Chapter 10
Chaper 10
The Most Brilliant Among Countless Possibilities
“C-Cardinal!”
As the Saint’s stay in Gryphir Territory dragged on far longer than expected, the people asking for her whereabouts had only increased.
At the same time, all the work he had to handle as a cardinal kept piling up.
And because of that, Cardinal Ledion was already exhausted.
So when a priest came running toward him in panic, Ledion immediately felt a headache coming on.
Instinctively, he knew something had gone wrong.
Just what happened now?
Holding his throbbing head, Ledion lifted his gaze from the mountain of paperwork.
“What is it?”
“Th-that...”
The priest hesitated.
Seeing that, Ledion mentally prepared himself.
Something absurd had definitely happened.
“The Holy Sword... the Holy Sword has disappeared.”
“What?”
Ledion pressed harder against his temple.
The situation was even more ridiculous than he had expected.
“Ah... dear God.”
Was this happening because the Saint wasn’t here?
Or—
Was it because of the Saint?
“Haa...”
Normally, it was rare enough for even one suitable hero to appear in a generation.
Usually, the Saint would simply search for someone the Holy Sword deemed acceptable.
Someone it looked at and thought—
Hm. Good enough.
Even finding someone like that once in a generation was rare.
And now a Holy Sword had disappeared?
No one could have stolen it.
That was impossible.
After all, if someone became the Holy Sword’s rightful owner and simply said—
“I’m taking it.”
No one in the Holy Kingdom would stop them.
The Holy Kingdom only safeguarded the swords.
They didn’t own them.
They were merely gathered together for the hero who would appear someday.
From that perspective—
A Holy Sword disappearing meant only one thing.
The most absurd possibility.
But right now—
The most reasonable one.
“A master has appeared.”
Someone so extraordinary—
That a Holy Sword had fallen for them.
Ris looked completely different from the future version I had seen.
Unlike that cracked and broken sword—
This one was sturdy.
A pure white blade.
An ordinary-looking hilt.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a simple sword.
And yet—
The power sleeping inside it pressed down on everything around it.
Why a Holy Sword of Courage had chosen a coward like me—
I had no idea.
Unlike when Evelyn held Furens—
Ris wasn’t spilling light everywhere.
It had probably used that power to heal my body.
“Huff... haa.”
I think I get it now.
At least roughly.
How to use my ability.
Not all of it.
But enough to get through this.
I looked around.
Dozens of men.
All wearing armor under their robes.
Knights.
They were probably here for Evelyn.
Though judging by how they acted—
They looked more like thugs than knights.
“Evelyn.”
“Luka, your body? Are you okay?”
“Me? If I wasn’t sturdy, I’d be dead.”
“Fair enough.”
Even surrounded by enemies—
The two of us laughed.
Trading jokes.
“...We only need to take Young Master Evelyn. You seem to be the heir of Gryphir. We would appreciate it if you stepped aside.”
We would appreciate it?
It sounded polite.
But it was basically telling me to get lost.
“Really?”
“Yes. Is there something you want?”
The knight smiled.
He took my willingness to talk as a good sign.
“Our master will grant you anything.”
“Then give me Evelyn.”
“Eh? Luka, what—”
Evelyn’s face turned red.
Like my words embarrassed him.
“...Jokes are in poor taste.”
“You said anything.”
“...Except Young Master Evelyn.”
I pretended to think.
“Then give me Aurelion.”
“Not that either.”
“That too? You said anything. Fine.”
I raised my middle finger.
“Then hand over the Empire.”
“You insolent bastard.”
“How’d you know? My future’s full of insanity too, bastard!”
The knight and I raised our swords at the same time.
Kiiiiing!
The difference in skill was obvious.
A seasoned Sword Expert.
And me.
The only reason I could even match blades—
Was because of my ability.
And because of Ris.
I thought my ability was light.
But it wasn’t.
Light was just a side effect.
Something secondary.
That was all I had been using.
Thinking back on it—
I felt stupid.
My ability was stars.
More precisely—
The power to pull in my own possibilities.
That was why I could glimpse the future.
And right now—
I was pulling in the possibility of my own body.
Kang!
Even so—
Raw skill couldn’t be ignored.
Ris was knocked out of my hand and spun into the sky.
The knight smiled.
Victory was certain.
He thrust his sword toward me.
Ah.
This is terrifying.
Crossing blades was always terrifying.
Especially when both sides were risking their lives.
But—
Running away.
Doing nothing.
That was even scarier.
Instead of retreating—
I stepped closer.
Into the range of an attack I might have avoided.
“Come back, Ris.”
Light burst from my holy mark.
And Ris returned to my hand.
The knight’s face twisted.
He realized his mistake.
I smiled back.
Ris transformed into a dagger.
I gripped it in reverse.
Slash!
Blood sprayed.
Splattering against me.
Not a great feeling.
That was all I thought.
The wound was shallow.
But his balance broke.
If I stabbed now—
Kang!
Another knight interfered.
The opportunity was lost.
A shame.
That had been an easy kill.
“Graaah!”
Still—
It wasn’t without reward.
I cut out one of his eyes.
Made him one-eyed.
...A one-eyed swordsman?
Thinking about it—
Didn’t that make him stronger?
Everyone knew one-eyed swordsmen were stronger than normal ones.
Right?
If he became a Sword Master one day—
He’d probably call me his teacher.
Hah.
A satisfying thought.
“You bastard!”
Apparently—
He didn’t want to honor me as his teacher.
“Kill him!”
At the one-eyed knight’s order—
The others charged all at once.
“Haha.”
Scary as hell.
But I laughed.
If possible—
It was better to laugh.
“I’ll help—ugh!”
Evelyn tried to stand.
But collapsed.
The recoil from Furens.
Which meant—
If we were getting out of this—
It was on me.
Honestly—
This felt kind of exciting.
Like I’d become a knight protecting a princess.
Though the princess being Evelyn—
A man—
Made it a little weird.
But considering how pretty he looked—
Close enough.
“How about we call it a draw?”
I offered peace.
They ignored me.
Still charging.
“Guess not.”
I knew how to use my ability now.
But I was afraid.
Abilities were powerful.
And unlike aura or mana—
They weren’t consumed.
The backlash came directly to me.
“Well... it’s not like I’ll die.”
I forced the resolve out of my mouth.
To suppress the fear.
Ris glowed.
Answering my courage.
The possibility I would pull in—
Had already been decided.
The one I saw.
Flash!
The me—
Who had walked the path of the sword to the very end.
The ultimate answer to the sword.
Sword Master.
Vwoooong—
Ris trembled.
As if happy to see me.
The reason Ris had chosen me—
Was entirely because of that possibility.
To Ris—
Before, I was just—
Hm. So you’re that guy?
Like an acquaintance.
But now—
It felt more like—
Master! You’re here!
Damn opportunistic sword.
Starlight wrapped around me.
Transforming me into him.
The sensation of becoming someone who wasn’t myself.
It was disgusting.
Like mixing rice into soup.
Power that should never exist in the body of a mere Sword Beginner flowed in through my ability.
Realizations flooded into me.
Things I’d forget later.
Truths so absurd that if I wrote them down and read them later—
I’d laugh and call them nonsense.
At the same time—
His emotions came too.
His sorrow.
Crack.
My bones broke.
The sudden surge of aura destroyed my body first.
“Ahahahaha!!!”
It hurt.
It hurt so much that I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
But because if I didn’t laugh—
I felt like I’d lose my mind.
Ris returned to the form of a normal sword.
I grabbed it tightly.
Vwoong!
It screamed at me.
Wanting to release aura.
And this was only a fragment.
Not even all of his possibility.
Just this much—
And the backlash was already unbearable.
How strong was that future me?
Well—
If he survived a destroyed world—
He had to be.
I smiled.
Because it meant—
That possibility existed in me too.
I hated the ending he had reached.
But—
The height he reached—
I wanted it.
Creak—
My bones screamed.
Holding themselves together against the pressure.
Good bones.
Strong bones.
How bad would the backlash be?
Passing out was guaranteed.
But what could I do?
Better than dying.
I could only use this power—
Once.
One swing.
That was all.
And it was enough.
The moment I prepared to swing—
Time stretched.
Leaves resisted the wind.
The shape of the wind itself became visible.
And then—
Time resumed.
“D-Dodge!”
The sharpest one among them shouted.
But what was the point?
Vwoooooong!!!
Ris shook harder.
Aura poured into it.
And then—
A blade of aura covered Ris.
The symbol of a Sword Master.
Beautiful.
So beautiful that I doubted this was really my sword.
And knowing this blade would vanish after one swing—
Made me sad.
Maybe that feeling wasn’t mine alone.
Even the enemy trying to flee—
And Evelyn—
Both stared blankly at the blade.
I pushed aside my regret.
And swung.
A horizontal slash.
The most basic cut any swordsman learned.
A straight line.
Starting from the left.
Ending at the right.
The knights beyond my reach—
Though not physically within sword range—
All understood.
They would not survive.
Because once they saw the aura blade flying toward them—
They knew.
Slash!
The knights split in half.
Their bodies fell to the ground.
One knight survived by luck.
“AAAAAH!”
He ran.
Then tripped.
Smashed his head against a rock.
And died.
Maybe he had used up all his luck dodging the sword.
“Haa... haa...”
The strength left my body.
The pain came.
An overwhelming pain.
So great I couldn’t even scream.
Every nerve burned.
Wasn’t the proper thing to do here—
To let me pass out immediately?
Unfortunately—
I had to feel all of it before collapsing.
I could hear Evelyn shouting something.
But what could I do?
Take me home yourself.