The Swordsman Genius Returnee Even Swallows Immortality

4

Arthur Van Pelion.

The fallen head of the Van Pelion family.

His father, the previous head of the family, died of an illness at an early age.

That was why he became the head of the family at a young age.

Actually, it wasn’t really becoming the head.

After all, the family now became of only one escort knight and an old butler.

Even so, Arthur was proud of the name Van Pelion.

And he lived his life, proudly bearing the name of his family.

That was thanks to the story of a certain person that his father had told him.

‘In the days when the Unified Empire flourished, he was the one who raised Banphelion to one of the Three Great Houses.’

A prodigy born from Banphelion.

Habell Banphelion, the Black Knight.

Now, everyone except Banphelion had forgotten his name.

But his story was enough to captivate the young Arthur’s heart.

However, he had never returned since going to the Demon’s Palace.

The Demon’s Palace, the most wicked among the Three Great Evils of the Beginning.

That monster had even devoured the Black Knight.

Having lost its patriarch, the Black Knight, and even the Dawn Knights that were the pride of the family, the Banphelion family was greatly shaken.

After that, several incidents overlapped, and in the end, the family collapsed.

Arthur wanted to protect the fallen family, Banphelion.

However, it was not easy.

‘Perhaps I might be the last patriarch.’

Banphelion had collapsed.

So Arthur made his last gamble.

One of the Three Great Evils of the Beginning, a place where numerous families had climbed and gained fame.

‘The Tower.’

He declared that he would climb it and restore Banphelion’s reputation.

However, all that remained in the family were an old butler and a single escort knight.

Fortunately, the escort knight was skilled enough to receive a scouting offer from another family.

But no matter how outstanding he was, he couldn’t climb the Tower alone.

‘So I hurriedly sought mercenaries.’

However, no one came to Banphelion.

Eventually, he was about to go up the Tower on his own as a last resort when…

“I came after seeing the notice that you were recruiting mercenaries.”

One person appeared.

* * *

Afterwards Habell was guided to the guest room.

He was waiting while drinking tea.

‘The tea is not very good.’

It seemed that the inside was just as bad as the exterior.

‘I don’t think I left behind a small amount of wealth. Where did it all go?’

What on earth had happened for it to become like this in 100 years?

Habell could only feel complicated emotions.

Knock-

At that moment, a knock echoed.

When the guest room door opened, an escort knight was standing there.

“Greetings. I’m late with the introductions. I am Dante, a knight of Banphelion.”

Neatly trimmed black hair.

An upright posture and bearing.

The black belt around his waist looked familiar, and his muscles were well-developed.

‘Not bad. He’ll do.’

Although he hadn’t seen his skills, he was a considerable swordsman.

“Before we accept you as a mercenary, may we test Mr. Havel’s skills?”

Dante approached him.

He still seemed a bit wary of Havel.

‘I guess he’s somewhat composed now.’

Havel had introduced himself by his first name, omitting his last name, pretending to apply as a mercenary.

“Ha, Havel?! Are you the Black Swordsman, Havel?!”

Havel could still hear Arthur’s voice ringing in his ears.

He must have been ecstatic.

He had been extremely excited just by seeing Havel’s name and hair.

“The Black Swordsman, Havel? It’s strange that we share the same name, but I don’t know you.”

At those words, Arthur calmed down and took a closer look at Havel.

Upon closer inspection, he had white hair, not the silver hair that was characteristic of the Vandelion family.

Havel’s hair had originally been silver.

However, perhaps because he had exerted too much power in the Demon’s Realm.

His silver hair had almost completely lost its color.

Because of that, it looked closer to white hair unless you looked at it in the light.

“I see. I see… Well, it’s been over 100 years now. Even his name has been forgotten by the world.”

Luckily, Arthur believed him without question, perhaps because it made no sense for Havel to return at this point.

‘Well, it’s been 100 years.’

It must be hard to believe that he was still alive.

And so, Havel was to be tested as a mercenary.

He was the one who had brought Vandelion to this state in the first place.

He was ashamed to say that he had returned.

“I understand.”

Havel stood up to accept Dante’s test.

The two of them headed to the backyard.

‘Don’t they even have a training ground?’

The only place to spar was a shabby backyard with trimmed grass.

‘This is bad.’

He didn’t know where to start fixing this.

“This is a simple test in the form of a duel. Please do as much as you can.”

“Understood.”

Havel drew his sword lightly.

‘Well, this works out well.’

Havel had been curious about Vandelion’s current swordsmanship.

“Let’s begin.”

Dante deliberately announced the start of the match with a friendly tone, and then he stomped on the floor.

His sword surged, cutting through the air.

A neat move without any unnecessary actions.

If others had seen it, they would have been impressed by its elegance.

However, Habel didn’t feel anything about it.

Clang!

‘Is it because I’ve been in the Devil’s Castle for too long?’

To Habel, his sword seemed so slow that he could yawn.

On the other hand, Dante was slightly surprised.

‘My sword barely moved before I swung it.’

Habel’s sword was already blocking his sword.

‘Maybe he’s more skilled than I thought.’

Dante tried to increase his speed a little more.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The sounds of iron clashing against iron rang out in succession.

Dante’s sword continued to accelerate.

Banpellion’s swordsmanship was like a wave.

The more he continued his combo, the stronger his power became.

As proof of this, the power imbued in Dante’s sword grew stronger as time went on.

However, Dante’s face was filled with bewilderment.

‘How can it be this easy?’

Dante had clearly increased his strength and speed.

However, Habel was blocking all of his sword strikes with the same posture as before.

‘Is this the extent of his skill?’

He definitely didn’t feel anything.

Dante felt a sense of discomfort.

He felt nothing, even though he was this strong.

‘A little more.’

Dante continued to increase his strength and speed.

However, the result was the same.

He was starting to feel scared now.

What on earth was this?

‘Even if I use all my power.’

Will he be the same as before?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, his sword suddenly stopped.

“Are you done?”

Habel asked curiously.

He wasn’t even breathing hard.

“…….”

He had proven his skills enough.

“……Yes, you passed.”

“I see.”

Havel looked at Dante.

‘Why aren’t you using Vampire swordsmanship?’

Is it because it’s just a duel?

Havel briefly wondered.

At the same time, a thought occurred to him.

‘Come to think of it, it’s possible that Vampire swordsmanship has been lost.’

After all, not only he, but the Order of Dawn had also disappeared.

‘……If we keep traveling together, we’ll have time to confirm it gradually.’

Havel turned away, his eyes complicated as he watched Dante.

‘Why did he look at me like that?’

Just then, in the moment Dante questioned Havel’s gaze.

Dante’s eyes caught Havel’s footprints.

“Huh?”

Unlike his own legs, which had been moving quickly, the footprint imprinted there.

Hadn’t moved an inch.

A shock ran through his head in an instant.

Dante felt like he had glimpsed an unknown abyss.

‘What on earth…’

What is that person’s true identity?

Dante’s suspicions grew.

* * *

The night Havel was officially hired as a mercenary.

Dante was in a tavern for the first time in a long time.

His head was still spinning from the test that day.

‘What is that man’s identity?’

If he’s that skilled, his name would have been well-known.

The name of the black knight who disappeared into the Demon Palace 100 years ago.

That name was deliberately erased by the families that had betrayed Vanpelioni.

Moreover, the era was extremely chaotic due to the calamities.

The heroes of the past were completely forgotten within a generation.

‘Now, the only one who remembers the name Havel is Vanpelioni.’

Someone who uses that name has appeared again.

Someone with considerable skill, at that.

‘If someone using the name Havel has that level of skill.

Surely, the Vampelioni family would have heard at least a rumor.’

Dante, who had been active as a knight in Vanpelioni, was seeing him for the first time.

“I don’t understand.”

In particular, he was bothered by the expression on his face when he looked at Lord Arthur.

‘Is it guilt or regret?’

He was showing an unknown reaction.

‘The only thing that’s certain is that it doesn’t feel like he’s going to harm Banphelion.’

I really should borrow a cat’s paw.

This was not the time to be nitpicking.

Still, I couldn’t help but worry.

I am a knight of Banphelion.

If he came here with ulterior motives, it was my duty to stop him.

‘Is it okay to go into the tower together when both of us are filled with questions?’

At the moment he felt his mind getting complicated, he was about to lift his beer mug again.

Clang!

“Hahaha, today is a commemoration of breaking through the 3rd hierarchy!”

“If we keep going like this, we’ll be able to chase after our seniors, right?”

“Of course. Demon King!”

The door opened and boisterous voices could be heard.

Dante turned his head and saw a group of people there.

The same pattern was engraved on their chests.

A sword and flower carved out of ice.

They were knights of the Glacies family.

And the one who seemed to be their leader was someone Dante knew.

“Huh? What the. It’s Dante.”

They also recognized Dante.

“Do you know that person?”

“Oh, we were in the same year at knight school.”

Dante’s classmate, Borance, showed an instantly unpleasant reaction.

It was only natural.

At knight school, he was always second best.

Dante was always first.

Borance had never defeated him even once.

But now, things were different.

Borance’s face was distorted.

“Hey, Dante. Long time no see. Is it fun playing knight by yourself in a ruined family?”

He was a knight belonging to the fifth-generation Glacies family.

Moreover, even if it was a lower-ranking knight order, he was a sub-captain.

On the other hand, Dante was just a knight in name from the empty shell of Banphelion.

Their social positions were different.

“I told you so. I told you that if you went to a place like Banphelion, you’d ruin your life.”

He provoked Dante with a leisurely expression.

He often did this in the past.

He hated Dante because he had an inferiority complex towards him.

That’s how he’d get revenge for the grudge from their school days.

“Get lost.”

Dante warned him quietly.

His head was already filled with the day’s events.

Dante didn’t want to deal with him.

But his warning only annoyed Bolanz.

“Get lost? Who do you think you are, giving me orders? Do you think this is still boarding school?”

Bolanz glared at him.

“You dare give me orders, you fallen house knight. No way. I won’t be satisfied unless the master comes and begs me on his knees.”

Bolanz taunted him provocatively.

“That’s three.”

At some point, Dante had drawn his sword and was pointing it at his neck.

“I’ve tolerated you three times when it comes to me.”

Dante’s icy eyes flashed.

“But I can’t tolerate you insulting Sir Aslan even once.”

His quick sword was still as fast as ever.

Bolanz’s eyes could barely keep up with it.

But Bolanz only laughed scornfully.

“Are you drawing your sword on me?”

At that moment, several swords were pointed at Dante.

Bolanz’s men had all drawn their swords after him.

“Hey, follow me.”

In the heated atmosphere of the tavern,

Bolanz gestured, and Dante rose from his seat.

As they all left, the atmosphere in the tavern finally lightened up a bit.

“That was intense.”

“Phew, I thought I was going to lose my appetite.”

“Wasn’t that Glysys just now?”

“Who was that guy he was arguing with?”

The tavern was bustling again.

Meanwhile, a white-haired man stood up from his seat.

No one in the tavern noticed until he had quietly gone outside.