Sword Master Embracing the Stars
Enter the city filled with brilliant lights and cross the road that runs through it.
After passing the shabby blacksmith shop where a single star resided, Sarnus reached a dark back alley.
“…It really looks like a gutter.”
What was waiting for him was a four-story building standing in a shabby back alley.
A lighthouse in a back alley built by the Knight of Whores and the Rose of Shoara.
A deep sneer remained on Sarnus’s lips as he saw the smile of the rose waiting for him in a towering form.
“You grew up in a place like this, so you probably forgot you were a dragon.”
It was a high and comfortable place for the boy, but for him it was a miserable back alley.
But he was so blinded by anger that he couldn’t see anything.
The fact that there were countless children looking anxiously at him on the road he had just passed.
A child who was exhausted from hunger.
A child who was caught stealing and was beaten.
And even the child who was crying endlessly without even being able to bury his dead mother in the frozen ground.
“That ruined possibility. “I have to retrieve it, son.”
So many tears that came from not being where I should have been.
However, even though Sarnus entered this deep inside, he still did not accept the boy’s sadness and only looked for what he wanted.
Kkeiik- A
dragon of this era who just wants his son, who carries on his blood, to be what he wants.
The rose’s smile began to open its arms towards the dragon.
“Vlad…”
“Come in.”
This is the rose-smiling boy’s nest.
A place that embraced Vlad in place of his father who was not where he should have been.
“Let’s end this now.”
The back alleys of the city shine brightly at night.
With Vlad’s raised eyes, the light in the window began to burn brightly.
“My name is Vlad of Shoara.”
Beyond the entrance stairs that Sarnus was slowly climbing, Vlad was drawing his sword.
Shining like a star even without any decorations, it was clearly Vlad’s sword.
Behind Vlad, who had pulled out his sword, numerous candles were watching him, lighting up their colors.
“Now say your name.”
“This damned bastard…”
This is my deepest world. A space I created.
Before entering there, you must prove your existence to me.
“How dare you climb to the end without even knowing the grace that gave birth to you.”
A dragon, a human, a duke, a knight, and a father and son.
At Vlad’s words to leave all that behind and communicate only with the sword, the strand of reason that Sarnus held on until the end was cut off.
“How dare you, Sarnus Dragulia!”
Wow!
With a loud roar, the oldest dragon began running towards Vlad.
A bloody aura built with dragon teeth.
Sarnus’ eyes, which looked at those who should look down on him through the aura, were no longer human.
[This is the final confrontation on this journey. Vlad.]
And both Vlad and Quihano, who were looking into those eyes, could tell.
That this moment is the end of our journey together.
[Without regret. [Show everything you have.]
Overwhelm the start with splendor and end the duel with no regrets.
The duel between the two, which began with exchanging names, began in front of countless stars.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaa!
“Keuuuuuuu!”
It was a loud noise that echoed throughout the building.
No matter how much my world is portrayed, it is such a powerful sound that it cannot help but shake for a moment.
Vlad, who had received the sound with full force, was being pushed back endlessly.
“Try saying it again!”
Sarnus let out a harsh roar as he saw Vlad stumbling from shock, but the sword’s dialogue was not determined solely by power.
[Counterattack!]
Sarnus’ sword came in again and was caught in Vlad’s sight.
With Vlad’s eyes more focused than ever.
Taang-!
“…!”
Sarnus’ sword, which had been struck with terrible force, bounced away in an instant.
A magical technique that upsets the balance of one point in a split second.
Vlad’s eyes were shining coldly as he implemented that technology on not just a single knight but the pinnacle of the era.
Hey!
Sarnus’ strength to forcibly catch the flying sword was stubborn.
However, Vlad’s appearance in front had already blurred and disappeared without a trace.
“……this!”
From point to line.
Vlad, who had stopped, had suddenly become a golden line dividing the floor and wall, moving in all directions.
“Hwaaaah!”
It was a movement whose beginning and end could not be determined no matter how much one looked at it.
A movement that is only possible with a single strike because the very essence of the sword is based on speed.
The appearance overlapped with the appearance of the Sword Master I had seen a long time ago.
Kwazizig-!
“Keuuuuuuu!”
Take advantage of possibilities with unpredictable movements.
Vlad faithfully followed the instructions and appeared as a ray of lightning, striking Sarnus’ side.
“Cheet!”
“…You bastard!”
However, Vlad’s life was deep and his dragon’s instincts were sharp.
Vlad’s movements, which he could have predicted even though he could not see them, were suddenly blocked by the blood-red aura and returned to nothing more than dots.
“How dare you fool me with Kihano’s swordsmanship!”
Dragulia’s swordsmanship, which pursues perfection, pursues a weight that is not easily shaken.
And now, the weighty sword of Sarnus was heading towards Vlad, who had just revealed himself.
“You dare, even though it’s in my blood!”
With the weight of a huge mountain.
Just like that, the world of Sarnus, trying to oppress Vlad, began to loom over his head.
bang! Bang bang! bang!
“Ugh!”
With each sword strike, Vlad’s entire body vibrated violently.
It wasn’t sharp, but it was a weight that was hard to bear.
The sight of Vlad swaying back and forth with each swing of his sword was proof of its power.
[We have to get out! You must not give up the momentum!]
“Ew!”
I know it in my head, but it is a combo that is difficult to escape from.
Vlad noticed the trend starting to change and gritted his teeth.
“Huh!”
A huge world that still tries to crush me.
The only way to avoid being crushed by that world is to move forward.
“this!”
Vlad rushed towards the powerful force that seemed as if it would be erased with just a passing glance.
It was certainly a reckless action, but it was inevitable that a lot of coercive force was needed to turn the tide of the duel.
Quad deuk!
“Ugh!”
The dwarves’ armor was shattered by Sarnus’ sword strike that dug deep into the shoulder.
With the terrible pain that even the armor spell I learned from Justia could not offset.
However, the current pain and loss were clearly necessary to take Vlad one step closer to Sarnus.
“Aaaah!”
The distance is close enough that each person can see each other with their own eyes.
As Sarnus looked at him like that, Vlad’s blow exploded inside his blue eyes.
Kwazizig-!
“Keuuuu!”
Golden scales sparkled along with the bursting breastplate.
It was a fragment created from a dragon scale that had cracked heavily in Rutger’s world.
“I’m not even your son!”
Kwasik!
“It’s not even a failure!”
Quad deuk!
Vlad’s sharp, flashing sword strikes continued to hit Sarnus.
“I am not in all the names you call!”
The steps taken forward are strong, and each strike of the sword is fierce.
A speed that makes it hard to believe that the sword was thrown by someone who was already injured.
The current attack, which felt like a flash of lightning, had reached a faraway state that was not possible in reality but could only be imagined.
“Ugh!”
This world that Vlad created is a world that is possible because you believe you can do it.
No matter how talented he was, the boy in the mud needed his cherished imagination to become a knight.
“Yes you bastard!”
Sarnus, who hastily pulled Vlad away from the attack that stopped only briefly, quickly adjusted his stance.
However, even this moment when I was able to catch my breath was entirely Vlad’s choice.
Druddeuddeuddeuk-!
The ground was shaking.
No, the world Vlad had created was resonating.
“You’ve killed too many people.”
Vlad’s quietly exhaled breath was spreading white.
It wasn’t because the place was cold right now, but because Vlad’s breath was hot.
“For perfection that I can’t even reach.”
My heart, heated like that, was aimed straight at Sarnus in front of me.
Vlad’s whole body was tense, as if he had been pulled into a protest.
“okay! “Come and see!”
A swordsmanship that kills with one strike, seizing opportunities with unpredictable movements.
However, now Vlad was trying to split Sarnus at a speed that exceeded even that prediction.
[okay. Go your own way.]
This is not something I learned, but my own path that I have learned.
Vlad was now trying to show Quihano the path that only he could see.
“…I demand fair compensation from you. Sarnus.”
I hope someday I too can shine like the stars in the sky.
The boy’s dream, which once shone like a star, was now staring at the nightmare of the times that stood in his way.
“Now it’s your turn to give!”
Kwakagagagang-!
A strong wind blew from behind Vlad, who was rushing like a light.
It was the rose’s smile’s final consideration for the bird leaving the nest.
“No more dragons in my time!”
“Off!”
A single flash of lightning. A powerful and straight strike that I think I can unleash only when I am 10 years from now.
“I have decided to do so!”
“Kwaaaah!”
Vlad’s blow, which brought together all the sorrows of the past, the duties of the present, and the possibilities of the future, began to gradually dig into Sarnus’ heart.
“Vlad! “You bastard!”
“So stop dying!”
Towards the perfect pieces that the oldest dragon held.
But Vlad alone was not enough to break the pieces.
[Don’t stop!]
“……!”
At that moment, there was another hand pushing Vlad’s handle.
[Now it only takes a little bit!]
A shining knight with brown hair.
Before we knew it, the honorable gladiator Quihano, not the faded Fraussen, was pushing his sword together with Vlad.
“Kihano! “You damn bastards!”
A blow struck by both the sword master of the previous era and the sword master of the current era.
At the end of that timeless blow, the dragon’s desire for perfection began to crumble little by little.
[It’s okay if it’s just one piece, but if it’s three pieces, it’ll be difficult.]
As he looked into Quihano’s eyes, which he could finally see face to face with, big ripples began to appear in Vlad’s blue eyes.
It was like a feeling that made me tremble because I had finally met the person I missed.
Jump! Damn it!
A piece of the dragon that begins to break apart little by little along with Sarnus’ scream.
However, Vlad was more astonished by the image of black lightning running up his left arm than by the feel of the split pieces.
“Quijano?”
The mystery of the Luga family that forged the most perfect dragon.
That mystery was about to be activated again by the Sword Master who appeared in this era.
[People who have tried this before are better at it.]
I don’t want to tear apart your brilliant soul to destroy the perfect piece.
Because the perfect piece that is giving you trouble now was ultimately something that our generation could not cut off.
[Good job.]
“Kihano-!”
For the duty that could not be fulfilled, to end the tragedy that could not be prevented.
The returned Sword Master struck the final blow at the scream of perfection.
Kwazizig-!
The stars break apart.
The star I was looking at shines red with perfection.
“no!”
The only star that found me when I was nothing.
Quihano, who told me that I, who was born as a dragon, was a knight.
He was now leaving me with a smiling face.
※※※※
Crumbling!
With a loud crashing sound, the sky of reality began to split.
Today’s sun slowly begins to appear behind the night sky, which has begun to disappear along with the gradually setting black moon.
A ray of sunlight was shining under the slowly clearing night sky.
And the first place the sunlight found was behind Vlad, who was sitting helplessly.
“……Good job.”
Where Vlad was sitting was Sarnus, dying with his heart pierced.
However, his eyes that I see now are not their original blue color, but a clear brown color that reminds me of someone else.
“Kijano.”
Quihano takes up residence in the body of Sarnus after his death.
However, his pale complexion showed that there was not much time left.
“I’m proud of you. “It was really great.”
Quijano takes on the form of a father and tells me what I want to hear.
“I was lucky to meet you. Vlad was born as a dragon, but walked his own path.”
And the words coming from him now were words that Vlad had probably never heard in his entire life.
“…What if everyone leaves like this? “What if I’m the only one left?”
A boy crying in front of his father, whom he meets for the first time in his life.
Kihano was smiling quietly as he looked at the boy.
“Parting is completion and another promise.”
Their hair colors looked exactly alike when the sunlight hit them.
So much so that anyone can recognize it.
“So come here and see.”
The light in the eyes is gradually fading.
But the smiling Quijano was stretching his arms towards Vlad with all his might.
“Still, I’m glad I was able to hug you at the end.”
The two were in the same world until now, but could not share each other’s warmth.
However, Quijano and Vlad, who were able to hug each other for now, began to hug each other.
“Thank you. Quijano.”
“……okay. “That’s how I send it.”
Our journey, which started on a winter day, ends here.
And make sure you have no regrets at the end you face.
The sun began to shine through the night sky above the heads of the two people who hugged each other like that.
A star embraced by a boy.
A boy embraced by stars.
That’s why they are both sword masters who embrace the stars.
Their farewell, seen in the high night sky, was shining like a star in front of everyone.
-The end of the main story of Sword Master Embracing the Stars-
Author’s Note
The main story has been completed.
I will come back to the side story after taking a short break.
Thank you to everyone who has been with us on Vlad’s journey, which started in winter and ended in spring.
