「 The Dragon Sword you borrowed was manifested in the spirit realm by witches. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you ‘devour’ it. The physical object will remain preserved. 」
“…Are you sure there won’t be any problems?”
「 Problems? Well, there is one. If you devour that blade, the flame within it—the soul of the sword—will be completely absorbed by you. The physical sword left behind will be nothing more than an antique, a mere decoration. A useless hunk of scrap metal. 」
“….”
「 But what does it matter? It is an object whose value no one has recognized for hundreds of years. It is far better for you to use it than to let it continue to fade away like this. 」
How brazen.
Utterly shameless.
However.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m sure this sword desires that as well, doesn’t it?”
「 Is that not obvious? To become one with a Caravan is the highest honor desired by every blade in this world. 」
He wasn’t wrong.
“That man! Capture him!”
Having slaughtered several Great Warriors, the conquest army of the 「Great Land」 was now chasing me with madness in their eyes. Escaping them wasn’t difficult. There were countless defenders here to act as my shield, along with numerous other fighters. My brief departure wouldn’t cause the battlefield to collapse.
“Sword Demon! The Valkyrie has fallen!”
“Ah, is that so?”
In the midst of the chaos, news arrived that Valkyrie Maia had been defeated. I wasn’t particularly surprised. I never harbored the slightest thought that she could triumph over Seol-yoon. In a contest of pure swordsmanship at a similar realm, defeating Seol-yoon was impossible. To win against her, one needed a variable—a power bordering on a cheat, like the Path of Steel, the ‘Line,’ that I possessed.
Thus, I remained unperturbed.
“By the way, is there a place nearby where I can start a fire? Or perhaps a place with a roaring blaze? It’s urgent.”
Instead, I made preparations to commit the deed.
* * *
As the War Duel progressed, the fighters came to realize just how terrifying the historical conquest army of the 「Great Land」 truly was. This realization hit both the fighters on Han’s side and those fighting for the 「Great Land」. Even without a descendant of ‘Khan’ to mold them into an invincible legion, they were fearsome enough.
Han’s defense was formidable. Inherently, the defending side holds an overwhelming advantage in a siege. Han’s potential, holding back the advancing forces while sheltered behind city walls, was impressive. Yet, the sight of the conquest army relentlessly swallowing ground even while enduring staggering casualties was nothing short of gruesome.
Did they not fear death? Even after suffering immense losses, the size of the great army didn’t seem to diminish in the slightest. As time passed, the fighters even began to fall under the illusion that the conquest army of the 「Great Land」 might be infinite—a surging legion of immortals. They wondered if it was even possible to break them.
In the midst of this, Sword Demon Liam, who had been active on the front lines, vanished. He had abruptly left in search of fire, summoning the 「Guardian Dragon」 as he went. The dragon, appearing as the sky split open, steadily thinned the enemy ranks. With this, only one chance remained to manifest an absolute being.
Utilizing the time bought by the Guardian Dragon, the defenders pushed the enemy back once more. However, the defenders’ morale had visibly withered. They had resolved the crisis this way before, but in the end, wasn’t time on the enemy’s side?
The enemy would keep surging forward until they reached the walls. It was terrifying beyond belief. Yet, there was nowhere to retreat. If they fled here, a legion no different from a horde of demons would trample and destroy Han. Thus, though the soldiers were gripped by fear, they kept their spears leveled.
The fighters from the Eastern Continent read the emotions surfacing on the soldiers’ faces. They knew why the men were afraid, and yet why they could not back down. Even if it was a virtual recreation, the expressions were far too realistic.
“Ah…”
Faced with such desperate sights, many fighters from the Eastern Continent found themselves unable to swing their swords and chose death instead. Some even squeezed their eyes shut and forfeited. That was the only reason Han’s defenders were able to hold out even a little longer. Had the fighters of the 「Great Land」—who knew Han well and were skilled swordsmen—acted aggressively, the War Duel would have ended long ago.
The more one knew about Han, the more one couldn’t help but empathize with the soldiers. They could not fight because they were human—humans who felt sorrow and understood the weight of these circumstances. Thus, the War Duel took a subtle turn.
There were even fighters belonging to the 「Great Land」 who actively hindered the conquest army’s advance.
“No more! I can’t do this anymore! I don’t need some Dragon’s Relic. We—”
But their resistance ended after killing a mere six or seven soldiers. The Arena officials did not intervene. Were such scenes not also a part of war? This setup had been designed from the start to allow for diverse and unpredictable scenarios. Even betrayal provided entertainment.
And so, the War Duel reached its climax.
Several hours had passed, and both sides were growing exhausted.
It was a brutally realistic depiction of war, the kind that never appears in chivalric novels. Any audience member who had experienced war even once could empathize. This was the true face of conflict.
“Are you sure they balanced this properly?”
“It’s been quite a while since the War Duel began, but the conquest army of the 「Great Land」 shows no sign of shrinking. If anything, their numbers seem to have grown as reinforcements joined….”
“What a mad army.”
“To think that originally, they even had a descendant of ‘Khan’ with them. A true leader who turns an endless army into the strongest legion….”
“Indeed. Han is barely holding on only because there is no descendant of ‘Khan’ present.”
“How on earth did Han hold out during the actual Conquest War of the past…?”
Some of the spectators, who had initially watched with interest, felt a chill at the realization that the army manifested in the virtual world was not a group that had vanished into the shadows of history, but a legion that still existed. Furthermore, their actual military strength was far more powerful than the conquest army in the virtual world.
“To think that such things swallowed the entire Eastern Continent and intended to march even to this Western Land.”
The descendant of ‘Khan’ was not a figure of the past.
A descendant who had taken the name ‘Khan’ directly from his great ancestor was very much alive. Even his will to conquer all lands remained unchanged. The Conquest War that had swept through the Eastern Continent was still ongoing. The flames ignited by the terrifying conqueror had not yet been extinguished; they were merely in a state of temporary truce.
“If it weren’t for the Sky Empire… it would have been terrifying.”
To cross from the Eastern Continent to the Western Continent, one must pass through the Central Continent. And in the Central Continent lies the most powerful empire in all the land: the Sky Empire Velma. The conquest army that swept the East was halted there, unable to break the Sky’s prestige. It was only natural. The Sky Empire, called a 「Utopia」, had never been defeated since the Age of War. Not even once.
“What do you think the result will be?”
“Honestly, I think the conquest army will win. They’ve defended well, but there’s hardly any space left. The difference in numbers is just too great. If they just push through like this, it’s over.”
“You never know. Even if they’ve reached the foot of the walls, is it that easy to bring down a fortification? Han wins as long as they hold out. If they lock the gates tight and the fighters play it smart, the result is obvious. A siege is always much more advantageous for the defender.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure about the result either.”
The spectators engaged in various debates as they watched the progress of the War Duel.
“But I know one thing for certain.”
And there was one thing that interested them more than the unpredictable outcome.
“That fighter is the protagonist of this duel.”
“I agree.”
“I believe that fighter’s name was….”
A single fighter.
A fighter shining like a star amidst the surging tide of soldiers.
“…Was it the 「Black Bride」?”
* * *
Seol-yoon sometimes thought that swinging a sword was like dreaming. Only when wielding a blade could she forget her worries. It felt as if a small world of her own was being created. Distractions, useless emotions, terrible memories of the past—in this moment, they all vanished like smoke.
Her muscles would relax perfectly, and peace would find her amidst a hazy consciousness. It was the only moment Seol-yoon could be free. No one was as free within the sword as Seol-yoon.
“Urgh—”
However, in her hazy state, Seol-yoon occasionally found it difficult to control herself. That was why she couldn’t swing her sword to her heart’s content. Whenever she held a sword, she couldn’t tell if she was wielding the blade or if the blade was wielding her. Violence without restraint. Her master had called it talent, but also madness.
In this moment, for the first time in a very long while, Seol-yoon revealed her true nature without reservation. As her pitch-black hair fluttered and her beautiful blade drew curves, the lives of countless enemies vanished in vain. The voices that had been heard incessantly had also stopped.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, you must live….
She no longer heard the voices of the defeated soldiers, her parents, or the children taken prisoner whom she had left behind. All she heard was the sound of steel clashing, the deathly sound of the blade carving through muscle and bone, and the screams erupting as humans were destroyed. The noise of the battlefield was everything.
“You—crazy—”
Killing intent flew toward her.
Seol-yoon reacted the instant she sensed the threat. Her blade, tracing a beautiful trajectory, moved as if grazing the enemy’s steel. A metallic clack rang out as she shattered a cross-guard. A wrist was slashed, an elbow severed, and a torso separated from a head. All those movements were connected as one, like the steps of a dance. An ordinary swordsman could never react to it. Rather, those who used swords would feel nothing but awe in the face of such overwhelming talent.
“You—!”
It was no different even if a fighter of the 「Sword Runner」 rank approached. Through her previous training, Seol-yoon had already manifested faint wings. A pair of wings. Though the world called it the realm of half-wings, that did not apply to Seol-yoon. She did not hastily accelerate her body. Seol-yoon’s acceleration was applied to her mind.
Thus, the world Seol-yoon looked upon was slow, as if frozen. In that slowed world, Seol-yoon spread her wings and watched the approaching enemies. If she could see their movements, killing them was not difficult.
Seol-yoon’s talent presented a 「Path」 that could surely kill any enemy, no matter how fast—as long as they were visible. Before the approaching swords, the Taegeuk Seol-yoon drew was completed. A strange rotation was applied, and the enemies fell one by one, not even knowing why they were dying. Like fallen leaves before the wind.
With every stroke of her sword, at least one life was guaranteed to end.
As this process repeated again and again, the path Seol-yoon had walked was now piled high with corpses. The eyes of those looking at her were stained with fear. The more she faced the enemies’ terror, the more Seol-yoon’s madness grew. It presented the most superior violence, showing her how to efficiently destroy her foes.
Seol-yoon hadn’t even had the chance to properly reveal the 「Wings」 she had newly acquired. In that, she felt a subtle sense of emptiness. The fact that she had gained wings but had nowhere to truly test this power. The fact that everyone was falling helplessly. And soon after, Seol-yoon harbored a question.
‘ …Why? ‘
Why do I think this is empty?
Seol-yoon could not understand the cause of this emptiness. Hadn’t the sword always been nothing more than a tool to her? Then why was she feeling empty because she couldn’t properly test the realm she had finally attained? Wasn’t that a luxury only martial artists with much to their name could afford? Martial artists who rejoiced at becoming stronger day by day and took pleasure in showing off what they had gained.
Seol-yoon didn’t think she belonged there. She had much to take responsibility for. She carried a heavy burden. Having lost everything, she had nothing left to lose. Everything was meaningless except for becoming an immortal and ascending. She had to go to paradise. Seol-yoon had a duty to do so. For the sake of those who believed in her….
Therefore, she had no right to feel proud while testing her progress in the sword, nor the right to feel joy while sensing her changed self. In that time, she should have moved even a little closer to the heavens. She had to….
“Look there!”
However.
“The sky is opening!”
Was that really true?
“The 「Guardian Dragon」 appears for the third time! This is the last one!”
She was not strong enough to live the rest of her life throwing everything away and carrying only their sorrow. She was not a grand enough human to handle such a heavy responsibility. Seol-yoon was just a girl. A girl who had lost her way. A girl who did not know the path she should take.
“That means….”
Who decided that she had no right to be joyful?
Who on earth forced Seol-yoon to endure all the sorrow and responsibility? No one had forced her. No one had decided it so. Those were things created by Seol-yoon’s own guilt. None of Seol-yoon’s precious people wanted her to live as an avenger. They hadn’t ordered her to live like an empty shell, having lost everything.
“Sword Demon! Sword Demon Liam is coming!”
Rather, everyone had said:
Just live.
“The—the true King is coming.”
“What? What’s wrong with these guys all of a sudden?”
“The King! He comes to protect us!”
“Han’s defenders have suddenly gone mad! These bastards are talking nonsense all of a sudden—”
“He is the true! King—!”
Seol-yoon looked at the opening sky. She saw the 「Guardian Dragon」 slowly revealing itself. Beyond the magnificent dragon, she saw a young man running vigorously through the ranks of the defenders. She also saw the aura emanating from him. Along with it, Seol-yoon’s grip on her sword tightened. The emptiness that had been surging until a moment ago was vanishing. In its place, expectation rose.
Her heart was pounding.
Seol-yoon looked at the young man, Sword Demon Liam—Arhan—and recalled the words she had heard long ago.
– You have a future. If I can die for that future, it is an honor.
What was the future the defeated soldier spoke of?
– You can become anything, child.
What did the defeated soldier want me to become?
Her mother and father who died with their eyes wide open, her friends and neighbors—what kind of life did those precious people want her to lead after surviving so tenaciously? She didn’t know.
Perhaps she would never know for the rest of her life.
– You must live.
That was something she had to find out for herself.
– If you survive, you can see tomorrow.
To do that, she had to move toward tomorrow.
Toward a tomorrow where she didn’t know what might be waiting.
A tomorrow that was, therefore, full of infinite possibilities.
The days she spent learning the sword were tedious. The days she lived as the Black Bride in the 「Arena」 were also tedious. Everything was empty. The whole world was achromatic. But how had it been recently?
How had the days been since she met Arhan…?
“Ah.”
Seol-yoon’s eyes sparkled. And this time, rather than indulging in miserable thoughts born of guilt, she decided to move as her heart dictated. Toward where this thumping heart was headed. Toward a place where she could be gladly joyful instead of depressed.
“…You’ve finally come.”
A small smile formed on Seol-yoon’s lips.
“Little gladiator.”
A very satisfied smile.
* * *
I raised the sword in my hand.
The Dragon Sword is no more.
Because I devoured it without leaving a trace.
But even if the physical object is gone, the Dragon Sword has not vanished.
That sword will be manifested here.
Because it remains within me.
“Whew.”
『 How blessed was the age when the starry sky was a map of all possible paths, and the starlight illuminated the roads we were meant to take? 』
I closed my eyes.
The world became a land of stars. Beneath that starry land, it was dark.
In a world filled with darkness, people wandered, having lost their way.
『 And how blessed was the age when the starlight brightly lit that path? 』
Before the wandering people, there stood a man.
A man holding a lantern.
『 I miss the Age of Stars. 』
The people called the man King.
