Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Ilryun Jicheon Sword (1)
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[Plausibility has been achieved.]
[Dealing the finishing blow to Rugal Necris (Achieved)]
[Added Severing Moon Divine Sword to the settings.]
A now-familiar silver pillar descended.
As if the depths of the earth meant nothing at all, silver light enveloped my entire body, and soon text appeared in the air stating that I had acquired the Severing Moon Divine Sword.
‘I did it.’
I had truly succeeded in mastering the Severing Moon Divine Sword.
I had fulfilled those two seemingly impossible conditions right on time.
It brought a stronger sense of accomplishment than any setting I had ever learned before.
Probably because it had taken the longest time and the most effort so far.
‘But…’
I slowly descended to the ground and looked at Damian, who stood quietly.
He was silently watching Rugal’s body disintegrate into black dust and scatter.
Rugal, who had once been his friend and a fellow member of the Seven Heroes.
The final end of the one who had made Damian his goal and ultimately fallen to become a monster.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Damian was feeling right now.
‘It’s not over yet.’
I had defeated Rugal.
But the story involving Damian was far from finished.
“Clay! Are you alright?”
At that moment, Riya rushed over and spoke to me.
And behind her trailed Maria, following closely.
Maria was trying to maintain her composure, but her face was pale from the events that had just transpired.
“Yeah, I’m fine. You’re okay too, right, Riya?”
“Hehe, of course. All I did was exchange a few words, after all.”
She seemed relaxed, but her hands were subtly trembling. It was a sign that she had exerted considerable power.
It was only natural, since she had forcibly suppressed the magic of Rugal, one of the Seven Heroes.
Without Riya, the difficulty of this ordeal would have been several times greater.
“Thank you so much. I’m always the one receiving help from you.”
“Oh, my. Th-that makes me embarrassed when you say it like that.”
Riya bowed her head shyly at my grateful words, her cheeks flushing slightly. Then, as if her face felt hot, she fanned herself with her hand and let out a dreamy sigh.
“B-Banheart Count, is it over now?”
As I was talking with Riya, a few knights cautiously approached and spoke to me.
They looked exhausted from battling the undead that kept emerging from the ground until moments ago, but their eyes sparkled.
‘Those eyes look familiar…’
Gelvin often looked at me that way. Like he was seeing a legendary hero in the flesh.
A gaze filled with awe—extremely burdensome.
“Yes, it’s all over now. If we go outside, the sky should be clear.”
“R-Really?!”
The knights and soldiers hugged each other, cheering, and raised their weapons high into the sky.
“I never imagined the stories about you were all true! To fight alongside the Count—it’s the honor of a lifetime!”
His excited tone made me feel a bit awkward. After all, until just recently, they had been soldiers of the Deolic family, opposing me.
“…First, tend to the wounded and prepare to head back up. I’ll take care of some business in the meantime.”
“Understood!”
The knights saluted me vigorously and rushed toward Logan Deolic, who was pinned against the wall.
“Maria.”
“Yes.”
As I watched the situation stabilize, I called out to Maria and gave her a subtle glance.
She understood my look and immediately followed behind me.
“Sir Damian.”
I approached Damian, who was staring silently into the void with Maria at my side.
He still hadn’t spoken.
He merely gazed blankly at the now-empty cavern, stripped of all its magic.
This place, built to imprison Rugal, had lost its purpose.
“It’s Clay, right? Splendid work. Thanks to you, we took down Rugal with ease.”
“It was only possible because Sir Damian drew Rugal’s attention.”
“No. If it had been me alone, my only option to block his final spell would have been mutual destruction.”
It was exactly what happened in the original story, so his words were undeniably true.
Normally, I would have just accepted it, but coming from Damian—whom I regarded as a master—it felt strangely embarrassing.
I cleared my throat awkwardly to mask it.
“Ahem. Sir Damian, what will you do now…?”
“My role is finished.”
He looked at me quietly.
“With Rugal gone, there’s no longer any need for me to remain in this world.”
I had expected as much.
The reason Damian had lingered here, even becoming a Death Knight, was solely because of Rugal.
With that reason gone, he wouldn’t wish to continue living in a Death Knight’s body.
“I’ve passed on all the forms and insights of the Severing Moon Divine Sword to you. All that remains is for you to comprehend them.”
Damian spoke without a trace of regret and slowly raised his sword.
“I’m truly glad that, at the very end, I met you and could pass on my swordsmanship.”
As the sword, cloaked in white sword energy, headed unhesitatingly toward his chest—
“…Don’t you want to complete the Severing Moon Divine Sword?”
My whisper was barely audible, but Damian couldn’t have missed it.
The white sword energy aimed at his chest wavered violently.
“What… do you mean by that?”
“I know. Your Severing Moon Divine Sword is still incomplete.”
“How could you possibly…?”
“Someone told me.”
“Someone told you?”
I slowly raised my hand.
Simosa’s Eye, the saintess’s relic.
I gently removed it from my finger.
“Gransesia Atel.”
“…!”
The sword energy on Damian’s blade vanished completely.
His face was hidden by his helmet, so I couldn’t see his expression, but I could tell he was greatly shocked.
“Gransesia told me. The Severing Moon Divine Sword is incomplete… as if something is being suppressed.”
I handed Simosa’s Eye, removed from my finger, to Maria standing behind me.
Maria slipped it onto her finger with a familiar motion.
“Sir Damian, let me ask again.”
I slowly opened my mouth toward Damian, who stared at me as if entranced.
“Don’t you want to complete the Severing Moon Divine Sword?”
His hand trembled.
The sword slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.
That was answer enough.
“Maria.”
“Yes, I know.”
Maria extended the hand wearing Simosa’s Eye toward me.
Then she reached out her other hand toward Damian.
“…”
I had always thought of Damian as the moon—noble and cold.
But now, his eyes burned hotter than ever.
“Sir Damian.”
At my slightly urging voice, Damian hesitated for a moment before slowly grasping Maria’s hand.
And the world turned white.
* * *
Damian blinked slowly at the pure white world, staring vacantly.
‘My eyes are blinking?’
It was a sensation he hadn’t felt once since becoming a Death Knight and losing his flesh.
And for some reason, his entire body felt out of place.
At first, the armor and helmet had been a shield against the pain of watching his rotting body.
But after centuries, they had become so familiar that being without them felt empty. Now, they felt uncomfortable.
“Sir Damian.”
As he slowly examined his body, a familiar voice came from behind.
Turning, he saw Clay standing there.
His attire was slightly different from before—more comfortable and lighter.
“Clay, where… is this?”
Damian startled at the sound of his own voice.
It wasn’t the grating scrape of metal.
“You’ll see if you look ahead.”
Damian felt a touch of amusement in Clay’s voice and grew curious.
Wondering what this pure white world was, he followed Clay’s advice and turned forward.
“…!”
In that instant, he understood what it meant to have one’s breath catch.
A pure white world.
On the barren white land devoid of anything, one being stood.
On the desolate white ground holding nothing, the sole entity shining with its own color.
It was a golden sun.
“Damian.”
Golden hair, golden eyes.
Clad entirely in white garments, Gransesia took a step forward toward him.
“It’s time for your long-overdue lesson.”
Over centuries, his memories of her had faded bit by bit.
All that remained was that she had been like the sun.
He had lived, gradually forgetting the woman who was his master and idol.
Now, with a single word from her, it all came flooding back.
Her confident, arrogant smile.
The one who shone like the sun stood before him now.
“Come at me.”
Damian drew his sword without realizing it at the sight of her taking her familiar stance.
He hadn’t even noticed when he’d drawn it.
But what did it matter?
She was right there in front of him.
“Lady Gransesia.”
Ah, it had been centuries since he last said those words.
“Please grant me a lesson.”
“Very well.”
Gransesia crooked her finger as if to say he talked too much—just like in his memories.
She hadn’t changed a bit.
‘While I’ve changed so much.’
He gripped his sword.
The sword he had always held felt strangely unfamiliar.
Just like when he first grasped one long ago.
BOOM!
An explosion rang out as he charged with full power.
His body felt lighter than when fighting Rugal moments ago.
It was as if he had returned to his prime, when he was a Seven Hero hailed as the Sword God.
The white sword energy became a sword beam, extending several meters and scattering like mist.
──Falling Moon.
The first form of the Severing Moon Divine Sword unfurled, the white sword energy spiraling upward.
It plummeted to the ground like a falling moon, emitting white light.
“As expected, this is your level.”
Gransesia sneered softly at the sight.
The moment her right hand twitched, the descending moon shattered to pieces.
BOOM!
“Urk!”
He twisted his body reflexively, but pain shot through his chest.
His body slid back in an instant, his mind reeling.
If he hadn’t dodged, it would have been over.
‘I didn’t see it at all!’
Even within the space he fully controlled with his senses, he hadn’t seen it.
Gransesia didn’t pursue the fleeing Damian.
She simply stared at him intently.
“You’re still stuck at the Five Skandhas. Or perhaps… you don’t even know them yet.”
At her words, Damian recalled the information about ‘Holy Heaven Martial Extreme’ from his memories.
‘The Five Skandhas…’
Holy Heaven Martial Extreme perfected the human form.
The Five Skandhas represented its second stage.
The realm of completing and perfectly controlling the flesh.
The step just before transcending humanity by perfecting the vessel.