The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 76



Only Noblemtl

When Enoch opened his eyes.

There was an infinite world of nothingness there.

A space where the sky sparkles like stars in the night sky and the vast land where the horizon meets stretches out infinitely.

But this time, something was different.

Slowly raise your head and look ahead.

What he could see was the endless world that stretched on like a clear water surface. However, the next moment, a light of astonishment appeared in Enoch’s eyes as he looked ahead.

─Whoooooooooo

A huge flame was spread out.

Enoch covered his face with his hand as the hot wind scratched his cheek. For a moment, his eyes opened even wider as he saw something.

A gigantic wall of flames stretching endlessly.

Beyond that, someone was walking slowly.

Damn it.

With the hood of his old and worn robe pulled down deep,

A swordsman with a hundred battles under his belt, wielding a familiar one-handed sword.

The last swordsman of the empire.

He walked out into the middle of the flames without any hesitation.

Behind his robes, which fluttered and billowed greatly, a huge flame hung like a shapeless cloak.

Above the sound of his footsteps as he walked, only the crackling of the flames and the fluttering of his robes could be heard.

The swordsman stopped in front of Enoch. His gaze, hidden under the shadow of his hood, turned to Enoch.

“──!”

In an instant, an overwhelming sense of intimidation ran down his spine. Enoch reflexively materialized his sword and aimed it. His breathing became rapid due to the tension.

It seemed as if the memories of death in his inner world were screaming at him to prepare for battle if he didn’t want to die right away.

“… … .”

But for some reason, Je Choi-geom just stood there and didn’t make any moves.

‘… …not attacking?’

It was clearly a different feeling than before. For a moment, a thought crossed Enoch’s mind.

Swish.

Enoch slowly lowered his sword aimed at the Black Star. Soon, the tip of his sword was pointed at the ground.

It was then that the last swordsman of the empire opened his mouth.

“Enoch Elseid.”

A deep, rich voice.

Without a doubt, it was the voice of the black sword I had heard so far.

Enoch’s heart pounded loudly in that moment. The swordsman he had only seen while inheriting his memories was now speaking to him directly?

“For the first time, I greet you with words rather than a sword.”

The body of the black knight was distinct. Unlike the shadowy figure I had first seen, it seemed to have regained its original majestic appearance.

But his face is still hidden in the shadow of the hood pulled down deeply.

Only the sharp jawline and gray beard of the old inspector are visible beneath the shadow of the pitch-black hood.

moment,

Geomseong elegantly placed his sword on the floor and supported it.

Thuu …

A low, loud metallic noise rang out.

On the ground of the world that was as translucent as water, a huge wave spread out powerfully beyond the horizon, centered around the sword that had been thrust down.

At the center of the huge concentric circles drawn by the ripples,

“… … you and me.”

Black Star stared at Enoch without moving an inch and spoke.

“I don’t think there’s any need to introduce ourselves.”

“okay.”

Enoch nodded his head amid the tension that seemed ready to explode.

“I’ve died a lot thanks to someone.”

“Hey, don’t be so angry. He’s not really dead, is he?”

Geumseong shrugged his shoulders once. Then he slowly added a word.

“Phew, by the way… .”

Enoch realized that his body had become slightly tense without him knowing it. What on earth would the Black Sword say next?

past.

A hero who single-handedly defeated countless demons and powerful empire magicians, and protected the oppressed beast race with just one sword.

“The Last Swordsman of the Empire”

After seeing with my own eyes the great feats he had accomplished throughout his life, I couldn’t help but feel a considerable amount of tension in every word and action of Geomseong.

After a while, Geomseong slowly opened his mouth.

“I can finally say this─”

─Then he added with a big smile.

“It feels really good! I was feeling pretty suffocated!”

Surprisingly, the speech is very refreshing.

Enoch was speechless for a moment.

“… … ?”

what.

Something feels quite out of place.

Moreover, even though the expression on the swordsman’s face was briefly visible behind the robe’s hood, upon closer inspection, there was no particular sense of tension or pressure.

‘… … What is it? Is that what the black sword feels like?’

Enoch, who was slightly brain dead, tilted his head without realizing it.

‘It’s true that it’s a real sword, but… … .’

That was undoubtedly the real Je Choi Geum himself.

Because I had seen his life up to this point, and had some understanding of the will he had put into his sword, I could be more certain than anyone else.

‘But why does it feel a little bit different?’

After much thought, I even had the absurd thought that maybe it wasn’t the real sword but a fake.

Suddenly, the last swordsman of the empire began to pour out words like a waterfall at a very fast speed.

“Huh, you don’t know how hard it was for me to stay silent for a while here. If I were to tell you that story, I would have to start with the story of when I first met you here! At that time, my own consciousness wasn’t fully formed, so my memory is a bit hazy, but in fact─”

‘…ah.’

Enoch, who was listening to that, gradually became more and more bitter.

‘This old man really talks a lot.’

No. Is this correct?

Enoch stared blankly at the black castle in front of him.

It seemed as if he was going to talk a lot. He just left the sword on the ground and left it there. He crossed his arms and spoke as if he was rapping.

Honestly, it was hard to believe.

… … His life, which he saw clearly in the world of nothingness, was infinitely cruel and heavy. And at the same time, it shone with the beliefs he had established.

It must have been so.

The corners of Enoch’s mouth twitched.

‘But did that Je Choi-geom really talkative like this?’

Somehow, I started to feel betrayed inside. That’s understandable, because I had been secretly thinking that the audacity that Geomseong had shown up until now was amazing.

Yeah. That was the case until just now… … .

“─So, when you realized that you yourself would not die no matter how much you died here, I felt quite proud and my spirits were lifted. Cat? Speaking of cats, I just had a thought. Have you seen any beastmen with cat ears in the beastmen village? They were quite cute. Just like other beastmen with dog or wolf ears, I made a promise to myself that I would definitely touch the fluffy ears and tails growing on top of their heads at least once in my life…”

“… … .”

But I didn’t know that the identity of this person was such a serious talker.

Listening to his voice, which was like some kind of background music in his inner world, Enoch came up with a simple solution.

‘… Should I release my inner world?’

No, it’s not.

But Enoch soon gave up on that idea. Even though it hurt his ears a little, he was able to talk to the Black Star in his inner world.

It also meant that we could obtain that much information.

Because that was the goal from the beginning.

Enoch opened his mouth, cutting off the rapid-fire rap of the still-in-progress JeChoiGeom.

“I have a question.”

“Oh, ask me anything!”

Even though Enoch cut him off, JeChoiGeom smiled brightly and said,

“In my life, I haven’t had many opportunities to have a heart-to-heart conversation with someone… … But here, I’ll be happy to answer any questions I have.”

“…really?”

“I guess I’ve been living a life of deception. It’s true.”

He spoke with his arms crossed, raising one finger.

“However, this time it won’t be possible for that long.”

“I think you like gossiping quite a bit.”

“I have no intention of denying it.”

Geomseong lifted his other hand, which had been linking his arms.

“This will answer your question.”

For a moment, a look of surprise flashed across Enoch’s eyes.

The swordsman’s hand was disappearing transparently.

─Slurp.

Not only that, the Jecheom sword in front of his eyes was gradually fading away from the edges of its body. Enoch tilted his head slightly.

“… … What? It’s already disappeared?”

Geumseong said as he watched himself disappear.

“Yes. The time you can talk to me here is still too short.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know that either. I just have a feeling.”

Geumseong raised his head for a moment and slowly looked up at the night sky of his inner world where stars were shining.

He opened his mouth in a low voice.

“In the long history of this land, countless swordsmen established their beliefs and fell in their own time.”

Geomseong turned his gaze this way and said.

“However, freely entering and exiting the inner world like you and summoning past swordsmen like me are completely different from simply being a swordsman.”

“They are separate.”

“Yes. Even among the other sword masters of the past, including me, no one has ever been able to do something like that. At least, it is the same in the records of other sword masters I have seen and heard of during my lifetime, including me.”

A transparent floor like the surface of the inner world.

Geomseong held his sword, which he had plunged into the ground, with one hand. Ripples spread out, lightly rippling across the translucent ground like water.

It touched Enoch’s feet and rippled quietly.

Geomseong continued speaking in a calm tone.

“In other words, in this “World of Nothingness,” and in this world, summoning other swordsmen and learning swordsmanship is your unique talent.”

Enoch nodded slowly at those words.

Well, that might be true.

Originally, it was said that ‘the swordsmanship of the Black Star cannot be used by others’. In other words, no one but the Black Star can use the swordsmanship of another Black Star.

But this one was able to see their experiences in the inner world and inherit swordsmanship.

Of course, being able to talk directly to the swordsman is thanks to absorbing the Persona’s magic.

Anyway, it was obvious that this ‘world of nothingness’ was Enoch’s unique talent, even if you think about it a little. But that’s not what I’m curious about.

“So. You don’t know any more details about this inner world?”

“That’s right. But that’s also what makes it knowable. And this is also important advice.”

“… … Listen.”

“You are missing the point, Enoch.”

Geomseong slowly drew his sword.

Enoch’s eyes were reflected in the silver-white sword.

“The ‘swordmanship’ of the Black Sword is the perfection of self and belief. And this inner world is no different from the place where your ‘self’ itself resides.”

Like the night sky with countless stars shining brightly, with his back to the horizon of the clear and wide world, Geomseong stood tall and spoke.

“And yet, this place. It seems like you still don’t know much about your own inner world?”

The blacksmith spoke solemnly.

“If you truly wish to attain the realm of the Sword Master, you must understand this world.”

“… … .”

Enoch covered his mouth with one hand as if it were his habit, lost in thought.

Clearly, what the blacksmith said was not wrong.

Certainly, the inner world here is still full of questions.

In many ways, I wanted to understand more than I do now.

However, until now, there has been no time or means to understand this place called the world of nothingness.

Enoch opened his mouth quietly.

“So, what do I need to do to understand this?”

“There are many ways to guess, but we don’t have time to talk about it properly yet. First, let’s talk about what you can do right now… … .”

He lifted one finger.

“I need the swords of other sword masters besides mine.”