Chapter 12

Chapter 12. Red Sea (2)

"Your Majesty, a sinister death star has risen above the Empire. And it happens to be directly beneath Your Majesty's star......"

A death star had been born in the Ruzbella Empire.

Even if it appeared over a mere orphan, it warranted dispatching an execution squad. A doom-laden fate.

And it just had to be the Emperor's youngest daughter.

"Confine the princess for eternity."

Iris Ruzbella— she was cast into the most remote corner of the imperial palace.

Guarding the palace were the Imperial Five-Star Knights.

The nursemaid assigned to her in infancy took her own life when Iris turned four.

'Why...... does everyone abandon Us?'

After the nursemaid's death, the necessary food was delivered by a small cart.

Even that stopped once she turned eight.

'We're hungry.'

In a desolate palace devoid of a single soul, Princess Iris shuddered with loneliness.

No one could cross past the knights and enter the princess's palace.

'We must hunt for ourselves......'

For reasons unknown, monsters began appearing inside the castle.

She pulled a candlestick from the wall and swung it like a sword.

She roamed the castle on her own, securing provisions.

No one had ever taught her swordsmanship, yet she achieved mastery in an instant.

When this was discovered, she was ultimately cast into the [Abyss].

【I shall make your dream come true. Lonely girl, take hold of me.】

There, she met the [Sword]— no, the [Sword Master].

'There is a being who needs Us?'

Even though the entire world had abandoned her, the Sword Master alone had protected her.

Even when the entire world tried to kill her, the Sword Master had supported and shielded her.

She befriended the sword and overcame her loneliness.

"This maiden despises everything in the world."

The sword understood her wish.

It gave her the power to make her dream come true.

And so, she became the last Empress who destroyed the continent—.

"We witnessed the world's end together...... and yet, why do you abandon this maiden?"

Inside the world of the sword, Iris lamented in despair.

One day, this eternal space had connected to the Sword Master's world.

She tried her hardest.

She ultimately overcame the obstruction of that loathsome old sword and earned the right to speak with the [Sword Master].

And yet the Sword Master said nothing.

'Is it because this maiden has shrunk too small to be seen?'

From their very first meeting, the Sword Master had prioritized her nutrition and growth.

Perhaps he didn't like her childish form.

'In this tiny state, We don't meet his standards. How can We make this body grow—. If We killed and absorbed the other swords......'

Just as she was engulfed in that despair—.

WHOOOOSH————.

A thick scent of blood wafted through.

It was vivid enough to reach even the world of swords.

"Aah, as We thought! The master didn't ignore this maiden after all!!!"

Iris understood.

She hadn't been abandoned.

"He prepared a feast for this maiden......"

The Sword Master intended to share a banquet of blood with Iris, celebrating the joy of their reunion!

* * *

A crimson greatsword tore through the air and surged forth.

A lustrous violet blade.

A hilt radiating sinister energy.

A sword that anyone would regard as the very root of all evil.

But.......

THUMP—!!!

My heart pounded.

This was the sword that had witnessed the world's end alongside my younger self.

Holding it in my own hands— how could I not tremble?

My sword was trembling just the same.

【The Lord of Blood who commands a million demons, the last Empress of the continent. Iris Ruzbella, answering the Sword Master's call.】

She spoke.

Her voice quivered faintly.

I nodded indifferently and surveyed my surroundings.

Everything was already drenched in red from the crimson sea, but the red aura erupting from the sword stained the world an even deeper scarlet.

I extended my vision far into the distance.

WHOOOOSH———.

Crimson waves undulating sluggishly in a world that had slowed.

Monsters of the Red Sea surging from within.

"RUN——."

"THE SEA——!!!"

In the slowed world, I could see people fleeing with their backs to the waves.

All of it had happened in an instant, yet my transcendent perception parsed and organized every piece of information in a flash.

【I have never forgotten the grace you bestowed in fulfilling this maiden's wish. Now it is my turn to repay you. Please, use my power to your heart's content.】

Iris whispered.

It was sweet, like the whisper of a devil.

I gladly accepted the temptation.

Whoosh—.

Suppressing my surging emotions as much as possible.

I aimed the 2nd Sword, Iris Ruzbella, at the vast sea.

My enemy was a force of pseudo-nature.

Waves towering as though they would swallow the outskirts of Goyang City and submerge Seoul itself.

But I wasn't afraid.

'I can kill anything.'

I could feel it.

How to use the power dwelling within the sword.

The countless authorities and memories gained from raising the sword.

On top of that, the enlightenment I'd gained upon becoming the [Sword Master] flashed through my mind in a single spark of brilliance.

'I'll kill the sea. The red sea.'

The crimson blood dwelling in the sword was my power.

The vengeful spirits slumbering within were demons at my command.

What moved them was a single word from me.

"Devour—."

A simple command.

And my sword, swung.

Whoosh——.

The crimson greatsword traced an arc toward the waves.

Not a mere swing.

[Single Slash — Horizontal Cut]

The first transcendent technique that Reinhardt had realized was manifested through the crimson greatsword.

Originally, a technique that radiated brilliant blue light.

Now it was different.

A chilling crimson had taken its place.

Thick, red sword energy poured toward the waves.

Cracks formed in the air.

CRACKLE—CRACK.

The atmosphere shattered along the sword's trajectory.

From the fissures, dark crimson blood spilled over.

And from it, the million demons sleeping within the sword were made manifest upon this earth.

SHREEEEE—————.

Dark crimson blood.

It became demons.

The demons were monsters with enormous heads— bald, with a single crude eye, their entire faces splitting open horizontally in a grotesque visage.

They multiplied by the tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, and hurled themselves at the Red Sea.

CHOMP—.

The demons opened their maws.

Teeth resembling massive human molars chewed and swallowed the Red Sea's aberrant monsters.

They multiplied up to a million and plunged into the sea without hesitation.

'Power—.'

The demons grew in size as they devoured the Red Sea.

The Red Sea was blood.

And they had consumed it.

An indescribable surge of elation welled up throughout my entire body.

THUMP!!!

My heart pounded.

I could feel blood filling up somewhere in real time.

And yet, paradoxically, an intense thirst washed over me.

But the demons quenched that thirst as they devoured the Red Sea.

'Lord of Blood.'

The authority I'd gained from Iris.

It was being applied to my physical body in real time.

Something that had been empty was being filled to the brim.

I didn't know the specific changes.

'Right now, I am omnipotent.'

Sword and user are one.

A truth of [Raise a Sword].

Therefore, right now, I was at the same level as the 5th Sword, Iris.

A state approaching omnipotence.

'I'll have to wait until the sword's summoning ends to see the changes.'

Even as I thought this, the demons continued swelling in size as they drained the Red Sea.

The true nature of the demons was her subjects.

The sole subjects who followed the last Empress who had destroyed the continent.

They regarded me as their sovereign and, following my desire, devoured everything.

'Only the Red Sea—.'

This was a power that had annihilated the world.

Those things literally wanted to consume everything.

But I was the master.

As the master of the sword, I restrained them.

The demons, following their master's will, absorbed the blood that comprised the Red Sea at a staggering pace.

'This power is absurd.'

Before I knew it, the sea had grown calm.

I gazed at the phenomenon I'd wrought, unable to contain my astonishment.

WHOOOOSH——.

The Red Sea had vanished.

Not just the waves that had surged from the Gate's overflow— the entire sea that had blanketed Goyang City.

Seeing Goyang City's ground exposed for the first time in ten years might make it seem as though I were some kind of savior, but.......

CREAK—.

The million demons, now as massive as the Red Sea's waves, filled the entire area.

They rolled their single, gleaming eyes, demanding more to consume.

And I was the protagonist standing in the middle of this catastrophe.

【Aah, this maiden has grown a little. I shall eagerly await the day We are reunited, Master.】

Four seconds, up to this point.

Iris's farewell was the last thing before the world shuddered.

RUMBLE————.

The colossal demons instantly dissolved into a mist of blood and vanished into the sword.

The massive crimson greatsword in my hand returned to the invisible scabbard.

And then.......

'My body has changed.'

I'd absorbed an unfathomable amount of blood.

Through the [Lord of Blood] trait, everything about me had evolved a step further.

Smells were vivid.

My vision was sharp.

I could feel every minute movement of my muscles, and I had the sense that I could control every fiber of my body.

No sooner had I registered this than another change occurred.

Flash!

[Baby Sword has gained a massive amount of indirect experience.]

[Please select a new trait!]

My small and precious 'Baby Sword' had grown.

This meant I could now choose the sword's lineage and build a concrete path.

Flash!

[Numerous observers have witnessed the feat of 'Sword Master — Shin Si-woo.']

[The world sends its praise for a great achievement.]

[You have resolved most of the Incomprehensible.]

[1 KG Mystery Ingot has been awarded.]

[World Quest triggered!]

[Find and eliminate the source of the Red Sea.]

︙

'A 1kg Mystery ingot...... and a World Quest?'

Just as I was distracted by the cascade of messages and astronomical rewards—.

'Hm?'

A strange smell drifted from behind me.

I turned my head slightly.

"W-WHAT IN THE WORLD JUST—!!!"

Behind me stood Seol-a noona's father.

Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin had toppled backward with a thud.

'So much happened in four seconds that it's no wonder he's shocked.'

I'd assumed he was startled by the sword erasing the Red Sea, but—.

"S-STAY BACK!!!"

He was looking at me with a terrified expression.

Thoroughly gripped by fear.

I glanced around and found everyone else was the same.

I may have overdone it with the theatrics.

* * *

—Holy shit, what did I just watch?

—Is that humanly possible?

—That's why they're called Transcendents.......

The Red Sea had vanished.

Yet martial law remained in effect.

Under normal circumstances, the public would have protested, but—.

—Watch the 0.1x speed footage. Isn't that world-ending level?

Shin Si-woo's power had been broadcast across the entire world via WorldNet.

Starting with the correspondent who'd been reporting live collapsing while vomiting blood, the atmosphere had turned deeply unsettled.

—Everyone pissed themselves lol

Everyone visible in the footage— Hunters and civilians alike— had wet trousers.

—Wouldn't NOT pissing yourself be the weird thing there?

Erasing the sea was all well and good, but then the monsters that had devoured the sea and grown to its scale had appeared.

At this point, the citizens of Korea were reminded of a certain hero.

—Aah, Kang Mu-jin. He is simply the light.

—He had profound reasons for hiding the Transcendent all along.......

—Vile trash journalists!!! I'm posting a list of reporters who wrote malicious articles on the Patriot Petition Board!

Righteous Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin.

He'd been shouldering that massive, terrifying bomb alone for the sake of the people.

Everyone was convinced of it.

The power Shin Si-woo had displayed was overwhelming, and beyond that, threatening.

As if—.

—Doesn't he look stronger than the Patriot?

—STFU, what would you do when he launches bombers from the carriers?

—Just summon Swordmaster Cheok Jun-gyeong to fight the demons and bomb the main body, ez.

The Patriot's hardcore fans had a meltdown.

Yet even they inwardly questioned who was stronger.

—So can the Patriot four-second the Red Sea?

The Patriot had pushed the Red Sea back with firepower.

And barely at that— only up to Goyang City.

In the end, the Patriot's hardcore fans backed down.

—But with Kang Mu-jin backing him, he's probably not a bad Hunter. Do we really need to fight among ourselves?

—Good point.

Shin Si-woo was a Hunter of the Republic of Korea.

His power was terrifying, sure, but.......

In reality, he was a great hero who had resolved a national threat.

—Come to think of it, in Yeouido he carpet-bombed with gorgeous, majestic blue swords. He can't be evil, right?

—But here he summoned world-ending monsters?

—Guess he can do both.

Public opinion moved swiftly, grounded in facts.

—He's a savior, no doubt.

—With this many people watching, the achievement rewards must've been insane.

People began focusing on the essence of what Shin Si-woo had done.

—But if he erased the Red Sea, doesn't that make him stronger than Jesus?

—Comparing him to Jesus is crossing the line.

Jesus— the strongest Hunter in America.

A deranged powerhouse who had converted the entirety of the Grand Canyon into a [Church].

He was the world's sole EX-rank Hunter.

Unlike the pseudo Red Sea emerging from a Gate, Jesus had literally split the actual Atlantic Ocean in half.

—Plus he completely eradicated the concept of disability across all of America, so there's no comparison in achievements.

There were no longer any disabled people in America.

Because the blessing of 'Jesus' had been bestowed, one that perfectly cured even mental illness.

"Oh, God damn!!!"

Even that Jesus was gasping in shock at the feat Shin Si-woo had wrought.

"To think such vicious, horrific monsters have appeared in the mortal world......"

The Grand Canyon Church.

A Black man with hair parted into two curly pigtails muttered.

"The Gates aren't the problem right now."

He'd initially been keeping an eye on Korea's situation because a forced Gate Break had occurred.

But then.......

Something far more sinister— something that made the Red Sea look trivial— had appeared.

"A—men."

Jesus clutched the cross hanging from his neck and murmured something.

A moment later—.

HISS.

[SATAN, DEVIL, DEMON, EVIL, POWERS OF DARKNESS.]

An inscription about the crimson sword and Shin Si-woo appeared above the cross.

"Good Lord—."

It meant a demon that deserved to be torn apart and killed on sight.

That chilling crimson greatsword.

The demons summoned from it.

Those were genuinely evil powers.

"I must go find that devil at once. Bring me President Bill!!!"

Jesus had given his command.