The truth was that Haruki didn't have a single ghost or god dwelling within him. He wasn't relying on some external entity to suppress the Ghost Qi in his right arm; he was doing it purely through the strength of his own will and the force of his own energy.
Flash!
The moment Haruki took the prayer beads from Mitsue Takeda's hand, a brilliant golden light erupted from the wooden spheres. The glow was so intense that even Miko and Hana, who usually didn't see spiritual light, were momentarily blinded.
But the brilliance lasted only a second.
In the very next heartbeat, the light in the beads vanished. The spiritual energy within them drained out like a flowing stream, spiraling directly into Haruki's right hand. The beads themselves became dull and lifeless, looking like nothing more than cheap glass trinkets.
"W-What?!"
Mitsue Takeda was stunned. She had imagined several scenarios—her beads shattering because they couldn't contain his power, or the boy being knocked back by the pure energy—and she would have accepted any of them. But she never expected a human to literally consume the spiritual power infused within the beads.
What is this boy? Is the thing inside him not a ghost, but a god of gluttony?
While Mitsue's world was being rocked, Haruki stared at the faded beads with a look of intense realization. He could feel it—the power from the beads hadn't disappeared; it was now circulating through his arm.
More importantly, as a spiritual force designed to suppress evil, it was now coexisting with the dense Ghost Qi in his right arm. The two opposing forces weren't fighting; they were beginning to merge into a singular, stable state.
Haruki realized a fundamental truth: the concept of a "Ghost Slayer" didn't just require spectral power. It required a diametrically opposed force to control it.
After all, a powerful ghost requires a powerful leash. If a host cannot suppress the spectral energy within them, it will eventually backfire and consume them. To truly walk the path of the Ghost Slayer, one needs to master both the dark essence of the spirit and the light of the spirit-suppressing resonance.
Only then could one truly command the supernatural!
Haruki and the others left Mitsue's shop shortly after. It was less of a departure and more of a retreat for Mitsue—her pride had been so thoroughly shattered by Haruki's "consumption" of her masterpiece that she had simply closed the shop for the day to re-evaluate her life.
With the prayer bead mission a failure, Hana said her goodbyes to Haruki and Miko. The evening streets were quiet as only the two of them remained.
Miko looked at Haruki tentatively. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up. "Um... thank you for helping me again."
"Don't worry about it. I was there to hunt the spirit anyway."
"So... you really are some kind of exorcist?"
"No." Haruki shook his head. To him, killing ghosts was just a way to refine his blade and his understanding of the Ghost Slayer Arts. But that was something Miko wouldn't understand. "Just call me if you run into another powerful one. I'll be there."
Previously, Miko might have resisted the idea of relying on a stranger. But after seeing that bloated monstrosity in the alley, she knew she had no choice.
"I understand," Miko nodded firmly. A pact was made.
Having ended his Service Club duties early, Haruki arrived back at his apartment before Sakiko Toyokawa had returned.
Sakiko was diligent. Even though she lived with Haruki, she insisted on earning her own keep. Between her school hours, she filled her schedule with part-time jobs—delivery, call centers, flyer distribution. Haruki didn't stop her. He knew she had a pride that shouldn't be broken.
Since he was alone, he could finally focus on his own progress.
"I still have some time before the mission starts. Let's see what this Ghost Power can do."
Haruki raised his arm. Thanks to the knowledge from the system, he had many skills available to him, but many were unusable without the proper energy. Now, having absorbed the essence of two "Great Ghosts" and the spiritual energy of the beads, he could finally test the Ghost tree.
The two fundamental skills were Ghost Slash and Soul Kazan.
Ghost Slash was straightforward: coating the blade in spectral energy to unleash a strike that bypassed physical armor to strike the soul. Soul Kazan was more complex; in its original form, it involved summoning the ghost of a war god. Haruki wasn't a cursed Ghost Knight, so he couldn't summon Kazan himself.
However, he could use the same principles to release the spirits he had caught, creating a "zone" of spectral influence that buffed himself and debuffed enemies. It wasn't the original skill, but as a sword technique, it was terrifyingly effective.
He spent the night experimenting. With his peerless talent, he mastered the basics of the Ghost Slash—adding massive cutting power to his strikes—and the ability to release his stored energy as a spectral pulse.
He was now, for all intents and purposes, a true Ghost Slayer.
Yet, the Sword Saint System remained silent. This meant that the system required him to master all the branches: Bladework, Ghost Power, Waves, and Bloodlust. He had the first two. Waves and Bloodlust were still a mystery.
But time was up. The countdown on the Multiverse System hit zero. Haruki's vision began to warp and distort as the world around him dissolved.
Blazers.
They are a select group of individuals capable of materializing their own souls as physical weapons known as Devices. By using these special weapons, they can manipulate supernatural abilities, essentially performing what ancient people called "magic."
One in a thousand people is born a Blazer. In ancient times, they were feared as wizards or witches. Their power defies modern science; high-tier Blazers can manipulate time, while even low-tier ones possess superhuman physical attributes.
In the modern era, nations have organized Blazers into military units. Police forces, armies—even the balance of war itself—now rest on the shoulders of these knights. To prevent these super-powered individuals from running wild, the Magic Knight System was established.
Only those who undergo professional training and pass a strict certification can become official "Magic Knights." Without this status, a Blazer is nothing more than a potential terrorist in the eyes of the law.
In Japan, seven academies were founded to train these knights. Hagun Academy is one of them. This was the stage Haruki Aizawa had been dropped into—the center of the story in the world of Chivalry of a Failed Knight.
"So that's how this world works..."
The moment Haruki arrived, a flood of information rushed into his mind. The Multiverse System had provided him with the necessary lore and a complete identity to ensure he blended in.
Currently, Haruki Aizawa was a freshman at Hagun Academy. He had passed the entrance exam and was now officially enrolled as a student Blazer.
However, Haruki had one major concern.
Unlike the Blazers of this world, he couldn't "summon his soul as a weapon." He didn't have a Device. He had the Kujisada, a physical sword of legendary quality, but it wasn't a manifestation of his soul.
If he couldn't summon a Device, his status as a Blazer would be exposed as a fraud instantly. Was the challenge of this mission to find a way to fake his powers, or was there something else he was missing?
Haruki looked at the glowing mission window in front of him:
[Target World: Chivalry of a Failed Knight]
[Main Mission: Qualify for the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.]
"Well," Haruki muttered, looking at the modern, sprawling campus of Hagun Academy. "I guess I'll just have to cut down anyone who questions me."