I got into school for nothing – 352
I got into school for nothing (352)
Lesson 69. Conquest of Clarent – 2
―Uwaaaaah! Stop it, stop the ‘Final Sword’!
―The Final Sword is heading for Clarent—what in the world is happening!
―Control center! Center!
In an instant, enemy communications erupted into chaos.
Why was it that merely eavesdropping on them made his heart pound with excitement?
Lilyth began to race after the colossal sword, which was hurtling forward, while Clarent’s warships frantically scattered in every direction, screaming.
―What is the control center doing?! Stop the sword right now!
―Stopping!
Naturally, Ban Yuwon had already seized complete control of the colossal sword, using the divine sword he held in his hand.
Indeed, with the enemy’s control completely severed, the colossal sword—now pulling all its energy from its own sources—gained even greater momentum and launched forward with furious force!
―It’s not working! It—it won’t stop!
―We can’t stop it, it won’t—stop!
―Fight against someone who’s hijacked our dimension’s ultimate weapon? I can’t handle this anymore!
―No, don’t go to our planet!
The colossal sword seemed to gain even greater power the further it advanced.
This was because it had begun forcibly siphoning power from the warriors of the Clarent family who were scattered everywhere.
Hadn’t it been said earlier that this sword was created by consolidating the Clarent family’s Authority?
Now that it was rushing towards its target, fully controlled by the divine sword, it seemed only natural that it would draw power from the family’s members.
―This is madness, I surrender!
―I said we should surrender from the start, but the butler wouldn't listen to me.
―This is all your commanders’ fault!
“Hmm.”
Ban Yuwon muttered, gauging the power contained within the colossal sword.
“If this goes well, it might even be over in less than thirty minutes.”
[Who knew the enemy would prepare a weapon for us themselves?]
“This... this is impossible. This isn’t real.”
There was also someone on his side experiencing a mental breakdown due to the unbelievable turn of events.
The Sword King violently shook his head, staring at the divine sword, now radiating an even more brilliant light in Ban Yuwon’s hand, and the colossal sword, perfectly controlled by it, hurtling toward the Clarent planet.
“This can’t be, you are not Clarent’s master!”
“I wasn’t.”
Ban Yuwon nodded calmly, then added,
“But I will be, from now on. You made me so.”
Since the forces present couldn’t resolve the situation, new warships eventually launched from the Clarent planet, having witnessed the greatsword that threatened to split their world apart.
He had assumed that, aside from the now-deceased family head and Sword King, the highest-ranking person in the family would be aboard, but to his surprise, the moment that warship appeared, a massive defensive barrier encompassing the entire planet sprang into existence.
It resembled the barrier that Earth had once formed to repel all aliens, and while its conceptual defense might be lacking, Ban Yuwon suspected it would be far stronger against purely physical and magical impacts.
“So what’s that?”
“......It’s the Unforgettable Trace.”
“You guys really are one-trick ponies with Authority.”
Ban Yuwon instinctively knew that the time had finally come.
It seemed they intended to protect their main base and somehow try to stop the colossal sword.
If that were the case, Ban Yuwon had no choice but to adjust his plans.
Shhhhrrrring—the talismans he unleashed from his inventory simultaneously rose into the air, forming a squadron and beginning to fly.
The surrounding warships had already retreated to either side, daring not to stand in the colossal sword’s path.
The flying talisman squadron advanced unimpeded and engulfed the colossal sword.
Seeing the talismans uniformly adhere to the sword, Ban Yumi’s face brightened as she exclaimed,
“Ah, I think I’ve seen something like that in Japanese manga!”
“Yes, though those manga probably vanished completely too.”
In Japan, there is a common belief, known as Yaoyorozu (eight million gods), that deities reside in all things.
However, during Earth’s cataclysm, all myths disappeared, so naturally, the eight million gods were also annihilated.
Korea, on the other hand, suffered less damage, as it didn’t have as many gods that were believed in.
“Hah, huff...”
Ban Yuwon took a deep breath, raised his voice, and poured all of his Authority into his shout.
[Traitors, return what belongs to your master!]
The colossal sword, which had become the medium for this manifestation, cutting through space, began to resonate with the Starlight Talismans affixed to its blade, emitting a deep hum—a vibration.
Each time that vibration spread through space, a strange gravitational pull manifested—drawing out the tangible essence of power from the members of the Clarent family, invisible to the naked eye yet distinctly present, and pulling it into the sword.
Surprisingly, the planetary barrier was no exception to this phenomenon.
“First the Final Sword, and now even the Final—the Final Shield...!”
“Seriously, is that the best you can do for naming sense? Was that really your best?”
―The barrier is disappearing, what’s going on!
―My power, my power is being sucked away! This is absurd, it’s my Authority that I’ve cultivated my entire life!
Punishment for traitors should be as cruel and absolute as possible.
With Codeword, which gained strength the more it aligned with causality, and Starlight, optimized for diminishing the standing of transcendents, combining their powers, all of Clarent’s Authority—whether from living beings or inanimate objects—was being drawn into a single point!
The colossal sword eventually began to swell even larger, while conversely, the barrier was shrinking; by now, no one was unaware of what was happening.
―Stop it!
From the warship that had launched from the planet, no fewer than five swordsmen, possessing a Life depth of over 3,000, sprang out.
Ban Yuwon couldn’t help but be impressed by the Clarent family’s elite combat power once again.
The family head was already dead, and even the Sword King, said to be the next strongest swordsman, was here—yet they still had so many!
They weren’t one of the top-ranking of the Ten Great Families for nothing!
While the Fides family was considered quite powerful, even their family head only had a Life of 3,200; and though his Level seemed to temporarily amplify when he transformed into beast mode, considering that he was still the family head, the power difference between the two families was absurdly vast.
“Why didn’t you bring them to this meeting? If you were trying to kill me, you should’ve brought them all.”
“Because we believed my sword and the family head’s would be sufficient to punish a scoundrel who didn’t know his place.”
“Indeed, a scoundrel who didn’t know his place.”
There was no need to say anything more.
Watching the Sword King hang his head in humiliation at merely hearing his own words repeated, Ban Yuwon almost felt sorry to tease him further.
“I feel a little bad now.”
Even if one’s Life surpassed 3,000, if they were completely stripped of the Authority that had greatly helped them reach that point, their Level would plummet drastically.
“What?!”
The Sword King exclaimed in shock.
The Codeword Ban Yuwon had unleashed didn’t apply to the Sword King and his surrendered subordinates, which was why he hadn’t known about it until now.
However, the colossal sword was currently diligently spreading its waves, thoroughly drawing in and absorbing all Authority that shared its origin.
Even the warriors who had bravely launched themselves out of the warship saw their power levels rapidly decline, dropping by 50 Levels in an instant.
“There’s no choice, we have to destroy that sword!”
“The barrier is gone; if we can’t stop that thing, Clarent will be finished...!”
“If we destroy the sword, our Authority will return, certainly! Follow me!”
Watching the charge of the valiant swordsmen, Ban Yuwon was deeply moved.
But for that very reason, he couldn’t let them live.
“I’ll go out, Master.”
“No. I’ll go myself.”
Now, the colossal sword would fly on its own, without him needing to do anything further.
Ban Yuwon gathered his remaining energy, recovering his stamina for the upcoming battle, then drew and gripped Requiem—now merged with Clarent—in one hand, stepping onto the void.
The next moment, he appeared before the five swordsmen who were furiously charging through space.
Each of them, had they not lost their Authority, were skilled enough to become at least an adjunct professor, if not a full professor, at the Academy.
But not anymore.
“You... you bastard!”
“The villain who murdered our family head!”
There was no need for tiring introductions.
After all, he was holding the divine sword Clarent, which only the family head could wield, so wasn’t his identity obvious?
“I intend to kill only you lot, and spare the rest.”
Ban Yuwon declared curtly.
In truth, a single Codeword could bring them to their knees, but that wouldn’t break their spirits.
He glanced back to confirm Tikke was filming him properly, then gripped his sword in a middle stance and shouted.
“So don’t worry about the others, and come at me.”
“Kuaaaah!”
“I’ll kill you!”
The provocation was effective.
Ban Yuwon, having read the movements of the recklessly charging swordsmen with his Giwon Sword, took a step back into the void as if to evade their assault, then swung his sword in a downward diagonal arc.
The moment a golden Or, resembling his Authority, drew a diagonal line along the trajectory of his sword strike.
Three swordsmen were caught in it, their bodies torn to pieces.
“Hah...?!”
“How?”
So, these guys really were one-trick ponies with the Unforgettable Trace, Ban Yuwon thought, sighing as he meticulously collected the concepts of the dying swordsmen.
The family head... he died so fast Ban Yuwon barely knew, and at least the Sword King’s sword speed was decent.
These individuals, having based their movements on the premise of simultaneously wielding Authorities for defense and disruption, now displayed gaps that were glaringly obvious, with those very Authorities having been siphoned away.
“Right, as if YouTube material ever comes easy.”
“Dieeee!”
Ban Yuwon sighed, then swung his sword again.
In the empty expanse of space, he naturally stepped on air as if on solid ground, spun his body, dodged an enemy attack by a hair’s breadth, and thrust his sword, piercing another neck.
Even without receiving the aura of death from a contracted Constellation, the sheer terror inspired by the deaths he inflicted caused Dokgo Yeon’s power as a Constellation to grow even stronger.
[Death’s Pupil ponders if this truly is the correct path.]
“Good enough is good enough. Let’s save your power for a more decisive moment.”
“Hiiik...!”
Regardless of Ban Yuwon’s casual conversation with Dokgo Yeon, the swordsman, realizing his comrades had all perished in an instant, trembled and let his sword fall.
The sword, floating idly in the zero-gravity space, suddenly spun with a swish, its tip pointing directly at its former master.
“No, no...”
“Let everyone remember this.”
Crunch.
Watching the sword blade skewer the swordsman’s head like a kebab, Ban Yuwon muttered impassively.
“That a blade turned against its master will inevitably reverse course and pierce the traitor’s own head.”
Collecting concepts.
Even so, thanks to facing relatively strong opponents, his depth of Life, which had risen to 4,500 earlier, increased by about 10 again.
That was only 1 Level, but should he be grateful it had risen at all?
“Tikke, did we get good thumbnail material just now?”
―Whirrr!
He had deliberately struck a cool pose and maintained an impassive expression, and seeing Tikke’s fervent cheers, it seemed the shot turned out quite well.
[Death’s Pupil grumbles that the atmosphere it had so painstakingly set has been ruined.]
“If you liked it, I’ll do it again later.”
However, he decided to continue the discussion about Dokgo Yeon’s preferences only when they were alone.
Just then, Ban Yuwon leapt onto the colossal sword that was rushing in from behind.
The planet was slowly coming into view, and because the Unforgettable Trace barrier had already been entirely absorbed by the colossal sword, the residents of the Clarent planet could be seen vividly, looking up at him with expressions of utter shock.
[I declare: Traitors, kneel and serve your master.]
The colossal sword halted in mid-air.
As the colossal sword’s seething energy made it appear like a gigantic sun, Ban Yuwon, confident that everyone on the planet was gazing at him, continued his Codeword.
[The moment you forget your master and raise a blade again, this sword will cleave the traitors’ star.]
The colossal sword began to move again, slowly, slowly.
Instead of plummeting to the surface, it began to orbit the planet, as if it had become its satellite.
Anyone would understand what that meant.
Even excluding the five swordsmen who had launched aboard the battleship earlier, Clarent possessed immense military power as one of the Ten Great Families.
Even if they couldn’t defeat him with strength, there were those who resolved to struggle to the very end, demonstrating the will of a Ten Great Family—and even if not him directly, at least shatter his foundation.
There were also those who intended to feign submission, and once he retreated, attack those allied with him to prove that they would never kneel to anyone else.
[Do not forget. This sword watches over you.]
However, all such thoughts vanished the moment the sword, symbolizing Clarent’s will, returned as a dagger poised to pierce the very planet they lived on.
It was the moment when the hearts of all members of the Ten Great Family Clarent, of the S-3 Dimension, were broken, and they accepted their remaining lives as slaves.
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