Asmer swallowed hard when he saw the Twin Star Swords.
An indescribable thrill ran through his entire body.
'Two Starlight Swords.'
He had heard of knights who use the power of moonlight wielding two swords.
But it was his first time seeing Starlight Swords being used like that.
This was because it wasn't a technique used by ordinary knights, but one that only Rommel had used.
Just maintaining two Starlights like that deserved to be named as a technique.
Rommel-style Twin Star Swords.
Asmer felt his hair stand on end. This was partly due to being overwhelmed by the Twin Star Swords, but that wasn't the only reason.
Although he didn't know why, Asmer was feeling it.'Indeed, this is the direction of swordsmanship that I should pursue.'
'As expected, he felt it.'
Osian nodded as he saw the change in Asmer's eyes.
The fact that he instinctively noticed his own change showed that Asmer was very sensitive to the power of Starlight.
In other words, his constitution and talent were very well-suited for learning Starlight.
It was a kind of constitution and talent.
'I showed the Twin Star Swords expecting this, but the effect is beyond expectations.'
Of course, Osian was also new to learning the Twin Star Swords.
He couldn't use it before, but after the fight with Rommel, Osian was able to master his techniques and swordsmanship.
'It's strange. To think I would learn a technique I couldn't even use in the game.'
It probably started then.
When he faced Rommel, crossed swords with him, and competed with Starlight.
Each time, power would well up from somewhere inside his body.
How to use the technique, from its principles to its application.
Without learning it, it naturally flowed into his mind.
'No. It didn't just naturally flow in. Rommel directly gave it to me as a gift.'
Now Osian has become the only user of the Twin Star Swords.
However, Osian had no intention of keeping this as his sole swordsmanship.
He would teach more knights to master this.
This was why he demonstrated the Twin Star Swords in front of Asmer.
Knights don't casually pass on their swordsmanship to others.
There couldn't be anyone who would thoughtlessly pass on their techniques that had been mastered over several generations.
Though they pursue romance and dreams, they weren't just innocent like children.
Rather, because they were sword wielders, they showed even more closed-mindedness in these aspects than others.
While there were times they joined hands and worked together, fundamentally there was little exchange of swordsmanship.
Perhaps the decline of knights was influenced by this isolated mindset of passing down swordsmanship only to a select few.
'I have no such intention.'
It might be disrespectful to Rommel to freely give away the swordsmanship that was essentially passed down to him.
But despite that, Osian thought this technique should be taught to suitable people.
'Because Rommel himself would have done the same.'
Osian's role was the revival of knights.
Even if that couldn't be the ultimate goal, it was undeniable that it would occupy a significant part of his life going forward.
Give teachings to those who seek to learn.
He must show them the pride of knights, the oath of the sword, and the guidance of starlight, because that's the mission given to knights who remain in this era.
"What are you doing, Asmer?"
Osian's voice brought Asmer's mind back to reality.
"Are you just going to stand there watching?"
As Osian took his stance with the Twin Star Swords, Asmer's lips curved into a deep smile.
"Of course not!"
Asmer charged toward Osian.
The knight who had reached a new realm was smiling with the innocence of a child who had received a gift box.
*
"Oh, what's that?"
Mist, who was watching Osian and Asmer's match from the building rooftop, muttered to himself as his usual concept crumbled.
He was someone who was always conscious of others' gazes, never removing his mask even when alone unless he was absolutely certain.
For such a person to space out for more than 10 seconds was truly impossible.
But seeing the scene unfolding before him, even the coldest mask of 'Mist' would lose its composure.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pure white swords collide in the air, scattering sparks around.
'This is insane. Light is coming from the swords!'
Mist was astounded.
He knew Osian used swords but had judged it was just a case of resolving things with superior physical abilities.
But seeing what was being shown now, that was his grand misunderstanding.
Light like pure white flames rising from swords? Moreover, it even exerts physical force?
Above all, what made Mist astounded was one thing:
'It's cool!'
Though he didn't want to admit it, Osian's ability was too cool.
It was so much that even Mist, who was very critical in evaluating others' abilities, unconsciously thought about defeat.
'It, it must just be light coming from the swords? That must be it?'
Mist tried to convince himself while trembling, but it wasn't easy.
From the light coming from the swords, it had already achieved his standard of 'coolness'.
But Mist's thoughts couldn't continue for long.
The ongoing match between Osian and Asmer captured his attention.
'Is this really just practice?'
Osian faced Asmer using flashy flaming swords.
Asmer swung his sword with all his might against such an Osian, as if not caring at all if the opponent got hurt.
'No, this isn't just practice. It's more like they're trying to kill each other.'
Even in sword practice, you should use practice swords, not real ones.
Moreover, those flames they're using now had cutting power that made your skin crawl just looking at them.
Even a graze from something like that could lead to serious injury.
For Mist, it was incomprehensible how they could exchange such blows so casually.
'Is that even possible?'
Everyone is afraid of injury.
That's why when a stone flies from somewhere, you unconsciously squeeze your eyes shut and shrink your body.
That can be controlled through training and actual combat. But what if it's not a stone but a boulder flying at you?
For instance, would there be any human who wouldn't be scared when white light that cuts or burns skin just by touching approaches?
But there were such people.
Moreover, they even exchanged it as if enjoying it.
It was a bold action only possible because they were knights.
Asmer saw Osian as an object of admiration. The belief that no matter what means he used, Osian would never be defeated.
Because he believed Osian would survive even if the world collapsed, he could pour everything he had.
Indeed, Osian was blocking and deflecting Asmer's attacks too easily. Even though Asmer wasn't weak, it felt like playing with a child.
Though it seemed like someone should stop them, no one around made any move to intervene.
The muscular men who had thrown off their upper clothes were rather clenching their fists watching the two's match.
As if they shouldn't take their eyes off it for even a moment, they didn't even try to blink their bloodshot eyes.
"I, I can't just stand still!"
"Me neither!"
As if conspiring together, they went into the training ground, came out with heavy iron swords, and started swinging them mindlessly.
As if hoping that the sparks they scattered would someday touch their hearts and burn hot.
'They're all crazy. Completely crazy.'
Sword maniacs.
For Mist, it felt like peeking into a world he could never understand.
But at the same time, Mist felt a strange tickling in his chest.
Whatever it was, this was the 'coolness' that knights possessed.
Although they lived in different worlds, the fundamentals resonated, which is why it struck a chord with Mist.
Mist closed his eyes tightly and sighed.
'Sigh. If I stay here any longer, I'll get weird too.'
Mist disappeared without making any presence known to them.
Right after Mist disappeared, Osian and Asmer's gazes turned to the rooftop where he had been.
"Who was that?"
"A colleague from the same office."
Mist thought he hadn't been detected, but the two's spiritual sense had already picked up his presence long ago.
They couldn't not notice in the first place. When someone is obviously wrapping themselves in mist saying 'I'm a suspicious person', how could they not notice?
"Let's continue our practice."
"Yes!"
The paused practice resumed.
*
After the practice ended, Asmer collapsed in his spot, completely drained.
The practice was so intense that even he, with his robust knight's physique, was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
But more than the exhaustion, the feeling of satisfaction was greater. When was the last time he had done something so passionately recently?
'Compared to me, the Successor is.'
Osian was standing there as if nothing had happened, only his breathing slightly disturbed.
Though he himself was a monster in terms of stamina, Osian was even more so.
At that point, fear might have crept in, but Asmer rather felt his respect growing endlessly.
‘Unwavering steel-like stamina. Truly an exemplar of knights.’
"Ascension?"
When such an Osian asked about a word he was hearing for the first time, Asmer found himself unconsciously asking back.
"Oh, sorry. I don't know what that is yet."
"No need to apologize. It seems it's not that well-known anyway."
"What exactly is this ascension?"
Osian briefly explained about ascension as he had heard from Gaien.
"Hmm. Is it like a realm you reach when you get to the extreme?"
"You could say that."
"Though I don't know about ascension, I have heard stories that feel similar to it."
Osian's interest was piqued by the mention of something similar.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing particularly amazing. It's just a story I heard from my grandfather about someone who achieved remarkable feats while still being human."
For instance, the case of someone who single-handedly invaded a large religious organization in the contaminated zone and took their leader's head.
"It was a famous incident. The leader of Destruction Fire, who was a madman claiming that burning all contaminated zones and burning the world was their doctrine."
"The leader of Destruction Fire."
"He gave flames to the poor, and tried to burn the entire world with it. Actually, one country was destroyed, so the impact was beyond imagination."
Even though it was a corrupt country, the fact that it disappeared due to one religion was also proof of how formidable the Destruction Fire was.
And needless to say, the leader of Destruction Fire who led such an organization must have been incredibly strong.
"Would you believe that the person who took the head of the Destruction Fire leader, who was armed with countless followers and his own strength, was someone whose name wasn't even properly known at the time?"
The ending of the story Asmer heard from his grandfather.
The leader of Destruction Fire, who had destroyed one country and greatly increased their influence, meets death by one person.
Surprisingly, the leader was the only one who died at that time.
Not a single person among his direct guard unit or cult members died.
"Was it assassination?"
"They say it wasn't assassination. Since the Destruction Fire leader's fight was witnessed by all members of Destruction Fire at the time, it was essentially a fair one-on-one duel."
"Yet they killed the leader and didn't touch anyone else. It's strange that someone of that skill level had no name."
"The point is this. Someone of such caliber existed in history, and maybe they still exist today. When I first heard about ascension, for some reason I couldn't explain, this story came to mind."
Osian stroked his chin with his hand and nodded.
"I see…Interesting story."
He wasn't particularly doubting or denying Asmer's words. Anyone could say there were such stories and such things could happen.
Indeed, the Destruction Fire story was quite interesting. How should I put it, it felt like reading game background settings.
Though individual strength has decreased compared to the past, he also learned that there are still strong ones comparable to ancient times.
Although average strength might have decreased, the number of magicians and black magicians has increased unprecedentedly in history.
Moreover, while there are few who reach the peak of individual martial prowess, they clearly exist, so the current era couldn't be taken lightly.
There were still many things to handle.
"Huh? Where are you going?"
Asmer asked as Osian tried to leave after finishing practice.
Usually, Asmer would have bowed 90 degrees saying "Have a safe trip!" but this time he didn't.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well. Somehow it feels like you're going to do something different this time."
‘Sharp intuition, this one.’
Osian smiled and said.
"There are some annoying guys, and I'm on my way to take care of them."
More precisely, he was going to deal with the White House remnants that Gaien had told him about.
Hearing this, Asmer asked with an expectant expression.
"Can I come along?"