Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Island Yaksha (4)
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“Father summoned me?”
After returning to reality, Theo was in the middle of checking the various functions of the relics when he jolted in surprise.
His father rarely called for him directly like this.
‘Did something happen?’
The family atmosphere was already tense due to the Ed incident.
So, perhaps he wanted to hear Theo’s opinion, since he had been at the forefront of it.
“Tell him I’ll come see him right away.”
The Law Swordsman who had come with the message from the Family Head’s residence bowed his head and quietly withdrew.
‘As expected of the Azure Sword Guard Unit... They truly are Father’s shadows.’
They always stayed by Kyle’s side, but their skills were said to rival those of the White Dragon Knights or the Black Iron Knights—a level that even surprised Theo.
Theo quickly prepared to head to the mountain lodge where the Half-Sword Mausoleum was located.
* * *
-Heavy.
That was Theo’s first thought upon arriving at the lodge.
It exuded a far stronger presence than during his third Awakening Ceremony.
The broken swords scattered about felt as if they were glaring at him.
For a moment, Theo wondered if Kyle was testing him again.
‘No. That’s not it. This is... because I can sense so much more now than back then.’
But Theo soon realized that Kyle wasn’t even leaking any of his aura this time.
It was all due to the intense malice generated by the terrain of the Half-Sword Mausoleum itself.
It was so potent that it was a wonder no monsters were drawn to it.
If someone training in demonic energy existed, this would be the perfect spirit site—no better one could be found.
Theo was inwardly pleased that he could now ‘sense’ far more than during his own Awakening Ceremony.
Yet at the same time, cold sweat involuntarily broke out on his skin.
‘How much malice must someone of Father’s caliber sense? And he’s not just enduring it—he’s enjoying it... Even after reaching that realm, he never stops training.’
Endless refinement.
An ambition aimed ever upward.
An insatiable hunger.
All of this was likely the driving force that had allowed Kyle to hold the throne of absolute power for so long.
That made him seem even greater.
The desire to one day reach that position welled up anew in Theo’s chest.
“You’ve been working diligently. Most who are called geniuses become complacent with themselves and gradually slacken their efforts.”
Kyle appeared right at that moment.
Amusement shone strongly in his eyes as he looked at Theo, who stood entranced.
Theo hesitated for a moment over how to respond, then decided to reveal his true feelings.
“I know full well that everything I have now came from sheer <luck>, so I can’t afford to be lazy.”
“<Luck>, you say.”
A soft chuckle escaped Kyle.
“If others heard that, they’d curse you out. To them, it’d seem like you’re obnoxiously humble-bragging.”
“I don’t care how others see it.”
“That’s a fine mindset.”
Kyle nodded.
The reason Theo called it <luck>.
It was because of his regression.
The chance to challenge anew.
The opportunity to start over.
It was, in truth, a privilege.
One that others could crave but never possess.
Knowing this, Theo strove endlessly to make the most of this chance.
And he never grew indolent.
Even aware that new opportunities might arise, he clung to this one with the desperation of it being his last.
This was what Kyle approved of.
‘In the end, this was another test.’
Theo intuited that if he hadn’t answered properly here, Kyle would have thrust Drake’s blades and the Moonwhite Sword into the Half-Sword Mausoleum.
It seemed Kyle’s distrust and trials would continue for a while.
How long would this go on?
A twinge of unease stirred.
“No matter how many privileges or chances are granted, plenty of people fail to make use of them. No—most try to exploit them to live comfortably. And those people... inevitably hit a ceiling they can’t climb past.”
Kyle unbound his hands behind his back and extended one toward the air.
“That, too, is your talent. So you can take pride in what you’ve achieved on your own.”
Theo felt those words dispel his anxiety like magic.
-He’s finally starting to acknowledge me as his son.
The realization filled him with joy.
Clank, clank!
It was right then.
One of the swords around Kyle suddenly trembled violently, floated into the air, and settled into his grasp.
Was he going to test him with even a single blade?
As Theo reached for Drake’s blades with that thought,
Crunch!
The sword in Kyle’s hand began to crumple.
“......!?”
Theo’s eyes widened in shock, unsure what was happening.
In moments, the sword folded inward, ultimately forming a large iron orb.
An orb radiating wisps of malice.
“Eat this.”
Kyle held it out to Theo.
“This... is what you mean?”
“Caught you off guard, didn’t I? It’s sudden.”
“Ah, no.”
Theo hurriedly shook his head at Kyle’s light laugh.
“That’s natural. Truth be told, I pondered it for a long time. I had to give you something, but what? You already seem to have most things.”
Kyle’s gaze quickly scanned Theo from head to toe.
The relics, including the Moonwhite Sword, all trembled faintly in unison.
‘These guys are all on edge.’
Had they sensed the slayer’s karma?
“So giving you just anything wouldn’t help someone like you, who aims higher. That’s why I’m giving you something that can serve as a stepping stone. This is ‘karma.’ A vessel containing the karma of an absolute who dominated an era.”
Theo strongly felt as if Kyle’s gaze pierced his soul down to its atoms.
“You possess innate physical strength. Not just raw power, but the ability to wield it actively. You overwhelm foes with explosive speed. And through relentlessly expanding your lung capacity, you pursue a destructive swordsmanship that sustains even greater speed for longer durations.”
Kyle seemed to already know the form of swordsmanship Theo pursued.
“Thanks to that, you can contain many things within you. The Demon Dragon, the Sword Dragon... Soon the Black Dragon as well... And a great many others besides. Even a hint of magic, it seems.”
For a swordsman pursuing the pinnacle of swordsmanship, magic was a profoundly difficult domain. He’d need to handle it carefully.
Kyle added that as he continued.
“So eat this. This karma will linger in your subconscious and prove a great aid when the things you possess begin to blend into one. It’s like a guide.”
“Who was the owner of this sword?”
“I can’t tell you. It’d be too easy if I did. You might trap yourself in preconceptions and self-imposed limits. Uncover whose karma it is on your own, slowly.”
“......”
Theo silently gazed at the sword-orb.
The karma of an unknown absolute.
A subtle madness emanated from it, one that could captivate a person.
As Kyle said, it could point Theo to shortcuts time and again—or it could create blind spots.
For it couldn’t provide a way past the wall this absolute had never overcome.
And that wall
stood right before him.
The wall named Kyle.
‘Grow strong quickly with this karma, but don’t get trapped by it—use it as a [Stepping Stone]. That’s what he means.’
So that’s what he meant by a gift that could serve as a stepping stone.
“Let me add one footnote.”
“......?”
“Your siblings all received karma from the Half-Sword Mausoleum just like this.”
“......!”
“All perfectly suited as stepping stones for the paths they pursue.”
Thump thump thump!
In that instant, Theo’s heart raced.
The ‘siblings’ Kyle spoke of weren’t merely blood relations.
The children Kyle acknowledged meant one thing only.
-The prime candidates for succession.
All were offspring Kyle deemed worthy—not just talented, but ‘geniuses’—to inherit his position.
The so-called Five Great Candidates.
Thump thump thump thump—
“That means...!”
“You asked for a chance to prove your worth, didn’t you?”
-Give me that chance.
Theo’s response to the question of whether he truly aimed for the throne.
“I’ll give it to you. That opportunity. This will be your first.”
With trembling hands, Theo reverently accepted the sword-orb.
“But steel yourself. There are still many siblings above you. Children born far earlier, who’ve already secured their positions and built their foundations. You’ll need to seriously consider how to break through their scrutiny.”
A fierce glint entered Theo’s eyes.
Intense thoughts rippled across the orb’s surface, spreading gently outward.
It was heavy.
The weight of that karma.
“And it’s not just them. Many still eye this seat. Even among non-direct lines—your cousins, elders and retainers from past generations—there are those who crave the throne. Even collateral branches who left the Ragnars, or those who seem utterly unrelated on the surface. Troyvan, whom you drove out, fits there. And... among them, some...”
Kyle’s explanation cut off midway.
Theo looked up.
Their eyes met.
There dwelled a weight of karma incomparable to that in the iron orb.
“I’m one, too.”
“......!”
Kyle’s lips curled at one corner.
“You’ll have to surpass even me in the end.”
Thump...! Thump...! Thump...! Thump...!
Theo’s heart pounded fiercely.
A chill ran down his spine.
The monster whom even Lordbrock couldn’t defeat. The one who broke even the Mad Dragon Emperor. That monster himself was telling him to win.
One could even call it blatant intimidation.
But,
“Yes. I will, without fail.”
Theo was smiling.
Kyle’s eyebrow twitched.
“Someday, I will surpass you, Father.”
In Theo’s smile, Kyle sensed only one emotion.
The thrill of the hunt.
‘Thrill of the... hunt!’
Before an emotion he couldn’t recall ever feeling, Kyle burst into roaring laughter.
“Good. Try it.”
Kyle withdrew the hand covering the sword-orb and clasped his arms behind his back once more.
Theo bowed his head in gratitude.
And then,
he brought the sword-orb straight to his lips.
Sss—
As if waiting, the orb melted away, sliding down Theo’s throat.
“......!”
Theo swiftly sat cross-legged on the spot and began circulating his mana.
Whoooosh—
Crackle, crackle-crackle!
Pale steam rose above his crown, soon giving way to brilliant yellow lightning sparks.
Kyle silently watched Theo.
Rumble rumble—
Intense waves soon radiated from Theo at the center,
Hummm! Hummmm!
And the myriad half-swords forming the mausoleum resonated in unison.
As if cheering a friend who had found a new master.
Or perhaps envying it.
Flutter!
At that moment, a black bunting alighted silently on Kyle’s left shoulder as he watched Theo.
Coo!
“Why that sword out of all the countless ones?”
Cooo—
The black bunting nodded with a face full of worry.
But Kyle acted as if there were no issue at all.
“Of course. You saw it too, didn’t you?”
A smile played on his lips.
“When I acknowledged him as successor, he smiled.”
Including the Five Great Candidates still called that way, and even those children no longer in this world—all the ones Kyle deemed ‘acceptable’ had similar reactions.
Joy, or perhaps感動.
But Theo alone reacted differently.
The thrill of the hunt.
The sight of a son eager to topple his father couldn’t have pleased him more.
“Out of all my many children, that boy alone smiled.”
The same smile now graced Kyle’s own lips.
The thrill of the hunt toward his son,
who would one day come as his mortal rival.