Alderan Basaglia.

That name could be found in the Empire’s history books. Yet no one knew anything about the man called Alderan. Who was he, to have his name written so prominently in their pages? And what had he done that not a single related record remained?

The imperial historians would puzzle over that blank in the record. He certainly seemed to have been someone important... Had the records been lost during the Dawn War? Or had he been a traitor whose existence was erased from history?

Countless documents had burned during the Dawn War. With no way to verify the facts, all they could do was speculate.

Amid those many conjectures, one historian asserted, “This Alderan Basaglia must have been a traitor. The erasure of his records proves it.” The next day, that historian was found beheaded in his own home.

Other historians who made similar claims met much the same fate. They were found with severed fingers or tongues torn out at the root. The grotesque incidents enraged the Empire.

Who dared threaten the Empire’s historians? The imperial family itself took charge of the investigation, but before long, the inquiry quietly ended. Not because they had failed to find the culprit, but because he was far too important to punish.

Gerd, hero of the Dawn War.

He was the culprit. The emperor summoned him privately and asked his reasons, but Gerd gave only a brief reply.

“I have not forgotten.”

“Forgotten what?”

“The great hero of the Empire, my teacher, and the former foremost warrior of the Empire... His...”

Gerd showed him his sword.

“Triumphant Sword.”

Decades later, on the day Gerd became the Empire’s foremost warrior, a few lines were added beneath the name Alderan Basaglia at the new titleholder’s request.

The former foremost warrior of the Empire.

Teacher of Sir Gerd, the current foremost warrior of the Empire.

Founder of the Triumphant Sword, the basis of present-day imperial swordsmanship.

That was Gerd’s first act after assuming the title. He inscribed that name in the Empire’s history books once more, so that he would not forget the promise he had made to his teacher.

Even when the records are distorted and erased, Gerd keeps correcting the history books.

Again, and again, and again...

2.

Alderan Basaglia, the Empire’s foremost warrior.

Najin had heard that name before. It would have been strange if he hadn’t. Wasn’t Alderan Basaglia the teacher of Gerd, the Empire’s Sword Master, and the founder of the Triumphant Sword, the swordsmanship Gerd practiced?

'... Why?'

The moment the man revealed his name, a question rose in Najin’s mind.

'Why couldn’t I remember?'

There had been plenty of clues. The Helmeted Knight had spoken as though he had ties to Gerd, and the swordsmanship he taught Najin resembled imperial swordsmanship. Only now did Najin understand the familiarity he had sensed in the Helmeted Knight’s sword.

It was Gerd’s swordsmanship.

Najin was bewildered that he had failed to recall that distinctive style, which split the earth in a straight line even without sword aura. Why hadn’t he connected the Helmeted Knight to the name Alderan Basaglia?

'The man before me is Alderan Basaglia.'

The moment Najin turned those words over in his mind—

「Alderan Basaglia is dead.」

A sentence suddenly appeared.

「He was a traitor in the Dawn War.」「 His records were lost during the Dawn War.」「 Alderan Basaglia disappeared.」

Two, three, four...

「He became a fallen star and was slain.」「 Alderan Basaglia is one of the Lost.」「 No one knows what became of that man.」「 Alderan Basaglia was the name of a soldier who died during the Dawn War.」

Stories he had never heard, contradictory information, filled Najin’s head. Dozens upon dozens of sentences invaded his mind, distorting what he knew so that he could no longer distinguish lies from truth.

「The man before you is not Alderan Basaglia.」

Frowning, Najin pressed a hand to his temple. He was confused, but that confusion did not last long.

“Well, look at this.”

Merlin’s voice sounded in his ear.

Then she flicked her hand lightly, as though shooing away an insect. That alone made all the information crowding Najin’s mind evaporate in an instant.

“Who do you think you’re laying your hands on? He’s mine.”

Merlin looped an arm around Najin’s neck and whispered into his ear.

“Focus. Bring things to a close with your teacher. I may not be a knight, but I am the Knight King’s companion, aren’t I? I know an honorable duel should have no interference.”

Merlin smiled.

“Go on.”

Go and become a knight.

'Thank you, Merlin.'

Najin took a step forward.

His mind was clear. The heat that had filled it moments earlier cooled. With his field of vision broadened, Najin gazed at his teacher. Alderan, too, was looking at him.

For the first time, their eyes met.

The gleam of those eyes, no longer hidden by a helmet, was chilling. Not because his face was monstrous, but because of the distinctive pressure a Sword Master exerted. And apart from Merlin’s, it was greater than anything Najin had ever felt.

Neither Yuel, nor Gerd, nor Karon could exert such pressure. Najin felt his body tremble instinctively. In disbelief at that fact, he laughed.

He had expected an extraordinary man, but this truly went beyond anything he had imagined.

The man Najin faced was a hero of the Empire, its former foremost warrior, and the Sword Master who had brought down half the Emperor of Revelry’s stars. A man who had possessed eight stars... someone stronger than any Sword Master on the continent.

By any reasonable measure, this was not an opponent Najin could defeat. Had this been a battle in which each sought the other’s life, Najin would have been killed without lasting even a second.

But this was not a battle to the death.

It was an honorable duel, and also a spar in which a pupil received his teacher’s instruction. Najin offered a sword salute. After accepting his pupil’s salute, Alderan lowered his sword.

Then—

CRUNCH.

With his free hand, Alderan seized his own heart and crushed it. Najin’s eyes widened at the sight. Then he muttered, “Honestly...” He understood what that act meant.

The heart was where mana and starlight pooled. Crushing it was as good as declaring that he would use neither mana nor stars. Alderan was saying:

I will not use sword aura.

I will face you with the sword alone.

His consciousness was hazy, and he might lose his reason and run wild at any moment. In that state, Alderan could not control his mana perfectly. The slightest disruption to his breathing would unleash crude, ragged sword aura. Alderan could not tolerate such a display.

Were swordsmen and knights not people who exercised perfect restraint and control over every part of themselves? At least, that was what a knight meant to Alderan. So if he could not control it, he would rather not use it. A single sword that moved according to his will was enough.

A swordsman was someone who wielded a sword, not sword aura.

Alderan chose to be a swordsman.

It was both consideration for his pupil and confidence in himself.

'I’m a Sword Master even without sword aura, you little bastard.'

Alderan’s expression did not change.

'Come on. Give me everything you’ve got.'

He said nothing.

'Try to beat me.'

Yet Najin felt as though he had said those words with a grin. Surely it was no illusion. That was the kind of man the Alderan he knew had always been.

Tightening his grip on his sword, Najin issued his challenge.

To his teacher.

To the towering wall he had to overcome.

3.

Sword Masters: humans who had attained transcendence.

With a swing of their swords, they cut targets tens or hundreds of meters away. A single stroke could command a battlefield and accomplish things beyond common sense. They were walking disasters, strategic weapons equal to an entire nation’s army.

But those feats were not performed with a single sword alone. They were possible because of sword aura that went beyond containing a mental image to suffuse the surroundings with it.

Thus, sword aura was indispensable in distinguishing a swordsman’s level of attainment.

Then... could a Sword Master who could not use sword aura truly be called a Sword Master? From Sword Seeker onward, weren’t the stages of Sprouting, Flowering, and Full Bloom distinguished by the form of one’s sword aura? If someone could not produce sword aura at all, wouldn’t they lose even to a Sword Seeker, let alone a Sword Master?

Najin had once heard that such a debate had taken place within the Order of the Sword—from none other than its master, the Sword Saint Karon. With a laugh, Karon had also told him how it ended.

[“They were arguing over such nonsense that I personally beat the lot of them without sword aura.”]

[“When an adult fights a child, does the adult lose just because he can’t use a few fighting techniques? No. Never. This is no different.”]

[“Someone isn’t a Sword Master if they can’t use sword aura? Then that person was never a Sword Master to begin with.”]

At the time, Najin had listened without giving it much thought.

Now, however, he understood perfectly what Karon had meant. The moment he blocked one stroke of Alderan’s sword, he understood whether he wanted to or not.

CLAAAAANG!

Even without sword aura, Alderan’s sword reached tens of meters away. The moment Najin blocked the slash shooting toward him as it split the earth, he nearly lost his grip on his sword. Sliding backward, he let out an incredulous laugh.

Naturally, his merciless teacher seemed to have no intention of going easy on him. It was as though he considered abstaining from sword aura concession enough. That was how Alderan had taught Najin from the start.

Harshly, precariously, driving him to his limits until he attained understanding. Was this no different?

After all, though this was a spar between teacher and pupil, it was also a duel. Alderan apparently placed greater weight on the latter.

“Whew...”

Najin had no complaints about that now. Instead, he smiled. Steadying his stance, he exhaled at length. Before drawing another breath, he kicked off the ground and swung his sword. Sword aura surged fiercely along its blade.

Alderan was not using sword aura, but Najin was.

He would have liked to fight without it as well, but he could not afford such arrogance. Without sword aura, he would fall within a few exchanges. Blocking slashes that reached him regardless of distance, Najin closed the gap.

THOOM!

As Alderan had taught him, he put force into every step. He wielded his sword, not his sword aura. And the technique Najin used... was the Triumphant Sword Alderan had taught him.

SHIIIING!

Najin’s sweeping upward stroke split Alderan’s slash. As its two halves crashed to either side of him, Najin surged forward. Now he knew the name of the swordsmanship he wielded, and the weight it carried.

The swordsmanship of a hero who always won, becoming a symbol of victory.

Because there were people following behind him, because there were people watching him, Alderan had always needed to win. He had needed to become their symbol. And so he had put strength into every stroke.

Najin imitated those strokes.

Not for those following behind him, but for the teacher standing before him, watching.

'I haven’t learned your ultimate technique yet.'

But I have learned your swordsmanship. I know how you will wield the sword you hold now. You have already shown me.

BANG!

As Najin began to block his slashes, Alderan kicked off the ground, swinging his sword. The moment Najin’s blade intercepted a slash sent from far away with a ringing clang, Alderan was already before him.

Najin’s eyes widened at the sword raised high overhead. He hurriedly swung his own to defend, but the shock wave from their clashing blades nearly drove him to his knees. His knees creaked, and the ground beneath his feet sank.

And that was after his sword aura had absorbed most of the impact. The weight was different. Their levels were different.

And naturally, it did not end with one blow.

Alderan swung his sword. A Sword Master swung his sword. Each time his blade advanced a handspan, the air caught around its tip turned into cutting edges. His sword bore no sword aura, but the tempest swirling around its tip took its place.

Without any magical means, he created sword aura through sheer physical action. Watching it was enough to leave Najin incredulous. How could that possibly make sense?

CRAAAASH!

Driven backward, Najin struck a boulder and came to a halt. Najin stopped, but Alderan did not. Pursuing him immediately, Alderan swung his sword. Najin hastily ducked and lowered his stance. The blade passing over his head cleaved in two a boulder that looked a full ten meters thick.

Still, Alderan’s sword did not stop.

The sword that had swept horizontally from left to right reversed toward the left, as though ignoring its own recoil. There was no break in the movement; it looked like a single motion. Najin hurriedly thrust his blade into the path of Alderan’s sword, but could not fully block it.

With a cracking sound, Najin’s body buckled sideways.

Though he had intercepted it with his sword, the impact hurled him away. Najin rolled across the ground and rose. The distance between them had widened, but that was no advantage for him. More distance meant room to unleash a major technique.

Alderan twirled his sword, adjusted his grip, and took a stance. The moment Najin saw it, his eyes widened. That was the stance for Battering Ram. Why take that stance? Wasn’t he holding a sword, not a spear?

As though answering that question, Alderan twisted his sword. The air curling around its tip wrapped around the blade and spun like a tempest.

“Fucking hell.”

At the sight, Najin could no longer remain silent. He pushed his sword aura’s output to its limit and swung with all his strength. At the same moment, Alderan thrust his sword toward him.

Battering Ram.

The earth split. The boulders were ground to pieces. The ground was hacked apart, and the swirling wind shrieked deafeningly.

SCREEEEEECH!

His experience countering the Star of the Horn’s Battering Ram helped him now. Najin swung his sword along the flow of the tempest. Gritting his teeth, he endured the raging winds. His sword rattled violently; gripping it hard, he swept it upward.

WHUMP!

The tempest split. But he had no time to rejoice. Through the parting winds, Najin saw another tempest surging toward him.

Battering Ram.

As though Battering Ram might have been the Star of the Horn’s ultimate technique, but was no such thing to him, Alderan unleashed it in succession. Najin’s eyes trembled as he watched the approaching tempest.