The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 233: Opening the Box (4)

[Impressive. I understand why the Spirit Kings lend you their power. It’s not just because you’ve regressed; they must admire your audacity. Born from the rift, they deeply value free will above all.] Mael chuckled softly.

Despite Karyl’s harsh words, the serpent reacted differently this time.

“What are you talking about? Those beings have completely submitted to me.”

[Heh...]

Mael’s smirk persisted.

[I didn’t think you’d realize I opened the door to meet you. Your insight is truly impressive.]

“Make no mistake. What matters is not your will, but mine. The fact that you invited me here means you need my power, but that’s where your say ends. I’ll decide whether to take you out of here or not.”

[You’re right about that.]

“I’m still not sure if you’re a poisoned apple or not.”

Sss...

With one final giggle, the giant snake gradually shrank, reverting to a human form. This marked the entity’s third transformation.

Long hair shimmered in the darkness.

Crack—

Whether from being crushed under Karyl’s foot or from the transformation itself, the snake reset its jaw, moving it from side to side.

[Hmm. Now we can see eye to eye.]

The snake had transformed into a man, his crescent-moon eyes accompanied by a gentle smile.

“...”

When he bowed, a black horn sprouted from one side of his head, while a small golden ring floated above the other.

“A man, huh.” Karyl clicked his tongue.

[Sorry?] Mael tilted his head, puzzled by his reaction.

“Never mind. It’s not important. If you’ve seen my memories, you know what I said to the two before coming here.”

[To prove their worth?]

“That’s right.”

Karyl nodded.

[You’re quite the joker. Such arrogance might work on your subordinates.]

Mael shook his head dismissively, and Karyl sneered.

“It applies to you too. If you want to follow me, you need to show me how valuable you are.”

[Follow you? And not just that, you want me to perform tricks in front of you? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in eons.]

Mael shook his head in disbelief.

“In eons, huh...? Well, I myself have wandered through that tower for eons. Also, I’m not one for jokes, so listen up before I break your neck.”

At that, Mael stopped shaking his head. He stared at Karyl, stunned by his attitude.

[...You’re insane. The more I hear you talk, the more absurd you sound. What makes you so confident? Knowing the future? The future you know has already changed completely.]

“You saw me, didn’t you? Then you know why I’m doing this. As you said, the future I knew has changed, but I’m shaping it into the future I want.”

Karyl looked at Mael.

“My confidence stems not from knowing the future, but how I’m changing it. It’s my power that’s creating that future. So, whose side are you on?”

Mael’s face hardened.

[What a foolish question. I was an artifact of Blader. A godslayer’s sword, forged to kill gods.]

“Really?”

[...?]

“I see things differently,” Karyl said as though he had been waiting for this moment. “Listening to Ramine and Duaat’s conversation got me thinking. And I came up with an interesting hypothesis.”

[...]

“Blader are not those who sought to kill gods. Quite the opposite. It didn’t feel like any of you harbored anger toward Yula.”

Mael frowned briefly, his reaction entirely different from before. His eyes remained sharp and golden, hiding his thoughts, but Karyl sensed that his resolve had been shaken.

“Guardians of the gods. That’s the true identity of Blader.”

[Nonsense...]

Karyl continued nonchalantly, “Sure, it might sound like nonsense. It’s just my hypothesis, but in the beginning, it makes sense. For some reason, a few among them decided to kill gods. The war sparked by some of these god-guarding Bladers is what we know as the Great War of the Spirits and Gods."

Karyl tilted his head slightly.

“Isn’t that right, Ramine?”

Despite his question, the Ein Trigger in his hand remained silent.

“But you lost and descended to this continent. However, the gods sent humans, who worship them, to exterminate even that. Those are the Church and the priests who worship Yula."

Moreover, the fanatical sect Blue Roar that the Wooden Cloud had created.

“You wanted to be recorded in history not as traitors but as godslayers with conviction. But the victorious gods erased your records. The Blader remembered by descendants are merely a group that created artifacts with the Assembly of Seven Elders and various races.”

[You claim we were the guardians of gods...? On what grounds?] Mael asked quietly, having regained some of his composure.

“I’ve developed a habit of not dismissing passing comments after being deceived by those bastards quite a few times. Duaat once said the defeat in the Great War of the Spirits and Gods was due to human betrayal.”

[...And?]

“And Ramine mentioned something too,” Karyl went on, unrelenting. “The dragon power I possess, the power of the Flame Dragon that devoured Duaat’s power.” He wasn’t talking just to Mael; he wanted Duaat and Ramine to hear it as well.

“The structure of the Great War of the Spirits and Gods is simple. The gods and dragons fought against humans and spirits. Yet, something those two mentioned struck me as odd.”

Karyl tapped the Ein Trigger embedded in his hand with his other hand.

“The place where the Blazing King was sealed was the lair of Riseria, the Fire Dragon. The dragon said that only the two twin powers were sealed by the gods, and that it chose the human realm to sleep in.”

[...So what?]

“It’s the Spirit King who once opposed the gods. Doesn’t it seem strange? That Riseria, filled with enough malice to devour Duaat, would offer up its own lair to ensure the Blazing King, another Spirit King, wouldn't disappear?"

Karyl glanced sideways.

“A dragon aligned with the gods wouldn’t have allowed Ramine, a spirit and an enemy, to be sealed in its lair. They must’ve been on the same side initially.”

The snake’s expression twisted subtly.

Meanwhile, the Ein Trigger had no reaction.

“And the inscription at the Blazing King's lair said, ‘Of the seventeen, two never change.’ The priests claimed it was about the gods. But no...”

Karyl slowly shook his head.

[...]

The snake made no response.

“Ramine said it’s about Blader. Also, Riseria, despite betraying the gods during the war, made a pact with Blader.”

Karyl made a short pause before continuing, “But I don’t take others’ words at face value. The story of Blader turning into a tale of the gods?? Ramine said so, but I don’t think that’s the case.”

Whoosh...

At that moment, the Ein Trigger finally reacted.

“I have a theory.”

A faint flame seemed to flicker within the gem embedded in his hand, as if in surprise.

“What if the story wasn’t changed but was the same from the start? If the seventeen Bladers were actually candidates for godhood, there wouldn’t be any need to change anything. Among them, some would have lost, some would have betrayed, and some would have triumphed. And one of them must have been Yula. Isn’t that right?”

Karyl pointed at Mael.

“You said you’re the Blader artifact yourself, so you should be able to answer my question.”

Thud—!

As Karyl stepped forward, the ground trembled, and the water rippled.

“I know there were humans among Blader, so does that mean humans can reach divinity?”

At that moment, the serpent's face twisted in a peculiar expression.

[Heh... Hahaha!!]

Mael suddenly burst into a maniacal laughter, even clutching his belly. His mouth stretched open unnaturally wide, revealing sharp fangs.

[Blazing King, are you listening? You’ve gotten loose-lipped over the years. You’ve divulged too much information,” Mael said softly, looking at the Ein Trigger embedded in Karyl’s hand.

He then wiped his eyes, and after finally catching his breath, he said, [Honestly, I’m surprised. To deduce this much just from overhearing things...]

Clap, clap, clap!

Mael shook his head, applauding Karyl.

“...”

“What the hell are you doing?”

Karyl frowned at Mael’s exaggerated gesture.

[You’re only half wrong.]

“What do you mean?"

[Not all are candidates for godhood. As you said, Blader was created to protect the gods, but the two positions called the Immutable Seats are special. Only those in these seats can oppose the gods.]

“So when you said there were multiple candidates for your position, it was in that context.”

[Correct. Once the bearers of the two Immutable Seats are determined, they select the users who will represent them. I, too, participated in the Great War of the Spirits and Gods alongside my chosen wielder.]

“The master is chosen first, huh? That’s a bit unusual. So, you lost because you betrayed your master, right?”

[What? What are you talking about?]

Mael looked at Karyl, baffled.

[Why would you conclude that? Didn’t you say yourself that Duaat mentioned the Great War of the Spirits and Gods was lost due to human betrayal?!]

“Just because.”

[...Just because?]

Unlike the flustered Mael, Karyl remained calm.

“I don’t trust anything with scales anymore.”

[...]

The serpent was left speechless by Karyl’s reasoning.

“Just kidding. Though I haven’t entirely dismissed the suspicion.”

Karyl set his eyes on Mael.

“So let me ask. If you’re one of the two who can oppose the gods, is the other position currently vacant?"

[Why do you ask?]

“There are many reasons, but mainly because I’ll take that position as well. There’s no need for so many contenders. That’s what causes betrayal and treachery.”

[Heh... Heh, you’re insane.]

At that, Karyl merely shrugged.

“Think about it. You said there were many candidates for your position, which means there are others who could take it, not just you.”

Woosh!

As soon as he finished speaking, Karyl slashed with his Freezing Talon.

“...”

He looked down at Mael’s head, now detached from his body. Then, bending down closer, he said, “But I don’t want to waste time with unnecessary hassle. If you’re the previous master, it means you’re the strongest among those candidates. Follow me, and I’ll give you another chance to oppose the gods.”

[You... You expect me to follow you after you did this?!] Mael’s head shouted with its eyes open.

It was a grotesque sight, but Karyl nonchalantly pressed on Mael’s head with his foot, as if catching a ball.

“If you don’t want to, fine. I don’t need you. There are others who can take your place.”

[...You really think I’ll give in to your absurd threats?]

“It’s not a threat. Frankly, I’m tired of the voices in my head. I already have one old man nagging me. If you start too, I’ll lose my mind.”

Mael went quiet, and Karyl waved his hand dismissively.

“You all listen well.”

He looked into the void.

“You think a mere human like me doesn’t know anything just because I don’t speak up. You’re sealed in this narrow darkness, so don’t think you know everything. You haven’t even looked at the world.”

[What are you...]

At that moment, Ramine’s flames flickered irritably on his hand, and the shadows created by Duaat wavered underfoot.

Crash—!!

“Have any of you seen the world’s changes with your own eyes? Sealed away, you don’t know how the world has evolved. None of you asked why I chose to defy time.”

As if to silence them, Karyl stomped harder on the ground, reacting even more fiercely to their responses.

“I saw it in the north.”

Shhhhhh....

As Karyl spoke, a cold wind, reminiscent of the northern blizzards, seemed to blow through the darkness.

“Deep in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave at the northern edge, a territory of the immigrant tribes, there is an ice pillar. Inside, there was a man sealed so perfectly he looked alive, as if he could move at any moment.”

It was a secret revealed to Kuwell by Gordon Fabian during the Extermination Decree of Heresy.

“He was holding something in his hand. At first, I didn’t know what it was, but after the Oracle, I realized it was the head of a Tarak.”

Kuwell had revealed this to Karyl in his final moments.

“I don’t know how old he was or which era he lived in. I only know one thing.”

Karyl paused briefly before making the revelation.

“His eyes were black.”

Black eyes—a sign of heresy, representing the lack of magic, the mark of the immigrant tribes. Why had the immigrant tribes decapitated Tarak thousands of years ago? And who had sealed that man in the ice pillar?

“I had many questions, but after listening to you, I’m certain. That man was a godslayer from the Mythical Era, a Blader.”

Karyl looked at Ramine and Duaat.

“The reason you follow me is the fact that I have the same black eyes as him...”

He then turned to Mael.

“And that’s why you must follow me too.”

Mael’s expression hardened.

“You all understand now.”

Seeing this, Karyl’s voice grew more firm as if the answer was already clear.

Gulp— Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Mael instinctively clutched his neck but realized it was too late.

“The immigrant tribes...” Karyl said his final words, looking at Mael. “We are not heretics, but the only people with free will. We have preserved our dignity against the false gods.”