Chapter 213: Indomitable (5)
Chapter 213: Indomitable (5)
‘Challenge yourself steadfastly. Live as yourself, just as this old man never ceased to lift his sword. Live as a human, as a single skylark, as a great dragon—just as this old fighter does.’
Tom reflected on those words.
Did I live as myself, Santiago?
I did my best in my own way. I hope that was enough.
‘To one who challenges, the world is bound to look different. Light exists even in the darkness, clouds drift in the vast sky, and between the swaying leaves and the whistling wind, there is life and the song of life. To one who has given up, the world is the loneliest place. But it is different for the challenger. In the world of an unyielding human, no one is ever truly alone.’
I challenged until the very end.
I broke sometimes, but I kept moving forward.
It would have been so nice if I could have been with you.
‘The sea does not get wet from the rain.’
While living as a caretaker...
I often thought how wonderful it would have been if you were there.
A man who told stories as interestingly as you did would surely have drawn people in. I wouldn't have been lonely. Ah, I only understood once I grew old—why you would give that faint, knowing smile every time I visited. Being old and alone is sorrowful. That was the hardest part.
How you won in your final moment.
And what it was that you ultimately proved.
I couldn't figure it out, even at this age.
What did I find instead? The history of various antiques on the continent, the lives entwined with the blades rolling around the Hall of Fame, their struggles, their passion, their blood... Come to think of it, at some point, I fell in love with the swords themselves rather than the souls contained within them, like yours. How ridiculous.
But it was fun.
Running, fighting—it made me feel alive.
There were many people as great as you.
Their lives and their challenges were a comfort to me.
But I also grew a little tired.
Perhaps.
Perhaps that is why I kept holding my sword.
To meet a glorious death.
To disappear with at least a little bit of style.
“……You’ve worked hard.”
His consciousness was fading.
Within that haze, Tom saw a figure that might have been a hallucination or reality. The mist-like form was Santiago. Appearing like a mirage, Santiago stroked Tom’s head as he always had. At the touch of the old warrior, the aged caretaker returned to being the boy of the past for one brief moment. The warrior, with his white hair and worn helmet, smiled just as he had long ago.
“Rest well, kid.”
“…….”
“Once you’ve rested enough, stand up and challenge again. Live like a fish that swims until the day it dies. Do not accept that you are fading away just because you are old. As long as a human fights, they can live forever. Do not crumble away from age; disappear magnificently.”
With those words, Santiago vanished.
Then, Tom slowly opened his eyes. On the sea where Santiago had disappeared, across the wide horizon, a mythical battle was unfolding.
A single dragon.
A boy holding a single sword.
The boy moved forward with light steps.
The old man had no thoughts left.
Tom felt as if he had transcended everything. Amidst the loud clashing of all things destructive, he felt as if he had cast off the shackles that had bound him. He felt light. His body and mind were weightless. Had there ever been a moment when everything felt this free? He didn't know. The man, who had grown so very old, was surprised that his heart could feel this light, and that he could draw such a refreshing breath.
In that state of relief.
Before the old man, there was only the open sea.
The sea had become a stage for the young.
The shoreline.
The old man, having passed his life's work to the youth, now made his lonely exit from the stage. A character whose allotted time and role have ended should rightly step down. But there was no bitterness or regret—only a sense of liberation. Amidst the lapping waves, Tom watched the sun rising over the horizon. The bright sun was so beautiful that Tom found himself smiling in spite of himself.
And so.
The old man’s 「Indomitable」 spirit was completely transferred to the youth.
“Phew—!”
There were no regrets.
Why?
Because Young Master Arhan...
Would undoubtedly, one day...
Leave his name in the history of this continent.
*
There are two souls contained within 「Indomitable」.
Two souls are mixed together, bound by a single goal. However, the sword of the old man Santiago is of no technical value to me. He possessed a firm belief, but his skill was such that he couldn't even defeat a mediocre fighter. The sharp blade belonged to Tom, the caretaker.
『I was always one step late.』
A lifelong purpose: to kill the master of the sky.
『Back when I lived in my hometown.』
『By the time I returned to the village, everything was already too late.』
『I appeared just as the tragedy began, and I fled before I could be swept up in it.』
A lifetime.
Whenever Tom lost something.
He always appeared too late.
『It was the same when my old friend died.』
『I repented my mistakes and suffered, but it was already too late.』
『The one who should have received my apology had left the world, and the one who could have answered my questions had also passed away. Just like when I first lost everything, I appeared late once again.』
That became the source of the ‘Mystery’ Tom possessed.
『It was the same when my younger brother was bitten by a wild dog.』
『It was the same when my mother suffered from a fever.』
『It was the same when my father’s wound festered and he became lame.』
『And so.』
Lightning.
『I wanted to be fast.』
A single bolt of lightning cutting through the sky.
『A bolt of lightning one step faster than the thunder that shakes heaven and earth.』
『Like a single flash of lightning that appears through the wind and rain.』
That was Tom’s Mystery and his sword.
“Hah!”
Crackle.
A small spark of lightning flickered.
The moment I stepped forward with it, I reached the dragon high in the sky in an instant. A technique that Tom, the original owner of the sword, could no longer perform with his old and broken body was being unleashed once again through my young frame.
“Did you stumble upon some stroke of luck?”
However.
“It is all a futile struggle.”
With only that much growth, one cannot fight as an equal against this great dragon.
Thud—!
My body was shaken.
I forced my eyes open and saw the dragon’s forepaw.
An impact that felt like it would crush my entire body. It wasn't even a special attack; it had simply swung its forepaw and struck me.
He’s damn strong.
Dragons are the most ‘perfect creatures’ among all seven races. Simply by being born and aging, they awaken the Dragon Tongue, the source of magic, and are loved by all the elements of the continent. The breath they inhale and exhale can become a terrifyingly powerful force of violence. Yet, while possessing great magical abilities, dragons also have the hardest and strongest physical bodies among the seven races.
He’s incomparable to Dragon Aion.
The young dragon I met in the Sky Mountain Range couldn't use various Mysteries, but more importantly, it wasn't skilled in combat. It didn't know how to use its body, and its ungrown frame wasn't hard enough. But what about the dragon before my eyes?
“Hup!”
An insanely hard body.
Techniques that utilized everything from its tail to its wings in the right places.
Even an eye for detail that never missed a single movement of mine.
He was an elite combatant.
「Fight cautiously, young descendant.」
“…….”
「An opportunity will come.」
But there was no need to shrink back. I had plenty of weapons on my side as well.
「That fellow does not know all the claws you possess.」
Liam was right. No matter how powerful a dragon might be, if an unexpected dagger is plunged into it once, that’s the end. I repeatedly swung my sword in the air. But every time I leaped up, the dragon refused to engage me. It would fly far away, and only when I was pulled down by gravity would it charge. It was maximizing its advantage in the sky, its own stage.
Damn it.
I used that against him.
I deliberately exposed a weakness as I fell. Soon, the dragon charged, just as it had been doing.
Now.
Watching the charging beast, I pulled a dagger from my thigh and spun like an acrobat. My target was the eyeball. No matter how much of a dragon it was, the surface of its eyeball wouldn't be protected by scales. If I pierced the eye, I would pour in the 「Flame of Doubt」. If it turned into a war of attrition, it would be my victory. The Heart of Steel always provided a massive advantage in long-term battles.
Just then.
【Halt.】
Great words poured from the dragon’s mouth.
Dragon Tongue.
The supreme Mystery that is the source of all magic, turning spoken words directly into phenomena. My body, which was about to move, froze stiff. However, I did not panic. Why?
『Do you know the genius who became a stuffed specimen?』
A father who lost his son to a dragon. The legend passed down by the old adventurer. The legend of 「Ascension」 can shake off even the Dragon Tongue.
“……!”
The blue sky unfolds.
Under the azure sky, my body accelerated to an unbelievable degree. In the air, I was faster than the dragon with its wings spread. Putting all my strength into the attack, I aimed precisely for the eye.
But—
……?!
Whoosh—
My sword cut through empty air.
How?
“You have many petty tricks.”
A voice rang out.
Looking that way, instead of a dragon, there was a winged human. A man who looked to be about two meters tall.
「It is Polymorph magic.」
“…….”
「Reducing the size of his body because he couldn't dodge. Simple yet effective. Young descendant, it seems he is no ordinary foe.」
An opening was revealed as I cut through the air. The dragon did not miss that gap. In the next moment, the dragon turned from a human into a hawk. The hawk’s body, flying like an arrow, struck my chest.
“Guh.”
It felt as if my chest had been pierced by a spearhead. It felt like all my internal organs were about to spill out of my mouth.
However.
『A man can be destroyed but not defeated.』
I endured.
He’s really damn strong.
The dragon in the form of a hawk was right in front of me. I hurriedly swung my sword, but it didn't hit. The dragon’s body dispersed into a faint white mist with a pop. It had turned its body into an element just before the sword could touch it. One cannot cut mist with a blade. As my sword cut through the air once again, the scattered mist soon became a blazing fire and enveloped me.
Sizzle.
Along with the intense heat, the sound of flesh boiling inside my armor could be heard. The flames wrapping around me flickered and spat out a voice.
“Is it because of such a lowly bloodline that so many dragons had to suffer?”
“……Shut. Up.”
“The First Steel might have been great. But his descendants, including you, are all insignificant. Not just insignificant, but pathetically weak. No different from the other wingless things.”
My body was burning.
I didn't even have a clue how to fight this. It was clear that he had been holding back when he appeared with the divine beasts before. The dragon, who had missed me once, was now revealing his strength without reservation. This was a true dragon.
Rumble!
I swung Tom’s sword along with the sound of thunder. But a blade cannot cut fire. Fire beats iron, but iron cannot beat fire.
“Die, last bloodline of Steel.”
In that case, I had to use something other than Tom’s sword.
『The fact that it had been proven thousands of times in the past meant nothing.』
Santiago’s sword.
No.
『What matters is proving it at this very moment.』
The sword of Santiago and Tom. The legend born from the intertwining of two old men.
The true 「Indomitable」.
“Dra... gon.”
I glared at the blazing flames. Then, I spat out each word as if chewing them.
“You... die... here....”
“No, the one who dies is you.”
I’m the one who dies? It certainly seemed that way. My skin was scorched, and now the heat was seeping into my organs and bones. No matter how much the Heart of Steel provided superhuman recovery, I was reaching my limit.
But.
“……What is this?”
Even if my heart is crushed. Even if my body collapses.
I do not die.
“Why.”
For the next 30 seconds, at least.
“Is this your first time seeing something like this?”
Thirty seconds of time that escaped the providence of the world.
「Keep a firm grip on your sanity, young descendant.」
Exactly 30 seconds. During that time, I transcend the laws of nature. My soul shall never leave my body.
「The blood of Steel grows harder the more it is hammered.」
That is the legend contained within ‘Indomitable.’
Thirty seconds of immortality.
「30 seconds from now.」
“…….”
「It will be one of the most horrific and painful times you have ever experienced. 30 seconds will feel like 30 years.」
It cannot split a mountain. It cannot cut through the sea. It is simply for the end. A legend containing the will of two old men to fight until the very, very end.
「It might be a meaningless time. It might feel like a time of self-torture. But.」
It might feel ignorant. It might feel like an extension of pain. However.
「If you accept it as a trial.」
The blood of Steel flows through my body.
「If only you can sufficiently temper your soul.」
The blood of Caravan. Along with the blood of Steel. ‘Indomitable’ becomes a more terrifying weapon than any other I possess.
「And thus, if you complete your armor.」
The death that will pour in for 30 seconds—a trial incomparable to anything else in the world. I will use it as nourishment.
And.
「That dragon will truly come to know why the world feared the Caravan.」
More than death itself, I shall be reborn as a harder Steel.
*
「Name: Indomitable」
「A sword in which the legend of an old fighter and a caretaker is melted.」
「The Mystery of Lightning is imbued within.」
• You can move even faster by becoming a bolt of lightning.
• You can imbue the sword with the element of lightning.
• You take no damage from lightning-based elemental attacks.
「The Mystery of Resistance is imbued within.」
• You possess a harder physical body.
.
.
.
「The Legend of Indomitable is imbued within.」
• Resist death. For 30 seconds, the body and soul shall never be separated.
• When the 30 seconds end, you will be unable to move your body for a duration.
