The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 76

Several weeks had passed.

“Something’s strange…”

Saintess Theresia watched Kaylen with a mix of curiosity and doubt.

“By now, he should be asking if he can join the Sanctuary himself.”

She had been dropping hints steadily, meeting with Kaylen once a week to subtly emphasize the greatness of the Sanctuary.

“Oh, how impressive.”

“To live forever…”

Yet, Kaylen only offered polite admiration, never broaching the subject of joining on his own.

By this point in her interactions with others, most would be pleading to join, asking if they too could enter the Sanctuary.

The awe instilled by her Blessing combined with the allure of eternal youth had always worked without fail.

“The blessing is working properly, isn’t it?”

Kaylen’s eyes gleamed with reverence and respect whenever he looked at her.

The blessing’s effects were evident, ensuring his attitude wasn’t the problem.

“Could it be that he’s hesitant to bring it up himself?”

It wasn’t unheard of. Some people, overwhelmed by reverence, doubted their worthiness.

“Can someone as insignificant as me dare to live in the Sanctuary with the Saintess herself?”

Was Kaylen one of those?

Even setting aside his unparalleled talent, he was still in his early twenties.

A lack of worldly experience could explain such hesitation.

“Perhaps I overdid it with the blessing. I should emphasize things further.”

She couldn’t directly invite him to join. Admission to the Sanctuary required a declaration of intent from the individual.

Forcing or pressuring someone into joining diminished the efficacy of their commitment.

“Kaylen,” Theresia addressed him softly.

“Yes?”

“You’re aware, aren’t you, that dungeon portals across the kingdom have been disappearing?”

“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”

One by one, dungeon portals had vanished, and the monsters that once surrounded them disappeared into the void.

For the common people who had suffered from the monsters, this was a cause for celebration and festivals.

But those in higher positions were treating the phenomenon with suspicion.

The saintess’s sudden appearance, coupled with the portals disappearing of their own accord, made the situation feel like the calm before a storm.

Kaylen had been hearing similar reports from envoys of various royal factions.

“Soon, the Demon Realm’s invasion will begin,” Theresia said gravely.

“They’ll come to eradicate the ‘colonies.’”

“The colonies… eradicated…”

“This kingdom will face an unprecedented catastrophe. Countless lives will be lost, and the very survival of the nation will be at stake.”

“We, the Holy Army, will assist the kingdom as much as we can. But if the devastation becomes too great, we may be forced to retreat.”

Theresia’s voice turned cold as she continued, “The Sanctuary is humanity’s last bastion. If forced to choose between saving the kingdom or preserving the Sanctuary… we will choose the latter.”

Kaylen frowned.

“How will the colony eradication proceed?”

“Allow me to show you.”

Theresia gestured with her hand, and a glowing circle appeared in the air.

The circle transformed into a map, displaying the territory of the Bormian Kingdom.

“Dungeon portals haven’t disappeared,” she explained.

“They’ve merely relocated. Do you see these twisted black zones?”

“Northeast, is it?”

“Yes. Soon, all the vanished dungeon portals will be summoned here, in one place.”

“Hmm…”

Kaylen pondered. If all the portals scattered across the kingdom reappeared in a single location, the number of monsters would be staggering.

Even considering the sheer numbers alone, the situation was bound to be overwhelming.

“But if it’s just monsters being summoned,” Theresia added, “the Meisters should be able to handle them. Even I recognize the firepower of the Meisters.”

“Then…” Kaylen began.

“The issue lies with the demonic generals leading the monster legions,” she continued.

“Demonic generals…”

“They are demons, each individually powerful. On top of that, they summon specialized monsters.”

“Specialized monsters?”

“Large creatures bearing the demonic sigils of the Demon Realm. Magic is completely ineffective against them. We call them Mana Eaters.”

Monsters impervious to magic—Mana Eaters.

Kaylen recalled the magical sigil engraved on the drake he had encountered before.

The Sanctuary was not only aware of these creatures but had already named them.

“If magic doesn’t work on them, how do you stop them?”

“Fortunately, divine power is effective.”

Theresia’s tone grew serious.

“When the demonic generals and Mana Eaters appear, we will personally intervene to stop them. However…”

Her expression turned colder.

“If the kingdom fails to repel the initial waves of monsters, we will retreat.”

“Retreat?”

“Yes. Each member of the Sanctuary represents humanity’s last hope. We cannot risk sacrificing them for a kingdom that cannot even fend off a monster wave.”

“I see.”

“Luckily, this kingdom seems to have solid defenses. If the Civil Squad joins forces, they should be able to hold back the waves without too much trouble.”

The Bormian Kingdom was known as one of the most powerful human kingdoms.

Theresia had come to appreciate its strength firsthand.

“And isn’t the princess said to be the wielder of an S-rank Mana Suit? That alone should suffice to deal with the Mana Eaters.”

If an S-rank Mana Suit could counter the Mana Eaters, the kingdom had a real chance of defending itself.

Barring any unexpected developments, it seemed possible to thwart the Demon Realm’s eradication campaign.

“Which means I can take my time with this. I can focus on drawing in this extraordinary 6th-circle talent.”

The Saintess’s thoughts shifted. How do I get him to express his desire to join the Sanctuary?

At this point, recruiting Kaylen seemed more pressing to her than the impending advance of the Demon Realm’s legions.

It was a reasonable judgment, given the kingdom’s strong defenses.

After her meeting with Theresia ended, one of the holy knights standing behind her followed Kaylen as he left.

“Meister Kaylen,” the knight called out. “You’re the only one the Saintess has invited repeatedly since coming to this kingdom.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. She has high expectations for you.”

“...?”

“She hopes to see your brilliant talent shine even brighter in the Sanctuary.”

To see my talent shine in the Sanctuary.

In other words, they wanted him to join.

“Ah…”

Feigning realization, Kaylen let out an exaggerated gasp.

“Her subordinate, the holy knight, is making the invitation more direct.”

Kaylen had already discerned Theresia's intentions long before. However, since the Saintess hadn’t directly invited him to join, he had feigned ignorance and simply gathered information.

But now, with the holy knight extending an explicit invitation, it became difficult to maintain his facade.

“The Saintess holds me in such high regard? That’s truly an honor,” Kaylen replied, feigning humility. “But… would someone like me even be fit to join the Sanctuary?”

“You are more than qualified,” the knight reassured. “The Saintess desires it as well.”

“Ah, I see. After this ordeal is resolved, I will discuss it with her,” Kaylen said with a calm smile.

“Afterward… you mean?”

“Yes. I believe I should protect the homeland I’ve come to cherish before moving on. That would put my heart at ease.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Though Kaylen had never felt genuine patriotism for the Bormian Kingdom, he needed time—time to complete the Flame Sword.

His earnest tone and determined expression seemed to satisfy the knight, who nodded slightly.

“Understood. I will relay your thoughts to the Saintess.”

“Please do.”

After the knight left, Kaylen turned his focus elsewhere.

“With the dungeon portals gone, the mana in the atmosphere has become abundant. It must also be because the red spot of the moon hasn’t appeared yet.”

The air was saturated with mana, far more than usual.

“This is the perfect time.”

With such an abundance of mana, it was the ideal moment to nurture the Flame Sword. Kaylen quickly made his way back to the mansion.

Although the elves had tidied up the place, the mansion still exuded an eerie atmosphere.

In the expansive clearing within the mansion grounds, a massive magic circle had been drawn.

The design was an enlarged replica of the sigil engraved on Royen’s body.

“Ha… Myorn, are you really planning to activate a magic circle this big? Even for Kaylen, this scale seems excessive.”

“It’s fine. That guy’s a monster,” Myorn replied dismissively.

“Even monsters would probably be reduced to ashes at this scale.”

“This is the same guy who survived Glacia’s onslaught. He’ll be fine.”

“Ugh… still…”

Kaylen overheard Myorn and Irene’s conversation as he approached the massive magic circle.

To ensure the Flame Sword’s completion, Kaylen had enlisted Myorn, who was developing the Mana Suit, to construct the magic circle.

Initially, Myorn had been reluctant:

“Do we really have to do this now? I feel like I could make significant progress on the Mana Suit instead.”

Kaylen, however, knew how to persuade him:

“Wouldn’t you like to enhance your fire elemental abilities?”

“The method you suggested involves freezing me to awaken the fire mana within, doesn’t it?”

“That’s true. But these days, the amount of fire mana we’ve extracted is diminishing in effect, isn’t it?”

“I suppose it is.”

“Then it’s time to replenish the fire. If we complete the magic circle on Royen, it’ll benefit your elemental abilities as well.”

“…Really? So after extracting fire mana from my body, we’re putting fire back in?”

In the end, Kaylen’s argument won Myorn over.

With Myorn’s expertise in fire mana, the analysis of the magic circle on Royen’s body accelerated.

Kaylen had made one clear request: “Focus solely on firepower. Forget stability—just ensure it ignites.”

The result was a magic circle designed purely for destructive output.

Of course, such single-minded emphasis came with significant risks.

“I wish we had more time to refine this,” Irene muttered, gazing at the massive and incomplete magic circle with a mixture of regret and apprehension.

The circle emphasized raw firepower but was woefully incomplete in every other regard.

The magic circle engraved on Royen’s body hadn’t been fully analyzed yet.

“We can make up for the missing elements with mana stones, but...”

Irene’s eyes fell on the countless mana stones embedded throughout the massive magic circle.

There are just too many!

“Why? Feeling stingy about the mana stones?” Myorn teased.

“Ugh… Yes, I am! There are 256 of them embedded in this thing! I told you we should analyze the magic circle more thoroughly before activating it!” Irene snapped.

“There’s no time,” Myorn replied casually. “And with all the money the Magic Tower has, why are you so worked up?”

“Do you even know how we saved that money? We scraped and pinched every bit we could—carefully managing our resources! Not everyone spends money recklessly in the name of experiments like you do!”

Irene’s voice rose as she vented her frustration.

While Kaylen had contributed some of his personal wealth, the majority of the mana stones had been funded by the Fairy Tower.

Especially through one person in particular.

“Oh, come on, stop with the nagging, spinster,” Myorn said with a grin.

“AHH! Brother! Whose side are you on?!” Irene glared at Eldir, her anger mounting.

“I’m the one who contributed to the Magic Tower, remember? Just stop complaining and get the activation ready,” Eldir retorted.

The activation of the grand magic circle required a tremendous amount of mana stones. Eldir had leveraged his contributions to the Magic Tower to secure these resources, but Irene...

“No! Absolutely not! I used my personal savings to get these stones!”

“...What?” Eldir blinked in surprise.

Irene turned her blazing gaze toward him.

“You’ve done so much for the Magic Tower as a member of the Elven Guard. There’s no way I’d let them exchange your contributions for mere mana stones. I used my savings instead.”

To Irene, her brother’s dedication and sacrifices weren’t something that could be reduced to a monetary transaction.

So, to ensure his contributions remained untouched, she had emptied her personal reserves, money she had painstakingly saved for the future, to secure the mana stones.

But Eldir, oblivious to his sister’s feelings, simply grinned cheerfully.

“Wow, you’re richer than I thought. If you had that much money, why didn’t you buy me better drinks when we went out? What were you even saving it for?”

Crack. Irene ground her teeth audibly.

Her gaze burned as she turned to Kaylen, who had just arrived.

“Kaylen, you’re here.”

“Ah, yes, Irene.”

“Please… please… make sure this magic circle is a success.”

Kaylen gave a strained smile. He had lightly requested Eldir’s help but hadn’t anticipated that Irene would end up sacrificing her wealth for this.

“I’ll make sure it’s worth the investment,” Kaylen assured her.

With deliberate steps, he walked to the center of the massive magic circle.

“Activate the magic circle,” he ordered.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]