The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 90.1

Chapter 90.1: Spring Snow (2)

A new guardian sword after Edmund.

The Royal Knight Commander, Wayne Siker.

He knelt before Cain.

Clang—

The blade of his sword, split in half, lay embedded in the ground before him.

“Is this a valuable sword?”

Cain asked, gesturing to the broken blade.

The result of a combination of Agweska, a sword that cannot be broken, and Kyrie’s and Cain’s hearts that did not falter.

“That last swordsmanship, is it of the East?”

Wayne’s response, however, was a different question.

More than the broken sword or his own defeat, it was the black trajectory Cain had drawn that captivated him.

He asked about the swordsmanship that flickered in and out of sight, and Cain scratched his cheek with a vague smile.

━Weren’t you curious when you heard the name ‘Bright Light’? It’s not a term you’d find anywhere in the Western human world, is it?

That was the question Master Johnny-Walker asked him after a year and a half of training.

At a time when survival itself was a miracle, Cain simply replied that he hadn’t given it much thought, prompting a sigh of relief from his master.

Then, Johnny-Walker revealed the origin of Bright Light.

━It’s a language from the now-destroyed East. Our broken hopes combined with the legends of the East, forged into a sword.

Cain had never revealed this publicly, so people simply assumed the Lord East possessed some sacred swordsmanship. No one knew it truly had roots in the East.

In other words, the Bright Light inherited and developed by Cain and the previous Lords East was ‘Bright Light.’

However, there weren’t enough traces of the East left for anyone to discern its origin at a glance.

As Cain continued to look down at Wayne without answering, the knight shook his head.

“You needn’t answer. It would be rude of me to inquire about the secrets of your swordsmanship.”

He then turned to Hybolt, whose eyes were slightly wide with surprise.

“Your Majesty, I, Wayne Siker, have been defeated.”

“I saw.”

“But if Your Majesty commands it, I will take his life.”

Oooo━

Rustling sounds arose from the garden.

Wayne raised his hand.

One by one, unfamiliar figures emerged from the bushes in the distance.

Each held their own emotions, but they all shared one thing in common: they were knights.

Cain also glanced at Hybolt.

He had sensed the presence of the Royal Knights long ago. If this had been a true fight for their lives, they would have joined the fray.

‘They’re stronger than the Elveknights.’

Their individual skills were superior.

However, considering the Elveknights’ formidable resilience, such a difference in skill would be offset to some extent.

Cain was calmly assessing their strength and devising a strategy for what to do if he had to fight.

Hybolt stood up and opened his mouth.

“As Wayne Siker knows, I have not known why I have been living for the past few years. I would rather have died and found peace.”

His abundant gray hair swayed.

However, the crown that had been bothering Cain since earlier remained firmly in place, as if glued to his head.

Hybolt looked at Oleciren, who had the same gray eyes and gray hair as him.

“I know why I made that child the heir to the throne, but now I cannot understand why I did so at the time.”

Hybolt, the king whose heart had died.

A puppet, devoid of all emotion, unable to even judge what was in his best interest, slowly walked towards Cain.

“Can you change me like this?”

Thump.

Cain planted Agweska in the garden soil and raised his right hand.

“It’s possible.”

“Then do it. I may not understand it in my heart, but my mind is curious. You, who defeated Sir Wayne, are worthy of my trust.”

Cain pointed a finger at the crown that always adorned Hybolt’s head.

“Then allow me to remove this crown first.”

“Crown?”

Hybolt tilted his head.

Cain looked at Wayne Siker next to him, and he too blinked his eyes as if he did not understand what he meant.

Cain’s gaze swept over the surroundings.

Hybolt, at Cain’s words, touched his own head. But he subtly avoided the crown.

“There’s nothing there.”

“I’ll show you.”

Crackle—!

Pure White Thunderbolt sparked from Cain’s violet eyes.

[‘Winter’ partially reveals the hidden truth.]

At that moment, a strange chill, piercing to the bone, emanated from Cain.

A collective gasp arose.

“Ah—!”

Wayne exclaimed in awe.

Some of the Royal Knights rubbed their eyes, wondering if they had seen wrong.

At their reactions, Hybolt raised his hand to his head once more.

Something was there.

“I really was…… wearing a crown.”

“To be honest, I thought it was strange from the beginning. How many kings wear their crowns on a daily basis?”

Kings wear crowns.

However, not every day.

A crown is worn to display authority as a king or to greet envoys from other countries. It was quite strange for Hybolt to wear it even when he came out to the garden.

‘It was perception interference.’

A grand magic barrier was spread throughout the royal palace.

In case the palace was threatened, the barrier was set up to filter out magic, and sensitivity settings were crucial.

If it detected every weak magic, it would be inconvenient and consume too much power. Therefore, a typical grand magic barrier is designed to detect and block only magic above a certain level.

“I shall remove it.”

Hybolt lowered his head, offering it to Cain.

Cain lightly lifted the crown.

Crackle—

He summoned lightning once more, directly comprehending the crown’s composition.

‘It bypassed the detection level of the grand magic barrier.’

If it was completely hidden or concealed, it would have been detected, but this crown was enchanted with weak magic that made an ‘ordinary object’ ‘barely noticeable.’

“Exquisite perception interference and emotional manipulation. And……”

Cain saw a green line extending northeast from the crown.

“There’s something connected to this as well. It appears to be a tool to instantly alert someone if there’s a problem with this crown.”

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