Chapter 157 – Nekarion’s Castle (1)

Nekarion’s Castle is a mysterious space that creates a dreamlike atmosphere.

From the outside, it is clearly a single castle, but beyond the castle gates, it is a strange place where different worlds exist in layers.

In my days as Johan Raven, the world I visited was a castle ruled by the ‘Mad Lord’.

Surprisingly, no living creatures existed in that castle.

Even the Mad Lord himself was not a living creature.

The only things that existed there were the Shadow Knights.

They were not living creatures, but mysterious beings that acted with their own will.

My friend! You surely have a plan, don’t you? Wasn’t the Mad Lord one of the strongest beings you have ever faced, within the top five!

He was certainly within the top five, but he was also not an opponent who left a great impact.

The difference in power between the Mad Lord and me at that time was just too great.

It would have been great if you had brought that old man, Heo Gyeong-woo! If you had, it would have been quite a spectacle to watch.

The holy sword had grasped it accurately.

The Mad Lord was at the level of a typical Sword Master.

If pitted against old man Heo, they might fight for three days and three nights.

The outcome of the match would be decided by whoever made a mistake first.

But we didn’t come here for such leisurely amusement.

For Yoon Joo-hee, this place was like a lifelong wish, and for me, it was a place where I might be able to hear stories about my hometown.

“You seem very nervous.”

Yoon Joo-hee, standing in front of the portal, looked quite tense.

“I think it’s just because I have a lot on my mind.”

I nodded.

“I don’t know if you’ll get what you wish for here, but I can promise you one thing for sure.”

“What is that?”

“That I will protect your life no matter what happens. I’m saying I guarantee your safe return.”

Yoon Joo-hee’s eyes went blank.

I didn’t know how my promise would come across to her.

Nekarion’s Castle was where almost the entire force of the Jeongjin Sword Family was annihilated, so to Yoon Joo-hee, it might sound like a ridiculous story.

But I was sincere, and I was confident that I could keep that promise.

“Thank you, Unit Leader.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Accompanying you now is for my own sake, not yours.”

“Still, my thoughts remain unchanged.”

Yoon Joo-hee bowed her head to me with a grim expression.

“If you insist, I’ll accept your thanks. Then shall we go in now?”

“Yes.”

After communicating, we each took a step towards the portal at the same time.

Then, I felt an unknown huge force snatching at my ankle.

At the same time, a message came.

[Moving to Nekarion’s Castle.]

It felt as if a piece of my memory was unfolding before me.

Because it was the exact same phrase back then.

And the massive castle gate towering before us was also the same as before.

If the demon king’s castle from legends truly existed, it would probably have an atmosphere like this.

Yoon Joo-hee was just speechless with her mouth agape.

[Please select a place to visit.]

And then a long list of the various worlds of Nekarion’s Castle.

The total number was a whopping twenty-nine.

This castle was a place where twenty-nine different worlds were layered.

Among them, the place we had to choose was only one.

“U-Unit Leader!”

Yoon Joo-hee’s face was pale with panic at the unexpected situation.

Because she had no way of knowing which of the twenty-nine castles was the one the Jeongjin Sword Family had visited in the past.

“I didn’t know it would be a place like this! I have no idea which one to choose!”

Her voice was almost on the verge of a mental breakdown.

If I had come here for the first time, I might have been quite flustered as well.

But I already knew the characteristics of this castle.

And so, I had asked Rosie to appraise the map, and found out that the Jeongjin Sword Family of the past had gone to the castle ruled by the Mad Lord.

It was quite a coincidence that they had visited the same place as me.

“Since you can’t seem to make a choice, I’ll pick one.”

“Y-you, Unit Leader?”

“You came with me trusting me, so I hope you will trust me with this choice as well. Don’t ask for the reason.”

Yoon Joo-hee was lost in thought for a moment, then soon nodded.

“I will do so. Because you have always been right, Unit Leader.”

That trust would surely be rewarded.

Without hesitation, I chose the place we had to go.

[You are moving to the castle ruled by the Mad Lord. The castle gate will open shortly.]

***

The Shadow Knight.

It is certainly not a being of flesh and blood like us humans.

At a glance, it has a human form, but its silhouette is the entirety of its substance.

But it has free will, can handle mana, and even uses swordsmanship.

Surprisingly, its level is quite high.

To the point where it even gives the impression of a warrior who has trained in swordsmanship for a long time.

The fact that Yoon Joo-hee’s Jeongjin Sword Family was annihilated here was also a natural result.

Because the fighting strength here would not fall behind even when compared to the 10 great sword families.

‘What if the Haewon Sword Family had come?’

Even so, they couldn’t easily guarantee victory.

Even if they managed to subdue the Shadow Knights somehow, the Mad Lord was a being who could single-handedly face several sword units. If he decided to go for mutual destruction, it wasn’t easy to picture a scene of withstanding it.

Swaaaak!

A shadow was cut clean in half by the sword path of the Holy Sword Bastian.

And then it scattered like the wind and vanished.

They were certainly not people, nor were they monsters.

A strange harmony, but it is possible to physically interfere with these guys.

Of course, the reverse is also possible.

Swasasa!

Another Shadow Knight charged.

This time, towards Yoon Joo-hee.

The shadow sword it held up was fully charged with mana.

The silhouette of the blade didn’t look sharp at all, but this was just a visual illusion; it contained considerable power.

Kwaaaaaang!

Sword and sword clashed, and mana sparked up.

But even with the rough clash of power, Yoon Joo-hee didn’t show any signs of being flustered.

‘Her perception has certainly improved.’

She let the shadow’s sword flow past her and, without delay, thrust her sword into its head.

Kwaaaak!

It was an excellent and clean technique.

Her skills had advanced considerably during the journey through Pangaea.

But we had only dealt with two shadows so far.

Considering the entire fighting strength of the Shadow Knights, it was just the tip of the iceberg.

‘We’re already surrounded.’

The mana aura exuded by the shadows began to encroach from all directions.

An enormous number of shadows.

These guys had completely filled the entire 5-story castle.

Yoon Joo-hee’s mouth fell open at this overwhelming scale.

“Unit Leader! Could it be that there are no quests?”

It must have been a question brought on by the feeling of helplessness.

“There’s no way there isn’t one. It’s just not time yet.”

A quest would naturally be generated.

The problem was that it would be much later.

Now, the Shadow Knights would come flooding down and launch an overwhelming offensive with their numbers.

‘It was quite a spectacle back then.’

In my Johan Raven days, the sight of numerous shadows being torn to shreds by the Sword Qi shot from the holy sword was like a firework display of black light.

Of course, it was impossible to create the same scene with this body now.

But that didn’t mean I had to take that numerical offensive head-on.

The Mad Lord. I just had to call that one out and settle things.

‘That’s the place.’

The Lord’s Altar.

If I stepped on it, all the shadows would stop moving, and I would be able to face the Mad Lord.

What I had to do from now on was to break through the path to the altar.

Swasasasa!

At that moment, the shadows began to press in on us.

“Yoon Joo-hee. Stick close behind me and follow.”

“Yes!”

As always, she did not express any doubt.

Of course, this wasn’t the situation for that either.

Jwaaaak!

Jwaaaaaak!

I tore through the shadows blocking my path as if tearing paper and moved forward.

The power of the holy sword shone even more than usual.

The holy sword was inevitably a bad match for the Shadow Knights.

My friend! This is great! Keep cutting them down!!

The holy sword was excited.

The sacred power of Bastian originated from light.

In front of shadows, it was like a fish in water.

We advanced quickly.

As we got closer to the Lord’s Altar, the movements of the Shadow Knights became more frantic.

They seemed to have sensed something and were desperately trying to block us.

But it was too late.

A few more steps and our destination was right in front of us.

Jwaaaak!

Jwaaaaaak!

The charging shadows all fell like autumn leaves.

Tak!

Finally, I kicked off the ground and soared up.

The moment I set foot on the altar, time and space seemed to twist, and the Shadow Knights all stopped moving at once.

This was the same for Yoon Joo-hee, who couldn’t come up to the altar.

Now, we were about eighty percent of the way there.

“What are you doing, not coming out!”

I shouted at the Mad Lord.

Back then, he had popped out as soon as I stepped on the altar, but he had become quite sluggish in the time I hadn’t seen him.

Chwak!

A moment later, a huge shadow landed softly on the altar.

A being with a silhouette no different from the other Shadow Knights, but with a huge size and an incomparable density of mana.

There was no room for doubt.

This guy was the Mad Lord.

On this altar, a time for just the two of us unfolded.

“What are you doing. If you’ve come, you should greet me first.”

Swaaaak!

As soon as my words ended, his sword came flying.

Of course, I didn’t feel any killing intent.

He couldn’t do that on this altar.

I looked at him and smiled.

And as expected, the Lord’s sword stopped in front of me.

“This isn’t fun.”

“Amazing. You knew about this altar.”

I nodded.

“Because this is my second visit.”

“…Second… visit?”

“Think carefully.”

I didn’t know if shadows had brains, but if they did, he would have to use it at full capacity.

I pointed the holy sword at him and continued.

“You should be able to remember when you see this sword.”

As soon as my words ended, the Mad Lord’s voice trembled.

“D-don’t tell me?”

“That’s right. I’m in a different form now due to some circumstances.”

“That’s impossible!”

“What’s so impossible about it. Then was it possible for the Mad Lord to beg a human for his life?”

“H-how did you!”

“I’ve come to collect a debt.”

I saved the life he begged for, so today, I planned to collect that debt.

The Mad Lord no longer raised any questions.

Given all the circumstances, he had no choice but to acknowledge me as Johan Raven.

My friend! This was your intention from the beginning! I was worried about how you would be able to subdue the Mad Lord!

There was no reason to have a difficult fight here.

It was a matter that could be resolved by just lightly touching the trauma I had personally implanted in him a long time ago.

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