Chapter 198

“Archduke Lancaster of the Heavenly Swords and Lord Sephelia of the Noble Swords have officially declared their intention to participate in the ‘Sword Ceremony’.”

The whisper traveled through the blue spiderwebs woven across the entire empire. After hearing the report, Dale, seated at the table, silently nodded.

“Well done.”

After delivering the report, the one who had summoned the ‘Blue Whisper’ withdrew, and Dale quietly rose to his feet.

The Sword Ceremony. A tradition passed down through generations in the ancient Kingdom of Tutonia to determine the continent’s strongest swordsman, a legacy of the past whose lineage was severed after the kingdom’s fall.

In other words, those now called the Seven Swordsmen of the Continent are the ones who claimed their titles in the last Sword Ceremony, held over a decade before Dale was even born.

Conversely, it cannot be ruled out that swordsmen surpassing the current Seven Swordsmen exist somewhere on the continent. Take, for instance, the reborn Holy Swordmaster, another Aurelia, and the ‘Black Prince’ who wields the avatar of the Shadow Lord.

The jet-black Aurelia dwelling within Dale’s shadow was no exception.

Unconsciously, the image of the girl who had left her lord’s side after that day and grown up alone came to mind.

A clash of the mighty, veiled by swords. Moreover, it was beyond doubt that the daughter of the Divine Sword would participate in that ceremony unfolding in her former homeland.

Fortunately, the ‘Ceremony of the Sword’ was not held overnight. In the meantime, Dale had only one task.

The Saxon Duchy, the absurdly large training grounds prepared for the Night Raven Knights’ exercises.

There, three of the continent’s Seven Great Swords—counted among the finest—were gathered.

The Light Sword, Sir Helmut Blackbear; the Killing Sword, Master Baro; and the nameless swordsman known as the Wandering Sword.

Finally, the Shadow Lord who had secured the swords’ allegiance, and Lady Shadow, who claimed to be his shadow, were no exception.

“Gathering three of the Seven Swords here must not have been easy.”

“Well now, how could there be any hesitation before the call of Lord Dale himself!”

“Indeed.”

“Damn it.”

Master Baro shook his head and spat out curses, while Sir Helmut’s expression hardened.

“A murderer who’d be ashamed to call himself a knight—truly, he has the nerve of a scoundrel.”

Truthfully, even though they both resided within the Duchy of Saxony, the chances of their paths crossing were slim. They weren’t entirely unaware of each other’s existence, but that didn’t change anything.

Sir Helmut the Sword of Light served as the Duke of Saxony’s sword, fulfilling his duty, while Master Baro the Sword of Death operated as the sword of the Shadow Court, lurking in the shadows.

“Oh, come now. What else can one do when the world has turned out this way?”

“How can I trust someone like you, who doesn’t even know the meaning of a solemn oath, to guard Lord Dale’s back?”

“There’s no need for concern, Lord Helmut. Master Baro of the Sword is more trustworthy than he appears.”

“But the young master…!”

“Your Lordships are not here for petty quarrels.”

But Dale shook his head quietly and smiled. It was a gentle voice, yet one that left no room for objection.

Swish.

Dale drew the jet-black sword of hunger from his waist.

“In the upcoming Sword Ceremony, aside from the nameless rising powers, there are two individuals you must be wary of.”

Dale continued.

“Grand Duke Lancaster of the Heavenly Swords, and Sir Sephelia of the Divine Swords. And it is said both knights have expressed their intent to participate in the ‘Sword Ceremony’.”

“The Heavenly Sword and the Noble Sword…”

Though he had anticipated it, upon hearing those names, Lord Helmut quietly swallowed hard.

“The position of the Sacred Sword is reserved solely for the wielder of the Sacred Sword. But the vacant position of the New Sword will be different. They will all surely covet the New Sword’s seat and challenge for it.”

Dale said.

“And I, too, will participate in the ‘Sword Ceremony’ alongside the others.”

“……!”

At Dale’s words, the three swords held their breath for a moment.

“However, Young Master, participation in the Sword Trial is strictly limited to…”

Lord Helmut stopped mid-sentence, then gasped as if realizing something.

Seeing that, Dale smiled faintly.

“You must use the aura.”

“That’s right.”

“But I’ve heard that in the ancient sword rituals, there were also quite a few swordmages who wielded both sword and magic simultaneously.”

Dale said, and Lord Helmut’s expression hardened as he grasped the meaning.

“Surely not!”

“From this moment on, I intend to generate an Aura Heart within my body, just like the ones used by knights.”

The reason why mages and knights in this world couldn’t master both simultaneously was extremely simple.

Mages use magic power, and knights use aura.

However, the two types of magic power and aura are ultimately just different ways of processing mana; both ultimately derive from the primordial force present in the atmosphere, the power that originates from mana.

Knowing this fact, attempts to simultaneously wield sword and magic were not uncommon in the past. Yet, the reason knights and mages are strictly separated in this era boils down to one thing alone.

The efficiency is so dreadful that it ultimately results in chasing two rabbits and catching neither.

Mana or aura—even the study of one demands a lifetime of effort for ordinary people, and those who can reach its pinnacle are few enough to count on one hand. It would be strange not to worry.

“I understand your concerns, my lords. However…”

That was when Dale was about to explain his intentions.

“Understood.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lord Helmut Blackbear nodded.

“Sir Helmut?”

“I trust Prince Dale.”

That’s exactly right. What Dale shows now is by no means limited to his achievements as a mage. Despite being the Shadow Lord’s avatar, and even claiming to be a mage, he possesses a sword skill that in no way falls short of the continent’s Seven Swordsmen.

What if, in that state, he were to obtain an aura that allowed him to focus solely on strengthening his physique?

After all, he was the ‘Black Prince,’ hailed as the empire’s foremost genius, so they believed him. At least when he spoke of catching two rabbits at once, it was never an utterly unrealistic tale. They knew this because they had witnessed Dale’s exploits endlessly and could not hide their awe.

“Good grief, Shippal. Even without that, you’ve got plenty already, yet your greed is truly insatiable.”

“Watch your language in front of Lord Dale.”

“Oh dear, my apologies.”

Master Baro bowed exaggeratedly, and Dale simply turned his head away.

Truth be told, what Dale sought to obtain was by no means a mere pipe dream. Rather, it was something more familiar to him than the sum of his entire life.

For it was the secret technique once wielded by heroes of another world. Yet what Dale now sought to unleash was slightly different. The five circles encircling his heart were no ordinary circles.

“Shuv.”

Dale spoke. As if waiting for this moment, the monstrosity from another world—simultaneously a young girl in a dress—appeared beside Dale.

“Do as I told you.”

─ I was waiting for you to say that.

Shub smiled faintly, and Dale nodded. Quietly steeled his resolve, he spun the five circles of his heart.

With three swords behind him, each reaching the pinnacle of aura, Dale spoke.

“Let’s begin.”

Whoosh!

The Mana Heart, the very core of a mage, its five circles began to accelerate.

Simultaneously, the 『Black Goat’s Book』, fused with the Shadow Lord’s heart, generated new tendril clusters and began sliding downward through Dale’s body.

Like a gastroscope descending through the esophagus into the stomach.

Using Shuv’s tentacles as a ‘mana circuit,’ the path of mana opened, connecting from the heart to the lower abdomen.

Through the mana circuit, the swirling vortex of mana surging from the heart began pouring downward through the body.

A pure mass of mana began flowing toward the navel in the lower abdomen like a bursting dam.

A mage’s ‘mana heart’ resides in the heart. A knight’s aura heart does not. It lies in the lower abdomen, a few inches below the navel. That is precisely where knights accumulate mana and process it into aura—the ‘knight’s heart’.

Shuv’s tentacles slid down toward the very location of the Aura Heart, forming intricate capillaries of mana circuits.

A path of mana connecting the heart’s circle and the aura heart.

“Gah…!”

Dale steadied his consciousness amidst the agony that twisted his entire body.

Simultaneously, a torrent of mana surged through the circuit like a bursting dam, exploding into Dale’s lower abdomen.

Strictly speaking, the true beginning of a knight lies in generating an ‘aura heart’ within one’s body.

This is the first circle awakened based on the wizard’s standards, and as a knight, Dale is still a novice who hasn’t even generated a single circle yet.

Thus, like forcing a connection between oil and water at their boundary, Shuv’s tentacles writhed in pain so intense it felt like his breath would stop.

Raw mana, endlessly surging through the mana circuits, began forming the outer shell of the Aura Heart and accumulating within it.

The vessel for the aura finally formed in Dale’s lower abdomen, and mana was being contained within it.

Who could ever have imagined it? Yet the three swords, reaching the pinnacle of aura, knew.

What was unfolding within Dale’s body.

The mage created a ‘mana circuit’ connecting the heart to the lower abdomen, and by channeling mana through that circuit, he forged the knight’s heart—the aura heart.

“M-My lord…!”

“Huh, Shiel.”

Master Baro couldn’t hide his shock and let out a curse.

The hero of another world is not called a monster for nothing. No one else could draw out the efficiency of the Demon Sword to such an extent—something no one had ever dared to achieve.

Yet, there was only one reason why Dale had never created an Oru Heart until now, focusing solely on being a mage.

No matter how exceptional the eldest son of the Saxon family might be, he could not compare to the physical prowess of that era.

Therefore, it would ultimately result in missing both rabbits.

However, by this point, having seized the power of the Shadow Lord, that was no longer the case. Rather, for the current Dale to pour all his strength into a single mage would be a waste on the scale of burning down a thatched cottage to kill a single flea.

The 『Book of the Black Goat』 within his heart extended tendrils, creating a mana circuit connecting to the Aura Heart. Mana began flowing through that circuit.

The hearts of the mage and the knight were linked, and with each breath, magic power and aura began to be generated from both hearts.

But it was not yet over. Rather, it was only the beginning.

Just as a mage increases their mastery by expanding the number of circles, a knight can also increase the amount of aura they can accumulate by expanding their aura heart.

Dale had only just created his Aura Heart, and there was no way he would stop at this level.

Thus, through the mana circuit connected by Shuv’s tentacles, an absurd amount of mana began pouring from his heart toward the Aura Heart.

To grasp the ultimate secret—said to require a knight’s entire lifetime to attain—right here, in this very moment.