Kays Translations

Chapter 131: The Boundary of the Sanctuary

Four figures moved through the dense, shaded forest. The oppressive summer heat felt softened beneath the leafy canopy, and each of them kept their hoods pulled low.

At the front, a man halted before an enormous pomegranate tree.

“This is as far as I’ll take you.” 

He said, giving a slight upward flick of his thumb.

Between two trees ahead hung a sign:

“Beyond this point lies the Sanctuary. No entry permitted. Those who violate this boundary face the curse of death.”

They were in the Republic of Sangala—also known as the “Holy Land of the Priestess and the Magic Sword.”

The four travelers now stood on the edge of the central sanctuary of this republic.

One of the group, a woman wearing an iron mask, stepped forward. Her name was Priena. With healthy bronze skin, long limbs, and a curvy frame, she was a member of one of the kingdom’s four noble families and possessed a rare, high-level spirit familiar.

Despite her illustrious lineage, Priena had never been granted a name, a detail she bore with silent resentment. This was symbolized by the stark, out-of-place iron mask, which concealed her scarred face.

“Thanks for guiding us this far.” 

Priena said, handing the guide a bag she had taken from beneath her hood, filled with silver melted into coins.

Though he took the bag, the guide hesitated, a troubled look crossing his face.

“Even now, I think you should reconsider. It’s common knowledge for believers of Noah that setting foot in the Sanctuary invites divine wrath.”

“I agree, but that guy over there won’t listen.” 

Priena replied, giving a nonchalant shrug as she pointed to a young man, who had removed his hood.

The young man was Lucius, a figure renowned in the kingdom’s history. The first to possess four magic cores, he had earned numerous accolades by the age of fifteen and was titled the Lord of a Thousand Dragons. He had come to the Republic seeking a sacred spirit familiar to form a contract with a higher-level magic sword.

“If God exists, I’d love to meet them.”

Lucius said, a hint of a challenge in his tone.

The guide and Priena both winced at his irreverent words—they were devout followers of the Noah faith.

Yet they had pushed the guide, who had ties to Priena’s family, the Windsor family, to escort them to the Sanctuary.

“Lucius, that’s really disrespectful—Sol, tell him something!” 

Priena turned to the smallest hooded figure in the group, a girl with an otherworldly, almost artificial beauty.

“If my master wishes so…”

Sol murmured in a hollow voice.

Sol was no ordinary human. Powered by Lucius’s magic, she was a non-human humanoid construct—a puppet.

Priena visibly recoiled from Sol with a small gasp and took a step back. For reasons she had never disclosed, Priena was frightened of the puppet Sol. Lucius had asked her about this several times, but she always evaded the question. Sol was, after all, a harmless puppet with only basic dispelling abilities.

But that wasn’t the only secret.

Priena had also been vague about the sanctuary itself, refusing to share details, insisting only that she would explain once they entered.

But today, that evasion would end.

“Either way, my decision stands. We’re going into the Sanctuary. Thank you for your guidance.” 

Lucius said, crossing past the sign and stepping into the territory beyond the boundary.

The remaining three sets of eyes focused on his back.

Even under their watchful gazes, he continued forward without hesitation.

It had taken them twelve days to travel from the kingdom’s border to the pilgrimage city of the Republic, and another nine days of trekking through mountainous trails to reach their destination.

Lucius had no doubts about his path.

“Priena, Sol, let’s move forward.”

Time waited for no one. Even as they stood there, the world and its power dynamics were shifting. They had only a year within the Sanctuary to acquire the power Lucius sought.

With determination, Lucius pushed forward, brushing aside the foliage. Sol followed without hesitation. Priena let out a deep sigh before stepping into the Sanctuary herself, reluctantly but resolved.

She likely disagreed with entering the Sanctuary at heart.

Though Sol’s intentions were often inscrutable, her actions consistently aligned with Lucius’s goals.

“You’ve been warned!” 

The guide called after them as they left him at the boundary.

As he looked back, he saw the guide hastily retreating down the path they had come.

After a slight bow, Lucius turned forward.

—The sanctuary, though, looks like just an ordinary forest.

To avoid the roots jutting from the ground, he reached out to a nearby large tree. A faint prickling sensation tingled in his fingertips. —Thorns?

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the boundary of the sanctuary was lined with pomegranate trees.

Peering deeper into the forest, he could see a thicket of oaks and camphor trees, typical shade-loving trees found anywhere. It seemed the pomegranate trees grew only along the perimeter.

“…Is the sanctuary surrounded by pomegranate trees?”

“Yes.”

Underneath her mask, Priena’s eyes grew intense.

“Is there a religious meaning to it?”

“…No, it’s practical.”

“Practical? What do you mean—”

Just as Lucius started to ask, Sol murmured.

“Master… magic…”

“Hm?”

As Sol noted, a faint aura of magic energy surrounded the area. Where magic is present in abundance, it’s often a realm of monsters.

—Is the sanctuary… a monster’s lair?

Lucius grew slightly more wary. His homeland, the Silverheart Territory, was surrounded by forests where monsters roamed—a land beyond human reach.

This was unsettling.

The sanctuary was supposed to be the heart of Noah’s immersion, the most widely revered faith in the world. It was said to be home to a holy city, where priestesses prayed to the gods who supported the world, guarded by holy warriors.

But here, it was a monster forest. —Either way, I have no choice but to head for the holy city.

Pushing past the trees, Lucius forged ahead down the animal trail when an odd sensation tickled at the back of his mind.

“What is this?”

One of his four magic cores, the “white-eye core” behind his eyes, was trembling, as if the entity within had sensed something.

—Chiyou’s picked up on something.

Lucius quickened his pace, and Sol silently followed.

“Hey! What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

Chasing after Lucius, Priena broke into a run.

Even though the mountain trail wasn’t paved, the three glided over it with ease.

Both Lucius and Priena possessed exceptional physical abilities. Since childhood, they had honed their skills through rigorous, sometimes painful, magical amplification training, forging strong wills in the process. They were far from ordinary.

As for Sol, who wasn’t human, there was no need to even mention his agility.

The three continued pushing through the dark forest, dodging branches and underbrush.

“Ahhhh!”

Suddenly, a small scream echoed through the forest. It was faint due to the distance but unmistakable.

“…Priena, Sol. Go ahead.”

Lucius accelerated in the direction of the voice, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sacred sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

“Wait, Lucius! Standing out here is dangerous!”

Priena was right.

The sanctuary was a place that traditionally denied access to outsiders. 

Since they’d infiltrated, it would be wise to remain inconspicuous and avoid interfering whenever possible. He understood that fully.

However, they’d heard a scream in this forest laced with magic energy. Ignoring it could lead to disaster.

Above all, Chiyou, the entity in his core, seemed to show interest in the direction of the scream.

—Taking the risk it is.

Simultaneously, the presence in his left hand also seemed to sense something, attempting to manifest on its own.

The three-headed dark dragon, one of the three high-level spirits bound to Lucius.

As black particles began seeping from his left hand, he forced them back with his right.

“Not now, dragon. You’d be too conspicuous.”

Using his magic energy, Lucius forcibly quelled the manifestation. Through the core, he sensed the dragon’s frustration.

Recently, the evil dragon had grown increasingly eager for battle, attempting to emerge at every hint of conflict. It used to ignore lesser opponents, but now, whenever it sensed a chance to fight, it moved forward.

The cause likely lay in a recent contract with another spirit—Samael.

Each of the three spirits Lucius had bonded with was of the highest tier, but even within that tier, there seemed to be a hierarchy. Samael stood in a class by himself, far above the other two.

To the evil dragon, who craved power above all else, this was intolerable.

Though he understood its frustration, there was a time and place for everything.

Lucius ignored the evil dragon’s complaints and continued moving forward, weaving his way through the forest trees.

However, there was no sign of anyone nearby.

“Seriously, this is the worst!” 

Priena muttered in frustration as she struggled to keep up from behind.

After another five minutes of sprinting through the forest…

—There they were.

Through a gap in the overlapping branches, Lucius spotted two figures.

He leaped off the ground, kicked against the side of a tree, and made a sharp turn midair.

Bursting out from between the leaves, he landed and saw—

—A child and…what is that?

The figures were two children, both appearing under ten years old—a boy and a girl.

Their bodies were caked in mud, and their cheeks were scratched from the branches. The girl lay face-down on the ground, apparently unconscious.

Behind the two children stood a monstrous figure.

It had a human form, but its clothes were tattered, and its exposed skin had a deathly purple hue.

If that were all, it could almost be mistaken for a person. But its head was a bare skull adorned with horns like a monster.

—A monster.

The monster held a sword. This wasn’t uncommon; Lucius knew of monsters in the northern regions who took up human weapons. In the eastern lands, many monsters were even able to conjure their own weapons through special techniques.

But this sword held Lucius’s gaze.

It wasn’t just surrounded by magic power—it seemed as if the blade itself was imbued with it, not merely enchanted.

Lucius knew this kind of weapon well.

—A magic sword.

Despite having only been in the Sanctuary for a few minutes, he had already encountered a monster’s sword which is cursed. He wanted to examine it further, but now was not the time.

The monster raised the magic sword, pointing it at the children.

Lucius immediately drew his holy sword.

—Too fast!

The monster, moving with the skill of an experienced swordsman, swung its sword down at the two children.

There was no way he would make it in time.

As he braced for the worst…

“Waaaah!”

The boy managed to block the swing with a small sword.

—That sword is also…a Magic Sword!?

Even though the boy’s sword was a magic sword, he was still outmatched in size and skill.

The boy was overpowered and flung backward, his body rolling across the ground before coming to rest in front of Lucius.

Lucius rushed over immediately.

“Are you alright?”

“…Who…are you?”

The boy asked drowsily, his gaze wavering as he looked at Lucius.

His eyes came to rest on Lucius’s right hand—or more accurately, the magic sword of light in his grip.

“A-are you one of the Sword Order…? Please, save…Sai…”

With a trembling hand, the boy pointed toward the girl, still lying defenseless in front of the monster.

“I understand. Wait here.”

Hearing Lucius’s words, the boy finally lost consciousness. His hands and legs were broken; he must have pushed himself to the limit.

Lucius sprinted forward.

Without even glancing at Lucius, the monster raised its blade over the fallen girl.

In an instant, Lucius unlocked the power of the White-Eyed Magic Core within his gaze.

Magic energy from the White-Eyed Core surged across his skin, reshaping his form.

His senses heightened, his body moving with newfound agility as his sightline rose.

Lucius was now encased in a black suit of armor.

The armor was slightly cracked and rusted, and six rhombus-shaped iron plates hovered around him.

A monstrous armor spirit, capable of assimilating and devouring magic weapons like magic swords. It was a living embodiment of weaponry.

He touched one of the floating iron plates, and it morphed into the shape of a sword—a result of absorbing Lucius’s magic sword.

In full armor, Lucius charged forward, tearing up the ground beneath him.

He deftly maneuvered his massive form, intercepting the demon’s blade just in time.

The two inhuman fighters clashed swords, locking eyes in a fierce standoff.

“Retreat”

It was just one clash of swords.

With that alone, the power dynamics became clear.

Lucius had no interest in killing monsters far weaker than himself just for the sake of it.

The people of the Kingdom, like Lucius, had been using powers beyond reason by forming contracts with monsters. Denying monsters would be akin to denying their own strength.

Lucius, born and raised in a family that managed monster habitats, had an especially strong sense of this.

“Ughhh!”

The skull-headed creature, growling, put more force into its sword.

It was now wielding the sword with so much power that it cared not if the blade chipped or broke.

“…I see.”

Lucius quickly withdrew his sword and stepped back with a back step.

Then, he kicked the ground at the same time as landing.

With the sword still pointed directly at the monster.

As if intending to block the sword with its own, the monster raised its weapon to guard itself.

–Do you think that will stop me?

The moment the swords were about to clash:

“Lucius, stop! That’s a Magic Eater! If you break the sword, you’ll be consumed!”

A voice echoed from behind. It was Priena’s voice.

In a split second, Lucius stopped his sword and distanced himself to the side.

When he turned around, he saw Priena floating in the air with a magic circle behind her.

It seemed that Priena had given up on running through the forest and had used a magic technique to fly over.

“Magic Eater?”

“Yes. It’s the tragic end of a magic sword user. If the sword breaks, the person who broke it is resurrected as a ghoul. The magic sword must be sealed.”

Priena gazed sorrowfully at the monster that had once been human probably.

“…I see.”

Lucius nodded without saying anything.

Then, without hesitation.

He swung his sword down with all his might.

The Magic Eater was, of course, the one standing in front of his blade.

“Did you even listen to me?!”

Lucius cut the magic eater in half with the sword.

The severed body fell right next to the unconscious girl, and the broken sword rolled away.

The magic sword that had once been there quickly transformed into rusted metal mixed with dirt.

Instead of the sword, a mass of magic energy exploded from the broken blade.

Dark, negative emotions filled the magic energy, which began to float like a disembodied soul away from the body.

Anyone with magic perception could sense it as a thin, black mist.

“This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! If I get caught in that magic…”

The mass of magic floated in the air for a moment before stopping.

Immediately after,

It was blown away by a gust of wind, rapidly moving towards Lucius.

The negative magic energy enveloped him.

“Lucius!”

Priena’s voice rang out as the mass of magic covered Lucius, only to slowly wither and dissipate.

What appeared next was Lucius, now clothed in the attire of Chiyū (a mythical figure).

“I’m fine, Priena.”

“Why… why aren’t you a Magic Eater?”

“Didn’t I tell you? The magic from cursed weapons is apparently Chiyū’s favorite. That little bit doesn’t even pose a real threat.”

“Eh…”

Priena’s voice, full of surprise and disbelief, was carried away into the forest.

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