The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 122

Lady Lina of the Florence County watched the advancing troops in the square with a tense expression.

Due to the limited space in the square, only the most elite soldiers from Viltre Fortress were allowed to participate in the victory ceremony.

A strange tension lingered in the air.

It was understandable—recently, peculiar rumors had been spreading.

[Something big is going to happen at the victory ceremony!]

[The Seven Towers have suddenly been shut down, and high-ranking officials have gone missing!]

Most of the general public was interested in the first rumor.

However, nobles, mages, and high-ranking figures focused on the latter.

The closed Seven Towers were all influential magical institutions in the Bormian Kingdom, and until recently, they had been operating actively.

Yet, all contact with them was abruptly cut off, causing ongoing ventures to come to a complete halt.

—Lina, attend the victory ceremony today.

—Based on the intelligence we’ve gathered, the conclusion we’ve reached is absurd.

—I need to hear what you see and hear firsthand.

The closure of the Seven Towers and the victory ceremony.

At first glance, the two seemed unrelated.

But Count Florence, who had been swiftly gathering information, detected a connection.

However, the connection was entirely centered around "Kaylen," making it impossible to understand using conventional logic.

In the end, they had no choice but to verify the truth of the rumors through Lina, who had ties to Kaylen.

‘It’s not just ordinary citizens… I see influential noble families and even Masters from the Towers.’

As Lina observed the individuals occupying the best vantage points in the square, she realized that far more eyes were watching this ceremony than she had initially thought.

‘It has begun.’

Thud. Thud.

The soldiers from Viltre Fortress marched in perfect formation.

Most of them weren’t just soldiers—they were knights.

Lina noticed something unusual.

In every victory ceremony she had attended, the Masters had always taken the lead.

But now, there were only knights.

‘Why…? Is it because of the newly appeared Sword Master?’

Even in the capital, Stein’s name was well-known.

He had reportedly made great contributions during the fortress defense battle, so perhaps he was being honored first?

Finding it curious, Lina continued watching the ceremony.

"All troops, attention!"

A thousand soldiers stood in disciplined formation.

At the forefront, a blond man clad in white armor stepped forward.

Sword Master Stein.

As expected, he was leading the soldiers.

"Salute His Majesty the King!"

"LOYALTY!"

Meanwhile, King Kaitan, who had been sitting with a scowl after the knights disobeyed his orders,

momentarily relaxed at the soldiers’ salute and lifted his hand to return the gesture.

However—

‘…Wait, what?!’

The soldiers' gazes shifted.

And the person receiving their salute was… strangely different.

"T-Those people…"

"Who are they saluting…?"

"It’s not the king… but behind the king…"

Behind the King, in the place where Violet and Kaylen stood side by side, a thousand soldiers saluted Kaylen in unison.

Step. Step.

Kaylen, who had been standing behind, walked forward and returned the salute.

"W-what is the meaning of this…?!"

Seeing this, Kaitan’s face contorted with a mix of anger and confusion as he tried to approach Kaylen to demand an explanation.

However—

Srrrrk—

"A-Ah! It’s cold! Violet! What are you doing?!"

"Stay right where you are, Father."

Kaitan’s legs were frozen to the ground, trapping him completely by Violet’s magic. He couldn't move an inch.

"Everyone."

Violet, after briefly glaring at Kaitan, bowed her head toward Kaylen in greeting.

Then, she stepped forward.

"Today, as a princess of the Bormian royal family, I stand here to reveal the heinous crimes the royal family has committed until now."

She spoke in an impassive, matter-of-fact tone,

methodically listing the crimes of the Bormian royal family.

"In the year 2755 of the Holy Calendar, the royal family ordered the royal-affiliated Cheokmadan to attack the village of Halyde. The villagers were massacred, and one hundred human children under the age of fifteen were taken.

The survivors were offered as sacrifices to the Demon Realm."

The year 2756.

The year 2757.

One by one, Violet read aloud the report detailing atrocities committed over the past thirty years.

Murmur, murmur.

At first, people were bewildered by the situation.

However, whenever a village’s name was mentioned,

someone in the crowd would suddenly react in shock.

"W-what? Elwood Village… that’s my hometown."

"It wasn’t destroyed by a monster attack…?"

"I was told it was wiped out because monsters invaded through a dungeon portal…! That’s what we were made to believe!"

In the capital and surrounding regions, sudden dungeon portals had led to a lawless era where monster raids became common.

People had come to accept that danger could strike at any time.

But the revelation that the very nation meant to protect them had instead been feeding its own people to the Demon Realm—

this was something they could not comprehend.

"N-no! This is false! Lies, all lies!"

Kaitan, hearing the contents of the report, shouted in a fit of rage.

After all, wasn’t the only proof just some pieces of paper?

If it became public knowledge that the Bormian royal family was involved in these crimes, the stability of the monarchy would crumble.

The citizens could not be allowed to accept this as truth.

"Are you seriously trying to slander the king with nothing but scraps of paper?! You traitors!"

"Heh. I knew you would say that, Father."

With a light gesture, Princess Violet spoke.

"Let us bring forth the witnesses."

Step. Step.

Mages with grim expressions walked forward.

The general public didn’t recognize them,

but among the nobles and mages—

"Wait… Those people…?"

"Quillen? He was supposed to be the next Tower Master of Balzak Tower!"

"And that one… isn’t that the disciple of the Blue Tower Master…?"

A commotion erupted among the nobles and mages.

They were the next-generation leaders of the Seven Towers.

They all walked up to the podium, dressed in torn and worn robes, their heads deeply bowed.

"We are the criminals of Balzak Tower."

"We came to the Demon Realm with the help of the king and Black Skull's heir..."

As the future leaders of the Seven Towers confessed to their cooperation with the Demon Realm, the crowd’s unease grew.

The Seven Towers had been known for their formidable power, and not just the nobles, but the common people were aware of this fact.

The fact that they were now confessing their own sins was shocking.

"Our tower will disband and liquidate its assets."

"We will restore the affected villages and donate all the tower's wealth to the kingdom and its people."

"These crimes are the fault of the leaders, not the ordinary mages who were unaware. Please, show mercy to them."

The mages kneeled, pleading with the crowd.

But the crowd’s response was cold.

"Trash, all of you!"

"How are you going to restore villages that have already vanished?"

"How could humans commit such atrocities?"

Meanwhile, the nobles remained silent, watching the sudden upheaval unfold.

‘The Seven Towers are kneeling, begging for mercy!’

‘What in the world is happening?’

‘We need to be cautious, more cautious than ever.’

The Seven Towers, so quickly and completely suppressed, were a terrifying reminder.

If that power were turned toward them... there was nothing more chilling than that.

"This... this isn’t proof! You’re all framing me!"

"Father. How much further are you going to degrade yourself?"

"Violet. Have you lost your mind? Bormian is a royal family that has lasted for a thousand years! It must rule this land forever. How dare the royal bloodline ruin the kingdom!"

"The royal bloodline?"

Smirk.

Violet replied with a smile.

"Yes! You, who aren’t even fit to be royalty, have been spared, and now you strike me from behind!"

"Heh. Royal bloodline? What does that even mean?"

"Wh-what do you mean by that...?"

Kaitan, his face turning red with fury, briefly looked around.

The royal bloodline.

If he spoke of that here...

It would only add fuel to the fire, a suicidal act.

"Shall I say it, Father? I remember now."

"What... what do you mean?"

"When you killed my mother. You changed me."

As Violet tapped her forehead, Kaitan’s eyes widened.

Could it be true?

Did she really remember?

The mark of the demon?

‘Mad…! She’s actually going to expose that to the world? How did I raise such a venomous child!’

Kaitan hesitated for a moment, and just as Violet was about to speak again…

“Enough.”

Kaylen stepped forward.

“There’s no need to say any more. Violet.”

"But..."

“This is enough for a justification.”

“No. It’s not enough for justification! I, I am also from the Bormian royal family. If I expose even my own flaws... only then will the Bormian royal family truly end!”

The thousand-year kingdom of Bormian.

People naturally believed that the bloodline of Bormian ruled the country.

Even if Kaitan were to be impeached, with Violet, who carries the royal blood of Bormian, would people still follow her?

In the public’s mindset, it was possible they would be drawn to Violet, as she carried the royal bloodline of Bormian.

This could create a significant obstacle to the rule of a new royal family.

Violet, aware of this, was willing to expose her own flaws and ruin herself in order to completely end the royal family.

“You were planning to expose those ‘flaws’ and then commit suicide, right?”

“…You knew.”

Kaylen smirked as he spoke.

“You can’t die right now. There’s too much to do. You have to help me. Where do you think you’re going?”

Step. Step.

Kaylen slowly walked toward Kaitan.

His expressionless face approaching Kaitan was a complete 180 from the smiling demeanor he had just shown the king moments ago.

And Kaitan could feel with every fiber of his being that this was Kaylen's true nature.

Just seeing him like this was suffocating.

“Y-you… you traitor…”

“Kaitan, last king of the Bormian kingdom that followed the Demon Realm. I will pass judgment on you.”

“K-kugh… No! This… this is…! It’s slander! You will be remembered as a traitor throughout history…!”

Srrrrk.

Behind Kaylen, four Aura Swords appeared.

“I’m willing to endure anything.”

Kaitan’s face froze as he looked at the four Aura Swords.

Was this really how it would end…?

He had rejoiced, thinking he would be the one to bring down Sword Master Stein…

But now, was he the one to be destroyed instead?

‘Ugh… No, I can’t… I don’t want to die! I don’t want to beg for my life either.’

No, he thought, even if he begged, they likely wouldn’t spare him.

“Don’t, don’t come any closer. If you take even a single step, I’ll speak! Violet, your truth, your flaws…”

The dark side of the royal family that had followed the Demon Realm until now could be revealed to the world.

Just a moment ago, Kaitan had been hesitant to let it all out.

But standing before the Aura Swords now, he wanted to use it to save himself.

In his pathetic state...

“I wasn’t planning to kill you immediately. But it seems that won’t work now.”

Kaylen delivered the death sentence.

Six Swords Path

Four Swords - Great Sword

The four Aura Swords combined.

What emerged was, unexpectedly, a sword of iron.

The sword, which was normally the size of a longsword, began to grow rapidly as the attributes of light and darkness, fire and water, pushed against each other.

Amplifying, amplifying.

In an instant, it started to grow larger.

"W-what is this…?"

When Kaylen first grasped the sword, it had been of a typical size, but now, the blade was soaring into the sky.

It was, literally, a gigantic sword.

It was like a pillar holding up the sky to prevent it from falling to the earth.

Too large to cut a human.

But Kaylen’s target was never just Kaitan.

"I’ll slice through the thousand-year-old royal castle in one strike."

The true target was behind Kaitan.

It was the Bormian royal castle, located at the back of the square.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Whoosh.

The great sword, soaring into the sky, began to fall.

And Kaitan’s form vanished without a trace.

He didn’t even have the chance to scream.

"W-what… is this?"

"Evacuate!"

Those in the path of the great sword’s descent hurriedly fled.

However, the sword was so wide that some were unable to escape in time.@@novelbin@@

"Ugh..."

"It’s fine."

But the great sword simply passed over them.

Though it appeared to be made of iron, it was, in fact, a sword of mana.

Kaylen adjusted the sword’s power to ensure that no innocent bystanders were harmed.

Only the Bormian royal castle was to be struck.

Crash!

The royal castle, which had stood at the heart of the Bormian Kingdom for a thousand years, was split in half.

"Wow, the castle!"

"It’s… split in half..."

The people understood.

In one single moment, more than a hundred words could say.

This moment, today, Bormian Kingdom had ended.

And a new era had arrived.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]