Chapter 203. Foray (3)
The memory of the Sword Saint of the Waves' childhood, before she had walked the path of the sword. This moment, which must have been the most important crossroads in her life.
What suddenly appeared in the succession of that inner world was something that even Enoch had not expected.
The founder of the Explosive Sword and Fire Wheel, a swordsman who had completed his sword with his own will and reached a transcendent level before perishing.
A being that should never have been in this place.
The Empire's last Sword Saint.
“I had no intention of interfering with the memory of a swordsman who had reached the level of another Sword Saint.”
The battle-hardened old swordsman, his face hidden in the shadow of his deep hood, spoke in a dignified voice as he walked, lowering his sword once.
Enoch stared at him without a word.
Hwaaaaaaaaak!!
The dance of flames that had been coloring the previously peaceful past swept through the entire space.
The flames, which were quietly turbulent, billowed from the blade of the one-handed sword held by the robed swordsman.
As if burning in the flames, the hem of his robe was wrapped in a transparent, crimson fire and fluttered.
“If I had left it as it was, things could have become irreversible, so I had no choice but to enter like this.”
“I need an explanation.”
Staring at the swordsman who was calmly approaching with his sword wrapped in intense flames, Enoch tilted his head.
“What is going on?”
There were too many things he didn't understand.
In the middle of succeeding the life of the Sword Saint of the Waves, the sudden appearance of a being that had no connection to this memory.
Even Enoch had not expected that something so far beyond his expectations was possible.
But to that natural question, the Empire's last Sword Saint's answer was concise.
“You're asking the wrong question, Enoch.”
Meeting Enoch’s gaze head-on, the Sword Saint, who had slammed his sword into the ground with one hand, looked down at him with an expressionless face.
“On the contrary, the one who needs an explanation about this situation is not you. It is closer to my side.”
Taaaaang!!
With a clear ringing of the sword, behind the Empire's last Sword Saint who had spread the flames low on the ground, a towering wall of fire was billowing.
Enoch stared at the storm of transparent and clear flames, which took on the form of fire without burning any substance, and asked.
“What do you mean by needing an explanation?”
“Let’s get straight to the point. The reason I have so suddenly entered this succession is to warn you of the danger that this succession itself holds, successor of the sword.”
At those words, Enoch tilted his head.
“Danger? Are you perhaps talking about the incidents where the succession was interrupted or the side effects?”
“Side effects. Yes, it wouldn't be wrong to call them that.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint turned to the side without hesitation and slowly walked away.
“Now that I am here, I can vaguely guess the danger of those side effects.”
“……!!”
At those words, Enoch’s eyes widened slightly.
The side effects that had been a constant constraint on Enoch, and the resulting interruption of the succession.
He was saying that the Empire's last Sword Saint had found a clue to that before Enoch had.
“I’d like to hear it. What exactly is that danger?”
“The point is, there is a ‘danger’ that you, the master of this inner world, must be aware of. Even if it means temporarily interrupting the succession like this.”
The moment the Empire's last Sword Saint said that,
intense flames shot up from his sword that was resting on the ground, dyeing the air red.
Enoch, who had glanced at the dance of the unique mana that was scattering flames and burning all around, suddenly realized.
Wuuuuuuung…….
As if the succession itself had been temporarily suspended.
Beyond the red flames that were raging in all directions, all the memories before his eyes were losing their color and becoming blurry, scattering like shadows at dawn.
The scenery had already returned to a night sky with쏟아지는 starlight and an endless horizon.
Only then did Enoch instinctively realize what this situation meant and narrowed his eyes.
“……Don't tell me, have you taken the initiative over the World of Impermanence?”
The ‘unique mana’ that the Sword Saint projected onto his sword was the very will of life that a swordsman who had reached a transcendent level had forged into his sword.
In other words, the entire succession of Enoch’s inner world might have been temporarily suspended by the will of the Empire's last Sword Saint.
However, at Enoch’s vague guess, the Sword Saint shook his head.
“To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that we are coexisting.”
“…….”
“It is a state close to a standstill, where my will to stop the succession and your will to succeed are pulling at each other from both sides.”
After composing himself, Enoch read the flow of mana around him and agreed with his words.
“But Enoch. Can you understand the true meaning of my words just now?”
In that moment, the Sword Saint quietly opened his mouth.
“Even just by looking at this phenomenon, you, who have inherited my sword, should have a good idea.”
“…….”
“Unique mana is the expression of the will that a swordsman has completed over a lifetime, and the world he has built.”
The gray-bearded Sword Saint lifted his sword, which was scattering crimson flames, to the side.
At the unbelievably clear and complete will that dwelled in that surging mana, Enoch couldn't help but be inwardly amazed.
The Sword Saint, who had shown that flame, leaned forward and continued to speak calmly.
“And the fact that this World of Impermanence, built with this inviolable unique mana, is being interfered with by my will, is proof that your perception of your inner world is becoming blurry.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint lowered his sword and slowly approached Enoch.
Finally, the Empire's last Sword Saint stopped in front of Enoch and said again.
“I’m sure I’ve warned you before.”
He slowly raised one hand and pointed at Enoch.
“If you do not know yourself clearly, this succession of the inner world will surely be a dangerous poison to you. In other words—”
Looking at Enoch, the Sword Saint summarized clearly.
“—This inner image of yours, called the World of Impermanence, is becoming more and more shaken as you succeed the clear memories and life of a Sword Saint.”
“As I succeed, this inner world is shaken……?”
“That is so. Your current World of Impermanence, where you are not confident in your own self, is, in a sense, a very incomplete inner image.”
The Sword Saint added, staring straight at Enoch.
“In the end, because you do not know yourself and your self has not yet been established, you are being devoured by the will of the Sword Saint you are inheriting.”
In that moment, a shock pierced through Enoch’s entire body.
—Devoured by the will of the inherited Sword Saint?
But it certainly didn't sound like a story mixed with lies.
As if to confirm that fact, the Empire's last Sword Saint looked to his side and slowly looked up at the sky.
“You, too, will be able to see it clearly if you look at this scenery.”
Above the endlessly vast starry sky, dark clouds were gradually gathering as if it was becoming blurry.
As if to show that Enoch’s self, his own will, was being gradually encroached upon by the powerful force of the Sword Saint as he succeeded him.
And in Enoch’s mind, the fragments of the memory he had been succeeding until just now were flowing in like static.
--[……There was a guardian knight who told me to have a mission.]
--[……I’m just not sure if that’s the path I should truly walk.]
Enoch slowly clenched his fist.
Even in the decisive battle with Persona last time, her counterattack had caused a crack in the inner world itself.
Although many things were different from that time, at the very least, the fact that such an anomaly was occurring in the inner world itself was not a good sign.
He also couldn't ignore the fact that he didn't know what would happen in the future if he left it as it was.
“Then, the reason why the succession is being forcibly interrupted……”
“It is as you guessed, Enoch.”
The Sword Saint added quietly.
“It is close to a defense mechanism to instinctively prevent your self from being encroached upon by the self of a Sword Saint who had once reached the supreme level.”
The old swordsman, with his sword wrapped in flames, turned his gaze hidden by his hood and glanced around.
“For now, it is merely that this memory succession has been temporarily suspended due to my interference, which should not have existed in this memory succession.”
“You’re saying you intervened because you didn't know what side effects would occur if I continued the succession. I appreciate that.”
“Although the method was a bit abrupt.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint slowly nodded his head.
“After all, there was no other way for me, who is merely a trace of the past dwelling in this inner world, to help you any more than this.”
“Just a trace, you say.”
Enoch turned his head with a bitter smile.
It was because in that simple choice of words, he had once again realized the strength of him who was once called the Empire’s last swordsman.
To rephrase his words, despite being a ‘trace’ of a life that had perished in the distant past.
Not only did he clearly maintain his original form and personality in Enoch’s inner world after the succession was complete.
He was even saying that he could manifest and intervene in the memories of another Sword Saint with a powerful will of his own.
Wuuuuuuuuuuung.
Enoch, who had been silently looking up at the fading scenery of the inner world, slowly opened his mouth.
“To complete my own inner world, did you say I had to truly know who I am?”
“That is so. That is also the only way for one who walks the path of the sword to reach the level of a Sword Saint.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint added, resting his sword on the blurry surface of the water.
“Originally, I would not have needed to interfere with the memory succession of another Sword Saint, and it would also have been impossible for me to interfere with your inner image like this.”
“You seem to have learned a lot about the World of Impermanence.”
“Perhaps because we manifest the same unique mana, there are some parts that I have come to know instinctively. And so, I also know that you are overdoing it.”
“Overdoing it?”
Enoch, who was about to argue that it wasn't like that, had no choice but to close his mouth.
After all, he had come in, accepting the risk of side effects, because he wanted to spec-up even a little through this succession.
The Sword Saint added in a low voice.
“You may not be aware of it, but perhaps the one who will bear the most burden in the solo mission you have been given this time is you.”
At those words, Enoch gave a slightly bitter smile.
“……So you knew about the situation after all.”
From the all-out war with the horde of experimental magical beasts, to the condition that Shepherd had set, and because of that, even the solo annihilation mission that Enoch had been given.
He was saying that he had been watching all of that from here.
“I am always, always watching you from here.”
Before his eyes, the Empire's last Sword Saint smiled faintly, his crimson flames and the hem of his robe fluttering.
“After becoming a shut-in old man, watching your activities from here is my only pleasure, you see?”
“…….”
“And I also want to see how far you can reach the level of the sword with my sword as a stepping stone, when you have understood everything about yourself.”
At those words, Enoch flinched and asked back.
“A stepping stone for the sword? Don't tell me you even saw my combo training before?”
The combo of sword forms that Enoch had been devoted to in the underground training ground for a while.
And of course, as if he had seen all of that, the Sword Saint was smiling with satisfaction.
“It was very interesting and surprising.”
“…….”
“Not only have I never thought of mixing my sword with that of another Sword Saint, but I have also never thought that it was possible.”
As he said that, the Sword Saint gave a faint smile.
“It is surely an exciting thing to imagine what a genius who can open up the possibilities of the sword to that extent will look like when he has finally understood himself and reached the level of a Sword Saint.”
“I’ll take the compliment.”
“I am not just saying empty words. You, as one who handles the sword, should know.”
The Sword Saint said, staring straight at Enoch.
“Already, Enoch, you have grown to the point where you can stand against mages who are at the 10th and 9th ranks. But to truly be completed as a Sword Saint means more than that.”
Enoch tilted his head and asked back.
“I vaguely know that I will become stronger if I reach the level of a Sword Saint. But was it to that extent?”
“Of course. In the first place, you—”
The Sword Saint slowly added about Enoch.
“The ultimate skill that is completed upon reaching the level of a Sword Saint. You have not yet inherited the sword form called the decisive technique.”