The Arena's recovery room was strangely quiet. Through that silence, the Iron Prince approached at a leisurely pace.

"... What reward do you intend to give me?"

"Who knows?"

I glared at the Iron Prince and his sinister smile.

Yes, before the Endless Duel began, he had promised me a reward if I entertained him. But I hadn't expected him to actually return in person.

"Is there anything you want?"

"If I tell you what I want, will you give it to me?"

"Of course. You entertained me. What could I possibly refuse you?"

The Iron Prince approached me.

"Money, honor, women. Is there something you desire? There is nothing in this Iron Kingdom I cannot give you. In this kingdom built upon steel and blood, I can do anything and possess anything."

That was no empty boast.

In the Iron Kingdom of Chervil, no name carried greater weight than that of Iron Prince Ian Chervil. Perhaps it carried even more weight than the current king's. Even the entire Steel Legion of the Iron Kingdom could do nothing against his lone executioner.

"Why so silent? If you want something, say it."

Ian Chervil kept walking toward me. He was now within reach of my sword. If I picked up the sword beside my recovery bed and swung it, its tip could slice his neck. He wouldn't even be able to react to my strike. However insignificant my rank of 「sword walker」 might be, that was only in the eyes of other swordsmen.

Killing someone ignorant of the sword was far too easy for me now. Two seconds? No, I wouldn't even need one. The moment I decided to kill him, dozens of 「paths」 would extend from my body. Whichever one I chose to follow, Ian Chervil would die. The Iron Prince would be slaughtered without even knowing how he had met his end.

But.

'... You aren't alone today.'

The moment I thought that, I sensed a presence outside the recovery room that I dared not even look upon. I hadn't actually done anything. Yet merely harboring a fleeting murderous intent had made that presence reveal itself, as though it had read my thoughts.

"Is there nothing you want?"

There were ten swords there.

And it wasn't difficult to guess whom they belonged to.

"How could someone as lowly as I dare demand anything of the Iron Prince? Whatever you give me, I shall accept with gratitude. As befits a lowly creature."

The greatest swordsman on the continent.

The strongest swordmaster alive.

A monster among monsters who had forged ten swords within his soul.

According to Master, a swordsman of the kind seen only in the Age of War. The mightiest of warriors, born in the wrong era. The invincible executioner who served the Iron Prince.

"Yes. A fine attitude."

My enemy.

Swordmaster Carlos stood behind that door.

"Expecting as much, I personally prepared a gift for you."

If I chose to try, I could draw my sword from the bed this instant and point it at the Iron Prince. No, I could cut him down without even bothering to point it first. But I knew instinctively. Whatever I did, that sword would not touch a single hair on his head. I couldn't tell how it would happen, but the outcome was utterly certain.

I would die. Without question, I would die.

"... What sort of gift?"

The air felt heavy. Even breathing was uncomfortable. The oppressive feeling made me want to retch, but I barely managed to feign composure as I spoke. At my question, the Iron Prince smiled sinisterly.

"The gift you need most."

"And what gift would I need most?"

In answer, the Iron Prince took another step toward me. Our faces were almost touching now. Even so, I couldn't move so much as a fingertip. It was as though I were bound in chains.

Watching me with delight, he spoke.

"Lowly fighter, why do you think I came personally to this steel city that reeks of iron?"

"To enjoy some entertainment, was it not?"

"Correct. And I sought that entertainment because the things I intend to do will require me to be rather busy. I wanted to enjoy a little diversion before beginning something amusing."

"..."

"Sword Demon, fighter. I shall once again bring winds of blood to this kingdom of steel."

The Iron Prince's eyes glittered.

"They will be nothing like the winds of blood I summoned before. A whirlwind would be a better description than a wind. Lowly fighter, the instant I return to the blade city, I shall raise a whirlwind. One that will sweep everything away without a trace."

"..."

"That whirlwind will sweep away the nobles who believe my purges are over. It will sweep away my father, sobbing upon his throne, and utterly uproot the weaklings hiding on the outskirts, eking out their lives. Do you think it will end there? My whirlwind will reach beyond the Iron Kingdom and draw in the entire continent. The five families will ride it, as will the six free cities and the Black Archipelago. The Great Empire of the Sky will ride it. Thus the entire continent will be engulfed, until all seven paltry races become entangled."

Madness surged in the Iron Prince's eyes as he spoke.

"It will be entertaining. Very entertaining. They will last longer than my brothers and sisters, who fell apart so easily. Longer than my father and mothers, who begged for their lives..."

Hearing that, Liam murmured under his breath.

「He's a lunatic.」

"..."

「Young descendant, you probably haven't understood what that childish prince is saying. Naturally. There is still far too much you do not know.」

Liam's voice grew grave.

「The Iron Prince is saying he will bring back the Age of War. The most horrific era in the continent's long history.」

The Age of War.

Those words lodged firmly in my mind as the Iron Prince continued.

"Do you understand now what reward I mean to give you?"

A grotesque smile rested upon his face as he spoke. Like a demon from the creation myths.

"I intend to let you ride that whirlwind early."

His voice brimmed with malice.

I answered him.

"How is that a reward?"

It was an earnest question.

How could dragging me into such colossal bullshit possibly count as a reward? That wasn't rewarding me. It was fucking me over. And on a truly staggering scale...

Instead of answering, the Iron Prince chuckled.

After laughing for quite some time, he spoke.

"Fighter, I know your origins."

For an instant, my mind went blank.

"Caravan. Descendant of forgotten steel."

"..."

"History tells me that the blood of steel hardens through trials. Then surely the trials I bestow upon you are the most precious reward of all? A reward for which even bowing your head in gratitude would not suffice!"

Caravan.

The moment that name left the Iron Prince's lips, I felt my senses reel. But whatever I felt, he did not stop speaking.

"What a joyous occasion this is. Do you know how delighted I was when I first learned your origins? My brothers and sisters, who shared my blood, were so frail that they broke easily. My parents, who ought to have been superior to me, now fear me. They even said they would do anything if I spared their lives. Surrendering without even putting up a fight! Nothing in this world could be more appalling or dull."

"..."

"I could never be satisfied by simply taking the Iron Throne now. From the moment I realized how little weight this kingdom of steel's throne carried, I could no longer be satisfied with the kingdom itself. So I must possess a wider world. I decided I must sit upon a throne harder to obtain, heavier, and worthier. Let every blade in the world turn toward me!"

The Iron Prince no longer looked like a human being such as myself, but a monster. The presence pouring from his eyes was far too vicious. Truly, far too vicious.

"To someone like me, you are a gift bestowed by the nine goddesses and seven chief gods. A gift to keep me from boredom, to keep me entertained. Ah, how grateful I am! The last Caravan! There could be no finer toy."

"..."

"So please, do not break. Do not be ruined by the whirlwind. Grow steadily stronger and continue to threaten me. Do not break like my brothers and sisters, or submit like my parents. That is why you survived—"

At that point, I could no longer contain my rage. My body moved before thought. An indescribable roar burst from my mouth, and I awakened my 「mana heart」 within my battered body. The instant my second heart beat, 「paths」 appeared. Dozens, hundreds of paths by which I could slaughter the Iron Prince. Fixing my gaze upon the simplest and clearest one, I seized the blade beside my bed. I swung without hesitation. Its chilling ring echoed like the cry of a beast.

And then.

"Far too soon."

Before I could even complete the swing, the sword vanished from my hand. When I opened my eyes, it was already back in its sheath. The body I had forced upright was beneath the blankets again. As though time had run backward.

"Be grateful you still haven't passed eighteen."

"..."

"Didn't I tell you? I don't understand why you keep blaming the wrong things and raging at the wrong targets."

That voice was not the Iron Prince's.

I knew whose voice it was. After all, I had never forgotten it for a single moment since that day. Buried in the bed, I slowly raised my head. Beside the Iron Prince, who still wore that grotesque smile, stood someone who hadn't been there before. His face was as emotionless as it had been that day.

"Blame your family. Blame 「Caravan」. Blame your surname, and blame your foolish parents, who still dared to have children and live as a family. Understood?"

Swordmaster Carlos.

"You, fucking, bas—"

"What a funny sight. Your father looked exactly like that at the end, before he died with his head impaled on a banner pole. He acted like some knight afflicted with madness, then sobbed like a dog and glared at me when his woman died. But glaring was all he could do. Ridiculous."

No anger I had felt since taking up a sword could compare to this. He, of all people, had no right to speak of my parents. You, of all people, must not mention how my father met his end, or how my mother met hers. That must never happen. Never.

The rage filling my head seemed to burn everything from my brain to my heart. Heat as though I had been thrown into flames. But I could do nothing. It wasn't a question of willpower. An unknown force held me captive. Those damned ten swords bound me.

As I glared at him so fiercely my eyes seemed ready to burst from their sockets, the Iron Prince spoke.

"Yes. Do not forget that rage. Do you understand?"

"..."

"So make sure you become strong. Strong enough to make me tremble in fear, and come point your blade at me. I shall await that day with delight."

With those words, the Iron Prince left. Carlos followed his master. He didn't even glance at me on his way out. As though I were a stone lying beside the road. A worthless insect...

* * *

"How long will the journey back take?"

"Will you return on foot, as you came?"

"No. That was quite enough of a stroll. Let us take the fastest means of transport."

In the windblown center of Perma, the steel city, Iron Prince Ian Chervil looked up at the sky and smiled. Dark clouds filled it, as though lightning might strike at any moment.

"Things will be entertaining from now on. Very entertaining."

Ian Chervil wished it would pour with rain. Just as it had on the day his brothers and sisters died by his hand.

After lingering briefly in those memories, he spoke.

"Did you finish the task as I instructed?"

"Yes. I did as you commanded."

"That precious youngest son shouldn't have passed eighteen yet. I wonder how you handled it. However sharp your sword may be, could you truly carry out my orders without harming a single hair on his head?"

Carlos answered calmly.

"Yes. You need not worry. It was handled perfectly."

* * *

The six free cities.

The Rhapsody domain held the most magnificent mansion in all the lands of those city-states, symbols of freedom and splendor. A boy drenched in blood arrived there. The blood on his body was not his own, but someone else's. In the arms of the boy, sobbing miserably like a little child, lay an old man's severed head, its eyes wide open in death. Trudging onward, the boy fell, then fell again, weeping pitifully. At his cries, the retainers guarding Rhapsody's domain appeared. They had come to drive away an unwelcome visitor, but the moment they saw his face, they were stunned.

"Young master, what in the..."

The noblest boy in the six free cities. Toma Rhapsody, the youngest son of Rhapsody, was crying like a little child. The retainers hurried to help him up, only to be shocked again when they saw the old man's face cradled in his arms.

"Dear God."

Joseph.

The head Toma had brought belonged to the loyal butler who had devoted his entire life to the Rhapsody family. The retainers were bewildered by this unbelievable horror. Who had dared reduce their precious young master to this state? What fearless bastard had laid hands on a member of Rhapsody's household?

"Hic, sob... Joseph, Joseph... Joseph..."

"Young master, please calm down."

"Huh, huu..."

Toma Rhapsody was in a complete panic.

Seeing their young master unable even to speak properly, the retainers didn't know what to do. Only sobs filled the air, and those mournful cries reached the ears of the great master who ruled this great domain. Hearing his son weep so bitterly, that great being wished to appear before him at once. That very instant, a huge man appeared in front of Toma Rhapsody.

"You must have had a terrible fright."

"Sob, hic..."

"I'm sorry. Your father is sorry for everything."

The huge man immediately pulled his son into a tight embrace. He didn't care whether blood stained his fine clothes. At that moment, such things didn't even register.

"Come now. Let us go inside and put you in a warm bed."

The family head of the great Rhapsody.

"Then, slowly, tell your father what happened."

Hugo Rhapsody.

"Whoever did this, whatever happened, your father will take care of everything."

"Sob, hic... Father. Father."

"Yes, yes. Don't worry."

One of the six swordmasters.

"There is nothing in this world your father cannot do."

The master of seven swords.

The continent's most dangerous doting father was beginning to stir.

* * *

I didn't need to spend long in the recovery room. My heart of steel swiftly repaired my damaged body, and soon I was able to move. When I got up, an Arena representative came to see me. He offered two choices for my championship prize. The first was an opportunity to become an exclusive Arena fighter, immediately receive a platinum medal, and compete as a star fighter. He also offered to make me the featured fighter in the Arena's main events.

It wasn't even worth hearing out. Ultimately, only the Arena would benefit. Besides, I had no desire to spend my time so leisurely now.

'I want to become stronger as quickly as I can.'

The flame the Iron Prince and Carlos had left behind. That rekindled flame of rage continued to grow even now. Meanwhile, the Arena made its second offer: as many steel gold coins as I would earn from five main events, along with a token that would let me purchase goods produced in the steel city at a discount from then on. The representative tried to persuade me to consider my future rather than a quick fortune, but I didn't listen. When I chose the second option, he left looking disappointed. I deposited every steel gold coin I received that day in the Red Bank.

I now possessed an enormous sum of money, incomparable to anything I had owned before. Enough to abandon my revenge immediately, leave for the Free City or the Black Archipelago, and spend my entire life immersed in pleasure. But however much wealth I possessed, whatever pleasures it might buy, none of it interested me. At that moment, only one thing filled my mind. Becoming stronger.

「Young descendant.」

"Yes."

「Are you impatient?」

"I am."

I couldn't forget that moment.

Carlos's cold glare. His voice inflicting an insult I could never wash away. The Iron Prince's face as he burst into hideous, crazed laughter.

"I truly cannot bear it anymore. I cannot accept that I breathe the same air as those things, that I live beneath the same sky. I simply cannot."

「Yes. I imagine so.」

"What must I do? How can I—"

「But this time, you must have felt it clearly.」

Liam interrupted me.

Then he looked at me.

「Last time, you were too insignificant to understand. But this time, you must have felt it in your bones. Tell me, young descendant. What was a swordmaster like, seen through a swordsman's eyes?」

At Liam's words, I froze for a moment.

"... Like the sky."

「The sky?」

"He felt like the sky. Something I could never reach, no matter what I did."

The Carlos I had faced after taking up a sword was far too powerful. Powerful enough that, for a moment, I forgot my desire for revenge and felt awe. Nothing I had ever fought could compare to him. He existed in another world. Could someone as insignificant, as worthless as me truly reach that place? He made me wonder.

Perhaps that was why I had become even more desperate.

Because I had seen such an immense gulf.

「An accurate description. He is in the sky. And you are still nothing but an insect that has yet to take a single step off the ground.」

"..."

「Then isn't it time you lifted your feet from the earth?」

As I hung my head, Liam spoke.

「Let us go home.」

"..."

「There, we will make your wings.」

At Liam's words, I slowly raised my head.

「To bring you even a little closer to the sky.」