The Sword Demon's Dawn Advice
Raon opened the door to the training ground in the dim hours before sunrise. The place was completely empty — everyone had clearly worn themselves out enjoying the second festival Rimer had thrown with his own money.
It's been a while since I felt like this.
Back at House Zieghart this had been a sight he saw every single day, but ever since arriving at House Arian so much had happened that standing alone in a dawn training ground felt like something from another lifetime.
A lot really did happen.
He had come thinking it would be a light assignment. The real mission, though, hadn't been about clearing out monsters — it had been about lifting the darkness that hung over this family. And once that darkness was gone, even blacker things had come pouring in, nearly bringing the entire land crashing down.
Thanks to the support from Habun Castle, Owen, Valkar, the Iron Blood Sword Squad, and that chronically late Rimer, they had managed to drive Manghongwi out. But the truth was they had survived by the thinnest of margins.
It was close.
Raon looked up at the sea-colored dawn sky and tightened his grip on the scabbard of the Heavenly Sky Sword.
Because I was weak.
Peak Master at twenty years old. They called him the greatest talent on the continent — and that was all it was. A title.
Real combat doesn't go easy on you just because you're young.
In a spar, youth earned you consideration. In a real fight, youth and inexperience were weaknesses the enemy would drive a blade straight through. The stronger you became, the stronger the enemies you met. To fight monsters of a higher caliber, he needed martial prowess that transcended time itself.
It's time I focused on myself.
This war had pushed every member of the Light Wind Squad to Expert High-Class or beyond, and more than a few had reached the peak of that realm. Burren, Marta, and Runaan stood right at the wall of Master, and Dorian wasn't far from touching it either. It was time to assign the Light Wind Squad their individual training and pour his energy into his own growth.
"Nngh…"
Wrath crawled up onto the bracelet, letting out a groan. He had been eating so well lately that he had puffed up into a plump little cotton-candy cloud.
"It's been so nice and quiet lately. And now you're going to start that boring sword-swinging from the crack of dawn again."
He muttered that the good times were over and heaved a sigh.
Then give me some advice, why don't you.
"Hmph! Why would This King go around raising his own enemy!"
Wrath grumbled that he would never help an enemy, then crawled back into the bracelet. The extra belly fat made the process take a little longer than usual.
Boring sword-swinging from the crack of dawn, huh…
The words felt strangely nostalgic. Hearing Wrath chatter like that lifted his spirits, as if he had been transported back to his trainee days.
The training itself hasn't changed.
Then as now, every session began with the fundamentals. He was about to draw the Heavenly Sky Sword for basic drills when the training ground door opened.
Who…
He hadn't sensed anyone with his perception, which was strange — and then the Sword Demon stepped into view.
"Lord Rektar?"
"I merely came out to loosen up. Pay me no mind and continue your training."
The Sword Demon waved a hand and moved off to a distant corner.
Huh…
Raon let out a breath as he watched him.
He still trains at dawn even at that level?
No — that was probably how he had reached that level in the first place. Seeing a martial artist who would not yield even to the Continental Ten Heavens come out to train at this hour only deepened Raon's resolve to work harder.
He drew the Heavenly Sky Sword at once. Lifting it, he set the blade high above his head. From the high guard, the descending edge carried the weight of a mountain. Raon loosened up with vertical cuts, horizontal cuts, diagonal slashes, and thrusts, then lowered the Heavenly Sky Sword.
It's clearly different.
Even running through the basics, he could feel it. After his spar with the Sword Demon, every aspect of his swordsmanship seemed to have grown by leaps and bounds.
Raon raised the Heavenly Sky Sword again and settled it into a middle guard.
This time, the Mad Fang Sword.
He worked through the forms of the Mad Fang Sword one after another — techniques designed to pry open an opponent's openings. The Mad Fang Sword, too, unleashed fierce blade-strokes that felt like a beast's fangs grown thicker and sharper than before.
He completed one full cycle of the Mad Fang Sword and was about to enter the second form's rotation when he felt a presence behind him.
"Ahem!"
It was the Sword Demon. The man who had been standing far off had somehow come right up behind him.
"It would be better if you eased off the power just a little…"
He glanced at the Heavenly Sky Sword and muttered in a low voice.
"Pardon?"
Raon halted the flow of the Mad Fang Sword and turned around.
"Ah, I was talking to myself. I suppose you overheard."
"Talking to yourself?"
These days people talk to themselves right in your ear?
The Sword Demon had spoken perfectly clearly from directly behind him, then offered an awkward smile and called it a soliloquy.
"If I may ask, what did you mean by easing off the power?"
"Are you asking me?"
"Huh? Ah — yes."
"Then I suppose I have no choice but to answer."
He nodded readily and stepped up beside Raon.
"What is the name of that perception sword you were using?"
"It's called the Mad Fang Sword."
"The Mad Fang Sword is a perception sword, which means it is vital that you know your own ability with absolute precision."
The Sword Demon drew his blade as if to demonstrate and swept it downward. It was nearly identical to the first form of the Mad Fang Sword.
"You crossed the wall of Peak Master in the blink of an eye, so you have yet to adapt to the principles your swordsmanship has already attained."
He continued, unfolding a stroke similar to the second form of the Mad Fang Sword.
"Your physical strength and aura have grown, so the techniques look more powerful — but they are actually easier to deal with than before. Leave the aura as it is and focus on the principles of your martial study. Raise the completeness of the swordsmanship itself."
"Ah…"
The Sword Demon was telling him that he had not yet drawn out the full depth of the principles his swordsmanship had reached.
"Bleed the power and aura packed into your shoulders, and pour the martial principles you have realized even deeper into the blade. You will produce a strike that is fiercer than before — and more profound."
"Thank you for the advice."
Raon lowered his sword and bowed at the waist.
As expected of the head of the Five Great Swordsmen.
To identify the problem after watching the basics and the Mad Fang Sword only once — "impressive" didn't begin to cover it. The epithet Sword Demon was not something he wore for nothing.
Holding the Sword Demon's advice in his mind, Raon unfolded the Mad Fang Sword once more.
A deep, resonant hum rolled through the steel. The power that had been bunched at the sword's center spread through the entire length of the blade, and the newly refined martial principles coiled around it. The Mad Fang Sword that emerged was of an entirely different caliber, letting out a savage cry.
"Ahem. From there, if you layered the principles of the Heavy Sword and the Orthodox Sword just a little thicker, it might be even better."
The Sword Demon walked past him, muttering as if to himself again.
"Uh…"
"Ah, you heard that too? Forgive me. The older I get, the more I talk to myself."
He waved a hand with a dry chuckle.
Raon tilted his head at the Sword Demon's faintly amused smile.
What is this? Why is this old man acting like this?
Rimer scratched his chin as he looked down on the training ground from the top of the wall. His eyes were fixed on the Sword Demon offering Raon advice.
Getting greedy for a disciple, is he?
He had seen Raon's talent up close. Wanting to take a boy like that as a student was hardly strange.
Raon won't accept him anyway, so it doesn't matter. Except…
That resemblance was what nagged at him. Standing side by side, Raon and the Sword Demon looked even more alike. Honestly, they looked enough alike to be blood.
And him coming all the way to House Zieghart is strange too.
Raon had said the Sword Demon and his disciple would be visiting House Zieghart as guests. A man who had never once come north in his life had taken one look at Raon and decided to go to House Zieghart. Something was definitely going on.
If they really are blood, this is going to get interesting.
On his mother's side, Glenn Zieghart of the Six Kings. On his father's side, the Sword Demon, head of the Five Great Swordsmen. That was the kind of pedigree that would get a playwright heckled for stacking the deck.
The Head of House wouldn't just sit still if that were true, would he?
Glenn still believed himself to be Raon's only grandfather and kept his true feelings hidden. If the Sword Demon wedged himself into that space, there would be no more room for that kind of composure.
Please let me not be imagining this!
An excited smile spread across his face as he pictured even more entertaining things unfolding at House Zieghart.
O God of Fortune. Please keep sending this one the most entertaining situations imaginable… Hm?
He broke off mid-prayer and looked toward the spire at the center of the castle. Muston, the Sword Demon's disciple, had climbed to the top of the tower and was glaring down at Raon.
What's he doing up there?
Rimer had seen the Sword Demon putting him through drills at the training ground on the opposite side. Why he had abandoned that training to glare at Raon from up there was a mystery.
Getting angry because your master is looking after someone else is one thing, but that face is a bit much.
It was an expression stuffed full of jealousy. Muston, disciple of the Sword Demon, was showing a human immaturity that did not match his age. The man might be good with a sword, but he clearly had no talent for raising disciples.
Rimer turned a thumbs-down toward the Sword Demon and grinned.
"I won the disciple contest."
Raon lowered the Heavenly Sky Sword only after the sun had climbed to the middle of the sky. He smiled with a satisfaction that matched the sweat running down his brow.
He's incredible.
The Sword Demon picked out every shortcoming in Raon's movement as if he really had become a ghost, and then told him exactly how to make the swordsmanship better.
I didn't think I'd adapt this fast.
Thanks to the Sword Demon's steady stream of advice, a single morning of training had been enough to reshape his techniques to fit the martial study he had already attained.
"Lord Rektar."
Raon sheathed the Heavenly Sky Sword and approached the Sword Demon, who was stretching in a faintly awkward way.
"Thanks to you, I feel as though I've properly internalized the power I've gained. I'm grateful for the help."
"Internalized? You still have a long way to go. Keep training steadily."
The Sword Demon nodded, telling him not to be satisfied with where he stood and to push further.
"Although…"
Raon rubbed the back of his head and rolled his eyes.
"Your disciple seems to have been watching this place the entire time. Is that all right?"
Yesterday's lesson apparently hadn't taken. Muston was glaring down at them with murder in his eyes.
"When jealousy blinds a man, he becomes that unsightly."
Wrath clicked his tongue as if he pitied him.
"It is not as though his master would change just because he offered you a little help, yet he wastes his time like that. Pathetic."
He scowled and added that he would rather spend that time eating a good meal.
"It's fine."
The Sword Demon lifted his gaze to the top of the spire. The moment their eyes met, Muston hurriedly climbed back down.
"That child is older than you, but his experience of the world is still extremely thin. Once he sees and feels more, he will come to understand some things on his own. Of course, I will still have to keep teaching him."
Worry for his disciple soaked every word, and a faint smile touched his mouth.
"You seem to have someone similar yourself."
The Sword Demon turned his eyes toward the western wall.
"He appears even more interested in this side than my disciple is."
"You don't need to worry about that."
Raon looked at Rimer and sighed.
"Our squad leader has always been a peeping tom."
True to the description, the moment Rimer realized he had been caught, he waved with complete shamelessness.
"He's got a bad case of main-character syndrome. He hides and watches, then only shows up at the moment of crisis."
"We both have our burdens, it seems."
"We do."
Raon nodded with a small smile, and the Sword Demon smiled as well.
Once the laughter faded, an awkward silence settled between them for a moment.
"Well…"
The Sword Demon stepped back with his hands clasped behind him.
"I should be going. Continue your training."
"Thank you for your help today."
"It was nothing."
He waved a hand and left the training ground.
Raon bowed after him, then lifted the Heavenly Sky Sword once more. He unfolded the Snow Wind Sword Art, stirring a wind of frost — and a low voice drifted in from the training ground door.
"I think it would be better if you angled the art a little higher."
He didn't leave?
Before the eastern gate of House Arian, the swordsmen of the Light Wind Squad, Habun Castle, Owen, and the Iron Blood Sword Squad stood assembled with Morell's mages as if forming ranks. All of them had finished preparing to leave, mounted in armor and combat dress.
Wendy stepped forward, wearing a war-cloak marked with the blue wind emblem that proved her the head of House Arian.
"House Arian will never forget the help of our benefactors for as long as we live."
She folded her sleeves neatly and bowed at the waist with full ceremony.
"We thank you for the grace of saving our lives."
"We thank you!"
The people of House Arian standing behind Wendy bowed their heads in the same posture.
Receiving the gratitude of the entire house, Raon glanced to the side. Milland, Borini Kitten, Trevin, and Morell were all wearing gentle smiles.
"Now that these dark affairs have passed, I hope you will prosper and reclaim the renown you held a thousand years ago."
He accepted the thanks of House Arian's people and bowed his head in return.
"If the greetings are finished, we'll take our leave first."
Morell was already turning away.
"I'm the type that gets goosebumps standing around at these things."
"Thank you for coming."
"It wasn't for your sake. It was for that troublemaker of a princess, so don't concern yourself."
He waved a hand as if the whole subject bored him.
"Even so, you helped us in earnest. If you ever need anything, please say so."
"That won't be necessary. Still, let us meet again."
Morell said they would see each other next time, then vanished into light along with his mages.
"Hey."
Trevin came up beside Raon and tapped him on the shoulder.
"The Light Wind Squad said you'd be stopping at Habun Castle, so we'll head out first."
"Yes. I'll come find you once we're back."
"I'll probably be heading straight out on a mission, so you won't find me even if you look. When I get back, let's go a round. It's been a while."
"We're welcome anytime."
"Then before the year is out."
He and the Iron Blood Sword Squad left through the gate with easy smiles.
"Lord Raon."
Borini Kitten bowed his head. A bright smile spread across his face as he said it had been a fine time.
"Thanks to you, I was able to gain valuable experience and connections. You have my gratitude."
"Not at all. Having you here was truly reassuring."
Raon returned the greeting, then looked at the Third Prince of Owen.
"Uh…"
The Third Prince dipped his head slightly with the vacant eyes of a zombie. The purplish bruise around his eye socket suggested that the information Rimer had sold him about Marta had been completely useless.
"Then I shall see you again. Let us have a spar when we do."
Borini Kitten dragged the vacant-eyed Third Prince out through the gate.
"All right. Let's get ready too."
Burren turned and ordered the Light Wind Squad swordsmen to prepare for departure.
"Ugh, this is pissing me off."
Marta's face twisted as if her temper had well and truly snapped. Judging by the look of her, the Third Prince had earned himself nothing but her dislike.
"Ah. Couldn't pack very much…"
Runaan bit her lip, clutching a blueberry ice cream she had only been able to eat in this place. Regret sat heavy in her vacant eyes.
"Dorian."
Raon walked over to Dorian and held out his hand.
"Can I have that?"
"If you just say 'that,' how am I supposed to know what you mean!"
Dorian muttered that he was not a mind reader — and pulled a large paper bag from his Belly Pouch anyway.
"You sure pulled it out just fine."
Taking the bag Dorian had given him, Raon walked over to Wendy Ariane.
"You asked me for something before, remember?"
"Pardon? Asked you for something…?"
She tilted her head, not following.
Raon stepped in front of Wendy with the paper bag in his hands. It was so full that a few of the things piled on top spilled onto the ground — red and yellow stick candies.
"This is…"
Wendy picked up the two candies that had fallen and looked into Raon's bag. The large sack was packed to the brim with candies of every color.
"I was only saying it…"
She swallowed dryly as she stared at the candy.
"The way you forget old memories is by making new ones. Please stay strong — for the people who believe in you."
Raon smiled and held out the bag of candy.
"…I will."
Wendy let out a trembling breath and nodded.
"I am the head of this house, after all."
She smiled, feeling as though the childhood memories with Wigen were being gently covered over by happy ones of Raon and everyone else.
"Then we'll be going as well."
Seeing Wendy's smile, Raon nodded in satisfaction. He was about to turn and leave when the sound of a hem brushing the ground came from behind him.
"I and House Arian will await our lord's call."
"We will await the call!"
Wendy dropped to one knee and gripped the hilt of her sword. Following her, the other swordsmen of House Arian took the same posture and cried out that they would wait.
Hearing the entire house name him their lord and swear to follow, Raon's chest pounded as if it would burst. He looked at the people of House Arian kneeling with their hands over their hearts, and slowly clenched his fist.
"I, too, will look forward to the day I call on House Arian again."
He met her smile with a sincere one of his own, then turned his back. Meeting the eyes of the Light Wind Squad — surprise, blank astonishment, and a proud confidence all mixed together — he headed for the wide-open gates, so different from when they had first arrived.
"Let's go."
Raon took the lead, sweeping the Black Dragon Robe behind him, and the swordsmen of the Light Wind Squad and Habun Castle followed.
"Raon."
Wrath glanced back, then settled onto his shoulder. His expression was strangely soft — he seemed to have been moved by the moment as well.
What?
"Say, just wondering…"
Wrath licked his lips and snuck another look behind them. Raon was feeling rather proud, thinking the little glutton had actually been touched — and then Wrath's next words snapped the warm feeling clean in half.
"You wouldn't happen to have any leftover candy, would you?"
…….