The resonant, repetitive echoes of steel slicing the air reverberated through every corner of the training chamber. A single young man stood silently in the centre, his arm trembling while heavy beads of sweat dripped down his perfectly outlined face. Pushing through the pain, the handsome man continued his repeated movement until his arms finally gave way, and he dropped the heavy training blade.
The clang of metal broke the chamber’s chilling silence, not that anyone was present to hear it.
Dropping to his knees, the young man hastily wiped the sweat that impaired his vision. His heart was pounding rapidly as he steadied himself, breaking his killer focus on his training. His palms and fingers were now covered in calluses and blisters, while his entire body was drenched in grime and sweat. His muscles were burning from the repeated swings, and they were shaking violently from pain.
Yet, the young man didn’t feel the desire to quit.
Not when there was a memory haunting his dreams.
Leon blurted out, disgusted with himself. Biting on the bottom half of his lips, the future hero of Hyades spat out a mouthful of blood.
Visions of the moment when the Blood Demon’s crimson blade shattered and pierced Amon’s body remained fresh in his mind, breaking his peaceful slumber for days. The fight with the Blood Demon was brutal; no one questioned or blamed Leon’s capabilities for that fight.
However, Amon did all the heavy lifting. He single-handedly neutralised the Blood Demon in a place where neither Leon nor the legendary Horus Solaris, known worldwide as the Knight of the Morning Star, couldn’t reach.
Therefore, no one would blame Leon for doing less than he should have.
"I was tasked to destroy the blade… and can’t even do that right."
Amon found the Blood Demon, fought with it, and ultimately killed it. However, amid the battle, Amon trusted Leon to destroy the blade that acted as the medium for its power. And in all fairness, Leon did destroy the blade. But, in his moment of weakness, Leon allowed a splinter to break free and corrupt Amon’s body.
If not for Amon’s indomitable will and innate abilities, Leon’s blunder could have killed the one he called his friend and mentor.
That was the cause of Leon’s nightmares… and his desperation.
Ever since he summoned Ascalon, Leon was hailed as a hero—the future of the Solaris House and the saviour of mankind. But, without the Holy Blade, what was he?
A mere squire who couldn’t even save his master.
Deep down, he knew that the only reason why Amon trusted him so much was because of the Holy Blade. He may have been a knight with slightly more talent without that weapon, but that was about it. Leon was just another dispensable Knight of the Solaris House if he couldn’t use the Holy Blade.
And that wasn’t enough for the young hero.
Taking just a few seconds to regain himself, Leon reached out to the heavy training blade and lifted it again. He had been practising the same swing for hours and showed no signs of stopping. No, he was determined to master that swing, even if it cost his arms.
No one would be at risk due to his incompetence any longer.
As Leon continued swinging his blade, he felt his consciousness fade as he dived deep into the zone. His sword continued its repetitive movement as if it had become an extension of his body. Leon saw his entire body repeating the same movement in his subconscious like a clockwork machine. The precision in his blows was improving drastically until it had reached perfection.
It was a goal that he yearned to reach, but he knew he wasn’t quite there yet.
And it wasn’t just that swing.
Every martial art Leon had ever learnt was reflected in this empty zone in his mind: the imperfect movement he currently used, its most pristine form, and finally, the wall he had to cross to reach it.
Leon was seeing it all in his hand, and instinctively, he knew what to do.
In his trance, Leon didn’t realise that two individuals had entered his chamber. The pair didn’t breathe a word. They likely didn’t even breathe because of how quiet they were. But they were present and watching Leon with hawkish eyes.
"He’s breaking through."
Amon whispered with a broad smile.
"What a monster," Alrock smiled as well, his pearly white teeth unable to hide his glee and pride. "How old is he? Sixteen? To take the first step into martial arts perfection!"
Crossing a wall in martial arts was one of the hardest things to do as a Knight. Yes, cultivation and honing mana was difficult, but the wall of martial arts was a threshold that few could ever pass in their lives. It relied solely on a person’s comprehension ability and willingness to dive into the abyss of their minds.
There was a reason why it was called a wall in the progression of martial arts. Few would ever reach it, and even fewer people could cross the barrier to perfection.
However, if they cross the wall… their martial arts would take the first step into perfection.
Any new skill they learn could be mastered quickly, and they would be able to pinpoint any flaws in their martial arts. Amon had fully expected Leon to reach this level, but he hadn’t anticipated that it would come this quickly. His efforts in training the young lad had paid off, bringing a warm smile to his face.
Amon blurted out his true thoughts unknowingly.
Usually, that wouldn’t be a problem, but Amon had company this time. Alrock looked down at the young man, standing comfortably with his back leaned against a wall. It was ludicrous to hear Amon call Leon a genius, not knowing what the whole world thought of him.
’If Leon is a genius, what are you, young’un? At eighteen, you’re already a martial arts savant.’
Alrock mentally scoffed while bottling his feelings of disgust.
Leon crossing the martial arts wall was shocking enough, but Amon being a master was absurd and borderline fictional. As if there wasn’t a wall for him to cross in the first place, Amon’s martial arts had always reached perfection. Any movement or skill he learnt would be mastered the same day, and sometimes, Amon would find ways to improve the age-old martial arts he’d learnt.
It was a point of envy for many, the Solaris Lord included.
Of course, they didn’t know that Amon was on his second life, so they could only see him as the absolute monster who became the greatest genius in modern history.
"Young’un, I’m sorry to keep bothering you."
"Hmmm, what do you mean?"
"Although Leon will graduate as your squire soon, we still intend to let him train with you. With your new responsibility as the lead of this new unit, you’ll have less time to train him. If you’d like, I can arrange for Horus to take over as we planned to do so originally."
Alrock posed an essential question while waiting for Leon to complete his breakthrough.
While Alrock was the leader of the new task force, it was only in name. Everyone knew Amon would be given free reign to do as he pleased. However, this meant the young Knight would take on more roles and responsibilities, heavily limiting his time to train Leon.
Alas, Amon didn’t see it the same way.
"It’s alright. Leon said he wished to be my squire, so I must respect his decision. Even with him graduating, I believe there are many things I have yet to teach him. Also, I’ve been training him well, don’t you think?"
"If that’s what you think, then I won’t persuade you."
If Alrock had asked this question a few weeks back, Amon would have accepted that offer. But as he started fostering a master-disciple relationship with Leon, Amon genuinely believed he was the best mentor for the future hero.
Particularly after the events of the Blood Demon.
’If Leon was under my tutelage, I could guide him through the future events, advancing his growth rapidly.’
After experiencing the power of the Blood Demon head-on, Amon realised he was walking on thin ice. The Calamities he’ll face were many times more dangerous than the Blood Demon, and there was no guarantee that his preparations would be enough.
For Hyades to be saved, Leon had to grow as the hero. He also needed to gather the future heroes to join Leon’s journey and nurture them into greats earlier than scheduled.
That’s why the unit was formed with the exception that they could gather talents from outside the Solaris House.
’The Saintess of the Holy Church will be easy to convince. It’s the others that will prove to be challenging.’
In [Bright], Leon was joined by several great geniuses who helped him on his hero journey. Ellahan Araquiel, the future Saintess of the Holy Church, was a no-brainer. Leon’s childhood friend and lover, she would eventually join the young hero no matter what.
Amon’s creation of this task squad to hunt the Demon Cult only accelerated the timeline.
Then, there were the talents from within the Solaris House. Gale, Adelia and Rufus served as Leon’s vanguard, loyally following him into battle without hesitation in their hearts. They were unquestionably joining the task force and would also be trained personally by Amon. The rıghtful source is n0velfire.net
However, others were outside the Solaris House that were omnipresent in [Bright] but have yet to reveal themselves.
The Archwizard known to be the master of all magic. The God Archer with an eye that could snipe a thousand miles away. And the Sky Spear, a monster that could act as a one-man army.
They were all prodigies that would assist Leon in the future.
Due to their similar age and outrageous talents, many dubbed them the Generation of Luminaries. This gathering of geniuses surpassed anything before in history and was humanity’s greatest weapon against the Demon Cult.
And Amon intended to bring them all together ahead of schedule.
"So to gather those talents you mentioned… we will have to head to the Zephys, right?"
"Yes," Amon nodded solemnly.
"We’ll also have to convince the Senate of the Demon Cult’s existence. Honestly, I don’t want to return to that suffocating place again."
Alrock showed signs of fatigue as he recalled the capital city of the Hyades Republic. He had been there many times before, but at the same time, he wasn’t all that keen on returning. For most people, going to the capital of the Hyades Republic could be a sightseeing adventure or a joyful excursion to witness the majesty of human innovation.
But for the Solaris Lord, it was to enter a web of politics and superficial courtesy.
Alrock wouldn’t want to step foot in that cesspool again if not for Amon’s request.
"Unfortunately, I won’t be able to join you for another three months. Will you be alright?"
"Don’t worry, I intend to take the long way up to the capital. Also, it will give us plenty of time to create our independent unit."
Alrock raised his brow at the young Knight’s declaration but ultimately chose not to address it. Amon had never once betrayed his expectations, so he had to have some reason for his long detour.
And, of course, Amon wasn’t going on a sightseeing adventure.
’The Foolish Lich… I’ll take this opportunity to deal with it.’