0.01 Second Sword Master

193

0.01 Second Swordmaster Chapter 193

As hell vanished, the Magi also disappeared.

Of course, remnants of the demons and their traces remained scattered across the continent, but they too had reached a point where, with hell gone and the source of the Magi destroyed, they could no longer produce proper magic.

However,

“Ah······. Ahh.”

Kwahkwahkwahkwah-!!

The hell that had vanished in this paradise was resurrecting.

“In the name of Rahal!!”

“Stop him!!”

The angels, each wielding weapons and flapping their wings vigorously, advanced towards Aslan.

But before they could reach Aslan, their two wings melted away in black flames, and their bodies, once filled with light, became tainted black.

“Ugh, aaah!”

“It’s corruption! I—I’m falling into evil!”

The angels fell into terror.

This sense of helplessness felt before overwhelming power.

Their superiority, which they believed placed them above any other race, was now being thoroughly trampled.

“Mi—Michael! We cannot stop him!”

Michael, who had practically been ruling this heavenly realm, looked ahead with a dazed expression.

Like thick volcanic ash swiftly sweeping across the ground, the magic summoned by Aslan burned the bodies of the angels to dust.

“Why on earth······.”

Michael shouted towards Aslan, who had descended to the heavenly realm as an embodiment of hell.

“Why are you doing this to us!!”

Did his voice reach Aslan, who was instilling fear?

In an instant, Aslan appeared before Michael.

“Gah!”

Michael was startled and bumped his backside as he stumbled back.

“You had been merely watching as the demons swallowed the continent. Moreover, the author of your god rejected the voices of the people of the entire continent.”

“What a ridiculous thing to say. Do you think I wouldn’t know that you dared to pretend to be the embodiment of the Almighty Rahal and led the people into deception?”

“Foolish. Do you still not understand?”

“What?”

“Because Rahal abandoned them, I became their Rahal. I became their hope, a being they could believe in and rely on. If you had not abandoned them, I would not have had to step in.”

Michael shouted as if in injustice.

“We cannot eliminate the darkness. If we eliminate the darkness, our light will disappear!”

“Does that mean you simply allowed the darkness to stain the entire continent?”

“That is…”

“As you said, the darkness has vanished, so now the light must also disappear. I have come to you to finish that task. Did I not warn you before? Soon, I shall descend upon you.”

“!?”

As Aslan raised his sword high, a thick, black magic surged above it.

A dreadful magic rising from the depths of his being.

Mikael burst into laughter upon seeing it.

“In the end, you have swallowed the power of darkness. That is a force even Rahal could not bear. That is why Remegaton consumed it and turned his land into hell. He who harbors the power of darkness will inevitably turn his land into hell and his people into demons.”

“……”

“Do you think you are any different? Ultimately, you too will be devoured by darkness, creating a new hell, becoming a new Remegaton. Thus, you will turn the entire continent into hell. Kha ha ha!”

Mikael was not speaking falsely.

Rahal had not taken the power of darkness because he knew that to do so would one day turn his land into hell.

So he had his brother Remegaton consume the power of darkness.

That power was a curse that would turn the land he walked upon into hell.

In other words, Aslan would not be free from that power.

But he said,

“How ridiculous.”

There was not a hint of wavering.

“You fear the darkness, but I fear nothing. You cannot govern the darkness, yet I can govern both light and darkness simultaneously. Do I look like one who would be consumed by mere darkness?”

“You may be arrogant now, but in the end, you too will be devoured by darkness!”

“Then see clearly as you become this darkness.”

“What?”

Without hesitation, Aslan swung his sword.

Immediately, the golden blood surging from Mikael quickly turned black as it soared into the air.

“Ugh!”

The rising black blood enveloped Mikael’s body, and it began to burn black.

His beautiful face, his radiant body, and his majestic wings all turned to ash.

“Oh, no!”

As Mikael struggled and screamed, Aslan looked down at him indifferently and said, “I will leave a fragment of your soul in this darkness.”

“······!”

“So watch closely whether I am truly consumed by the darkness in the abyss.”

“Ah, it’s so perilous······.”

The archangel Michael vanished, completely obliterated.

“Mi, Michael!!”

“How can this be? How could the archangel fall so easily!”

“R, run away!”

The angels, witnessing Michael’s demise, began to flee in search of their own escape.

They attempted to exit through the doors scattered throughout heaven, but—

Kwah-kwa-kwa-!!

The black demon blocked every entrance.

“Gah!”

“T, the door!”

There was no longer any way for them to escape this place.

All that remained before them was—

“How dare you attempt to leave without my permission?”

Aslan, cloaked in a vibrant red mantle, stood there, untouched by the vile darkness he spread.

* * *

“Ra, Rahal······.”

“Why have you brought us to this······.”

I looked down at the angels with cold, unfeeling eyes.

Anyone would think I had already slain them all.

“Speak if you know where Rahal is.”

“······.”

Among this multitude of angels, none knew the whereabouts of Rahal.

“None? Do you truly wish to die here?”

“W, we don’t know!”

“We haven’t even seen a shadow of Rahal in 300 years!”

“It’s unjust!”

They voiced their grievances, filled with indignation.

—

They said they couldn’t even dare to look at him while Rahal resided in heaven.

‘Did I kill Mikael too soon?’

I let out a short sigh.

In a moment of intense emotion, I ended up killing Mikael in one swift stroke.

But it seemed that he had no particular knowledge of where Rahal was.

“P-please spare us.”

“We absolutely do not wish to fight you.”

The angels knelt before me, begging.

When I descended to the celestial realm, I turned all those who dared to challenge me into dust.

Those without the will to fight, those who had no intention of opposing me, I left alive.

As a result, more than half of the angels in the celestial realm surrendered to me, while the rest, like Mikael, were absorbed by the darkness and vanished.

“Do you know how to find Rahal?”

“If we knew that, we would have set out to find him long ago!”

“We truly know nothing.”

“Please, spare our lives!”

Seeing the angels weeping and begging for their lives stirred a sense of pity within me.

Though they had been bystanders, they hadn’t attacked like the demons to destroy the continent.

“Then I shall ask you. Will you serve me from now on, or will you serve Rahal?”

Without hesitation, they shouted.

“W-we will follow Lord Aslan!!”

“Only Lord Aslan is our god!!”

“Rahal has abandoned us. He is not our god!!”

At their words, I nodded.

“Then serve me from now on. You must forget the name Rahal entirely. Erase all traces of Rahal that remain in this celestial realm. After that, come down to the earth to meet me. Do you understand?”

“Yes!!”

I looked around the celestial realm, but there were no clues to be found regarding Rahal. In the end, I left the celestial realm.

And the place I headed to was the temple.

“Ah, Your Majesty Aslan?”

The pope and the worshippers, who were deep in prayer at the temple, looked at me with astonished eyes as I appeared through a pillar of light.

—

[To all present here, I shall issue a command as your Emperor.]

I raised my voice so that even those at the far end of the temple could hear me.

[From now on, the name Rahal is forbidden. Anyone who utters the name Rahal shall be punished. Furthermore, I will destroy all traces of Rahal, and any books or records containing his name will be burned.]

“······!?”

The people murmured, showing their confusion at my command.

Yet this was the decree of the Emperor who ruled the entire continent.

[Let all remember my command. From this moment on, the name Rahal shall vanish forever from this land.]

Rahal, if you refuse to show yourself until the end, I will have no choice but to erase every trace of you from this world.

* * *

It has been fifteen days since I issued the command to erase all names of Rahal.

At first, there was chaos, and everyone was bewildered, but they quickly regained their composure.

Perhaps the people recognized that I was Rahal, and Rahal was me, for they began to use the name Aslan in place of Rahal, filling in the records that bore his name with Aslan instead.

Moreover, buildings, temples, sculptures, books, and so on that honored Rahal.

Everything was destroyed, completely erasing any trace of Rahal.

“The power of the Empire is indeed formidable.”

Even Rahal himself would not have anticipated that his name could be so swiftly erased from this continent in just fifteen days.

“Now, the tide will soon turn.”

There was a reason behind my extreme command.

After all, a god can only exist if worshipped by humans, can’t they?

Lemegeton thrived on the fear of demons, while Rahal fed on hope and reverence for the light.

But I was erasing the very existence of Rahal from the continent, and no one here would call upon his name any longer.

Instead, they were worshipping me, calling my name instead of his.

From Rahal’s perspective, it must have been maddening.

Thus, I believed he would surely break his seclusion and appear before me.

And then,

Kugugugu-!!

“What, what is that!”

“Everyone, prepare for battle!!”

A commotion erupted outside the chamber.

Has he finally come?

I stepped outside.

As expected.

[Aslan.]

The figure filling the sky called my name.

[Do you dare to profane my name?]

Rahul.

It was undoubtedly Rahul.

“You’ve finally revealed yourself.”

I reached out and grasped my sword.

Whooom-!!

My sword let out a powerful cry.

It realized that it was stronger than any opponent I had faced until now. I slowly drew the blade.

Srrr-!

Then I swung the sword toward the figure covering the sky.

Kwahkwahkwahk-!!

[!?]

Hundreds of black blades shot out, slashing at that fearsome figure.

“Enough of this divine play, come down.”

The figure that had been covering the sky was collapsing under the black blades.