Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 82

“Lighter steps, Logan. When you jump, your heel should only kiss the ground for a second.”

“Still unnatural. Pay more attention to the organic movement of your ankle and toes. There…”

The Sword Master’s sharp words had been coming for hours. But now, they started to soften. He watched Logan. With each small tip, Logan moved differently, much better. A small smile touched the Sword Master’s lips.

‘This boy is truly amazing.’

He learned so much in just hours, not just copying, but understanding.

‘Could it be fate? For years, I’ve waited for someone to teach the Ghostly Shadow to, and now, this boy appears.’

He shook his head slightly, still surprised.

‘If anyone else told me this, I’d say it was impossible.’

Inside, the Sword Master was incredibly impressed. But he didn’t show it in his voice.

“Clumsy still,” he said sternly. “Move like air, but hit like a hammer! Push from your toes, use your whole body to jump. And…”

He knew too much praise could hurt a talented person. That’s why he had found fault with everything Logan did for weeks. It wasn’t just about swords; it was about being humble.

‘Though,’ he thought, ‘Logan seems to think he’s not good enough anyway.’

Humility was good. The Sword Master hid a proud smile and told Logan to keep going.

Hours flew by. Finally, the Sword Master watched Logan move and found nothing wrong.

*Swoosh.*

Logan moved like the wind. He seemed to float across the ground, leaving blurry lines behind him. He wasn’t as fast as the Sword Master, who could vanish and reappear in a blink. But to anyone watching, it would look like a silent ghost was speeding towards them.

“Perfect,” the Sword Master said, finally smiling fully. “Now, you just need to practice it until it becomes part of you. Very well done!”

He felt strangely calm, even though Logan had learned his most secret skill in just hours. He hadn’t wanted to praise Logan too much before, but now, he couldn’t help it.

Logan stopped moving, but his face was confused.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” the Sword Master asked. “Are you hurt inside?”

“No, Master,” Logan said, shaking his head.

“Then why that face?”

“Well… this footwork is incredible. I feel so much faster. But… it doesn’t feel like something a knight would use. It feels more like…”

“An assassin’s?” the Sword Master finished, a knowing smile on his face.

Logan nodded slowly.

“You’re close,” the Sword Master said. “Very close.”

Logan’s eyes opened wider.

“When the Prince was still just the Crown Prince,” the Sword Master began, “he chose me, just a knight, to protect him. Did you know that?”

“Yes,” Logan replied.

“Not many people know this,” the Sword Master continued, “but even before he became King, the Prince had many enemies. Terrible things happened.”

Logan stayed silent, listening.

“Assassins came, again and again. This young knight,” the Sword Master said, using the word ‘whelp’ again, but now with a hint of fondness, “who was so proud to be a Royal Knight, fought more battles in the shadows than on any battlefield.”

Logan imagined a young prince, with blond hair, much younger than the King now, standing bravely, fighting off attackers, blood on his sword.

“To protect the Prince, to defeat every enemy,” the Sword Master went on, “this young knight dreamed and dreamed. He wanted a fighting style faster and quieter than any assassin, a style that could win with one strike.”

“Ah…” Logan breathed.

“At first, it seemed impossible. But slowly, he created the power of Sonic Slash. And then, when he finally mastered the Ghostly Shadow, he felt he had reached his goal. It was then,” the Sword Master said, lowering his voice slightly, “that he learned to use Aura.”

“Ghostly Shadow,” the Sword Master said, “was the key. It helped me unlock my Aura.”

He paused, letting that sink in.

“Ghostly Shadow is the heart of my fighting style. It’s why I can use Aura. It’s an incredible skill, even I, who invented it, think it’s almost magic. Don’t just learn it and stop. Keep practicing your swordsmanship forever. I still learn new things about it even now.”

“I understand,” Logan said, his voice full of awe.

*Aura.*

The path to becoming something more than human.

What swordsman wouldn’t be thrilled by that? Logan’s heart beat fast. He bowed deeply to his master. But…

“And…” the Sword Master said, pausing. He seemed unsure of himself, which was unusual.

“There’s another reason I asked you to stay longer.”

“Yes?” Logan asked, curious.

“Have you heard of the Third Prince?”

Logan almost gasped. This was it! The chance he thought was gone was suddenly back.

“The Third Prince?” Logan repeated, trying to sound calm. He kept his face still.

The Sword Master seemed to think Logan was surprised in a different way. He spoke carefully, almost apologizing.

“Yes. I know you’ve said no to joining any groups. It might seem strange for me, who is supposed to be neutral, to suggest this…”

‘I know more than you think,’ Logan thought, hiding a small smile. He listened to the Sword Master’s careful words.

He knew the story of Sword Master Felix Esperanza. The leader of the neutral group, who had promised to support the next king to save the Third Prince.

Neutral on the outside, maybe. But inside… ‘He hopes the Third Prince, the one born to be king, will take the throne, not those useless older brothers.’

Maybe the neutral group was really the Third Prince’s group in disguise. Logan guessed that was true. And it made him want to meet the Prince even more.

Hiding his thoughts, Logan answered, “I’ve heard people say he’s the only truly talented prince.”

“Haha,” the Sword Master chuckled, but there was pride in his voice. “Don’t say that too loudly. It could cause trouble.”

Logan knew he was right.

“Does the Third Prince want to meet me?” he asked directly.

“Yes,” the Sword Master said. “He was interested when I told him about my new student. But you don’t have to. It’s just a suggestion. I…”

“I will meet him,” Logan said quickly.

“Huh?” The Sword Master looked surprised by Logan’s quick answer.

“You are my master. Of course, I’ll listen to your suggestion,” Logan said smoothly. “I can wait a little longer before going home.”

“Are you sure you’ve thought this through?” the Sword Master asked, worried now. “Getting involved with the Prince could be dangerous for you and your family.”

“It’s just a meeting, right?” Logan said, pretending to be innocent. “I thought he didn’t have any supporters anyway.”

“Well… that’s true,” the Sword Master admitted.

Logan saw the change in his master’s face and smiled to himself.

‘I knew it,’ he thought. He felt grateful to his master for this chance.

‘I was right.’

Felix Esperanza, also known as the Sword Demon, did not usually show his feelings to others.

But with Logan, he was different. He showed his human side.

Despite their relatively short time knowing each other, Logan knew his master trusted him enough to show such vulnerability, so he smiled and spoke easily.

“Or,” Logan asked, with a slight smile, “is there something else you need from me, Master?”

“Hmm. This sly fellow seems to have something up his sleeve….” Felix thought.

Logan was surprised inside, but he put on a brave face.

“Something up my sleeve? You were the one who brought it up first, Master,” Logan replied.

“Ha!” Felix chuckled. “Yes, you’re right. Anyway,” he became serious, “when you meet the Prince, be very careful what you say.”

Knowing that his master’s warning came from concern, not a threat, Logan simply smiled and nodded.

But the situation happened much faster than he expected.

Felix nodded, a sudden energy in his eyes. “Then we leave now,” he said, turning towards the door. Logan followed quickly, excitement and nervousness mixing inside him.

“……Pardon?” Logan asked, surprised.

Was meeting a prince always this easy?

Even a prince without real power?

Logan’s quick question showed he had doubts, but his master did not answer.

A short while later, the sky had already darkened. The Duke and his apprentice, masked, were dashing across the rooftops of the capital’s night streets.

Thump.

Swish.

The masked figure stepped on the edge of a roof and crossed about twenty meters as if teleporting, appearing on the opposite side in an instant.

The movements of the other masked figure following behind, though not quite as impressive, were equally ghostly.

They moved so quickly and quietly that anyone watching might think they were seeing things.

From the lips of the masked figure following behind came a soft, disgruntled voice.

“……Is this why you taught me Ghost Shadow?” Logan asked.

“Well, that and other things,” Felix replied.

Ignoring his apprentice’s surprised expression, the Sword Demon silently dashed across the night sky once more.

Logan was not as skilled, so he had to try hard to keep up with his master’s fast, ghost-like movements.

Logan’s breath grew short as he leaped across the rooftops. His muscles burned, but he pushed himself harder, determined not to fall behind the Sword Demon.

It was a night without even the moon to light the way.

The roofs of the grand mansions lined the inner city.

The movements of the two shadows running across those roofs were stealthy and swift.

The two shadows sprinted from the center of the inner city and quickly arrived at a house in a secluded corner of the outer city.

The house was old and worn, paint peeling from the walls like sunburnt skin. The garden was overgrown, weeds pushing through cracked stone.

One of the two shadows entered the house silently and pressed something on one side of the building.

Creak.

With a faint noise, a hidden staircase leading to the basement appeared.

“Why all this secrecy, Master?” Logan asked, glancing around the dark street. “Why do we have to come all the way out here?”

“There are quite a few eyes watching him,” Felix replied.

“Even so, is it really necessary to go this far just to meet ‘only’ me?” Logan asked.

“Yes. Because you are meeting ‘none other’ than the Sword Demon’s disciple,” Felix said with a smile.

The master and apprentice chuckled. Felix’s eyes twinkled with amusement behind his mask.

“Anything else you want to ask?” Felix asked.

“……Can I take it that you supporting the Third Prince, Master, is the reason you are going to such lengths?” Logan inquired.

Why would meeting a prince require such strange behavior when he was the Sword Demon?

It meant that he regarded the meeting with the Third Prince as a secret.

And the reason for that could only be limited.

But his master’s answer differed from Logan’s guess.

“No. I do not involve myself in the struggle for the throne,” Felix stated firmly.

“Pardon?” Logan asked, surprised.

Logan paused, his mind becoming complicated by the unexpected answer.

“Then why go to such lengths……” Logan wondered.

“If you, my disciple, are seen meeting the Third Prince openly, misunderstandings will arise. I am merely a guardian of the young Third Prince, not a political supporter. His Highness’s request was only for me to protect his safety until he comes of age,” Felix explained.

It was a statement that shattered Logan’s assumptions about the Third Prince’s faction at once.

“The reason you seemed pleased when I praised the Third Prince was…….” Logan started.

“Of course, it is also true that our Third Prince is brilliant,” Felix added.

His warm smile clearly held goodwill, but his master was a man who clearly distinguished between public and private matters.

If he said it wasn’t so, then it certainly wasn’t.

‘Did I misunderstand?’ Logan thought.

His expectations had been wrong, and as a result, his plan became a little more difficult.

He had to persuade his uninterested master to get involved in the civil war, in the struggle for the throne.

A sense of helplessness washed over him for a moment.

‘But there’s no other way,’ Logan thought.

He couldn’t allow the tyrant who had completely ruined the country in his previous life, or someone even worse, to become king.

Although he was still young, the only one he could trust was the Third Prince.

‘I’ll make it happen, no matter what! I must!’ Logan vowed.

The Sword Demon looked at Logan, who was suddenly exuding fighting spirit, as if he found it strange.

With this, Logan’s meeting with the Third Prince became even more urgent.

His subtly more proactive steps led him into the dark passage.

The staircase was damp and smelled of earth. The air grew colder as they descended into the darkness.

Before long, Logan discovered a bright light at the end of the darkness.

The stone chamber was surprisingly large, the walls rough and uneven. Faint lamps cast long shadows, making the room feel both mysterious and a little grand. The air was cool and carried a faint, pleasant scent, like fresh flowers, which was strange for an underground room.

In the center of the room stood a person.

A face that seemed too young to be a man, yet too old to be a boy.

A beautiful young man with shining platinum blonde hair and emerald eyes.

Even without the platinum blonde hair, the symbol of royalty, there was only one person who could be in this place now.

The kingdom’s Third Prince, Rogers von Grandia.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness,” Felix greeted.

“It has been a while, Duke. Ah. And the one behind you……,” Rogers replied.

Logan, receiving curious gazes, stepped forward and respectfully knelt on one knee.

Thud.

“Logan McLaine greets the Third Prince,” Logan said formally.

“……So, you are the Duke’s disciple?” Rogers asked.

The Sword Demon’s disciple.

It was clear that the title was still more famous than his name.

Of course, it wasn’t something to be upset about, so Logan calmly nodded.

“That is correct,” Logan confirmed.

“I see. I hear you are already an Upper Knight at such a young age? Truly remarkable. It’s a true pleasure to meet you, Master Logan. I have heard much about your skills from the Duke,” Rogers said.

“You flatter me, Your Highness. The honor is all mine,” Logan replied.

“The honor is mine? I am the one who should be apologizing for summoning you to such a place in the dead of night. Haha,” Rogers chuckled.

He seemed quite approachable, unlike a typical prince.