The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 117

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 117

Baldrix.

As the second son of Ernstine, he was both the most favored and the most troublesome child of Ernstine.

—Father! I can do better than Caius. Caius isn’t even a Sword Master, nor does he have any talent with the sword! To ensure the stability of the imperial succession, at the very least, the heir must be a Sword Master!

Compared to Caius, Baldrix possessed exceptional talent with the sword.

While Caius remained stuck at the level of Sword Expert despite all the training he received, Baldrix became a Sword Master at the age of twenty-seven.

After attaining the rank of Sword Master, Baldrix repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Caius's position as the next emperor.

—My son, an emperor, is someone who governs people, not someone who fights personally. The rightful successor of the imperial family is Caius.

—Father… The foundation of House Meier’s imperial rule is the sword and military might!

—Indeed. And the source of that power is me, Ernstine. Not you, who is merely a Sword Master.

The imperial succession could not be allowed to waver—this was Ernstine’s principle.

No matter how impressive it was for Baldrix to have become a Sword Master at such a young age, a precedent could not be set where military prowess alone could overturn the imperial succession.

There were other children with outstanding abilities besides Baldrix.

Yet, Ernstine successfully quelled their dissatisfaction and ensured the throne was passed on to his eldest son, Caius.

And on the day he retired as the Supreme Emperor,

he planned to travel across the empire with Baldrix and his other children.

It was meant to console those who had not inherited the throne and to dissuade any lingering ambitions they might have had.

‘In the end, I never made that journey, and instead, I awoke in Kaylen’s body.’

According to history, after Emperor Ernstine went missing,

it was his second son, Baldrix, who led the rebellion at the forefront.

‘But why does that bastard’s face… appear on this demon?’

Kaylen gazed at the slime-type demon’s face, his expression complex.

A prodigy with the sword whom he had cherished more than any other—

but also the traitor who had brought about the downfall of the Meier Empire.

Thinking of Baldrix evoked a mixture of love and hatred.

"Your face… Whose face is that? Where did you get it?"

"What’s this, what’s this? Have you fallen for me? Ufufu. Well, I am quite the looker."

—Ssshhk.

The slime-type demon spouted nonsense instead of answering, and Kaylen swiftly slashed its neck.

Immediately, pure white flames erupted from the demon’s throat.

“AAAARGH…!”

Light mana—the very antithesis of demons.

The agony it inflicted should have been unbearable,

yet the slime-type demon instead reveled in ecstasy.

“Hi-hiiik… S-so exhilarating…!”

“That face. Explain it.”

“I dunno, I dunno. Ihihihi. Do it more.”

“…What an infuriating creature.”

That expression—it was genuine.

This was why slime-type demons were notorious for yielding no useful information,

no matter how much they were interrogated.

Had this one not been a spitting image of Baldrix, Kaylen would have slain it on the spot.

But this time, he had no choice but to extract information from this demon.

Then, a memory surfaced—something an inquisitor had once told him long ago.

—My Lord, I have discovered the method to torture these creatures!

—Oh? And what is it?

—No matter what kind of stimulation they receive, they perceive it as pleasure. That is why no amount of torture works on them—they simply enjoy it.

—Yeah. Disgusting creatures.

—But because of that, they can't endure a state without any stimulation… in other words, they can’t stand boredom.

—Oh? That makes sense. Maybe it would be better to lock them up in solitary confinement without any stimulation at all.

—Yes, exactly!

—So, how long did the torture take?

—After about 30 days of isolation, they started showing signs of boredom.

—…That takes too long. Just handle it appropriately.

At the time, that choice was reasonable.

Slime-type demons were usually low-ranking demons, so spending too much time on them was inefficient.

‘But now, I regret it.’

He should have instructed the inquisitor to conduct further research back then.

Still, Kaylen took a hint from the fact that they couldn’t withstand boredom.

—Ssshhk.

Around the demon’s severed head, swords of light were arranged in a dense formation.

They were positioned like the iron bars of a prison cell.

“Huh? What are you doing? Are you locking me up?”

The slime-type demon wiggled its head, deliberately pressing its face against the swords.

Thunk.

The swords merely repelled it without inflicting any sensation.

“It doesn’t hurt…”

Kaylen didn’t respond to the comment. Instead, he opened a dimensional space and placed the demon inside before stepping in himself.

Inside the space created by the demon’s legacy, a centipede—missing all its legs—writhed on the floor.

Upon seeing Kaylen and Cain, it let out a startled cry.

[Ke-Kain…!]

“Huh? This voice… Armor? Wait, no way.”

Cain looked at the centipede in confusion before his face contorted in shock.

“You’re Armor?!”

[Ugh… You got captured too…?]

“Hey! You bastard! You said you’d give me a seed that could turn me into a giant! Turns out, you’re just a centipede? You scammer!”

[Is that really what you’re worried about in this situation?!]

“What could be more important than that? Unbelievable. If I had taken your seed, I would’ve turned into a bug!”

Cain, using the face of the second son, hurled a string of expletives at Armor.

Kaylen observed the scene before turning to Armor.

“Bug.”

[…Are you calling me?]

“Who else would I be talking to?”

[You… Stop disgracing me and just kill me already!]

“I’ll kill you once you spill everything you know, so don’t worry. Do you know anything about that face?”

[Do you really think I would tell you?]

“You will talk.”

—Sizzle!

The stumps where Armor’s legs had been started burning once more.

“AAAAAARGH!!”

“Whoa… That looks exhilarating…”

Cain watched in fascination.

‘Let’s use the expansion function of Infinity.’

Kaylen created a new space within the demon’s legacy and placed Cain inside it.

Cain’s voice wavered with unease as he asked,

“Uh… Hey, my cool older bro? Why am I the only one getting locked up here?”

—Because that’s the only way you’ll talk.

—What are you saying? I’m always ready to talk! Ask me anything! This face? It’s just because I was born this good-looking!

—It seems you’re not ready yet.

Locked away in solitary confinement, he would have to fully experience the torment of boredom before he would be willing to speak.

Kaylen left the two imprisoned separately within the demon’s legacy and stepped out.

“The second demon has disappeared as well…”

Theresia, watching the aftermath, stared blankly toward the back of the fortress.

What had seemed like a precarious defense ended in an almost anticlimactic manner.

The demon that even Sanctuary, despite its desperate efforts, had failed to subjugate—

was eliminated by a single person.

‘Of course, it was daytime…’

The demon commander had foolishly chosen to attack at the most disadvantageous time,

but even so, the fact that Kaylen had subdued a giant demon that single-handedly overwhelmed the fortress was astounding.

And now, he had effortlessly disposed of the demons that had infiltrated from the rear as well.

His strength was enough to make the centuries of effort Sanctuary had poured into gathering power seem almost laughable.

“Saintess, you once witnessed the legendary strength of Emperor Ernstine firsthand.”

“Was he truly this powerful back then?”

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“No. You can’t compare the two. His Majesty Ernstine was far stronger.”

Even as she gave this answer to the holy knight,

Theresia couldn’t shake the similarities between Kaylen and Ernstine.

‘Their mannerisms are far too alike. Even if he inherited the Sixfold Sword Arts, even if he somehow came to resemble him in appearance… There’s no way he could imitate his gestures and speech patterns so perfectly.’

She had dreamt of Ernstine countless times,

and every time, his actions had been eerily similar to those of Kaylen.

The way his voice shifted when speaking to an enemy,

his unique mannerisms…

Everything felt as if Kaylen had become the Hero Ernstine himself.

‘Could it be that by inheriting his power, he also inherited these traits? I need to find out.’

Even so, Theresia never once considered the possibility that Kaylen might actually be Ernstine.

She simply waited for his return—

Until the moment a transmission arrived from Sanctuary.

[Lady Theresia! This is an emergency! The Holy Sword is about to move!]

[You must return immediately! If the Holy Sword moves, it will shake the very foundation of Sanctuary!]

Theresia’s expression turned rigid.

The Holy Sword… was moving?

‘No way. Could it be because Kaylen used the fragment of the Holy Sword earlier…?’

She had felt an abnormally strong power emanating from that tiny fragment.

Had the Holy Sword Astella taken notice?

“Saintess! The headquarters of Sanctuary has issued an emergency recall order!”

“Look! A portal has appeared!”

Not just the saintess, but every member of the Holy Legion had received the same order to return.

Sanctuary wasn’t merely commanding them to return—they had even opened a portal themselves.

“You must leave at once!”

“…I understand.”

She wouldn’t even have time to say her farewells.

With no other choice, Theresia abandoned her plan to meet Kaylen and returned to Sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Kaylen, stepping out from the demon’s legacy, cast a glance toward the now-empty Holy Legion’s position.

“Kaylen, the demons in the rear…?”

“They’ve been dealt with.”

Kaylen answered as if it was nothing and walked toward the command center of the fortress.

As he passed, the soldiers instinctively stepped aside, their gazes filled with both relief at having survived and awe toward him.

‘He’s already taken down another demon…’

‘If not for him, we wouldn’t be alive right now.’

Even Guntrian, the commander of Viltre Fortress, was no different from the soldiers in this sentiment.

"Thank you for your efforts, Lord Kaylen. Thanks to you, we all survived."

"It was simply my duty."

Kaylen accepted the gratitude lightly and turned his gaze toward the gathered members of the command center.

"That is… the corpse of the second prince."

"…Yes."

Second Prince Bellos.

After First Prince Diether Hart was exposed as being a Black Skull and perished, Bellos had become the most likely candidate to be the next king of the Bormian Kingdom—

Yet he met such an absurd end.

"Still… was there truly no one willing to help him?"

"Everyone was frozen in fear because of the giant demon. No one could react in time. I tried to save His Highness to the best of my ability, but… I lost him right before my eyes…"

The man standing before him, Guntrian, was one of the finest knights in the kingdom, ranking among the top warriors.

Among nobles and warriors alike, he was often discussed as one of the greatest knights of Bormia.

Even in Kaylen’s eyes, while he did not possess an overwhelming sword talent like his own younger brother, he was an exceptional knight.

‘And even he couldn’t properly resist the demon’s pressure.’

No matter how powerful that giant demon had been,

the fact that humans were reduced to livestock under demonic rule had undoubtedly played a role.

Seeing even Guntrian rendered so helpless, Kaylen reaffirmed his resolve once more.

The current colonial state of humanity…

He would be the one to change it completely.

"Violet."

"Yes, Lord Kaylen."

As Kaylen softly called for Princess Violet, she quickly approached him.

"Today, I will ride a drake to the royal palace."

"Today… already?"

"Yes. I will overturn the royal castle and remove the current king from power. Are you still prepared to stand against your father?"

So soon?

Violet was surprised by how quickly Kaylen was pushing forward compared to what she had expected.

But soon, a bright smile spread across her face.

Because those words… were exactly what she had been hoping for.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]