“Witch. Orc.”
The Dragon’s voice resonated through the air, heavy with ancient power.
“You two may pass. Cross the bridge.”
As the Dragon spoke each name, a member of the party vanished. When it uttered ‘Witch,’ Audrey dissipated like mist; when it said ‘Orc,’ Sherizik disappeared in the same fashion. It was impossible to discern the principle at work or what manner of mystical trickery had been employed.
“Now then, I have sent all those who are worthy.”
Only one thing was certain.
“Only the lowly ones remain.”
Tom, Seol-yoon, and me.
“How should I feast upon these morsels?”
The three of us left behind… were screwed.
*
Falling from the high heavens was a horrific experience. As gravity reclaimed my body, there was nothing a wingless human could do but flail in the empty air. A whirlwind of thoughts raced through my mind. If I used my superhuman strength, could I survive the impact? I glanced down, and the thought vanished instantly. Superhuman or not, a fall from this height meant certain death.
Is there a way? Is there any way at all?
Tom and Seol-yoon were also plummeting helplessly.
It couldn’t be helped. Even a 「Sword Expert」 cannot fly. Unless one has awakened a Mystery of Flight—like the ‘Valkyrie’ I saw during the War Duel—there are limits to what a swordsman can achieve. This was exactly why a party always included those proficient in ‘Mysteries.’ And our party’s mage? She had been sent far away by the Dragon.
“Tom! Can you survive the impact with a Sword Expert’s armor?”
“I can!”
“Then—”
“I know what you’re thinking, Young Master! But it’s impossible. A Sword Expert’s armor only protects the Expert! If I were to hold onto you when we hit the ground, I’d be the only one safe. The two of you would be crushed by the impact. I’d end up wailing while clutching the corpses of two children!”
“Ah…”
Dammit. The authority of a 「Sword Expert」 was useless here.
「A natural outcome. It is a foolish question you would not have asked had you understood the principles by which a Sword Expert’s authority awakens.」
“I was just trying to find a way, any way!”
Liam continued to needle me even in this dire situation.
What about the Mystery of Gale? No, useless. The essence of Gale is to redirect and distort force. I might be able to change the direction of the fall, but I can’t stop it.
Could I use the Mystery of Acceleration? Was it possible to extend and connect 「The Path」 upward? I considered it for a moment but realized it was a fool’s errand. ‘The Path’ was a visualization of the directions a swordsman could move and the routes they could take. There was no way a path could form in mid-air where there was no ground to step on.
Furthermore, the fall wasn’t the only danger. The Dragon was closing in from a distance. The Master of the Sky was approaching to snuff out the lives of the uninvited guests. Goosebumps erupted along the back of my neck.
In the midst of the chaos, Seol-yoon shouted.
“Arhan, come to me!”
I looked at her. Something was glowing behind Seol-yoon as she stared intently at me. Wings. Wings as thin as a butterfly’s were enveloped in a cluster of light, soon growing into the shape of a bird’s. Myriad Transformations. Seol-yoon’s Ever-changing Mystery had been activated. The wings she manifested looked familiar. Right, those were—
“Valkyrie’s wings…”
“I’m mimicking what I saw during the War Duel!”
She said she was mimicking it. She made it sound easy, but it was anything but. Copying someone else’s Mystery just by seeing it? And not after long preparation, but on the fly, scouring her memories to escape a crisis while plummeting through the air?
She’s insane.
Right, I had momentarily forgotten. Seol-yoon was a genius.
“Tom said he’d be fine even if he fell. We don’t need to worry about him; he’s the strongest among us. So, only the two of us need to be safe.”
“You’re right, but—”
“But?”
“Just because you can fly doesn’t mean we’re safe, Seol-yoon.”
Being able to fly was certainly good news. However…
“You perform an amusing trick.”
Our enemy was a Dragon.
The Master of the Firmament appeared above us without a sound, like a mage’s teleportation. Immediately, the Dragon snatched Seol-yoon’s wings with its claws, like an eagle hunting prey. A sickening crunch echoed through the air. Seol-yoon coughed up blood and screamed as the wings she had mimicked were snapped like dry twigs.
“Do you have any more tricks left?”
The density of the mana enveloping the Dragon’s body was beyond measure. Seol-yoon’s wings had shattered just by coming into contact with the mana swirling on its surface. I saw Seol-yoon’s eyes grow hazy. Mana Shock. The intense backlash had knocked her unconscious. Red blood dripped from her slumped face.
“Insignificant. So utterly insignificant.”
I saw the contempt in its eyes. In those beautiful, jewel-like eyes, there was an all-encompassing arrogance that looked down upon everything in the world. It was the look I hated most. A gaze that made anything weaker or smaller than itself seem pathetic. An unreasonable, unacceptable gaze. Eyes that resembled that bastard Carlos.
“Young Master!”
At that moment, a long blade was launched from below with a sharp whistle. The projectile flew toward the Dragon, but it failed to pierce the scales, bouncing off with a metallic clang . A faint, cruel smirk played on the Dragon’s lips. However, the purpose of the blade wasn’t to pierce the Dragon’s hide. There was a knot at the end of the hilt—a knot tied to a rope.
“What now—”
Tom, who had thrown the blade, yanked the rope. The deflected blade spun and wrapped itself around the Dragon’s body. The rope now functioned like a grappling hook, fixed firmly to prevent his fall.
“I will draw its attention, Young Master!”
Tom’s body, gripping the rope tightly, flashed for an instant. In the next moment, the rope surged, and Tom appeared above the Dragon’s head. To be a 「Sword Expert」 meant being a master 「Sword Runner」. On the back of the old caretaker floating high in the air, ten pairs of brilliant wings appeared. Tom held the rope in one hand and a long rapier in the other.
A roar like a thunderclap erupted. Like a bolt of lightning, Tom’s sword lunged at the Dragon’s body. It was impossible to tell how many times he struck in that brief moment. Only one thing was visible: Tom coughing up blood, and his rapier snapped in half.
「Perhaps if he were a complete Sword Expert, but with only a half-armor, he cannot wound a Dragon.」
“…”
「It looks like flies swarming around an elephant. No matter how much three flies flap their wings and rub their legs together, can they ever hope to topple an elephant?」
Flies. It was a fitting description.
Seol-yoon had lost consciousness just by touching the Dragon. Tom, who had tried to divert its gaze, immediately coughed up blood and lost his sword. The presence of the Dragon we faced in the sky was overwhelmingly massive. It felt as though it could tear us apart in an instant.
“Young Master, flee…”
I heard a cracked voice and looked straight at Tom.
“Tom, you said you knew a lot about Dragons.”
“…”
“I know nothing. Flee? I don’t even know how to flee. So, tell me anything.”
Tom gasped for breath. “Under the sky, where the light of the heavens reaches, a Dragon is absolute.”
“…”
“But, if the sky cannot reach them, their eyes are hooded. It’s darkest under the lamp… a Dragon cannot see what is right beneath it.”
The Dragon’s claws lunged toward Tom, who was swinging from the rope. But the moment the tips of the claws touched him, a clang! rang out, and armor manifested around him. It was different from the full plate armor worn by knights; it was a form of armor similar to that of gladiators, protecting only the head and vital points.
“How troublesome—”
Tom’s armor had successfully blocked the Dragon’s attack. However, there were far too many gaps. And there was no way the Dragon’s eyes would miss the openings that even I could see. Its reptilian pupils rolled. The next attack would pierce Tom’s flesh. The old caretaker would die right here.
I couldn’t let that happen. I would not allow it.
The moment I thought that, a strange vibration reached me. It came from my sword.
This is…
It wasn’t the voice of a soul coming from within the blade. The physical sword itself was vibrating like a living creature. I gripped the hilt tight, and a mysterious power surged from the blade like spreading tree roots.
「Did I not tell you not to throw that thing away?」
A part of the Earth Spirit King, Gaia. The Authority of Earth contained within the sword had awakened.
I wasn’t the only one who felt the anomaly. The Dragon, which had been focused on Tom, whipped its head around. In that instant, the Dragon’s body appeared before me as if it had teleported.
“That thing is deeply irritating.”
The Dragon’s claw swung at a speed that was difficult to follow even with my eyes. The superhuman strength granted to my body couldn’t keep up. All I could do was place my sword in the path of the strike. The Dragon, intending to blow away both the blade and my body at once, continued its swing without stopping.
And then— Crack.
With a splintering sound, the Dragon’s claw was severed. In contrast, the sword in my hand didn’t have a single scratch.
…They said it was the hardest sword on the continent, with only a bit of exaggeration.
It seemed the blade had even absorbed the impact that should have been transferred to me. As the severed claw spun through the air, fury began to burn in the Dragon’s eyes.
“You, what exactly are you?”
The Dragon’s voice trembled with rage.
“From the horrific smell of iron coming from your body to this nonsensical stunt… what is your true identity? What is that sword, and what is that unpleasant scent that continues to provoke me?”
The Dragon’s words were strange.
It clearly mentioned the smell of iron, yet it doesn’t know who I am?
Dragons are beings with eternal lifespans, like Elves. Most are ancient beings, and every ancient being I knew was aware of the ‘Caravan.’ Yet the Dragon before me recognized the anomaly of the aura radiating from me but seemed ignorant of the Caravan. How was that possible?
「Oho.」 My Master answered the question for me. 「This fellow is a young Dragon.」
“…”
「It was strange. Normally, Dragons are bound by a pact to nest exclusively at the summit of the Sky Mountain Range, so why would one appear in such a low place? It was also odd that it didn’t command spirits or deploy all sorts of troublesome Mysteries. I wondered why it fought only with its wings and claws instead of a Dragon’s true weapons… there was a reason for it all. It didn’t choose not to; it simply couldn’t. Because it is still young. Because it hasn’t learned yet.」
Master glanced at the Dragon.
「Furthermore, that conversation just now confirmed it. It smelled iron and was drawn here because it was provoked by the scent? That’s madness. A normal Dragon, upon sensing the aura of Steel, would flee as far away as possible instead of coming toward it.」
Master smirked.
「Young descendant, pour out the Authority of Earth contained in your sword. If you fight on the ground, it is not you, but that thing that is the insect.」
I saw the Dragon’s pupils tremble slightly. It couldn’t grasp the identity of my aura, and I had sliced off its claw. Anyone is bound to feel fear when faced with the unknown—even an arrogant Dragon.
「A young Dragon isn’t a Dragon; it’s just a winged lizard.」
I gripped the sword imbued with the Spirit King’s power. Then, I swung it without hesitation.
“Are you curious?”
At the same time, I let out a cold sneer.
“If you’re so curious, come down here, you little shit.”
The Authority of Earth exploded outward.
