[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 167
With the Six Sword Path before her, Kaina smiled with her eyes.
"Oh my, how frightening. Step back, everyone."
Fwoosh!
The space behind Kaina wavered before bursting into a massive blaze, engulfing Caius and the entire Helmeier clan.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Kaylen's six swords flew at her in unison.
"I command in the name of the dragon."
Gripping her Fire Sword, Dragonflame, Kaina unleashed the Six Demon Path.
"Six Demon Path: Dragon Blaze."
The same Dragon Blaze that Melvria had once wielded now erupted from Kaina’s hands.
Unlike back then, when two golden mana, Infinity, had appeared—this time, four Infinities shimmered around Kaina like stars.
Though each was smaller than the ones Melvria had used,
'The amount of mana is incomparable.'
The Infinities, now holding far greater magical power than before, were absorbed into Dragonflame.
In an instant, the light in the sky vanished, replaced by black flames consuming everything around them.
The sky had turned as dark as night.
Only one bright spot remained—where Kaylen stood, blocking the flames with the Six Sword Path.
"To think you'd wield a power akin to the Demon King…"
Kaylen let out a heavy sigh as he observed Dragon Blaze.
The technique Kaina had just unleashed bore an unsettling resemblance to Hellfire, the flames once wielded by the Crimson Demon King.
No matter how exceptional the Six Demon Path was, for Kaina to exhibit power on par with the Demon King—
"Hoho, what an honor. To be compared to a former Demon King."
Beaming at Kaylen’s assessment, Kaina gently caressed Dragonflame.
"It was worth sacrificing ten thousand dwarves for the sake of my dear husband's flames."
"Ten thousand dwarves…?"
"Yes! I put in a bit of effort to perfect my husband's flames!"
Kaina spoke with an innocent smile—yet her words were chilling.
That sword of fire…
Kaylen had already sensed that it was no ordinary weapon.
Now, as he watched her grin so childishly, he could see the madness within her.
"The pride of the Dwarf Queen is nowhere to be found, Kaina."
"Hoho. I simply did what needed to be done as the Dwarf Queen. If the dwarves knew they had become the fire of a dragon, they would rejoice even in death."
Kaylen shook his head as he looked at her, standing so brazenly.
There was no need to waste words on someone who had already lost her sanity.
Once he completely subdued her, he would uncover the truth behind what happened a thousand years ago.
Dark flames powerful enough to rival the Crimson Demon King—
An extraordinary force, but…
"Even the power of a Demon King won’t be enough to defeat me."
Having already slain the Crimson Demon King once before, Kaylen found this situation more troublesome than dangerous. He was confident in his victory.
"Six Swords—gather."
The six swords that had been shielding Kaylen against Dragon Blaze suddenly converged on him.
Like a new banner of the Starn Empire—
The six swords, piercing the head of a dragon in six directions.
The Six Sword Path tore through Kaylen’s body.
Six Sword Path
Manifestation of the Sword God.
The ultimate form of the Six Sword Path was a blade that quite literally guided Kaylen to the realm of the divine.
As the aura of the six swords intensified and amplified throughout his body—
Kaylen’s physical form became indistinct, his body replaced entirely by aura.
"Oh… It's been a while since I've seen that form."
Watching Kaylen, whose entire being had turned into aura, Kaina's eyes gleamed.
"As expected, even a fake version of my dear husband is quite something. I almost fell for you. How beautiful."
Kaylen did not respond to her words. Instead, he reached for the Holy Sword Astella, drawing it from the light sword still embedded in his chest.
"Astella, your origin is the sun."
[Yes… my master…]
Though the Holy Sword always responded enthusiastically whenever Kaylen called upon its source,
this time, its voice was noticeably subdued.
It had sensed the overwhelming power of the Six Sword Path surging within Kaylen’s body.
"You can withstand this power, can't you?"
[Ugh… Even if I said no, you'd still do it anyway.]
"That's true."
Vwoooom!
As Kaylen infused Astella with his aura—
The blade of light flickered violently, as though it might scatter at any moment, before extinguishing entirely.
Only the hilt of Astella remained.
Yet Kaylen, appearing satisfied, simply gazed at it before—
Whoosh.
He swung his sword toward Kaina.
A motion so light that it didn’t even produce the sound of cutting through air.
Yet, with that single strike—
"Ah…"
The black flames of Dragon Blaze, which had devoured the sky completely and even reached the sea, evaporating the waters—
were split cleanly in two.
From the highest point of the heavens to the ocean’s deepest depths,
a single slash had completely divided them.
"Beautiful…"
And it wasn’t just the flames that had been severed—Kaina was no exception.
Her body of fire was sliced in half.
Her sword, Dragonflame, was broken in two, and two of the Infinities detached from her blade.
At the same time, everything to Kaina’s right was utterly erased—
The Dragon Blaze, half of her body,
and even half of Dragonflame itself.
"This is the blade of the Sword God… If not for serving the Dragon God…"
Even with only half of her face remaining, Kaina wore an enraptured expression.
Though her Dragon Blaze had been extinguished,
though her body of fire had yet to regenerate,
she paid no mind to her own injuries, utterly absorbed in admiration.
"Even now, you remain composed. You still have strength left."
Whoosh.
Kaylen appeared right before Kaina’s eyes.
And just as his sword extended forward once more—
"Ah…"
Everything below Kaina’s head was torn apart,
her body completely vanishing.
With Dragon Blaze extinguished and her Fire Sword severed, she had no means left to endure.
She could not block Kaylen’s strike at all.
"What happened a thousand years ago?"
"You just cut me down a hundred times, didn't you?"
At Kaylen’s question, Kaina responded with an unrelated remark, her expression unbothered.
Her body of fire had been completely severed, leaving only her head behind.
Even her halved Dragonflame sword floated idly in the air—
Yet she showed no intention of speaking.
"Do you really want to be tortured, Kaina?"
"Fufufu… That sounds nice too. If it means I get to feel your touch."
Shhhhhh—
Smoke began to rise from Kaina’s face.
"But my body exists to serve the real husband. Unfortunately, I can't play with you any longer."
Her remaining half-face started to distort, the flames flaring up momentarily before—
A surge of fire shot toward Kaylen.
"Pointless."
A desperate struggle that didn’t even require him to lift his sword.
The moment Kaylen opened his mouth, the flames quietly dissipated.
However, that wasn’t her true intention.
"This is my parting gift, fake husband."
As Kaina’s face completely disappeared—
The floating Flame Sword Dragonflame suddenly shot toward Kaylen.
It wasn’t just the sword. The four golden Infinities she had summoned also flew toward him.
Unlike before, Kaylen raised the Holy Sword Astella to block them.
‘No…’
Dragonflame and the four Infinities—
which should have been repelled by Astella—
simply passed through the Holy Sword as if they were intangible.
Instead, they embedded themselves into the Six Swords still lodged in Kaylen’s body.
‘This can’t be…!’
Even if they lacked physical form, they were pure mana.
Even if Astella couldn’t block them, Kaylen, in his Sword God Manifestation, should have been able to stop them.
Yet, they settled into his Six Swords so naturally,
as if they had always belonged to Kaylen’s mana.
‘Ugh…’
The four Infinities fused into the Water Sword, Dark Sword, Earth Sword, and Wind Sword, vanishing completely.
And the halved Dragonflame—
Like Astella, it nestled itself within Kaylen’s Fire Sword, using it as its new sheath.
‘Why is it accepting them?!’
Kaina had disappeared along with the Helmeier Clan.
He had no desire to absorb the Infinities and Dragonflame she left behind—if anything, it felt repulsive.
Yet, Kaylen’s Six Swords welcomed them, completely ignoring their master’s will.
As the Infinities were absorbed, the Six Swords grew stronger.
Kaylen could feel their power expanding.
‘They're clinging to me like leeches. I need to get rid of them…!’
Despite his resistance, the Six Swords greedily devoured the Infinities.
Kaylen could do nothing but watch as his swords continued to evolve.
Except for the Light Sword and Fire Sword, where Astella and Dragonflame had settled—
The remaining four swords had all grown stronger.
"Haa…"
Kaylen sighed and released his Sword Manifestation form.
With that, the Six Swords returned to their original state.
The swords had grown stronger than before, making them even more powerful than just moments ago.
However, despite the enhancement, Kaylen's face was twisted in displeasure as he observed the swords.
‘The shape of my swords… has become distorted.’
The four swords that had devoured the Infinity had become dull at the tips.
* * *
Geysir Imperial Castle.
In the underground chamber where a hundred coffins lay, the largest one opened, and from within, Kaina rose.
“Fufufu… I feel great.”
Despite having been utterly overwhelmed by Kaylen just moments ago, she was smiling from ear to ear.
‘Even if he’s just a fake, seeing him like that made me feel too good. If I had stayed any longer, my heart might have wavered.’
Rumble—
As she was the first to open her coffin and rise, the lids of the remaining ninety-nine coffins began to open all at once.
“Where is this…?”
“Is this… Geysir?”
The Helmeier clan, who had been on the verge of death at Kaylen’s hands, looked around at one another in disbelief.
To think they had survived. Most of them wore expressions that were a mix of joy and astonishment.
But not all.
“Marquis Helmeier.”
Thud—
Emperor Caius flung his coffin lid aside and approached Kaina.
“How is it that we are alive?”
“The descendants of the dragon are immortal. Especially those of the direct bloodline like us—we do not die.”
“…Immortal, you say.”
“Fufu. More importantly, aren’t you more curious about something else?”
Rather than answering how she had escaped that situation, Kaina rested her chin on her hand and looked at Caius.
“…Yes. That opponent just now was undoubtedly my father. What exactly happened?”
“No. He is a fake.”
“How could a fake create the Six Sword Path?”
“I will make this clear—he is a ‘fake.’”
Caius glared at Kaina, his expression darkening as if he refused to listen to any more of her nonsense.
However—
“I’ll say it again. He is a fake.”
The moment Kaina’s eyes turned black, the expression on Caius’s face disappeared.
As if he had fallen under hypnosis, his face went blank.
He stiffly nodded.
“…I see.”
“Yes. That’s all you need to know.”
“I understand.”
Whoosh.
As Caius turned his back and walked away, Kaina watched with amusement before calling out to him.
“Caius. I’ve expended a lot of power and need to recover. You take care of things for now.”
“…Understood, Mother.”
“Yes, yes.”
Thud.
Kaina lay back down in her coffin.
“All of you, return to the imperial castle.”
Caius issued his command to the Helmeier clan as if nothing had changed.
‘…Kaina. Just what are you…’
Watching the completely altered Caius, Melvria felt a chill run down her spine.
Had she objected to Kaina back then, would she have ended up like him—a mere puppet?
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However—
“Melvria.”
“Yes.”
As Caius led the Helmeier clan back to the surface, he suddenly approached her.
Her eyes flickered with curiosity.
As the vacant-faced Caius drew near…
The sharp glint was returning to his eyes.
“Wait. We need to talk.”
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]