Chapter 243 : Chapter 243
Side Story 2. A Promised Reunion
[You have entered Kalia.]
The ordinary Abyss message left my chest feeling heavy.
‘Kalia…….’
A name I had recalled countless times.
And, in the end, my homeland, which I had tried so hard to turn away from.
There had been a time when I vowed never to come here for the rest of my life, because I was no longer Johan Raven.
Perhaps it was a vow I might have kept for the rest of my life.
But fate was a mischievous thing, and in the end, it sent me here.
It had taken a full seven years for me to use this sealed portal map, and now I was standing in Kalia.
[A quest has occurred.]
[Defeat both the greatest mage and the greatest swordsman in Kalia.]
The moment I heard the quest, I could only think that it was insane.
I did not know who those two people currently were in Kalia, but it was an absurd quest.
It was an absolutely impossible task for an Earthling.
Even if all 10 great sword families came here at once, they would not be able to do it.
‘Why would the Abyss give such a quest?’
It felt like a prank prepared by the Abyss solely for me.
Perhaps it truly was.
Of course, the quest was not the most important issue to me.
My greatest purpose in coming here was to meet the Red Dragon who had already arrived in this place and settle things with him.
That would be far more dangerous and difficult than the quest.
But before that, there were ties from the past I wanted to meet.
Since I had spent far more time in Kalia than on Earth, the people important to me were here.
My blood brother.
My loyal right and left hands.
The Sword Masters who had once crossed swords with me.
The Archmage and High Priest who had been my companions.
And the ties of promises I had failed to keep in the end.
I did not know whether I would be able to meet them all, but I intended to try reuniting with them one by one.
‘First, the one closest to me.’
Kalia was a vast continent, so it might take quite some time.
The place where I now stood was the Yuron Kingdom.
As it happened, one of the ties I needed to meet was right here.
***
Adrian Ferrero.
As the king of the Yuron Kingdom, he stood by the window, lost in deep thought.
On moonlit nights like this, there was something he sometimes thought about.
The days when he had been the First Prince.
The memory of the time when, at only twenty-four years old, he had reached the threshold of Sword Master and feared nothing in the world.
Back then, Adrian had thought of himself as a genius.
He had achieved such results less than ten years after first taking up the sword. If he was not a genius, then who in the world was?
There had been a time when he had lived with such thoughts.
And so, he had searched for one person and found him with great difficulty.
He had wanted to meet him in person and settle things.
He had wanted to determine who the true genius of this world was.
Of course, the opponent was Kalia’s greatest swordsman, Johan Raven.
Looking back on it now, it had been a time when he had completely lost all sense of fear. And that night, like tonight, the moonlight had been maddeningly bright.
‘Hmm.’
When that face suddenly came to mind, his whole body trembled.
Even now, after he had passed thirty, that day remained the most intense memory of his life.
Let us cross swords once.
That was the spirited first line he had thrown out the moment he saw Johan.
A fearless brat, are you?
Is a fearless brat not better than a musty old man?
He should not have crossed that line.
Because after the bimu ended, he had been beaten until he was a bloody mess, all because he had let his mouth run once.
No matter what, he had been the First Prince of a kingdom, at least in name, so he had never imagined he would be beaten like that.
Perhaps because of the slap he had received so mindlessly back then, his mouth was still slightly crooked even now.
What does it matter that you are a prince? Bring the emperor before me instead. I will show him what happens if even an emperor acts arrogantly.
Johan Raven.
He truly was someone capable of doing that.
Regardless of status, he was an absolute being who placed the whole world beneath his feet.
‘Why did someone like him……?’
He could not understand why Johan Raven had suddenly vanished from the world one day.
He might have turned his back on the world and gone into seclusion, but there was one thing that could not be explained by that alone.
Because there was the promise from that night when the moon had shone so madly bright.
You are not bad, but it is still too early for you to challenge me. So I will cross swords with you once more in the future.
Do you truly mean that?
You are a prince. Have you lived only to be deceived?
N-no, sir!
However, there is one condition.
What is that condition?
Ascend to the throne of the Yuron Kingdom. Then I will come find you within one year.
But……
Three years had already passed since Adrian Ferrero had become the supreme ruler of the kingdom, yet Johan Raven still had not appeared.
There was no way he had forgotten that promise.
After all, he had clearly said with his own mouth that he valued promises more than life.
‘Where in the world are you?’
He wanted to meet him again just once.
He wanted to cross swords with him.
He wanted to confirm whether Johan Raven was still an unreachable existence, even now that he had become a Sword Master.
Of course, he did not expect to defeat that monster.
He merely wanted to be acknowledged by him.
If he could hear just one phrase, that he had worked hard all this time, then it felt as though all his hardships until now would become sweet memories.
But three years had already passed since the promised date.
He could wait not only three years, but even thirty more. Yet no news of Johan Raven had reached him at all, and that simply left him frustrated.
“The moon is truly bright.”
He was muttering to himself like that, lost in thought, when it happened.
Creak—
The sound of a door came from behind him.
His thoughts broke, and his mind sharpened at once.
‘Who at this hour?’
It was impossible.
Who in the Yuron Kingdom would dare open the king’s chamber door without even knocking?
But that was not why Adrian was truly startled.
‘……There was no presence.’
No matter how deeply he had been lost in thought, it was difficult to imagine that he, a Sword Master, had sensed no presence at all.
A shiver rose from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
It was a tension he had not tasted in a long time.
Adrian slowly turned his head.
STEP.
STEP.
Footsteps sounded in the silent room, and a man came into view.
An unfamiliar face.
He was a man who gave off a somewhat foreign feeling.
“Who are you?”
Adrian murmured with the dignity of a king.
The most likely identity of this stranger was an assassin.
Considering that he had secretly come in the middle of the night, and that he was now holding a sword, it was easy enough to guess.
“……”
But no answer returned.
In truth, there was no need for an assassin to reveal his identity.
However, it was unexpected that he had revealed himself so openly instead of launching a surprise attack.
“I will not kill you. I must uncover your identity and the one behind you.”
As he said that, Adrian quickly drew his sword.
But the response that came abruptly from the man was completely unexpected.
“Cut the nonsense and let us cross swords once.”
He could not help wondering what kind of absurd remark that was.
***
One of the quests I had to complete was defeating the greatest swordsman in Kalia.
In truth, when I decided to visit Adrian first, I wondered whether he might be that greatest swordsman.
After all, he was one of the greatest talents I had met in Kalia.
‘He has grown quite a lot.’
I could estimate it to some extent just by seeing the way he held his sword.
He had now reached the realm of Sword Master, both in name and reality.
“I will ask again. Who are you?”
It was only natural that he was wary of me.
After all, walking leisurely into the palace late at night with a sword in hand was no ordinary matter.
“Let us say I am someone who came to keep an old promise.”
“An old…… promise?”
“I heard that night was moonlit like this as well.”
At my words, Adrian’s eyes widened sharply.
Then came a short gasp.
“How do you know that?”
Judging by his reaction, he had understood my words immediately.
I quietly recited the line I had prepared.
“I am that man’s disciple.”
“Disciple?”
I had no intention of living as Johan Raven during this journey in Kalia.
I had simply come like the wind, and I intended to leave like the wind again.
“I have come to keep an old promise in my master’s stead. So raise your sword.”
“Stop spouting nonsense! I have never heard that he took a disciple! If you utter such nonsense one more time, I will tear out your tongue!”
Adrian was thoroughly agitated.
Even so, there was not the slightest disturbance in his mana operation, so that part was worthy of praise.
“King Adrian Ferrero of the Yuron Kingdom. It seems you are fated to be beaten like a dog because of that mouth of yours. Just as you were in the past.”
“What?”
“I have come here as my master’s representative. That means you should mind your manners.”
“More nonsense!”
THWACK!
Without hesitation, I struck Adrian on the head with the scabbard.
A crisp impact rang out, and I gave him a thin smile.
Adrian stared at me with disbelief in his eyes.
Leaving aside his status as king, this was probably the first time in his life as a Sword Master that he had been struck on the head like this.
“My master said this. If your way of speaking remained as unpleasant as before, I was to teach you by striking you like this if necessary.”
“Th-that is……”
“It does not matter how much of a king you are. My master would have done the same even if you were not a king, but an emperor.”
At my words, Adrian’s pupils shook violently for an instant.
And when he regained his composure, it seemed a little belief had formed.
“Are you…… truly his disciple?”
“I told you I am.”
“Then where is he?”
THWACK!
I struck Adrian’s head with the scabbard once more.
There was no special reason this time.
However, mixing in a proper amount of violence like this made it easier to gloss things over.
“Asking about his whereabouts is forbidden.”
“No, why in the world……”
“If you have a head on your shoulders, think. If he intended to reveal that, he would have appeared in person. Is that not so?”
“……That is true, but.”
“If you understand, stop talking and grip your sword again. Do not get hit again for spouting more nonsense.”
At my words, Adrian immediately gripped his sword.
“Very well. For now, let us cross swords.”
I drew Holy Sword Bastian from its scabbard.
Judging by Adrian’s eyes, he seemed to recognize the Holy Sword immediately.
His eye for detail was quite good.
“However, I have one request.”
“Speak.”
“I would like to move somewhere else for a moment. We cannot cause a commotion in the palace.”
At Adrian’s words, I immediately opened the window and threw myself out.
WHOOSH!
Adrian immediately followed after me.
Avoiding the eyes of the guards was nothing to us.
We ran lightly, heading toward a secluded mountainside not far from the palace.
Of course, I did not merely run during that time.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
I occasionally scattered Sword Qi toward Adrian, who was following behind me.
I wanted to see how he would respond.
After seeing him swing his sword once, I would be able to clearly tell his level.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The sight of him swinging his sword and leisurely dismantling the Sword Qi was impressive.
‘He is at least half a step above Old Man Heo Gyeong-woo.’
As expected of Kalia, where monsters of swordsmanship were everywhere.
Only now could I truly feel that I had returned to my homeland.