Ch.136The Lost One (3)

Someone grabbed Najin’s arm.

Between the crevice of two massive rocks. Almost simultaneously as Najin was pulled into the cave, a giant’s hand slammed down on the ground with a “BOOM!”

The ground shook. The giant repeatedly struck the ground with its palm and only then, seemingly satisfied, left its position. As dust rose in the air, Najin turned around. There sat a man with one knee raised, perched on a rock.

“No need to bother with giants. In mythological terms, they’re called giants (巨人), but I wonder if it’s right to use the character for ‘person’ (人) for such stupid creatures.”

Even sitting down, he wasn’t much shorter than Najin who was standing. He was a large man. His voice echoed severely despite being inside a cave, due to the helmet he wore pressed down on his head.

His deep voice reverberated once against the helmet, then once more against the cave walls.

“If you encounter a giant, just hide. There’s no point in testing your strength against those filthy oversized creatures—it’s just a waste of energy.”

A man wearing rags over broken armor.

The helmet’s decoration was broken, and there were marks all over it as if scratched by a sword. No, not just the helmet. His armor, rags, and the skin visible through the broken armor—all were covered in scars.

At his waist hung a sword wrapped in chains, and in one hand he held an enormous spear.

It was like looking at a statue worn down by the passage of time. A statue erected in a hall of heroes to honor them. The man resembled such a statue.

“Hey.”

He extended his finger toward Najin.

That finger was pointing at Najin’s heart.

“First, do something about that starlight. It’s so bright I can barely open my eyes.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t even know how to control your starlight?”

He said with disbelief.

“I thought you were insane, going around shouting to the crows, ‘Help me, my star is shining so brightly,’ but I guess that’s not quite it.”

Najin glanced at Merlin.

Merlin quickly explained, ‘Take a deep breath. Your starlight brightens when you’re excited. Try to dim it.’ Najin took a deep breath, and only then did the man lower his finger.

“Follow me.”

He didn’t speak at length. Slowly rising from his seat, he pointed to the opposite side of the cave.

“You’re being chased by crows, aren’t you? Follow me. I know some places where you can hide.”

He didn’t wait for Najin’s answer.

He turned his back to Najin and started walking. A seemingly defenseless posture. Najin stared at his back for a moment.

There was no reason to trust this man. Even if he received help, it could be a trap. Though he hadn’t been in the Outer Continent long, Najin had already grasped what kind of place this was.

Nothing could be trusted. Nothing at all.

‘But what if I ignore this man’s offer?’

Najin looked back. Outside the cave was chaotic. The sound of giants stomping. The noise of attackers ransacking the forest. Najin had only two options.

Either follow this man.

Or go outside and be chased again.

“……”

A moment of silence. The deliberation was brief.

Najin followed the man. Without looking back, the man headed deeper into the cave. Only the clanking sound of armor echoed through the cave.

2.

The cave extended beyond the forest.

The moment they emerged from the cave, what entered Najin’s view was the vast land of the Outer Continent. Vast. That was the only word that could describe the world before him.

A landscape too wide to fit in his field of vision.

Some lands were barren, others abundant. Snow fell on some lands, rain on others. All kinds of climates and environments were mixed like paints. Stars burned in various colors across the night sky stretching to the horizon, and structures symbolizing them glittered on the ground, reflecting starlight.

Massive structures marking the territories of the Constellations.

Giant swords, spears, towers reaching the sky, ancient castles, moving fortresses, slanted crosses. They were far away, at an indeterminable distance, but they displayed their majesty, ignoring perspective.

“……”

Najin suddenly looked up.

Unknown things were floating in that high sky. Creatures resembling ships docked at a harbor. Huge beasts swimming through the sky.

-Those are sky whales.

‘What?’

-Also called star predators. They usually feed on the starlight scattered by stars, but when a star is weak enough, they sometimes swallow it whole.

‘What kind of creature is that…?’

-How should I know? This land is pretty messed up. If you go deeper into the Outer Continent, you’ll find things worse than those, I bet. It’s full of cursed things that flowed out from Camlann.

‘Then what’s that?’

Najin looked at the largest whale floating in the sky. That whale carried a fortress on its back.

-Ah.

Merlin sighed briefly.

-Don’t look at that for too long.

“Don’t stare at it.”

Merlin’s and the man’s voices rang out almost simultaneously. The man turned to Najin and said:

“That’s the sacred domain of the Celestial Meteor Star. Known for having a nasty temper. Don’t stare. It’ll be troublesome if you get involved.”

Najin averted his gaze. So there are Constellations that react just from being looked at? As he was lowering his gaze, Najin suddenly looked at the edge of the horizon.

A place incredibly far away. A place that could be called the outside of the outside in this Outer Continent. Something was sparkling at the edge of the horizon. Looking closely, it was a star. Though it appeared as a tiny dot, there was a star there. The starlight scattered by those stars, ignoring thousands and thousands of kilometers of distance, illuminated Najin’s pupils.

‘What are those stars that shine so brightly?’

-Hmm? Oh, those? Heh.

Merlin laughed with a sinister “heh.”

It was an extremely unpleasant laugh.

-Well…? Why don’t you ask the man in front of you?

So he did.

“What are those stars shining at the edge of the horizon?”

“What else? The most famous stars.”

“The most famous stars?”

“The stars of the Round Table. The star of the great hero Arthur, the star of the great wizard Merlin, and the stars of the knights who followed them.”

The man pointed to those stars and said:

“They are the great stars guarding the border so that the cursed things from Camlann don’t cross into the Outer Continent. They’re also among the few genuine Constellations among many fakes.”

Merlin laughed sinisterly. She put her arm around Najin’s neck and kept poking his cheek with her finger, saying, “See? Hear that?” Though he couldn’t feel the touch, it was strangely annoying.

“Hey. How long have you been in the Outer Continent?”

“Today is my first day.”

“I thought so. Someone who acts like you wouldn’t have survived long here.”

The man and Najin conversed as they walked. Simple questions were exchanged. Najin, who had been answering the man’s questions, also asked one.

“May I ask your name?”

“Hey. Nothing is more impolite in the Outer Continent than asking for a ‘name.’ Unless it’s an alias.”

“Then your alias?”

“But asking for my alias is also impolite.”

What am I supposed to do then?

The man shrugged and opened his mouth.

“Name. A name.”

He muttered as if recalling a fond memory, then mumbled, “Ah, that would be good.” He knocked on his helmet with his fist. The collision of the helmet and gauntlet made a heavy “thong” sound.

“Helm Knight. Call me that.”

“Are you a knight?”

“For now.”

It was an ambiguous answer.

“My name is……”

“Do I need to know?”

“It’s courtesy to give your name when you’ve heard someone else’s. Just listen.”

“I didn’t reveal my real name either. I’ll just call you boy. It’s easier.”

“Why ‘boy’ specifically?”

“Because you’re like a kid.”

The Helm Knight snickered.

“Your body hasn’t just rejuvenated to its prime. You’re exactly the youngster you appear to be. Am I wrong?”

“……”

“Silence is affirmation, kid.”

While traveling with the self-proclaimed Helm Knight, Najin learned several facts.

Throughout the Outer Continent, there were not only twisted beasts and monsters but also many who wandered aimlessly. Their eyes lacked focus. With arms hanging limply, they walked without purpose. What Najin felt when seeing them was a sense of alienation.

Beings wearing human skin, but not human.

Beings not much different from the monsters and beasts scattered around. To Najin, they seemed like living corpses. Because he couldn’t sense any intelligence from them. If there was any difference from corpses…

SLASH!

It was only that their movements were excessively precise. When a monster rushed toward him, the movement of the corpse-like man suddenly changed. A perfect strike from perfect form and stance. The man’s sword, drawing a clean arc, bisected the monster.

No intelligence, but the experience remaining in the body was intact. That’s what it seemed to say. That sight reminded Najin of Graf, whom he had seen earlier.

‘Even with his head pierced, Graf kept moving.’

With his eyes rolled back, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and ears, he still moved. What moved Graf’s body without consciousness was the experience engraved in his flesh.

“You seem to have been thoroughly marked by the crows. Seeing how they’ve followed you all the way here.”

The Helm Knight looked behind Najin.

There, keeping a certain distance, attackers were glaring at Najin. However, they didn’t attack him. That’s why Najin had noticed them but left them alone.

“Well, after seeing such starlight, they couldn’t let you go.”

The Helm Knight turned around.

Then he looked at the attackers. His eyes were hidden by the helmet. But Najin could feel a certain pressure from that gaze. The unique intimidation created by the strong.

The Helm Knight didn’t speak at length.

He simply threw one sentence at them.

“Come if you dare.”

The attackers didn’t approach any further. They turned and walked away. Watching them leave, the Helm Knight sneered. Then he looked down at Najin.

“I helped you. You’ll admit that, right?”

It was an undeniable fact.

It was true that he had received the Helm Knight’s help. Najin nodded.

“What goes around comes around. There’s no such thing as a free favor. I want fair compensation for my kindness.”

“What do you want?”

“The things you possess don’t seem particularly valuable, but there is one thing that might be worth something.”

He said:

“Tell me stories from the outside world.”

3.

The Helm Knight said he knew a place, and suggested they talk there. On the way, Najin asked the Helm Knight questions.

“Do you know someone called Graf?”

“I do. Graf, the Knight of Kurtan. He’s quite famous in these parts.”

“Is he really a knight?”

At that question, the Helm Knight turned to Najin.

“What are you trying to ask?”

“He called himself a knight, but he didn’t seem like one at all. There seems to be a big gap between the knight I know and the knight he claims to be.”

“What kind of knight do you have in mind?”

“One who never loses honor and pride, no matter the situation.”

The Helm Knight stopped walking.

“It’s been a while since I heard that. Do you admire the Knights of Atanga?”

“Yes.”

“Well, from their perspective, most people living in this land wouldn’t qualify to be called knights.”

He said:

“This is a place where honor, pride, and ideals become infinitely dim in value. To preserve such things in this land, one must be strong. Only the strong can protect them.”

“That’s……”

“Of course, the weak can also harbor honor and pride. But you’ve already seen what happens to such weak ones, haven’t you?”

The Helm Knight snickered and extended his finger.

There were people wandering the Outer Continent with empty eyes. They were broken individuals.

“In this land, an ordinary death is not permitted. Death in this land means becoming a forgotten one who has lost and forgotten everything. It’s an insult worse than death, a disgrace. Even if you proclaim chivalry while alive, if you end up like that after death……”

He roughly scratched the gap in his helmet with his finger.

“It’s meaningless. Don’t you think? Once you’ve fallen to a state worse than a beast, no matter how honorable and proud you were in life, it has no value. Because you become an ugly beast. It’s no wonder survival is the highest priority in this land.”

In the continent, there is an honorable death. Death as a proud knight is permitted. But not in the Outer Continent. In this land, a knight’s end cannot be allowed. That’s what the Helm Knight was saying.

“That friend Graf, before coming to this land, was a proud knight. He slew demons. He killed knights who weren’t knightly. To save children kidnapped by a black magician, he stormed their workshop alone, and despite being covered in wounds, he managed to rescue all the children.”

He was such a man, the Helm Knight said.

“But he lived in the Outer Continent for 170 years. 170 years. What do you think he saw during that time? Deaths that could never be honorable or proud. He must have witnessed his comrades turning into forgotten ones. After seeing all that, could he still proclaim honor and pride?”

The Helm Knight touched his helmet.

The decoration on the helmet, full of scratches, was broken. The dented and punctured helmet had lost about half its value as a helmet. Yet he still wore it.

“In this land, honor and pride are like strong liquor. They intoxicate when you drink, but when you sober up, they’re painful.”