The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 205

Caius.

The firstborn son of Ernstine and the second emperor of the Meier Empire, inheriting the imperial throne.

Kaylen had fully realized that his essence was the sword.

Even so, he did not reject the memories of Emperor Ernstine as if they were not his own.

‘Because all of that comes together to make me who I am—Kaylen.’

From that perspective, Caius was someone who stirred complex emotions in Kaylen.

His firstborn son.

Although he had many other children, the first child always held a special place in a parent's heart.

The first of anything leaves the strongest impression.

From Ernstine’s memories, Kaylen vividly recalled the moment Caius was born, the way he wriggled his small body.

The moment he first opened his eyes and looked at him.

‘Caius lived up to my expectations as crown prince.’

Ruling the unified Meier Empire was a heavy burden for anyone.

But Caius was exceptional—he fulfilled Ernstine’s expectations perfectly.

‘He just lacked talent with the sword.’

However, in the era of a peaceful unified empire, governance mattered more than swordsmanship.

Ernstine highly valued Caius as the next emperor.

But the outcome was disastrous.

The Meier Empire fell.

The imperial family vanished within just two generations.

Looking back now, it was not Caius’s fault.

It was a consequence of the conflict between the Dragon God and the Celestial God.

If anyone was truly to blame, it was Ernstine himself, who had fallen and become the Dragon God.

In the end, Caius too was a victim, manipulated by the Dragon God.

He had been unable to find rest, forced to live for a thousand years as an undead, clinging to existence.

Even so—

‘The weight of the lives lost by his hands is too great.’

Regardless of the excuse that he had been controlled, too many had perished because of Caius.

Step. Step.

As Kaylen closed his eyes, lost in thoughts of his eldest son, Caius approached him.

“It has been a long time, Father.”

“…Yes. Caius. So the emperor has come.”

Once the emperor of the Geysir Empire, now reduced to a mere envoy—Caius.

His face was pale, almost waxen.

“Haha. Emperor… In front of you, that title holds no meaning.”

“Why did you come here yourself, alone?”

“There was no one else fit to transport the Divine Swords.

Other than myself or Kaina, that is. As for an entourage…”

Caius’s eyes darkened.

“I did not need one.”

Srrrk.

Behind Caius—

Six Divine Swords appeared.

Aside from the Flame Sword, Dark Sword, and Light Sword that Kaylen had requested from Kaina—

The Earth Sword, Wind Sword, and Water Sword were also there.

All elemental swords floated behind Caius as if forming the Six Sword Path.

“Kaina told me—if we are to receive three more swords,

Could we also borrow some of the Six Sword Path’s aura?”

Caius spoke as if the request itself was shameful.

"I'll give you three more swords, so grant me the aura of the Six Sword Path?"

For Kaylen, who already possessed the rest of the elemental Divine Swords, it was not a tempting offer.

"I refuse."

Rejecting it outright, Kaylen glared at Caius, who stood silently before him.

This land, inscribed with the sigil of the Six Sword Path, was completely under Kaylen’s control.

Here, he was nothing short of a divine existence.

That was why he could immediately sense what was off about Caius.

"Enough with the poor acting. Why don't you come out, Kaina?"

"What are you talking about, Father? Calling me Kaina?"

"Kaina. The only thing left of Caius is your clinging mana."

Caius’s lips curled unnaturally.

And then—

A woman’s voice emerged from his throat.

"Hehe. If you look closely, you’d see that’s not true."

"Are you talking about Caius’s soul, trapped within your flames?"

"Oh my, you saw right through it. Fake Ernstine."

Tap. Tap.

Caius struck his own body. Flesh peeled away, falling to the ground.

What remained was nothing but blackened bones—the body of an undead.

And at its center, crimson flames coiled around something.

"If you don’t want your eldest son’s soul to be burned away, you’d better cooperate."

"You should know well enough that won’t work on me."

"Even when your son is screaming, begging me to save him? That he spent a thousand years in hell, trapped by the schemes of a wicked witch? That if his father would just grant him a sliver of aura, he could finally find a moment of peace?"

Kaina spoke of herself as a wicked witch without the slightest hesitation.

Caius’s hands moved, wrapping around the flames in his chest.

"Don’t you think this child is pitiful?"

Swoosh.

Kaylen’s eyes sharpened.

Caius’s body split in half.

From his head down to the flames in his chest, through his torso, and all the way to his tailbone—

Kaylen cut him down without a word.

"Hehe. How heartless."

Both halves of Caius’s mouth spoke simultaneously.

"I knew you'd do that."

Sizzle—

The six Divine Swords that had been floating behind Caius impaled his body.

"In the end, I’ll have to retrieve them myself."

The left half of his mouth spoke leisurely—

"A-Ah, Father! Run away!"

While the right half desperately urged Kaylen.

"Then, I shall offer the soul of Meier—

And call upon Him."

Fwoosh!

Caius’s left mouth moved as if speaking—

But instead of words, flames erupted forth.

The fire engulfed his entire body—

And spread to the six Divine Swords that had pierced him.

"This is…"

Flames melted the swords and forged stars.

Caius’s soul vanished.

In its place, six stars took form.

Krrrk.

Krrrrrk.

And then, the stars converged—

Forming a single figure.

Its shape resembled that of a human, yet it was far larger.

Its skin was covered in scales.

Its entire body radiated a brilliant golden light.

"Dragonkin."

Dragonkin.

The form Emperor Ernstine had taken after shedding his human shell and evolving.

Amidst the scaled face, remnants of Ernstine’s former visage could still be faintly seen.

[Caius…….]

Gazing upon his own body, the Dragonkin murmured his eldest son’s name.

For he was, at his core, still Ernstine.

Was this a moment of remembrance for his firstborn?

His voice, though faint, carried a trace of sorrow.

But only for a moment.

Soon, the Dragonkin wiped all expression from his face and turned his gaze toward Kaylen.

Woosh.

Without warning—

He threw a punch.

"......!"

The six Divine Swords immediately moved to intercept it.

Crack!

The ambush was a success.

Cracks formed along Kaylen’s swords.

His body was sent flying.

Swish.

But Kaylen quickly steadied himself.

‘That isn’t a complete form.’

Though he had taken a direct blow, he could feel it—

If that was the full extent of the Dragon God’s power, the Celestial Demon would never have been so wary of him.

‘He must have been summoned in an incomplete state to absorb the Six Sword Path.’

A temporary and incomplete summoning of the Dragon God, using Caius as a sacrifice—Kaina’s handiwork.

He had expected her to target the Six Sword Path—

But to resort to such an extreme measure…

‘Was it really that enticing to her?’

The Six Sword Path, engraved upon the ground.

The aura it contained, and the infinity held within—

Was it so alluring that Kaina had revealed her hidden trump card without hesitation?

"Your Majesty!"

The knights standing guard at a distance called out urgently.

Though their strength could not compare to the Emperor’s in any way—

They rushed forward, determined to fulfill their duty.

The Dragonkin, expressionless, slowly turned to look at them.

[Annihilate.]

It was not spoken in human language.

And yet—

Every human instinctively understood it.

A single, fleeting word.

“Urk!”

“Keuk… Keuk…!”

“I… can’t breathe…!”

Mana came to a halt, and the air disappeared.

It sought to suffocate everyone around.

Six Sword Path.

Five Swords.

Heaven’s Net.

A web of pure white swords rose from all directions, separating the Dragonkin from the knights.

Swoosh—

“Your opponent is me, Dragon God.”

At those words, the Dragon God turned its gaze toward Kaylen.

His golden eyes gleamed, calm and unwavering.

Whoosh.

The Dragon God’s fist struck Kaylen directly.

Faster than light.

A movement beyond mortal reach, an action only one who had transcended into the realm of gods could perceive.

Six Sword Path.

Sixth Sword.

Manifestation of the Sword God.

Manifesting as the Sword God and reinforcing his body—

Only then did Kaylen match the Dragon God in speed.

For an instant, his sword and the Dragon God’s body exchanged thousands, no, tens of thousands of blows.

Screech—!

And the result—

Kaylen had the upper hand.

The Dragon God’s scales, which wrapped around its torso, bore clear sword wounds.

Flames surged through the cracks.

Meanwhile, Kaylen’s body remained unscathed—

Yet, he was dissatisfied.

‘This fight… shouldn’t be dragged out.’

The summoned Dragon God was powerful, yet incomplete.

Perhaps due to its imperfect summoning, it fell short of truly being called a god.

With the mark of the Six Swords supporting him and the manifestation of the Sword God active—

The Dragon God should not have been able to keep up with his speed.

And yet—

‘This world itself is my enemy.’

The Dragon God spoke a single word.

“Shatter.”.

With just that one word—

The world turned against Kaylen.

The air constricted him.

Gravity weighed down upon him.

‘This is more advanced than when the Helmeier clan wielded the Six Demonic Paths.’

They had once commanded mana under the premise of invoking the name of dragons.

But the Dragon God did not need such constraints.

It simply spoke the word “shatter.”

And the entire world rushed to obstruct Kaylen.

If this battlefield were not within the domain where the Six Sword Path was engraved—

It would not have been the incomplete Dragon God struggling—

It would have been Kaylen.

‘As I thought.’

Feeling the world pressing down on him, Kaylen reached a realization.

‘The Four Swords—Dragon Slayer I created before the Helmeier clan was a failure.’

Even if the enemy before him resembled the legendary dragon race—

His true target was not a dragon.

The Four Swords—Dragon Slayer was merely a sword crafted based on the Helmeier clan’s surface-level image.

His sword’s true target—

Was Infinity.

The fundamental essence that comprised the Dragon God’s body.

The boundless mana that embodied the world's magic itself.

‘I will impose a limit upon Infinity.’

Only by severing the loop of infinity—

Could he cut down the Dragon God.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]