Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Renowned Sword Lucen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The renowned sword, Lucen.
Narrower in width than Arsando.
But longer in length.
It took the form of a typical longsword, yet possessed an exquisite sense of weight and balance.
The blade was double-edged, usable with one hand or two.
Kallias gripped Lucen firmly and calmly closed his eyes.
What he felt was the wind.
And the rustling of the underbrush.
But soon, the sensations of skin and the sounds in his ears faded away.
Only the sword and himself.
Nothing else existed in the world.
His dantian itched.
The first bud of the Mystic Blossom Core slowly blossomed and flowered. The inherent divine power flowed through his entire body, strengthening his flesh.
Then, it gathered at his fingertips, enveloping Lucen.
The divine power coiled like chains, twisting and intertwining.
The densely packed energy coalesced into one, sharpening keenly along the surface.
Flash.
He opened his eyes and swung Lucen horizontally.
A simple slash.
Shwick.
Yet what it severed was far from simple.
Boom! Rumble rumble boom!
It cleanly felled a single tree that must have been centuries old.
Even three grown men stretching out their arms wide couldn't fully encircle its girth, but before Kallias, it fell like a practice straw dummy.
"Not bad."
The Mystic Blossom Core he had newly mastered—Silver Flower Sword Wave.
As the Mystic Blossom Core took root in his dantian like a coiled serpent, his overall physical abilities were steadily improving.
It felt as if his very constitution was changing.
‘Of course, my divine power is still lacking.’
The first bud of the Mystic Blossom Core in his dantian was merely a simple sprout.
Normally, it stored divine power and filtered out impurities.
But when needed,
The bud unfurled, blooming to emit far greater divine power.
And with that, he unleashed the Silver Flower Sword Wave.
‘Still not enough to unleash it properly.’
Not only was the quality of his divine power lacking, but the quantity as well.
Though the total amount had nearly doubled compared to before, it was still insufficient.
Likely due to the purity only reaching 4th grade.
It was regrettable, but unavoidable.
The quality of divine power was something he couldn't address right now.
"At least I gained one trait."
He couldn't fully draw out the Mystic Blossom Core's true power, but he had acquired the prodigy swordsman trait, making it a bit easier to wield a sword.
Nothing had changed dramatically, but handling the sword felt mysteriously smoother.
He used fewer unnecessary muscles and more of the ones that mattered.
It seemed trivial, but that allowed the sword to trace its path even swifter.
No excess movements.
That tiny difference decided life and death in a duel of blades.
"And my body feels much better now."
Kallias sheathed the renowned sword Lucen in a makeshift scabbard, draped the Twilight Cape he had set aside, and turned his head.
‘Brans is that way.’
Though quite far, his senses had sharpened greatly after mastering the Mystic Blossom Core. After walking about a hundred meters,
Sure enough, there was Brans.
"What are you doing."
"My lord! I'm catching fish!"
Brans had waded into the middle of a fairly wide stream, boasting that he was good at it and just to wait a bit.
Brans stood utterly still, like a bear hunting salmon.
‘Hmm, that guy's got a sturdy build.’
But utterly useless.
Brans, who had bragged about catching fish, failed to snag even one and blamed the stream water.
"The water quality's different from my village. Seems like no fish here. Tsk."
"......Useless."
In the end, Kallias played his flute.
To the sweet melody of his tune, a mountain hare perked its ears and approached.
Without moving a muscle, he played a bit more, and this time a deer drew near, brimming with curiosity.
That was when Kallias drew his sword.
Slash! Flutter flap flap!
The other beasts fled, but the deer could not.
With one stroke, its throat severed, the deer died instantly, and Brans joyfully began skinning it and preparing the meat.
"As expected of my lord! Whoa! One draw of the sword, and the deer's head goes snap!"
"Brans."
"Yes, my lord!"
"Shut up and roast it."
"Yes, sir!"
He hated to admit it, but he was growing accustomed to traveling with the man.
Useless, yes, but there was no distance or awkwardness with Brans, which was comfortable.
No matter what curses he spat, the man responded energetically and tried to be helpful. What an odd fellow.
"Brans."
"Yes, here sir."
Brans handed Kallias a well-roasted deer haunch.
A few were charred black.
This was the best-roasted one.
"I sprinkled herbs, salt, and pepper so there's no gamey smell."
All seasonings from Trista. Indeed, they made all the difference.
Even while camping, Kallias elegantly cut into the deer haunch with fork and knife.
The deer haunch meat was decent.
With his glutton trait activating, he finished the entire deer before ending his meal.
"Brans."
"Yes? More, sir?"
Brans, holding his own portion, made a pitiful face.
"No, I have a question."
"Ah, yes. Ask away."
"Why do you follow me."
He had wanted to ask at some point.
"Well, obviously...... since that day, my life isn't mine anymore, right."
Since that day? Not understanding, Kallias fell silent for a long while.
"You already forgot? You turned all my brothers into swords and sold them off, then went to the casino and slaughtered the Lutens knights."
"I did."
But so what.
"Seeing your gambling skills then, I, Brans, fell deeply in love."
A man-to-man duel, wagering himself.
Victory there.
Ruthlessly beheading foes who wouldn't accept defeat. Turning crisis into opportunity with that ingenuity!
"I fell for your manliness, my lord, and wish to offer my loyalty!"
"I see."
"You noticed? My feelings?"
"Your feelings? As if I care. If you're done eating, get up. We have a long way to go."
"Ah, yes."
Brans scratched the back of his head sheepishly and rose, routinely overturning the dirt to erase traces.
Then, as he kicked the deer bones to cover them,
"UwAAAAAHHH!!"
Suddenly, Brans let out a death scream and vanished.
Literally vanished.
Kallias wondered if some unknown mystery was at play, but upon closer look, he realized Brans had fallen into a strange pit.
"......"
Quite deep; he couldn't see the bottom.
No sign of Brans either, so very deep indeed.
"Brans. I'll remember you."
At that depth, he was surely dead.
Not being a pilgrim, survival would be impossible.
Regrettable, but nothing to be done.
"I'll live your share too."
As he turned to shoulder his bag alone and depart,
A voice came from the pit.
[My lord~!]
"What, you're alive."
[You can't abandon me!]
"......I wouldn't."
Quick on the uptake.
"Can you climb out."
[That seems tough! But there's a door here, looks like it leads somewhere!]
A door? Passage? Then not a natural pit.
"Hmm...... a door deep underground."
One thing came to mind.
Kallias immediately channeled divine power to protect his body and descended into the pit.
Whoosh!!
Thud!
So high he braced for impact, but it was unnecessary.
He had forgotten one of the Twilight Cape's abilities was fall mitigation.
"My lord! You came here for me!!"
"Shut up and move."
Pushing aside the approaching Brans, Kallias examined the door in the wall.
Not a simple door.
An iron door, engraved with geometric patterns.
Kallias knew what places typically had such doors.
‘A holy alchemist's underground lab.’
Holy alchemy referred to priests who studied alchemy.
Lacking great talent or interest in swordsmanship, they researched holy relics and the artifacts derived from them.
"What's this, my lord?"
"Traces of a holy alchemist. Looks like a door inscribed with holy alchemy."
Brans looked puzzled.
"Think of it as...... a lock made of divine power. A seal, or a barrier, to make it simple."
"Ah."
Kallias gazed at the iron door crafted by holy alchemy and reached out.
"As expected."
The holy alchemy was still active.
It wouldn't budge even with force.
An intangible energy firmly blocked the door like a shield.
To open such a door, one of two ways.
Hope someone opens from inside, or smash it from outside.
Kallias chose the latter.
"It's okay to break it?"
"The one who built this underground is hardly upright. No decent person does such things."
Holy alchemists were valuable.
They created artifacts close to holy relics, and through various researches, produced items to protect body and home. Even Carpe's royal castle was filled with barriers and traps from holy alchemists.
From the church and kingdom's view,
Holy alchemists were precious assets.
To be protected.
But not all holy alchemists created only beneficial things.
Where was good and evil in the pursuit of knowledge.
Those who delved into research often forgot such distinctions.
"Those hiding research from eyes are usually up to no good."
Shwick!
In a flash, Kallias's sword returned to its sheath.
Creak, thud!
The iron door split diagonally in two.
The sword aura cloaked in Silver Flower Sword Wave easily shattered the holy alchemy barrier.
"Let's go."
"Yes, sir!"
But Kallias didn't lead. He eyed Brans.
Meaning, go first.
Brans made a miserable face.
"I still have five holy waters."
"......You're too much, sir."
At Kallias's calm words, Brans trudged ahead like a man who had lost all to the world.
Twitching nervously at first, Brans soon walked normally.
"Seems like nothing here?"
"Indeed."
Just a long, long passage.
Kallias raised his hand, emitting divine power to create bright light.
"The passage splits here?"
"Indeed."
Two paths.
After brief thought, he took the right.
‘This energy...... feels familiar.’
A strange sense of déjà vu from the right path.
Then.
A fallen figure in the passage.
"Hey, my lord!"
"I know."
A corpse leaning against the wall, dead.
‘A holy alchemist.’
Hadn't been dead long.
The body was intact, no rot stench.
"Why'd he die?"
"No external wounds."
Perhaps illness.
That was the guess.
Too young for natural causes, too clean for poison.
Chronic illness or sudden death, maybe.
"We'll find out by checking."
A faint glow shimmered from the corpse.
Seems he had lingering regrets.
Kallias immediately turned the corpse into a carcass sword.
"Hmm......"
Memories flooded his mind. Underground research.
But unfulfilled regrets.
Kallias looked at the two-handed sword in his hand.
[Logeris]
Grade – Carcass.
Soul within – Logeris Juwan.
-The sword imbued with Logeris's resentment.
It seeks completion of his research.
"Logeris......"
Not entirely clear.
But he got the gist.
Kallias strode unhesitatingly down the passage.
Amid piles of documents, a research journal lay buried.
Logeris's research journal.
[Why did God perform miracles only toward humans and sub-races? Why grant miracles only to the dead flesh of humans and sub-races?]
[Omitted]
[Why can't carcass swords be made from beast corpses? Why not from magical beasts? I questioned this and delved into the taboo.]
Taboo.
As expected, shady research.
Forbidden by the church.
"God's miracles are only for humans."
But what of sub-races.
Were sub-races human too.
To God, humans and sub-races seemed distinguished as intelligent life from one lineage.
God treated sub-races similarly to humans. Carcass miracles worked on them too.
Beasts stronger than humans.
Magical beasts stronger still—if made into swords, wouldn't stronger swords emerge.
Many pilgrims thought so. But God's miracles targeted humans only.
Humans.
What defined human.
Logeris's research started there.
Human upper body on magical beast lower.
Magical beast arms on human body.
A grotesque research journal blending desire for stronger swords and intellectual curiosity.
Church-forbidden vivisection.
The log of those experiments.
"And he found the answer."
Human-magical beast hybrid.
Demonic human.
That was his goal.
Starting with breeding, artificial insemination, ovulation—filthy research processes filled the pages. Yet after countless trials, he created several demonic humans, killed them, and made swords.
"......"
Logeris.
The completion of his desired research.
His final work.
Killing his most perfected subject, [Roas], and turning it into a sword.
That was his wish.
"My lord......"
Kallias left the lab immediately.
He took the left path at the fork.
Swoosh.
Turning his head, the adjacent passage was filled with human-sized glass tubes.
Some looked like magical beasts, others human.
But Kallias's gaze went to the far corner of the lab.
There, in a beaker, something neither human nor beast writhed.
A fusion of demon and human.
Was this human or beast.
How would God classify it.
Knowing the truth, he still raised his sharpened sword.