The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 468: Delivering the Blow

“Th-The Lord’s power? Is he really the Lancepho?”

“Well... it makes sense, actually. Why didn’t I think of that? The Lord died, and the Dimension Spiral that was once a single entity shattered into fragments.”

“The Dimension Spirals we have are all intact. Which means the remaining shard must have come from the Lord.”

“The Origin...”

The gods muttered among themselves, but none of them showed signs of resisting him. What they felt was not defiance, but shock and fear.

“Are you saying you want to challenge me and this world to decide who its true master is?”

“I told you this would get a little more interesting. I decided to add another stake next to the Divine Throne, to spice up this war.”

“How dare you... a mere human, trying to achieve godhood?”

“Now you understand why my magic works on you. If my magic can affect you, it means my Dimension Spiral holds power greater than yours.”

Karyl then invoked the Demon King.

“Hagane.”

A black mist rose from the puddle of blood left by Yula earlier.

“You summoned me?”

With reverence, Hagane held his hand over his chest and bowed.

"Although the Demon King dwells in his own realm, untouched by divine hands, he cannot defy the gods. After all, all realms are subordinate to the deity who rules that particular dimension. And yet, he went behind your back and made a pact with Kaye Aesir. Do you know why?"

Karyl turned to look at Yula. “Because he saw it—a real chance of killing a god. Demons are not the kind to offer loyalty blindly. Hagane wouldn’t have been on board if there was no chance of victory.”

As if on cue, Hagane silently walked over and stood behind Karyl.

“Let’s just say he put his money on me rather than you.”

“Yula, if what he says is true and he really does possess the Lord’s power, we are doomed,” said the Third God, his expression grave. “After all, we’re nothing but inheritors of the Lord’s fragments.”

“What do you want?”

“I no longer oppose you as the king of the continent. I will take part in this war for the Divine Throne as the rightful master of this dimension.”

“Heh... Hahaha...! The master of this dimension? Assuming you have a semblance of what that means, are you prepared to bear the weight of your own words?”

Karyl shrugged casually at Yula’s retort. “I told you before, didn’t I? That things are about to get more interesting. If the master of this dimension changes with the opening of Exordiar, then naturally, the rules for victory must change as well.”

“What did you just say?”

“That is why I am making you an offer.”

Karyl turned to the four remaining gods standing behind Yula.

“If I ascend to the Divine Throne, I will create a new rule. Gods must be fair. Just as I have given each of you a fair chance, my rule as a god will be no different.”

A fair chance?

What a joke.

But still...

Even though they knew brutal competition would follow those sweet words, none of the gods dared refute Karyl.

In this situation, the only way to defeat Yula is by using him.

We are participants in Exordiar, foreign rulers of other dimensions. That is why our power is restricted here. But he can wield Divine Power in full.

A human who can go toe-to-toe with a god like Yula. If we lend him our strength...

Then we can defeat her...!

“I can practically hear them scheme. Gods, huh? So this is how selfish they actually are,” Allen Javius scoffed with contempt.

“Yula is probably the only one aware of the illusion. You fools actually think your plotting will work against her?” he murmured under his breath.

“Stop this nonsense! Are you saying we should let a human sit on the Divine Throne? That gods should join forces to serve under a mortal? This is madness! Snap out of it, all of you!” Yula shouted at the four gods.

Though she tried to hide it, the cracks in her confidence were starting to show. Back at the round table in the temple, she had envisioned this very worst-case scenario—that these four would turn to Karyl.

Even if he has Divine Power, that does not mean he’s stronger than Yula. He is still human, after all.

But contrary to her fears, the other gods weren’t yet convinced, as they still saw Karyl as the lesser threat. After a few moments of contemplation, their eyes shifted.

“Let us hear him out. Fine, let’s say you ascend the throne, human. What then?” the elder inquired.

His tone was markedly different from before. Though Karyl found his sudden shift hilarious, he kept his composure and addressed them with a faint smile.

“I will not monopolize the Divine Throne.”

“Wh-What do you mean by that?”

“Until now, once the Supreme God was chosen, that position never changed unless the god perished. Whether by fate or coincidence, the Lord was destroyed by a Blader.”

Karyl held up his Dimension Spiral. The radiant emerald gem spun slowly in his palm, as if dancing.

“Thanks to that, you all seized this chance and have fought so desperately in Exordiar. This may very well be the only opportunity you’ll ever get.”

All eyes were now on him.

“But what if Yula ascends the throne? Do you really think any of you will ever get a second chance?”

For Karyl to not keep the throne for himself—that was utterly absurd to the gods. None of them had ever conceived of such a thing. After all, who would willingly forfeit absolute power?

“Of course, I will have to set a few conditions in case giving up the Divine Throne brings any harm to us humans. But honestly, I have no particular desire for the throne. I only care about the safety of the world I live in.”

Ha... Haha... What a fool.

He’s actually serious about this. Yes, in the end, he’s still just a human. He knows that even if he survives Exordiar, the other gods will not leave him alone, so he is trying to play it smart.

Yes, if the opponent is a human and not Yula...

[Haha... What a joke.] Allen shook his head in disbelief. [They’re no different from humans. The look in their eyes is no different from that of an emperor who sacrificed his own children just to cling to the throne.]

He scoffed as he gazed at their troubled expressions.

[All I see in their eyes now is greed. Karyl, they probably have no idea that this entire stage was your doing. Yula is likely the only one panicking, because she alone knows about the illusion magic.]

Karyl remained silent and studied the gods. They would all assume that he, being a human, would be easier to deal with than a god. They had no idea what kind of consequences that complacency would bring. Among them, only the Second God, the woman with serpent lips, seemed to be deep in thought.

“What the hell are you all doing?” Yula growled through clenched teeth as she sensed the shift in atmosphere.

The four gods had each taken a step back.

“It seems your Exordiar ends here,” said the elder.

“There is no need to follow any rules or hold a vote. The decision is unanimous,” the First God continued, unclenching his fists.

Faint blue and red lights began to shimmer around the First God, the serpent-lipped woman, and the elder. The glow eventually enveloped Karyl as well.

“Stop!” Yula shouted in alarm.

The four remaining gods, who had yet to join the battle, were casting their blessings.

Priests merely borrowed power from Yula to cast blessings, so they couldn’t possibly compare to those cast directly by the gods themselves. Not even a thousand priests could muster enough strength to compete.

“Not bad,” Karyl murmured as he took in the energy.

“Humans can never defy their creator. The rebellion of the Mythical Era was doomed from the start. To raise one’s sword against the gods—”

Woooooooooooom...!

The Polsetia’s blade shifted from blue to red, and then turned completely black.

“One must become a god.”

Shiiing...!

At that moment, Mael bared his sharp fangs and coiled around the blade. At the same time, the Lycanthrope’s armor manifested over Karyl’s legs.

“You... How dare you...!” Yula’s voice trembled with fury, and her hands shook violently. But unlike before, she hesitated to lunge at Karyl.

“...”

“...”

Even the three gods standing behind Karyl—the so-called gods of war—were overcome with shock.

From Karyl—now the reincarnation of Lancepho, bearer of divine blessings, and wielder of two Master Keys—they felt the same overwhelming aura they had once known in the presence of the Lord himself.

Gulp—

The four gods watched him nervously from afar.

Did we just... make a mistake?

Something feels wrong.

No, no... It should be fine. Even so, he is still not the ruler of a dimension...

Just moments ago, the gods had all agreed on how to deal with Karyl. But now, some were gripped by guilt, others feared they had made a grave error, and a few still clung to the faint hope that Karyl could be defeated.

Regardless of their confidence, none of them could revoke the blessings they had already bestowed upon Karyl. If they hoped to defeat Yula, they needed his strength.

But for now, they could only stand by helplessly—like bystanders trapped in quicksand.

“Come at me.”

Leaving the anxious gods behind, Karyl raised his sword toward Yula, whose expression stiffened.

Woosh!

Karyl vanished from sight.

“...!!”

BOOOOM!!!

Yula instinctively raised her arms to block, but the force of the blow flung them up in the air and knocked her back. The distance between them had closed in an instant.

Karyl stood right in front of her, flashing her a defiant smirk.

“Kh...!”

The divine law that nullified human attacks was still in effect, and his sword had bounced back, but the sheer impact of his strike had pushed Yula back.

“If you don’t come at me, I’ll come at you.”

She felt like he had whispered right into her ear.

Shing!

In that instant, Karyl’s sword traced a downward arc from above.

“I am ending this wretched cycle right here, right now.”

The gleaming blade pierced through Yula’s right arm.

“This... This can’t be...!”

Yula stared wide-eyed as her severed hand spun through the air and struck the ground, spurting blood.

Karyl’s sword was no longer a human weapon.