Chapter 201 : Chapter 201
Translator: AkazaTL
Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
Chapter 201. Ruin (4)
“……You felt it, didn’t you?”
“Of course.”
“It was certainly Steel. Not the cheap imitation of Steel those pretenders who merely inherited his name used to mimic, but the one we remembered…….”
“Right, Dokbul.”
“Why did that horrifying power fail to disappear and show up again?”
“Heaven’s Sword didn’t fulfill his duty faithfully.”
“He never suited the position of Heaven’s Sword in the first place. Isn’t he the fool who carved into his soul some idiotic rule that he couldn’t kill any life under eighteen?”
“So what will we do?”
“Liam Karavan hasn’t returned, has he? If that soul had truly come back in full, I would rather take my own life and leave the middle realm forever. The thought alone is unbearably terrifying. The second coming of Dokbul.”
.
.
.
“It’s probably not that. Compared to Liam Karavan’s Dokbul, that sword was far too sloppy and soft. Meaning it’s not ripe yet.”
“In other words, it will ripen soon.”
“Before long, a true Karavan will be born once more.”
“Then the answer is obvious.”
.
.
.
“We have to crush and erase it before it ripens.”
***
The world burned.
The demons who once ran across the plains were now running over peaceful earth.
The warriors of the plains, who had slaughtered every innocent resident without leaving a single life behind, were now killing this city itself because no living prey remained.
They hacked apart corpses whose breath had already stopped, destroyed buildings, and burned away all traces of everyday life. As if they couldn’t bear even a moment without destruction.
In the midst of that death, we were trying to figure out how to survive.
“I’ll be frank, my lord. Even if the Descendant of Khan walked right up to me this instant, I could still survive.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Because of a treasure that exists in my homeland.”
A treasure in his homeland? When I stared at him, Zeppelin answered.
“The vault of House Gold contains all the treasures of the continent. Our Godmother placed one particular treasure within so that her descendants, who roam all the seas of the world, wouldn’t die an unjust death. A treasure once gifted by an emperor of the Sky Empire — the treasure known as the Eternal Ember.”
“If it’s the Eternal Ember……”
“So the old gentleman knows.”
Tom clearly recognized the treasure Zeppelin Gold was talking about. Zeppelin nodded and explained.
“If a descendant of House Gold loses their life outside the Black Archipelago, the Eternal Ember activates, and they resurrect inside the Golden Manor of the Black Archipelago.”
Sometimes I forgot because of how familiar he felt, but Zeppelin Gold’s family was one of the Five Great Houses — and among them, the wealthiest of all: Gold. If anywhere was to possess such a treasure, it would be them.
‘Well, that Great Warrior earlier had a magic tool that revived him even after death. There’s no way a precious young master of such a house wouldn’t have a safety measure of his own.’
Not like the Karavan family, whose only possession was an old blade inhabited by a cranky old man. This — this was what one could truly call a “treasure.”
“Normally, I would’ve refused resurrection and simply accepted death. I had planned to leave for the Spirit World and rest. I didn’t have the courage to face this sense of loss, despair, and dreadful grief head-on.”
“……”
“But my lord’s words changed me. I will endure whatever pain it takes and keep living. And I will take revenge on those demons. By any means necessary.”
“……”
Zeppelin Gold’s eyes were burning. His gaze was familiar.
Vengeance. It was what once lived in my own eyes. A flame that still hadn’t disappeared from them.
“And I wish for no more of my friends to die. Lord Karavan, to me you are more than a friend.”
“……”
“If I could, I would give my Eternal Ember to you, but the mystery of that treasure is granted only to humans who carry golden blood. Even if you held it, it would be nothing more than a small pebble — no more, no less.”
Hoo— Zeppelin Gold exhaled.
“So I will become the bait.”
“Bait…?”
“I will revive even if I die. So I will draw the attention of the Conquest Army, including the Descendant of Khan. While I do so, Lord Karavan, run to Visente’s port. There should be a small boat there — enough to carry two people. Take it and cross the sea.”
Zeppelin Gold’s eyes shone.
“You’re telling me to take a small boat and make it back to the Western Continent?”
“That’s impossible. The boat at the port is just a little sailing boat I prepared for occasional fishing, and crossing from the Southern Continent to the Western Continent without a single sailor is impossible. You would end up drifting in the middle of the sea and die.”
“Then……”
“Ride the waves and follow the brightest star.”
Zeppelin Gold said:
“Between the Southern Continent and the Western Continent lies a place called Ernest. It is counted among the continent’s great enigmas, alongside the Sky Mountains, the Krevelin Great Forest, and the northern Monsterland.”
“What is there?”
“There—”
“Wait.”
Tom, who had been silently listening, cut in.
“Master, Ernest is a graveyard of explorers. Before the Southern Continent was discovered, many renowned explorers were sucked into that place and vanished. It’s far too dangerous. Unlike the Sky Mountains or the Great Forest, we have almost no information about it.”
“But we have no other way now.”
“Still……”
“Zeppelin, what’s your basis for saying Ernest is where I can survive?”
Zeppelin answered:
“As the old gentleman said, Ernest is infamous as the grave of explorers. But it is not a place where only death exists. Among the old captains of the Black Archipelago, who have sailed all the seas of the continent, there are those who returned alive from there. And they all said the same thing.”
“……”
“Out at sea, no one was ever truly alone. Those who foolishly abandon hope will meet death there, but those who do not discard hope will surely return to land.”
It was an abstract saying. Something like a legend sung by bards.
“They didn’t speak with exaggeration. And my lord, you are not someone who would ever abandon hope no matter what situation befalls you. If it’s you, even if you go there, you will surely return alive.”
“……”
“Besides, every captain who reached Ernest said the same thing. When they were lost and drifting across the sea, they followed a bright star and arrived there. Lord Karavan, you recently saved the City of Stars and rescued the girl closest to the stars. Regardless of what the Nine Goddesses and the Seven Lords think of you, the stars alone will guide you down the right path.”
When I heard up to that point, I nodded.
“Understood. I’ll do that.”
Tom looked at me with worry. But we didn’t have time to hesitate. Footsteps were drawing near. Even now, the Conquest Army following the Descendant of Khan was tearing apart Visente to kill one more life, even a single one. The demons on horseback longed to kill more, to burn more. We had to leave this hell.
“But Zeppelin, even if we launch the sailboat, what if the Conquest Army sets out to chase us? A small sailboat can’t possibly outrun their warships.”
“There’s no need to worry. The Conquest Army cannot set sail.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“My lord, you said they came together with the Descendant of Khan, did you not? Any legion accompanying the Descendant of Khan can never board a ship and cross the sea.”
“What do you mean?”
They could never cross the sea by ship. Why? Zeppelin Gold soon resolved my question.
“I’ll tell you a secret known only to Swordmasters and the descendants of the Great Houses.”
“……”
“All Swordmasters, though granted absolute power, also carry restrictions that match that power. The moment they forge a sword within their soul, a regulation is etched into their spirit. That regulation is absolute and cannot be broken under any circumstance. Just as Swordmaster Carlos, the continent’s greatest blade, cannot harm any life under eighteen.”
Zeppelin Gold looked at me.
“The Descendant of Khan inherited the will of the Swordmaster ‘Khan’ who existed in the distant past of the Eastern Continent. And by claiming to be his heir, he inherited his regulation as well.”
“Khan’s regulation…”
“He cannot leave land. Ever.”
It was something I hadn’t known. When I turned my head, Master nodded.
「It is true.」
Why Liam always told me critical information after everything had already happened, I would never understand. I wanted to grumble, but we didn’t have the luxury. Zeppelin Gold let out a breath, hoo, his eyes set with determination.
“Now then, since you’re convinced, let’s all survive.”
“……”
“I spoke boldly when I said I’d be the bait, but honestly, throwing my life away terrifies me. You see, I’m the kind of man who makes a huge fuss even when I cut my hand on a kitchen knife.”
Amid the trembling whinny of the horses, Zeppelin Gold gave an embarrassed smile.
The corner of his mouth quivered. I understood.
The Conquest Army of the Great Land never killed anyone they caught mercifully. Even more so when the one they captured was found after the battle had already ended. Zeppelin Gold, as the bait, would make a great commotion to draw their attention, and when he was captured, he would die in excruciating pain. For Zeppelin Gold, who had lived a peaceful life unrelated to swords, such agony was unimaginable—truly, truly unbearable……Even if he would revive. Of course he was afraid.
“I’ll endure it.”
“Zeppelin.”
“So please, run to the port without worry.”
His lips quivered. Then the trembling lips formed a smile.
“Let’s meet again, definitely.” With those final words, Zeppelin Gold shouted loudly and disappeared into the darkness.
“A descendant of House Gold, Zeppelin Gold, is right here—!”
From the darkness, his voice thundered.
“You devilish monsters! I cannot forgive you—killing, hurting, tormenting the innocent! Descendant of Khan—! I, Zeppelin Gold, rightful heir of House Gold and protector of the weak—challenge you—to a duel─!”
Truly, his voice boomed spectacularly. Watching his hunched back charge forward, shouting in exaggerated bravado toward the enemies, I saw overlapping with him the image of a man from long ago.
A man who had never once properly swung a sword in his life, a pitiful, shabby man who, as though he had read too many knightly novels and lost his sanity, uttered absurd nonsense and fought against the continent’s strongest Swordmaster. My father.
“Let’s go, young master.”
“……He’ll be all right, won’t he?”
And
“Yes, he’ll be all right.”
I only discovered the fact that the treasure vault of House Gold contained no treasure like the Eternal Ember a long, long time afterward.