Kkeut (2): The Stolen Relic and the Sword Graveyard
Kkeut. The Relic Management Association — a place that stored the highest-grade relics, and guarded them.
From 1st Grade to Transcendent, every last one of them was an object capable of changing a nation's fate. A Transcendent relic, in particular, was something that held a law with the power to sway the entire world.
And yet, not long ago, a single 1st Grade relic kept there was stolen.
The culprit, of course, was the criminal organization Kkeut. An elite handful, each member so exceptional that it was a wonder the organization held together at all. Even so, if one had to name the single finest among them, the answer was obvious: the Leader.
"Cough…."
The armed force that propped up the Association's formidable authority went by a collective name — the Hounds. Every one of them was a hero of at least 2nd Grade. The finest elite unit there was.
CRACK—!!!
"All dealt with."
"Looks like you didn't even need me!"
"I wouldn't say that."
The higher the grade, the more brutal the gap. What began as a difference no greater than a single step swelled, the further one climbed, until it loomed like a mountain — a gulf that could never be closed. That was the difference between grades. A 1st Grade hero could barely keep up with the toes of a Transcendent.
Even within Kkeut, the ones judged most dangerous numbered exactly three. And those three had already set a foot inside the realm of the Transcendent.
The Leader — once a Transcendent hero herself, the one they called the Worst Hero.
The Clown, whose exact grade no one knew, but who had slaughtered an entire major guild alone.
And last of all….
"You're still not here?"
Melian snapped, glaring at the blind swordsman, Baek Jin.
"I see no particular need to hurry…."
"Wait!!! I'm coming too!"
Yeon-woo scrambled after Melian and Baek Jin, already far ahead, shouting as she went.
The clubs of Orbis Academy came with their share of perks — chief among them, the chance to enjoy events and activities tied to the club itself. A travel club, true to its name, went traveling. A cooking club held tasting events. That sort of thing.
But this was Orbis. Rather than hobbies like cooking or travel, most students joined clubs bound to their own weapons — swordsmanship, the spear, archery. The seniors and juniors there were heroes of the same class, and there was nothing to lose by forging those connections.
"Everyone here?"
Kiryu Rena, a second-year and president of the swordsmanship club. Tattoos covered her from the neck down — enough to look like a serious problem in a student — but her Trait ran that way, so everyone tended to look the other way. A legally full-body-tattooed student, in effect.
Kiryu did a rough headcount and turned toward the portal.
"The Sword Graveyard, huh…."
Seo Ji-ho's face was overflowing with anticipation. Fair enough. Thousands of relics driven into the ground — I was curious myself what it would actually feel like.
They say you can tell a relic's grade at a glance. The higher it ranks, the stronger the peculiar atmosphere it gives off.
Tyrbing murmured it. Actually devouring them, of course, was out of the question. Every relic in the Sword Graveyard belonged to the White Night Guild.
The swords couldn't be drawn, so the place was run like a tourist site — but that didn't mean security and upkeep were neglected.
The limit on relics an individual could own was 2nd Grade. Most heroes at the very top didn't honor that limit particularly well, but there was a reason the restriction existed. From 1st Grade upward, a relic was not something even a 1st Grade hero could fully control. Unstable or not, a 1st Grade relic was a threat in its own right.
And there was one relic driven into the heart of the Sword Graveyard.
A law made precise measurement impossible, but it had been classified as 2nd Grade at minimum — an object perched right on the cutoff the Relic Management Association had drawn.
I knew its true grade.
Measured accurately, it was the sort of thing the Association would summon people to reclaim on the spot.
Otherwise known as Excalibur
Aside from me, the ones who knew what this sword really was….
The guild master of White Night, and the Leader, maybe.
The head of Kkeut, the one called the Worst Hero. In fact, the Leader had once stormed the Sword Graveyard in person to claim Excalibur. That, of course, belonged to the later part of the story. She undid the law — and still she couldn't take Excalibur.
Only one who bears the fate of the stars may draw it.
It was the law of a Transcendent relic. No matter how tremendous a relic one brought to bear, it could never be undone.
VMMMM—!!!!
A faint ripple, and I was in Cheongan. They called it Korea's second capital; geographically, it stood where North Korea had once been.
For the record, the North had been destroyed after failing to stop its Red Gate disaster. Just before the end they had begged the surrounding nations for help, but every country was staring down its own total collapse, so no one came. In the end, it worked out rather well for Korea.
I was turning all this over when Arima Kanna came my way.
"Hey. Let's stick together."
Her older brother, Arima Kisho, was beside her.
They were unmistakably alike, and yet the impression they left was different. It started with the eyes. Arima Kisho had awakened the Golden Eye, so his were gold; Arima Kanna never had, and hers were like black obsidian.
That was when it happened.
Step. Step.
"Hello?"
A woman in a beige coat, jeans, and shoes with a slight heel.
From all around came a chorus of whoa….
Kim Su-jeong, a 4th Grade hero of the White Night Guild.
One of the heroes whose stock had been rising lately. Word was already going around that she would be promoted to 3rd Grade soon. She was especially popular, too, and the reason was simple — she was strikingly beautiful.
"If you're students of Orbis, that makes you my juniors, so I came in person. I was in the archery club, though. Haha."
Kim Su-jeong said it with a smile. A few students were already staring at her, souls halfway out of their bodies.
"Yeah. I can see why the endorsement deals keep coming."
Arima Kanna was watching her in open admiration as well.
"Right this way, please."
Kim Su-jeong started toward the Sword Graveyard at an easy pace, already launching into her explanation.
"The Sword Graveyard is a place born from slaying the 2nd Grade monster, the Thousand-Slash Demon."
The Thousand-Slash Demon was a monster first discovered in Japan, known for its enormous body with a thousand blades driven into it.
"It goes without saying this wasn't an ordinary one. Most Thousand-Slash Demons have plain steel swords stuck in them, and only very rarely do you find one with a relic embedded."
Kim Su-jeong turned, grinning as she spoke.
"But every single sword driven into the body of the one found here was a relic."
She raised her left hand and pointed to a picture — a giant bristling with magnificent swords.
"The major guilds went absolutely wild. A single 2nd Grade monster, and a 1st Grade hero showed up — a Transcendent, even. That says it all."
The payout was complete garbage, though.
"The guild that secured ownership of the Thousand-Slash Demon was our White Night! But… a rigid law lay on its corpse, so we had no choice but to leave all thousand relics sitting there…."
Kim Su-jeong said it with a gloomy face. It was certainly a vivid explanation.
Tyrbing's brief review of Kim Su-jeong's Sword Graveyard lecture.
"And this — this right here is the Sword Graveyard…!!!"
What rose before us was an enormous stone gate. With a heavy grind it slowly opened, and the Sword Graveyard began to come into view.
A thousand splendid, distinctive blades driven into the earth — a scene straight out of a comic. From several of the relics rose an aura too strong to ignore. High-grade, without a doubt.
And at the center, the sword that shone the brightest.
A sword that looked ordinary, and was the least ordinary thing here.
The Unbroken Shard of Glory glimmered softly.
True to a demon of the sword, Tyrbing seemed to have sensed something unusual as well.
"Whoa…."
Arima Kanna covered her mouth with her hand, marveling.
Kim Su-jeong glanced at the astonished students and let out a short laugh.
"You there. Want to try drawing one?"
The one she pointed to was Seo Ji-ho. He looked a little flustered, but soon settled into an expression worthy of a protagonist.
"Would it be all right if I tried that sword over there?"
He was pointing at the dead center of the Sword Graveyard.
Kim Su-jeong nodded as if she had expected exactly that.
Heart unsteady, Seo Ji-ho walked toward the sword embedded at the center. The closer he came, the more certain it was.
This was absolutely no ordinary sword.
Is it sealed?
And yet the energy coming off it felt unnatural, as if it were leaking.
Seo Ji-ho took hold of the hilt.
"…."
Then he hauled on it with everything he had. When it seemed it wouldn't budge, he stole a glance at Kim Su-jeong. She nodded, and he began to draw on his mana.
Blue flame rose from Seo Ji-ho's body.
"Hrrgh!!!!"
Mana so dense the air around him seemed to warp. Protagonist or not, his mana was certainly something.
But….
"…It really won't come out."
Seo Ji-ho said it as he dropped to the ground.
"Haha, I thought it was actually coming loose for a second. Scared me. What a relief~."
Cold sweat on his face — and Kim Su-jeong laughed.
"Well then… next…."