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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 90
On the day Violet entered the Magic Academy as a first-year student,
First Prince Diether Hart said to her:
“Violet, we need a personal guard unit. Can you find capable people at the academy?”
Diether Hart's requirements were twofold:
They had to be Meisters,
And they had to come from insignificant backgrounds.
Finding people who met these criteria was no easy task.
Meisters were born as mages, and most of them preferred to join the Magic Tower rather than serve in the First Prince’s personal guard.
Especially the academy Meisters—since they showcased their talents at a young age, major Magic Towers were eager to recruit them.
Their low status didn't matter.
Becoming a Meister in itself was enough to elevate their social standing.
So, Violet shifted her focus to graduates instead.
Those who had become Meisters but were only mediocre in talent,
Those who remained stuck at the 3rd Circle for years, losing sponsorship to their younger peers and relegated to mere salaried employees of the Magic Tower.
Violet approached such individuals.
“His Highness the First Prince and I will support you.”
They responded to the princess's offer and joined the First Prince’s personal guard unit.
Even though they were considered washed-up Meisters, they still harbored ambition.
“Forty of them... Well done, Violet.”
As he took in the recruited Meisters, First Prince Diether Hart praised Violet.
The personal Meisters who had already been selected took them in and said:
“Thank you, Your Highness. We will ‘train’ them well.”
At the time, Violet had thought they were simply going to undergo training.
But to think they had been turned into vampires instead…
‘What have I been doing all this time?’
All she ever wanted was to help her brother Diether Hart, take revenge on the duke’s house, and stabilize the kingdom.
But in the end, she had only aided the demons.
Violet's eyes lost focus, filled with emptiness.
Meanwhile, Kaylen observed the vampires with great interest.
‘It's been a while since I've seen vampires.’
Vampires were high-ranking undead monsters who had infiltrated human society for ages, acting as spies for the Demon Realm.
Back when Kaylen was emperor, they were the first ones he eradicated.
He thought he had wiped them out completely, sparing no one regardless of age or gender.
“Can the undead use mana suits?”
[Of course. Do you think magic is exclusive to humans?]
[In fact, they don’t need to handle it with as much finesse as humans do, allowing them to push the mana suit’s performance to its limits.]
Clack. Clack.
As all 200 vampires stretched out their arms,
The gauntlets equipped on their hands emitted a crimson glow.
Shhhrrrk—
Dark armor rapidly enveloped their bodies.
Yet strangely, despite wearing armor, the vampires now appeared smaller than before.
Crack—
The armor squeezed their bodies tightly.
Snap. Snap.
For some vampires, their limbs twisted unnaturally, their arms bending at grotesque angles.
Through the gaps in their helmets, eyeballs began to protrude.
‘Is this... how they’re enhancing the mana suit’s performance?’
Kaylen recalled when Myorn first recruited him.
Didn’t she say she chose him because he was a mage capable of withstanding the immense pressure of a mana suit?
In the case of vampires, being undead meant they likely faced fewer limitations compared to humans.
[My Meister corps’ first offering is a Sword Master. This is a promising start... Vampires, do not kill him.]
Black Skull’s voice carried a tone of certainty, as if he had already subdued Kaylen.
And understandably so—
The sheer pressure emanating from 200 vampires was overwhelming.
From their black armor, crimson magic circles emerged, and waves of dark energy began to surge.
“The Holy Knights! Move to support the Sword Master!”
[It’s too late.]
Even as the Saintess rushed to act, the vampire unit moved first.
“Life Drain.”
The dark magic, Life Drain—
Though considered a lower-tier dark spell, when cast in unison by 200 vampires, its power rivaled that of grand magic.
Thick streams of visible dark energy extended in multiple directions, aiming to seize Kaylen's body.
‘Even a Sword Master can't handle this...’
Saintess Theresia hastily drew a dagger,
preparing once again to wield the power of the holy sword, Astellah.
At that moment,
from within the dark energy, Kaylen’s composed voice rang out.
“You know so little.”
For an instant, it was as if the world had paused.
The area where the White Knight stood—
The turbulent dark energy suddenly solidified, ceasing its movement entirely.
“You dare to approach a Sword Master?”
As Sword Area unfolded,
the entire flow of mana became Kaylen's domain.
The hardened dark energy reversed, surging outward and wrapping around the vampires instead.
[W-What...!]
“I considered cutting you down in one strike, but...”
Fwoosh.
From the White Knight’s sword, a brilliant white Aura Sword flared to life once more—
a blade of light more exquisite than any masterpiece crafted by a renowned artisan.
Seeing it, Bormian felt a chill run down his spine.
Had he underestimated the Sword Master too much...?
“Your mana suits are intriguing. I’ll be taking them first.”
Swish.
In an instant, Kaylen’s form vanished.
One by one, the limbs of the mana suit-clad vampires were severed and fell to the ground.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud—
Like discarded objects, they dropped meaninglessly.
And in the wake of the passing Aura Sword,
pure white flames ignited.
“Ugh... Agh...”
For the first time,
the vampires, who had been silent until now, instinctively groaned in pain.
The divine power was devastating to them.
Starting from their severed arms, their entire bodies were soon engulfed in the white flames.
However, even as their bodies burned,
the gauntlets—the mana suits—remained intact, maintaining their shape.
Not a single mana suit was scorched by the power of light.
Bormian couldn't believe his eyes.
It was enough to make him doubt whether Necropolis had provided incorrect information.
‘He controlled his power... to that extent?’
Normally, when the power of light gains dominance over dark energy, it becomes mercilessly destructive.
And the light power displayed by the White Knight far exceeded the dark energy contained within the vampires.
Yet, the vampires' mana suits remained intact.
Even though they were infused with dark energy, only the vampires' hands inside the gauntlets had burned away.
It was an unbelievable display of extreme mana control.
[Tch. Vampire corps, go all out! Commence fusion... now!]
Initially, Bormian had intended to subdue Kaylen using Life Drain to capture him alive.
However, after over 50 vampires fell in an instant, he had no choice but to revise his plans.
Hearing those words, Kaylen paused.
“Go ahead, then. Show me.”
He could have wiped them out in an instant,
but instead, the Sword Master exuded an air of leisure.
From within his armor, he pulled out a small frame.
Then, as if stretching a rubber band, he expanded its size.
[...What are you doing?!]
Gathering all the gauntlets in one motion,
he placed them inside the frame at once.
‘What... is that thing?’
Saintess Theresia was dumbfounded by the Sword Master's bizarre actions.
Like the infinite pouches once used by a handful of great mages in ancient times,
over 50 sets of gauntlets were vanishing into it, one after another.
‘He’s not... just any Sword Master.’
The martial prowess displayed by the White Knight—
it was on a completely different level from the Sword Masters she remembered.
Even though mages were rendered helpless within the Sword Area,
rarely had she seen a Sword Master who could control such an enormous amount of dark energy.
Indeed— aside from the Grand Emperor Ernstine and his knight commanders.
‘Could he really be his descendant?’
While Saintess Theresia gazed at Kaylen with sparkling eyes,
“What are you doing? Still not ready?”
Kaylen spoke indifferently, continuing to collect mana suits without paying any attention to what the vampire masters were plotting.
He had already gathered all the mana suits and shrunk the frame back to its original size, tucking it into his armor.
Then, glancing at the gathered vampire corps,
he gestured as if urging them to hurry up.
In response, all the vampires simultaneously chanted,
“Combine Suit.”
The magic circles densely inscribed across their mana suits from head to toe began to glow with a crimson hue.
Suddenly, the vampires' bodies started to contort.
Crack.
Crack... Crack.
The already immense pressure of the mana suits intensified further.
One by one, the vampires could no longer maintain their human forms,
their flesh and bones spilling out through the gaps in the armor.
Even the knights turned their eyes away from the grotesque sight.
The now-shrunken mana suits began to merge together into a single mass.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The humanoid vampire masters disappeared, becoming mere components as the mana suits grew larger.
‘So this is why they call it the Combine Suit?’
Even though fragments of flesh continued to seep out from what were once mana suits,
the vampires, being undead, seemed unfazed by such sacrifices.
150 mana suits fused together, merging into a colossal steel giant.
[Hahaha! Sword Master, you've been too complacent. You actually waited until the fusion was complete.]
The mana stones embedded all over the giant's body simultaneously emitted a foreboding crimson glow.
As blood, bones, and flesh rained down,
the sinister red light spread dark energy in every direction.
It was a sight that resembled a demon descending straight from hell.
Everyone except for the Holy Knights took a step back, trembling in fear.
‘Such immense dark energy...’
‘Ugh... even for a Sword Master, this will be tough.’
‘Why did he waste time and let them combine in the first place...?’
Considering the White Knight’s abilities,
he could have subdued the vampires before the Combine Suit was completed.
Why had he allowed them such leisure?
A sense of frustration against him began to build.
However, Kaylen's eyes shone brighter than ever.
‘A Combine Suit? Is this some kind of demonic technology? Interesting.’
Could he extract this technique from the 50 mana suits he had already recovered?
If studied well, it could lead to groundbreaking advancements.
Kaylen silently observed the Combine Suit.
Rumble.
The right arm of the Combine Suit moved, gathering immense mana.
—Dark Arrow.
—Dark Arrow.
In an instant, thirty dark arrows materialized,
all soaring toward Kaylen at once.
They were as massive as pillars,
seeming as if they could crush the White Knight into a mere puddle of blood.
“Divine one, bestow your grace!”
Fwoooosh!
The saintess hastily invoked a blessing of protection.
A powerful light barrier enveloped Kaylen’s body.
Boom! Boom!
The dark arrows disintegrated upon impact, unable to pierce the light barrier.
As expected of a saintess who had lived for a thousand years.
However, despite successfully blocking the attack, her expression remained grim.
‘It’s just a simple Dark Arrow, yet it's stronger than expected.’
Dark Arrow—
a basic offensive spell classified as first-circle black magic.
And yet, such a simple spell had displayed immense power.
She couldn't even begin to imagine the might of higher-tier dark magic.
If things continued this way,
even a Sword Master would struggle.
‘Why did he make such a foolish decision… Still, we must protect this new Sword Master.’
Though she resented the fact that he had allowed the Combine Suit to form,
the emergence of a new Sword Master was a dire necessity for humanity now that their lineage had all but vanished.
As Saintess Theresia bit her lip and was about to give an order to the Holy Knights—
“Holy Knights! Advance—”
“Wait.”
The White Knight’s voice echoed across the battlefield.
“There is no need to interfere.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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