Chapter 14
"Pardon? I think I misheard you..."
[I told you to become the Patriarch of Luncay.]
Micheal dug at his ear. There were limits to how much nonsense one should talk.
Not only was it impossible for an outsider like himself to become the head of the family, but he also had no desire to take on such a headache-inducing position. Wouldn't it be more productive to spend that time training?
Micheal spoke firmly.
"I refuse."
[What?]
"What’s so good about being a Patriarch? You just have to deal with all the troublesome stuff. Besides, I have absolutely no relation to the Luncay family."
[Then why are you even here?]
At those words, Micheal remembered something he had forgotten. Cailan had entered his body back at the Rappel estate. It was only natural that Cailan didn't know why Micheal was currently staying with the Luncay family.
Micheal briefly explained the situation leading up to now.
[Hmph... Instead of nurturing what they had, they let it crumble like this.]
"To be precise, they did nurture it. It just collapsed after the war."
[Quiet! The result is the same, isn't it!]
It wasn't like the family had completely vanished, so why was he so temperamental? Micheal decided to just let it go. He didn't care whether the family fell or not, but it might be important to the old man.
"Anyway, I just want to focus on training."
The desire to grow stronger—that was everything to Micheal right now.
[Ugh... Still, shouldn't a man lead a clan at least once?]
"I've never really thought about it. And honestly, Luncay isn't in a great spot right now, so why bother?"
[What do you take the Luncay name for! Are you mocking Luncay and its five hundred years of history?!]
"Tch, I wasn't wrong."
While grumbling under his breath, Micheal noticed something strange in Cailan’s words.
"But what do you mean, five hundred years?"
[Carrying the Luncay name means inheriting the Sword of Death.]
According to the explanation that followed, Luncay was an ancient sect that had passed down the "Sword of Death." However, finding someone with talent for it wasn't easy, and Cailan ended up being the last successor. Therefore, instead of searching for a single disciple, he grew the family to preserve the Luncay legacy there.
[However, since those with talent for the Sword of Death are extremely rare, I spent my later years putting all my effort into creating new techniques. Techniques that could be used not only by those who wield the Sword of Death but also by those who use ordinary swords. One of those is the Heaven-Rending Sword.]
Well, he understood that much. Micheal asked something more important—a question he hadn't been able to ask during the continuous battles.
"You've been saying I use the 'Sword of Death' since earlier, but what exactly is that?"
[What? You use the Sword of Death but don't know what it is? Did you not learn it here?]
"I told you, Luncay is completely broke and ruined."
It was a sentiment that would break Kaiden’s heart if he heard it. It seemed Cailan felt the same.
[Sigh... Has everything truly been lost...]
"So, what is the Sword of Death?"
At Micheal's question, Cailan snapped out of it. If those words were true, he needed Micheal even more. Cailan pondered how to explain, then remembered Micheal was from a Necromancer family.
[If magic explores the laws of nature, then Black Magic explores the life and death of humans. Although it has become subdivided and corrupted over time, the fact remains that the origin of Black Magic was to explore human life and death.]
Micheal wondered why he was suddenly talking about magic, but he began to listen intently.
[The same goes for martial arts. It depends on whether you seek the laws of nature or life and death within 'Mu' (Martial Arts). Thus, the realm one reaches when surpassing Master and Grandmaster to arrive at the end of 'Mu' is different. Pick up your sword.]
Micheal did as he was told. Cailan’s energy swept through his body, eventually drawing in an energy filled with yin from the surroundings.
[Everything meets death eventually and is cycled back into life. Life is conceived through death.]
Upon hearing the explanation, Micheal unconsciously moved the energy Cailan had gathered and scattered it onto an unknown small fruit on the floor. Instantly, the fruit began to rot. Soon, a fly landed on it, explored the rotting flesh, and lowered its abdomen. It was preparing to bring forth life.
[Dealing with this cycle of life and death is called Dark Swordsmanship. And...]
Cailan pulled a soul from within Micheal’s body and placed it on the sword. The soul, seemingly finding stability in Cailan’s energy, stayed still on Micheal’s blade without letting out a single ghostly wail. Then, following Cailan’s will, a part of the soul moved and entered the fly sitting on the fruit.
Bzzzzzz—
The fly flew up and landed on the blade. It gave off the same feeling as the soul on the sword.
[The Sword of Death that Luncay has passed down is exactly this.]
Micheal understood what Cailan was trying to say without further explanation.
'So, if Dark Swordsmanship is like Black Magic, the Sword of Death is like Soul Magic.'
Wasn't this perfectly suited for him?
[It seems you're finally interested. If you promise to become the Patriarch, I will take you as my disciple.]
He was interested. The problem was that he didn't want to be the Patriarch, nor was it a position he could just take because he wanted it. Micheal shook his head as if he had no choice.
"Even if I say 'I want to be the Patriarch,' would they just give it to me? I'm not even a blood relative."
[What does blood matter? The Luncay family just needs someone who handles the Sword of Death well.]
"I can't handle it right now."
[Who told you to become the Patriarch right this second? How could someone who just became a 3rd Class aura user lead a family?]
'Oh?' He thought he was being told to do it immediately. Micheal realized he had been under a big misunderstanding. Of course, that didn't mean he wanted to be the Patriarch, but he had something to say.
"Then you'll have to teach me the Sword of Death first, right?"
[...Correct.]
"Then I'll do it."
[...]
Because of his earlier words, Cailan’s trust in him vanished. Anyone could see he just wanted to learn and be done with it.
[You brat! How dare you tell such an obvious lie!]
"It's not a lie. I just don't know when that will be... And what can I do if I really don't want to be something like a Patriarch!"
[Sigh...]
Faced with Micheal's firm attitude, Cailan sighed and pondered. The seal on the soul stone had broken because Micheal could handle souls. The problem was that the person who did it was Micheal, not someone from the Luncay family.
In any case, since he was already inside this body, he only had two choices: coax Micheal along or simply dissipate back into nature. Fortunately, Micheal showed interest in the Sword of Death. Thus, Cailan was forced to offer a new alternative.
[Then let's do this. I won't tell you to be the Patriarch. Instead, just become a member of the Luncay family.]
"Oh, that's fine. Then, your new disciple greets you, Master."
[Right...]
He had received the greeting, but Cailan felt like he was being dragged along somehow.
Kaiden was attending to various duties in his office when he pressed his tired eyes.
"It really never ends."
No, no. He couldn't complain about this. His family had almost been ruined during his generation.
The war with the Rappel family, which had lasted for over a decade, was finally over. Even though Langa was a large city, the two families had been cutting into each other's flesh while fiercely trying to secure influence. The problem was that while Luncay only had its foundation in Langa, Rappel had been receiving continuous funds with the help of central nobles.
That was why they had jumped into developing magic cars to expand the family business. But a new business wasn't that easy. In the meantime, their businesses were taken away one by one, and they almost faced total collapse.
'But to think everything changed after that boy, Micheal, arrived.'
If he hadn't helped Grant in his crisis, or if he hadn't entered Rappel with him, he surely would have lost his son. He had even helped in his own fight against Cain. The battle with Cain had been equal, but the situation was unfavorable.
'If their coordinated formation had been added, I really might have lost.'
He had rushed in without looking back because he thought Grant was in danger, but it was a choice he should never have made as a Patriarch. If he had lost there, it would have truly been the end. A leader of many had moved without thinking. Yet, Micheal had resolved that crisis.
'It's truly unbelievable.'
He wasn't just talking about the matter with the Rappel family. He had been shocked from the moment Micheal first emitted his aura—the energy that spread in all directions out of anger over the matter of Chief Manager Hail and Grant almost dying. In the aura Micheal had hastily pulled up, he felt the scent of Dark Aura.
Among the things the family had sought to protect in the past was Dark Swordsmanship, specifically the Sword of Death. Kaiden remembered something his father had told him a long time ago as a child.
'He said the reason the Founder created the family was to pass down the Sword of Death.'
Because of that, even while the legacy of Dark Swordsmanship was fading in the Empire, at least one person in every generation of the Luncay family learned the Sword of Death—until the war with the Holy Empire. At that time, most of the warriors leading the family lost their lives, and most of the techniques were lost due to a fire in the library.
'If I can just keep that boy, couldn't we rebuild the foundation?'
Though it was lost now, wasn't the Sword of Death the root of the family? After overcoming the immediate crisis of Rappel, he grew greedy for the distant future.
'If I accept him as a trainee...'
Kaiden thought for a moment and shook his head. That wouldn't be enough. He had to hold on tighter. Most importantly, he heard from Grant that Micheal used the Heaven-Rending Flash without any recoil. Kaiden hadn't seen it properly because he was fighting Cain Rappel, but his son wouldn't lie about such a thing. That meant he had found a solution himself. He absolutely had to hold onto that boy.
'A mere trainee won't do.'
Then, his daughter naturally came to mind. Silvia Luncay. Silvia had left to learn Black Magic, saying she wanted to be of help to the family. Fortunately, she seemed to have talent, as news arrived not long ago that she had secured a spot in the Black Tower. Such a child had sent a letter saying she would wrap up her work and come home immediately upon hearing that the family was starting the development of magic cars.
"It would be fine if the two of them get along."
Making Micheal a son-in-law wouldn't be bad either. If they really didn't like each other, he could marry another girl from the family. While lost in thought, sounds were heard from in front of the office door.
— What do you mean by that?
— How many times do I have to tell you?
— Does it look like I won't ask again? You're suddenly saying that?
A smile spread across Kaiden’s face at their conversation. Perhaps because they were the same age, the two had become quite close. But he didn't know what they were talking about that made them chatter like that in front of the door. Kaiden was about to tell them to come in but closed his mouth at the sudden words.
— Why? Do you hate the idea of me becoming family?
— No, I’d like it. But will Father allow it?
'Becoming family? Do you need my permission?'
His mind raced. Combining those two phrases, Silvia naturally came to mind. Thus, he opened his arms wide toward Micheal, who was just opening the door and walking in.
"What more words are needed? Of course I allow it!"
Of course, he had to hear Silvia’s thoughts too, but couldn't he put in a little effort? More importantly, he had to snatch up the watermelon that rolled in—no, the son-in-law.
As he welcomed him warmly, Micheal also bowed his head with a bright smile.
"Thank you! Father!"
But the nuance was a bit strange. Not 'Father-in-law,' but 'Father.' While he was wondering what that meant, Micheal bowed deeply again.
"To think you'd accept me as an adopted son so readily!"
"A-Ah... No... that's a matter that needs to go through a family meeting..."
The flustered Kaiden tried to stop him by reaching out his open arms, but Micheal ignored him and kept bowing repeatedly.
'It's a small price to pay for obtaining the Sword of Death.'
[...]
Watching this, Cailan shook his head. He wondered if he had pushed a strange fellow into the family.
[Well, I’m sure he’ll figure it out.]
Wasn't this all because of the descendants who ruined the family anyway? He decided to just leave it at that.
