The Emperor proceeded into the banquet hall. Not unlike his son, he had fierce blue eyes and jet black hair. To Lucia, he appeared similar to an older Keitel. The poise and charisma of the Emperor drew everyone's eyes towards him. As he ascended to his throne, the crowd bowed their heads. The officials whose sons were also celebrating their entry into the knight's school gathered around. At once they began to talk eagerly trying to make an impression. With a gesture of his wrist, the Emperor silenced the crowd.
"Let us not talk of business. Today is for our children. Continue the celebration"
The music began and the crowd began to dissipate.
"Where is my son?" the Emperor called to his aide.
Keitel stepped forward.
"I am here, your Majesty", Keitel bowed his head. The Emperor motioned for Keitel to come closer. They stood close enough so that only Keitel could hear the Emperor's words
"I hear you've been made troop leader?", The Emperor's piercing gaze fell on Keitel.
"Yes, Father", Keitel answered unflinchingly. He knew what was coming.
"Despite your failure in the second round"
Keitel met his father's eye.
"Yes, that's right"
"It seems they went easy on you. Or were you just that complacent?", The cold sting of the Emperor's words hung in the silence between them. After a pause, Keitel answered.
"I was complacent", Keitel responded in a flat voice. He knew no matter what answer he gave, his father wouldn't have accepted anything other than the two choices he had offered. If the blame fell on anyone else, no doubt they would have been punished severely.
The corner of the Emperor's mouth curled into a sarcastic smile.
"You dare be complacent?", The Emperor snarled under his breath. Keitel stood his ground. He stood expressionless, his eyes bent toward the ground. The Emperor rose from the throne and placed his hand tightly on his son's shoulder.
"Your brother comes of age this year. Let's see how long you keep up that arrogance", the Emperor uttered as he made his way across the room. Keitel stood rigidly still for a moment. The dark-haired girl approached him. Leila placed a hand on his back.
"What did he say?", She whispered. Keitel let out a sigh.
"What he always says", he answered. With that, he made his way out of the ballroom.
Lucia watched Keitel make his way across the room. As he passed, their eyes met for a moment. Neither said anything. Lucia couldn't help but think,
"So even he can make a face like that".
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Once the excitement of the entrance ceremony had passed, the troops began their basic training. The first few weeks flew past with hardly any sight of Captain Albaric. The daily finally came to move onto the real training. Captain Albaric arranged to meet the students on the training ground.
The troops had been standing in line for over 10 minutes. Albaric had not arrived.
Peter stood with them, arms crossed as he paced impatiently. Albaric came running from across the training field. He smiled apologetically as he passed Peter.
"Ah... Good Morning troops! Today we begin training. The focus of your training, in the beginning, will be strength and then mana focus. Though I was looking forward to overseeing your training. For the moment, that will have to wait", he glanced waywardly to Peter.
"I am on active duty as of today. I will be gone for two months. So, in my stead, you will have a guest coming to oversee your training. Until then...ah, troop leader!" Albaric gestured for Keitel to come forward. He placed his hands on Keitel's shoulders. Keitel eyed him warily.
"You lead the training. Yes and Peter will assist you", Albaric said, turning Keitel toward the rest of the troops. Peter's eyes narrowed. Albaric clasped his hands together gratefully and motioned to Peter. Peter's face wrinkled in astoundment. Albaric ducked behind Keitel and took off speedily. Peter cleared his throat.
"Well, you heard him", he exhaled an exasperated breath, " The guests will arrive soon. Just warm up for now".
Keitel led the group directed the group towards the training field and they began warming up.
"What's going on?" Michael asked breathlessly as they ran around the training field.
"Something's up. I wonder who the guest is?", DB responded unphased by the exercise. Lucia followed a pace behind. The events of the morning had been strange. What's more, was the atmosphere around the Knight's barracks over the past week.
There was an uneasiness in the air. The Senior knights were on high alert it seemed. Knight's had been rushing around all morning. Lucia sensed something was wrong. She scanned her mind over the events of her past life. She could hardly remember the years before she became a knight. Off at Ramelle's academy, news of the empire had hardly reached her. Whatever it was, the Empire would have kept a tight lease on it. Like they did with all matters. She had made the right decision to come here. She was closer than she had ever been to their secrets.
The students set off in pairs to spar. Lucia hadn't made much effort to get to know the others in her troop. The fact she knew Michael and DB seemed to work enough. As a result, when it came to pairing all the other students quickly buddied off. Lucia was left alone. Keitel approached reluctantly.
"I guess it's the two of us", He said finally. Victor had always had a way with others. He had been swiped up before Keitel had the chance. Not to mention, that the rest of the students were too intimidated to work with a Prince. He had been left with this boy again.
Lucia made her way toward him. Once they had all been given training swords and armor, they began the session. Neither Lucia nor Keitel wanted to be the first to speak. However, after they had been sparring for a while, Keitel felt a storm brewing in his mind. Although the entrance exam battle had left him annoyed and injured, it had also been thrilling. He had never felt challenged with anyone besides his master. He had thought about the battle a lot since. He had become even more curious about his rival. Why had Luca come to the Empire? Where had he learnt to fight? The Empire fighting style was the reason not many made it into the knight's academy. It was the only style of combat that used mana in battle. Not many nations outside the empire had the skill to use it in battle.
"Where did you learn to fight?" Keitel questioned.
"I had a cousin who lived in the Empire. They taught me", Lucia answered.
She had carefully scripted the answer before coming to the Empire. She could hardly say the truth. That she had only awakened her mana recently. Or that She had spent years in her past life developing the style. She concocted the story because it was rare to use mana in combat in Ramelle. It only became a necessity after the rise in monster attacks. But that was years off. The story of the cousin from the Empire was a better fit.
"I see", Keitel answered. Despite not finding any dirt on Luca, he still did not trust him. He was hiding something. Keitel could sense it.
"Do many people use mana combat in Ramelle?"
"No", Lucia stopped, "Who said I was from Ramelle?"
Keitel stared back at her unwaveringly.
"I heard it from a friend", he replied nonchalantly. Lucia continued sparring. Was he keeping tabs on her?
"What about you?" she queried, "Who taught you to fight? Was it really the sword saint?"
"It was years ago, I received some training from him, yes".
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Meanwhile, as the students sparred there was a commotion in the royal palace.
A knight in black was causing a stir. He hadn't been back to the capital in years. Not since his fall out with the court. The Emperor must be desperate to have summoned him back after all this time.
He made his way to the throne room. The court was still in session when he arrived. The lords were squabbling over their petty affairs as usual. They surveyed suspiciously as he made his way to the Emperor. The knight took his bow and addressed the Emperor.
"I have returned, your Majesty".
"The rest of you leave us", The Emperor commanded. Once alone, he beckoned him over to the council chamber.
"Thank you for coming, Valentus", The Emperor said gravely.
"Of course"
"It is as we have feared", The Emperor lay a hand on the map, "Here".
The Emperor gestured to a point marked out on the map.
"How long ago was it discovered?" Valentus inquired.
"Only a few weeks ago. At the moment, the royal mages are examining it"
"Another Demon's Door, right here in the homeland", Valentus exhaled soberly.
"You sealed the last door", the Emperor intreated him, "You may have to do it again"
"I'm not what I used to be. I don't know if I have the strength to do it again"
"If it's anything like the last door, we'll have time. The knights will need your guidance to face what is to come. I need you here, Sword Saint", the Emperor implored.
Valentus did not take the Emperor's words lightly. He left with a heavy heart. After the last great battle, he had sworn he would retire. That battle had taken everything from him. He had left a piece of his soul behind that day. And all for what? For another door to be found? Now was he to lead another group of young men towards the same destiny?
It was nearly the afternoon before the guest arrived. A knight appeared in full armor. The sun hit the shining black metal catching the student's eyes. The knight made their way toward them. He had a great lumbering stature. His aura drew everyone's attention. The mana he emitted made the air heavy with tension. His greatsword glinted boldly from his hand. As he sheathed the sword, the students stopped dead in their tracks.
"That sword!", A student gasped, "It's the Ogre-slayer".
"Then he must be..", Another interjected excitedly.
Keitel bowed his head to the knight.
"Master", Keitel said, surprised, "What are you doing here?"
The knight slowly removed his helmet. He ran a hand through his blonde hair. He had stern brown eyes with a scar running across his face. The students recognized him instantly.
"It's the sword saint!" The students gathered around enthusiastically, "Is he here to teach us?!"
The sword saint peered down on the students who were staring up at him anxiously.
"WELL, let's see what we're working with", He scanned the students, "Are you leading this troop, boy?"
"Yes, Sir", Keitel answered.
"Good. Then you know the drill. We'll do it like the old days. Bring out a target".
They quickly brought out the armored dummies. The sword saint began the demonstration. He stood ten paces back from the dummy. He held the Ogre-slayer in one hand. With a flicker of his wrist, a strike pulsed across the distance between him and the target. It sliced the target cleanly in two.
"Mana manipulation. It is the fundamental component of the Empire combat style", the sword saint explained. He held his sword out in front of him, the sword appeared to glow. The air vibrated around the blade, it spread until all the students could feel the air tremble. The students watched, enraptured.
"Do you feel that?" the sword saint continued, "The mana in the air is resonating. It's all around us". The energy surged through the group. The sword saint lowered his sword.
"Everyone develops some level of mana consciousness over their life. What separates the masters from the rest of the population is how we control it. We're not like the mages. We don't have decades to study every single mana use we come across. Our focus is combat. So how do we achieve this?" He opened the question to the students.
Victor raised his hand.
"We focus on physical training. We can reinforce the body, which allows us to hold more mana"
"That is the bare minimum you should aim for. Mana is pure life energy. Its use has as much to with the soul as it does the body. You shape the mana you emit. It is an extension of your will", the sword saint paced the length of the group.
"I'll give another demonstration", He announced.
He paused and looked sternly over the students. An immense pressure sent a shock wave over the group. They all felt a cold sweat. Several bent under the relentless pressure. When it became apparent more were close to collapse, the sword saint relented.
"Before the body, the sword and all else, the real essence of mana combat is a battle of will", He stated.
"For this reason, you should consider which magic attribution matches your mana the closest. It will be the easiest to learn in the beginning. Since Magic is the form mana takes in combat, You need to become familiar with at least one", He concluded.
Michael raised his hand.
"Sir, how do we know what school of magic will best fit our mana?"
" All you need to work on right now is gathering and expanding your mana. Follow your instinct and the rest will come naturally".
He set the students to work. As they began, Peter stepped towards him.
"Is it true?", he asked in a low voice.
Valentus nodded.
"Dark times are upon us".