[Trantor - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 64
Eldir, the leader of the Elven Guard, took pride in being the only remaining Sword Master in this world.
To be precise, he believed that no one in the Middle Realm could match his mastery of the sword.
That belief was the pride that sustained his worn-out body and mind in a world dominated by magic.
But today, that pride was shatteredpletely—by Kaylen.
“Is that all?”
Kaylen, who had subdued him, performed an iprehensible act.
He withdrew his sword from Eldir’s neck and stepped back.
“I’ll give you another chance.”
Eldir gritted his teeth.
That arrogance—he would make him regret it.
Faster.
Eldir steadied his mind and unleashed his Aura Sword again.
Speed was his advantage.
All he had to do was avoid being subdued as easily as before.
Whoosh.
Eldir’s figure disappeared, the green glow of his de aiming for Kaylen’s back in an instant.
But—
“Again.”
Once more, he was subdued in a single moment.
“One more time.”
“You’re stillcking.”
It was as if a teacher were instructing a student.
Kaylen evaluated Eldir’s swordsmanship while effortlessly overpowering him.
Not long after, Kaylen calmly stated:
“You’ve died nine times.”
Swish.
Kaylen’s Aura Sword once again rested against Eldir’s neck.
Once more, he was perfectly subdued.
Kaylen assessed Eldir’s technique.
“A de that pours everything into a single strike—it leaves no room for follow-up.
Well, I suppose that’s been sufficient for you until now.”
A 19-year-old was criticizing the leader of the Elven Guard, a man who had lived for centuries.
“Would you like to try again?”
Swish.
When Kaylen withdrew his de, Eldir copsed to his knees.
Was this truly reality?
Was it not a dream?
Eldir stared nkly at his wooden sword, Melvria, in a daze.
“This time, I hope it’ll be interesting.”
Seizing the moment when Kaylen turned his back, Eldirunched a sudden strike.
sh!
It was a dishonorable attack, but at this point, exploiting an opening was his only option.
Even among Sword Masters, the gap between them was insurmountable.
However—
ng.
This attack, too, was effortlessly blocked.
Even this time, Kaylen’s grip firmly held Eldir’s weapon.
“This ambush was decent in some ways,” Kaylenmented.
“Grr…”
“But you failed to conceal the wind.”
“Shut up!”
Despite striking from behind, the ambush had failed.
The World Tree’s de, firmly held in his opponent’s hand, was the ultimate humiliation.
“If you’re going tounch a surprise attack, don’t leave any traces.”
When Kaylen followed this with a lesson, Eldir’s patience snapped.
“You insolent fool! Don’t try to teach me! What could you possibly know about the mana of wind?”
“Hm. Is that so? Then perhaps you should see for yourself.”
Whoosh.
The World Tree’s de, Melvria, slipped from Eldir’s grasp.
“M-Melvria!”
For a swordsman to lose hold of their de—unthinkable.
Whatever technique Kaylen had used, the sword slid effortlessly from Eldir’s grip andnded in Kaylen’s hand.
“Watch closely.”
Whirr—
Wind coiled around the World Tree’s de.
It was a manifestation of the Aura Sword, simr to what Eldir had disyed moments before.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yet, the amount of wind mana imbued in Kaylen’s de was far lesspared to Eldir’s.
The intensity of the wind surrounding the sword was also notably weaker.
Even so, Eldir couldn’t tear his eyes away from it.
‘No… That’s not possible.’
Though the mana infused was significantly less than his own,
the Aura emanating from Melvria in Kaylen’s hands looked far more menacing than when Eldir wielded it with all his strength.
And then—
Whoosh.
Kaylen extended the de.
In the blink of an eye, its tip touched Eldir’s throat.
Yet the wind… the wind was felt behind him.
No, it wasn’t just behind him.
From every direction except the front, violent gusts surged.
Carried on the wind, it felt as if countless des were targeting him.
“If you can’t hide the wind, summon a storm instead.”
“A storm…”
“Or, refine it further like this.”
The raging winds ceased abruptly.
Yet the World Tree’s de remained unwavering, pointed at Eldir’s throat.
And then—
Swish—
Without any warning, the fabric of Eldir’s sleeves and pant legs was suddenly sliced away.
“...!”
No sound.
No motion.
No sensation.
Kaylen’s swift swordsmanship operated on an entirely different level, one that Eldir couldn’t perceive.
Thud—
Eldir once again fell to his knees.
This time, he didn’t even manage to hold his sword. He was utterly dazed.
And yet, a flicker ignited in his left eye.
‘I can’t ept it... but I must.’
He had been overpowered by a 19-year-old Swordmaster.
Eldirpletely set aside his pride.
But that didn’t mean he had surrendered.
‘I need another method.’
He reached for the eyepatch covering his right eye.
His opponent was a monster of a different caliber.
He, too, had to resort to his ultimate means.
“…By the authority of the Master, Imand it.”
Swish.
Eldir removed the eyepatch.
Beneath it, instead of an eye, was arge green gemstone embedded in its ce.
Kaylen’s eyebrow twitched for a moment.
‘A mana stone? No...’
It looked simr to a mana stone but was clearly something else.
As someone who had once possessed all the treasures of the world during his time as an emperor, Kaylen instantly recognized it.
‘A Spirit Stone.’
Judging by its color, it must have been a Wind Spirit Stone.
Kaylen could have subdued Eldir immediately, but he decided to observe, silently withdrawing his sword to see what Eldir would do.
“Guardian, initiate evolution process.”
Whoosh—
The five floating mana suit parts disassembled into droplets, which began converging on Eldir.
The droplets enveloped his entire body, gradually forming into a blue armor.
“Grr…!”
In this state, the Spirit Stone began to glow. The wind mana coursed through his body and infused into the Guardian armor.
Water and wind mana intertwined, and the mana suit shimmered with a mixture of blue and green hues.
“Urgh…!”
Eldir’s face, visible beneath the helmet, was contorted in pain.
Yet, despite the agony, he didn’t halt the “evolution.”
A massive vortex of energy swirled around the Guardian armor.
‘Guardian relies mostly on water mana... but this wind mana is formidable as well.’
The wind and water mana spreading from the Guardian were nearly equal in intensity.
Though the Guardian,posed of five A-rank mana suits, primarily harnessed water mana, the wind mana came from Eldir himself and the Spirit Stone.
The amount released by the Spirit Stone was overwhelming.
Kaylen muttered softly, “To contain both types of mana... You’re almost like a High Elf.”
“…!?”
“So that’s why it’s called evolution?”
“You don’t need to know!”
“Still iplete, isn’t it? Are you sure about this?”
“Tch!”
Could this wretch really discern all that just by looking?
Eldir gritted his teeth.
Kaylen’s observation was correct.
The immense amounts of wind and water mana radiated overwhelming power.
Yet, the two elements failed to achieve proper harmony.
This imbnce stemmed partly from Kaylen’s use of the mana stored in the Guardian’s boots, leaving its reserves iplete.
And more crucially...
‘I wasn’t ready for evolution yet... Neither was my body.’
Eldir’s own flesh wasn’t prepared for the transformation. Forced to initiate the evolution due to the sudden confrontation with this overwhelming foe, he knew the process wouldn’tst long.
He had no choice but to subdue Kaylen quickly.
“Guardian... Summon artificial spirit...”
<em>Whirr!</em>
Thebined energies of wind and water coalesced, forming something entirely new.
The formless cloud-like creation was still iplete in shape, but the mana within it was destructive.
“This is interesting.”
Kaylen, who had been observing with his arms crossed, lifted the World Tree Sword.
“Eldir, you’ve realized I’m no servant of the Demon Realm, haven’t you?”
“Even so, will you still see this through to the end?”
“Even if you aren’t... that doesn’t change how suspicious you are! Reaching such heights at just 19? I’ll subdue you and find out the truth!”
At Eldir’s resolute deration, Kaylen smirked.
“Good. Let’s make this fun.”
Aura began to envelop the World Tree Sword.
The power emanating from the sword—far beyond what Kaylen had shown earlier—grew with every passing moment.
“Six des, activate.”
The six elemental swords that Kaylen had cultivated came to life.
Among them, the Light de, Dark de, and Water de grew particrly distinct, exuding overwhelming presence.
The three massive swords stretched out behind Kaylen, radiating terrifying power.
Even Eldir’s eyes, sharpened by countless battles, couldn’t help but widen in astonishment.
‘That... that’s...!’
Every swordsman knew of a certain legendary tale.
A warrior who manifested six elemental Aura Swords and swept away armies of demons in a single swing.
<em>When he came, all demons were annihted.</em>
<em>Had he not been a Hero, who knows what fate would have befallen us?</em>
The Sword God, Ernstine.
Eldir had grown up hearing of the Sword God’s legend during his training with the Spirit Swordmasters of old.
‘Could it be...?’
Though Kaylen had only summoned three swords, the resemnce to the legendary Sword God’s techniques was undeniable.
‘Is fighting this man... truly the right thing to do?’
It wasn’t the fear of death.
Eldir had long been prepared to sacrifice his life for his kin.
But if this man wielding the legendary Sword God’s techniques wasn’t aligned with the Demon Realm...
Was it truly worth risking his life, forcing this evolution, and facing him here?
As Eldir hesitated momentarily, a brilliant blue light gathered from the five Guardian parts.
The radiance coalesced, then spread out, illuminating the space between Kaylen and Eldir.
The light shone as if to separate the two.
[My dear child, Eldir.]
A solemn, feminine voice echoed throughout the underground chamber.
[The Path of Six des cannot be walked by a seed of the Demon Realm. He wields both a holy sword and a cursed sword—proof that he is unrted to the demons. I will release your power.]
The artificial spirit, still in its cloud-like form, dissipated into vapor as the Guardian disassembled into its original five parts.
“...Ugh!”
As soon as the equipment was released, Eldir coughed up blood.
His body, now fully exposed, had be emaciated, with his skin cracked and peeling—a harsh consequence of the forced evolution.
He gritted his teeth against the pain, but it wasn’t long before he lost consciousness and copsed onto the ground.
[...Poor child. ]
A gentle blue light descended upon him, illuminating his frail figure.
Under its soothing glow, Eldir’s body began to heal.
The cracks in his skin faded, reced by a healthy luster, and his ragged breaths gradually steadied.
“Hmm...”
Kaylen, watching this unfold, scratched his chin thoughtfully.
This voice emanating from the light—it felt familiar somehow.
[Human Sword Master, please forgive today’s insolence. My child acted too rashly. ]
“Who are you?”
[I am a fragment of the World Tree, its will personified. Are you... a descendant of Ernstine? ]
The light, which identified itself as the World Tree’s will, spoke with calm authority.
At these words, Kaylen’s expression shifted as realization struck him.
“...Deluna?”
High Elf Deluna.
The fifth wife of Ernstine.
A woman who had vanished from the imperial pce one day, leaving behind only her daughter.
It hadter been revealed that she had sacrificed herself to sustain the World Tree.
Kaylen’s memories stirred. He recalled the nights spentforting her daughter, who wept inconsbly in his arms, searching for her mother.
- ...Let it go now. Let her rest. She made her choice for the greater good.
Each night, he had repeated those words, trying to soothe the grieving child while burying his own resentment toward Deluna.
How bitterly he had med her back then.
And yet, here was her voice, reaching him after all these years.
The light flickered faintly.
[...How do you know my name? ]
[Trantor - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]