[Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]

    Chapter 120

    As Kaylen beheaded the Tower Master, silence fell over the chamber.

    The Tower Master of Balzak Tower.

    A genius who had reached the 5th Circle at the age of 50 and was regarded as the strongest among the seven Tower Masters.

    And yet, even in his elementalized state, he had been unable to withstand a single strike and lost his head?

    Even though they had witnessed it with their own eyes, it was a sight they could hardly believe.

    "T-Tower Master!"

    "Kugh...! Attack all at once!"

    "Circle, reload!"

    One of the remaining Tower Masters, regaining his composure, immediately gave the order to attack.

    However, Kaylen remained unshaken.

    "This isn’t even worth using Abyss Blade."

    The four Aura Swords moved of their own accord, blocking every spell that rained down on him.

    The forces within the underground chamber were the elite of the magic towers...

    Yet to Kaylen, they were nothing but weaklings—not even worth drawing his Six Blades against.

    "H-He’s blocking magic?!"

    "There’s no way he can keep blocking forever! Keep attacking!"

    Boom! Boom!

    At the Tower Masters'' command, the Meisters poured all their mana into their spells.

    The relentless barrage of magic was, without a doubt, overwhelming.

    With hundreds of casters launching a coordinated assault from all directions, it seemed impossible for anyone to withstand it.

    Even so, the Tower Masters couldn''t shake the unsettling reports they had once dismissed.

    "Kaylen is a Sword Master and has subdued demons..."

    "Could it... could it actually be true?"

    "No, no matter how monstrous he is, he can''t come out of this unscathed!"

    One of the Tower Masters reassured himself with that thought—

    But only for a moment.

    "F-Fire Sword incoming!"

    "Dodge!"

    Fwoooosh!

    The Flame Sword, one of the Six Blades, shot forward like a streak of fire, and in that instant, their doubts turned to fear.

    "Agh...! AAAARGH!"

    The Tower Master of the Blue Tower, a 5th Circle Meister of water magic, screamed in agony.

    His body, composed of water, was evaporating completely.

    Had he been beheaded in an instant, like the Balzak Tower Master, it might have been a mercy.

    Instead, he felt his limbs begin to boil, his form turning to steam—

    A slow, excruciating death.

    "S-Save me! I... I even taught Princess Violet...! I am the Blue To—"

    Before he could finish his plea, his body completely vaporized.

    Kaylen watched the scene and clapped his hands together.

    "A mistake. Burning up a precious A-rank mana suit like that."

    Unlike the Balzak Tower Master, whose body had remained intact after being beheaded, the Blue Tower Master had been utterly incinerated, leaving nothing behind.

    That mana suit should have been a valuable prize—yet now it was gone.

    "You should be grateful for your mana suits. At least that way, your corpses will remain."

    Srrrk.

    The four resplendent swords floated in the air.

    Compared to the imposing presence of Flame, Water, Light, and Dark, the Earth Sword and Wind Sword were far less conspicuous.

    But against these enemies, even that much was more than enough.

    Six Blades Style – Twin Blades, Shrinking Earth

    As Kaylen stepped forward with his right foot, the Earth Sword embedded itself beside him.

    Rumble—

    The ground shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.

    "Ugh...! The ground...!"

    "W-What is this?!"

    The Meisters staggered, struggling to keep their balance on the trembling earth.

    But only for a moment.

    Their eyes widened in shock.

    "The distance..."

    "It’s closing in!"

    The ground beneath them seemed to bend and fold, pulling Kaylen—who should have been far away—closer in an instant.

    And it wasn’t just one person experiencing this.

    Everyone felt it at the same time.

    "Even a Sword Master shouldn’t be able to do something like this...!"

    "S-Shield! Activate shields!"

    Desperate to resist being drawn in, they cast defensive spells—

    But it was futile.

    As the distance closed, what came into view—

    Was none other than the Wind Sword in Kaylen’s hands.

    Swish!

    The Wind Sword carved a massive arc through the air.

    Swoosh!

    In a single swing—

    The heads of a third of the Meisters in the underground chamber were severed at once.

    There was one area where the flames had failed to consume.

    "It withstood the Flame Sword’s fire?"

    Kaylen had not used the Six Blades Style, but even the Flame Sword alone produced enough firepower to reduce everything to ashes.

    Yet something had remained untouched.

    Intrigued, Kaylen pushed through the lingering flames and stepped inside.

    And there, he came across an unexpected inscription.

    —Helmeier Lineage Summoning Circle

    "They were trying to... summon the Helmeier Lineage?"

    The Helmeier Clan.

    The ones who had taken Melvria, daughter of Ernstine and wife of Eldir.

    A lineage that had used the Infinity Expansion, an ability Kaylen had never been able to utilize in his past life.

    Kaylen had long suspected they were linked to the Meyer Imperial Family.

    After all, even their name was Helmeier.

    Scanning the area, Kaylen stepped into a separate, isolated chamber.

    There, a massive magic circle gleamed with a golden-red glow.

    And at its center—

    Lay a woman’s body, visibly stitched together from severed parts.

    Her head, both arms, and both legs.

    Her upper and lower body.

    It was clear she had originally been split into seven pieces, but now, black thread bound her parts together into one.

    "...The magic circle is still active."

    Even with the entire chamber engulfed in flames, the summoning circle remained completely intact.

    Kaylen studied the woman’s corpse carefully.

    Despite being dead, her skin had color, and warmth radiated from her body.

    "She’s definitely dead... but I can still sense a strange vitality."

    Had she been breathing, Kaylen might have even questioned whether she was truly dead.

    As he observed her, something struck him.

    "She looks like... Princess Violet."

    Could it be?

    Was this woman Queen Diana, Violet’s mother?

    Kaylen recalled what Violet had once told him.

    "Her wounds kept healing..."

    Was that somehow connected to the fact that, even in death, her body still emitted life energy?

    Kaylen continued watching her lifeless form before slowly reaching out toward the magic circle.

    "I am curious about the Helmeier summoning... but I can’t just leave Violet’s mother as a sacrificial offering."

    He wasn’t yet certain that this was truly the Queen, but—

    If she was, then Violet deserved the chance to recover her mother’s remains.

    Just as that thought crossed his mind and his hand touched the magic circle—

    BZZZZZT—

    A golden-red glow surged from the circle, and something began to materialize from the ground.

    "...Baldrix?"

    What appeared within the giant magic circle was—

    A face.

    One that was far too familiar to Kaylen.

    His second son, Baldrix.

    —Ah.

    Baldrix’s face contorted into a grotesque grin—

    And lunged forward, attempting to devour the woman’s body.

    Kaylen swiftly moved and pulled the woman''s body away.

    At that moment, Baldrix’s face twisted into a furious scowl, and he began screaming.

    —"A sacrifice. You stole my sacrifice! Give it back! Give it back!"

    Hearing a fully grown man throwing a tantrum like a newborn, Kaylen’s expression contorted in disgust.

    What in the world were these lunatics doing with Baldrix’s face?

    "You insane bastards!"

    Kaylen drew the Light Sword.

    —"Ah... T-Too bright... Hhiii...!"

    Exposed to the power of light, Baldrix’s face shrank back in fear.

    Moments later, the summoning circle began to fade away.

    Kaylen watched the scene with a hardened expression.

    "The Helmeier Clan... is somehow connected to Baldrix’s face?"

    Without hesitation, Kaylen retrieved the Demonic Relic, stepped inside with the woman’s body, and sealed it away.

    After laying the corpse down, he immediately rushed to the solitary cell where the slime-type demon, Kane, was imprisoned.

    "I''m bored. Bored. Bored! Uwaaah, I’m going crazy! I’m losing my mind! I’m so sick of talking to myself!"

    "You."

    "Oho? Cool big bro! Bro! I was waiting for you!"

    "What is your connection to the Helmeier Clan?"

    At that question, Kane grinned widely.

    "Wow. A human who knows about the Helmeier Clan?"

    "Answer the question."

    "Hmm... Well. I’m bored, so I’ll tell you. But if you know about the Helmeier Clan... shouldn’t you already know about the face?"

    "The face? What about it?"

    Kane blinked and answered Kaylen with a smirk.

    "Oh, you don’t know? When someone commits a crime and gets exiled from Helmeier... they get their face reshaped into this one~"

    [Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]