'Follow your heart?'
If asked whether he enjoyed killing people, Jaxon wouldn't have had much of an answer.
No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn't tell whether it was enjoyable or not.
There were those in the guild who would go berserk if they didn't see blood at least once a week, but Jaxon was never like that. However, honing his skills was fun. That, he could say with certainty.
"They weren't telling you to stab your friend in the back, they were telling you to survive by any means, kid."
The master's tone was always light, but his words were true. The meaning behind his father's words aligned with that.
Jaxon had simply interpreted it his own way. Back then, it was what he needed. He had to search for something to fuel the flames of vengeance.
"You're not supposed to just look ahead blindly, but it's not like you're supposed to cling to the past either, is it?"
Again, the master was right.
His mother didn't want him to become someone bound by the family.
Jaxon had twisted even that memory into fuel for the fire.
He knew the truth himself.
"I'm not teaching you a murder technique."
"Then what is it?"
"Figure it out yourself! Do I have to spoon-feed you everything?"
It was a strange thing to say while teaching him how to detect poison in his food.
When Jaxon first met the master, the master asked him:
"Will you follow me? Then I'll teach you how to live."
Not just how to survive, but how to live.
It wasn't a murder technique but just one way to live.
Jaxon's killer instinct remained intact, and so did his determination. But he couldn't stop his mouth from moving on its own.
"Can I stay?"
The words sprang directly from his heart, bypassing his mind entirely.
"I'll allow it if you can defeat me."
Encrid answered as he always did, his response prepared and in stance.
'If it's just one way to live.'
Jaxon thought.
That wasn't a good enough reason to live.
It was a sudden realization that hit him after he spoke.
Other than vengeance, Jaxon had never found anything that truly captured his heart.
But now, there was one thing he was sure of.
It was more enjoyable to spar with the man in front of him than to kill him.
It was fun to advance by mastering techniques.
It was fun to watch over his lover.
So, why couldn't he do it all? He asked himself and immediately knew the answer. There was no need to dwell on it.
"Then I guess I'll be staying."
Jaxon said.
Sunlight warmed his back. The summer heat added warmth to his body. A faint smile lingered on Jaxon's face, hidden in the shade.
The simple suggestion to follow his heart brought a refreshing sense of freedom and shattered the chains around his heart.
Jaxon had a technique that couldn't be used against someone who was being watched or couldn't be killed.
'Why should I care?'
Who told him to do that? The master didn't command it. It was just an unspoken rule passed down in the Geor's Dagger Guild.
It was a useless rule he followed out of habit.
Encrid wasn't fooled by the smile.
'Is he hiding something?'
He had recently sensed his own improvement and had acquired Aker, which made him even more reckless.
At every opportunity, he would challenge his subordinates to spar, asking them to train with him.
It was the same with Jaxon.
Even when he saw Jaxon deep in thought, he would poke at him.
Naturally, no one could resist Encrid's provocations.
This time was no different.
Half of Encrid's challenge to defeat him was a joke, the other half a provocation.
Jaxon took the bait without hesitation.
Honestly, Encrid didn't care much about Jaxon's request to stay. He was just itching for a sparring partner since there wasn't anyone else around to fight.
Jaxon's aura flared up. His body seemed to swell, but Encrid paid no mind.
'If I don't trust myself, I'll never win.'
One of the fundamental rules before a fight was not to overestimate the opponent's strength.
But at the same time, one should never let their guard down while also giving their best effort.
Easier said than done, these things could only be learned through experience.
Encrid placed his hand on the grip, preparing his stance, taking in all of Jaxon's form. It was a process of opening his senses and verifying everything.
Always at his best.
Encrid did as he always did, and almost, today would have been a repeat of every other day.
* * *
A burden on his heart, perhaps.
Or maybe it had been the chains that had bound him until now.
Ignoring all that, Jaxon turned and walked, feeling light.
Especially as he thought of Encrid, whom he had just faced.
'I've come a long way.'
The technique Knights use is called Will.
So, why wouldn't an assassin be able to use it?
'If I leave you alone, you'll become the best killer on the continent.'
The master didn't say that for no reason.
Jaxon had talent. The previous master knew it too.
Just now, Jaxon had managed to stab several spots on Encrid's body using techniques he hadn't even shown when fighting that scum, Count Molsen.
His steps carried him outside the barracks.
Two soldiers standing guard saluted him.
It seemed they knew Jaxon.
Without a word, he passed them and stepped outside, walking along the wall lined with trees. That's when a voice he was expecting came.
"Are you serious?"
It wasn't the voice of a lover, but of a guild member acting as the master's proxy.
Jaxon knew she had watched his sparring with Encrid.
"You showed things you shouldn't unless you were going to kill him."
Her voice came, but her figure was unseen. Jaxon sensed the presence of five others hiding in the trees.
Six in total, three of whom were assassins older than him.
Each of them was a master of poison, dagger throwing, and stealth—his former teachers, too.
Jaxon hadn't just learned from the master.
But he had long since surpassed them in skill. They couldn't stop him on their own.
If they attacked, it would be suicide, and they knew that, so they wouldn't.
His lover, the master's daughter, wasn't foolish enough to make such a mistake.
Jaxon was more skilled than anyone and quicker to assess situations. There was a reason he had inherited the master's position.
"…Why did you do that?"
It was a question from his lover, who had once been his older sister by two years.
"Just because."
It was an answer strangely similar to what Encrid might have given.
"I did what my heart wanted."
It wasn't intentional, but it was another similar answer.
"Was the master's position so light to you?"
Was she disappointed? Maybe. Still, Jaxon didn't regret his choice. There was no reason to. Life wasn't a matter of either/or.
"When did I say I was giving up the master's position?"
"…What?"
Only Jenatrice, his lover and the master's daughter, spoke. She was so baffled that she asked again, and Jaxon answered plainly.
"I'm staying here. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up Geor's Dagger."
"Do you think that makes sense?"
The master of poison couldn't hold back and spoke. His voice seemed to come from two different directions. A crude trick.
"Why wouldn't it?"
Jaxon looked directly at the spot where the man was hiding. He was showing him respect as an elder, but his eyes said if he attacked, he'd die.
"Don't worry. No one's dying here today. I'll convince each of you, one by one."
It was an arrogant statement. How could even the master of Geor's Dagger survive after turning the entire guild into enemies?
That's what most people would think.
But Jaxon was calm. It was as if he was simply doing what needed to be done. That somehow made him seem even more like a madman.
Jenatrice stepped out from the shadow of the wall where she had been hiding.
Jaxon wasn't surprised, he had already known she was there.
"You're so reckless."
"Am I?"
Jenatrice stared at Jaxon for a moment.
Why did she like this man again?
Ah, because he did things like this without hesitation.
"Do you mean you have to kill the former master?"
Geor's Dagger was the continent's top assassination guild. The master of the guild always passed down their skills to their successor, and the successor would kill them in turn.
Jaxon had ignored this tradition.
"You mean you're not going to follow the rules?!"
"That's right."
At that time, three assassins who were competing to be successors were killed, and five elders were also slain. Including those who followed them, the death toll was over thirty.
All of them were killed by Jaxon. He did it alone.
"You crazy bastard. You wiped out a third of the guild's strength just to save yourself?"
Jenatrice's father, his master, had scolded him like that and peacefully closed his eyes for the last time.
The poison that had built up in his body from years of overwork had finally caused trouble, but he died with a smile on his face.
"There are still people who won't take your side."
Jaxon stared directly into his lover's eyes. Her orange-colored eyes stared back. When he reached out to her, she took his hand in hers.
Just like her father, Jenatrice was quick-witted, especially when it came to matters involving Jaxon or herself.
She had already planned for the possibility that she wouldn't return and had gathered people who would support her.
This was just the process of confirming that.
The elders who had followed her were all on Jaxon's side.
"Go ahead and speak. I'll persuade them one by one."
Of course, that persuasion was going to be Encrid's style.
By smashing their heads in until they listened.
Or by kicking them in the head until they listened.
Just like Encrid would do when persuading the city's peacekeepers in the Capital.
And if they still didn't listen?
"Then keep doing it until they do."
That's what Encrid would say. Jaxon knew that he shared a similar personality in that regard.
Aside from saving his father, he had never done anything in his life purely based on his own desires.
Sometimes, he wondered if saving his father had even been his own will. Could it have been for something else?
That's how Jenatrice saw Jaxon.
That's why, deep down, she welcomed this decision.
'Sometimes in life, you have to act on impulse.'
Just before his death, the guild master had entrusted Jaxon with his daughter. And to his daughter, he had entrusted the boy he cherished like a son.
"If that bastard ever leaves the guild, take good care of him."
Jenatrice remembered her father's words.
Jaxon returned to the barracks.
On his way in, he saw Audin offering prayers.
"Give me your blessing."
At those words, Audin, who had been sitting with his hands clasped in prayer and eyes closed, lifted his head.
What did he just hear?
It was so shocking that it interrupted his prayer.
Ragna, who had been dozing in a rocking chair, slowly opened his eyes.
As Jaxon passed by, he said,
"Go back to sleep."
Dunbachel squinted her eyes.
Has he gone mad?
Even though the meaning in Dunbachel's eyes was clear, Jaxon responded in his usual calm manner.
"Go wash up."
It was strange coming from someone who typically didn't respond to anything at all.
Dunbachel immediately moved to wash up. It felt like a final warning. If she didn't listen, Jaxon might slit her throat with a dagger while she slept.
Teresa began praying when she saw this.
"Lord, drive away the evil spirits."
Somehow, her prayer had shifted from her Cult to the God of war.
Her husky voice quietly echoed.
As Jaxon walked by, he saw Rem, sharpening the blade of a hand axe the size of his palm with a whetstone.
Rem also noticed Jaxon.
Their eyes met.
"Still not dead yet?"
"Yeah, looks like I'll die later than you."
Jaxon asked, and Rem answered, almost as if they spoke in unison.
They were like a pair of swans—no two people could be more in sync, both in the speed and content of their conversation.
"Doppelgangers?"
Krais, who had been watching from the side, muttered to himself. A doppelganger was a monster that mimicked the appearance of its target.
Jaxon wasn't quite himself right now.
Even though the rare name of a creature that could only be found near the Demon Realm came up, Jaxon didn't react and simply headed toward his room.
* * *
Encrid lay sprawled out, his limbs stretched out.
'Made a few wrong decisions.'
Instead of swinging, he should have stabbed, and now that he had a sword like Aker, he should have taken advantage of the unique properties of a legendary blade.
'Still too inexperienced.'
Every fight left something to reflect on, something to learn. But whenever the Mad Company showed him something new, there was even more to take away.
He was too embarrassed to say it aloud, but that was one of the reasons why he hadn't stayed with the Knight order.
'Unless you're seeing a real Knight.'
Until that day came, he was sure that training here was more beneficial than anything he could learn in the Knight order.
The sun was warm. It felt like he could doze off right here. He wasn't lazy, but now he understood why Ragna always sat and dozed off whenever he saw sunlight.
This was a moment to enjoy while it lasted.
In a few weeks, or maybe even days, the sun's warmth would turn into searing heat.
The season of heat and fire—summer—was fast approaching.
Winning and losing didn't matter.
There was no time to hesitate or worry about such things.
Now that the civil war was over, would the Kingdom finally be filled with peace?
Would there be fewer reasons to swing a sword than before?
That was unlikely. Especially since the new King had a different mindset than the previous ruler.
The former Queen had dreamed of a stable nation, but Krang was different.
Before Encrid and Krang parted ways, Krang had shared a bit of his vision.
"There are three nations in the central continent. Because of that, we are weaker compared to the western, eastern, or southern lands. Especially since we have periodic wars with Aspen."
"Are you thinking of signing a peace treaty?"
If he could stop Aspen, Naurillia would have the chance to amass its strength. That was only natural.
Just think of the resources drained by war.
What about the soldiers who were dying?
Krang responded with a soft smile.
His tone was as if he were plucking a flower from a nearby garden.
"No, I plan to subjugate Aspen."
In terms of ambition and dreams, Krang was no less than Encrid.
He spoke with the charisma that captivated those around him. Though his words were directed solely at Encrid, he poured everything into them.
Just as Encrid poured his soul into his sword, Krang burned his spirit into expressing his intentions.
"I will become the sole ruler of the central continent."
At the time, Krang had said that conquering the central continent was only a part of his dream.
Just as Encrid didn't see becoming a Knight as the end of his journey, Krang saw it the same way.
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