Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Former Alliance Lord (4)
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A forest so deep it made me wonder if such a place even existed in Berryhill.
A stream unfolding beneath a full moon shrouded by clouds.
A single woman stood there holding an umbrella.
Violet butterflies fluttered around her as if in worship.
Her pale, delicate hand gently stroked the butterflies.
"……."
From a distance, the sight resembled a classical Eastern painting.
Her light purple hair cascaded gracefully from beneath the umbrella, beautiful enough to earn her the title of fairy.
Yet I wasn't foolish enough to lose myself in that enchanting scene.
Not all fairies are benevolent beings.
At the very least, the woman I faced today was my enemy.
"Derek Minster, the empire's shadow power."
Violet eyes gleamed from under the umbrella.
Those eyes, which had claimed countless lives blocking her path, now pierced straight through me.
Any ordinary man would have frozen solid, stammering in fear.
But I was no ordinary man myself.
Having faced death threats so many times before, I managed to stay calm.
"I haven't exactly lived as some puppet master, but everyone seems to misunderstand me that way."
We stood facing each other across the babbling stream.
The Sword Immortal lifted her umbrella slightly higher as I drew closer.
"How peculiar."
"What is?"
"I sense a strange power from you. Like the Heavenly Jade."
The Sword Immortal, Jaseop.
As far as I could recall, I'd only met her once.
Right when Myoran went berserk and became the Moon Spirit.
Back then, the Sword Immortal had clashed with Myoran for a full twelve hours.
Despite holding her own, she ultimately lost.
She couldn't withstand the infinite inner energy pouring from the Heavenly Jade and collapsed.
In other words, without such divine artifacts as the Heavenly Jade, she was the continent's strongest.
'For me, who's only just reached Swordmaster level, I'd stand no chance even if I died trying.'
"It's as if several lifetimes are packed into one body. Have you perhaps reached the realm of rejuvenation through regression?"
Look at that.
Just a glance at me, and she suspects I've regressed multiple times.
Truly worthy of being called a fairy.
"What makes you think that?"
"We humans are all like vessels. Each holding power suited to our capacity."
Perhaps because we were communicating well, the Sword Immortal no longer hid her face.
As she lowered her umbrella, a beautiful face reminiscent of a violet butterfly emerged.
With clear, youthful eyes that suggested she'd just passed twenty.
"Yet from you, I sense the power of exactly three people. Like a tiny Heavenly Jade."
I offered no response to her words.
After all, three different lifetimes of myself did reside within this body.
"A small Heavenly Jade... You could say that. But I'd wager you're more interested in the real one I have than in me."
"They say Westerners are hot-tempered, and it seems you're no exception."
The Sword Immortal replied in her gentle voice.
"Indeed. Right now, Myoran is what matters."
She folded her umbrella and extended one hand toward me.
"Then let me be direct. Will you return Myoran?"
"Talking about a person like she's an object."
I glanced indifferently at the hand she offered.
At the smooth palm, untouched by the ravages of time since reaching the rejuvenation realm.
"Sorry. After living so long, one gets a bit numb to those things."
The Sword Immortal softly withdrew her hand.
With impressive patience, she apologized first and explained slowly.
"But strictly speaking, Myoran is like a small vessel. Too young and fragile to contain the energy within."
Young and fragile, huh.
That only solidified my conviction.
"I refuse."
"Why? From your perspective, she's like a ticking time bomb."
"If you took her now, you couldn't separate her properly and would just trigger the Heavenly Jade's power to explode."
"So you don't trust our abilities."
The Sword Immortal nodded as if understanding.
"Still, think it over. The Heavenly Jade was created in our Eastern Continent to begin with. Do you claim to know it better than us from the creation region?"
On the surface, it was a logical argument.
But I had a counter prepared.
"You just said it yourself—I seem burdened with many lives like the Heavenly Jade."
"……I did."
Realizing she'd given me an opening, the Sword Immortal averted her eyes slightly.
Too late.
With justification in hand, I narrowed my eyes and spun a convincing tale.
"As someone bearing the same power as Myoran, I am certain that with enough time, she can master the Heavenly Jade."
"That's just your opinion. The people of our Eastern Continent, who birthed the Heavenly Jade, wouldn't agree."
Her gentle voice turned deadly serious.
Like mistaking a small viper for harmless, only to watch it grow massive up close.
"How well do you even know Myoran to say that?"
I raised a finger with a resolute expression.
And pointed at the Sword Immortal, who had never even met Myoran in person.
"Why would that child leave her homeland for this alien land where no one speaks her tongue? Wasn't it because you lot attacked her Myoran Clan and destroyed everything?"
I glared at the pure fairy with contempt.
"How desperate must she have been to swallow the Heavenly Jade herself? In the end, you're the ones who made things worst."
This time, I placed a hand on my chest.
Speaking as the warden who had protected Myoran for half a year.
"Meanwhile, I've watched over her for six full months. Do you know what I learned?"
The woman with light purple hair waited for my next words.
Even the butterflies following her clustered on nearby rocks.
"Myoran is far stronger than you think. She accomplished alone what no ordinary nineteen-year-old girl could."
I pointed toward the distant, radiant Northern Imperial Palace.
The grand structure glowing brightly despite being dozens of kilometers away.
"She perfectly controlled the Heavenly Jade's power, matching multiple knight commanders blow for blow. And now, her realm has advanced further—she's even firmly grasped the lingering soul within it."
She had overcome the empire's top powerhouses.
Having witnessed it all, I could say this with pride.
"As Myoran's protector, who has watched over her closely, I tell you this."
I adjusted my uniform cap.
And spoke with the eyes of one who had lived as long as the Sword Immortal.
"Myoran is no small, fragile vessel as you imagine."
"……."
A cool breeze blew across the stream.
Clouds drifted away with it.
Soon, the brilliant full moon emerged.
Embracing verdant greenery like a girl's eyes.
"……There may be some truth to what you say."
Thankfully, the Sword Immortal didn't dismiss my words cynically.
Instead, she pondered carefully, considering there might be information she lacked.
"It's true I've never actually seen Myoran in person. Whereas you've been with her for six months."
The Eastern woman eyed me up and down intently.
"And seeing you—a fresh Swordmaster—still alive and well, perhaps she truly hasn't been consumed by the Heavenly Jade's madness."
The Sword Immortal recalled what she'd heard from the Holy See about Myoran.
That previous wardens who approached her had all been killed.
So she'd assumed Myoran was gripped by madness.
But now a healthy survivor appeared before her eyes, sowing doubt.
"However, I can't withdraw my forces based solely on your testimony. Since I was requested to come, I need justification to convince my clients upon return."
"I'll cooperate to secure that justification. If you wish, I can arrange a meeting with Myoran."
Offering to show her target so readily.
The Sword Immortal's eyes widened in surprise.
She looked just like a fairy tending violet butterflies.
"Really? Even though I could kill you there and retrieve Myoran?"
"I'm not so easy to take down."
In truth, if she got serious, I'd really die.
But that didn't mean I'd back down.
'Your real skills couldn't handle Myoran anyway!!'
Only I knew the doomed future.
So I had to block them, even if it meant getting diced up!
"……Fascinating. Risking your life to protect a prisoner."
The Sword Immortal approached slowly, remarking on encountering a rare breed of man these days.
With pristine white bare feet untouched by dust.
―――, ―――.
She dipped her feet into the clear water.
Her long sword robe trailing above the surface as she drew near.
"Does that mean you'd take responsibility yourself if anything happened to Myoran?"
A faint fragrance wafted from the approaching Sword Immortal.
Lavender-like, soothing... and lulling one into a daze.
"Of course. Even if you tried to take her by force, I'd stop you myself."
"Why go that far?"
"Because she said she hates you lot."
"Fascinating. She's not enthralled by the Heavenly Jade's power. Nor does she look lovesick."
The Sword Immortal, now close, reached out a hand.
As if intrigued by my story-filled green eyes.
"I'm the warden of the empire's prison. Protecting inmates is my job."
"……."
The Sword Immortal pondered my answer, finger to her chin.
After a moment's thought, she let out a soft chuckle.
"……I see. It's a sense of duty as warden."
Now within arm's reach.
The Sword Immortal smiled innocently, like a pure butterfly.
"Stubborn yet steadfast. Adorable."
The type who'd make the most reliable subordinate.
She, once the alliance lord but ousted from politics for focusing solely on swordsmanship, spoke with pity.
"I think I know why Myoran didn't kill you."
The Sword Immortal exhaled deeply, as if grasping everything about me.
At that moment.
The breeze from the stream abruptly halted.
The swaying branches froze in unison.
As if time itself had stopped.
"But such convictions only endure with matching strength."
"Very well, then let's do this."
The flow of nature shifted.
"Prove it yourself. Prove you can be her protector and restrain her rampage for life."
At the word 'prove,' her hair began to undulate slowly.
Following the overwhelming inner energy accumulated over countless years.
"If you defeat me, I can return and say a strong one was protecting her well."
The Sword Immortal placed her hand on her sword hilt.
"I heard you have a major duel coming up soon. One where everything's on the line for you?"
Her blade emerged with an eerie ring.
Enveloped in intense violet inner energy.
"Can you afford to fight me with that looming? All for Myoran's sake?"
Shed the pretense, save your skin, and worry about yourself.
She was trying to strip away my hypocrisy.
'This is bad.'
Some people just can't be swayed by words alone.
I swallowed hard and gripped Anje's treasured sword.
At that instant.
Blue text appeared in the air.
The kind that only popped up at crucial branching points for endings.
I know that already.
Any good news for actually succeeding?!
Happy endings?
Meaning there's now a way to end this damned hell happily?
'Continent Guardian, huh. Finally, an ending that actually sounds like one!? At last!!'
My lips curled into a grin at the prospect of a true happy conclusion.
Paired with my signature sinister gaze.
"………?"
The Sword Immortal tilted her head at my wicked smile.
She flinched as if spotting something ominous.
"You're a truly peculiar man in every way."