Chapter 58

The knights of Eurasia quickly brought the chaos that had unfolded in the Stone Family under control.

The Black Cloud Knights were disarmed and imprisoned in the underground dungeon, and Mainz Kimbel's body was placed in a coffin and sent to the family's main castle.

Three full days passed like that, but Cornelia, contrary to plans, had not arrived.

‘Something must be going wrong.’

It was necessary to change the plan.

That was why Killian visited the Head's chamber where Coral Stone was imprisoned.

“Have you been well?”

Coral Stone, who had been imprisoned for three days, looked haggard.

“F-Fourth Young Master!”

“You look terrible. I'd believe it if someone told me you were a different person.”

“Give me time to explain. If you do, I can clear up the misunderstandings that have piled up…….”

“Lord. Don't do anything foolish.”

Killian said coldly, cutting off Coral Stone.

He was a man whose circumstances of trying to bring down Eurasia by joining hands with the Empire had already been proven.

There was no need to listen to his useless excuses one by one.

“I heard from Brother Demian. He said you have no intention of opening your mouth?”

Over the past three days, Demian was the only one who had met with Coral Stone.

And it was he who had told Killian to meet with the lord.

“No, I… Fourth Young Master…….”

“Once you’re taken to the main castle, you’ll face the Head or the Commander of the Knights directly anyway. I look forward to seeing if you can keep your mouth shut in front of them as well.”

Simon and Escardo.

At the mention of the two knights who represented Eurasia, the lord’s face hardened.

“Who knows? You might receive a slightly more lenient punishment if you confess before then.”

Killian nonchalantly tapped his sword.

Recalling the battle from three days ago, Coral Stone’s body trembled slightly.

He now knew all too well that Killian was not only the Tactician of the Blue Knight Order but also the new Commander of the Annihilation Squad who had hunted the Empire's Superhumans.

“Promise me one thing. If you do, I will tell you everything.”

‘There’s no need to push a cornered man off a cliff.’

Killian nodded his head as if to say, ‘go on.’

“Fourth Young Master… no, Sir Killian, I wish for you to be in charge of me from now on.”

“……?”

“That… Lord Demian is driving me into a corner too much, as if he’s catching a rat……”

As if recalling a bad memory, Coral Stone's face turned ashen.

A faint smile appeared on Killian’s lips.

‘So I was played by my brother’s plan.’

Thinking about it, there was no way a man of Demian’s caliber would have failed to make Coral Stone talk.

Whether by applying physical force or by sweet-talking him with brilliant rhetoric, winning over someone like him would have been an easy task.

But Demian did not do so, and instead played the bad hand of deliberately pressuring him for the past three days.

‘I should assume he passed him over to me belatedly for another reason.’

The geographical advantages of the Stone Family's territory and the scale of the Black Cloud Knight Order.

Considering their value, it was true that it would be a waste to let them fall just like this.

‘Well, even if I make a promise, it will be hard for him to be safe once he returns to the family.’

Unless a new use was found for Coral Stone and the Black Cloud Knight Order, a terrible end was certain.

There was no need to say such a thing right now.

“I understand. I’ll stake my position as the Commander of the Annihilation Squad and strive for the survival of ‘you’ and ‘your family’.”

“Thank you!!”

Coral Stone bowed his head as if he were prostrating.

“Now, then. Shall we hear what great burdens our lord has been carrying?”

Although the lord felt a sense of dread at Killian's friendly smile.

‘From now on… this man is all I have to lean on. I must prove my usefulness no matter what.’

A look of grim determination spread across the face that had found hope.

“I told the First Young Master as well… Cornelia will not be able to arrive here.”

He began to recount the information he had heard from Mainz Kimbel.

***

The Stone Family's training ground.

Demian, who had entered the place alone, scanned his surroundings.

“…….”

The center of the training ground was half-destroyed from the battle three days ago.

The scars carved by swords and mana.

As he took them in with his eyes, the battle from that time came back to him vividly.

‘He should be sweet-talking the lord by now.’

Shing.

Demian drew Pisaro from its sheath.

White mana bloomed over the blade, and soon began to rage.

‘Light breathing. Was the sword heavy?’

He recalled Killian’s movements from the center of the mana storm.

Mana scattered, following the recreated movements.

How many times had he swung his sword like that? Before he knew it, Demian's body was soaked in sweat.

And Serena was quietly watching him.

‘Is he mimicking the Commander's movements?’

She had come to call for Demian under Killian’s orders and had stumbled upon the scene.

Normally, she would have revealed her presence immediately, but Demian, lost in a state of complete immersion, did not notice her even though she was not using her stealth.

‘The future of the family, he said.’

She recalled Bastian in the past, saying that the First Young Master was the one who would succeed the Head.

‘So much has changed.’

In less than three years, the situation in Eurasia had changed a great deal.

The First Young Master had grown at a speed comparable to the Head and reached 6-star, and the Fourth Young Master had become the new Commander of the Annihilation Squad.

‘I wonder what father would have said if he saw the Commander now.’

She was just having that thought.

“What is it?”

Demian, who had finally noticed her presence, asked, drenched in sweat.

“Commander Demian, the Commander of the Annihilation Squad is calling for you.”

“Is that so.”

Demian looked at her quietly while catching his breath.

“Is there something you wish to say?”

“Come to think of it.”

“……?”

“Has it been a long time since I faced the sword of the Annihilation Squad?”

“The Annihilation Squad does not draw its sword unless it’s a mission.”

“The previous Commander of the Annihilation Squad said so as well.”

Immediately after, Demian emitted a pure white mana.

Carpe.

The mana of a 6-star knight dominated the training ground.

‘To already cover this much space…….’

Not only had he completely imbued the Carpe with his own color, but its density was also considerable.

Demian smiled and pointed his sword at her.

“How long do you think it took for Sir Bastian to escape my Carpe?”

“…….”

Serena’s eyebrows twitched at the obvious provocation.

The reflux from the battle three days ago had mostly subsided.

‘It wouldn’t be bad for a test.’

Shing.

Green mana rose from Aether.

Whoosh.

Demian’s Carpe wavered along the trajectory of her swung sword.

She had begun to interfere with the Carpe using the characteristics of her sword.

“Aether. It’s a fine sword, no matter how many times I see it.”

Clang.

The two swords clashed.

The mana that Aether had failed to absorb completely ripped through her body like an electric current.

‘Pisaro. Its mana conductivity is higher than I thought.’

Although there was a difference in power, it could be seen as having properties similar to Haki.

“I believe I am at a level where you can show your full strength.”

“You will regret those words,”

Serena said with a cold smile.

Grrrrrrr.

She channeled her Haki into Aether.

***

‘What is this situation now.’

Killian looked at the white and green mana clashing in the training ground.

After extracting the information from Coral Stone, he had ordered Serena to find Demian.

Hearing nothing back, he felt the clash of mana and came to investigate, only to find the two people he was looking for crossing swords.

In a span of just over 30 seconds, the two knights' swords had clashed countless times.

‘A duel between geniuses. I suppose this is what they mean when they say it’s a feast for the eyes.’

At most, ten years.

The two would eventually overcome the wall.

‘Serena has already entered the stabilization phase of 6-star. Brother Demian seems to need a little more time.’

It was while Killian was thinking that.

“It looks like you two are planning to destroy the entire training ground.”

Shhh.

Yulian, who had canceled his stealth, approached Killian's side.

He, too, seemed to have come after sensing the mana fluctuations while resting with the other Annihilation Squad members.

“To exchange swords with Vice-commander Serena like that… Lord Demian has become a monster as well.”

Yulian’s skills were acknowledged as superior even to the 6-star knight Philip, making him the second sword of the Annihilation Squad.

Even in his eyes, Demian was not at a level that could be called a typical 6-star knight.

“You should become 6-star as soon as possible too.”

“I’m trying my best.”

“You’ll lose your position as the second sword to Philip soon.”

“Haha. Commander, I’ve been in the Annihilation Squad for nearly 10 years. I have no intention of handing it over meekly.”

“Right. Your life is doomed to never become the first sword because of Serena.”

“Comparing me to Serena is cheating, isn't it?”

“You pitiful fellow.”

“…….”

It was while Killian and Yulian were exchanging silly banter.

Demian and Serena, who had been in the midst of their exchange, abruptly stopped their movements and turned their gazes to them.

“You ended a good show.”

“Why is that my fault?”

Killian ignored the grumbling Yulian and approached Demian.

“Coral Stone has confessed everything.”

“Has he.”

“There’s something to discuss regarding his punishment, but…….”

The white mana wrapped around Pisaro suddenly caught his eye.

“Your sword has gotten sharper than during the subjugation, hasn't it?”

“Because I’ve found a good competitor.”

“Is that so.”

Killian chuckled and looked at Serena.

“It seems your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. Don’t overdo it.”

“It wasn’t to the point of overdoing it.”

Despite facing Demian, her breathing was not heavy.

It seemed she had not fought with all her strength.

“Well then. I’ll see you again next time, Lord Demian.”

Ssshhh.

Serena used her stealth and disappeared from sight.

“Commander, your one and only second sword will also take his leave now.”

The training ground fell silent as the two members of the Annihilation Squad disappeared.

“The Annihilation Squad’s stealth is amazing every time I see it. It’s good enough to be compared to high-ranking Walkers.”

“You could learn it quickly too if you wished, brother.”

Demian shrugged.

Unlike the Annihilation Squad, he was a commander leading a sizable knight order.

Learning a Walker's footwork was far from the swordsmanship he pursued.

“Did your talk with the lord go well?”

“You certainly cornered him for two days. Are you planning to keep him alive?”

“Wouldn’t it be a waste of the territory’s location and the knight order’s power to just annihilate them like this?”

“I see.”

It was the answer he had expected.

“So, what are your thoughts after talking to him yourself?”

“He said that five Superhumans from the Empire are to be added to the western frontier.”

“Five…?”

As if he hadn't expected that number, Demian’s face hardened.

Even hunting a single Superhuman required considerable effort from Eurasia.

‘With five Superhumans, even Cornelia would struggle to handle them unless they went all out. No, in the first place, there’s no way that many people could enter and leave the frontier at once…….’

Knowing the detection capabilities of the giant tower owned by Cornelia, the Violet Magic Tower, made it all the more questionable.

“It doesn’t seem to be a lie. He said there’s a skilled magician among the Empire’s mages who can nullify the Magic Tower’s detection.”

“If it’s a master of that level under the Second Prince… is it the Black Duke? We were almost in big trouble.”

He felt relieved all over again that he had included Killian and the Annihilation Squad in the mission.

“If five Superhumans really did cross over… even the Magic Order led by Sir Kiel would have a hard time staying safe.”

“It seems we need to start preparing on our end as well.”

The morale of the White Knight Order and the Annihilation Squad was at its peak after hunting Mainz Kimbel.

“This time, we’ll truly have to risk our lives.”

“I’ve sent a carrier pigeon to the family. If we focus on defense, we should be able to buy some time.”

Contrary to their worries.

After another day had passed, the Magic Order led by Kiel Cornelia arrived at the Stone territory.

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