Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 157: Aspect of the Broken Sovereign

As Percival closed his status screen, a quiet, dangerous confidence settled into his bones. His growth and the revelation of his dual Mythic Talents had elevated him to a completely different stratosphere of power.

He ran the calculations in his head; right now, there was barely any Awakener in the outside world who could beat him in a straight, one-on-one fight.

Of course, the world was vast, and true monsters existed. There were undoubtedly Vanguards or Legacy Awakeners who could still stand a chance against him, but even then, Percival would put up a challenge.

He knew that most of the Awakeners who could defeat him at this moment wouldn’t do so because of their raw base stats. It would be because of their equipment.

High-tier Relics, cursed weapons, and legendary armor sets could bridge massive stat gaps.

From that realization, he accepted that he needed to arm himself properly. After leaving this Gate World, he would finally have to start spending the near 100,000 Mana Coins sitting in his inventory.

He glanced down at the Anchor Ring resting on his finger. Its current threshold was straining under his expanding mana pool. Perhaps he should also pay Rettucia a visit.

It was time for the Artificer to update the Anchor to match his newly ascended power ceiling.

Percival turned his attention away from his interface, looking around the devastated, blood-stained crypt.

Mercius stood quietly at the back of the chamber, awaiting his master’s next command. Across the frozen blood lake, Lewis was practically vibrating with adrenaline.

The Arcanist was hurriedly scampering from corpse to corpse, excitedly looting from the corpses of Revenants and Manor Vampires.

"Hero Percival!" Lewis called out, stuffing a handful of glowing demon cores into his inventory. "Have you gotten the Gate World’s Aspect? What is it? Tell me!"

Percival paused. In the rush of leveling up, he hadn’t actually checked it yet. He returned to his interface.

⸢You have defeated the Gate World Boss, Vampire Lord⸥

⸢You have claimed the Aspect: Aspect of the Broken Sovereign⸥

After that, as usual, a spectral, golden scroll materialized out of thin air, unrolling slowly in front of him.

Percival watched the tragedy of the Vampire Lord unfold through text.

He was the iron shield of a fragile kingdom, a warrior who gave his blood to keep the darkness at bay. To his lover, he gave his heart; but to the realm, he gave his life.

Campaign after campaign, he rode out to meet the enemy, leaving her alone in the cold halls of their manor.

He trusted his people to honor the woman he loved. He fought for their safety, deaf to her desperate letters, blind to her fading light.

But the kingdom he bled for was treacherous and cruel. Behind his back, the aristocrats and peasants alike turned their venom upon her.

They scorned her, isolated her, and tormented her in the shadows. They punished her for the very devotion the Sovereign freely gave to them.

Neglected by the man who was meant to protect her, and suffocated by the cruelty of those he saved, her spirit broke.

His lover killed herself with a silver blade to the chest, finding solace in death.

When the Sovereign returned, he found her on his floor, his Manor now a tomb. The noble warrior shattered, and in his place, a grieving, maddened god arose.

He cursed the ungrateful wretches who had driven his love to the abyss, vowing to drown their treacherous kingdom in an eternal tide of blood and rot.

It was just as Percival had suspected, except with minor details.

Ding!

The golden dust coalesced into a solid block of text in front of him.

⸢Aspect of the Broken Sovereign (A-Rank)⸥

⸢For I carry the heavy, bleeding weight of betrayal in my soul, I shall never allow the knives of the treacherous to find my back again.⸥

⸢Primary Effect: Any physical or magical attack initiated from your blind spot or directly behind you is instantly negated. The damage of the treacherous strike is multiplied by 200% and forcefully reflected back to the attacker⸥

⸢Secondary Effect [Sovereign’s Clarity]: You are entirely immune to illusions, lies, and deceit. The treacherous tongues of enemies and allies alike hold no power over your perception. You see the absolute truth⸥.

Percival stopped breathing for a fraction of a second.

At that moment, a hearty, overwhelming wave of pure relief washed over him, settling deep into the marrow of his bones.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing so all he could do was stare, thoroughly surprised and profoundly moved.

Ever since he regressed, ever since he woke up with the phantom pain of his old party’s blades in his back, avoiding betrayal had been his absolute, core directive.

It was the sole reason he pushed himself to such ruthless extremes.

With this Aspect, it wasn’t just a possibility; it was virtually assured. He could never be ambushed from behind. He could never be lied to.

It was the ultimate, flawless shield against the very thing that had ended his previous life.

Percival never thought he would say this but he was instantly a hundred times more grateful that he had taken up Baron Eutheo’s offer and entered this Gate World.

The suffering had yielded a treasure beyond measure.

"Well?" Lewis asked, snapping Percival out of his thoughts. The Arcanist was leaning in, trying to peek at the invisible screen. "What was it?"

Percival instantly masked his profound relief, offering Lewis a guarded, impenetrable look.

"It was a passive trait about blood and time," Percival lied smoothly, his voice flat. "Nothing special."

Lewis scoffed skeptically. "An A-Ranked Gate World Aspect? Nothing special? Come on, Hero Percival, you can tell me."

"Let it go," Percival snapped.

Lewis stared at him for a while, then shrugged and turned away.

Free from the Arcanist, Percival turned to Mercius and the rest of the Skeleton Soldiers. He sent them all back into his Summon Space.

Without the undead army and the chaotic energy of the boss, the crypt suddenly felt massive, cold, and deathly silent.

Ding!

⸢This Gate World recognizes you as its Master⸥

⸢A Return Portal has been generated⸥

A few yards away, a swirling yellow energy burst forward, creating an even bigger swirling energy.

Lewis let out a massive, trembling sigh, his shoulders sagging as all the remaining tension left his body. "So we’re going?" he asked, a tired but genuine smile breaking across his face. "It’s finally over."

But Percival didn’t move toward the portal. He remained standing by the shattered blood lake, his gaze fixed on the floor. His right hand was still wrapped tightly around the hilt of the Basilisk Blade.

Lewis paused, staring at the Hero, his smile faltering as the silence stretched on. "Percival? We’re going, right?"

No answer.

"Percival?" Lewis asked.

Percival stood completely motionless. His head was tilted down, his dark, long hair falling forward to cast a shadow over his face.

Lewis’s eyes slowly dropped from Percival’s face down to his right hand. The Arcanist swallowed hard.

Just a moment ago he had been full of relief, but now, it had morphed into an icy dread. Something was wrong.

"Percival..." Lewis started, his voice barely a whisper, "Why... why haven’t you returned your sword to your Swordcase, Hero Percival?"

Percival huffed regrettably. The sound was unnervingly loud in the quiet crypt.

"Only one of us has to leave this Gate World, Lewis," Percival said quietly. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"What?" Lewis stumbled back, his face draining of all color as sheer terror gripped his heart. "But... why?"

Percival’s dark hair shifted, revealing his blue certain eyes moving to the side to lock onto the trembling Arcanist.

"You know why."