746 – 8.5 Manatee (18)
What can you say to a person who is about to die?
I was also told that I was terminally ill not long ago, but that forced me to hesitate even more. Because no words could comfort me at that time.
The silence did not last long. I didn’t think I would come up with the right answer anyway if I thought about it.
So, I have no choice but to say what I always say.
“Isn’t there a way? If you contact the great witch or the saint…….”
“Ian.”
He was a swordsman who had been calling me ‘youngie’ or ‘little one’. Then, they started calling my name, about a few days ago.
It was a change worth being happy about. It probably means that I am being recognized.
Still, why?
I wonder why the swordsman’s name carries such a heavy weight.
I sighed and turned my head. As if he wanted to avoid the swordsman’s blinking eyes.
“There was a time like that for me too. I tried everything and was willing to throw away my pride to deny the conclusion that had already been decided. But even a sword that cuts through a mountain is useless in the face of the final outcome called ‘death.'”
“Elder.”
“That day.”
‘That day’.
It was difficult for me to guess which day Geomgong wanted to talk about. Was it the day he felt helpless in front of the ending of ‘death’? Or, do I want to talk about the day when my ending was determined to be ‘death’?
Therefore, my answer had no choice but to be silence. So that the eyes of the old man looking back on the past can become deeper.
“I felt a similar sensation that day.”
“What do you mean?”
“The feeling of looking into an endless abyss.”
It was still difficult to guess which day the person was referring to just by speaking. But from the faint heat I felt in that voice, I couldn’t help but realize.
It was ‘the desire to win.’ It also resulted from defeat.
The continent’s best swordsman could not hide his anger. The warrior’s eyes, brooding over memories of humiliation and dreaming of revenge, burned like cold fire.
How many people across the entire continent can ignite that flame?
Probably, recently only one.
Suddenly, a blood-red pupil shining strangely in the darkness came to mind.
“The depth and origin are unknown… Even though it just exists there, it is eating away at the world. I knew it as soon as I saw it. “This ‘cannot be cut’.”
It was an unexpected remark. Aren’t these words uttered by none other than ‘Geomgong’?
The strongest swordsman who traveled the continent, split mountain ranges, and cut water, sky, and air with a single sword.
That was the true identity of the man. He was not a being worthy of testifying that he could not cut something. On the contrary, I don’t know if it deserves to be mentioned as a counterexample.
There is nothing that cannot be true.
He was a man who believed in this all his life. There would be no way to easily break that kind of belief.
Then there was only one conclusion.
The enemy the swordsman met was such an exceptional being.
“It is not a substance or phenomenon. Rather, it is closer to an abstract concept… “No matter what you do, you can’t kill it.”
“But, didn’t you use physical force?”
The swordsman remained silent in response to my counterargument.
In fact, this was close to common sense. A being that can exercise physical force cannot help but be affected by physical force. This was also related to the reason why no matter how much a ‘master’ he was, he could not take off the shell of his body.
‘Image’ distorts the physical laws of reality. When you reach ‘Master’, the level becomes extreme, reaching a level where you completely ignore the physical laws of reality.
However, existence itself escaping the material world was a separate issue.
A being so separated from the world that the swordsman’s sword cannot reach it?
It was normal not to be able to exercise power over the material world. However, wasn’t the swordsman fatally injured by the devil?
It was a contradiction.
When I pointed out that point, the swordsman remained silent for a long time.
This was the reason why I had to continue talking even if I was alone.
“Isn’t that why you were injured? I don’t know what on earth to do to leave permanent scars on the Master’s body…….”
“It’s not physical force.”
That one word was enough. For my voice to quiet down.
As I looked at him with puzzled eyes, the swordsman calmly recalled the battle of that day.
“At first, I just thought something was strange. Should I say that it feels like dealing with a ghost? Even though it was clearly in front of me, I couldn’t feel it at all… But its presence was clearly conveyed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think of the night.”
The swordsman’s eyes were hollow as he said that. Dusk was already setting in his blue eyes.
“It is clear that the sun is setting and night is coming, but… No one can catch the tail of the night. Furthermore, there is no way to stop the cycle. Even if it’s a ‘master.'”
I closed my eyes and recalled one night.
The day a woman with blood-red eyes came to see me.
She told me this.
‘I am everywhere and nowhere.’
If I think about it, I didn’t notice her presence even then. Even though she is aware of the fact that it exists right in front of her.
A being like ‘night’.
Then I understand. No matter how good a swordsman he was, he would not be able to cut down the concept of ‘night’ itself. Because it was close to a primordial flow that comes when the time comes.
However, my doubts still remained.
“But just because night comes, no one will get hurt or die, right?”
“Isn’t death also ‘night’ in some sense?”
For a moment, my mouth was shut as I could not understand what he meant.
It was a testimony that was difficult to understand through common sense. ‘Death’ and ‘night’ – what effect do such floating metaphors have on reality?
Nevertheless, the swordsman’s voice did not waver.
“I didn’t know until it happened to me too. Just for a moment, without even knowing what I had done… Now, take a look.”
It was immediately after that that the swordsman took off the bandage wrapped around his hand.
The skin hidden inside looked clean without a single scratch. In addition, with the addition of the sturdy muscles, it did not look like the appearance of a seriously injured patient at all.
Soon, my gaze reached down to my fingertips and froze.
A black shadow was swaying.
It was a scar that made me feel uncomfortable for no reason as soon as I saw it. The thing that was squirming and trying to eat away at the swordsman’s body resembled a living creature rather than a simple wound. Probably very greedy.
The swordsman with the unidentified injury said.
“The ending that was decided for me… “It hastened ‘death’.”
“Is something like that possible?”
“I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to know for the rest of my life if possible… “It seems possible for him.”
“It makes no sense!”
As I was answering questions, my voice rose slightly.
It had to be that way. To hasten ‘death’, it was true that the ‘Master’ was also a living being, so the end of ‘death’ was waiting. You just get an endless reprieve until the moment you want.
But if the end could be brought forward at will.
‘Delphirem’ alone could have annihilated the Master. If so, there were a few things I didn’t understand.
Why do we need the ‘Seven Sins’?
Just one Delphirem was enough. If the abilities that the swordsman said were true, she would be able to wipe out most of humanity’s power single-handedly.
From Noble mtl dot com
Is it nervousness or fear?
I was swept away by an unknown emotion and asked again.
“If something like that were possible, right now…… !”
“There will be a price to pay.”
The swordsman’s tone of answer was calm.
I finally regained my composure and chewed my lip. Although I heard that he had suffered a ‘fatal injury,’ there seemed to be a stir when I actually confirmed the identity of the person.
One way or another, we had a close relationship.
Even though the person involved is just showing a calm expression.
“I don’t know what is needed. It’s just that after waiting for thousands of years, they have finally defeated me. “He must need a huge sacrifice to interfere with reality.”
“You haven’t collapsed yet.”
“hahahaha! “That is correct.”
Maybe my timid rebuttal made him feel better?
The swordsman suddenly burst out into a lively laugh, and she secretly held her breath. It was a smile that looked more bitter than usual.
“Even now, I am cutting ‘death’ that is digging into my body tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of times. But, this isn’t the kind of curse that can be prevented… It’s literally like ‘night.’ “No matter what you do, the end will come.”
“Couldn’t we use a prosthetic body?”
“Didn’t you just say it was a ‘conceptual’ thing…? The country is the ‘death’ of existence. Of course, moving the body won’t solve the problem.”
I gritted my teeth and said, Wow.
Actually, I was partly responsible for the swordsman becoming like this. At the time, because I was judged to be out of power, the swordsman had to leave alone to intercept Chil Sin Castle, and as a result, he ended up encountering Delphirem.
If I had been fine.
It was a meaningless assumption. If that were the case, the Dark Church would have changed their strategy and eventually tried to take the swordsmith’s life.
It wasn’t something I didn’t know.
But knowledge and acceptance were separate issues. When I couldn’t erase my anger, the swordsman instead burst out in laughter.
“Huh, don’t be like that… “I don’t mind.”
“Still… ….”
“Aren’t you there now?”
These were sincere words. As much as the weight of my heart was contained in that brief statement, my heart also became heavy.
“In my heart, yes… “I wanted to share that burden and carry it for a few years.”
Whoa, the swordsman let out a long breath and closed his eyes. With a face that is both relieved and somewhat regretful.
“There is nothing we can do when the situation is like this. “It would be better for me to suffer than for you to suffer.”
“Elder.”
“Go to Heavenly Sword Mountain.”
This was already the second time I heard this.
No, it was already the third time, including the request I heard from ‘me’ from the future. I don’t know what’s in there that’s making such a big deal out of me.
As I silently waited for the will, the old man’s voice clearly pierced my ears.
“There was a time when I wandered like you. For the first time in my life, I felt skeptical about the sword… I found my way there and was finally able to complete my vision. “It will help you too.”
“Then you can cut down Delphirem too?”
“I don’t know.”
The answer came back without delay. The swordsman said those words without any hesitation.
“But you can do it.”
He spoke to me in a tone of strange confidence.
“Didn’t I already tell you to give up? But you didn’t follow my cowardly teachings… You are stronger than me So, if I have to walk, I should walk with you.”
I lowered my head without saying anything.
There was no need for any oath. I just remembered the promise I had repeated several times.
Going my way.
“If you go to Heavenly Sword Mountain, you will be able to meet an old acquaintance of mine. Ask her for help.”
I will no longer be frustrated or broken down.
“I’m sorry for suddenly having to hand over such a heavy burden…… “
Tap.
I gritted my teeth as I felt the old man’s hand on my shoulder. I decided again that I would not give up until the end.
“The empire… No, protect this world.”
After finally making up my mind, my eyes slowly turned towards the swordsman’s face. There, a blue flame was burning.
The outstanding will of a man who protected the empire for decades.
Now it was a fire that I had to protect.
*
How long has it been since I finished my conversation with the swordsman?
[“How are you, eldest child?”]
For the first time in a long time, I had to stand in front of the crystal ball.
It was a call from the ‘Great Witch’.