"Is this because of the Blackson subjugation?"
At the Grandmaster's question, Isaac nodded. After a brief moment of contemplation, the Grandmaster tilted her head and asked,
"But I wonder if my help is really necessary. Isn't Arandel already almost finished the job?"
"The transcendents I know are all prideful and tend to look down on humans."
"...."
The Grandmaster did not deny it. That, in itself, was an agreement.
"Even if they abandon the Blackson, I don't think they'll easily accept defeat."
"Do you think they've set up some kind of trick? What's your evidence?"
The Grandmaster's expression had become calm. It was as if she would have been disappointed if Isaac hadn't provided evidence.
"Have you seen the nearby villages? They live a relatively prosperous life, but their outward appearance doesn't reflect that at all."
"Hmm. Their skin is uniformly dark, and their skin is so thin and gaunt that their bones are visible."
"They are the evidence. According to my estimation—"
"Sorcery?"
The Grandmaster interjected.
When Isaac nodded, the Grandmaster let out a short sigh.
"You really know everything, don't you? The sorcery of the transcendents aren't something one can easily come across."
"I encountered them while I was dispatched to the North."
Of course, he had known about them long before that.
It's not a lie, after all.
Isaac believed that the reason the citizens of Black Hand looked so haggard despite living a prosperous life was due to some kind of sorcery.
The Grandmaster, after a brief moment of thought, nodded.
"That makes sense. Just as you said, it's highly likely that some form of sorcery mechanism is in place within the mansion."
Had Arandel been present, they could have ignored it, but since that wasn't the case, they had to account for any potential risks.
Isaac understood all too well the deep-seated hatred and simmering hostility the transcendents held toward humanity.
They would never back down quietly.
"Since you are a disciple of my fellow sect member, of course, I can help you. However, in return, you must fulfill a request from my side as well."
The Grandmaster straightened her back slowly and asked with a smile,
"Tell me, who was your master? Where is my fellow sect member now?"
"...."
Isaac closed his eyes.
[Oh? You said you came from Helmut?]
Memories began unfolding, step by step, from their first encounter.
[The talent for the sword manifests in many forms. It's not as simple as just swinging it.]
A great master—someone who had extended a hand to him when he was drowning in sorrow and despair.
The one who first recognized his talent.
[It's a shame. A real shame. If not for that leg, you would have achieved greatness.]
[Disciple, pour me a drink.]
[Ah, I got it. I won't smoke anymore! But why do I have to quit just because my disciple quit? I really don't understand!]
They had laughed together, shared sorrow together.
No matter what, the Grandmaster had supported many aspects of his life.
[My dream, you ask?]
[Hah, does it even matter now?]
The reason she had remained as his master until the very end.
The seat beside her that he could never reach.
[Disciple, I'm sorry.]
In the end.
Even as she was crumbling under the Transcendents' final assault, she apologized to him.
Everyone runs toward their dreams.
But I lost my dream and pushed others forward.
'If I ever have to tell this secret to someone.'
It would have to be you, first and foremost.
With that thought, Isaac smiled and began to share his story honestly.
About thirty minutes passed.
The Grandmaster, eyes wide open, slowly lifted her greatsword.
Bang!
She struck Isaac on the head with the sheathed blade.
"Do you think you can fool around with an elder?"
"...."
***
The Next Day
Before setting out for the mansion, Isaac was adjusting the Grandmaster's outfit.
He pulled the hood over her robe, but she kept shaking her head and pulling it off, clearly irritated.
"This feels rough. I don't like it."
"You need to wear it because of your ears. Can't you fold them down a bit more?"
"I can, but it's uncomfortable. Feels like walking on tiptoe."
Her pointed ears bent downward. With the hood on, her distinguishing features were completely hidden.
"Haa, this is such a mess—ah! My ears are sensitive! Be gentle when pulling!"
Isaac pressed the hood down to cover her face as much as possible, making the Grandmaster snap at him.
Her tail was also tucked away inside her pants, though a few strands of fur were visible.
"Leave the Great Tachi behind. You can pick it up later when we're done."
"A swordsman doesn't go anywhere without their sword."
"You promised to help. If you carry that thing around, you'll get caught immediately."
Instead, Isaac handed her a blunt short sword, the kind used by regular soldiers.
"What kind of crude weapon is this?"
"If necessary, I'll lend you mine. Just bear with it for now."
"Hmph. I don't know whose disciple you are, but your master better be ready for a beating from me."
"..."
The Grandmaster still refused to believe Isaac's story. He had tried to explain himself in a way that would make her trust him.
But talking about the future was pointless since she had no knowledge of it.
And as for the past, she never shared much about it, so mentioning a few details just made her scoff, accusing him of making things up.
'Maybe expecting her to believe me was a bit much.'
Isaac let out a weary sigh. Mustering up the courage to reveal his secret, only to be outright dismissed, was a bit of a shock.
"I'll help you because, judging by your sword, you're a disciple of my school, but—"
As they stepped outside the tent, the Grand Master grumbled and added,
"But you'll need to make things clear. Yesterday's nonsense only makes me think you still don't trust me."
"..."
Is it that she doesn't trust me?
Or is it that she doesn't want to trust me?
As he watched the Grand Master repeatedly emphasize this, Isaac suddenly wondered, but the thought didn't linger for long.
"Isaac! Hurry u—huh?"
Sharen, who was running toward Isaac, tilted her head upon seeing the woman beside him.
For a moment, he worried they had been caught, but fortunately, Sharen wasn't the type to notice such things.
"who is she?"
"Oh, I ran into her while passing by. Her face seemed familiar, and after talking a bit, I realized she was an old customer of mine."
"A customer? Oh, the boatman!"
Sharen laughed it off without a second thought.
Simple-minded people were a blessing.
Silverna soon joined them, but since Sharen had already made a fuss and given an explanation, they were able to move on without suspicion.
And so, the Blackson Mansion infiltration team was set.
Isaac took the lead alongside the knights of Helmut under Lohengrin's command.
The Grandmaster followed behind him, posing as his porter.
"Isaac, be careful, okay? Don't just charge in recklessly with the Helmut knights." Clarice warned him just before they set off.
She saw Isaac as a future swordmaster of the kingdom and didn't want him getting injured unnecessarily.
"Isaac, Isaac! Look at this!"
Next to him, Sharen, who was also in the vanguard, gathered red energy in her hand, waving it around.
Then, she compressed it into the shape of a sphere.
"Isn't it amazing?"
"…And what do you plan to do with that?"
"Huh? W-With this?"
Sharen, staring blankly at it, pouted her lips before shouting,
"Crimson Flame Ring!"
She threw it straight at Isaac, but all it did was create a slight breeze, having no impact whatsoever.
"Oh?"
However, the Grandmaster standing behind them looked at Sharen with an intrigued expression.
Sharen huffed in frustration and stomped away. Watching her back, Isaac glanced at the Grandmaster and asked quietly,
"Why do you find it interesting?"
"Isn't it amusing? Something that so many people admire, Crimson Aura, was reduced to nothing more than a child's plaything."
"...."
"Fascinating. So, not all Arandel descendants are monstrous beings."
Hearing the Grandmaster's words, Isaac found himself reconsidering the situation.
Crimson Aura usually depended on how much power one could amplify. But Sharen had just done the opposite—she had completely nullified all impact.
She might have a unique talent for Crimson Aura after all.
As he nodded to himself, a cool and refreshing scent, carrying a hint of frost, drifted beside him.
It was Silverna.
"Isaac, do you have any plans after the subjugation?"
She spoke as if she were looking for a place to go for fun. Isaac hesitated for a moment.
"Hmm."
Originally, he had planned to visit the Rocky Mountain to meet the Grandmaster.
But since the Grandmaster had come to him instead, he suddenly had no set destination.
"I'm not sure."
"Then come with me to Evergard."
"Evergard?"
Wasn't that the capital of the Albion Kingdom?
"I heard there's a dedicated knight training academy there. In the north, training was always inconsistent because of the large clusters of beasts. Even after that, the environment wasn't ideal for proper training, was it?"
She had a point.
Up until now, his swordsmanship training had always felt like something done on the side while dealing with other incidents.
In other words, she was suggesting he truly delve into the depths of swordsmanship.
Isaac found the idea quite interesting.
I've been managing so far with swordsmanship and knowledge, but it's true that my physical abilities are lacking.
Just yesterday, he had been dragged around by Sharen because he was weaker than her.
"And… we can naturally stop by the underground prison, too."
"…!"
Isaac's eyes widened at Silverna's smile, realizing this was her real intention.
Wasn't Alois currently imprisoned there?
"You're worried, right? I saw you making a special request to the princess last time, so I figured it was on your mind. But going there without a proper reason might not look good."
"…Yeah. Thanks."
A soft smile spread across his face.
Isaac felt like one of the lingering anxieties in his heart had been lifted by her thoughtfulness.
"If you're grateful, buy me dessert when we get there! I heard there's something called an egg muffin that you can't get in the north, and I want to try it!"
"Hah, fine. Got it."
At Isaac's reply, Silverna beamed with joy. Seeing her openly delighted like that left Isaac with a strange feeling.
"You really do get by on your looks, huh?"
If the Grandmaster hadn't whispered that from behind, Isaac might have spent more time chatting with Silverna.
At that moment, the vanguard began to move.
Though they were called the vanguard, the mansion's structure prevented an entire army from entering.
Instead, only an elite force—the main troops—advanced.
The majority of soldiers remained outside, forming a defensive wall with their shields around the mansion.
"Helmut—!"
Right in front of the main gate, Lohengrin, leading the charge, raised his greatsword high into the sky.
At the same time, the other knights of Helmut behind him also lifted their greatswords, and as they did, energy began to condense around Lohengrin. A massive sphere of power started to form.
"Glory to the great Helmut—!"
Lohengrin swung his greatsword through the air, and the amassed energy shot toward the mansion.
"How reckless."
"Unbelievable!"
Even Silverna and the Grandmaster beside him were stunned. It was clear how much Lohengrin had been strategizing the night before.
Since he did not underestimate the Transcendent beings, he had decided to simply destroy the entire mansion from the start.
The impact was immediate. The energy tore through the mansion, shattering its structure. The grand Blackson Mansion was left half-destroyed, revealing its interior.
Corpses were scattered within—some ordinary soldiers, others Transcendent beings who had been caught in the blast.
It looked as if a giant had taken a massive bite out of the mansion. The Transcendents inside stared at Lohengrin in stunned silence.
"Ha… haah! This… this is Helmut! Hah… hah!"
Lohengrin was visibly exhausted, but the attack had been overwhelmingly effective. No one had expected him to go this far, yet he had achieved significant results.
From behind the shielded formation of soldiers, a rain of arrows followed, ensuring that the enemies, now cornered, had no safe escape.
"Looks like we won't even need to step in."
Silverna muttered, and Isaac was about to nod in agreement—
—but then, the Grandmaster's hood trembled slightly. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed Isaac's sleeve, whispering,
"Stay sharp. This isn't over yet."
Isaac didn't ask why.
Because at that moment, the barrage of arrows, which had been falling like a torrential downpour, suddenly stopped mid-air.
Then, they fell harmlessly to the ground, as if something had intercepted them. The way they broke—each split in different places, in different patterns—indicated one thing.
Someone had cut them down.
At the now-exposed grand staircase of the Blackson Mansion, a man slowly descended.
His eyes were like those of a serpent.
His tongue was split into two, his skin a deep, bloody red.
It was as if he had emerged straight from the flames of hell, yet his noble attire was pristine, exuding the aura of aristocracy.
Two horns protruded from his head.
A long, sinuous tail swayed behind him.
And in his hands—
A massive greatsword, taller than a person.
"That's…!"
Silverna instinctively turned to Isaac. He clenched his lips and took a deep breath.
"You know what that sword means."
That weapon belonged to them.
Isaac had already suspected that this man was no ordinary Transcendent, and the grave expression on the Grandmaster's face confirmed it.
"He carries the blood of the Primordial."
The Primordials.
The first of the Transcendents.
Ordinary Transcendents were already powerful enough to slaughter skilled knights with ease.
But a Primordial's bloodline?
They were walking calamities, capable of shifting the tide of entire battles.
In his past life, Isaac had encountered them multiple times. Every time they appeared, the morale of his allies crumbled.
And worst of all—
The Grandmaster had met her end at their hands.