Chapter 92: Protagonist

An egg splattered on the floor.

That was my honest impression, without a hint of deception, when I saw the photograph of the devastated island.

If the island had been cleanly split in two, I could’ve guessed, “Ah, this was done by a sword.”

But this island was so utterly destroyed that I couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened. It left me wondering how on earth it had ended up in such a state.

Nuclear missile? No, that wouldn’t even come close. It would’ve taken at least a meteor or a Baldo to barely achieve this level of devastation.

“It’s certainly impressive to have done this to an island. But from this alone, I can’t get a sense of how large the island was.”

“Indeed. That’s why the royal investigators thought the same and sent this along as well.”

Marina placed on the desk a map of Ganryu Island before its destruction and an old document detailing information about it.

Looking back and forth between the map of the destroyed island already on the desk and the map of the island before its destruction, I could see just how massive the island had been.

According to the map and the document, Ganryu Island originally covered about 2,300 square kilometers, but now it was in the state we saw.

Ganryu Island, which had been far larger than Jeju Island in Korea, now bore no resemblance to its former self.

“It seems this swordsman Ganryu was quite renowned in the East. So gathering information wasn’t particularly difficult, they say.”

The royal investigator added that it would be best to take some of the information with a grain of salt, as there might be unverified details mixed in.

Ganryu, once known as Sasaki something-or-other, was a legendary swordsman famous in the East who had surpassed the level of Swordmaster to reach the realm of Great Swordmaster.

In the original work, aside from the enemy, only the protagonist and his father, the Sword Saint, had reached the realm of Great Swordmaster. In other words, Ganryu was the Sword Saint of the East.

Among his many legends, the most famous was his solo confrontation with an adult dragon known as the Dragon King.

It’s said that when he faced the Dragon King, he beheaded it using a sword technique he had devised to catch swallows. From then on, he gained the epithet “Swallow-Cutting Swordsman.”

After a long journey, Ganryu realized that no worthy opponents remained to challenge him, so he settled on an island called Funashima.

As time passed, the island somehow acquired the new name of Ganryu Island and, like Pierre’s tombstone, came to be known as a holy site for all swordsmen.

“According to the document, Ganryu continued to wait for strong challengers. And his final duel opponent appeared just as he was entering his 40s.”

The swordsman who came from this continent, that is, from this foreign land, was said to wield two massive greatswords as large as mountains.

When I heard about the two greatswords, one individual flashed through my mind.

That vicious greatsword maniac who couldn’t even distinguish between games and reality, and who babbled that the jump attack with dual greatswords was the ultimate technique!

He also had a strong dual-sword maniac tendency and used to mock my perfect Baldo theory while flaunting his own ignorance.

Sword Length = Dick Length: The heavier it is, the greater the impact when you strike down, and the faster it falls when you swing it down, so big, sturdy dual greatswords are the strongest weapons!

┗Baldojae: That’s not because greatswords are strong, it’s because the brute strength to wield greatswords in both hands is strong, you idiot.

┗Thor Kim: You fake science bitch, the fact that you’re not pointing out that heavier things fall faster shows you’ve been exposed.

┗Baldojae: That’s because it’s not wrong. The statement that mass doesn’t affect falling speed only applies in a vacuum.

When air resistance is involved, objects with less mass fall slower, while objects with more mass fall faster.

To explain it simply, think of it like this: even if they have the same volume, if a feather and an iron ball fall at the same time, the heavier iron ball will fall faster.

┗Zorro the Dashing: What the hell? Was this guy really a science major? I thought he was just a lunatic spouting nonsense.

┗Bukkake: Premature Zorro… This is elementary school level science knowledge….

┗Zorro the Dashing: Elementary schoolers are impressive….

“So how did that greatsword maniac… ahem! How did he fight? Ah, given the state of the island, I suppose no one would’ve been around to see it.”

“Yes, we only learned about this situation from the islanders who had gone to the mainland for business the day before. No one was there to witness the battle that took place that day.”

Naturally, it was impossible to recover the bodies from such a fierce battle that left the island in that state, so the victor remains forever a mystery.

“The one who claimed the name Ganryu… While it’s unlikely to be Ganryu himself, if it is him, there’s no guarantee the same result would happen next time. We should flee immediately…”

“No.”

“…”

I’d rather die than flee from someone using a katana while I wield Baldo.

Moreover, given the circumstances, Ganryu is presumed to have lost to the greatsword maniac, and turning my back on such an opponent would imply that Baldo is inferior to greatswords.

“I’d rather die than run away. If you’re done talking, may I leave now?”

“…Haah. Actually, there’s one more thing. Ian, have you heard about a strange rumor circulating within the academy recently? Wait, where are you going?!

I’m still in the middle of speaking!”

Ah, it’s not my fault….

“…”

I woke up with conflicting emotions of longing yet not longing.

Whenever I dreamed of that day when I experienced defeat for the first time, I always woke up drenched in sweat from head to toe.

As I got up, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and looked at the bed.

As expected, not only the sheets but even the mattress was damp with sweat.

“Haa…”

I sighed and reached for the doorknob to change the sheets and mattress, when suddenly a voice transmitted directly into my mind, bypassing my ears.

[I’ll send a slave to take care of the sheets and bed. Please come to the hall alone, Lord Ganryu]

“…What happened?”

[The familiar I sent to Baldojae has returned with battle records. We’re about to view them together… Would you prefer to watch them separately later?]

Hearing the alias of the individual I’d been most looking forward to lately, I nodded and left the room without even changing my clothes.

As I entered the hall, the Captain hadn’t arrived yet, but the Doctor who had summoned me was already seated in one of the many chairs placed in the hall.

“Doctor, has the Captain not arrived yet?”

“No, it seems he has some matters to consider. He said we could start without him, so let’s begin. But you don’t look well. Did you have a nightmare?”

“I did have an unpleasant dream, but it’s nothing to worry about… I’m fine, so please start.”

“Understood, then…”

As she waved her staff towards the empty space, the recording captured by the familiar began playing on the white wall.

“Ooh…”

The sight of the boy who, even when surrounded by hundreds of enemies, remained unfazed and defeated them all with a single attack reminded me of my younger self.

After taking down all the enemies that had swarmed him, the spectacle of him sweeping away thousands of troops from afar was truly magnificent.

Although the level of the enemies could hardly be called high even as a compliment, seeing Baldojae’s growth beyond what I had seen when we last met excited me despite my age.

“That bastard was holding back when he fought me! No, since capture or acquisition was the goal, perhaps he couldn’t use it rather than choosing not to?”

“If he had used that katana in the labyrinth as well, do you think the situation would’ve been different?”

“It would have. If the blade’s length can change freely, it’s difficult to gauge distance, and there’s also the option of shortening the blade within the scabbard for a quicker draw.”

If it wasn’t limited to simply extending and retracting, but could change in more diverse ways, the fight would’ve ended the moment I grabbed the blade.

Of course, I didn’t use my Ado either, so in that sense, it could be called a draw.

The video continued to play, and as it neared the end, the enemy infused mana into a scroll, causing thousands of magical beasts to suddenly pour out.

“What’s that scroll? Summoning magic?”

“It’s closer to creation than summoning. It appears to be a special scroll that creates magical beasts in proportion to the mana infused into it.”

Just as I was anticipating how Baldojae would handle the thousands of magical beasts pouring out, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, his sword began to glow, and with a single swing, the thousands of magical beasts turned into bubbles and vanished into thin air.

“The power to turn slashed opponents into bubbles… A terrifying ability… Hm?”

As I was marveling at the demon sword’s capabilities, it suddenly began to take on a humanoid form similar to a beast-person.

“A demon sword that can transform into a person… It seems to have quite a strong sense of self.”

“It’s not strange for it to change like that after devouring nearly ten thousand lives. But demon swords with such strong selves don’t easily accept masters. He must have tamed it well.”

“As a possessed individual born in this era, surpassing us, he should be capable of at least that much…”

“…”

It wasn’t that I had been completely off guard, but I certainly hadn’t been fully alert either.

Before I could even be surprised at how easily I’d been caught from behind, the Captain stepped forward with light footsteps and gazed at the image of him projected on the wall.

“Satisfactory.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, at least he’s far more satisfactory than the fool who forgot his training, succumbed to carnal desires, and died of the laughable cause of a venereal disease, or the idiot who wept over a single woman and died in a manner tantamount to suicide.”

As he spoke, the Captain stepped closer to the wall for a better look, just as the video projected on the wall was coming to an end.

“Shall I play it again?”

“…No, that won’t be necessary. More importantly, what are the other possessed individuals up to?”

“Gwonseong is still living a nomadic life on the plains, seemingly unaware of the news. The ninja appears to be observing, given the lack of any notable movements. However…”

“However what?”

“…It seems the Demon Sword Society and demon worshippers are attempting to make contact with him, having heard rumors of his use of a demon sword. Shall we crush them?”

“There’s no need for that. Baldojae is more than capable of trampling those rats and making his way here.

The ninja and Gwonseong are all sacrifices for him. When Baldojae, having consumed them all as nourishment, finally reaches the level I have attained…”

The Captain paused briefly, then spoke with a rare smile.

“…I will defeat him and become the protagonist.”