Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Reunion (5)
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Sara and Kyle followed the trail Remia had left, entering the church. As the rumors suggested, the interior was filled with all sorts of relics, and Sara let out a scream each time she spotted one.
"Th-this is all holy relic level...!"
To her, the Saintess of the Delorim Church, this place was like a massive treasure trove.
Sacred scriptures carved into the walls.
Ornaments that hadn't rusted despite the flow of time.
Wall paintings and holy books inscribed with the words of the gods.
All of it was treated as holy relics even in the Holy Kingdom, the church's homeland. Treasures filled every corner. Priceless artifacts of religious and historical value stood before her, and Sara couldn't hide her excitement.
'This place... a cursed land?'
She had been taught as much.
The ruins of the old kingdom at the heart of the ashen wasteland were a cursed land, forsaken by the stars.
But what was the reality?
'No.'
It was absolutely not.
Far from cursed, this was a holier place than anything Sara had ever seen.
"Ahh..."
Sara let out a sigh as she caressed the church wall. Feeling the grooves of the inscribed letters, she wore an entranced expression.
She could feel the holiness.
Sara sensed the lingering divine presence here.
Even after centuries, the church hadn't lost its sanctity. Sara was certain—no believer, no matter who, could look upon this sight and dare call it a "cursed land."
"It's certain, Kyle."
Sara said in an excited voice.
"The Holy Grail is here. If the Holy Grail truly exists, I can't imagine it anywhere else. It's right here...!"
"Is that so."
Kyle replied indifferently.
"Remia's presence leads that way. Is there lingering divinity there too?"
"Yes, strongly. And it's getting stronger."
Kyle took the lead, with Sara following behind.
Soon, they discovered a door between massive statues. It stood wide open, revealing stairs descending underground.
"Seems like this is it."
Kyle nodded and descended the stairs. When he was halfway down, Sara moved to follow.
Or rather, she tried to.
"...What is it, Kyle?"
Kyle extended his arm, blocking Sara's path. Sara tilted her head at his sudden action.
"What's going on...?"
"Remia's been taken down."
"...What?"
A short phrase.
Sara swallowed hard, while Kyle narrowed his eyes, staring down the stairs.
"She's collapsed. Not dead. Two opponents, probably. She's been captured."
"Then..."
"I'll go alone."
Kyle reached for his waist. His fingers wrapped around the hilt of the Holy Sword as he exhaled shortly.
"Sara."
He turned to her.
His gaze was chillingly cold. Sara shuddered at Kyle's sunken, emotionless eyes. It was different from his usual self.
"Bless me."
His voice was devoid of feeling, utterly indifferent.
Since that day facing the Demon King, Kyle's emotions had dulled greatly... but it was especially pronounced before battle. Sara felt an inexplicable chill and slowly nodded.
"...Yes, Kyle."
Sara began her prayer.
The Saintess's blessing drew out the Hero's star-given potential. Kyle's body enhanced, his senses sharpened.
"Don't come down. Stay here."
"...No need for support?"
"No need."
Sara stepped back a few paces.
Kyle drew his Holy Sword and stomped lightly.
Boom!
A light stomp, but its power was anything but. The already cracked spiral stairs crumbled under the impact.
Rumble!
Shattered debris rained down. Each piece was the size of a person, and Kyle mounted one. Plummeting with the wreckage, he narrowed his eyes.
His gaze first landed on the man standing before Remia. The man's face was fully visible—silver hair and pointed ears.
'...An elf?'
Kyle felt doubt.
Elves typically had golden hair. He'd never heard of a silver-haired elf. Yet, he felt an inexplicable familiarity from this one.
『The Forgotten One.』
The stars whispered in Kyle's ear.
The silver-haired elf was a forgotten being.
Kyle felt unease and shifted his gaze. Next was the woman leaning against a pillar. She stared straight at him.
Their eyes met.
Unlike the silver-haired elf, the woman's face was hooded by her robe. Only her eyes were visible. But Kyle couldn't tear his gaze from them. He stared, entranced.
Icy blue eyes.
Eyes with vivid color that shone even in the darkness.
The moment he looked into them, the stars whispered again in his ear.
『The Missed One.』
What had he missed?
Kyle didn't know. Yet, those blue eyes stirred a strange sense of déjà vu.
'...Whoever you are.'
His grip tightened on the hilt.
Shing. The Holy Sword slid smoothly from its sheath. A radiant platinum glow enveloped it in the darkness.
'I can subdue you and find out.'
Kyle bent his knees. Crack. The debris beneath him cracked.
Thud.
He straightened, kicking off the debris and charging. The motion was light, but its aftermath was not.
Bang!
Like a cannon firing, Kyle's form blurred. In one leap, he closed the distance to the woman.
Meanwhile, she wasn't idle.
She clenched her fist at the charging Kyle. Blue mana surged wildly... then converged into a point, forming a spell.
The approaching Kyle swung his Holy Sword.
The woman thrust her mana-clutched fist.
Platinum light clashed with blue mana. Dust billowed, followed by the sound.
Kaboom!
With a cavern-shaking roar, the battle began.
2.
『The Star Armaments defy common sense.』
A famous line.
The most basic form of the Star Armament was the Star Sword, and swordmasters who had faced the Hero on the battlefield evaluated its platinum blade thusly.
「That's not a sword.」
The Sword Superhuman, Kuntil.
「A swordsman's skill can turn even a poor blade into a legendary one. But the Holy Sword Kyle wields is the opposite.」
He pointed at the Holy Sword in Kyle's hand.
「Even a clueless kid swinging it could cleave a knight's longsword in half. It's beyond reason.」
It's abnormal.
Not something you can call a sword.
「Touch it, and you're cut. Swing it, and it severs. Honestly, if you charged me with that Holy Sword... I wouldn't know how to win.」
Even Kuntil, the Sword Superhuman, balked when Kyle drew the Holy Sword in spars. No matter one's superior technique, facing a blade that "severs all it touches" was daunting.
That was the Holy Sword.
Unbound by common sense, overturning even skill gaps... something beyond a mere sword.
To fight its wielder, the Hero, on equal terms required physical prowess surpassing his or something the Holy Sword couldn't cut.
And Raniel had neither.
Kaboom!
The dust from the explosion settled with the roar. A single clash, but victory and defeat were clear.
"Tch."
Raniel was the one pushed back.
She clicked her tongue briefly and pressed her hand's back. Blood trickled from the cut.
A momentary clash.
When shockwave met Holy Sword, Raniel was repelled. The platinum blade sliced through the spell and her hand.
Not a deep wound.
But the spell being cut mattered.
'Still the same.'
Raniel shook her aching wrist lightly.
『The Holy Sword cuts all.』
Even formless spells were no exception.
When first-rate swordsmanship merged with the star-granted Holy Sword, few things escaped its cut.
Whoosh!
The settling dust surged again. Kyle burst through, low to the ground, closing in on Raniel.
His movements were fluid.
Waste-free motion, blindingly fast.
Raniel's eyes tracked him, reading his moves. His shoulder twitched—a horizontal slash incoming.
Slice.
She arched back urgently but didn't fully evade. A few strands of ash-gray hair peeked from her hood, severed and fluttering in the air.
Fluttering ash-gray hair.
Kyle's eyes flickered for an instant, but his blade didn't waver. He flowed into the next motion without hesitation.
The horizontal slash's tip arced downward. Dragging low, he stepped forward, narrowing the gap. The blade scraped stone, but no severing sound came.
Shing.
It smoothly carved the floor, tip springing up. Platinum starlight gleamed sharply. Raniel's eyes widened briefly.
Approaching blade tip.
The Holy Sword's trajectory traced before her eyes. Having clashed with countless foes in melee, she understood a warrior's fight despite being a mage.
'Watch the tip.'
Read the path, decide action.
Her enhanced dynamic vision enabled it. Similar to a swordmaster's super senses, but different.
Product of conscious calculation, not instinct.
Every instant calculated, Raniel moved with precision. She twitched her fingers.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Spell-Smite The spell targeted not the blade edge. Touching it meant only being cut. It struck the flat, aiming for Kyle's wrist gripping the Holy Sword.
Clang!
No major damage, but it disrupted the blade's path. Raniel slipped from its arc. Yet Kyle's sword didn't stop.
The upward swing reversed downward.
A first-rate swordsman doesn't halt for evasion or block. Blocked or parried strikes prepare the next.
Thus, Kyle's blade continued.
The sword slicing air was swift. The Hero, surpassing superhumans in physique, wielded the all-severing Holy Sword relentlessly, weaving a net of blades.
Sword net.
Technique of the Sword Ghost Draka.
Extending sword ki to rake surroundings—a feat for sword superhumans alone... Kyle replicated it solely through physical acceleration.