The Sword Demon Awakens
Duke stared at Serena with a look of utter disbelief. “...Hah, how audacious.”
But she didn’t so much as flinch. Her arrogant demeanor suggested that someone like Duke wasn’t even worth her attention.
‘Has she truly attained some kind of enlightenment?’
From what Duke had seen, Serena’s talent was merely that of an ordinary genius. Superior to the average person, yes, but nothing remarkable among true prodigies.
‘Her learning speed is excellent, but her technique falls short of Andrew and even a few of the other geniuses in the knight order.’
In the future, she would barely reach the rank of Sword Cloud and would never attain the transcendent realm of Sword Master. In contrast, Duke—though older now—had been called a sword prodigy in his youth. Currently, he stood as the third strongest in the knight order and was infinitely close to the Sword Master realm.
The fact that Serena would dare look down on him left Duke feeling deeply offended, no matter how he thought about it.
‘I need to properly correct the young lady’s habits.’
This was absolutely not out of personal grudge. It was purely his intention to instill in her the ‘humility’ she would need to survive in this world.
“Very well. I’ll humor you.”
“Thank you. Then, shall we head to the training grounds?”
On the way to the training grounds, Duke glared at the knights practicing here and there. He took his position in the center of the arena.
From his perspective, it looked as though the family’s knights had deliberately let Serena win.
‘No matter how much they want to impress the young lady, deliberately losing a spar goes against the code of chivalry. Once this match is over, I’ll have to discipline them properly.’
“Are you ready?”
“Yes. Come at me whenever you wish.”
While Duke appeared completely relaxed, Serena drew her sword with an expressionless face.
“Good. Then…”
Before he could even finish speaking, Serena shot forward in an instant and swung her blade at him.
Clang—!
“......!”
Duke reflexively blocked her attack, but the very first exchange told him everything.
‘...Her level is far too high. How is this possible?’
It was a level of technique that even he, in his current state, could not hope to replicate. Even though their blades had only clashed once, the lingering aftertaste was unmistakable.
Watching Duke’s confusion, Aslan, who had been observing, offered a light warning.
“Duke. Since you’ve devoted many years to our house, allow me to give you one piece of advice. Serena is roughly half a step stronger than you. If you don’t face her seriously, you will lose.”
“What do you…?”
While he was still reeling from shock, Serena spoke with a hint of surprise.
“I didn’t expect you to block that. As expected, your level is higher than the other knights. I’ll go a little harder now.”
“Young lady, perhaps we should end the spar here…”
Clang—!
‘Insane…!’
Serena’s sword was so fierce that Duke—who considered himself an honorable man—cursed inwardly.
‘There’s far too much killing intent in her blade. Just what has the young lady been through?’
She targeted only the vital points with ruthless precision—forehead, throat, groin. Her attacks were crude enough to belong to a common street mercenary, yet their level and depth were extraordinary. She fought like a slaughter weapon forged on the battlefield.
Of course, Serena—raised as a precious daughter of a count’s family, if not quite a sheltered princess—could never have experienced such harsh trials.
‘If this continues, my defeat is certain.’
Duke instinctively knew he would lose. But was he truly going to accept defeat at the hands of a mere child?
Only now did he feel true inferiority. The tension he had never experienced during his days as a prodigy. He had always been ahead of others and had never felt the sting of being surpassed. But now it was different.
In talent, he fell short of Andrew. In skill, he fell short of Serena. He could not accept that these mere teenagers had surpassed him.
‘It hurts so much it feels like I’m going to go insane.’
So he let that inferiority explode from within.
The faint but unmistakable shape of mana began to form around Duke’s blade.
Though still incomplete and hazy, the sign was clear.
“Hoh, so you’ve finally touched the ‘wall.’”
Aslan, who had been watching their duel, let out an admiring sigh as he gazed at Duke’s sword.
At this rate, a new master of the sword might be born in just a few years.
The panic that had clouded Duke’s face vanished completely. With a grave expression, he spoke to Serena.
“...Thanks to you, young lady, I have been able to grow. As repayment, I will end this quickly.”
The moment mana infused his blade, the difference in power became like heaven and earth. Before any difference in technique, the overwhelming gap in ‘strength’ made Duke’s victory seem all but guaranteed—unless something extraordinary happened.
Yes. Unless something extraordinary happened.
“This kind of ‘future’ is new to me… I suppose I stimulated you too much?”
Murmuring words that made no sense, Serena naturally channeled mana into her own sword.
Vrrrrrrrr—!
“......!”
The sword energy was far more vast and refined than Duke’s.
⟨ SWORD MASTER ⟩
The dream realm and final destination for every swordsman on the Western Continent.
“Isn’t it rather funny? Calling someone a master of the sword just because they can infuse mana into their blade. Aside from a few advantages, it’s not all that different from high-grade enchantments.”
“W-what are you saying…?”
Her words insulted every Sword Master on the continent, yet Serena didn’t seem to care. Perhaps her standards had been raised too high by someone.
Duke found his eyes drawn not to her strange remarks, but to her sword. The refined sword energy was at a level he could never hope to imitate.
‘A Sword Master in her teens… Soleneas have mercy…’
Even Andrew, the greatest talent on the continent, had not reached this realm. Yet Serena, who was even younger, had?
This could no longer be explained by talent alone.
‘A monster.’
Before the horrified Duke, Serena’s sword advanced toward him.
The training grounds, half-destroyed by the clash of mana.
Duke lay collapsed there, wearing a vacant expression. In a hollow voice, he asked Aslan.
“...Did you already know that Lady Serena had become a Sword Master, my lord?”
“To be honest, I didn’t know either. No, who could have predicted it? That my own daughter would become a Sword Master…”
Even Aslan had assumed Serena’s skill was roughly at the peak of Sword Cloud. He had never dared imagine she might be a Sword Master.
“My lord. This is clearly abnormal. Could it be that Lady Serena has already…”
“I know what you’re worried about. You’re wondering if Serena has become a devil or a divine avatar.”
An abnormal growth that shattered the very framework of talent. Such growth naturally came with secrets.
What Duke feared was something Aslan had already been secretly worrying about. That was why he had used every connection he had to conduct various examinations.
“I commissioned high priests and mages from the Tower of Magic, but all the results showed nothing unusual. Moreover, Serena shows none of the divinity or malevolence unique to non-humans. Aside from a slight change in temperament, she is definitely my daughter.”
“So you’re saying the young lady truly reached this level with nothing but her own talent…?”
Duke was stunned.
“Judging by the results, yes.”
“...So all this time, the young lady has been thoroughly hiding her true talent. It seems the gods have taken a special liking to our family.”
To possess two of the continent’s greatest talents. If word got out that Serena had become a Sword Master, the entire continent would fall into chaos.
But.
“For the time being, we will not reveal that Serena is a Sword Master. Make sure you keep the knight order’s mouths tightly shut as well.”
“Pardon? Why would we hide such an honorable achievement…?”
As a knight, Duke found it baffling. She had become a Sword Master—why not announce it? What possible downside could there be?
“Serena herself doesn’t want it. She said there’s someone she wants to show it to before the news spreads.”
“What does that… Could it be that the young lady has finally found a partner?”
The lucky man who had caught the eye of a Sword Master. Just who could he be?
BOOM—!
Suddenly, the half-destroyed training grounds shook.
“Shut your mouth. Serena is still far too young for that.”
“...Ahem. My apologies, my lord.”
The Iron-Blooded Sword Emperor, Richard Aslan. Even if dirt filled his eyes, he would never hand his daughter over to anyone.
......
The Sword Demon, Serena, opened her eyes.
All around her were corpses and filth. A place worthy of being called hell on earth—the location in the Demon Realm with the highest number of casualties.
There, she faced the despair of the present world.
The one who withers the earth.
The Plague Lord, Tarmak.
There were surprisingly few titles used to describe him. Everyone died before they could even give him a name.
Slash—
Yet that fearsome reputation seemed meaningless as Tarmak’s head was continuously severed.
A plague authority that could melt any living being upon contact. An immortal body that regenerated endlessly.
None of it mattered before that man.
With a bored expression, the man kept cutting Tarmak down, showing no sign of fatigue. Again and again. Without end.
Serena watched him for a long time, her face frozen in utter shock.