Several months had passed since the large-scale expedition, and Blade had fallen into a severe slump. He’d submitted a leave of absence due to his health conditions and spent each day lazing around, holing up at home. Perhaps as an effect of slacking on the daily training regimen that he’d kept for many years, he’d become thinner, and the muscles he’d been so proud of had started to weaken.
This might be it for me... There’s nowhere else to go but down.
Despite many attempts to reinvigorate himself, Blade inevitably fell back down into the dumps. He kept having flashbacks to the time he was nearly eaten by a magic beast—evidence of his weakness. That vexing memory made Blade lose all his steam.
“Oh, I see. So you’re Blade.”
One day, a guy suddenly showed up. He was tall, but hunched over, and had terrible bedhead. He looked like he barely trained his body; in martial arts, he would’ve ranked dead last.
“You’re...” Blade said, trailing off.
Even when Blade had been a part of the knights, he’d heard of the young lion named Emerson. Even among all the prodigies in the Numbers, he was a special case that stood out. Despite only being in his midtwenties, he was unparalleled in his achievements in the realm of Regalia development. At this point, Emerson had become so crucial to Chronos that it would fall apart without him.
Despite being a man of many accolades, his reputation wasn’t great. There were rumors that he was conducting unethical human experiments that couldn’t be disclosed to the public, and that he’d joined forces with demons to develop a new type of Regalia. Many more similar outlandish allegations existed to smear his name.
“Do you want to be strong?” Emerson asked, straight to the point.
Emerson’s expression was so eerie, it made it impossible to read what he was thinking. Blade couldn’t help but be afraid of his mysterious proposal.
“I have data on you from when you trained. It’s a shame that all the data didn’t even equate to what I’d consider average. At this rate, you’re either gonna die like a dog mid mission or be kicked out of the organization. Chronos isn’t so kind as to keep someone useless around forever.”
Emerson was right. Though Blade was currently refusing work due to his health conditions, he couldn’t stay on leave forever.
“What’s your point?” Blade asked.
“Team up with me and let’s make a comeback. The timing is just right; I’ve been wanting a test subject and you’re the perfect healthy, sturdy adult male I need,” Emerson explained in a voice that was pragmatic, lacking any evil intent. “How close can the average guy get to becoming a monster? Don’t you think it’s an interesting theme to explore?”
Blade fell silent for a bit. Before, he’d been ready to immediately decline Emerson’s proposal. A shady guy like Emerson was in direct opposition to Blade’s personal brand of justice.
But even so, Blade was at his wit’s ends. By agreeing to this devilish offer, he just might be able to get out of his hopeless slump.
“Fine. I agree. Tell me what I need to do,” Blade said, throwing away his pride as a knight, and making a deal with the devil.
Miraculously, this was the day that Blade’s life completely turned around. By undergoing severe training and doping by Emerson’s instructions, he returned to Chronos as a rising star. His sense of justice was always strong and he was diligent, so he racked up achievements at a stunning pace. Though he’d begun as Roman numeral XII, he shot up to IV, and his confidence was revived.
✦ ✦ ✦
Blade went out for his mission in high spirits, wearing a newly developed hero suit. His current mission was one that greatly excited him—defeating a demon. Plus, according to the information he received, it was a stronger one than anyone had ever faced before. Apparently, Kuina and Bardo were both having a difficult time with it. If Blade was able to complete this mission, he might advance in Chronos even further. When he first joined Chronos, it felt like all he could was watch the backs of prodigies from afar, but now, he felt like he was finally about to catch up.
“Emergency! Detecting a demonic presence. Displaying the fastest route to target,” a robot, Robelle, said from beside Blade as she searched for the enemy.
She’d been developed by Emerson, but aside from that, there hadn’t been any details released about her. She was a mysterious existence that’d been given the Roman numeral VIII.
“Hm... Over there?” he said, following Robelle’s instructions and heading to where the demon was located.
It seemed that it was persistently trying to chase after a student—one with a nostalgic uniform. He could tell that the demon was chasing after a student from his alma mater, Arthlia Academy of Magecraft.
“Nothing to fear, kid! I’m here!” Blade said, dashing quickly over to the boy to stand in front of him, his arms spread wide in his hero pose. Using one’s power to enforce one’s justice was Blade’s ideal self—one that he’d achieved.
Soon after, Blade was summarily knocked out by Zeke and, once again, lost all his confidence, with Abel completely ignorant of both his backstory and his plight.