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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 250
It has now been 100 years since the moon disappeared from Earth.
“There’s been a lot that’s happened since then.”
A place that had once been the garden of the Meier Empire.
After Kaylen had drawn his sword, the Temple of the Sword was built on that land.
Ernstine came there with a bottle of liquor.
“The remnants of the Celestial Realm were a nuisance, but I was able to deal with them.
They tried to resurrect the Celestial God, but the divine-slaying technique Master taught me was a great help.”
The Temple of the Sword.
A structure built in an open form with six massive swords planted like pillars.
On the ground were clear traces of the golden sword that Kaylen had placed there to sever the moon and later removed.
Following the path of that sword, Ernstine walked and reached the center.
The spot where Kaylen had once stood and struck down his sword.
Clink.
Ernstine sprinkled liquor over that spot and poured some into the cup he had brought.
“This is a strong liquor from the Meier region. It’s my favorite drink. I think it would suit your taste too, Master.”
Ernstine downed it in one gulp, then poured again.
As if trying to burn away the inside, he drank several times before sighing and opening his mouth again.
“But there was a greater problem than the Celestial Realm…”
Compared to the newly arisen issue, the remnants of the Celestial Realm were nothing.
Now, as if even pouring a drink was a waste of time, Ernstine drank straight from the bottle in silence.
“…Is it here?”
Step. Step.
Someone approached Ernstine.
A man who looked exactly like Ernstine.
It was Kaylen.
Upon seeing him, Ernstine showed not a hint of surprise.
“You came quickly, Kaylen.”
He greeted Kaylen indifferently.
The Time Reversion Magic Circle.
This grand magic circle, completed by the Celestial Demon God, didn’t merely send oneself back into the past.
Earth and Theia....
Two planets and all space surrounding them were linked together, reversing time itself.
[This was the method chosen to definitively rewrite the history of the planet.]
If time were to reverse like that....
Most living beings in the original timeline would disappear.
Because most of them would never have been born.
[Fortunately, the magic circle didn’t fully activate… and I was able to resist its effects.]
Thanks to Kaylen destroying most of the Time Reversion Magic Circle, the Water God who remained on Earth was able to resist the reversal and protect the lives of this world’s beings.
However, as a result of preserving those lives....
In one world, lifeforms from the present and from a thousand years in the future now overlap.
[At this rate, the overlapping of the Aberia Continent from a thousand years ago and now will cause massive chaos.]
The aftermath caused by the incomplete Time Reversion Magic Circle.
It activated now, a hundred years after Kaylen severed the moon.
[No…!]
The Water God was the first to grasp the situation and stopped the fusion of worlds.
That alone was already overwhelming.
[We need to separate the continents that are merging, Lord Kaylen.]
The world a thousand years in the future.
Even Kaylen, who had remained as the One Sword, was powerful, but not to the extent that he could separate continents...
[They say Lord Kaylen, who went to the past, destroyed the moon. Maybe we can find some clue from the traces he left behind?]
To seek even the faintest hope, they were dispatched to the Temple of the Sword.
[You too. Master....no, Kaylen...]
At first,Ernstine had shown great distrust toward him.
But given the situation, he agreed to cooperate.
However, it seemed he still couldn’t fully accept the existence of that man.
“So this is the place where I disappeared.”
“‘I’? You’re not the Master. I think I could beat someone like you in a fight.”
Kaylen gave an exasperated look atErnstine, who was showing subtle hostility.
Just how much had the vanished Kaylen taught him, forErnstine to revere him as a Master?
“When I used the Godslayer... I was deeply moved. The sword the Master taught me... it truly lived up to its name.”
“You made that yourself.”
“Even so, the one who taught me was the Master.”
Kaylen turned his head away fromErnstine.
There was no communicating with him.
“I will awaken him.”
Kaylen stood at the center of the Temple of the Sword, whereErnstine had poured the liquor.
Vmmm....
The six golden swords floated up.
They approached the pattern of the Six Swords engraved on the ground.
Vmm. Vmm.
The floor resonated with Kaylen’s Six Swords, and shone brilliantly in golden light.
Ernstine looked at the scene with envious eyes.
Even though he had visited the Temple of the Sword many times and infused mana into it, it had never responded like that.
‘So he really is the one.’
Ernstine thought so inwardly, watching Kaylen’s ritual.
From the swords engraved on the floor, a brilliant light burst forth, and the traces of the Six Swords rose from the ground and slowly absorbed into his body.
Kaylen stood still with his eyes closed.
Even after absorbing all the swords, he remained that way, then askedErnstine a question.
“Ernstine.”
“Master?”
“Not yet. I have something to ask.”
“Not yet, huh... go ahead.”
“The achievements of the knights. Have they improved significantly compared to a hundred years ago?”
At Kaylen’s sudden question,Ernstine furrowed his brow but answered in detail.
“They’ve improved a lot. The number of Sword Masters has grown into the hundreds, and there are those who have nearly reached the level of Grand Master. Especially the knights who witnessed the sword that cut the moon....they’ve never forgotten the impact of that day, and achieved great accomplishments.”
“Hmm... that likely wasn’t just because of psychological shock.”
"Then what?"
"I think my power dispersed into the knights at that time."
"Wait... is that even possible?"
"When I destroyed the moon, the scattered mana must have been absorbed by the knights and became like a blessing from the Sword God."
Kaylen grinned.
"Since they've made such progress, they probably don't need it anymore."
Uuuuuung...
As golden light rose from Kaylen’s body,
Heaven and earth responded, sending golden mana in return.
When Ernstine looked closely, the mana took the shape of swords.
‘Even from my body...
Sword-shaped mana particles flowed out from the body of Ernstine, a Grand Sword Master.
As the Sword God's blessings that had entered the knights’ bodies all returned to Kaylen....
"That should do it."
Kaylen's appearance changed.
From the same face as Ernstine, to the ridiculous one crafted by the Water God.
Seeing this, Ernstine asked in a trembling voice,
"Master... is it really you?"
"It is."
"Ohh...
Ssssss...
A golden sword bloomed in Kaylen’s hand.
"I’ll go separate the continents now."
Fwoosh.
His figure vanished in an instant.
Ernstine, now sober, blankly stared at the place where Kaylen had disappeared.
And soon after....
Ruuuuumble...
The earth seemed to quake briefly.
[...He succeeded.]
The Water God's voice reached Ernstine, who stood frozen in place.
Perhaps it was because the longstanding issue caused by the merging of the continents of Avelia had been resolved in one stroke....
Her voice even carried a trace of emptiness.
"What happened to Master?"
[He went to the eastern continent of Avelia.]
The eastern continent of Avelia.
From Ernstine’s point of view, it was the world a thousand years in the future....now a place they would have to coexist within the same planet.
"Then I’ll go after my Master as well...!"
[No. He needs to rest now. If you go, you’ll only be a disturbance.]
“Mm…”
At the Water God’s firm words, Ernstine was at a loss for words.
She was right.
He had hunted down the Celestial Demon God, gone to the moon, then traveled to the past and destroyed the moon.
And now he had stopped the continental fusion.
Surely, even the Master deserved some rest.
"Understood. Then when should I come find him?"
[Hmm... maybe when his current partner draws their last breath?]
"Master… had a partner?"
[Not yet, but it seems he will.]
"That's... now I’m curious who that person is."
The Water God stared at Ernstine, whose eyes were gleaming.
Wasn’t it said he took on a thousand concubines in the span of a hundred years?
As expected, this guy....he absolutely must not be sent.
[You just never go. Ever.]
It had been a week since Theresia had assumed the role of acting monarch of Starn.
On the surface, the world was peaceful.
‘The ground’s been shaking a little today.’
Though it was now the seventh day,
Reports were oddly coming in from all over about frequent earthquakes.
However, the tremors were weak and didn’t have much impact on the nation.
But....
‘There was definitely a full moon yesterday…’
Strangely, even though it was now night, the moon hadn’t risen.
A world that felt even darker, with no moonlight.
People exchanged anxious talk, saying it was ominous.
‘Maybe Lord Six Sword is doing well on the moon.’
Theresia, thinking positively instead, turned her gaze away from the window.
She decided she’d finish a bit more work before bed.
Just as she thought that and sat at her office desk....
Knock. Knock.
"I'm here."
"Eh..."
"May I come in?"
"Y-Yes. Please come in."
A voice she knew well reached her ears.
As the door swung open, Kaylen entered, his face calm and serene.
"Kaylen....no, Lord Six Sword. You’re back… already?"
"Already? How much time has passed?"
"A week."
"Only that much, huh."
Step. Step.
As Kaylen slowly walked forward, Theresia stood up from her chair.
"Are you alright? And... did everything go well?"
"Yeah. It’s all over. The Celestial Demon God is no more."
"Ah… that’s a relief. No wonder… the moon hasn’t been visible today."
"Ah, that? You won’t see it anymore. I destroyed it."
Destroyed the moon?
Theresia looked at Kaylen in disbelief.
"Is that even possible?"
"It became possible as I kept fighting. More importantly...."
Swoosh.
Kaylen turned his gaze toward the left side of the office.
Baldrix, who had been quietly writing with his pen, suddenly stood up.
"Well then. It’s my walk time…"
A Death Knight going on a walk?
Theresia wanted to say something.
"Theresia."
As Kaylen strode toward her, she could no longer keep watching Baldrix.
"Wh-What is it…?"
"I came to give you an answer."
"Ah…"
She had asked him to give her a clear answer to her confession.
Theresia swallowed hard.
A week.
It felt too soon compared to what she had braced herself for.
‘But something like this... is better heard quickly.’
She took a deep breath.
"Hoo… hoo. Alright. I… I’m ready."
"Yeah?"
Kaylen smiled softly.
"Then… would you be my Empress?"
"…Huh? Seriously?"
At Kaylen’s words, Theresia asked back as if she couldn’t believe it.
Before leaving, he’d insisted he was the Six Sword and had basically refused her.
She had said it was fine even if he was the Six Sword, and boldly asked him to give her an answer once he returned.
But deep down, she had been more prepared to be rejected than to be accepted.
‘Heh.’
While overjoyed, Kaylen also smiled inwardly at the sight of the puzzled Theresia.
After cutting down the moon....
Every part of Kaylen had turned into sword mana, dispersing throughout the world and embedding itself into every knight’s aura.
‘I had planned to just remain that way.’
He had corrected the past, so there was nothing left tying him to this world.
Becoming sword mana and comforting the knights....
That’s what he had thought his role would be now…
‘But you… you held me back.’
The world a thousand years in the future, which he thought he could never return to....
The moment he heard that the Aberia continent was merging in a strange way,
Kaylen gathered back all of himself that had scattered as sword mana.
‘I want to be with you.’
He wanted to respond to Theresia....and to hear her answer in return.
And if the two of them shared the same wish,
He wanted to step down from the position of Sword God and live with her.
It was a deeply personal desire....one that had never once risen in Kaylen, the Six Sword....now welling up endlessly.
‘And that’s what turned me from Sword God… back into Kaylen.’
With a smile, Kaylen asked again.
"So, your answer?"
"…Can I give it a week later too? I want to see you all nervous for once, Lord Six Sword."
"Your face already gives it all away… but alright."
Looking at Theresia, her cheeks red and her mouth twitching with a suppressed smile, Kaylen answered with ease.
"I’ll wait as long as it takes."
(Completed: The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1000 Years)
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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