The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

Chapter 119

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 119

The day after the royal palace sent a request for cooperation to the Seven Magic Towers, the seven Tower Masters gathered at the Balzak Tower.

Balzak Tower was the largest among the magic towers in the Bormian Kingdom, primarily composed of earth-type Meisters. Originally, it had not garnered much attention, but for the past 200 years, it had experienced rapid growth and had now become the most prestigious magic tower in the kingdom.

"It has been a while since we all gathered."

"Hmm."

"Fortunately, everyone was in the capital."

"We had to prepare to receive the great one, after all."

Though the average age of the Tower Masters was in their fifties or sixties, they all appeared to be in their early forties.

"The reason we are gathered today is, of course..."

"The 'document' from the royal palace, is it not?"

"Eliminate Sword Master Stein?"

"That man even subdued Lord Cesar..."

"Is it even possible?"

The Tower Masters were well aware of the name Black Skull Cesar, who had been operating in the shadows of the royal palace.

No, it wasn’t just that they knew his name.

They had cooperated with Cesar, offering him mana stones and slaves in exchange for acquiring advanced magic knowledge from the Demon Realm.

To them, Cesar was akin to a grandmaster.

Would they really be able to suppress the Sword Master, who had taken down that great magician, even with the royal palace's support?

They were skeptical.

"But the document he possesses is still a burden."

"That document? Can’t we just deny everything? Who's going to prove anything anyway?"

"Hmm. And what if they use it as an excuse to storm the magic towers? Even Lord Cesar was completely subdued... Is there any tower here that possesses a stronger force than he did?"

"Khmm..."

Joining forces with the royal palace to subdue Stein was daunting, as even Cesar had been eliminated.

However, simply standing by was equally unsettling, as they feared that once Stein returned to the capital, he would take down the magic towers one by one.

As they were all troubled over how to handle the situation, one of the Tower Masters shifted the topic.

"Come to think of it, one of our tower’s Meisters received a peculiar transmission yesterday."

"Oh? What kind of transmission?"

—Tower Master. You must be wary of Kaylen. He is a Sword Master… He possesses immense power. Ugh. I’ve been discovered…!

"…Kaylen?"

Kaylen.

A man with the talent of a 6th Circle mage—there was no one in this room who did not know his name.

But he was a Sword Master?

"That doesn’t make sense. Surely, they must have been mistaken?"

"The A-rank mana suit made by the Fairy Tower must have had some special function."

The Tower Masters chuckled, dismissing the notion outright.

A person with the highest aptitude as a mage being a Sword Master?

Logically, it was absurd.

However, one among them responded with a grave expression.

"Now that you mention it, I received a similar report yesterday."

—Hurry and inform the Tower Master to be cautious of Kaylen. He single-handedly subdued the demons! Ugh, aaargh!

The Meister belonging to the magic tower, who had urgently sent the transmission, was subdued by someone and disappeared.

"I dismissed it as nonsense at first, but now it’s starting to feel unsettling."

"…He subdued the demons?"

"That’s completely absurd."

"How could a mere human subdue the Great Ones?"

The claim that Kaylen was a Sword Master was already shocking, but this was even more outrageous.

To them, demons were divine beings.

How could a human possibly defeat a god?

It was something that simply defied common sense.

"Still, the fact that reports from two different towers have warned us about Kaylen is worth noting."

"I heard he’s in the royal capital as well."

"They say he stole the document in question while riding Stein’s drake."

"Then, isn’t it possible that Stein's side knows Kaylen took the document and is deliberately coercing the Meisters into spreading false information?"

"Oh? To prevent us from cooperating with the princess and the royal palace? Buying time?"

"That sounds far more plausible than this nonsense about Kaylen subduing demons."

The seven Tower Masters began to freely share their opinions.

Most of them leaned toward the idea that Stein’s faction was deliberately leaking false information.

To them, the claims that Kaylen was a Sword Master or that he had defeated demons were simply too unrealistic.

"Hmm. But just in case… how about we invite Kaylen to the ‘Evolution Zone’?"

"Oh, that place?"

The Evolution Zone.

A secret magical experimentation site created by the Seven Magic Towers under the teachings of Black Skull Cesar.

Because it was used for experiments related to black magic, it was a location that could never be publicly revealed.

"Heh. Isn’t that place full of things we can’t afford to let outsiders see?"

"It doesn’t matter. If Kaylen is deceiving us, we’ll subdue him in the Evolution Zone…"

The Tower Master of Balzak Tower smiled ominously.

"Even if he is innocent, we’ll subdue him in the Evolution Zone."

"Oh? Surely, you don’t mean…"

"With his 6th Circle talent, wouldn’t he make an excellent test subject? We can use him for experiments, brainwash him, and deploy him when we need to eliminate Stein."

Using a 6th Circle talent as a test subject?

The Tower Masters found the idea intriguing.

"Indeed. His talent doesn’t belong to our towers anyway. We might as well put it to use."

"But since he has an A-rank mana suit, we should prepare accordingly."

"If Princess Violet gets involved, things will get complicated. We should find a way to keep her out of this."

Once everyone agreed on luring Kaylen into the Evolution Zone, one of the Tower Masters joked.

"But, everyone… what if the reports were true and he really is strong enough to defeat demons?"

"Well, then we all die. Hahaha!"

"Kehehe! If he’s stronger than the demons, what can we do?"

—

"Sir Kaylen, we appreciate you accepting our invitation so readily."

"Not at all. The victory parade is approaching, so I should cooperate. However, this place…"

Having been invited by the Tower Master of Balzak Tower, Kaylen looked around.

A vast temple complex located on the outskirts of the capital.

Before dungeon portals began appearing, it had been used as a temple dedicated to the Celestial God.

But ever since dungeon portals started running rampant, it had been abandoned.

It was a place that seemed to have no connection to the magic towers whatsoever.

"This is a top-secret experimental site created through the collaboration of multiple magic towers—the ‘Evolution Zone.’"

"A classified area?"

"Haha, who would ever suspect that wizards are conducting magical research in an abandoned temple site? It’s the perfect place to keep secrets."

Step. Step.

As they passed through the ruins of the temple, the Tower Master walked with practiced ease, leading the way into the underground chamber.

Descending the seemingly endless staircase, relying only on a single light spell, the Balzak Tower Master spoke to Kaylen.

"So, you stole the document that Sword Master Stein obtained, didn’t you?"

"That’s correct."

"Then you must have read through it thoroughly. What did you think as you read it?"

"…What do you mean by that?"

"The part about collaborating with Black Skull Cesar. Do you truly believe that document is false?"

When Kaylen did not answer, the Tower Master gave a faint smile.

"You believe it’s real."

"I won’t deny it."

"And yet, you so willingly accepted our invitation."

"You have no intention of openly opposing the royal palace, do you, Tower Master?"

"That’s right. The royal palace and we are in the same boat, after all. However…"

The long staircase finally ended.

As Kaylen stepped onto the underground floor—

Crackle…

A massive magic circle engraved on the ground flared to life in a crimson glow.

Dark energy surged up, wrapping around Kaylen’s legs.

"Kaylen, we have no obligation to show you the same courtesy."

"Welcome to the Evolution Zone, bearer of a 6th Circle talent."

Flash. Flash.

As light filled the underground chamber, the scene within was revealed.

Hundreds of capsules were embedded in the vast underground cavern’s walls.

Below them, over a hundred Meisters, clad in mana suits, had surrounded Kaylen from a distance.

Leading them stood the Tower Masters, their bodies fully elementalized.

Whoosh—

Even the Balzak Tower Master donned his mana suit, completing his transformation into a wind spirit before turning back to Kaylen.

"Heh. Isn’t this an excessive force to deal with a mere 4th Circle Meister? I suggest you don’t resist foolishly."

He wasn’t wrong.

This was an overwhelming force—far too much for dealing with a 4th Circle Meister.

The seven Tower Masters, each possessing the power of a 5th Circle mage, were fully clad in A-rank mana suits and had activated their elemental transformations.

In addition to them, the surrounding Meisters stood ready, and—

Clank.

The capsules embedded in the walls of the cavern opened all at once.

Over a hundred vampires emerged, their eyes locked onto Kaylen.

This wasn’t a force prepared for a mere 6th Circle talent. Even an actual 6th Circle Meister would be instantly overwhelmed.

Kaylen looked around, his expression hardening as he spoke.

"Why…? What is the meaning of this…?"

"Heh. You truly don’t understand your own worth."

"A 6th Circle talent! With you, we can achieve a great leap forward."

"Yes, Kaylen. You will be the foundation of ‘demonification.’"

Bound by the sealing magic circle—

Surrounded by hundreds of Meisters and vampires, leaving no room for escape—

The Tower Masters, confident in their victory, spoke in leisure.

"A 6th Circle talent belongs to all of us."

"That’s right. The previous Tower Master must be questioned as well."

"But before that, there are plenty of experiments to conduct while he’s still a weak human, aren’t there?"

"Indeed. There are five days left until the victory parade, correct? Let’s run experiments on him for three days, then turn him into a vampire’s apostle."

"Heh. But be careful not to damage his body too much. It shouldn’t look suspicious."

As he listened to the Tower Masters’ conversation, Kaylen’s expression hardened more and more.

"What kind of experiments are you conducting?"

"Experiments on demonification."

"Turning weak humans into great demons."

"For now, vampires are the limit… but with you, we can reach a higher level."

Demonification.

Just like Black Skull Cesar, they all desired to become demons.

From the subjugated humans—to the ruling demons.

"Heh. Now that I think about it, didn’t the transmission call him a Sword Master?"

"It would be fine if he were just a Sword Master, but that transmission claimed he had defeated demons, didn’t it?"

"Hah… Then what do we do? I suppose we’ll all die in an instant."

"Exactly. Shouldn’t we call for reinforcements?"

Amid their complete dominance, the Tower Masters chuckled as they recalled the absurd transmission from before.

And then—

As Kaylen silently observed them, he spoke in a low voice.

"Reinforcements?"

"Reinforcements? Hah, listen to him. His words are getting shorter."

"There are none, so you can rest easy, Kaylen. We mobilized all our forces in case the princess came with you. Heh."

"I see…"

Tap. Tap.

Kaylen, who had been bound by dark energy, lightly stepped forward—freeing himself with ease.

Fwoosh—

As his foot touched the ground again, the binding magic circle burst into flames and vanished in an instant.

"So, all the rats are gathered here, then?"

"Y-You…?"

Srrrk—

Four swords floated up behind Kaylen.

"You actually listened to that transmission. But I’m relieved you didn’t believe it."

"Because that report… was true."

Slash—

The head of the elementalized Balzak Tower Master fell to the floor.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]