Hard Carried by My Sword

Chapter 265

Ordinarily, the title of Guardian Knight was granted to a single person of high status, such as royalty or a great noble. And because a Guardian Knight’s skill and reputation directly translated into the honor of their charge, the vetting process was brutal.

No matter how skilled the candidate was, if their etiquette was a little rough, if nasty rumors dogged their name, or even if their looks were judged subpar, they were cut without mercy. If even human society was that picky about Guardian Knights, what would the standards of the dragon race be like? If one hadn’t even reached the rank of Master, they probably had no right to be evaluated by them at all.

“G-Guardian Knight? Me?”

Karen’s voice trembled before she could stop herself. Her reaction couldn’t be more valid. To be named the Guardian Knight of a dragon—what sort of title was that for a half-blood girl who had survived the slums as an assassin?

Albion let out a faint, amused smile at her reaction. “Indeed. I liked the way you beat my masterpiece, and that alien talent of yours as well.”

Given how notoriously stingy dragons were with praise for other races, that evaluation was all but the highest of compliments. Before they ascended to the Upper Heavens, dragons of the old age had often treated dwarves and elves alike as their workers. Dwarves built their lairs, and elves managed the surrounding environment.

Even when those two species gave their all in loyal service, what they received in return was a few words of praise at best. Cases where one of their kind was actually appointed as a Guardian Knight were nearly nonexistent.

“Being my Guardian Knight does not mean you must stay by my side at all times. Guard the world alongside the hero. If you have time left after that, I’ll be satisfied if you come find me with some offerings and stories to share.” Albion extended her index finger toward the girl who still didn’t know what to do with herself. “Or is it that this body of mine, lacking wings and a full set of horns, fails to please you? If so, I may have to show a bit of a temper.”

Karen flailed in panic and replied, “O-of course not! Albion, you’re strong, and beautiful, and, um, well... anyway, you’re really amazing!”

“As flattery goes, it lacks refinement, but it doesn’t feel entirely unpleasant.”

While the two spoke, William, still not fully processing what was happening, cut in, “Attuner, are you truly intending to make that child your Guardian Knight?”

“Did my words sound like an empty promise to you?” Albion asked with a dissatisfied look.

“No, not at all. I was simply curious as to how appointing a Guardian Knight would resolve the issue she’s facing...”

“Hm.” Albion gathered her thoughts for a moment, then answered, “This girl cannot use spirit arts because the natural world regards her as a foreign body. I intend to smother the sense of wrongness that the spirits feel toward her with my blood.”

The elven race might be close to natural law, but compared to dragons, they were hardly different from humans. There was a reason why dragons did not bother with spirit arts.

As transcendent beings founded upon the very order of the world, dragons existed above spirits. Unlike elves, they didn’t need to curry favor or build friendships—they simply commanded, and the spirits obeyed.

“In the old age, it was said that a dragon’s Guardian Knight—a Dragon Knight—could command spirits regardless of their original race. I’ve never created such a knight myself, but since I haven’t lost all of my draconic dignity, it should be possible.”

And indeed, it was. Those called Dragon Knights had all accepted dragon blood into their bodies, gaining tremendous accomplishments in both spirit arts and magic, and becoming far stronger than before.

Depending on how much blood they received, their lifespans could stretch to many times their old length. There were many cases where a Guardian Knight served practically as a nanny, watching over a dragon hatchling until it grew into an adult. Not that she was hoping for anything on that scale from a single drop.

“In the end, the choice is yours, child. Follow your heart,” Albion said to Karen with a generous smile across her face.

“I...” As if answering her, Karen stepped forward. “I want to be of help to the hero.” ƒrēewebnovel.com

“I see.”

“I want to repay Leon for pulling me out of the gutter.”

“I see.”

“But even as I think that... I don’t know if something as filthy as me is allowed to stay next to someone who shines like the sun. These hands are stained with the blood of innocents, and yet shamelessly, I just... don’t want to let go.”

At first, she just wanted to wipe away her past. She just wanted to run from a life that had been rotting in the damp. For a girl raised as an assassin in a back-alley slum with no parents, selfishness was only natural.

But somewhere along the way, her mercenary heart had softened, and she’d stopped seeing people as mere dummies. Color had returned to a life that had once been nothing but gray, and the guilt she’d buried deep in her chest had been unearthed.

“Albion.”

In the end, Karen could only act selfishly. Even as she writhed under the weight of the sins she’d piled up, she still couldn’t let this chance slip past. She reached out.

How shameless, she thought to herself as she carefully took Albion’s hand.

“Thank you for the honor.”

As Karen drew the dragon’s fingertip to her lips, Albion, for once, wore a gentle expression and stroked the girl’s hair.

“The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. No matter how you struggle to cast off an unpleasant past, it clings like a leech in the marsh. But if you refuse to turn away from your karma and meet it head-on, the day will come when you can settle it.”

The blood was only a medium. A fragment of the little draconic dignity Albion still possessed broke away and flowed into Karen’s body. This moment was the most crucial step in the birth of a Dragon Knight.

The single bead of blood slid down Karen’s throat and, carried by her heartbeat, raced through her entire body. And then, with a whoosh, a pale steam erupted from every pore of Karen’s skin, and her heated brown flesh flushed bright red.

Dragon Blood was a top-tier magical material, and when granted directly by a dragon, it carried their Essence. Even a single drop could remake a body like a superior elixir. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Feeling the heat roaring through her, Karen collapsed on the spot and closed her eyes, focusing entirely on the flow of power like she was entering meditation. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Good luck, Karen,” Elahan whispered softly to not disturb her companion.

Watching the scene, William called, “Saintess, let us continue as well.”

Perhaps Karen becoming a Guardian Knight had pricked William’s competitive pride; he led Elahan a bit farther away. There was still a mountain of things he had to teach her.

William asked, “Do you know about Heaven Denial?”

“That was... the Demon King’s unique power that nullified forces based on natural law, wasn’t it?” Elahan answered.

“Correct,” he nodded once, then elaborated. “Against Heaven Denial, pure physical attacks do not work at all, and magic below the eighth tier is nullified at the root. High-level sacred spells can chip away at its resistance, but only briefly. Even Aura Blade will have less than a tenth of its normal effect.”

That was why only a Hero could defeat the Demon King. Even if a hundred Masters gathered, they couldn’t break through Heaven Denial. They would simply be annihilated.

Rodrick could beat the Demon King to a pulp without the Holy Sword, but he was an exception. No common sense applied to a monster who could cleave a mountain range in half with a single swing of his sword.

“Still, the Holy Church has spent the last three hundred years trying to make up for that disgrace, researching ways to counter Heaven Denial in preparation for the Demon King’s possible return.”

Being saved by a single person, Rodrick, was both their pride and their shame. Being rescued by a once-in-history genius meant there might be no “next time.”

Just as the First Saintess had devoted herself to raising powerful successors, the council of the Holy Church had continued to dig into that karmic burden. William was one of those who had inherited their results and could explain the theory.

“Heaven Denial is a denial born from natural law itself, and by that logic, it halves the effectiveness of even sacred spells.” Then, William grinned and added, “Now, imagine there existed a sacred spell that opposed denial itself.”

The latest sacred spell, born of three centuries of research. Before Leon finished his training, Elahan had to master that.

***

With a sharp sound of the sword, several corpses lost their heads. Leon hadn’t released a shred of Aura, yet the killing intent radiating from his sword carved through bodies hard as steel. He hadn’t sent out sword-winds, either—those undead had merely strayed into the trajectory of his slash.

This was the power of the domain he had created with his sword. As Leon honed it further, he began to understand more and more.

“El-Cid. You told me not to use any Aura-release techniques... because I didn’t actually need them, right?” Leon asked.

El-Cid snickered, —Of course, you blockheaded disciple. It took you long enough to figure that out.

“Your mouth is so...”

Leon grumbled, but he didn’t refute him. Realizing something through his own power brought a far greater sense of accomplishment than simply following instructions.

Taken literally, the sword-domain was the “territory of the blade,” but the term referred to more than just range. He had to be able to use that territory like a sword for it to truly count as the foundation of the domain.

Leon finished carving the last monster to pieces and called out, “Rodlin.”

And the golem reported, “Yes, Master. No hostile signatures within a 1.5-kilometer radius. The mist’s anti-magic interference is increasing. From the next section onward, my detection range will shrink to under a kilometer.”

“How far into the valley are we?”

“Judging by the distance traveled from the entrance, we have advanced over fifteen kilometers in a straight line. Approximately forty-five kilometers remain until we reach the center of the Nether Valley.”

“A quarter of the way, huh...” Leon muttered and raised his blade again.

The fog’s blocking the functions of the Stigma. My regeneration is less than half of normal, but since this is pure physical exertion, my stamina’s still fine.

Without using Sun Sword or Grand Chariot, his Aura was not only untouched but was recovering his other energy sources even faster than usual. It showed just how much Aura he normally burned through without thinking.

In ordinary space, his regeneration was so fast he never had to worry about depletion, but in a special domain like the Nether Valley, that efficiency had to be accounted for. There was no guarantee things would be different when fighting Britra.

Always assume the worst. Prepare for it, Leon told himself.

What if Britra used a technique that corrupted the environment? What if his Corruption nullified the Stigmata entirely? If he had overwhelming resistance—or even immunity—to heat and light? Leon needed enough tools to adapt to any scenario, and he needed his body ready to respond instantly.

It was then that El-Cid spoke, gaze piercing the fog.

—Hmm. From here onward, it gets dangerous. You may use Aura as you see fit. If you can manage without it, keep training. If not, use it. Dying during training would be the most pathetic thing imaginable.

“It’s gonna get that dangerous?” Leon asked.

—The things you just fought were scraps—creatures from this world tainted by the laws of the beyond. But the ones coming up now? They’re closer to death than life.

Between something neither alive nor dead and something dead yet still living, the more dangerous one was obvious.

Unlike undead created by black magic, the Nether Valley’s undead moved by the laws of the exodimension. The Holy Sword could annihilate them, but sacred spells could not. This domain leaned far closer to their world than the human one.

“Let’s go,” Leon said to Rodlin.

“Yes, Master.”

Even so, Leon advanced without hesitation. If he balked at this level, he would never defeat—no, never even challenge—Britra. Even as a Grandmaster, there would be no guarantee of victory against that worst of dragons. He would not fear undead riffraff more than that.

“Gurrrrrrr...”

After some time passed, a bubbling, molten clatter echoed from beyond the fog, as though rusty metal was boiling. It was not a sound any living creature should make.

“I think I remember seeing this one in a story book when I was a kid...” Leon muttered as he saw three pairs of violet eyes gleaming in the mist, radiating murderous intent.

A monster recorded even in ancient hero tales. If one were to assign a danger ranking, it would be at least SS-rank.

Seeing the watchdog of the underworld, bearing three heads and a burning tail, El-Cid burst into gleeful laughter.

—Cerberus! Now that’s a flashy start!

Cut off from its original realm, it couldn’t display its full might. However, even weakened, this was not a creature mere humans could lightly provoke. Gods of the afterlife had raised it as a guardian. Within its domain, it was akin to a demigod; even outside, one or two Masters alone could not contend with it.

Leon lifted his blade before it, red cloak billowing, and said, “Rodlin, fall far back. Don’t get caught up in this.”

“Understood. Master...”

“Hm?”

She met his gaze, bowed once, and said, “May fortune be with you.”

“Huh... Thanks!”

Startled but smiling at the unexpected encouragement, Leon turned forward again. Meeting someone’s expectations—anyone’s—was the duty of a hero. Even if that someone happened to be a golem.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we begin?”

Facing those six shining eyes, Leon’s own turned a brilliant gold, defying their glare. The fog cleared just a little more.

Cerberus and the Hero. The two measured each other once, from head to toe.

“Gwoooooh!”

“Haaaaaah!”

Without waiting for a signal, both charged straight in.