Within the headquarters of a certain guild, the current five leaders of the world have started the first assembly. They all put down their pride in order to tackle the more pressing issue at hand. It wasn’t the current allotment of resources nor was it the current newly crafted Lower Rank 10 sword. They had all set up a meeting to talk about the current biggest threat.
“Well, what news do you have for us, Amelia?” The guild master of Dominion bluntly spoke. They were all summoned by the guild master of the Eye of Magic. Normally they wouldn’t have cared but she unhesitatingly said that whoever does not follow her summons would be classified as a threat to be disposed of.
“Now, don’t be like that. I had to get everyone’s attention.” Amelia looked extremely prim and proper, all her motions were filled with elegance that showed her status. Her pitch-black hair and eyes had a tint of blue, showing off how attuned she was towards mana.
“As everyone knows, whether through official means or not. The search party that I sent out to explore the third layer was been wiped out. Everyone should also know that I didn’t just send out anyone, I sent one of my strongest people there. Ah, Cerena, she will be missed.” Despite acting sad, there wasn’t even a hint of emotion on her face.
The girl who was completely clad in jewelry that had previously gone down into the crystal mines was Cerena. Her party had been completely wiped out as her body was no longer recoverable.
Hearing this once more, from Amelia no less made everyone within the guild finally understand just how heavy this assembly was. Cerena was considered one of the Top 100 strongest people as far as the public knew. For someone like her to meet her end meant that this was quite a dangerous predicament.
Even though this was the case, the upper echelons of each respective organization knew that it was only a matter of time before the real monsters started showing up. Yet they couldn’t just let their fates be decided by these unknown people, it was better to take matters into their own hands.
“So, what happened? How did she die?” A pink-haired man donning an extremely delicate-looking necklace spoke out loud. He acted ever so casually in front of people with extreme status. This man was Felix, Epitome’s representative. “We tried our best but Cerena’s death was the only thing we managed to uncover, haha.”
Despite having Epitome’s guild leader not present, they all treated Felix as if he were the actual guild leader. No one has ever seen Epitome’s leader personally, even leading some to believe that Felix was the actual guild leader.
This was of course before an unruly bunch decided to act and target Epitome. Safe to say, the moment they announced their motives, they all disappeared. Only their shadows remained with a note saying, “Sinners will be purged.”
This stirred up a massive scene where countless other powerhouses tried to determine who did this only to fail. One guild even spent all their manpower trying to figure out who this person was yet couldn’t get anything else other than something that everyone already knew, it was Epitome’s guild leader.
“If our guild wasn’t able to find it then it’s safe to assume everyone else hasn’t gotten even close, haha.” Felix was acting ever so casually in front of everyone here. This was a stark contrast to how he treated Cain. This made one truly wonder what his motives were.
“That is precisely why I called everyone here. Due to my pride and negligence, my guild has suffered quite a tremendous loss. I humbly ask everyone here to aid me in fighting back against the invaders. They come from a world they call, Crystal Heaven.” Amelia continued on speaking with no deviation in her tone.
“Invaders? Amelia, don’t tell me you…” Dominion’s guild leader spoke in a slightly shaky voice.
“Alas, what you assume is true. I tried to fight back using my own forces only to suffer massive losses. So far Meredith a Lower Rank 7, Kian a Lower Rank 7, Faun a Higher Rank 7…” Amelia continued listing off one name after another starting from the lowest rank up until the highest rank. “... Zach a Peak Rank 7. Has all died due to my incompetence. May their souls rest peacefully.”
“Fifteen Rank 7s have died. This is too much!” Another guild master from a Top 10 Guild clenched his fists in pure agony. If this was any other scenario then they would be relishing in joy but in a case where everyone has to band together, this was far too much of a loss. “The upper echelon of the Top 100 strongest, just gone.”
“Oh? The self-proclaimed greatest guild has lost this much already? Amelia, you need to start thinking more about other people.” Felix joked around, completely ignoring the looks of the other guild masters.
‘That’s really interesting, Amelia. From our records, Meredith was a Lower Rank 8 expert a week ago. Fifteen Rank 8s, now that’s an actual loss.’ Felix tauntingly looked at Amelia who looked back at him and smiled back.
“Yes, Felix. It is what you are thinking.” Amelia then glanced back toward the guild master of Dominion. Felix smirked and laughed out loud, finally understanding what Amelia was aiming for this time.
Revealing your cards too early is just far too unfortunate. Felix internally sighed as he waited for Amelia to start the conflict.
“In all honesty, I mainly wanted to invite one person here, the guild master of Dominion, Sval.” Amelia looked at Sval and smiled, yet within his eyes he saw the smile of a devil. “I recall that you have a method to rapidly increase your strength. Would you be willing to share your own method with us? Breaking through Rank 8 would surely help us in fighting back against the invaders.”
“This…” Sval looked around as countless guild masters stared at him. Now he finally understood why he felt something was off, even to the point that Amelia was willing to go to war with him. She wanted his method.
“Sir Sval, please, share your method with us!” A guild master spoke of his woes. “We need to band together to fight against the invaders!”
“Exactly, we are willing to contribute to the cost! Just say the word and we’ll give as much as you desire!” Another guild master joined in, seeing that it was finally time to make a move.
Countless other opportunists finally saw that was a genuinely good opportunity to rise, a method to rapidly increase their strength, to regain the power that they had lost was exactly what they needed to push through to get to the top.
Who wasn’t a world-dominating person within this assembly? Each and every single one of them had reached an incredibly high position within the otherworld, leading them all to believe that they held tremendous power. Power so great that they would be able to dominate everyone else as soon as they managed to regain their peak.
Bastards! Amelia, you psychopath! You were out to get me the entire time! I’ll tear and rip your limbs piece by piece the first chance I get! Sval was slighted. He had been forced to enter a trap and he didn’t even realize it up to until now.
“Amelia, you vulture! Was this what you wanted? My method?” Sval roared in anger. This was going extremely badly for him.
“Sval, please, you must understand that this is for the betterment of humanity. I beg you, share it.” Amelia even as far as to kneel in front of him. Causing even Sval to be taken aback.
Felix was looking at the entire scene, feeling really bad for Sval, “Sval, your envoy entertained me a little from before. If you need anything just say the word, I’ll be leaving now.”
Sval looked at Felix walking away casually. He saw that at least not everyone was such an opportunist like everyone else. “Fortunately, there are still people who… wait a minute. Felix should also be out for my method unless…”
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A bulb immediately sparked within Sval’s mind. This was his best chance at getting out of this. “You said that fifteen Rank 7s have died, correct? Who’s to say you didn’t just hide them-”
Seeing everything fall into Amelia’s palm, she couldn’t help but almost break her expression. “If you wish to see their bodies then, I’m willing to desecrate the dead to show my determination.”
Amelia took fifteen bodies out of her storage space. Fifteen distinctly ruined bodies, fortunately, the blood had already all been drained out so there wasn’t anything unsavory to be seen. The sight was one thing yet the smell was another, the stench was something that even made Sval wince.
At this point, Sval had nothing else to say, too much was on the line for him to keep going on. He knew that from Felix’s subtle hints towards him that Epitome had also found their own way to increase their strength. Which would mean that the Eye of Magic would also have their own ways. This was the only way he could delay it, too bad Amelia was already multiple steps ahead of him.
Seeing fifteen cold corpses in front of him be Rank 7, there wasn’t anything he could do anymore. As far as Sval could tell, these were genuine corpses that were killed by various otherworldly methods. Far too varied to be orchestrated, the kinds of wounds that would only appear from fighting on the battlefield.
Felix was at the doorway when he glanced back. He activated Truth Seeker, “Rank 8, fifteen Rank 8s was the price you were willing to pay? As expected from a psychopath. Boss, we might have our hands a little full with this one.”
“So, Sval, are you willing to share it?” Amelia kept her unchanging expression yet her voice had a hint of forlorn. “Everyone’s willing to pay the price for such valuable information.”
“Fine!” Sval grumbled and rose up from his place. He suddenly started walking away, “You want it? I’ll tell you all about it. One week, I want one week to prepare.”
“Wait, what if-” A guild master was suddenly interrupted by a pair of cold-piercing eyes from behind him.
“One week it is, we will try to meet your demand. As a reminder, humanity is facing an extremely dangerous predicament right now, please refrain from asking too much from us.” Amelia kindly reminded Sval as he left the premises.
“Since that is all, would you all care to join me for a little snack?” Amelia snapped her fingers and countless maids and servants came out with platters filled with delicacies. “Please, enjoy.”
~~~
A few days had passed as Sval was trying to power up as much as he could, he was pushing his very limits. He was planning on something completely insane. Instead of letting everyone know, he was planning on fighting it out.
He felt completely unjustified as everyone was suddenly out to get him. This was unfair!
“Guild Master Sval, there’s someone who wants to meet you.” Barlet came up and tried to inform Sval. “He’s… the person who won the Lower Rank 10 sword.”
“That old man… so be it. Let him in.” Sval’s back was completely covered in hair, like a complete beast. His body was completely outlined with muscle, even looking bigger than Barlet who was already a monster. If any race could be likened to him, it was a giant.
“Guild Master Sval, what about asking for help from that store? I believe that they can help us out.” Barlet tried to bring Cain and the others into this. From Barlet’s observation, Helena was the true leader, if they managed to point this out then she might be interested enough to lend a hand.
“Like I said before, they have nothing to do with this. This is my battle. They were intentionally hiding themselves and felt a little bored, creating a Lower Rank 10 sword for fun. Real terrifying figures like them have no interest in small-scale battles like ours. Showing our cards far too early was my mistake.” Sval accepted his undeniable defeat.
“I… understand. I’ll bring Nensho Miyamoto in.” Barlet bowed and quickly left.
“Japanese. New experiences even in my old age, haha.” Sval mocked himself as this was the first time he was meeting a Japanese person.
The door opened and an old man wearing two sheathes appeared. One sword seemed cracked while the other seemed as if it was the meaning of perfection. This was Nensho Miyamoto, a true genuine monster. His name might not have been well known just yet but the strength he possess was enough to render anyone who dared go against him tremble.
“Sval… can I call you Sval?” Miyamoto unabashed, immediately faced Sval without any fear. There was nothing that Sval could realistically do against him.
“A person who can make those monsters satisfied has enough weight behind his words to call me informally. You may do so.” Sval wasn’t offended at all. Instead, he was curious as to what Miyamoto wanted from him.
“I know your men have told you that I vowed to cover their presence using my own name. Unfortunately, I haven’t accumulated any sort of fame for myself.” Miyamoto honestly said. “A problem that could be remedied quite easily. Would you like to make a deal?”
“A deal? Depends on what kind.” Sval confidently faced Miyamoto despite not being able to see through him. “If you want our method to rapidly increase our strength then I will have to refuse. If you wish for that method then you might as well just leave right now. I will not throw away my pride!” Sval walked up to in front of Miyamoto. The sheer size difference between them was so large that it felt as if Miyamoto could be crushed far too easily.
“Relax, what I desire isn't something so petty. I heard that other guilds were pressuring you into giving up your method. With your personality, it would be safe to assume you would go down swinging. That’s why I'd like to propose one little thing.”
“What is it then? Speak.”
“Come under me.” Miyamoto looked at Sval and activated the Eye of the Sword. Within Miyamoto’s vision, he saw the sun, a burning bright star that would illuminate everything beneath it. Though it was quite a small sun, it was more than enough to state just how terrifying Sval was in the Way of the Sword. This was a far cry from the greatest talents he had ever seen yet it was more than enough to be his disciple.
“Under you? I don’t know what you’re trying to do, old man, but I’m not just going to listen to you just because you said so.” Sval turned his back and continued on to absorb even more High-Quality Mana Stones.
“Ohohoho, then how about this." Miyamoto raised his index finger. "Once. I'll be willing to be you once. At that time would you be willing to listen to this old man's request?” Miyamoto proposed. If it were any other person, such an alluring temptation would be a no-brainer. Such a safety net would greatly ease the burden they carry.
“What are you up to? Suddenly barging into my home and forcing me to be your student.”
Miyamoto placed his thumb on the hilt of his broken blade. He unsheathed a mere fraction of the blade yet the overwhelming power from it forced Sval to kneel. Such a sudden force almost made Sval bend yet his will was much stronger than that! He refused to bend down to others! His will and pride wouldn't so easily submit to anyone at all. Even against Miyamoto.
“Ohohoho, this makes me want to take you in even more!” Miyamoto smirked and tried to slowly increase the pressure by taking out more and more of the blade.
“Let me tell you a story.” Sval was having a hard time handling the pressure already, speaking was already beyond his current capabilities. “There was once a world that was purely focused on finding the truth, at the end of the world. They had tried using everything, from trying to find out what the meaning of life was, to how death affects life. The cycle of karma had become nothing more than their tool to seek the truth of everything. They even did something as mundane as brewing tea to find such an answer.”
Sval was under immense pressure, even forcing his hand into using his mana to transform. His previously bulk appearance slimmed down and compressed his muscles into something much more intact and powerful. His overgrown hair turned golden, signifying the change in his stature. Despite the overwhelming pressure forcing him down, Sval did not waver.
Even the ground Sval was standing on was forming spider web-like cracks due to Sval’s improved body and Miyamoto’s Sword Intent. Such a combination made everything around them seem too fragile. Even steel that had been specifically reinforced to handle sieges was unable to handle their combined strengths.
Miyamoto completely ignored this and continued on, “That world was quite beautiful... while at the same time unabashedly cruel. Brothers would stab each other in the back while sworn enemies would turn into lovers. Such a world was truly filled with greatness and tragedy. Sides of the same coin. If I could go back to that world, I wouldn't even hesitate to.”
“And with any decent story, a grand event occurred. A being of unquestionable power came to the world and saw that it was far too perfect, fueled by his own motivation he split this beautiful world into countless pieces. And, the otherworld I joined, was a mere fragment of the world that he shattered. This being, I do not know if it was a God or a Devil but there is one thing I knew. It was far beyond what the likes of me could understand.”
“Then I questioned. Why did it happen? Why was such a beautiful place shattered into countless pieces? I questioned and questioned until the laws inside the world I was in finally spoke to me. It didn’t answer verbally but motionally, I took up a sword and started slashing.”
Miyamoto’s cracked sword was already halfway out yet Sval could barely hang on. He was already at his limits yet still continued to persevere.
“I traveled the countless shards of that shattered world and met far too many people to count. Then I received an answer, not from the laws of the myriad worlds but from myself. Do you want to hear the answer?”
“Madman!” Sval shouted out and finally caved in. His entire body was embedded in the ground, completely forcing him deeper and deeper. “What do you want?!”
“I guess this is what living for more than a thousand years feels like… I’m getting too old for this.” Miyamoto sighed as he recalled his companions in the otherworld.
“Become my disciple and find out.” Miyamoto sheathed his sword and reached out. “Sval, you are a genuine person with a heart of gold. Join The Seven Supreme Swords. I need your help. Humanity… needs your help.”