Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Safe Zone of the 7th Hierarchy
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7th Hierarchy's safe zone.
The Dawn filled that place, shining brilliantly in all its glory.
Just recently, after the battle with Ron, Havel's master, the Dawn had bloomed once more.
As the light of the Dawn twinkled here and there like fireflies...
A man stood before it, gripping an empty scabbard, his mind utterly severed.
Sword Saint Lebltein Glasis.
And standing opposite him was Havel.
Even after unleashing the devastating swordsmanship known as True Dawn Sky...
Havel had demonstrated a technique that severed only Lebltein's spirit.
The gap between them was that vast.
The current Sword Saint, hailed as humanity's strongest, fell short of the former Sword Saint.
A clear wound from Lebltein remained on Havel's chest as well.
But his body, now granted immortality, regenerated from such injuries in an instant.
Had it pierced his heart at least, Havel's body might have stalled for a moment.
Even if his heart were sliced, it would simply heal.
His flesh had grown distant from death itself.
Havel rummaged through his pocket.
He then poured a vial of medicine he pulled out over Lebltein's head.
Szzzzz!
With a sizzling sound, Lebltein's body began regenerating in patches.
Given the severity of his wounds, full recovery like this would be difficult.
But as long as he didn't die, he'd manage to make it down on his own somehow.
Havel turned away.
The current Sword Saint was strong.
Strong enough that even Havel held him in high regard.
'So the Five Great Families haven't just been sitting idle.'
They had truly been preparing, in their own way, against the owners of the calamities.
Yet the one meant to fulfill that role had crumbled by Havel's hand.
'In that case.'
It wouldn't be so bad to take up that mantle himself.
'The trials, was it.'
Havel recalled the words of Cain Family head, Atavala Cain, spoken through astrology.
「Havel, only you can overcome the trials.」
Now he knew exactly what those trials were.
The owners of the calamities who would one day invade the central continent.
Stopping them was the role Havel would play in the world a century from now.
'Surviving alone from the Demonic Palace wasn't for nothing, then.'
Damn this world.
It never lets anyone rest easy.
Still, he would save it.
This was the world he'd lived in, after all.
"...Da, wn... "
It was then.
As Havel took a step, a voice reached his ears.
The source was none other than Lebltein.
Havel had cleanly severed his mind, yet he spoke.
A terrifying force of will.
"One... more... chance... okay?"
Word by painstaking word, he conveyed his thoughts to Havel.
Havel gazed at Lebltein for a moment upon hearing this.
He had advanced past a wall he'd been unable to surmount for so long, using Havel as support.
The thrill of that progress was likely one of the greatest experiences of his life.
A swordsman could never escape that sensation.
"Do it."
So Havel permitted it.
He knew well how precious that experience was.
"Of course, only if your family apologizes."
But that didn't mean he wouldn't attach conditions.
This battle wasn't just between Havel and Lebltein.
It was a fight staked on Glasis and Banpellyon.
For one of them, it had been a duel with their life on the line.
Even now, countless people waited below the tower for the outcome.
At Havel's words, Lebltein let out a strained laugh.
"Ances... tors' sins... huh."
Lebltein recalled the day he first heard the names Havel and Banpellyon.
Glaises had been bound to Banpellyon.
Generation after generation, their ancestors had always harbored worries and fears at the mention of Banpellyon.
Back then, Lebltein hadn't understood what the ancestors feared so much.
But now, he had some idea.
The existence from the past that their ancestors had desperately erased, now gone entirely.
Banpellyon's former Sword Saint.
Though he was now called the Sword Saint...
Lebltein knew of the Sword Saint who had existed before him.
Lebltein's eyes fixed on Havel.
The former Sword Saint.
'Havel Banpellyon.'
The hero who had entered the Demonic Palace long ago for the Unified Empire Arhan.
He had returned.
'Regrettable that I didn't recall it sooner.'
Had he realized even a bit earlier...
Glaises might have avoided this worst-case scenario, at least somewhat.
Unfortunately, Lebltein too had forgotten that name spoken by the ancestors.
Just as they had ceaselessly trampled it so the name Banpellyon wouldn't reach their ears.
For Lebltein, Banpellyon had become a tale outside his concerns.
'The price for trying to erase the past.'
Though it wasn't Lebltein's own deeds.
The bloodline of Glaises had prospered through that very process.
They had stolen and seized countless things from Banpellyon.
There was no paradise for those who forgot favors received.
'In the end, it came full circle to this.'
They had repaid grace with enmity.
Now they paid the price for living off their ancestors' sins.
"Sorry."
So he voiced an apology even now.
"For the sins... Glaises committed... as its head... I apologize."
Lebltein bowed his head.
An apology in his capacity as family head.
No one in Glaises would dare object any longer.
Some might complain somewhere, but they'd trust Lebltein to handle it.
Havel turned away from the bowed man.
"I accept your apology for your ancestors' sins."
Separately from Glaises, he addressed him directly.
"If you wish, come learn the sword anytime."
Apart from Glaises, he quite liked the man named Lebltein.
At his permission, Lebltein gave a short laugh.
Thud!
With that, Lebltein collapsed.
Having obtained what he desired...
His mind, at its limit, had finally given out.
Havel left him there and walked out of the tower.
A moment later, as Havel looked up, the setting sun shone down.
The battle with Lebltein had dragged on longer than expected.
Gazing at the twilight as dusk began to fall, Havel lowered his head.
There stood a massive crowd.
Spotting Havel, they began murmuring among themselves.
His wounds had healed, but his appearance was a mess.
His clothes were torn near the chest, and scarcely any part of him was unscathed.
Yet regardless of his state, Havel emerged first.
No one present could miss the meaning of that.
"...Banpellyon won."
Someone in the crowd spoke up.
From there, reactions spread one by one.
They varied wildly.
From those staring in disbelief...
To those insisting they had to report this world-shaking news.
A multitude of responses filled the air.
But one thing was certain, beyond all else.
The Sword Saint, once called humanity's strongest.
On this day of his defeat...
Humanity's pinnacle had shifted.
"Havel."
Havel turned toward the voice.
There stood Arthur.
After Banpellyon's fall...
The one who had ceaselessly strived to revive it.
Yet even in those efforts...
He had never imagined receiving an apology from their enemy, Glaises.
It was only natural.
Glaises was one of the Five Great Families, while Banpellyon was a fallen house.
But today...
Havel had triumphed in the duel staked on Glaises and Banpellyon.
Glaises could no longer oppress Banpellyon.
The other families wouldn't dare point fingers at Banpellyon either.
Not when it had toppled one of the Five Great Families.
This news would spread across the world.
And that day would mark Banpellyon's full resurgence.
Tears welled in Arthur's eyes.
The deep-seated resentment carved into the family poured out through them.
Arthur swallowed his grief with effort.
This wasn't the time to vent it.
A hero who restored Banpellyon stood before him.
'And.'
The hero who belonged back in Banpellyon as well.
"I'll ensure Banpellyon is never forgotten again."
Arthur spoke as if inheriting the family headship.
"And I'll make it prosper once more, like the days it was called one of the Three Great Families."
Havel gazed steadily at Arthur.
His blue eyes shone clearer than ever.
Arthur would pull it off.
Banpellyon blood always did what it set out to do.
Moreover, Havel noticed what Arthur's eyes beheld.
Arthur saw the Sword Saint in Havel.
The one who bore the same name as the Sword Saint Havel Banpellyon, who had appeared one day.
Though his hair had turned much whiter, it was silver.
Plus the Dawn Swordsmanship he'd heard about through Dante.
Even by his own standards, Havel had revealed much.
But Havel still hadn't declared it himself.
Banpellyon's head was Arthur.
Two were unnecessary there.
He would strengthen Banpellyon...
But Havel had no intention of taking Arthur's place.
So Havel slowly walked up to him.
Then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, if it's you, Lord Arthur, you can surely do it."
Arthur understood the implication.
If Havel said so...
He would simply give his all to his role.
"Yeah, I'll make it happen."
Havel left Banpellyon in Arthur's hands.
Over the past month, he'd also overhauled the Dawn Knights quite a bit.
Even those hailed as the three pillars should now perform adequately.
No more disgrace like when Arthur was kidnapped.
'All that's left is how Glaises headquarters acts.'
Lebltein would take responsibility and handle it.
Havel removed his hand from Arthur's shoulder and turned.
His business below was done.
He knew the Five Great Families' purpose.
And the calamity owners' aims.
The one loose end...
The glutton's words about calamity owners invading the continent.
That one would eventually show itself before him too.
For Havel was the foe the calamity owners had to crush first and foremost.
So his task was simple.
'Climb the tower.'
Once climbed for Banpellyon alone...
Now it was time to ascend for the continent's defense.
"Elasia, Baria, Paifod."
Havel called the names of those he'd brought from the tower.
The three pushed through the crowd.
"Those who want to follow, do so."
Now they each had their roles.
They'd be useful enough in the 8th Hierarchy too.
With those words, Havel leisurely headed back into the tower.
The sunset above had fully faded.
Yet beneath the darkened sky, Havel shone brighter than anyone.
Toward the 8th Hierarchy.
Time to climb the tower once more.