"Tylus is dead."

“───!!”

In the dimly lit room, an old man seated at the head of the round table muttered those words. Upon hearing them, the knights sitting in the other seats each showed signs of shock. Gathered in that room were the Five Heavenly Swords, the warriors honored with the title of the strongest in the Shade-End Empire. Among them, a young man seated in the fifth seat at the lower end of the table was visibly shaken.

“T-The Second Sword, Lord Tylus, has been defeated...? I-Is that true?”

“Yes, there is no mistake in the report. It has been confirmed that Tylus perished in a small-scale labyrinth within the labyrinthine mines of Chronostaria.”

“T-That can't be...”

Cutting through the young man's words, which sounded more like a wish than a statement, the old man let out a deep sigh. Without a hint of sympathy for the exhaustion in his demeanor, the massive knight seated shallowly in the third seat spoke.

“Who killed him? This mission should not have contained any elements that could have led to his death. Cleaning up after Haydenrott, assassinating a noble child of the kingdom... That was all, wasn’t it? Where did he slip up?”

The massive knight’s words were reasonable. For someone to kill Tylus, the second strongest among the Five Heavenly Swords, the only conceivable suspects would be among the Seven Peerless Swords of the kingdom. And even among them, only a master like Infernal Emperor of Flames, Gilflare Ashflame, could have done the deed. However, there had been no reports that Gilflare had intervened in this matter.

Then who had taken him down?

To the massive knight, this was an utterly baffling development. As if to dispel even a fraction of his confusion, the old man spoke once more.

“He was killed by that noble child.”

“What?! That joke has gone too far! Even if he is a student at the Magic Sword Academy, there shouldn't be anyone at that age capable of defeating Tylus—”

“But there is. Completely and utterly terrifying... Claym Bradley. He far exceeds our imagination.”

The fact that the assassination target had turned the tables was undeniable. For those who prided themselves as the strongest in the empire, this was beyond infuriating—it was an insult to their pride. And yet, rather than exploding in anger, the Five Heavenly Swords present in the room fell into a heavy silence.

Even as the strongest knights of the empire, they were merely blades wielded by their master—nothing more than pawns. The repercussions of this failure would inevitably fall upon them. But more than anything, their greatest concern at this moment was their master’s reaction.

“What did our lord say?”

The female knight seated in the fourth seat asked cautiously.

For them, the word "lord" no longer referred to Emperor Shade-End. No, ever since six years ago, their master had been none other than the guardian dragon of this nation, Shadow Dragon Scarshade. At first, they had considered it an honor to serve a transcendent being who looked down upon the world from above, but that feeling had quickly faded.

“Nothing in particular... He does not seem displeased over the failure of this mission. If anything—”

The old man's next words were unexpected. The female knight, dumbfounded, slowly inquired further.

“If anything...?”

“If anything, our lord was oddly pleased with this outcome.”

“What?! A comrade has been killed! What is that dragon thinking—”

“—Mind your words! You are being disrespectful to our lord!”

As if reacting reflexively, the massive knight shot up from his seat in fury, but the old man’s stern rebuke cut him off.

All of them felt the same way. Why was their lord pleased with this outcome? The thoughts of a transcendent being like the dragon were utterly incomprehensible to mere lower creatures such as themselves. Seeing the knights' lingering frustration, the old man continued, as if to pacify them.

“I understand how you feel. But this, too, is fate. We can only say that Tylus was unfortunate.”

“Damn it...!!”

“A-And... What is His Majesty’s decision on this matter...?”

Cautiously, the young man in the fifth seat raised his hand and spoke. As expected, the old man, who played the role of mediator, answered.

“Considering this incident, the kingdom will likely seek an explanation soon. In preparation, an order has been given to shut down all trade routes and border checkpoints.”

“Does that mean...”

“Furthermore, our lord has finally decided to take action.”

“That means...”

The knights of the round table turned their eyes to the old man in disbelief. Under their gaze, he solemnly continued.

“Soon, our lord will make his move to seize the princess. In other words, war.”

“────”

Silence fell abruptly. None of them could react to the old man's words. They doubted their ears, wondering if it was some kind of joke.

However, the pained expression on the old man's face told them everything. This was reality. Without any further discussion, one by one, the strongest warriors of the empire, the Five Heavenly Swords, left the room.

At this point, the title of "strongest" was nothing more than an empty name. They were no more than disposable pawns—this was a moment that made them realize it once again.