Chapter 258
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Lesson 50. Dragon's Tomb - 4
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God-Slay is a concept that proves especially lethal to transcendent beings who have escaped the world's structure through some means to attain immortality. This concept was born when the notion of Dragon-Slay, specialized for a single transcendent species, resonated with its master's concept and evolved into God. Only the master linked to the divine tool can wield it.
Was it just his imagination, or did even the authority of language that Ban Yu-won himself possessed feel humbled before the concept of God-Slay?
A place where energy had been accumulated for at least thousands of years. The Dragon-Slaying Sword, forged from failures but brimming with the potential to surpass the original.
Ban Yu-won had boldly poured his long-hoarded Deification into perfect conditions he could never recreate with his own power alone, and as expected, it had produced flawless results!
―Kurrrunch!
This was energy deliberately gathered in the ruins over thousands of years.
Originally, it would have been used to perfectly incinerate the final dragon's soul and the curse it left behind, but now it was fully—nay, amplified even further through Ban Yu-won—concentrated into the sword!
The Soul Liberation had completely melted away, fusing with the sword, and in that process, it created a soul-thread connecting the sword and Ban Yu-won.
He had inwardly admired As Light pulling the sword from her palm, and now he could do it too!
'This sword can't become a familiar. At this point, it's just part of me.'
With all the energy sustaining the ruins sucked away, the fully metamorphosed sword no longer resembled anything like the Dragon-Slaying Sword—it looked utterly desolate.
Yet Ban Yu-won knew full well that this ephemeral appearance, as if it might vanish with a blink, was precisely what made the sword so terrifying.
The moment he checked the completed sword's information, Ban Yu-won instinctively knew he wasn't yet qualified to wield it.
The core concept, Anti-Demon Sword, sat at 2,000—roughly twice that of his Executioner's Longsword.
The Executioner's Longsword was already so overpowered it was problematic, and swinging around a weapon like this would have him branded as relying purely on gear.
It wouldn't help his growth either.
'And the other concepts are brutally vicious. Requiem—the song offered at Mass for the dead. It's clichéd and childish, but nothing could fit better. Every swing guarantees someone dies.'
Of course, if a situation arose that even the Executioner's Longsword couldn't handle, he'd pull it out without hesitation, growth be damned.
Having confirmed everything, Ban Yu-won absorbed the Anti-Demon Sword, Requiem, into his palm.
Absorbing the sword didn't transfer its concepts directly to his body... but he felt a portion of its Anti-Demon and Soul Extinction power added to him, along with a massive influx of magical power.
Even without holding and swinging it, he was carrying around an enhancement talisman and giant auxiliary battery.
That left one remaining issue...
"Eve?"
"Hiss."
Eve opened its mouth, and instead of a tongue, a faintly glowing blade emerged.
It was the Anti-Demon blade.
Its power couldn't compare to when Ban Yu-won, its master, wielded it, but the key was Resonance—it could share that power with his other familiars.
Lucelle, with divine beast blood, was incompatible, but the rest would all receive a dramatic boost.
"I came for As Light's sake, but I ended up profiting..."
―That girl would've just died if she'd come here. You shared it fairly enough, so what's the issue?
He couldn't argue with that.
Ban Yu-won quickly rationalized it and vowed to make As Light a pretty, high-performance necklace instead of the absorbed Soul Liberation. He looked up.
The Living Armor, unchanged from when they left, floated back through the air.
"All done, Libby?"
Nod.
Libby, reporting mission complete, quietly sank into the inventory.
Even after slaughtering the knight order, footsteps echoing through the ruins were increasing—not just that, but metallic clangs, shouts, and explosions rang out.
They'd entered seeking relics, but differing affiliations had sparked conflicts.
"You can handle it, right, Eve?"
"Hiss."
"Good. I'm counting on you."
Ban Yu-won left Eve behind and melted into the shadows with Shadow Concealment Art.
Alone now, Eve fully unleashed its familiar abilities, transforming into a middle-aged man in plate armor.
Unsurprisingly, it was the crown prince of this star's Gallahad Empire, Rosius, whom they'd killed earlier. Having secured his head with its concepts intact, anyone would mistake it for the real Rosius.
"Hand over the holy sword! ...Rosius!"
Soon, a man whose armor was stained with blood and flesh burst into the cavern.
Behind him, knights and soldiers poured in, armor clanking.
Though from different factions—their armor designs wildly varied—they seemed to have agreed mid-fight to first seize the relic secured by Gallahad's side.
"Is it just you...? This space...?"
But upon reaching the ruins' end, all they saw in the massive, empty cavern—now truly just stone and dirt, thanks to the Dragon-Slaying Sword sucking everything dry—was Rosius standing alone in the center.
Eve, disguised as Rosius, faced them silently before suddenly extending its palm and drawing Requiem.
"The holy sword!"
"It's the holy sword!"
"To think he'd actually obtain the holy sword!"
As a deliberately staged performance, the effect was superb.
Ban Yu-won barely held back applause at their richly genuine reactions, which no rehearsal could produce, while bolstering his Shadow Concealment with Yu-won Art to hide even deeper.
He'd deemed Gallahad's knights average and manageable, but these newcomers were at least Rosius-level—at minimum.
For reference, Rosius had Life around 500.
Irecto, with giant blood, was 250, so Rosius was exactly two Irectos. Yet the knights he led were barely one Irecto, or 1.2 at best—so Ban Yu-won viewing them lightly was natural.
'But these knights range from two to three Irectos at least. Can't underestimate a D-rank dimension.'
He mustn't forget As Light was born right here in D-13 dimension.
Gallahad's average was low; knights from other planets possessed strength unfitting for a D-rank dimension!
In fact, Ban Yu-won could guess why Gallahad lagged.
'The ruins constantly drained the planet's energy, so it must've been hard for proper talents to grow compared to neighboring planets.'
Even in King Arthur legends, the perfect knight Galahad was a deus ex machina created solely for the Holy Grail quest.
This planet was the same.
A world existing only for the Dragon-Slaying Sword's completion... possibly even an artificial satellite crafted by that ancestor figure.
"Rosius, you know you're unqualified to wield that holy sword."
"We don't want Camelot's monopoly either. Rosius, no need for bloodshed. Let's cooperate."
"If someone other than you holds that sword, they could easily surpass the Prince of the Stars!"
Those who seemed representatives from each planet spat persuasive words while inching closer.
Eve, wearing Rosius's face, twisted into a rotten smile and readjusted its grip on the sword.
"Foolish..."
Realizing it intended to fight, one started to spew a vicious curse—
But Eve kicked off the ground, charging and slashing downward in a frontal arc.
A movement based on the swordsmanship concept extracted from Rosius's corpse.
Not particularly advanced technique, but the power within was immense.
―Kwarrrumble!
The sword's trajectory sliced through everything in its path—humans, objects, ceiling, floor—without discrimination.
The first knight to show hostility and the dozens of soldiers trailing him vaporized entirely.
Literally, not a trace remained; they were erased.
Wha...?"
"Impossible—Rosius was just a quasi-first-rate knight!"
"But if you put it another way..."
"If we just get our hands on that sword..."
The knights spared by the arc went into extreme frenzy over the sword's might.
When they first heard of the ruins, they'd doubted another treasure like the Star Prince's holy sword would appear—but here it was, beyond imagination!
"Subdue him! No matter how great the sword, Rosius's swordsmanship can't match it!"
Enchanted by the prize, eyes bloodshot, they charged—only to be shredded by the sword's path, bodies bisected and gone.
Even witnessing the eerie sight of instant, traceless annihilation couldn't stop desire-driven humans.
Ban Yu-won felt no urge to mock them.
Higher dimensions or constellations would be the same.
That's just humanity.
―What now?
To Sellon's question, Ban Yu-won replied calmly.
'I'll pacify the D-13 dimension peacefully.'
―Right... My instincts were spot on.
Neither affirming nor denying, Sellon simply assessed him flatly.
―You're more suited to rule than anyone.
'Lately, I'm starting to think so too.'
Only after Eve's rampage continued, slaying over a hundred futilely without anyone approaching, did the humans sense crisis and backpedal.
"No limits?! Ridiculous!"
"Retreat... Retreat!"
Legs and arms severed by indiscriminate strikes, they turned to flee desperately—just as the ruins began collapsing.
The structures and magic sustaining it had all been sucked into Requiem; inevitable.
"......"
Ban Yu-won watched barely twenty percent survive compared to entrants, feeling oddly numb—surprised at himself even as he nodded and smiled at Eve looking back.
"Well done. Let's go."
"Sisss."
With Requiem vanished and Eve coiled as a snake on his arm, Ban Yu-won spatial-jumped back to the spaceship where the Level Force mercenaries waited.
"Ban Yu-won!"
Ban Yu-mi, munching a stick snack, snapped it breaking as she shot up and closed the distance swiftly.
"Ah, Ban Yu-mi. Crumbs."
"Is that what matters now? The ruins totally collapsed, and you're..."
Her hands roamed his face and body like a mother's reunion check, but the cookie dust irritatingly marked her as big sis.
"I'm fine, so relax. Don't get crumbs on my face. Okay?"
"You..."
Ban Yu-won gently pried her off and patted her head.
She'd usually snap at that, but surprisingly, she meekly stepped back.
[You did it again.]
'Quiet.'
Grumbling back at Lilith, now back in his arms, he faced Aneri.
Checking her mirror, she caught his gaze and winked.
"Looks like pitting them against each other worked. Few Union net users, but the news has spread like wildfire inside D-13 dimension."
"Who spilled it?"
"Fan club president."
Figures.
Ban Yu-won shrugged and checked his special activity period outside.
Union time: Sunday 8 PM.
Back by Wednesday night left ample three days' leeway.
"Then, next operation. Our top goal: completing the unshakeable Guardian Alliance. So this op's target is..."
Pausing to choose words, he nodded firmly and declared.
"Intelligence gathering on planet Camelot and eliminating rebel elements on each planet."
"Hey, you punk!"
Not long after, a call hit Ban Yu-won's mirror.
From As Light.