The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 430: The Power of the Sun (4)

“Raaaagh...!”

Yurin Huygar’s fierce roar echoed through the sanctum. With each swing of his Infernal Hammer, blood and bits of rotten flesh flew through the air.

Hsss... Crkk—!

The shattered bones ignited and eventually crumbled to ash.

“What a guy...” Allen Javius muttered. “You could easily mistake him for a warrior. I mean, his Divine Power is absurd. How does he manage to cast divine spells while swinging that thing?”

Crunch!

Yurin grabbed the skull of one of the undead and crushed it in his hand. Divine light flowed from his fingers as the creature’s head turned to powder and scattered into the air.

“Take a closer look. It’s not because he has a vast amount of Divine Power. He’s definitely a top-tier priest, but in terms of mana, he’s no more than a 3rd Class sorcerer.”

“Still, he’s fighting well, and he’s not showing signs of fatigue. Wasn’t he known as the Madman in your past life? The kind who went in a frenzy and tore through entire battlefields?

“Everyone has their own talents. Even with limited mana, he fought better than Sword Masters in his previous life.”

“Huh...”

With that, Allen turned back to watch Yurin Huygar.

Vwoooom...!

Gripping the Infernal Hammer with both hands, Yurin swung it in a wide arc, leaving a brilliant trail of light in its wake.

Crack!

The seemingly endless swarm of corpses had quickly thinned to a countable few.

“He’s using his power in a unique way, unlike how sorcerers and swordsmen use theirs. At first, when he was unfamiliar with the weapon, he burned through Divine Power just to move it. But now, he only taps into it when striking the undead. He’s relying on that timing to maximize damage and minimize effort.”

“I see. But if he stops channeling Divine Power, won’t that cancel his protective spells too?”

“Exactly. As you know, regulating mana while fighting is quite the challenge. And Yurin isn’t just lowering his divine output. He cuts it off completely and then releases it in bursts. Most people would fail doing that in a fight, as it’s basically playing with death.”

“Huh, and that goofball’s doing it over and over again, here, out of all places. Color me impressed.”

“He’s the kind of man who puts his life on the line the second he steps foot on the battlefield. You can only fight like that when you care more about killing the enemy than keeping yourself alive.”

“Indeed, a true madman.”

Karyl watched Yurin Huygar closely. “That’s also the reason he’ll never be a proper priest. He’s too bloodthirsty for that.”

“And yet you managed to put fear in that lunatic.”

“Heh.” Karyl chuckled faintly.

Yurin slammed the Infernal Hammer down once more.

“Ghah...! This thing is heavy...!”

He was drenched in sweat, and his breathing was ragged, but he seemed exhilarated by the fierce battle.

“Don’t go all out. That was only the first door.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go.”

Karyl swiftly tore apart the crumbling stone wall and walked through the carnage Yurin had left behind.

“I definitely sensed the presence of Tarak in here earlier. And just like Allen said, there’s something alive in here. Whatever’s hidden in this sanctum isn’t just a pile of worthless bones.”

“Worthless, huh...?”

Yurin pursed his lips as he stared at the shredded robe that had once belonged to the former bishop. The man who had once been the most revered figure on the continent was now just a mangled pile of flesh and bones.

“But wait, something living? This place has been sealed for over a month. No one’s supposed to be here.”

“But it’s full of corpses. Dead priests all over the place where sacred relics should be stored. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few living things come crawling out.”

“Fair point...” Yurin scratched his head with a sheepish look.

“Follow me.”

Just as they were about to step through the collapsed section of the wall, Yurin spoke up hesitantly.

“Uh... Give me one moment...”

“What?”

“Haha... Well, since you’re already being generous, could I take that too?”

He pointed toward a massive shield housed inside a transparent case.

“You greedy priest.” Allen sniggered as he glanced at the shield.

It was the Aegis of Meteoric Iron, a legendary divine shield said to have been granted by Yula herself to her first apostle at the founding of the Church. Renowned for its absolute protection, the shield could supposedly withstand even a meteor invoked by a Great Sorcerer.

“No,” Karyl said curtly.

“...What?” Yurin’s voice cracked. He had thought Karyl would let him have the shield.

“That has a rightful owner.” Karyl turned his head away. “And besides, you couldn’t use it anyway. The moment you picked that thing up, all the blood in your body would vaporize, leaving you an empty husk.”

“...”

Yurin swallowed hard and rubbed his neck at Karyl’s dead-serious tone.

“Then who can use it? If even I can’t, then who? Surely not that Giant who was holed up in a hut...”

Grumbling, Yurin reluctantly followed behind Karyl, though he made no effort to disobey.

“Well? Come on, just tell me.”

He kept pestering him like a child begging for candy, but Karyl merely shook his head and stepped into the dark beyond the shattered wall, saying nothing.

***

“Are you really not going to tell me?”

They had descended quite a distance. Beyond the broken stone wall lay a space far wider than expected, and at the far end stood yet another staircase leading deeper underground.

As the two of them walked the path to the lower chamber, Yurin kept pressing Karyl about the owner of the Aegis. It was clear that Karyl’s refusal to grant him the relic had stung Yurin’s pride more than a little.

“Sacred relics can only be wielded by priests. And that shield isn’t ceremonial because it’s for battle. There isn’t a single battle priest in the Church more qualified than me.”

“The Staff of Light that Rael Stallen used wasn’t meant for battle either, but she still carried it to the empire.”

“That’s because... she was a saint. She wasn’t a combat type. But a relic made for battle should be used by a battle priest, and only by them.”

“So does that automatically mean the shield should be yours?”

“Well...”

Yurin hesitated, but deep down, he truly believed he was fit to wield that shield.

“Then have you ever seen anyone in the Church use that shield?”

“What...?”

“No one has.”

“...”

Yurin couldn’t argue with that.

“I doubt you’ve even seen it in person until now. It’s considered a sacred relic, but even the bishop never used it.”

Karyl spoke with calm certainty, like someone who already knew all the answers.

“Let it go. That thing isn’t meant to be wielded by humans. No matter how skilled you are in combat, that’s not the issue. And don’t worry, I’m not giving it to Hawat either.”

“Then who....?”

“I don’t see why I owe you an answer,” Karyl said wryly.

“Ugh...”

Grrrrr...

That was when a low growl echoed from somewhere deep below. Yurin tensed up as he glanced at Karyl.

“...”

Karyl calmly stepped through the darkness, only to be met by a sight beyond belief.

“What... What is this?”

Yurin was just as stunned.

They were deep underground, so the area should have been in complete darkness—yet it shimmered with living glimmers of radiance, darting through the air as if they had minds of their own.

Rows of massive columns stretched ahead, illuminating the chamber so fully it felt like daylight.

“This is...”

Yurin reached out with a trembling hand to touch one of the towering pillars and looked up. The curve of the column felt strange, unnatural.

That was because it wasn’t a pillar. It was a grave—or rather, a corpse.

“...These are dragon bones,” Allen said with a dry, almost bitter chuckle as he stared at the countless rising columns.

Surprisingly, the pillars weren’t artificial at all. The dome-shaped chamber was ringed with what appeared to be the fossilized ribs of a dragon, and at its far end lay an enormous skull.

“Now it makes sense why the Platinum Dragon built his lab beneath the sanctum. The Church is the perfect place to gather Divine Power—especially this sanctum, with all the sacred relics stored here.”

“But... there was something even more valuable.”

Whoooooosh...!

The wind passing between the ribs roared like a beast. Yurin, his eyes wide and unsteady, cautiously ran his hand along one of the massive bones, embedded in the ground like a column.

Wooooom...!

A faint glow pulsed upward from the base of the bone, as if light were scanning across it. Strange symbols surfaced, only to vanish again after emitting a brief shimmer.

“Karyl, with your dragon mana, you must know what you’re looking at right now,” Rasis remarked as she gazed at the bones.

“Of course. And I know why you’re reacting to this more than the other Spirit Kings.” Karyl gave a cold smile. “Because the owner of these bones was the only being other than Yula herself who possessed the power of light in its supreme form.”

“Whose corpse... is this?” Yurin asked in a shaky voice, staring at Karyl.

“The Golden Dragon of the Mythical Era.”

Karyl gently placed his hand on one of the columns.

“This is Toska’s bone grave.”

“...!!”

“Using the source of light power directly beneath the Church to amplify Divine Power... That bastard really pulled off something no one could’ve imagined.”

“That bastard? Who would do something like this...?” 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Who else could? Not even the emperor himself could’ve done this. It could only be someone beyond human.”

“The Platinum Dragon...” Yurin whispered, lifting his head slowly. He had never seen bones like these—their sheer size dwarfed every dragon he had ever known.

“There are different kinds of light. Rasis represents pure light, while the light of the sun embodies heat and purification. In that sense, Toska, the Golden Dragon, wielded a completely different kind of light than the Platinum Dragon.”

Allen Javius took a closer look at Toska’s bones.

“Narh Di Maug’s platinum scales are more evocative of Yula’s form of light, whereas Toska’s golden radiance is closer to sunlight.”

“I don’t know how he got his hands on Toska’s corpse, but he must have used this place for a different kind of experiment than the ones in the Promised Land.”

“Or perhaps he didn’t find it. Perhaps Toska’s corpse was sealed here from the beginning,” Ramine chimed in.

“What do you mean?”

“As you know, we were all sealed away after losing the Divine War, but Toska... he was different. He truly died.”

Karyl nodded at Ramine’s words. Upon acquiring Toska’s Grand Grimoire, the Polsetia, he had witnessed Judex’s memory carved into the blade it released—the memory of Toska’s death.

“Yula erased all memories of Toska from us as punishment for our defeat. That’s why we didn’t recognize him in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave.”

“But when you broke Polsetia’s seal and studied its magic, those memories returned to us. Most likely, Yula sealed Toska’s spirit in the ice and buried his corpse here.”

Rasis and Duaat stood in agreement with the Blazing King’s explanation.

“More precisely, she didn’t just bury him here. She built her Church on top of his corpse.”

“What a petty act of revenge...”

Karyl ground his teeth in fury, unable to believe that a god would act like that.

“More importantly, we still haven’t seen any signs of the Platinum Dragon having conducted experiments here.”

“Hmph... Are you saying there might be another lair somewhere else?” Allen shook his head, clearly exhausted by the idea.

“That’s right. I just hope we find the truth there.”

Karyl’s voice was tight, his expression rigid.

Narh Di Maug... The more I uncover, the more I question your true goal. Was it really just a thirst for godhood?

No. That couldn’t be it. All this couldn’t have been just for that.

If that were true, why send me back in time to obtain Riseria’ heart? You knew it would change both my future and your own.

Was it really the case that the mighty Narh Di Maug had failed to foresee his death in this chain of schemes? Karyl found that hard to believe.

Every time he uncovered another clue left behind, and every time he thought about how easily Narh Di Maug had killed Rael Stallen, his prized experiment, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still missing something critical.

“...”

Karyl let out a quiet sigh.

“There’s no point dwelling on it now. He’s already dead. If you keep chasing the truth, you’ll reach it eventually.”

“You’re right. He didn’t leave the truth behind. But what he did leave, I’ll make sure it’s put to good use. Yurin.”

“Yes?”

“Take every sacred relic in the sanctum and move them out. Dig up everything beneath it, down to Toska’s bones, and bring them all to the Free State.”

“All of it...?”

Karyl nodded.

“You wanted the shield, didn’t you? I think I can forge something even better than that Aegis. But in return, I want you to go completely berserk for me on the battlefield. How’s that sound?”

“Hah! Do you even need to ask?”

A wide grin spread across Yurin’s face as he gave Toska’s bones a light tap. Karyl watched him with a knowing smirk.

Grrrrrrrr...

That was when light flickered from the empty eye sockets of Toska’s massive skull, shimmering as if something within had awakened.