Chapter 68: The Sword Saint Arrives

Grand Hall.

The largest hall inside the castle.

The place where all official ceremonies and banquets within the imperial castle were held.

On ordinary days, it served as the space for discussing state affairs with the courtiers.

Only two beings existed in this vast hall.

No, one was human.

The other was a Death Knight.

Sylvia, seated on the throne, and the black-armored knight, Teordo, standing by her side as if it were natural.

Sylvia was staring intently at the report laid before her.

“Is it really going to be okay?”

She set the report down and let out a soft sigh.

“Hio said he would go, but he also said he wouldn’t stay for long.”

The report contained details about the movements of the Black Fang and the immediate aftermath of the academy’s assault.

Teordo nodded as if to reassure her, not just to comfort but because he truly believed it would be fine.

The report had come just moments ago.

Even before receiving this information, the Empire’s strongest knights had already set out toward the academy.

If that was fortunate at all, it was because the reinforcements had been dispatched quickly after the assault report arrived.

So, even without Hio Pavlenko, things would be alright.

After all, wherever the Black Fang is, there will be a Sword Saint heading there in person.

“…Understood. I’ll do what I must.”

Though uneasy, the emperor must not waver. She must remain steadfast and plan the next move.

Just as Sylvia decided to summon the nobles, she suddenly felt an emptiness and turned around.

“…Teordo?”

She realized her knight was gone.

Then Hio’s words suddenly flashed through her mind.

· Unless something happens to me, your knight won’t be recalled.

“Hio… Teordo…”

The unease swelled.

A flash of black aura.

***

A knight made of death, darker than the black mist spreading everywhere.

No words were needed.

“Teordo.”

A single exchanged glance was enough. The will had already been conveyed.

What was needed.

What had to be done.

Instantly grasping it, the Death Knight raised his sword high into the sky.

With it, the Death Aura surged fiercely.

The pitch-black Sword Aura formed from the essence of death.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Teordo was recalled beside Sylvia and resummoned behind Atawolf.

The moment he appeared, the will was transmitted, and he emitted a jet-black Sword Aura as he raised his sword.

Even Atawolf was caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.

So the hope was placed on this.

“Cut it down.”

May that blade filled with Death Aura slash through Atawolf’s mist.

May the Sword Aura, rivaling the strength of a Seventh Rank Knight, shatter that fog into pieces.

Drawing upon all remaining magic power.

The moment the mist broke, hundreds, even thousands of bolts of lightning would rain down from above.

…but.

Ka-ang—!

It was not the sound they had hoped for.

Though the sword was swung almost immediately upon summoning, Atawolf reacted.

No, more than that—he blocked it.

Teordo’s sword, wrapped in black Sword Aura, was stopped by the veil of mist.

It was certainly effective, as it was swung so close to Atawolf.

The sturdy fog trembled significantly.

But that was all.

In the end, it did not break apart. The sword did not pierce through.

So everything was back to square one.

Atawolf slowly turned around and locked eyes with the Death Knight.

“Yes.”

Amid the ongoing struggle of the black mist and the aura of death, Atawolf’s voice remained unchanged.

“Hio Pavlenko. So this was your final move.”

Black mist surged rapidly around Teordo.

Hidden behind it, Teordo’s figure gradually vanished.

“A Death Knight… the legendary knight the ancient mages once wielded.”

Atawolf spoke casually as the black mist enveloped Teordo’s body.

Then.

Creaking, cracking sounds came from within.

“But it’s merely an inflated remnant of the past.”

The dreadful sound of Teordo’s body being crushed by the black mist.

A brief moment passed, and then silence returned within the mist.

The black mist slowly dispersed.

Nothing remained visible. The knight who had struggled against the black mist was gone.

The Death Knight was crushed by the black mist and scattered without even a trace left behind.

“Being eliminated always has its reason.”

Atawolf turned around slowly again.

He had now erased even Hio Pavlenko’s last move.

Over the long years, how many deaths had he witnessed? How many had he executed?

It was only natural to expect that such a skilled man would hide his final move.

He looked at Hio’s expression.

‘What face would he wear?’

‘Resignation? Despair?’

Or would he burn with fighting spirit, refusing to give up to the very end?

Like so many others before death.

…Yes.

Turning toward Hio, Atawolf finally spoke.

What reflected in Atawolf’s eyes was Hio Pavlenko—

“You are smiling.”

He was smiling.

Not a false or boastful smile, but a genuine one.

“What’s so amusing?”

Hio looked up at the staff in his hand and spoke quietly.

“It’s a remnant of the past. It’s been eliminated.”

He smiled at that thought.

‘Isn’t it ridiculous?’

Vanished history.

Forgotten wars that no one remembers.

Countless heroes’ achievements and noble sacrifices.

The end of those sacrifices was ultimately the loss of magic.

“To laugh at that without knowing the price you pay to live and breathe—”

‘How laughable it is.’

Atawolf spoke again.

The black mist swirled, spreading his strange voice widely.

“Yes. Hio Pavlenko. Is this the result of the magic you so praise?”

Even at a glance, his aura was no longer the same. His magic power must be nearly depleted.

He had thoroughly blocked every last move.

What more could he possibly do now?

“Being eliminated means being eliminated, Hio Pavlenko.”

That is how it is.

In the face of death, such things are meaningless.

The beliefs of the weak have no meaning.

The black mist moved.

At the same time, Hio’s staff moved.

“Still, you know nothing, don’t you?”

The dark night sky.

The space shrouded in black mist.

Within it, the vision darkened even further.

“What…”

Sensing an ominous presence, Atawolf called all the black mist inward.

“Being eliminated is not about magic.”

Yet the space did not brighten.

A heavy, massive presence approached.

“It’s the loss of magic in a human.”

Skill ‘Summoning of Death God’ activates.

Before Atawolf appeared a massive Death God.

Its red eyes flashed in the darkness, staring down at Atawolf with an eerie gaze.

The Death God’s red scythe hovered just inches from Atawolf’s neck.

Atawolf was frozen, unable to move.

Though he had called all the black mist and guarded perfectly, the Death God’s scythe hung like a specter before his throat.

“I’ll tell you one more thing, Atawolf.”

Hio spoke to Atawolf again.

“The Death Knight,”

Behind Atawolf, grayish Death Aura surged and took shape.

Bigger than before.

More intense than before.

“They are Death Knights because they do not die.”

The black aura flashed again.

Kwaaang—!

The pitch-black Sword Aura soared into the sky and clashed with the black mist.

Kwaaang—!

A deafening roar shook heaven and earth.

“Tsk tsk…”

Vitalianus clicked his tongue sharply.

“That’s not it, you see.”

***

Within the academy, the sky was seen instantly.

Though hidden behind the black mist, to the great Sword Saint, such fog was clear as day.

Kwaaang—!

The sound rang out again.

The clash of death-forged Sword Aura and Atawolf’s black mist.

Vitalianus focused more intently and peered into the fog.

Golden aura shimmered before his eyes.

“That’s… the work of a magician.”

On the rooftop of a tall building.

An otherworldly being continuously radiated an eerie aura.

A strange and huge presence he had never sensed before.

It was strange. Whenever something unusual happens, it’s always the work of magicians.

And there, moving across the rooftop, was the Death Knight, radiating black Sword Aura.

Kwaaang—!

At that moment, Vitalianus clicked his tongue again and slowly drew his sword.

“I can’t just stand by any longer.”

He was revealing the hidden presence he had concealed.

The golden lion’s presence grew larger.

Only then did the three who had been fighting in the sky turn their gaze downward.

“That’s not it.”

Vitalianus lightly swung his sword.

But the result was anything but light.

From the tip of the sword he swung like a game burst forth a massive golden aura.

“It’s not something you can cut just by stubbornly pushing.”

That golden wave cleaved through the black mist.

Like a golden tide, it split the fog that covered the sky neatly in half.

“You must put your will into it. That mist cannot be pierced by ordinary Sword Aura.”

The golden aura brightly illuminated the night sky and the black mist.

The three looked down, Vitalianus looked up.

He swept over them.

“Can’t you see it clearly now? There are many familiar faces here.”

His gaze first went to the Death Knight, rippling with black aura.

“You inflexible knight. Remember well what I just said.”

Next, he turned to the magician still wearing a ridiculous hat.

“Yes, there was a magician after all. Just when I thought I was getting used to it, your outfit got even flashier.”

Finally, he turned to the opposite side.

“And…”

Vitalianus’s expression darkened deeply.

“My hated old friend.”

The murderous aura shimmered all over his body.

Golden aura exploded outwards like a burst.

***

Claire stared blankly in the direction the Sword Saint had disappeared.

She was not alone.

Roland and Ravena were the same.

Ravena muttered absentmindedly.

“…This is my first time seeing Vitalianus in person.”

Roland echoed beside her.

“Me too…”

Before they knew it, the two were surprisingly well-matched.

“Claire, you’re lucky… to have even exchanged words with Vitalianus.”

“Yeah. Just a humble Claire…”

Though it was natural for the two to react like this, Claire was also half-dazed.

Vitalianus Mahel, Guardian Knight of the Emperor.

The Sword Saint, the knight among knights who earned the title of the Great Star.

A shield protecting the Empire and the sharpest sword.

To meet such a figure was an honor even most nobles would cherish.

“But… who was the magician Vitalianus spoke of?”

“A magician? Those are all just frauds, right? Aren’t they only in storybooks?”

“That may be so, but Vitalianus wouldn’t say nonsense.”

“That’s true.”

Listening to Ravena and Roland’s conversation, Claire took a step forward.

“Claire? Are you going back?”

Toward the academy’s interior, where the Sword Saint had disappeared, almost flying rather than walking.

“Yeah. I want to go.”

“Crazy Claire. You still haven’t come to your senses.”

Roland frowned.

“Then I want to go too!”

Ravena stuck close to Claire.

“Since Vitalianus went, it should be resolved soon, right?”

Roland’s gaze flickered sharply.

“R-Really…?”

She was curious as well.

Who wouldn’t be?

How many had seen the great Sword Saint and Guardian Knight of the Emperor wield his sword firsthand?

Even from afar, they wanted to see.

Eventually, Roland was persuaded and joined them.

The three girls stepped inside the academy.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, a presence appeared again.

“Oh, sorry to startle you.”

A brown-haired man with a grin and nearly ten people around him.

Among them, the brown-haired man smiled kindly and asked Claire,

“I heard a familiar name while passing by. Did the captain—no, Vitalianus pass this way?”

“If you mean the Sword Saint… yes. He passed by. Very quickly.”

At that answer, the brown-haired man sighed heavily.

“I told you to come with me. Anyway…”

About ten men and women with strong personalities.

Despite their flashy appearances, they all wore the same uniform.

Pure white with golden embroidery.

A common emblem on the left chest.

“…No way?”

Roland covered his mouth with both hands upon recognizing it.

“Royal Knights!”

The Empire’s strongest military force, obeying only the Emperor’s orders.

Roland, unusually excited, asked the brown-haired man,

“Did you come to save us?”

The man, presumed to be a Royal Knight, smiled sheepishly.

“No… we were actually sent on a different mission…”

“Damon, stop talking nonsense.”

“…Yes.”

Atawolf, with a cold expression, stood up at the woman’s words.

The Royal Knight named Damon glanced at the other Royal Knights inside the academy and quietly whispered to Claire and the others.

“The truth is, there’s a very important person inside we’ve been sent to escort.”

“A very important person? You mean Vitalianus?”

“No, that person is our captain.”

“Then…?”

Another Royal Knight ahead urged Damon.

“Let’s go quickly!”

Damon ran toward them, shouting,

“Well, you’ll know soon enough.”