The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 57

Drake's massive form suddenly shrank.

What once towered at tens of meters now barely surpassed the size of an average horse.

From such a reduction, it looked less like a juvenile dragon and more like a mere hatchling.

But that wasn’t all.

Its once-imposing scales were now shriveled and brittle, and its entire body appeared emaciated.

“Keek… eeeng…”

A weak cry emerged, completely unfitting for the creature hailed as the strongest among dragons.

Trembling all over, its body and horns quivered, its earlier ferocity nowhere to be seen.

“Hm.”

Thud.

Kaylen dismounted from the now-miniature Drake, folding his arms as he observed the pitiful sight.

He had thought he’d acquired a worthy dragon, but now it was reduced to this—a hatchling.

‘The Infinity expansion must have affected this dragon as well.’

The spatial distortion capability of Infinity wasn’t just limited to creating pocket dimensions—it could apparently transform even a hatchling into the size of an adult dragon.

While witnessing this new function of Infinity was fascinating, the disappearance of a viable mount left him dissatisfied.

“What am I supposed to do with this now?”

“Kiing… kiing…”

The hatchling cried mournfully, but Kaylen didn’t so much as blink. Instead, he spoke coldly, as though addressing Drake directly.

“If you’re without intelligence, I might as well strip you of your horns and scales.”

“Ki….”

“If you’re going to remain driven by mere instinct, you’re useless to me.”

At this, Drake’s cries gradually subsided. Then, a faint light began to emanate from its horns—a soft, white glow at first but steadily growing brighter.

Soon, an intelligent voice reached Kaylen’s ears.

“...Spare… me…”

“Not clear enough. Say it properly. Louder.”

“Spare me. Spare me. Spare me!”

“Try adding ‘please.’”

“Spare me, please.”

Its learning speed wasn’t bad.

Kaylen regarded the dragon with a slightly softened expression.

“Why are you here?”

“I… don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t… know….”

“You can’t remember anything?”

“Nothing… at all….”

Drake lowered its head deeply, as if ashamed, the gesture making its helplessness clear. No matter how many times Kaylen asked, it truly seemed to know nothing.

“Seems I have no choice, then.”

“…I’m sorry….”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“No need. You can’t help what you don’t know.”

Step. Step.

Kaylen began walking slowly toward the cowering Drake.

Drake instinctively curled up tighter, trembling as if bracing for something.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

As Kaylen infused mana into Drake's horn, the dragon's expression quickly softened, transitioning into one of relief.

For Drake, the mana that Kaylen provided was nothing short of a lifeline. Slowly, the once-withered scales regained their luster, and its frail body began to recover its former vigor.

“Thank you, Master,” the dragon's voice rang faintly.

“Not just ‘Master,’” Kaylen corrected.

“…Thank you, Master-nim,” Drake amended, this time adding the honorific with care.

“Good. Always be mindful, Drake.”

Kaylen recalled the nature of dragons like Drake—the strongest among the few remaining in the Middle Realm. Their pride was immense, and even if subdued and gifted to knights under his command, improper training often led to dragons challenging their masters.

‘It’s important to establish discipline early on.’

As Drake absorbed the mana, its complexion visibly brightened, a sign that it was on the way to a full recovery.

But before things could fully settle—

Rumble.

The ground began to quake violently.

No, it wasn’t just the ground.

Crack. Crackle.

The entire space around them was fracturing.

“Eternal Space stability: compromised.”

“Closing sequence initiated.”

The pocket dimension began collapsing. Staying any longer would risk being swallowed into oblivion, erased from existence entirely.

“Time to go.”

No sooner had Kaylen spoken than Drake flapped its wings, lifting off swiftly.

Whoosh.

Kaylen jumped onto its back mid-flight, causing a slight drop in altitude but not enough to deter Drake. Together, they flew through the crumbling doorway and escaped the collapsing space.

“Ugh… guh…”

Naturally, Kaylen didn’t forget to scoop up his half-brother, Royen, who had been sprawled on the ground.

Once they reached the portal where they’d initially entered, Drake finally came to a halt.

“This area is stable,” Drake reported, its tone firm but still deferential. “Safe, Master-nim.”

Unlike the dragon’s nest, which had succumbed to the encroaching collapse, the portal entrance showed no signs of shrinking or fracturing—yet.

However…

“Can I eat this?” Drake asked hesitantly, nudging something forward with its claw.

It was two figures, darkened and tainted—Ruhos and the baroness.

“They’ve been consumed by dark mana,” Kaylen noted grimly.

When the pocket dimension had been submerged in dark mana, it seemed these two had also fallen victim to its corruption.

‘Their condition…’

Kaylen knelt and checked their status.

Ruhos was already dead, his breath stilled.

Despite all the effort he had poured into using the demonic relic to take control of the Starn family, his end was abrupt and unceremonious.

Kaylen stared at his lifeless form for a moment before shifting his gaze to the side.

“Unlike Ruhos, the baroness is still alive.”

Though she was also tainted by darkness, the baroness was faintly breathing.

“She must have some level of resistance.”

“Can I eat her?” Drake asked, its tone tinged with eagerness.

“No. Humans are not food,” Kaylen replied firmly.

“...But she looks delicious…” Drake muttered, saliva pooling in its mouth. Despite its instinctive hunger, it obeyed Kaylen’s sharp tone and stayed put.

‘I want to eat her…’

However, suppressing its primal urges entirely seemed difficult. Like a dog struggling to resist a bone placed before it, Drake’s body trembled slightly with anticipation.

That trembling inadvertently disturbed Royen, who had been lying nearby.

“Ugh… ah…”

With a groan of pain, Royen suddenly sat up, his movements jerky and panicked.

The moment his gaze landed on the two figures before him, he let out a piercing scream.

“Ahh! W-what is this…?!”

Then, catching sight of his own arms, he screamed again.

“W-what?! My arms?!”

His arms, now unnaturally elongated and marked with blood-red patterns etched into his pale skin, looked entirely different from before.

His shock was understandable.

But it didn’t last long. Royen’s gaze quickly shifted to the darkened figures lying on the ground.

“...Mother? Uncle…?”

As he extended a trembling hand toward the baroness, Kaylen intercepted him.

“Don’t touch her.”

“Brother…?”

“They’ve been consumed by dark mana. Ruhos is already dead.”

“D-dead…?”

“The baroness is also in critical condition.”

What kind of nightmare was this?

As Royen’s mind reeled from the surreal sight, he felt the weight of his transformed body and the grim reality of his family’s state pressing down on him.

“Grrrr…”

A guttural growl sounded nearby.

“Hiiiik! W-what is that?!” Royen shrieked, recoiling in terror as his eyes fell on the horse-sized dragon snarling at him.

Drake, noticing Royen’s reaction, turned its head sharply and muttered dismissively, “He doesn’t look tasty.”

“W-what?! Not tasty?! You’re planning to eat me?!” Royen stammered, trembling all over.

Kaylen, observing the exchange with interest, asked, “Royen, can you understand Drake?”

“Y-yes, Brother! That monster… it said I’m not tasty!”

“Huh.”

Drake’s voice, affected by Infinity’s domination, was supposed to be audible only to Kaylen. Normally, future dragon knights could communicate with their dragons only after Kaylen manually established a connection.

This was the first time someone had been able to hear a dragon’s voice before a connection was made.

‘This place seems to be full of unusual occurrences.’

“Ugh…”

“Don’t worry about him,” Kaylen said, gesturing toward Drake. “He’s under my control.”

“Y-yes… Brother… Then, what about Mother? Can’t her condition improve?”

Royen, barely managing to tear his gaze away from Drake, pleaded in desperation, “Please… Brother, I’m begging you.”

Kaylen glanced at the baroness, her body steeped in dark mana.

Absorbing that amount of dark mana wouldn’t be difficult for him. However, healing the damage that had already been done to her body was a different matter altogether.

“Please, I’m begging you, save her! If you do, I’ll become your servant—your slave—whatever it takes!” Royen cried, clutching at Kaylen’s hand.

“A servant? Don’t be ridiculous,” Kaylen replied, raising an eyebrow.

“No… I mean it! Please, believe me!” Royen’s voice was urgent, his desperation palpable.

He had witnessed firsthand how much the baroness had tormented Kaylen over the years. If he didn’t offer something significant, he feared Kaylen wouldn’t lift a finger to save her.

Kaylen, however, remained silent, giving no indication of his decision.

Rumble.

“The collapse is worsening. We need to leave,” Kaylen finally said, as the cracks in the space around them deepened. He gestured toward the portal with a flick of his fingers.

“Go through the portal. Now.”

“But—”

“Go!” Kaylen commanded sharply.

Left with no choice, Royen stepped into the portal, albeit reluctantly. Behind him, Kaylen unceremoniously tossed the unconscious baroness and Ruhos’s lifeless body into the portal as well.

Rumble.

The rate of the collapse accelerated, the entire subspace trembling violently.

Drake, now visibly anxious, turned to Kaylen and urged, “Master, we need to leave. Now!”

Kaylen, however, shook his head, his eyes gleaming with intrigue. “Not yet. Stay with me a little longer.”

“What?!” Drake’s voice cracked with disbelief. “If we stay here, we’ll—”

“I want to observe something,” Kaylen interrupted, his tone calm but resolute.

The destruction of the subspace, created and expanded by Infinity, fascinated him. Observing its unraveling might offer insights into its formation.

‘The structure… now I see how it was extended.’

Kaylen’s sharp eyes followed every crack, every pulse of mana collapsing inward. He wasn’t merely watching the end of the subspace—he was studying the currents of mana surging within, as they dissipated into nothingness.

‘So, this is how it works...’

He had felt awe when he first encountered this subspace. As someone who prided himself on mastering Infinity, he couldn’t help but admire the technique.

But awe alone wouldn’t suffice. If this level of mastery were possible, there was no reason he couldn’t achieve it as well.

After all, Emperor Ernstine himself was regarded as the foremost authority on Infinity.

Rumble.

The space’s collapse reached its climax, its edges closing in rapidly.

“Master, we’re out of time! We need to leave now!” Drake howled, its panic now impossible to hide.

As the space began to vanish and the world around them closed in, Drake’s usually composed tone grew terse.

Kaylen, noticing his anxiety, spoke calmly.

“What’s the rush?”

“This place is closing in!” Drake replied, his voice sharp with panic.

“And if it doesn’t close?” Kaylen asked, unfazed.

“It is closing! Look at it—the entire space is disappearing before our eyes!”

Kaylen ignored Drake’s frantic tone and crouched, pressing his hand to the ground.

“Then, I’ll just make sure it doesn’t disappear.”

Thud.

The narrowing space froze in place.

“And if I do this, it stops…”

Whoosh.

Golden mana began to rise from the ground, glowing like radiant flames.

The subspace, which had been collapsing, began to expand.

“And if I do this, it grows.”

Drake, stunned, stammered, “H-How is that even possible?”

“It’s simple once you know how,” Kaylen replied nonchalantly as he observed the restored space.

Rumble.

Drake exclaimed again, “Wait! It’s shrinking again!”

“Your sentences are getting shorter,” Kaylen noted with amusement.

“…It’s shrinking!” Drake corrected himself, though still frantic.

“I’m adjusting the size,” Kaylen said casually.

He repeatedly expanded and contracted the space, refining its proportions. Eventually, he settled on a space roughly half its original size.

‘This is the most efficient scale,’ Kaylen thought, considering his current mana reserves.

Satisfied with the restructured subspace, Kaylen turned to Drake.

“Do you want to stay here?”

“Here…?” Drake asked, incredulous.

“Yes. Weren’t you already living in a subspace before this?” Kaylen countered.

In the outside world, Drake—a species believed to be extinct—would attract far too much attention if spotted, especially in his juvenile state.

However…

“Uh… Couldn’t I leave instead? This place feels a bit…” Drake trailed off hesitantly.

“Hmmm…”

“I’ll behave! I’ll use proper formal speech! Please, Master, just let me out!” Drake pleaded, practically groveling.

“Is that so?” Kaylen mused.

“Yes! Absolutely!”

“Well, there is one way,” Kaylen said, standing and placing his hand on Drake’s horn.

“You saw earlier, didn’t you? How I made the space grow and shrink?”

“Yes…”

“Who says that method only works on space?”

Just as Kaylen had manipulated the subspace through the power of Infinity, he could apply the same principle to entities within its influence—like Drake.

“What…?” Drake hesitated, uneasy.

“This might hurt a bit. Endure it,” Kaylen said, his voice devoid of sympathy.

Whiiirrr.

Golden light enveloped Kaylen’s hand, radiating an intense energy.

“Grrr… GRAAAH!”

Drake’s agonized roar reverberated throughout the space, echoing like a storm.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]