Chapter 98
Decision
On average, it took two years to open one’s dantian.
And that was only for those who possessed a certain degree of talent.
Many of lesser ability failed to awaken their aura even after an entire lifetime.
Even a genius had to train for at least a year before they could open their dantian.
Shaperia was different.
She had released aura after just a single day.
Not only had she opened her dantian, but she had even drawn the aura outside her body.
Johan simply could not believe it.
Stammering uncharacteristically, he said,
“C-could you do that again?”
He wanted to confirm it one more time.
“Of course.”
Shaperia closed her eyes. Her grip tightened around her sword, and the tip of the blade began to tremble faintly.
At the same time, transparent ripples spread in every direction.
Johan’s hair fluttered in the wake of the force.
He could no longer deny what was happening before his eyes.
A genius.
No, even the word genius seemed woefully inadequate.
Shaperia possessed talent comparable to that of the ancient Martial God.
She was a heaven beyond the heavens.
A hollow laugh escaped Johan’s lips.
“You truly are... simply astonishing, Sir Shaperia.”
His admiration was entirely sincere. He did not even feel jealous.
Shaperia scratched her cheek bashfully.
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
Johan did his best to calm his racing heart.
Once he had composed himself, he asked,
“But Sir Shaperia, where did you learn how to open your dantian?”
There were specific methods for cultivating aura.
One could not open one’s dantian through sheer effort without relying on a manual or a teacher.
Even Shaperia could not have done that.
She turned toward the office window.
Outside, in the small training yard, Gaf sat cross-legged with his upper body bare.
Looking at him, Shaperia replied,
“I noticed that the captain of the guard was cultivating aura. I stayed beside him and rather persistently asked him to teach me how.”
Gaf had recently been working to reactivate his meridians.
It was on Johan’s orders.
Johan had promised to find him an alternative to his ruined dantian and instructed him to resume his aura training.
Johan muttered under his breath,
“Gaf... that bastard finally did something useful.”
If not for Gaf, Shaperia’s talent might have gone to waste.
After all, Johan would have corrupted her into a demon.
Needless to say, Shaperia would have been unable to use aura once she became a demon.
She gave him a puzzled look.
“I didn’t quite hear you. What did you say?”
Johan shook his head.
“It was nothing. More importantly, Sir Shaperia, allow me to offer you my sincerest congratulations. You have proven yourself to possess qualities that surpass anyone else’s. You lack nothing required of a knight.”
Shaperia’s face lit up.
Her voice brimming with anticipation, she asked,
“D-does that mean...?”
Johan nodded.
“As the head of House Myatro, I formally recognize your knightly oath.”
Shaperia immediately knelt on one knee and held out her sword with both hands.
“I dedicate this sword to the Watcher of the Abyss. Even if its blade should grow dull, my loyalty and my oath shall never rust.”
Johan rose from his seat and accepted the sword.
He gently placed the blade upon Shaperia’s shoulder.
“From this moment onward, you are my sword and a sentinel of the Abyss. Defend this territory with all your might and keep vigilant watch over the Abyss.”
Shaperia bowed her head.
“I shall devote my body and soul to carrying out your commands.”
Johan lifted the blade from her shoulder.
Returning to his seat, he began writing something on a sheet of parchment.
It was Shaperia’s official certificate of knighthood.
The moment the document was sent to the royal capital, Shaperia would become a knight officially recognized by the kingdom.
Her former status did not matter.
As a member of the Council, Johan possessed the authority to confer knighthood.
Having been knighted by him, Shaperia was no longer a commoner.
She would now hold a rank equivalent to that of a baronet.
After finishing the document, Johan said,
“Shaperia, I grant you the authority to pass summary judgment over all incidents occurring within this territory. If you discover bandits, heretics, or any other threat to the domain, deal with them first and report afterward.”
The southern region was currently overrun with evil spirits and bandits.
Because of them, the territories under Myatro’s control had suffered considerable damage.
Shaperia should be more than capable of eliminating those nuisances.
Her voice trembling slightly, she replied,
“I... shall obey.”
It still did not feel real to Shaperia that she had become a knight.
Johan continued,
“I’ll assign troops to you immediately. Patrol the borderlands. That will be your first mission.”
He intended to send Shaperia away for a while.
It was still difficult to have her remain with him in the lord’s castle.
There were simply too many things he needed to hide.
Shaperia might have been Johan’s knight, but she was not Mapheltan’s servant.
The instant she encountered anything related to Mapheltan, an extremely troublesome situation would arise.
For the time being, Johan needed to keep Shaperia away from the castle.
She gave him a puzzled look.
“If I leave now, what will happen to His Highness?”
Shaperia was needed to treat Gawain.
But the situation had changed completely.
He could no longer afford to expend someone as gifted as Shaperia as a mere sacrifice.
Johan replied,
“I’ve found another solution. You should focus on your own duties.”
It was a lie.
He would have to start thinking of another solution from now on.
Shaperia did not question him. She merely seemed to accept his answer.
“...Understood. I shall patrol the territory in accordance with your command.”
Johan nodded.
“Root out every trace of evil infesting this land. Do not return until you have done so.”
The Myatro territory was vast.
Shaperia would likely spend a long time traveling through its borderlands.
That should give Johan enough time to resolve most of the problems currently facing him.
Shaperia rose from her kneeling position.
“Should I depart immediately?”
“Go find Gaf in about an hour. He’ll prepare all the supplies you need.”
Shaperia bowed her head.
“I shall do so.”
“You may leave now. I’ll see you again before your departure.”
After offering a knight’s salute, Shaperia left the office.
Hakain, who had been standing nearby, spoke.
“Congratulations, Baron. You’ve acquired quite the monster.”
“I suppose I have.”
The problem was Gawain.
Johan still could not think of a suitable way to deal with him.
Hakain cautiously asked,
“Is Gawain—the Third Prince—really that important?”
In the future, Gawain was destined to become the pillar around which humanity rallied.
Johan intended to manipulate him from behind the scenes and use him to unite all the continent’s forces.
If Gawain fell and became a demon, that entire plan would crumble.
Johan would have to find another chess piece.
“...Is there anyone else?”
Someone who possessed overwhelming, transcendent power like Gawain, yet was also capable of exerting a benevolent influence upon the world.
Johan could not think of anyone.
He clicked his tongue.
“He is important. Very important, but...”
Inside the forbidden archive beneath the lord’s castle, Johan grabbed the mass of talismans plastered across Gawain’s face and pulled them away.
Gawain’s face was revealed.
In a dying voice, he said,
“...Johan Myatro. What exactly do you want from me? Tell me. Now.”
Perhaps it was because he had been unable to eat or sleep for several days, but Gawain’s spirit had weakened considerably.
Johan released a long sigh.
“What I want, you say? If I tell you, will you agree to all of my demands?”
A murderous glint flashed through Gawain’s eyes.
Before long, however, the hostility faded and resignation took its place.
“Let me hear it first. Why are you doing this to me?”
Johan had imprisoned Gawain without offering any explanation.
He had not killed him, either.
The uncertainty was driving Gawain mad.
Johan said,
“You will soon turn into a demon. That is the truth, without a single shred of deception.”
Johan’s gaze was calm and steady.
Gawain felt a strange sense of trust.
Johan’s words did not sound like a lie.
“You said something similar before. Why exactly am I going to turn into a demon?”
Johan answered impassively,
“The holy spear Espada, which is engraved upon your soul, has been corrupted into a profane spear. As a side effect, its corruption is consuming you. Have you ever heard the story of Gepetto, the Wraith of the Principality?”
A man named Gepetto had once suffered the same phenomenon that Gawain was currently experiencing.
In the end, he had failed to receive treatment and transformed into an evil spirit.
Gepetto, the Wraith of the Principality.
It was a famous tale.
Naturally, Gawain knew it as well.
His eyes trembled slightly.
“...Espada was corrupted? If that’s true, show me proof.”
Johan nodded.
“See it for yourself. It’s time.”
The moment he finished speaking, Johan’s form began to distort.
Dark demonic energy swirled around the place where he had stood.
The black mist soon began taking shape.
Gawain’s eyes flew wide open.
He shouted as though suffering a seizure.
“Y-you!”
A malevolent being stood before Gawain.
White Horn.
The Thirteenth Apostle of the End.
Mapheltan slowly opened his mouth.
“It has been a while, Gawain.”
Gawain began convulsing violently.
His body shone with brilliant white light.
Divine power slowly seeped out through the gaps in his restraints.
Mapheltan backed away from him.
Does he still have strength left?
If so, Mapheltan would need to leave immediately.
That divine power was far too lethal to a demon.
Mapheltan watched him for a moment.
The radiance began to fade.
Gawain’s convulsions subsided, and his body grew still again.
It appeared that he had exhausted his stamina.
That was only natural.
Gawain had not been given any time to recover after his battle against Ilea.
He was completely drained.
After all, he was still human.
Gawain stared weakly at Mapheltan. Only hostility remained in his unfocused eyes.
“...What in the world are you?”
Mapheltan answered calmly,
“I am both the Watcher of the Abyss and the Thirteenth Apostle of the End. It may sound like a play on words, but it is the truth.”
Gawain stared blankly at Mapheltan.
Silence hung between them for some time.
Then Gawain abruptly burst into hollow laughter. The strangely empty sound echoed through the forbidden archive.
“Ah... Ah! So that’s what happened! You really were the one who took my spear! The darkness I saw back then—it was you!”
Previously, Gawain had attempted to retrieve his holy spear, only to vomit blood from every part of his body and lose consciousness.
The unknown presence he had encountered then had been Mapheltan.
Pitch-black darkness began condensing within Mapheltan’s hand.
“That’s right. I was the one who corrupted your holy spear into a profane spear.”
An enormous, ominous spear now rested in Mapheltan’s grasp.
Gawain continued laughing for some time before breaking into a fit of coughs.
Suppressing his emotions, he said,
“...The pieces finally fit together. You’ve been deceiving everyone. And like a fool, I walked into the tiger’s den of my own accord.”
Mapheltan shrugged.
“Thanks to that, we can now lay all our secrets bare and have an honest conversation. So don’t blame yourself too much.”
Gawain let out a mirthless chuckle.
“Fine. Since it has come to this, let’s speak frankly. White Horn, what exactly is it that you want?”
He was more forthright than Mapheltan had expected.
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth stretched into a broad smile.
“Become a demon. Fall into corruption and live as my servant.”