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Chapter 346: The Death’s Blade, Ganikalt (7)
*
“I mentioned it before, but there are two goals.”
“One is the rescue of Raniel van Trias. Honestly, in this case, it wouldn’t even be a rescue. She’s probably lying on the altar in the center of the colorless forest. The first objective is to move her to the carriage.”
“And the second is…”
“Saint, Sara.”
“No new blessed one has been confirmed. The current saint has not died, it seems. Since the Church Order continues to search for her, I expect she is here as well.”
“Above all, he said that ‘she would be alive.’ I don’t know what variables have occurred, but if possible, let’s secure the saint as well.”
“Do you understand up to this point?”
“If so, then here’s the warning.”
Cardi exhaled sharply.
After a brief silence, Cardi spoke.
“One, never provoke Kyle Toven.”
He raised his index finger.
“That guy has not yet fully transformed into a disaster. He’s an unbloomed disaster. But still, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a being akin to a disaster.”
Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.
Gletus, the Apostate.
Belial the Black Dragon, the Black Storm.
“Among the disasters you know… consider the three of them, excluding Skebal, as equals. Of course, even if they do encounter you, they will not immediately attack. For now, they’ll be like a somnambulist wandering in a dream.”
However, Cardi continued.
“If provoked, the situation will change.”
He believed that they would understand without needing to say more.
Muttering to himself, Cardi opened his palm. With his index and middle fingers spread, he briefly added.
“The second warning will be an extension of the first.”
“…An extension?”
“Yes. I told you not to provoke them? That means ‘do not give off any presence’ as well. I don’t know how he will react. That’s why I brought you here.”
Those skilled at infiltration.
Those who can erase their presence to the extreme.
Not to mention Kalt, who has performed infiltration missions for many years and has become superhuman, but Remia is also a top-notch ranger with innate Elven senses and blessings.
“It would be best if we don’t encounter them at all… But if by chance we do, erase your presence. Absolutely do not think of becoming hostile. You will die.”
“…However, I have a question.”
Kalt spoke.
“You said he has transformed into a disaster, yet Kyle Toven is both a hero and a knight, right?”
The strongest hero, Kyle Toven.
The sharpest sword humanity possesses… a representative force of contemporary humanity.
“It’s hard to believe that such a person has fallen, but if that’s true…”
Kalt gripped his sword hilt.
“Isn’t it right to eliminate him before he fully matures into a disaster?”
“That’s true.”
Cardi grimaced.
“If that were possible, that is.”
What that hunting dog said was correct.
If it was to be eradicated, now would be the only opportunity. While he was still blooming entirely as a disaster. However, the one who can seize that chance is not the ones gathered here.
Raniel van Trias.
That opportunity is permitted only to her.
Cardi was aware of that. There would be no one but her capable of confronting the hero who has transformed into a disaster.
‘That’s why it’s tragic.’
Cardi sighed briefly.
“That’s all for the explanation. Move out.”
2.
Remia set off to find the church, while Kalt moved to scout beyond the forest. Silencing his presence, Kalt swiftly crossed the colorless forest.
The ruins of the Kingdom of Selef.
Kalt knew about this place.
It was the site of the kingdom that had been destroyed by the Demon Lord centuries ago, and just a few years ago, the Demon Lord’s emergence was confirmed in this cursed land.
‘…But.’
The ancient Elf, the author, did not warn Kalt about the Demon Lord’s appearance. Before this was a realm of disasters, it must have been the domain of the Demon Lord, so why?
Cardi’s explanation had many missing parts.
Kalt tried to guess what might fill those gaps and what could have happened here. For now, it was just speculation. Even imagining it felt absurd.
However, the moment he exited the forest.
When he saw the vast wilderness spread before him.
“······.”
Kalt swallowed hard.
A vast expanse of wilderness.
It was filled with traces of sword strikes (???). The area was teeming with chaotic sword marks, not just a single strike, but the aftermath of hundreds and thousands of overlapping strikes.
‘…I can’t see it.’
Kalt, having become a sword master.
It wasn’t difficult to try and interpret the traces of sword play from the marks, but Kalt could not read the sword paths from those marks at all.
Swallowing, Kalt walked on.
The sword marks are like the footprints of a knight.
Following the footsteps left by Kyle, Kalt walked and walked. After a while, the sword marks suddenly stopped.
‘…The final blow.’
The place where the broken sword marks remained.
There were piles of stones perfectly severed in half, along with cracked earth. Standing there, Kalt looked ahead.
The space was cut off.
The horizontally distorted space hadn’t healed.
‘This is insane.’
Even seeing it, he couldn’t comprehend.
An attack that transcended common sense.
With the traces of an incomprehensible battle before him, Kalt observed his surroundings. Not far off, there was a slumped woman.
Saint, Sara.
If he listened closely, her heart was beating.
Taking her pulse, both her heartbeat and breaths were normal. Carrying her, who seemed to be in a deep sleep without opening her eyes, Kalt resumed walking.
…What happened here was unclear. He did not know why Kyle Toven became a disaster.
He could only speculate.
From the traces saturating the area, Kalt deduced that the hero, Kyle Toven, must have confronted the Demon Lord here. Based on what he heard before coming here, he could speculate what the outcome was.
“Kyle Toven has become a disaster.”
Kalt felt bitterness as he continued to walk.
What he had seen and confirmed, and what he had heard.
Understanding the context of the incident based on the information given was Kalt’s specialty. Though it was still mere speculation, if his thoughts were correct…
‘No matter how much of a senior he is, this is…’
No matter how strong a human may be.
As a human, there are limits to what one can endure. And Kalt surmised. This was an incident beyond the threshold that Raniel van Trias could withstand.
“···This is ridiculous.”
Muttering, Kalt lamented.
As he wished not to confront Kyle, who had transformed into a disaster—a superior he once assisted—he continued on his way. He did not want to see such a sight.
He crossed over the wilderness and re-entered the forest.
Now, if he could just reach the carriage, the mission would be complete. To focus on the given task, Kalt shook off any distractions. After how long had it been?
Rustle.
A gust of wind blew.
The wind that came carried a foul odor.
*
Kalt’s body stiffened.
Frozen in place, Kalt could not take another step. Cold sweat ran down his back.
The wind carrying the stench.
Kalt recognized this wind.
It was the memory of death imprinted in Kalt’s mind. That intense memory remained vivid even years later. The odor of decay, the stench of death.
…Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.
The wind would blow each time he took a step forward. Why was this wind blowing here? Had death appeared here? No, that wasn’t it.
‘Slightly different.’
Similar but slightly different.
A cool and sharp breeze. It brushed past Kalt, feeling almost like a blade. Then, crack. The sound of dry branches breaking echoed through the woods.
Clop.
The sound of footsteps.
Creak, creak.
A sound of something twisting.
Scratch, scratch.
A sound of something scraping the ground reached Kalt’s ears.
Kalt turned his stiffened head to where the sound came from. A massive presence was felt. A shadow of darkness surged in the forest.
■, ■■■■. ■■■■■■■■.
With a strange noise, it revealed itself.
Emerging with a swaying shadow was a human. A human with a hole in his heart and oddly twisted arms hanging limply.
In his drooping hand was a sword.
That sword symbolized the hero celebrated as humanity’s hope. The holy sword, now stained with blood, no longer pointed skyward. It was buried in the ground, merely slicing through the dirt.
A human holding the holy sword.
The human wore the hero’s garb.
Once Kalt recognized the human’s face, his expression twisted.
Kyle Toven.
The hero who had become a disaster stood there.
3.
In the moment before the disaster, Kalt realized how foolish his question thrown at Cardi from the carriage had been. The meaning behind Cardi’s smile when he received that question.
“If that were possible, that is.”
Impossible.
It couldn’t possibly be possible.
Kalt gazed at the disaster with trembling eyes. He saw Kyle Toven. With arms hanging like a somnambulist wandering through the forest, Kyle appeared to be full of openings. So, it would seem to the eyes of an ordinary person.
But if he closed his eyes and opened them again.
Seeing Kyle through the eyes of a superhuman, he appeared entirely different.
‘It’s death.’
What stands there is death.
No matter how he swung the sword, he would be countered instantly. Before even drawing a single sword path, Kalt’s body would be torn to shreds. The warning bells of super-sensitivity showed Kalt countless futures.
Many, many futures.
All pointed to death.
The moment he turns hostile, what awaits him is death. Kalt, forgetting even to breathe, waited for the disaster to pass by him.
Scratch, scratch.
Fortunately, the disaster did not pay attention to Kalt.
It merely walked, staring blankly into the air with its pupils unfocused. Each step it took produced a hushed sound as its sword scraped against the ground.
Gradually, it moved away.
As Kalt watched the retreating figure, he was about to retreat slowly. Suddenly, Kyle stood up straight. He straightened his hunched body.
Crack.
The sound of bones creaking.
Kyle slowly raised his arms. The holy sword, half-buried in the ground, revealed its blade. It shone malevolently in the darkness.
*
Chase after the ashes.
Kill the ashes.
Trample, defile, and kill.
Such voices continued to echo.
Kalt wandered through the darkness. There was something he was forgetting. Something he was missing. He needed to find it, but the endless darkness showed no signs of ending.
How much further must he walk?
How much longer must he think?
He did not know. He couldn’t know, yet Kalt continued to walk. He wandered through the darkness seeking answers.
Rustle.
Drifting ashes kept flickering in front of Kalt. Even in the darkness, the ash dust did not lose its light. Kalt welcomed that ash. But even the warmth soon faded away.
The components that made up the human known as Kalt began to crumble one by one. The beliefs he held, the vows he had to keep, the regrets he nurtured in the end—all of it began to slowly crumble.
The erosion continued in the darkness.
【The ashes.】
【Kill the ashes.】
【The ashes.】
Kalt saw the ashes rising before him.
At first, it was a welcoming sight.
But now, from that ash, Kalt felt hatred. An inexplicable anger gripped him, and Kalt stopped walking. He looked at the quivering ashes before him…
Kalt grasped his sword.
Yes, come to think of it, the ashes always made him wield the sword. Why did he pick it up?
【To cut.】
What to cut?
【The ashes.】
Kalt raised his sword.
He couldn’t think of a reason to not let go of the sword, but he successfully recalled that it was connected to the ash.
Cut the ashes.
Someone whispered thus.
Following that whisper, Kalt swung his sword.
*
The disaster raised its sword.
The stance was a mess. The arm holding the sword was twisted, no longer able to function. Yet, the moment that sword leveled with the ground…
It became the sword of a superhuman.
The superhuman, regardless of the situation or condition, showcases the best swordsmanship. Kyle lightly swung the sword he held.
Swish.
The sword sliced through the air.
No longer a sword drawing light. Instead of a beam of light, a singular blade (??) interrupted the flow. The trajectory cut through space. The darkness trembled.
Shh.
The sound of silent slicing.
The instant that slicing sound echoed, Kalt turned and began to run without looking back. His instincts warned him. Get away from this place immediately.
And that instinct was right.
BOOM!
A whirlwind erupted.
Everything was swept away in the surging flow.
Trees were uprooted and thrown into the sky.
The ground upturned and dirt mounds soared.
Everything in sight flipped upside down.
The boundary between the sky and the earth became indiscernible.
Those grounded were swept upward against the flow, reverse (??).
Since what ultimately reached the sky was heavenly (??).
Kyle Toven’s sword, Yeocheon (??).
A new disaster opened its eyes.
*
