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Before long, I had defeated dozens of knights, and only one remained. Whether it was due to my own evasion or mere coincidence, the lone survivor was an all-too-familiar face.

“…Professor.”

None other than Ferrent, my homeroom professor from the Academy. After resigning, he returned to his original post in the Third Imperial Knight Order as an advisor. Given that he was an exceptional knight, seeing him here was not unusual at all.

“That’s impressive, Elysia. You’ve grown much stronger since the last time we met. I’m very proud that you were briefly my student.”

Ferrent recognized me and approached. Of course, even though he’s infected by Glen, those who still possess their basic selves exist. It’s not surprising that he could speak normally.

“Stop being ridiculous and get out of that professor’s body right now.”

But even though the voice and tone were exactly like Ferrent’s, I could tell. The one speaking was not the infected Ferrent himself but Glen, lurking within.

“Cough… Why should I? Why pass up such a great opportunity?”

As expected, once Glen realized I had figured him out, he immediately revealed his true identity.

At my words, Ferrent’s eyes bulged, and soon the boundary between the pupil and sclera vanished, turning completely black as he glared at me. His voice cracked, responding in a rasping tone that awkwardly mixed with Ferrent’s.

This made it all the more uncomfortable. To me, Ferrent was always a great professor and mentor, even if our time together was brief.

Instead of replying to Glen’s words, I charged straight at him, who had taken over Ferrent’s body.

Bam!

However, unlike the other infected entities who had been wholly at my mercy, Glen easily blocked my sword.

“Why should I abandon this body when I can take the penalty myself? Hehe…”

Well, I suppose. It’s no wonder Glen, out of countless infected beings, did not realize a single one had died. He thought this was a great opportunity to strike at both the Emperor and me, which is why he revealed himself.

Before coming here, Glen had absorbed the powers of countless demonic monsters, demonic beings, and even members of the demonic race in the forest, giving him the confidence to face me.

After all, Glen had devoured five high-ranking demons. Of course, even if he was using all that energy, it was still quite burdensome for Glen to wield it all at once, so he was distributing his power to handle the infected entities. That said, it was still far from being underestimated. That level of confidence might actually be called humble.

As the standoff ended, Glen charged at me. Utilizing Ferrent’s remaining memories, he still held one sword while his tendrils wrapped around the other, attacking from both sides.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

With each block, a massive impact resonated, sending shockwaves through the room. The windows had long since shattered under the strain. I had been able to dodge the swords wielded by dozens of royal knights before, but Glen’s tendrils were far more troublesome, making it a stroke of luck to merely defend against them.

Moreover, as Glen moved into Ferrent’s body, the weight transmitted from the colliding swords was no ordinary heaviness; it was staggering. If I lost focus even for a moment, I would drop my sword and be left exposed.

“Ugh…”

Grinding my teeth, I took another hit from Glen’s attack. I was only pushed back a few steps, but Glen was still as relaxed as ever.

If it were just a hostage situation, I could rescue him somehow, but since Glen had turned Ferrent into his host, I couldn’t attack recklessly, putting me in a difficult position.

I racked my brain for all possible methods.

Attacking with a sword was clearly out of the question. I had already tried striking with the flat of the sword, but Glen was so resilient due to the powerful energy he held that even that left no mark. I wondered if I could at least knock him out, but since Glen controlled the body directly, that was out of the question too.

None of my attacks were getting through, and allowing even one of his strikes could lead to a lethal scenario. It was truly an absurd situation.

Tap, tap.

Just as I was struggling to formulate a strategy, the sound of footsteps echoing with shoes filled the previously tense silence of the Audience Room. It was a calm yet clear sound, distinctly different from the violent clashing of swords and crumbling walls.

For an instant, I forgot that Glen was right in front of me and turned to where the noise originated.

Step by step, the Emperor was slowly descending the stairs. Then, without hesitation, he stepped out from the boundary.

“Your Majesty!”

I wasn’t the only one startled by the sudden situation. Isis also rushed toward the Emperor, taken aback by his action of suddenly leaving the barrier, only for the Emperor to raise a hand and stop her in place.

Normally, even if the Emperor commanded her to stop, she would have approached him anyway, but for some reason, Isis simply stood there.

Damn it. He told us to run away, and when we didn’t listen, was he planning to go out and commit suicide?

“No, that’s not it, Elysia.”

But the Emperor, looking at me with midnight-black eyes that resembled the starry night sky rather than his usual golden ones, spoke.

“I can see your thoughts clearly without the Insight. You are a truly interesting being. Ah, that expression on your face—I see you’re asking me not to mess around. I’m generous, so this time, I’ll let it slide.”

“…If you understand, no matter how doubtful you are, please go back to Lady Isis’s side.”

However, the Emperor simply shook his head quietly at my words, pushing past me and closing in on Glen. Even though I knew I had to stop him, my feet felt glued to the ground. My hands wouldn’t move. I felt I understood why Isis had frozen.

“Hehe… What a treat we have here, even if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Fortunately, Glen did not immediately attack the Emperor. But that didn’t mean the situation was any less dangerous. The distance between the Emperor and me was now less than that to Glen. If Glen were to attack the Emperor, I would have to stand idly by and watch helplessly.

But, I couldn’t move.

“Even without the Insight, it’s plain to see for me. Isis, I see how much you care for me. Elysia, I see how worried you are for me. How amusing… What have I been so afraid of until now…?”

The Emperor slowly turned his head to look at Isis, then at me, speaking quietly. Then he looked back at Glen, who was now standing directly in front of him. No, he looked up at Ferrent.

“Now I believe not in the Insight but in what I see with my own eyes. Yes. This is wholly my decision.”

“Chattering too much. Time to deal with that pesky one over there, and then take care of the Hero too.”

Glen’s sword was raised high, ready to swing down at a moment’s notice. The moment that sword came down, the Emperor would be left utterly defenseless.

“Ferrent Grendel!”

However, the instant Glen’s sword was about to strike, the Emperor’s shout filled the Audience Room.

Even Glen’s sword, which was about to descend, jolted and halted before the Emperor.

“For my safety! How dare you look down on me! Kneel!”

It was an absurd command. Right now, Ferrent was completely devoid of his self, having been taken over by Glen. There was no way a demon like Glen would obey the command of a human Emperor. There was no way he would kneel.

“Do you intend to defy a royal command? I will say it again: kneel!”

Naturally, Glen’s knees would not bend at the Emperor’s mere command. Instead, Glen’s sword, which had been lifted high, began to move. For a defenseless Emperor, there was no means of blocking it.

Swish!

The sound of slicing through the air. Glen’s sword should have slain the Emperor. It surely should have.

Thud!

As Glen’s sword came down, it pierced deep into Ferrent’s own thigh instead of the Emperor. Naturally, as the strength left one leg that had been stabbed, he buckled to his knee.

“What… is this…!”

The panicked voice emerging from Ferrent’s lips borrowed from Glen’s horror.

“Ferrent Grendel of the Third Imperial Knight Order. Are you a knight?”

But the Emperor was unfazed and simply replied with indifference. The one being asked was not Glen, but Ferrent.

“If you are a knight, show it! Show your will as a knight! Your conviction! Your nobility!”

At that moment, I realized why I had been watching her and not intervening. There was something clearly residing within her voice, even if clumsily articulated. A force similar to what I was wielding now.

“I ask again, Ferrent Grendel! Are you a knight?”

Her voice awakened Ferrent, who had been deep within, lost to Glen’s control.

No longer was he simply the advisor of the Imperial Knight Order, nor the professor of Griffin Academy, nor the former commander of the Imperial Knight Order.

He was just an ordinary knight, Ferrent Grendel.

“Kyaaaaah!”

With a scream of agony, Glen crawled out of Ferrent’s body. He was even too terrified to consider switching his main body to another infected entity and was too busy screaming as he crawled across the floor.

I immediately stabbed Glen with the Holy Sword imbued with divine power, burning him. Considering the things Glen had done, his demise was all too absurd, but I bet Glen never imagined he would end up this way.

A mere human, by sheer will, had cast off Glen’s control. This happened not before the mind was seized, but entirely after. It was an inconceivable event, yet Ferrent displayed a superhuman will and achieved it. Even while dominated, he managed to complete a self that no one could touch.

“God, Ferrent Grendel. I salute to Your Majesty the Emperor.”

Yes. A superhuman.

And often, people refer to a superhuman in another way: Sword Master.