prologue
A huge fight broke out that spanned the world.
The reward is the absolute power to dominate the world.
As a result, all kinds of military figures gathered around the battle field.
The one who made the plate.
The one who jumped directly into the plate.
one who waits
Those who want to take advantage of falling off the board.
And I… … .
“It’s crazy and I’m sleepy.”
He’s the guy who’s trying to overthrow the table.
Episode 1. molting (1)
It’s boring.
That was how the man called ‘a monster wearing a human mask’ looked at the world.
It’s been 25 years since I spent the first time holding a sword.
The path the Absolute had walked was all stained with blood.
fight, battle, war.
His life was a series of struggles, and only victory was proof of existence.
At the age of fifteen, he took one man’s life in his first victory.
When he defeated 100 people and took victory, he first made his name known to the world.
The thousandth victory brought fame to his name.
People praised him for breaking the sword of ten thousand handles.
As he single-handedly cut down a country, the world feared the man.
and… … .
A sword that can no longer be broken.
When there is no one to stand against anymore.
The world prostrated at his feet called him the master of the sword and was in awe.
There were crises, but no defeats.
The strongest creature on earth that has never been defeated.
An existence that is said to have seen the extremes of a sword that can be achieved as a human being.
Sword Master, Luke Rider.
And it was a terrible solitude that came to the absolute one who had achieved everything.
Because struggle was all he had in his life, life immersed in silence was tantamount to suffering.
I am only forty now.
He was still thirsty for struggle and wanted to go further.
I wanted to become stronger.
but… … .
‘There is no more sword to break.’
There was no one in the world who could stand against him.
He lamented that fact.
At that moment, there was a thought that passed through the mind of the absolute.
“It is the sword that will stand against me… … .”
There are no adversaries in this generation.
‘Cause I broke them all
then… … .
‘Can’t I just forge it?’
A sharp sword that will match you with excitement.
The next generation of adversaries who aim for your heart.
Wouldn’t it be better to raise it with my own hands, not anyone else’s?
“Feel so good… good!”
I couldn’t help but feel happy and excited just thinking about it.
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Madness lit up in his eyes as he looked at the world.
And soon after, news spread all over the world.
[He who has talent, come to me!]
This is the promise of the Absolute.
[My, it will be a fertile soil for you to blossom your talents, and because of this… … .]
Also, it was a proclamation announcing a bloody festival.
[Put your sword through my heart! Let the one who cut off my head inherit all of me!]
The world became agitated by the declaration of the absolute.
Sword Master’s everything.
Someone said this was the last thought that the sword master realized.
Someone said it was the absolute power that moves the world.
Or it was said that he was the successor of the sword master who could obtain all of them.
Whatever it was, if he succeeded to ‘all of the Sword Master’, this meant becoming the ruler of the continent.
As a result, those who believed in their abilities were greedily excited, and those with talent intervened in the festival held by the Sword Master.
42 years have passed since the proclamation of the sword master.
The festival called ‘Seize the Sword’ was still going on.
In order to obtain the absolute seat of power that is stained with blood day by day.
As more and more blood is put on the throne.
* * *
Chow-.
Red blood splattered in all directions.
“f*ck!”
The man who vomited blood spread out on the floor and looked around with dead eyes.
‘This place is… Could it be hell?’
The scenery caught in his eyes forced the man to think.
burning building.
Blood and corpses lined up everywhere as far as the eye could see.
‘Hell of bloodshed.’
That was the only word to describe the current situation.
‘How come… Was it like this?’
This time, the order given to the group he belonged to was not very difficult.
Just erasing a small mountain village from the world that was out of sight of the lord.
It was a very insignificant task, to the extent that it was considered to be a light walk at night.
It was to the point where I felt bored, let alone nervous, even burning down buildings and cutting down people who jumped out of their sleep in surprise.
It took less than 10 minutes for a small village of only 20 households to be devastated.
All the houses were burned, and most of the residents were cut to death by blades.
Just the last house.
No one expected that the smallest and shabby house at the edge of the village would become a variable.
Fire-.
The last house caught fire, and the old woman who ran out first was stabbed and fell down.
With that, I thought the mission was over.
But in that very last house… … .
‘monster… water.’
… A monster appeared.
A monster of deep darkness.
Kruck-.
The monster appeared out of nowhere and began to run amok in the flames.
[No, stop!]
[What is that?!]
[Eh, run away!]
The fighting spirit to fight.
A skill that has been trained all his life.
All to no avail to the monster.
In the blink of an eye, all 20 of my colleagues were torn to pieces.
“hahahaha… … .”
A laugh like a sigh escaped from the man’s mouth as he recalled the horrible moment.
‘Is it wrong to live… … .’
The arm holding the sword was ripped off, and the lower half of the body was numb, as if it had injured the spine.
A lot of blood had been spilled, so my eyes were already blurry.
‘I didn’t expect it to end like this… … .’
He thought it didn’t matter when he died, but he never thought that such a small mountain village would become his grave.
When the man is lamenting like that.
Jerk-jerk-.
A living little foot came into the man’s blurry field of vision.
Seeing this, my heart pounded and my blurry vision cleared.
Soon after, a shape filled both eyes.
Golden eyes in jet-black hair.
And a small tear point under the left eye.
A boy, who must have been only seven years old now, was standing there holding a broken kitchen knife.
Uncharacteristically from a mountain village, his immaculate skin and plump beauty stood out quite a bit, but a faint fear lingered on the face of the man who saw the child.
“you… … .”
A small child who looks fragile.
But the man knew.
A monster that tore to death twenty comrades.
And the monster who ripped off his arm is that guy.
“Cool!”
The man coughed up blood when his heart beat suddenly.
The child who had been looking at him indifferently opened his mouth.
“Why did you do that?”
“… … .”
“how… Why did you do that!”
As the thin voice, which had not even gone through a transformation, resounded, a black figure swayed behind the child like a haze.
and.
Chow-.
The man’s one remaining arm was blown off.
blood splattered.
The feeling of fear disappeared from the face of the man who intuited that it was really over.
He smiled at the child.
“Kuk, kuk, kuk. why… Did you?”
the child was asking
Why did you burn the village?
Why did you kill innocent villagers?
The man had only one thing to say.
“Weak… Are you you are weak… because… It was trampled on.”
“… … .”
“and… Because I was weak… to you… You die.”
A weak voice that seemed to stop breathing at any moment.
However, the voice of firm conviction was branded in the child’s heart.
“… Because you’re weak?”
“The weak are trampled on and eliminated, but the strong are… Mangle and evolve.”
“… … .”
“that is… It is the era of the sword master.”
The world was calmed down by the Sword Master, but it made it even more chaotic.
A harsh world dominated by the principle of the stronger taking it all.
People called this the era of the sword master.
“In that sense… You are the one who deserves to enjoy the era of the sword master.”
If it was that monster that killed 20 knights with just one cleaver, it would be enough to become the protagonist of this cruel era.
‘Have a good time. Kkeukkeuk.’
At the end of that thought, the man’s eyes disappeared.
“… … .”
The child stared blankly at the dead man, then turned his back.
Jerk-jerk-.
Without moving a few steps, the child’s steps stopped.
near the child’s feet.
There was an old woman who was bleeding to death.
The child stared blankly at her corpse.
Soon, a voice that seemed to be squeezed out of the child’s mouth.
“Only… I was just going to die like this… … .”
Is it sadness or joy?
A strange feeling that I don’t know if it’s pain or relief.
It was a voice full of mixed feelings, not like a child’s.
Kreureung-.
And as if in response to this, the black figure shook greatly behind the child’s back and then disappeared.
three days after that.
A middle-aged man carrying a large wooden box entered a mountain village.
“This, this?!”
The bundle merchant has been touring the mountain villages for the past few years, selling daily necessities and buying leather.
He was horrified at the horrible sight unfolding before his eyes.
‘It’s all burnt out!’
All that remains of the village where it used to be three weeks ago is blackened, charred ruins.
‘What happened?’
The merchant cautiously entered the village and looked around.
Then, he noticed something and stood tall.
Black wreckage and dark red marks everywhere.
The merchant recognized the identity at once.
‘Bloodstains?!’
In an instant, goosebumps rose behind him.
‘Hey, we have to get out of here!’
The fact that there are bloodstains means that something happened here.
Perhaps the village’s troubles were not yet over.
As a result, the merchant turns around and tries to run away.
“mister.”
“Hee!”
The merchant turned around in amazement at the voice he heard from behind.
His complexion, which had been pale in surprise, regained its color when he saw the being who called him.
“You, you… that… Did you say glass?”
A unique appearance with black hair and golden eyes.
In addition, whenever he stopped by the village, he remembered because he was a little boy who hovered around with curious eyes.
The merchant sneaked up to Yuri.
“What happened to this?! Why is the town like this?”
Asking questions, the merchant checked Yuri’s whereabouts.
His black ash-covered clothes were full of dark red scabs, and his fingertips were covered in blood and dirt.
and.
‘What kind of kid’s eyes?!’
The moment he met Yuri’s empty eyes, the merchant’s shoulders trembled.
As the merchant took a step back without even realizing it, Yuri, who had been standing silently until now, opened her mouth again.
“… mister.”
“huh? Why?”
“this… Do you know what?”
Yuri held out a small plaque to the merchant.
An item from the arms of the person who raided the village.
The merchant’s eyebrows converged as he looked at what Yuri had put out.
“uh? that?”
An iron plate with a crest drawn on it, a sword curved like a snake.
While selling bundles nearby, he quickly recognized the identity.
“Looks like the Pauli family coat of arms?”
“Pauli… droughty?”
“Why, isn’t there a family that has been appointed as the lord of this neighboring territory this time? Thieves who raised the toll tax by 50% because they were full of greed without any ability! What are you going to do in this kkat kkangchon, Won! All bundle sellers like us should starve to death!”
“… … .”
“As I heard, it was because he hired a few swordsmen to become a lord and forcibly created an order of knights… They say they are robbing the territory like that to make up for the money that went into it.”
There must have been a lot of things, but the merchant was hesitantly bragging about it.
Then, realizing his behavior, he cleared his throat.
“In vain! Ah, anyway, I think that coat of arms belongs to the Pauli family… Where did you get that from?”
“… thank you.”
At the merchant’s question, Yuri dropped her hand and bowed her head slightly.
Then, without a word, he trudged away.
“Little boy!”
I tried to grab Yuri, but his body wouldn’t listen.
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My body stiffened at the unknown horror.
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Meanwhile, Yuri’s eyes were stained red as she walked along.
‘You were trampled on because you were weak?’
Is that the era of the sword master?
If it really happened for such a trivial reason… … .
‘You guys should be trampled on once.’
As if responding to his strong determination, the shadow of the glass fluctuated slightly.
It was only after Yuri disappeared that far away that the merchant let out the breath he had been holding back.
“Puh! What, what?!”
Taking a deep breath, he tilted his head.
‘Come to think of it, the thing on his waist, that’s… Wasn’t it a knife?’
I don’t remember because I was distracted, but what was on Yuri’s waist seemed to be a kitchen knife cut in half.
That, too, is a muddy kitchen knife.
‘Is it a kitchen knife?’
While trying to see if his memory was correct, he found the back of the place where Yuri stood and froze.
Where the merchant’s gaze landed.
There were dozens of earthen mounds that looked as if they had just been made.
“her… … .”
The sighed man was able to realize.
The fingertips of the glass stained with blood and dirt.
A muddy, broken cleaver.
What does that mean?
‘alone… Did you build a tomb?’
The merchant’s gaze did not know how to leave dozens of burial mounds for a while.
and 2 weeks after that.
One news raged around the mountain village where Yuri lived.
[The Pauli family was eaten by a monster!]
A family that was said to fart a little in a remote village was destroyed overnight.
The Pauli family’s mansion was burned, and none of those who remained in the house at the time survived.
Some of those who woke up that day to the desperate screams that came from the mansion said in unison.
A black monster the size of a house devoured the Pauli mansion.
For a while, whenever people got together, they talked about the monster that had destroyed the Pauli family.
However, no one knew of the existence of a half-cut kitchen knife left unattended in a corner of the Pauli mansion that had been burned down.
and from that… … .
Eight years have passed.
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