The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 73

Fwoooosh—

The world was ablaze.

"That dream again."

A dream she'd had countless times.

Saint Theresia knew exactly how it would unfold.

"The Infernal Duke will appear."

As soon as she thought that, a massive demon of flames rose before her eyes.

"Your Holiness! It's dangerous!"

"Take shelter!"

The holy knights protecting the saint fought fiercely against the demons, but...

"Arghhh!"

The infernal demon was too powerful.

Flames soared high into the heavens.

One by one, the holy knights were consumed, unable to withstand the blazing inferno.

"I don't want to see those deaths anymore."

The holy knights, who were more devout than anyone else, burned and perished before her eyes.

Saint Theresia's heart grew heavy as she watched.

This dream always began the same way—with their deaths.

"Die, Saint."

Fwoooosh.

Fwoooosh.

Every step the infernal demon took set the earth ablaze.

The temple where the saint resided was already reduced to ashes, and the flames stretched endlessly into the sky.

"Infernal Duke...! The Heavenly God will deliver divine punishment upon you!"

"Kuhahaha! The Heavenly God? I am fire that will burn the heavens themselves. How dare you speak of divine punishment?"

Saint Theresia trembled uncontrollably.

And the Infernal Duke, brimming with confidence in his victory.

In the dream, she looked upon the scene with a weariness that bordered on disgust.

She had already faced this moment of crisis hundreds of times.

Though she defiantly shouted at the Infernal Duke, deep inside, the fear of death loomed, and she desperately wanted to plead for her life.

And then—

The Path of Six Swords

Fifth Sword, Genesis

The world lost its light.

Only the area surrounding the Infernal Duke, made of pure flames, glowed faintly, like a torch in a cavern.

Everywhere else was engulfed in complete darkness.

"Hero... You’ve arrived already..."

The Infernal Duke burned even brighter, his fiery form growing more intense.

He needed to kill the saint as quickly as possible now that the hero had appeared.

But within the heavens and earth, where darkness reigned, light erupted.

"The... Genesis Blade..."

The blade that vanquished all demons and swept away the darkness.

The blade of Genesis, which absorbed all the light of the world, descended upon the infernal demon.

Shiiing!

The massive form of the Infernal Duke, made entirely of flames, was cut down in a single stroke.

The Genesis Blade, which illuminated the heavens and earth anew, carried with it a sanctity that no demon of the underworld could ever overcome.

—How… How could this be…? Was it always this powerful…?

"Disappear."

Fwoosh!

The blade of light carved a massive arc.

As the sword grazed the Infernal Duke’s body, his form shattered instantly into thousands of fragments and vanished.

The Infernal Duke, a being of absolute power forged from the flames of hell, was obliterated in a single strike.

Moments later, the hero, Ernstine, landed beside Theresia.

"Theresia. Are you alright?"

"Y-you, my lord hero..."

The hero who had saved her from the brink of death—Ernstine.

Perhaps it was from this moment on.

The saint, who was meant to love only the Heavenly God, began harboring feelings she was never supposed to.

Though she had dreamt this scene hundreds of times already, her chest still swelled with emotion.

But… something felt lacking.

This dream always made her happy to see the hero, but one thing left her unsatisfied:

Ernstine’s face.

His face was never visible. In the dream, it was as if his face had been deliberately erased, shrouded in darkness.

"This time will probably be the same," she thought.

How unfortunate.

Even in her dreams, she longed to see his face, but she never could.

So every time she had this dream, joy and regret always came hand in hand.

But then—

"Huh?!"

This time, it was different.

The face that had been hidden behind the black veil was now revealed.

As the darkness slowly lifted, Theresia’s heart raced.

Could she finally see him again?

The man who, even in middle age, was the most handsome on the entire continent...!

"...Wait. Who is that?"

But the face that emerged from the shadows was entirely unfamiliar.

He had the same eye and hair color as Ernstine, but beyond that, there was no resemblance.

This man’s face was slightly fuller, his features were unremarkable, and to Theresia, he was "plain."

He was someone she had never seen before.

"What… is this...?"

The dream she didn’t want to have but also wished for every day...

had turned into a meaningless mess.

Theresia let out a small sigh.

"Haah… I’m meeting this country’s king today. Could he look like that, by chance?"

Occasionally, her prophetic dreams would activate at crucial moments, so she wondered if this could be one of those times.

With that thought, Theresia got out of bed.

Meanwhile, Kaylen’s academy life was a continuous tightrope walk.

"What’s right and wrong, I don’t quite know. For now, I’ll maintain neutrality, as per the Tower’s stance."

Though he claimed not to meddle in political factions, he said with a smile:

"Still, thank you for your insights. I’ve learned a lot. Please invite me again sometime."

Left a Little Room for Maneuvering.

“You’re something else, Kaylen. You really overdo this balancing act.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you had tea with the princess yesterday?”

“The princess only offered her insights as a Water Meister. That’s all.”

“Ha, you’ve become quite the sly one, haven’t you?”

Lioness shook his head in disbelief.

For someone who claimed neutrality, Kaylen hadn’t declined a single invitation from either the First Prince’s faction or the Second Prince’s faction.

The frequency of these meetings was so even it seemed as though he was consciously maintaining a balance.

‘If it were anyone else, I’d be annoyed enough to give up on them already.’

But the problem was that the other party was Kaylen.

A symbol of exceptional talent as a 6th Circle mage.

He was simply too valuable to let go.

Among the academy’s potential recruits, Kaylen was undoubtedly the most promising.

“Anything new from the Dungeon Guild lately? It’s been a week already.”

“Hah, aren’t you trying to get a bit too much for free?”

“I’m just curious.”

Kaylen shrugged, and Lioness sighed. Though irritated by Kaylen’s attempts to glean information without offering much in return, he eventually spoke.

“Nothing new yet. The Dungeon Guild is on high alert, and even internal informants are out of reach right now.”

“That serious?”

“Yeah. They’ll probably make a move soon, though...”

The strict information control within the Dungeon Guild meant that even the princess’s side had little to share.

‘Guess I’ll have to dig into some grimoires.’

Wrapping up his meeting with Lioness, Kaylen headed straight to the library.

Of course, classes were still in session, but...

‘Becoming a Superior Mage was a great move.’

As a Superior Mage, skipping classes was hardly an issue.

At the library of the Magic Academy, Kaylen began his usual routine of looking through magic spells.

‘Since magic as a discipline emerged 3,000 years ago, it seems humanity hasn’t created many new spells.’

Three millennia ago, mages had established the Rune spell system and developed magic up to the 8th Circle.

While countless spells were recorded during the early days, hardly any new spells had been created since.

‘No wonder my attempts to create clean magic didn’t succeed.’

Clean magic.

Easier said than done.

It involved dispersing dust, washing with water, and drying—all requiring the manipulation of wind, water, and fire elements.

Kaylen had suggested developing a spell simple enough for low-circle mages to use, given how researchers rarely bothered to clean.

But now he understood why even the emperor’s decree hadn’t led to its success.

‘The 5th Circle magic runes are absurdly long. Do mages actually memorize all this to manifest their imagery?’

Kaylen shook his head as he studied the lengthy runes required for a single spell.

‘Then again, the magic we use today originally required even longer incantations.’

Take the 3rd Circle Fireball spell, for instance. In the past, it began with an extensive chant like ‘Oh blazing flames that burn with ferocity…’

By Chanting the Runes, the Form of Fireball Took Shape.

Reciting the runes aloud allowed mages to construct imagery, resulting in the proper formation of a Fireball spell.

Skilled Meisters, having already established a deep connection to fire, could cast spells by uttering only the activation phrase, but this applied only to a single element.

For other elemental spells, they either lacked proficiency or had to chant lengthy runes.

Of course, Kaylen was different.

‘Compared to wielding the Six Blades, understanding mana attributes at this level is trivial.’

As a Grand Swordmaster who had mastered six elemental blades within his mana hall, his insights naturally extended to magic.

‘For spells up to the 5th Circle, I can manage with just the activation phrase.’

At present, however, his body only carried two mana circles, limiting him to 4th Circle spells.

Once he expanded to three circles, higher-circle magic would soon be within reach.

‘Though, casting 6th Circle spells will require some research.’

The 6th Circle spells were fundamentally different from lower-circle spells.

For starters, there wasn’t a single spell in the 6th Circle based on a single element.

While Kaylen, who seamlessly combined multiple elements with his Six Blade Path, could handle multi-element spells with ease, casting such high-tier spells was a different matter altogether.

‘Casting 6th Circle spells while managing the mana circles seems like an entirely different challenge.’

This would require thorough analysis of rune structures. The incantation alone seemed like it would take at least ten minutes.

‘No wonder mages lock themselves in their labs.’

The more one understood a spell, the shorter the casting time became.

Mages secluded themselves in their research labs, striving to master each spell’s nuances.

Recalling the many archmages of his past life, Kaylen gave a wry smile.

‘I should prepare before expanding my mana circles.’

The two mana circles engraved in his body were nearing completion, with a third slowly forming as his mastery of the Six Blades advanced.

Once his mastery of the Fire Blade improved, the third circle would soon materialize.

Kaylen headed to the library to find books on higher-circle spells.

In his previous era, books on high-circle spells were invaluable treasures, far too rare to be found in any library.

But now, with no one left capable of using spells above the 6th Circle, these ancient tomes were stored like relics in the academy’s restricted section.

With his Superior Mage authority, Kaylen entered the restricted area.

‘How about I study Blizzard today?’

He pulled out a hefty tome from the shelves.

[A Complete Analysis of Blizzard by Archmage Pieto.]

The 500-page book analyzed just one spell.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It first detailed the extensive casting process for Blizzard, then broke down each rune, examining how to shorten the casting time from the archmage’s perspective.

‘To think I’d learn from a mage I once defeated.’

Archmage Pieto had been a troublesome opponent during the Continental Unification War.

His Blizzard spell had caused massive casualties in the Meier Empire’s army.

Though a remarkable talent, Pieto had been an obstacle Kaylen had no choice but to eliminate.

‘Pieto, you were of no help while alive, but now you’re proving useful. I’ll make good use of your teachings.’

Kaylen borrowed the book and exited the restricted section.

Determined to master its contents, he settled at a library desk and began to read.

But just as he opened the tome, a loud voice interrupted him.

“Kaylen! Hah... hah... So here you are!”

It was Krundal, the head of the Dungeon Guild branch.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]