Chapter 201

R‌e​ad‍ ​o​​n‍ ​​K‌a‌t‌Re​a​d​i‍n‌​g​Ca‌f‌e‌

The Sacred Knights.

A direct military organization under the church, composed solely of supernaturals.

They serve the divine and eradicate evil.

If one were to exclude the Celestial Corps, it would not be wrong to call them the strongest military force.

Unlike the Celestial Corps, whose primary mission is to protect humanity, the duty of the Sacred Knights lies in reclaiming lost territories. 

The lands beyond the border, taken by monsters. Their responsibility is to restore these monster-infested lands to human control. 

The lands encroached upon by monsters are alien to human understanding. The laws of nature change, concepts distort, and even logic becomes warped. 

Thus, these lands become uninhabitable for humans.

The Sacred Knights step into these demonic realms.

Clad in uniforms, wielding weapons, and waving their banners.

They march toward the horizon, filled with the armies of monsters.

At their forefront stands the leader of the Sacred Knights.

Raising the holy sword of radiance high, he always advances stubbornly toward victory.

Noble and pure.

Never forgetting his pride, no matter the time or place.

He does not fear the lands of death for the sake of humanity’s future.

Thus, he is nicknamed the Knight of Light.

Undoubtedly, he is the strongest force within the Sacred Knights.

And if limited solely to swordsmanship,

He is universally acknowledged as the strongest man in humanity.

“Light.”

The holy sword, wrapped in radiance, strikes down like lightning. Swift and sharp. As if skipping the intermediate process, by the time one realizes it, the sword has already been swung fiercely. 

A straightforward and monotonous slash. However, facing this strike directly changes one’s assessment. 

It is impossible to predict the sword’s path. Golden and dark hues clash, rebound, and collide again. 

Each time, Ereshkigal frowned. She took a step back.

‘…He’s tough!’

She had thought the spearman she faced earlier was impressive, but this man was on another level. 

He closes the distance with short, concise steps. His movements are clean and efficient, delivering precise slashes. 

His swordsmanship is neither flashy, varied, nor elegant. Ereshkigal felt a massive wall before her. An impregnable fortress. A wall that cannot be breached or scaled.

She steadied her breathing and measured the distance.

Ereshkigal swung the demonic sword firmly with both hands.

From left to right. The dark slash created an explosive flash of light.

Clang!

The holy sword and the demonic sword collided.

The resonating metallic sound was like the scream of the atmosphere.

With a tearing noise, the ground beneath them cracked.

The asphalt, covered in vegetation, shattered into pieces.

“Ugh!”

Ereshkigal quickly turned her head to the right. 

Swish! 

The holy sword pierced through the space where her head had just been. Strands of her hair were severed, floating in the air. 

The holy sword spun. The blade turned horizontal and slashed downward. 

Ereshkigal gritted her teeth and blocked the trajectory of the holy sword with her demonic sword. 

Clang! 

Another metallic sound rang out. The air was torn apart, creating ripples.

As soon as she blocked one strike, the second and third strikes followed without pause. The consecutive slashes were terrifying. 

In the blink of an eye, her head could have fallen to the ground. A massive flow of attacks surged. Ereshkigal threw herself into the flow without hesitation. 

In just a few seconds, dozens, hundreds of sword strikes clashed, mixing light and darkness. The darkness was pushed back. Where light resides, darkness cannot exist.

‘Sword Saint… This man is a Sword Saint!’

His upright posture remains unshaken by any onslaught.

With just one step, he renders all attacks meaningless.

With just two steps, he finds Ereshkigal’s openings and exploits them.

His concise and monotonous slashes tear through her defenses.

There is no waste in his movements, making his strikes even more terrifying.

By the time she regained her composure, Ereshkigal was already engulfed in the flow of the Knight of Light.

‘If it were the me from the past, I would have died in three strikes… no, two strikes.’

Before ascending to the realm of demonic beasts.

When she was still a nameless death knight.

Back then, the fight wouldn’t have even been possible.

Even though she was an exceptional swordsman back then, compared to this man, she was nothing.

Even during the battle, his eyes remained calm.

Like looking at a serene lake without a ripple.

A still surface that showed no emotion.

His eyes were clear, without any turbidity or cloudiness.

Ereshkigal knew.

That unwavering gaze.

It was the state she had aspired to reach.

‘Mirror-like clarity, still as water…!’

No matter the time or place.

His heart remains calm.

In any situation.

His sword never wavers.

The Sword Saint’s sword energy can cut through anything under the heavens.

Her heart pounded madly. 

Originally, as a Death Knight, her heart should have been still. But ever since she inhabited this vessel, Ereshkigal’s heart began to beat. 

She is dead, yet alive. Though a knight of death, life resides within her body. 

Thus, it was no surprise that her physical activities, like sweating, occurred. The demonic sword trembled. Her arms, accumulating shock, screamed in pain.

‘His swordsmanship alone is already troublesome enough…’

The compatibility was bad from the start.

The holy sword’s radiance purifies the aura of death.

Every time their swords clashed, her entire body trembled.

Ereshkigal’s death energy was being chipped away in real-time.

If she were an ordinary Death Knight, she would have crumbled instantly under the overwhelming divine power of the holy sword. 

The light of the gods drives away darkness. It is the light that guides the dead to where they belong. Truly, the natural enemy of the undead. Ereshkigal’s natural enemy.

‘This space itself is his domain.’

The sword’s domain.

A radiant domain covering hundreds of meters in radius.

Within this, the holy sword’s power is maximized.

The light bestows blessings, and Johan gains a massive advantage.

The purifying light scattered in real-time steadily pushed Ereshkigal into a corner.

Just breathing in this space, the light mixed in the air burned her from within.

In a normal environment, she was already at a disadvantage in terms of compatibility, but in an environment where her opponent had an extreme advantage, it was hopeless.

She blocked one strike.

Then deflected another.

She stubbornly held on, again and again.

The battle continued without pause.

But Ereshkigal realized. Her instincts screamed at her. She would lose like this. It was inevitable. She couldn’t win.

“Why hesitate? Your blade has dulled.”

“Hmm…”

Johan did not rush. He silently swung the holy sword. Step by step, he advanced. 

As he moved forward, she was pushed back. The more she was pushed back, the more she lost her offensive momentum. 

Her options dwindled, and her chances to counter decreased. The battle, which had been somewhat balanced, was now tipping to one side. 

It was only a matter of time before the dam broke, and Ereshkigal was driven into a corner.

Yet, no trace of anxiety could be seen on Ereshkigal’s face.

Rather, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.

A lifetime of martial achievements.

A sword she could not let go of, even in death.

Techniques honed by rejecting death and becoming death itself.

Even as all of that was being shattered before her eyes, Ereshkigal felt not despair, but an even stronger competitive spirit. 

Truly, is it not exhilarating? To fight a strong opponent. Especially one stronger than oneself. 

Even as blood splattered and wounds multiplied, Ereshkigal’s smile deepened. Ah, how joyous it is to have the goal you’ve longed for right before your eyes.

Yes, she had to admit it.

This man was a swordsman who had reached the divine realm.

Undoubtedly, he was several times stronger than her.

As a ‘swordsman’, she could never defeat him.

“What a pity. A swordsman of your caliber resorting to such tricks.”

“Tricks, you say? This is my skill. Something I’ve honed through relentless practice.”

“Is that so? I suppose it must be.”

The sword’s domain was Johan’s technique.

She couldn’t call it cowardly.

It was just disappointing.

That this wasn’t a pure duel of ‘swordsman’ versus ‘swordsman’.

Her opponent was fighting not as a ‘swordsman’, but as a ‘supernatural’.

So, it was time for her to let go of her stubbornness.

The stubbornness of trying to defeat the Sword Saint with swordsmanship alone.

“I admit it. You are strong. As a swordsman, you are several steps ahead of me.”

“Your voice sounds quite confident for someone admitting defeat.”

“Being ahead as a swordsman doesn’t necessarily mean you’re stronger than me.”

After all, swordsmanship is just one component of strength.

If battles were decided solely by swordsmanship, Johan would undoubtedly be the strongest in humanity. 

But that’s not the case. In terms of overall combat power, there were certainly those who surpassed him. 

He might be the strongest as a pure swordsman, but that doesn’t mean he’s the strongest as a supernatural.

“You are strong. That beautiful, unwavering swordsmanship. It’s the pinnacle of mastery. Truly a being of the divine realm. I even feel respect for you. I sincerely thank you for this encounter.”

Ereshkigal wasn’t exaggerating or lying.

Every word she spoke came from the depths of her heart.

“So, from now on, I will also give it my all.”

As a ‘swordsman’, she couldn’t win.

But what about as a ‘demonic beast’?

“I am the demonic beast, Ereshkigal.”

From now on, I will face you not as a swordsman, but as a demonic beast.

Darkness began to flow from Ereshkigal’s body. 

Like a heat haze, like mist. The dense aura of death took on a distinct form. 

The land, filled with the light of the holy sword, began to wither and turn black.

Johan’s expression stiffened slightly. 

This was no ordinary energy. Within the sword’s domain, purification was constantly active. 

Anything impure should have been burned away. But the overwhelming aura of death only grew stronger as it was purified.

He couldn’t let this continue.

Johan trusted his instincts. He immediately charged toward Ereshkigal. 

The holy sword emitted a brilliant radiance. He aimed to cut her down with the most efficient and clean strike. 

However, Ereshkigal was no ordinary swordsman either. Her demonic sword skillfully intercepted the holy sword.

“An environment where only you have the advantage isn’t fun. The light is too harsh, making it hard to even breathe.”

“Do the dead breathe? That’s something I’ve never heard of.”

“I am dead, yet alive. A corpse with a beating heart.”

“Hah, is that even possible?”

“Do not judge a demonic beast by human standards.”

The darkness spread relentlessly.

Within the radiant domain filled with light, ominous darkness began to take root.

The stronger the light, the stronger the shadow.

Ereshkigal’s shadow stretched long, polluting the earth.

“!”

Johan quickly withdrew his holy sword from the clash and retreated. If he hadn’t, the skeletal hands breaking through the ground would have grabbed his legs. 

Crack, crack. 

Bones continued to burst from the ground, chasing after him. He slashed at the ground, cutting through the bones, but there were too many to count.

“I declare.”

Ereshkigal pressed the tip of her demonic sword into the ground.

As the blade pierced the earth, darkness rippled outward from the point of contact.

“Now, this place is my domain.”

Open, gates of the underworld.

Obey and heed my call.

Countless, truly endless skeletons emerged, breaking through the earth.

Their forms and types were all different.

There were bones of giants, griffons, manticores, minotaurs, lizardmen, goblins, sirens, werewolves, dragons, and countless others too numerous to name.

But it wasn’t just skeletons.

All manner of undead answered her call.

Ghosts without bodies.

Headless Dullahans.

Revenants who returned from death.

Immortal vampires.

Even Death Knights, the knights of death.

Every kind of monster obeyed their master’s command.

The demonic beast.

The calamitous monster.

The commander who rules over monsters.

Her true nature was revealed here.

“How about it? Can you cut down this vast army of death?”

In response to Ereshkigal’s question, Johan clicked his tongue briefly. 

He knew that demonic beasts could command monsters. But that was limited to monsters brought from the rifts between dimensions. 

A demonic beast that could summon monsters directly? This wasn’t a dimensional rift. He didn’t feel the unique disturbance of space breaking. 

He had heard that Typhon, the fifth demonic beast, tore through space to summon monsters hidden in sub-dimensions, so he could only guess this was a similar technique.

“Do you think that’s enough?”

Having assessed the situation, Johan chuckled and tapped his holy sword against his shoulder.

“If you want to stop me, you’ll need to bring three times that number.”

Beyond the realm of humans.

The demonic lands are ruled by monsters.

It is the duty of the Sacred Knights to invade those lands and slay the monsters.

He had fought armies of monsters larger than this. He had never lost. He had always emerged victorious.

“I am Johan. Though it’s a bit embarrassing, I’m called the Knight of Light.”

Cloaked in the radiance of the holy sword, Johan walked toward the army of the dead.

“My light will never fade, so, you who are dead, return to where you belong.”

If it’s a requiem you want, I’ll sing it for you as much as you need.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Everyone pretends to like R-19 content on the outside, but it’s clear that they actually hate it.

After all, anything obscene is a no-no!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Holy vs unholy, the noobs start now!