The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 213: Israphil (1)

Israphil the Spire—among the Ten of the Oracle, he was both the most distinctive and the least. His large stature was striking, yet it sharply contrasted with his calm, almost lethargic demeanor.

Serica Lauren often likened him to mist, as his presence could become so faint that one would forget he was even there.

“That man? You can never tell what he’s thinking. It’s unsettling just to look at him.”

Serica, known for her forthright nature, saw Israphil in that light. At first, most people hadn’t understood her cold assessment of him. However, even in the dire circumstances of the Oracle War, Israphil always had a book in hand. Soldiers and many others called him the Black Sage because of his incessant reading.

That’s just his appearance. He truly has no place in a war, Karyl thought as he observed Israphil, who looked puzzled at the spore in front of him, and chuckled.

Israphil’s presence was confusing at first, but as time passed and the Oracle War went on, all nine others came to agree with Serica’s evaluation. A bit of thought would reveal the oddity of it—a man who loved peace and books more than war and combat belonged to the Immortal Council, which dealt with curses and necromancy.

And ironically, his moniker was the Spire.

Israphil Kazvin—a man as dual-natured as the moniker bestowed upon him by the gods.

“It’s a Black Spore.”

Although startled by the sudden visit, Israphil regained his composure and answered immediately upon seeing the spore Karyl handed him.

“You know about it?” Nain Darhon asked curiously. Even though he was a Great Sorcerer, his knowledge about the Demon Realm was limited.

It wasn’t so much that he was ignorant of it; there just hadn’t been much research done on the Demon Realm. And it was only natural that sorcerers weren’t particularly interested in the topic, since the Demon Realm had already been cut off from the human world a thousand years ago during the Magical Era.

There were only the occasional relics found in ruins, and even those couldn’t be conclusively linked to demons. The Demon Realm, Spirit Realm, Celestial Realm, and Hellish Realm were all places of legend, with scant mentions in ballads or a few lines in historical texts.

“Yes. According to the Depna Inferno, the Demon Realm cultivates crops just like the human realm. The hierarchy within that realm is as follows: the Demon King, four knights below him, and many nobles. It’s similar to our system.”

“So?”

“The Demon Realm Compendium mentions a high-ranking demon named Zagan, who handles plagues and excels in curses. This Black Spore is one of the crops he cultivates,” Israphil explained with slight agitation, pulling out books from the crammed shelves.

“And... according to my notes, the Black Spore withers immediately upon harvest and is used as a magical ingredient for things like Suffocating Plague Dust or Melting Acid Rain. Zagan’s domain, where he cultivates these crops, is on a small island in the southeast of the Demon Realm,” Israphil went on as he flipped through a thick book that looked like an encyclopedia.

“What are those?” Nain Darhon asked, intrigued by the coverless books.

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“Oh, these... I compiled everything about the Demon Realm and demons from the books here.”

“All of them?” Nain laughed incredulously at Israphil’s response.

“Yes. I’m also compiling information on the Celestial Realm and the Hellish Realm.”

To gather such information, one would have to read all the books, even those with just a few lines of relevant content.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“...Yes.”

Karyl chuckled at Nain Darhon’s acknowledgment.

“But it’s strange. According to the texts, the Black Spore shouldn’t exist in the human realm. It says that as soon as the crops are harvested by demons, they quickly wither. They shouldn’t be able to reach the human realm...”

Israphil looked at the still-vibrant black spore with a puzzled expression.

“What if this didn’t come from the Demon Realm but was cultivated here, in our realm?” Karyl proposed.

“...What?”

Everyone looked at him, astonished.

“Is that even possible? You said it’s a crop from the Demon Realm. Where would it grow here?”

“It’s not entirely impossible.” Israphil raised his index finger, signaling for them to wait. Rummaging through a pile of books, he eventually pulled out a bundle of old papers.

“Of course, there are conditions. There has to be a passage connected to the Demon Realm. Instead of transporting the harvest, they would bring the seeds.”

“So the first question is whether there are dungeons connected to the Demon Realm..."

“Shh...” Karyl put a finger to his lips, silencing Nain. “Go on.”

“Ah, yes. The leader is right. There needs to be a connected passage to bring the seeds."

“A passage isn’t strictly necessary if there’s a contract with demons. However, crops wither the moment they arrive in the human realm. It would be different for a finished product, but this thing is the crop itself, meaning no magical enhancements.”

Israphil nodded in agreement.

“If they bring just the seeds... and suppose we’ve somehow created an environment somewhere similar to the Demon Realm, it’s not entirely impossible to grow the crops. Fundamentally, the environments of the two realms are quite similar. However, this isn’t easy... There’s a significant difference."

Israphil pointed to a drawing on the paper he had unfolded. The ground was teeming with bizarre creatures, and red rain was falling from the cloudy sky.

“The air in the Demon Realm contains blood.”

The rain in the drawing wasn’t just crimson red; it was actual blood falling from the sky.

“Crops in the Demon Realm grow by consuming blood. But you can’t just pour blood on the ground. It has to be mixed in the air,” Israphil explained.

“So it’s impossible. This drawing of the Demon Realm depicts a climate with blood raining from the skies? Something like that can’t exist in the human realm,” Nain Darhon scoffed.

“But it does.”

Israphil’s words sent a shiver down Karyl's spine.

I never imagined it would connect like this, even with my past life's experience.

There was actually an environment very similar to the Demon Realm. In his previous life, the dormant dungeon had been used as the first passage to the Demon Realm.

“...Yes.” Surprisingly, Israphil nodded, as though he had picked up on Karyl’s realization.

They both said it in unison, “The Blood Cave.”

***

“The Blood Cave? The dungeon near the ancient ruins of Tramel?”

“Yes. It’s currently a dormant dungeon.”

Nain Darhon cast a skeptical look at Karyl’s words.

“But the empire and the principality don’t do things carelessly. And neither do the Magic Association. All the dormant dungeons on the continent have been thoroughly investigated. There’s nothing in the Blood Cave.”

“That’s true. They’ve finished investigating the monsters, but they wouldn’t have checked the atmosphere in the dungeon.”

Karyl nodded as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“If the air inside still retains the scent of blood, it can’t be considered a completely dormant dungeon. That would be proof that the dungeon’s essence hasn’t vanished at all.”

“Exactly,” Israphil confirmed, surprising everyone.

“If that hypothesis is correct... we might just have to throw everything we knew about dungeons out the window. Even if there are no monsters in the dungeon, if the air, water, or even the smallest particles inside still hold the dungeon’s influence, it means it hasn’t really stopped.”

“Hmm, Celine Han. Crafting such an inadequate theory without proper investigation. It’s a disgrace to the name of the Assembly of Seven Elders. No wonder her descendant is such a toad.”

Allen clicked his tongue. He was probably the only person who could speak so casually about Celine Han, the ancestor of Azor’s lord, Fasio Han, and the only female sorcerer among the Seven Elders.

“I-It’s too early to jump to conclusions. We need to confirm it first...” Israphil stammered, startled by Allen’s words.

But unlike Allen, whose pride was wounded, Karyl couldn’t help but chuckle at Israphil’s statement.

To think we’d find the answer this way...

He was already convinced that Israphil’s hypothesis was correct. He knew that the Blood Cave would become the first foothold for demons to enter the human realm. However, even in his past life, not all dormant dungeons had served as passages.

Even with all my experience, I didn’t fully uncover the truth about how some dungeons can act as passages.

Israphil wouldn’t know this, but he had surpassed his past self’s achievements even before receiving his moniker of the Spire.

And I don’t remember all the dungeons that became passages to the Demon Realm either.

More dungeons would become passages in the future. Finding the entrance and the subsequent passageways would be no easy task.

But if this hypothesis is correct, we might be able to identify the passages before they form.

Retaliation—they could not only prepare for the demons’ attacks but also take revenge for the pain inflicted by them in the past.

“There are likely many dungeons out there with similar peculiarities, not just the Blood Cave. However, this is such a minute detail that even experts from the empire, the principality, and the Magic Association failed to notice it.”

Karyl looked at Israphil.

“At this point, no one knows more about dungeons than you do.”

“Me? You think so?”

“I believe you can detect those small differences.”

It was then that the Black Spore finally began to wither and shrivel.

As Karyl watched it turn to dust, he spoke to Israphil again, “A crop from the Demon Realm has appeared in our world. If it’s being cultivated in a dungeon... it means there’s a human collaborating with demons."

“...”

“We need to investigate these places before it’s too late. And we need to find who’s behind this. For that, I need you, Israphil.”

Israphil swallowed nervously.

“Join me.”

He looked at Karyl’s outstretched hand.

“You’re really going to take a sorcerer from the Immortal Council just like that? The Immortal Council works solely for Antihum. We’re not like the Dawn Council, poking our noses everywhere,” Nain Darhon said incredulously.

“Well, I intended to take him along anyway. I told you in advance, didn’t I?”

“...I didn’t say yes.”

“Are you going to stand by even after seeing this? The demons might be intervening in the Human Realm. This is a serious matter.”

Karyl shook his head. He then gestured at Allen and asked, “Didn’t the Assembly of Seven Elders spread magic to benefit humanity? Should someone like him really be your disciple?”

“I agree with Karyl,” Allen told Nain. “Whether it succeeds or fails, this realm belongs to humans. In the past, those who made contracts with demons would be dealt with. I believe the same thing needs to be done now.”

“How did they do it?”

At Karyl's question, Allen Javius smirked and replied, “It’s what you’re best at.”