Chapter 27
The twins of Zervan.
The children of Killavan, who would become the core of the next generation's power.
Orphin, tasked with guarding Livan and Lini, hunted magical beasts with his body, but his mind was troubled by someone who simply would not leave his thoughts.
His name was Callias von Zervan.
The man who appeared abruptly and vanished just as swiftly.
More accurately, his sword—which had discarded the Zervan name and become a pilgrim.
His swordsmanship lingered incessantly in Orphin's mind, tormenting him.
'Silver Flower Shattering Sword.'
The sword he briefly witnessed back then was undoubtedly...
The Silver Flower Shattering Sword.
It was similar to the Silver Flower Shattering Sword that the Saint of legends, Stella, was said to have displayed.
There was no way he wouldn't know.
Because a sword technique that shattered one's sword aura and used it to create flower petals was the only one of its kind in this world.
'How could a good-for-nothing possess such swordsmanship?'
And such a sword, at that.
No matter how great a sword technique is, if the skill of the one performing it is pathetic, the technique is nothing more than a technique.
But Callias was different.
He fully possessed the strength worthy of his swordsmanship.
And right now.
Looking at Callias holding a fork, Orphin reached a conviction.
'He intentionally hid himself.'
No matter how much Livan's sword was that of a child, a blade wreathed in divine power could not be taken lightly.
Furthermore, he was of Zervan's bloodline.
The manipulation of divine power, Zervan's unique cultivation method, and swordsmanship were all intertwined within it.
Yet with a fork? It was absurd.
But even so, he did it.
Moreover...
'To think he would break a sword with a fork.'
Callias effortlessly blocked Livan's sword with a fork, wedged it between the blade, and snapped it with a flick of his wrist.
Immense strength and skill.
A realm that could not be achieved without precise divine power manipulation and technique.
'Why...'
He didn't know why, despite having that level of skill, the aura of his divine power was so faint.
In Orphin's eyes, Callias's sword made him one of the top powerhouses even in the North.
At least, that was how it looked to him.
"M-My sword... No, how could the sword I received from my father break against a mere fork... W-What in the world..."
Livan seemed to have fallen into a panic.
Even if he was from a collateral line, he was born into a prestigious sword family and held pride in his sword—of course he would panic when it broke against a mere fork.
Even a fully grown adult would find it difficult to endure the current situation, yet Livan was merely a fourteen-year-old brat.
"It was a sword Father gave me specially, and to a fork..."
He simply couldn't come to his senses.
He alternated glances between the fork Callias held and his own broken sword, biting his lip hard.
"D-Damn it!! Why is everyone just watching!!"
Livan's furious voice awakened the knights who had been watching in admiration.
Shing!
Five knights drew their swords.
Orphin hesitated over what to do, but inevitably drew his sword as well.
'Can we do it?'
Can a mere six knights stand against someone who has learned the sword of Saint Stella?
Orphin bit his lip tightly.
"Make that bastard kneel and bring him before me right now!! Insulting me is no different from insulting Zervan!"
"Hmm."
Callias watched the approaching knights with a nonchalant face.
The young punk's way of speaking was quite irritating, but what could he do.
Nobles were always like that.
Callias looked at the approaching knights, then glanced at Emily.
The girl was holding her stomach, chuckling endlessly as if she found something incredibly funny.
Just as he thought it might only end when blood was spilled—
"Halt."
A low, heavy voice stopped the knights in their tracks.
Soon, the snow-covered bushes shook, scattering snow, and a man with a gentle face appeared between them.
The moment they saw his face, the knights startled and bowed their heads.
He was Zervan's next patriarch.
The adopted son of Count Zervan.
And the father of Livan and Lini.
Killavan von Zervan.
"F-Father!!"
"Father!"
Livan and Lini ran toward him with bright smiles the moment they saw Killavan.
But they soon had to stop in their tracks, as the sword he held was covered in the blood of magical beasts.
"Father! That guy insulted me!"
"That's right! He insulted my brother! He broke his sword with a fork! How could he do that? It was amazing! My brother's sword just went 'crack' and snapped like firewood!"
Livan ranted that if they didn't make that guy kneel, Zervan's honor would fall, while Lini parroted words that were hard to tell were insults or praise, like a parrot.
Killavan shook off the blood on his sword and asked Orphin.
"What happened?"
"Well..."
A short while later.
Having heard the whole story, Killavan looked at Callias with intriguing eyes.
And then he made an offer.
"Would you swear loyalty to me?"
"F-Father... what in the world..."
"I am a man who puts talent above all else. I don't know what you saw to enter inside the wheel, but whatever it is, I can make it yours."
I have that kind of power.
Everyone was surprised by Killavan's sudden proposal, which seemed to say just that.
It was the same for Emily.
"L-Lord Killavan."
Startled, Emily stepped in front of Callias and spread her arms toward Killavan, as if to say absolutely not.
"Emily."
Killavan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Emily.
"This man is my escort."
"...Emily. I apologize to you, but the choice is not ours to make. If you also have pride as a swordsman, you must respect his choice."
Leaving Emily behind, who hesitated and couldn't finish her words, Killavan spoke to the hooded Callias.
"Even if my son's sword was one meant for children, it was not at a level to be broken by a mere fork."
Therefore, the fork that broke that sword.
No, there was no need to further test Callias's skill.
"That's sudden."
"It is not sudden at all. If you seek honor, you must swear loyalty to me, the next patriarch, and if you seek success, you must follow me even more. Is that not so?"
Not a single point was wrong.
The adopted son of the current Zervan family.
The next patriarch.
Yet he also possessed outstanding swordsmanship and exceptional leadership.
A man who was an affectionate father to his children, while also having the caliber for knights to swear their loyalty to.
If he were an ordinary wandering knight, it would not have been easy to refuse his proposal, even with Emily watching.
"I refuse."
But Callias was not ordinary.
Perhaps not expecting an immediate refusal, Killavan's face contorted for a moment before forming a subtle smile.
"May I hear the reason?"
"Honor, success. I have no need for them."
Looking at Callias's back, Killavan asked again.
"Then what do you desire?"
"A sword. A stronger sword."
Saying so, he led Emily and the attendants away. Watching his back disappear into the forest, Killavan clicked his tongue in regret.
"F-Father. That guy insulted..."
"Livan. I don't know what honor you think was slighted, but this time, you have no choice but to endure it."
"Why..."
"That man is not a knight."
"Then what is he?"
A stronger sword.
The meaning behind those words was singular.
Stroking his son's head, who asked with innocent eyes, he spoke.
"Perhaps... a pilgrim."
* * *
Crackle, crackle.
The White Forest, which had been noisy, grew quiet as if it had never been rowdy once the moonlight settled.
Relying on a single campfire, Callias and his party sat around, finished a light meal, and rested.
"Why did you do that?"
Glancing at Emily, she was asking with her gaze fixed on the campfire.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"The fork. You didn't have to go that far with Livan."
She was asking about what happened earlier.
Callias pondered for a moment, tossed a log into the campfire, and spoke.
"His level was exactly at a fork's."
"Is that all?"
"That is all."
That wasn't actually true.
Livan and Lini.
Callias was well aware of the two's dispositions.
As collateral descendants of Zervan, they were notorious brats when they were young, but given a slight trigger, they would come to their senses and grow into excellent knights.
'There was a route like that.'
He knew because he had created various routes. Moreover, Livan and Lini were more obnoxious than he expected, and he didn't like the way they acted, either.
So he intentionally provoked Livan's pride and ultimately broke his sword.
With a fork, no less.
Honestly, he had wondered if it was possible.
But the fork, cloaked in the sword aura of the Silver Flower Shattering Sword, splendidly broke Livan's sword, and Callias thoroughly crushed the brat's pride.
'I don't know if he'll come to his senses or not... but there will be more opportunities.'
Otherwise, it would be troublesome.
Now that the Wheel of Fatalite quest had appeared. Even if it was a child's sword, the North would need it.
"Thanks. Thanks to you, I feel completely refreshed."
Emily, who threw in another log following Callias's lead, stood up right away and crawled into her sleeping bag.
He watched Emily with a strange look in his eyes before drawing Loas.
'Has it grown a little?'
Loas, which had been half-broken, seemed to have grown a little, perhaps because they had entered the White Forest and hunted a few magical beasts.
It hadn't even shed its tail like a lizard, so it was quite fascinating.
[Devouring Sword - Loas]
Rank – Renowned Sword.
Imbued Soul – Mingled Soul.
Unique Ability – Devour.
Devour Count – 723
'When we wiped out the bandits, it was roughly around five hundred.'
The number of magical beasts he had hunted while scouring the White Forest in search of Bernard during his stay in the North had exceeded two hundred.
If he caught roughly three hundred more, Loas's rank would go up, so things were progressing smoothly.
Once the Wheel of Fatalite began to turn in earnest, a number like two or three hundred would swarm in easily.
It was only a matter of time before Loas ascended to a Spirit Sword.
When that happened, it wouldn't break easily even if he crossed swords with Lakan, so this time, it would be worth a try.
'Anyway...'
Callias's eyes, surveying the surroundings, glinted sharply.
Snap, crackle.
All that could be heard was the sound of the campfire.
The forest was unusually quiet.
It was bizarre that nothing entered his sensory perception. Most of the magical beasts in the White Forest were nocturnal, so for it to be this quiet was rather suspicious.
'Is it about time?'
Clouds obscured the moon.
As the round full moon was hidden, the surroundings were dyed in complete darkness, making the name "White Forest" seem embarrassing.
Then, a foul smell immediately brushed the tip of his nose. Simultaneously, the forest shook.
Multiple auras wavered.
When the clouds parted once more and the moonlight illuminated Callias's surroundings—
Before his eyes was a massive axe dripping with blood.
And the Greenskin holding it, with large fangs and primitive tattoos engraved on its body.
As the sons of the Axe God, they rode atop the back of a colossal magical beast.
Looking down at him.
[The Shackles of Destiny turn.]
[Survive the fate of death.]
People poured out many names upon seeing them. Barbarians, Greenskins, Fiends, the demon race that created magical beasts.
Non-human entities beyond the White Forest at the edge of the North.
Primitive and barbaric, yet warriors who did not fear death.
Beings who held axes in one hand, cried out the name of their god, and sought out battlefields where they could die like warriors.
But a more accurate name for them was...
"Orcs."
The northern barbarians who had been fighting Zervan for centuries across the White Forest.
They were Orcs.