Chapter 96: Sun Claiomh Solais (4)
MDaDomain,i1qf0
wrNEKThe dream and aspiration of every warrior that allows you to take a step forward in a suspended world.f0Vx9E
bpQRNIn the last iteration, I wasn’t even able to set my foot in that realm but I had entered it quite a few times in this iteration.EVsR
0DHHowever, mine was still not a perfect form of Domain when compared to Alicia’s.wWZV
bRzAB9I could only enter the Domain after my body was warmed up by the heat of battle or with the help of my survival instincts. Apart from the likes of Alicia who were born with an extreme level of concentration along with the Eyes of the Boundary, it was nigh impossible for anyone to enter the Domain without any preceding signs.XSD
lPRAnd even after entering the Domain, they were limited to one step and one attack – at least that was what I had been thinking.q6qevN
E56j3nD❰Domain Severance – Eight Dancing Blades❱1cOCcq
uiQBIEight trails of swords were unraveled onto the suspended world. It allowed us to take a glimpse at just how monstrously talented the Sword Fiend was.tzB
KRBYWe retaliated at the same time.DL3WgG
scK❰Singular Sword of Arden, Domain Severance❱8Z1sZ
Czkxo❰Soaring Snake, Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon❱wmbDN
2s57RDomain against the Domain.izfsWG
UbK7mqRMy survival instincts sensed the life-threatening risk of the fight and allowed me to enter the Domain.DvtiQlB
FV19O—!wjtv
TJukKP—!uCx
HPpThe weapons crashed into one another inside the Domain. Fortunately for us, the opponent didn’t have perfect control over the Domain either – the weight behind his swords had been compromised to make up for the numerous swings.QkKQR
PQgkpqNCalculating the best trajectory possible, we tried to fend off the eight sword trails pouncing at us, but we could only offset five of them. The rest were going towards Lunia.NOY
pUKIn that instant, my eyes picked up Alicia’s pupils. I could tell that those vertically-slit eyes of hers were crumpled from astonishment.ZNC
jS54We couldn’t stop it.KkM6gF
GGTHLunia’s Domain was far from perfect. Although she could perceive the Domain, she was half a step slower than the Sword Fiend…!wDy
AURKBThat was why the only future I could imagine was Lunia falling down in tatters.J3Zv
ZPD– Kaang!STz
GXQ“??!”JO0KoP
Z8eOWjeIt was then – the fiend’s swords were blocked by a black layer of aura that was floating around her. They stopped the Sword Fiend’s swords from reaching Lunia.QCjn
QIxME4H“…Compressed condensed aura?”JLGJR1u
ulZCompressed Aura of Self-Defense.tWTGf
1X6h9nwThat was the powerful hidden skill that Alicia would learn at the very end of her growth. It was a technique that covered for the previously terrible defense level of Alicia, a powerful attacker.8gy6axF
RpaThat made up from Lunia’s delay of half a step and allowed her to strike down at the Sword Fiend with her own oppressive attack.wFw
jGs5bVSingular Sword of Arden, False Domain Severance.Oil
70tLzGIKaduduk!Ohf8
dSXoHer sword penetrated down from the right shoulder of the monster, but it wasn’t deep enough. By twisting its body slightly at the last second, the Sword Fiend managed to escape from her vicious attack.KOy
fdyZn2“Tch…!”meoc
NKftHHuLunia clicked her tongue after noticing that her violent attack that she had been trying to settle things with wasn’t as satisfactory as she would have liked. Meanwhile, with one of its shoulders crushed, the monster stared at us.B3bW
VPs6“KUKI—”YNi
8E0kUIt then started to laugh.UwZ2Fm
9XmPAcp“KUKIKIKIKIKIKI—!”zb68PzC
RSIS46That wasn’t a proper language. The monster was expressing its horrible laughter to us using its vocal cords.qAea
ienYeQIt seemed bewitched by the way of the sword and reminded me of someone.62k4lo
UQfZcpr“It is a dangerous monster. We must kill it here.”6oG
TeS7yWa“I agree,” I said in agreement with Lunia’s words.J5VjBbf
IRnRkThe Sword Fiend had yet to reach the level of a Thousand Dancing Blades. That perfected skill of his allowed it to cut anything in existence that was inside the radius of 1 kilometer.Qp3al45
3PXe7DIn other words, now was one of the only chances we had to kill this monster. Although it wasn’t a part of our plan, it would be worth it as long as we could defeat the Sword Fiend here even if that meant we had to give up on the Sun.OAYQizT
lBmERound 2 of the battle was about to begin. Right when the Sword Fiend was about to pounce at us—cBgr
wD75Xp“How are you, friend?”QKD7
ZzdRROODun Scaith suddenly appeared behind the Sword Fiend with a grin.jviICA
VQz5ax—!!abmXb1
Ib0it9The right and the left swords of the monster danced in order to cut the sudden yet defenseless enemy that appeared behind itself.HjxkMV
oDt17nj– Kahk…!1vp8x
LXOQScaith got sliced like radish and chunks of his body fell on the ground. It should have meant an instant death but… his body suddenly melted down as hundreds of serpents slithered out of his innards.jpK4fn
ReP6“…!?”AVlCz
u6GNO4Even the Sword Fiend was baffled by that bizarre turn of events. It swung its swords to cut them down again but slicing apart the hundreds and thousands of snakes was not an easy task.z7Nqw
e9HdIn the end, the Sword Fiend decided to retreat but… sharp branches of wood soared out of the ground and raged at it from all sides, stopping the monster in its tracks.9SYca8
pC2cQr“…”oVs
VpEEZkDumnorix, who should have been sliced by the Sword Fiend, was standing up again while displaying his upper body which had trees replacing bones and flesh, that had been hiding behind the robe.2RXnwqm
o7foApparently, some Elder Druids became one with nature after living a long time and were said to turn into that form. In other words, druids were one with nature – as long as he was on the ground next to spirits, Dumnorix was impossible to be killed.dRFlH
suh4CKing of Beasts, Dun Scaith, and Lawmaker Dumnorix.cQ7z
m5ejkEven from the King’s subjects, they were the two with incredible vitality that were close to being unkillable.ZTK
z6jT10They were terrible foes for the Sword Fiend to go against, as someone who only excelled in physical abilities.O7xP
dW8F4mY“…Monsters.”Dz6
qfj4Lunia commented, seemingly appalled by the strange abilities of the two of them, but that was probably a normal reaction.hR6HYv
QOlcUnlike Fermack who couldn’t receive ‘godship’ because of his infiltration mission, those two were future gods of the Paradise who were given ‘godships’.D3ziZF
WEWThey weren’t beings that could be understood with the common sense of humans.UCm
8da“KRRRRRR—”Z5YAbJ
WZZIt didn’t take long for the monster to retreat after coming to the decision that it would be impossible to beat us.hG7wg5P
Tsy5b5****67uTB7
qpxt0B“…”NwYmR
hPVJOGAfter being healed at the infirmary of druids, we came out and met Yuel, who was waiting for us outside with a dark complexion.dgU
3NXAYg“…Sorry. I couldn’t do anything.”5Uuv46
MerThat seemed to be the reason behind her gloominess but that wasn’t her fault.wU0dInB
kBSvr0Our clash with the Sword Fiend lasted less than 20 seconds. Besides, her main source of power – the spirits were already being used by Dumnorix so there was nothing Yuel could do there.OzAMs
Woa“Don’t worry about it. There wasn’t much else that could have been done.”fmcCI
H95Q3“But…”WXs
VUp8r4“It’s okay! None of us were seriously hurt anyway!”bZAIc
VqdrpThe fact that none of us died even after an encounter with the Sword Fiend was already a miracle in itself. But honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange for at least one of us to have died there if not for Dumnorix and Dun Scaith.Rf0VrEc
9nS“That demonic beast… used the swordsmanship of Arden.”528ydS
4AiLunia stated while gnashing her teeth. After throwing a glance at her older sister, Alicia carefully opened her mouth.53dH
4qU“Maybe… it read our books?”MYGjvxF
amlT“That is ridiculous. Those skills were definitely polished through real battles. It didn’t show the standard movements that we teach; it probably learned by itself by going against an expert swordsman.”qmwvq
cIv“Sorry? Y, you mean…”u1tLeb
x8X7“There is only one person that could have fought against a demonic beast of that caliber on repeat.”MIw2rSp
4Xp6It was then.g8gWua
YymQO“Hohoho. Looks like you girls have noticed it.”Dgr
SlxMZcThat was the voice of a considerably old man. However, his voice wasn’t dry like Dumnorix’s and was instead full of viciousness and power.SkX
6SB““…””ok9AV
A56iuUxEveryone turned towards the owner of the voice and found an old man with black hair, standing there with an irritating smile.p0z43
tKjP“G, grandpa…”hSgvB
kWdOMrkHis unkempt hair and tattered martial uniform made him look more like a wild beast than a civilized human.t6GSOI5
jYQA8Sword Emperor Garrand Arden.H5R
jYx4uYHe was standing in front of us.CIwLTOL
Zij17b“What preposterous thing have you done, old man?”BqreTv6
jwh4mypDespite facing the Sword Emperor, the psychological pillar of the Arden family who still had an absolute status in the household, Lunia was relentless. But even that must have only appeared as a cute trick of his granddaughter for the Sword Emperor.vYCr
2GymJ“Just a pastime activity of an old man.”dYl
cCk0me“Teaching a demonic beast the sword? Do you still call yourself a guardian?”s65W
KP2“Hohoho. You have to phrase that properly, my granddaughter. I have never taught him the sword; he learned it by himself.”4HbX
vkj9kk6“What kind of…!”h0HOT
9LhC“Don’t you find it intriguing? A demonic beast wielding swords? Most importantly, he even has the unprecedented talent of entering the Domain after seeing me enter it myself.”NLg
JgaE1cwThe madness of the Sword Emperor, this mad swordsman, was something I had known already.w5H7C
8IFhHe was someone who didn’t care about anything else as long as he could reach or see someone else reach the pinnacle of swords. Both the world and his family had little significance to him, and the only thing that mattered to him was seeing the pinnacle of swordsmanship.kmMGw6
m6YbE“You crazy old man…”Bk6
6X5e2Lunia growled in fury but Alicia had a slightly different reaction.TtgMtA
Gnq“Grandpa. Please teach me the sword.”wDo
JlnAs if she had been stimulated by something, her pupils were the same as the ones I saw back when she was using the Domain.PjGivuB
iwiu0“Sure. Of course I can.”bqOOKzR
Ehi9Y0Sword Emperor. Sword Fiend. Alicia.c9rIANg
Fa1gThe lunatics that could be bewitched by the sword stirred each other forward.zkSK
MuotMiIt was her moment of enlightenment.cocTks
YPngPhW****PAz
BWrBypa“I will now announce your final task.”n3SEl
PCsYRScInside the room of the sage, along with Uzkias were me, Yuel, Scaith, and Dumnorix.g4yRL
F0lYCThe two of them looked as nonchalant as ever with not a hint of the battle that took place with the Sword Fiend remaining, sitting carefreely on the other side.Ejhoq
AEFyXjr“We failed to earn the rowan fruits though. Is that okay?”veAR
QGgWhat I heard from Yuel before was that Uzkias still wouldn’t stop us from continuing with the final task. That was why I was here, waiting for him to talk about the content of the task which was in fact already embedded into my brain by the quest information.mIa
lh2ykw“That does not matter. Having a rowan fruit is a great advantage for Mr. Scaith and Mr. Dumnorix, but not having it does not necessarily remove your chance of acquiring the Sun.”GVWUp8
tQxTMUyAs expected, Uzkias didn’t fail us for failing one of the tasks.ONChy
RYlRN“This is your final task. After you are done with that, you are free to acquire the Sun however you wish.”X6YvbPz
pSvFxI9The final task…CBh8i
qnRL2wR“Grow the staff you have made during your second test and make it reach the heaven. There, you are to meet the giants protecting the Sun.”1NTsJ
MLjThere were 3 weeks left until the Solar Eclipse.ow8
dTvUntil then, we had to grow a tree that was tall enough to reach the skies.tq8mrh
Not****7wXOZy
ATx0On the western side of the kingdom were two sacred chapels.QNQ
FpYOne of them was the Chapel of Xeruem. It was the sacred lands of the Old Faith, the religion that fell out of the trend of time and was in a steady decline. Leaving their sacred lands and traveling for a day on a carriage would lead one to the second one, the Chapel of Zeon.L8CjvEV
fOTThey were like a self-proclaimed ‘original’ restaurant that was made by sneaking out the recipe and the workers of the previous restaurant right when they started to falter from cost and backlash of monopolization.acb
VE9nThe New Faith, which followed the trend of time and shifted their doctrine away from the nobles and the higher-ups and sang of equality, absorbed a bunch of various believers and gathered a large amount of wealth and people.P8c
Oxkh8fTheir sacred Chapel of Zeon, which was built shortly after their foundation, boasted of incredible holiness and fanciness despite a short history.8MQGv
DF9The sparkling Zeon city surrounding the chapel, which was created by gathering all the best constructors of the times, looked like a rather snobbish city of the wealthy.iJiA
07MT3BLIt was quite paradoxical considering how they used to condemn the first Chapel of Xeruem and its surrounding city for its luxuriance and extravagance for being a corrupt city of filthiness.3Kh9uUa
iThX“…”1JkJFx
wyycRkrWalking all the way down the artistic streets and the sewage systems through the shopping district and residential areas; one would find the Grand Chapel at the end of all that.Gwvh82
j9xMwv9“Welcome to the Grand Chapel of Zeon.”V0CgfJ
qsfThe Grand Chapel which was decorated with expensive marble and gems was filled with believers who were here to visit the holy city.1Q5G
NPXLIt was very crowded because there were not even any security guards, for they might be considered too oppressive considering their catchphrase, 『The god accepts us all.』uMT
l26dl6UThat was why even a demi-human like herself was able to step on the lands of the Grand Chapel – at least that was what Hua Ran heard.oy721O
UmXH5“Hua Ran. Are you going to go in straight away?”C2CeZ
adSRE“…Un.”pg25qC
psVLHer supervisor, Senior Professor Josephine Clara, was quite confused by how much of a hurry she was in.tIXLX52
MBmIt was true that there was a long way to go for her, considering how her next destination was the east side of the kingdom which was in a completely different direction. However, thinking about her slow and carefree personality, Josephine couldn’t help but feel surprised by the mere fact that she was in a hurry.CU6B
8h9a7“We have to wait 2 days… if we miss today.”2ytLC5T
8NdsD4“You need to realize just how remarkable it is that you can even meet her as a probationary sister.”U9lzV
iOsEV0uJosephine grumbled but Hua Ran pretended like she didn’t hear it. Soon, one of the maids outside the door alerted the person inside the room of their arrival.WrW
q8q8“Saintess. Probationary Sister Hua Ran has arrived.”PacT
79Jsb“Really? Tell her to come in.”AvYWbU
CGVIt was at last, time for an audience. Waiting at the end of the corridors full of white marbled walls, a red silk carpet, and tapestries was the Saintess.s4UZ3PK
ouK0Is“Pleased to see you, Saintess.”WWgW3b
npW56qp“Sister Josephine…!”bpsJ1xe
zON7LThe Saintess of the Grand Chapel of Zeon, with her gorgeous pink hair fluttering behind her and a white robe that only she could wear, had both a mysterious and a divine aura to her.TXpL
RLAnxGA“Wow~. It’s Hua Ran!”OErAsaS
j33qShe ran up and gave Hua Ran a wide hug. Her beautiful face would have ended up in the silk carpet beneath had she dodged the hug.lLkYtsW
6eufZhh“You grew taller, didn’t you? Are you drinking a lot of milk? What about anchovies?”NvTy
k7dThe Saintess said while affectionately fidgeting with her cheeks like rice cakes.j7pTd
2hmw“…Get rid of your hands.”zeRq
oo4“Are you embarrassed?”DYx
ZzoJUEstelle Hadatha El Rath.WlTeO
qSvQTcShe was the 1st Princess of the El Rath Kingdom, as well as the Saintess of the New Faith’s Grand Chapel of Zeon. She was a symbolic religious figure that even the queen couldn’t mess with but…ug2EvFv
MfRZ“I heard you had to go through a bunch of trouble at the festival. Are you alright?”v9U
C1aOn the outside, she was an untouchable symbol of royalty and divinity but to the people close to her, she was like one of the amicable neighbors.xKjxHx5
pAlwTq1“Restriction first.”gZ2GseU
5GJ8orhHua Ran didn’t feel very comfortable around this Saintess and asked to go straight to the topic. As a demi-human and the main culprit behind the Moonlight Castle incident, she needed something to freely move around in the El Rath Kingdom, and that was the restriction sealing her to this date. However, she was here to adjust the restriction.bhd9vRE
VmOx“Please lift the restriction.”JTQ
uNllJ“Hnn?”8jZw6px
ZFBqtEstelle tilted her head in response to Hua Ran’s request, and looked back and forth between her and Josephine.FadTN2
CHcL9“What do you mean by lifting your restriction, I wonder?”0LY0u
z7t“At least the 1st seal… please.”2AlZ
ITZHua Ran was requesting her to alleviate the intensity of Chains of Zeon that were restricting her but it was a very short request. Josephine tried to step up to explain in her stead but was stopped by a wave of Estelle’s hand.5nx4Uiu
RSW4Oc“And why is that?”bx9w
IQy“…It’s stuffy.”Aer7XAh
Sr1Ns“If that is your reason, then I won’t cancel it for you.”p6WvA
9IUWithout any hint of her previous gentle attitude, Estelle adamantly refused her offer with a stern look on her face. Seeing that, Hua Ran hesitated before opening her mouth.HHDCoiX
0NNclNG“…It’s because it’s stuffy for me. But… you do the rest.”9HT8li
3okThe change happened in a flash. Hua Ran’s crimson eyes and hair suddenly turned into a gentle blue color. Estelle had already received a report about it and knew who that was.iBJztn
vkg“So you are Ran, is that correct?”dadHmv
GgF“Nice to meet you, Saintess.”601NKjB
liwzUnlike the curt attitude of Hua, Ran was a lot more gentle. However, her stubborn and straightforward approach was still the same.SfUb
w8yw1“I need power.”Hni8
Ypubx3C“Hmm? Let me ask you the reason. Why do you need power?”NIjwY
uWnMIhIn response to her question, Ran replied with a cunning wink.vq2
0zRd“Because I would like to become a nice wife who can help her husband.”8ETw
GLz99r5………7kWF
Uou……Ffw
2mrP7t…RJ3pXp
YvdNmAfter Hua Ran left the Grand Chapel, Estelle murmured to herself while looking at the now-empty seat.OOTz
UnQRjJu“Very interesting.”sxMR
DcuEstelle recalled the moment Hua Ran first entered the Grand Chapel.kSye
940A demi-human child brought by Chairman Eriu and Professor Josephine from a continent in the far east – most people found her red eyes to be ominous and frightening, but what she saw from her eyes was a young and wounded beast.BHo
Hu1hdfShe was just a young and anxious girl… who was frightened by things she couldn’t see and things she couldn’t hear.E9owJuI
QzrECAThe moment she saw her, Estelle chose to follow her duty as a Saintess of Zeon, and not as a princess of the El Rath Kingdom. At the cost of confronting her younger sister, the 2nd Princess, she accepted Hua Ran under the name of New Faith.Y6oQ4t3
MB2P7uvShe let her enter the academy to learn and in hopes of people calling her a hero instead of a monster.eALhL4
pdJ1However, even she wasn’t expecting Hua Ran to learn the heart of a human this early. She had been hoping and wishing her a great future for her but the young girl grew even faster than she expected to the point that she was now talking about love.rMbmq3
wWbzXThe wounded girl was now seeing a bright youthful life and had become a romantic girl.14A
Hs3“Korin Lork.”nJh
Pj3kDAnd the one at the center of that change was a freshman boy of Merkarva Academy.ImZx
Mu193dNSaving Marie Dunareff who had become a vampire, he fought against Lunia Arden the Sword Master and helped his peer Alicia Arden, and even subjugated the unsealed King of Iron Mountain.iB1
Ojh3aT9He was a young hero that could most definitely enter the Hall of Warriors, that was told of in the scripture.Lde
bgsPWhat was it about him that had melted that iceberg of a girl?Jg5cz9r
z6qlDz“He really is involved in every matter, isn’t he, that ‘Junior’?”HD044
49HKe2Estelle whispered with a rather cunning yet gentle smile on her face.jdhVN
ApZx4i………3KrI
Zn73aZ……ebxekd
szZIH…M6A6WH
PvrSEit“Are you serious?”O4sEjP
QD4h“Yes.”V7ui9aN
pIwUxFJosephine was appalled after seeing Hua Ran pack her belongings straight away after a new ‘prayer’. It was because she was saying she would immediately leave Zeon.7IO
Gnn“Without a supervisor…”Rt9JeW
tqu“The Saintess lifted the seal.”LAY
yvLA“But…”QlZGGEb
5hpIt wasn’t out of the question. Now that Ran was here, Hua wasn’t as unstable as before and Josephine was indeed thinking about lowering the supervision but…siO
B93“It is 2,400 km from here to the Eastern border. Are you… telling me you are going to run the entire way?”4VQglcB
U63GkD“I can.”DVM7H
zeAnDYe“No. Let’s go together on a wyvern. I can come with you.”sLcg
h0RYecv“I’m faster.”tMcmoO
X94N“…”eIhGVr
dmgYfnThat might be true in a straight line but there were landscapes and other potential problems.By4o5Z
86DFvXJosephine even wondered if she should let her move using her super-long-distance dimensional travel spell, but a super-long-distance travel rune was something that could only be generated once a year.6fKqw0
lgajIt wasn’t something that could be used lightly but…rP9AP10
vQ10bjq“Why is that? Is there something serious?”e1Vh
lpVAv9She was ready to use it if that was related to a very serious matter.LdNW
qnmP“…”thQMk
uOsjHua Ran turned silent. It wasn’t strange for her to turn silent but what was rare was that her ears were slightly flushed.t7r0
lY5PstdIt was as if she was embarrassed about sharing her honest thoughts.xxj1c
I5bOV“Ran…”Hr94avR
pSr0A“What about Ran?”hZSd
ksV“Ran said I can’t be slower than that woman… Not me, that’s what Ran said.”5ELtAk
6Us1“Ah…”aCVsJ
QZlJust some love-related stuff, huh.XnRy
wow“Let’s just… go on a wyvern. We will get there in 3 weeks.”C0HX1O
kF10Ih“I can… run there. It will take less than 2 days.”cBtwVN
EuehpDN“There is no way it will.”1IcsVUB
2ihB8PWhat if you lose your way?2lv
73LHxjGJosephine persuaded her over the span of 2 hours while teaching her a lesson about Geography.8zI56
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