C678
The sword flew for four whole days.
It flew over the entire continent and the seas without rest for four days.
The speed was so fast that the group only managed to see its tail for the first ten minutes.
After that, they relied on air defenses and witness reports from their allies.
“Damn it, where the hell is it headed?” Quikantel exclaimed angrily.
No one could foresee the sudden emergency, and for four days, she hadn’t been able to close her eyes for a moment, flying around the world.
Of course, flying for four consecutive days wasn’t unusual for a dragon, but it still took a toll on her stamina.
She never thought the day would come when she would have a chase with the “sword.”
“My sword... Can I find my sword?”Like all knights, Hedo loved his long sword dearly.
It wasn’t just an object that no modern blacksmith could match, but it also had sentimental value for him, having been acquired as a reward after a battle with a monster in the Black Sea in his youth.
Now, his beloved sword had been waving in the sky for four days and, like Hedo, he couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
Hedo had a pale complexion that didn’t match well with his musculature, and Sandra kept offering him meaningless words of comfort.
“It’s a shame we lost the sword, but thanks to that, I’m going to have a date in the sky with Jin for four days, Hedo. It will be an unforgettable memory for the rest of my life.”
Those riding on Quikantel couldn’t help but admire Hedo, who didn’t lash out at Sandra’s meaningless comments.
“We’re almost at the point of seeing the destination’s outline, Quikantel-nim. Please hold on a bit longer. And Tower Guardian, please be patient. I can only say I’m sorry.”
Until now, Hedo’s sword had been wildly flailing in all directions, going north, then south, then east, and then west, driving its pursuers crazy.
It even seemed as if the sword was intentionally mocking them.
Of course, during those two days, the Garden of Swords, Zipple, and Kinzelo, as well as various coastal fishing villages, had been thrown into chaos.
“What is that?”
“Is it some kind of distant meteor?”
“Oh no, is it the remnants of Chaos? We have to flee!”
The fishing villages and cities along the coast were in a state of panic.
“Are those the remnants of Chaos?”
“After that, the silver dragon Quikantel is chasing it!”
“Oh, I see the Twelfth Flagbearer and the Vamel Alliance too! I suppose they’re trying to suppress the chaos.”
“Jin Runcandel!”
“Hail to His Highness the Regent and Jin Runcandel!”
Even the people living peacefully in various cities under the protection of the Vamel alliance and Dante’s powerful forces realized the situation.
In fact, in four days, more people knew about the situation than those who didn’t.
It had become impossible to secretly enter Temar’s Sixth Tomb.
“Excuse me? Will an apology return Bale to me?”
“I will take responsibility and compensate for the damage later.”
“It’s already too late...! The lady and I have already been exposed to our clan’s battleships!”
Indeed, during their pursuit of the sword, the group had already encountered several pursuers from other factions, including the dragon of chaos and the black ships of Runcandel, the battleships of Kinzelo and Zipple, meaning they had been discovered by Sandra and Hedo.
“Is that Sir Hedo......!?”
“Isn’t that Sandra beside him? Why are the two together with the Twelfth Flagbearer when they’re on vacation......?”
“Come to think of it, that flying object looks very much like Sir Hedo’s sword.”
Especially since Hedo’s muscular body was so distinctive that anyone who had seen it once could recognize him from afar, pretending not to know was impossible.
However, pretending not to know was also useless.
Therefore, Hedo already felt anxious about having to go back and explain.
Currently, the Vamel alliance and Zipple are in a temporary alliance, and Hedo held a very special position within his clan.
The problem was that he hadn’t communicated this in advance.
“And what does it matter? It’s obvious that when Hedo goes out with me, I go out with Jin.”
“It’s a problem because I didn’t inform in advance that the Twelfth Flagbearer was trying to help me examine the sword, my lady...”
“Tower Guardian, why didn’t you inform about that?”
It was because he didn’t want to get tired.
Hedo didn’t inform the clan about the fact that Bale played a decisive role in entering the fifth tomb last time.
Although Zipple had already investigated their ancestors, if they discovered any connection between him and the old Runcandel, he would have to go through a series of troublesome procedures.
Moreover, he had kept secret the fact that he escaped the snowfield before the other Zipple due to Jin, so it wasn’t an easy situation for Hedo.
“Because I didn’t know things would get so complicated.”
Although he had been moody with Jin the whole time, Hedo thought all of this was his fault.
“Have I relied too much on the kindness of the patriarch and leaders, or have I been too careless?”.
He wasn’t particularly worried about being punished for it later.
The problem was Sandra.
“Is it because you’re protecting Sandra Zipple?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. Does the protection you speak of allow experiments with Sandra to a certain extent?”
The conversation Hedo had with Jin before the sword went crazy.
As he had said, until now, Hedo’s existence had been the reason Sandra had been able to avoid “very lethal” experiments.
Zipple knew exactly what Hedo wanted. What he wanted wasn’t more power, nor more opportunities to fight stronger opponents or rise to the top of the hierarchy.
It was solely Sandra’s survival.
That’s why Zipple turned a blind eye when Hedo broke the rules. Zipple didn’t investigate seriously even if something suspicious happened because everything Hedo did always benefited Sandra and Zipple.
However, this time was different. If Jin became stronger again thanks to Hedo’s sword or if there was any problem with manipulating the history in the old Runcandel, Hedo would have nothing to say even if Zipple threatened Sandra.
“If a thorough investigation begins, my involvement in the Spectres’ murder in the Sota Desert and that I released the Twelfth Flagbearer’s party pretending to capture Ainas could also be revealed...”
Hedo hoped that the end of this incident would be clean and that it wouldn’t come to that.
But his wish couldn’t be fulfilled.
“Huh, huh. The sword...... stopped!”
said Quikantel, breathing heavily.
In the middle of the territorial waters, which Hufester calls the Sea of Swords, and the Lutero Magical Federation calls the Sea of Magic.
“We passed through this area on the first day of our flight, but now you’re telling me this sea was our destination?”.
“It could have been just a brief stop... luckily, it doesn’t seem to be.”
Jin responded, and the sword stopped for the first time since it started moving, pointing towards the sea like the needle of a clock.
Suddenly, with a massive tearing sound, the sword struck the center of the sea as if it were about to pierce through it.
Pheeeew, shhuuaaaak-!
The air split and a tremendous roar resonated, while a huge wave rose like a mountain range, with water reaching up to the clouds.
Boom!
Quikantel and the others extended a protective shield and pushed back the seawater.
The sensation of weight was as strong as the attack of a powerful being transmitted from the seawater.
It might have seemed like the whole world trembled for a while.
And the power that made Hedo’s sword explode was all the Shadow Energy Jin had absorbed four days ago.
That kind of commotion would take a long time to subside.
The sea would continue to wreak havoc for a while, pushing the tsunami inland, and there’s nothing more people can do until the disaster ends.
However, what the sword had caused was not a disaster, but a transcendental discovery.
The Shadow Energy pouring out of the sword began to move on its own, touching the bare ground of the ocean revealed beneath the water.
As if caressing a long-forgotten, dusty treasure, the Shadow Energy continued to descend into the depths.
“My lord, the Shadow Energy is pulling something that looks like a huge structure from the bottom of the sea!”
exclaimed Valkas, eyes wide with surprise.
All his companions witnessed the same scene.
It was like a legend told in many regions, where an ancient civilization hidden beneath the sea was revealed.
Even Hedo, who had been consumed with worry until that moment, momentarily forgot his troubles and gazed in awe at the scene before him.
Everyone watching was filled with reverence.
When Olmango had pulled a giant clam from the ocean while splitting it in the past, it had been shocking, but compared to the spectacle the group had now before them, it seemed small.
“Wow... Darling, is that your ancestor’s sixth tomb?”.
Jin was about to respond when he caught Valeria’s gaze.
“Didn’t you say it’s a subspace that exists within the sword?”.
In front of Valeria, a small blue window showing record magic opened.
“Jin Runcandel has finally opened the subspace within the sword...”.
The window displayed such a message.
“...Yes, the subspace within the sword has been opened. It seems that the subspace within the sword has come out into the open, instead of us entering through a dimensional portal."
If that was the case, the sword had been flying to find a position where it could eliminate that space.
"But this doesn’t seem to be Solderet’s subspace. If it were his, the name would have been indicated precisely."
Valeria let out a small sigh as she spoke, seeming doubtful. There was a more important matter than knowing to whom this subspace belonged.
"We found it!"
"The aircraft stopped! Cease attacking and check those traitors first!"
These were the words of the pursuers coming from Zipple and the Garden of Swords.
Like the Vamel Alliance, they had been chasing the sword until now, and had fought each other during the process due to overlapping paths.
"Grand Duke, we found it. Please don’t use your strength as the leader is in critical condition."
Kinzelo was the same.
Once again, three enormous forces had gathered in the middle of the ocean.
Jin's group couldn’t hear their voices due to the distance, but they knew they were near.
Jin continued to watch the seawater falling like a waterfall in all directions.
The Shadow Energy mixed the seawater that was pouring down like a waterfall in all directions.
Every area touched by the Shadow Energy was the subspace within the sword.
In other words, everyone who had been chasing the sword had already entered the subspace within the sword...
There was no way to avoid the fight within the tomb.
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