It seemed my name was Sion Ares.
I was the grandson of Ianus Ares, commander of the Holy Knight Order, and the son of Kurt Ares, a Heaven-Rank Knight.
‘Of all families, I had to be born into this one…….’
I was now lying in a clean cradle after the baptism ceremony had ended.
There were other babies around me as well, but they had apparently worn themselves out crying during the ceremony and were all sleeping quietly.
After confirming that the surroundings had grown silent, I spoke inwardly.
‘Hey.’
[What is it?]
An answer came immediately.
It was the mysterious entity that had helped me use Sword Aura earlier.
The bastard answered from inside me as casually as if this were perfectly normal.
‘You're not some hallucination, are you?’
[Of course not. What hallucination could possibly be this vivid?]
‘There could be one.’
[Then you're a newborn with mental problems. How unfortunate.]
It had an insolent voice.
‘What the hell are you?’
[What do you think I am?]
‘For starters, I'm pretty sure you're some kind of entity dwelling inside me.’
[Sharp. That's correct.]
It did not feel as though a telepathic thought was being transmitted to me from outside.
Someone was speaking from within me.
‘Did some evil spirit get inside me?’
[An evil spirit? My pride is wounded that you would compare me to something so lowly.]
‘Then you're saying you're a higher-order existence?’
[Indeed. You could call me a being of the highest order.]
What in the world was it?
Just what had gotten inside me?
[I am Igzad.]
Had I heard wrong?
A bizarre name suddenly popped out.
[The Demon Sword ‘Igzad.’]
‘Are you messing with me?’
[I am Igzad, the very sword that took your head in your previous life.]
At those words, I sucked in a breath.
How could this bastard know about my previous life?
[It's only natural that you're confused. But I am undoubtedly Igzad.]
‘Then…… are you saying there's a sword inside me?’
[I don't mean the physical sword itself is inside you. I am the ‘Igzad’ system housed within the physical sword called Igzad—the blade that took your head.]
‘What the hell does that even mean……?’
[I'll explain once more.]
The calm voice continued.
[The physical sword you saw was merely Igzad's ‘shell.’ Igzad's true essence is the conscious entity stored within that shell—and that entity is me.]
‘Then…… you're saying Igzad was an Ego Sword?’
[An Ego Sword. Correct.]
‘Old records do say that Igzad was a sword with a will of its own…… but that wasn't true anymore.’
The old records certainly described it as an Ego Sword.
But that was only what the records claimed. In the present era, it had been nothing more than an ordinary sword.
Because of that, there had even been speculation that the people of old had simply invented the story to deify the Demon Sword Igzad.
‘Igzad wasn't an Ego Sword. It was just an ordinary sword. Even Grand Patriarch Aquilast said it was merely an exceptionally powerful blade.’
[A fine sword chooses its own master.]
‘What?’
[Neither Grand Patriarch Aquilast nor Archbishop Gatheus was worthy of wielding me. That is why I remained asleep.]
‘What does that……?’
[The moment I cut through your neck, I realized it. You were the one suited to become my master.]
Come to think of it.
At the instant Gatheus's blade took my head, I thought I had heard some strange voice.
[I, Igzad, am a Demon Sword. I am a sword that pursues the Path of Supremacy with the one I acknowledge as my master, transcending life and death as well as cause and effect.]
‘…….’
[I decided that you could not be allowed to die like that. So I forcibly reincarnated your soul, and at the same time, I left the physical sword behind and reincarnated together with you.]
‘Then…….’
I organized my thoughts before asking.
‘So the reason I reincarnated with my previous personality intact was all because of you?’
[Correct.]
‘Did you deliberately make me reincarnate here too?’
[That is not quite accurate. You were merely set to be reborn in the place best suited to you. It was not something I decided arbitrarily; it was determined automatically.]
It was an utterly absurd story.
At the final moment of my life as Archbishop Hauzel, Igzad had chosen me, and through its power, I had been reborn into a family of holy knights.
All while retaining my previous personality and with Igzad still beside me.
‘So at least…… this really is the place best suited to me?’
[Correct. You probably wanted to begin your new life somewhere like this.]
‘No, not exactly…….’
I had thought that if I were reborn, I wanted to live differently.
But that did not mean I had wanted to be reborn into a family of holy knights.
‘I fought those holy knight bastards tooth and nail for the Great Flame Cult until I rose to the position of archbishop…… and now I've been reborn into a family of holy knights.’
It left me with complicated feelings.
[You don't like it?]
‘I'm not sure…….’
[If you don't like it, there is another way to start over.]
‘Start over?’
[There is a dangerous shortcut that would force another reincarnation.]
I went still for a moment.
Igzad continued, describing it as a gamble that might place me in an entirely different body and life.
It might have sounded tempting at first glance.
But I answered without hesitation.
‘Hey, Igzad.’
[What?]
‘Don't try to test me.’
The moment I said it, I had the strange feeling that I could hear laughter from inside me.
[As expected of the person I chose.]
Igzad sounded delighted.
[Exactly. Anyone who immediately gives up and reaches for an easy reset in a situation like this is unfit to be the master of a Demon Sword.]
‘If I'd accepted that offer, you'd have discarded me and gone looking for another master, wouldn't you?’
[Correct. I would have sought a new master. What happened to you afterward would no longer have concerned me.]
That convinced me that this bastard really was a ‘Demon Sword.’
The moment I failed to live up to its expectations, it would cast me aside without hesitation…… a truly wicked Demon Sword.
[A weak soul that gives up immediately without even trying to make the most of the conditions it has been given…… has no right to become my master.]
‘Was I chosen as your master because I spent my life silently carrying out orders even in terrible circumstances?’
[I don't know the details of your past. But the moment I came into contact with your soul, I immediately knew you were qualified.]
In any case, it seemed I had passed Igzad's test.
But I could not simply let this slide.
‘Igzad.’
[What?]
‘I understand that you were trying to test me. But…… don't ever pull something like that again.’
Igzad remained silent for a while after hearing my warning.
‘If you ever lie to me and try to test me again, I'll find some way to get rid of you.’
[You think that's possible?]
‘You think it isn't?’
I answered coldly.
‘Igzad, I was an archbishop of the Great Flame Cult.’
[I know.]
‘You don't become an archbishop just by being good at fighting. When it comes to magic…… you also need knowledge worthy of an archbishop.’
That was right.
Both Archbishop Gatheus and I possessed enough magical knowledge to refute the scholars of the Church of the Holy Spirit in an instant.
‘I might not be able to do it right now, but if I truly set my mind to it, I can drive you out.’
[Hm. Insolent bastard…….]
He said that, but Igzad could not simply dismiss my words.
[Fine. I'll remember that.]
‘Do that. Since things have turned out this way, it'd be better if we could build a relationship based on trust, wouldn't it?’
[Trust is certainly important. Understood.]
That was probably not an empty promise.
Igzad would not want to lose the trust of the master it had finally found after so long.
Judging by the fact that it had reincarnated alongside me because it did not want to lose me…… Igzad was fixated on me.
As long as I did not disappoint Igzad, it would also do its best not to be abandoned by me.
[Now then…… how do you plan to live from here on? You worked hard for the Great Flame Cult in your previous life, so are you going to work hard as a holy knight of the Church of the Holy Spirit this time?]
‘Not quite.’
[What?]
‘In the Great Flame Cult, I truly did live by accepting the conditions I was given. I obeyed every order from above without question.’
I had lived like a sucker, obeying absolutely everything…… and then I died.
‘But not anymore.’
[Hm…….]
‘Since I was born into a family of holy knights, I'll live as a holy knight. But…….’
But.
I would not live the way I had in my previous life.
I would not spend my days diligently doing whatever I was told like a sucker, only to be betrayed and die a pointless death.
‘You said you're a Demon Sword that pursues the Path of Supremacy, right?’
[Correct.]
‘Then I'll pursue the Path of Supremacy as a holy knight.’
I had no intention whatsoever of becoming a believer of the Church of the Holy Spirit and devoting myself to a life of faith at this point.
But I was interested in acting as a holy knight and reaching heights greater than anyone else.
[If you do that, you'll end up clashing with the Great Flame Cult.]
‘Probably. Is that a problem?’
Igzad was the Demon Sword of the Great Flame Cult.
It might dislike the idea of me fighting the Great Flame Cult as a holy knight.
[No.]
But Igzad denied it immediately.
[If you use the Great Flame Cult as a sacrifice to reach greater heights, that would please me.]
‘Good. Then that's a relief.’
[And you can take revenge on the bastards who purged you.]
Revenge.
The moment I heard that word, I felt something stir deep inside my chest.
‘Then I suppose my general course is decided.’
I would rise to great heights as a holy knight.
And I would settle the score with the leaders of the Great Flame Cult who had betrayed me in my previous life.
For now, those would be my goals.
‘Wait, then…….’
[What is it?]
‘Hey, Igzad.’
[What?]
‘It might be better if you just left me.’
Igzad fell silent for a moment.
[What did you just say?]
‘I said, leave me.’
[Ha. I think something may be wrong with my hearing. I seem to be hearing strange things.]
‘You don't have ears.’
[Then you really…….]
‘Get out of me.’
[Hey, why are you suddenly acting like this?]
Igzad seemed somewhat flustered.
[Didn't we just agree to work together from now on? Then why are you telling me to leave?]
‘I've decided to become a holy knight.’
[Right.]
‘But a holy knight can't exactly have a Demon Sword living inside his body.’
Igzad was silent for a moment.
[Huh? That's really the reason?]
‘Even you have to admit it sounds a little dangerous.’
[Well, yes, but…… couldn't you just hide me properly?]
‘What if someone finds out?’
[My existence cannot be detected even by magic. The people of the Great Flame Cult failed to notice me for hundreds of years. As long as you keep me hidden, no one will find out.]
‘You never know.’
[Hey!]
Igzad's voice became slightly urgent.
[There's no need to worry about that already! You still have ages before you can even join the Holy Knight Order!]
‘Is that so?’
[Yes! Worry about that later! For now, think about using my power to get stronger as quickly as possible!]
At that moment, strength suddenly began flowing into my arms and legs.
[There! I've strengthened your limbs! You're still only a newborn, but with my help, you can even learn to walk!]
‘Oh, you're right.’
[If you keep receiving my support like this and build your strength from a young age, you can become as powerful as you want! You could become the greatest holy knight!]
My limbs were so short that moving felt awkward in all sorts of ways…… but I really could move.
‘This is pretty useful.’
[Right? So stop thinking about driving me out…….]
Just then.
I sensed someone approaching from outside.
[Hey! Lie back down, quickly!!]
‘I know.’
With Igzad urging me on, I lay back down in the cradle.
If people saw a newborn moving around freely, they would probably faint from shock.
There was no need to attract attention already, so I had to behave like an ordinary baby.
“Where is Sion Ares?”
“Over there, Lord Sershes.”
Sershes.
Hearing the name, I searched my memories.
‘Sershes Ares?’
Sershes was Ianus's eldest son.
He was the commander of the ‘Assault Knight Regiment,’ the strongest combat force within the Holy Knight Order, and a man who enjoyed Ianus's deep trust.
As Archbishop Hauzel, I had clashed with him several times as well.
“He doesn't look particularly unusual on the surface…….”
Sershes was peering into my cradle.
I kept my mouth shut and pretended to be an ordinary baby.
“Let's check.”
Sershes reached a hand into the cradle.
Then he touched my body several times.
“I don't sense any unusual energy. He's just an ordinary baby.”
“What could have happened? Something definitely flashed, and then the wooden chest split apart.”
“Some impure foreign substance may have gotten mixed in. Perhaps it reacted with the energy of the holy water.”
“Ah, that could be it.”
“I'll check that possibility once more myself. In any case, tell the family head that I don't sense anything unusual from Sion.”
“Understood.”
Just as Igzad had said, it seemed other people could not detect its presence inside me.
“…….”
Sershes stared at me for a while longer before leaving the room.
[See? Even someone like that couldn't notice my existence.]
‘Yeah. In any case, I'm glad it looks like this will pass without any trouble.’
If it became known that I had used Sword Aura in a newborn's body, things could become troublesome in all sorts of ways.
For starters, I was Ianus Ares's grandson. As someone who might one day become the Knight Commander after the next, I could easily become a target for relatives who wanted to keep me in check—or eliminate me outright.
‘Come to think of it…….’
[What?]
‘No, it's nothing.’
If my near-drowning during the baptism ceremony had not been a simple accident but someone's scheme…… then an insider from the family, someone like Sershes, would have to be behind it.
Who could it be?
‘Things just got interesting.’
[Hey, tell me too. Don't have all the fun by yourself.]
‘It's nothing.’
[Hey!]
Ignoring Igzad's voice echoing inside my head, I closed my eyes.
Perhaps because I was a newborn, sleep came quickly.
‘Right. My new life starts now.’
From now on, I would live a new life as a holy knight.
Together with the Demon Sword dwelling inside me.
‘And…… I'll repay the debt I owe the Great Flame Cult.’
The bastards who had used Archbishop Hauzel for his entire life and discarded him once he was no longer useful.
I would make them pay for their sins.
As a Demon Swordsman of the Holy Knight Order…… the Great Flame Cult's greatest enemy.