The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 112

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 112

One hour ago.

"…Are you not tired?"

"I'm full of energy."

Until just before the sun rose, Violet had been blinking repeatedly, trying to stay awake and maintain her focus despite the drowsiness.

"Normally, I could stay awake for days without an issue... but after using 5th Circle magic, I’m getting tired quickly."

"Just take a short nap and then resume your magic training."

"I can’t. What about the bet?"

"The bet is obviously my victory."

"Ugh... I can still go on..."

"Please, I’ll make sure to think of something reasonable. Don’t overdo it."

Kaylen said this as he pointed at Violet’s hands.

Light mana was flickering in her hands.

"I’ve noticed the light hasn’t faded from your hands since earlier. It seems the mana from Glacia isn't being properly contained."

"...Then I’ll sleep."

Sitting on a makeshift chair on the wall, Princess Violet lowered her head deeply.

Kaylen looked at her and removed the mask from his face. The second mask, made of condensed water mana.

Unlike Violet’s mask, Kaylen’s was easily detachable.

‘It will disappear soon.’

Once the mask was removed from his face, it would quickly turn into droplets and vanish.

Thinking it would happen this time too, Kaylen dropped the mask onto the ground.

Thud. Thud...

However, the second ice mask did not disappear and remained on the floor.

Had Violet fallen asleep or something?

Kaylen briefly stared at the mask that didn’t vanish, but soon lost interest and looked outside the fortress.

‘The sun will rise soon.’

The time when light mana would begin to spread most actively.

Flash.

As expected, Glacia, now awakened with the light, began to shine brightly in sync with the rising sun.

At first, Kaylen wondered if it was the time of day that was affecting it, but...

‘...The light mana is too strong.’

The light mana coming from Violet was unusual.

The light mana rising at dawn was gathering entirely around Violet.

Flash.

Then, Violet rose from the chair.

Behind her, white wings had formed, and her eyes gleamed with light.

"It’s been a long time."

"You..."

Kaylen could guess what it was.

"An angel sealed within Glacia?"

"Correct. I am a descendant of the Sword King."

As Glacia’s light grew and completely covered her face,

the angel was surrounded in light from head to toe.

"Thanks to the Saintess gathering the light, I awakened sooner than expected."

‘Did Theresia foresee this?’

No wonder she had kept the blessing active for so long. Was it with the intention of awakening the angel?

Kaylen stared at the angel in front of him.

Although her face was completely concealed by the mask, for some reason, she seemed to be smiling.

"I am Ariel, the celestial angel of the Sixth Order. A descendant of the Sword King. Now, I will assist you."

"Assist me?"

"I will make you a king."

As the angel extended her hand, light poured from the sky onto Kaylen.

"Since the Heavenly Realm lost the Middle Realm to the Demon Realm, humanity has been nothing more than the demons' livestock. They just don’t realize they’re being bred."

"..."

"But if you lead them, the outcome could be different. You are the successor to the Six Swords Way. You have inherited the sword of the Sword God who struck fear into the Heavenly Realm and slew the Demon King. You are more than qualified."

The angel was unexpectedly very favorable toward Kaylen.

"I have been watching your actions within Glacia."

"So, you could see from within?"

"Yes. During the hundreds of years of my seal, watching was my only joy."

"..."

"And while inside, I saw you deliberately use a disguised Sword Master and choose not to punish the king."

Considering she was an angel sealed in Glacia, Ariel likely knew the identity of Eldir, who was disguised as Stein.

"Why do you, who have inherited the Sword God’s sword, not act like him?"

"Act like the Sword God?"

"Don’t you know? The Sword God alone entered the royal palace, killed the traitorous king, and became king himself."

Kaylen smiled awkwardly.

He knew his own past better than anyone.

‘And I know well the suffering that came from relying only on power.’

It was during Ernstine’s twenties, when he was still Marquess Meier.

The royal family viewed the Meier family as a thorn in their side.

Especially when the legendary genius, Ernstine, who became a Sword Master at the age of 15, led the Meier family, the royals felt seriously threatened.

The royal family tried everything they could to suppress the Meier family,

and after several attempts, they finally succeeded in obliterating the Meier family—except for Ernstine. That was their mistake.

Under the king’s orders, Ernstine, who was at war, returned to find his family destroyed, and in fury, he took up ten swords and stormed the royal palace.

He alone beheaded all the royals and took the palace.

‘And that’s when the suffering began.’

The justification.

What Ernstine lacked was justification.

Revenge was justifiable, but ascending to the throne was not.

At the time, he thought that as long as he had the power, the justification didn’t matter...

But the cost of ignoring that justification was immense. Rebellions from nobles broke out everywhere,

and with the turmoil in the kingdom, other nations continuously invaded the Meier Kingdom.

In the end, with his overwhelming power, Ernstine managed to fend off all the attacks,

but the kingdom was left devastated by the ongoing wars.

Eventually, through sheer strength, he overcame everything, and the Meier Kingdom became an empire.

From there, he even unified the empire, but...

Because of his initial mistake, Kaylen vowed never to make such a mistake again.

"I know that story well. But after that, the ancestor became a king without justification and suffered greatly."

"Justification... yes. That’s why I’m here to help. Descendant of the Sword God."

Fwoosh.

Behind Ariel, another wing of light rose higher.

Swish...

The ice mask that had fallen to the ground floated up into the air and transformed into the shape of a crown.

"To honor the will of the heavens, the angel personally bestows the crown upon the king. Is there any stronger justification for a human?"

"No."

An angel descending from the heavens, personally granting the crown as the will of the gods. After that, everything else could be handled by Kaylen.

The current King of Bormian could be ousted based on the documents stored as the legacy of the demon race.

The lack of loyal forces could be solved by Kaylen personally recruiting knights.

Of course, replacing the Bormian Kingdom, which had lasted for a thousand years, would still be difficult, even with these conditions.

But compared to the time during Ernstine’s era, when he recklessly beheaded all the royals and took the throne, this was nothing.

"Become king, Kaylen. Become king and bring light back to humanity, just like your ancestors."

King, huh.

After witnessing the downfall of the Meier Empire, Kaylen had sworn never to rise to that position again.

But seeing the situation in the Middle Realm, which had become a colony of the Demon Realm, and the Bormian royal family’s collusion with the Demon Realm, his resolve wavered.

Thus, he had been working under two identities, looking for more direct proof of the royal family’s corruption and seeking a justification.

But if an angel appeared and offered support, the effort would no longer be necessary.

It was an overwhelmingly advantageous proposal for Kaylen.

"However, with your light sword, restore my wings. No matter how much light mana I gather, three wings is my limit."

"You need my light Aura?"

"Yes. Just restore two wings."

The condition the angel laid out was the light Aura.

The idea of restoring just two wings made Kaylen’s gaze darken.

‘She thinks I don’t know the meaning behind the five wings.’

It wasn’t unreasonable for the angel to think this way.

Kaylen himself had heard this story during his previous life as a hero, from the holy sword.

‘If there are five wings, it means one can traverse between worlds.’

Knowing that the angel wanted to restore five wings, Kaylen could guess her intention.

He smiled and spoke to the angel.

"Alright. Angel Ariel, I have one question."

"What is it?"

"What happens to the original owner of this body? Violet?"

At this question, the angel immediately answered.

"I will borrow her body for a short while and return it afterward. Once we stop the demon army that’s invading and you become king."

"I see..."

Upon hearing this, Kaylen smiled.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

For an angel to think about a single human like this...

It was truly something moving.

"This is what you want?"

Swish...

Behind Kaylen, a sword of pure white light floated in the air.

At a glance, it was a completed Flame Sword, a weapon with tremendous power condensed within.

The angel quickly nodded when she saw it.

"Yes. Use that to restore my wings!"

"Alright. But swear it to me first."

"Are you referring to what you said earlier? Fine. I swear to the Celestial God, I will make you a king and return my body to Violet."

The angel began to speak as if she had prepared the words in advance.

Upon hearing this, Kaylen shook his head.

"No. Not just a simple 'swear to the Celestial God.'"

"...Then?"

"You should say, 'I, Ariel, the celestial angel, swear before Elishion, the Celestial God, offering my divine spirit...'"

"You..."

Fwoosh.

The angel Ariel seemed excited, and light flashed everywhere.

"How dare you, a mere human! You don’t believe in my oath?"

"Yes. A mere human. You angels and demons always say that. Looking down on humans is the same, whether you're angels or demons."

"You..."

"But still, you say you’ll return Violet’s body for her? An angel doing such a thing? You really expect me to believe that? No way. Also..."

Kaylen’s Flame Sword disappeared from his hand.

"The fact that you’re asking me to restore five wings... It’s to escape, isn’t it? To travel across worlds. To return to the Heavenly Realm."

"...!"

Ariel’s body trembled.

How... How does he know this?

A human should never have been able to know that only with five wings can one transcend worlds and return to the Heavenly Realm...!

"But what you told me is quite interesting. If you become king, and you, as an angel, provide justification for me, it would be easy to take the throne."

"Yes... Yes. So, let’s cooperate!"

"Then swear, as I mentioned earlier."

Before the great name of the Celestial God, swear upon your divine spirit.

That oath would hold powerful binding force over the angels.

What Ariel had said earlier about easily swearing to the Celestial God was on a completely different level.

Breaking an oath sworn upon the divine spirit would cause an angel’s rank to fall immensely.

Right now, Ariel could fall from the Sixth Order all the way to the Ninth.

"Ugh..."

"Can't do it?"

Swish.

From Kaylen’s right hand, where the Flame Sword had disappeared, a different type of sword began to form.

A sword of darkness that rejected the entire space filled with light.

"What... What are you doing?! Where did that cursed sword come from?!"

"Ah, just go back into Glacia."

Swish.

Just by Kaylen drawing the sword, the light around Ariel rapidly began to fade.

Ariel was stunned.

‘This... I knew he had become stronger, but not to this extent...!’

The power now was incomparable to when they clashed during the final battle.

At this rate, all the light mana she had gathered would disappear, and she would miss her chance to leave Glacia.

"Alright. Fine. I’ll swear, just remove that sword..."

Before Ariel could finish speaking,

Fwoosh—

The light vanished from one side of Glacia’s mask.

Violet’s face was revealed.

"Lord Kaylen..."

Her face twisted in various expressions, and as her mouth moved, Violet looked directly at Kaylen and pleaded.

"Let’s overthrow the Bormian royal family and make Dahan the king. I will personally cooperate. So please, give me... a chance."

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]