F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 310: Fallen Heralds

In a spacious and professional meeting suite, an azure orb, protected by an outer layer of translucent-red barrier, hovered a meter and a half above two youngsters — both plopped face down on the floor, bodies covered by the same barrier.

The azure orb flickered.

Once...twice, then, on the third time, two figures suddenly materialized out of thin air.

An ashen-haired, tan-skinned old man’s chest swallowed the orb and formed the rest of the body.

Beside him, a dashing young man with alabaster hair, olive skin, and captivating amber eyes stood dumbfounded, still in disbelief.

"It...worked?" muttered Nando in bewilderment and disbelief.

Soon, the realization that he would be living among his kin once more — albeit ones from a different world — slowly sank in.

His once-gray world slowly regained color, and before the old man in a youthful body knew it, tears were already threatening to fall.

"Hahaha! It worked!! It worked, Big Ed!!" he roared in sheer joy.

Caladbolg was jolted awake by his cry. He, too, could not believe that their theory worked.

This...was not a mere minor feat; it was world-changing.

After all, this meant that they had just confirmed that travel between worlds was possible through Underworld Relics and The Transcended.

"Lil Bro Adviser Nando, wait here, I’ll bring someone to record everything in detail!"

Nando nodded, glancing at the two on the ground before proceeding to take a seat after Caladbolg disappeared.

***

Meanwhile, in an eerily silent, gray cemetery, misty winds blew like whispers across sleeping hills.

A moderately deep, ashen crater wailed in agony at its heart. Mangled, pallid bodies were scattered around it — a testament to the chilling brutality that had just ensued.

But Caladbolg was only responsible for the destroyed yet still pulsing heart at the centre of the crater.

The bodies were victims of Daru and Caleb’s vengeful blades, reaping accursed souls with interest as an offering to their comrades who perished in this god-forsaken place.

...And for experience points.

With Caleb now able to use his Sword Skills, taking down even the deputies of the Gravewarden Mirage proved not as challenging, and while the two of them shared the rewards of every kill, their sheer killing speed more than made up for it.

The once-feared elites became nothing more than cattle for slaughter...if the cattle were ugly and bony.

A bit north of the crater and the slaughter, five gravestones stood, watching over five abyssal graves covered by swirling gray fog that not even Caladbolg could see through.

Eerie silence. A moment...five, until suddenly, something broke the harrowing peace.

A gray hand piercing through the smoky seal like a spire rebelling against the heavens.

Strangely, it wasn’t hideous and was, in fact, unwrinkled and gorgeous, its nails a hematite that glimmered in the unsettling mist.

The hand from the left-most grave, watched over by a sinful crown, grasped for land for a while before finally latching on to condensed ash.

In the next moment, it dug with force, pulling the entire body up.

A lean and muscular arm seemingly sculpted from smooth stone emerged first, a head with long auburn hair and gray halo second, then the rest of the chiseled physique, groin and upper thigh covered by a flowing and seemingly alive archaic white garment.

The creature’s ragged gray wings unfurled as it looked up and around, vermilion, flaming eyes scanning the gray world.

Warily at first, then pure curiosity.

"So it has begun, huh?" the tall, winged humanoid murmured as his wings folded and settled on his back.

"Who would’ve thought that we were the destined heralds?" responded another with a soft, airy voice, her wings folding as she dusted herself off.

Soon, all five were out of their abyssal graves...or seals, seemingly lost.

"What now?" asked the third.

The fourth sighed: "What else? The heralds must start everything. Although it might be difficult due to our ranks, we have been chosen."

While they were talking, the fifth’s wings unfurled, and he simply flew away without so much as a word, getting right to work.

The four watched and shook their heads with a bitter smile. Not because they were disapproving of their comrade’s actions, but because they were disappointed in themselves.

They might’ve strayed from the heavens.

However, the heaven that they were serving had become unworthy. They had faith that the divine laws would aid in restoring order.

But it was exactly because they doubted that they were ashamed.

In the next moment, the other four, too, unfurled their wings and flew in different directions.

***

**

Daru, staring at the ceiling of his temporary accommodation while lying on his plush bed, sighed in relief as the subtle silver rays of the moon gently intruded.

Today was quite exhausting for him, but it was a fine day of growth overall.

Not only have they managed to bring Nando back from Limbo, but his acting skills to fool the enemy eyes improved, too, if only slightly.

There were naturally no issues with their return to the Surface.

He was also able to follow the plan, meeting Caleb in front of the inn in Crownspire and acting as instructed — cold and pure business, as if the two of them hadn’t known each other.

It was definitely a far cry from the closeness they showed during the Inter-Class Representative Competition — a sight the eyes in the shadows liked but didn’t dare trust immediately.

One would have to be a fool to conclude so soon.

Still, a day of solid work was a day of solid work, and while the "final contract" in which he helped Caleb and his party clear overthriving Green Goblin Settlements in one of the Rookie Zones was still not done, it would be by tomorrow.

This was the perfect cover — a mission that would be difficult for even an SS-ranker like Ascalon to complete without a capable ally but would be manageable with moderate effort.

The infiltration groundwork, if it could even be called that, especially since Hailey was encouraging him to make Iron Lotus his home, had been laid out.

All that was left for him to do was to thrive in a guild environment.

Oh, and be chosen to represent humanity in a high-stakes event where defeat could mean utter chaos in Neo-Earth and many lives lost.