“I have one question.”
One of the knights climbing the mountain path spoke up.
“Is it really necessary to mobilize this many of us just to catch a single runaway dog? Any one of us could take the head of a man who abandoned his honor to flee.”
The knight’s question was reasonable.
It was well known that the order was strict when it came to punishing a Runaway Knight, but even so, this felt excessive.
“Even if the enemy is a large bandit group… with our current strength, we could wipe a small village off the map.”
The commander gave a short reply to the knight’s doubt.
“The higher-ups deemed this level of force appropriate.”
“But why would they—”
“This isn’t the first time knights have been dispatched to capture him.”
The commander turned back to look at the knight with cold eyes.
“Six knights from our order have already died at his hands.”
The sound of the wind echoed across the hills.
“He may have no honor, but his killing techniques are the real deal.”
“…”
“Do you know what that runaway dog’s nickname was when he was still with our order?”
The commander spoke in a low voice.
“Berserker.”
*
What is the decisive difference between a Sword Beginner and a Sword Walker? Many things could be cited, but everyone would likely point to one thing: 「The Path」.
Unlike a Sword Beginner, who simply absorbs and accumulates mana, a Sword Walker is one who can truly utilize it.
Forging a Second Heart, slightly reinforcing the blade, sharpening the senses, and possessing minor resistance to mana—this is the limit of mana manipulation allowed to a Sword Beginner.
Compared to the true potential of mana, it is a pitifully small amount.
Then what about a Sword Walker?
First, they can create a path from their Second Heart, spreading it throughout their body like blood vessels. These internal paths grant the swordsman Superhuman Strength.
They become capable of wielding the mana they have absorbed however they wish.
Because of this, the swords wielded by Sword Walkers are far sharper and harder than those of an ordinary swordsman. Their movements also become remarkably swift and exquisite.
However, their greatest power is neither sword reinforcement nor physical enhancement. The decisive reason a Sword Walker is called a Superhuman is the power of 「The Path」.
“Three, four, five…”
Beyond extending paths internally, a Sword Walker can project 「The Path」 of their heart outside their body like a spiderweb. These paths serve various purposes.
They can instantly detect any enemy who enters 「The Path」 uninvited, and because Superhuman Strength is further amplified within 「The Path」, they can fight with a significant advantage.
“Six.”
In other words, for a Sword Walker, 「The Path」 was everything.
“So, that man only has six paths.”
I finished my observation while hidden in the darkness. The leader of the Red Wolves bandit group—the man who was a Runaway Knight—was a strongman who had reached the rank of Sword Walker, as expected of a former knight.
But how should I put it?
“Compared to the Black Bride Seol-yoon or Petel, he’s pathetic.”
He wasn’t at an overwhelming level.
“Petel’s paths were countless, and Seol-yoon’s paths were bizarre, shifting from one to many. But his paths are far too honest—and unstable.”
Hearing my assessment, Liam replied.
「That’s only natural.」
“Why is it natural?”
「That girl, Seol-yoon, is a once-in-a-century genius, and that knight, Petel, was a seasoned veteran who didn’t belong in a backwater place like this.」
True.
This wasn’t strange.
Rather, the two I had met before were the strange ones.
「Well, even if his level is lower than you expected… you know, don’t you?」
“Yes.”
Liam glanced at me.
I gave the answer he was expecting.
“I won’t be careless.”
*
Murphy, the leader of the Red Wolves, was deeply displeased with the current situation. Until just a moment ago, he had been dreaming of hunting another arrogant knight and taking his head as a trophy.
But then.
“Boss! A-A ghost! A ghost has appeared!”
“It might be a Black Mage! A Black Mage! Didn’t the tavern drunkard say so? That a Black Mage had made this place his domain! Heh, heh, hic. “
“If not that, then a truly terrible epidemic—”
What kind of bullshit was this?
“Shut—up!”
Murphy shouted with all his might.
At his roar, the bandits let out sharp gasps and fell silent, their eyes wide. A shout infused with mana was no different from the roar of a fierce beast.
The frozen bandits stared blankly at Murphy.
“A Black Mage? Would those lazy, spoiled bastards leave the capital and come all the way to the countryside? Those pleasure addicts who can’t last a day without wine and beautiful women?”
“B-But…”
“You lot know nothing about Black Mages. If a Black Mage had truly made this place his home, you’d all be skeleton soldiers by now, your guts ripped out as sacrifices to a demon.”
Damn it.
At times like this, he regretted having uneducated country bumpkins as subordinates. They had no idea what kind of terrifying monsters Black Mages really were.
“And an epidemic? Don’t make me laugh. Can’t you see the holes pierced in the necks of the corpses scattered around here? This isn’t the work of a ghost, nor is it an epidemic!”
“Th-Then what?”
“You idiots, it’s a person! We’re being raided by a human!”
Murphy’s blood began to boil.
He tried to think of who would do such a thing. Had the order already tracked him down? No, those high and mighty lords would never commit such messy murders.
This was the work of someone from the bottom, like himself.
Damn it, I have too many enemies.
Even when he tried to narrow down the candidates, Murphy had far too many enemies. The Red Wolves had pillaged and destroyed countless villages, raped women, and killed many men in ignominious ways.
In the end, Murphy gave up on identifying the culprit.
What does it matter who it is? I just have to kill them.
It had always been that way. Whether it was a noble who trampled on his pride, a young lady who trembled and screamed, or the knights who acted tough saying they came to catch a runaway dog—he killed them all.
Murphy was certain he could do the same this time.
“You morons, first, check that forest—”
And then.
“Gah!”
One of the bandits Murphy was looking at dropped dead.
“Agh—”
Next, a bandit drawing his sword in terror collapsed.
“H-Hieee!”
After that, two bandits holding axes on guard duty died.
What the…
It truly looked as if a ghost had appeared. Murphy, who had been standing in a daze for a moment, realized he couldn’t just stay still.
He hurriedly drew the sword at his waist, took a deep breath, and attempted to deploy 「The Path」…
“Hup!”
He couldn’t deploy the path properly.
His hair stood on end. Sensing immediate danger, Murphy threw his body back. A long, slender blade grazed the spot where his body had been a split second ago.
A sword…? What kind of needle-like sword is—
Murphy narrowed his eyes and regained his balance. Following the sudden appearance of the sword, he saw the attacker who had emerged from the darkness.
The attacker was a boy.
That brat killed all these men? And how did he penetrate my 「Path」 to get this close?
Murphy hurriedly drew his sword and inhaled. Even if it was an incomplete 「Path」, it wasn’t something a greenhorn like that should be able to penetrate—unless he was also a Sword Walker.
“Phew.”
The internal paths glowed as Superhuman Strength flooded Murphy’s body. In the world that became vivid despite the darkness, Murphy lunged at the boy. And—
Cunning brat.
Murphy’s senses, which had reached the realm of the Superhuman, caught a glimpse of the immediate future in the boy’s movements. A future where the boy’s toe kicked up mud to blind him, followed by a thrust of that strange sword through the gaps in the mud.
This was the exclusive property of a Sword Walker. A power that aggregated all information from the space adjacent to the paths, granting a wide field of vision akin to future sight.
“You!”
Murphy shifted his direction back and forth to prepare for the mud and spun the sword in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, the boy attacking him had not moved beyond the rank of Sword Beginner.
He had been a bit tense because the boy had killed so many of his insignificant subordinates in an instant, but Murphy ultimately judged that the boy was no match for him.
However, there was something Murphy did not know.
“You seem to know your way around a blade, but even so—”
The boy was not a Sword Walker, but he could do something similar to the power of a Sword Walker.
For instance.
“A mere Sword Beginner—”
Through persistent Doubt and observation, he extracted clues from every minor movement of the enemy, knowing what would happen in advance and reacting accordingly.
“…How…?”
Murphy was bewildered by what happened next.
When the sword he swung with the full force of Superhuman Strength along 「The Path」 missed entirely.
“…?”
Clang!
When his sword finally connected after swinging repeatedly, only to be repelled with a sharp metallic ring.
“A Sword Beginner’s blade… shouldn’t be this hard…”
And.
“What kind of petty trick— Urgh! “
When the long, slender sword pierced through the muscle of his thigh, leaving a hole before he could even react.
” Gasp! “
Murphy swung his sword wildly. The boy had already backed away and avoided it before Murphy even swung, as if he were looking into the future.
Murphy bit his lip and glared at the boy hidden in the darkness.
“You… what are you?”
“…”
“You’re not even a Sword Walker… so how do you keep prying into my 「Path」? It’s as if you’re punching holes in it—”
It was impossible.
It was something a mere Sword Beginner shouldn’t be able to do.
“You. I won’t let you get away with this.”
Murphy looked at the humiliating wound on his thigh. Then, he opened his mouth wide and took a breath so deep his lungs felt like they would burst. Along with it, Murphy’s Second Heart began to throb madly. As the Mana Heart pumped, the paths extending through Murphy’s body began to run wild.
Murphy’s reason began to fade.
He abandoned control to gain power.
It was the power that had earned Murphy the nickname Berserker, the power that had allowed him to trample and kill the knights who pursued him.
“…”
Watching Murphy transform into a beast, the boy sheathed the needle-like blade. Then, he drew a new weapon. A dagger.
Holding a blade in each hand, the boy faced the beast.
“Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
He muttered strange words that Murphy couldn’t understand.
“What a relief.”
With that, the boy vanished into the darkness.
“You die here.”
Like an Assassin of the Free City.
