Chapter 214: Immortality (1)
Chapter 214: Immortality (1)
Each stage of a Caravan’s growth possesses its own epithet.
The Mana Heart is the Heart of Steel.
The Path is the Path of Steel, the Line.
The Wings are the Steel Wings.
For the most part, they simply involve attaching the modifier 'Steel' to the term.
This is because the moment the Steel Blood flowing within a Caravan truly blossoms is when they reach the rank of Sword Expert. It is nearly the final stage of the sword's path.
To think it only begins to shine just before reaching the very peak.
Regarding this characteristic of Steel, people from the era when the Caravans flourished used to say that their bloodline carried too great a risk. They claimed it required far too much time compared to what the children of other 'Great Families' were born with, and that without Liam Caravan, they would never have survived the Age of War.
It was all true.
Among the Caravans, only a few ever reached the rank of Sword Expert or higher; the majority struggled to even become a Sword Runner. This was because the Steel Bloodline slowed the growth of one's swordsmanship. Thus, even during the Age of Iron, people whispered that there was a flaw somewhere in the Caravan bloodline.
However, everyone agreed on one thing.
If one could endure those harsh and agonizing times.
If one faced sufficient trials and remained unbroken.
And if, through that, one managed to make the 'True Steel' bloom.
Then no being was greater than a Caravan.
The stage where their greatness was most dramatically revealed was the Sword Expert rank. Up until the level of Sword Runner, they were not significantly different from other swordsmen, and were often even outperformed by the scions of other Great Families.
But once they forged their Armor...
Everything changed.
It wasn't merely a matter of overtaking others. The entire dynamic was reversed.
A Caravan who had forged their Armor didn't just move slightly ahead of the rest; they became terrifyingly powerful, as if they existed in a different world entirely. Those living in the Age of Iron felt that their 'Armor' should not be called by a simple name like 'Steel Armor.'
And so, people called the 'Armor' forged by a Caravan this:
Immortality.
*
Dragon Kalua thought to himself.
‘This is impossible.’
The heart had been crushed. The muscles and bones had been torn apart.
Because he shared the heart of a Young Dragon, elemental powers did not work against this descendant of the Caravan. But even setting that aside, a human could never be a match for a dragon. It was a fundamental difference of birth.
‘This shouldn't be happening.’
Elements, Dragon Tongue, and countless mysteries.
Even if the many terrifying weapons a dragon possessed were sealed away, a human would need to be at least at the rank of Sword Expert to face one. That was the minimum requirement just to match the basic physical scale. A dragon’s body was mightier than the Giants of the Northern Continent, harder than the city walls of the Iron Kingdom, and when they spread their wings, they were the fastest among all Seven Races.
The perfect physical form.
‘Why won't he die?’
Furthermore, Dragon Kalua had gained vast combat experience while serving as a Watcher. Kalua was a skilled hunter, a sentinel, and a soldier ready to be deployed into war at any moment. And Dragon Kalua had now killed this Caravan more than a dozen times.
And yet.
"……Again."
Even if his head was crushed, even if his body collapsed, the descendant of the Caravan stood back up.
"Again!"
It felt as though his body and soul were bound tightly by an invisible chain. Watching the human who refused to fall, Dragon Kalua was reminded of the High Elves of the Great Forest—the fairies who were granted eternal life by the grace of the World Tree. It was as if he were looking at their immortal bodies.
Even if his heart was destroyed, he would rise again a moment later to attack. Even if his head exploded, he would stagger and then charge once more.
The thought even crossed the dragon's mind: What in this world could possibly kill that thing? No, was killing it even possible?
‘Is this why the Ancient Dragons feared the Caravans?’
Crunch.
Kalua’s outstretched forepaw gripped the Caravan’s heart. Soon, with a wet pop, the heart burst, and the Caravan coughed up blood. But the eyes that had gone dull regained their light once more. The breath that had stopped returned instantly. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword again. Like a creature born solely for the sake of combat.
‘……He is defying the natural order.’
Dragon Kalua thought rationally. There was no way this was possible under normal circumstances. Was it forbidden sorcery? Or perhaps magitech? Maybe it was some kind of treasure.
Whatever it was, those three assumptions shared a commonality: it could not be sustained for long.
"……Stop your bluffing."
Kalua believed in the laws of the world. He believed in the natural order. Unless one was a Swordmaster, no one could defy that order. The laws and the principles of the world were established by the Seven Chief Gods and the Nine Goddesses. No living being on the continent could violate the 'rules.' Only the Absolutes stood outside those regulations.
"Your time is almost up—!"
Dragon Kalua soared high into the air. Soon, a Breath poured from Kalua’s maw—a Dragon’s Breath that struck both the Spirit Realm and the Middle World. The Caravan stood right where the Breath swept through.
"Whew."
He remained in place, sword in hand.
His melted body and head had already returned to their original form. Looking at that sight, Dragon Kalua felt a chill run down his spine. Steel. The steel that holds its place until the very end, unyielding even as storms rage and the world crumbles. Did the Caravan’s current appearance not resemble exactly that?
Did he not look like Liam Caravan... the one the Ancient Dragons feared so much?
‘That can't be.’
Dragon Kalua flew at a speed exceeding sound. With a sickening crack, the Caravan’s head exploded. Soaring upward, then diving back down in acrobatic flight, Dragon Kalua snatched the Caravan’s severed head in his jaws.
Even with only the head remaining, there was still light in the eyes. Looking into the Caravan’s gaze, Dragon Kalua crunched down, chewing the head. The skull shattered, and its contents spilled out vividly.
"How long do you think you can— gah!"
A sharp, stinging pain flared inside his maw. Spitting it out, a blade fell from Kalua’s tongue. It was a dagger. In that brief interval, the man had regenerated from head to toe and plunged a dagger into him.
‘What the…….’
An unnervingly powerful ability of immortality. But what was even stranger was the Caravan’s mental fortitude. How could he maintain his sanity and continue to fight while his body and head were being pulverized?
The humans Kalua knew were incapable of such a thing. Humans were creatures whose hearts stopped from fear before they even hit the ground when falling from a cliff. Humans were creatures who would boil and eat their own children when they couldn't overcome hunger. Humans were creatures who would take their own lives before lasting a single day under torture.
Weak, fearful, and cowardly beings. The most insignificant creatures among the Seven Races. The most worthless of lives. That was what a human was.
And yet.
"I could do this for a lifetime."
And yet, how?
"Thanks to you, the blood is finally circulating in my head."
"……."
"It's much better than being toyed with while unable to do anything. I'd rather die hundreds, thousands of times while alive than suffer while helpless. This is several times better than that day before I picked up a sword."
The Caravan’s eyes were alive. He was unbroken, even through a dozen deaths.
"Are you…… truly human?" Dragon Kalua muttered.
The Caravan spat out a glob of blood and replied, "I am a Dwarf half-blood, actually."
*
My consciousness is fading.
A dragon truly running wild was a far more powerful being than I had imagined. Whenever I swung my sword to cut him down, he would disperse into elements. No blade can cut fire, water, or air. Because he transformed into the elements themselves, even the 'Flame of Doubt' didn't work. It wasn't a mystery, but an innate ability he possessed.
Moreover, it had been hell ever since he spread his wings. I couldn't even see the dragon as he flew at maximum speed. My body would explode, followed by the 'whoosh' of the wind. He was faster than sound. Tom’s 'Lightning' was wrong. A single bolt of lightning wouldn't be able to hit those things. A dragon is faster than lightning.
‘I feel like I’m going insane.’
My instincts are screaming, telling me to give up. Telling me to run away. Telling me to use the allotted 30 seconds to flee. Or, they shout at me to give up rather than endure this kind of pain. They say it would be easier to just die like this, telling me to stop torturing myself.
『You have the right to kill me.』
『I don't care anymore who kills whom.』
The legend contained within Tom’s sword. As a price for using Indomitable, even the memories of Tom and Santiago surge powerfully. The souls of two old men. Their wills disturb my own.
Santiago’s attitude toward life was one of struggle—to fight until the very end. He believed that was the only way to prove oneself. His values are gnawing at me, telling me that if I die fighting like this, the struggle will be complete. That the important thing is to stand and fight. That a human who fights until death becomes perfect through that act.
An old gladiator who couldn't even defeat a mediocre fighter. His body was worn and weak, but his spirit and soul were arrogant. The old man’s will was speaking, telling me that through this process, I would be completed. That whether I die or not is no longer important.
I even feel a sense of wonder. I feel respect for his steadfastness.
However.
"No."
I cannot agree.
"The process is important, too. But not like this. I can't accept dying like this. I must see a result that I can be satisfied with. I have to see the faces of those who took so much from me with my own eyes and ask them what lies at the end of my doubt."
To fight until death? Fine. To accept death while remaining stoic through everything? Fine. I respect your life.
But that is not me.
I must see this revenge through to the end. A world gone wrong—I must see the end of this world filled with sin. I must find the answers to all my doubts. Without doing so, I simply cannot close my eyes. Never.
「That’s it.」
The will of 「Indomitable」 is firm. His values are solid. But mine are more solid than his. The light the old man held is bright, but it is not as hot as mine.
What fills my inside is not light, but a flame. Not a light that warmly and brightly illuminates the surroundings, but a flame that incinerates everything except me and turns everything I cannot accept into ashes. Santiago’s soul is great, but it cannot satisfy me. And I can never accept what I cannot be satisfied with. Never.
Why?
「That is the final condition for forging the Armor.」
Because I am right, and everyone else is wrong. No one can tell me to be satisfied with the process of revenge without seeing its end. My life belongs solely to me, and unless you have lived as I have, no one can break my doubt. No one can extinguish my rage.
To fight until death? Fine. But I will never die.
「Stubbornness.」
Because I cannot die until I reach the end of this path.
「A stubbornness that will not be broken by anything.」
No matter what happens.
「The thing the old caretaker, who held onto regrets and lingering attachments, could not possess until the end. The thing the many 'Sword Runners' who lacked belief in themselves could never make bloom.」
"……."
「It is stubbornness, and at the same time, conviction.」
The moment I thought that, the voice of 「Indomitable」 that had been ringing in my head vanished.
「An unshakable conviction in oneself.」
"……."
「The most difficult condition to satisfy in order to advance to Sword Expert. But you had already satisfied that condition even before you picked up a sword.」
The pain I felt throughout my body also disappears.
「The Armor is donned by the one who possesses unwavering conviction.」
"……."
「The belief in oneself that no one can break soon takes physical form.」
My clouded mind clears.
「All that remained for you was a sufficient trial.」
When I opened my eyes, I saw the dragon flying high in the sky. The dragon’s pupils were shaking violently.
「Congratulations, young descendant.」
I slowly raised my sword. Only about five seconds remained of the time for 「Indomitable」. Soon, I would have to pay the price for defying the natural order.
However.
「On stepping into the realm of Immortality.」
Five seconds.
「Now, a mere dragon is no match for you.」
That was more than enough.