Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
I twisted it.
I forcefully twisted the intention of the Constellation.
To avoid falling for this injustice.
I twisted the laws of this world.
The moment Cynthia opened her eyes and met my gaze, I spoke to her
“Sleep well?”
Upon our eyes meeting, she blinked once before slowly touching her face.
She realized that the mask she had worn for half her life had disappeared.
“How…”
As a tone of surprise left Cynthia’s mouth, I took out the Heavenly Star Sword without another word.
I then pointed the sword at Cynthia.
“Shall we? It’s been a long time.”
Cynthia blinked and gave a faint smile after hearing my words.
She created her own heart sword in her hand.
“I won’t lose so easily anymore.”
I spent the entire night clashing swords with Cynthia.
Inside the dungeon, the sound of swords swinging and colliding echoed far and wide.
The night passed.
The sun rose, signaling a new day.
The adventurers who came to kill me were watching the scene before them with wide eyes.
They were amazed, watching a fight between two who’d reached a realm they never could.
“Win.”
“Win!”
“Win, Black Knight!”
The voices of the adventurers rang out as one.
Cynthia was being cornered little by little.
They were the ones who came to defeat me, a potential second demon king. Cynthia, who was going against me, was an adventurer like them. She was also the strongest adventurer of the highest level.
That was why, one by one, they started cheering for Cynthia.
‘Fulfill your role as the boss monster.’
In the eyes of the adventurers, Cynthia was a ray of hope.
If so…
If I lose my life to Cynthia here, would the dungeon be cleared?
“Ha Chun-Sung!”
With a shout, Cynthia’s sword clashed against mine.
A small bout of laughter bubbled up from my chest.
Cynthia was attacking me with everything she had.
‘I wasn’t being polite.’
And I, Ha Chung-Sung, never lost to anyone.
‘One more thing.’
The guy who attacked me in the beginning of this stage.
That guy was still on this Floor.
The card Yashin prepared to stop me.
That was why I couldn’t be defeated here.
Clank!
The aura that exploded from my sword collided with Cynthia’s heart sword.
Cynthia’s eyes slightly widened at the power change, but soon she gave a wide grin.
And in the end, Cynthia’s heart sword shattered.
Crack. Crack.
The sword Cynthia created disappeared.
She realized that she could no longer wield aura.
Her eyes quivered, just once.
We made eye contact and she gave a weak laugh.
“You revived me with the dungeon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I might no longer be Cynthia Havelia.”
“Maybe.”
“You didn’t say no.”
I threw a sword at her.
The sword created using the dungeon was thrown into the air and fell into Cynthia’s hand.
“Draw.”
“Ok.”
Cynthia drew the sword.
Aura from my sword faded away.
She noticed my intention. To compete only with each other’s swordsmanship. She laughed realizing that, and her gaze changed.
The adventurers standing by gulped.
“Black Knight! It’s not over yet!”
“You got this!”
Someone shouted with hints of emotions.
With their support as her motive, Cynthia made her move.
The sword flew toward my neck.
My sword confronted hers without hesitation.
Clank, clank.
The sound of iron against iron hit my ears.
Cynthia’s silver fair fluttered behind her.
She was smiling.
A smile painted the face that was always hidden behind a mask.
The swinging swords sliced apart beads of sweat.
Lilies of the valley quietly moved with the wind.
In the silence, only swords carried a conversation.
Clang.
Tears slowly rolled down the face of the trembling Cynthia.
“Ha Chung-Sung, I’ve been wanting to fight.”
“Yeah.”
“I wanted to grow stronger.”
“Yeah.”
“I wanted to win against the demon king. I wanted to get back at Ivlgeria myself. And…”
The surroundings hushed.
Except for the sound of our breathing.
Cynthia smiled faintly and shed droplets of tears.
“I wanted to beat you.”
Having said so, Cynthia and I exchanged blows without end.
There was no victory. However, that result instead ignited something inside Cynthia.
But now, she was a monster of the dungeon.
Cynthia could grow no more.
Which meant…
She could never beat me.
Knowing that fact, Cynthia’s voice contained grief and bitterness.
Cynthia had been with me for several months, watching with her own eyes.
Cynthia’s eyelids fluttered.
I pointed my sword at her.
“Cynthia.”
As soon as I called her, Cynthia copied and raised her own.
The final sword strike.
With that, Cynthia’s sword was knocked from her hand and she crumbled to the ground.
“Thank you, Ha Chun-Sung.”
That day marked the end of our sword exchange.
* * *
Two days later, in the House of Havelia.
After receiving a single letter, Chen Havelia faced a whirlwind of emotions.
“Is this true?”
“Yes.”
Chen swept a hand down his face at the informant’s confirmation.
The letter contained the news of Ivlgeria’s death and the disappearance of Cynthia Havelia.
It was also written on the paper that, afterward, Cynthia Havelia began to appear in a dungeon.
“…What a disgrace to the House of Havelia.”
Chen quietly muttered while grasping a sword.
His eyes burned a terrible red and his silver hair lengthened alongside his rising aura.
She was his own child, as well as the previous heir to the House of Havelia.
Chen Havelia believed in Cynthia.
He believed that someday she would kill Ivlgeria and return.
However, he felt great shame and disappointment that she was reduced to being a dungeon monster. His child that he expected so much from.
“All members of the House of Havelia are to be called upon. From this point on, we will exterminate Cynthia Havelia from this world forever.”
The experts of swordsmanship, the House of Havelia, began to move.
* * *
[Follow Me!]
Around that time, I was watching Hofura, who was flying with the wyverns.
It seemed that Hofura liked the wyverns.
‘Until now, Hofura has never been targeted.’
After the sword exchange with Cynthia, the number of adventurers coming to Blackie has increased.
They’ve successfully conquered the first floor, which was the floor of nature, and the second floor, the floor of the undead. However, no one succeeded in attacking the third floor.
There was the factor of Hofura’s strength, but the bigger challenge for them was dealing with a creature capable of flight. That made it even more difficult to attack Hofura.
‘Well, gathering bellicosity is going well, so I don’t care.’
Even S-class adventurers were attacking Hofura all the time, since they were now motivated.
“Ha Chun-Sung.”
At that moment, someone covered my eyes with their hands, obscuring my view.
Cynthia had learned to hide her presence with her aura, and it seemed like she found it entertaining to sneak up on me.
Of course, I just pretended to not notice her because I was too lazy.
“Cynthia, I’m gonna cut off your hands.”
“Oh, how scary.”
Cynthia pulled her hands away and I turned to see her still dressed in a pure white dress.
It seemed like, except during combat, she chose to not wear her armor.
“When are adventurers going to come to the fourth floor?”
“Don’t know. Someone who can defeat Hofura has to appear first.”
Cynthia turned to watch Hofura.
Now, above Hofura, Cynthia was currently in charge of the fourth floor.
‘The problem is that Floor 24 hasn’t been cleared yet.’
Fulfill your role as the boss monster.
I’d thought that meant I needed to die by Cynthia’s hand, but somehow, I figured there was more to it than just that.
And most of all, I’m worried about that guy with the mosaicked face.
[The second floor, Undead World, has been cleared.]
A sudden notification.
I jumped up at the sudden alert and Cynthia shot me a questioning look.
“What’s wrong?”
“The second floor has been cleared.”
“There must be adventures coming in again.”
Unlike Cynthia who spoke indifferently, my eyes were fixed to one spot.
Stomp stomp.
The sound of feet descending the stairs became louder and louder.
Cynthia stood next to me as her eyes slowly grew bigger.
“…Father.”
“Is it Havelia?”
The House of Havelia, which I’d only heard about in rumors, had visited the dungeon.
* * *
The House of Havelia.
Until the appearance of Ivlgeria, this family was praised as the strongest. The Havelia family had risen to become renowned for their swordsmanship.
Those born under the Havelia name were endowed with overwhelming physiques and talent for swordsmanship, regardless of gender.
All those from the prestigious family who had achieved Sword Master before the age of 25 had entered the dungeon.
The sight of the wind whipping their silver hair while they swung their swords was beautiful. They completely overpowered the undead in an instant.
And among them, at the forefront, was Chen Havelia. He led them all with a sense of overwhelming duty.
Each swing of a sword sliced the ground. He and his children quickly broke through the second floor and immediately descended to the third.
The third floor. The floor where the famous Hofura of the Wind lived.
The eyes of the Havelias flashed when they reached this floor.
Perhaps it was because their spirit had been oppressed during the time Ivlgeria ruled, but now, their natural-born fighting spirit leaked from their forms.
That was why their eyes shone when faced with a strong creature called Hofura.
[Humans who have appeared again without knowing how fearsome dragons are! Haha, prepare to lose once again!]
Hofura, who ruled the sky, laughed loudly.
Then, with her order, the wyverns attacked the House of Havelia. Chen and his children drew their swords to confront them.
“SCRREEETCH!”
“KEEEEK!”
However, the wyverns alone were not enough to push back the children of Havelia.
Soon enough, the wyverns met their end and Hofura, who was watching from the sky, clicked her tongue.
Hofura flew leisurely through the sky and prepared to attack the Havelia members.
“Father, let me.”
When Hofura showed no signs of attacking, Chen’s first son, Lesoa Havelia, drew his sword.
As the future head of the house, he had risen to the advanced stage of Sword Master, and possessed the best swordsmanship among the children.
Although it was lacking in Chen Havelia’s eyes, he still nodded without a word.
[Haha, do you think just one human is enough?!]
Hofura spoke with arrogance and clashed with Lesoa.
Lesoa flew into the air by forming aura on his toes and aggressively attacked Hofura with a sword wrapped in aura.
When Hofura faced the Havelia family’s secret techniques, she used her full power.
And finally, defeated, Hofura fell down the cliff.
Lesoa Havelia had won.
However, Lesoa himself was not in a pretty state. Chen walked past him and headed down the stairs with an expression of shame.
It’d been a while since they began to descend to the fourth floor. The moment the stairs ended and the next floor began, Chen’s eyes scanned the area.
It was a battlefield of swords.
Countless swords were stabbed into the floor, and at the center was a woman in black armor.
There she was.
Cynthia Havelia.
