Devan Alexis was born into a lesser-known noble family. From a young age, his mother always told him that he was special, that their bloodline inherited from the Martial God Devanos made him destined for greatness as a warrior. Even though their diluted bloodline did not grant them superhuman abilities like their ancestors, she still believed that Devan would someday become a great warrior.
Devan did not take those words seriously. He practiced swordsmanship with an instructor just to please his mother. He thought it was a path that he had to follow, like his father who died at a young age, like his grandfather, great-grandfather, and predecessors who devoted their lives to serving the royal family.
At the age of eleven, Devan's thoughts began to change when he met Tina by chance. Tina had just inherited the title of Holy Paladin, despite facing criticism for being a woman and not born into a noble family. In her thirties, she was able to win the title she deserved through her talent.
Like any other village on the continent of Atezia, Devan's village occasionally faced trouble from devils. That day, many years ago, was no different, except that the invading Deval was exceptionally dangerous.
Deval, a large flightless bird, rampaged and attacked people everywhere. This Deval had even eaten humans before and dared to invade and hunt humans in the village when there was not enough food in nature.
At just eleven years old, Devan stood against the ferocious devil that even grown-ups had to run away from. Behind him, a girl was crying because she had tripped and fallen. Devan only intended to hold the devil back until some adults could come to help, but they all ran away in different directions.
He waved his training sword back and forth, and the big bird tried to attack him with its beak, but Devan caught the bird's attention with the little sword. Devan began to regret not running away at first. He did not even need to help an unknown girl.
Not long ago, an apprentice swordsman like him could only practice but never actually go into battle. Devan could not resist Deval Bird's beak any longer. He threw the sword out of his hand after striking it with all his might.
At that moment, Devan was certain he would not survive.
"Hold the sword firmly and don't close your eyes," a woman's voice rang out as her figure appeared in front of them. A figure in shining armor moved beautifully and drew the sword in slow motion, like a moving image.
...a goddess…
Devan thought. It was just a small act among thousands, and the heroic woman likely did not remember it. But Devan would never forget that moment.
From that point on, he knew his sword training was not just to fulfill his mother's dream of him becoming a knight. He was determined to become one of the highest three holy paladins. If he ever found himself in a similar situation, he wanted to be the one to save someone else.
But he never got the chance to say so.
And now, he was struggling to understand why his Master had betrayed him.
"Why?" Devan's voice was choked with emotion, a hundred questions unanswered.
Waldo answered with a gesture towards Flennirus. He now possessed three Rare Swords, and with Devan's Fragion, he would have four.
"Consider our relationship as teacher and student, and give me your Frakarian. Then, I'll spare your life," Waldo's words were calculated. He knew that if anyone were to recount this incident, it could damage his reputation irreparably. He was determined to silence anyone who could expose his treachery.
"Don't tell me you did all of this for swords…" Prince Briden interjected. Before he could finish speaking, Waldo struck him in the back of the head, causing him to crouch down in pain. The act was so brazen that it left others, including King Baldrick, too afraid to intervene.
Devan's companions fought valiantly, but Waldo's men were relentless. In the end, all of them were killed except for the old nobles like Yaron and King Baldric, and their unarmed servants. Waldo's men likely believed that sparing them would not tarnish their leader's reputation.
Who would believe the words of these bloated men...
When Devan refused to relinquish his sword, the disciple who had broken away from the teacher clashed with him in a one-on-one duel. The nine swords attacked Devan from all angles, but he responded with equal force. Devan's fighting instinct allowed him to perceive the line of power connecting the nine swords and Waldo, enabling him to read the direction of the attack quickly.
"It was a mistake that revealed this technique," Devan declared with a fierce roar. He saw that Waldo was reckless to even think of attacking Tina in front of him and to openly use secret techniques without concealing them.
It was time for him to take control of the situation.
Waldo heard this and a grin spread across his face. He knew in his heart that Devan possessed a rare talent, but as a teacher, he also knew that Devan had a serious weakness that could prove fatal in a one-on-one duel. Waldo wasted no time in exploiting this weakness.
Several of the swords flew in opposite directions, piercing the bosom of a maid and killing her. But the sword did not stop there; it was withdrawn and charged towards a new target - the defenseless servants.
"Holy Flame" Devan had forged those swords with white flames, but the distance was too great for him to effectively destroy them all. It was then that a black sword emerged from his own shadow.
The sound of metal clanging and teeth gritting filled the air. The first sound was that of the sword in his hand clashing against Shadow Edge. The second was the sound of Glacius piercing the shadows together. Although he should have been impaled by the sword, Devan managed to narrowly avoid it.
That was all Devan could do at this point. He knew that Waldo was charging towards him, but his body reacted instinctively to the flicker of the two swords, preventing him from turning around to defend himself against his former master.
Chua!
Devan roared like a beast, his voice merging with the sound of thunder. His eyes were blinded by the ruthless attack, and he struggled to command his body to use healing magic, but it refused to obey him because of the repeated lightning strikes.
"Excellent, just like a sword crafted by a legendary artisan," Waldo exclaimed as he brandished his newly acquired weapon.
Roar! Roarrr…!
He unleashed a lightning strike upon Devan, scorching him repeatedly with a thunderbolt that could have killed dozens of people. The impact even affected those who were far away. In the end, only Waldo remained standing.
"With this sword, and the one I am about to take from you," Waldo boasted as he bent down to pick up Devan's charred figure, "Waldo will never lose to anyone."
As he reached for Devan's weapon, the wicked man's charred hand grabbed his own. Devan murmured softly, perhaps an insult or curse aimed at Waldo.
"Not dead yet?" the wicked man shrugged off his wrist and looked disdainfully at the disproportionate figure before him.
Instead of finishing off Devan with the sword, Waldo chose to leave with his newly acquired weapon. He believed Devan would not survive, and even if he did, the young paladin would have lost something that could never be restored.
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Hours later, Devan regained consciousness, but the pain was overwhelming. He shouted out for everyone, groping for the corpses of the prince, king, and chief of staff, but they were gone. He was left alone to die.
Devan's healing magic saved him, but the lightning strike had left him blind. A Mega Heal spell had healed the wound, but it could not restore his vision. Even if he had been the most gifted of healers, the long-ago damage to his eyes made success nearly impossible.
He knew he would never see again, but the thought of revenge consumed him.
...that bastard Waldo, who had killed Tina and so many others just for the sake of a sword.…