‘Crow teeth are good material? In that case, I'll get them no matter what!’
Ikael's eyes gleamed.
The demonic beast crow's jagged teeth were longer than an arm.
They were hard enough to bring down a rock wall.
Ikael wondered what would happen if a sword were made from them.
‘Even an ordinary lump of iron becomes a weapon when Denta forges it. Let alone a demonic beast's teeth, nothing could be better than that!’
Even as he barely clung to the demonic beast crow's leg, Ikael's head was filled with nothing but thoughts of swords.
He had cursed Denta as an eccentric blacksmith, but Ikael himself was just as mad about swords.
But taking the crow's teeth would not be easy.
CLANG! CLANG!
No matter how many times he struck with his sword, he could not leave even a scratch on the teeth.
‘Grr. As expected of a demonic beast from Bakuba Volcano.’
A piercing shock, as though he had struck steel, ran up through his hand.
The demonic beasts of Bakuba Volcano were far more powerful than those that lived elsewhere.
Just because it was a crow did not make it an easy opponent, and the giant crow Ikael faced in particular required one to be at least a Two-Star Knight.
Then Ikael suddenly noticed something.
‘This crow is missing a tooth on one side.’
One of the crow's fangs was missing.
‘It does not look as though it was naturally cut off. Could it be…?’
Ikael shouted toward Denta.
“Denta, has any Recrit sibling ever fought this thing?!”
“Yes. Lord Exitor cut off one of its fangs!”
‘Just as I thought.’
It was the answer he had expected.
Ikael recalled that one of the swords used by the eldest son, Exitor, had been made from the tooth of a crow from Bakuba Volcano.
“Young Master Exitor was incredibly impressive! The crow was beaten without being able to do anything. Lord Exitor was only ten years old then!”
‘Hmph, old man. Are you trying some childish trick?’
Did Denta think that saying such things would make Ikael lose his temper and charge in even harder?
Ikael laughed in disbelief.
‘But now I have a goal.’
GRIT—
Ikael gritted his teeth.
Now that he had stepped onto Kairon's testing ground, he had no intention of falling behind any Recrit sibling.
If a Recrit sibling did it, I'll do it too.
WHOOO—
Ikael drew up the heat in his heart.
In that state, Ikael brought his sword down.
CLAAANG!
But it was a failure again.
‘It is incredibly hard.’
CLANG! CLAAANG!
‘If only I could use an Aura Blade…’
In his previous life, when he had been a Seven-Star Knight, an Aura Blade had been something utterly natural.
But now that he suddenly could not use it, he felt an emptiness as though he had lost an arm.
‘Even with considerable talent, people normally complete an Aura Blade around the age of twenty. It's impossible with Ikael's body as it is now.’
Many people never completed an Aura Blade in their entire lives, so he could not expect one at the age of eleven.
That would be a genius-level achievement even among the Recrits.
Ikael swallowed his disappointment.
But Denta was thinking something completely different.
‘Well, the young master has plenty of nerve.’
Denta's eyes glinted as he watched from afar.
The demonic beast crow was several times larger than Ikael.
Even so, Ikael charged at it. His courage was truly worthy of Recrit's name.
If it had been another sibling, Denta would have given a passing grade without watching any further.
But what Ikael had brought was the seventh Demon Sword.
‘This will not be easy. I need to watch a little longer. Young Master Ikael must be much stronger to wield a Demon Sword.’
But at that moment.
CRASH—
With Ikael hanging from it, the demonic beast crow charged toward a rocky cliff.
Rocks torn from the cliff rained down.
The demonic beast crow intended to crush the troublesome Ikael against the rock.
“Tsk.”
Denta clicked his tongue briefly.
The last attack had all but ended the test. Ikael would soon send a rescue signal to Recrit, and Recrit's knights would rush over.
‘It is impressive for an eleven-year-old boy, but not enough to hand over a Demon Sword.’
But Denta's prediction was wrong.
SCREEECH—
The demonic beast crow twisted as though in pain.
“No…?”
Denta narrowed his eyes.
CREAK—
The crow's maw slowly opened.
And holding it open in the gap was none other than Ikael.
Ikael stood like a pillar in the maw packed with vicious teeth, propping it open.
“When did he get there?!”
The moment the demonic beast crow collided with the rock wall, Ikael had quickly slipped into its maw.
Without that instantaneous judgment, Ikael might have died.
A smile bloomed on Denta's face.
‘Heh heh, what strength! On top of that, quick judgment and grit.’
Denta clenched his fist.
He had seen many people rashly rush into Bakuba Volcano only to be taken down by that crow.
Yet an eleven-year-old boy was holding out this well.
‘I want to watch a little longer.’
Denta's eyes were fixed on Ikael in the distance.
***
Trapped inside the demonic beast crow's maw, Ikael was not in a good situation.
“Grrr.”
Ikael exerted himself until his arms felt as though they would break.
If he relaxed his arms even for a moment, he would be torn to death in that terrifying maw.
SCREEEECH!
The demonic beast crow did not yield either.
Its prey had walked into its maw of its own accord, so it put more and more force into clamping its maw shut.
‘And now even my sword is breaking.’
A thin crack ran through the sword.
It was because he had forced open the crow's maw and pushed his way in.
TREM—
Ikael, who was propping open the crow's maw like a pillar, began to tremble more and more.
‘I cannot hold out long in this state…’
The crow's teeth were densely packed beneath Ikael's feet.
Rotting meat was caught between them.
‘Hmph, this bastard must think that I am meat like that.’
GRIT—
Ikael clenched his teeth.
There were not many choices he could make in this situation.
Break the pendant tucked inside his clothes and give up the trial, or die.
Neither was in Ikael's plans.
‘The Recrit Sword is right before me.’
How long had he waited for this moment?
The Recrit Sword meant more than merely a sword.
It was the name and honor of a true Recrit, as well as a weapon that he would one day drive into Kairon.
He could not give up so futilely when he had come this far.
Ikael thought of a way to neither die nor lose.
‘Aura Blade.’
CREEEAK—
The crow's maw closed more and more.
Ikael's mind raced.
‘The sword cannot hold out any longer.
It will break with a single strike, so acting rashly would be suicide.’
But if he could use an Aura Blade.
If he could apply even a thin layer of Desert Aura over the sword.
Then Ikael would have at least one strike left.
HUP.
Ikael closed his eyes.
There was no more time to hesitate.
‘Draw out the Desert Aura.’
Whether it was possible or not, he had to do it.
‘Focus.’
WHOOO—
Ikael devoted all his attention to the sensation of the heat in his heart.
His hair whipped wildly in the wind.
SCREEECH—
The demonic beast crow sensed an unfamiliar incongruity and flapped its wings.
As though it wanted to crush the troublesome brat quickly, the crow pressed down with more and more force.
“Mmm… Young Master!”
Even Denta, who watched from afar, sensed that something was wrong and shouted.
But Ikael did not answer.
He focused solely on the Aura flowing through his body.
He knew well that it was his final chance.
His senses gradually began to feel distant.
The view of Bakuba Volcano, swaying dizzily beneath his feet, grew farther and farther away.
Even the wounds scraped by the crow's rough teeth no longer concerned him.
At this moment, the only thing filling Ikael was the heat in his heart.
WHOOO—
Now that he was at a crisis, the Desert Aura was gathering faster and more strongly than ever.
SCREEEECH!
The demonic beast crow sensed the danger and twisted its body wildly.
At last, the crow resolved to deliver a single blow.
It drew its body far back.
ROAR—
Then it charged at the rock with tremendous speed.
It intended to smash Ikael to pieces.
The rocky cliff rushed toward Ikael's eyes.
Time rushing past like a storm appeared slow to Ikael, scene by scene.
‘We will collide.’
At that critical moment.
THUMP—
Something stirred in Ikael's heart.
‘What is this?’
THUMP— THUMP—
Vivid red Aura. Yet it felt different.
More than ever before, the Aura felt as though he could grasp it in his hands.
A red ring coiled around his heart.
The Aura, which had been like smoke scattered in a harsh wind, now took a clear form, like the cross-section of a raging storm.
WHOOOO—
‘Aura Circle.’
It was his first Aura Circle.
Ikael knew that this was the sign.
GRIP—
Ikael tightened his grip on the sword hilt.
Heat roared as though it would burn up Ikael's body and the sword hilt alike.
“Haaah—”
Ikael shouted a battle cry like a scream.
His voice evaporated as though it had been swept into a storm of fire.
The moment he felt as though his entire body were burning.
SCREEECH—
CRASH!
The demonic beast crow collided with the cliff.
And almost at the same time, Ikael swung his sword.
SWIIISH!!
A red trajectory was drawn before Ikael's eyes.
SCREEEECH!
The demonic beast crow let out a monstrous cry.
But it did not last long.
CRACKLE!
Ikael's sword had cleanly split the crow's body in two.
“Haaah!”
The crow's flesh and red Aura intertwined and sprayed everywhere.
Amid the chaos, Ikael pushed strength into his arm until the end.
‘I did it.’
Elation blossomed through his hand.
After cleanly splitting the crow's torso, all that lay before him was the clear sky.
RUMBLE—
The demonic beast crow fell straight into the lava.
***
An odd rumor spread through Ikael Palace in Bronze Castle.
“They say Young Master Ikael has died.”
People were talking because Ikael's pendant had trembled for a while before falling still.
“Surely he has not died?”
“Could the family head have deliberately sent Young Master Ikael into a deadly place?”
“Yes. After all, he is a sickly Young Master unfit for Recrit.”
“Poor thing!”
“Shh, watch your mouth!”
“What does it matter? He is a dead Young Master anyway.”
Amid all kinds of speculation, those who felt the most miserable were the knights of Ikael Palace.
If Ikael died, they were as good as dead too.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have fought tooth and nail to enter another palace!”
Since the pendant had not yet broken completely, they could not depart to rescue Ikael.
And in the end, what they had feared happened.
FSSSSHHH!
“The pendant melted…?”
It was ominous.
The sickly Young Master's pendant had not broken, but melted away like water.
“Everyone, to your positions!”
At last, the Ikael Palace Knight Order stepped onto the magic circle.
WHOOO—
The knights finally arrived at Bakuba Volcano.
But the sight that greeted them surpassed all expectations.
WHOOO—
“T-this cannot be…”
“Young Master Ikael, what on earth happened to you?!”
What lay before the knights' eyes overturned every expectation.
It was a sight that might bring great upheaval to Bronze Castle.