Demon Knight Berheigen.

The house he had served was Schulhauser. The demon-containing artifact he was said to have stolen had likewise been kept by House Schulhauser for hundreds of years.

That was the information written on the commission.

From the moment she read it, Merlin knew everything: the true name of the demon Berheigen had contracted with and the concepts it governed. How could she not? House Schulhauser had existed back when she was active.

"A high-ranking demon."

"The concepts it governs are darkness, terror, and the blind."

"Its true name is Arkand."

An ancient demon that had existed hundreds of years ago, in the age of Merlin and Arthur. It had been sealed by Schulhauser, who was then known as the hero of the frontier. Merlin smiled as she recalled what she knew of the demon.

Arkand was a powerful demon.

She had no intention of denying that.

Though centuries of imprisonment had weakened it, its authority was not to be taken lightly. From the moment Berheigen invoked that authority, Najin could never defeat him. Attacking would only get him brutally killed.

Inside the barrier, Berheigen possessed strength that overwhelmed even upper-middle-tier Sword Seekers. Meanwhile, Najin's body weakened, and his mana output fell.

A barrier that weakened the opponent while strengthening its wielder.

Within it, Najin could never defeat Berheigen.

That was an absolute disparity—a rule.

And yet Merlin had not stopped Najin. She had allowed him to choose to confront Berheigen alone because...

"Arkand's authority completely severs its space from the outside world."

Because of the nature of Arkand's authority.

"Its authority creates a space all its own, one no one can peer into."

A space completely isolated from the outside.

An enclosed space that neither starlight, sunlight, nor anything else could reach. Within it, paladins who wielded swords with the blessing of the stars lost their light, while mages who cast spells with support from their magic towers became utterly powerless.

That was why Arkand had become infamous.

But that barrier meant something entirely different to Najin. Cut off from the outside. Beyond the reach of outside eyes. An isolated space. To Najin, that meant...

"No eyes watching."

"And a demon to slay."

He no longer needed to hide his power.

"Let that ancient demon know."

Merlin laughed.

Najin slowly lowered his sword.

"That your kind's nemesis has returned."

CLICK

Najin slid his longsword into its scabbard. Then he reached toward the sky.

"That after a thousand years, your nemesis has returned—the one who will bring you nothing but eternal death."

His hand was raised toward the sky.

The constellation etched on his wrist shone.

... To reiterate.

Within the barrier, Najin could not defeat Berheigen. That was an absolute disparity, a rule of the barrier.

But Najin possessed something.

Something that existed above every rule. A tremendous variable that could overturn any disparity. A brilliant light that no mere demon-made darkness could conceal.

Najin clenched his raised hand tight.

Thirteen constellations appeared in midair.

Then starlight flooded the darkness.

2.

Demon Knight Berheigen saw it.

Najin abruptly slid his sword into its scabbard. Sheathing his weapon while his enemy approached? Had he given up resisting? No. Judging by those eyes, he had not given up.

They still craved victory.

Eyes that betrayed an obsession with victory. Platinum eyes that had not lost their light even in the darkness. Just as Berheigen felt something amiss about Najin's eyes, which had changed from sunset-colored to platinum, Najin reached toward the sky.

The thirteen stars etched on his wrist flashed, and starlight flooded the darkness.

WHOOSH!

Even the light-devouring darkness could not conceal the starlight Najin created. For what Najin grasped at that moment was a light nothing could ever dare obscure.

Even deep beneath the earth, where starlight could not reach.

Even in the Demon Realm, where demons ran rampant.

Even in Camlann, the abyssal land where stars fell.

A sword that had never lost its light anywhere, and thus had become the symbol of a hero, a lamp illuminating humanity's path... and a symbol of victory.

The moment Najin tightly closed the hand he had stretched toward the sky, the flooding starlight became a single sword. A sword that burned away all the darkness around it and shone alone. There was no way Berheigen could fail to recognize it.

The Sword of Stars, Excalibur.

The holy sword, forgotten for hundreds of years, had been drawn into reality by a boy's hand.

Berheigen's eyes wavered.

The light of the Sword of Stars burned away all the darkness. The barrier rippled, seeking to swallow the star that had risen within it, but nothing could obscure Excalibur's light.

A light even the Witch of Camlann had failed to conceal.

A light even the dragon of the abyss had failed to swallow.

Darkness created by a mere demon could never hide Excalibur's light. Under that searing starlight, Berheigen's gaze shook wildly.

'Ex... calibur...?'

He could not believe it, even seeing it with his own eyes.

Why was that holy sword in the brat's hand? Hadn't one of the three Sword Masters drawn Excalibur?

An imitation, a counterfeit, a fake.

He could not even entertain those possibilities. Not even a holy relic consecrated by the church could burn away demon-made darkness like that. Cold sweat ran down Berheigen's spine. His fingers trembled violently around his sword.

It was a primal terror.

Not the terror Berheigen felt, but that of the demon assimilated with his body. The ancient demon Arkand felt fear. It was the fear of a nemesis engraved into the entire demonic race.

The Sword of Stars, Excalibur.

That holy sword split a demon's mind. It burned a demon's soul. It made possible the contradiction of killing a demon—an immortal being.

「As long as I live.」

「There is nowhere in this land for you to set foot.」

Arkand remembered Arthur wielding that sword, which stood above every law... and sweeping away hundreds, thousands of demons.

「Fear this light.」

「Remember. This is not your land.」

Across hundreds of years, Arthur had appeared in the world once again. Trembling with terror, Arkand sought to flee, but there was nowhere to escape. Sealed within the artifact, Arkand could flee only through its contractor, Berheigen.

Arkand felt fear.

A demon, a being that should never die, felt the fear of death.

Amid that contradiction, Berheigen faced Najin. Before the brilliantly shining Sword of Stars, the pitch-black sword aura coiled around Berheigen's blade burned away. The sense of omnipotence flooding his body faded as well.

HISSS...

The darkness weakening Najin's body and fettering his mana also burned away in the starlight. Amid the burning darkness, Najin let out a long breath. From the moment he summoned Excalibur, the holy sword's blessing grew stronger.

The injuries he had suffered fighting Berheigen began healing in an instant.

Wounds closed, and new flesh grew. His insides, ravaged by the price of wielding mana beyond his limits, began repairing themselves completely. It was healing worthy of being called a miracle. Najin was inwardly astonished at the blessing, incomparably greater than it had been in the underground city.

"That must be because you've grown stronger since then."

Merlin smiled.

Since arriving in Cambria, Najin had grown. His body had developed, and his soul had matured. Excalibur bore witness to that growth.

"There's no need to drag this out."

"And we don't know how long this barrier will keep Excalibur's light from getting out."

"So," Merlin said.

"You know what I'm about to say, right?"

He knew.

Najin steadied his breathing and took his stance.

'Finish it in one strike. Isn't that it?'

"Exactly."

Finish someone contracted with an ancient demon—and wielding its authority, no less—in a single strike. Not even a Sword Seeker could do that. Yet Najin merely settled slowly into his stance.

FSSSH!

Sword aura coiled around Excalibur.

Platinum particles rose over pure-white sword aura amplified severalfold. What formed was platinum sword aura. Throughout history, only Arthur had been able to wield it.

"You... what on earth are you...?"

Berheigen backed away.

Facing the terrified Berheigen, Najin exhaled. What he envisioned now was the most powerful strike he could unleash.

Only one technique came to mind.

"Berheigen."

Najin bent his knees and raised his sword. He had deliberately spoken because he now understood the meaning of the technique he was about to perform.

"You have abandoned honor. You have lost your pride."

Atanga's swordsmanship.

The sword Ivan, the Knight Who Chased the Stars, had shown him.

"Thus, you have disgraced the name of knight."

A sword to punish those who had lost their honor and pride.

Najin made his declaration to Berheigen, who stood at the exact opposite extreme from the knight he envisioned.

"I am Najin. Squire to Ivan, knight of Atanga."

He had not yet become a knight.

He did not yet possess honor.

But Najin had learned what pride was.

"I will cut you down."

That was enough.

Enough reason and justification to wield Atanga's sword.

A declaration that he would cut his opponent down.

Holding the Sword of Stars, Najin assumed Atanga's stance and recited Atanga's words. They were the precepts proclaimed by Arthur, the Knight King—the oldest precepts of all.

Slay demons.

Punish those who disgrace the name of knight.

Hundreds of years after Arthur proclaimed those precepts, his successor spoke them anew. Before that declaration, Berheigen realized he could never escape.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

In the end, Berheigen made his choice. With a monstrous shriek, he charged at Najin. His enhanced demonic body remained powerful. With every step, the earth shook and the darkness rippled.

BOOM!

Stomping down on the earth, Berheigen swung his greatsword horizontally. The technique that was his pride and his signature. The most powerful strike he could deliver. Berheigen unleashed the stroke that had cleaved even an enormous troll in a single blow.

A blast of wind followed his swinging sword.

The darkness-wreathed blade accelerated.

It was truly Berheigen's strongest strike. A strike containing everything he had. Najin had no intention of deflecting it, evading it, or even stopping it before it was complete.

He would crush everything head-on.

For that was Atanga's sword. That was Ivan's sword.

The moment Berheigen's greatsword reached its maximum speed, Najin's blade moved. Berheigen could not comprehend that movement. Trailing starlight, Najin's sword surged forward.

SH Slice!

What rang out was the quiet sound of cutting.

Berheigen's swinging greatsword was severed with a clean slicing sound. Najin split the blade at its maximum speed with incredible ease. His sword did not stop there, but plunged into Berheigen's side.

The star sword cleaved the darkness.

The holy sword cut down the demon.

The sword that entered Berheigen's left flank sprang upward, slicing through his right shoulder. There was not the slightest resistance to that stroke. The resilience of demonic flesh was simply meaningless before Excalibur.

It was perfect Atanga swordsmanship, shattering the opponent's technique head-on and overwhelming him. Najin cut the demon in two with a single strike.

Starlight surged along the path Excalibur had cut. That rising light burned the demon's soul and mind, obliterating its existence. Arkand, the ancient demon inhabiting Berheigen's flesh, dwindled to a handful of ash.

THUD.

Berheigen's upper body tilted along the severed plane. He died without even managing a scream. His corpse fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Beyond it, Najin saw a long sword mark carved into the earth.

As though splitting the greatsword and cutting down Berheigen had not been enough, Najin's blade had left a lengthy scar in the ground.

Looking at that mark, Najin drew back his sword.

With the death of Berheigen, who had wielded the authority, the barrier grew indistinct and the darkness began to fade. Feeling a little reluctant, Najin put Excalibur away. Turning into starlight, it was drawn into the constellation etched on his wrist.

"Whew..."

As Najin steadied his breathing and gathered in the exhilaration of battle...

"Advance...! Advance!"

Urgent voices came from outside the barrier. Already fading with Berheigen's death, it shattered from the outside with a crash. Someone stepped inside through the broken barrier.

Armored knights in formation.

Atanga's crest was engraved on their armor. To save the brave young man who had been dueling the Demon Knight, they had thrown themselves directly into the demon's barrier.

"Protect the young man! Form up and pressure Berheigen... pressure...?"

Argo, the Atanga knight issuing orders at their head, could not finish. He had spotted Berheigen's bisected corpse and Najin standing unharmed.

FSSSH.

Soon the barrier collapsed completely, and sunlight streamed down. Beneath the blazing sun, an awkward silence settled over them.