The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 150

This is…

A large boulder sat alone at the snow-covered mountain peak.

From that spot, a flow of wind mana could be felt.

Kaylen glanced at Violet and smiled in satisfaction.

“As expected, bringing you was the right choice.”

“Now that I’m here, I can feel it too. The mana is resonating from the boulder.”

A resonance between S-Class Mana Suits.

It wasn’t just a legend—it was real.

‘Why is it resonating? Is it because of an angel? Could it be that another S-Class Mana Suit has an angel sealed within it?’

Violet had her doubts, but for now, she focused on examining the Mana Suit.

The two swords carrying them descended near the boulder, and Kaylen slowly walked toward it.

“This confirms it.”

Swoosh.

As Kaylen reached out his hand toward the boulder, his fingers slipped inside as if sinking into sand.

‘Is this boulder an illusion?’

Violet, curious at how effortlessly Kaylen’s hand had entered, reached out beside him to try the same.

But unlike Kaylen, she felt nothing but solid rock.

So much for an illusion.

Kaylen was simply an extraordinary being on an entirely different level—capable of penetrating stone as easily as sand.

‘It doesn’t even seem like he’s using Aura.’

Feeling once again the overwhelming strength of Kaylen, Violet silently watched him as he dug into the boulder.

Once the location was pinpointed by the S-Class Mana Suit Glacia, Kaylen began his search without hesitation.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

At first, he only inserted his hand, but soon, he walked in entirely.

And within minutes—

“I found it.”

He emerged holding a pair of steel boots radiating a green glow.

“You… already found it?”

“Yes. Once the location is identified, it’s easy.”

The S-Class Wind Mana Suit—Stormwind.

Even though it had been inside a boulder, it looked as if it had just been crafted.

The faint emerald light shimmering across its surface carried a powerful wind mana, befitting an S-Class Mana Suit.

“Speaking of which… Violet.”

“Yes?”

“How did you obtain Glacia?”

“Glacia selects its master once every hundred years. The Dungeon Guild oversees the selection ceremony, traveling through each kingdom once every century.”

When Violet was twelve—

Glacia had caused a great stir by choosing her, a mere first-circle mage, over countless water mana masters.

“The Dungeon Guild oversees it?”

“Yes.”

“So, is Glacia the only one with a selection ceremony?”

“As far as I know, yes. Other S-Class Mana Suits don’t even have known names. In fact, I first heard the Wind Mana Suit’s name—Stormwind—from Your Highness.”

“I see…”

Of all the S-Class Mana Suits, the only one with a known name was Glacia.

Even the name Stormwind had only been discovered through the Holy Emperor's revelation.

‘When it comes to S-Class Mana Suits, it seems Sanctuary knows more.’

They had identified Stormwind’s location and even conducted Glacia’s selection ceremony.

‘Glacia had the Dominion Angel, Ariella, sealed within it.’

She had sweet-talked about granting legitimacy for the throne, but in reality—

She had planned to descend into Violet’s body and flee to the Celestial Realm.

Her plan ultimately failed, but Kaylen still remembered the disgraceful end of that angel.

‘Could there be an angel inside Stormwind as well?’

Originally, he intended to absorb the Wind Mana right away—

But if an angel was sealed within, it wouldn’t hurt to make contact first.

Kaylen examined the green boots before putting them on.

Swish.

The boots adjusted to fit his feet, and soon—

Stormwind, which had initially taken the form of boots, gradually began to fade away.

But it wasn’t just the boots that disappeared.

“Y-Your Highness… your feet…!”

Kaylen’s feet had vanished as well.

It was as if everything below his knees had been cleanly severed.

No—rather than being severed, it felt more like…

“Invisibility, huh?”

His feet were merely hidden within the atmosphere, making them imperceptible.

‘An interesting ability, at the very least.’

The S-Class Mana Suit—Stormwind.

Under normal circumstances, he would have let Myorn analyze it and slowly extract its Wind Mana—

But—

‘There’s no time for that now.’

After witnessing the Six Demon Blades—

Kaylen had made up his mind to complete the Six Swords no matter what.

Getting distracted by some invisibility ability and delaying the completion of the Wind Sword was out of the question.

“It’s about time we head back.”

“Ah… already?”

We really just came for a breath of fresh air.

Violet looked out over the landscape from the mountain peak.

The Icefloss mountain range, covered in eternal snow, stretched out beautifully below—

But she’d have to be satisfied with just a brief glance.

‘Once we go back, it’ll be work again.’

Sigh.

As the spirit-infused Violet exhaled, her breath instantly crystallized into tiny ice particles and fell.

“Are you reluctant to leave? Well, the scenery here is spectacular.”

“The scenery is nice, but it’s more about the work waiting for me when we return.”

“Take the day off. I’ve taken care of some of it.”

“You’ve handled a lot, but that only means even more work is piling up. That’s how palace affairs are.”

Violet was the type who carried a strong sense of responsibility—

Even if she were told not to work, she would end up doing it anyway.

Kaylen thought that entrusting her with palace duties had been an excellent decision—

But at the same time—

“Hmm… then let’s stay a little longer.”

To give her a brief moment of rest, he decided to delay their return.

“Here.”

Kaylen pointed to the boulder he had dug into.

“Sit up there and take in the view for a bit. I’ll check whether Stormwind has an angel sealed inside.”

“Your Highness, you really should be heading back—”

“We’ll stay a little longer, so take in the view. You won’t see eternal snow in Meier—no, in the Kingdom of Starn.”

“Yes!”

Violet smiled brightly and leaped onto the boulder.

The view from the peak was certainly beautiful, but—

‘He’s being considerate.’

More than the scenery, she felt happier that Kaylen was personally looking out for her.

Once Violet disappeared onto the boulder, Kaylen began examining Stormwind in earnest.

‘Simply using the mana suit won’t be enough to awaken an angel.’

Kaylen recalled the moment when the angel inside Glacia had awakened.

When he had ignited the black-and-white flames—

—This time, I’ll destroy it completely. I’ll freeze it and shatter its very existence!

The angel inside Glacia had awoken in a fit of rage.

‘The black-and-white flames… They were similar to the previous Demon King’s Hellfire.’

Should he try provoking it the same way this time?

To replicate the exact conditions, Kaylen chose to use magic instead of a sword.

‘Mixing the mana of darkness, light, and fire…’

Fwoosh!

The black-and-white flames, Hellfire—once favored by the Crimson Flame Demon King—manifested once again in Kaylen’s hand.

Back during the Superior Mage Selection Tournament, just maintaining the hellfire had been a struggle—

‘But now it’s easy.’

With his current ability to wield up to 6th-circle magic, manifesting Hellfire was far simpler.

“Your Highness… That fire… is it…?”

He had told her to admire the scenery—

But from above, Violet had been watching him and now spoke in alarm.

“I remembered how the angel raged when it saw this fire during the Superior Mage Selection Tournament.”

“Oh, right. The moment the flames touched the half-mask, Glacia awakened.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to recreate those conditions exactly.”

With Hellfire still burning in his right hand, Kaylen brought it down toward his invisible leg.

Even though he was about to burn his own leg, he showed no hesitation.

Sizzle…

The moment the flames touched it, Stormwind—previously hidden by invisibility—reappeared.

At the same time, he felt the pain of his leg being scorched.

“…It’s a bit hot.”

Unbothered, Kaylen pressed the Hellfire further, intending to completely remove the invisibility.

And then—

—You lunatic! What do you think you’re doing?!

A thunderous voice erupted from the mana suit, Stormwind.

—Using the Demon King’s fire… Are you a servant of darkness…?

“So you’re an angel too.”

—Yes, I am Dominion Angel Ramiel. I wished to remain in eternal rest, but in the end… has even the farthest edge of this continent fallen to demons…?

From within Stormwind, the angel Ramiel let out a sorrowful lament.

Unlike Ariella, who had been sealed in Glacia and had raged upon seeing the black-and-white flames—

Ramiel’s tone was closer to resignation.@@novelbin@@

—Servant of darkness… I have already lost. I was sealed away in despair. I know nothing, and I have nothing to say. No matter what methods you use, it will all be futile. My lips will never open.

“I’m no servant of darkness. Rather…”

Kaylen summoned the Six Swords and drew the Holy Sword from his Lightblade.

“You’re a Hero, aren’t you?”

- This is… the Holy Sword…!

For a moment, Ramiel’s voice brightened at the power of the Holy Sword Astella.

- No, wait. If the Holy Sword is here… Does that mean the Sanctuary has fallen?! You wretched spawn of demons! How dare you impersonate a Hero!

But it was only for a brief moment before he began shouting again in a stern, elderly tone.

Being scolded over trivial matters like this reminded Kaylen of being nitpicked by elders, and he furrowed his brows.

‘Should I just absorb him?’

Since he was sealed, it didn’t seem like he knew much anyway.

Kaylen considered absorbing the wind mana outright but decided to at least try and see if he could get anything useful out of him. With that thought, he manifested his Six Blades.

The six Aura Swords flared into existence behind him.

Ramiel’s voice trembled as he asked,

- T-This is… the Dragon Sword God?

“That’s right.”

- The Dragon Sword God… If it’s you… then you must be a Hero.

Upon seeing the Six Blades, Ramiel’s tone softened.

Kaylen, sensing that they could finally have a proper conversation, asked what had been on his mind.

“How did an angel end up sealed inside an S-rank Mana Suit?”

- I… only remember being sealed in the Demon Realm. I had infiltrated it under the command of Lord Lucifer…

“You were acting under Lucifer’s orders? An angel?”

- That’s right! The Lucifer known to the world was merely a Marquis of the Demon Realm, but that was just a cover! Lord Lucifer was, in truth, an Archangel who had infiltrated the Demon Realm!

“…An Archangel? Him?”

Kaylen’s voice wavered.

Marquis Lucifer of the Demon Realm…

Wasn’t he the one who ascended as the White Demon King, Deimos, after the Crimson Flame Demon King perished?

- Yes. There was a hidden blade of the Celestial God that no one knew about. The fourth Archangel, Lucifer! Even after the Demon King was slain, he maintained his cover and continued to struggle to conquer the Demon Realm…

“So that’s why he became the Demon King?”

- But… he was discovered by the enemy and was sealed inside this Mana Suit— Wait, what?! The Demon King?! What do you mean?!

Ramiel, who had been about to continue his tale, suddenly reacted in shock to Kaylen’s words.

“Marquis Lucifer of the Demon Realm—he is now reigning as the White Demon King, Deimos.”

- …Lord Lucifer became… the Demon King?

“That’s right. But… something doesn’t add up. The Middle Realm has fallen to the Demon Realm, and the Celestial Realm is in the midst of being conquered. If he’s truly the fourth Archangel of the Celestial God, shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

If Lucifer was really a high-ranking Archangel, then it should have been the Demon Realm that was being overrun by the Celestial Realm.

The Middle Realm should have remained as it was.

So why had everything taken such a turn for the worse?

Lucifer had been sent as a spy but ended up becoming the Demon King.

- W-Wait. That can’t be! The Celestial Realm is being invaded by the Demon Realm?!

“That’s right. Since the White Demon King can wield the power of light, they were utterly overwhelmed.”

- That’s impossible. Lord Lucifer would never… That can’t be… That’s impossible…

Ramiel began repeating the same words like a broken record.

Even when Kaylen tried asking something else, all he got in response was,

- Lord Lucifer… That can’t be…

Ramiel kept repeating it over and over, dazed and distraught.

And then—

His voice gradually faded, until it suddenly ceased altogether.

“…What the hell?”

Did he seriously just vanish after mindlessly repeating the same phrase?

Baffled, Kaylen hurriedly examined the Mana Suit.

Stormwind, which had now been fully revealed after losing its transparency—

It seemed to have shut down.

‘At least the wind mana is intact…’

His primary objective, acquiring the wind mana, was still successful.

But seeing Ramiel disappear so abruptly, he couldn’t be sure how long this mana would remain stable.

“Violet, I’m sorry, but we need to go back.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Before the wind mana disappeared, he needed to absorb it along with the World Tree’s fruit.

Violet, sensing the gravity of the situation, quickly climbed down from the rock.

“Open the Path of Light.”

As they returned to the royal palace, Kaylen mulled over the angel’s final words.

‘Lucifer… Did he betray the Celestial God?’

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]