[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 147
“What are you talking about? Six Sword Path?”
Kaylen recalled lvria’s Dragon Tongue magic from earlier.
—Six Sword Path , Dragon Fla.
A fusion of darkness mana and fire mana—Dragon Fla.
Its appearance resembled a black sun in a state of eclipse.
The power contained within was so overwhelming that if he hadn’t awakened the Holy Sword’s power within the ‘Greatsword’…
The one lying here right now would have been Kaylen himself.
“Father realized his essence and evolved the Six Sword Path.”
“…My essence?” Kaylen questioned, identifying himself with his father. lvria glared at him.
“…Father is the Dragon’s Incarnation and its Heart.”
I am the Dragon’s Incarnation and its Heart?
Kaylen was puzzled as to why he kept being associated with dragons, but then sothing ca to mind.
Infinity—Mana without limits.
The ier lineage once called themselves the descendants of dragons because this mana’s properties resembled the Dragon Heart, a dragon’s mana core.
“…Don’t tell , the Dragon’s Heart refers to Infinity?”
“There was a ti when it was called that… but after realizing the essence of dragons, Father corrected its na to the proper one—Dragon Heart.”
“……”
If he had heard this before witnessing the Six Sword Path, he would have dismissed it as nonsense…
But in lvria’s Six Demonic Path, Kaylen could feel the presence of the Six Sword Path.
‘In a way… it does feel like an evolution, just as lvria said.’
The Six Sword Path, wielded through Dragon Tongue.
Its power was extraordinary.
lvria had fused darkness and fire mana.
Kaylen had barely managed to withstand it by using all four swords, plus the Holy Sword.
“…What exactly are you?”
“Can’t even recognize your own father, Ria?”
“Don’t call that so casually!”
At the ntion of ‘Ria,’ lvria’s face turned red with anger.
Ria—the pet na used by Ernstine when addressing her.
Only Father had the right to call her that.
And yet, for so reason…
When Kaylen called her ‘Ria,’ it felt so nostalgic, so familiar.
‘Why…? Against the spirit of my resurrected, great father, Ernstine, I felt only reverence and awe. But Kaylen… feels familiar.’
The way he looked at her, his expression…
It reminded her of the happiest mories from long ago.
“…And to think you were so grateful for inheriting my face just monts ago.”
“What?!”
lvria’s eyes widened in shock.
Among Ernstine’s children, she had always been the one who resembled him the most.
Though she appeared slightly more feminine than Ernstine, her facial features were nearly identical.
She had always taken pride in that—being the child who looked most like her father.
After joining the Helier lineage and transforming into a Dark Elf, her appearance had changed, and she no longer felt the resemblance.
But back when she was still a Half-Elf…
Looking at her reflection had felt like gazing into a mirror.
—Daddy! I look the most like you, don’t I?
—Then again, anyone who sees you, Ria, would think we’re twins.
—Hehehe.
At Kaylen’s words, mories of the imperial palace resurfaced in lvria’s mind.
Those joyful monts spent looking at each other, marveling at their similar features alongside her father.
It was a mory she had never shared even once with the newly resurrected Dragon’s Incarnation, Ernstine.
‘Could he really… be Father?’
For a brief mont, the thought crossed lvria’s mind, but she quickly shook it off, startled at herself.
How could she mistake that wraith for the great father, Ernstine, who had truly returned?
She had nearly let herself be deceived by a fraud.
“You are insolent. Judging by your use of the Six Sword Path, you must be a descendant of ier. Yet you dare speak so carelessly to an ancestor?”
“Ria. Has anyone besides ever wielded the Six Sword Path? You wanted to learn it yourself, but you never could. And yet, a descendant is using it—can you really accept that?”
“Ugh…”
lvria was at a loss for words.
The Six Sword Path.
All mbers of the imperial family had wished to inherit that legendary swordsmanship.
Despite Emperor Ernstine’s fervent efforts to pass it down, not a single person succeeded in mastering it.
Not even the Second Prince, Baldur, who possessed extraordinary sword talent.
Nor lvria herself, despite having a similar gift and becoming a Sword Master.
‘Even with ier’s bloodline… no one could use the Six Sword Path…’
Kaylen, who rembered things only Ernstine should know.
Kaylen, who wielded the Six Sword Path.
Could it be…?
Could he really be Ernstine?
A small ripple spread through lvria’s heart.
“Ria. Eldir is waiting for you too. Co back with to the Kingdom of ier.”
“…Eldir?”
“Yes. If that kid, who swore to live with his dad forever, has decided to get married, you’d think he’d pick a better groom, huh? Tsk.”
At the ntion of Eldir, the surprise in lvria’s face hardened back into cold indifference.
“…So the Elf clan is still in the Middle World.”
“……?”
Her reason for joining the Helier lineage in the first place was to protect her husband and the Elf tribe.
The Elves had been utterly crushed and trampled under Helier’s overwhelming power.
The only way to save them was to submit to Helier.
But now, if she were to leave Helier and return to them…
Not only she, but the entire Elf tribe would face Helier’s wrath.
That would render her sacrifice aningless.
‘…I can’t go back now.’
No matter how much Kaylen resembled her father more than the current ‘Father’…
That alone wasn’t enough to make her return.
She was no longer the young daughter who yearned for her father’s love.
[lvria. The dragon armor has split. What’s the situation?]
A man’s voice ca from the helt, now split in two and lying on the ground.
“…Return .”
[Return you?]
“Yes. Quickly.”
[Understood.]
lvria spoke firmly, her expression unyielding.
Then—
Vrrrrrrr.
A vortex of black light swirled beneath her feet, and lvria’s body was sucked into it.
Kaylen silently watched her disappear.
If it had been any other enemy besides lvria, he would have cut them down without hesitation before they could retreat.
But he could not bring himself to do so against his most cherished daughter.
Just before she vanished, her expression flashed through his mind.
‘…I couldn’t give her faith in .’
lvria, averting her gaze from Kaylen with trembling eyes.
Deep down, she must have known who her real father was.
But just as she had begun to waver, the ntion of the Elf tribe had steadied her resolve, and she chose to retreat.
‘I barely managed to withstand lvria’s Six Demonic Path. She must have feared that following would bring disaster upon the Elf tribe.’
In the end, it all ca down to his lack of strength.
Because he wasn’t strong enough, he couldn’t give her faith in him.
Kaylen’s expression twisted.
‘Never in my life… have I felt the weight of my own weakness so deeply.’
In his past life as Ernstine, he had faced countless enemies and even vanquished the Demon King.
Yet never once did he feel lacking in power.
He had encountered formidable foes, but he had always been able to overco them.
Many had displayed extraordinary techniques, yet none had ever triumphed over the Six Sword Path.
But now…
‘The Six Demonic Path… is a different story.’
Similar to the Six Sword Path, yet imbued with even more powerful dragon-language magic.
Its Infinity Expansion ability had been pushed to its absolute limits.
‘To think a fake could create sothing like that.’
Kaylen couldn’t ignore the feeling of his own inadequacy.
‘…Even so, I learned sothing valuable.’
Through the Six Demonic Path, he had found a path to further evolve the Six Sword Path.
“…Ria.”
Standing amidst the ruins, Kaylen stared at the lingering traces of the black vortex.
“Next ti, I won’t just stand and watch.”
* * *
A massive cavern pulsed with dark energy.
The black ceiling and floor writhed as if alive, and at the cavern’s center, a towering throne stood alone.
“…lvria.”
The figure seated on the throne was an unusual sight.
His lower half was nothing but bones, yet his upper body, arms, and head retained a human form.
A half-undead.
With silver hair, golden eyes, and a long beard, he was a middle-aged man.
“I’m surprised you were defeated. Did you not use the Six Demonic Path?”
“…I did.”
“Oh? And yet, your dragon armor was broken?”
The half-undead stroked his long beard as he questioned lvria.
“Who was your opponent?”
At his question, lvria coldly responded.
“…I don’t know. I was too busy running.”
“Is that so?”
At lvria’s response, the half-undead crossed his legs.
Clatter.
The sound of bones grinding against each other echoed through the silent cavern, making lvria furrow her brows.
Every ti he moved like that, sothing ominous always followed.
“There shouldn’t be anyone in the Middle Realm capable of challenging you… Was your opponent from the Celestial Realm or the Demon Realm?”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“I never expected the fourth-ranking figure of Helier to be so lacking in awareness.”
With a snap of his fingers, a screen appeared in the darkness.
Displayed on it was a prison scene.
Fifty elves, their ears long and pointed, were crouched on the floor, dressed in prison uniforms.
“Make sure to pay attention next ti.”
Whoosh!
Black flas erupted inside the prison.
The elves were engulfed in an instant, their bodies writhing in agony as they were consud by the inextinguishable fire.
lvria watched the scene with a cold, impassive gaze.
“What are you doing? They were ant to beco part of Father’s essence. Burning them so aninglessly…”
“Elves can always be captured again. What matters now is that you get your head straight.”
The half-undead smirked as he stroked his beard, while lvria’s expression twisted in undisguised disgust.
“What a pointless act. What do you gain from this?”
“Well, you are only a half-blood. I suppose elves dying ans nothing to you.”
“…Caius!”
Caius.
Kaylen’s eldest son and the second emperor of the ier Empire.
With a smile, he tapped his bony knees, the skeletal remains of his lower half.
“Caius? You shouldn’t call that, lvria. That was the na of my weak human self. Address properly—as Emperor.”
“…Fine. But you rember this too. I am not a half-elf. I am Helier.”
“As you wish.”
“I’m leaving.”
As lvria turned away, the Emperor of Geysir Empire, Caius, grinned and spoke again.
“By the way.”
“What?”
“Are you sure you don’t rember anything? About your opponent.”
“No.”
Step. Step.
lvria strode out of the cavern.
Caius watched her retreating figure, twirling his beard with a dissatisfied expression.
“…Sothing feels off.”
No matter how strong her opponent was, it didn’t make sense for soone of lvria’s caliber to co away with no information at all.
‘And she’s acting even more rigid than usual.’
She hadn’t even flinched when the elves were slaughtered, only repeating the sa empty response like a parrot.
Caius’s golden eyes glead as he murmured to himself.
“…I should consult the Chief Observer.”
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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