Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Kalsmori Library (2)
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Kalsmori Library was, to the Seonwoo Clan, no different from a holy site.
It was understandable, then, that Hwan reacted so passionately upon facing the library. But what Ban couldn't understand was his own reaction.
'...Why the hell am I excited?'
Ban stared ahead with a strange expression. Kalsmori Library's towering clock tower pierced the sky, while all sorts of buildings sprawled around it, exuding an eerie presence.
'Walden.'
Ban's eyes narrowed. Once, it had been a place where all the world's knowledge converged. But as if to say that glory was a thing of the past, Walden was now shrouded only in writhing moss and silence.
His heart grew complicated. His parents had probably lived in this city. And they had likely been buried here.
Perhaps their wraiths were still here?
But if so, did he want them to be? Or not?
'...The night must end.'
When such thoughts arose, Ban could gaze upon the world with eyes filled with even greater conviction. The night was currently devouring this world.
"Are there no magical beasts or anything like that here?"
[ Tens of thousands of people lost their lives in an instant. There are too many wraiths here for magical beasts to interfere. ]
Balrog answered quietly. His eyes, tracing Walden's form, were steeped in distant memories.
[ But that doesn't mean you can let your guard down. The night is still the night. With so many dead, there are correspondingly more terrifying wraiths. Not all wraiths hate the living, but their longing for life alone will drain your vitality. ]
It was just as Balrog said. Walden's gloomy energy seemed to suck away Ban's life with every breath he took. Was it because tens of thousands had died in a single moment? Walden even felt like a city that forbade entry to the living.
'He protected the library in a place like this?'
Even without seeing his sword, just looking at the city overwhelmed Ban with a sense of awe.
A city without a single living soul. A city where the sun never rose. In such a place, the Guardian had devoted his life to protecting a library without a single librarian left. For what? Simply to show the other Seonwoos who had truly fulfilled the duty of a librarian?
It was only here, standing in this place, that Ban truly felt the weight of the title "Guardian." Yes. A guardian was originally this: never abandoning what they protected until the very end. Their duty of protection shouldn't end until their body collapsed.
And people called Ban a guardian.
'Am I a guardian?'
Ban asked himself. Could he abandon every other possibility in his life and devote himself to the duty of protection like this? Probably not.
"B-Brother."
That was when, after walking for a long time through Walden's lifeless streets, Hwan spoke up in a trembling voice. Ban gave no reply. He already knew why Hwan was startled. His senses had detected them long ago.
[ What business do the living have on Walden's soil? We told you not to drag us into your revolution. ]
A figure with a pitch-black, deathly pallor asked as he regarded them. Before Ban could speak, Balrog responded first.
[ Forgive our unannounced visit. But allow me one correction. This one is not a member of the Revolutionary Corps. If anything... he's one of yours. ]
[ ...A child of Seonwoo? ]
"Hyup."
At the man's words, Hwan gasped sharply. He had only now realized that the wraiths before them were members of the Seonwoo Clan. Ban slowly examined their attire. They all wore coats to ward off the cold, but there was one thing that made it hard to see them as Seonwoos.
'Swords.'
They were all carrying swords. Different kinds, but that wasn't the point.
The Seonwoo clansmen didn't usually carry swords well. More precisely, they didn't carry objects other than those that spoke to them easily. The chances of them carrying swords were... extremely low.
[ They're carrying swords. ]
Ban wasn't the only one who noticed the swords. Seeing the several swords hanging at Ban's waist, they exchanged glances. If a Seonwoo clansman carried that many swords, the meaning was all too clear.
[ The next Guardian? ]
"Yes."
[ ...I see. ]
Ban narrowed his eyes for a moment. Their reaction felt off. If they were truly guarding this place out of lingering resentment over the Seonwoo Clan's fall, shouldn't they be happier to see the next Guardian—the one from the prophecy—return?
But instead, they looked like they were thinking, 'So it has come.'
He was about to ask when he closed his mouth. They were all drawing their swords from their sheaths.
"We didn't hope for a welcome... but we didn't want this either."
[ Revolutionary Corps guests, withdraw now. ]
The Seonwoo wraiths said.
[ We have family matters to discuss from here on. ]
Balrog turned to Ban wordlessly. Ban nodded. Having come this far, their help was no longer crucial.
"We'll meet again."
[ ...We'll be waiting. ]
There was no need to say something wistful like "You must return." Balrog already knew Ban would come back. The Revolutionary Corps held the reason for Ban's life. It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to call it a hostage situation.
'Still can't stay out of the revolution, huh.'
Balrog's bitter thought didn't reach Ban.
Ban silently regarded the Seonwoo wraiths. He wasn't flustered or surprised. Rather, Hwan was the one freaking out and jumping around.
"No, elders! Why are you doing this? Brother Ban is the next Seonwoo Guardian! He's not someone you should be hostile to!"
[ Child. This isn't for you to interfere in. Stay quiet. ]
"But...!"
"Enough, Hwan. Just as they say. Stay back. I'll handle this."
Ban said in a calm voice. He regarded them silently.
"I'm Ban. Son of Yeol and Suya."
[ ...I see. Son of the charcoal maker and the potter couple. ]
A strange sentiment flickered in their eyes. Ban seized the moment to continue.
"Are you testing me? Or is there a reason you must block my path? At least tell me the reason before I draw my sword."
[ Can't draw your sword without a reason? ]
"...I'm trying to live that way."
[ Not very guardian-like. For now, just focus on protecting. ]
"Protect what?"
[ Yourself. ]
The Seonwoo wraiths slowly began encircling Ban. About twenty of them. For a moment, Ban felt something peculiar. Though each held a differently shaped sword—one for every head—he felt as if only a single blade was aimed at him.
"...I won't hold back just because you're clan elders."
Ban's eyes grew cold. He didn't know the reason, but he didn't want to waste time here. They'd taken too long already. He wanted to see the Guardian as soon as possible. He wanted to gather all the swords in the world as quickly as possible, grow stronger, save Anya, change the world, and...
'World's Greatest Swordsman.'
When had that goal started feeling so distant?
— Hahaha! Ban! Look at those rusty relics! Pick me! I'll sweep them all at once!
'Shut up, Kishin. Those are my relatives.'
Ban chided Kishin as he gripped Yuri. Yuri spoke in a strangely prim voice.
— To think you'd grace this shabby body with your hand.
'...Are you upset because I haven't picked you lately, senior?'
— What's to be upset about? Swords get discarded when they wear out, right?
'I'll use you properly.'
Ban curled his lips. Since coming to the night, he'd only crossed blades with swordsmen a handful of times. Excluding Kshatu, there had been almost no worthy sword-wielding opponents—let alone wraiths carrying swords like these.
'Do you wield the sword, or does the sword wield you?'
What he'd learned from Heavenly Spirit was better called an awakening than learning. Ban was ready at any moment to become a swordsman, not a sword. And he had.
He wanted to test it. How far his sword could reach. How much heavier it had become. What kind of swordsman he had become.
The air shifted. Sharp sword intent poured from Ban's blade, enough to slice through darkness itself. It was so keen that, without even approaching, it felt like it would tear skin.
The wraiths slowly advanced, closing the distance. Twenty swordsmen. If they properly coordinated, even at his speed, Ban should be torn into dozens of pieces.
But Ban was a swordsman who could do more than just "move fast."
— Ngh...
Yuri groaned amid the strange currents swirling around her. She felt the axis of time twisting. Past and future momentarily lost their connection, scattering into multiple branches.
It was ecstatic yet terrifying. The sensation of escaping worldly laws felt like briefly ascending to transcendence, yet also like being denied existence in the world.
And the technique that induced such complex sensations—this sword that transcended time and space—was, at least in its results, more certain than any other.
Twenty blades poured toward Ban, only to be deflected in an instant. The Seonwoo wraiths stared at him in bewilderment.
'Did I even draw my sword?'
To their eyes, it looked as if Ban hadn't drawn at all, simply standing still as all the blades bounced away. Ban spoke in a low voice.
"It's fine to point swords at me. Whatever the reason, I'm not that interested right now. But if you're going to swing at me, do it with the resolve to actually cut me."
His voice lacked tension—no, it overflowed with unshakable confidence in himself. Ban placed his hand on Yuri once more.
"Next time, I won't just deflect."
There was no time to waste.