Chapter 63

Chapter 63. Reversal (3)

——Who are you?!

The instant Shin Si-woo made contact with the colossal sword.

In that fleeting, razor-thin moment.

KRRRRUMBLE!!!

The World of Swords shuddered.

A massive shock that warped the entire Sword Realm whole.

Every sword gazed skyward in horror.

"The Sword Master...... set aside this maiden for another sword?"

Starting with Iris's murmur, every sword's gaze turned venomous.

"Hmph! This old body still has plenty of use, so why would the Sword Master—?"

"What happened to the Oath of the Chaste? How can you look at another sword?"

"Sword Master, I will shatter that hunk of iron before you without fail!"

Indeed.

The Sword Realm hadn't shaken because of the contact between Shin Si-woo and the colossal greatsword.

It was the swords' fury.

Amid that fury, a cold, mechanical message surfaced.

FLASH!

[Fragment of a destroyed world confirmed.]

[Sword Master—Shin Si-woo has made contact with a sword from a vanished worldline.]

A destroyed world.

And a vanished worldline.

That was probably.......

'The versions of us from the failed worlds the Sword Master kept repeating.'

The swords understood instinctively.

They'd already known that vanished worlds existed.

However, all they remembered was the final playthrough—the memories of the last cycle where they'd completed the world alongside the Sword Master.

But.......

"Repetition, yes, repetition. So those failures have manifested in reality."

Iris Ruzbella.

She had a rough grasp of the situation.

Surely, when she'd crossed dimensions to kill the Eye.

She had said this:

"My, how strange. The more I look at you, the weaker you seem."

She'd thought it was just an offhand remark, but.......

Doesn't the subconscious reflect the truth?

She must have faced the Eye countless times beyond counting.

"In Our estimation, that greatsword is likely a remnant of a vanished worldline."

The other dimension where the Eye had been.

Having ventured out there once, Iris could say so with certainty.

Moreover, those listening were all beings similar to her, so they could understand.

"I reached the end on the first playthrough, so I would not know much about that...... but demon, your words certainly hold merit."

The 1st Sword, Reinhardt, nodded.

"A-another version of me from a different world appeared in this one? Th-then which one among them is the real me?"

The 2nd Sword, Yuria's eyes went wide with shock.

She looked rather dumbfounded.

"Sharp, brat."

"Do not call Us 'brat,' you lumpy, hideous dwarf."

With the 4th Sword Muratan's nod, all the swords agreed with Iris's assessment.

The evidence was clear.

"That impeccable balance and aesthetic sense—it is unmistakably the Sword Master's eye for craft."

Muratan verified the sword's composition.

"That sword was originally a holy sword, the same as me!"

The Holy Sword, Yuria, confirmed the sword's identity.

If that was the case.......

"Broken saintess, that must be another world's version of you."

That holy sword was most likely a Yuria from a ruined worldline.

Now that the identity was confirmed, it was time to discuss countermeasures.

Iris stepped forward.

Perched atop a demon, she craned her neck high and looked down at the other swords—.

"We shall propose."

The small Iris spoke.

"How about we absorb that thing?"

It was already a remnant of a failed world.

Even so, it still held possibility.

The possibility of becoming a new sword.

This World of Swords was already full.

"Even if it lacks a whole soul, unlike us......"

"Knowing the Sword Master's personality, he won't just leave a sword alone."

The world ultimately converges into one.

Just as each sword remaining here exists as a singular entity.

So then, let us make that unstable sword ours!

Iris's words were like a devil's temptation.

And that temptation worked.

"Truly, that is the right course."

"I am the only one fit to hammer the Sword Master!"

Reinhardt and even Muratan nodded repeatedly.

The greatsword that had touched Shin Si-woo's hand.

Without question, greed had flickered in the Sword Master's eyes.

That he coveted a new sword was an undeniable fact.

"Can it be done?"

However, a problem remained.

Wasn't Yuria the only one with any Manifestation time left?

She had to conserve her strength for emergencies involving the Sword Master.

Which meant.......

"Brat demon, you intend to spend the additional ten seconds on absorbing that thing?"

Ten seconds earned from a million lives.

Hadn't she been saving them for emergencies?

Originally, yes, but.......

"Follow Our will. Never, absolutely never shall the Sword Master take on a new sword!"

Still, there was another issue.

Could the swords exert their power on their own?

It was possible when Shin Si-woo was in danger.

But this wasn't that kind of situation.

"We have no intention whatsoever of allowing a new sword to come into being."

Iris presented a solution.

"Would it not be possible if we combined all our strength?"

No new swords.

Driven by that singular conviction alone, four swords united their will.

It was something that had never occurred even within Raise a Sword—a miracle, in every sense.

CLANG—!

Four souls took up four swords and gathered as one.

They crossed their blades and aimed toward the reality their Sword Master was showing them.

"A half-baked sword would only hinder the Sword Master's training."

The Righteous Sword.

"I swear upon my Oath of the Chaste—a new sword is absolutely unacceptable."

The Holy Sword.

"I am the only one meant to hammer the Sword Master."

The Smith's Sword.

"Haha! We swear upon Our name. The power absorbed from that sword shall be divided among us all!"

And the deepest of all, the Demon Sword.

SWOOOOOSH———.

Azure blue light.

Sacred golden light.

Rugged, blunt gray light.

Eerie, sinister crimson light.

Four colors harmonized and encroached upon reality.

***

'A sword that's exactly my taste.'

O greatsword, driven into Mt. Baekdu like a solitary iron stake.

I'll save you!

I pressed my hand against the sword with all my might.

Then—.

FLASH!

[An impossible event has occurred.]

[Confirming what lies beyond Transcendence.]

[Fragment of the Absolute.]

The instant my hand made contact.

Something unbelievable happened.

Dazzling, iridescent light sparkled above the Baby Sword, and then those messages appeared out of nowhere.

'The swords combined their strength?'

My swords each witnessed the end of the world in different ways.

Moreover, they possessed mutually opposing forces.

Two were the Righteous Sword and the Holy Sword.

Two were the Aberrant Sword and the Demon Sword.

And yet.......

BOOOOM————!!!

All those forces harmonized.

As if they were of one heart, one mind.

The act of swords who'd seen the end of the world combining their strength.

The system defined it as this:

[Fragment of the Absolute.]

The hierarchy of Hunters ranged from F through SSS-rank, with a sole EX above them all.

Those at SSS-rank and EX were called Transcendents.

"The Absolute" was an unfamiliar term.

'Does that mean there's something beyond Transcendent?'

I didn't know whether something truly existed beyond that, but.......

At the very least, the fact that this power was "absolute" was unmistakable.

CRACKLE———.

An immense force flowing through the Baby Sword.

It was powerful beyond any possible description.

A distant hypersensory state, forcibly entered.

'My cognition......'

I looked at what lay before my eyes.

The world had stopped, as if frozen.

The energy flowing from the sword was felt naturally.

All of it was directed at the "Shard of Impurity—the nameless greatsword" before me.

"I shall strip away the darkness."

The power of Reinhardt's Righteous Sword scrubbed away every trace of Impurity.

What was then revealed was the greatsword's original form—a sacred holy sword.

But.......

"I shall reclaim the divinity."

Yuria's divine power absorbed every last drop of divinity sleeping within the greatsword.

The sword's golden light vanished.

"I shall reclaim the iron."

Muratan's ability melted down every structural element that formed the sword.

And finally—.

"We shall feast well."

Iris's Authority devoured the remaining dregs of Impurity and every trace of the sword whole.

Annihilation, in the truest sense.

The colossal sword that had been embedded in Baekdu Heaven Lake vanished without a trace.

'I've essentially eliminated the cause that plunged North Korea into ruin......'

I should have been happy.

'Mm.'

But my feelings were somewhat complicated.

A warm sense of satisfaction at seeing the swords I'd raised cooperating with one another.

'My new sword......'

And, coexisting with it, a sense of loss at having lost the new sword before I could even properly examine it.

But soon, that loss was resolved in a different way.

FLASH!

[Recovered a Fragment of Impurity.]

[The swords' faded memories grow slightly clearer.]

[Currently unlocked swords' Manifestation values increase by +5.]

The time my swords could Manifest increased.

A fair five each, across the board.

'So I lost the additional ten seconds, but everyone gained five seconds each?'

The swords' Manifestation time had increased dramatically.

Which meant.......

—4th Sword, Muratan. [15/100]

'One of Muratan's Authorities transfers to the Baby Sword.'

The power of a being who was both sword and blacksmith.

Whatever it turned out to be, it was certain to surpass imagination.

And so the new Authority appeared.

FLASH!

[Your bond with Muratan deepens.]

[You can use the Baby Sword to separate a target.]

'Separation.'

That was the power I'd used when splitting the British Doctor from his Authority.

There was only one reason a power this immense had been granted.

'It means the world ahead is about to become that much more dangerous.'

As expected.

FLASH!

[World Quest: 'Those Who Fell to Impurity' has been assigned.]

A World Quest that appeared upon absorbing the second Fragment of Impurity.

Its name alone was savage.

Its backdrop was most likely—.

'China.'

The root of all evil that had twisted North Korea into something abominable.

"Those Who Fell to Impurity" clearly alluded to the enemy I'd soon face—China.

China, hidden behind a vast curtain.

But hadn't that curtain vanished along with the greatsword's destruction?

'That horrific Demonic Hellscape is......'

I calmly raised my head and looked ahead.

China, brimming with blood and death and despair.

But.......

'That's China?'

I bore witness to a truly shocking spectacle.

"What the hell is that?"

A wide-open vista.

Beyond it lay—.

GLEAM——.

Beneath a vivid sun, lush green plains stretched out endlessly.

And blanketing those plains, packed shoulder to shoulder—the Chinese military.

It was a feeling like my entire concept of "army" had been overturned.

'Good lord.'

Easily several hundred thousand Chinese troops had encircled the North Korean border where I stood.

Fighter jets, tanks, infantry composed of Induced Awakened, and.......

'Are those Transcendents?'

I could even see special units radiating formidable power.

Each member a Transcendent, yet their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.

They were called—.

"Ching."

That's what the Patriot said.

I looked up to find the aircraft carrier already hovering above my head.

Standing on the flight deck, the Patriot glared at the Chinese army with a face like a wrathful war god.

"Sacrificed the North Korean people as offerings so they could live in luxury?"

North Korea was an enemy state.

But—.

"They slaughtered every last potential citizen of the Republic of Korea and they're living it up like that?"

The Patriot lashed out with his hand.

One aircraft carrier, flashing crimson, advanced straight into the heart of the Chinese forces.

<Self-Destruct Sequence activated.>

***

HWOOONG———.

A lone aircraft carrier drifted toward China in solitude.

The unmanned drones and bombers that normally escorted it were nowhere to be seen—only a single carrier blinking red was visible.

The power contained within the carrier was overwhelming.

If that thing detonated.......

'The Chinese army dies. All of them.'

I was certain of it.

The problem was that the Chinese forces before me looked far too ordinary.

[There is not even a trace of a Dark God's presence, let alone any force resembling demonic energy.]

Exactly.

They were ordinary Chinese people.

A military mixed with Induced Awakened just like our own armed forces, with Transcendents forming a fairly large-scale unit.

Even so, I couldn't let my guard down.

'They're a threat.'

Only two Transcendents existed in the Republic of Korea.

Even America, which had taken in massive numbers of Hunter immigrants since the early days of the Gate crisis, barely exceeded a hundred.

China's military was on a different level entirely.

Transcendents on par with me and the Patriot numbered in the hundreds.

'Does it even make sense to deploy Transcendents in unit formations?'

As if to prove it.

Suddenly, one of China's Transcendents reached toward the sky.

Following his fingertips, characters were carved into the air.

Halt.

The carrier that had been blinking as if about to explode froze in midair.

It looked as though the surrounding space had been carved out and time had been stopped within it.

The Patriot ground his teeth.

"Filthy power gained by offering potential Korean citizens as sacrifices."

Just moments ago, when the Fragment of Impurity—the axis of darkness—was being destroyed, the Patriot had said, 'My junior will have to handle this one personally.'

But this time was different.

"Junior, I'm handling that one myself. Don't come anywhere near me."

The Patriot's gaze sank to an abyssal depth.

The pattern of the taegeuk rose over his pupils.

He'd been standing on the flight deck of the carrier fleet's flagship.

Without warning, he leapt from the carrier.

WHOOOOSH———.

The Patriot soared through the air, his Taegukgi cape spread wide like a wingsuit.

His destination was the dead center of hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops.

'Practically suicide.'

Yet the Patriot pressed forward.

Without a shred of hesitation.

And without the aid of any Constellation, or even me.

Just like that, the Patriot stood alone in the heart of the Chinese army.

'Is this what strong-against-the-strong means?'

Suddenly, a conversation with Seol-a came to mind.

Seeing the Patriot like this, I felt pathetic for having doubted him even slightly.

'The Patriot is a real man among men.'

Bold.

Arrogant and brazen.

Wasn't this a range where even I, who hadn't Transcended, would struggle to react if ambushed?

Standing in the middle of the Chinese forces, he spoke.

"Hey, Ching. Send out a representative!"

One person stepped forward from the Chinese side.

A nameless woman with a crimson star pinned to her chest, harboring immensely powerful strength.

She spoke in a peculiar manner—as if shoddy technology had caused errors in her Mystery Translation.

"We are China's National Border Defense Corps. We merely eliminated Polluted Beasts and defended our sovereign territory. Why are you launching a surprise attack on us without a declaration of war?"

Stilted speech.

A Transcendent from China who'd never been made public. A complete stranger.

Yet she was brazen.

"The patriotic human—I have heard you are a psychopath who publicly executed tens of thousands of your own citizens. You have truly lost your mind."

The Patriot smiled, thin and bitter.

He gave no reply.

Instead.......

SPLAT—!

The Patriot did something.

He merely flicked his finger, and the Chinese officer's head burst open.

'Hoo—.'

I witnessed his true nature.

The Patriot's fingertips were trembling.

Yet a bright smile was painted across his lips, as if soaked in elation.

The reason was viscerally intuitive.

"North Korea. That was you bastards, wasn't it?"

The Chinese officer's head had burst.

But atop her neck, a new head grew back.

"We are correcting it. This is unjust."

The regenerated head said as much.

'So China really is the root of it all.'

Such an utterly ordinary Chinese landscape.

A perfectly normal Chinese military.

At first, I'd wondered whether we truly needed to fight them, but in this very moment, in real time, I became certain that they were a new form of evil.

I had no choice but to think so.

SPLAT——!

The Patriot slammed his fist into the air.

With a single blow, the Chinese Awakened vanished without a trace.

But—.

"Stop the self-destruct immediately and withdraw. It would be better for you."

She regenerated again.

Dozens, hundreds of times over.

That was just a Polluted Beast in human form.

"That ship cannot detonate anyway."

One that could talk, and even think.......

"Halt? You think flapping your jaw is enough to stop the great Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin's self-destruct carrier?"

A massive wave surged around the Patriot.

It was a single ripple that could move the world.

"Let's see you regenerate after eating this!"

FLUTTER——!!

Above the Patriot's head, the phantom of a Taegukgi materialized.

An unknown Authority he'd been concealing had activated.

And so—.

<Self-destruct initiated.>

The frozen carrier's time began to flow.

<5>

<4>

Piercing through the halted flow.

As if forcing its way toward the Patriot.

<3>

<2>

The carrier plummeted toward the earth.

In that moment, my eyes met the Patriot's.

He mouthed the words.

<1>

Smiling magnificently.

But with both hands trembling violently.

—Hey, Junior!

—Never, ever trust China!

With those words, the carrier crashed.

BOOM————!