The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 200

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 200

Ernstine could not believe the current situation.

'How could I be pushed back like this?'

Compared to Kaylen, the aura of his Six Swords was overwhelmingly superior.

After receiving the blessing of the Celestial God and being resurrected in an incomplete body, he had spent nearly a thousand years refining and amassing his aura. It was only natural.

If it were a simple clash of aura between their Six Swords, Ernstine would claim an easy victory.

However—

'His sword is not the same as mine.'

The principle behind the creation of the Six Swords.

The method of mobilizing mana from the six attributes.

Perhaps they had been the same at the initial stage.

But Kaylen's Six Swords had transformed into something Ernstine could not even fathom.

'To manifest the infinity of the Six Demon Paths within the Six Swords...'

The Six Swords transforming into the Six Demon Paths—something that had led to Ernstine's downfall, leaving him to recover his body as a miserable undead beneath the sea.

Though theoretically possible, it was a method Ernstine had never dared to attempt. Yet, the brazen man before him seemed utterly unconcerned, freely manifesting the Six Demon Paths alongside his Six Swords.

Chiiiiiik!

Ernstine's Flame Sword clashed with Kaylen's Water Sword.

Two swords of opposing elements.

In terms of sheer aura, Ernstine's was overwhelming.

"Kugh..."

Yet, it was Ernstine's Flame Sword that began to falter.

The Six Sword infused with the Six Demon Paths looked unstable at first glance...

But it was steadily overcoming Ernstine's Six Swords, refined over a millennium.

"Six Swords, you are walking a misguided path. The transformation you are attempting will only serve as a pretext for the Dragon God to consume you. Yet, you dare to wield such a sword and stand against me?"

Ernstine's words were solemn, but they only earned Kaylen's scornful laughter.

"A misguided path? Why are you so consumed by fear, Ernstine?"

"What…?"

"You, the so-called first Grand Sword Master, are more worried about being devoured than learning to control the Six Demon Paths."

"You insolent wretch… What would you know… You're just a mere wielder of the Six Swords…!"

"And what have you done over the past thousand years? You've merely amassed aura in your Six Swords. I see no signs of growth."

Crack.

Among the fiercely clashing Six Swords, Ernstine's Dark Sword snapped in half.

While Kaylen's Light Sword, imbued with the Holy Sword, was overwhelmingly powerful, it was Ernstine's momentary agitation at Kaylen's last words that sealed its fate.

"No growth, you say… That’s…"

"Isn't the fact that you're being pushed back by someone who has only awakened in this body for a few short years proof enough?"

"......"

Ernstine, who had lived far longer than Kaylen.

Yet, his sword remained the same as it had been a thousand years ago.

Kaylen sought change to overcome the Dragon God and the Celestial Demon, the two absolute beings.

As Ernstine had said, this path carried the risk of making it easier for the Dragon God to consume him...

But judging by the immediate results, it was clear who had progressed.

"Kugh!"

Zzzzt—

Ernstine's Light Sword was consumed by Kaylen's Dark Sword.

Now, only three swords remained for him—Wind, Water, and Earth.

In contrast, Kaylen's Six Swords soared through the air, all intact.

The disparity was clear, with the sword count now at three to six.

However, rather than pressing the advantage with superior numbers, Kaylen insisted on fighting one-on-one.

And that humiliation stung Ernstine even more.

"...Six Swords. Are you toying with me now?"

"You as well. Why aren't you summoning more of your Six Swords? Even if a sword is broken, you still have enough aura left, don't you?"

"Once broken, a sword is meaningless even if summoned again."

"Heh. You've even lost your resolve, Ernstine. Becoming an undead has turned you into nothing more than an old man who has given up on everything."

Crack.

Ernstine's swords continued to fall.

His Wind Sword was completely blocked by the Earth Sword and disappeared as a faint breeze.

His Earth Sword, in turn, was swept away by the Wind Sword, scattering into nothing.

Only one remained.

The Water Sword.

Perhaps because it had been refined for a long time in the depths of the sea, the Water Sword alone managed to withstand Kaylen's Flame Sword.

But Ernstine could no longer endure the situation.

With a bleak gaze, he simply stared at Kaylen's Six Swords.

He had lost his fighting spirit.

"Are you giving up like this?"

"......"

"Ernstine. For someone like you, it wouldn't be difficult to transform your sword as I have."

Whoosh.

Kaylen's Six Swords flew before Ernstine's eyes.

Staring at the stars of the Six Demon Paths embedded within the swords, Ernstine clenched his teeth and spoke.

"...Of course. Such a thing would be easy."

"Then why don't you?"

"How could I possibly accept the power of the Dragon God?"

"Isn't it better to try something rather than die? You have more aura than I do, so if you just imitate my swords, wouldn't you gain the upper hand?"

"...What are you scheming?"

The outcome of the battle was already decided.

Telling him to try transforming his sword now?

Saying that it would lead to victory?

What was this man really thinking?

Unable to read Kaylen's intentions, Ernstine questioned him.

"If you're the real deal, stop being afraid of the Dragon God and give it a try. I'll wait."

"Or, if you'd rather be remembered as the cowardly, dead emperor by your sword, then just collapse there. I'll give you a clean death."

At Kaylen's provocative words, Ernstine's eyes widened.

Rather than being treated as a coward and dying after hearing such words from the likes of the Seventieth Six Sword—

"Fine... I'll do as you say. Don't come to regret it."

Ernstine resolved to manifest the Six Demon Paths within his Six Swords.

Ziiiing—

Behind Ernstine, the broken and vanished Six Swords regenerated.

Within them, the stars of the Six Demon Paths slowly began to form.

Kaylen watched the scene with his arms crossed.

‘As expected, he’s quick to pull it off.’

Kaylen and Ernstine—both masters of the Six Sword Path.

They could easily imitate what the other demonstrated.

It was only Ernstine’s trauma toward the Six Demon Paths that had kept him from attempting this until now.

But once he made up his mind, it was a simple task.

‘Now, let’s see how this plays out.’

Kaylen gazed at Ernstine with a heavy, sinking look.

Even though he could have struck Ernstine down at any moment, he refrained.

There was a reason he insisted on making Ernstine reshape his swords just like his own—

And that reason was about to be revealed.

"Krrrgh..."

Srrrrr—

Starting with the Light Sword—

One by one, as the Infinity began to manifest within Ernstine's swords,

At the turn of the Water Sword, Ernstine suddenly dropped to his knees.

‘M-My chest...!’

A sharp, unbearable pain radiated from his chest.

Specifically, near his ribs.

Since becoming an undead, he had been numb to pain.

But this sudden and excruciating sensation was unbearable.

"Ku-Kugh...!"

The intense pain soon spread to his lower body.

His left knee ligament.

The flesh of his right thigh.

The bones of both heels.

Agonizing pain erupted from these specific areas.

As Ernstine felt the searing torment,

He identified the commonality between these parts.

‘The first fragments of my body that the Celestial God reclaimed...’

Back when Ernstine, transformed into a Dragonkin, scattered fragments of his human body across the land.

The areas now wracked with pain were precisely those fragments.

And within him, they burned fiercely with torment.

"The Celestial Demon must have set this trap when reviving you."

"The C-Celestial God..."

"If you tried anything foolish, you'd self-destruct immediately. Thorough to the end, that one."

Hearing Kaylen say this—

Ernstine let out a pained laugh.

"Kuh... Kukuku. Did you... expect this?"

"Halfway. Knowing the Celestial Demon's cunning, I figured he wouldn’t just let you awaken the power of the Six Demon Paths without interference."

"Ha... I see..."

Staring at his burning fragments, Ernstine felt a hollow emptiness.

He had intended to devote his soul in loyalty to the Celestial God who had resurrected him.

But it turned out that such a trap had already been set within him.

‘And yet...’

The pain continued to surge.

His body crumbled.

Just manifesting the Six Demon Paths seemed enough to render his existence unsalvageable.

Every element that composed him was breaking down.

Yet—

‘My mind is clear.’

It was only in the face of this collapse that Ernstine could feel it.

The blind loyalty he had held for the Celestial God.

The fear and hatred he felt toward the Dragon God.

The obsession with absorbing the Six Swords.

All of it faded.

And what filled that emptiness—

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Was regret towards the Six Sword Path.

‘I could have... developed it further.’

‘I had enough time.’

‘I slew the Demon King at fifty. In a thousand years, I could have conceived a sword to slay even a god.’

The Dragon God who had twisted his fate. The Celestial God who had tried to awaken him early.

Ernstine, a thousand years ago, had been powerless, a puppet manipulated by these divine beings.

But if he had honed his skills for a thousand years, he could have forged a sword that could even strike down gods.

A deep regret filled Ernstine’s chest.

And that regret stirred something deep within his subconscious—

A sword that had slept for a thousand years.

‘This is...’

Ernstine’s eyes, once contorted with pain, now gleamed with clarity.

He forced his crumbling body to rise.

Though his chest and lower limbs were melting away,

They no longer held him back.

"Seventieth Six Sword... what is your name?"

He spoke in a calm, composed voice.

Kaylen looked at Ernstine as his body continued to fall apart.

But there was no longer any humiliation in Ernstine’s eyes—no shame at having been defeated by Kaylen, a mere Six Sword.

‘He’s changed.’

Kaylen uncrossed his arms and answered.

"Kaylen."

"I see. Kaylen... Thank you. For waking me from my delusion."

Srrrrr—

Aura deeply imbued itself into Ernstine’s Six Sword.

A completely different energy than before.

Ernstine’s Six Sword, which had been little different from a thousand years ago, was undergoing a decisive transformation at the brink of his collapse.

"Thanks to you, I was able to draw out the sword I had been honing in a corner of my heart for a thousand years."

The risen Six Sword of Ernstine gathered into one.

From within the depths of his subconscious that had submitted to the Celestial God,

The sword he had been contemplating for a thousand years finally revealed itself.

Six Sword Path

Six Swords

God-Slaying

As if demonstrating it to Kaylen,

He turned his back and extended the Six Sword toward the sea.

But contrary to its name as a god-slaying sword,

No change occurred.

It did not cut the sea,

Nor did it disturb the flow of mana.

Instead, Ernstine's body, which had wielded that sword, completely vanished—dissolved into nothing.

Yet—

Kaylen's mouth opened wide.

"...Impressive."

An exclamation, tinged with even a sense of defeat, escaped him.

"...I have learned well, Ernstine."

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]