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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 152
“Spirits, huh.”
As soon as the angel Ramiel disappeared, Kaylen briefly questioned his words.
But putting that aside, he began the process of integrating the completed Six Blades into his body.
Chi-i-i-iik…
Normally, once attached to his back, the Six Blades would be naturally absorbed.
However, this time, instead of being absorbed, they clashed violently with Kaylen’s body, radiating a sharp and menacing aura.
‘Since my body and the Six Blades haven’t grown together, they’re resisting.’
In his past life as Ernstine, his body had gradually cultivated the Six Blades by absorbing the rich atmospheric mana.
But now, due to the slow absorption of mana, he had forcibly introduced an immense amount of external mana to complete the Six Blades all at once.
As a result, they had not fully fused with his body and remained somewhat disconnected.
‘Up to the fourth blade, the resistance wasn’t too strong.’
But now that the unfinished Wind Blade and Earth Blade had been completed, finalizing all Six Blades at once, the backlash against his body was particularly severe.
‘Still, they are my blades.’
Even as some parts of his skin burned and others froze—
Kaylen remained unfazed and slowly absorbed the Six Blades.
His clothes on his back were completely shredded, and blood streamed down, but as the blades gradually settled in, his torn flesh swiftly regenerated.
At the same time, the tattoo of six swords on his back grew darker.
‘Absorption itself is no longer an issue.’
Although they resisted at first, in the end, Kaylen successfully stabilized the Six Blades within his body.
At this rate, he would regain a structure similar to what he had in his past life as Ernstine, and soon, he would ascend to the rank of Grandmaster.
‘But if that’s all, then I’ll be no different from before.’
Simply reaching the same state as his past self wasn’t enough.
He had to go beyond that.
Aim for an even greater level.
‘What if I incorporate Infinity’s expansion function here?’
In his past life, he had only focused on Infinity’s limitless properties.
But in this life, thanks to the Helmeier clan, he had also learned about Infinity’s expansion capabilities.
Now that the Six Blades had been fully integrated, Kaylen decided to incorporate this aspect.
‘The power I had before won’t be enough to overcome the enemies I’ll face.’
The situation was completely different from when he had defeated the Demon King of Crimson Flames.
The false Ernstine and the Black Dragon were already formidable threats, and on top of that, the White Demon King was leading an assault on the Celestial Realm.
Compared to his past life, his enemies were even stronger—never weaker.
‘I’ll aim for a higher realm.’
Drawing out all the mana in his body and amplifying Infinity, Kaylen fully committed to his new completion.
As the Six Blades settled within him, the mana within his entire body surged outward, expanding endlessly into the world.
‘Let’s go beyond the limits.’
Kaylen’s mana wrapped around the World Tree, extending past the royal palace and spreading across the entirety of Alzass.
Infinity, ever-expanding without boundaries.
Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Dark.
The colors of the Six Blades, each representing their respective attributes, all turned to a radiant golden hue.
Saaaa—!
Then, the three mana circles inscribed within Kaylen’s body seemed to expand, as if a fourth was forming—
But instead, they completely vanished.
Pure white skin took their place.
Originally, with three mana circles, he could function up to the sixth circle.
But now, Kaylen instinctively understood.
The constraints of mana circles no longer applied to this body.
If he willed it, he could now wield even higher-tier magic.
‘But… this…’
Viiiiing—
Kaylen’s six swords resonated as his expanding mana surged.
But now, with all the swords dyed in golden light, their colors weren’t reverting to their original states.
This sight—
Kaylen had seen it before.
It was the same as what Melvria had used in the Six Demonic Paths.
‘It looks almost identical to the golden mana I saw before Ria used the Six Demonic Paths.’
The only difference was whether they appeared as stars or swords.
Their fundamental structure was the same.
And as soon as Kaylen had that thought—
[Master, something’s wrong! The scabbard is changing!]
A frantic voice echoed from the Holy Sword within the Light Sword.
Not only the Light Sword, which had acted as the Holy Sword’s scabbard, but all six swords were changing in form.
From swords—into stars.
‘Suddenly…’
Kaylen had only thought that the golden radiance of his six swords resembled the stars of the Six Demonic Paths.
Yet just from that thought, the shape of his six swords had begun to change.
‘And somehow… this feels more… right.’
The six swords were transforming, resembling Infinity’s star-like particles.
Kaylen instinctively realized that this star-like form was a more advanced state than that of mere swords.
In the end—
The evolutionary path of the Six Sword Path was the stars of the Six Demonic Paths.
If he left this transformation as it was, his Six Sword Path would turn into the Six Demonic Paths.
And then, he would be able to wield that overwhelming destructive power.
The dragon’s fiery breath—
A force he had barely managed to withstand by using four swords and even the Holy Sword.
That attack had only used two of the Six Demonic Paths’ stars.
‘…No. I will keep my swords.’
But as he observed the transformation, Kaylen consciously rejected it.
If he abandoned the swords here and fully embraced the star-like transformation—
If he advanced the Six Sword Path into the Six Demonic Paths—he would surely become stronger.
But—
‘That’s not the path I should take.’
A powerful sense of rejection welled up from deep within his chest.
He had a gut feeling that if he allowed the Six Sword Path to change into the Six Demonic Paths, it would be a mistake.
That if he abandoned his swords—he would no longer be himself.
Srrrrr—
The swords, which had begun changing into stars, returned to their original forms under Kaylen’s firm will.
The golden light that had enveloped them faded, and the six swords once again settled into his body.
“Hoo…”
As the six swords returned to his flesh, aura circulated within him, generating infinite mana.
Kaylen let out a breath.
“I’ve almost reached my former level.”
Even with the six swords completed, he still fell just short of becoming a Grand Swordmaster.
But by applying Infinity’s second ability, Expansion, to this body, he estimated he could now draw out around 90% of the power Ernstine had wielded in his past life.
‘The results are a complete success.’
Setting aside the near-transformation into the Six Demonic Paths, the establishment of the Six Sword Path had yielded highly successful results.
His senses had expanded significantly.
[His Majesty has been staying at the World Tree all this time.]
[What is he doing?]
[What else? Can’t you feel the mana surging like crazy? He’s definitely reached a new realm.]
[...Eli, are you having another knightly delusion? If you have time to say that, go clean the palace halls.]
The chatter of the palace maids.
[Haa… Should I just resign? Why is he neglecting his duties again…]
Even Violet’s lamenting voice could be heard from the royal office.
His five senses had been amplified to a level nearly identical to his days as a Grand Swordmaster.
Satisfied with the results, Kaylen was about to head toward the capital when—
—Fragment of the Heart. Why do you resist your fate?
A quiet voice echoed in his ears.
A voice without a discernible source.
Neither male nor female.
Neither high nor low.
Just a dull, emotionless tone.
—I forbid you from bearing the name of the dragon.
At those words, Kaylen immediately grasped the origin of the voice.
“…Could it be, Infinity?”
—Do not forget your true nature.
With those final words, Infinity’s presence faded.
Kaylen furrowed his brows.
‘Fragment of the Heart… Is it referring to the Dragon Heart?’
As he suppressed the now unresponsive Infinity, he contemplated.
‘I need to learn more about dragons.’
What humanity knew was limited to the ancient legend of the world’s dawn—
That 77 dragons had rebelled against the Celestial Gods and were ultimately defeated.
‘I should check other races’ records.’
—Elves and dwarves seem to tell a different story, but they’re just primitive races who refuse to submit to the will of the Celestial Gods.
As Saintess Theresia had said, other races might hold different perspectives on dragons.
In a tavern located in the capital city of Alzass, within the Kingdom of Starn—
“The world’s really become a better place lately.”
“I was worried when the royal family suddenly changed… But it’s only been a year, and look at how much the country has transformed.”
People gathered in groups, chatting loudly as they clinked their drinks together.
Their faces were free of worry, brimming with life.
From a corner of the tavern, Melvria quietly sipped her drink, watching them.
‘It’s so different from Geysir.’
Her long ears and striking beauty had been concealed, taking on the form of an ordinary woman. As she observed the cheerful citizens, she thought back to the people of the Geysir Empire.
A nation where nothing was permitted except faith in the Dragon God Meier.
They were less like humans and more like marionettes devoid of free will.
Until now, she had never questioned it. She had always believed it was natural, a necessity for the sake of their great father.
‘…But ever since I met that fake father, my mind’s been a mess.’
Ever since meeting him—
The emotions she had long lost had begun to resurface, creeping up little by little.
‘This isn’t good.’
Melvria drank the liquor that couldn’t even get her drunk, hurriedly burying her emotions.
Focusing solely on her mission, she listened to the conversations around her.
“I was worried when they said they were changing the kingdom’s name again…”
“But ever since they changed it to its real name, dungeon portals haven’t appeared.”
“Come on. We need to wait a few more days to be sure, don’t we? It hasn’t even been a month yet.”
“Still, the fact that they’re not appearing at all is something. Would His Majesty ever say something baseless?”
“So dungeon portals aren’t appearing anymore… That means we’ve really entered Marquis Ederna’s direct domain.”
As expected, King Kaylen is a fake.
The great hero—her father—sided with the demons just to save himself?
If it were truly him, that would be unimaginable.
“His Majesty needs to continue ruling, but…”
“For the Meyer royal family—no, the Starn royal family—to endure, he needs to have an heir soon.”
“He still hasn’t had a royal marriage?”
“Right? I heard His Majesty doesn’t seem interested in women… He hardly ever hosts parties at the palace.”
‘Not interested in women? Hah. Fake father… You’re a real fake.’
Melvria let out a quiet scoff.
If he were the real Ernstine, within his first year on the throne, he would have already taken at least five consorts, including a queen.
Over a year on the throne with no queen? That confirmed he was a fake.
“Maybe His Majesty is just too beautiful to find anyone who meets his standards?”
‘That’s impossible. He’d lower his standards however much he needed to.’
“They say he’s too busy with work.”
‘Even when he ruled a unified empire, he had countless consorts. And now, in this tiny little kingdom, he’s supposedly too busy? He’s definitely fake.’
Yeah.
No matter how she thought about it, if he were the real father, there was no way he’d have no women.
Melvria felt the unease in her heart settling back into place.
‘Still, finding proof that he’s a fake makes me feel a little relieved.’
If he were real, there’s no way he’d bow to the demons.
And there’s no way he’d be without women.
Thinking that, Melvria took a sip of her beer—
“Captain! Over here!”
“I may not be able to beat you with a sword, but I can definitely outdrink you. Heh.”
She quietly watched as knights barged into the tavern.
“You guys can all come at me, but it won’t matter. I’ve been drinking for hundreds of years, you little punks.”
Then, seeing the elf walking in with an eyepatch and a staff, her eyes widened.
‘Eldir…’
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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