The Sword of Conviction
Liberatus Ahad had decided what to teach Hidea Rune when he spoke to the three of them.
"We'll stop here for today... and start with basic physical training."
"Physical training?"
"Yes. You never know what kind of battlefield you'll face, so you need to temper your bodies as much as possible. Swordsmanship can't advance without the foundation of the body in the first place."
"Understood."
"That goes for you too, Hidea. So from now on, run laps around this training ground."
"Uh, until when?"
"Until you're so exhausted you collapse."
"...Pardon?"
"Stamina doesn't come easily. It requires consistent training. To become complete warriors, grueling effort is essential."
Hidea had no rebuttal to Liberatus's irrefutable logic, so with a pout, she took her place beside Kyle Solenute and Orpina Testia, who were already preparing to sprint with vigor. From then on, their full-speed laps continued.
The three ran until they were utterly drained, and after laps on the training ground, they swung swords and loosed arrows. Sensing that the helpful advice had ended, Ludenberg Lavante promptly resettled into Liberatus's body. And so, something extraordinary happened.
Time began to flow rapidly, as if accelerating—day and night flashed by in quick succession, and the three's appearances changed just as swiftly. Kyle had grown quite tall, and his thrusting strikes had become far sharper. With a solid foundation backing him and more efficient movement techniques mastered, his growth was nothing short of extraordinary.
Orpina was the same. She now wielded her greatsword with greater command of its characteristics, and she no longer yielded easily even in spars with Kyle. Their clashes—her space-dominating, pressuring greatsword style against his rock-solid fundamentals—ended in draws more often than not. Considering Kyle had originally been the superior fighter, Orpina's progress outpaced his.
Hidea, too, was growing accustomed to Liberatus's special training. She no longer hated running laps around the training ground. But it wasn't just that. Her archery had become more precise, and now she refused to yield distance easily even against Kyle and Orpina in spars. Her nimble footwork had become a weapon in itself. In fact, Kyle and Orpina struggled more when facing her. Typically, swordsmen needed faster footwork than archers to close in, but Hidea had always been exceptionally agile, and she knew how to leverage her strengths.
Even after a considerable time had passed, the three remained in Garundel. It seemed Liberatus was staying because he needed to keep an eye on Hidea. Kyle and Orpina had originally planned to head to Tachgalde since survival was their immediate concern... but with Liberatus's protection, they seemed content to follow his judgment. Liberatus himself appeared to believe that teaching the three held greater value than returning home.
One more change Ludenberg observed in Liberatus: a smile gradually crept onto the man's formerly stoic face. Seeing his three disciples grow day by day filled him with pride—a expression strikingly similar to the one his own father had occasionally shown while training him and Ashytara Solenute.
Of course, the interval hadn't been entirely peaceful. A few erosion beasts had slithered in from the kingdom of Seranad, where Kyle and Orpina had lived, invading Garundel—but each time, they were annihilated by Ludenberg, inhabiting Liberatus's body. And whenever Ludenberg had spare energy, at Liberatus's will, he deliberately left two or three High-rank erosion beasts alive—for Kyle, Orpina, and Hidea's training. The three honed themselves in combat against the erosion beasts, their growth accelerating even further.
Finally, when the flow of time normalized, Ludenberg suddenly lifted Liberatus's head to gaze at the sky. It was red. Not the red of sunset, but a blood-red sky, like an omen of doom. And Ludenberg knew all too well what that crimson sky symbolized.
Erosion. The first invasion since the Highest-rank erosion beast had assaulted Garundel months ago.
Ludenberg realized it was time for him to act again.
"Kyle, Orpina, Hidea."
"Yes, Liber."
"Judging by the scale of the erosion, a massive number of erosion beasts will emerge. Garundel's garrison is formidable, but I've never seen an erosion of this magnitude. I'd love to tell you to avoid it... but you know we can't."
"We know."
"Right. So this time, you all have to fight too."
"We've always been prepared for that much."
The three gazed at Liberatus with resolute expressions.
"Liber. Wouldn't it be better if we fought by your side? That way, you could watch over us, and we could fight more aggressively."
Liberatus pondered the suggestion. From their last test, his three disciples could handle up to High-rank erosion beasts, albeit with effort. They were stronger than most knights... but he couldn't help worrying.
"...Very well."
But worry was worry, and this was wartime. Kyle and Orpina were resilient youths who had survived from their fallen kingdom to the empire, and Hidea was quite skilled. Excessive caution might hinder their growth instead.
With that judgment, Liberatus told them, "Always stay within my range. I won't lose sight of you."
"Understood!"
As they affirmed their resolve, Lord Tehern approached Liberatus just then.
"I'll head out as well."
"You, my lord? Are you sure?"
"If the lord sits idle, who will follow my orders? I must fight too. Especially after erosion beasts overrun us, castle lords have had their mettle tested. If I don't step up, the people will abandon the castle. So I must fight."
"Where will you evacuate the residents?"
"I've prepared shelters throughout the castle in advance—ones even a Highest-rank couldn't destroy. I've already instructed the soldiers and residents on which one to use."
"What will you do, my lord?"
"I'll patrol the shelters and lead the battle. No choice. They'll pour down from the skies in hordes... Guarding one spot would mean countless deaths."
"Then mark your route on the map. I'll circle the opposite way."
"Ah, here."
Tehern roughly sketched his path on the castle map. Liberatus nodded, and at that moment, control of the body shifted back to Ludenberg. Though Liberatus still handled the speaking.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Not long after the sky turned red as an erosion omen, a tearing sound ripped through the heavens, and erosion beasts began plummeting into Garundel. Four enormous Highest-rank ones the size of a typical castle, twenty High-rank below them, plus assorted Mid- and Low-rank. A horrific force—one that could raze a city in moments.
Of course, Highest-ranks had appeared when they first arrived in Garundel too, but the situation differed. Then, they could fight with walls at their backs... but now, no walls were available. A crisis, without doubt.
But Ludenberg wasn't particularly worried. With Liberatus's body, overcoming this wouldn't be hard.
"Don't fall behind—follow closely."
"Yes!"
Ludenberg led the three straight to a shelter under assault by a Highest-rank. Whatever it was built from, it held—even under the behemoth's pounding, cracks formed but it didn't crumble.
"I'll handle the Highest- and High-ranks, so you deal with the surrounding Mid- and Low-ranks. Don't provoke any High-ranks recklessly. Even if you can manage one, getting bogged down could be dangerous."
"Got it."
Orpina replied boldly, Hidea nodded silently and nocked an arrow, and Kyle drew his sword with sharp eyes, scanning the surroundings.
"I'll finish quickly, so stay safe no matter what."
"Yes!"
Ludenberg nodded and charged. The scenery blurred past in an instant, and soon he reached the Highest-rank frantically diving to smash the shelter from the air.
This time, a bird-like colossal erosion beast blocked his path. Its form was grotesquely twisted, its wing feathers as tough-looking as any erosion hide. As always, its overwhelming size struck awe—flying at that scale. Its wing shadow alone blanketed the area.
But he could win. Ludenberg was certain. He'd felled plenty of Highest-ranks with this body already. A different form changed nothing.
Ludenberg kicked off the ground, heading for the shelter. The Highest-rank kept ramming it—judging body-slams more effective than projectiles.
Reaching the shelter's base, Ludenberg leaped, stepped off its outer wall, and soared toward the Highest-rank. Only then did it sense the intruder, firing countless feathers from its body to intercept him. Made of the same material as its hide, each feather gleamed like a blade. A normal soldier pierced by one would die instantly.
But Ludenberg found a path through the barrage, closing in. Time hadn't only advanced Kyle, Orpina, and Hidea. Liberatus's body, relentlessly trained, moved faster than before.
He bounded off the massive feathers it shot, leap after leap, toward the Highest-rank.
Belief, was it.
He deemed this the moment to verify Liberatus's concept of belief, gripping the conviction that his sword could cleave anything... and swung.
In that swing, Ludenberg distinctly felt something change. An omnipotence suffused his body. The intense certainty that his belief would manifest in reality surged through him, and his blade cleaved the Highest-rank's body clean in two.