POV: Eris Adoldia

What does it mean to be a Master?

It was a question I had kept running into over and over these past few years.

To reach a state of complete unity with your surroundings. A state where guiding your blade is no longer something that requires effort.

Moving your body to evade an attack becomes simple and natural. It is a state where your arts are carved so deeply into your bones, your flesh, and your mind that nothing remains an obstacle.

It was a beautiful description.

But what the hell was that even supposed to mean?!

Reida was one of the most experienced and mature swordswomen I had ever fought, yet according to Rygar, she still was not truly a Master.

The Immortal Demon King Atofe had wielded a sword for thousands of years and practiced the North God Style for hundreds of them, yet she had not reached that level either.

Rygar told me that in his past life, the term "Master" had been very vague and difficult to define, but in this world, apparently, it was quite easy to recognize.

At least, that was what he said.

I think he can only tell because he reached that level himself...

In any case, it seems that on Earth, only a handful of people in all of history were ever considered true Masters.

One of them, for example, was a famous swordsman named Miyamoto Musashi, whose philosophy and life as a ronin influenced the entire world even many years after his death.

And not all that differently, in this world, Rygar told me there were only two people besides himself who had ever reached that milestone in martial arts.

One was the Dragon God.

The other was the Technique God.

Three people in total.

Despite the difference between worlds, the logic did not seem all that different.

Very few truly became real Masters.

"Crimson Heavenly Rupture!"

My blade once again slashed toward the monstrous bird-man hundreds of meters away, cutting through the air like a dark crimson flash.

Once again, the monster had to break its focus to destroy my attack with a cannon of golden light.

"SHHHRRRIIIICKKK!"

A terrible screech burst out in fury at the exact moment of impact.

I smirked.

Thanks to the Eye of Foresight, my strikes always came at the precise moment to do the most damage possible. As much as circumstances allowed, of course. I was not actually trying to kill it on my own.

I was only creating an opening for my strong husband.

I may not know exactly what a Master is, but as I ran and leaped across the floating islands of the 1800th Floor, I felt like I was experiencing something close to it.

Always moving, always in extreme combat, always alert.

Even though my body was at its physical peak and fully restored thanks to my Armor and Rygar’s Healing Magic, the mental fatigue kept building little by little, never stopping for even a second.

It was like keeping my blade raised at all times. No matter how many times my body was restored, my mind never had a moment of real rest.

Fortunately, that last strike of mine was the perfect distraction.

Or at least, that was what I believed.

Rygar advanced using one of the only techniques capable of wounding that False Bird God.

That Floor Boss had the infuriating and unnatural ability to move like a literal beam of light, which made it an absurdly elusive target.

Adding that to all the rest of its outrageous and abnormal powers, it was not an opponent I could defeat even in a hundred years.

But it did not have to be me.

I heard Rygar’s voice resound:

"Olympus Fallen!"

From the storm-filled sky, my incredible and unshakable husband descended once more upon an invincible enemy.

Twelve bolts surged instantly toward the grotesque Bird God. The beast tried to retaliate again, using those irritating light rays wildly once more, but just like lightning itself, Rygar moved in an instant, like a flash of blue light.

It was like watching an entire storm converge on a single point.

Blue and violet lightning closing in on the monster from every side.

Looking a few seconds into the future, I finally breathed out in relief and stopped for a moment, deactivating my ability just to watch.

Even now, I do not know exactly how Rygar performs that technique, but I knew the result.

Rygar attacked simultaneously from twelve different directions, and the Twelve Lightning Strikes fell upon the false Bird God like divine judgment. It was the first time since the battle began that the creature seemed truly doomed.

And then it finally split apart.

Its grotesque body was torn into pieces. Its golden blood vaporized into the air before it could even fall through that endless sky, and all of it was accompanied by the familiar sound of shattering reverberating through the entire world, as though the Floor itself were mourning the fall of its ruler.

Even from several hundred meters away, I could feel the intense electromagnetic wave of the final blow. I covered my eyes for a moment, blinded by the brilliance as my hair whipped wildly around me.

After a few seconds of breathing and resting, I started moving again.

This time toward the exit to the next floor.

From the corner of my eye, I saw that Rygar, wrapped in his black armor, also shot in the same direction after grabbing the Boss Monster’s core and storing it in dimensional storage.

He looked at me for a moment.

I met his gaze and spoke before he could ask:

"I’m still fine! Let’s keep going!"

Behind his helm, I could swear he was smiling.

Deep down, I felt incredibly happy too.

Just as we were about to leave the floor, I heard his warning once again:

"By the logic of the sequence, we’re about to enter the Demon World. Be especially careful of strange magical effects and poisons, Eris."

I nodded without slowing for even a second.

Then we both leaped toward the next floor.

Now, more than ever, it was a race against time.

Even though my situation was somewhat critical, I was not all that worried about my own safety. At the end of the day, Rygar was with me. I was more worried about those outside...

As I thought about that, the scenery around us changed for the countless time, a phenomenon I was already deeply familiar with.

A chill ran down my spine.

And then we appeared at the same time in a place I could only describe as a swamp of death.

The entire ground looked rotten without fully giving way, made of thick black mud laced with veins of dark water.

Dead trees rose crookedly in every direction, some bare, others draped in masses of dark moss and fungus.

Wide black pools were scattered everywhere, and from them rose a constant tar-like vapor. The stench of rot, sulfur, old flesh, and stagnant water mixed together in a suffocating way.

But what shocked me most was not the environment.

One glance around was enough to reveal demons as far as the eye could see.

Shapes and sizes rivaling adult dragons, with some even larger.

Some looked like gigantic infernal bulls, others like basilisks surrounded by terrifying auras, dragging enormous bodies through the mud. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

There were even humanoid monsters dozens of meters tall, flames pouring from their eyes and mouths, standing motionless for a moment as if they had all noticed our presence at the same instant.

I did not need to think.

After glimpsing the near future, I immediately pulled away and headed toward the mountains.

Around Rygar, as he floated toward the sky while gathering mana, the familiar blue flames of Doomsday seemed to quiver and crackle with anticipation as they spread everywhere.

I could not help noticing that this sword seemed to be getting smarter...

Well, that should not be too much of a problem.

----

Ajax Telamonian.

Son of the Desert Tyrant, the North Emperor Larax, and the mage of his mercenary band, Vidette, a member of the Telamonian Demon Tribe.

Ajax’s very existence was special by default.

A being born with a powerful Destiny.

In the Dragon God’s loops where there were no outside interferences and no reincarnated people, Ajax was meant to be born in Begaritt and eventually succeed his father as the leader of the mercenary band with overwhelming strength.

But that succession would only define the first twenty years of his life.

As a powerful long-lived demon hybrid, Ajax would grow into Ajax the King Butcher, dominating much of the Begaritt Continent and becoming famous for accepting jobs even to kill kings.

And yet, after meeting the love of his life, he was destined to change and become better.

In the campaign against Laplace, he would always be the most prominent general of the Desert Continent, uniting its peoples to resist the tyrant demon.

Though not fully human, Ajax despised the way the mad Demon God acted.

Near the end of his life, he would be known as an example of integrity and justice, saving countless lives and sacrificing himself in the fight against the Demon God.

And of course, in Orsted’s eyes, he was a powerful blade against Laplace.

His talent was unmatched.

Unfortunately, his life was not so peaceful this time.

Having gone through near-death situations even as a mere infant, Ajax grew up being forced to carry a vengeance that was never his.

Since childhood, Vidette had shaped her son Ajax into a killing machine, all so that one day he would slay the fearsome Beast God.

And several years ago, together with her son, she left the Demon Continent for the Sword Sanctuary so he could receive the best training possible.

Though the journey had been long, difficult, and at many points nearly fatal, she had finally achieved her goal. Both of them arrived safely at the Sanctum.

The one who benefited most from it was, of course, Ajax.

His experience grew quickly, both in battle and in life itself. The harsh travels, the constant dangers, the contact with new lands and new people gradually widened his world.

The perspective that had once been rigid and narrow slowly began to open, even if only slightly. So slightly that Vidette never even noticed the change.

Ajax, with his overflowing talent, advanced like a rocket in the Sword Sanctuary.

The Iron Legion stationed there had even tried to recruit him, which enraged Vidette more than ever before, but they received nothing more than a formal refusal.

Even furious, she did not want to ruin everything over a few small fish. Ajax kept growing stronger, and he even continued strengthening his Magic, gradually becoming very famous.

And the more he went out, the more he saw, the more he learned, the more a small seed of rebellion began to grow inside him.

Ajax rose to the rank of Sword King at sixteen, and reached the same rank in Water, Wind, and Fire Magic, taught by his mentor, Melina Lakov, Court Mage of the Kingdom of Neris.

Today, Ajax was eighteen years old.

And his strength had not stopped growing for even a moment.

His mother, by contrast, had seen her health rapidly worsen over the last few years, as a rare illness drained her life faster and faster.

The sicker and weaker she became, the less she cared for whatever traces of affection remained.

The stronger Ajax grew, the more hope she saw in him, seeing an endless light in her own son, pressuring him to train harder and harder, to carry her vengeance, to bring justice for his father...

And the young swordsman, watching his mother decay, was torn between sadness and relief.

On this day, inside a small wooden house in the Sword Sanctuary, Vidette stood at death’s door.

Ajax, already a grown man, sat by her side, holding her hands with a sorrowful look in his eyes.

"Cough-cough!"

Vidette was as pale as she could possibly be, and she coughed up blood constantly. Even so, there was a serene smile on her face.

"There’s no need to be so sad, my son..."

Ajax only looked at his mother with a dark expression.

The woman smiled even more.

"You did everything you could to find the medicine... there’s not much more to be done after that..."

Then she looked directly into Ajax’s eyes, carrying a hope she believed with all her heart.

"My greatest purpose, you have already inherited it, my son... as long as the Beast God dies by your hands one day, I will be able to rest in peace."

Ajax remained silent.

Then he simply said in a low voice:

"You have my word, Mother..."

After that, the half-blood only watched.

Though strict, she had always truly loved him with all her heart.

He watched the life leave her eyes until she was completely gone.

A single tear of regret fell as he rose to his feet.

Regret for not bringing the medicine that could have saved his mother, regret because his mother had refused any treatment that came from the Kingdom of Gaia or the Iron Legion.

He whispered:

"I’m sorry, Mother..."

Then he turned his back and walked out.

But when he stepped outside, there was something unexpectedly lighter in his gaze. He felt as though an enormous weight had been torn from his back.

As if, together with Vidette’s death, an old chain had finally snapped.

And then he shouted as loudly as he could:

"I’m really sorry, but... fuck your stupid vengeance..."

That day, the Sword Sanctuary gained a new leader.

A young half-blood named Ajax, who boldly declared himself the Darned Hound Emperor.

----

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