly grew, flesh swelled, and a completely new body formed.
The Overlord tore his gaze away from the Sword Saint, who was twisting in the air to strike him again, and looked down at the ground.
At the end of his gaze were the white-haired mage, sprawled out unconscious as if he had expended all his strength, and the soldiers who had formed a line to protect him, fighting against the mutants.
“Arise!”
With the Overlord’s urgent cry, cracks appeared in the ground.
Giant tentacles, hidden beneath the earth, broke through the surface and rose.
A colossal mutant, a hybrid of a great tree and an orc, revealed itself on the battlefield.
The mutant began to use its massive tentacles like whips, lashing out at the tightly packed soldiers.
“...A filthy trick.”
“It’s called being smart, you moron.”
The Overlord flashed a sickening smile and began his escape, powerfully beating his newly sprouted wings.
The Sword Saint glanced back and forth between the retreating Overlord and the army on the verge of being annihilated by the giant mutant.
Overlord Maltiel, who had shown himself for the first time in three years.
Killing the Overlord would render countless Mazoku non-functional. The number of people harmed by the Mazoku under Maltiel’s command had to be in the hundreds of thousands.
Therefore, capturing the Overlord was equivalent to saving the hundreds of thousands of lives that would be sacrificed in the future.
It was a pity that those below would lose their lives, but from a broader perspective, tracking the Overlord who had appeared after three years was a higher priority than saving them now.
The Sword Saint knew this better than anyone.
He knew it better than anyone, but...
*Slice—*
A giant tentacle was split in two with a chilling sound.
“...Everyone, behind me.”
He was not so rational and logical as to abandon the people dying now for the sake of the countless who might die tomorrow.
“All forces, rise, fight, and die.”
In time with the words of the Overlord, who was already too far to be seen, cracks began to appear all over the ground where the Sword Saint stood.
Numerous great trees fell, and between their roots, mutants of all sizes revealed themselves.
“The wounded will focus solely on treating their injuries. I will eliminate all threats.”
“...But the Overlord!” shouted Rex, the one-armed orc, looking up at the sky where his target had already vanished among the starlight.
Every soldier here would gladly offer their own life if it meant they could take the Overlord’s head.
They had seen their neighbors torn apart by mutants, their wives captured by the Mazoku and twisted into abominations.
“Silence. I know.”
The Sword Saint replied sharply, his face contorted as if he himself was displeased with his choice.
The one whose insides were burning the most was the Sword Saint himself, for making such a foolish decision.
“Just... rest quietly.”
With those final words, the Sword Saint slowly raised the sword in his hand.
* * *
Unable to resist the faint light of the rising dawn, I slowly opened my eyes.
My back screamed as if it were about to snap, and my temples throbbed. Splints, placed by who knows who, were wrapped around my arms and legs, and the tight feeling around my head suggested it was bandaged as well.
I couldn’t remember the exact moment I had lost consciousness.
I met the Overlord... was on the verge of death. I remember hearing the Sword Saint’s voice...
What happened after that?
I waited for my blurry vision to clear, then carefully sat up and looked around.
“...Crazy.”
A scene that instinctively drew a curse from my lips unfolded around me.
The world was painted in a kaleidoscope of blood.
The great trees, doused in the blood of creatures with fire and venom, lay charred and fallen. Piled on top of them were heaps of flesh, their original forms unrecognizable.
A spine the size of a house stood erect in the middle of the path like a flagpole, and giant hammers and blades, whose wielders I couldn't even imagine, were scattered everywhere.
“You’re awake?”
A familiar voice reached my ears as I stared, dumbfounded, at the ravaged forest.
I turned my head to see the Sword Saint standing there.
The only character in the game with a level exceeding three digits, a hero of the allied forces one would only see in the final Demon King raid. The strongest human in this world.
“I heard of your deeds. Such incredible talent at such a young age. To stand on equal footing with that Overlord.”
“Equal footing? That’s not true. I was just lucky.”
I corrected the Sword Saint’s misunderstanding as politely as I could. All I had done was run away to buy time and put on a little bluff.
Equal footing? Who in their right mind would say such a thing?
“Rex told me everything. Humility is an important virtue, but there’s no need to distort the facts.”
...The one distorting things is Rex, not me. Why are you like this too, sir?
“He said the Overlord targeted you specifically and ambushed this location. Is what Rex said true?”
“...Uh, yes. That’s correct.”
“And you confronted such an Overlord one-on-one, yet you’re alive with all your limbs intact.”
“...Yes. That is also true.”
“Rex said you are a 7th-circle high mage. Is that also true?”
“That, at least, is not. I possess the mana of a 4th-circle mage at best.”
Based on the dozens of tests I’d run on my computer screen, a character with 20 points in the mana stat was evaluated as a 4th-circle mage right from creation.
That must be why they were mistaken.
“I’ve never entered a mage tower, nor have I ever properly learned magic. I’m a vagrant by birth, so I don’t know how to cultivate the mana within my body or how to wield it correctly.”
“...What?”
The Sword Saint’s expression twisted in disbelief at my firm answer. He began to pace back and forth, stroking his chin with a serious look on his face.
‘He must be disappointed. A mage who has reached the 7th circle at my age would be a talent on par with a national power.’
It seemed Rex had overheard my conversation with the Overlord, misunderstood, and reported it directly to the Sword Saint.
Unfortunately for them, I was a fledgling mage, only four days old.
And with a bizarre build, at that.
I’m not the person you think I am, so I hope you’ll stop bothering me now.
I need to get to the mage tower quickly, train, and become strong enough to at least protect myself.
“As soon as the sun rises, you will accompany me to the imperial palace.”
“Pardon?”
What?
“Limitless potential. A young mage of merely the 4th circle fighting on equal terms with an Overlord... and without any formal education? I don’t know where a monster like you came from, but this must be reported to His Majesty the Emperor and the kings of the three allied nations.”
“...Pardon?!”
What? The Emperor? The kings of the allied nations?
“Do you know basic etiquette? It will be troublesome if you make a mistake before His Majesty and the kings, so I’ll quickly teach you the minimum required etiquette now.”
...What the hell is this guy saying?