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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 198
"I was asleep…?"
Kaylen stared at the inscription on the ground with a puzzled look.
No matter how many times he read it, the text was undoubtedly in the ancient language of the former Meier Empire.
"Wasn’t Ernstine’s body supposed to have disappeared after being defeated by the Celestial God?"
It was the Celestial God who subdued Ernstine—who was on the verge of becoming a Dragon God—at the decisive moment.
By that power, it was believed that Ernstine, who had undergone dragonification, had been annihilated.
But now… was his body really preserved inside this coffin?
"I need to take a closer look."
Step. Step.
Kaylen took slow steps closer to the coffin.
Hiss—
Suddenly, mana began to rise from the ground near the coffin…
"Lord Kaylen."
Violet appeared, her form now entirely transformed like that of an ice spirit.
There wasn’t a trace of emotion on her face.
"Violet. What is going on here? Do you know anything about this space or the coffin?"
"This is the final remnant of the Water Continent and the resting place of the Emperor."
"The Emperor… don’t tell me…"
"Yes. Emperor Ernstine is resting here."
"Wasn’t he supposed to have become a Dragon God?"
Kaylen had believed that Ernstine’s true form had fallen into corruption and transformed into a Dragon God.
But Violet shook her head.
"I was appointed as the tomb keeper only recently, so I don’t know the details. Would you like to hear it from the Emperor himself?"
"From him?"
"Yes."
Even though he was in a coffin, could they really hear him speak?
Kaylen nodded.
"Let’s do that."
At that moment—
Light surged from the entire landmass floating beneath the sea.
"The Six Swords…?"
The forms of the Six Swords were revealed.
Viiing—
Each sword embedded in the ground glowed according to its attribute, radiating intense mana.
"You’ve come."
A voice echoed from the coffin.
It was a voice identical to Kaylen’s own.
Creak—
The coffin opened on its own, and a figure emerged.
Johannes, standing behind Kaylen, let out a gasp.
"The Emperor…?"
The figure revealed from the coffin looked exactly like Kaylen—it was the former Emperor Ernstine.
But the only resemblance was in appearance.
The body beneath the face was nothing but bones, with the skin and flesh long decayed.
But as the Six Swords engraved on the ground slowly rose and floated behind him, the skeletal body became enveloped in mana, transforming into a human form identical to Kaylen.
"You… are you really Ernstine?"
"I am."
"No, that’s impossible. You became a Dragon God and crushed my head, didn’t you?"
"I do regret that. Back then, I had lost control over myself."
Ernstine shrugged, as if apologizing.
The gesture was reminiscent of the Emperor from before his transformation into the Dragon God.
Johannes looked back and forth between Kaylen and Ernstine with a confused gaze.
"What is going on here…?"
Originally, they had set out to find the origin of Violet and complete the Six Swords.
Finding the underwater continent had gone as planned, but everything that followed had taken an unexpected turn.
Ernstine looked at Kaylen with eyes filled with admiration.
"O Six Swords."
"…Are you referring to me?"
When Kaylen pointed to himself, Ernstine nodded.
"Yes. You are my incarnation and my sword. I’m glad you have returned to me. You have endured much."
"I don’t understand what you’re saying."
"You will, once we become one again."
Ernstine raised his hand, showing no intention of explaining further.
Six Sword Path
Great Six Sword
Return of the Six Swords
Shuuu—
The Six Swords floating behind Ernstine, and the essence of the Six Swords engraved on the ground, began to emit smoke.
The smoke stretched out towards Kaylen, attempting to seize him.
"Hmph."
It appeared harmless, just simple smoke.
But the moment Kaylen saw it, he took a defensive stance and summoned his Six Swords.
Not stopping at simply summoning the swords, the area where the divine sword resided began to transform, taking on the form of the Six Sword Path—
Just like when he had changed it to counter Baldrix’s attack.
Chiiik!
The moment the smoke touched Kaylen, it burned away with a sizzling sound and vanished.
Ernstine, who shared the same face, frowned.
"You dare to wield the power of the Dragon God? My sword, you tread on dangerous ground."
"I must be able to wield it if I am to slay a god."
"Hmph. There's no need for such concern. The power granted by the Celestial God is more than enough to slay a Dragon God."
Whenever Ernstine spoke of the Celestial God, his tone carried reverence. Yet now, he reached towards Kaylen with a confident expression.
"If you return to me, we shall slay the wicked dragon and become the Sword God."
"…Sword God?"
"Yes. The Celestial God has promised to grant me divine authority once the dragon is slain."
It was a story Kaylen had heard before.
Back in the Sanctuary, from the Celestial Demon.
"Submit to me and follow. Do so, and I will make you the Sword God."
With a hardened expression, Kaylen asked,
"Have you already submitted to the Celestial Demon?"
"Celestial Demon? Who is that?"
"The true face of the Celestial God, who has even conquered the Demon Realm."
"Oh? So the great Celestial God has even subdued the Demon Realm? As expected of the god I follow and trust."
Ernstine seemed pleased upon hearing of the Celestial Demon, but his face soon hardened as he questioned Kaylen.
"But your tone is blasphemous towards the Celestial God."
"If you knew what he has done on this earth, you’d understand why."
"At most, he must have cleansed some humans. Is that such a problem?"
Kaylen was speechless at Ernstine’s words.
This man spoke as though he were the real Ernstine—
Forgetting his role as Emperor of humanity and dismissing it as merely 'cleansing a few humans.'
As Kaylen’s gaze turned cold, Ernstine gave a faint smile.
"O Six Swords, you side with humans despite not truly being one yourself."
"I have no patience for your nonsense."
"Hmm… I see. If you're resisting even the Return of the Six Swords, reclaiming you won't be simple."
Ernstine glanced at Kaylen and casually sat on the coffin.
"Then, let me tell you about your true nature. It won't be a short tale. Keeper of the Tomb."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Prepare seats for our guests."
"Understood."
Clap. Clap.
At Violet’s clap, chairs and a large round table, all formed from ice, rose from the ground.
"Sit."
Ernstine stood from the coffin and sat on an ice chair.
"Where should I begin…"
"How are you still alive?"
"Ah, yes. I should start with that."
Ernstine glanced at his body and spoke in a self-deprecating tone.
"I am the discarded shell of the Dragon God."
"Discarded shell…?"
"When the Dragon God underwent his transformation, he shed all traces of his human form. He cast aside his bones and flesh, scattering them across the land, and became a true dragon."
Like a serpent shedding its skin.
Did the Dragon God also completely evolve by shedding his human form?
"I was merely left scattered across the land, like fragments. Like discarded trash. Yet, the Celestial God gathered me and gave me life."
It was the Celestial God who pieced together the fragmented human form of Ernstine.
"Then… why have you not shown yourself until now, Ernstine?" Johannes asked, his voice trembling.
Ernstine gave a slight smile as he looked at Kaylen.
"Even though the Celestial God saved me, there wasn’t much of me left. When I first entered this coffin, all I had left were a few ribs and my lower body."
Even though the Celestial God had gathered Ernstine’s remnants, there wasn’t much tissue remaining.
Restoring him to his original state was impossible, so Ernstine had to find another way.
"O Six Swords, didn’t you find it strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why you became aware of my memories, the memories of Ernstine."
"I heard it was because many of Ernstine’s descendants possessed Infinity, and their Emperor’s memories awakened… according to the Celestial Demon."
"And did that explanation satisfy you? The original purpose of Infinity, the infinite mana, is to awaken the Dragon God. Infinity is the Dragon God’s heart. It makes more sense for it to contain the Dragon God’s memories, not those of Emperor Ernstine."
Kaylen silently nodded.
There was a contradiction in the Celestial Demon’s words.
The true purpose of Infinity was to awaken the Dragon God.
It felt strange that it would instead awaken Ernstine’s memories—just a tool for triggering something greater.
"The reason Infinity awakened the Six Sword Path, and not the Six Demon Path, is because of this."
Ernstine pointed to the ground.
Extending to the ends of the land, Kaylen could see the form of the Six Swords.
"Six Swords…"
"On the water continent, my sanctuary granted by the Celestial God, I did my best to restore myself. After centuries, I managed to survive as an undead, but I could never regain my former strength. Because I was already dead."
From the start, there wasn’t much of him left.
The fact that he became an undead with a complete skeletal frame was a miracle in itself…
But Ernstine wasn’t satisfied.
He needed to take revenge on the Dragon God who had dragged his fate, once as the emperor of a united empire, into ruin.
"I wanted to take revenge on the Dragon God who destroyed my empire and left me in this wretched state. If possible, I wanted to tear him apart with my own hands."
"But that was impossible. If I stood before him, I would be helplessly absorbed by the Dragon God. So, I chose to help the Celestial God and take revenge on the Dragon God that way."
Ernstine smiled as he looked at Kaylen.
"And that method… is someone like you. My 70th Six Sword."
The 70th.
Hearing those words, something came to Kaylen’s mind.
Ernstine resurrected 70 times.
A vision shown by the Celestial Demon.
Ernstine had not only awakened within Kaylen’s body.
They said Ernstine had awakened 70 times within the bodies of his many descendants.
But they all...
—All failed and were absorbed by Infinity.
At the time, it was believed they were simply absorbed by Infinity.
Kaylen gazed coldly at the Six Swords engraved into the ground.
To an ordinary person, the form of the Six Swords might have appeared perfect.
But Kaylen, more versed in the Six Sword Path than anyone, could see that the mana connecting the swords was tattered and incomplete.
"The Six Swords that the descendants tried to create… they weren’t actually absorbed by Infinity. They were absorbed by you."
"Heh… That’s right. Absorbing their Infinity and sealing it within the Water Continent—that is my role."
It was a method similar to how the Celestial Demon had told Kaylen to remain within the Sanctuary.
Hearing that, Kaylen let out a dry chuckle.
"So, this revenge you’ve been thinking about… was it just entrusting everything to the Celestial God and imprisoning yourself? Can you really call yourself Ernstine?"
Is this truly ‘me’?
As Kaylen looked at Ernstine, who claimed to be his true self, a faint sneer formed on his lips.
Ernstine’s expression stiffened.
"Seventieth Six Sword… say whatever you wish."
Ssss—
The massive Six Swords engraved on the ground began to rise, towering like walls around the round table.
"Because, just like the others, you too will be absorbed by me."
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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