Chapter 1

Mad Swordsman of the Shadow World (1)

Whoooooosh!

A wind carrying the scent of blood swept swiftly past his cheek.

Beneath the helmet pulled low over his face, red eyes that seemed stained with blood flashed.

Armor steeped in the deep darkness of the night sky.

The Valenruke family's hidden knight order.

Commonly known as the Shadows, they gathered together after completing their final assigned mission.

“With this, all of the First Prince's limbs have been cut away.”

“The Glory Knight Order. Their reputation was impressive, but they weren't much.”

Two members of the Shadow Knight Order spoke quietly as they looked at the mansion burning below the hill.

However...

“Our casualties?”

“...Five men.”

Five had died out of an order numbering only thirty knights.

Of course, considering that their opponents had been the Glory Knight Order, the strongest knights in the kingdom, it would not have been wrong to say that they had suffered almost no losses.

However, everyone knew.

Had Theron, their commander, not killed the commander of the Glory Knight Order so quickly, more than half of them would have died on this mission.

Theron spoke to the vice commander beside him.

“Collect the bodies of our members. We cannot leave them here to become food for wild beasts.”

“Understood.”

“The targets have been completely exterminated. The mission is over, but don't let your guard down until we've secured our escape route and returned. There may be an enemy ambush.”

The Kingdom of Bartian.

The balance that had remained deadlocked in the struggle between the First Prince and the Third Prince had now completely collapsed.

Castillo Valenruke, who supported the Third Prince.

He would enthrone the Third Prince as king and become the new power of the Kingdom of Bartian.

Beneath Castillo's banner.

The Shadow Knight Order had silently carried out countless difficult and dangerous missions until now.

And now...

“The fight for the throne should be over.”

“Heh heh, think we'll finally get to rest a little now?”

“Rest, my ass. We might get sent off to some war on the frontier.”

“Don't talk nonsense. Our lord is now the most powerful man in this kingdom. We were created for that purpose in the first place.”

The purpose of the Shadow Knight Order.

They had been able to run without rest until now solely for this moment.

For all intents and purposes, this was their final mission.

“Enough. We're returning now.”

“Yes!”

At the Shadow Knight Order's response, Theron raised his bloodstained sword.

From the hilt to the blade, it was entirely black, like his armor.

Before long, even the moon that had been casting silver light hid behind the clouds, and the world was dyed in darkness.

It was precisely the time when the Shadow Knight Order could move best.

Papapat!

The Shadow Knight Order moved swiftly behind Theron, who ran at the front.

As expected, there were soldiers belonging to the First Prince lying in ambush along their escape route.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Argh!”

But they were annihilated without managing even a single proper attack.

It was truly overwhelming force.

The eyes of the Shadow Knight Order members as they looked at Theron were filled with awe.

And after returning safely, the Shadow Knight Order immediately gathered in one place at their lord's command.

“Haah... I wish they'd let us rest a little. What kind of nonsense is it to order us to gather the moment we return?”

“I want to wash up already. Feels like this smell of blood won't come off no matter how much I scrub.”

“But why are they telling all of us to gather in the underground training hall?”

Their minds were filled with complaints and confusion.

But Theron simply remained silent as he headed toward the underground training hall.

“Is everyone here?”

“...Instructor.”

When they descended into the underground training hall, a familiar man was waiting there.

Berton.

The chief instructor who had trained them in the place known as Hell Island.

Countless trainees had died by that man's hand, and even they themselves had nearly died innumerable times.

But there was no resentment.

They could not deny that the brutal training had made them stronger.

But here...

“Why are you here, Instructor?”

Theron, who had remained silent, asked.

At that, Berton counted the members of the Shadow Knight Order present.

“Five are missing. Did they die?”

“...”

At that question, Theron's eyes turned cold.

He had wondered whether a day like this might someday come.

“This instructor has been very satisfied with your accomplishments all this time. However... h-huh!”

Bang!

With a sound like something exploding, Theron's body shot toward Berton like an arrow.

At that moment, something flew at him from the side.

Claaang!

He knocked it away with a hand wrapped in aura, and it embedded itself in the ceiling.

At the same time, those who had been hiding behind the pillars revealed themselves.

“Th-Th-Th-Therooooooon!”

Berton, who had fallen onto the floor, shouted in furious rage.

They had been separated by quite a distance, yet hadn't he nearly died in the blink of an eye?

“You... don't tell me you've been hiding your strength?”

Berton's eyes shook with bewilderment.

But Theron turned his gaze toward those surrounding them.

Roughly fifty people.

Unlike them, however, they were equipped with splendid white armor adorned with golden patterns.

At the sight, the members of the Shadow Knight Order looked at them in confusion.

Unlike those fully armed knights, they themselves carried only a single sword each.

Theron asked Berton.

“...Was this your purpose from the beginning? To kill all of us?”

“Is it not the way of the world that new water should be poured into a new vessel?”

With those words, Berton took a fist-sized orb from inside his clothes.

It was an ominous orb glowing red, unlike anything Theron had ever seen before.

Then a faint curve appeared at the corner of Berton's mouth.

“You were my perfect masterpieces. That much, I will not deny.”

“What kind of bullshit is that!”

“You goddamn bastard. I'll kill you!”

Unable to endure any longer, members of the Shadow Knight Order shouted and charged toward Berton.

The knights in white armor seemed to flinch at the sight.

Wooooooong!

Berton poured mana into the orb he was holding.

And at the same time.

Thud!

“...!”

Along with the sensation of something bursting inside their bodies.

“Guaagh!”

“Cough!”

The members of the Shadow Knight Order vomited blood and collapsed where they stood.

Theron's eyes trembled at the sight.

They were comrades who had shared every hardship with him and crossed the threshold of death together countless times.

Every single one of them had entered the early stage of Aura Expert.

Yet such powerful people had met an empty death without being able to resist even once.

But...

“H-How... how can y-you still be alive?”

Berton spoke with an expression of utter shock.

“You definitely should have eaten the Death Sigil... I made sure every single trainee ate it...!”

“...Death Sigil?”

“Yes! The day you bastards first learned the mana cultivation method. That day, everyone gathered together, and I personally confirmed that all of you swallowed the pills containing the Death Sigil!”

Berton shouted as though he wanted to deny the situation before him.

At that moment, a memory from more than ten years ago flashed through Theron's mind.

There had only been a few occasions during their ten years of training when all the trainees on Hell Island had gathered together.

And if they had eaten something...

Grit.

Theron knew what the Death Sigil was.

When mana was poured into the linked device, a bug residing inside the heart would awaken and burst the heart apart.

‘So from the very beginning... we were tools meant to be used and discarded.’

New water in a new vessel.

Now that he was becoming the new power, Castillo intended to erase all of them who had handled his dirty work.

“I don't know why, but that doesn't mean you'll be allowed to live. Kill him!”

Berton ordered the knights in white armor.

But at that moment.

KABOOOOOM!

With a tremendous explosion, all the white-armored knights nearby were blasted away.

Amid the thick cloud of dust obscuring everyone's vision, Berton shouted.

“He's escaping! Don't let him get away!”

Even among those he had raised, Theron had been exceptionally outstanding.

He absolutely could not let that bastard escape.

But...

Shnk!

“...!”

Feeling pain in his chest, Berton slowly lowered his head.

A blade protruded through his chest.

His own red blood stained the black blade.

“You...!”

Berton turned his head and looked at Theron standing behind him.

Theron stared at him with cold, sunken eyes.

Slash!

Then he swung the sword sideways and pulled it free.

Thud.

Leaving Berton behind, his body split in half as he collapsed, Theron's gaze turned toward his fallen comrades.

If he followed his heart, he wanted to take every one of them with him and hold funerals for them.

“...I'll come back for you later.”

For now, getting out of this place came first.

Pabat!

Theron launched himself toward the entrance leading to the first floor.

The white-armored knights hurriedly blocked Theron's path.

Wooooong!

His sword vibrated faintly as crimson aura burst from it.

The aura, possessing terrifying destructive power, instantly swallowed every white-armored knight blocking his path.

KAKAKAKAKAKAKAKABOOM!

The aura blasted away nearly half the building, exposing the outside through the shattered walls.

Pabat!

Theron quickly escaped the building and ran through the undergrowth.

But...

“So... just as expected?”

“...?!”

Theron stopped short when he saw the person blocking his path.

The man he had followed until now while calling him his lord.

“...Castillo Valenruke.”

Because he was standing there.

Cartilo wore a relaxed smile, as though he had expected Theron to escape.

“Is Berton dead?”

“...Was even that part of your plan?”

“His abilities were excellent, but he too was nothing more than a vessel that needed replacing.”

“We devoted our souls to you. Why...”

“Regrettably, you are too strong. No... Theron, you have become far too strong.”

Despite learning the Darkfin mana cultivation method, whose limit had been clearly fixed.

“You surpassed that limit and even removed the Death Sigil.”

A dog that could no longer be controlled had no choice but to be killed.

Moreover...

“A new world is about to unfold. Shouldn't the fact that such dirty work was done be forgotten?”

“...”

Theron silently tightened his grip on his sword.

Behind him stood the order of white-armored knights, while ahead of him Castillo and the Third Prince's personal knight order surrounded Theron.

And...

“I've brought an esteemed guest in preparation for any unexpected variables, so you'd do well to abandon any useless thoughts.”

Step.

A man stepped forward from Castillo's side.

One of the swordsmen said to be among the strongest on the continent.

“Asbon Zionheart...”

“I bear you no personal grudge, but you'll have to die here.”

The closest of the Third Prince's confidants.

‘In the end...’

It felt as though everyone in the world wished for his death.

Theron looked up at the darkened night sky and slowly exhaled.

“...Hoo.”

For a moment, the faces of his dead comrades flashed before his eyes.

Right...

“Even if I'm going to die.”

Wooooooong!

Theron raised his sword.

Before long, every thought of escape vanished without a trace from his mind.

Only one thing remained.

“You'll die here too.”

Theron said as he looked at Castillo.

At the very least, the bastard who had so utterly stolen away their fates.

Boom!

With a powerful impact, Theron's body shot toward Castillo as though launched through the air.

At the same time.

“Attack.”

The knights in white armor and the Third Prince's personal knights surrounding Theron rushed at him.

Clang! Clang! Claaang! KABABABABOOM!

Though he fought nearly a hundred knights, Theron did not retreat even a single step.

Like a wounded beast, he cut down the knights before him, then cut, and cut again.

At the sight, Asbon's eyes gradually filled with surprise.

“...Are you saying that man truly learned the Deathfin mana cultivation method?”

“That's the only thing taught on Hell Island... so I suppose he did.”

At Castillo's answer, Asbon's gaze sank.

A mana cultivation method with an unmistakable limit.

And yet someone who had learned swordsmanship that was only around the intermediate level had become this strong.

‘What if...’

What if that man had learned a far superior mana cultivation method and a different sword art?

Feeling chills merely imagining it, Asbon drew his sword.

“Will you personally intervene?”

“We cannot afford to lose all the knights we worked so hard to raise.”

By then, more than thirty knights had already become cold corpses lying on the ground.

At the sight, Castillo also nodded with a hardened expression.

Theron's strength was greater than he had imagined.

“I'll leave it to you.”

Asbon drew up his aura and released an overwhelming presence.

Boom!

Asbon's lips curled upward when he saw Theron block his strike.

Crossing swords with him directly revealed that the man's strength exceeded even his expectations.

But...

“It would have been a little more enjoyable had we fought while you were in proper condition... What a pity.”

“Urgh...!”

Just as he said, Theron had expended far too much aura fighting the other knights.

Moreover, hadn't he only just returned from completing a mission?

No, even if he had fought in perfect condition, how many times could he have withstood this man's sword?

The gulf in their skill was so vast that no excuse could bridge it.

Shnk!

He could clearly feel the cold metal piercing into his heart.

Strength drained from his entire body, and his vision blurred.

Thud.

‘For nothing more than...’

Had he lived so desperately only to be fated to die like this?

Theron coughed up a mouthful of blood and looked ahead.

Castillo, who had already approached nearby, wore his characteristic smile as he spoke to Theron.

“Even so, what you bastards accomplished will write a new history for this kingdom. Consider it an honor and close your eyes.”

‘Honor...? A new history for the kingdom...?’

Fuck, what did any of that matter?

We...

‘If... if I were given one more chance.’

Blood ran down from the lips he had bitten tightly in frustration.

If he could turn everything back, then next time...

But before that thought could even continue.

Shwaaak!

Dozens of swords pierced Theron's body, and his vision went black.

And then...

“...Where am I?”

At the sight of the familiar room, Theron could not hide his bewildered expression.