Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Silver Flower Sword Wave
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**Screeeeech!!**
A razor-sharp clash of metal pierced the eardrums as if they might tear.
Both arms soared high into the sky.
Yet only one hand still gripped a sword.
*Whirrr.*
A single blade spun through the empty air.
Then it plunged straight down into the ground.
*Thud.*
Silver petals scattered like shattered glass between them.
"How did you..."
Esther's eyes brimmed with bewilderment and astonishment.
And overwhelming excitement.
A tangle of emotions swirled within her.
Her hand was empty—no sword.
A single strike.
Lightning-fast to sense, breathtakingly beautiful to behold.
That technique from long ago.
The sword of the Stella Saintess, who had founded the Church single-handedly. A realm no one had attained since her.
Manifold Six Petals—Silver Flower Sword Wave.
Esther stood speechless for a long while.
And Kallias was no different.
*What did I just do?*
In that fleeting instant, enlightenment dawned.
Thanks to his unique trait, which only awakened on the brink of death.
Of course, he had known.
He had planned it.
He had timed the release of Vivi’s Bracelet perfectly, tasting the explosive surge of holy power fused with that enlightenment.
But the insight had lasted only a moment.
An undeniable, ephemeral flash.
Yet the miracle it birthed sparked endless thoughts.
The long, split earth behind Esther.
The trees sliced clean through, littering the forest.
Sword scars as if a giant's blade had rent the land asunder.
"Your defeat, Esther."
He had no idea what exactly had happened.
His mind was still foggy.
It felt like a dream.
But it wasn't a dream.
Esther had lost her sword, and he held it now.
So he had to state the facts clearly.
*What happened to my arm...*
It felt wrecked.
He had no strength left to twitch a finger.
He had just removed Vivi’s Bracelet, yet barely any holy power remained.
That one strike had consumed most of it.
Having crossed the line of death, fatigue crashed over him like a torrent.
Letting his guard down even slightly would plunge him into unconsciousness.
Yet even so.
Precisely because of that.
Kallias had to speak.
"How did you..."
"Esther Sol Siliaad. The defeated has no right to question."
She bit her lip hard.
Then slowly closed her eyes.
"Go."
"......?"
All he could muster was empty bravado.
Nothing more.
"As you said, I am defeated. Will you not take my life?"
He could not kill the woman who would become the Church's mightiest sword.
She was the reason they could hold even slightly against the Empire.
"You must live."
"...What does that..."
Her face twisted as if he'd spouted nonsense.
But she had to live.
When the main quest began and the kingdom trembled.
She would be the one to steady it.
Because she would ascend to mastery later.
Without her, his own survival would flicker like a candle in the wind.
She had to live.
"Esther, stay by Sullivian's side. Her death is near."
"You!"
Esther startled.
Sullivian was the Valterus Church's archbishop, a renowned holy alchemist, and a prophet.
The very woman who had raised Esther, destined to forge her into a sword.
After her passing.
Esther would take up her will, becoming the Phantom Sword Sullivian—wielding miracles for allies and calamity for foes.
She had no time to waste here.
"Go."
He had no strength left to stand.
Regret tugged at him inwardly, but he had to let her go.
The poise of nobility anchored his fading mind.
Esther's lips parted as if to say more, but she clenched her fist and turned away.
*She's not taking the sword?*
Given her nature, even in defeat, sparing her life meant she would leave her blade behind.
A moment later.
Feeling her presence fade into the distance, Kallias collapsed with a thud.
"I nearly died."
He really had almost died. To think he'd come that close at Esther's hands.
It was absurd enough to draw a laugh.
"Fuck, that hurts..."
*Cough!* Fresh blood sprayed.
Internal injuries, it seemed.
Of course—his body was a map of wounds.
Surviving was miraculous.
Dozens of sword cuts and that masterful roundhouse had ruptured his organs.
But even so.
*I survived.*
*Heh. Hahaha!*
Kallias clutched his forehead and laughed madly. Blood bubbled from his mouth with each guffaw, but he couldn't stop.
He had survived Esther Sol Siliaad, the next Paladin in line.
He had perfected the first petal of Manifold Six Petals and unleashed Silver Flower Sword Wave. Shattered her sword aura and revealed the silver bloom.
The sword-inept wastrel had lived against the genius of geniuses, Esther.
The fact thrilled him to madness.
"Ha..."
The past three years of effort hadn't been in vain. Not pointless drudgery.
A strange fulfillment bloomed.
Relief weighed down his eyelids.
*Lost too much blood?*
With the Twilight Cloak, he shouldn't feel cold, yet chills wracked him.
No time to delay.
Kallias pulled a vial of holy water from his stigmata.
He downed it in one gulp and splashed the rest over his body.
A moment later, a massive scream echoed through the forest before silence fell like death.
***
Some days later.
The outer castle of Carpe Royal Palace.
In a beautifully adorned bedroom lay a middle-aged woman.
Esther approached and clasped her hand tightly.
The room brimmed with oddities unfit for Carpe's palace.
All were holy alchemy tools and artifacts touched by her hands.
She was of Carpe royal blood, inheritor of distant cousin Bright's line.
The current king's cousin and the Valterus Church's honorary archbishop.
A holy alchemist and prophet.
Sullivian von Olid Bright.
"So, he wielded the Stella Saintess's sword... It must have been beautiful."
Esther's guardian and sole protector.
"Yes. It was beautiful."
"A prophet? Perhaps it's him, not me. Kallias, was it?"
"Yes."
"He foresaw my death."
"Yes. He told me to stay by your side."
"I could not see my own death. But he did."
Sullivian remained serene even at the mention of her foreseen demise.
Her condition was the utmost secret.
Only Esther and a few royals knew. Kallias shouldn't.
"Esther."
"Yes."
"Keep him close."
"Why?"
"He said he couldn't kill you?"
A foe who couldn't slay her.
And he had mastered the saintess's sword.
It would benefit Esther to stay near him.
"That's..."
"Don't turn away."
Esther tilted her head, her face a storm of confusion.
"Do you think... he holds feelings for me?"
"That's how it seems to me."
It made no sense. His actions had been utterly vicious.
All because he hated her.
Because she was a commoner, he despised her. Yet it was all a ploy for her attention?
"Men love pranks even as they age. But when it's time to speak true, they do so more reliably than anyone."
"......"
Or perhaps.
"He strove to become a man worthy of you, and succeeded."
"But..."
"He may be atoning. Not a scratch on you. Even mastering the Stella Saintess's sword, subduing one of your caliber unscathed wouldn't be easy."
Esther had no retort.
"What did he look like?"
"Wretched..."
"And you?"
"......"
Her palm was slightly torn—nothing more.
Come to think of it.
He could have used Silver Flower Sword Wave, yet he only dodged her strikes silently. He could have, if he'd wanted.
But he didn't.
Only at the very end, when her blade neared his throat, did he unleash it.
"That's how men are. A mere trigger turns a childish fool into a man beyond recognition. Usually when they shoulder some burden. What weighs on his shoulders?"
"......I don't know."
Then.
"Find out. That comes first."
"......"
"I know you well, having watched you so long. You who adored the saintess's legends... You'll want to cross swords with him again."
But.
"For now, heed his words."
Her lifespan was short.
"I have too little time left to let him steal you away."
* * *
*Crackle, pop.*
Amid flickering campfire and sparking logs, a black shadow lurked.
One human-shaped shadow roasted something over the flames.
The soot-faced glutton eating alone was Brans.
Kallias's squire, Brans.
"Eating alone...?"
"Ah! My lord! You're awake!?"
Brans startled, tossing his meat skewer and rushing over.
*I'm drained.*
No wounds on his body.
Holy power had recovered somewhat, and the holy water seemed to have mended his internals.
Not a scar—its effects were reliable.
Though imperfect, it healed amid agonizing pain that knocked him out.
*This guy endured it?*
Madness he hadn't gone insane.
"Try some porridge first, my lord."
*Slurp.*
Kallias sipped once and spat it out with a *Ptoo!*
"You bastard, what did you put in this?"
Spicy, salty, bitter.
What could make it taste like this?
So varied and foul. His already weak body heated up.
"Sh-should I boil more?"
"Forget it. Give me meat."
With Glutton's trait, he could digest anything.
Kallias devoured dozens of chunks Brans grilled, then patted his belly.
"You ate it all..."
"What was that?"
"N-nothing! How are you feeling, my lord? I was shocked. At first, I thought you'd..."
"Hm. Did you?"
Of course—crumpled in a pool of blood.
With his belly full, Kallias leaned against the cave wall and scanned the surroundings.
A deep forest cave.
Brans had nursed him here for over a week.
The meat from Trista was gone; they'd need to forage food and water.
"Why'd you eat all my meat?"
"Y-yes!? I-I had to eat to care for you, my lord..."
Brans protested innocence.
"Hunt twice as much as you ate."
"That's too much..."
"We'll stay another day or two."
"Are you that unwell?"
Exhaustion weighed heavy.
Esther was gone, but the Iron Heretic Inquisitor still hunted him.
In this state, even fleeing would be impossible.
"You talk too much. Want to die?"
"I-I'll go!"
Brans bolted out. Kallias clicked his tongue.
They'd packed for half a month; ten days' worth gone already.
*How much did he stuff himself?*
*Tsk.*
Kallias closed his eyes and quietly examined his body.
A small bud nestled in his dantian.
Its presence felt clearer than before.
```
Kallias von Jervan
Class: Pilgrim.
Divine Rank: Grade 4
Sacred Power: 2571/4251.
Talent: [Bard’s Blessing - Supreme]
Traits: [Corpse Boon] [Noble’s Duty] [Count Family Wastrel] [Deathbed Epiphany] [Church’s Black Sheep] [Big Eater] [Tri-Color Eyes]
[Stats]
Strength: 22 > 26+(10)
Agility: 15+(10)
Technique: 8 > 12
Vitality: 15 > 17+(10)
Faith: 21 > 23
```
Mastering Manifold Six Petals had boosted his overall stats and sacred power.
+2 to all except Agility.
Sacred power up by about a thousand.
From completing the first petal—gains in control and insight.
*Just taking my first steps?*
Three years.
Finally, his first toddling step.
Now it truly began.
At last, on the starting line with them.
Joy welled to tears, but he quelled it deliberately.
"Hoo—"
The path ahead was long.
Too early for complacency.
One bud in his dantian. Six total, all bloomed, for true Manifold Six Petals.
Too many powerhouses in this world to rejoice over one.
*Lucked out too much.*
Even against Esther, he'd leaned on fortune. Trusted his trait, but it was razor-thin.
One slip, and he'd have died before it triggered.
Kallias gripped one of two swords in the cave corner.
*Arsando's done for.*
Arsando. Usable, but too damaged.
If it were his only, he'd make do—but not now.
He had Esther's sword.
```
[Lucen]
Grade: Famous Sword
Indwelling Soul: Lucen du Vallus.
-A sword infused with Lucen's soul.
Fell just short of spirit sword status.
One of the top five famous swords long kept by the Church.
```
"Hardly a nick."
Near spirit sword quality—perfect balance and weight.
Since she'd dropped it, Silver Flower Sword Wave left scant marks.
"No corpse boon."
No indwelling corpse soul.
Only manifests in self-forged blades, it seemed.
He nodded and regripped Arsando.
Time to let it go.
Kallias released Arsando's corpse sword state.
Holy power glittered brilliantly around the blade.
Like a saint praying to god, he appeared a devout believer.
```
[Guided soul to the divine side.]
[Offering famous sword grants reward.]
[Technique +1]
```