Chapter 57

Chapter 57. Let's Go, North! (3)

"A—men."

I wasn't religious, but I prayed.

Because of the holy gaze pouring from on high.

Ziiiiing————.

I couldn't see it, but I felt it.

Normally I wouldn't have been able to feel it at all — but he had clearly made it perceptible.

A being whose outcome I could not predict even while holding my Transcended sword — a living god — Jesus.

[Day of Holy Judgment.]

Jesus's Authority would serve as a failsafe against the worst-case scenario.

Within North Korean land, devoured by the demonic, there might be something that surpassed even the Dark God Necribas.

No — there certainly was.

'There are more contractors of the Dark God.'

A fact I'd learned when purifying the contamination on our soldiers.

Multiple Dark Gods whose names hadn't yet been revealed, and humans devouring fellow humans as 'offerings.'

'The world needs to know.'

The horrors of North Korea were being 'observed' through Jesus's Authority.

For the sake of my true objective.

The voice announcing the 'precursor of the war against the Dark God' was also part of that objective.

'A global alliance.'

Just as the UN had once existed.

I would build a human coalition to fight the demonic.

North Korea, where not a single person could be found.

I'd become certain the moment I entered.

'We need a pan-human alliance that goes beyond Korea-US-Japan.'

The state of the Earth far exceeded my projections.

Humanity still knew nothing.

Drunk on the comfort of Awakening and Mysteries, every nation was holed up within its borders, scrambling just to block Gates.

The real enemies were those things consuming humanity.

The observation was for that purpose, and the data from this place would be curated by Jesus and spread across the world.

'Narrowing the information gap.'

It went without saying…

The one driving all of this was me.

The one who had to take responsibility was also me.

So.

'Save the Ego Swords for when I truly need them.'

For the strongest enemy.

The most troublesome enemy.

The most dangerous enemy.

When I met them — my swords' favorite nourishment would be waiting.

Jjeuap!!!

⦗Delicious!⦘

Right on cue, the Baby Sword cried out brightly, having finished its meal.

While I'd been purifying the surrounding area, I'd fed the Baby Sword Necribas's clone — and it had polished the whole thing off.

Growing fast, eating well — a real growth spurt.

'We've gotten pretty strong ourselves.'

Different from the start.

The Baby Sword and I had achieved tremendous growth together.

I checked the status window for the first time in a while.

Paat!

『Sword Master, Shin Si-woo Lv.6』

—Skills: [Single Slash — Horizontal Cut] [Single Slash — Sky Splitter] [Lord of Blood] [Infinite Divinity] [Supreme Heavenly Cradle] [Purification]

—Internalized Authority: 33 Forms, Life-and-Death Demon Summoning.

Starting with my own changes.

I'd been growing at such a breakneck pace that even I couldn't gauge how much stronger I'd become.

'The Forms from the Tower.'

These were something like a 'passive skill.'

Only with Transcendence layered on top.

Thanks to Reinhardt, I'd obtained the complete Forms without any Juvenile Abstinence Cultivation side effects.

Now my basic swordsmanship hit with the force of an ultimate technique.

'It was incredible.'

Using them firsthand drove that home even more.

Before, just facing a fake — Necribas descended into Gye Man-hwi's body — had pushed me to summon a Transcended sword.

But now, even against a stronger enemy, I didn't need to call on the Transcended swords.

I'd also absorbed the excess good-evil ratio while slaying demonic creatures.

Thanks to the 'Lord of Blood' trait, my body was progressively leaving the category of human behind.

—Sword Summon (Authority):

State — Baby Sword / Name — Undecided (Lv.6)

Alignment: Chaos. 50:50

Sword Form: Holy-Demon Sword.

Trait: Time-Space Slash.

Learned Authority: Demon Summoning (10 units), Chamber of the Lone Divine.

Next — the Baby Sword's changes.

It too had achieved enormous growth.

At this point, the Baby Sword's good-evil ratio wouldn't easily break.

Because the balance had been achieved through Reinhardt's power during the Tower visit.

And that wasn't all.

'Yuria's power has taken root in the Baby Sword.'

The Authority of swords whose manifestation value exceeded 15 carried over to the Baby Sword.

Following Iris's [demons], I'd gained a powerful sealing technique — [Chamber of the Lone Divine] — originating from Yuria.

A technique that could forcibly drag an enemy into a 1-on-1 situation.

It seemed well-suited to pair with Time-Space Slash.

On top of that…

'The world is starting to recognize it.'

After several rounds of strengthening, the Baby Sword's trait of 'time and space' had begun to be displayed on the status window as [Time-Space Slash].

Such designations reflected how 'the world' viewed me.

—Ego Sword Summon (Authority):

[Communication Ability] [Sword Master's Dominion]

1st Sword, Reinhardt Euclid. [14/100]

2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia. [21/100]

3rd Sword, Jun. [0/100]

4th Sword, Muratan. [10/100]

5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella. [21/100]

6th Sword, Bellatrice. [0/100]

Last — my Ego Swords.

Transcended swords that had witnessed the end of the world.

Their growth was measured by a single metric: [manifestation value].

Because they were already completed beings.

And even that value was climbing steeply.

'Good progress.'

Thanks to 'Infinite Divinity' layered with the Oath of the Chaste, the [2nd Sword, Yuria]'s value was continuously growing on its own.

By devouring the demonic from all manner of Gates, the [5th Sword, Iris]'s value had rapidly caught up to Yuria's.

As a result, the good-evil ratio was maintaining 'balance.'

'The other swords are progressing smoothly too.'

The [1st Sword, Reinhardt] was a sword that grew through cultivation.

But even he was climbing at a tremendous rate, buoyed by the [10,000% cultivation efficiency] buff.

His value had jumped by 3 in this single battle alone.

And then there was Muratan, who was growing steadily all on his own — hammering away at demons in his forge.

Under the assumption of summoning every sword simultaneously, I could—

'52 seconds.'

—maintain a state of omnipotence for approximately one minute.

At least for that duration, calling me a god would not be an overstatement.

There was a reason I was reviewing this information now.

"Junior, I think I need to head back to the carrier."

The time had come to split up.

Separating in the middle of enemy territory was not exactly a good sign.

Even so, I nodded calmly.

"Let's each do our best where we're needed."

52 seconds of Transcendence.

That much preparation was more than sufficient.

"They're throwing everything including the gnats — they're really flailing. Guess there really is something important here, like you said."

The Patriot scowled, lifting his Taegukgi cap slightly.

Beyond the purified sky where light poured down, the Patriot's gaze traveled.

An intense flash flickered.

Kuguguguguung——.

Explosions in the sky.

The Patriot's bombers were being shot down by something.

Bird-like monsters.

'Some kind of flying polluted beast?'

Those creatures dodged the carrier's railguns while continuously targeting the fighters.

"I'm heading up! Cheok Jun-gyeong will hold this position for me."

The Patriot was returning to the carrier to deal with this personally.

Entrusting everything to a Constellation.

'Is this what it means to have endured a trial together?'

Just as my swords and I were.

The bond between the Patriot and his Constellations was remarkably strong.

The Patriot placed his full trust in Sword Master Cheok Jun-gyeong and stepped through a portal toward the carrier.

"Will you be all right on your own?"

Originally, the Patriot's role was to guard this land I'd purified.

For Jesus's 'observation,' uncorrupted land like this was necessary.

Whether a Constellation alone could manage it was slightly doubtful.

"Protecting. That was always my duty."

Cheok Jun-gyeong was considerably more taciturn than I'd expected.

He simply said he would guard this land, refraining from any small talk.

Just because he was being quiet didn't mean I had to be.

I seized the moment to ask something I'd been curious about.

"Does Lord Patriot not fight? Or can he not fight?"

An unknowable, intense power dwelled within the Patriot.

Having fought side by side at close range, I was now certain.

'And yet, the Patriot did nothing in combat.'

The widespread bombardment blanketing all of North Korea, the close-combat prowess that had slaughtered polluted beasts.

All of it had been his Constellations wielding overwhelming force on his behalf.

That was the source of my question, but…

"Hmm."

Cheok Jun-gyeong calmly stroked his chin and sank into thought.

He even sheathed his laser-sword, concentrating deeply.

What secret could there be?

"I cannot tell you in detail, but… I will share this one thing."

I heard a deeply surprising fact from Cheok Jun-gyeong.

He said.

"I am the weakest among us."

The Sword Master — Cheok Jun-gyeong — was in fact the weakest!

* * *

'Why doesn't the Patriot — stronger than Cheok Jun-gyeong — fight?'

Carrying a fundamental and deeply puzzling question, I advanced toward Pyongyang alone.

Sreureuk—.

Scenery flickered past like afterimages.

Thanks to a body that had grown immensely powerful, I could move at a speed like teleportation.

Polluted beasts and unidentified ichor lunged to block my way, but I engaged none of them and moved in a straight line.

The closer I drew to my destination, the stronger the tremors grew.

Kuung.

Kuguguung—.

An intense heartbeat.

It was drenched in fear.

It was clearly terrified of my approach.

While moving, I expanded my sensing to its maximum.

Borrowing even my swords' perception.

⦗No life exists.⦘

I'd never expected survivors, but still — as I crossed North Korean soil, I'd hoped someone, anyone, might be alive.

Had the Patriot been here, he'd have had the same thought.

'He certainly can't call North Korea an "enemy state."'

The closer I drew to Pyongyang.

The nearer I came to the city that had once been North Korea's most prosperous.

Ironically, the darkness grew thicker and the death more intense.

This was simply a demonic territory.

Until now, the North Korean landscape had been nothing but darkness-stained earth and ruins from the bombings.

Then I ascended a nameless mountain overlooking Pyongyang.

I witnessed an astonishing sight.

'Living people.'

People alive and breathing.

To be precise, I'd discovered a location where such presence could be felt.

An enormously vast building of some kind.

The place where the Kim dynasty had presumably lived — it was coated entirely in solid Mystery.

Amid the bombed-out ruins, it was the only structure maintaining its form, and in front of it…

Krrrrrrk—.

Crimson monsters were everywhere.

The servants of the Dark God — Necribas.

That meant the [vessel of the Dark God] was hidden inside that Mystery-coated structure.

'The living presences are all inside there too.'

And…

What was visible wasn't everything.

I sensed a chilling gaze from somewhere beyond reality.

⦗An Eye… it is an Eye.⦘

Yuria murmured.

[The Eye] was a high-tier Demon God that had appeared in Raise a Sword.

It was simply an eye.

An eye that saw all things and imprisoned them.

Sreureuk——.

That gaze was looking down upon the entirety of North Korea.

Only after entering this deep darkness could I finally begin to see the flow.

This land was merely…

'The beginning.'

But it was still at a level that could be managed.

That was what I believed.

With that thought, I raised my sword.

As promised—

"Reinhardt."

My first sword — whose house had been annihilated by the Dark God Necribas.

I spoke the name of Reinhardt Euclid.

Kuung————.

The world stopped.

As I grew, it seemed the Transcended state's perception was becoming even more vivid.

In the world frozen for an instant, blue light overflowed.

The sword grew.

It became sturdier.

Harder, yet sharper still.

With a keenly glinting blade and a resplendent azure blue aura, my first sword appeared in the world.

——A vile wretch has come.

The Dark God moved through that frozen instant.

The parasite that lived by exploiting others had moved in person.

Which meant it too was being cornered.

[Natural Enemy.]

By mere existence, my sword made Necribas wretched.

What emerged from the vessel was the main body.

Having sent a clone, I'd thought it retained 90% of its power, but—

——Foolish creature.

Crimson skin over sculpted muscles.

And wings spread wide, dripping deep-crimson blood — the Dark God Necribas soared above Pyongyang.

It had far exceeded my expectations.

'I didn't think it would have grown stronger.'

An intensity that far surpassed 100%.

In truth, given North Korea's original population, the Dark God had more than enough fuel to grow.

Tens of millions — in [Raise a Sword] terms, that equaled several kingdoms combined.

But here was the thing.

Seuk———.

My sword was already a completed sword.

A mere strengthened Dark God — Necribas — was no match.

Cut.

I recalled the sword's essence.

Cut.

I made that my sole objective.

Cut.

The sensation of the sword Reinhardt had swung for an entire lifetime, endlessly.

I focused on that.

Cut.

At my fingertips, the sensation was reborn.

Reinhardt, who had truly Transcended to become one with the sword.

I could feel that power.

What was the level of Reinhardt, who had become one with the sword?

[Sever.]

He severed what he wished to sever.

And so, I did the same.