I had that dream again.

I watched the whole world get swept away by a tide of mutated beasts.

Today, there was one difference.

When the beast army reached the walls of Astrion.

【"Congratulations."】

"Dreaming Thunder Star?"

Blue starlight poured down through the dark-red clouds.

The surrounding beasts were frozen, as if time itself had stopped, unable to do anything.

【"You worked hard. You’re already at Stage 3."】

Five years had passed, and “already”?

I wanted to point it out, but since this was a matter of my soul, I held it in.

Needless friction was inefficient.

The reward for my restrained emotions came at once.

【"For a month or two, you won’t be hearing my voice."】

It was absurdly wonderful news.

"Are you saying you won’t be opening the new stage of this ‘Hero’s Journey’?"

I asked, forcing down a smile.

【"You’ll need time to solidify your foundation, too."】

The right answer came back.

Reorganizing my army, redefining my relationship with the adopted heirs who could rise up again at any time, and cleaning up the power vacuum created by Traysan’s fall.

There was too much that felt like it would ruin everything if I tried to run it in parallel with the Hero’s Journey.

【"And I need to think a little more about what kind of task I should give you, too."】

"What?"

【"To be honest, I thought you might switch sides to Traysan midway through."】

I see.

A perfectly accurate observation.

I didn’t even pretend to be surprised.

【"Was it because of familial affection?"】

I let out a shallow breath.

The unit that made it easy to build up my forces.

The task that told me to become an adopted heir and claim authority on par with the main line.

They were all organizations specialized for rebellion rather than loyalty.

Most decisively, during the Demon King Hunt, Traysan was the Demon King I had designated.

That was when I became certain the target could be changed.

I could even guess what the original target had been.

"There were many reasons, but in the end, that option was simply more realistic."

I raised my head.

【"That sounds like you."】

"Perfect betrayal is harder than perfect loyalty. If you can’t do it properly, you shouldn’t even start."

There were many reasons I followed Andromeda.

I was human, and my heart wavered at the affection she’d given me.

And because Traysan kept checking me, there was never a timing window even if I wanted to switch sides.

With no way of knowing how many years this Hero’s Journey would continue, I didn’t think taking the position of a defector would be advantageous in the long run.

And most of all, I resembled Traysan.

If I helped Traysan and struck down Andromeda, it was obvious what the next target would be.

Traysan would have anticipated that much.

【"I’m glad I chose you."】

The Stellar Seat let out a distant laugh.

Ha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha. Ha.

【"It was unexpected behavior, but I handed out two Stigmas in a single era because I wanted unexpected results."】

Just hearing that cheerful voice, strangely, made my heart feel at ease.

So that’s how it was.

The great Stellar Seat, The Dreaming Thunder Star, was telling me my choice had been the right one.

【Basic Perks】

【1. Celestial Lightning Body: 1,750%】

【Lightning arts training efficiency increased】

A string of text surfaced in my vision.

【2. Whispered Transmission】

【Able to converse with the Stellar Seat through the Stigma】

【True-Energy Guidance: 15%】

【Stellar Seat provides mana support when using Authority】

【Aura-Carried Voice Transmission】

【Assists in using the Stellar Seat’s Authority】

Every perk I had received so far flashed past.

【Deepening Perks】

【Lightning Strike (Authority)】

【Area Imbuement (Authority)】

【Electromagnetic Cannon {Available (72 hours)}】

I understood what it meant.

【Hero’s Journey Stage 12】

【Stage 1: Adopted Heir】

【Stage 2: Lord】

【Stage 3: Hero】

【Stage 4: ??? (Locked)】

A month or two.

It wasn’t actually that long.

Each stage had taken years to resolve.

But these month or two—I had to push them forward with my own initiative alone.

As someone who knew what the mutated beasts truly were.

As someone who had won against a Senior Adopted Heir.

As someone who had lived through the collusion between the royal family and House Rikenta.

To do that, there was something I needed to do.

As soon as I reached that thought, I woke up from the dream.

The sensation of abruptly surging up to the surface.

【"I’ll give you a gift, so use it well."】

At the very last moment, I heard the Dreaming Thunder Star’s voice.

"A gift?"

I opened my eyes, reaching a hand toward the ceiling.

"Huh?"

On the bedside table, there was a luxurious leather eyepatch.

From the texture, it seemed to come from a life-form of an unmistakably higher order than a drake, but I had no idea what it was.

For a moment, the word dragon flashed through my head.

No way.

On the inner face of the eyepatch, incomprehensible geometric figures and strings of text were engraved in dense rows.

I had learned that script.

"An empire?"

Not our Empire of Stars.

This was the magic of an ancient evil empire that had fallen thousands of years ago.

A country ruled by the tyrant of legend, the Dragonkin Emperor, until it was destroyed by the wrath of the stars.

I stared at the eyepatch.

Why would The Dreaming Thunder Star—who had blessed the founders of the great houses and brought down that ancient evil empire—give me a magi-device from that era?

Whatever it was, the delicacy of the strings engraved into it was beyond comparison with the engravings on my gauntlets.

The eyepatch was as beautiful as a work of art, and incredibly light.

When I lightly touched it, a string of text rose like a mirage.

Humm.

“Sturdiness,” “Discharge,” “Water and Fire Resistance,” “Lock,” “Ventilation.”

It told me what kind of engravings—no, what kind of magic—had been placed onto this eyepatch.

"No way."

My jaw fell open.

In all my life, I’d never even heard of engraving leather.

Even “Boots of Engraving Reinforcement” had their engravings carved into metal plates inserted between layers of leather.

Then again, calmly doing the impossible was exactly what made it a Stellar Seat.

Setting aside the transcendent nature of the craft, the engravings themselves were all ones I recognized.

“Lock,” in particular, delighted me.

Whether you tied it or locked it—anything that “closed” with that engraving on it wouldn’t open from ordinary external shocks.

It meant the strap wouldn’t come undone by accident.

Letting out a hollow laugh, I put on the eyepatch.

At least I won’t need to place a separate order for a magi-device eyepatch.

"Please take care of me."

"Please take care of me!"

The Sub-patriarch’s private training ground.

I faced Andromeda.

I’d been briefly dazed by the eyepatch, but the “thing I needed to do” I’d thought of before the Stellar Seat hadn’t changed.

Rumble!

With a wooden practice sword—an federschwert—in one hand, and lightning gathered into the other, I charged.

Accumulating force.

No matter how important conversation was, every conversation in House Astreos began with the sword.

The same was true outside House Astreos.

Rumble!

"Oh! Fast, fast!"

Andromeda took Thunder-Step backward and gathered mana at the same time.

Pajijijik!

With light so bright it almost brought tears, blue electrical sparks overflowed from her left hand and shot out.

Discharge.

You couldn’t look down on it just because it was a basic Authority.

"Hup!"

A direct-line heir’s Discharge was at least as strong as my guided lightning.

An attack that, a few years ago, I would’ve dodged by rolling across the ground.

Chijijijik!

Not anymore.

Discharge.

I fired Discharge right back, canceling out Andromeda’s lightning.

Pajijik, pijik!

In midair, white lightning and blue lightning collided, pushing and yielding in turns.

It was heavy.

My breath caught in my throat.

But I wasn’t being crushed.

Five years since receiving a Stigma from the Dreaming Thunder Star.

It was a fight.

I could face a direct-line heir with lightning arts, someone I hadn’t even been able to look up at before.

"My little brother’s mana really shot up! At this point, we can spar with lightning arts only!"

Andromeda exclaimed.

"One more! Block it!"

I was glad I didn’t need to shout, “Wait a second!”

Ruuuumble!

High above, blue flames flickered in the clouds.

In midair, I brushed out a guided lightning shot and fired it into the clouds.

Flash!

The lightning bolt that had been about to spear down into me rode the guided lightning back up into the sky.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

With successive Thunder-Steps, I cut off the Discharge.

I leapt to Andromeda’s flank.

"Ah!"

She spun urgently, but even before, she was never my match in swordsmanship.

Humm!

And now, with my Bio-radar honed even further.

I could infer the next move of most swordsmen just by watching the outline shown on Bio-radar.

It was thanks to the training where I predicted Rikenta’s “Wind Blades.”

Linked Thunder (21).

Tadadadadang!

I unleashed twenty-one consecutive thrusts.

Andromeda scrambled and barely retreated.

Over her head, electrical sparks sprayed wildly.

It looked like her concentration had slipped, leaving her unable to properly unfold her Authority.

On Bio-radar, the white mass of her outline looked like it was forming a disc and swirling.

It isn’t scattered?

I immediately threw myself to the ground.

Kwaaaanng!

A dizzying shockwave and pale-blue heat grazed over my head.

"You dodged?"

Andromeda gaped, stunned.

Cold sweat broke out.

I almost died.

Was that deliberate?

She wasn’t trying to purge me, right?

Crushing down the suspicion, I pushed myself up.

Thud.

I pressed the wooden practice sword to Andromeda’s neck.

"I win."

"I surrender!"

With a theatrical sigh, Andromeda raised both hands.

"What was that supposed to be? No—what was that supposed to be?"

We sat on a bench, drinking iced lemon-honey water, and replayed the spar.

"It’s called Heavenly Thunderburst—it's the original version of what you used back then, Heavenly Thunderclap. It doesn’t use lightning itself. It uses sound and heat. Did you notice?"

Andromeda fidgeted, oddly out of place.

"Uh, sorry. I didn’t know it would be that strong. I really cut the power a lot. Seriously."

Judging by her helpless, wavering eyes, it didn’t seem like a lie.

"You dodged, so it’s fine."

It was a relief.

"Thank goodness."

Andromeda wrapped a hand around my shoulder and leaned her forehead against me.

I felt the same.

So it wasn’t a purge.

"If it hits for real, it feels like it could take someone out in one shot. Why didn’t I know about an Authority that strong?"

With my unease gone, curiosity raised its head.

"You’re supposed to use it together with Lightning Strike."

Andromeda began explaining with excitement.

"When you use Lightning Strike, you get thunder too, right? It was an attempt to make use of that power as well. You know how you can spin the thunder-energy up and down in the clouds to raise the output, right?"

"Yeah."

"You control it properly, drop the Lightning Strike, then guide all that heat and shockwave so it bursts out in a single direction. It’s a combo. Got it?"

Can a person guide that?

As a mere human, the thought came naturally.

And the next thought that followed felt like proof that I’d stopped being a mere human.

I wanted to try it too.

"Could you teach me next time?"

I asked, watching Andromeda’s face.

Asking someone to teach you an Authority was a massive insult.

"Of course! Your big sister will teach you everything!"

Andromeda answered boldly, like it had never been rude to begin with.

"Now wash up and get ready to head down. We’ve got a ball tonight."

"Ah, right."

"Dress well, okay? You’ve gotta escort your big sister properly tonight."

"Of course. I already bought a uniform."

We finished the lemon-honey water and rose from the bench.

I wasn’t the type to enjoy balls in the first place, but tonight, I had to go.

It was the celebratory ball for Nereus’s adoption appointment.

I wore a flashy shirt and a uniform stuffed with decorations.

The uniform was black to match the eyepatch, but it was embroidered with blue thread and studded with silver ornaments everywhere, making it extremely ornate.

It felt painfully awkward on a body that had lived in armor every day, but I thought it was worth it.

"Shall we go, Lady Sub-patriarch?"

"Gladly, my little brother."

Andromeda wore a vivid blue dress and draped a voluminous shawl over her shoulders.

Unlike a typical empire dress, it clung tightly to her silhouette, with a long side slit.

It suited her hairstyle too—bangs cut to cover her forehead.

White fox fur and several jewels added elegance to her usual sharp clarity.

"‘Lightning Blade’ Kyrie of Astrion Astreos and Lady Sub-patriarch Andromeda enter!"

I linked arms with her and stepped into the ballroom.

"When Traysan was the Senior Adopted Heir, he didn’t even hold hands. Now you can see the favoritism plain as day."

"He raised him himself, and he even rescued her. Of course it would be, but still—this is a very clear signal."

"Still, there won’t be a great purge. Isn’t this the ball celebrating young master Tonatio’s adoption into the family? It sounds like she won’t be touching the adopted-heir system itself."

The capital’s nobles and the Blue Knights murmured.

"Still, Kyrie’s a sight to see. Starting as an orphan from the red-light district, and now he’s escorting the Sub-patriarch after pushing aside the Senior Adopted Heir."

"A Physical-Defect Vow alone wouldn’t let you stand there. It must’ve taken bone-grinding effort—and challenges without fear of falling."

"Don’t offer your eyes. A prosthetic arm comes out better."

The looks aimed at me were unexpectedly gentle.

Maybe that was only natural.

It was fairly enjoyable.

"Kyrie?"

"Congratulations, Nereus."

I went to greet the star of the ball first.

He’d slicked down his rough hair with oil and stood there in ceremonial robes, smiling awkwardly.

He looked so savage on the battlefield, and yet here he was, clumsy and helpless.

"My little brother."

I put the reason I’d come into practice.

"What?"

"I hear adopted heirs are assigned their shares by the order they’re entered into the family. Come on—call me your older brother."

I’d really wanted to say that.

"Y-you, you, you!"

Horror rose on Nereus’s face.

At my side, Andromeda burst into roaring laughter.

Chapter 129

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