Chapter 237: Opening (4)
Chapter 237: Opening (4)
The sword spoke.
It uttered the same words it had once said to me.
From behind Leon Caravan’s corpse, Liam’s soul watched his son, and then the face of the daughter his son had sired. With only her back visible, Liam’s face remained hidden. A mumbling voice drifted through the air, but the meaning of his words remained out of reach.
“The curse began after my failure.”
Leon Caravan’s daughter, who had forgotten how to speak, reached out without hesitation for the sword hanging in the center of the mansion. With a guttural cry, she swallowed the sharp blade. She devoured it as if she were a starving soul who hadn't seen food in days.
“I could not tell what your intent was—whether you were enraged by my failure, whether you stepped in because you could not bear the inadequacy of your descendants, or whether you were finally trying to correct your own mistakes.”
“…….”
“Perhaps it was mere greed. Perhaps you robbed us of our freedom just to ensure your greatness never faded, to prove that you were never wrong.”
Even after Leon Caravan’s death, the enemies of the Caravan family continued to come.
“Only one thing was certain. The choice you made was a terrible curse upon us.”
The daughter of Leon Caravan, who had lost her voice, was miraculously strong. She grew powerful amidst the ordeals laid before her, displaying a martial prowess unbelievable for a swordswoman, and reclaimed the glory of the Caravan name. Blood flowed through the world once more. A great deal of blood.
“As long as you existed, we had to fight ceaselessly. As long as the specter of Liam Caravan remained, our ends were destined to be the same. To be left alone, to lose everything precious, to fight enemies we shouldn't have had to face under the guise of 'trials.' To spend an entire lifetime within the cold embrace of steel.”
“…….”
“No one could endure the trials until the very end. Humans are not made of steel. Through forging and refinement, a human wears down and collapses. The soul does not grow stronger just because you hammer at it. Never.”
Leon Caravan’s daughter grew older.
Her face was somehow familiar. A chilling, cold beauty.
She was Aria Caravan.
The woman I had seen in the Small Land of Swords.
The first female Swordmaster in history.
“As long as that sword existed, we could not live in peace. Whenever someone tried to break the chain and enjoy peaceful prosperity, a trial inevitably arrived. Precious things vanished, and mansions burned. Amidst the horrific flames, the descendants of Caravan without fail heard the voice of the sword. Devour me, and you shall have what you desire…”
“…….”
“For over hundreds of years, that cycle repeated.”
Aria Caravan took revenge for Leon Caravan’s tragic end. After her successful vengeance, she continued to fight. She sought peace in her twilight years, but a peaceful daily life was denied to her. The world hunted her. While being pursued relentlessly, someone’s blade finally cut short Aria Caravan’s life.
And then.
“I wondered. Did you truly wish to end the 'War Era'?”
“…….”
“Or did you wish for the War Era to continue 'forever'?”
The corpse of the dead Aria Caravan rose again. The traces of the woman vanished, replaced by an old man inhabiting her body. The Progenitor, rising through the body of his descendant, swung the sword and made the name of Caravan known once more.
When that name spread so far that everyone feared the Steel, Aria Caravan was summoned to the Land of Swords. Aria Caravan’s descendants were forced to repeat the tragedy. Losing something, grieving, thirsting for power, longing for a happy past, taking up the sword again, hearing the voice of the sword once more….
It was like watching the movement of a wheel. An unstoppable wheel of tragedy.
“For what purpose does this sword exist?”
“…….”
“Does the sword exist for us, or do we exist for the sword?”
“…….”
“Does Caravan exist for us, or do we exist for Caravan?”
Dozens of ancestors.
Their lives, so hauntingly similar, flashed by in an instant. Facing their lives—each different yet ultimately converging at the same point—Leon Caravan looked at me with hollow eyes.
“O Last Caravan.”
“Yes.”
“Caravan must be erased.”
“…….”
“Because we are the very source of all calamity.”
“…….”
“As long as the blood of Steel remains in this world, peace will never come.”
Sadness dwelled in Leon Caravan’s eyes.
“Ironically, it was we, the Caravans ourselves, who put the most effort into carving the name of Caravan out of history and erasing our traces.”
“…….”
“We participated in erasing our own footprints and burying ourselves in insignificance. We reached a conclusion. Our Progenitor’s will cannot be defied as long as the blood of Steel exists. As long as his will remains, this world will bleed forever.”
I was speechless for a moment. Soon, his words returned.
“You have seen everything. You have seen the truth behind the Curse of Steel.”
“…….”
“What do you think now? Do you believe you can break the Curse of Steel that has lasted for centuries? Do you think you can defy the Will of Steel that no one else could resist, and make your world bloom as you wish? And do you believe that even after you are gone, that world can remain yours?”
“…….”
“Speak, Last Caravan.”
I looked at Leon Caravan. And then, I answered without a hint of hesitation.
“My thoughts have not changed. I will not break. Change will come in my era.”
“……Why do you think so?”
“For a simple reason.”
I was reflected in Leon Caravan’s eyes.
“Because I cannot accept the world my Master, Liam Caravan, intends to create.”
“……What if the world Liam Caravan creates convinces you?”
“Then that would be a good thing in its own right. For it would be a righteous world.”
“Do you not consider the possibility that you are wrong?”
To his question, I replied.
“I do not.”
I do not. Those words carried many meanings. Leon Caravan understood my words without the need for further explanation. By now, Leon Caravan’s soul had been absorbed into me, and through that absorption, he had glimpsed the life I had lived. Just as I had seen him, he had seen me. He would have understood then what this answer meant.
“O Last Caravan.”
“Yes.”
“If it were you… if you had been in my place, what would you have done?”
“…….”
“Would you have taken your own life as well?”
“No. I would never have died. No matter how pathetic or hideous the means, I would have survived until the very end. I would have clung to life with everything I had, remaining in this world with both eyes wide open until the last moment.”
“……For what?”
“To obtain an answer I could accept.”
If I had been Leon Caravan, the history we know today would not exist.
Why?
“If it were me, I would not have allowed other enemies to set foot on the Caravan estate. I would have uprooted them all so that no uninvited guest would ever dare look upon my land. Whether I had to crush their windpipes, destroy their kingdoms, or bring chaos to the world—I would have done whatever it took. I would never let anyone dare covet or touch what is mine. That is not an answer I can accept.”
“…….”
“Even if this entire world turned to ash, and everything except me and my people vanished, I would still have swung my blade. That is my way.”
At my words, Leon Caravan slowly opened his mouth.
“You are a madman.”
“…….”
“Indeed. A sane man could never hope to rival my father. To face a madman, one must be even more insane.”
Leon Caravan let out a long, weary sigh.
“O Last Caravan.”
“Yes.”
“This is my final advice to you.”
Leon Caravan’s eyes glittered.
“For Steel to transcend, a single blade is required.”
“…….”
“That blade must be one that pierces through your very life as a human. You do not transcend simply by devouring the swords of Swordmasters. You do not transcend by devouring the sword of some great hero. It must be a blade that holds an intense meaning only to you. Your beginning shall be your end.”
The voice of the sword gradually grew distant.
“That sword… will not be far away.”
In the next moment, the frozen world began to move. The digestion of the Match was complete. Perfectly.
*
Leon Caravan vanished.
The Match had permeated into me, and the moment I opened my eyes, I saw the world still frozen in time. Even the floating dust and grains of sand were visible with startling clarity. In the midst of this multifaceted world stood Liam.
「Young descendant.」
Liam’s appearance, which had always hovered around me like a specter, was different than usual. He stood manifested as clearly as his portrait, looking at me. Not as a ghost, but as if he were a person existing in reality.
The Progenitor of the past. The greatest Swordmaster. My Master. Liam Caravan.
「You have already reached this far. Only one step remains for you.」
The First Caravan. And the Last Caravan. The beginning, and the end.
「The Indomitable Will you melted into your body, my beloved sword, holds my soul.」
“…….”
「When your sword is fully complete, when you finally stand tall as a single piece of steel, you will see the final fragment. Through it, you will perfectly understand what kind of being I am.」
Liam Caravan’s eyes flashed like a blade.
「From this moment, your true journey begins.」
“…….”
「Steel stands alone. From this moment on, I will no longer be able to act as your master, young descendant. You must navigate your final journey with only your sword and your soul.」
Slowly, Liam Caravan approached.
「Go forth. Move forward. Come up. Overcome the trials and enemies that cling to you relentlessly and climb. Upward, to this place. Climb to where I stand.」
With every step he took, Liam Caravan’s form gradually blurred, fading until he finally vanished.
「At that time.」
At the moment of his disappearance, Liam Caravan spoke one last time.
「You and I shall meet again.」
A short yet powerful statement.
With those words, Liam Caravan vanished. My Master, who had always been by my side since the day I first took up the sword, was gone. While a brief emptiness lingered in my heart, the frozen world began to flow again. The floating dust, the grains of sand, and Seol-yoon’s sword rushing toward me.
With a clang, I parried the elegant blade and looked up at the sky. In the clear expanse, the sun shone brilliantly. Looking around, Liam was nowhere to be found.
Yes, nowhere at all.
He’s really gone.
Seol-yoon stood in place, staring at me intently. Her gaze seemed to ask what was wrong.
However, I did not answer. I simply stood there, planting my sword into the ground for a moment before softly closing my eyes. No voice reached me. No useless jokes, no sharp advice about swords that was never wrong, no rebukes that sounded like a predator’s growl.
Since the day I picked up a sword, it was the first moment of complete silence I had ever experienced.
In this silence, I thought: There isn't much left now, truly.
The end of this journey was in sight.
*
「Name: Match」
「A sword permeated with the solitude of Leon Caravan.」
.
.
.
「Digestion complete.」
「The completion of the armor is near.」
「Prepare to cross the wall.」