The Swordmaster Who Lives Twice Chapter 189 : Chapter 189

Chapter 189 - Hardeon (19)

A dungeon setting where mages could absolutely not enter.

This was the reason the mage organization risked danger to enlist the help of outsiders.

The thorough verification of ideology and skill through several stages was also likely related to this dungeon commission.

They needed to retrieve the relic from this dungeon without fail.

'What on earth is that relic?'

I still didn't know why this mage organization needed Erter's Relic.

It wasn't ntioned in the Gwangun Sword Family's report.

Anyway, Hardeon's quest was now in its final stages. I had spent quite a lot of ti here.

"Unit Leader. Please continue to take care of until the very end."

Shin Ah-yeon bowed her head to .

"You've worked hard."

Recently, she had grown significantly.

She maximized her ti with , using every process as a foundation for her training.

Since this was her reason for following to Hardeon in the first place, she had achieved her goal 120 percent.

"And thank you for everything throughout this journey."

"Don't thank with that tone. It sounds like you're setting up a death flag."

Then Shin Ah-yeon bowed her head again with an emotionless expression.

"Then I'll try again. Thank you, Unit Leader."

This girl was definitely not normal either.

Anyway, vigilance was key until the very end.

I still didn't know what was inside this dungeon, so I had to maintain a certain level of tension.

I led the way into the dungeon.

The world inside the dungeon was a massive hollow space.

It was like a temple, with statues erected in various places.

"It feels like we've co to a tourist attraction, doesn't it?"

"...Yes, Unit Leader."

Shin Ah-yeon answered with a tense voice.

She had accurately sensed the level of danger lurking within this dungeon.

[Acquire the Yggdrasil-patterned candlestick.]

The dungeon clear condition was very simple.

A large candlestick placed on the altar would be it.

The problem was the guardian in the air above the altar.

Shin Ah-yeon's tension was precisely because of this creature.

"Ah-yeon. You'd better stay back."

A Black Wyvern.

This creature, shaped like a giant stingray kite, flew around the altar.

'It's quite a high-difficulty dungeon.'

In Kalia, where I lived, wyverns were monsters also called small dragons.

Of course, they couldn't be compared to actual dragons, but it still ant they were strong creatures.

It was certainly one of the highest-ranked monsters I knew.

'Those mages.'

These guys were effectively utilizing .

This dungeon couldn't be cleared without .

I didn't know exactly how skilled K of the Gwangun Sword Family was, but he probably wasn't capable of taking on a wyvern.

Ultimately, it ant the mages had thoroughly vetted and acknowledged .

It was highly probable that they also knew so information about this dungeon.

'Anyway, I just need to clear the quest.'

Leaving Shin Ah-yeon behind, I advanced towards the altar, step by step.

The wyvern reacted indifferently to my approach.

It was probably confident that it could stop anyti it wished.

Now was the ti to break that unfounded confidence.

My friend! I suddenly rembered. The day you and I first caught a wyvern!

That was shortly after I had acquired Bastian.

Back then, you cleaved the wyvern's belly with a single stroke! The thrill I felt then...

I'm sorry, but with my power lost, the thod has to be a little different from back then.

The result will be the sa anyway.

I took out a dagger from my Inventory.

Seven black daggers began to float above my palm.

The wyvern's eyes, watching this, remained nonchalant.

Its haughty expression was as if it was scoffing.

WHIZZ!

The daggers, one by one, left my hand and shot towards the wyvern.

The creature still didn't move.

I knew what it was trying to do.

Its intention was probably to elegantly flap its wings and blow them all away the mont the thrown daggers got close enough.

As expected, it spread its wings wide.

Of course, its plausible plan was imdiately shattered.

The launched daggers drew graceful curves and, without a single exception, pierced into the wyvern's body.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

Imdiately, its ferocious shriek echoed through the dungeon.

ROAAARRR!!

It must have been a shock, beyond re pain.

It probably hadn't expected all seven daggers to follow such an absurd trajectory.

ROAAARRR!

The wyvern's screams continued.

This had a similar effect to Dragon Fear to so extent.

Indeed, Shin Ah-yeon was currently taking deep breaths.

WHIIIIIISH!

And the wyvern was no longer content to stay still.

It approached in an instant with a single flap of its wings.

It was an unbelievable movent coming from such a massive body.

Then, it opened its mouth wide and shot out a massive fla.

This was precisely why the people of Kalia called wyverns small dragons.

But it was an absurd comparison.

I smiled, gazing at the blazing flas.

'How contemptible.'

I was the one who had cleaved even the Red Dragon's breath in half when it wasn't putting its full effort into it.

Let alone a wyvern.

SWISSHH!

The mana shot from the Holy Sword imdiately collided with the fireball from the wyvern's mouth.

Since my mana could be converted to ice attribute at any ti after consuming the Yeti's core, the current situation could be called a battle of ice and fire.

CRACK!

CRACKLE!

Ultimately, my mana froze the wyvern's flas in mid-air.

The wyvern hastily coughed, eventually spitting it out.

Perhaps very surprised, it rose to the top of this hollow and coughed miserably repeatedly.

But as long as it couldn't fly far into the sky, escaping this way was useless.

I had various ways to attack it.

For instance, by shooting Sword Qi.

Or, as before, by deploying Sword Control Technique and launching daggers.

My friend! Sword Qi would be good!

I also agreed.

FLASHPANG!

Mana exploded.

Sword Qi shot out like a downpour.

If anything could neutralize all of this, it would be a dragon, not a wyvern.

Ultimately, the creature writhed in pain, its body twisting.

By now, the wyvern must have realized which side had the advantage in long-range combat.

If it wanted to increase its chances, it would have no choice but to quickly attempt close-quarters combat, aiming for a lucky critical hit.

Of course, I was not at a level to be caught by such a thing.

Eventually, the wyvern ca gliding towards at an incredible speed.

SWISSHH!

My sword carved a diagonal line, slitting the wyvern's belly.

And since once wasn't enough, I did it once more.

SWISSHH!

An 'X' was etched onto its belly, and red blood burst forth.

And then, a powerless fall.

THUD!

The wyvern, collapsed on the ground, could no longer rise.

Its duty as a guardian of the relic ended here.

Blood seeped out continuously, and the dungeon floor began to be stained red.

I walked to the altar.

The candlestick with the Yggdrasil pattern.

As I pulled out the relic embedded in the altar's slot, the dungeon ssage resonated.

[The fifth relic of Erter has been released.]

[Dungeon cleared.]

[Remaining Erter's Relics: 1]

[The volcano will erupt upon complete release.]

The ssage's content was unexpected.

'Volcano eruption?'

400 years ago, when the age of magic ended and the age of swords began, I heard there was a massive volcanic eruption.

And now, the sa event was about to be reenacted from the opposite perspective.

Ultimately, the mages didn't need Erter's Relics.

What they wanted was the annihilation of humanity. And perfect revenge.

'The volcanic eruption would also have symbolic aning for the mages.'

And behind this revenge plot was the Demon King.

[If you hand Erter's Relic to the mage, the quest will be cleared.]

Many lingering questions felt like they were being resolved.

***

The dungeon disappeared after being cleared.

When I erged into the outside world again, I felt a massive sense of incongruity.

The surrounding landscape, encompassed by natural cliffs, was the sa as before entering the dungeon, but an aura that hadn't been there before awaited us.

The being didn't hide itself and imdiately revealed its presence.

An old man.

It was difficult to accurately gauge his age, but he appeared to be at least a hundred years old.

"This doesn't seem like a coincidental eting, does it?"

"Of course not."

The old man began to walk towards .

Though small in stature, he was by no ans a small figure.

His mana's nature didn't seem to be that of a gladiator either.

If so, the conclusion was set.

Circumstantially, he was definitely a mage.

"As I heard, you are indeed a remarkable individual. I've never heard of anyone like you in Hardeon."

I answered with a smile.

"Can you, perhaps, guess who I am?"

"Black Code. The Master of the organization."

There was no need for further words.

Although I hadn't yet seen the Red Code and Purple Code, I was confident that this old man was not a person of such a low rank.

"You've figured it out precisely."

It was strange.

'Why the Master, ?'

This organization operated strictly as a cell system, with extre restrictions on identity exposure as one ascended the ranks.

One had to pass rigorous verification procedures just to access the higher-ups, yet the leader of the organization appeared before , ignoring all these principles.

"Then can you also guess why I am here now?"

"I was just thinking about that."

"Then try to guess."

"It doesn't seem like you've co just to receive a candlestick."

"That's right. Haven't you realized by now? That the relic itself isn't important."

With that, the old man took another step closer to .

"Then it's one of two things."

"Tell ."

"One, that you want to imdiately retrieve the last remaining Erter's Relic."

The old man smiled at those words.

"As you might expect, that's the wrong answer."

That was true.

There was no reason for the Master to step forward personally.

It was sothing that could be done through Red Code as well.

"Then I'd like to hear the other one you're thinking of."

"To eliminate directly."

"I figured you'd say that. That's the correct answer."

The old man took another step closer to .

"For the Master to move personally, it must be the Demon King's command, then."

"Sharp."

"Then, every ti soone acquires Erter's Relic, do you personally co to the forefront?"

"There was one exception."

"K."

"Right. You're exactly right."

That fellow had made a direct deal with the Demon King.

The terms of the deal were, with high probability, to bring zombies to Earth.

"Then let ask you one thing. What is your reason for trying to eliminate ?"

"Gladiators are inherently beings who must die. Is there any other reason?"

With that, the old man was slowly raising his mana.

Shin Ah-yeon had set up a death flag earlier, and ultimately, the real danger was outside the dungeon.

"Ah-yeon. Stay back."

Of course, she would be safe as long as I was here.