Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 165 – 「Thunder」 (5)

High Elf Nadin. An elf who had lived nearly an eternity, having endured every kind of battle and hardship imaginable. Yet even for one as ancient as he, what unfolded before his eyes now was something he could not comprehend.

The Karavan heir wields Gaia’s power? Impossible. The five Spirit Kings despise Karavan’s blood with a hatred deeper than the seas. Borrowing a mere lesser spirit’s power should be beyond him—let alone that of a Spirit King…

Nadin knew well the nature of the Karavan’s steel-borne authority. He hadn’t expected the earth’s mana to completely rob the young man of his sword, but he was certain that would be enough to suppress an immature Karavan. The earth’s pull would weaken steel, and the golem infused with Gaia’s strength would serve as a swordsman’s natural predator.

It should have been the right call. It was— except that Arhan was far, far beyond the bounds of common sense.

Gaia, the Spirit King of Earth, wouldn’t have cooperated with a Karavan. Then… could it be.

The thought chilled him. Had this unripe descendant somehow stolen a fragment of Gaia’s essence herself? Nadin found that impossible to believe. In all the ages since the first Karavan, he had seen many of that line—but none had ever achieved something so mad.

How unpleasant. You’ve dragged up memories best left buried.

The way the young swordsman stood before him—defiant, unbending— In Nadin’s eyes, Arhan’s image overlapped with that of another man from a faraway age:

The man who forged a new order with a single sword. The greatest blade beneath the heavens. A living legend who became myth itself—Liam Karavan.

He’s dangerous. That was the thought that slid like ice down the old elf’s spine.

***

The golem that Nadin had conjured so confidently proved useless. Thanks to the fragment of the Earth Spirit King Gaia sleeping within my sword, it couldn’t decide who its master was. It hesitated between us, unable to move.

A single blade solving all my problems lately.

The Archmage commander of the magic corps that raided Karavan’s lands, Nadin’s golem—each undone at the source by Gaia. Trials that once would’ve been impossible were now trivial.

「There was a reason I personally made sure you received that sword.」

For once, I couldn’t disagree with my master’s boasting. Ever since gaining Gaia’s Sword, life had changed. No longer scavenging rusty junk from the slums—I finally had real steel in my hands.

After everything, I deserve an easy win or two.

You can’t keep suffering forever. At this rate, even my hair would fall out from stress.

「Good equipment is life itself to a swordsman. Of all beings in this world, none are as riddled with weaknesses as one who wields a sword.」

“You said it.”

Elves commanding spirits, dragons, mages, monks—swordsmen have too many natural enemies to count.

Unless one becomes a Sword Runner, even fighting them is impossible. And even with the mystic power I’d gained, meeting someone who commands the earth still means one thing—run. Because the first thing they always do is destroy your sword.

“Only fools of pure romance choose the sword.”

「An apt description.」

Romance—it fits perfectly. Despite all the disadvantages, countless souls across the continent still take up the blade for one reason only: only a swordsman can transcend mortality.

The Swordmaster—the one who stands where none can oppose him.

That path exists solely through the sword.

「Then show me, young heir. Show me what a romantic sword can do.」

I drew a long breath. The second heart within me began to beat, its pulse threading through every vein. Power surged. Wings of Steel spread from my back—five pairs, each vast and gleaming. A gift born of devouring 「Flight」 and 「Gale」 both.

“Haaah—”

I filled my lungs to the breaking point. Raw Mana rushed through my body, and one of the countless swords within my soul awakened— the Mystery of 「The Light」, the will of a monarch who once dreamed of an age of stars. Now that I had become a true Sword Runner, the price of invoking that Mystery was no longer unbearable.

“Karavan—!”

Nadin’s roar echoed through the storm of power wrapping around me. His golem thundered forward, each step a quake. I caught a glimpse of its chest—where once I’d felt Gaia’s presence, there was now nothing.

He chose the golem over her.

A reasonable choice. Without Gaia’s blessing its overall power dropped, but it was still dangerous. I glanced at my blade. Trying to command the earth itself like in the Sky Range would be pointless here—this was Nadin’s element.

Not that I planned to.

I just had to do what I do best— fight head-on.

***

Golems.

I’d fought one before—Jerry Selfit’s black-magic abomination, and another during the Blade City escape. Constructs of nature itself, they were a swordsman’s natural nemesis, especially when tied to spirits. A golem is not sewn with strings, but with Mystery.

And one summoned by a High Elf like Nadin would be bound soul-deep to the spirits themselves.

A normal Sword Runner couldn’t beat that.

You could cut it down a hundred times, and it would rebuild itself from the mana around it.

But me? I didn’t have to. Because I had fire.

“...!”

Flames flickered along my blade.

“Fire that burns mystic power…”

The golem’s arm fell away with a single slash.

Thud! The limb hit the earth—and did not regenerate.

The flame that had jumped from my sword burned with doubt, devouring the golem’s essence.

Nadin’s eyes widened.

You never saw this one in Blade City, old man.

He had no idea what weapons I carried.

The 「Flame of Doubt」 ate through the golem’s form, unraveling its Mysteries. With its spirits gone, it was nothing but a training dummy.

The Path showed me where to move; the Wings carried me along that route. The lumbering hulk couldn’t even touch me.

“So much malice… born of hatred toward the world itself. You’re just like him. Cursedly alike… How could this be? The last, thinnest blood of the Karavans—yet you resemble the first more than any before you.”

「The Light’s」 Mystery poured strength into me, and I soared upward, Wings spread.

The completed 「Gale」 gave me freedom no beast could match. From the sky, I brought my blade down— the First Steel.

Stone and soil could never endure it. It was the heaviest stroke of all Karavan swords.

“Ha… ha-ha.”

Chaaang!

The golem exploded apart, its remains raining down with a thunderous impact.

The instant my feet touched the ground again, I moved— and in the blink of an eye, I was before Nadin. It was as though space had folded for me.

Two pairs of Wigns amplified my acceleration; body and mind moved beyond their limits. In the slowed world, I was speed itself.

My blade cleaved toward the elf’s neck—But a sharp chill ran up my spine.

“Yet one thing you still lack.”

Nadin’s eyes tracked my sword perfectly. Impossible. Elves fought from afar with spirits—they didn’t match swordsmen up close. It shouldn’t be possible. And yet—

“Overwhelming force.”

Because High Elf Nadin was no ordinary being. He had lived too long, mastered too much. In all those ages, did he truly only learn archery and spiritcraft? Of course not.

“Liam Karavan wielded a hatred so vast it scarred the gods themselves. His obsession cut down the greatest of his age. But his malice terrified the world because it was backed by absolute silence—by power that made all others bow.You lack that. You lack the silence of supremacy. You lack the strength that forces all other orders to kneel.”

Nadin’s body snapped like a drawn bowstring.

My blade sliced empty air—then his foot slammed into my chest like a spear.

Impact. Then another. And another.

My ribs screamed as blow after blow crashed into vital points.

I coughed blood; the world blurred white.

A hand covered my eyes.

“Steel without power is hollow. To claim a new order, you must silence the old. There is no ‘order’ without strength.”

Crack. My knee twisted backward.

Falling, I swung blindly—but cut nothing.

Panting, I saw him just out of reach, green light swirling in his gaze.

Vines erupted from the ground, binding my limbs.

“To deceive the weary World Tree with magical shells… only the First Witch could conceive such a trick. But peel the shell away, and it means nothing. My eyes are the World Tree’s eyes. The moment you’re caught in their gaze, it’s over. The World Tree itself shall judge you.”

With a crunch, the vines tightened. Behind Nadin, a massive phantom of the World Tree rose.

The will of the mightiest tree watched me.

The full, merciless power that even the First Witch had once hesitated to face.

But—

I figured as much.

I’d never expected to win.

This old bastard was shamelessly beating up someone centuries his junior.

The former master of 「Flight」… the reason he could freely walk this forest…

My goal was only to stall for time.

You don’t storm a capital or behead a continental legend solo and call that “a plan.”

Victory was never part of the script.

The Great Forest’s barrier that rejects intruders—that’s the World Tree’s power. And I’ve seen it before, back in Blade City. Its essence is suppression—seizing will, stripping freedom, bending everything to its control.

But now? I can break that.

Because the power once held by the former master of 「Flight」 was the most liberated of all my Mysteries.

The power to remain free even before dragon-born sorcery.

A power born from the dream of a father and son who refused to be chained.

“The World Tree… can’t?”

Blue filled my vision— a sky of pure azure, the dream once imagined by an old adventurer.

Everything that bound me vanished. The vines, the weight, the judgment—all meaningless.

In that instant of perfect liberation, a legend awoke.

True 「Flight」—not mere acceleration, but absolute freedom.

“What is—”

Nadin couldn’t even react.

The world flashed. Two blue points connected into one line of light.

The world split.

“S…ss—”

Nadin’s body was divided cleanly. Instead of blood, vines and soil spilled from him like entrails.

When the world returned to its normal flow, he stared at me wide-eyed— in disbelief.

“...!”

A shockwave hurled me backward. I tumbled across the ground, coughing, and looked up to see Nadin scrambling— scooping the dirt and leaves spilling from his body, as if trying to stuff his guts back in.

His gaze locked on mine.

“I underestimated you… Dangerous indeed… But you’ll regret not finishing this. There won’t be—”

“Who said I’m giving you another round?”

Honestly, how naïve.

“We’ve already won.”

This wasn’t some duel for honor.

We’d stalled long enough. Which meant.

“Elizabeth.”

“Good work.”

Her voice rippled through the air, static crackling within it. Above, the forest sky darkened; clouds gathered thick and black. Then—

Whooosh—!

The heavens split open. Rain crashed down like a river poured from the sky.

“Now then,” Elizabeth’s voice echoed, almost gleeful, “time to fry this old pointy-eared bastard—and every self-righteous leaf-eating piece of trash with him.”

Substitution of player. Your turn, you bastards.