The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Shared Sorrow (2)

The abandoned mine in the Waltz Fiefdom.

There, mercenaries were busy clearing away the corpses of orcs.

“Hey, Han, quit slacking off and get moving.”

“What’s that you say, Lee? What’s slack about this?”

“Han, Lee, the fact that you two are bickering right now *is* slacking off, so move those hands.”

Han and Lee, at Ains’ words, resumed their work in silence.

It was while they were working like that…

At the entrance to the abandoned mine.

A man walked in.

Dressed in clothing so dark it seemed entirely black.

A suspicious figure.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of footsteps echoing within the mine.

Han, who noticed it first, shouted.

“Hey, you can’t just barge in here!”

“…”

“Aren’t you going to answer? Hey, Lee. You go talk to him.”

Lee glanced at Han, let out a faint sigh, and began to walk.

“Haha, hey, uh…”

Lee stood before the suspicious man.

But suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

The lively expression that had been on Lee’s face vanished without a trace, replaced with a blank stare.

Han, unaware of Lee’s expression, called out.

“Hey, Lee! Say something, what are you doing?”

Han strode over and stood beside Lee.

And the instant he saw Lee’s face.

“What in the…”

Han was taken aback.

But even that shock was fleeting.

Han’s expression shifted to something similar to Lee’s.

And the suspicious man, leaving the two frozen figures behind, approached Ains, the last one remaining.

Ainz halted his work, his gaze fixed on the suspicious figure with undisguised fear.

“Wh-who exactly are you?”

The situation was obviously strange at a glance.

Ainz recognized that the presence before him was no ordinary one and treated him with respect.

“…None of your concern.”

Before the suspicious man could even finish his sentence, Ainz’s expression mirrored Han and Lee’s, blank and vacant.

Thus, the three mercenaries stood there, lost in a daze, their minds seemingly gone.

“…Curious.”

The suspicious man surveyed the field littered with orc corpses.

Then, he stopped before one in particular.

The dead orc shaman, a fragment of a blade embedded between his eyes.

“Even a knightly order from a prestigious family would have found it impossible…”

The suspicious man’s gaze shifted to the orc shaman’s staff.

Shattered into pieces.

“Did it lose because the mana stone was destroyed?”

The suspicious man sighed deeply.

He was annoyed by the situation unfolding before him.

“To think, even after empowering them, it ends like this.”

The suspicious man.

He was the one who had given the mana stone to the orc shaman.

All for the sake of the experiment.

“I remain opposed to using such vermin as monsters in war.”

So saying, the suspicious man frowned.

This was a kind of experiment.

Enhancing monsters with mana stones.

And an experiment on what outcome those monsters would bring.

This experiment had ended in failure.

“It’s too early to jump to conclusions. I should check the next test site as well.”

With those words, the suspicious man began to chant.

At the same time, an unsettling, black mana emanated from him.

And wrapped in that black mana, the man vanished, like mist dissipating into the air.

After the suspicious man had departed.

Before long, a change occurred in the bodies of Han and Lee.

“Ugh…? What’s going on…?”

“Huh, why am I standing here?”

Han and Lee exchanged bewildered looks.

Ainz, having regained his senses as well, shouted at the two of them.

“Han! Lee! What on earth are you doing over there?! Hurry up and finish the job!!!”

*

Dual Swordsmanship, Panderth.

He was the commander of the Silver Stream Knights, representing the Messiah Earldom.

As a knight representing an entire family, his mastery was naturally high.

Sword Expert, supreme tier.

He had reached the level just before becoming an Aura Knight.

And such a man stood before Arthur.

“Formidable.”

“…Indeed.”

Initially, Panderdt had refuted the Messiah Earl’s proposal.

To have a wheel battle between the commander, vice commander, and some green youth?

It was humiliating, a blow to his pride.

But as a vassal, he could not refuse the Messiah Earl’s words.

So, he had accepted silently.

But then…

‘To so lightly defeat the vice commanders…’

It was astonishing.

That fresh-faced brat was no brat at all.

He had faced three Expert-intermediate knights consecutively and won with ease.

‘But… that’s the end of it.’

Intermediate was a common level, but supreme was different.

A level unattainable by those without talent.

It was the stage where the first wall appeared.

His lord, Andrew Messiah, was just an unusual case; the supreme level and beyond was a difficult reach for those without a natural gift for the sword.

Besides, as young as he was, he couldn’t have reached beyond that level.

But then…

‘To so easily defeat Commander Retid…?’

That meant the youth before him was no mere youth.

He had lightly defeated Commander Retid, who aspired to the supreme level.

That meant the brat before him was someone beyond the intermediate level.

One who had broken down the first wall.

‘Very well, I must concede it. Supreme Expert… A talent worthy of being a Sword Saint’s disciple.’

But that was the end of it.

Bertnia’s level was supreme.

It was a flaw, perhaps, that she had a liking for men, but her skills were undeniable.

But even the trusted Bertnia had fallen.

Now, even Panderdt had no choice but to acknowledge it.

‘…Your discernment is extraordinary.’

His lord hadn’t arranged this wheel battle for nothing.

He only truly realized it now, standing before Arthur.

‘He is formidable.’

Perhaps even more so than himself, who had reached the supreme level…

But Panderht was not a man to surrender before even starting.

“Well now, a Peculiar Mana… It’s been a while.”

Panderht had discerned that Arthas’ mana was, indeed, a Peculiar Mana.

“…I suffered quite a bit because of this fellow as well.”

Panderht nodded at Arthas’ words.

Mana so violent it could shatter a sword.

He’d never encountered such a Peculiar Mana in his life.

The Peculiar Mana Panderht had witnessed before were merely mana imbued with natural elements like fire or water.

This strangely wrought Peculiar Mana was a first.

Setting that aside for the moment, Panderht issued a warning.

“I’ll give you one piece of advice.”

“A warning, you say…?”

“You would do well to reveal your true strength when facing me.”

Panderht didn’t want some careless oversight, or an indulgent attitude, to ruin this duel.

Therefore, he warned Arthas with sincerity.

Yet, Arthas didn’t even respond to Panderht’s warning.

“…”

“I’ll assume you understood.”

Panderht drew the two swords at his waist.

Two swords with sharpened edges.

They couldn’t compare to the Baekhwa Sword, but they were fine blades.

Swords that could withstand a certain degree of Peculiar Mana, no matter how potent.

‘But that doesn’t mean I’ll be careless.’

As soon as the duel began, Panderht drew up mana from his dantian.

Mana imbued the two swords.

‘This isn’t enough to withstand Peculiar Mana.’

He drew up even more power.

The mana began to condense further.

Seeing Panderht’s mana, a subordinate knight cried out.

“Aura…!!!”

Aura, the exclusive domain of Aura Knights, a force that only experts of the higher and highest ranks could partially manifest.

That power bloomed from Panderht’s swords.

‘Now, show me your aura as well.’

He showed his aura.

It was common sense that the opponent would show their aura as well.

Because it was impossible to compete without aura.

No matter how Peculiar the mana, it couldn’t withstand aura.

But Arthas didn’t manifest aura.

He was still using only mana, just like when he fought Bertnia.

Panderht frowned, his pride wounded.

This was, undeniably, a slight to him.

“You… why aren’t you using Aura?”

“…This is enough.”

“You’ll regret that.”

A mere whelp, after all.

An arrogant whelp.

To make such a choice with Aura at his fingertips.

‘I’ll show him what’s what.’

Pandert crossed his Aura-imbued swords, bringing them down on Arthas.

Without a moment’s hesitation, with murderous intent.

With Aura imbued in both blades, there was no way to block it.

Pandert wore a smile of victory.

But contrary to Pandert’s expectations…

It was the very instant Arthas’ mana and Pandert’s Aura met.

Pandert’s Aura was ripped to shreds by Arthas’ mana.

Exposing the raw metal of the two swords, hidden beneath the Aura.

Those two swords became the next victims of Arthas’ mana.

*Crack.*

The two swords, exposed to Arthas’ mana, shattered.

Scattered into fragments, lost to the void.

Fragments of the sword fluttering like snowflakes.

Pandert simply could not believe what was happening.

An overwhelming defeat.

They hadn’t even exchanged blows properly.

Defeated in a single exchange.

The feeling of all his built-up time being rendered meaningless plunged Pandert into a despairing expression.

Seeing Pandert’s state…

‘That feeling of a cherished sword breaking… I understand it once again. Commander Pandert has become another victim, just like Commander Bertnia and myself.’

Once again, Teddy, seeing Pandert’s shattered sword, became lost in his own delusions.