There were only five of those golems in the entire world; considering their power, value, and focus, they were worth more than most huge territories. Considering their uniqueness and the fact that they were also basically impossible to craft, Davey wouldn’t give them up for even a kingdom.

“Sir Davey!”

“Davey! You! You’re alive!”

“How…are you alive?”

Unlike the trainees whose faces lit up when they saw Davey, Gaor’s frown only grew deeper. He murmured, “I heard that you disappeared without a trace by Shandra’s breath…”

“I really am thankful for that. Because of that…” Davey trailed off and charged in with his fist. “I regained a lot of my powers.”

“Keugh?!”

‘Do you think I went through all this trouble for nothing?’

[Silent Wind Bullet]

[Hundred-Step Swift Strike]

Boom!!! Watching Gaor instantly get blown away with a strong blast of air, Davey then pulled out Red Ribbon from his Pocket Plane and spread his energy like he was letting loose a bunch of wild, vicious beasts. At the same time, the abandoned weapons all around began vibrating and floating to Davey’s will.

‘I trained these skills for hundreds of years; I couldn’t have forgotten them in just six months.’

It wasn’t common, but people who wielded a sword had probably heard about the transcendental level of blade control at least once; it was obvious that this was happening right now, which shocked everyone.

Whoosh… As a large amount of mana left Davey, energy swords that he had fixed into a certain shape in the air appeared.

‘I don’t have a choice but to create swords if I don’t have enough.’

The number of swords increased from a few, to dozens, and eventually to hundreds. Gaor, who was coughing up blood, was shocked at how hundreds of swords suddenly appeared and floated up to fill the whole sky.

“There is a chance of rainfall today…”

“N—No way! [Telekinetic Blade]?!”

‘Try your best to dodge them if you want.’

[Telekinetic Blade Control]

[Improved Energy Sword: Flower Blades in the Sky]

The swords that filled the sky, controlled by the tip of Davey’s finger, weren’t small, hidden weapons, but huge energy swords filled with mana. There were some assassination methods that did not embrace patience, such as the use of metallic weapons and energy swords that blatantly attack out in the open. Attacking opponents and ripping them to shreds was more Davey’s style than quiet assassination.

Of course, the people in black robes also shouted in shock, “Unbelievable…!”

“You should believe it. This is happening right in front of you.”

“N—No!”

“Yes!”

Shwing… With a swift movement of Davey’s hand, the swords in the sky pointed down and began falling like asteroids on the enemies. The rainfall of swords fell like flashes of light. Only a very small number of the weapons were metallic ones, with the rest of them being made out of energy. The energy swords pierced through the sky at an unimaginable speed.

“Ke… Ugh…”

“Keugh!”

“N—No! I can’t die like?!”

Slice!!

“People have to take responsibility for what they do.”

The man who fell without even screaming had an expression of distrust and fear of death… Needless to say, the situation turned into chaos within seconds.

“D—Don’t move! Your colleague will di… Kuk!”

“Who uses the exact same thing twice?”

‘A hostage situation? You. You were there when I did that.’

It didn’t take Davey too long to take care of the people who were running away in complete panic. It was nothing but a massacre, spilling scarlet blood with the energy swords’ descent.

* * *

“Am I dreaming…?” Fendyr, who was now free, rubbed her eyes with her hands as she watched the hundreds of swords that filled the sky fall onto the black-robed people.

The betrayal of the captain, who was supposed to be responsible for the knight order, was shocking enough. The fact that Shandra, who had been provoked by someone and was moving unusually, had intruded the territory, and that this had all been Gaor’s scheme was surprising too.

However, no one could formulate any words about the strange situation happening in front of their eyes. Even the trainees who only knew little about swordsmanship felt the same way.

The trainees were full of despair ever since Illyna had become horrendous to look at after being overcome by an eerie, black fog. After all, they did learn that Davey, who they thought was their last hope, had disintegrated without leaving a trace from Shandra’s breath too. However, everything afterwards completely defied their expectations.

Shandra, who should have appeared while boasting its enormous presence, tumbled hundreds of meters before crashing into the ground by a single strike of a mysterious golden spear. Then, the person who they thought was dead simply reappeared before their eyes. Furthermore, he had telekinetic blades; if becoming a Swordmaster was a dream for people training in swordsmanship, a telekinetic blade was legendary. It was the next step that Masters yearned to reach someday. Even Gaor, who was said to be able to take on three or four Swordmasters at a time, wasn’t able to telekinetically control his blade.

Quickly understanding the situation, Lucia Shelman approached her partner, Fendyr, to cast healing magic upon her and murmured to herself, “That sword… It’s fascinating every time I see it…”

“What?”

“He did that when we fell to the ancient ruins’ lowest floor. I saw Sir Davey’s two swords slashing golems in the air like they were alive.”

“Do…you know how unbelievable that is?”

“I—I don’t know? Is that something really amazing?”

Lucia didn’t know much about swords, so she didn’t understand how surprising and bewildering this situation was.

“Damn it… This has to be a dream. Lucia! Get everyone else! Now that Davey is here, let’s do what we can do! Come on!”

Lucia glanced at the trainees, who were sitting on the ground and blankly staring at Davey's fight. Then, she nodded at Fendyr’s quick request.

* * *

The nasty odor of blood was overwhelming. Most of the black-robed people were lying still, their shocked and fearful expressions still visible beneath their hoods.

“A telekinetic blade… What are you…?”

“A trainee. You don’t know that?”

“Stop talking nonsense!!”

How could a teenage boy execute a level of power that humans could not dream of even if they devoted their entire lives to swordsmanship?

“I can barely breathe.”

Davey flicked his finger at the sight of Gaor stepping back. Gaor was vomiting blood like he had been fatally wounded. Shwing! Boom!! At the same time, a few of Davey’s energy swords flew toward him to block his path and created an explosion.

“As I said before…”

“…”

“You need to take responsibility for your actions.”

“It was a mistake letting you into the knight order in the first place,” Gaor stated.

Davey shook his head. “You should think of this differently. Don’t you think it would have been wiser for you to plow through the Pandora Region with me after buttering me up than with that half-wit transcendental being?”

There was nothing but silence. Still, Davey had a pleasant expression on his face. Now that the situation had come down to this, it would help him in terms of reputation and stability. For example…

‘Sir Davey, you’re here. Hehe.’

‘Haha, Assistant Gaor! You’re here.’

‘Ah, it’s only right for me to go everywhere you go, sir.’

‘Hahahaha! I like you, Gaor; you’re like my younger brother.’

‘Hehe, then about the project of the reform of the Pandora Region…’

‘Ah, don’t worry about it. How can I ignore your request, Gaor?’

‘…’

Davey didn’t think that was really going to happen. If Gaor had known about his power in the first place, this may not have happened at all. That being said, Davey had no intention of offering himself and telling Gaor that they could use him for his power.

In between birth and death was choice. And in the end, Gaor had made such a choice. Now, he had to take responsibility for his actions. Regret always came too late.

“Well, I don’t know what’s the use of such banter anymore.” Davey lightly swung Red Ribbon and slashed the air while glancing at Gaor, who was the only enemy still alive.

“Was it…your power that blew Shandra away just now?”

“Don’t you have a better use for your final breath?”

“What?”

Splatter!! Gaor widened his eyes. His body was mercilessly bisected by Davey’s sword. There was bewilderment and confusion on his face as he slowly split into two.

‘I made up my mind to kill him, so what’s there to further discuss?’

-He probably had his own situation to deal with. Although he made a foolish decision, would he have done this kind of thing if he knew the outcome?

“A fool who makes rash decisions will make the same mistake again.”

Human beings had endless greed, which made them repeat the same mistakes, and this cycle could only end in failure.

If, by a very small chance, Shandra had been subdued and if Davey wasn’t here, this might have been the knight order’s chance to get into the Pandora Region… Even if it was the wrong way to do so, it was true that Gaor was trying to take over the Pandora Region with Shandra.

“And there’s no such thing as a grave without a story.”

-Like my grave? Giggle.

With whatever intention and motive Gaor had created such a situation, Davey was not going to try and understand it. He looked around at the silent surroundings, then collapsed the rest of the energy blades and walked over to the speechless trainees who were all huddled up.

Illyna was lying among the trainees, lying still with a pale and horrendous face.

“Weep… Weep…”

“You’re alive… It’s such a relief.”

Some said that it was a relief.

“Thank you, Davey… I don’t know what would’ve happened if it wasn’t for you…”

Some showed pure gratitude.

However, someone unexpected was unable to regain her consciousness.

“Your Highness… Your Highness… Please wake up, please?” Alyssa Patrick, whom Illyna was a little uncomfortable with, shook Illyna and tried to wake her up. She sobbed. “You’re not dead, Your Highness, right? Please don’t say that, please…”

Davey quietly walked past the trainees and squinted at Illyna. He asked, “Dark magic?”

“Hiccup… Dark mage… It was a dark mage! A wicked dark mage made Her Highness like this and disappeared! She is alive… But why…”

“Move back for a second,” Davey said calmly and brought two fingers to Illyna’s neck. He felt a weak and strange pulse that was half-corpse and half-human, but Illyna was still hanging on with the pure mana she had.

Davey knew one type of magic like this: malicious dark magic, [Dark Knight]. Unlike [Death Knight], which made someone into a knight of the dead, [Dark Knight] was a dark magic spell that took away a living person’s consciousness and decomposed their body. He asked, “Did they try to make someone into a Dark Knight while they were alive?”

‘But she would’ve had Caldeiras, which is the concentration of holy power…’

“N… No… She can’t die! I have a duty to keep Her Highness alive!”

“Illyna! Please wake up!”

Since Davey wasn’t doing anything, the trainees were screaming and doing whatever they could to keep Illyna alive. However, what could be done about such a situation? In the midst of that disorder, Davey clapped his hands in the air.

Slap!

“Move aside.” Davey urged the trainees to back off before placing two fingers on Illyna’s forehead. Then, he slowly blinked and black fumes began seeping out from his entire body.

‘Hm, I’m not too late yet.’