The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 141

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 141

As they crossed the black cross and entered Darkhan Castle, a completely different world unfolded before them.

‘The ground is pitch black.’

The first thing that caught their eyes was the land, dyed in black.

It wasn’t just the color—the entire ground was radiating dark mana.

“This soil… it’s just like the Demon Realm’s.”

Theresia, still in Kaylen’s arms, whispered in a small voice.

“The soil of the Demon Realm taints the surrounding land with dark mana. I heard that dark mages once tried to transform the land of the Middle Realm with this, but they failed due to practical limitations…”

No matter how much dark mages tried to bring Demon Realm soil, completely altering the terrain of the Middle Realm would have been impossible.

Kaylen crouched and touched the soil, sensing its mana.

‘It’s not just dark mana—there are faint traces of fire mana as well.’

Did the soil of the Demon Realm originally contain fire attributes?

Kaylen brushed the dirt off his hands, pondering the question.

“But I don’t sense any people at all.”

“Yeah. Not even a single guard.”

The Geysir Empire.

Ever since he learned that their envoy was undead, Kaylen had found them suspicious. But seeing it firsthand only made it more unsettling.

“For now, let’s head inside.”

Treading across the blackened ground, Kaylen and Theresia walked deeper into the castle while remaining concealed.

“The houses are being maintained properly.”

“Yes… But I don’t see a single person… Huh?”

As she scanned the deserted Darkhan Castle, Theresia’s expression hardened.

“There’s an enormous dark mana presence near the castle’s center.”

“I feel it too.”

A massive dark mana.

It was even greater than what the Demon Realm’s Baron, Shadowwill, had released in the past.

‘A dark mana presence stronger than that of a Baron blessed by the Moon…?’

It hadn’t been detectable before they entered the inner castle.

Kaylen remained on high alert as he continued forward.

And soon—

“People!”

Inside the inner castle, they finally found people.

Men, women, and children alike were walking aimlessly, their faces blank.

They moved in a single-file line, eyes unfocused, one by one entering the castle.

“They’re human, but… there’s almost no sign of life in them.”

“Yes… But they’re not undead either.”

“Hm. We’ll have to go further in.”

Even if they asked questions, it was unlikely they would get answers.

Kaylen remained hidden as he walked past the line of people.

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And just as he reached the halfway point of the line and stepped through the open gates of the inner castle—

Crack.

The people all turned their heads toward Kaylen at once.

They twisted their necks so sharply that their bones cracked audibly.

Yet, paying no mind to it, they all began to shout.

“Don’t cut in line…”

“Wait your turn!”

“Get to the back!”

The blank-faced people twisted their expressions.

Despite Kaylen being concealed, they stared at him directly.

‘How did they detect me?’

Rather than being startled by their demand to stand in line, Kaylen was more surprised that they had seen through his concealment.

No matter how he looked at them, they appeared to be ordinary people—if anything, they were severely drained of vitality. Yet, they had managed to detect the concealment he had cast using Six Blades.

“Lord Ernstine…”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re saying we should get in line.”

“No… that’s not it. I just think it might be best to step back.”

Theresia spoke with a pale expression.

“The dark mana coming from inside is far too strong…”

The moment they stepped past the castle gates, the presence of dark mana intensified.

If it had been several times stronger than a Demon Realm Baron’s before—

Now, it was more than ten times that.

“Theresia, we’ve come this far. We can’t turn back now. Just be ready to teleport at any moment.”

With that, Kaylen picked up his pace.

“Wait for….”

“YOUR TURN!!”

The people behind them shouted and began rushing forward.

But Kaylen ignored them and pressed on toward the source of the dark mana.

And there, he finally saw it.

“A vortex…”

As soon as they stepped into the inner sanctum, a massive open space came into view.

The first thing that stood out was the enormous black vortex swirling across the entire floor.

“Ugh… the dark mana… urgh…”

The sheer density of dark mana made Theresia gag.

“A blessing of the Meier God…”

Even a saintess was struggling against the oppressive aura.

One by one, people entered the vortex.

Before they were pulled in, every single one of them called upon the name of Meier.

— Suitable.

— Unsuitable.

— Suitable.

Each time someone disappeared, a chilling voice rang out.

Those deemed suitable vanished entirely.

“Aah… I’m unsuitable?!”

Those deemed unsuitable were expelled from the vortex, despair written on their faces.

“I don’t deserve to live…”

With slumped shoulders, the rejected ones walked through a massive open door nearby.

Inside, others who had lost the will to live sat in a daze.

‘A bizarre sight.’

At first glance, it looked like a human sacrifice ritual.

But if someone deemed a sacrifice was rejected, they returned alive—only to fall into despair.

‘Regardless, I can’t let this continue.’

Kaylen gently set the saintess down and quietly drew his Holy Sword from his Lightblade.

“Wait until the ritual is complete, uninvited guest.”

At that moment—

From the center of the vortex—

A massive eye, glowing red, flickered open.

And from it, a figure clad in a black robe slowly emerged.

A magician wearing a jester’s mask.

He spoke in a solemn voice.

“I shall allow your pathetic lives to continue just a little longer.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

There was no reason to let that suspicious bastard continue the ritual.

Light and fire imbued the Holy Sword, Astella.

Six Blades—

Twin Blades—

Inferno Sky.

The Twin Blades fused with the Holy Sword’s power—Inferno Sky ignited with a force so intense it seemed as if it could burn down the entire inner sanctum.

“Cheap tricks.”

The jester-masked magician scoffed and extended his hand.

“In the name of the dragon, I command the mana—protect.”

Srrr…

A black barrier rose from the vortex.

The flames of Inferno Sky halted, unable to breach the shield.

Fwoosh…

However, the fire remained atop the barrier, refusing to die out.

Seeing this, the magician’s voice turned irritated.

“In the name of the dragon, I command the mana—extinguish the flames!”

Water mana seeped into the dark barrier, rapidly weakening Inferno Sky’s power.

Theresia’s eyes widened.

A method of commanding mana in the dragon’s name.

At first, she thought she had misheard.

But hearing him chant it a second time, she was certain.

“This is… Dragon Tongue magic?”

The legendary magic said to be used by dragons.

Unlike human magicians, who had to follow predetermined rune scripts to cast spells, dragons could simply command mana, and it would obey, manifesting their will into reality.

But dragons had long vanished from the Middle Realm, and Dragon Tongue magic was believed to be nothing more than legend.

And yet, here it was…

“Dragon Tongue, huh? Fascinating.”

Despite Inferno Sky being blocked, Kaylen remained composed.

Perhaps that was what irritated the magician.

Pointing a finger at Kaylen, he commanded:

“In the name of the dragon, I command the mana—kill him.”

Whiiiiing—

Mana surged toward Kaylen.

The gathered energy gripped his throat, invaded his heart, and sought to destroy his brain.

But the mana, which had gathered to take his life—

“…What?”

The moment it touched Kaylen, it scattered without exerting any force.

“What… is this?”

Kaylen, who had been curious to experience Dragon Tongue magic firsthand, instead spoke with disappointment.

After all that grandiose chanting, was this all it amounted to?

"A-Ah, no. Why is the Dragon Tongue…? In the name of the dragon, I command the mana—shatter his heart!"

The jester-masked magician, now flustered.

Instead of simply commanding death, he issued a more precise order to destroy the heart.

Whiiiiing—

Just like before, mana gathered, but the moment it neared Kaylen, it scattered powerlessly once again.

"This… This can't be…! In the name of the dragon, I command the mana—kill her!"

The magician shrieked and pointed at Theresia.

"Ghh… Ugh…!"

Unlike with Kaylen, Theresia instantly gasped, choking as if her breath had been stolen.

A dire situation where her life hung by a thread.

"Kik. Kik… Of course. There's no way it would fail…!"

"Theresia!"

But as soon as Kaylen swiftly patted Theresia’s back—

Srrr…

The mana that was about to kill her dissolved without resistance.

"W-What… What the hell is this? Who… who are you?!"

To have Dragon Tongue magic dispelled by mere touch—

Such a thing had never been heard of before.

The jester-masked magician pointed a trembling finger, full of disbelief.

"Who knows? I don’t understand it either."

Kaylen was just as confused.

He hadn’t done anything special.

The magic had simply unraveled on its own.

Kaylen turned his attention toward the Dark Barrier protecting the vortex.

A powerful shield that had even resisted Inferno Sky, infused with the Holy Sword’s power.

Slowly, he reached out his hand toward the barrier.

"N-No way…!"

Srrr…

The moment Kaylen’s hand touched it—

The seemingly impenetrable barrier vanished without resistance.

The same shield Inferno Sky had failed to breach simply faded away.

"The Dragon Tongue… It’s being broken so easily… Just what are you…?!"

"You don’t need to know that."

Crack…

A single fracture ran across the jester mask.

"Why don’t you show me your face instead?"

Tok. Tok.

The mask split in half and fell to the floor.

"Hm. A Lizardman, huh?"

The face beneath the mask was not human, but reptilian—

A lizard-like visage, covered in mottled black and green scales.

At Kaylen’s words, the magician bristled in fury.

"H-How dare you call me a lizard?!"

"Then what are you?"

"I am…!"

But before he could finish, his face darkened rapidly—

His mouth filled with blood, which he coughed up violently.

"Kugh… Ghh…! Even the Grand Magic Circle… has been unraveled…"

The magician stared at the ground with disbelief in his eyes.

The vortex was vanishing, following the very footsteps Kaylen had walked.

Could there be some connection between Kaylen and the so-called Grand Magic Circle that the magician had spoken of?

As the vortex completely disappeared—

The magician’s vitality rapidly drained away.

“I… I can’t… believe this… I have to report this…”

With those final words, he breathed his last.

“Sir Kaylen, what exactly did you do? That vortex’s dark magic was beyond comprehension…”

“I don’t know either.”

The vortex’s dark magic had been so immense that Kaylen had been prepared to use at least the Fourth Sword of the Six Sword Path to break through it—

Yet everything had been resolved far too easily.

So effortlessly, in fact, that it left an unsettling feeling.

“The people…”

Just as Kaylen was about to ask the survivors about the Geysir Empire—

Thud. Thud.

One by one, the people who had been standing in line began collapsing.

With the vortex gone—

They, too, perished just like the magician.

“An investigation won’t be possible.”

“…Yes.”

Theresia nodded, her face pale.

When she had accompanied Kaylen to investigate the Geysir Empire, part of her had felt as if they were on a casual outing—

Yet today, she had nearly died.

“But we still need to gather some information…”

As Kaylen muttered that—

—Shall I tell you?

A serpent’s voice echoed from the sky.

—First, leave that place.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]