The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 416: Proclamation

“...The tower?” Miliana looked at Karyl and asked quietly.

“To hunt a Tarak, you have to destroy its heart. But in order to do that more efficiently, you have to approach it from multiple angles.”

Shing!

As he spoke, Karyl severed both of Blood’s arms in one clean motion.

“Graaaagh...!!”

Blood thrashed in agony, unable to break free from beneath Karyl’s boot. Thick drops of blood fell from the severed limbs in his hands, each one sizzling upon hitting the ground and sending up curling trails of black smoke.

Karyl paid it no mind. Like a butcher dismantling a carcass, he tossed the pieces in front of Allen, one by one.

“And to do that, what you need most is experience. There’s no better way than to fight, kill, and hunt as many Tarak as possible until it becomes second nature to you. Aidan, think back to when you went into the Forbidden Land.”

Just as Karyl said, Aidan remembered how even hunting a single wyvern had been a struggle at first. But with time, he had learned the patterns and weaknesses of the creatures, one after another.

Karyl reached into Blood’s ribs, slid his hand deep into its chest and pulled out its heart, gripping it tightly.

“Is that... actually possible?”

“He’s playing around with a monster that even the queen and the entire knight order had to corner together.”

Gordon Fabian and Kuwell MacGovern had always known Karyl was strong. But now, watching him up close, something felt different—almost wrong.

Suddenly, a massive eye opened on the surface of Blood’s heart. Four long, curved limbs—like sickles—lashed out at Karyl.

Clang! Clang-clang-clang!

Karyl crossed both palms in front of him. The air rippled, and a thick magical shield appeared, blocking the attack from the writhing limbs.

“That’s the real body.”

Right as he said that, Blood’s heart jerked back as though it had a mind of its own, trying to flee.

“Where did it go?!”

Aidan turned frantically, scanning the area. The heart moved with such speed that even a Sword Master struggled to keep track of it.

“I’m not sure how many would land a hit on that heart.”

Fwoosh—

Karyl raised his hand. With a low hum, a small orb of mana formed in his palm—then instantly expanded into a wide, curtain-like sheet. The mana surged forward, chasing after the heart.

“But for all its speed, the heart moves in a very predictable pattern. Don’t rely on your eyes. Track it by sound. Predict its path through the flow of air. Those scythe-like limbs make a faint yet specific sound whenever they move.”

Thud...

The enchanted trap resembled a pouch, bulging and shifting as the heart squirmed inside.

“Oh...”

Everyone watching realized that the magic Karyl had used wasn’t based on any predefined formula. He hadn’t uttered an incantation or used a magic circle. Instead, he had reshaped his mana directly, unleashing it in its raw form.

Creating new spells was impressive in itself—but casting one without structure and manipulating it solely through instinct was something else entirely.

“There are many kinds of Tarak,” Karyl went on. “And some of them can’t be killed with a sword.”

The mana engulfing the heart emitted a bright light. Then, a sizzling sound followed, and Blood’s agonized scream rang out.

Gkreeeeeee...!!

“In cases like this, magic becomes the solution. But before that, the shell has to be cracked open through physical force.”

Karyl lowered the heart back into his palm, holding it for everyone to see. And at that moment, Gordon and Kuwell suddenly understood why Karyl had felt so different earlier.

He had been perfect—from triggering Blood’s trap to dismantling its attacks and landing his counterstrike, everything had flowed with flawless timing. He didn’t just fight well; he moved as though he already knew what the enemy would do next.

It wasn’t just his overwhelming strength; it was as if he had fought this exact same battle before.

“To fight the Tarak, you ultimately need both a sword and magic, though very few people can use both.”

“Except for you, my lord.”

At Aidan’s remark, Karyl gave him a faint smile.

“But maybe that’s exactly why humans can be strong. Because we don’t fight alone. For generations, we’ve built our forces around the structure of combined arms. We already know how to bring the sword of the knight and the magic of the sorcerer together. In the end, what you all showed today may very well be the right way to face the Tarak.”

With that, a crushing sound filled the air as Karyl’s magic finished compressing the heart. Blood convulsed violently, then went limp, slumping to the ground like a deflated balloon.

“Welp, it ended easier than expected.”

“It had already taken heavy damage. What it really wanted was to self-destruct and take us with it. When that failed, all it could do was lash out one last time.”

“Still, didn’t you say you were going to dissect it? There’s not much left but the shell. I wonder if anything useful remains.”

Allen sounded a little disappointed as he stared at the remains of Blood, now fading away into dust.

“Don’t worry. There’s plenty of useful information stored in the heart. Its weaknesses, behavior patterns... It’s all valuable intel. I would’ve crushed the rest of the body on the spot, but I need to send it to Yula.”

“I figured as much,” Allen nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

“Don’t get complacent just because we won this one battle. These monsters will keep appearing. The Tower of Pharel you see in the distance is going to keep spitting them out.”

“Then we need to regroup and start restructuring immediately. Up until now, we’ve only operated as a knight order. I’ll organize a new battalion with mounted sorcerers. We’ll need to be ready to fight nonstop,” Viola said decisively.

“That’s a smart move.”

[If you would hand the heart over, my lord, we will begin the analysis on our end.]

Israphil’s voice came through, and Karyl nodded slowly in response.

Despite the overwhelming nature of the monster they had just faced, no one here had let their morale break. Instead, they were already looking for the next steps to take, for new strategies.

That alone was encouraging, even for Karyl himself.

“The answer you gave us, my lord, is that the real path forward isn’t fighting alone. It’s the union of sword and magic, knights and sorcerers fighting side by side.”

Viola’s words carried more weight than expected. Until now, knights and combat sorcerers had operated as completely separate forces.

“This is going to be interesting.” She glanced back at the knights. “We’ll fight in whatever way we can.”

The knights chuckled awkwardly at the implication.

“Well... I guess we’ll have to start getting along with the magic battalion.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

“...What do you mean?”

Miliana had been quietly listening. Now she looked around at them, then turned to Karyl.

“Viola, you weren’t wrong. You and your knights helped us realize what we’re truly capable of. As the Tarak keep spreading on the continent, we’ll be fighting entire legions.”

Viola looked tense as Karyl met her gaze.

“But I see it differently. Our goal shouldn’t be just to destroy what’s invaded our land. It should be to make sure the people live to see the next sunrise. Don’t forget, we’re not in enemy territory.”

Karyl gave a faint smile. “This is our home.”

[Using Miliana as an example in the battle against Blood turned out to be the right call.]

Allen’s voice echoed in Karyl’s mind. He sounded rather impressed.

“So then... how?” Miliana began.

“In the end, you all need to become stronger. A handful of elites can’t win a war alone. But the stronger you become, the fewer lives will be lost.”

Karyl turned to look her in the eyes. “And the answer lies in the Tower of Pharel.”

“I thought so.”

“But that tower only just appeared. All it’s done so far is flood the world with more Tarak. We’re barely keeping them back. When will that change?”

Karyl turned to face Gordon and Kuwell.

“You two already know that Pharel didn’t appear for the first time today. And I’m guessing you’ve also figured out what it is I’m planning to do.”

“Surely you don’t mean...” Kuwell’s expression hardened.

“I told you before,” Karyl said calmly. “We can’t afford to keep hiding that, since we’re going to use it.”

“...Haha.” Gordon Fabian let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head with an expression that said he had expected this all along.

“We’ll use anything that can make us stronger. Survival is the priority in war, and in that sense, the dimensional Pharel buried in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave will make the perfect training ground.”

At last, Karyl revealed the plan he had been hiding, and everyone around him was stunned. When he first mentioned the tower, everyone had assumed he was talking about the Pharel that had recently emerged on the continent.

“From this point on, I will no longer consider that thing a tower. Pharel deserves to be destroyed. But before that, it will serve as our lighthouse, guiding us to a new path.”

“...A lighthouse,” Aidan echoed his words in a murmur.

“We do not seek power for power’s sake. We do not pursue immortality. This isn’t about achieving glory through godslaying. This is about carving out the freedom to live in the land where we were born and raised.”

Karyl raised Blood’s heart high above his head.

“From the dimensional Pharel to the one anchored in this world. We will wipe out those cursed constructs completely. Not a single speck of the Tarak will be tolerated on the land we stand on.”

Karyl’s voice echoed across the battlefield in the silence that followed.

“...So fight with me.”

In his past life, he had failed to clear even one of the towers. But now, he vowed to destroy both.

“We’ll launch an assault on the tower. From now on, you’ll no longer be the Ten of the Oracle, but the Ten Godslayers. You will climb with me.”

This was the path he had walked for as long as he could remember. It was what he knew best—the battle he had lived through more than anyone. And now, he was choosing to walk it again. But this time, he wasn’t alone.

When they reached the end, there would be life waiting for them.

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