After leaving Gladiheim, the sky carriage arrived at the warp gate below the Blade Mountains.

Normally, traveling abroad through a warp gate involved all manner of complicated procedures, starting with departure screening. One could not simply show up and use it. But their destination, the Kingdom of Valian, was an ally of the empire, and the head of House Alastor had enough authority to dispense with departure formalities.

Thus, Julius and Kyle were assigned a warp gate as soon as they stepped out of the carriage.

“Have you ever used a warp gate?”

“Of course not. This will be another first I get to share with you, Grandfather.”

Kyle added, “Actually, this is my first time traveling so far, too. I lived entirely inside Rose Manor until I was five. Then I came to the Sword Tower.”

Julius narrowed his eyes. Kyle had meant to please him with the thought of sharing his grandson's exciting new experiences, but Julius muttered under his breath.

“You never left that manor until you were five? Arian must be out of her mind.”

“Um... it wasn't Mom's fault. I didn't want to go outside.”

That was not a lie. Before turning five, Kyle had not had proper control of his body, and he had refused to leave the manor because he did not want to make a spectacle of himself.

It was obvious that Arian would be criticized for her parenting when they returned if he left matters there, so Kyle defended her as best he could.

“Children suffer from mana sickness the first time they use a warp gate. But that should pose no problem for you now.”

Mana sickness only affected children who were unaccustomed to mana.

“There will be a few nuisances to deal with when we arrive in Valian, but they shouldn't take long.”

“Because you're so important, Grandfather?”

“Precisely.”

Julius nodded matter-of-factly. He was lord of Vigrid, master of Gladiheim Castle, and head of House Alastor. Beyond that, he was the Thunder Emperor, one of the continent's Ten Greats.

He was the empire's sharpest sword and a strategic weapon. Even without Gladiheim's entire military at his back, Julius alone could turn the tide of a war. If he so wished, he could seize the royal castle and behead the king the moment he arrived in Valian.

With a superhuman of that caliber coming through a warp gate, Valian would naturally receive Julius with a grand welcome—and considerable vigilance.

“Ordinarily, I must obtain the Emperor's permission even to visit another country.”

While the warp gate was being prepared, Julius and Kyle waited in an opulent reception room.

“Then aren't you allowed to come with me?”

“So long as I cause no trouble there, it will be fine. The Emperor is flexible enough for that.”

Julius sounded indifferent even when speaking of the ruler of the continent's largest empire.

“I'm more concerned about you. After thirteen years without going out, I leave with my grandson and visit the Kingdom of Valian. The world will soon know all about you.”

“Will I be in danger?”

Kyle's eyes sparkled as he asked. There was not a trace of fear on his face.

“Who would dare threaten an Alastor pureblood? I'd like to say that, but I cannot. There are many people in this world who dislike us.”

Julius chuckled and stroked his beard.

“But you were the one who said you didn't want to remain a flower sheltered in a greenhouse.”

“Should I just carry a sign around?”

Kyle gave a matching chuckle.

“‘The monstrous treasure publicly proclaimed by the Thunder Emperor, Julius Alastor. Possessor of the spiritual root of chaos. Kyle Alastor (age 11).’ Something like that.”

The warp gate was ready by the time their idle banter ended.

Warp gates normally operated on a schedule, carrying multiple passengers at once, but Julius's personal arrival warranted an exception. Kyle and Julius entered the warp gate alone.

* * *

The journey through the warp gate took place in an instant.

They entered a room engraved with incomprehensibly complex magic circles and waited for ten minutes or so. Then the door opened, and they were told they had arrived in the Kingdom of Valian.

Just as Julius had said, a large crowd was waiting outside.

A duke, the chancellor, and a prince had come in the king's stead. They offered to escort Julius and Kyle to the royal castle, but Julius cut through every offer like a blade.

“I am here on personal business.”

“What sort of...?”

“I believe I said personal business.”

“M-my apologies. In that case, we shall personally escort—”

“That won't be necessary. We must take another warp gate from here anyway. If you truly wish to help, open a gate to the location nearest the Revar domain. Have a sky carriage waiting there as well.”

“Pardon? Yes... yes, of course.”

While the prince answered, sweating profusely, the duke and chancellor accompanying him swiftly relayed orders to prepare the warp gate.

“Is my father in the Revar domain?”

“It is Aslan's home. Do you know anything about his background?”

“No. I deliberately avoided asking because I didn't want to upset Mom. Most of what I know is what you've told me today, Grandfather.”

“Aslan comes from a fallen noble family with barely a name left to it. He lost his parents to illness as a child and apparently entered a military academy to find a way to earn his keep.”

Military academies were a common choice for fallen nobles who had no property to speak of, only their names and their bodies.

“He discovered his talent for the sword there, and loved it so much that he ran away from the academy. He couldn't practice to his heart's content there, you see. Afterward, Aslan wandered the world, honing his swordsmanship. Whenever his money ran out, he took mercenary jobs.”

“Huh.”

Even a fallen noble would have his pride, yet Aslan had taken mercenary work. Kyle's opinion of his father rose a little once again.

“He owned nothing but his body and his skill with a sword. Arian didn't want to live in the Sword Tower, so they returned to Aslan's hometown.”

“Mom must have bought the house, too.”

“Indeed. Which is why Aslan is a son of a bitch.”

Back in the Sword Tower's Hall of Sword Pinnacles, Julius had hardly spoken of his son-in-law. Now that he was personally going to see him with his grandson, however, the loathing poured from his mouth without pause.

“You really cherish my mom, Grandfather.”

Julius paused on his way to the newly prepared warp gate and shot Kyle a sidelong glance.

“Arian is my child. Is there anything remarkable about a father cherishing his child?”

“It would be nice if you showed it through your actions as much as you feel it in your heart.”

“Listen here, boy. I've expressed it as best I could in my own way. I respected her decision not to take up a sword despite being born my child. When she showed a talent for spirit arts, I supported her studies. I even allowed her to marry Aslan after she suddenly fell for him, allowed her to leave the Sword Tower, and let her take as large a dowry as she wished.”

It seemed even the superhuman who ruled Gladiheim had plenty of pent-up grievances. Resuming his walk, he continued sharply.

“After leaving like that, she returned to Vigrid a year later and shut herself away. Even then, I did not go and fetch her. Although I knew she had borne a son, I did not force the issue, but waited for Arian to bring you and introduce you herself. When she finally returned after five whole years, I did not berate her unduly. I let you and Arian live in the Sword Tower. What more, exactly, am I supposed to show through my actions?”

“Um, I'm sorry. You're right about all of that, Grandfather.”

Kyle scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He had to give credit where it was due. Julius might not have been a wonderful father while Arian lived in the Sword Tower, but Arian had not been a wonderful daughter, either.

“So long as you understand now.”

Julius let out a short sigh. He reproached himself for saying all manner of things to his grandson, yet strangely, talking to the boy also put him at ease.

Perhaps because they were traveling within the same country, the journey through the warp gate to the Revar domain did not take very long.

“Take us to Aslan Antares's manor.”

As requested, a sky carriage awaited them in front of the Revar domain's warp gate. Julius gave the driver their destination and climbed in first.

“What will you do when you meet Aslan?”

Julius sat with his arms folded and asked the moment Kyle followed him inside.

“Tell him to end his seclusion and come back to the Sword Tower.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, if I'm being honest, I'd like to beat him black-and-blue with my wooden sword.”

“If you're afraid Aslan will resist, I shall make certain he cannot.”

Having said that, Julius scowled fiercely.

“No, it irritates me that I should have to intervene at all. If Aslan has any conscience, he ought to lie flat on the ground and let you beat him with your wooden sword.”

“Will he even recognize me?”

Kyle chuckled as he asked. Aslan Antares had entered seclusion without even knowing Arian was pregnant. Would he truly recognize Kyle as his son when he appeared out of nowhere?

“He will.”

Julius answered with certainty.

“If he doesn't, his eyes serve no purpose. So I shall personally pluck out one of them.”

“I don't particularly want to see my father lose an eye.”

“That won't happen. Aslan will recognize you.”

“Do I resemble him that much?”

“Of course you do. But rather than your appearance...”

“My talent for the sword?”

“No. Your talent far surpasses Aslan's. What I mean is... how should I put it? It is an instinctive thing. A parent cannot help but recognize their own child.”

Was that really true? Kyle tilted his head. He had never fathered a child, even in his previous life, so he found it difficult to relate. Still, Julius had nine children of his own, which lent his words plenty of credibility.

The sky carriage descended to the ground. They had reached their destination.

Though the wife had run away and the husband had shut himself away to train in seclusion, the manor was neatly maintained. A minimal staff still lived there.

Approaching the firmly shut front gate, Julius did not bother with anything as unnecessary as knocking. He moved a finger, cleanly severing the lock, and the gate swung smoothly open.

“Wh-who... Good heavens!”

The servants tried to stop Julius as he strode into the garden, but upon recognizing the crest of House Alastor embroidered on his clothes, they gasped and dropped to one knee.

“Where is Aslan?”

“The... the m-master is currently in seclusion...”

“Do you imagine I don't know that? I am asking where he is training.”

After a moment's hesitation, the butler sighed deeply and rose.

“The master is in the cultivation room in the back garden. I shall show you the way.”

Naturally, the cultivation room's door was firmly shut when they arrived. Julius studied the iron door with his arms folded, then glanced at the butler.

“Has Aslan never come out in all this time?”

“No. The master has not left the cultivation room even once in twelve years.”

“What about food and water?”

“There is a well inside the cultivation room. It is also stocked with several decades' worth of pills from the Bellaire Workshop.”

“Even if the Bellaire Workshop's pills can replace meals, living on nothing but that shit for twelve years would damage his body.”

Julius's eyes narrowed.

“If he has endured without harming his body, it means Aslan has overcome the barrier that held him back for so long.”

From the moment the upper energy center opened, a human transcended the body's limitations by an immense margin. Normally, humans and most other living things needed nutrients to survive, but once the upper energy center opened, mana could replace those nutrients.

In other words, so long as one could ignore one's appetite, cultivating mana alone was enough to live on. Anticipation entered Julius's eyes, which had been full of displeasure throughout the journey.

When he had last seen Aslan, the man had been on the verge of completing the Realm of Intent. Yet most of those hailed as geniuses in this world could devote their entire lives to the task and still never set foot in the next stage, the Ultimate Realm. Even among Julius's own children, many were struggling, unable to surmount the formidable barrier to that realm.

If Aslan had managed to break down even a little of that barrier and glimpse the world beyond...

“Hmm.”

Julius shook his head. If Aslan had succeeded, it was something he ought to celebrate as a fellow warrior walking the same path. But today, Julius had not come to see the warrior Aslan Antares. He had come to berate the bastard son-in-law who had neglected his daughter for twelve years, and drag him out by force.

“Wait a moment.”

Just as Julius was about to open the cultivation room's door, Kyle strode forward and stopped him.

“I'll go in first.”

“Why bother?”

“It's my first meeting with my father. I'd like a look at his damn face, one-on-one.”

He was also curious whether this so-called father would truly recognize the son whose birth he had never known about.

Kyle drew the wooden sword he had brought from the Sword Tower.

CRACKLE!

With the crackle of electricity, violet aura coiled around his wooden sword, forming sword aura. He compressed it until it was as thin as a sheet of paper, then swung his sword through the gap in the firmly shut door.

SWISH!

The thin sword aura slipped precisely into the gap and sliced the lock on the other side in two. That single swing required no effort of concentration to keep the blade from straying. Julius murmured in admiration at his grandson's precise swordsmanship and control of mana.

“Come in when I call you, Grandfather.”

With its lock severed, the door opened at a light push. Without waiting for Julius's answer, Kyle entered the cultivation room and immediately shut the door behind him.

“Ugh...”

The door opened onto living quarters. Kyle's gaze first went to the heap of training clothes piled in a corner, scarcely distinguishable from rags. They had been left there for twelve whole years. A foul stench reached him before he even approached.

Several large jars stood on the opposite side. For a moment he wondered, with dread, whether they were chamber pots, but they were too large for that and gave off no stench. Mustering his courage, Kyle approached to discover the truth.

The jars were piled high with pills roughly two finger joints long. These were apparently the pills Aslan had been stuffing down in place of meals during his seclusion.

'How the hell has this bastard been going to the bathroom?'

Kyle chose not to dwell on that particular truth.

There was a door in the far wall of the living quarters. Kyle approached it, feeling his heart pound.

He needed no particular mental preparation to open it. Without hesitation, he pulled it open.

Fortunately, it was unlocked. The instant he opened it and stepped inside—

WHOOOOSH!

Incredibly dense mana surged over Kyle, then was sucked back inside. Its violent flow felt like a storm. His vision was obscured, as though a thick mist hung before his eyes.

Frowning, Kyle forced his gaze through the storm of mana blocking his sight. Gradually, the haze cleared, revealing a man seated in solitary composure at the storm's very center.

His hair, gone completely white, stuck out wildly like a lion's mane, and a shaggy gray beard covered half his face.

Long years of secluded training had left his body as gaunt as the bark of an old tree, but he looked anything but frail. With every breath he drew, dense mana rushed into him. With every long exhalation, mana burst forth, swelling his loose training clothes taut and shaking the very space around him.

Kyle watched him for a moment, then boldly stepped into the mana storm. The man's closed eyes opened.

WHOOOOSH!

A fierce, brilliant gaze pierced Kyle. Before he knew it, he had tightened his grip on his wooden sword. Unlike Julius, this man made no allowances for him. Thus, it was the first time in this life that Kyle had felt such a thing.

A chilling throb of excitement. Cold running down his spine. His hand clenching the sword hilt of its own accord. Kyle stared at the man, feeling the corners of his mouth twitch.

Soon, another feeling came. Something... like being drawn toward him. A pounding of the heart different from anticipation of an entertaining fight.

“You...”

The man—Aslan Antares—spoke. His voice emerged low and cracked from long disuse.

“Could you be... my... son...?”

Just as Julius had said, Aslan recognized Kyle at once.

An odd feeling came over Kyle.

Even if he had met this man without knowing he was his father, he felt he would have recognized him as such the moment they met.

Kyle did not answer the question. He did not nod, either.

Instead, he raised his wooden sword. Strange as this feeling was, it did not take precedence over his anticipation, excitement, and exhilaration.

Kyle drove his unfinished Primordial Chaos Circulation Method at full power.

[“Master?”]

Jorm raised his head near Kyle's heart.