A pitch-black sky.
In the heavens, shrouded entirely in darkness, the stars twinkled with cold brilliance. Beneath them lay sheer cliffs and a lush growth of ancient thickets. The view beyond the precipice was breathtaking. At the edge of this picturesque cliff, a scene straight out of a painting, stood a man.
In his arms, he held a small boy who resembled him. On the boy’s back were wings made of wax, but they were twisted and melted, their original shape long gone. The man looked down at the boy—his son, who no longer drew breath. The cause of death was a fall. The boy’s limbs were broken and mangled, white ribs protruded through his flesh, and his neck was twisted at an impossible angle. He looked like a broken puppet.
Cradling his dead son, the man looked out past the beautiful cliff. Then, he turned his gaze toward a towering mountain on the opposite side. Its summit was so high it was hidden by the clouds, an ethereal height that seemed to touch the heavens. The man knew what the world called that peak: the Sky Mountain Range.
The man stared hatefully at the summit that the rest of the world looked up to in awe. While his spiteful gaze remained fixed, a being that ruled over the great mountain flapped its wings. That being soon hovered directly over the man’s head.
It was the being the man’s son had dreamed of. Perhaps the being every boy in the world dreamed of. The Dragon, the greatest of the seven races, looked down upon the human, the most insignificant of them all.
“Why do you look at the sky with such eyes?”
A sacred voice. The Dragon Speech echoed through the air. The great sky, the great race, the great mountain range, and the great being. And then, the pathetic death of an insignificant creature who had dared to dream of them. The father, clutching his lifeless son, spoke in a hollow voice.
“…Do you know of the genius who became a taxidermy specimen?”
.
.
.
“…Young Master!”
The swirling memories snapped shut.
When I opened my eyes, Tom was standing before me.
“Get a grip! We have to get out of here!”
Tom’s face was unusually frantic. He gripped my shoulders and shook me, but I still found it hard to clear my head. I couldn’t tell if it was because I had been awakened in the middle of digesting the Sword’s memory, or if the memory contained within the blade had simply been too intense. Though my eyes were open, the grogginess wouldn’t fade. It felt as if I were still dreaming.
“Arhan, I said wake up!”
“What… is… this…”
The world visible past Tom’s shoulder was in chaos.
The Rhapsody Legion, which had always been on standby inside the barracks, had moved outside to a man. Knights, mercenaries, and the mages of the Free Cities known as Wave Catchers—every combatant in the legion was facing the same direction, preparing for battle.
“We have to move now! We’ll be swept away if we stay here!”
In the direction they were staring, another army stood. A knighthood clad in ash-grey. The strongest order of the Iron Kingdom, forged from head to toe in cold steel—the Royal Guard that protected the City of Blades. The Ash Knights were advancing.
“Why are they… here…”
“Now isn’t the time to ask why. Young Master, get up. Now!”
The veins in Tom’s neck bulged as he shouted.
When I continued to limp and stagger, unable to shake off the haze, Tom stopped wasting his breath. Instead, he hoisted me up and threw me over his back. It was the sight of a young man being carried by an old one. Tom sprinted in the opposite direction of the burgeoning battlefield. Toward my land, the Caravan estate.
“The Dragon… a Dragon is coming…”
As Tom muttered those words, a thick shadow slowly stretched across the ground. As the battlefield was dyed in darkness, the master of that shadow finally revealed its full form. Two eyes, like jewels, scanned the pathetic, pitiable humans who could not fly. It looked as if it were amused.
I, too, saw that terrifying gaze. The Dragon’s eyes were different from how they were depicted in countless myths and legends. The legends said Dragons were the greatest race, wise and dignified beings who upheld a sacred duty. They were a race that the other six should emulate and respect. But at this moment, the Dragon reflected in my eyes could be summarized in a single word.
“You know nothing about Dragons, Young Master.”
A monster.
*
The six Free Cities had split from the ruined Grid Republic. They were called many things, but the most famous among them was undoubtedly the ‘Overlord of the Sea.’ Since the days of the Grid Republic, the six Free Cities had never lost a naval battle. Their Free Fleet was also known as the Invincible Fleet, possessing not only elite troops but also a wealth of long-accumulated military knowledge. Their naval power was comparable to that of the Sky Empire. The seven races of the continent praised their navy, and the men themselves took great pride in their forces.
It wasn’t arrogance. They truly were a powerful army.
“Enemy spotted!”
Even if they had failed to detect the enemy’s approach due to a lack of magic power, they were a force capable of defeating any foe as long as they fought on the water.
“They appear to be the Steel Fleet of the Iron Kingdom, Chervil!”
“The Steel Fleet?”
“Have they suddenly gone mad? Ships made of rusted scrap metal dare to invade our waters?”
Though no attack had been launched yet, the act of violating territorial waters without communication was a declaration of war in itself. According to the law, the war had already begun. Furthermore, they had come too deep for it to be a mistake. They hadn’t even raised a flag indicating they had no intention to fight. On the contrary, they were proudly flying the banners of the Iron Kingdom.
“What are your orders?”
The commander didn’t even hesitate.
A surprise attack by the Iron Kingdom, a nation with pathetic naval strength. An ungentlemanly act without a formal declaration. The Free Fleet had only one answer to give.
“Sink those unsightly piles of scrap to the bottom of the sea.”
Attack.
The moment the commander gave the word, everyone moved in perfect unison. Once they secured the proper distance, the Iron Kingdom’s Steel Fleet would be erased from existence. But as everyone finished their preparations with a strange sense of tension, someone muttered.
“…What is that?”
Hearing the voice, the commander was about to tell them to focus. But he couldn’t. He, too, had seen ‘something’ approaching from the distance. It started as a small dot and grew larger in an instant. When it drew close enough for its features to be visible, the commander’s face turned deathly pale.
“A Dragon…”
Soon, a deep shadow fell over the entire Free Fleet. Amidst the looming sense of dread, several ships aimed their cannons upward. Their intent was to shoot down the great Dragon soaring through the sky. However, their wish was not granted.
“Huh…?”
They couldn’t light the cannons. To be precise, the very act of creating fire had become impossible. Voices erupted from all over the fleet. They couldn’t light the fuses; the fire simply wouldn’t catch. Listening to their frantic screams, the commander recalled the legends.
The Dragons, the greatest race, are loved by all the spirits of the world. Dragons are the masters of spirits, and all spirits are the masters of the elements that compose them. Therefore, Dragons are the masters of the elements.
Recalling the legend, the commander realized the cause of the phenomenon. The spirits were interfering. They were preventing fire from even sparking so that it could not harm their master.
“What in the world!”
As he listened to the chaos around him, the commander felt a sudden chill. Nature had betrayed them. And the betrayal wouldn’t end here. Fire wasn’t the only element. What lay directly beneath their fleet? The sea. The sea did not belong to humans. It belonged to nature. And nature belonged to the Dragon.
“Retreat.”
“Sir?”
“Re—treat!”
The commander’s voice cut off abruptly as he tried to issue the order. His eyes widened as he realized his voice would no longer come out. In that moment, he felt a wave of dizziness. He couldn’t breathe. His breath was blocked as if he were underwater.
Wind… the element of air.
Nature had abandoned them.
In this moment, the commander and the sailors felt a maddening sense of helplessness. With nature turning its back on them, there was nothing they could do. Absolutely nothing. He felt like a mere insect. Collapsed on the deck and gasping for air, the commander looked up at the massive Dragon floating in the sky. There was a sense of enjoyment in the Dragon’s eyes. Like the eyes of a young boy who finds joy in stepping on ants one by one.
Soon, a massive wave crashed down upon the Free Fleet. It was a violent, gargantuan wave, large enough to swallow a city. After the wave swept past, there was no trace left of the Free Fleet. The Steel Fleet of the Iron Kingdom only had to sail through the now-empty sea. It was an easy task. After their long voyage, the Steel Legion landed in the Free City. Without a single casualty.
*
The Rhapsody Legion drew their swords and spears, preparing for battle. A Dragon had appeared, a creature they had only heard of in legends, but they were confident nonetheless. They were the blades of the great Rhapsody, and the greatest Swordmaster was here with them. With a Swordmaster present, they feared no one. Even if the nine goddesses and the seven chief gods themselves descended, they intended to fight to the end. Even if it meant falling into hell after the battle.
“Lower your weapons.”
However, Hugo Rhapsody ordered them to disarm.
Everyone was confused. Why give up without even trying to fight? To their knowledge, Hugo Rhapsody had never shown such an attitude. Not after he became a Swordmaster, and not even when he was an ordinary swordsman before that.
But the legion soon understood.
“This is no place for you to interfere.”
After Hugo Rhapsody’s voice rang out, the world was dyed pure white. From the wilderness filled with dry earth to their barracks, the deep blue sky, and even the sun—everything became a flawless, absolute white. Simultaneously, it began to snow. Winter had arrived in this pure white world.
“Hugo Rhapsody.”
A man appeared in the midst of the winter.
The moment he appeared, he became the protagonist of the scene. The great Dragon, the Ash Knights guarding the capital of the Iron Kingdom, and the Legion of Freedom that did not fear defeat—all of them had to step off the stage in this moment.
“The Watchers of the White family never forget a debt. Whether it be a favor or a grudge, it must be repaid. That is the oldest rule.”
“…”
“I am called by many names, but in the end, I too am a Watcher. Therefore, at this moment, I intend to uphold the oldest rule of White.”
The Grand Duke of the North, Russell White.
The head of a great family, and one of the six Swordmasters.
“Draw your sword, Hugo Rhapsody.”
Two masters. Two Swordmasters faced each other.
“I have come to repay a debt.”
