Chapter 204. Foray (4)
Decisive technique.
Enoch's deep blue eyes widened for a moment as he realized the meaning behind the Sword Saint's words.
A concept he had never experienced before, even after endlessly searching for a way to grow his sword, traveling back and forth between his inner world and reality, and inheriting the past of the Sword Saint without rest.
Enoch lifted his head with the conviction that this was another level of skill presented by a being who had transcended the limits of a human as a swordsman and finally reached the highest level.
“That.”
Enoch opened his mouth, staring straight at him.
“I’d like to hear more about that in detail.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint nodded his head as if he had expected it.
“The sword form called the decisive technique is the most powerful form of the sword that a Sword Saint completes at the end, based on the inner will he has built himself.”
The old swordsman added, gripping the end of his sword hilt tightly.
“It is the ultimate sword that a Sword Saint who has completed his sword form by forging his own will finally reaches.”
“Decisive technique, ultimate sword……”
Instinctively realizing the deep potential inherent in those words, Enoch shivered slightly.
The sword that holds the most powerful will among the sword forms.
Indeed, should it be called a kind of special move?
Of course, such a powerful sword form called the ‘decisive technique’ would have been completed in a separate form for each Sword Saint, as their lives and wills were all different.
What if he could inherit all of them?
He would be able to transcend the level of the sword to a degree incomparable to his growth so far.
“It seems to be an incomparably strong sword form. For you to say so.”
“There’s no need to say it twice.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint nodded his head, but Enoch shook his head with an expressionless face.
“However. Having inherited so far, I have some idea about this thing called the decisive technique.”
Enoch added, looking at the Sword Saint.
“That must be the final sword form that can only be inherited after completely understanding the life of a Sword Saint.”
“Without a doubt, that is so.”
As expected, the Sword Saint's answer was as Enoch had anticipated.
In the first place, no matter how strong a technique the decisive technique was, it was a situation where he couldn't obtain and use it right away.
He didn't even know what kind of powerful risk there might be in forcing the succession right now.
But it was certainly valuable to have a faint idea of the path Enoch had to take in the future, the new level of the sword he had to reach.
In terms of the growth of the sword that Enoch definitely wanted, it was information that could be called an irreplaceable harvest.
“Last time, I remember you saying that the memories to be inherited were not yet over.”
Enoch tilted his head to the side.
“So that’s what it meant. A decisive technique. Is it a kind of sword principle to inherit that at the end?”
“Yes. In the first place, the form of the sword is not simply about overpowering the opponent by unleashing the technique, but an art of appropriately operating it in battle.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint quietly nodded his head.
“Therefore, there is no meaning in inheriting only the decisive technique first, and of course, it is not possible to do so. Since it is the ultimate form that a Sword Saint creates at the end.”
The Sword Saint added quietly.
“In the end, no matter what, you will only be able to know about my decisive technique after you have understood my entire life and how it ended.”
“Right. I understand that point.”
Enoch nodded his head in understanding.
The form of the sword was, in the first place, to forge a will strong enough to transcend the limits of a living being or a human, and to project that iron-like will onto the sword.
Of course, if it was a sword form that exerted such a powerful force, he would have to know more about the owners of those swords in more detail.
In other words, he vaguely guessed that he would be able to fully understand the sword principles only after he had inherited the lives of each Sword Saint who had completed a decisive technique ‘to the end’.
“Inheriting the sword is the key in the end, anyway.”
“That is surely so, Enoch, but it would be quite unreasonable to think that you would force the succession now.”
At those words, Enoch, who felt a sense of wonder, raised his head for a moment.
Chareureureureureu!!
With a strange sensation of his trouser cuffs being swept up, the sound of cold water hit Enoch’s ears.
Enoch, who had inadvertently looked down, widened his eyes.
“This is?”
The surface of the water, which had been like a transparent mirror on the floor of the World of Impermanence, was nowhere to be seen.
A strong current of water was already shimmering and rising at Enoch’s feet.
“…….”
Enoch also knew that the bottom of his inner world was similar to the surface of water.
However, the water that was slowly beginning to submerge his ankles was completely different.
The water overflowing at his feet was already turning into the blue current of the lake of Rhodes that the Sword Saint of the Waves had shown him.
“I can certainly see how strong a will a swordsman who has reached the level of a Sword Saint has with this.”
As if Enoch’s inner world was being encroached upon by the will he had inherited from the Sword Saint of the Waves.
Enoch said, staring at the surface of the water that was silently rising up to his ankles.
“……As I continue the succession like this, the World of Impermanence itself is being encroached upon by the lake of Rhodes, you say……”
Looking around the vast, unfolding World of Impermanence, he saw that the surroundings were also changing in the same way.
On the ruins of Rhodes where everything had disappeared, the scenery of a vast lake flowing over countless years.
The horizon that the Sword Saint of the Waves had once captured in her eyes, and that was most strongly related to the intense experiences in her life.
Although he had not yet inherited it, the current of the lake, which had surely had a great influence on the Sword Saint of the Waves' life, was quietly swallowing Enoch’s world.
—By the way, the lake of Rhodes.
What kind of correlation did the swordsmanship she had created throughout her life and the lake of Rhodes have?
After thinking for a moment, Enoch shook his head and voiced a bigger question that came to mind right now.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why was I not devoured by your consciousness like this when I was inheriting your memories before?”
“Should I call it a limit of capacity?”
The Sword Saint lowered his head slightly.
“It seems that even just inheriting me was a close call for your current self. It must be a problem that has arisen because you tried to inherit another Sword Saint despite that.”
“Was that it?”
“Besides, you must not forget. You have not yet inherited all of my life and will.”
At his words, Enoch smiled a little bitterly.
So, if he had continued the succession, he might have been swallowed up by the consciousness of the Empire's last Sword Saint?
Then, he would have had to face this problem one day anyway.
The Empire's last Sword Saint also smiled faintly.
“If not that, then perhaps it is because your will is quite similar to mine, and there was no particular rejection between us.”
“……It’s a bit uncomfortable to hear that from a senile old man.”
“You speak harshly, successor. Even so, to you, I am no different from your first teacher in your inner world.”
He glanced around and added.
“In any case, it’s not that complicated. In any case, who you are is a question that you must endlessly ask as long as you walk the path of the sword.”
He said, as if it were nothing, while standing in the middle of the water just like Enoch.
“If you find that answer, at least you will not be interfered with by the will of others like me.”
At those words, Enoch lifted his head and looked at the old swordsman standing before him.
Hwaaaaaaaaak!!
From the sword that the Empire's last Sword Saint had slammed into the ground, crimson flames raged and danced fiercely.
As if no other image could dare to approach that area, the water of the lake was not encroaching on the sword and the Sword Saint wrapped in flames.
Just as Enoch was admiring the intense will that transcended the laws of physics as if it were so natural.
“This water surface will be a guide for you.”
The swordsman, who had slammed down the sword containing the will that had reached that supreme level with one hand, said.
“What happens when you are completely submerged in the surface of this lake, in other words, how much you are encroached upon by the will of a Sword Saint as you inherit their life.”
Enoch quietly looked down.
Indeed, on the surface of the lake water that had already passed his ankles and was now soaking his shins, Enoch’s reflection was visible.
“Judging by the water level, it seems to have progressed quite a bit.”
Enoch calmly lifted his head and changed the subject.
“I’d like to ask one more thing.”
“Speak.”
Enoch lowered his head to the surface of the water, which looked silvery-white in the moonlight of the dark night sky.
On the endlessly shimmering haze of the water, an indistinct, blurry Enoch looked down.
“Just in case, if I really continue to inherit the memories like this and am devoured by the will of the Sword Saint……”
Enoch’s indistinct shadow, reflected on the shimmering water surface and swaying back and forth.
Realizing that he was standing there without even knowing what ‘self’ he had to find out, Enoch opened his mouth to his reflection in the water.
“……After being devoured like that, what happens?”
“You should be able to guess that as well.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint, with his sword wrapped in flames resting on the surface of the water, raised one of his index fingers and replied in a low voice.
“A reversal of consciousness.”
“……!”
At those words, Enoch’s eyes widened and he quickly lifted his head.
Although it was an ambiguous statement, he could instinctively guess its meaning.
And as if Enoch’s ‘guess’ was correct.
The Empire's last Sword Saint, who had slammed his sword down in front of him, just shook his head.
“I can only express it like that.”
Enoch lowered his head slightly with a cold gaze and stroked his chin as if to cover his mouth.
If his guess was really correct, then after his will was devoured by the Sword Saint, something he had never even imagined would surely happen.
For a moment, that conviction slipped out between his lips.
“Don’t tell me……. Then the Sword Saint’s consciousness will be me……”
“I, too, am only guessing.”
However, even at Enoch’s muttered guess, the Empire's last Sword Saint just shook his head.
“I have no certainty, but what you instinctively guess is probably correct. Most of all, this is your own inner world.”
……My own inner world, he says.
Enoch smiled a little bitterly and nodded his head. It might be a fairly accurate expression.
In the first place, he no longer felt a distinction between Enoch Elsyde and himself.
Whether it was really because of the possession or not, he could easily guess what his words meant.
What in the world would happen after the inner world of the ‘self’ that he had not yet established was swallowed up by a stronger self?
Just in case, if Enoch were to be completely encroached upon by the Sword Saint’s will, then after that…….
Enoch came to his own conclusion and replied.
“A reversal of consciousness. I will remember that for sure.”
“Yes. It seems our time is up as well. If it was helpful to you, it would have been a beneficial time.”
At the Sword Saint's sudden announcement of the end, Enoch lifted his head with an expressionless face and looked ahead.
The Empire's last Sword Saint was slowly scattering as he always did.
Watching his silhouette become transparent among the waves of the lake shining in the starlight of the night sky, Enoch muttered softly.
“To be honest, judging by what I’ve heard this time, the succession was a much bigger risk than I thought.”
“In the first place, what you are inheriting is the life of those who had reached the pinnacle of the sword with the will they had established themselves.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint added as if it were obvious.
“Even if you inherit the powerful will of a Sword Saint, if you fail to make it your own, you will simply be swept away by it.”
“Swept away, you say. So the cause is me?”
“Yes. In the first place, there is a strong perception in your inner world that even I cannot understand.”
At the Sword Saint's words, Enoch unconsciously widened his eyes and asked back.
“Wait, what do you mean by that?”
“It is a simple story.”
The Empire's last Sword Saint lifted his one-handed sword and aimed it straight at Enoch, who was in front of him.
Beyond the sharp sword, the final question left by the fading silhouette flew in.
“Enoch. Why is it that you cannot be certain that this inner world is yours?”
“…….”
Enoch quietly stared at the Empire's last Sword Saint.
On the silent lake, the sound of the flames raging from the sword filled the surroundings quietly.
Countless answers flashed through his mind, but in the end, not knowing where to start, Enoch lifted his head to the sky without giving any answer.
“So that’s the fundamental problem.”
“Yes. And the reason why the combo of sword forms that you have been training so far cannot be completed is also because of that.”
“What……?”
At his advice, given so suddenly in an unexpected situation, Enoch lowered his head and stared at the Sword Saint.
The combo of sword forms that had never been completely perfected despite continuous training.
Was the Emperor's Supreme Sword saying that he knew the reason why he had been continuously failing, lacking that one final touch?
“The reason? What do you mean by that?”
“The combo of sword forms that you are attempting is, fundamentally, to connect the wills of Sword Saints who have lived different lives into one.”
At those words, Enoch nodded his head. The conclusion he had reached after continuous training was the same.
“Certainly, the sword principles of the different sword forms were so different that it was difficult to perfectly link them.”
In the first place, in the case of the Explosive Sword and Fire Wheel that he had been using, they were sword forms used by the same Empire's last Sword Saint.
Therefore, linking those two forms was not that difficult, and in fact, it felt natural.
However, a problem arose when he tried to link the sword forms he had recently acquired, such as Reverse Flow and Lethal Strike, which he had inherited from the Sword Saint of the Waves, with them.
The moment Enoch’s heart pounded loudly at the clue to the growth he had been yearning for.
“Although I do not have the talent to attempt the combo you are trying to do myself, I can give you advice as a swordsman who has reached the level of a Sword Saint in the past.”
He lifted the one-handed sword, which was burning with flames, to the front of his hooded face.
“The perception that it is entirely your sword is important.”