Chapter 251
Chapter 251
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Hero's Descendant (3)
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A man sat by the campfire, staring intently at a single holy sword.
His companions asked him about it.
"What are you staring at so intently?"
"Is something wrong with that magnificent holy sword? Perfect timing."
"What do you mean, perfect?"
"If it's in bad shape, hand it over to me. Like I keep saying, hogging seven of those all to yourself is just plain greedy."
"You madman. Look at you talking like that. You think a holy sword chooses someone like that? You think it's like those weapons of yours that anyone with a bit of strength can pick up?"
"It's no joke. Dead serious."
"Ugh, so crude. Please, for the saintess's sake, watch your language!"
The hero's companions reacted in their own ways to his behavior.
Some showed a glint of interest in their eyes, others scoffed dismissively, and still others wore expressions of concern.
The fairy Shuyen fell into the concerned camp.
She flitted over to the hero's shoulder and peered at his face.
"What's wrong?"
The hero, lost in thought while gazing at the holy sword, spotted the fairy and lightly curled up the corner of his mouth.
He then explained the reason.
The companions, Shuyen included, reacted even more intensely than before.
What had come from the hero's mouth was quite shocking.
"You still don't fully understand the holy swords...? You?"
Even for a hero praised by all, being chosen by a holy sword was an experience few could claim even once.
Yet this hero had been chosen multiple times, becoming the master of every holy sword.
For such a hero to say he didn't fully understand them.
"If you don't get it, who does?"
In response to the companions' bewildered questions, the hero merely flashed his signature smile.
Watching him, the companions thought to themselves.
In some ways, the hero's doubt might actually be quite reasonable.
Holy swords.
These mysterious treasures, whose creators and origins of birth remained unknown, had been discovered in perfect condition from the very start.
Such holy swords lent their full power without reservation to the master they chose.
However.
Could that power truly be all they possessed?
Even great wizards and swordsmen of renown often discovered their hidden talents very late in life.
Would holy swords be all that different?
Perhaps not.
Maybe he hadn't yet uncovered all the hidden power of the holy swords.
The hero's offhand yet profound curiosity tickled a similar itch in his companions.
Of course.
They didn't place much weight on that curiosity.
What value did ore buried in the earth, untouched by any miner, hold?
The hero.
Could anyone wield the power of the holy swords more masterfully than their master?
If even he couldn't draw it forth, could such power truly exist?
They soon lost interest and turned away from the hero.
"..."
Leaving him behind, still staring at the holy sword.
A rampaging aura eroding into instability.
Suddenly, amid the consciousness growing murkier by the second, memories of days past surfaced.
Shuyen the fairy thought.
Is this what they call one's life flashing before their eyes?
"Ugh!"
Shuyen shook her head violently to dispel the thought.
'Life flashing before my eyes? As if!'
This wasn't the time for such fortunate delusions.
'This voice, this aura... No doubt about it!'
The fairy recalled that grueling battle fought alongside her companions.
'Astrolog, the Backflowing Swamp...!'
Originally the guardian of the swamp, it had fallen into corruption, devouring all the high spirits of the forest and becoming a calamity.
A being with intelligence beyond mere desire, one that could have claimed the title of Night Sovereign.
Shuyen could only feel horrific despair at its revival—a monster the hero and his companions had barely managed to slay after uniting their strength.
And for good reason.
There was no hero here. No companions.
All that remained was one man, possessor of but a single holy sword among the hero's many legacies.
Compared to the hero's party that had subjugated it back then, this was little more than a fragment of their power.
Could this alone stop the monster's revival?
"Nngh...!"
At last, the fairy realized.
There was no time to ponder possibilities.
The fairy's tiny body writhed uncontrollably, as if struggling against something.
Tense with power, it stiffened, convulsed, and twisted.
'No...!!!'
It was a form of resistance.
Fierce, with every ounce of strength—
'No!!!'
And utterly futile.
Plip.
From the fairy's dewdrop-clear eyes overflowed a muddy, filthy liquid.
One drop.
Two drops.
And then—
Trickle...
The ancient curse of the great evil, parasitic within the fairy for ages, manifested by borrowing her power as its host.
It resembled the backflowing swamp in name and form.
'No!!!'
The fairy squeezed her eyelids shut with all her might, as if to blind herself, but even that failed to stem the torrent.
The filth backflowing from her eyes had already pooled on the ground.
It was several times the volume of her tiny body, yet the flow showed no sign of stopping—in fact, it only grew stronger.
Pain.
Revulsion beyond that.
The fairy's scream, unable to endure, was swallowed into the void.
Splatter.
Splatter.
By the waves of filth surging from her tiny mouth—
'Ah...'
In this moment.
What dominated the fairy was neither the excruciating pain nor the disgust.
Regret. And self-loathing.
'What have I done...'
She had become aware of the horrific curse's existence and could have stopped the great evil's revival.
The fairy had ample opportunity and power to do so.
But all those possibilities had lost meaning, leaving only the worst outcome unfolding before her.
'It's all my fault...'
The fairy blamed it all on herself.
Because she couldn't accept parting with "that man."
Because she immersed herself in denying that farewell.
Had it not been for that, would she have defied his wishes, hidden the First Hero's legacies so no one could claim them—
And imprisoned herself right beside them to guard them?
Isolated by impure emotions and thoughts.
Providing a cozy nest for the curse to grow undisturbed.
At the end of remorse and despair, the fairy steeled her resolve.
'Now... there's only one way...'
The fairy had created this place to block unwanted guests.
A space meant to be a pure trial ground had warped into a fortress.
The fairy thought.
At least her pathetic mistake's result had some use.
Was there a better place to isolate and contain something?
Yes.
She resolved to seal herself and the great evil here.
The backflow, though only a fleeting moment, felt eternal, finally ceased.
The fairy, suppressing the aura's rampage with all her remaining strength.
Without even wiping the filth from her face, she cried out.
"You! Come to think of it, I still haven't heard your name! Tell me your name!"
The fairy strained to open her eyes. Through her filth-blurred retinas, she desperately etched the man's form.
The form of the hero who had awakened her.
The form of the man "that man" would surely approve of.
She could entrust "that man's" legacy to him without worry.
Though all her senses were muddied as if sunk in a swamp by the filth's remnants, the fairy awakened them with every last bit of strength.
Solely determined to remember his face and name.
"No!"
A voice rang out.
"Now's not the time for introductions! Let's save it for later!"
The dazed fairy couldn't comprehend the man's words.
But then, a sight reached her hazy vision.
Only then did the fairy grasp his meaning.
She wondered.
If light came with sound, wouldn't its brilliance ring like the night giving way to dawn?
The holy sword in the man's hand emitted a radiant glow, bright enough to pierce even the fairy's filth-muddied sight.
Thus, the man's form became clear to her.
"Ah..."
The fairy let out an involuntary sound.
For she sensed a strange nostalgia in his expression.
That irresponsible confidence he gave himself amid all uncertainty.
Yet the selfless expression that inspired trust in those around him.
The fairy recalled her companions.
Those who bore the hero as their source of faith, ever ready to throw themselves into any crisis or uncertainty.
It was a fleeting instant that felt endlessly long.
As the fairy hurriedly sorted her thoughts, the man was doing the same.
Their minds met, rendering the fairy's resolve for the end meaningless.
"Ah—"
Though there was much left unsaid, the fairy had to seal her lips.
The backflow began anew.
Waves of filth effortlessly breached her tightly shut mouth, spewing forth into the world.
In that instant.
The fairy's tiny body was swallowed by something.
The pool of filth on the floor surged up, forming the shape of a giant.
It loomed over the man from even higher than the original fairy.
-Pathetic!!! A single sword alone!!! You dare face me with merely that?!
Astrolog, the Backflowing Swamp, bellowed in mad laughter.
Even in its unstable revival, weakened state, it exuded utter confidence.
It was the great evil that had clashed with the master of seven holy swords and his companions in their final battle.
In its eyes, a young man wielding just one holy sword was laughably insignificant.
Splash.
The filth giant's raised arm easily touched the cavern ceiling.
In Rishir's view, it vanished into devouring darkness, an unfathomable height.
From that height, the giant's arm plummeted.
The man steadied his stance.
The holy sword glowed even brighter, and his cloak billowed fiercely.
Whoosh!!!
A gale arose.
The wind that once merely boosted the man's speed now lifted his body into the air.
The First Hero's legacy, the Feather of Wind.
It supported him like the wings of a diving hawk.
Thus, the man's charge traced an unreal diagonal trajectory—
Slash!
The slash of light he created precisely severed the giant's neck.
Splatter!
Splatter splatter!!!
A waterfall of filth thus formed.
The ooze comprising the giant's body lost form and poured to the floor.
"...Ugh!"
At the same time, Rishir, landing on the opposite side, let out a small groan.
Naturally, he wasn't accustomed to flight.
Unsteady posture. Rishir felt a greater recoil than usual.
-Are you alright, my liege!?
Fortunately, the Feather of Wind's aid greatly lessened the burden.
"No, this is way too convenient!?"
Rishir shouted, still riding the exhilaration of flight.
At the same time, his gaze turned to the giant's neck.
He saw it clearly.
-Gaaaargh!!! You worm!!!
The giant writhed in pain from the sword strike.
Moreover, its aura was diminishing in proportion to the filth leaking from the wound.
Due to the purifying aura?
Or the holy sword's power?
'Probably more the latter.'
Rishir sensed a clear aura of negativity from the giant's existence.
'Normally, it'd be purified to death by now...'
However.
The giant was currently manifesting by borrowing the fairy's aura.
Because its foundation lay in the pure fairy's power, the giant's existence didn't dissipate easily.
-Rishir!!! It's no mere demon!!! A fallen spirit!!! Your purifying power may not work well!!! Don't rely on it too much!!!
Zallak spoke, reading Rishir's thoughts.
"Then I just rely on you, right?"
Ahingheung.
Zallak made a strange noise.
-Zallak, your condition...?
The hero's legacy expressed alarm at the altered form of the holy sword.
"Incoming."
Rishir said, watching the giant raise its arm again.
Afterward.
The sequence repeated.
The giant unleashed attacks too slow against its foe.
Rishir countered with movements too swift for it.
-Stop!!! Livestock of the hero!!! You worthless fly!!! Won't you give up already!!!
As wounds accumulated, the giant cried out.
Rishir instinctively knew "worthless fly" wasn't aimed at him.
The giant's movements were excessively sluggish.
Even accounting for its unstable post-revival state.
'Is that fairy... hindering the giant!?'
Unexpected cooperation.
Yet Rishir frowned instead.
In this moment.
His anxiety had become reality.
The giant's aura visibly waned with each wound.
If this exchange continued, it would exhaust all its power and fully dissipate.
'Then the fairy—'
Judging by the giant's reactions.
The giant and fairy were likely sharing auras.
For instance.
If the giant died, so would the fairy.
-My liege! Hesitate not! While Shuyen can still influence it, eradicate it completely!
"Wait! If we do that, the fairy—"
The hero's legacy gave no reply.
Zallak also fell silent.
The fairy's resolve to burn her own existence wasn't for nothing.
The best way to halt the great evil's revival.
Was to annihilate the giant along with the fairy's aura.
That was the conclusion all three shared.
"..."
Rishir was not among them.
He gritted his teeth.
'What do I do?'
Was there no better way?
"Wait—"
Then.
A flash of insight struck Rishir's mind.
"The Sealing Holy Sword!"
-Rishir!? Another holy sword in this situation!?
"Not that—Zallak! The Sealing Holy Sword—couldn't its sealing power seal that giant's aura!?"
-...!
-My liege!!! A pointless assumption! Rohra isn't here!!!
"No!"
Rishir said, looking at Zallak.
"Zallak! Just like you appeared here, couldn't we summon the Sealing Holy Sword too!?"
-Rishir, what...!
Zallak was at a loss for words.
Like he had appeared here?
What did that mean?
How?
He still didn't know why he could come here himself.
"Just recently, I connected with her—Rohra! The aura might still linger! We summon the sword here using that connection!"
Rishir had no doubt in the holy sword's power.
He moved on instinct once more.
With his free hand, he grasped and pulled at empty air.
But, predictably.
No sword emerged in his hand.
"Damn...!"
Rishir gritted his teeth.
As expected, things wouldn't go so smoothly!
Meanwhile, the clash continued.
To halt the giant's momentum, Rishir had no choice but to slash it.
He grimaced as if struck himself.
As the giant's presence faded, he began sensing something more clearly.
The fairy's aura, gradually dimming.
"Damn it, what do I have to do...!"
Thump!
Slash!
Thump!
Slash.
Before he knew it, he was in a trance.
In his eerily silent world, like drowning in water, only his pounding heartbeat and fierce sword strikes alternated.
Thump!
But from when?
Thump!!!!
The heartbeat began devouring all other sounds.
-Rishir!!!
-My liege!!!
Rishir, ceaselessly moving.
Had come to a dazed halt in place.
-Gaaaargh!!!
The giant, believing this its final chance, raised both arms with all its might.
Waves of filth surged unhesitatingly toward the static target.
Thump!
Amid it all, Rishir's world remained infinitely quiet.
Though exerting himself fully, a floating sensation dominated his body, adrift on the breeze.
In this moment, a single will moved him.
Breakthrough.
The will to surpass the immediate limit.
Rishir surrendered fully to that will.
Surrendered his sword.
Drip.
Cracks spiderwebbed across Rishir's body.
Like with the previous holy sword.
But what seeped out was not light, but blood.
And that was a manifestation of breakthrough fiercer than luminescence.
Wishing for breakthrough, unleashing its power.
A sensation utterly different from before enveloped Rishir's body.
Before he knew it, he stood motionless, holding the holy sword aloft.
A pitiful stance against the giant's strike.
From a swordsmanship perspective, undoubtedly so.
-A-again!!! What is happening now...!!!
Zallak cried out desperately.
Like the moment he was summoned from Rishir's room to here.
His body began emitting light once more.
-Gaaaargh!!!!
Zallak's cry intensified.
Like the light bursting from his body.
In that instant.
The light abruptly vanished.
At the same time, cracks spread across the sword's blade.
Like a hatching egg.
Light seeped through the fissures.
No. Exploded forth.
The light instantly enveloped the cracked blade.
Thus, a sword of pure light was forged.
-Y-you...!!!!
The giant wailed.
Its massive arm plummeting toward Rishir was slowly repelled by the sword's radiance.
Fwoooosh!!!
Then.
The light exploded.
And surged upward.
-Gaaaargh!!!
-Kyaaaagh!!!
The fairy's scream leaked through the giant's roar.
The giant's body crumbled bit by bit.
The moment light-vines entangled its form.
Rishir shouted in ecstasy.
"Zallak!!! I knew it would work!!!"
The encouragement from his long-desired master.
Zallak couldn't even respond.
In this moment.
All he did was yield to his master's aura.