The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 484: Final Act (7)

“Pierce through!”

Voosh! Thud!

At Miliana’s command, the demons descended from the skies, charging straight into the black mist.

“I can’t believe we have to obey a human...”

“I have no idea what our king is thinking, but...”

“At least we’ll get to taste blood.”

The Four Demon Knights of the Demon Realm landed on the battlefield, each brandishing a weapon. Their demonic energy cut through the black mist, eliciting wails from the Tarak hidden within.

“Gargoyles in the upper airspace!”

“Prokel, take Agma and intercept them.”

Agares pointed toward the gray-skinned beasts emerging from the mist. Prokel raised his spear, and a contingent of faceless knights followed him.

“Haaaah...!”

Redshell clenched his fists, his skin glowing crimson. As he exhaled sharply, flames erupted from his mouth, surging into the black mist and dispersing it.

Whoosh!

The raging fire carved a path through the mist, revealing Suan’s silhouette in the distance.

“There he is,” Agares muttered, driving his sword into the ground. His power, tied to the plants of the Demon Realm, seeped into the earth, causing the ground to quake violently.

Rumble...! Screech...!

From the cracks in the ground, massive vines with sharp-toothed flowers emerged, snapping at the gray goblins leaping out of the mist.

Although their skin was being scorched by Redshell’s flames, the goblins charged at the man-eating plants without hesitation.

Crack! Crunch!

The battlefield descended into chaos as the goblins and carnivorous plants tore into each other, flesh and vines flying in all directions.

“Miliana.” Karyl’s voice cut through the cacophony, causing her to flinch slightly at the top of her wyvern. “You made a pact with Hagane, didn’t you?”

Until just moments ago, she had been on the brink of death—the price for using the power of the Dimension Spiral. Yet now, her countenance brimmed with vitality.

Karyl needed no explanation.

“The relics of the Demon Realm... I suspected he might have something planned, but I didn’t think he’d bring them here.”

“Liar.” She turned sharply, her eyes narrowing. “Did you really not know?”

“...What?”

“About the demon pact. If it wasn’t me, I think you would’ve made it yourself.”

Her accusation silenced Karyl.

“You wanted to kill the gods, but only a god can kill another god,” she went on. “For your perfect plan to succeed, you would’ve needed someone to kill you once you ascended the Divine Throne.”

Miliana tightened her grip on the reins of her wyvern, its red scales screeching under the strain.

“Surely you didn’t actually think we’d follow along with your script, did you? Sitting back and letting you ascend? Letting you die? If you really thought we’d do that, you’re the biggest fool of them all.”

Karyl scoffed lightly, a bitter smile straying on his face.

“And Godslayers? Please, what a joke. I can’t believe you chose us for such a pathetic plan. That alone makes me wanna beat you senseless. Still, you must’ve known that we’d never let you discard your humanity in exchange for godhood.”

“Eh, it was the best I could do.”

“Sure, it was the best solution for you to shoulder all the burden on your own. And now you’ve brought in Hagane as a backup plan, haven’t you? You left a contingency in place, in case we rejected your so-called godslaying plan.”

“...”

“No matter how treacherous the Demon King might be, he wouldn’t dare scheme against someone like you, wielding Divine Power. You even considered inheriting the Demon King’s throne, didn’t you? If the demons invaded, humanity would be forced to rise and fight them. That way, you’d have someone to strike you down...”

“Miliana...”

“Karyl MacGovern, you always see several steps ahead, and yet... you were completely blind to the hearts of your followers... to our hearts.”

Tears welled up in Miliana’s eyes—tears that not even the gods had managed to draw from her.

“No one wants to die, Karyl. Every life bears the same weight, no matter whose it is.”

Miliana grabbed Karyl by the collar, her hands trembling. “Understand this. Aidan’s life wasn’t any less important than yours. The knights who charged into the mist knowing it was their doom—those weren’t less important than you either. The soldiers sacrificed themselves in being the walls to hold back the monsters... they weren’t insignificant!”

Her voice cracked, her hands trembling even harder.

“They all died... to keep you human...”

And then, she embraced him tightly.

“Everyone is willing to sacrifice themselves because you showed us that humanity can have a bright future. So how could we ever let you forsake the very thing we all fought for?”

A single tear slid down her cheek and fell onto Karyl’s shoulder. It felt searingly hot.

Karyl let out a heavy sigh, steeped in lament. “I’m sorry...”

Miliana wiped her flushed cheek and let out a faint chuckle. “Hah. Would you look at that? I actually lived long enough to hear an apology from you. You’ll never hear the end of this.”

Karyl wanted to smile, but his lips were tight with remorse.

“She’ll take that to the grave, you know.”

Hagane appeared, seemingly having waited for their conversation to reach a conclusion.

“If Yula ends up ruling this world, her first acts will likely be the extermination of humanity and the annihilation of the Demon Realm,” he went on, casting a sly smile toward Miliana.

“So in the end, you gave me this relic just to survive.”

“Even if you, my empress, were to obtain the Demon King’s power, that’s only a concern for after Yula’s destruction. I chose to support the one who could actually bring down a god.”

“I’ll make you regret giving me this power. From now on, I won’t let you pull any reckless stunts in the human realm.”

“That wouldn’t be such a bad outcome. It’s certainly better than total annihilation, don’t you think?”

“Exactly. A true king should know how to value his own life. You’re better than most in that regard.”

Hagane offered a faint smile in response.

“Over there, Suan Hazer is still holding back Yula’s power. Thanks to him, we have an opening. However, even the strength of the Lord of Rocks has its limits. Suan has absorbed three Dimension Spirals. If not for Maktuun’s power stabilizing him, those three shards would’ve obliterated him by now.”

At that, Karyl closed his eyes.

Aidan Hamil and Suan Hazer had spent more time by his side than anyone else in this life. Losing them both would bring pain beyond words, utterly unbearable.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Miliana said firmly. “If you’ve got time to wallow, use it to figure out how to kill Yula instead. That’s your duty to those who stand by your side, and to those who’ve already fallen in doing so.”

Karyl swallowed hard and nodded. He had tried to change the future by sacrificing himself, but his loyal followers refused to let him go, clinging to him even at the cost of their own lives.

“There’s only one way. In the end, Yula can’t be killed without Divine Power. The fragments I have now aren’t enough to overpower her. The only choice is to absorb the three Dimension Spirals Suan holds.”

Miliana gave a firm nod.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions rage across the battlefields—golems, wyverns, and demons clashing with Yula’s shadowy abominations.

Miliana tugged the reins of her wyvern and soared higher into the fray.

“The only ones who can withstand Yula’s attacks are me, Hagane, and Allen, though we’d probably manage just one strike.”

“So, that gives us at least three chances,” Hagane said nonchalantly, though they all understood that each opportunity would cost a life.

Failure meant death.

“In that case, I’ll take the first shot,” said Allen Javius, casually tilting his head.

“No, I’ll go first,” Hagane objected.

“Demons may be a threat to the human realm and thus expendable, but they’re still a part of the cosmic order. A revenant like me, on the other hand, is not.”

Hagane snorted at Allen’s dismissal.

“Even if I’m a mere ghost whose meddling might eventually be erased by Karyl, that doesn’t change my role here,” Allen added with a dry laugh.

He was the epitome of pride, embodying the majesty of a Great Sorcerer to the very end. If anything, he seemed annoyed by the fact that he had lingered in this world longer than other ghosts of the past.

“Stand aside, all of you. At the very least, we can’t waste the path carved by that colossal brute.”

Wuuuung...!

“Karyl.”

At his call, Karyl turned to face him.

“Now I’m certain. I cannot die. Or rather, I cannot be erased. For that reason, I cannot give you my Dimension Spiral.”

Karyl nodded, as if he understood exactly what Allen meant.

“So even now, you still bear the burden for my sake...”

“Haha, a teacher’s duty is to always support their student, is it not?” Allen shrugged lightly before gripping his staff. “I’ll watch over you from above, always. So make sure to live your life as a human.”

With those words, Allen leaped from the wyvern and unleashed his magic. Countless spheres of violet energy whirled around him.

Boom! Boom! Crash!

The spheres spiraled furiously, shattering the encroaching wall of black mist and carving a clear path forward.

Crack...! Crack—crack!

Amidst the deafening explosions and violet flames, Karyl’s wyvern surged through the path cleared by Allen.

“Go forth...!!!”

Karyl didn’t look back. He simply pressed forward, just as his comrades had urged him to.

“Move! Get out of my way, you wretched creature...!!”

Bang! Bang! Crash!

Clang! Thud!

Yula’s sharp cries echoed as her blade hammered against the unyielding shield. But for the first time, the sword that had effortlessly cut through everything was deflected.

The shield was firmly anchored to the ground, not only blocking her path but also sprouting roots that snared her legs and encased her in stone. Its creator was determined to hold her, no matter the cost.

“AAAAAGHHH...!!!” She swung her sword as though she had gone mad, her screams feral.

“Yula... I can’t believe I’d get to see your true form this early. It seems I haven’t waited in vain.”

“Silence! Don’t you dare lecture me, you parasite! You, who can do nothing but cling to humans!”

As Maktuun’s voice rang out, Yula shrieked even more hysterically. She knew exactly what these stone walls surrounding her were—the barrier created by the Lord of Rocks himself.

“True, without humans, I wouldn’t have been able to corner you like this,” Maktuun acknowledged. “But does that matter? Humans are neither insignificant nor mere tools. They are our brothers in arms.”

“Silence! Release me right now, unless you wish to spend eternity trapped between life and death!”

“I refuse.”

“I’m giving you a chance! You can only stand against me because of Divine Power. But how long do you think a human who has absorbed three Dimension Spirals can last?”

Crash!

At that moment, a loud crack rang out as the unyielding stone around her began to fracture.

“Enduring the agony of your burning insides is admirable, but in the end, you’re still just a mortal with a single life. How can such a fragile vessel possibly contain the power of a god?”

Bang! Crack!

Cracks spread as Yula relentlessly struck the rocky wall, widening with each blow until the entire structure began to tremble.

CRASH...!!

With a deafening sound, the wall finally collapsed, shattering into countless fragments.

Yula turned her sword toward the massive boulder that had stood in her way and growled, “You’ve just lost your final chance...!”

Within the boulder, Suan Hazer sat cross-legged, arms folded over his chest, his entire focus on maintaining his Automata shield.

He was akin to an egg-bound bird, utterly unaware of her approach.

“He’s already dead, I see,” Yula said with her gaze fixed on him. “I’ll commend you for holding me back, an accomplishment neither the elves nor dragons could manage. It seems humanity has surpassed its limits.”

Shatter! Clang!

Her sword pierced the boulder, and the Automata encasing Suan cracked like an eggshell, crumbling into debris.

“I see. This is a shield forged from Divine Power, human technology, and spirit energy... An impressive feat, I must admit. But in the end, mortality marks your downfall.”

Wuuuuuum...!

The Lord of Rocks emerged behind Suan, his massive arms enveloping the lifeless figure protectively.

“Are you so sure? Holding you here is simply more than enough for us.”

“So now you’re trying to justify your defeat. You’re going to die either way. Just shut up and wait for it,” Yula growled.

“Do you really think those who stood in your way ever believed they could kill you? No.”

Maktuun’s voice was calm, almost mocking.

“We were waiting—waiting because he couldn’t reach you... and so that when he did, he would come with conviction.”

“Conviction...?”

“The one to slay you has already been chosen. But we never wanted his death. We wanted yours. It took quite some effort to break his resolve... but none of these sacrifices were in vain.”

“You...”

“There’s nothing more to ask for. I’m just grateful I met a worthy contractor.”

The Lord of Rocks stepped forward to block Yula’s path.

“You’re in such a hurry to die,” Yula said dismissively, her confidence unshaken.

Wooooosh—!

A crimson current surged from her blade. The Dimension Spiral she had absorbed was now fully hers, flowing through her without restraint. Its divine energy raged so fiercely that even the Spirit King trembled before it.

“You’ve always been like this. Half-breeds, born from the Rift, who could never become gods.”

Shing!

She twisted the hilt in her grip, the blade ringing sharply. Maktuun closed his eyes, as if sensing his end.

“...!!”

At that very moment, a shadow fell over Yula’s head, and in that fleeting instant, a sharp gust of wind brushed past her side.

Slash—!!

A few drops of crimson blood ran down from Yula’s collarbone. She was frozen like a statue.

“...I thought you were nothing but a light feather, but you’re a man, after all,” Miliana said in a low voice, holding the broken blade of her dagger. “These people fought even after death.”

Another gust followed—it was Hagane.

The Demon King approached Suan Hazer, laying him on the ground.

“Yeah,” Karyl whispered softly, glancing at Suan as he lay in the Demon King’s arms.

“...You did well.”

He slowly brushed his hand over Suan’s face, closing his eyes. Then, he finally let out the breath he had been holding.

“You’ve come at last.”

By now, the wound on Yula’s collarbone from Aidan’s blade had already healed, as if it had never been there in the first place. However, instead of reassuring her, this only seemed to fuel her fury. Her face twisted into something demonic, radiating suffocating malice.

“Truly... you are a god,” Hagane muttered, his lips curling under the crushing pressure.

Yula tilted her head slightly and scanned the group. The malice in her gaze was enough to chill the blood of anyone it found.

“Yula.”

But when Karyl shifted his gaze from Suan—who seemed to be merely asleep—to her, there was not a trace of fear on his face.

Standing before the god of this world, his expression appeared serene, almost detached.

“Isn’t it funny how I fought alone for so long...? I suppose I started taking it for granted, believing that finishing this alone was the only way. But it seems these people won’t let me take that chance to become some so-called hero...”

“What nonsense are you spouting...?” Yula hissed, her face twisting into a sneer.

“That’s right. A god like you will never understand. But now I’m certain of it.” Karyl’s lips curled into a faint smile as he looked at her. “I will carry on living... as a human.”

Throughout this final battle, Yula had never felt fear in the face of any attack—but now, that faint smile on Karyl’s face managed to send a chill down her spine.