Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble - Chapter 220

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

Chapter 220: To Sever What Must Be Severed (3)

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“...!”

“You tricked me?”

Seeing Airen Farreira fall silent after saying that, the Jester Demon realized it had made a mistake.

It was a mistake. Clearly, it was its own mistake. In a contest of patience like this, the impatient side was always the first to act. It knew that, yet it had failed to hold back.

It had been desperate to vent the rage boiling inside it.

Why?

Wagers like this had always been a demon’s specialty.

Unlike humans, who lived for barely a century, demons had lived for thousands of years.

Even the youngest demon to appear on the continent had lived several times longer than a human.

To them, waiting ten or twenty years was no more than the anticipation before a meal.

Yet the Jester Demon could not wait with such simple enjoyment.

Memories from a thousand years ago lingered in its mind.

It had waited decades, yet failed to pluck the fruit it desired.

Karen Winker had endured pain and rage, suffering and doubt without ever falling.

In the end, he had even threatened the demon’s life.

The wounds Karen had left behind were deeply engraved in the clown’s mind.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

Airen Farreira seemed to have realized something from its words. He gently closed his eyes and concentrated.

The Jester Demon rushed at him, then attempted to ram him with a full-force body slam.

Kraaaaaash!

Despite losing twice, it still possessed tremendous strength!

But it was futile. This was the Wager Ground, formed by an absolute pact, though not a holy one.

Other than deceiving its opponent with its silver tongue, it could not interfere in any way.

Even so, the clown did not stop. It punched and kicked Airen again and again.

It struggled desperately to disrupt his concentration, even slightly.

After some time had passed, Airen’s eyes snapped open, and he brought his sword down in a vertical slash.

Swish.

Crack.

“...!”

It was an unremarkable sword.

At least, that was how it looked.

But the clown knew.

That blade, not even wreathed in an Aura Sword, had created a crack in the barrier blanketed in darkness.

That bastard’s power had done it.

Slice, swish, slash.

Airen’s swordsmanship did not end with one strike.

As though he finally understood, as though he was growing more familiar with it by the moment, he swung his sword again and again with a light, clear expression.

The clown flew into a fury.

Incomprehensible demonic curses shook the entire barrier.

Of course, Airen did not care.

Lost in his own world, the demon’s cries were nothing more than useless noise to him.

“Ghk, urg, g-g-guh...”

A little more time passed, and the clown could no longer even grow angry.

The Sword That Cuts Water.

No, the sword that cut attachment.

Airen, who had realized it, was the winner of the wager. The loser had to pay the price.

The demon exploded with a tortured expression, then vanished, leaving behind foul-smelling chunks of flesh and fragments of bone.

The disgusting remains dissolved into the water, making the scene even more horrifying.

Airen did not care about that either.

His thoughts were elsewhere.

‘Now I understand.’

When he watched Hall Master Ian teach the Water Sword, Airen had initially been filled with nothing but confusion.

The magnificent sword from the first day and the worthless strikes shown afterward were supposedly the same thing.

What was that even supposed to mean?

Ian had not even explained it properly.

Airen would be lying if he said he had not felt frustrated by his master’s endless cryptic riddles.

But now he understood.

Even if Ian had immediately told him the answer, Airen would not have realized it.

Even if Ian had told him that what truly needed to be cut was attachment, Airen would have understood it only in his head. He would not have truly felt it.

That was no longer the case.

After enduring for so long and swinging his sword, Airen had felt another kind of pain.

It was not only fierce emotions like fire that ruined him. Emotions that built up heavily and silently like water could harm him too.

‘Let’s not do this anymore.’

Crack, crackle...

The fractures deepened. The stagnant lake water, unable to flow and reeking from being trapped so long, seeped through the cracks in the barrier before pouring out in a rush.

The negative emotions that had accumulated behind his excessive attachment began to flow naturally as well.

Not the effort to hold on, but the effort to let go.

As Airen faintly realized that, a new change began within him.

Vwoooom...

No, more precisely, the change originated from the Five-Spirit Amulet Airen wore.

It held the power of Steel, completed through the years of his Past Life, and gave off the force of flames kindled through the adventures of his present life.

The energy of water did not forcefully suppress them. It flowed with harmony and dignity, allowing them to maintain balance.

It was not only Metal, Fire, and Water.

The remaining two of the five spirits also began to stir.

The energy of earth, hard as metal yet more receptive and stable, gradually grew stronger.

It had not yet reached a point where it could be sensed directly, but it had at least laid a foundation.

The same was true for the energy of wood.

It was no more than a sprout, but with healthy roots, it had gained the foundation to someday rise as a sturdy trunk.

Water, heat, and the power of Steel meant to prune diseased branches supported it.

As the five spirits, the Five Elements, came together even faintly, the light pouring from the amulet began to grow stronger.

Vwoooooom...

The five energies spun and mixed, becoming Yin and Yang.

As Yin and Yang chased each other in an endless chain, they became a single circle.

The source of all things, The Great Ultimate, which had existed before even the ancient demons were born, revealed itself to the world.

Of course, Airen Farreira did not know that.

Having only just reached the third of the five spirits, he was already overwhelmed simply trying to absorb his current realization.

Whoosh.

Whooosh.

Whooosh!

Within the collapsing barrier of darkness, he swung his sword without pause. Forgetting the passage of time and the changes in the scenery, he continued moving.

Not hurriedly, but slowly, he examined everything he had built up one by one, leaving nothing out.

Airen finally came to his senses when the long darkness passed and warm sunlight settled over his golden hair.

“...”

The scenery was the same as usual.

Clear emerald water gently rippled. The lack of people made the atmosphere somewhat strange, but in a way, that was only natural.

A demon had appeared. There was no way the fishermen would have continued fishing as though nothing had happened.

Were they all right? Had anyone been injured or killed?

It was the moment Airen’s kind heart reached out to the world.

“Brother!”

“Airen!”

Voices came from the sky.

Airen looked up. Something huge, neither lion nor bird, was flying toward him. It was Kiril’s Griffin.

His face brightened, only for the expression to vanish in an instant.

Because of one concern.

‘Could an enormous amount of time have passed again...?’

Airen’s expression became more serious.

Five whole years had passed during the previous Sorcery Barrier.

In the end, he believed that time had been necessary, but thinking of what those around him must have felt during his absence still weighed heavily on his heart.

‘It felt like I spent even more time in there this time...’

As he thought that, the enormous Griffin landed before him. Its body was imposing, but its face was quite cute.

It felt more like a parrot than an eagle, which was apparently Kiril’s taste.

Of course, that was not important.

Three people jumped down from the Griffin’s back.

The moment Airen saw that Kiril Farreira, Lulu, and Hall Master Ian’s faces looked exactly the same as before, he let out a relieved breath.

That did not mean he could relax completely.

For all he knew, a year, maybe even more than two years, could have passed.

‘If that happened... I’m dead.’

Remembering his promise with Illia Lindsay, Airen looked tense and called to his sister.

“Kiril.”

“Brother, are you all right? A demon? Did a real demon appear?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Better than fine. The demon... yes, it did. I’ll explain everything. But first...”

Could she tell him how much time had passed since the barrier appeared?

Airen asked cautiously, and silence followed.

It was not long.

Only enough time for three or four blinks.

Yet to Airen, that moment felt as long as several hours.

Fortunately, what he feared had not happened.

“It’s been exactly one week as of today.”

“I told you, Kiril. I said it wouldn’t take long this time.”

“This time? Then you knew the last time would take five years?”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I...”

Kiril glared fiercely at Lulu, and Lulu quickly hid behind Airen.

Airen looked genuinely relieved, but Hall Master Ian, who had remained quiet until then, stepped forward.

Then Ian asked, “Have you realized the Water Sword?”

“...”

Airen did not answer immediately.

Whoosh. He summoned his golden Greatsword and walked toward the lakeshore.

Hall Master Ian watched him, as did Kiril and Lulu, who had been bickering moments ago.

Swish.

Splash.

What Airen showed them was nothing special. He swung his sword, and water splashed.

Yet when Airen turned around, he looked utterly refreshed.

“I’m not sure, but it feels like my heart is lighter than before.”

Hearing his disciple’s answer, the master smiled and nodded.

* * *

That evening, after telling everyone everything that had happened with the Jester Demon, Airen met with the Hall Master alone and received a certification plate.

It was not the plate that marked him as an official trainee.

It was a Graduation Plate.

Having left the care of Krono Fencing Hall and become a proper swordsman, Airen Farreira said to the Hall Master, “There’s still so much I need to learn. Is it really all right for me to receive a Graduation Plate...?”

“Ha ha. If you cannot graduate, what are the others supposed to do? Say something that makes sense.”

“But...”

“Enough. Graduation is only a new beginning, so don’t attach too much meaning to it. And...”

The Hall Master paused before continuing.

“Becoming a graduate of Krono Fencing Hall means you are now in a position to exchange thoughts on the sword with me, the Hall Master, as an equal. And that means...”

“It means you have more than earned the right to meet Kun, who is my equal.”

Having finished speaking, Ian took a sip of tea.

Airen, seated across from Ian, lifted his teacup and quietly thought, ‘Come to think of it, I came here to find Kun and earn his recognition.’

It was strange.

Just a week ago, meeting Kun had been what Airen wanted more than anything.

All he could think about was earning Kun’s recognition and joining the subjugation force as soon as possible.

Now, it was different.

That did not mean he no longer wanted to meet Kun.

It was a chance to meet a swordsman as skilled as Hall Master Ian.

Airen was learning the Heart of Water, which flowed without attachment or strain, but he had no intention of refusing such a meeting.

The flame in his balanced heart burned softly.

‘And above all...’