RUMBLE…!
The entire valley shook violently.
Trees bent.
Cliffs cracked.
Everyone stopped fighting.
Even the Cult soldiers looked toward the mountain.
The ancient stone door continued to rise.
Dust filled the sky.
A voice, older than history itself, echoed through the valley.
“First Gate… Authorized.”
“Two Keys Detected.”
Yozaro instinctively grabbed the silver ring on his finger.
It had begun to glow.
Darius looked at his own ring.
“…It’s reacting.”
The massive door opened just enough for a giant hand to emerge.
Stone.
Covered in ancient runes.
Then another hand.
A towering guardian stepped into the sunlight.
Nearly thirty meters tall.
Its body looked like black granite, but veins of golden light pulsed beneath its surface.
Where its face should have been…
There was only one enormous golden eye.
Everyone stood frozen.
The guardian spoke.
“Trial… Initiated.”
The Crimson Cardinal laughed.
“So the legends were true.”
He pointed toward the guardian.
“Destroy them.”
The guardian didn’t move.
Instead…
Its eye focused on Yozaro.
Then on Darius.
“Key Bearers Confirmed.”
“Combat Evaluation Begins.”
It ignored everyone else.
The ground beneath Yozaro and Darius glowed.
Ancient runes spread in a huge circle.
The rest of Team Seven tried to run toward them.
But an invisible barrier appeared.
Kael slammed his sword against it.
CLANG!
Nothing happened.
“Yozaro!”
Luna desperately searched for a weakness in the barrier.
“I can’t break it!”
Raizen, who had just arrived on a nearby ridge, frowned.
“…An ancient trial.”
Even he couldn’t interfere.
The guardian slowly raised one enormous fist.
It didn’t attack.
Instead…
It waited.
Yozaro remembered Azrael’s words.
“The Keys open doors.”
This wasn’t an execution.
He looked at Darius.
“If we fight it separately…”
“We lose.”
Darius grinned.
“Then we fight together.”
Two Swords, One Purpose
The guardian struck.
The impact shattered the ground.
Yozaro and Darius leaped in opposite directions.
Rock exploded everywhere.
Darius charged first, aiming for the guardian’s knee.
His greatsword struck with incredible force.
BOOM!
The guardian didn’t even flinch.
Yozaro sprinted up a fallen pillar and slashed toward its arm.
CLANG!
Not a scratch.
“…It’s too hard.”
Instead of attacking again…
Yozaro watched.
The guardian’s movements weren’t random.
Every attack followed a rhythm.
A pattern.
Left.
Pause.
Right.
Turn.
Repeat.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
“I’ve seen this before…”
Raizen’s training.
The mountain bear.
Arden’s swordsmanship.
Everything had been preparing him for this moment.
“Darius!”
“The eye isn’t the core!”
“What?”
“The runes!”
“The golden runes across its chest!”
Darius looked carefully.
“…You’re right!”
Whenever the guardian attacked…
The runes briefly dimmed.
Only for a heartbeat.
The next strike came.
Yozaro didn’t dodge.
Instead…
He ran directly toward the giant fist.
“Yozaro!”
Kael shouted from outside the barrier.
At the last moment…
Darius grabbed Yozaro’s arm and hurled him upward.
“What are you doing?!”
“You said the runes are the weak point!”
“Go!”
Yozaro soared through the air.
Higher.
Until he was level with the guardian’s chest.
He drew his father’s sword.
The silver blade glowed.
Not with mana.
But with the same golden light as his ring.
Yozaro whispered,
“Father…”
“Guide me.”
One perfect strike.
SHIIING!
Dawnbringer pierced the central rune.
The entire valley fell silent.
The guardian froze.
Golden cracks spread across its body.
Everyone held their breath.
The guardian slowly looked down at Yozaro.
Its voice was no longer cold.
“Trial… Cleared.”
The barrier disappeared instantly.
The giant knelt on one knee.
Then…
It reached into its own chest.
From within the stone…
It withdrew a crystal no larger than a human heart.
The crystal floated gently toward Yozaro.
“First Relic…”
“Returned… To the Heir.”
As soon as Yozaro touched it…
A flood of memories entered his mind.
A magnificent city.
Seven kings standing together.
Azrael smiling.
Then—
A battlefield covered in countless bodies.
The sky itself was burning.
A voice cried out,
“Seal the Gates!”
The memories vanished.
Yozaro stumbled, breathing heavily.
The Crimson Cardinal frowned.
“So…”
“You passed.”
He raised his hand.
Dark chains shot toward the floating crystal.
Before they could reach it—
A brilliant sword slash cut through the air.
WHOOSH!
The chains shattered instantly.
Raizen landed beside Yozaro.
His wooden sword rested on his shoulder.
“I’ve been patient long enough.”
The Sword Saint smiled.
“Now…”
“You answer to me.”
For the first time…
The Crimson Cardinal’s smile disappeared.