One of the Nine Goddesses.
The deity worshipped by the Order of the Sun, the great goddess who governed the noble sun itself. The moment I beheld her blazing form, my thoughts ground to a halt. I had felt the presence of gods before—like when divine punishment was unleashed upon Toma Rhapsody—but in this moment, I realized that what I had felt then was a mere fragment. The presence of a god descending directly into the world, manifesting through pure sacred power, transcended my imagination by leagues.
「Give up on becoming Steel, Last Caravan.」
The eyes of one of the Nine Goddesses, descended upon the mortal realm, turned toward me. Her pupils were beautiful, as if carved from living flame. Just looking at them was intoxicating. No jewel in the world could ever hope to match that beauty. My mind overflowed with praise and rapture. An unbearable ecstasy washed over me, and an impulse surged within—a desire to cast everything aside and throw myself into the service of the Order of the Sun this very instant.
「I say it again. You are a being who brings forth tragedy. If you do not wish to lose the grain of happiness you hold in your palm, turn back now. Become a lowly existence once more. Become a trivial boy. Become a speck of dust that no one heeds.」
However.
Even amidst that overwhelming impulse, I did not bow my head.
I did not lower my gaze.
“I… refuse.”
Because there was something far greater in my chest than mere rapture or ecstasy. Something that could not be suppressed or silenced—an eternal, unquenchable thirst for revenge. A scar etched into my soul that would never fade. A single goal that no one could stop as long as I drew breath.
“It’s too late.”
「No, it is not—」
“I said it’s too late! If you wanted to stop me, you should have come sooner. You should have appeared before I lost everything. At the very least, you should have appeared after I lost it all and punished that man! You should have rewarded those with faith and ensured those who sinned paid the proper price!”
「…」
“I understand your greatness. But…”
One of the Nine Goddesses?
That wasn’t enough. Even if all Nine Goddesses and the Seven Chief Gods came together to urge me to give up, I would not listen. I would choose to be broken rather than bent. I would rather collapse than be swayed.
“No one has the right to tell me to stop. No one has the right to tell me to let go of everything and quit. No one in this world.”
The divine presence weighing down on me eased slightly. I held my head high and glared at the Goddess Lebrua. Her form was flickering now, like a lamp in the wind.
「…Even the cub of a lion is still a beast of prey.」
“…”
「So, this is the Caravan.」
The blazing form of the woman began to lose its light. Soon, Goddess Lebrua spoke again.
「I cannot hold you any longer. Your ancestor comes to drive me away. The Master of All Swords comes to carve out the midday sun. A being who defies the laws and order of all worlds.」
“…”
「Remember this, Last Caravan.」
As Goddess Lebrua’s form wavered, she whispered one last thing.
「Heaven will be watching you.」
* * *
“Huff.”
When I blinked, the presence of Goddess Lebrua was gone. Looking around, the sacred flames had completely vanished. In their place, I saw the ‘Torch of Serenity’ rolling on the ground. There was no longer a flame at its tip. Like a match that had served its purpose, the Torch of Serenity was burnt black; relighting it seemed impossible.
…The monks went out of their way to lend me this.
They had said that no one outside the Order of the Sun could use the Torch of Serenity properly, and since it was just a vessel for the sacred flame, it didn’t matter if it was lost or extinguished… but seeing it ruined so quickly felt like a waste. I felt a bit bad for the monks.
“Phew.”
Dammit.
Just when I thought things were going well lately, it felt like the path of hardship was opening up again. The Nine Goddesses and the Seven Chief Gods—the greatest beings on the continent. One of the creators who brought forth the vast continent and the seven races had personally come to warn me. To quit everything I was doing.
The scale has certainly escalated.
It was incomparable to the uninvited guests who used to visit the ruined Caravan estate. Only now did it truly sink in—just how absurd my goal of killing a Swordmaster was. And just how many enemies the ‘Caravan’ truly had.
“Just now, Lebrua, the Goddess of the Sun and one of the Nine Goddesses, descended before me. Did you see it?”
「Yes, I saw.」
“Does this make any sense? For an omnipotent and great creator to appear before a mere human… a mere Sword Runner, just to warn him not to act up?”
「It is a hard story to believe. But if you are a Caravan, it is entirely possible, young descendant.」
Liam’s face was calm.
「There is also the matter of the location. The Sky Mountain Range is a place close to heaven.」
“…”
「In a place so close to heaven, the Last Caravan held a divine object belonging to one of the Nine Goddesses. She must have seen this moment as an opportunity. An opportunity to break the Caravan’s will.」
Liam looked at me.
「Usually, they cannot even approach because they are too busy watching me.」
“Watching you, Master?”
「Yes. Far from touching you, they are afraid to even turn their gaze this way. To them, a Caravan… no, ‘I’ am such an existence.」
The Nine Goddesses and the Seven Chief Gods were wary and afraid of him? What kind of insane statement was that? If such a description were written in a fantasy novel, readers would mock it for being over the top. Yet, for some reason, my Master’s words didn’t feel like a boast or a lie. I stood dazed for a moment before asking.
“What on earth were you doing while you were alive?”
「I fought many.」
Liam spoke dryly. Very dryly.
「The Nine Goddesses and the Seven Chief Gods were merely among them.」
I felt like I would lose my mind if I heard any more.
And there was no point in listening anyway. What was the use of hearing about things that had already happened and couldn’t be undone? No matter how grand the events were or how monumental the trials to come, there was only one thing I could and had to do right now: get stronger.
And hadn’t I set a goal to achieve that strength?
“Let’s just climb the mountain.”
Let’s go.
Up, higher up.
* * *
“…And that is how I ended up coming alone.”
Aurora, a city in the Sky Empire.
Tom, who had crossed the empire’s border with the help of the monks, met Audrey and Sherizik and explained the situation. Audrey was the first to speak.
“Are you crazy? Staying there alone? Even we witches don’t cross the mid-slope of the Sky Mountain Range alone. It’s too dangerous! Even the top rangers in the empire never go in there individually—never!”
“It was the Young Master’s will.”
“I understand heading there to devour the soul of a blade. It’s one way to interpret a soul. But, but…”
“If you could just understand—”
“That’s just irresponsible!” Audrey bit her lip as she spoke. “As a witch, I should be pleased with his choice. Why? Because whether he dies in the Sky Mountain Range or not, we can just connect to the spiritual world, talk to him, and fulfill the contract. We can just ask what clues he found within the blade. As a witch who needs those clues, I should be happy.”
“…”
“But I thought we had become something like friends. I was born in this empire and lived locked in a Magic Tower since I was a child. Because I became a witch after being chosen by my husband, I never had a single real friend. I had my sisters who smiled no matter what I did, and I had my kind husband, but I had no friends. That’s why the time I spent in that backwater village was more fun than I expected.”
Audrey’s voice wavered.
“If he dies, I’ll be sad. Hailyn will be sad, and the good people of that village will be sad. And maybe they won’t be able to handle the trials to come. That village is still incomplete. I just… I can’t understand. Why he did something so irresponsible…”
As the tearful Audrey muttered, Sherizik patted her shoulder.
“It wasn’t irresponsible.”
“Then what?”
“He trusted you.”
Sherizik smiled, revealing her fangs. It was a lethal Orcish smile—a beautiful, fierce expression that would have left any male Orc entranced.
“Witch, you should return to the village where the Descendant of Steel resides with this man. Protect the territory as you have been doing. Make it develop, prepare for external attacks, and make the estate strong. Like a true friend of his. Like someone who has affection for the village.”
“…Is that the right thing to do?”
“Yes, it is. Then you won’t regret it.”
Audrey looked at Tom. Soon, Tom spoke.
“The Young Master would feel reassured if you did. I also intended to return to the Iron Kingdom to protect the territory. Because I promised him.”
“…”
“I am also relieved. There is no one more reliable than a witch to help. But are you alright? Being away for so long?”
“…It’s fine. I can communicate with my sisters anytime, and witches are beings who are nowhere and everywhere. Our essence is the soul and the spiritual world. Whether I stay in the Iron Kingdom or the Sky Empire doesn’t matter.”
“Then let’s go together.” Tom grinned. “Aren’t you our friend too, Lady Audrey?”
At those words, Audrey’s expression brightened slightly.
“If we are friends, we should trust our friend’s choice and be a source of strength. Hailyn will be waiting for you to return as well.”
“Th-that brat probably is. She’d be bored to death without me.”
The atmosphere gradually warmed. Amidst this, Tom looked at Sherizik.
“Then what about you, Lady Sherizik?”
Sherizik hummed and turned her head. “For now, I plan to stay by his side.”
“By his side?”
“I have no intention of interfering with his asceticism, but I want to witness the process of Steel being reborn as Steel. And if there are any gnats bothering him… I’ll take care of them one by one.”
Audrey nodded at Sherizik’s words. “…Then I’m relieved.”
Hearing that, Tom tilted his head. “Are you relieved?”
“Of course I am. That reckless guy won’t die a sudden death now. I was worried and thought about asking my sisters for protection, but there’s no need for that. I won’t even have to ask that old man to watch from afar.”
Audrey, looking as if a weight had been lifted, saw the lingering confusion on Tom’s face. She then gave him the answer to his unspoken question.
“Because that Orc is the strongest one here.”
“…”
“Maybe even stronger than my sisters.”
At Audrey’s words, Tom looked at Sherizik. The Orc nodded.
“I don’t know if I’m stronger than the witches, but it’s true that I’m the strongest one here. I’m satisfied to see that my strength holds up even in the outside world. Among the Orcs, I was the strongest. My father and the Chieftain who rules all Orcs are respectable individuals, but… their fighting skills were honestly quite poor.”
* * *
There are many ways to accept the soul of a sword. Among those various methods, one is undoubtedly the most effective: encountering a situation in reality that is identical to the memory held within the sword.
I had benefited from this when I digested 「Gale」. In the Ronin’s memory, the wizard Dorothy remained a powerful presence, and the moment I heard a wizard’s scream during the species duel, the past memory and reality merged, causing the memories within the blade to swirl intensely.
Yes. It was a phenomenon I had experienced firsthand.
That was why I had decided to climb the Sky Mountain Range alone to digest 「Soaring」. I judged that by creating an environment as similar as possible, the digestion of the sword might proceed faster.
And. At this very moment.
“Ah.”
I was in a situation exactly identical to that of the old adventurer within 「Soaring」.
My body was ruined, unable to twitch even a finger. My arms and legs were bent in various directions, and blood poured uncontrollably from the holes riddled through my body. I couldn’t even see properly. At the edge of my faint, blurry vision, I saw the high-rising mountains and cliffs. It was the exact same scenery the old adventurer in 「Soaring」 had seen. I have a feeling even the location is the same…
Dammit.
Of course.
This wasn’t intentional.
Fuck.
