The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 249

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[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 249

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The place where they arrived after spatial teleportation from the academy wasn't the Cascadia territory, but Mielephon.

Leon had hoped to see Triana, the World Tree’s representative, arrive at the academy as well, but it seemed her admission had been delayed due to resolving some issues in the Mother Forest.

"This is harder to get used to than I thought."

Already, due to the various powers he had experienced in the Labyrinthos, the amount of aura he now possessed was several times what he had originally had.

And thanks to the Millennium Fruit, that amount had ballooned exponentially, leaving him feeling unsettled.

It was almost like a joke — as if all that mana exploded, it could cause a catastrophe across the entire continent.

Of course, such a thing would never happen… probably.

“Because of the fruit?”

“Yeah. I don’t really feel the immortality part, and the immunity to poisons hasn’t made much difference either. I can tell that my magic efficiency has improved and I’ve got more mana now, but… it’s just way too much.”

“You’ll adjust eventually. Honestly, I’ve never stored as much foreign energy as you have, Leon, but I’ll help until you get the hang of it.”

Even Luna, who had once held the power of an archangel, seemed startled by the overwhelming amount of energy, far surpassing anything she could compare to.

There was a clear limit to the vessel.

Normally, any regular person would have already died from mana intoxication.

But Leon’s body, through some unknown process of “adaptation,” was evolving in response to the increased mana and aura.

They had already announced their visit in advance, so upon arriving at the designated location through spatial movement, they were greeted by the retainers of the Mielephon family.

“Welcome, Lord Leon. The Duke and the Sword Saint are awaiting your arrival.”

“Please lead the way.”

“Yes, right this way.”

Instead of the Duke Catsey’s office, they were guided to Isna Mielephon’s room.

“Lord Leon. It’s been about a month.”

“I apologize for the delay, Duke. And to you, Sword Saint.”

“Welcome… you…”

The Sword Saint’s eyes widened.

“Father?”

“…Hah… This is… very hard to endure…”

He muttered bitterly, shaking his head with effort.

“Isna hasn’t awakened in over a month. Do you know what’s going on?”

They had managed to keep her hydrated and nourished, but if she didn’t wake up, it was all meaningless.

Leon looked at the sleeping Isna and then turned his gaze to Luna.

“What do you think?”

At his words, Luna frowned sharply.

Then she asked the Duke:

“Got a water glass?”

“Water… glass? There’s one next to you.”

Though Luna's tone lacked the proper respect due to a duke, neither Catsey nor the Sword Saint commented on it.

Luna picked up a glass filled with clean, cold water and gently swirled it.

And then, she splashed it right onto Isna’s face.

“Gasp?!”

Isna flinched at once, her body twitching before falling still again.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the closed-eyed Isna.

“Your patience is commendable, but you’ve been caught. Open your eyes.”

At those words, Isna’s expression twitched.

Then, she slowly opened one eye and looked at them.

Catsey sighed and covered her face with a hand, while the Sword Saint clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Um… it’s just that… I thought it would be kind of awkward facing everyone again…”

“When did you wake up, Lady Isna?”

At Leon’s question, she squinted slightly.

“Are we really going to talk this formally between friends?”

“Just answer the question.”

“About… a week ago? I’ve just been lazing around when no one was watching…”

It was a miracle she hadn’t been caught by the others.

Then Catsey lifted her head.

She looked at the half-sitting Isna — and smacked her on the back.

“Kyah!! Mother! I’m going to die!”

“Then die! You stabbed your mother and grandfather in the heart, you wretched girl!”

“Aagh!! Aagh!!”

As Isna flailed and screamed under the unrelenting smacks of Duchess Catsey, Leon looked to the Sword Saint.

“You’re not going to stop her?”

“There are times when a child needs discipline. She’s turned half her mother’s heart into charcoal. Tsk tsk.”

The Sword Saint truly didn’t look like he planned to intervene.

“Leon.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a moment? I have a favor to ask.”

At his words, Leon silently nodded and followed him.

He stood in the training yard, holding a sword, facing Leon.

“A single duel. Are you up for it?”

“…Of course.”

Leon grabbed an iron training sword from the rack, and the Sword Saint likewise raised his own practice blade toward Leon.

Though just one man stood before him, the weight of his presence surpassed anything Leon had felt before.

Leon, too, had taken the Millennium Fruit not long ago and needed to test a few things, so he raised his aura, pouring it into his sword and body.

“It’s certain now. I already thought you’d become ridiculously strong a month ago, but now… again…”

“I’m coming in.”

“Come.”

Shhh… KAAAAANG!!

They didn’t announce who’d move first, but they both charged at nearly the same instant.

Their swords met with no explosive shockwave or flashy clash.

Like two beginners who had just awakened their aura, their blades met cleanly and quietly.

But that was enough.

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“…Hah… you’ve already become stronger than me… What a shame… I may have to give up the title of Sword Saint. Tsk.”

He slowly pulled his blade back — and it crumbled into fragments with a soft crackle.

On the other hand, Leon’s sword was relatively intact.

“Such a pity. I really wished you and Isna had gotten along.”

"I regret that it didn't happen."

"No need to apologize. If neither of you had feelings for each other, it would have been nothing more than a political marriage for mutual benefit."

He set aside his regrets and carefully gathered the broken sword.

Afterward, when he entered Isna’s room again, she was glancing around nervously, her eyes shifting back and forth.

"Lord Leon. It's been a month, hasn’t it?"

"Yes. I'm glad to see you're safe."

"Ha ha…"

"That day—can you explain what happened?"

At my question, both Duke Catsey and the Sword Saint fell silent, waiting to hear her story.

After all, they were likely more curious than I was about what had happened to her.

She hesitated for a while, then looked at me and nodded.

"Well… I'll tell the truth. For some time now, I've been hearing strange voices in my dreams. Saying things like, 'Don’t resist the sprouting of the seed,' or 'Call out its name'…”

Seed?

"A seed?"

Duke Catsey asked in a chilling voice, seeming to have the same thought as me.

"Yes… it called it a seed. It told me something was inside me and not to resist it sprouting. It was all very unsettling. Even when I woke up, I felt something squirming inside me."

"Something inside your body?"

"Not physically… I don’t really know how to explain it. But anyway."

She slowly recounted her experience.

Something had taken root inside her, and over time, it had begun to gnaw away at her.

She didn't know what the 'seed' was, but she said it was something she could suppress—at least at first.

The real problem came afterward.

Although she had suppressed the seed, the voice hadn't given up on her.

It had sent others—those in whom the seed had already sprouted—to attack her.

Those like her, whose seeds had sprouted.

However, they were no longer human—completely overtaken by the seed, they were mere puppets.

“So not an organization…”

“But the thing itself that targeted you.”

“In terms of power, they’re not much different from when they were alive. But I don’t think they can be considered human anymore.”

Even in the forest of the elves, there were a few individuals in whom seeds had sprouted.

They didn’t hesitate to rip out their own hearts in front of Triana.

Perhaps they were no longer living beings at all.

Though Isna was usually eccentric and unpredictable, sometimes she did display the dignity of a duke’s daughter.

Maybe this was one of those times—

“Ah—cramp! My leg’s cramping!”

“…"

Maybe not entirely.

"Then, do you know anything about it, Isna?"

Sword Saint Osberg quietly asked.

At that moment, Luna stepped forward.

"Do not try to learn more."

Everyone naturally turned their attention to her at that statement.

"You are…?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don’t fully understand, but even if I did, it’s not something one should know."

She gracefully walked toward the center of the group.

"You’ll want a convincing reason."

"There’s a world beyond the one we live in. Leon has already seen it, but there exists a place called the Other Dimension, apart from this one."

The gazes of the Sword Saint and Duke Catsey shifted to me.

"She’s right. There is a space known as the Other Dimension."

"Do you have any proof?"

"Hmm… it’s hard to produce solid evidence, but there were others in the Holy Kingdom who witnessed the existence of that place with me."

"Then the thing that targeted you—is it from that Other Dimension?"

"Yes. And among those Other Dimensional beings, there are some whose very presence causes ordinary people to die just from perceiving them. Outer gods."

She muttered softly.

At the same time, I felt a chilling presence sweep over my entire body.

Apparently, Osberg felt it too—his expression briefly hardened.

Even Duke Catsey, usually composed, frowned deeply.

"Even learning about them can be dangerous. That’s why you must not seek to know."

"……"

"But I spoke to one of them and I’m still fine, aren’t I?"

At that, Isna raised her hand slightly and asked.

"When it makes contact, it has to hold back to avoid damaging the host. Otherwise, it would destroy the person before it could turn them into a puppet."

"So if it ever speaks, revealing its name or identity…"

"That’s likely impossible."

No wonder Luna had been so reluctant to speak. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

I could now sense how deeply she had been troubled all this time.

“Oh, and this is a bit late, but—”

She smiled playfully.

“I met some cultists. They said they wanted to meet Lord Leon.”

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