EP.136 Trial of Endurance (3)
– Dad
When he closes his eyes, he hears a voice calling him.
It’s a voice that has become a memory now. Following the echoes of the voice in his ears, he slowly opens his eyes.
– Dad, can you hear me?
The voice ringing in his ears becomes clearer.
“I can hear you. What is it, Armel?”
“Why don’t you teach me how to use a sword?”
“Hmm?”
Draka blinked.
What stood before him was a lovely girl with her hair in two braids. His daughter, who inherited only the beautiful appearance of his wife, not resembling him at all.
‘Armel.’
Looking at his daughter, Draka smiled bitterly.
That was quite the cheeky question. Starting her day off by puffing out her cheeks and barging into his office to ask, “Why don’t you teach me how to use a sword?”
‘What is it now that’s bothering you today?’
Draka gently soothed his daughter with a soft voice.
“It’s hard to understand. Just straight up asking to be taught swordsmanship? What do you mean by that, Armel?”
“I want to learn swordsmanship too. The boys at the academy tease me. ‘You’re the child of a renowned swordsman, yet you can’t even handle a sword properly,’ they say.”
Draka frowned.
His precious daughter, nurtured like a treasure. He had sent her to the academy, and now it seemed she was being pestered by boys enchanted by her beauty.
‘She must be saying such nonsense just to have a word with me.’
Draka clicked his tongue. His hand instinctively reached for the wooden sword hanging on the wall.
“Who are those crazy kids? Just tell me. I’ll rush right over and….”
“Last time you did that, you were banned from the academy, remember? Why should an adult interfere with kids’ problems?”
“Ahem, but…”
“So please teach me swordsmanship!”
Armel declared boldly.
“I’ll take them on myself!”
“Where do you get this from…?”
Draka shook his head vigorously.
In truth, Draka knew that his daughter’s words were merely an excuse. She had wanted to resemble him since she was young.
‘She’s said multiple times that she wants to learn swordsmanship.’
It would be the same this time.
And each time, Draka had rejected her proposal. Though he was a complete softy for his daughter, he was also a swordsman first and foremost—one who had no room for compromise when it came to swords.
“Armel.”
Draka cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
He didn’t feel the need to say, “Swordsmanship isn’t something learned in a day or two.” Even less so did he want to say, “You have no talent for martial arts.” If he were to say that, she would undoubtedly be disappointed.
Instead, Draka spoke softly.
“Is there really a need for you to learn swordsmanship?”
“…Here we go again.”
Armel’s expression fell, as if disappointed.
“…Why won’t you teach me? It would be good to know martial arts for my own protection, right? You never know…”
“Even if you never know anything…”
Draka interrupted Armel’s words.
And then, with a thump, he laughed while thumping his chest.
“Your father is here for you.”
“…”
“I will protect you, no matter what happens. That’s what fathers should do.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
It was a vow he made in front of his wife’s grave. Draka held back those words; they were enough to keep buried in his heart.
“I swear by my name.”
Armel shook her head defiantly, as if to say he couldn’t stop her.
Draka told her he would take her to the academy, putting on his cloak and standing up.
Creeeak, the door opened.
The first to leave the room was Armel. Draka paused, watching her as she walked away. He took a moment to fix his gaze on her back, then he lowered his eyes. Draka looked at himself.
“…”
He had put on a nice cloak to accompany his daughter, but now it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a shabby mantle wrapped around his shoulders. Instead of hands that bore scars, the hands that appeared were rough, caked in blood and ichor.
It was time to wake up from the dream.
Whispering to himself, the scenery of the office crumbled away. His daughter’s figure melted, turning into black sludge. Both his daughter and the office, even the territory dissolved.
What remained was just himself.
A sneer curled on Draka’s lips.
‘Draka van Harokht.’
An old name.
He recalled the name that he could no longer utter as he had failed to keep his vow.
He could not keep the promise.
His daughter was brutally murdered.
That child could not die as a human.
‘She melted away, dying as one with the filthy beasts.’
Draka opened his eyes, which he had closed.
Returning to reality, he saw the Cardinal waiting for him to finish his tale. He could see the Holy Knights filling the church.
Yes, indeed.
Had he been in the middle of telling a story?
How far had he gotten? In his jumbled thoughts, Draka grasped the thread of the story once more.
“Cardinal.”
Draka spoke up.
“I intend to bring this to an end.”
The time has come to end the long hell.
Draka pulled something out from the shabby hem of his cloak.
It was an old wooden box.
*
Snowstorms raged. They were fierce, yet it wasn’t very cold. I let out a short breath and took a step forward. With every step I took, the gusting snowstorm only grew fiercer.
Swoosh!
How long had I been walking? The snow and wind did not feel it was possible to push me back; instead, it clawed and covered me.
‘It feels like a thin blade.’
The term “blade of wind” fit perfectly.
It seemed the direction had shifted a bit…
“Nice try.”
All I could do was smile.
No matter how fierce the snowstorm was, it was still just snow and wind. After having eaten and slept in the storm of the black dragon, Belial, this much snowstorm felt like a refreshing breeze to me.
‘I endured even in front of the Demon Lord; what’s the big deal?’
No matter how rough it got, would it throw me off?
In the center of the sanctuary, it seemed something desired for me to turn back, but that was a mere fantasy.
‘How can I possibly hold back my curiosity?’
That’s how human psychology works.
If there’s a button that says “Don’t press,” you want to press it; if it says “Don’t enter,” then you want to go in even more.
‘I can’t go back. No, I won’t go back.’
At this point, my curiosity alone prevented me from turning back. What could be in the center that keeps the intruders at bay like this?
‘I heard there’s a weapon stuck in there.’
From what I remembered, the trial of the Holy Sword that Kyle overcame didn’t seem nearly as fierce as this. So could it be that a weapon comparable to the Holy Sword was stuck there?
‘Whatever it is…’
I’d know once I see it.
“Phew.”
I let out a short breath.
The snowstorm obscured my vision, making it hard to see ahead. I thought about just unleashing a blast of destruction, but… I couldn’t just obliterate a place regarded as a family’s sanctuary.
Thud.
How long had I been walking?
I stopped momentarily. I had arrived at my destination. Stopping my steps, I squinted my eyes.
The snowstorm had cleared.
What came into view was a vast green meadow.
“…Huh.”
It was quite a mystical sight.
Just taking a step back and the snowstorm would roar, yet the center of the sanctuary was a green meadow. It felt as if I had stepped into a place completely detached from reality.
‘The mana concentration increased even more.’
On the surface, it appeared as if the trial was over, but in fact, the mana density was more intense than ever. It felt a bit suffocating.
Clop.
I took a step forward.
The green grass crunched under my shoes. Leaving footprints in the pristine white snow, I walked across the unspoiled green meadow.
Splash.
A stream flowed through the meadow, leading toward what seemed to be an ‘unfrozen spring.’ I followed the flowing stream.
‘So this is it.’
The flowing stream converged in one place.
Where the waters gathered stood massive statues arranged in a circle. A dozen statues with their bases submerged in the water surrounded something.
It almost looked like a grave.
As if the statues were guarding a tomb.
‘…Wait, a grave?’
I halted for a moment.
If this is truly a grave… then it would be a place I, an outsider and not a member of the Grace Family, shouldn’t step into.
‘But I’m so curious…’
Though I shouldn’t, I was curious.
‘…If I just take a peek, it should be fine, right?’
Moral conscience versus curiosity.
The scale weighing those two values tilted slowly toward curiosity.
“…Huh?”
I narrowed my eyes.
Something caught my sight. I traced a finger along the pattern etched on the statue. It was a unique, yet familiar design.
“This is…”
I muttered unknowingly.
“It’s the symbol of ashes.”
The emblem of the Ashen Tower, the same symbol I had engraved on my robe during my days as the Ashen Mage.
‘Why is this here?’
Something felt off.
I turned my head. I reached out beyond the statue. I needed to confirm what was hidden inside.
「Unauthorized person.」
And then, at that moment.
「Step aside.」
Thud, Boom!
The statues began to move.
*
The wooden box that Draka set down.
The Cardinal, who was watching it, asked.
“What is this?”
“This is a sort of map to find the resting place of the First Saint’s remains.”
Draka opened the box.
Inside the open box lay a white bone fragment. Just a finger-sized bone fragment. The Cardinal’s eyes widened upon seeing it.
“This is…”
The Cardinal swallowed hard.
The spiritual power contained in that mere bone fragment was vividly visible to him. The grace bestowed upon the Saint Sara, blessed by the stars, was nothing compared to this fragment.
“Where on earth did you find this…?”
The Cardinal’s voice trembled.
Noticing the Cardinal’s reaction, Draka shrugged nonchalantly.
“I found it in the kingdom that turned to ash. It was kept deep within the ruins buried in the ashes.”
“No expedition has ever found it. We ourselves have tried several times to locate the ruins buried in ash…”
“Didn’t I say it was deep?”
The Cardinal fell silent, and Draka opened his mouth again.
“The place where traces of the Demon Lord remain. A location of the ruins resonating with toxins that no one dared to explore.”
One step into it was enough to burn away one’s lifespan, a place that no one could investigate.
“Entering with 98 people.”
Draka stated.
“Exiting with 126.”
What did that quantity mean?
The Cardinal didn’t ask. He didn’t need to ask; he understood the answer.
“Gifting that many offerings to the altar somehow had us escaping. It’s the item we obtained as a result. Cardinal, let me share two interesting facts with you.”
Draka raised his index and middle fingers.
As he folded his middle finger down, he spoke.
“One: Holy relics resonate with other holy relics. Especially those associated with the first saint… exhibit even stronger resonance. It may be a bit unfortunate, but I discovered this fragment over ten years ago.”
“No, how could you…!”
Why had he hidden it this long?
And why now?
To the Cardinal’s inquiries, Draka responded.
“Because I’ve finally found it.”
A smile crept onto Draka’s face.
As he folded down his remaining index finger, he continued speaking.
“The remains of the Saint moved towards the North. Whether there or wherever, it always pointed North. Even in the holy kingdom where I visited the headquarters of the Deloheim Church.”
Even before the garments the First Saint wore.
Even before the holy water she used.
That bone fragment had always pointed North.
‘What does that mean?’
The Cardinal swallowed hard.
“It means that the remains of the First Saint are buried here. Remains that until now, no one has ever found.”
“…Where is its location?”
“You’re being too hasty, Cardinal.”
Draka leaned back in his seat.
With a relaxed smile, he spoke.
“Before that, can we keep our promise?”
“…Of course.”
The Cardinal snapped his fingers.
The Holy Knights guarding the doors of the old cathedral stepped back. The door opened, revealing children dressed in pure white.
“Children.”
“Children who no one would suspect if they disappeared.”
Draka nodded.
He examined the kids with a gaze as if checking an item. The expressionless children looked as if they had been brainwashed. They were in perfect condition for use.
The confirmation of the goods was completed.
Now it was time for Draka to provide the answer.
“The place this fragment indicates is…”
*
Thud, Boom!
The statues crumbled down. The glowing red eyes of the statue extinguished. Ranyel, who had ripped off the headpiece of the statue, slowly lowered her gaze.
She had shattered three statues.
It was not okay to throw a ruckus in someone else’s family’s sanctuary, yet… Ranyel didn’t have the luxury to think like that now.
Thud.
Ranyel’s heart raced.
“…”
Pieces of stone floated above the spring.
The shattered debris of the statue.
Beyond them lay a small patch of ground floating in the center of the spring.
On that patch of land, which could barely support even a single person’s weight, something was embedded. It resembled a kind of stake that binds the mana of the spring.
‘It’s like the enormous tree at the center of Harmain Forest.’
It was a sword. A single sword that retained its sharpness even after the passage of many years.
“What the…?”
Ranyel’s gaze wavered as she looked at the sword.
The shape of the sword looked familiar. Although she had only seen it a handful of times, it was unforgettable.
A massive blade.
A thin handle compared to the blade.
A great sword so heavy that an ordinary person couldn’t even lift it. The cloth wrapped around the handle flapped in the wind. The worn fabric had something engraved on it, but it was beyond Ranyel’s sight.
“What is this?”
The blade had holes drilled into it.
From the holes, platinum-colored starlight flowed down.
“Why is this here?”
Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.
A sword synonymous with its existence, a sword of death.
That sword was embedded right in the center of the spring.
