Swordmeister of Rome

Stiel approached carefully from a distance.

A beast was the most dangerous when it was injured. Especially when it just got out of the brink of death.

Stiel knew Sian in his normal state, but this wasn't something she could expect so she was being careful. She saw Sian sitting down where the sphere was. There was no sign of the space and Stiel sped up. She was surprised when she found that Sian had fainted while sitting down.

Everything he had was broken. The <Armor of the Seven Stars> turned to gray and the jewels in the bracelet were destroyed. The <Spear of the War God> and the <Hand of Gran-Ra> were also crushed into pieces and Sian was full of injuries. Everything was being healed at an incredible speed, so it looked like he was in worse shape than when he just got out of the gate. It looked like he just survived a perilous fight in there.

But she knew.

He had become much stronger.

He was half-naked and injured, but he felt stronger than when he fought against the <Barakuna> with the various artifacts. It was strong enough for Stiel to sense it.

"So it was true…'

It was true that he would break the barrier if he faced a near-death experience. It was the only way for Sian to overcome it. Stiel began to feel her heart pounding. It wasn't a simple romantic feeling. It was as if she was looking at the birth of a hero, or a God that deserved respect.

Stiel then picked Sian up on her back and jumped out. As she moved out, she found the four people that she had left by the road. They were moving to the next closest city.

'So, they were alive.'

Stiel was very excited right now, so she decided to take them with her. It wasn't because she needed helping hands to care for Sian.

<Kurait>, located north of Kiara, it was the border city next to Kharan. There was a big building in the middle of the city.

Headquarters of the Exalted Magical Council.

<Ra-Intaro>

Ancient word meaning <Place of finding wisdom's light.>

It was where the most intelligent people on the Ra-Sian Continent gathered to share their research and aim for higher intelligence.

At the top of such talented individuals was the leader, Takion.

His office was always quiet as he loved being alone, but today was a little different.

"So… that's what happened."

Takion was talking with Lagaope. They were talking about Kirat.

"Yeah. She collapsed all of a sudden and the Barakuna began running rampant."

"And the Barakuna stuck its head into the sphere and died?"

"Yeah. The head was cut off. They probably feasted on it."

Lagaope scowled at the thought of it. Even in his long life, he never experienced such terrifying monsters.

"You knew this girl was a Granine?"

"Of course. And she's the <Connector of Aksarai>. That's why I brought her."

"So you let her use the crown?"

"Yeah. I thought it was going to be okay."

Lagaope shook his head as he couldn't understand.

"Hmm… Let me take a look."

Takion began examining Kirat by using various magic abilities such as Exar and turned to Lagaope.

"I'll tell you the results first. There's no more Kirat."

"Huh? Why? That shouldn't happen."

Kirat's power was one of a kind. It should've been saved. Lagaope looked confused.

"This girl sent her spirit into the Barakuna accidentally."

"Huh? Is that possible?"

"I think being a Granine allowed her to do that. There was no way for her to make the Barakuna run rampant like that."

Kirat thought she was able to make the Barakuna run rampant by the power of the crown, but she was wrong. It was the result of a <Granine>'s power and the crown's power combined that made the Barakuna lose its control on attacking such a powerful enemy and ram into the sphere as a suicidal attack. A Harijan's survival instinct would not let that happen if it wasn't controlled.

"But… couldn't she just come out of it before it was too late?"

"Yes… only if it didn't stick its head into the Tasha-Dagon. It must have been painful."

She planned to return at the end, but it was unfortunate that the head was stuck in there. It was the place where no spirit could return. Her spirit was probably ripped apart from within.

"Oh man… that's no good."

Lagaope scratched his head as if he had lost something important. Takion smiled.

"Kirat is gone, but the <Connector of Aksarai> still remains."

Lagaope brightened up instantly.

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. The power comes from the heart and brain, so if we keep this body and put in a new soul, we can revive the Connector."

"Oh. HAHAHA! That's good then. We'll revive one and put it back," Lagaope shouted. It was good that they were successful with the Tasha-Dagon, but that was another good piece of information. Kirat was skilled, but she was too weak. Lagaope only needed the <Connector of Aksarai>, so that was fine. As a Granine, it was also going to be useful to plant the spirit.

"We'll need to prepare a lot then."

Lagaope smiled. He needed to prepare for the spirit transfer while Takion needed to strengthen and adjust the <Tasha-Dagon>.

'But why is Liviath not coming back?'

Lagaope became curious as Liviath should've returned a long time ago.

Sian could not sleep throughout the night. He was not enraged anymore as he had more interesting things in front of him. He was examining his body which was now above the level. It was full of power. He thought he could not become any stronger, but it wasn't true. After a week of fighting against those evil things, he became much stronger than ever before.

He overcame the barrier, but he didn't really overcome the barrier.

He thought overcoming the barrier would mark the end, but that was not the case.

He did overcome one barrier, but there wasn't just one. There was one more in front and it looked like there were a lot more he needed to break. Just breaking one barrier did make him much more powerful.

He vowed to run away when something like this happened again.

Until now, he thought that it might be good to face such danger and break the barrier and be done with it. However, that was because he had never felt such danger. After experiencing it, he decided to never try it anymore. It was a terrible experience.

'I don't think there can be any more danger though…'

He couldn't think of any situation that might be dangerous for him anymore.

'Maybe I'm too strong now. Hehe.'

Sian smiled happily and decided to sleep.