Chapter 34: From a Tense Daily Life (2) I swing my sword.
...No, the word "swing" doesn't quite fit.
I trace a path through the void. Like a painter with a brush, I concentrate every nerve into the tip of this longsword to draw a line.
Sssssss—
The noise persists. There is no avoiding the sound of the blade tearing through the air.
However, Priya had told me to make no sound, and her sword had indeed been silent.
Whirrrrr—
The wind brushes against my cheek. The rustling of fallen leaves. The dirt and dust spreading beneath my feet.
I think as I draw with my sword.
I must resemble the wind. I must release the sword as if a stream were flowing. I must polish my inner self until it is clear.
I initiated the Ebenholtz Link.
The first horizontal slash, followed by a drawing cut that flowed from its end.
Shweeeeek—!
Rather than cutting the movement short with raw strength, I connect my body to the sword, flowing seamlessly into the next strike. I continuously forge the Link of the blade.
Sak— Whiiik—
Like nature in flux, the sword must not cleave the wind. It must advance while embracing it. It is a solitary sword dance. An act of tempering myself alone, with no opponent and no master.
In that moment, I found myself reflecting. I looked at my face, reflected momentarily on the surface of the blade.
Before the regression, I was powerless.
Now, I was anxious.
Where can I truly go? How far can I reach?
The cries of ruin echoing from a distant world, and the whispers of the monster squirming inside me. Countless questions bloom and vanish along the sword's trajectory.
"...."
I abruptly stopped my training. I held the sword up to the moon in the night sky. The blade, wrapped in bandages, reflected the transparent light.
My sword was still different from Priya's. Her sword had shone without sound or form.
"...Priya."
Priya, who was not an Ebenholtz, understood the Ebenholtz sword more deeply than any Ebenholtz ever could.
What was her identity, and her reason for teaching me—
"—You're working hard."
A familiar voice drifted in. I quickly turned toward it. A smile naturally formed on my lips.
"Edmond."
Edmond Brwindol. A man who grew up alongside me like a brother, only to eventually throw himself into the Revolutionary Group.
The man who, perhaps, was responsible for sending me back to this time.
The red-haired man took off his hat and grinned.
"It's been a while, Max."
"I guess your business trip is over?"
"It is. Though I'll have to leave again soon."
Edmond had returned to his younger face, and I still couldn't find it in me to hate him. I approached him, eyeing his still-thick hair.
"...Edmond. Take care of your hair."
"My hair?"
He tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah. You never know when it might suddenly vanish. Start taking care of it now."
He chuckled, seemingly taking my words as a joke.
"If anything, it's so thick it's a problem."
"You'll regret saying that later."
"Whatever."
With that, he pulled out a scroll. The Imperial seal was clearly stamped upon it.
"Read it."
I opened the scroll. It was an Imperial decree stating that signs of treason had been detected in a certain family and ordering me, as a knight, to "prepare."
"A Decapitation Operation will be carried out. I recommended you among the knights."
Lieutenant Colonel Edmond Brwindol, aide to Zebestian, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Military, had recommended this mission to me before my regression as well.
It was because this mission itself was a massive achievement.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Edmond smirked, but his expression quickly hardened into seriousness.
"However... discussions regarding race are intensifying in the Imperial Palace lately. His Majesty the Emperor is leading them personally."
The Emperor. The master of this gargantuan nation. A man with rare legitimacy in Imperial history, being both the eldest son and the eldest grandson of the direct line.
I didn't know much about him, but he was certainly a man of endless ambition. His actions proved it. He was possessed by the single-minded goal of ruling this entire vast continent, harboring the delusion that he was a god.
He was a dangerous man. One that even an Ebenholtz wouldn't dare oppose.
"Max. What are your thoughts?"
Edmond asked.
"Well. I think that between races..."
The Emperor loathed the sub-species. Because he considered it his calling, he allowed no dissenting opinions.
"There is a hierarchy."
For now, the only thing I could do was subtly twist the Emperor's will.
"A hierarchy?"
"The Imperial Arans are the most superior. There is no doubt about that. Below the Arans are the subjects of the Western Kingdoms and the Republican Union. They are moderately contaminated, but their bloodlines are relatively close to the Arans."
"...Contaminated."
Edmond repeated my words with a small smile.
"The Sled people of the East are inferior. The Merin who follow the Mer religion and the followers of Edlem are the same."
"They're all bastards who deserve to be struck down."
Edmond intentionally used strong words. I felt a pang of pity for his effort.
He continued.
"The bigger problem is the sub-species. The Dromons, Elinas, Yekens, and—"
"The Izenheims."
I emphasized the Izenheims.
"But I believe there is a clear hierarchy even among sub-species. Dromons are useful enough to be utilized. Most of them are good with their hands. The same goes for the Elinas and Yekens. They can be used as dogs or pigs for the Arans. It might be entirely possible to domesticate them."
Edmond faltered. But Edmond, the you of the past once said, 'The lesser of two evils.'
I fully agree with that sentiment. Rather than the entire race being exterminated, it would be hundreds of times better to become the Empire's livestock.
"However, the Izenheims are impossible to recycle."
Edmond's lips twitched. He wore an expression that tried to betray nothing.
"They are waste. Beings who deserve no sympathy and should not exist on this continent."
"...My goodness."
He gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"I'll have to hope that Izenheim blood isn't mixed in mine."
Edmond's greatest weakness lay in a mere document. It was a single sentence written in this sturdy man's personnel file.
'Mother: Selly Brwindol, born in the Western Progen Republic.'
"Edmond. You are an Aran."
I had already reached that conclusion.
"Max. Don't say things like that carelessly. The Agentes might hear you."
Agentes. A special position, the inner circle of the Emperor's confidants.
However, no one in the world knew their true identity. In fact, before my regression, the Revolutionary Group had concluded that the Agentes were false information.
"The Agentes are going to take an Ebenholtz away? It's more likely that I'm an Agentes myself."
"...Pfft. I suppose so."
Edmond laughed softly.
"I'm off. Oh, I left your souvenir from the trip with your butler."
Edmond prepared to leave. I watched his retreating back.
His thick hair and the sword strapped to his waist. His sturdy shoulders and straight back.
The old Edmond, who was bald and hunched, leaning on a cane instead of a sword, was gone now.
"Edmond."
He turned back to look at me.
For the first time in a long, long while, I asked him.
"...How is it out there?"
Edmond raised an eyebrow and gave a short answer.
"It's still hell."
He seemed to understand "out there" as the battlefield. Whether against monsters or humans.
"So stay inside if you can, Max."
It was ironic to hear him talk about "inside." It was thanks to you that I came out here.
"Edmond. The Empire will definitely get better."
Edmond nodded and turned away.
"...I'm sure it will."
He walked away, waving a hand behind his back.
Left alone, I unfurled the decree once more.
I sighed as I read the contents written in the Imperial script.
* * *
The target of the Decapitation Operation was the Cailus family. Once legitimate high-ranking officials of the West, they were now suspected of treason by the Imperial Palace. To be precise, several of their branch lines and the entire direct line were targets for execution.
However, this was a small revolution triggered by a branch member of the Cailus family—specifically, the head of the household's younger brother—who had sided with the Imperial Palace.
Having participated in this operation before my regression, the memories remained vivid.
Looking at the details, there was an incident that could be used as a pretext. The Emperor had coveted an ancient treasure passed down through the Cailus family for generations, but the head of the household had politely declined.
That alone was the beginning of the treason.
In this era, anything could become treason, and anyone could become a traitor.
— It couldn't be helped.
Zebestian had said this about the Cailus family.
— Their youngest son seemed quite useful.
Such praise from Zebestian was extremely rare.
In fact, it was a compliment that had sparked enough jealousy to ring in my ears for a long time.
— ...But why did you go there?
At the same time, my father had despised me for failing to achieve any merit there.
Regardless, the operation was already underway. Using a business trip as an excuse, I boarded a transport plane on the Knights' private runway.
"Salute."
Receiving a salute from an unnamed pilot, I took my seat.
Rumble—
The transport plane flew through the sunlight and landed at a location where the main castle of the Cailus family, on the western coast of the Empire, was visible as a small speck.
By then, night had already fallen.
"...Sir Knight. Do you have no other personnel?"
The pilot asked me.
A knight is the Sword of the Empire and the ultimate overseer. It means it doesn't matter if they are alone. Especially in a Decapitation Operation like this.
"I am enough."
"Yes, sir."
The pilot boarded the transport plane again and departed. He likely didn't know what kind of operation would take place here.
I sat on a rock amidst the dark thicket. In the distance, the Cailus family's main castle stood atop a sheer cliff.
"...."
I waited there quietly. I killed time, lost in thought for a moment.
Then, at some point.
KABOOM—!
A massive explosion erupted. The signal for battle. The Imperial army had launched a preemptive strike.
I began to move slowly toward the site.
The family castles, the places called the main strongholds, were fundamentally sturdy fortresses. They were surrounded by high walls and mana cannons, as well as layers of defensive magic circles.
Not knowing exactly who the attacker was or what the cause was, the Cailus family would naturally retaliate...
Rat-tat-tat—!
Mana shells spat fire from atop the castle walls.
Since they had aimed their muzzles at the Imperial army, the treason was now perfectly complete.
I walked through the darkness, retracing the past. I had once read the relevant records during a merit review.
The Virus brought those memories back to life.
[House Cailus Treason Incident]
[...Four members of the direct bloodline, including the mastermind Yusef von Cailus, attempted to escape to the coastline through the main castle's underground moat but were killed at sea. Other family members who attempted to flee separately were discovered near the Macken Mountains on the western border...]
The direct bloodline of the Cailus family would soon realize that the enemy they were facing was the Imperial Palace, and they would seek an escape route to save their lives. The moat beneath the main castle, a secret passage leading to the coast.
However, that information had also already been leaked. The sea was already perfectly blockaded by the Imperial fleet.
Their only future was total annihilation.
Before the regression, I had simply watched from a distance. Since the Empire had already decided to kill them, the difference in power was nearly infinite anyway.
Not anymore.
I must earn merit. I must rise to the highest rank as a knight and gain the recognition of Zebestian, and by extension, the Emperor.
Of course, the Cailus bloodline wouldn't be Izenheims, but...
"Hup!"
I dashed toward them, concentrating mana into my legs. With every stride, I released a burst of mana the moment my feet kicked off the ground. My form tore through the brush at a speed faster than a warhorse.
Dash—!
I reached the castle walls in no time. Gunfire rained down from above. The castle's magic systems were defending against the Imperial army's bombardment. Without slowing down, I unwound the bandages from my longsword. Suddenly, the moon in the night sky reflected off the blade.
Ebenholtz First Form: Link.
Screeeech—
The silver sword-light generated by the longsword extended in an instant. A pure white arc swallowed the castle wall and the troops atop it. Cracks spread like spiderwebs, tearing apart stone, steel, flesh, and bone alike.
"...."
I retrieved my sword and corrected my stance. A section of the wall crumbled like a sandcastle. I charged into the castle, passing the Imperial soldiers who had stopped in momentary bewilderment.
Thump. Thump.
From somewhere, I sensed the presence of Izenheims. Those bastards were hiding among these Imperial troops. But that was for later. It was something I could deal with at any time.
My top priority right now—was my own achievement for the sake of the Empire.
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