<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 127>
The eight Guardians that maintain the balance of the world.
Among these eight Guardians, who is truly the strongest?
It was a question I once asked Yggdrasil, who then scratched her head in a troubled manner before responding.
“You know, Guardians each have our characteristics. For example, me, I am ‘Harmony.’ As I always say, ‘There is no forest that can thrive alone,’ I strive for the perfection of the community rather than individual excellence.”
“On the other hand, the Yellow Dragon from the neighboring country of China is completely opposite. They believe overwhelming power is the greatest and that it’s natural for the strong to control all others—they’re aggressive and belligerent.”
All familiar content—I could tell she didn’t want to go around answering the question this way. But there was no way out.
I pressed for an answer, and Yggdrasil finally began speaking, her tone hesitant. Now, this is where it gets real.
“You really want to know? Oh, alright. Hmm… I’ve never really thought about it before… Hmm. Anyway, I am not the strongest. Maybe around 5th place? However, if we assume a specific region defense, I’m ranked number one.”
“There’s no way around it. Our strength isn’t too far apart, and as you know, similar strength levels are heavily influenced by ‘environment’ and ‘conditions,’ right?”
But who am I?
I’m the kind of guy who, once I draw my sword, wants to split even mountains. Persistently, I pushed further, and in the end, I got the answer I wanted.
Thus, the ranking of the Guardians’ strength, when all conditions are considered equal, is as follows:
8th place. France’s ‘Banner of Liberty’
“There’s no debate about this one. Freedom has almost no combat ability. However, external abilities are extraordinary, especially the true ‘Freedom’ that eliminates all constraints within humans. I find it an outrageous ability even by my standards.”
“Perhaps if Ki-hyuk were to meet him… It would be disorienting, but in a good way.”
7th place. The ‘Euria’ of the African Union
“She’s similar to me. Her abilities focus more on defense than attack.”
“She uses spells related to poison and the wild. In particular, her ‘insects,’ part of her kin, are famously tough adversaries.”
6th place. Britain’s ‘Taesa’
“This tiger’s sly like a fox. They’re cunning and greedy. You seem to dislike it? Well, good observation. I hate this guy. Even more than that aggressive Yellow Dragon.”
5th place. South Korea’s ‘Yggdrasil’
“…If it’s just defense, I’d be the 1st place. I have to point this out, okay?! Hold on a sec, Ki-hyuk!”
4th place. The ‘Red Dragon’ of the American West
“Surprising, isn’t it? The so-called ‘Master of Magic’ only placing at 4th. That’s how it goes. It’s a battle between Guardians, so despite his powerful magic and spirits, there are limits.”
With three left, Yggdrasil said the following positions are truly the upper echelon.
“The rankings from now on don’t really matter. They’re all immensely strong, and the results can always change.”
“So, personally, I’ll rank them according to the ones I would least like to fight.”
3rd place. Russia’s ‘Beast King’
“The King of Beasts. Despite the name, they’re surprisingly wise. Personally, we’re quite friendly.”
“Their ability allows them to ‘transform’ into any creature as the embodiment of all species, and they inherit each of their characteristics. If they weren’t as gentle, they would have swapped ranks with the Yellow Dragon.”
2nd place. China’s ‘Yellow Dragon’
“No explanation necessary. They’ve built an unparalleled domain in martial arts. Arrogant, reckless, and belligerent, but their natural power deserves acknowledgment.”
Finally, 1st place. The ‘Gigant’ of the American East
“Hmm, this result also depends on the ‘environment’ I mentioned earlier. Gigant, you see, is especially strong against non-human entities.”
Unlike other Guardians, Gigant is less influenced by mana. Instead, they draw power from the scientific and mechanical part of this ‘world.’
‘Mado Engineering’
It is the root of Gigant’s power, created by Gigant themselves.
“Their combat, though plain even as a compliment, is coarse, wild, simple, and direct.”
Based on colossal mechanical strength, they endure attacks with their entire body before delivering a powerful strike.
A combat style that dominates through sheer physical presence without casting a single spell…
I thought,
Who does this remind me of?
“Hmm. Looks like you noticed. That’s right, Ki-hyuk. Gigant is very similar to you.”
And now, I finally understood what she meant.
Roar—!
Our palms collided.
A cold metallic touch tingled through my skin.
“Hahaha!”
Through the helmet of the war armor, I sensed Gigant’s warped madness.
“More! More! Moorrrre!!”
“…!”
Creak. My feet were pushed back.
Was I losing the strength battle?
Incredibly, it was the truth. The being—or Guardian—standing in front of me is considered the strongest in ‘physical power’ in this world, Gigant.
Psssshoo—!
Smoke belches from Gigant’s war armor.
The pressure grew heavier.
The oppression I felt in both hands intensified.
Another drop of sweat slid down my jawline as my entire body tensed.
This was a disadvantage.
No, I was being swept away.
My pride was nothing compared to Gigant’s relentless strength.
“Phew…”
I adjusted my breathing and calmed my mana.
In my eyes, a hexagram formed, and instantly, tremors rippled through the space along with spells forming.
Flame Buster, Electric Shock, Chain Lightning, Ice Area, Fire Field, Air Bomb, Earth Square…
In an instant, dozens of spells were unleashed.
The goal was Gigant’s war armor.
I unleashed them all!
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—!!
Flames burst.
Steam erupted from ice.
The ground contracted from all sides, winds exploded, releasing a deafening roar. Lightning struck the top of the war armor with brilliant flashes.
ZAPZAPZAP—!
The shock was dazzling.
All existing elemental spells were being fired relentlessly.
But Gigant resisted calmly.
Each spell striking continuously, and still, Gigant’s war armor remained unblemished, shining as if it didn’t feel a thing.
‘This…!’
Creak…
My frustration rose.
“Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The spells that were being fired suddenly stopped, and as the tremors in the space intensified, the hexagram emerged.
Hell Flame, Blizzard, Earthquake, Hurricane, Storm Rising, Inferno…
A higher level of powerful magic was unleashed.
The impact was clearly different from before.
Given the strength of the opponent, I was putting everything into my spells. Enough power to one-hit KO any boss monster below level 5, to say the least.
Yet, Gigant’s war armor remained completely unharmed.
HUM—!
Instead of responding, Gigant’s body emitted a mocking ‘pff, pff.’ stream of smoke.
A vein bulged on my forehead.
“To the end, huh?”
I stopped the magic. Then, a swirling darkness erupted around me. Amidst the dark vortex, six streaks of light appeared.
The hexagram was complete.
Apocalypse
Apocalypse
In a fleeting moment.
Everything stopped.
Whoosh—!
It surged like an upward gravity spell, rising and then vanishing as if it never existed.
Seemingly different this time, even this machine-like hulk of a being reacted, trembling with a shuddering body.
As the shoulders of the armor began to rust and crumble, each piece disappeared one-by-one.
When the gauntlets of the war armor fell away along with half of the face mask, I finally saw it—Gigant’s true form, glowing with joy.
“So lovely!! This is amazing!”
Gigant’s face radiated with absolute ecstasy, gasping and emitting some sort of strange breathing noise.
“This is Apocalypse, huh? Incredible! It even erased my war armor! This is really amazing!”
“…”
Madwoman.
She was revoltingly cheerful.
It’s not that she enjoys battle. She’s exploring me, specifically the human ‘Park Ki-hyuk.’
“You’re reaching the truth! How long can you sustain it? Incredible. A pinpoint attack, huh?! Is this the end of its destructive power?! Do you have enough mana? You do, right…?”
Gigant kept throwing questions, not even flinching as her own hair began to disappear. She was like someone treating her curiosity as more important than her own life.
I was in awe.
“Wow…”
This is real madness.
In contrast, Jin Yu-ri was normal, and even Rosaria was just a bit unique.
All of a sudden, I felt melancholy.
Why do I always get involved with these kinds of people?
“This isn’t the end, right? It won’t be.”
Her gaze seemed almost disappointed if this was all, indicating that this wasn’t yet up to her expectations.
The moment I saw her eyes, my complicated emotions disappeared.
You’re looking down on me, right? My pride was hurt.
“Be prepared.”
I struck my chest, focusing Apocalypse.
The figure was flung back into a void where I summoned ‘Demon,’ and sprang out.
Immediately surrounded by darkness, Demon was engulfed.
The moment the hexagram was drawn with the blade, I awakened the instincts of a sword master.
Let’s see how you handle this.
I slashed with Demon. Gigant blocked it with bare hands. Another slash—again blocked by Gigant.
Continuously, without pause.
Relentlessly, tenaciously!
Not a technique but a pure downward slash.
While at it, I shot magic. The darkness surged like waves, piercing the war armor.
Of course, Gigant knew this wouldn’t work.
Pierce—!
Thorn-like darkness pierced through.
“Huh…?”
“This is all Apocalypse!”
The hexagrams drawn over the darkness like thorns.
Every single one was Apocalypse-made thorns.
Apocalypse wasn’t just a unique magic; it was truth, a fundamental essence.
Like Gigant’s origin being mado engineering.
Magic immunity?
Meaningless against Apocalypse.
SWISH. SWISHH.
The darkness carved up the war armor mercilessly. Simultaneously, Demon struck down, and as the sky groaned, pouring rain began.
SWEETHT—!
Torrential raindrops, filled with malicious curses, eroded the war armor. Naturally, ‘Apocalypse’ was included in there too.
“Let’s see how far you can endure this!”
Laughing, I disappeared into the darkness and reappeared behind Gigant, swinging Demon.
I disappeared into the darkness again, and this time swung Demon from a corner of empty space.
“Great!”
Magic and swordsmanship harmonized and pressured Gigant.
It was exhilarating.
I couldn’t help but smile.
When was the last time I’ve fought this freely, giving it everything I had? It simply felt amazing to move about freely without holding back.
Gigant seemed similar to me in this aspect.
The war armor emitted white smoke while being remodeled.
A bit of noise, followed by the creation, assembly, transformation. As white smoke rose, the war armor was remodeled.
The damaged shoulders were reinforced, the lower body was lightened for quicker maneuvers, and jet boosters like wings were attached to the back.
And the newly formed armament was… a hammer. A colossal war hammer sized for an average adult male.
Fire erupted from the boosters. The Gigant wielding the war hammer charged with a thunderous roar, bringing it down upon me.
And I countered with Demon, raising it upwards.
BOOOMMMMM—!!
An explosion shook everything.
The surrounding area was flattened, centered on the both of us.
A clash of strength.
“Enjoying it—!”
“Feels good!”
The gaze exchanged between Gigant and me.
We both planted our feet heavily into the ground; Gigant did the same.
We steadied ourselves; Gigant did the same.
Then we swung our weapons at each other.
BOOOM—!! BOOOM—!!
It shattered.
It melted.
In a few exchanges, the region around us was left barren. A space that used to have sparse grass had long turned into a wasteland. No, there was no life left except for Gigant and me.
Laughter bubbled from my mouth. Gigant, thrilled, drew hearts with her eyes while yelling.
“There’s more, right? Keep going! You can do more, right?! So can I!”
“Seriously!”
“Right! Right!!”
Good.
If that’s what you want.
My gaze turned tranquil.
I absorbed the magic I was casting, channeling it into Demon. Focusing the instinct of a sword master into Demon, I awakened the ‘Giant’ hidden within.
ROOOAAARR—!
The shadow stretching behind me grew grotesquely elongated, expanding rapidly like a surprise storm cloud.
The shadow-puddle became a stream, the stream grew to be a lake, and the lake expanded into an endless sea.
Giant Transformation
巨人化
A ‘Shadow Giant’ arose from the sea of shadows.
Apocalypse
Apocalypse
A hexagram emerged over the Shadow Giant’s face.
Geomho-ryu
A shadow greatsword was formed in the giant’s hand.
As the giant performed the swordsmanship technique while raising the greatsword,
“Block it properly.”
Reversal
逆天
The sky shattered.
The world was reversed.
Everything except me was scattered about.
All existence was returning to nothingness.
At that moment.
“Huh?! You also know how to do this? Me too!”
“…!”
“I’ll show you.”
The war armor of Gigant disintegrated into particles and dispersed.
The space and time froze.
“…!”
Behind Gigant, a colossal steel gate arose.
A castle wall?
No, a steel gate so massive that it shouldn’t exist in the world.
As this gate opened, another giant appeared.
A white plume of steam trailing as the gate opened.
Huge, so huge, madly giant—it was a mechanical giant.
The moment this giant grabbed my Shadow Giant’s greatsword,
The broken sky reassembled.
The reversed world reset to normal.
The atmosphere returned to its calm state as if nothing happened.
But not me. Not me.
Chuuk—!
I spat bl**d.
With Giant Transformation, Apocalypse, and the focus of the sword master, the techniques I had used to the extreme were halted.
The rebound.
The backlash enveloped my body.
My balance swayed. My knees buckled for a moment…
As my vision flickered, I was looking up at the sky.
Gigant, looking down at me playfully.
“That’s not how you’re supposed to use that.”
A force unlike the others, the power of the giant, still tough to control.
“Feels like you’re not used to it… Should I teach you? But it might be more trouble for you… Nah! Let’s have fun!”
It seemed like a teacher had just appeared before me.
“Hahaha!! Exciting!”
A teacher who is thoroughly insane…
Squeak-.
In a room cloaked in darkness,
A man was reading a book under the strange shine of an inverted cross.
The title of the book was ‘God Is Dead.’
It’s a book critiquing the omnipotence of the gods, and though disrespectful from the standpoint of the man who serves Him, one phrase particularly resonated with him.
“God becomes when He is named.”
When countless devotees name Him with their beliefs, He then becomes truly a God.
What a magnificent phrase!
The man was deeply reflecting on this sentence.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps was heard as the door opened.
“High Priest, the designated ‘sacrifice’ has arrived.”
The High Priest, lost in thought, smiled faintly.
“There isn’t much time left.”
His hand caressed the book.
There, the phrase “God is created,” was written.
