Water Magician - Chapter 417: The Final Curtain Draw – And the Extinguished Hope (2)

Ryo attacked.

Vertical downward slash, reverse upward slash, diagonal downward slash, diagonal upward slash, side slash… and thrust.

However, his attacks were never rushed.

Rather, he carefully reproduced the sword swings he had trained one by one.

However, his sword flashed at high speed.

The Fallen Angel defended.

Dodge, weave, and directly deflect… those were the essence of its defense.

Yes, there is no slack in its defense.

Rather, it perfectly defended and deflected all of Ryo’s attacks one by one.

Naturally, during a high-speed sword fight.

“Amazing…”

Who blurted out those words?

Already, the only people fighting in the center of the arena were Ryo and the Fallen Angel.

Graham, Stefania, Niels, Amon, and Hugh also watched the two fight from a distance.

The holy swords they held could not reach that being…

They knew it, but their hearts were controlled by fear.

So they had no choice but to attack.

But…

Ryo now fight in their place.

What’s more, Ryo’s sword could harm the source of that fear!

So they decided to watch.

Meanwhile, the sword fight unfolded.

It was not a display of unconventional technique.

Rather, his swordsmanship could be called orthodox.

That’s precisely why the observers had no choice but to acknowledge the high level of technique involved.

Sword technique built through pilling effort on effort, getting knocked down over and over again, getting back up and picking up the sword… and repeating that process over and over again.

It may not be the sword of a genius.

Still, it was a sword achieved through overwhelming effort over many years without cutting corners.

It didn’t feel fleeting or fragile at all…

“It’s so thick…”

Master (of the sword) McGrath was able to see the ‘thickness’ formed through Ryo’s time spent seriously training in the sword.

That’s why he muttered that.

That was the path he once took.

It was different from the heights that geniuses like Abel reach through effort on top of talent…

However, they will never be inferior to nor lose to the heights those geniuses reached…

They would reach a different height.

Hugh was well aware.

That height was not something a person could reach alone.

He realized that he couldn’t move up unless he met a ‘partner’ to whom he could entrust everything.

That was Hugh’s holy sword Galahad.

Likely for Ryo, it was the ice sword he was currently wielding…

Hugh had no idea about the origin or history of Ryo’s sword.

He didn’t even know if the sword was inscribed with the name of a famous swordsmith.

Ryo believed in his sword, and his sword performed its best for Ryo… Hugh could comprehend that.

It was different from the trust between people.

Complete unity of heart and body.

The sword becomes a part of the swordsman’s body, raising each other to a higher ‘dimension’.

Being able to see such a sight is a blessing for a swordsman.

“He’s a magician though…”

Hugh mumbled that involuntarily, and then smiled bitterly.

He understood.

That didn’t matter.

A man who simply trained with his sword seriously, connected with it with his heart, and rose to greater heights.

That’s all.

The sword fight that started with Ryo attacking and the Fallen Angel defending had switched to Ryo defending and the Fallen Angel attacking.

At first, the Fallen Angel was maintaining a dignified stance as if to say, “Come attack me”, but now it was attacking fiercely.

It was as if, as it continued to be attacked by Ryo, it too became heated…

If you looked closely, you might even see a faint smile on it.

And, of course, Ryo, who was subjected to such fierce attacks, also smiled.

Why was he smiling?

There is only one reason to smile.

Because it’s enjoyable.

Of course, if he received a fatal blow, he would die.

He understood that.

He understood but… he couldn’t help but feel that it was fun.

Parry the Fallen Angel’s side sweep, dodge its diagonal downward slash, lean back to further dodge the following back slash, and counterattack with a diagonal downward slash.

While dodging Ryo’s diagonal downward slash with its footwork, it took another step to the side and slashed from a blind spot.

Ryo had never seen the school of swordsmanship the Fallen Angel practiced before, but to be honest, he was excited to defend against it.

Even though he would die if he received a fatal blow.

And finally…

He failed to defend.

Slash.

A large gash was cut into Ryo’s right arm.

Amazingly, the Fallen Angel’s sword cut through the Fairy King’s robe.

“It’s okay, it didn’t reach the bone.”

Ryo made an instant judgment.

But soon something else, more important, occurred to him.

“My robe was cut…?”

However, the robe soon repaired itself.

As if it had a will.

“Thank goodness.”

Ryo was relieved. He didn’t want to see his precious robes in tatters.

……

Well, that’s not what Ryo should be worried about.

His arm was deeply injured and was bleeding profusely.

If he was the kind to worry more about his body than his clothes.

However, Ryo declared.

“This is just a handicap. It’s not like I got my arm cut off.”

Hearing this, the Fallen Angel clearly smiled.

It was different from the faint smile he had seen so far. A distinct smile.

As if it was rejoicing in the battle…

A Fallen Angel who can break through even Ryo’s impenetrable defenses.

However, Ryo did not despair.

Even if it seems impossible at first glance, there is always a breakthrough point.

Ryo knew that from his experience of fighting many extraordinary beings.

Experiencing success is what gives people confidence.

Ryo looked straight ahead.

His right arm was deeply injured.

But no problem.

Ryo’s sword was supported by his left arm.

The right arm is the one that guides the sword…

The Fallen Angel must have also noticed the change in Ryo’s atmosphere.

It moved its sword wide.

To decide with one blow.

The two of them remained motionless in complete silence.

Cling!

The sound of something falling.

That was the trigger.

They both jump in at the same time.

The Fallen Angel’s sword swung down first.

Just a little, Ryo moved his left side further forward and turned sideways.

He raised his right arm above his head.

And Ryo’s right arm got cut off.

However, at the same time, Murasame, that was supported by only his left hand, pierced the Fallen Angel’s chest.

A clear thrust with the left hand.

Furthermore, ice spread from the pierced chest.

It was not Ryo’s magic.

It was Murasame.

Although the opponent was supposed to be immune to magic, Murasame, with its hilt and blade glowing blue, stopped the Fallen Angel’s movements.

“Coffin, activate!”

Ryo exclaimed.

At that moment, the Fallen Angel’s expression changed to one of surprise.

Then, he looked at the coffin that Ryo had brought with him when he first flew over.

After a few moments, it burst into laughter.

Maybe it understood what it was and how it had been modified.

“It’s an alchemy technique that was used to capture a Djinn for hundreds of years. It also used the Djinn’s own magical power.”

Ryo applied the mechanism that was used to capture the Djinn of the south, near Kona Village.

Using the Djinn’s own magical power to keep capturing the Djinn… what a trick.

The ‘Black Notebook’ that Ryo inherited from ‘Hasan’ also contained a similar magic formula.

Of course, at the time, Ryo couldn’t understand it at all, but over the past three years, Ryo’s knowledge of alchemy had increased and he had gained experience.

He had honed his skills!

This time, he’d use the Fallen Angel’s energy to trap the Fallen Angel.

It was a technique that even the genius alchemist Viscount Kenneth Hayward probably didn’t know.

“And this coffin is equipped with a mechanism that captures and stores God Fragments, an element that is probably important in a higher dimension. I’m guessing it is a magic formula you taught Cardinal Sacharias? I can easily predict that if I use it, it would capture you, a being from a higher dimension.”

Ryo explained.

He was explaining, but at the same time, he was understanding it.

The Fallen Angel in front of him must have appeared in this three-dimensional world in search of a place to die, so to speak.

Of course, it didn’t matter who it fought or where it died.

But it sought the right person to die to and the right location, the circumstances to satisfy that…

Perhaps it manifested in this arena and noticed right away.

In this place, Ryo was that right person.

No, it may have known about Ryo’s existence even before that… for example, when he defeated the Pope in the atrium of the underground palace…

But when it descended to this arena, it understood clearly.

Ryo was the right person to be its final opponent.

It wasn’t because it understood Ryo’s power, but because he was wearing the robe of the Fairy King.

Because it knew that he had the Fairy King’s sword that could interfere with its power.

That’s why it shot Ryo first, who was in the audience seats.

Ryo then prepared a ‘coffin’ and fought it with Murasame… and perhaps convinced the Fallen Angel.

Eventually, the Fallen Angel, whose energy supply from God was cut off, will disappear.

However, if possible, it wanted to take action and bring its curtain to a close through its own volition… Ryo interpreted it to be something like that.

“If you’re convinced, please sleep peacefully in this coffin.”

Ryo said that in a rather calm tone.

The Fallen Angel smiled faintly… and was sucked into the ‘coffin’.

Ryo’s right arm was successfully regenerated by Etho, who ran so fast he looked like he would tumble.

Afterward, the storage of the coffin was discussed.

Ryo, of course, remained in the discussion until the end, as he was pretty much the only person who could move the coffin.

Meanwhile, the Central Countries delegation returned to their quarters…

After the discussion, Ryo arrived at his dorm feeling tired.

The consumption of magic power wasn’t that great, it was more of a mental strain.

Of course that was natural since his arm was sliced ​​off.

“Welcome back, Ryo.”

“Ryo-san, welcome back.”

“Go and take a bath.”

Ryo finally felt a little better after Etho, Amon, and Niels greeted him.

He decided it was a good time to report to His Majesty the King, who is far away, since his previous report was quite some time ago.

((I’m really tired. I can’t continue doing this without receiving overtime allowance.))

((…Ryo.))

((Abel? What’s wrong?))

Abel’s reply was the darkest tone Ryo had ever heard.

((…Sorry, Ryo. The Kingdom may be ruined))

((Abel?))

((At least the people in the delegation should survive… okay? Don’t ever return to the Central Countries, okay?))

((Abel?!))

((Don’t come back…))

At that point, communication was cut off.

After that, no matter how many times he tried to connect, he couldn’t connect to Abel.

It had never happened before that ‘Soul Resonance’ did not connect.

Something unusual had certainly happened.

The three people of ‘Room 10’ watched Ryo’s unusual behavior from the sidelines.

“Ryo?”

Niels called out quietly.

As expected, he could tell that he was not in the mood to joke.

“My communication with Abel was lost.”

“Ha?”

Niels was speechless at Ryo’s words.

Etho and Amon couldn’t say anything either.

“I was told not to come back to the Central Countries, but that’s not going to happen…”

“But it will take a month…”

In response to Ryo’s words, Niels reminded him of the travel distance.

“What about Merlin?”

“If I recall correctly, he said that the magical power… the magical power of the dungeon has not fully returned yet, so he won’t be able to reach the Central Countries…”

Amon and Etho searched for the possibility of teleportation using Djinn Merlin’s help, but it was impossible.

The magical power consumed to send Hero Roman and the Demon Lord Nadia through teleportation… not just Merlin, but the magical power of the western dungeon that served as the foundation for the teleportation… it may not be the same ‘magical power’ that the three in ‘Room 10’ are familiar with, but… it sounded like it would take quite a while to recover.

Ryo thought of something and looked up.

“I’m going to the Empire’s lodgings.”

“Huh? Hey, Ryo!”

Niels instinctively called out to Ryo as he began to walk away.

However, Ryo quickly left the dormitory.

Imperial Delegation Accommodation.

“This is Ryo Mihara, Duke of Rondo, Kingdom of Knightley.”

Ryo said as he held out his identification plate and entered through the entrance.

“Huh? Duke?”

“Is that the Water Magician from earlier?”

“Hey, wait a minute!”

“Don’t come in without permission…”

Ryo ignored all the voices and pushed forward while clearing away those who grabbed at him with .

“Please let me see His Majesty the Former Emperor.”

While saying that, he cleared away all the hindrances and opened the door to the Emperor’s room on the top floor.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty the Former Emperor… are you there?”

It was a particularly luxurious room… he could tell at a glance that it was a room set up for the former emperor… but the person in there was a nobleman.

He was not the former emperor.

A nobleman that Ryo also knew.

“Count Hans Kirchhoff?”

“Yes, hello, Your Excellency, Duke Rondo.”

“Excuse me, but His Majesty the Former Emperor…”

“His Majesty is not here.”

Count Hans Kirchhoff answered Ryo’s question without any hesitation.

The answer suddenly flashed in Ryo’s head.

That was something that had been bothering him ever since during the trouble at that meeting hall…

Count Hans Kirchhoff also came to Ryo and Robert Pirlo.

Not the former emperor.

Yes, the former emperor was already at that point…

“He’s no longer in the Western Countries?”

“Yes. As expected of you, you deduced it quickly.”

Hearing that, Ryo fell to his knees.

“Duke Rondo?”

Hans asked suspiciously.

“That means… His Majesty the Former Emperor… has returned to the Central Countries with Baron Hagen Venda, who can use … In other words, Baron Hagen Venda is no longer here… right?”

Ryo’s question for confirmation was already weak and small.

“Yes, you’re right.”

Hans answered with a nod.

There was the moment when Ryo completely lost the way to quickly return to the Central Countries…

Author’s note:

This is the end of ‘Part 8: Pope Inauguration Ceremony’.

 

‘Final Part: The Great Djinn War’ finally begins tomorrow!

 

The stage moves to the Central Countries.

What will happen to the Central Countries without Ryo?

 

The final boss in this second volume was not in the Western Countries but in the Central Countries…

(Didn’t he appear here and there during the second volume?)

 

As everyone who has read this far understands,

The ‘Great Djinn War’ is occurring in the Central Countries, and Ryo is missing… he has no way to return!

So Ryo won’t appear for a while in the final part… sorry…

I did my best to create content that would make you feel a sense of Ryo even if he’s not there… Yes, with effort.

 

But he will appear eventually!

Please wait patiently!

 

So, I hope you enjoy reading the final part of volume 2.

The final part alone has over 100,000 characters!

 

Well then, please look forward to reading the final part starting tomorrow.

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

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