The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 171
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 171
As Kaylen followed Johannes into the black portal, a new space revealed itself.
A small room, no larger than a single chamber, completely surrounded by black metal, with not a single speck of light seeping in.
The only source of illumination here was the glowing eyes of the lich, Johannes.
If an ordinary person were trapped in this place, they would surely go mad in no time, unable to see even a sliver of light.
‘In a place like this… Baldrix is here?’
Kang. Kang.
The sound of a hammer striking metal echoed in the darkness, drawing Kaylen’s gaze forward.
“That figure…”
At the center of the room sat a Death Knight, clad in black armor, its form reduced to nothing but a skeletal frame.
No, upon closer inspection, it wasn’t merely sitting—
Its lower body was completely missing.
The upper half of its black plate armor rested against the floor.
The black skull mechanically pounded the hammer against the ground.
Kang. Kang.
An endlessly repeated action.
The point where the hammer struck never shifted even by a fraction, and the motion of raising and lowering it remained perfectly consistent. Even with Kaylen and Johannes now present, the skeletal knight continued hammering as if entranced.
There was obsession in that movement—madness, even.
“That is Baldrix.”
“…That Death Knight is Baldrix?”
“Yes. He, too, became a Death Knight. All for this moment. He has been waiting for you.”
A Death Knight with missing legs.
The dark energy emanating from him was nearly nonexistent.
When Kaylen was first born into this body,
When he read in the history books about Baldrix leading the rebellion,
He had resented him deeply.
The one who overthrew the Unified Empire,
The traitor who dethroned his brother.
For the longest time, Kaylen’s perception of Baldrix had been fixed in that image.
‘But I never wished to see him in such a pitiful state.’
What could he possibly be doing in this tiny, lightless space? Just hammering away like that…
Step. Step.
Kaylen slowly approached Baldrix.
“Baldrix.”
“It’s me. Ernstine.”
At Kaylen’s words, the hammering paused for a moment.
The black skull turned, its jaw slowly opening.
“…Six… Sword…”
His voice was faint, as if speaking was an immense struggle.
But it was still understandable.
“You want to see the Six Sword?”
A nod.
As Baldrix gave a barely perceptible nod,
Kaylen immediately summoned the Six Sword.
Hwaaaak.
As the six blades manifested, the room brightened.
And then, the emblem engraved on Baldrix’s armor came into view.
‘The emblem of the Six Sword.’
A symbol that closely resembled the one carved onto Kaylen’s own back.
No—rather than resembling it, it was identical.
Hoo…
Tang. Tang.
Baldrix, having set down the hammer, pointed to his back.
Was he telling him to place the Six Sword in alignment with the emblem?
“Your body won’t be able to withstand it.”
Even if he was a Death Knight, Baldrix had almost no remaining dark energy.
If the Six Sword were to be placed on him, even with the utmost care to avoid harm, the sheer presence of the swords could still cause damage.
However, as if unconcerned, Baldrix spoke once more.
Hoo…
“…Alright.”
In that case, he had to remove the Holy Sword Astella and the Flame Sword Dragonflame from the Light Sword and the Flame Sword to minimize the strain on his body.
After doing so, Kaylen placed the Six Sword against Baldrix’s back.
Chiiiiik!
The moment the swords made contact, the black armor turned pure white.
Then, in an instant, the Six Sword began to be absorbed into the sword emblem engraved on the armor.
As the armor slowly faded… the mana of the Six Sword grew denser.
“…It is true. You truly are my father.”
With the black armor now gone, Baldrix’s body was revealed—nothing but frail, emaciated bones.
Rather than an adult’s frame, his bones were closer in size to that of a child.
And with gaps scattered throughout, it seemed as though a single touch could completely shatter him.
Yet, despite his skeletal form,
Baldrix’s trembling voice was filled with strength.
“Then, Uncle… the memory transfer…”
Creak.
As Baldrix turned his head, one of his ribs fell off.
With his armor absorbed into the Six Sword, his already weakened body had reached its limit.
If he were to perform the memory transfer now,
The burden on Baldrix would only increase.
“…Alright.”
But Johannes did not hesitate. He reached out his hand.
Rather than leaving his nephew to endure in this suffocating space, it was better to grant him peace.
“Ernstine. This is the truth of the past thousand years that we have seen and lived through.”
Flash.
Johannes’ eyes gleamed.
And Baldrix’s memories began to flow into Kaylen.
—One week after the coronation of the second emperor of the Meier Empire.
Baldrix was summoned by Ernstine.
‘Am I being exiled to the provinces?’
Walking through Ernstine’s palace—the grandest and most magnificent within the Meier Imperial Palace—Baldrix thought to himself.
It was only natural for him to think this way.
He had fiercely opposed Caius for the position of the next emperor.
‘I still can’t accept that Caius, who isn’t even a Sword Master, inherited the throne…’
Baldrix had always believed that the ruler of the Meier Imperial Family should, at the very least, be a Sword Master.
But Caius lacked talent in the sword.
No matter how much the Grand Sword Master Ernstine personally trained him, he could only reach the level of a Sword Expert at best.
Even if the Meier family had risen to imperial status, its roots were that of a martial clan.
For Baldrix, it was unthinkable that a non-Sword Master would inherit the leadership of a warrior family.
‘But it’s already over.’
In the end, the one chosen by Ernstine had been Caius.
As soon as Baldrix, having emptied his mind, stepped into the imperial office, an unexpected figure welcomed him from within.
“You’re here, Baldrix.”
“Uncle…”
The Grand Mage Johannes, who had vanished after unifying the continent, stood next to Kaylen with a deep scowl on his face.
So he disappeared, claiming he was off to discover a new continent…
Yet, the very uncle who had refused to support him as the second emperor, saying he was going on an expedition, had now returned to the imperial castle as soon as Caius ascended the throne. Seeing this, Baldrix couldn’t help but feel a sense of betrayal.
What discovery?
He simply hadn’t wanted to offer his support.
“So, you return now that the new emperor has ascended? What happened to your grand expedition?”
Baldrix sneered, and Johannes averted his gaze, clearing his throat awkwardly.
“Hmph. Hmph. I did discover one new continent. But I came back because I need the emperor’s power to explore the next one. I can’t do it alone.”
“A new continent actually exists…?”
“Indeed. Though it wasn’t particularly useful. However, this new land I discovered… it’s very interesting. The emperor has already agreed to come with me.”
“…Is that true?”
Father?
Even though he had abdicated, wasn’t it far too soon for him to leave the empire unattended?
There was no way Caius could govern this vast empire alone.
Baldrix turned toward Emperor Ernstine, who simply nodded.
“Baldrix, where do you think the Celestial Realm and the Infernal Realm are located?”
“The Celestial Realm… isn’t it in the heavens, in the divine world above? And the Infernal Realm exists in another dimension beneath the earth.”
“That’s the common understanding. However, Johannes discovered something very intriguing on this new continent. Traces of the Celestial Realm.”
“…Traces of the Celestial Realm?”
“Yes. It’s possible that the Celestial Realm… coexists on this planet. And if that’s true, then perhaps the Infernal Realm does as well.”
The Celestial Realm and the Infernal Realm… could they truly exist beyond the seas?
Baldrix, who had stepped into the office expecting a demotion, found himself utterly caught off guard by the unexpected revelation.
If this were true, wouldn’t it be a revolutionary discovery?
“Baldrix.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Would you join me in exploring this new continent?”
“…Is that an order?”
“An order? No. It’s an invitation. Let’s get some fresh air. And if we’re lucky, we could go down in history as the first humans to discover the Celestial Realm.”
An invitation, he said.
But Baldrix could tell—this was something he had no choice but to accept.
There was no way Ernstine would leave him behind while he set off on an expedition.
Baldrix, who had fiercely contested the throne with Caius, still had many supporters. The former emperor couldn’t just leave such a potential threat unattended. Yet, directly eliminating his own son wasn’t an option either.
Bringing him along on this expedition was likely Ernstine’s way of handling the situation.
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“…Understood.”
Even so, Baldrix nodded without hesitation.
Rather than being demoted to some distant province, following his father on an expedition seemed the better option.
“Good. Then… would you hold onto this for a moment?”
Ernstine picked up a pristine white gauntlet from his desk and handed it to Baldrix.
“This is…”
"It’s something your uncle made. He said he got the idea from demonic magic items. Its name is…"
"It’s called the Mana Suit. I studied items taken from demons and modified them to suit humans. I didn’t expect it to be used like this, though."
Johannes scratched his cheek as he spoke.
"Inject mana into the blue mana stone in the center of the gauntlet and say, 'Mana Suit Up.'"
"'Mana Suit Up'…?"
"Yeah. Sounds cool, right?"
"It’s childish."
Despite saying that, Baldrix obediently followed Johannes’s instructions.
"Mana Suit Up."
The gauntlet shimmered with light, and in an instant, a pure white full-plate armor covered Baldrix’s entire body.
Despite its size and thickness, the armor felt surprisingly light.
Baldrix examined the Mana Suit with curiosity.
"Baldrix, do you sense mana in the back of the Mana Suit?"
"The back…?"
Baldrix activated his mana and turned his focus to the back of the suit.
Soon, he noticed six distinct streams of aura.
"This… isn’t this the Six Sword Path?"
"That’s right."
"Why is it here?"
"I’ve reached the peak of swordsmanship. Now that I’ve retired, I was thinking of learning magic. And if I’m going to do it, I might as well do it properly."
What does that have to do with the Six Sword Path being here?
Baldrix looked puzzled, and Johannes sighed as he shook his head.
"His Majesty insists on sealing his swords while he learns magic."
"He’s sealing the Six Sword Path?"
"Yeah. With my swords, I can’t tell if I’m actually casting magic or just unleashing sword aura. If I’m going to start, I should do it from zero."
"What do you mean 'zero'? You still have your mana."
"If I put down my swords, that’s as good as starting from zero. Don’t you think?"
Baldrix turned his attention away from his bickering father and uncle and focused on the aura of the Six Sword Path embedded in the Mana Suit.
His father had tried countless times to master it but always failed.
Baldrix himself had already honed a new swordsmanship style and become a Swordmaster.
And yet, the lingering desire for the Six Sword Path had never left him.
"So the reason you're giving this to me—"
"I know you still have regrets about the Six Sword Path."
"While I focus on learning magic, you can use the Six Sword Path stored in that Mana Suit to work through those regrets. Once I reach the 8th Circle in magic, I’ll take it back. Johannes, one year should be enough, right?"
"Oh, come on. What? One year? Do you think reaching the 8th Circle is as easy as naming a dog? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You’re never going to achieve it in your lifetime, Emperor."
Johannes scoffed, already dismissing the possibility.
But no one in the room took his words seriously.
After all, even Ernstine himself had spoken of the 8th Circle as if it were a joke.
And at the time—
No one could have imagined that Johannes’s words would actually come true.
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
