Sword Pilgrim

"She’s here again today."

"Ah, you mean Miss Emily. Yes, she comes by every day, doesn't she?"

The body holding the sword was indeed young.

However, the expression on her face was infinitely serious, and gave off a faraway feeling.

Divine power emanated from her every pore.

Her divine blood circulated from her sacred passage to her whole body –

And then gathered back in one place, settling down into a solid grain-like shape.

But that was all.

Considering Emily's age, this was already a great achievement, but she was not satisfied.

‘Dad said he made buds inside his body.'

Spiritual power continually gathered and concentrated inside it, becoming purer and purer, and when necessary, the bud would bloom into a flower.

Amplifying the spiritual power manyfold.

That was the Six Peak Flowers technique.

Emily's goal was to create that inside her elixir field.

"Is this even possible?"

She’d wondered if it’d be possible to create the shape simply by clumping up the spiritual power like clay, but that wasn't at all the case.

It was at this point that she couldn’t help but wonder if it was even possible in the first place. Of course, it was indeed possible to just gather the intangible qi inside the body and mould it into a shape.

Yes, it was possible to shape the bud with divine power.

But to make it bloom like a flower?

She couldn't quite understand how the divine power, once gathered, could form a bud and bloom.

It was easy to describe, but when she tried to do it herself, it seemed impossible.

‘Dad couldn't have lied.'

But it was so complicated that even a lie would’ve been better.

Even Callius had taken years to achieve it, so it was only natural. Even though Emily was a genius, the person who’d created this technique had been none other than the legendary Stella.

Even for Callius, without the characteristic of Death Verse Composition that activated at the threshold of life and death, this technique would’ve taken at least a decade to achieve.

Even with her understanding of swordsmanship and her natural genius, it was difficult for Emily to achieve the Six Peak Flowers technique with words alone.

But Emily did not give up.

Her father, who’d been called a fool, had manged it, had he not?

Of course, the more she practiced, the more she understood Callius’ brilliance in her bones.

‘I'll ask.'

She hadn't asked him for any tips because of her pride.

Now she was regretting that a little.

She couldn't have known he’d leave the North in such a hurry.

He won't be back for a while, so she had no opportunity to ask.

"Sword qi isn’t difficult to make."

Although, it wasn’t the same as her father’s Silver Flower Wave Sword. She wanted to follow that form, but couldn't.

How can I make the sword qi look like petals attached to the blade?

‘It's not something that can be achieved through simple hard work. Dad wasn't some talentless dullard, whatever the rumours about him.'

The more she followed his path, the more she understood.

Callius was by no means talentless. If he were, he wouldn’t have been able to learn such swordsmanship even if it took a decade.

"Grandfather said he never taught him, and he’d never even heard of anyone else who could handle that sword art apart from Stella…"

He didn't learn from anyone.

It was highly probable that he was self-taught, after finding some remnant of the saint.

Even so, the difficulty of the Silver Flower Wave Sword art could not be understated.

Emily realized her father's efforts once more and calmly closed her eyes.

She never learned it from him directly, but his battles on the battlefield could show her the path.

When she closed her eyes, those scenes were still clear.

On the battlefield, his sword that had swung this way and that. Beautiful and joyous.

And finally, his battle with the warlord.

That battle, Emily had seen with her own eyes and preserved in her heart.

And once again –

She grabbed her sword.

With eyes closed, she contemplated upon herself.

⋮

"Amazing. To use sword qi at that age…"

"It’s natural. She’s his daughter, isn’t she?"

"True enough."

The knights who watched Emily's training did not spare any praise.

Sword qi at her early teens.

They couldn't even imagine how strong she would be when she came of age.

"Isn't that enough to send her to the kingdom’s swordsmanship academy in Carradi? That place where only geniuses gather?"

"Hey! No matter how much of a genius they are, can they compare to that young girl who’s been on the battlefield! Even if there were a hundred of them, they'd all pee at the taste of an orc’s axe!"

Aaron, full of pride, beat his chest as he exclaimed.

The other knights also nodded as if it was natural.

"By the way, when is Master Callius coming back? I was going to swear fealty to him as my liege, but I didn't know he would leave right away… Why didn't he take us?"

"Sir Aaron. You’re doubting your lord's judgment. He cares about the North."

"But still! Since he cherishes this place, did he have to leave so soon? He could’ve stayed a little bit longer, at least."

The demonic beasts had been methodically uprooted, and there was not even a trace left of the orcs.

The walls were almost completely repaired, and time would take care of rebuilding the destroyed villages.

The North was restored to peace.

But that peace would not last forever.

"Now the lord has become a count. He will soon become the head of government and rule the northern lands, but the people of Carpe only praise the North with their mouths and never give any concrete help, so he must’ve gone to deal with them."

Knowing his personality, just thinking about what he was going to do as a heretic inquisitor gave them goosebumps.

"He'll go after them all."

"Are those heretic inquisitors going to die first? They said they came all the way here to interrogate our master."

"What?! They've sure kicked a hornet’s nest! Does Master Callius know!?"

"He knows, but he pretends he doesn't."

The knights nodded their heads in unison.

Most of them gathered here were those who’d roamed the battlefield with him. They called themselves the Knights of Callius, so they knew his character better than most everybody else.

"He’ll go after them soon."

Because he had a very filthy personality.

A quiet silence passed.

They had wielded their swords in numerous battlefields, but at this moment, they had no choice but to panic.

‘Is he that confident?'

‘To kill all three of us…'

That thought dominated their minds.

Gulp.

Ryburn's throat bobbed up and down.

If that how it was, their actions were decided.

"Attack!"

Claang–!

Callius, who blocked Ryburn's sword, pulled back and took some distance.

The divine power latent in the Six Peak Flowers technique awakened.

The buds unfolded and the flowers bloomed.

Pure divine power wrapped around him, and his sword unleashed a razor-sharp arc of silver.

Claang–!

‘What power…!'

Surprised by the might behind the blow, Ryburn frowned.

Druma's greatsword, which had been raised high, immediately came at an angle, striking down.

A wide and large blade.

‘Zodiac Sword – Guillotine.'

Callius glanced at Druma's sword, evading it rather than blocking it.

Bang–!

As he dodged Druma's sword, it struck the earth, raising a high cloud of dust, and when that lifted, a square wall of earth just enough to hold a person could be seen.

It was the unique ability of the Guillotine.

And without giving any room for a breath –

Hwiiiiing–

The sound of bugs tickled Callius' ears.

They were not small as grains of sand, like earlier.

They had condensed to about the size of a fist, so they were able to withstand the force of gravity and fly.

The number reached thirty, but since they had grown so large –

"It's easy to cut."

They were easily cut by a sword.

Slash!

"My worms!"

Orcal bit his lips.

He raised his sword, but Callius retreated once more.

Screech!

‘Akasha is spreading poison.'

It was Ryburn attacking.

The poison melted the ground and oxidized anything it touched, causing Callius to frown.

"These bug-like bastards are a bother."

It wasn’t difficult to deal with one guy at a time. But with three of them fighting at the same time, it was really troublesome.

"Only one worm left, Orcal. You."

"Who're you calling a worm! Watch your mouth."

Orcal and Druma grumbled at each other.

And Ryburn held up his sword with a tense expression on his face.

"I guess you haven't reached the Master's level yet?"

Was it because of the relief that they’d been mistaken? The captains could even joke with each other.

They were mistaken until the fight started, but once their sword hit each other, they could feel it.

And really, forget about being a true Master, he was no match for the three inquisitor-captains in the first place.

Ryburn's lips twitched.

"What, it's all for nothing. Did all three of us really need to come together?"

"Don't drop your guard. He might still be hiding something."

The whispering voices of Oscar and Ryburn, echoed through the forest.

"Don't relax. His sword. It's a demon sword."

"What? Demon sword? Are you sure?"

The bizarre pattern on the sword. And the scabbard, covered with fur and scales that looked like those of a beast, was definitely not made from a rosario.

"Even if you never stole any holy relics, there’s no saving you now."

As a heretic inquisitor, naturally, demon swords were products of heresy, cursed objects that must be destroyed.

However, there was a touch of greed on his face that could not be hidden.

That was then.

Whoosh–

Power surged into the wind with Callius at its centre.

Flinch.

The captains, who trembled at the enormity of that aura, looked at Callius.

Spark, craaaaaaaaaackle.

"Don't be so shy."

The scabbard made of leather covered with what looked like animal hair and scales.

A thick blade made with the bone of something, and the cross-guard with a strange shape like a thunderbolt.

The energy seeping into the air was at once familiar and foreign.

Blue lightning sparks fluttered around Callius.

What little of the blade that could be seen from inside the scabbard was imbued with a dazzling blue light.

"Thunder qi? Demon sword?"

"It sounds like you've seen it somewhere."

It was good that Ryburn recognized it.

Callius embedded the Tyrant Sword on the ground and started unsheathing the Thunderbolt Sword.

Spark, craaaaaaaaaackle!

As soon it was slowly pulled out of the scabbard, an aura of blue lightning wrapped around Callius.

Hwiish.

When the blade came free, sparks began to dance as they emerged from the blade as if they were alive.

"I’ll give you one last chance."

A red blade.

Flashing with blue lightning.

The blue light reflecting on Callius' face created an eerie atmosphere.

"I never betrayed the Church."

He told the truth. But the only response that came back was laughter.

"Funny!"

"How could your garbage swordsmanship improve this much without the help of a holy relic?"

However, despite their sarcasm, Callius’ lips curved up into an arc.

"Alright."

He’d tried, just in case.

Even the slightest sense of guilt in his heart seemed to have washed away.

"You don't need to believe."

From now on, even if they believed, his sword would not stop.

The moment Callius’ sword pointed up at the sky –

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

The heaven and the earth were turned upside down.