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* * *
Inside the carriage heading towards the northwest end, Lark looked out the window. The carriage ran at high speed, and the scenery also flowed at a fast pace. Looking at the flowing scenery, Lark suddenly thought.
A lot of time has passed, he said.
From the day he entered Aplia Academy, Lark’s life changed. The events he experienced at the academy and the events he was involved in quickly flashed through his mind.
‘···A lot of things happened.’
A lot really happened.
I learned magic from a wise man and hand-to-hand combat from the Royal Guard. He learned determination and faith from the warriors of the past whom he encountered within the Holy Grail.
A coincidence, or an inevitability.
I became entangled with many people and became involved in many incidents. Sometimes he faced disaster, and sometimes he survived the danger of death. Recalling the events that have happened over the past nine years, Lark inadvertently bursts into laughter.
It’s been 9 years.
The four years I spent attending Aplia, and the five years I spent after graduating from Aplia. After looking back on his past times, the last thing that comes to mind for Lark is his family number.
“···Barta.”
Lark quietly chanted the name.
Barta. Barta, the king of demonic beasts.
The beast who wanted to be a swordsman was the one who gave Rak a more powerful purpose than anything else in his life. With that existence, Lark rose to the level of superhuman. The beast made Lark yearn for strength.
…But, it still can’t be reached.
A carriage moving at high speed. Even as we got closer to our destination by the minute, Lark was not sure.
‘lack.’
Because I knew this wasn’t enough.
What comes to mind is the scene of the moment when the sword of death and the king of demonic beasts clashed. A landscape where the air was torn apart, space creaked, and the canyon collapsed. Lark knew that he had not yet reached that level.
···It is one step forward. It must be one step.
One step beyond was the area where they were standing.
However, Lark did not know how to take that one step. Even if he trains his body and sharpens his sword skills, he cannot get closer to that place. On the contrary, it moves away.
It’s not technology. It’s not training.
I could only get there if I met something else.
Lark didn’t know what that ‘something’ was yet. If I could find it, I would be able to reach it. Lark closed his eyes in the rattling carriage. He closed his eyes and remembered a scene endlessly.
“A sword is something that cuts down what it wants to cut.”
“There is no need for a form.”
“This is the sword’s limit.”
The scenery seen inside the Holy Grail.
It is the original of the technique he uses and the answer given by the swordsman who has reached the end of his sword. A blow that I still don’t understand even after many years have passed.
“Because it is a shapeless sword, it is an intangible sword…”
The shouts that came out of my mouth were as empty as always. Amid the scattered noise, someone’s voice inadvertently lingered in Lark’s ears.
“This is my way.”
“You walk your own path.”
My way.
Lark pondered those words.
Abandoned ruins located at the northwestern tip of the continent.
Explorers who discovered this ruin at the end of a continent rarely visited by humans named it ‘Fortuna Temple.’
Of course they don’t know what Fortuna is.
I don’t even know what this temple is dedicated to.
Just because I discovered the name ‘Fortuna’ in an abandoned ruin. Simply because the ruins took the form of a temple. That is why it was named the Temple of Fortuna. The abandoned ruins came to be called the Temple of Fortuna.
···Not everyone knows what ‘Fortuna’ is.
“······.”
Collapsed pillars of the Temple of Fortuna.
The king of demonic beasts, Barta, sits on that pillar.
At least that much I know what Fortuna means. Fortuna is not the name of a god. Fortuna was the name given to a doll that took on bad luck.
“who are you?”
Barta comes to mind.
A woman I met here in the past.
“I am Fortuna, the sacrifice to be offered.”
Everyone called her Fortuna. She had another name, but no one cared about her name. Because there was no need for that.
“This country has unique customs.”
“Whenever there is a drought, a flood, or something bad happens to this country… we offer a part of Fortuna to the gods. Please let go of your anger.”
She said that with a smile.
“I don’t know whether the blood I shed will reach God or not. No one knows if this really works. “It’s just that people need a corner to hang on.”
“Ah, God was angry and this disaster occurred. If God’s wrath is appeased, this too shall pass. “Even though we offered sacrifices, the reason it still hasn’t rained is because there aren’t enough sacrifices.”
“That’s the way you think about it. If you think like that, you will feel at ease. It’s not a very bad way. To be exact, it wasn’t a bad way. “Before the world became like this.”
Fortuna fumbled with the bandages around her eyes.
She had beautiful green eyes, but now she had no eyes left to look at the world.
“The world is a mess.”
“Too many disasters, too many misfortunes are hitting the whole world. “A lot of people died, and a lot of people lost something precious.”
“Those who are lost may want to blame their misfortune on the shortcomings of others. However, it is difficult to accept the fact that you were unlucky and that you encountered misfortune by chance. Because it hurts so much. Why me. Why, why only me. Because I don’t want to think like that.”
So, she smiled bitterly.
“I’m blaming Fortuna.”
“Ah, there weren’t enough offerings. God was angry because it wasn’t enough. “The doll that was supposed to take on the bad luck didn’t do its job.”
At first, the offerings were limited to hair, some blood, and some flesh.
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“People still die.”
“The drought is still coming.”
“Disaster is still rampant.”
The world was still just broken.
The more the world was ruined, the more people clung to Fortuna.
“So then the fingers, then the toes, then the next, then the next…”
Finally, even the pupils were taken away.
“Well, that’s it.”
“So who are you?”
When she was still a beast, the King of Demonic Beasts encountered her guarding this temple alone. She did not fear the King of Demon Beasts, because she did not have eyes to look upon the disaster that was before her.
And the beast was encountered for the first time.
People who are not afraid of themselves.
That’s why the King of Demon Beasts became a little more curious about the human in front of him. He hid in a temple and lived among humans. He was close to her and he observed her life.
It was amazing. I couldn’t understand. It was unknown.
“Things like that happen, too. There is nothing wrong with those people.”
Even though she lost her eye, she did not blame the people who hurt her. She thought that the beast must thoroughly trample the person who hurt her and cause her to bleed in the same way, but she did not think that the woman was like that.
“Because that’s my role.”
That’s all she said.
He looked at the people full of hatred who came towards him and just asked, “What should I offer?” As time passed, she lost more. She was broken. But she still smiled.
And then, that day came.
The priests finally tried to take everything away from her. They were confident that if Fortuna gave everything, all problems would be solved. The moment when the priests who came to the temple were about to take everything away from Fortuna.
For the first time, Fortuna did not laugh.
She shed tears for the first time.
That is why the King of Demonic Beasts killed the priests.
She invaded the ruined country and killed everyone who tried to hurt her. She firmly believed that if she did that, Fortuna would smile again. Without knowing why, the King of Demonic Beasts thought that he wanted to see her smile again.
However, in the end, everything went wrong.
“I am Fortuna.”
Fortuna couldn’t laugh.
“But now it’s nothing.”
“You took everything from me.”
“Even the value of Fortuna that I have maintained my whole life.”
Fortuna resented the King of Demon Beasts who came to her with the smell of blood. With her resentment, she told him her real name, which no one would know anymore.
“You take it.”
“I cannot give you anything, I cannot offer anything for you, but I can give you my name, which has no value. So you take it.”
“Because that’s the last gift I can give to you, who didn’t see me as Fortuna, but just a person.”
By taking her own life, the woman gave a name to the animal that loved her.
“Barta.”
“That’s my name.”
Remembering that name, Barta opened his closed eyes. When I opened my eyes, hundreds of years had passed. From this place Bartha got his name. Here, for the first time, Barta longed to be human.
I wanted to understand her.
I wanted to know the meaning of her words.
That was the origin of the demonic beast that admired humans. It was my origin that I had forgotten someday. Barta let out a long breath, remembering his starting point. My breath escaped between my sharp teeth.
···The reason why Barta moved according to the madman’s wishes.
That was because the madman made a suggestion to Barta. he said He said that what could be an ‘unexpected variable’ for him was the young man who possessed the first holy sword. If you take that young man somewhere else…
『This child, this girl.』
A child stuffed in his exhibition hall.
『Let’s bring back to life this girl who was born with the qualities of a saint in a distant, foreign land. It’s not difficult. If I can achieve my goal, it will be easy to achieve if discipline breaks down.』
The madman promised the King of Demon Beasts that he would revive the girl named Varta. That’s why the King of Demonic Beasts moved according to the madman’s wishes.
Because I wanted to ask. Because I wanted to talk to her and hear the answer that she herself had received at the end of her first life. Because now that I have lived as her human being, I feel like I can understand what she is saying.
but.
“If that were all, it would be a lie.”
Barta stretched out his hand. He stretched out his hand and touched the long sword mark on his chest. Below the beginning of his second life, he was a scar carved by a warrior when he was still a beast. For some reason, the wound could not be erased.
Lark Van Grace.
In his second life, a human who reminded him of pride. Barta knows that that person is the ‘young man who held the first holy sword’ that the madman was talking about. There was an unfinished duel with that human.
···Barta has always challenged the strong.
But, it’s different now. You yourself are also being challenged by someone. To humans who are becoming stronger at a rapid rate. He is challenged by humans who try to catch up with him. Barta laughed inadvertently at that fact.
“is it.”
Ganichalt van Galatric.
I guess you felt this way too when you took my challenge. I realize a new feeling again. Barta stood up. Because I felt a presence coming here.
come. Challenger.
In his second life, the person who became his rival.
Lac Van Grace got out of the carriage.
The young man walked through the wilderness where the sand was blowing. Every time I took a step, the dry ground cracked.
widely.
Lark stopped walking. The sandstorm cleared and the temple was revealed. There was someone waiting for him at the temple. An animal that stands with both feet on the ground. A magical beast that wishes it were human.
Sreung.
Without saying a word, he pulled out the sword that was stuck in the ground. The king of demonic beasts, Barta, slowly took his stance. Lark also reached out into the air and grabbed his holy sword.
“Lark Van Grace.”
name.
“Barta.”
Name of address.
Everyone calls each other’s names.
The rivals, who had met several times, looked at each other’s swords before the final battle. The shapes of the swords resemble each other. The posture of holding the sword is also similar.
Because we had the same teacher.
Because I learned the sword from the same teacher.
Although the detailed form may be different, the fundamental sword techniques of their swords are the same. A sword that has been derived and divided and blossomed into its own form. A pure white flower that bloomed in a snowstorm and a red flower that bloomed with human blood aimed at each other.
——————.
The wind blew.
The blowing sandstorm obscured the view, and when it subsided, the images of the two swordsmen disappeared. The moment the figure reappeared, Kaaaaaaaa! The noise of metal clashing against metal rang out for a long time.
fantasy,
