My Little Wish
On the road back from the First Imperial Vault after securing the Baekringap, the Emperor finished speaking and held out a small crystal orb.
"...And so, any updated information will be delivered through this. You can use it for communications with me from now on as well."
"Understood."
Just moments earlier, the Emperor had been listing off quests that Leon might reasonably handle. Leon had picked one whose timing and circumstances happened to line up perfectly.
Or rather, it was less coincidence than deliberate selection from a long list of options that fit the situation. That was how many problems currently plagued the Empire.
"...Can't you do something about that tail? It's rather distracting."
"Ah, right. It's actually pretty fun, though."
Leon stopped the Baekringap's tail, which had been swishing and buzzing about.
Departure would be soon. A quick trip outside the capital to handle the matter and return should suffice.
Leon was already buzzing with excitement at the chance to test the Baekringap's performance.
And I need to go pick up my sword, too.
Word had come from Glem at the Halito Forge. A magnificent blade had been completed, and Leon was to come collect it.
Judging by the confident tone, the result must have been something truly impressive. Leon felt a surge of anticipation.
There's no way it'll be mediocre... right?
If the sword turned out disappointing after all that, he might get so depressed he'd tear the Halito Forge apart.
As they neared the exit, the Emperor asked,
"Where do you stay while in the capital? House Asonia, or the Crucif villa?"
Leon muttered inwardly about why the man was asking when he already knew, then answered,
"I'm staying with House Asonia."
"Hmm, I see. I'm no expert on swords myself, but I've heard their training grounds are excellent. So you're heading to House Asonia now?"
"Yes. For the time being."
"House Asonia..."
The Emperor trailed off, as if weighing something carefully.
"Would you mind if I made a request of you?"
A request from the Emperor. This was not the sort of thing one accepted lightly while riding a high. Better to hear it out first and then decide.
"If it's nothing too difficult."
The Emperor chuckled as if he couldn't win against him, then continued.
"A long time ago. Back when dragons still rampaged freely across the continent."
"Yes."
"There was an occasion when the Evil Dragon Bertmus invaded this very capital."
"..."
"The ones who stepped forward as the vanguard and stopped that evil dragon were none other than House Asonia. And the one who finally took the beast's head was the Sword Emperor of House Asonia at the time."
"I see."
So they had been an extraordinary family even back then. Leon nodded, genuinely impressed.
The Emperor looked at him with mild surprise.
"You didn't know that? You must have learned it in history class. I wasn't recounting some secret chronicle."
"..."
Leon clamped his mouth shut.
The Emperor clicked his tongue.
"No wonder your written scores look like that. And your own instructor is the heir apparent of House Asonia, no less. Tsk tsk tsk..."
"..."
"A man who eats and sleeps under their roof..."
"I'm sorry. Please continue."
The Emperor nodded and pressed on.
"In any case, thanks to House Asonia, countless lives were saved, and the capital suffered so little damage that people called it a miracle. The Imperial Family owes them a great debt."
"..."
"Of course, that debt was repaid at the time. Never slighting heroes is a principle that has run through the Empire's history. Titles, wealth, medals... House Asonia received compensation far exceeding the losses they had suffered."
Leon's brow furrowed.
"Then why, Your Majesty, are they now..."
"Why aren't they basking in prosperity, you mean?"
Leon nodded.
It wasn't that House Asonia's current standing was lacking. When one spoke of sword houses within the Empire, they ranked among the very best.
Yet according to the Emperor, House Asonia had achieved truly brilliant martial feats. Having earned the merit of defending the capital, they should have received glory and treatment to match. Their rise in status after the Great War of Men and Dragons must have been tremendous.
But from everything Leon had seen so far, House Asonia did not occupy a position quite that lofty. They were not flourishing with the overwhelming prosperity their accomplishments should have warranted.
Had two hundred years simply dimmed the light of their glory? Or had they weathered some storm?
The Emperor answered that unspoken question.
"At the time, the Imperial Family gave House Asonia every possible form of support, yet there was one fatal wound we could not heal."
Leon tilted his head, but the Emperor continued without pause.
"The rewards for their merit were settled then and there, yet if one looks closely, the debt was never fully repaid."
"..."
"That decisive damage sustained while slaying the evil dragon caused House Asonia to decline little by little. That is why the Asonia of today is not what it once was."
—Thud.
The Emperor stopped walking and turned to face Leon. Clear light shimmered in the depths of his lazily half-lidded eyes.
"And so I wish to make a request."
Leon straightened his posture without thinking.
"If the head of House Asonia... or the deputy head... should come to you with some grave request, and approach you with proper courtesy..."
"..."
"I would ask that you take it seriously, give it careful thought, and, if possible, answer them favorably. That is my little wish as one who has inherited the duties of the Supreme Lineage."
The northeastern Empire. The small city of Valten.
The night wind blowing through Valten felt especially merciless that evening.
The streets that should have been filled with lively, warm residents had sunk into a colder silence than ever before.
—H-Hyaaaaah!
Puhwak—!
Someone's single-bladed axe split the back of a fleeing young man. Blood sprayed out and painted the street red.
—Kuhuhuh.
The axe's owner let out a low, unpleasant chuckle. His gleaming eyes drank in every detail of the young man dying with his guts spilling out.
A man had been slaughtered in the middle of the main thoroughfare, yet not a single person nearby cried out in horror.
Because the entire district was the same.
Kuhwak! Kwajik! Seogeong! Kuddeuk!
The heavy sounds of blunt blades carving through human flesh continued without pause. Agonized death screams never stopped. Maniacal laughter rode over them all.
Axe-wielding freaks were butchering the people of Valten without mercy.
A wave of madness had crashed over the city. Plunder, rape, and murder erupted in every corner. An utterly ordinary night was stained with blood and tears.
"Wipe them all out!"
A giant's savage voice thundered across the entire city.
Against the backdrop of burning buildings, the giant walked slowly forward. His beast-like eyes watched Valten's destruction with sharp intensity.
Axes hung all over his body, and he radiated a far more overwhelming presence than any of the other freaks present.
Hwik—
Suddenly he yanked a hand-axe from his belt and hurled it like lightning to his right—without even looking that way.
Kwajik!
The hand-axe shot in a straight line for dozens of meters. The head of a Valten guardsman rounding a corner was split clean in two.
Whiririk— chak!
Even after cleaving the skull, the hand-axe lost none of its speed. It spun midair like a boomerang and slapped back into the giant's palm.
He casually reattached it to his belt. He never once glanced at the dead guardsman.
—Vice-Leader!
One of the giant's subordinates rushed up in a panic to report.
—The Ainber Knights are approaching from the southwest! They're expected to arrive within twenty minutes!
"The Ainber Knights, is it..."
A cruel smile tugged at the corner of the giant's mouth. The local knight order was coming.
"Understood. I'll go myself."
Kwaang—!
The instant the words left his mouth, he shot southwest. The ground beneath his feet exploded as if a bomb had struck it.
In only a few breaths he cleared the city and vaulted the walls.
Swaeaeaeaeaeek—!
A thick black line streaked across the dim, wide wheat fields. The giant raced over the earth at terrifying speed.
He covered a twenty-minute distance in five and came to an abrupt halt.
Narrowing his eyes, he muttered,
"They scraped together quite a few..."
Ahead, cavalry charged through a cloud of dust.
Roughly thirty riders. Armor covering not only their bodies but their horses as well. Resonating mana and a tidal wave of presence.
The Ainber Knights.
—Increase speed! The scum are ravaging our land!
The lead rider who looked like the knight-commander shouted.
—Commander, up ahead!
—...What the hell is that bastard?
Soon the knights spotted the giant standing motionless in the middle of the wheat field.
—Looking at those axes, he must be a remnant of the Akbuhoe!
—A lookout? Doesn't matter—we ride straight through! We have no time to waste!
The knights' bloodshot eyes and raised voices filled the air.
"Kuhuhuh."
The giant let out a heavy laugh as he listened. Both hands were already unfastening the hand-axes hanging from his body.
Kadeudeuk—
Something crushed between his molars. A pulverized black ring turned to powder and was absorbed into his body.
In the next instant, the giant's heart pounded like a lion's. Black veins bulged thickly across his entire frame.
"Hoo..."
He exhaled an excited breath, as if the sensation delighted him.
Then—
Puhwaaaaaaaaak—!
An enormous killing intent surged upward like a waterspout. Savage energy seized the air itself and pressed down heavily on the surroundings.
—Wh-What?! Hold on!
—Halt! Halt!
The Ainber Knights reined in their horses in shock at that dreadful presence. Only then did they realize the giant was no mere obstacle to be trampled past.
It was already too late.
The giant's hands had already thrown three axes.
Kwagwagwak!
Three knights' heads exploded at once. The spinning axes tore through helmets and aura as if they were paper.
The giant's throwing did not stop.
He kept yanking hand-axes from his back, waist, and ankles and hurling them at the knights. Countless silver trajectories bloomed from his fingertips.
Kwagwagwagwagwagwagwagwagwang—!!!
More than a dozen axes stormed through the knight order like a hurricane. It was nothing short of a carpet-bombing of axes.
—Kyaaaaaaagh!
—Uwaaaaah!
—Block it! Block it!
The knights' cries of terror echoed over the wheat field. The axe blades that sliced through weapons and armor like water left them no chance to respond.
Axes that had smashed through bodies wheeled in midair and returned straight to the giant. He snatched them up and threw them again without pause. It was like a circus performance.
Thus the cycle of death was complete.
Neither the giant nor the knights moved from their positions. Only the axes flew relentlessly back and forth between them.
Kukwagwagwagwagwagwagwagwa—!!!
Violent shockwaves rose like a typhoon, crushing every stalk of wheat around them. Wind and energy whirled as if to tear the atmosphere apart.
Between the chaotic silver trajectories, knights and horses flew through the air as chunks of meat.
...About twenty minutes later.
One of the three vice-leaders who commanded the Akbuhoe. One of the three disciples raised by the Akbuhoe's master.
Jeobeok, jeobeok—
The giant Gilbert walked out of the devastated wheat field with blood-soaked axes hanging from him like ornaments.
All that remained were the scattered pieces of the Ainber Knights.