[Vol. 8] Chapter 125: The Two Swordsmen (Part 1)
The youngest member of the group, Miss Dark Spirit, asked curiously.
“So if we think about it this way, the true name of the gate we entered can be translated as ‘Underworld,’ right? Could it be related to the Sanzu River of the afterlife? Then… what exactly are these so-called [Six-Line Array Palace]?”
The Ferryman nodded, his face serious.
“That’s right. I don’t fully understand it either, but as someone from the Ferryman bloodline, I’ve read parts of old records that mention the true power of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden.”
“It’s said her divinity is called [Reincarnation]. One old book says, ‘The power of Reincarnation governs a world, flows through the balance of yin and yang, through the [Six-Line Array Palace], making all things move in endless cycles.’ The book doesn’t clearly explain what the Six Paths actually are, but when I first saw those six gates, I started to have a feeling…”
“And now, seeing the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden’s special red spider lilies appear inside the trial space… Some guesses I didn’t dare believe before are starting to feel real.”
“……”
The three of them looked at each other, frowning slightly. Even after thinking deeply, they still couldn’t make sense of everything. But there was one shared conclusion they came to, and it was shocking.
“Could it be… this divine trial isn’t just created by the Holy Empire’s goddess? Has Miss Dawn, the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden from our own Ancient Spirit Realm, also joined in?”
“No… I’m afraid it’s more than just that.”
The Ferryman shook his head, rejecting Miss Dark Lotus’s seemingly reasonable guess. His expression grew darker.
“Do you still remember that huge god-level battle above the academy city of Sainz? One side was the Dragon God, and the other was a mysterious, unknown deity. After that battle, the Goddess Church quickly announced they would start recruiting heroes. Back then, we didn’t think too much about it. But now, looking back, maybe those two events are connected.”
“This is just my theory… but I think this trial isn’t just something made up by one or two gods. Behind it, there might be a powerful group that goes far beyond what we can imagine. Perhaps even… an alliance of gods.”
“And now that even the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden, our own guardian, is involved, it’s clear that something big is coming. A massive storm, one that could shake countless worlds, might really be about to begin.”
The gray-haired twin girls exchanged looks again.
“So… what do we do now? Should we still continue with this hero trial?”
The Ferryman nodded slightly. His weathered face soon showed a calm smile.
“Of course. We don’t have to trust any god or anyone else. But Miss Dawn… she’s different. We are people of Ancient Spirit Realm. Whatever she is trying to do, we should do what little we can to help.”
“If it were that kid Mr. Dead Soul, he’d make the same choice. Even though he doesn’t say much, the one he respects the most, maybe even looks up to the most, is the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden, who only gave him a short lesson long ago.”
………………………………………………
“Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden… Miss Dawn?”
In a quiet room, a young man stood still, with seven long swords hanging from his waist. He stared blankly at the beautiful girl in front of him, who wore a red-and-white shrine maiden’s outfit, had fluffy fox ears on her head, and a mask covering her face.
His expression became… a little complicated.
The Trial of the [Gate of Human] was meant to test a person’s ability to defeat their inner demons. To pass, one must overcome seven emotions, greed, fear, laziness, hatred, love, disgust, and desire.
As someone from the Ancient Spirit Realm, Mr. Dead Soul had already heard of these seven emotions long ago. So after going through the first one or two changes in the trial, he quickly figured out what the test was really about.
Because he was prepared, beating the seven emotions wasn’t too hard for him. After all, the path of the sword is also about training the mind and spirit.
Mr. Dead Soul’s sword heart had already been tempered many times. Especially after he once went to the Underworld with Miss Dawn’s help and saw the truth of life and death himself. His will became incredibly strong.
It was thanks to this strength that he was able to make progress quickly in the preliminary trials. He passed every part of the [Gate of Human] one by one and made it to this point.
But as people often say, even heroes can’t resist a beautiful woman.
Even Mr. Dead Soul had never expected that here, right now, during the fifth emotion trial, Love, he would see this girl, someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.
He took a step back without meaning to. Standing before what looked like a real person, though it was only an illusion, the swordsman hesitated for the first time.
He knew very well that this wasn’t really Miss Dawn. It was a fake vision created by the trial. It wasn’t real, it meant nothing.
But what truly troubled Mr. Dead Soul was something deeper. Something in this illusion seemed to hint at something he hadn’t noticed in himself.
“Wait… Do I actually have feelings for Miss Dawn? That’s ridiculous… completely insane…”
Even though Miss Dawn had only spent a short time with him, she had helped him in ways that would benefit him for life, there was no doubt about that.
She could have turned him down completely, but instead, she generously accepted his shameless request to become her student. She used her great power to guide him to achievements he once thought were impossible.
In how she acted and taught, Miss Dawn gave him many lessons in life, and over time, Mr. Dead Soul began to think of her as someone on the same level as his mentor, Mr. Diviner. A respected elder or even a parent-like figure.
Of course, Mr. Dead Soul liked her a lot. But if he had to explain the feeling, it was more like respect and admiration, nothing more than that.
After the Fourth Demon War ended and that world-changing event passed, Miss Dawn disappeared, just as suddenly as she had appeared. In the year since then, Mr. Dead Soul often remembered her help and her teachings. He was grateful, and he never let himself get lazy.
One of the big reasons he joined this hero trial was to try and find traces of that person, and her current situation, through the supposedly all-knowing and all-powerful Goddess.
But… to think about her romantically? Even if you gave him ten times the courage, Mr. Dead Soul would never dare cross that line.
This was the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden, a being who had protected the Ancient Spirit Realm for tens of thousands of years. She wasn’t a god in name, but in power, she was basically the same.
His short human life meant nothing to someone like her. It would pass by in the blink of an eye and become a forgotten memory.
They were two completely different kinds of beings. To even think about love between them was a total joke.
Could the trial be malfunctioning…?
The swordsman stood still, overwhelmed by the scene before him, lost in deep thought and self-doubt.
He didn’t notice that the girl who had appeared with the trial, a vision meant to represent the fox lady, was doing something unexpected.
Under her mask, the corners of her mouth were starting to twitch slightly.
Even though this was the Trial of Love, she was now clenching her little fists, making soft cracking sounds, and looking him up and down with a not-so-friendly glare.
It felt like… she was about to do something very unsafe.
Finally, Mr. Dead Soul clenched his teeth and made up his mind. He would not hesitate anymore.
The trial is always fair and precise.
Whatever it shows… must be a real part of his heart.