Inheriting the Novel

Lucky Day (2)

I kept walking through the still darkness.

Strangely enough, even as I stepped forward, no sound could be heard at all.

In the midst of this silence, the only thing I could hear was my own breathing.

Aside from that, I couldn't sense anything—not even the presence of my companions who had been right beside me only moments ago.

'As expected.......'

Gazing right through that darkness, I cast my eyes toward a certain spot. In this barren world, there was one thing that I could see.

==

〈Deepest Core of Vinshad〉

A defensive function that exists in the deepest core of Vinshad, where the Guiding Sword Ragal is sealed.

It is also a 'trial' created by the Guiding Sword.

Anyone who enters the deepest core becomes trapped in an illusion, and can only escape by defeating the enemy they fear most.

==

That was the 'profile' of this space.

And after Sior, who was the calamity of dreams, this was the second calamity directly related to swords.

'In the synopsis, it mentioned something like: "Fabian, who overcame the sword's trial..."

So this must have been it.'

No wonder, while conquering Vinshad, he obtained Ragal at the same time.

[Who do you think the person you fear the most is?]

'Well.......'

I'd never really thought about it.

There wasn't anything or anyone in particular that I would instantly name as what I feared.

'Then how about you?'

[Myself.]

'I thought you'd say God Altair.'

[Hmm. Well, Altair is uncomfortable, sure. But I'm not afraid. What scares me most is myself.]

That comment reminded me of something.

The past of Grancesia that I had seen at the Dreistler family.

'Does it bother you, what you called the calamity of gods?'

[I'd be lying if I said no. And, well, I kind of get it now. I'm not sure, but still.]

It seemed Grancesia had some idea why that might be the case.

And I, too, had started to guess, at least a little.

[But why isn't anything showing up? Is it because there's nothing you're really afraid of?]

'No way.......'

The moment I got that far, a ripple spread through the darkness.

The dark world began filling with various colors, forming a 'scene.'

"This is......"

The scene that appeared before me was a place I was deeply familiar with.

It was the domain of the House Vanhart, the beloved land where I had grown up since childhood.

Within that scenery were people I'd known for a long time, as well as those I'd recently grown close to.

Monet, doris, countless servants and domain residents.

And Riya and Maria, among others with whom I had built bonds in the natural order of time.

Last of all, someone appeared whom I had never met.

"Hah. I see."

There, in the midst of all the people connected to me, stood a figure.

A man with somewhat lighter black hair than mine, and blue eyes—good-looking, no doubt.

I had never seen him before.

And yet, somehow, I instantly knew who he was.

"Fabian."

At my quiet murmur, he turned his gaze.

All my companions began warily backing away from me, while Fabian quietly raised his sword at me.

[...... Fabian? That's supposed to be him?]

'Probably. Look at the sword he's holding.'

[Sword? Ah!]

Only then did Grancesia look at Fabian's sword and gasp in shock.

The weapon he was holding was none other than Genova.

A sword that only Fabian, who could hear the Sound of the Sword, had ever wielded.

[But if he's someone you don't know, how does he have a defined appearance?]

'How should I know?'

I, too, drew my sword toward him.

Two identical swords aimed at each other, neither of us uttering a word.

I narrowed my eyes to try to see his profile.

But no profile appeared.

Instead, an explanation of the current phenomenon popped up.

==

〈Fabian's Apparition〉

An apparition of Fabian, the protagonist of "Sound of the Sword".

He appears as the being who embodies the situation and phenomenon Clay Vanhart fears most.

The Calamity of Labytrinth Vinshad can summon the person and circumstances that one most desperately does not wish to encounter.

However, only people who truly existed in this world can be summoned.

Even those who have since disappeared.

==

'What does that mean?'

It was a puzzling explanation.

At least it was clear Vinshad was the cause of this apparition.

It also confirmed that the calamity drew forth someone I feared from among those who truly existed, regardless of my own memories.

The problem was the very last sentence.

'Even those who have since disappeared?'

At face value, it might mean that Fabian was dead.

But to me, that nuance felt oddly different.

"Well, whatever. This is good."

At my mutter, Fabian grimaced.

The one I feared.

Yes, it was true that I was afraid of Fabian.

Many things the protagonist should have enjoyed ended up in my hands, and I'd occasionally worried that if he came back, he might take them away.

The image of people who had stayed near me now standing by him—that must have visualized my inner anxiety.

"Lucky day. I did want to fight you at least once."

Even if it was fake.

I was genuinely curious as to the level of strength and ability he possessed.

'Though it's only an apparition, so he can't possibly be the real Fabian.......'

I wondered just how powerful the Fabian conjured by the calamity would really be.

"Deltode."

My body activated to its limits, sharpening my senses.

At the same time, he, too, seemed to activate the same power, his aura swelling tangibly.

Up to here, we were probably the same. But from here on, things would differ.

──Heaven-Slaying Arms.

Kwaaaaaang!

Heat exploded from my entire body, the engravings spreading from my back throughout my limbs.

"......!"

Fabian's eyes widened at my power, which had grown several times stronger than moments before. But, face set in seriousness, he came at me anyway.

Kaang!

A fierce crash resounded as our swords clashed and bounced off each other.

'Hm?'

Just one exchange, and Fabian was sent flying backward, while I easily held my stance with composure.

I laughed under my breath.

It wasn't that Fabian was weak, or that I was overwhelmingly strong.

'So that's how it is.'

After all, an apparition was only an apparition.

It could reproduce his form, but not his full abilities.

[That's not it. He's weak because you're not afraid.]

'Because I'm not afraid?'

[Since this is an illusion, it can't exert its true power. But more importantly, your resolve to overcome your fear is stronger than the fear itself, so he can't use his full strength.]

Apparently, the illusion's power grew the more you feared your opponent.

'Well, I suppose that makes sense.'

If someone feared an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, merely facing it would mean death.

Basically, it might as well be an instant-kill move.

So the base strength would be tuned to suit the challenger, and as their fear increased, so did the apparition's power, making victory seem impossible.

"What a shame."

I was honestly a little disappointed.

Thinking about it, I was actually lucky. It meant I could clear this trial for free, practically.

I did fear Fabian, but more than that, my desire to defeat him was stronger.

He was both the one I feared most, and the one I most wanted to overcome.

"Fabian."

As I raised Genova vertically, Fabian mirrored my movement like a reflection.

We stared at each other for a moment, then, as if on cue, both charged at one another.

"Goodbye."

Maybe because it was an illusion, Genova shone as it cut through Fabian.

And as it cleaved through this false world itself──I could finally open my eyes.

* * *

"Phew."

Opening my eyes, I found myself in a space filled with blue, jewel-like crystals.

The shimmering lights all around were stunningly beautiful, but every one of them was the glow of magic power flowing into the dungeon.

In other words, this place was most likely the heart of the dungeon.

"Looks like... the others are okay."

All three had frozen in place the moment they entered the corridor.

Monet, it seemed, was being scolded by Doris, shouting "Papa, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" over and over; Riya and Maria had their faces screwed up in frowns, tightly pursing their lips.

'So even with luck on your side, you can't escape so easily.'

Or perhaps if I destroyed the core of the dungeon, they'd naturally wake up—maybe my luck just hadn't kicked in yet.

[That must be the core.]

The core that made up the great labyrinth, vinshad.

It was right above the place where a single sword was thrust into the ground.

A huge, pulsating blue gem.

Since it was the core that supplied and circulated magic power throughout the dungeon, its size was also extraordinary.

To be precise, it was still gradually growing.

"If I'd come any later, I might not have gotten the sword."

If the core had grown much larger, it would have buried the Guiding Sword Ragal, and Ragal would have been lost deep beneath the earth.

As I moved closer to the core, I felt a strong surge of magic power and what seemed like a blue barrier appeared.

Crackle!

'If I don't destroy the core, I won't be able to get to the sword.'

The magic protecting the core was also shielding Ragal nearby.

I drew Genova, pouring magic into it in a single stroke.

'This won't be enough.'

This was the core maintaining the entire massive dungeon; there was no way a normal aura blade could destroy it.

'In that case.......'

A blue aura blade several meters long erupted from Genova.

Fed by the unending flow of magic, the blade grew in size, then began to burn as a white flame.

"Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword."

Basically, the basic form of Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword is almost the same as the Moon Severing Divine Sword.

'Guess I should call it Falling Sun instead of Falling Moon now.'

The searing white flame sword shot toward the barrier.

The flame instantly burned away the surrounding magic power, and the vertically slashing sword aura bisected the barrier.

No, it didn't just slice through the barrier—it cleaved the core itself in two.

Kwaaaaaang!

"...... Oh?"

I couldn't help but gasp as I watched the flame split and burn up the core in an instant.

Its power was now on a completely different level than before.

"To think this is the force even without using Heaven-Slaying Arms?"

[Your level has gone up, hasn't it? And on top of that, your proficiency in Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art has increased, so its influence is only natural.]

The more I thought about it, the more Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art seemed like broken nonsense.

The higher its mastery, the higher the mastery of my other techniques as well.

Anyone else would have called it impossible on the spot.

Ddddddd!

But there was no time to be amazed by the power of Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword—Vinshad's deepest core began to collapse and break apart, as the core's destruction erased the power keeping the dungeon intact.

"Yo, young master?"

"What... what happened? Ugh, my head..."

"...... Ugh."

With the core shattered, the three who'd been trapped in the illusion also woke up.

All of them clutched their heads, apparently shocked by the abrupt end of the visions.

[But it's finally over. All that's left is to claim that sword......]

Grancesia trailed off as she spoke.

"What's wrong?"

[...... You should pull out the sword quickly. Demonkin are approaching.]

"Well, if the dungeon collapses, we can escape through the Sword of Boundary."

I answered calmly, pulling the Guiding Sword Ragal from the ground.

I wanted to immediately destroy it with Genova to absorb it, but there was no time for that.

To use Genova's power would take a significant amount of time, and according to Grancesia, the demonkin were practically on top of us already.

[It's because they're getting so close... but something's off.]

"What do you mean? Is it about borrowing Altair's power, like you mentioned before?"

[No, it's not that. There's something out of place among the demonkin.]

There was an unusual tension in Grancesia's voice.

It was rare for her to be so unsettled, which made me wary too.

But I only hesitated a moment—getting out of here was priority.

"Everyone, over here! I'll use the sword's power to get us out right away......."

Gathering the group, who were just barely regaining composure, I planned to escape using the Sword of Boundary. If we traveled through spatial rifts, even the demonkin would have trouble following.

"Huh?"

But for some reason, the Sword of Boundary wouldn't activate.

A rainbow light shimmered briefly, but then faded away.

'What's this?'

It was as though something was suppressing the sword's power, forcing it down.

The sword's power wouldn't activate, but for some reason, Genova suddenly began to vibrate and hum.

Woooooooo!

"This vibration......."

It was a phenomenon I'd experienced once before.

It was just like when I fought Sior, the calamity of dreams.

When another of the Seven Swords Under Heaven was nearby, Genova would vibrate like this.