The Empire's First Sword
“There is no next trial? What do you mean by that, caw?”
I shouted in protest toward the God of Omen and the God of Ash.
I had barely forced my way through the Paradox of Fate and even annihilated the Dreadful Omen itself—yet they claimed there was no trial beyond it. The whole thing felt more than a little strange.
Then the God of Ash opened its beak in a troubled tone.
-Hmm. Extinguishing the Dreadful Omen was outside our expectations, caw.
Ah.
So they had never anticipated that I would use the Spear of Longinus to punch through the wall they had raised and actually reach the Dreadful Omen.
That was why the next trial was either late… or simply unprepared.
Well, even I wouldn’t have seen it coming. I had ordered a speedrun, and the bastard had gone and murdered his competition instead. Even I would have thought, what kind of bloodthirsty lunatic is this?
“Then just let me out already, caw.”
-Not yet. A complete ‘comparison’ has still not been made, caw.
“You’re being stubborn, caw.”
Simply devouring the Dreadful Omen was not enough to satisfy them. From where I stood, it looked like pure obstinacy. At this point the God of Ash should have been free to render judgment.
A single suspicion began to circle my lips.
“Could it be that you simply don’t want this to end, caw?”
The thought that these two might actually hate the idea of finishing their fight. After clashing for eons they might have grown attached. But if their battle never ended, I could never leave this ‘Gap’.
I pressed again.
“You two actually get along, don’t you, caw?”
At the same instant—
-Caaaw! Don’t spout nonsense!
-Caaaw! There’s nothing this fledgling crow won’t say!
They erupted in fury. Voices loud enough to shake the world, loud enough to rupture eardrums, poured out thick with pure loathing.
The hatred, at least, is genuine.
They truly despised each other. Yet they also despised ending the fight. A white elephant—or love-hate, pure and simple.
“…I understand how much you hate each other. Calm down, caw.”
They looked ready to die before admitting any fondness had formed. Once I smoothed it over, their rage gradually cooled.
-Spout that rubbish again and I’ll devour you, caw.
-Child of Ash, do not link me with that abomination, caw.
-Abomination? Your face is a walking catastrophe, caw.
-Why the sudden compliment? Caw.
-Let’s drop it, caw.
-I don’t want to hear that hideous voice either, caw.
It was the most childish squabble imaginable. I listened for a while, then cut in.
“What happens to the loser when one of you finally wins, caw?”
I had grown curious about the end of this duel. A contest to decide who was stronger. Once winner and loser were decided, something would be gained and something lost.
-The loser is annihilated.
-Vanishes forever.
……What?
For a moment I had no words. I had assumed it would end with little more than boasting over who was stronger or weaker.
So that’s why they refuse to finish it.
Now I understood why the battle had stretched into eternity. The two had sworn an oath: the loser would be erased. A god’s word and a god’s promise are absolute. I understood their predicament perfectly.
Yet if they never settled it, I would remain trapped here for all time. A cascade of unexpected outcomes. Watching me smash through impossible trials one after another had clearly rattled them. Keep feeding me trials and a true ‘verdict’ might actually fall.
So if granting me another trial felt too dangerous, and no suitable trial even came to mind…
“Summon the Omen King, caw.”
That choice—I would make it for them.
“Is the pointless chatter finished?”
Thud.
A man stepped forward, shattering the silence. Every gaze swung toward him of its own accord. No—from the very beginning, every eye had already been fixed on his every move.
Raiga.
The Empire’s First Sword, another Knight King whose name thundered across the whole of Pangenia!
Not here.
The situation was growing entertaining, yet Raiga paid it no mind. Whatever Randolph’s true nature might be, it had nothing to do with him. What mattered most was ‘Hyun of Adrium,’ somewhere in this tower—the genius who had restored the Life and Death Record, the secret wish of the Palga, the instant he laid eyes on it. That genius was inside the Tower. Raiga had to find him.
Of course Randolph’s tale had not been dull. Infiltrating the monster city of Kramdel under a false identity and climbing all the way to one of the Five Lords’ seats was amusing enough. But that was all. What was there worth scavenging in Kramdel? That barren northern waste interested no one. The Empire least of all.
“If you’re done talking, come at me already. I’m bored to death.”
Haaawn!
Raiga yawned as though he truly meant it. The beings gathered here could each erase several kingdoms without breaking a sweat. Still he provoked them without a second thought. His life might be racing toward its end, yet the martial power forged across a lifetime would not crumble so easily. For one of his caliber, he was not truly dead until the final breath left him.
Therefore—
“If you won’t come, I’ll go to you.”
Raiga loosened his shoulders. He turned his head, scanning the crowd for the first target he would shatter. Soon a woman entered his sight.
Serengeti. Closest aide to Knight King Wilhelm, the Pure White Knight.
She had recently defeated King Fredrick, overlord of the Iron Kingdom—and King Fredrick was the Demon of Pride.
She forced Pride to step back. That means she possesses that much latent power.
Pride. A demon who adored games and hated losing had taken a single step backward. Why? He was never the sort to retreat merely because an opponent was strong.
Those children… Dragon Gods.
Indeed. In a single glance Raiga had read their full strength. The two children were monsters bearing the rank of Dragon Gods. Like every other Dragon God, they would be invincible until a weakness was found—exactly like the Blade Dragon God. Absolute natural enemies of the Demon of Pride. The ultimate counters. With those natural enemies standing right before him, Pride could not afford greed.
Raiga’s lips curved into a faint smile. A truly fascinating combination. Far more intriguing than the other monsters was that ambiguous little cluster.
So—
Whoosh!
Raiga moved. The Pure White Knight Serengeti. Would she live up to the renown that surrounded her name?
In a blink he stood before her and casually extended his blade.
Clang—!
She blocked. She had blocked it.
Whoosh!
The rebound threw Raiga’s body backward; she lunged into the opening. Aura flared along Serengeti’s sword.
Sword Gang, is it.
Interesting, as expected. Had Sword Gang become this common? As Wilhelm’s closest aide she had clearly been taught properly.
However—
Boooom!
Gang can only be met by Gang. And a straighter, denser Gang always devours the weaker one.
“Hup…!”
Serengeti released the breath she had held and furrowed her brow. Had she not instantly twisted sideways to disperse the force, her entire frame would have crumpled. The Sword Gang forged in a single exchange had shattered.
“You’ve only just stepped into the realm of Gang, it seems. Still, that was quite excellent.”
Excellent—yet faintly disappointing. Was this the full measure of the warrior called Wilhelm’s right hand? One exchange of blades had been enough for Raiga to read everything Serengeti possessed. Strong for a human, yes. But only that far. She did not feel like someone who could march against Demon Kings.
Or perhaps I have simply grown too strong.
After reaching the boundary of death, Raiga had advanced one more step. He had smashed through the wall that had blocked him. Of course, even that had not let him overcome death itself.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Serengeti’s whole body shuddered again. Without sound or presence, a sword that transcended human perception arrived, and once more she managed to intercept it.
Clang—!
Clang-clang-clang!
But that was only the beginning. Invisible. Not even an afterimage. And still growing faster.
Strong……!
Serengeti clenched her teeth. Raiga was merely testing how far she could endure. Truly the Empire’s First Sword—worthy of the title of strongest on the continent. Even the star ability that swapped positions failed to activate. It simply would not trigger.
He’s blocking star powers?
For reasons she could not grasp, Raiga seemed to possess the means to nullify star abilities. Position-swapping failed even with the other monsters.
Yet Serengeti was a knight who had rolled through countless battlefields. She would not offer her throat so easily.
Danger……!
In a fraction of a heartbeat she sensed death and sprang backward.
“Oh-ho.”
Raiga smiled at the sight. Had she not retreated that instant, she would already be dead.
“Your danger sense is exceptional. Did Wilhelm teach you that as well?”
“……”
Serengeti could not answer. There was no way she could. The brush with ‘instant death’ she had just felt—she still did not understand what it had been. Only one thing was certain: she could not face Raiga like this.
Whoosh!
At that moment a pure-white whip cracked through the air and bound Raiga’s entire body in an instant.
Snake’s Binding.
A star authority that forcibly restrained its target—and not an ordinary star, but the named power of Jormungandr.
Far from flustered, Raiga’s smile only deepened.
“Is that your true form?”
……From the very beginning. From the moment he had stepped onto the twenty-fifth floor, Raiga had already sensed Isabella’s presence. Why she stood with them. How the woman who had vanished into the Abyss beside a goat had reappeared here. He was genuinely curious, yet he did not bother to ask.
“I have a great many things I wish to hear from you, Isabella von Dercian.”
She would confess them of her own accord soon enough.
Aria.
The moment she entered the confrontation against Eternal Randolph, she found herself unable to move. Not because she had confirmed Randolph’s identity—because of the something standing directly before her.
Thud.
Thud-thud-thud.
It was an ant. Yet it was nothing like an ordinary ant. The creature was enormous, and something like wet mud streamed down its entire body. Aria recognized that substance the instant she saw it.
It’s shedding…… its skin?
The ant was molting—casting off its old shell to become something stronger. But molting required nutrients.
Whoosh.
The ant’s eyes locked onto Aria.
“……!”
Her heart plummeted. She could neither breathe nor tremble. She was freezing in terror before a mere ant. Yet the thing before her could not be measured by species alone. That was…… a monster. A monster that endlessly devoured and evolved.
The true form of Ant King Fermon!
She had no idea how it had become this, but—
Thud!
Aria’s trembling knees gave out and she collapsed.
I have to warn the main force……
She had to tell them. Do not challenge it! That thing was far too despairing an existence—a beast that ate challengers and kept evolving. Yet her mind went blank. The thought of escape never even formed, as though something had already seized her.
Creak.
The ant opened its jaws. Aria’s consciousness began to blur in tandem.
At that exact moment—
Thud!
Something slammed into the ant’s side. Its movement halted. The ant smacked its mandibles with clear regret and returned to its place.
The existence that had stopped it.
Before her mind fully slipped away, Aria looked up at him and, face twisted in shock, forced out a single broken phrase.
“Y-you are……!”