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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 218
“Oh my.”
As the severed arm dissolved into flames and vanished, Kaina raised an eyebrow before speaking in a welcoming tone.
“Our ma… no. Has my dear husband truly arrived?”
“How unpleasant. Why don’t you just call me a fake like you usually do?”
“Hoho. I wouldn’t dare commit such rudeness.”
Fwoosh—
As they spoke, flames flared up from Kaina’s severed arm, and a new arm formed in its place.
“You realized I was here rather quickly.”
“With such a suspicious aura spilling out all over the capital, it was impossible not to notice.”
“Hehe. More than that… isn’t it because of the presence of the Six Sword Path, which can be felt even here?”
‘Sharp as ever.’
The pattern of the Six Sword Path that had begun in the royal palace—
Under the full support of the Celestial Demon, it had rapidly expanded…
Now, it had grown beyond the capital of Alzass, reaching even the surrounding lands.
‘I can now sense the mana flow across all the land the sword has extended to.’
Perhaps at this point,
Rather than Kaylen’s physical body, the Six Sword Path spreading beyond the capital could be considered his true form.
Because of that, any disturbance in mana within its domain could be felt immediately.
‘In Kaina’s case, her fire mana was simply too intense.’
She might have thought she snuck in unnoticed,
But the moment she stepped into the Six Sword Path’s domain, she was bound to be discovered.
“If it weren’t for my dear husband, the Dragon God’s flames would have already engulfed the world.”
Had she realized that with his presence, she could no longer touch Myorn?
Kaina smiled brightly as she gazed at Kaylen.
“Even now, the western border is filled with the Dragon God’s flames.”
“If you had done nothing, it wouldn’t have been just the western border. The entire Iberia continent would have been purified by the Dragon God’s flames—including that detestable Celestial Demon.”
“Good thing that didn’t happen.”
“All because of you, things have gone awry. Hehe. Why did you have to come back to life…?”
A radiant smile adorned Kaina’s face.
Yet, watching from the side, Myorn felt a chill run down her spine.
The intense hostility hidden behind that smile was sharp enough to make her hairs stand on end.
‘This isn’t the Kaina I know…’
The Kaina spoken of in the oral traditions passed down among the dwarves—
In those tales, she was the wife of the hero Ernstine and the one who led the Black Anvil Clan to greater prosperity.
‘I heard she was endlessly gentle and kind… but the presence I feel now is anything but. The killing intent is no joke.’
No matter how much she smiled, the aura she exuded was anything but warm.
Myorn stared at Kaina with trembling eyes.
‘And to think she’s my grandmother…’
Myorn—
A name derived from the dwarven pronunciation of ‘Meier.’
The name itself was proof of her bloodline connection to Kaina.
After Kaina had established the Myorn surname within the dwarven clan…
Many dwarves had changed their surnames to this one.
Because of that, Myorn had never seriously considered the possibility that Kaina was truly her grandmother.
‘Then… does that mean Kaylen is my grandfather?’
She shifted her gaze back and forth, looking at the two in turn.
The grandfather had just sliced off the grandmother’s arm.
The grandmother had spat out words filled with hatred, asking why he was still alive.
For a married couple, the murderous intent between them was overwhelming.
“Why did you approach Myorn?”
“Myorn… do you know what that name means?”
“I do. Doesn’t it mean ‘Meier’?”
“That’s right. And since she bears the surname Myorn, it is only natural that she must always be prepared to sacrifice herself for Meier.”
Kaina smiled brightly as she looked at her granddaughter.
“Myorn’s mana shouldn’t be enough for this. Kaina, was it really worth coming all this way?”
“Hehe. You’re right. She has the potential to unleash the firepower of ten thousand dwarves, but with the war of the gods already underway, that isn’t particularly relevant anymore.”
With that, Kaina pointed downward.
“But she can still serve as a bomb to disrupt this loathsome Six Sword Path, even if only a little.”
“She’s your granddaughter, yet you intend to detonate her?”
“Of course! Everything is for the glory of the great Dragon God! As the Dwarven Queen, she should consider it an honor. Right, Myorn?”
“W-what…? No! A bomb?! That’s ridiculous!”
Thud.
Myorn shook her fur in denial.
For the first time, the smile disappeared from Kaina’s face.
“What did you say? What did you just say?”
“I… I won’t do it…”
“A dwarf… dares to reject becoming the Dragon’s flame?”
Sssss—
Hair began to sprout rapidly from Kaina’s body, spreading in all directions.
It resembled Myorn’s fur—
But each strand was made entirely of fire.
“Dwarves were born to become the Dragon’s flame. They should naturally consider it an honor… Yet you would defy the clan’s sacred decree?”
At the mention of the clan’s decree, Myorn responded in disbelief.
“That’s nothing more than an outdated tradition. No dwarf actually sacrifices themselves anymore.”
“No dwarf, you say? Hohoho.”
The flames around Kaina surged upward, taking the form of multiple dwarves.
Dwarves whose faces were twisted in agony.
Though they were made of fire, each expression was disturbingly lifelike.
“They are right here. The Black Anvil Clan.”
“…No way!”
“All of them have become the Dragon’s flames.”
Myorn couldn’t believe her eyes.
Among the dwarves Kaina had conjured from her flames, there were many familiar faces.
These weren’t just illusions shaped from fire.
They were real sacrifices—dwarves whom Kaina had burned and absorbed.
Kaina gazed at the suffering forms of the dwarves surrounding her, a satisfied smile on her face.
“You too. Come here quickly.”
She gestured toward Myorn. As the former Dwarven Queen and the Marquise of Helmeier, her voice carried an eerie power.
So much so that Myorn, trembling in fear after witnessing her clan’s sacrifice firsthand, found herself momentarily dazed.
“Ah…”
If this continued, she would helplessly succumb to Kaina’s will and become the Dragon’s flame.
But—
“Are you done talking?”
Slash.
Kaylen’s sword sliced through Kaina’s neck.
“I was waiting to see if you had anything new to say.”
“You…”
“There’s nothing useful in your words. The only relevant thing you’ve said is that Myorn is my granddaughter.”
“Heh… Do you really think I’ll disappear just like this? Even your Sword Deity Manifestation couldn’t incapacitate me.”
Even as her head was severed, Kaina sneered at Kaylen.
And she wasn’t wrong.
Back when they first encountered each other at sea—
Kaylen had used the Six Sword Path’s Sword Deity Manifestation, yet he had failed to finish her off.
He hadn’t been able to stop her escape, which was linked to Infinity.
“This time, you won’t escape, Kaina.”
But now, things were different.
Kaylen, who had forged the sword that could eradicate Infinity, had been waiting for this troublesome enemy to walk right into his domain.
He was prepared to annihilate her.
Six Sword Path—One Sword—Sword Realm.
As the sword’s barrier enclosed Kaina from all sides, for the first time, her expression twisted with surprise—she hadn’t expected this sword to appear here.
“Why… This…”
“Disappointed? That it’s just a sword barrier?”
Swish.
Before Kaylen even finished speaking, dozens of water-forged swords rose from the workshop floor.
Each blade immediately began severing Kaina’s flames, strand by strand.
“I found it strange. Even after being exposed so quickly, you didn’t try to run. You just kept talking.”
“Were you hoping to experience the sword that destroys Infinity firsthand?”
“…Hmph. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Even if you detonated Myorn. No—
even if you became the detonation catalyst yourself.”
Kaylen looked down at Kaina with an unimpressed expression.
“It wouldn’t harm me in the slightest.”
“Tch…”
“In other words, in this situation, you are utterly useless.”
No matter how powerful Kaina was—
even if she was the strongest among the Helmeier clan and wielded the immense power of the Dwarven Queen’s flames—
The gap between her and Kaylen, who had fully unleashed the Six Sword Path, was simply too vast.
No matter what she did, she couldn’t harm him.
“So, wasn’t it because you wanted to experience the sword that destroys Infinity?”
“But using that sword against you would be excessive.”
“Tch…”
“Now, disappear.”
“W-Wait…”
Kaina tried to say something in response to Kaylen’s death sentence but shut her mouth.
‘The Dragon God told me… to shake the imposter… But why didn’t the Dragon God absorb Kaina?’
It was because, as Ernstine’s seventh wife, she was deemed the perfect tool to shake Kaylen.
Rather than absorbing her power, it was more beneficial to use her to obstruct the one who would become a true threat—Kaylen.
But—
As Kaina looked at Kaylen before her, she realized the truth.
‘That gaze… He’s not in a state where he can be shaken.’
His entire being radiated a singular intent—to erase her completely.
No matter what she said now, he would not waver.
‘I wanted to take on the sword that destroys stars myself and report back to the Dragon God…’
But now that even that had been anticipated—
All she could do was wait for death.
Dozens, then hundreds of water-forged swords rose, completely dismantling Kaina’s body.
“Ah…”
In an instant, her flames were extinguished.
For a brief moment, it seemed as if her body was returning to its original form.
But then—
Her entire body froze solid, turning into an ice statue.
And then—
Crack, crack…
Starting from her feet, Kaina’s frozen form crumbled into dust, scattering into the wind.
The essence of fire, the very foundation of the Dwarven Queen’s existence, had vanished entirely—Kaina disappeared as ice.
Watching this, Myorn was certain.
‘…She’s really gone.’
Kaina, the greatest figure in the history of the Black Anvil clan, had been completely erased.
Seeing it unfold before her eyes, Myorn felt a whirlwind of emotions.
Recalling how Kaina had threatened her life, she should have felt relieved—
But watching her grandfather annihilate her grandmother right before her eyes left her with a strange feeling.
At that moment—
“…Step back, Myorn.”
Ssshhh…
The ice dust on the ground began to melt.
The water pooled together, taking shape once more.
What formed was a girl, even smaller than a low-rank water spirit like an Undine.
She appeared utterly unthreatening.
Yet—
Kaylen’s face hardened.
“Who are you?”
[It is a pleasure to meet you.]
The water-formed girl bowed politely as she introduced herself.
[I am the Water God.]
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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