"What?"
For a moment, it felt like his entire body had been sliced clean through.
Zeke unwittingly stepped back once more.
Even though Zekeʼs body possessed the immortality of an undying one that could recover instantly, something else was detectable in Bernasʼs sword.
"What the hell is that? Iʼve never felt anything like it before..."
Zeke was reminded of Nigel, the hermit of the forest who had been his master in his previous life.
"Could Bernas be a grandmaster as well?"
He wasnʼt entirely sure if Bernas was a grandmaster, but he could sense that the man was very close to that realm.
Zeke steadied his breathing and gripped his sword again.
"Hoo."
He decided no longer to hide the realm of the Black Knight.
His stance changed.
Zeke assumed the stance of the Infinite Sword Art.
At that moment, the very aura that emanated from his body transformed.
Wooooong!
If Bernasʼs sword had been static, Zekeʼs was dynamic.
As an immortal who wouldnʼt break no matter how many times he clashed, Zeke was prepared to charge forward and ignite at any instant.
As Zekeʼs momentum shifted, Bernas finally shifted from his lowered sword stance to the rider form.
He too positioned his sword at mid-level, aiming it toward Zeke.
This time, Zeke charged first.
He deployed Illusion Step and swiftly closed in on Bernasʼs blind spot.
Swoosh!
His sword, infused with aura, flew toward Bernasʼs side.
It was a fierce attack, but Bernas swung his sword lightly and deflected Zekeʼs strike.
Without hesitation, Zeke unleashed a series of Dragon Slaying Technique movements.
Whoosh!
Dragon Head Slash flowed seamlessly into Dragon Heart Thrust.
Bernas altered the trajectory of his swing and deftly dismantled and nullified Zekeʼs strikes.
Now Bernas swung first and attacked Zeke.
Zeke evaded with Illusion Step and thrust into the blind spot once more.
In an instant, dozens of exchanges clashed.
The aerial back-and-forth between the two was so fast that the onlookers couldnʼt follow with their eyes.
At one point, Bernas stepped back and pulled his sword to his chest, gathering his energy.
Zeke anticipated that he was finally about to unleash an Aura Blade or Astral Sword.
But Zekeʼs prediction was off.
Instead of an Aura Blade rising from Bernasʼs sword, a white haze-like energy rose from his entire body.
"Whatʼs that?"
In that instant, Bernasʼs movements changed from before.
Whoosh!
Bernas charged at Zeke with several times the previous speed and swung his sword.
Whoosh!
Zeke raised his sword to block Bernasʼs attack.
Clang!
The power of the strike that he felt through his hands was on a completely different level from earlier.
"The speed and force are entirely different." This type of attack was new to him.
Bernasʼs assault continued relentlessly.
Whoosh!
The static sword that he had shown at the start was gone; waves of strong energy kept pressing Zeke.
The problem was that each clash made the strikes even more powerful.
Clang!
Zeke parried Bernasʼs attack and retreated.
"Hoo..."
Even with Zekeʼs infinite stamina, the momentary drain on his physical and mental strength was stark from the ferocious barrage.
Unlike usual, he couldnʼt use skills or the Elemental Sword or other techniques, so it felt as if his hands and feet were bound in this fight.
At that moment, Bernas spoke to Zeke.
"Why arenʼt you using that power you received from the fairy kingʼs blessing, the one with all the rumors?"
Zeke looked surprised at Bernasʼs words.
"I figured youʼd dislike it since itʼs not the power of a knight."
"Do you think youʼd say that even as an enemyʼs sword severs your neck?" It was a statement that pleased him greatly.
In his previous life, during actual wars, he had seen many knights die pointlessly while clinging to pointless chivalry.
Zeke nodded at the words.
"Then I wonʼt hold back and will show you everything." Zeke immediately deployed Sacred Radiance Technique.
Crackle!
A white orb floated above his head.
At the same time, Zeke pulled out Tyrʼs Giant-Slayer from his inventory.
As Zeke raised the Giant-Slayer overhead, the power of Sacred Radiance Technique infused into it.
He hurled the Giant-Slayer at Bernas with all his might.
Whoosh!
The Giant-Slayer flew toward Bernas, emitting bolts of light.
Bernas, seeing this, charged forward with his sword raised.
Whoosh!
With light movements, he leaped over the Giant-Slayer and rushed straight at Zeke.
But then.
Clatter!
Zeke yanked the chain attached to the Giant-Slayer and turned its direction.
The Giant-Slayer looped back and targeted Bernasʼs rear.
Bernas sensed it and spun, swinging his sword from above downward.
Boom!
The Giant-Slayer crashed into the ground from Bernasʼs strike.
Crunch!
It embedded so deeply that the sturdy blackstone floor of the training ground shattered completely, scattering fragments everywhere.
But the Giant-Slayer was bait.
It was merely a means to buy time before the real attack.
Bernas felt a stinging sensation on his skin from the energy behind him.
Sizzle—
A haze-like energy rose from Zekeʼs sword and soon formed a vortex.
The Astral Sword, a sword of will that could sever the origin itself, had activated.
The spectators, watching this, recoiled in surprise at the intense aura from Zekeʼs sword.
Zekeʼs sword struck at Bernas.
True Dragon Sword Secret Art
First Linked Form
Sun-and-Moon Severing Strike
Bernas raised his sword toward the incoming Astral Sword.
A haze rose from his body.
In an instant, Bernas shot forward like an arrow and clashed head-on with Zekeʼs strike.
Bernas had met the origin-severing Astral Sword with his entire body.
At the same time, Bernasʼs sword cleaved straight through the strike. Slash—
And Zeke clearly saw the truth in that motion.
"Whatʼs that?"
Bernasʼs sword hadnʼt split the strike.
He had thrust it into the gap in space and severed the very space where the strike existed.
"Is an attack like that even possible?"
No matter how grand a flame drawn on paper, if the paper itself was erased, the flame vanished.
Bernasʼs sword had pierced through the paper to the higher dimension and erased the space itself.
At that moment.
Crack!
The sword Bernas held shattered and fell to the ground in pieces.
It was too much for an ordinary sword to withstand an attack that traversed dimensions.
He tossed the hilt aside and glanced at Zeke before slowly speaking.
"Not bad for a young punk."
With that, he turned and left the training ground.
The onlookers, watching Bernas, looked bewildered.
"What was that?"
"It felt like something incredible happened, but I have no idea what."
The duel was so advanced that even those at the investiture couldnʼt fully comprehend what they had witnessed.
At that moment.
Kali, who had been seated, stood up.
"Knight of Salvation Zeke Draker has received the acknowledgment of Sword King Bernas."
Under everyoneʼs attention, she looked at Zeke and continued.
"Zeke Draker has ascended to the realm of the Black Knight, as proven directly by the Sword King!"
The participants gaped at the mention of Black Knight.
"The Knight of Salvation is a Black Knight?"
"W-Wait... Isnʼt Sir Zeke only twenty now?"
"My god, a Black Knight at twenty? Is that even possible?"
It hadnʼt been long since Abel Draker set the record for the youngest Black Knight, and now it was broken.
Zeke turned to look at Kali. She smiled at him.
Zeke realized what her decision meant.
"Sister is yielding the heirʼs position to me."
Kali Draker had decided to abandon her competition with Zeke and support him instead.
That was why she had asked her master, Sword King Bernas, to duel him.
The elders, other Guardian Knights, and Cross Order councilors had all witnessed Zekeʼs skill in exchanging blows with Bernas.
A knight with the highest renown on the continent, who had reached the Black Knight realm and earned the Sword Kingʼs recognition.
Even the rigid Draker elders couldnʼt deny that.
Zeke felt grateful for Kaliʼs consideration.
"Lucky, I guess. I wonʼt have to fight Sister Kali."
Given the Draker familyʼs nature, he couldnʼt predict when Kali might draw her sword again, but this seemed to pass smoothly.
At that moment, Arthur Draker, who had been seated throughout, stood up.
He looked at Zeke and said.
"As the youngest, youʼve surpassed your siblings to reach the Black Knight realm the fastest."
Zeke felt a subtle mix of emotions at the words that seemed to erase Abel, but he bowed politely to Arthur.
"It wouldnʼt have been possible without the familyʼs consideration and the help of Lady Kali Draker."
Arthur nodded with a satisfied expression and said to Zeke.
"I bestow upon Sir Zeke Draker, Black Knight of Draker and Guardian Knight, the territory and all assets of Abel Draker."
Kali and everyone present were stunned by Arthurʼs bombshell declaration.
Ignoring the reaction, Arthur continued.
"Furthermore, Abel Draker is excommunicated as a family traitor. He can no longer use the Draker name. Likewise, Siemens, bound by blood oath to Draker, is stripped of that status."
He was expelling both Siemens and Abel from the Draker family.
The key figures from the central continent couldnʼt help but panic at Arthurʼs sudden proclamation.
Zeke bowed his head at Arthurʼs words. "I shall obey the family headʼs command." Arthur said to Zeke.
"I assign the first mission to Sir Zeke Draker, who has ascended to Guardian Knight.
Capture the family traitor Abel and execute him summarily, then stabilize the Rom Empire."
The atmosphere grew even heavier at Arthurʼs words.
Abel currently controlled Rom and was preparing to ascend as emperor.
Arthurʼs statement was tantamount to a declaration of war against Rom.
One thought crossed the minds of the attendees.
"A continental war is coming."
No large-scale war had occurred on the central continent for centuries since the Eastern Empireʼs invasion.
If Draker and Rom clashed, the aftermath would surely engulf the entire continent.
The attendees, pale-faced, began slipping out of the investiture one by one.
They needed to report this to their home countries as soon as possible.
Arthur smirked at the sight.
Then he approached Zeke and whispered in his ear.
"I look forward to it. Entertain me more."
With that, Zekeʼs Guardian Knight investiture ceremony concluded.
*
After the ceremony, Zeke ascended to his newly assigned office in the Four Seasons Star.
It had been Abelʼs space, but no trace of him remained.
Somehow, the office was already arranged to Zekeʼs tastes.
"To think Iʼve become a Guardian Knight of Draker."
In his previous life, it was a position he wouldnʼt have dared dream of.
Who would believe that Zeke, expelled from the academy as a failure, had become a Guardian Knight symbolizing Draker?
As he gazed at the view of the Four Seasons Star from the window, someone entered the office.
"Sister."
It was none other than Kali Draker.
"Zeke."
The two stared at each other in silence for a long while.
"I have so much I want to say to you, Sister."
Zeke guided Kali to a seat and quickly brought tea.
Kali, seated and sipping her tea, looked far more relaxed than before.
Zeke looked at her and asked directly.
"Sister, why did you yield the heirʼs position to me?" At his question, Kali set down her teacup.
She looked at Zeke and slowly spoke.
"I just thought youʼd handle that role better than I would."
"The role as heir?"
Kali shook her head at Zekeʼs words.
"Then...?"
At that moment, Kali deployed her aura to block out surrounding sounds.
She looked at Zeke with a serious expression and said.
"Zeke, youʼre the only one who can stop the Draker family."