The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 175

"Why didn't you let Baldrix rest?"

Johannes spoke to Ernstine with a dissatisfied expression.

Having witnessed firsthand how much his nephew had endured, Johannes found it infuriating that Kaylen, despite even forging him a black sword, was already trying to put him to work again.

"I didn't force him. It was his choice."

"If you say that to someone who follows your every word, of course, he'll say he wants to live. What else is he supposed to say? That he wants to die?"

Grumbling, Johannes reached out toward the coffin at his feet.

Inside the black coffin lay Baldrix’s spine and skull, submerged in dark mana.

"What exactly are you doing in there?"

"Do you remember the Death Knights we saw before?"

"The ones who used to be Sword Masters?"

"Yeah. Those guys were originally created using Baldrix’s limbs and torso bones. They were the bones he discarded in order to complete his Cursed Sword. Right now, I’m in the process of putting them back together."

As expected, dark mana gathered near the spine, and the blackened bones slowly began to regenerate.

"It’ll take about two weeks for full regeneration."

"I see… Come to think of it, Baldrix replaced his own bones with those of other races, didn't he?"

"Yeah. They were imbued with the mana of the earth."

"What race were they?"

"I don’t know. How could I? Only the bones remained. However..."

Johannes tilted his head slightly before continuing.

"In the old stories and legends we’ve heard, there are countless races mentioned. But Ernstine, in all your travels, you've only ever encountered elves and dwarves, haven’t you?"

"That’s right. Even during the unification of the continent, it was nearly impossible to find any other races aside from elves and dwarves—excluding monsters, of course."

Kaylen recalled his past experiences.

Many legends spoke of various races, yet in reality, elves and dwarves were the only non-human races that interacted with humans.

Monsters did exist in many forms, but they were hardly capable of communication, let alone coexistence…

Their relentless hostility toward humans classified them more as monsters than another race altogether.

"That's true. But for some reason, the beings that lived here closely resembled the gnomes we've only ever heard about in legends."

"Gnomes?"

"Yeah. Half-fae who dwell underground and guard minerals. When I saw the remnants left in this land, I immediately thought of the gnomes from our myths—the very race that we could never find on the Averia Continent."

Kaylen recalled the small, oddly placed bones within Baldrix’s body.

If they belonged to a gnome, who was the size of a dwarf, then it made sense.

"A legendary race from Averia, found here on the New Continent… Fascinating."

"Right? I investigated other parts of the New Continent as well, but this is the only place where the traces of another race were so pronounced."

"Other parts of the New Continent?"

"Besides the Averia Continent and this one, there are a total of four continents."

Johannes extended four fingers, folding them down one by one as he counted.

"First, there's the northern continent—the Continent of Light. Based on my observations, I believe this place is actually the Celestial Realm."

"The Celestial Realm… existing on the same planet? That’s hard to believe."

One of the most shocking revelations Baldrix’s memories had given them was precisely this.

The Celestial Realm wasn’t floating in the sky—it was across the sea.

"It’s certain. When the Celestials resurrected me as an undead, I was able to pinpoint its location. The Celestial Realm is a continent situated above the northern ocean. And what would be its direct counterpart?"

"...You're referring to the Demon Realm?"

"Exactly. After becoming a lich, I spent a long time researching. Once I confirmed that the Celestial Realm was a single continent, I was sure the Demon Realm had to exist as well. And just as I suspected—the Demon Realm is located south of the Averia Continent."

So not only was the Celestial Realm part of this planet… but even the Demon Realm existed here as well.

‘Was that the presence interfering with my observation?’

Even while monitoring the Geysir Empire, Ederna had not neglected her observations of Kaylen. Lately, however, she had been unable to see him, which made her wonder what had happened.

‘Kaylen could block observation, but he never cared about being watched in the first place.’

If there was an unknown factor, it could only be that undead mage.

To uncover his identity, Ederna observed him closely. Even for a lich, the dormant dark mana within him was immense—enough to rival a noble-ranked demon.

‘For such a being to exist in the Middle Realm…’

Ederna found herself purely in awe. She was amazed that such a presence had gone unnoticed until now.

As she was trying to analyze the lich mage more deeply—

“He has been observed.”

Flash.

Suddenly, a brilliant white light erupted behind Ederna.

Light mana, an extremely rare force in the Demon Realm.

There was only one being who possessed it—the White Demon King.

—Demon King, you have arrived?

“Yes.”

With wings of light wavering behind him, the Demon King gazed at the display Ederna had been observing.

“The ‘mage’ has followed him once again. That means he won’t be absorbed by the dragon. In that case, we can proceed…”

Muttering cryptic words, the Demon King then asked Ederna:

“Observer, where is the land most densely populated by humans?”

—A densely populated area…

Following the Demon King’s command, Ederna examined various cities.

The candidates were soon narrowed down to two:

Alzass, the capital of the Starn Empire, and Hogwarts, the capital of the Magic Kingdom of Pendor.

Alzass had a slightly higher population, but—

—Here.

For some reason, an ominous feeling stirred within her.

Instinctively, Ederna pointed to Hogwarts instead of Alzass.

“Hmm… I see.”

The Demon King chuckled meaningfully as he watched the display.

“We must restore the balance of power…”

He reached out lightly with a hand made of pure light.

As the luminous hand seemed to pass through the screen—

‘No…!’

—A massive hand of light materialized above the skies of Hogwarts.

A hand so enormous that it completely shrouded the capital.

Aside from Ederna, who was observing from afar, no one realized it was a ‘hand.’

People merely felt that the sunlight had suddenly intensified—

And then, in an instant, they were engulfed by the light.

“Ederna. Show me the capital of Geysir.”

—Yes.

“Focus on the imperial palace.”

Following the Demon King’s orders, Ederna shifted the view to Geysir.

Once again, the White Demon King stretched his hand toward the screen.

This time, high above the skies of Geysir—

Drip, drip, drip…

People began falling from the sky.

Like raindrops, ‘humans’ rained down.

Their bodies struck the palace walls, bursting upon impact—

Bloodstains spread across the fortress walls, and shattered corpses littered the ground.

As bodies piled up around the capital’s fortress due to the sudden human rain, the White Demon King spoke with satisfaction:

“This should suffice.”

The hand movements the Demon King displayed in such a brief moment—

They were nothing more than a casual motion, like picking up an object and placing it elsewhere.

Yet, with that small gesture—

An entire region’s human population had been wiped out.

A shiver ran down Ederna’s spine.

‘No matter how powerful the Demon King is… Is this even possible…?’

“Well then, continue your work, Duchess Ederna.”

Flash.

As the White Demon King departed, Ederna turned blankly toward the space where he had stood.

The overwhelming power he displayed made her feel utterly insignificant.

‘Is that… truly what a Demon King is?’

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]