Chapter 575: Sword Emperor (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 575: Sword Emperor (7)
As Ron felt Dante’s life force steadily returning, a fierce warmth bloomed in his chest. Though his heart was growing numb under the influence of the Energy of Creation, an irrepressible wave of emotion brought tears to his eyes.
The amount of Chaos leaking through the protective barrier was visibly decreasing, and the speed of Ron’s sword strikes tearing Gliek apart only accelerated.
The Gliek that had so effortlessly overwhelmed the world’s strongest warriors was nowhere to be seen.
Slash! Shhhk—!
The monstrous form Gliek had forcibly manifested was being carved apart with every passing second. While its momentum was collapsing, Ron’s sword was finally demonstrating its true power.
Gliek’s screams grew fainter—not because the pain had subsided, but because its very energy was fading.
The black vortex of Chaos that had swallowed the sky began to shrink. Taking advantage of the creature's waning influence, Jin finally reached Rosa and Talaris.
“Youngest,” Rosa said, wiping a trickle of blood from her mouth. For a moment, mother and son met each other’s gaze in silence.
Jin didn’t thank Rosa for charging into the fray to save him, and Rosa didn’t expect him to. They had both simply done what was necessary.
Jin gave Rosa a short nod before turning to Talaris. The moment he saw her, a grim realization struck him: if Rosa had continued her charge to save him, Talaris might already be dead.
It was impossible to ask Talaris to seal Dante now; she could barely stand. Fortunately, with Dante reviving, it seemed they wouldn't face a crisis even without her help.
However, the expression on Rosa’s face was grim as she examined Dante’s body.
“He’s alive, but as a warrior, he’s finished.”
“What did you say?”
“…His meridians are blocked. His entire aura-circulating system, including his dantian, has been catastrophically damaged. You didn’t notice?”
Jin had been so frantic that he hadn't had a chance to check.
A quick inspection proved Rosa right. Barring a miracle on the level of Numerus’s Tears, which could supposedly raise the dead, Dante would never return to his former glory.
Jin squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing a heavy sigh.
“As long as he’s alive… that’s enough. The fact that he didn’t die is enough for me.”
“I hope Lord Ron and Dante Hairan feel the same way,” Rosa replied coolly.
“Kid, are you okay?!”
Jin nodded at the sound of Murakan’s voice. The dragon still wanted to grab Jin and flee, but Jin knew he couldn't accept.
“It’s impossible to break through that Chaos and Lord Ron’s barrier. And even if we could, leaving now would just invite more danger.”
If Jin and Murakan could escape the battlefield, so could Kelliark and Rosa.
‘If that happens, Kelliark will hunt us down to capture me and Dante. And even if the clan could fend him off, Mother is just as dangerous.’
Kelliark now needed both of them. He needed Jin to complete the Demon God Stone, and he needed Dante as a hostage to keep Ron from striking the Zipple Clan recklessly in the future.
The situation would be no different if only Rosa remained.
She didn't cherish Dante the way Jin did. To her, just like to Kelliark, Dante was merely a pawn to control Ron Hairan. In their current state, Jin and Murakan lacked the power to protect Dante from either of them.
Therefore, Jin had to ensure Dante was returned safely to Ron’s side when this war was over. It was his duty as a friend and his responsibility as a person.
Gwaaaaaah…!
Gliek’s physical body writhed in its death throes.
Everything it had planned since awakening from its seal had ended in failure. A destiny that had seemed set in stone was being forcibly rewritten.
To have been sealed for eons only to be extinguished so pathetically… This outcome was utterly unacceptable to Gliek.
Why wasn't Ron falling to his Inner Demon?
As its body was torn asunder, Gliek desperately sought the cause. The power of Creation it knew could never be stabilized this quickly.
Soon, it arrived at a conclusion.
[You… The moment you touched Creation, you shared its energy with Solderet’s contractor. Yes, that’s how you withstood the demonization.]
“I’m tired of hearing a monster speak with a human tongue,” Ron replied flatly.
[Why would you do such a thing?]
“For a reason a creature like you could never comprehend.”
[Do you not regret it?]
“Not for a single moment.”
[You are a special human. The power you obtained is worth more than hundreds of millions of mortals combined.]
“And that is why you are being annihilated by me.”
[Puhuhuhu…!]
Gliek let out a self-deprecating laugh.
It acknowledged its defeat. It could not kill Ron Hairan. However, that didn’t mean it was out of moves.
[It seems the role of self-destruction falls to me, not you.]
Ron’s eyes narrowed.
He had never considered self-destructing alongside Gliek. Even if he saved Dante, he couldn’t protect him in the future if he died. Because of this, he had been wary of Gliek attempting such a move. If the massive concentration of Chaos that composed the creature exploded at once, not even he could guarantee his survival.
Suddenly, the winds of Chaos stopped. As the torrents covering the earth and sky fell still, a chilling sense of doom washed over the humans below.
Like rivers converging into an ocean, the halted Chaos began to flow toward the center of the battlefield. Ron tried to halt its advance, but the creature’s energy was beyond his control.
Choose, Ron Hairan!
About ten seconds later, Gliek’s voice boomed across the battlefield once more.
The choice it offered was simple.
[You could easily escape alone. I shall watch one last time to see if you protect yourself or save these mortals, who are worthless compared to you. I will watch with a joyful heart…]
For Gliek, this was its final, most brilliant move.
Because Ron had shared the light of Creation with Jin, he could no longer completely block its self-destruction. Even if he tried, he would either die or be left a broken warrior. For the sake of its brethren beyond the Tigris Mountains, this was a necessary sacrifice.
And if Ron fled alone? That was a fine outcome, too. The knowledge that he had abandoned the family he so desperately wanted to protect would surely amplify his Inner Demon.
At that moment, Dante pushed himself to his feet.
“Dante!”
His life force was returning, but he was in no condition to move.
Yet, just as Ron had risen from the brink of death, Dante began to stumble toward his grandfather.
“No… you can’t, Grandfather…”
Ron turned to see his grandson staggering toward him.
Seeing the boy running to him with a broken, battered body, Ron smiled.
He didn’t tell him to go back, even as Gliek’s Chaos gathered for a final, cataclysmic explosion. Instead, he raised his light, forming a path for his grandson to follow. The wind of Creation guided Dante’s steps.
“Come closer, Dante.”
Bloody tears streamed from Dante’s eyes as he closed the distance.
Thud…
Dante finally collapsed into Ron’s arms.
Ron patted his grandson’s back a few times before gripping his shoulders and holding him upright.
“Dante Hairan, my grandson.”
“Grandfather… G-Grandpa…”
“I intended to give you everything one day. Circumstances have merely forced my hand and moved the timeline forward. From the moment you were born, my life has been yours.”
Dante couldn't find the words to speak.
The crushing intuition that this was truly the end, the certainty that his grandfather would never change his mind—it choked him, suffocating him with unbearable grief.
“After fighting through such pain myself, I finally understand how hard it must have been for you.”
Ron placed his sword, Rashid, into Dante’s hand.
Dante shook his head frantically, his eyes locked on Ron’s. But Ron’s hands, covering his own on Rashid’s hilt, were impossibly firm.
And they were warm. So warm that he couldn’t have pulled away even if he’d wanted to.
“Now…”
You are the Sword Emperor.
You are becoming the Sword Emperor.
At Ron’s next words, Dante’s grief erupted into sorrowful sobs.
And then, he felt an unbelievable surge of vitality flood his body.
The light of Creation obtained by the man named Ron Hairan, and the True Energy mastered by the warrior known as the Sword Emperor, were flowing from grandfather to grandson.
Like sand slipping through fingers, not all of the power could be perfectly transferred. It was just like when Ron had shared the light of Creation with Jin.
However, it was enough. Enough for Dante’s heart to beat fiercely once more, enough for his shattered organs to mend and find their place.
Furthermore, the ‘innate chaos’ that Dante Hairan had carried since birth—the very curse that had made him so sickly—was vanishing. This was a side effect of its source, the White Stone known as Gliek, losing its ego.
Now, there was no longer an entity that could be called Gliek.
Only a massive amount of Chaos, an active volcano on the verge of eruption, remained, filling the battlefield.
“I have always been proud of you.”
“Grandfather, please, stop. You have to be the one to survive, not someone like me. If I’m left alone…!”
“And because I loved you more than anything in this world, this old man has lived a blessed life.”
Ron looked up, his gaze meeting Jin’s as he followed behind Dante.
“I leave Dante in your care. I find myself indebted to you until the very end, having given you nothing in return.”
Jin stood frozen, unable to speak a word.
Ron embraced Dante one last time. Feeling his grandson’s heart beating strong and true, a sense of peace washed over him.
“Now go, Dante. This is not the end for us, so do not grieve for too long.”
Ron turned his back as the bodies of Dante and Jin floated into the air.
Dante struggled, reaching out for Ron, but they were pulled inexorably away along the path of light.
“Grandfather! Grandfather…!”
Only when the sound of Dante’s calls had completely faded did Ron look back at the path of light where his grandson had disappeared. He had waited, fearing his resolve would waver if he saw his grandson being carried away.
Then, forming a new sword of pure light to replace Rashid…
He stepped into the core of the Chaos to end the war.
It was the moment a chaotic fate—the death of Dante and the ruin of Hairan—was completely rewritten.