Ch.159Desolate wind

Karnok, who had awakened from his hospital bed, began handling the backlog of work that had accumulated. Though doctors came by to advise him to rest, he insisted he was fine and began his intensive work schedule.

Karnok’s duties weren’t limited to his role as a Blue Wing. Due to his particularly useful blessing, he was frequently called upon for various tasks. It was around this time that rumors began circulating about the Empire preparing for war.

At the capital of the Karma Empire, in front of a small bakery near the Blue Wing headquarters.

Seorin sat across from Theo and Flora, tearing into bread as they conversed. With a long rest period granted thanks to their consecutively completed missions, the three spent their time together like this.

“Is the war preparation rumor true?”

“It is.”

Flora answered Theo’s question. The war preparations were indeed real. The movement of supplies had begun to change drastically, and knights and soldiers on leave in distant regions had received massive recall orders.

“Hmm… do you know who the opponent is?”

“Obviously… it must be Sun Tail.”

While the rumors about the Empire preparing for war were true, the target had not yet been clearly revealed. However, Seorin’s group knew. They knew that Sun Tail was behind those who had attacked them, and that Karnok, who had recently awakened, had obtained definitive testimony through interrogation.

That was precisely why the Empire was preparing for war. In short, they now had justification.

Seorin tore into her bread while watching a procession of carts passing by on the street. The carts heading toward the Imperial Palace emitted the strong smell of metal and oil. Though covered with thick cloth, Seorin’s sense of smell couldn’t be deceived.

A chilling wind was blowing throughout the Empire.

“Let’s get going.”

“Okay.”

The trio returned to the Blue Wing headquarters.

***

As the Empire prepared for war, the Imperial knight orders became busy as well. All long-term missions were suspended, and the wide-open main gates of the knight orders were firmly shut. Only the Blue Wings had some degree of freedom from the war preparations.

“We’ll continue as usual,” said Vice-Commander Karnok. Continue as usual. While other members didn’t, Seorin truly acted as she normally would. If she wanted something to eat, she would go out and buy it; if she wanted to sleep, she slept.

She didn’t neglect her training either.

There had been a major change in Seorin’s training. Her physical training time had been drastically reduced, while meditation time had increased. This was the penalty of growth impossibility caused by the imbalance between soul and body.

Physical training no longer held meaning for Seorin.

She composed her mind and created imaginary opponents. Having absorbed others’ memories through her sword, Seorin had an endless variety and number of enemies she could summon.

Around the time news of the impending war began spreading throughout the continent, word came of the Blue Wing Commander, Kaimond. He was a commander rarely seen within the headquarters.

The commander was returning.

However, no one had seen him directly.

This was because he had returned to the Blue Wing headquarters as a cold corpse.

The Blue Wings urgently summoned their members for an internal meeting. Gathered in the meeting room within the headquarters were the two vice-commanders and the senior members who had been on standby.

“The commander is dead.”

Karnok’s words confirmed what some had suspected. Deep sighs escaped from the members’ lips as the death of the knight considered the strongest in history was confirmed through Karnok’s mouth.

“How did he die?”

“How else? He died fighting the Thousand Sword Emperor. The commander’s final mission was to subjugate that guy, wasn’t it?”

“Ah…”

“What about the Thousand Sword Emperor? What happened to him…!”

“He didn’t return unscathed. The commander tore off one of his arms.”

Seorin remained silent as she listened to the conversation. She hadn’t encountered the commander many times to begin with. When she heard the news of his death, she wasn’t particularly shocked.

She was merely concerned.

Someone so powerful had died unable to handle the Thousand Sword Emperor. It meant the person who had been restraining an uncontrollable disaster was gone.

“So what happens now?”

A senior knight asked. With everyone’s attention focused, Karnok spoke.

“We can’t leave the commander position vacant. In this case, one of the vice-commanders must assume the commander position. After discussions with Sephiroth, I will be taking on the role of commander. If anyone has objections, please raise them formally.”

“Then what about the vacant vice-commander position?”

“The same applies there. We cannot leave the vice-commander position vacant. We plan to select one of the senior knights to fill the vice-commander position.”

“How will the vice-commander be selected…”

“Naturally, following Blue Wing regulations, the strongest senior member will claim the vice-commander position.”

Karnok said this as he rose from his seat. With noticeably thinner limbs than before, he lightly struck the table.

Tap-!

“From now on, we will conduct a special promotion ceremony. Given the circumstances, we couldn’t prepare anything elaborate. We need to fill the vacancy quickly and get back to our missions. I’d like any senior members interested in the vice-commander position to raise their hands now…”

Several individuals raised their hands at Karnok’s words. There weren’t many. Those who knew their limits didn’t raise their hands.

“Mato, Jin, Torio, Marlen… and Seorin. Is that all?”

At Karnok’s words, those who had raised their hands looked at each other. Each time their gazes met in midair, a strong wind blew through the room. The mere collision of their auras was enough to create wind.

Seorin looked at the four people with their hands raised. All were seniors who had been serving as senior members before her. However, being senior didn’t mean they were stronger than her. They had simply joined and served as Blue Wing members earlier.

Seorin tilted her head as she looked at them.

“Vice-Commander Karnok.”

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you say the strongest senior member becomes the vice-commander?”

“That’s right.”

“Then there’s no need to ask for volunteers…”

Before Seorin could finish speaking, a sudden storm engulfed the room, and a feather pen flew toward Seorin, embedding itself in front of her. The senior member named Mato had pulled out and thrown the pen.

“Quite an insolent remark, Seorin.”

“Senior Mato. But isn’t it the truth?”

Seorin said as she rose from her seat. Among those who had raised their hands, none possessed the skill to defeat her. At least, that was Seorin’s assessment.

“I am the strongest.”

Seorin declared confidently. The volunteers who had raised their hands reacted immediately to her words.

Boom-!

A powerful shockwave erupted. The four who had been sitting with their hands raised rushed toward Seorin. None had drawn their swords. All were bare-handed.

Seorin didn’t draw her sword either. She slowly moved toward her opponents who were charging from four directions. Hands and feet intertwined chaotically, and mana of different natures collided, creating strong repulsive forces.

As dull impact sounds and the noise of something breaking erupted in succession, Panto’s body was thrown backward. He clutched his right hand and let out a faint groan.

This was because he had received his own mana back in full when their fists collided.

‘Now there are three.’

Having dealt with one, three remained. Seorin moved endlessly. Using the wind flowing from her body as waves, the small girl’s body moved as if dancing.

Seorin sharpened her bare hands. If she had decided to cut, nothing could stop her, and transparent blades began to form in her small hands following her mental image.

As her sharpened hand moved at lightning speed, Marlen’s coat was torn wide open. Jin’s cheek was split, trickling thin blood, and Torio’s epaulette was cut in two, falling to the floor.

Whoosh-!

The wind that followed swept through the room. Among the four disheveled people, only Seorin maintained her composure. If they had each drawn their swords, perhaps a slightly different scene would have unfolded.

But the result would not have been different. The four who had rushed toward Seorin dusted themselves off and returned to their original seats.

“Impressive…”

“I’ll aim for next time. Let Seorin have it this time.”

“Why not just be honest? We all gave up because we knew we’d lose…”

“Are you any different?”

Standing on the collapsed table, Seorin turned to look at Karnok. The documents that had been piled nearby had long since scattered across the floor. Wrapped in white wind, she opened her mouth.

“I am the strongest.”

No one denied Seorin’s words. Karnok looked at Seorin and let out a small laugh. Then he removed the badge from his shoulder and tossed it to Seorin.

“This badge signifies the vice-commander. Don’t lose it.”

“Is the promotion ceremony over?”

“If there are no objections…?”

Seorin looked around at these words. Among the senior members looking at her, none showed dissatisfaction. With a satisfied smile, Seorin proudly declared:

“From today, I am the vice-commander.”

Seorin had been promoted.