The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

Chapter 116

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 116

[H-how did you know the location of my Main Body…?!]

What Kaylen held in his hand was a massive black centipede.

A grotesque creature the size of his upper body, with a hundred writhing legs flailing in frustration.

The sight alone was nightmarish, but Kaylen remained utterly unfazed. Without hesitation, he began plucking off its legs one by one.

[Aaaaaaaagh!]

"I heard creatures like you grow one leg every five years. That means you must be around five hundred years old, huh?"

[H-how do you even know that?!]

"You think that’s all I know?"

Ssshhhhhh!

Kaylen infused the severed limbs with light mana.

At that moment, the centipede’s eyes widened in pure terror.

[…!!!]

A pain so intense that it left it unable to even scream surged through its entire body.

"Now that I’ve taken all your legs and filled you with light mana, there’s no chance of you escaping."

[J-just kill me instead…!]

"And why would I do that?"

Kaylen retrieved a miniature painting from his coat and grinned.

"This is a rare opportunity to extract some valuable information. Wait inside for a bit. I’ll be bringing your comrades along soon."

[Ghh… khhh…!]

Armor finally realized what this inhuman monster was thinking.

'He's… planning to torture me…'

The idea of being tortured by a mere human was unthinkable.

Just an hour ago, he would have never imagined such a situation—but this was reality.

'I'd rather die than go through that!'

This human knew his true form, something even other demons rarely understood.

If someone like that was going to torture him… he couldn’t even begin to fathom the kind of suffering that awaited.

Even if he survived, he would be better off dead.

'I have to channel my last reserves of dark mana…!'

Even though his armor was burning and his legs were gone, he still had a final burst of dark energy left.

If he detonated it, at least he could escape eternal suffering…

Boom!

[W-what?!]

But the explosion didn’t go as he expected.

The dark mana detonation had activated—

Yet its power was drastically weakened.

And to make matters worse, the light mana Kaylen had infused into him was actively healing him.

"Where do you think you’re dying?"

[This… this is impossible. W-who are you?! How much do you see?!]

"You’ll find out later. For now—just get inside."

Without hesitation, Kaylen tossed the centipede into the painting.

Then, he turned his gaze toward the fortress wall.

Bending his knees slightly, he leapt effortlessly, soaring high above, and landed atop the towering battlements.

The moment he appeared, the soldiers instinctively stepped back.

'That demon… was cut down in a single strike.'

'Is he even human?'

No matter how strong a person was, there were limits.

But the power Kaylen had just displayed… surpassed human comprehension.

That one giant demon had been enough to completely overwhelm the fortress.

Having burned such a formidable demon to ashes with a single strike…

A chilling silence settled over the fortress walls.

Before this absolute being, no one knew how to act.

With eyes filled with both reverence and fear, they gazed at Kaylen.

"Kaylen."

Breaking the silence—

A man stepped forward.

It was Lioness, the third son of the Duke of Oblaine.

As soon as he approached Kaylen, he bowed deeply.

"You saved us. As a member of the ducal house, I offer you my thanks."

"I’ll accept your gratitude, Lioness."

Kaylen nodded casually, as if it were only natural.

A stark contrast to his once-polite demeanor.

Yet, rather than being offended, Lioness chuckled.

"So this is your true nature…?"

"Yes."

"And yet I had the audacity to suggest that a dragon should serve under a dog. I made a fool of myself."

"A dog… Are you referring to Prince Bellos?"

"Yes. That prince who groveled before the demons, whimpering like a coward… honestly, even calling him a dog would be too generous."

Lioness sneered in contempt before adding—

"Not that it matters now. He’s dead."

"…He’s dead?"

"The giant demon was holding him midair, but when you cut it down in a single strike, he fell from that height and died on impact."

"And the people around him? What were they doing?"

Kaylen narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

There had been so many knights and mages nearby—

And yet not a single one had been able to catch a falling man?

Hearing the question, Lioness sighed.

"Just resisting the demons was already more than we could handle…"

"That might be true for the common soldiers, but you and your brothers should be better than that."

Lioness stepped closer and muttered,

"No. No, we weren’t."

"Hah… Haha… You know what I really thought back then?"

"When the giant spoke, I felt sheer terror. I was so afraid that I thought… as long as I didn’t piss myself, I was doing well. Kuh-haha…"

A 4th-Circle Meister and a swordsmanship prodigy on the verge of becoming a Sword Master—that was Lioness.

His talent alone could rival not just the greatest warriors of the current era, but even the heroes of ancient times.

Yet, even he—

Was reduced to nothing before the overwhelming presence of a demon.

And now, he was lamenting his own helplessness.

"We are weak. Far too weak."

"Are demons truly our masters? Are humans nothing more than livestock for them…?"

Lioness sighed heavily—then, his gaze shifted toward the dagger in Kaylen’s hand.

The fragment of the Holy Sword had lost its power, its strength completely spent.

He knew that the same overwhelming force wouldn’t manifest again.

And yet…

There was no one else in this fortress who could fight against the demons.

"Kaylen. I know this is shameless of me."

Thud.

Lioness fell to his knees.

Thud. Thud.

He pressed his forehead to the ground and shouted—

"I—I mean, we—will do anything. Please, just this once—lend us your strength again. We have no power to fight against the demons."

"Are you talking about the demons behind the fortress?"

"Yes. That’s correct."

Lioness lifted his bloodied forehead and nodded.

Once, he had treated Kaylen as a mere junior, a subordinate.

But now, he had cast aside all pride, pleading with desperation.

‘Lord Lioness…’

‘For our sake…’

A once-arrogant noble, known as a peerless genius, was now on his knees.

At the sight, the commanders and soldiers of the Duke of Oblaine’s forces also knelt before Kaylen.

"Lord Kaylen, we beg you!"

"Please, save us…!"

"Lead us…!"

Kaylen silently raised his hand.

And just like that, everyone who had been kneeling found themselves standing upright.

"Kneeling over something as trivial as hunting demons? That’s unnecessary."

"Ah…."

"You’re worried because of the Holy Sword, aren’t you?"

Kaylen glanced down at the shattered fragment of the Holy Sword.

"This was nothing more than a tool to make killing demons easier."

Extending his hand, he casually pulled a sword from a soldier’s waist—

The blade floated free and settled into his grip.

"This is more than enough."

"In that case, we will prepare a finer sword for you!"

"No need. Instead, Lioness—"

"You said you'd do anything, didn’t you?"

"…Yes!"

Kaylen looked at Lioness, whose forehead was still bleeding, and grinned.

"Then become my knight."

—

"Armor! Armor! Ah, seriously! So damn annoying—why aren’t you answering?!"

The demon Cain cursed in frustration before his expression suddenly darkened.

"…Wait a second. Don’t tell me he caught the Sword Master behind my back and ran off?"

The only reason Armor had sought Cain out was to capture the Sword Master if he tried to flee.

If Armor had taken him down alone, he wouldn’t even need to keep his promise—he could just escape on his own.

"Unbelievable! After all we’ve been through? That’s just cold~"

Cain sounded like he was complaining—

But deep down, he knew.

If he had been the one to capture the Sword Master instead of Armor…

He absolutely would’ve done the same thing.

'Armor promised to share his seed, but… a Sword Master is just too valuable.'

Thinking like the demon he was, Cain began separating pieces of flesh from his body.

Still, since Armor wasn’t responding, he sent a final warning.

"Armor. If you don’t answer, I’m leaving."

No reply.

It was enough for Cain to be certain—Armor had fled.

In demon logic, this was as good as an admission.

"Tch. He ran off. Seriously. So petty."

Grumbling, Cain began reabsorbing the flesh-monsters he had scattered.

His body swelled larger as they merged back into him—

Yet two remained.

"Ugh, what a waste of time~ You two, go hunt some humans for me."

"Snort. Snort-snort."

"Hey, come on! Grunt like real pigs! Ah, and don’t forget—kill all the women, but take the seeds from the men, got it~?"

"Oink, oink, oink…"

The flesh monsters, which had been standing on two legs, suddenly shifted—their bodies morphing into massive pigs, now standing on all fours.

Despite their round and almost comical appearance, each one was as tall as the fortress walls.

Etched across their grotesque bodies were enormous magical sigils.

"With anti-magic formations inscribed on them, these two should be more than enough."

Humans, who could barely wield low-tier magic, had no means of countering anti-magic formations.

The Holy Legion of Sanctuary might pose a problem—

But if they showed up, well, he’d deal with it then.

With that thought, Cain began making preparations to leave the Middle Realm.

"Ugh, my body’s too big now… seriously, traveling is such a pain~."

Believing there was no longer any threat left in the Middle Realm,

his preparations were leisurely—

As if he were going on a pleasant outing, rather than leaving a battlefield.

Completely unworried, Cain casually opened a portal to the Demon Realm.

And because of that—

He didn’t see the rain of swords descending from the sky.

Six-Sword Path

Triple Blades—Sword Rain.

"…Oink?"

Pshhhh—!

The two giant pigs at the front were instantly impaled by the downpour of swords.

Each droplet of rain—

Was a blade formed from the combined forces of water and light.

Boom! Boom!

The pig monsters were pierced through—

Then, like popping balloons, they exploded into chunks.

It didn’t matter if they bore anti-magic sigils or if they were born from demonic flesh—

Before the sword rain, they were utterly powerless.

"…?"

What the hell?

Cain tilted his head in confusion.

But when the same sword rain began hurtling toward him,

his face immediately vanished—

Sinking back into his mass of flesh.

"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?! What is this?!"

Even while hiding, Cain kept ranting.

At first, he still sounded carefree—

But then—

Pshhk. Pshhk.

The sword rain pierced through his flesh, slicing dangerously close to his face.

Only then—did panic creep into his expression.

"KYAAAAAH!"

His flesh was supposed to be exceptionally tough—

Not something that should be pierced so easily.

And yet, against this sword rain, he was completely defenseless.

What the hell is this?!

As Cain flailed in confusion,

"…A slime-type demon?"

Kaylen landed right behind him.

Unlike the demon commander Armor,

this one was far too underwhelming.

"Figures. Weak."

"I am NOT weak!"

Slash!

Kaylen’s blade carved through the area surrounding Cain’s face.

Chunks of flesh were severed, leaving only his face and the gelatinous slime connecting it to his body.

"AAACK! That hurts! You’re so violent!"

Despite screaming in pain,

Cain’s voice trembled with excitement.

Kaylen frowned.

Slime-type demons.

Among all demons, they were the most insane.

Even during the Demon King subjugation,

Kaylen had made a habit of eliminating them outright, never bothering with interrogation.

'These bastards are too much of a headache to deal with.'

This time would be no different—

He’d eliminate it before it became a nuisance.

Kaylen raised his blade, infused with golden aura, preparing to strike—

But just then—

The severed head rolled across the ground,

and its eyes locked onto him.

"Ah…? Oh? You’re… handsome."

The slime-type demon grinned playfully.

But Kaylen—

Froze.

"…You."

"What's wrong, human oppa~?"

That face—Kaylen knew it all too well.

Because—

"…Baldrix?"

This demon—

Had the face of Ernstine’s second son.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]