The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 192

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 192

[A sword of light?]

Fwoosh—

The fur that had spread across the sky ignited and vanished.

The flames gathered into one place, forming a singular shape.

"Why start with a sword of light when you already have a holy sword?"

Kaina, her entire body formed of fire as if she had manifested through a mana suit, questioned Kaylen with a curious look.

-That's right, Master! You’re not going to abandon me, are you?

"The holy sword is useless against the Celestial Demon."

-Ugh...

Perhaps because it was crafted by a Celestial God, the holy sword couldn't even pierce through the dark barrier cast by the Celestial Demon.

If the battle was only against the Dragon God, it wouldn't matter, but to counter the Celestial Demon as well, a sword of light was necessary.

"Ah, I see."

Understanding Kaylen’s reasoning, Kaina smiled gently and said,

"Alright. Then let’s start by forging the sword of light. But the holy sword will be useless afterward, so give it to me."

-Master...

"Hehe. If I melt down the legendary holy sword and forge a new one, it’ll be quite fun..."

As Kaina's eerie laughter echoed, the holy sword trembled slightly.

Any other blacksmith might fail, but Kaina, the Dwarf Queen who also wielded the power of Dragon Tongue, could surely dismantle it.

"No. That won’t happen."

-Ugh...

"Why not? What are you going to do with it?"

"I’ll use it in the battle against the Dragon God."

"Hmph..."

Kaina looked at Kaylen with narrowed eyes.

"Well, at least you're being upfront about it."

"Wasn’t our deal that I’d fight the Dragon God once the six swords were completed?"

"True. But you're going to lose to the Dragon God anyway, so why bother making a divine sword for the Celestial Demon?"

"Just make it."

"Alright. A promise is a promise. But..."

Kaina held up three fingers.

"I have a lot to do in Geysir... I can only forge three divine swords at most."

"Three, huh."

"Yes. And it looks like you already have a few divine swords, so that should be enough."

Currently, Kaylen possessed three divine swords.

The holy sword of light, Astella.

The earth sword, Baldrix.

And replacing the lost fire sword, Dragonflame, was a newly completed wind sword from the Sanctuary.

'Since the wind sword was completed in the Sanctuary, it should be named accordingly.'

Though it was Saint Benedict, the King of Wind Spirits, who had imbued the sword, Kaylen didn’t feel the need to name it after him.

"The remaining attributes are the fire sword, the dark sword, and the water sword."

If Kaina forged three swords with these attributes, all six swords could be completed.

But for Kaylen, forging the sword of light was an essential task.

While he was pondering over which to forge, Kaina smiled and spoke.

"But… if you give me a part of the Starn Empire's territory, I'll make an additional sword for every million people."

"...What?"

"One for every million. How about it?"

Kaina spread her fingers with a bright smile.

Kaylen felt a chill run down his spine at the sight.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I’m serious~ Think of it as sacrificing a few for the greater good. Fake Ernstein. The more divine swords you have, the safer you’ll be, right?"

"You..."

"Considering the recent decrease in population due to dungeon portals, you'll have to give me quite a bit of land. Hohoho."

Listening to Kaina's laughter, Kaylen realized once again.

No matter how much she resembled his beloved wife from the past, Kaina...

Inside, she was completely different from a thousand years ago.

'The Kaina who was once my wife is gone. All that remains is Kaina, the Dragon God's zealot and the enemy's leader.'

In the end, she was an enemy that needed to be cut down.

Reminding himself of this, Kaylen responded to her words.

"I refuse."

"Hehe. If you ever change your mind, let me know."

"A million? I can't bear such a sacrifice."

"Sacrifice? Once the fake you is absorbed by the Dragon God, all humans will be annihilated anyway. A million is a cheap price."

If the Dragon God wins, it will naturally lead to the extermination of humanity.

Kaylen looked at Kaina, who spoke of this so casually, and asked with a grave expression.

"…Why do you need humans so badly?"

"Hehe. Humans are the materials that make up the Dragon God."

"Materials?"

"Yes, fake one. Haven’t you ever wondered why humans flourished on the continent of Averia?"

"What are you talking about?"

Kaina slowly spread her fingers one by one.

"Humans are a fragile species. Compared to dwarves or elves, they can't handle mana well, have short lifespans, and weak physical conditions. They reproduce quickly, but monsters do as well."

"Humans established kingdoms, formed societies, and built organized structures to drive back monsters. But for that to happen, the 'previous stage' had to be successfully completed."

"The previous stage?"

"Survival during the primitive era."

As Kaina's flames flared, shapes of various monsters appeared.

Ogres, formidable even for skilled knights.

Orcs, who couldn't wield mana but surpassed humans in physical strength and reproduction.

Early humans had to survive against these powerful monsters.

"Nowadays, humans wield mana, develop tools, and handle monsters well... but how did primitive humans, without even iron tools, manage to overcome these monsters and establish kingdoms?"

“Unlike them, it must have been because they could handle mana.”

“Hehe. Do you really think they could pierce an ogre’s skin with crude weapons, even with mana?”

“Then…?”

“The reason they survived and prospered is that humans were chosen by the Dragon God as the 'flesh' of this continent.”

The Dragon God?

Kaylen listened to Kaina's words with a puzzled expression.

“Primitive humans weren’t as weak as they are now. They all possessed infinite mana, like your Meyer bloodline.”

“What…?”

“As they multiplied and formed tribes and nations, their population stabilized, and the color of their infinity faded and disappeared. But once, they were all as remarkable as your lineage.”

If the first humans all possessed infinity, it explained how they survived the harsh competition with monsters.

Humans with infinity had superior stamina, regeneration, and mana affinity.

No matter how dangerous the situation, their growth as a population wouldn’t have been hindered.

“And now, the ‘blood and flesh’ of the Dragon God, nurtured through the human race… is sufficient.”

“…I see. In the end, if we fail to subdue the Dragon God, humanity is destined for extinction.”

“Extinction? No. It’s simply becoming part of the dragon, as originally intended. Hehe.”

“Hah…”

“Oh, by the way. If we convert you, fake one, into human terms…”

Kaina smiled chillingly and clapped her hands.

“You’re worth more than a hundred million people. Isn't that incredible? The Meyer bloodline is truly something.”

“Ha. Thanks for valuing me so highly, more than a hundred million.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Hohoho. So, what will you do?”

“A million people? I refuse. Instead, I’ll commission the Light Sword, the Fire Sword, and the Shadow Sword.”

Kaylen flatly rejected Kaina’s demand for land and instead commissioned three swords.

“Hmph… Fine. Let me know if you change your mind later. Through Melvria.”

“Melvria?”

Kaylen feigned ignorance about Melvria’s whereabouts.

“Pretending not to know? As long as she possesses the Six Sword Path, she can’t escape my sight. I can sense her well on this land.”

As she said this, Kaina casually looked around the capital, Alzass.

‘Did she come to the capital for this reason?’

Even if more time had passed in the Sanctuary than he thought, only a few days had elapsed. There was no reason for Kaina to stir up trouble in the capital.

Kaylen thought there must be another reason for her visit.

“Well, there’s no chance I’ll change my mind. Just hurry and finish the swords.”

“Alright. Then I’ll be going, fake husband.”

Kaina waved her hand and nonchalantly shifted her gaze again.

Though her movement seemed natural,

Kaylen, with his transcendent senses, caught that her gaze briefly paused at a certain point.

‘There…’

Fwoosh!

Kaina vanished into flames.

Kaylen turned his gaze toward the place she had looked at moments before.

The place was the Myorn Workshop.

‘I need to check it out.’

The Myorn Workshop.

As soon as Kaylen entered, he looked towards Myorn, who was deep within the workshop.

"Myorn, are you alright?"

"Hmm? Why? Did something happen?"

Unaware that Kaina had descended upon the capital, Myorn was engrossed in her research. Her fur was scattered in all directions, and papers filled with research notes floated around her.

Kaylen spread his mana to scan the surroundings but sensed nothing unusual.

‘Still, since Kaina checked this place… I should stay alert here as well.’

It wasn’t like Kaina looked around for no reason.

As Kaylen pondered this, Myorn spoke as if it was a good thing.

"More importantly, can I see the Flame Sword you took back the other day? I need to study it more to restore it."

"The Flame Sword has already burned out."

"Huh… Really? Then what do I do? Without that, I can’t forge the Divine Flame Sword."

"Is it impossible for you to make it alone without that sword?"

"Sigh. Just because it's called a Divine Sword doesn’t mean it's easy to make, you know?"

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Kaina had once claimed she could forge several swords without much trouble, but that was only possible because she possessed the authority to wield the power of dragon words.

Logically, Myorn's words made more sense.

"I could easily forge a decent quality sword. But what you're asking for is a Divine Sword imbued with the full essence of a single mana attribute. Without a base like the previous Flame Sword, it’s impossible."

"I see. Then, how about if you have a reference sword?"

"That would… make it a bit easier."

"Good."

Kaylen pulled out one of the three Divine Swords he had kept as a legacy of the demon race.

It was the Flame Sword, one of the three swords personally granted to him by the Celestial Demon.

Myorn’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the Flame Sword.

"What? It's already completed?"

"No. I'm not going to wield this sword."

"Huh? Why? It's perfect."

"It’s flawed."

"No way…"

"It’s true. I can’t use this sword."

Kaylen planted the Flame Sword into the center of the workshop and spoke slowly.

"So, examine it. Find the trap hidden within this sword."

"Hmm… A trap, you say… I can’t tell just by looking, but alright. I'd be happy to study such a sword."

"Good."

Leaving the Celestial Demon’s Flame Sword with Myorn, Kaylen sank deep into thought.

‘Kaina’s forged swords will have flaws too.’

She wasn’t a fool.

Just like the Celestial Demon’s sword, the ones Kaina crafted would surely have mechanisms to ensure they couldn’t defy the Dragon God.

‘That’s why I can’t rely on their Divine Swords. To overcome both gods, I must find a way to stand on my own.’

It would be best if he could forge one himself, but creating a Divine Sword wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

‘I’ll have to use my position as the joker caught between the two gods.’

And the one he could request an item from… wasn’t limited to Kaina alone.

‘I’ll use the Celestial Demon too.’

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]