The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 166

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 166

Caius blankly stared at the torn-apart Dragon Scale.

"He created a Six Sword."

The fact that Kaylen could use the Six Sword Path was already unbelievable…

Even if he conceded a hundred times, he could have assumed that Kaylen had inherited and mastered Emperor Ernstine’s legacy from somewhere.

But creating a new sword was different.

A new sword forged by combining the attributes of the Six Swords—Dragon Slayer.

Even though it was one of the Four Swords, like the Colossal Sword, it was designed specifically to counter dragons.

Its power was on an entirely different level.

Moreover…

"It’s exactly the same as when Father created his sword..."

The memory of sitting on Ernstine’s shoulders, watching as his father forged the Six Sword Path’s Blazing Heaven…

The awe he felt when the Aura Swords merged, giving birth to a new sword technique…

Even after a thousand years, Caius had never forgotten.

“Caius. I am deeply disappointed in you.”

“I do not blame you for the fall of the Meier Empire. After I disappeared, ruling a unified empire must have been beyond your ability.”

The fall of the Meier Empire, the empire that unified the continent.

This was not something Caius could be blamed for.

The main issue was that Ernstine, a Grand Sword Master, had assumed he would live long and failed to properly establish a succession plan.

To maintain a unified empire, sometimes even one’s own children had to be mercilessly purged, or their power had to be completely stripped away to render them powerless.

But Ernstine had been too lenient in governing the imperial family, believing that as long as he lived to support Caius, the other children would not dare act recklessly.

In truth, the empire’s downfall had much more to do with the disappearance of Kaylen than with Caius.

“Do you think I appointed you as my successor simply because you were the eldest?”

“No. Among my children, you were the most broad-minded and wise. I conquered the continent by force, but I believed you were better suited to stabilize a united nation.”

At Kaylen’s words, the expression disappeared from Caius’ face.

“But look at yourself now.”

“...What do you mean?”

“You abandoned your human body and became a half-undead. And look at what the Geisir Empire has become. Humans are nothing more than food for the drakes. There is no real governance. Are you truly the same Caius who once claimed he would think only of his people?”

Before Ernstine abdicated the throne, he had asked Caius what kind of emperor he wished to be.

Caius had said he would dedicate himself to the united empire, thinking only of the people.

His sincerity had been evident, and Ernstine had felt confident in passing the throne to him.

But now, Caius had become an undead and was throwing humans to the drakes as food.

It was no wonder that Kaylen felt not just disappointment, but betrayal.

“Kh…”

But at Kaylen’s words, Caius’ expression twisted completely.

“And you dare to say that?”

“…What?”

“You, who trampled on my ideals… You, who crushed my dream of building a great Meier… You, who had Baldur bring down the empire with your own hands! And now you say this?!”

Kaylen’s eyes widened.

He had Baldur bring down the empire?

Him?

“…What are you talking about? You’re saying I destroyed Meier?”

“Yes! The Meier bloodline was ultimately just a fragment of the Dragon Heart.”

“You claimed we were a dragon race, fated to become dragons! You said you would awaken as the Dragon God and destroyed the empire yourself!”

Kaylen looked at Caius.

As if he didn't want to hear those words from him of all people.

Caius was screaming in frustration and resentment, his face contorted with sorrow.

“That’s impossible. I disappeared after you ascended the throne, didn’t I? I have no memory of this.”

“Heh… Then who was it that appeared before me on the day the Imperial Capital burned?

And who was it that told me there was still work to be done, turned me into this wretched body, and taught me the Six Demon Path?”

Caius’s cries were filled with desperation—it didn’t sound like a lie.

If what he said was true, that he hadn’t chosen this path himself but had been forced into it by Ernstine, then his despair was understandable.

‘…But I have no such memory.’

The last thing Kaylen remembered was the day he abdicated the throne.

And yet, Caius was claiming that Kaylen had ordered his second son, Baldurix, to destroy the empire he had built and had even taught him the Six Demon Path.

No matter how he thought about it, it was absurd.

“That must have been an imposter.”

“Heh… An imposter? Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize my own father?

No. Fine. Sure. Damn it all. I was the foolish emperor who ruined the Meyer Empire in no time.

So I must be an idiot who can’t even tell the difference between real and fake.”

Caius glared at Kaylen and shouted,

“If you truly are my father, Ernstine…

If everything I’ve done to bring you back as the Dragon God was all for nothing…

Then just kill me right here and now!”

“…You want me to kill you?”

“That’s right. I have spent a thousand years for the sole purpose of seeing you fully ascend as a dragon.

I have sacrificed countless humans, devastated many lands—all for the Dragon God Meyer!

But if all of that was meaningless… then what reason do I have to keep living?”

Caius, who had been in a state of panic upon seeing the Dragon Slayer, was now screaming for Kaylen to end his life.

Kaylen observed him with calm, sunken eyes.

“If that is what you want.”

He unsheathed his azure-bladed Dragon Slayer.

“You have sinned too greatly for me to forgive you just because you are my son.”

“……”

“In fact, granting you peace here… might be the best mercy I can give you.”

Kaylen’s Sixfold Sword radiated fierce aura.

The Helmeier clan members standing behind Caius instinctively shrank back under its pressure.

They all understood—Kaylen truly intended to kill Caius.

“…So you really are my father.”

Unlike the trembling Helmeier clan behind him, Caius closed his eyes with a strangely relieved expression.

Justice before blood ties—swift and absolute judgment.

This was exactly the Ernstine he had known.

‘Then who is the one trying to become the Dragon God?’

There were still many unanswered questions.

And a lingering sense of frustration and resentment remained.

But—

“Do it.”

The moment Caius became certain that Kaylen was truly his father…

He abandoned any remaining will to live.

“Rest in peace.”

Sensing his resolve, Kaylen raised his sword to grant him mercy.

And just as he swung his blade—

“You mustn’t do that.”

Whoosh—!

A massive sword of fire intercepted the strike of the Dragon Slayer.

“I can’t just stand by and watch our son die at the hands of an imposter.”

Ssssshh—!

The fire sword clashed evenly with the Dragon Slayer. As the flames spread from the hilt, they began forming a shape—a radiant figure, almost divine.

A body composed entirely of fire, sculpted into an otherworldly beauty.

Kaylen’s eyes widened at the sight of her.

“Kaina…?”

The seventh wife of Ernstine, Queen Kaina of the Dwarves.

Alongside the High Elf Deluna, she was known as one of the two most beautiful women among the Emperor’s wives. In fact, being the most beautiful among Ernstine’s consorts essentially meant she was the most beautiful woman on the entire continent. Her beauty was so legendary that she was often mentioned in stories glorifying the Emperor’s feats.

The only difference now was that her body was made of fire.

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“Yes, it’s me. Kaina. Our dear imposter Ernstine.”

She smiled radiantly, gazing at Kaylen with dreamy eyes—the same eyes with which she once looked at the Emperor.

Like a girl hopelessly in love.

“So, you’re the mastermind behind all this?”

“Hearing you say that in that form… Even though I know you’re a fake, my heart still flutters. You look so much like my husband.”

Kaylen frowned at the word "husband."

It was something Kaina always called him.

Had they met under different circumstances, he might have felt some sense of joy. But hearing it now, in this place, only made it more certain that she truly was Kaina—and that realization sank his mood even further.

“Kaina… I never expected you to betray me.”

“Oh my, betrayal? That word cuts deep, you know. Even though I know you’re an imposter, it still hurts. I must really love my husband, after all.”

Ssssshh—!

Blocking the Dragon Slayer, Kaina smiled playfully.

Unlike the dragon scales that had been cut through in a single strike, her fire sword held firm without issue.

Kaylen stared at her sword for a moment before asking,

“Why have you done all this?”

“Oh dear, ‘done’ something? I’ve simply been following my husband’s orders, dear imposter.”

“Even after seeing this new Six Sword Path, you still think I’m a fake?”

“Yes.”

Unlike Caius, who had lost his will to fight the moment he saw the Six Sword Path and accepted that Kaylen was truly Ernstine, Kaina simply smiled and affirmed her stance.

“In fact, it only proves that you’re the imposter.”

“…What?”

“When you saw the Six Sword Path, what did you think? Tell me, dear imposter. Which one seemed like the greater achievement?”

At her question, Kaylen recalled the Six Demon Path.

In terms of embodying elemental mana, the Six Demon Path had certain advancements over the Six Sword Path.

‘Now that I think about it… When I regained my status as a Grand Swordmaster, my Six Swords tried to evolve into something like the Six Demon Path…’

When he perfected the Six Sword Path, he instinctively felt it—

If the Six Sword Path transformed into the Six Demon Path, he would no longer be able to maintain himself as he was.

At the same time, he also couldn’t deny the possibility that, in terms of pure mana manipulation, the Six Demon Path had certain advantages over the Six Sword Path.

“Ahaha. You’re not answering right away. That means you already know the truth, don’t you?”

Kaina giggled, her voice laced with amusement.

“You couldn’t reach the advanced state of the Six Demon Path and are stuck in the transitional stage of the Six Sword Path. And that means… you must be an imposter.”

“Do you really think I’ll accept that reasoning? Kaina, I’ll have to capture you and get to the bottom of this.”

The Dragon Slayer—

A weapon specialized in slaying dragons.

But her sword of fire didn’t seem to be related to dragons, making it difficult to cut through.

Then, the answer was simple. He just had to overpower her completely.

—Six Sword Path.

—Six Swords.

—Manifestation of the Sword God.

Kaylen’s Six Swords materialized all at once.

Aura erupted from his entire body like a raging storm.

Manifestation of the Sword God—

The extreme form of the sword he had once used in his battle against the Demon King.

Kaina, seeing this, simply smiled and stepped back.

“Oh my, I’m not even the Demon King, yet you’re using your full power? You really are too much, dear imposter.”

“I’ll make you reveal the truth of what happened a thousand years ago.”

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]