Why did you devote your life to the sword?
It was a question I heard at the seventh campsite after we set out for the Demon King's Castle.
I stared blankly at the elf across the campfire."How did you know I studied swordsmanship?"
"The way you stand. Your gaze. The calluses on your palms. And that sharp presence about you. Were you one of his students too?"
"..."
At the tip of her slender finger, she indicated the middle-aged man sitting nearby—my master, my idol.
A once-in-a-generation genius who had reached the summit of both sword and magic.Head of the greatest house in the world.—Ulrikh Kircheis, the All-Master of Demon Slaying.
To save humanity, he had personally trained disciples, and now he led an expeditionary force advancing on the Demon King's Castle.
Around him were knights and mages who had crossed the "Wall."
So why was she interested in me?
"I'm just a porter now. That's all in the past. I heard you're a high elf who studied under the Elf King—why are you curious about me?"
"Does curiosity need a reason? What's your name?"
"Tiberian. I don't have a family name."
"Please answer me, Tiberian."
"..."
I knew she'd been staring at me for days. And that for the past two nights she'd been hovering near my campfire.
Didn't look like I could brush her off with a vague excuse.
"Yeah, you're right. I was one of the All-Master's students. I learned the sword."
"I thought so. What made you choose that path?"
"Nothing special. I just wanted revenge."
I stirred the fire with a stick and muttered, old memories flashing past like lanterns in a storm.
"The demons turned my village to ash. They killed my little sister—my only family. I swore revenge at her grave and picked up a sword. Need any more explanation?"
"But couldn't you have looked for a different aptitude? Magic, for example…"
"Do you know what it feels like to cut down a demon?"
At my question, the elf woman's expression stiffened.
A bitter laugh slipped out of me."Didn't think so. Then I can't explain it."
The certainty of personally executing the enemy with my own hands.The only way to be free from the nightmares.
Back then, I had no other choice.
"But you didn't end up in the expedition, did you? Why? No talent for the sword?"
"..."
I almost pointed out her rudeness, then decided it wasn't worth the effort.
It wasn't entirely wrong.
"I used to be called a genius too. I was always first through the intermediate training course."
That was thanks to my trait, Leaping Capacity—the ability to grasp any knowledge with unusual speed.
The All-Master had intended to put me at the vanguard of the expedition.
He had. And yet—
"You couldn't cross the Wall."
"Right. Just couldn't do it. Guess I wasn't a genius after all… more like 'gifted,' maybe."
The threshold of Seven Stars, what people called the Noble Wall.
A limit that could only be surpassed with both effort and talent. Only after crossing it could one sense the soul of the sword and take a step toward the Nine-Star realm known as Swordmaster.
Unfortunately, it never opened for me.
"Or maybe I was just mediocre. I worked myself half to death and still got stuck at Six Stars. So I didn't make the expedition. I fell behind."
Silence settled between us.
I thought her interest had finally faded.
It hadn't.
The elf still watched me with clear, bright eyes.
"That's strange. If you fell behind, why are you here?"
"..."
"I heard porters aren't even allowed weapons. So why go through all this hardship on the road to the Demon King's Castle?"
"What's your name? Yours."
I cut her off.
She looked sheepish."I didn't think you wouldn't know. I'm Ifriel."
"Good, Ifriel. A bit of advice—poke at the wrong wound, and you might get stabbed. Especially when you're dealing with a human who's trained with a blade."
"Ah—sorry. I just…"
Her face turned bright red as she apologized, and I gave a vague nod.
The reason I stuck with the expedition, even volunteering as a porter, was simple.
"I want to see the Demon King erased from this world. I may not stand on the battlefield, but I can at least watch him fall. That's enough for me."
"..."
"We've talked enough. Satisfy your curiosity about humans with the elites over there. They'll be more interesting than a failed porter. Good night."
I dismissed her and turned over to sleep.
But the next evening—
"Tiberian, I'm sorry about yesterday. Let me apologize again."
The elf came to my fire once more.
Then she said something strange.
"I want to teach you magic."
"Teach me what?"
It was an offer that would overturn my fate.No—one that would someday change the course of the world itself.
"You have tremendous talent for magic. That's why I kept asking why you chose swordsmanship."
"What nonsense are you—"
"It's not nonsense. My Sixth Sense has never been wrong. Just thirty minutes a day. With your Leaping Capacity, you'll grasp the basics in no time. What do you say?"
"..."
The expedition's journey went smoothly.
Of course it did. It was humanity's elite force, made up of disciples the All-Master had painstakingly trained.
Ulrikh's own performance was dazzling.
As if proving his reputation, he tore through demon legions at the front lines.
Thanks to that, I was able to learn magic without interruption.
"Today, I'll teach you about the cyclical nature of mana."
"..."
By day, I walked under the weight of supplies. By night, I slipped into the forest to learn magic from an elf.
I figured she'd give up after a few days.
Things went differently.
On the third day after I started learning magic—
Fwoosh!
A deep blue flame bloomed in my palm.
Proof of the mana heart I'd formed in just three days.
But something else stole my attention.
A strange phenomenon appearing before my eyes.
「ᛖᚲ ᛟᛈᚾᚨ ᚨᚢᚷᚢ.」
Runes I had never seen before wavered in the air.
Yet I could understand them.
"The Eye of Transcendence opens."
The sentence shimmered as if alive.
Ifriel suddenly grabbed my arm, eyes shining."You're seeing something, aren't you? What do you see? Tell me!"
"It says some kind of eye has opened."
"Be specific. What eye?"
"...The Eye of Transcendence."
Her eyes went wide. She clapped a hand over her mouth.
"The Transcendent Eye? That was the ability of the Third Transcendent of the Dark Age! An eye that sees through all magical workings!"
"Is that good?"
"Good? It's extraordinary! It's only recorded in elven history, so you wouldn't know. It's practically mythic. You were born for magic."
Born for magic.
"Me…?"
"And you wasted time on swordsmanship of all things. I don't even know what to say."
A lifetime of sword training had just been dismissed in one blow, and I couldn't even argue back.
I scratched my cheek, staring at the floating words.
Is it really that amazing?
As a beginner, it was hard to grasp.
But one thing was certain.
I can clearly see how this flame works.
The blue fire rippling above my palm.
I could instantly understand how each particle of mana interacted.
"The Eye of Transcendence is your magical intuition—your very sense for magic," Ifriel explained. "In simpler terms, it's the ability to unconsciously understand and perceive all magical phenomena."
"So I understand just by looking?"
"Exactly. Ah—maybe your Leaping Capacity is derived from this trait. Both are about understanding and insight."
Fifteen days after I began learning magic, I managed to create and launch a small fireball.
That's when the thought first came.
If only I'd known my talent from the start.
Even just a few years earlier.
If I'd abandoned the sword and learned magic instead…
Maybe I could have stood shoulder to shoulder with my master.
The final night.
Far off in the distance, the Demon King's Castle loomed.
The expedition members made their final preparations. I gazed at the night sky, and Ifriel stood beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"What will you do when the war ends?"
"With my magic? Clean out every gambling den on the continent."
"You're joking… right?"
"Of course. I'll go learn higher magic. Obviously."
She smiled at that.
Meeting her eyes no longer felt awkward.
Over the past year, we had grown close.
"Ifriel, there's something I'm curious about."
"What is it?"
"Why were you so determined to teach me magic? You could've just thought, 'What a fool, wasting his talent,' and walked away. Instead you practically forced it on me."
"Ah, that's…"
She smiled vaguely and glanced back.
Then she whispered in a tiny voice.
"I felt like I'd be sinning against the Goddess if I stayed quiet."
"What sin?"
"The sin of letting human magic stay such a mess."
I nearly laughed.
She was talking about Ulrikh. More precisely, his magic.
"The All-Master is undoubtedly a great human. Even if you trained a hundred more years, you might never match his sword."
"That's rude, coming from you."
"But it's true. His swordsmanship surpasses perfection."
She was right.
Watching Ulrikh endlessly cut down demons was like watching a god of war descend to earth.
Even if I died and woke again, I doubted I'd reach that realm.
But—
"His magic isn't. When it comes to handling mana, you're far superior, Tiberian."
"..."
"I know you think the same. Be honest. It's just us."
She'd picked up a playful streak from spending time with me.
I nodded slightly.
"Yeah. It sounds presumptuous, but when I watch my master's magic now, something feels lacking. It's powerful, but… there are gaps."
The disciples he had trained were even worse.
Given a little more time, I could surpass them all.
"When the war ends and a new era begins, magic will become even more important. Mages with talent like yours will play a greater role."
"If I can help build a better world, that'd be meaningful too."
I meant it.
Ifriel smiled brightly.
"Tiberian, you have great talent—and just as much integrity. And a relentless drive. Please don't forget that."
"I couldn't have done any of this without you."
I was about to thank her.
But she clapped her hands and suddenly held something out.
A green ring she always wore with care.
"Come to the Forest of the Elves someday, when you have time. I have something new I want to tell you. You'll need this to pass the barrier."
"If you have something to say, say it now."
"No. Not now. Later."
"…?"
What had she wanted to tell me?
Sadly, I never learned.
Because the expedition met an end worse than defeat.
「The authority of the Demon King '■■■■' transfers to a successor.」
「'Ulrikh Kircheis' ascends as the new Demon King.」
「This attack cannot be defended against.」
「Immediate evacuation requir—」
The hero who slew the Demon King became another Demon King and ground us all to dust.
The worst ending imaginable.
At the end of a long, long darkness, I lay cradled in warm arms.
But my ears hurt. People were shouting all around me.
What's going on?
Smack!
A burning pain exploded in my backside. My eyes flew open, and a cry burst from me against my will.
"The mother's heart rate is dropping!"
"Call more healers! Hurry!"
Through the chaos, I opened my eyes to see blurred banners hanging indoors.
I frowned, tilting my head.
The emblem of a soaring silver phoenix was painfully familiar.
Ulrikh?
No mistake.
It was the crest embroidered on his cloak.
It took me a long time to understand.
No—time to accept it.
—Kirian Kircheis.
A new name. A new life.
It wasn't easy to accept that this wasn't a dream.
Reincarnation…
After a long stretch of time,
I was born again—
as the descendant of the master I could never forgive.