The Horn-Blowing Star (3)
Najin felt his inner self surge. The seed buried underground yearned for the surface. It wanted to pierce the thick earth and bloom into the world. Cracks spread through the soil that held the seed, and light seeped through the narrow fissures.
Flash.
Najin’s sword aura thickened. One step forward. Leaving only a single step between them, Najin sprinted. Kaaaaang! Having swung his spear shaft to fling the Helmet Knight aside, the Horn-blowing Star turned toward Najin. The instant he beheld the starlight Najin had kindled, the Horn-blowing Star’s body locked for a heartbeat.
The freeze was brief. Then the Horn-blowing Star roared.
A constellation that has lost its star instinctively hungers for one. It longs for the pure-white shining star—the star it can never possess again. The Horn-blowing Star kicked off the ground like a beast. That movement could only be described as bestial.
Kwaang!
As if two legs were not enough, he used both arms and even the spear shaft clenched in his fist to hurl himself at Najin. Striking the earth with the spear and using the rebound to close the gap, the Horn-blowing Star swept his clawed grip.
The Horn-blowing Star was a constellation that had fallen decades ago. Across long years of injury and recovery, most of his flesh had already been replaced by starlight. Finding anything human left in his body was harder than finding what was not—and that meant every inefficient part had vanished.
Even that grip was no different from a beast’s talons. When he swung his hand, the air sang as if cut by a blade. The moment the Horn-blowing Star’s raking claw met Najin’s sword aura, a savage screech rang out.
Kagagagagagang!
Sparks leapt. Even as he swung his grip, the Horn-blowing Star brought the spear shaft in his other hand around. Hearing the air tear and seeing the shaft lunge in, Najin chose not to block this time.
Skak!
He swept his sword and sheared the shaft clean through.
No matter how thickly aura coats a weapon, gaps always exist. The old, weathered spear shaft could not endure Najin’s sword aura for even a second.
Kuuung!
Yet the Horn-blowing Star knew that as well. The instant the shaft snapped, he drove down the foot he had already lifted for his next step. The ground shuddered, and another spear shaft buried in the earth sprang free.
Kwak—he snatched it up and thrust in the same motion. There was no seam between the two actions. Just as a master of the quick-draw does not distinguish the unsheathing from the cut, neither did the Horn-blowing Star.
A warrior who had reached transcendence with a single spear. Naturally, that technique was beyond ordinary comprehension.
Tuhwak!
The thrust was so fast that the air caught on the spear blade whirled into a vortex, gathered to a single point, and detonated. Faced with a technique he could not understand even while watching it with both eyes, Najin was left half-stunned.
And how sharp was that aura?
The moment he met the aura-wrapped blade, the numbness did not stop at his grip. From the hand holding the sword it raced up the arm, from arm to shoulder, from shoulder through his entire body.
Eudeuk—his joints screamed. Bloodshot eyes strained so as not to lose the Horn-blowing Star’s movements for an instant. An attack he failed to evade cleanly tore flesh from his body. Chewing the blood that flooded his mouth, Najin swung his sword.
Kaaaaaang!
Without the Helmet Knight constantly harassing the Horn-blowing Star and covering every opening, Najin would already have been punched full of holes and sent flying. A formidable foe. An enemy he could never defeat alone…
But, Najin thought.
Not overwhelming.
Yuel. Caron. Gerd.
Unlike the sensation of facing the continent’s three Sword Masters, there was no crushing pressure. Unlike those who had seemed unbeatable no matter what means he used, the opponent before him still possessed openings.
Once a transcendentalist, now a fallen star. That star could not fire sword aura that cleaved hundreds of meters, nor unfurl its mindscape across the field to crush Najin. Of course not. How could one who had fallen and lost himself pour that self—his mindscape—into his aura?
The Horn-blowing Star’s aura was incomplete.
Its edge and weight remained, yet it lacked the marvel, the mystery that transcendentalists ordinarily possessed… that unshakable, absolute standard.
Kaaaaang!
Even so, it was still more than powerful enough—just not invincible. Najin dragged his sword tip low. Feigning a leap backward to open distance, he then swept his blade in a wide arc.
Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!
The compressed sword aura stretched long from the edge. The whip-like lash of aura scoured the area. The Horn-blowing Star batted aside the thinned strand with ease, but that had never been Najin’s true aim.
The spear shafts littering the ground were caught in the sweep and shattered. Najin closed the distance at once and broke the Horn-blowing Star’s current spear as well. Now, to seize a new weapon, the Horn-blowing Star would have to open space the same way Najin had.
The very moment he roared and turned to hunt for another shaft, Najin’s sword aura touched the Horn-blowing Star’s body for the first time.
Kakng!
It was no meaningful blow. Najin’s tip merely scraped the armor. The Horn-blowing Star had not bothered to block it precisely because it posed little threat.
A meaningless attack to the Horn-blowing Star.
But not to Najin.
“What kind of knight howls so vulgarly?”
What Najin’s sword had severed were the helmets hanging from the Horn-blowing Star’s armor. The ones that had been roaring like beasts with their visors flung open were those helmets. As one of them shattered and fell, the roar itself grew quieter.
Najin raised his sword tip and crooked the corner of his mouth.
“If you mean to come at me like a beast, then by all means. Do so.”
A star shone at the tip of his blade.
“I’ll face you as a knight.”
A star was shining.
The eroded star gazed upon the pure-white blaze. The light poured out by that newly kindled star was the very thing he had lost long ago. Watching the sight, the ancient star could not help but laugh.
What a madman. Truly.
Pressing the Horn-blowing Star in rhythm with Najin’s movements, the Helmet Knight thought exactly that. The Horn-blowing Star was strong. A heavy opponent for the current Najin—and that remained true even with the Helmet Knight’s aid.
A single misstep could mean death or crippling injury, yet the boy only grew more aggressive, as if he possessed lives to spare. More astonishing still, his speed was steadily climbing.
Wounds multiplied, blood sprayed, he was battered and sent tumbling across the ground only to spring up and charge again. At this rate it was hard to tell which of them was the undying monster.
Ka, gagagagagak!
Thrusting his spear at the Horn-blowing Star, the Helmet Knight tasted bitterness. The Horn-blowing Star paid him no attention. Every scrap of focus remained fixed on Najin, who never stopped coming. Even though the Helmet Knight had inflicted more wounds, even though he was the more threatening powerhouse of the two.
Cold-hearted brat.
The commander came all this way just to watch, too.
Even while grumbling, the Helmet Knight could not deny the pure enjoyment of the moment. Every time Najin’s sword aura hammered the Horn-blowing Star’s body, the fallen star’s movements shifted.
A little more.
The Helmet Knight drove his spear forward. He swung, kicked off the earth, and kept the pressure on. Whenever the Horn-blowing Star’s arms threatened to open past any human joint’s limit like a beast’s, he swept the shaft across to spoil the motion.
A little more—step out boldly.
By obstructing the Horn-blowing Star, the Helmet Knight guided Najin’s next move. Sure enough, Najin read the intent and closed in at once.
Flash.
Najin’s sword aura flared more fiercely.
Seeing that brilliant flash, the Helmet Knight understood in a single glance. That boy was trying to put forth a shoot. He was about to set foot in the realm called Sprouting.
Having passed through that stage long ago, the Helmet Knight knew exactly what Najin intended.
Yes. Then I can hardly stand idle either.
Gaps were beginning to appear. Yet as the openings grew, so did Najin’s injuries. Drag this out any longer and the balance would collapse.
So now is the moment.
The Helmet Knight decided. He swung his spear shaft hard, shoving the Horn-blowing Star back, then drove his foot into the earth with a heavy Kuuung! Both hands clamped around the shaft.
“Najin!”
The instant the name left his lips, Najin hurled the sword in his hand skyward. Then he stomped the ground—exactly as the Horn-blowing Star had done moments earlier.
Tuwung.
One of the shafts buried in the earth sprang free and flew toward him. Najin snatched it and settled into the same stance as the Helmet Knight. Even to the Helmet Knight’s eyes, the form was sharp and clean.
Teaching him was worth it after all.
Though I never expected him to learn this fast.
Helmet Knight and Najin thrust almost as one. Air coiled around their spear blades, spinning into vortices; along the straight lines of the advancing points, storms howled.
Ramming.
A technique every member of the Golden Horn Knights could perform—their pride, their symbol, and the move in which the Horn-blowing Star had once placed the greatest confidence. That technique erupted from both spear tips.
Kagagagagagagak!
Of course, the storm Najin raised was weaker than the Helmet Knight’s. He had not yet perfected the art. Still, it was enough to hinder the Horn-blowing Star for a crucial instant.
While the fallen star blocked Najin’s Ramming, the Helmet Knight’s spear punched through the opening. The Horn-blowing Star’s side burst. Armor shattered; black blood sprayed. The shaft he held was torn apart by the gale.
Spurting blood. Shattered wood.
And the Cross Star’s spear transfixing his flank.
The Horn-blowing Star could have seized another weapon. Countless shafts still stood planted throughout his domain. Yet he did not reach for them.
Kwak.
Both hands clamped around the spear that pierced his own side. The Helmet Knight’s gaze met the Horn-blowing Star’s. Whether that black star truly counted as a gaze, the Helmet Knight could not say. The star that served as the Horn-blowing Star’s head locked with the Helmet Knight’s eyes.
Spearmen always prepare an answer for the moment an opponent seizes their shaft—and for the moment they snatch an enemy’s weapon in turn. The Horn-blowing Star, once a master-class warrior, was no different.
He twisted the hands gripping the wood.
The shaft spun inside his palms.
The Helmet Knight lost his hold. He had never imagined the technique would be used at such a moment. And why would he? That maneuver was meant for when the spear tip threatened the opponent, not when the blade was buried in one’s own flesh.
Tuhwak!
The rotating shaft tore the wound wider. Blood fountained from the Horn-blowing Star’s side. Shredded flesh pattered to the ground.
Yet as if the damage meant nothing, the Horn-blowing Star stepped back and clenched the spear tighter.
Deudeudeuk…
He drew the spear free of his own body and slowly straightened. With a swing he flung away the entrails snagged on the blade, then righted the point.
“…”
Until now he had hunched like a beast and howled; in this moment the Horn-blowing Star made no sound at all. Spine straight, both feet planted, he gripped the spear with both hands.
The Cross Star’s spear.
Held once more in its true master’s hands, the blade shone.
Starlight battered the body.
Starlight hammered the blackened star; it hammered the flesh that had become a dead man. Of course no miracle occurred—the Horn-blowing Star did not regain his reason.
He remained a dead man.
He remained a fallen star.
Yet even so—
there was no law that said his star must not shine.
The blackened star was bleached by the pure-white blaze. Though it could no longer generate light of its own, by reflecting the starlight another star scattered, it could shine again.
The Horn-blowing Star shone.
The black star poured forth its own radiance. That light was neither brilliant nor warm. It was muddy, hazy—a glow that seemed far removed from true starlight.
And yet, what of it?
What mattered was that the star was shining.
The Horn-blowing Star planted both feet upon the earth. He straightened his bent spine. Huduuduk—between the shattered remnants of his gauntlets, human fingers appeared. With those human fingers he clenched the spear shaft.
Still he possessed no reason.
Only instinct remained in his flesh.
And that instinct cried out. The memory carved into the deepest place of a life cried out. Take your stance. Grip the spear. Show the best you have. For that is courtesy owed to one’s opponent.
Thus the beast, while remaining a beast, became a knight.
The black star that had replaced his head sank. Through the settling darkness the night sky itself was reflected. Stars glittering in that sky twinkled through the cracks of the black star. They became the Horn-blowing Star’s eyes.
The Horn-blowing Star did not sound the horn trumpet.
He did not raise a battle cry.
He simply fell silent.
The silent knight.
The Silent Knight Kruenbel gripped his spear. Its tip aimed at Najin—at the star that made him shine. Toward that star, Kruenbel presented his answer.
What?
The single most powerful strike he possessed.
Ramming.
Centered on Kruenbel, a storm howled into being.