The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 131

Following the saintess’s detection, after several days of continuous flight, Kaylen and his party crossed a national border for the first time in their lives.

“This is my first time crossing a border. Since we headed west, this must be Lahendra’s territory?”

“Yes. Once you see this kingdom, you’ll realize just how stable Bormian… no, the Meier Kingdom actually is. Lahendra has even abandoned its capital.”

“They abandoned their capital?”

Lahendra’s original capital had been located on the coast.

However, after dungeon portals began appearing in the sea, the surge in monsters made maritime trade nearly impossible.

“And after a civil war broke out over the throne, many Meisters died, making it even harder to subjugate the portals in the ocean. In the end, they gave up on suppressing the monsters and were forced to relocate the capital.”

“A dungeon portal in the sea… How do you even clear something like that? If it’s underwater, it should be impossible to subjugate.”

“There are portals that appear above the water’s surface. Entering them isn’t the problem, but the sea monsters guarding them make it significantly harder than land-based portals. Transporting the Exorcist Corps by ship to deploy them is also extremely difficult. Compared to land portals, clearing them is at least ten times harder.”

Kaylen could see why they had abandoned their capital.

Still, if they had relocated when their Meister forces were intact, things might have turned out better.

“At this point, abandoning it might have actually stabilized the situation.”

“Perhaps. But in the end, it was a lack of strength that forced them to move the capital… The royal family’s prestige plummeted, and most nobles now act as independent rulers.”

Just like in Bormian, the capital was a kingdom’s greatest asset.

The moment they lost the strength to hold it, Lahendra’s royal authority was doomed to decline.

“With the central government’s control gone, large-scale efforts to clear dungeon portals have become nearly nonexistent. The transportation network can’t be restored without removing them, but each noble is too busy defending their own land. As a result, their territories have become increasingly isolated and are being picked off one by one.”

In Lahendra, the only places where humans could still live were noble estates governed by counts or higher.

Everywhere else had been overrun by monsters, unable to withstand the growing number of dungeon portals.

“Even the Dungeon Guild barely has a presence in this country anymore.”

“I see…”

As they continued their flight past the border,

Kaylen saw countless ruined cities.

Cities that had ultimately failed to clear their dungeon portals, overrun by monsters and left in ruin.

Some of them had clearly been thriving at one point, their size and scale evident—

But now, only monsters remained.

Not a single living human was in sight.

‘So this is what happens when dungeon portals are left unchecked.’

After passing through numerous ruins, they finally spotted a proper human stronghold.

Theresia suddenly shouted, almost in a fit.

“This place! It’s here!”

“It fell there?”

“Yes! I can sense the energy of the sun!”

“Let’s go.”

As the sun began to set,

Kaylen rode his drake toward a fortress in the Lahendra Kingdom.

The moment he crossed the walls—

“In—Intruder! Intruder!”

“What is that?! W-Wait, is that a drake?!”

“He’s flying right in like it’s nothing… Stop him! Stop him now!”

“Call for the mages!”

The panicked shouts of the castle guards rang out,

but Kaylen paid them no mind.

He didn’t have the time to walk in politely just for their sake.

“Fireball!”

From below the fortress, fireballs and various other offensive spells were launched toward them.

Whoosh.

With a single indifferent wave of his hand, Kaylen effortlessly dispelled them mid-air, causing the spells to explode before reaching him.

Watching this from the side, Theresia felt a powerful sense of déjà vu.

‘It’s exactly like how Lord Ernstine did it…’

No matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like Kaylen—he looked like the legendary hero, Ernstine.

Even when his appearance had started to resemble Ernstine’s, it had been somewhat bearable.

But ever since he fully unleashed the Six-Blade Path and naturally began speaking to her informally, he had completely become Ernstine himself.

‘The Holy Sword’s reaction will confirm it for sure.’

The Holy Sword Astella.

Bestowed upon humanity by the Celestial God at the dawn of their existence, this sword had an extraordinarily high sense of pride.

Right now, experiencing the Six-Blade Path again after so long, it might momentarily mistake Kaylen for Ernstine…

But once they met face-to-face, Astella would make its judgment based on much stricter criteria.

“There! Do you see it?”

“Yes. I see it too.”

At the center of the inner castle, in the middle of a training ground, a sword of radiant light stood embedded in the ground.

As soon as the drake landed and the two dismounted, soldiers surrounded them.

“W-Who are you?! Identify yourselves!”

Despite their commanding voices, their faces were filled with fear.

Kaylen gazed at the Holy Sword Astella, planted in the earth, and spoke.

“There’s no need to be afraid.”

The Holy Sword of the Sun, Astella.

A blade of pure white radiance, from its hilt to its very tip.

“I’ll leave as soon as I’m done here.”

Anyone could see that the intruder’s goal was obvious.

“T-This is an artifact that outsiders cannot take!”

“Did your lord order you to guard it? How greedy.”

They couldn’t even draw the sword, yet they claimed ownership over it?

Kaylen took steady steps toward the sword.

“S-Stop him!”

The guards rushed in unison—

But Kaylen’s body passed through their grasp as if he were made of water.

“What the…?”

None of them could stop him.

At last, standing before the Holy Sword, Kaylen reached for its hilt.

Just as his hand was about to make contact—

He hesitated.

His eyes darkened.

‘Something foreign is inside Astella.’

The Holy Sword Astella was a weapon of pure light, forged entirely from the power of the sun.

Yet right now, something within the blade was weakening its solar energy.

‘…But it doesn’t matter.’

Grip.

He grasped the sword.

[I have been waiting.]

And from within Astella, an eerie voice echoed.

[Demon Count Shadowwill. Initiating the additional request.]

Shadowwill, the Shadow Demon.

He had found the Holy Sword a few days ago.

‘So this is the Holy Sword…’

From the Demon Realm’s Colony Observation Post, where one could oversee the entire colony, spotting something as conspicuous as the Holy Sword had been easy.

If the observation post staff hadn’t been so naturally lazy, he would have found it even sooner.

Had they conducted a proper search from the beginning, the discovery would have been much quicker.

—M-Monster…

The Holy Sword Astella had put up some resistance.

But when night fell, and the power of the sun weakened, the situation reversed.

After that, he spent three days making the sword transportable and then demanded his reward from the observation post director.

‘An easy request.’

Lend out the Holy Sword for a moment, receive a reward,

then retrieve it later and present it to the Demon King’s Castle to earn further merit.

For its difficulty, the mission was incredibly rewarding.

He wanted to transport the sword to the Demon Realm immediately.

But instead of receiving his payment, he was given a new request.

—Capture the human as well.

—The human?

—The one riding the drake. Ten times the reward.

If he subdued the human who arrived on a drake and sent them to the Demon Realm, the reward would be multiplied tenfold.

They were offering that much just to capture a mere human?

It was unbelievable.

But when Edena swore on the Demon’s Oath, Shadowwill happily accepted.

Capturing them alive would likely bring the highest reward.

Thinking so, Shadowwill concealed himself within the Holy Sword.

The moment a human grasped it, he would immediately transfer over and seize control of their body.

And after spending a few days hidden inside the sword—

The target arrived.

[Human. Stay still.]

Up until this point, the plan had been flawless.

He had secured the Holy Sword and even completed the additional request.

But—

“You’re a Shadow Demon, aren’t you?”

The human who should have been subdued was speaking casually.

“Your control is quite strong. It’s at a level worth noting—even compared to the Shadow Grand Duke.”@@novelbin@@

[…Shadow Grand Duke…?]

“You don’t know Shadowbane? Right before he died, he wailed that he was the future of his clan.”

That name—there was no way he didn’t know it.

Shadowbane.

A thousand years ago, during the Demon Realm’s invasion of the Middle Realm, he had been the second-in-command of the Crimson Flame Demon King…

The most famous Shadow Demon in history—

A legendary figure.

But to Shadowwill, Shadowbane was a name filled with both reverence and resentment.

He had greatly expanded the Shadow Demon Clan’s influence.

Yet at the same time, he was the sinner who had sacrificed nearly the entire clan in an attempt to defeat the hero, Ernstine.

He had summoned one thousand of the Shadow Demons’ finest warriors to the surface for a suicidal battle against Ernstine…

But the plan had failed.

Every single Shadow Demon, including himself, perished.

With its elite forces wiped out, the Shadow Demon Clan lost its standing in the Demon Realm and fell into decline.

Once a name feared across the Demon Realm, the Shadow Demon Clan and Shadowbane’s legacy had faded into obscurity.

And because of that, despite his extraordinary magical prowess, Shadowwill had never been able to attain the rank of Count.

But how did this human know Shadowbane’s name?

[You… How do you know the name of my ancestor…?]

“Well, who knows how I know?”

Kaylen, his entire body darkened, smiled leisurely.

“For now, let’s see how far you can go. Show me what you’ve got.”

Shadowwill was speechless.

Who did this human think he was giving orders to?

He seemed to have some minor tricks up his sleeve,

but in the end, he was just a human.

[I had intended to capture you alive, but it seems that won’t be possible. Even if I receive a smaller reward, I’ll have to turn you into a corpse.]

No matter how tempting the bounty was,

no Demon Count could suffer such humiliation from a mere human and let it slide.

Unlike before, Shadowwill went all out,

pouring his full strength into seizing control of Kaylen’s body.

“As expected, just a human.”

A voice, foreign and distorted, came from Kaylen’s mouth.

He spread two fingers.

Whoosh!

And attempted to gouge out his own eyes.

But—

His fingers halted just before touching them.

Kaylen let out a quiet chuckle.

“You’re still not on par with your ancestor.”

“You—!”

“Try harder.”

“You bastard… I’ll crush you…!”

Infuriated by the human’s mocking laughter, Shadowwill’s rage boiled over.

He tried to force Kaylen’s body into self-mutilation.

Strangling himself with both hands.

Throwing himself to the ground.

Using the Holy Sword to sever his own limbs.

But at the critical moment—every attempt was blocked.

Even after the sun had fully set—

Even as dark mana grew stronger, increasing a demon’s power—

Shadowwill was unable to finish the self-inflicted damage.

“Why… Why the hell isn’t it working…?!”

Then, just as he tried to drive the Holy Sword into Kaylen’s throat—

He saw it.

The blade of the Holy Sword.

Just moments ago, when he had been inside it,

the sword had been barely holding any light.

But now—

The Holy Sword burned brighter than ever.

Seeing that, a cold dread ran through Shadowwill.

‘The Holy Sword… My dark mana—it’s all been purged…!’

So focused on subduing Kaylen,

he had neglected the very sword he had taken control of.

And watching all of this unfold through the same body, the same vision—

Kaylen smiled.

“It’s over now.”

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]