The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 216

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 216

Step. Step.

As Kaylen walked toward the clearing where the Six Sword Path was engraved, Arashiel slowly flapped her wings, following behind him.

“There’s no need for you to follow me.”

“I have a duty to observe how the Mana Stone bestowed by the Celestial Demon is used.”

“When a god bestows an item, does it come with conditions? The Celestial Demon is rather petty.”

“Then please consider it my personal curiosity.”

“What’s with the ‘personal’ part?”

Kaylen chuckled softly and no longer tried to stop Arashiel from following him.

If she intended to monitor what he was doing, there were plenty of ways to do so without seeing it herself.

It would be better to keep her nearby to grasp more about her kind.

‘For now, should I start by asking her?’

Kaylen glanced at her briefly before speaking.

“Arashiel. Your dark mana is unusual. Yes… it feels similar to the darkness that veils the face of the Celestial Demon.”

At the mention that her mana resembled that of the Celestial Demon, a seductive smile graced Arashiel’s lips.

Her beauty was so fatal that even the non-beating heart of Johannes, who was following them, seemed to flutter.

‘So it’s true that Ernstine changed because of her.’

When he thought back, it wasn’t as though Ernstine had never encountered women as beautiful as Arashiel.

Although none among the human race could compare.

There were others — the High Elf Deluna and the Dwarf Queen Kaina — who possessed beauty capable of shaking nations.

But those two…

They were not the type to seduce men like she was.

‘Well, maybe in the past. But now… it seems I’m not falling for it.’

Johannes sneaked a glance at Kaylen.

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Kaylen’s gaze toward Arashiel was utterly calm.

Instead, it was Johannes who kept getting distracted by the fallen angel, which he found troubling.

“In the past, you couldn’t recognize dark mana at all. You’ve grown, Emperor Kaylen.”

“Since I’ve grown, the Celestial Demon now supports me, doesn’t he? What exactly is that dark mana of yours?”

“I cannot answer that. It has nothing to do with this matter.”

She didn’t deny the peculiarity of her dark mana.

However, Arashiel also didn’t resolve Kaylen’s curiosity.

In reality, whether a fallen angel’s dark mana was strange or not didn’t matter much in the fight against the Dragon God.

But Kaylen seemed to have anticipated such a response.

“Johannes. Give me the black Mana Stone.”

“Alright.”

When Johannes retrieved the black Mana Stone from his subspace, Kaylen took it and held it up in front of Arashiel.

“We need to absorb the Mana Stone bestowed by the Celestial Demon into the Six Swords, but this black Mana Stone is concerning me.”

“What’s the problem?”

“There’s a unique dark mana emanating from you and the Celestial Demon. I can sense it in this as well. I’m doubtful whether it’s safe to absorb it as it is.”

“You can absorb it. In fact, it’s far purer than the dark mana you currently possess.”

“No, that’s precisely the issue. It’s too high-level. I need to have at least a rough idea of what it is before I can safely absorb it into the sword.”

“This is necessary to complete the Six Swords. As you said, this isn’t unrelated to the matter at hand.”

Arashiel stared at the black Mana Stone for a moment.

Then, she slowly began to speak.

“How determined you are to learn about this dark mana.”

“I am.”

“Then, I suppose there’s no reason not to tell you. This dark mana originates from the moon.”

Arashiel pointed at the black Mana Stone with her finger.

“That stone was harvested from the moon. It is a Moonstone.”

“A Moonstone…”

“As you can see, the Celestial Demon is an absolute being who has claimed not only the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm but also the moon itself. Emperor Kaylen, you should once again recognize His greatness. It would be wise not to entertain any foolish thoughts.”

The Celestial Demon rules even the moon.

Arashiel emphasized this, sternly warning Kaylen not to harbor any reckless ideas regarding the Celestial Demon.

“A Moonstone… So this dark mana is connected to the moon. Did you also possess lunar dark mana a thousand years ago?”

“Yes. Even then, the moon was already in His possession.”

Arashiel turned her head coldly.

“Now that your question has been answered, proceed with your task.”

“Alright. Thank you for answering.”

Arashiel seemed unwilling to provide any more information.

Kaylen nodded, organizing his thoughts.

‘Arashiel said the Celestial Demon has even claimed the moon…

She spoke as if the god of this world was so powerful that He extended His dominion to the sky itself.

‘But that reverses the sequence of events.’

It was not that the Celestial Demon conquered the moon. An Outer God—

The absolute ruler of the moon had invaded this world.

Kaylen was convinced of this.

He recalled his past conversation with the Earth God.

—In return… Since I came all this way to tell you about the Celestial God, I’ll give you a piece of information.

—What is it?

—The reason the Celestial Demon came here.

—And what is that?

—To destroy this planet and restore Planet Theia.

Theia, the planet that once was the moon.

Restoring it—that was the Celestial Demon’s goal.

‘I couldn’t fully trust the Earth God’s words back then… but now, I can.’

With that thought, Kaylen recalled Ernstine’s sword.

‘The limitation of Ernstine’s Six Sword Path—Divine Slayer—

It was largely because he never fully grasped the true nature of the Celestial Demon.’

Ernstine, who had been turned into an undead by the Celestial God and imprisoned…

How could he have possibly known that the Celestial Demon was connected to the moon?

‘If that’s the case, then what I must do is…’

Rumble.

Kaylen poured the Mana Stone into the engraving of the Six Swords.

Already immense in size, stretching far beyond the royal capital, the Six Swords greedily devoured the Mana Stone bestowed by the Celestial Demon, growing even larger.

“…That is an incredible size.”

Even Arashiel, who had been watching closely as if to monitor him, seemed overwhelmed as she stared at the Six Swords.

She was invisible to ordinary people, but to her — a fallen angel — the massive size of the sword was clearly visible.

‘So this is why he asked for support with the Mana Stone.’

The size of the Six Sword Path stretched endlessly.

Even Arashiel couldn’t begin to measure the aura contained within the sword.

Seeing the completed Six Sword Path, created by a mere human like Kaylen, her eyes gleamed.

‘Completely different from the rookie he was a thousand years ago.’

Although his appearance remained the same as before...

He was no longer the naive Ernestine who once swore loyalty to his first wife, only to fall so easily to Arashiel’s temptation.

‘Now I see why the Celestial Demon sent me down here personally.’

Arashiel wasn’t just an ordinary servant of the Celestial Demon.

She was a direct descendant of the god, one of the highest ranks among the lunar clan, tasked with duties on the moon.

— "Observe Kaylen closely and report his actions to me."

This was the mission given to her personally by the Celestial Demon.

However, many others in the lunar clan could have easily carried out such a task.

This wasn’t a mission that required someone of her caliber.

She recalled the mission she was previously assigned.

‘That mission... the last one I had on this planet.’

It was a thousand years ago — to seduce Ernestine, who would become the seed of the Dragon God.

‘It was too easy.’

So easy, in fact, that she questioned whether she even needed to come down from the moon.

Ernestine was utterly vulnerable to her charms.

He was so utterly consumed by his desire for Arashiel that it went far beyond their initial objective.

He was completely and blindly devoted to her.

‘It won’t be as easy this time…’

Compared to the passionate gaze Ernestine once directed at her, Kaylen’s eyes were cold.

He only seemed interested in the fact that she was Arashiel, his second wife from a thousand years ago.

There was no trace of romantic feelings.

As someone from the lunar clan, where seduction was her natural talent, she could instinctively sense it.

However...

‘In the end, he’s still a man.’

Regardless of species, no male could escape her temptation.

"Kaylen."

Arashiel's tone, which had remained professional until now, suddenly softened.

"This Six Sword Path… It’s truly beautiful."

Her voice, once devoid of emotion, now carried a playful charm.

She slowly closed the distance between herself and Kaylen.

Even Johannes, watching from the sidelines, was taken aback by the sudden 180-degree shift in her demeanor.

Anyone could see it — she was now openly attempting to seduce him after seeing the Six Sword Path.

‘Damn… this is no joke.’

An overt attempt at seduction.

Given the events from a thousand years ago, and the suspicious nature of the Celestial Demon’s servant, who would fall for such a ploy?

And yet...

Even though Johannes wasn’t the target of her seduction, he found it hard to take his eyes off her.

‘If I weren’t undead, I’d be jealous of the Emperor.’

It was fortunate he was a Lich.

Had he been human, he might have been captivated by Arashiel and started viewing Kaylen as a rival.

Her sudden allure was so powerful that it was impossible to resist, even while being fully aware of it.

"Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"

"Why else? I’m doing this because I’ve taken an interest in you."

Arashiel lightly fluttered her wings and smiled at Kaylen.

Kaylen looked at her sudden approach with disbelief.

‘Oh… this is…?’

As she began releasing dark mana from her entire body, it slowly started to coil around Kaylen. His expression shifted.

Her one-sided advance, along with the dark mana she exuded, piqued Kaylen’s interest.

‘Was it like this back then as well? Did she extend the moon’s dark mana toward me like this?’

Back when Ernestine had fallen for Arashiel—

At the time, his level was still low, merely that of a Sword Master, so he hadn’t noticed anything.

But now, he could sense it clearly.

How Arashiel’s dark mana influenced him, how it made it difficult to take his eyes off her.

"So now… are you trying to restore our relationship from a thousand years ago?"

"This time, it’s different."

Arashiel spoke with a seductive smile.

"Back then, I had no choice but to seduce you because it was an order… But now, I’m genuinely drawn to your power."

You should consider it an honor that I’m showing you my sincerity.

Even though she was the one seducing him, she acted as if she was the one in control.

If it had been anyone else behaving like this, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against her allure…

"So… how about we try again?"

Arashiel was enchanting enough to make such a proposal seem natural.

However, Kaylen, the one being seduced, was flustered for a completely different reason.

‘This is…’

He had considered allowing himself to be slightly affected—

If only to observe how her dark mana worked.

But it didn’t stir anything within him at all.

‘Why… is this happening?’

Kaylen pondered for a moment—

‘Could it be… because I’ve become the Six Sword Path?’

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]