The Imperial Supreme Commander Has Returned - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Imperial Commander Returns — Episode 58

[Holy Oath]

It was a sacred magic that granted the subject’s wish.
Or rather, at this point it transcended mere magic altogether.
It was nothing short of the very power of divinity itself.

‘When you first hear the name, you think: what kind of scam is this?’

But the reality was far less generous.
One wish per person. That was the limit.
And the cooldown was six months on top of that.
Most critically, its boundaries were painfully clear — and that was the greatest flaw of all.

‘What if someone wished to resurrect a dead lover?’

Impossible, naturally.
There was a ninety-nine percent chance nothing would happen at all.
If you were fortunate, you might get a doll that resembled the departed.

But what truly grated was the matter of the wish’s [substance].
There is a saying in the East.
You may fathom the depths of a ten-fathom well, but never the heart of another.

And this, regrettably, applied to myself as well.
I don’t truly know myself.
Who could promise that the wish I form now is identical to that deeper longing sleeping in the depths of my soul?

‘And then there’s the name itself.’

An oath meant staking something and making a vow.
With [Holy] in the name, the nature of that vow was obvious enough.
A pledge to surrender the remainder of one’s life to the God of Light.
In other words, to live by the doctrine.
If the subject of [Holy Oath] were neither priest nor Crusader, their future life could become decidedly complicated.

What happens if you break it?
I couldn’t say for certain, but I could hazard a guess.
You lied to a god — what fate awaits but damnation?
In any case, its true power—

‘I have no idea.’

Back when I served as Commander.
I do recall receiving reports on the use of Holy Oath.
But I’d let them pass through one ear and out the other.
Most of it could be summed up in a single word: [failure].

‘Still, I suppose the only way to know is to use it once.’

The problem was that six-month cooldown.
Use it now, and I couldn’t access it when the moment truly came.

‘Though that moment doesn’t seem far off.’

I recalled my conversation with Nuark.
That day when I became a Crusader and obtained Brunanth.
Nuark had come to me with something to say.

Take this book with you.
What’s this? The Hero Chronicle? With a title like that…
It’s a record of the heroes from the future I remember.

Delram leafed through the book Nuark had handed him.
The first name written on the opening page was Kainan Julmar.
Peculiarly, his name bore a large circle mark beside it.
Turning the next page revealed a similar format throughout.

What are these symbols? There are triangles and X’s too.
They mark the possibility of bringing them over to our side as allies.
Circle means possible, triangle means uncertain, X means forget it?
Exactly.
But you’re certain this is accurate?

Delram furrowed his brow as he asked.
His confidence plummeted the moment he saw Kainan marked with a circle.

Forty years of his life had been spent on battlefields.
In that time, Delram had fought countless knights, mages, and heroes.
Naturally, he couldn’t remember all their names.

‘Do you remember how many loaves of bread you’ve eaten since birth?’

Not that he couldn’t recall anything, of course.
He remembered those who were exceptionally distinctive or unusually powerful.
Kainan, whose name Nuark had written on the first page, fell into that category.

Do you know what kind of man Kainan is?
I know him well.
Then why did you mark him with a circle?

The Delram who answered back wore a rare expression.
It was the look of someone utterly fed up.

The Kainan that Delram remembered was a berserker.
Whether slashed or stabbed, he attacked with mindless ferocity, nothing else.
He felt no pain whatsoever, showed no emotion.
He wielded Flamberge, a sword rippling like waves.
With that horrible blade, he slaughtered soldiers like a butcher on the rampage.

Up to that point, he was an excellent warrior.
Except for one small problem—the category of “soldiers” he cut down included his own allies.

Once battle started, he couldn’t tell friend from foe.
There was a reason he was called a berserker.

Kainan didn’t fall by my hand. He died at the hands of his own side before I got the chance. He wasn’t a man—he was a beast.
……

Delram spoke true.
Kainan was more beast than any animal.
He chased only fresh blood that gushed warmly with each swing, driven by pure instinct.

A wild beast is never truly tamed.
The moment its master turns his back, it strikes—that is its fate.
In the end, Kainan went berserk and was put down by the soldiers of his own kingdom.

There are… reasons for all of that, in their own way.
—Explain it to me.
—Kainan was originally one of our faithful. He was a promising Crusader candidate.
—Then that madness was something the Church of Light taught him?
—Such blasphemy! No—it’s Mana Madness that’s seeped into his very marrow.
—Why didn’t you treat him with Holy Power?
—It’s… a matter of Mana Formula. Holy Power was useless against it.

Delram nodded slowly.
Now he understood why Kainan’s entry appeared first in the chronicle.
It must have been because Nuark found him easier to investigate.
Given that he’d been a Crusader candidate, after all.

At the same time, he grasped why Nuark had arranged for him to obtain Brunanth.
According to what Delram knew, Kainan came from abroad—from the Billeron Kingdom.
More than that, he was no mere commoner, but the second son of the distinguished Julmar family.
And yet he’d devoted himself to the Church of Light, desperate to cure his own mental affliction—the Mana Madness brought on by a Mana Formula.
If the wish ran that deep—

—”You thought that using the Holy Oath of Brunanth might restore him to his right mind. And then you’d gain his cooperation?”
—”Precisely. Once someone becomes bound by the Holy Oath, they belong to the Church of Light. There’s no risk of betrayal.”
—”But why didn’t you attempt this before the return? In the previous cycle?”
—”It was impossible within the timeframe.”
—”Ah, right. Kainan died early on, and Brunanth’s owner didn’t appear until after the demons emerged.”
—”Correct. The Church of Light would never send down a Crusader in the midst of human warfare alone…….”

That concluded his conversation with Nuark.
The Kainan whom Delram had crossed blades with was a madman beyond salvation.
But what if that wasn’t his true nature?

“Kainan, is it… I should meet him once.”

He might gain a rather valuable ally in the process.
Delram scratched his cheek and murmured to himself.

* * *

[Hero Chronicle]

Delram was examining the book Nuark had given him.
The title made him cringe every time he looked at it.
Still, the contents were thorough enough.
It was research based on memories received from the Church of Light, all organized and compiled—and it contained a surprising amount of information Delram himself didn’t know.

Which made sense, in retrospect.
At this point in time, Delram was merely a member of the Special Forces Unit.
The information available to him was limited, and his knowledge equally so.

“The Billeron Kingdom, then.”

Geographically, it lay directly to the east of Piyor.
The recent destruction of the Sambala Tribal Alliance was on account of this kingdom.
It was the conquest target of the king, Leosachs II.
Shambala had simply been in the way, so it was swept aside.

‘I’ll need to cross the border to meet him.’

Of course, he couldn’t go as he was now.
A Piyorian nobleman and Special Forces Commander wouldn’t be admitted without question.

But Delram wasn’t worried.
I’ve crossed borders dozens of times. It’s hardly an obstacle anymore.

The easiest approach was deception.
The Church of Light wielded considerable influence, with adherents scattered across the continent.
Better still, priests and Crusaders were known to wander from place to place on pilgrimages, doing little but menial charity work—so they rarely faced scrutiny at borders.

Delram was thinking of posing as a Crusader himself.
With Brunanth, he could channel Holy Power readily enough. It was perfectly suited to the deception.

‘The question is how to get there in time.’

Time was the real problem.
Hadn’t the Commander mentioned it just recently?
He’d said an assignment would come through soon, and Delram was to stand by in the meantime.

In Delram’s experience, such waits rarely lasted more than a month.
Getting to Billeron and back within that window was physically impossible.
One wrong step, and he’d be marked a deserter.

The only mercy was the timeline of Kainan’s departure from the Church.
Half a year ago, or so he’d heard.
There was still some time before Mana Madness calcified into his very marrow.

‘As long as I can make it within a year, I should be fine.’

Ideally, the assignment would take him toward that region anyway…….
But that wasn’t something he could control.

The Commander summoned Delram a week later.

* * *

“Your posting’s been decided. Though it’s gotten a bit complicated.”
“Complicated, sir?”

Delram found himself perplexed by the Commander’s tone.
To be honest, his upcoming assignment seemed straightforward enough.
It was surely meant to be an Aptitude Verification task for Delram.

Delram had performed brilliantly on the battlefield—absolutely dazzled them.
How else would a conscript have reached the rank of Special Forces Commander?

But that was also all he’d proven himself in.
Strategy, intelligence gathering, killing enemies.
Beyond that, his aptitudes remained unverified.

So cases like Delram’s were typically rotated through multiple postings.
A series of brief assignments across different fields to determine where his talents truly lay.
Wartime duties and peacetime duties were different animals, after all.

In short, there shouldn’t have been anything complicated about it.
Yet the Commander frowned as he spoke.

“The posting itself is confirmed. The problem is that you’ve recently made quite a name for yourself with an incident…….”
“Me, sir?”
“Catching a demon—surely that’s no small matter?”
“Ah, yes. That did happen.”
“Your memory’s terrible for such a young man. Anyway, the royal court apparently takes the existence of demons quite seriously.”
“That’s understandable, sir.”

Delram nodded.
What did those in power despise most?
Variables and uncertainty.

But a demon wasn’t even a small variable.
It was uncertainty incarnate—chaos in its purest form.

‘His Majesty must have a headache over this too.’

The King in particular had his eyes fixed on continental unification.
His body burned with the urge to wage war at any moment.
By the original timeline, only a few years remained.
Before the invasion of Billeron Kingdom.

So suppose they went to war with Billeron as planned.
But then what if a demon suddenly appeared in the capital again?
Or worse—what if demons gathered and attacked the royal city en masse?
A capital stripped of its garrison would be defenseless.

What good was unifying the continent?
If he, the King, was already dead.
So of course the King had to take this seriously.

“You are wise, Your Majesty. Demons are far too dangerous a threat.”
“Indeed. Which is why what I say next is classified at the highest level. You understand—this must not be breathed to a soul, anywhere……”

The Commander opened his mouth with grave weight.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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