Ch.13Misalignment (4)

The drug dealer Hakan, real name Hakante Kanariel.

She is an alchemist. Not a healing school alchemist who stays cooped up in a room stirring pots with ladles, but an alchemist belonging to the School of Blood.

The School of Blood.

A school that deals with alchemy using blood as a medium.

Some say this about them: that they have something flowing through their bodies more dangerous than blades. When Hakan once heard this, she laughed out loud and replied:

That’s an accurate assessment.

Splash.

Hakan splattered her own blood.

The moment it touched the ground, it vaporized. The blood turned to steam, filling the alley with a fog-like mist. This was a type of doping agent that Hakan had concocted.

A doping agent that maximizes physical abilities including strength and reaction speed, while inducing a state of excitement.

The drug she had previously administered to the addicts reacted with the doping components. The moment they breathed in the mist filled with doping elements, blood vessels burst in their eyes.

Graaaaaaargh!

They began charging toward Najin with screams, moving at speeds incomparably faster than before.

‘I was saving this…’

Hakan loosened up her body as she breathed in the mist.

While the doping agent had no side effects on her, for everyone else it was a double-edged poison. It brought dramatic enhancement and euphoria the moment they inhaled it, but…

Hakan narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the addicts.

Loud cracking sounds came from their bodies. The sound of their bodies breaking down. That was the side effect of this doping agent. It enhanced them but simultaneously destroyed their bodies. They probably wouldn’t even be able to move after a few minutes.

In simple terms, it was meant for short, decisive battles.

She had been saving it to use against Ivan, but now that the boy had shown his light, she needed to bury him here. There was no telling what variables that boy might create. And ultimately, that judgment was correct.

Bang.

Najin kicked off the alley wall and swung his sword. The blade, trailing white radiance, cut through three bodies at once. Despite their enhanced physical abilities from the doping, the addicts couldn’t even react to Najin’s sword.

As much as they had accelerated with the drug’s power, Najin too was accelerating with the help of mana.

Though he still seemed awkward with his accelerated body, occasionally being swung around by his own sword, Najin advanced forward, slaughtering the addicts at a terrifying speed. His zigzagging movements, kicking off walls, looked like an acrobatic performance.

Thud thud.

With each swing of his sword, severed arms and heads fell to the ground. When the headless bodies were about to explode, Najin threw them down and kicked them away. All these movements were astonishingly fast.

When Najin kicked the ground, it no longer made a simple tapping sound. With a bang, he shattered the ground as he sprinted.

Graaaaargh!

The addicts threw themselves at Najin, regardless of how many were cut down. Glancing at the addicts jumping toward him, Najin leaped backward for the first time.

But this wasn’t a retreat.

After leaping back significantly, Najin landed and deeply embedded his foot into the ground with a boom. He lowered his sword behind his back and slowly exhaled.

“Hoo…”

What Najin created by stepping back was space for a running start. The moment the addicts who didn’t understand this took a step toward him.

Kwang!

Najin kicked the ground.

An instantaneous acceleration difficult to follow with the naked eye. A white sword energy trailed like a meteor across the alley. Then, upon reaching what needed to be cut, Najin twisted his waist as he swung his sword.

A horizontal slash that shouldn’t be attempted in a narrow alley.

However, when Najin’s blade touched the wall, it didn’t bounce off but smoothly penetrated through. The blade cut through the wall without any resistance. The cutting power of the sword energy no longer confined Najin to the limitations of terrain.

Shwaaaaaaak!

The widely swung sword cut down all the addicts blocking Najin’s path. Before their severed bodies could even tremble as they collapsed, Najin kicked off the ground and sprinted once more.

Kwaaaang!

The sound of explosions from behind.

Using even the blast wave as propulsion, Najin advanced toward where Hakan stood. Targeting the commander, Hakan, in one go was the best choice for Najin.

It was the best choice, but there was one thing Najin overlooked.

Najin didn’t know about alchemists.

Najin didn’t know what the School of Blood was.

Najin didn’t know how Hakan fought.

A conclusion drawn from minimal information.

While it might have been the best choice, it wasn’t the right one. As he was about to swing his sword at Hakan, Najin saw it. Hakan was smiling at him. It wasn’t the smile of someone cornered.

Rather the opposite. It was the smile of a hunter who had cornered their prey.

…School of Blood.

Those who wield alchemy using blood as a medium.

Right now, this alley was filled with blood. The blood of dozens of addicts. Blood splattered everywhere as they exploded. There was blood wherever Najin stepped, and the sword he held was stained red with fresh blood.

The addicts had inhaled the mist and drugs made from Hakan’s blood, so their spilled blood contained Hakan’s blood.

Therefore, all of it was…

The perfect catalyst for Hakante Kanariel, an alchemist of the School of Blood.

Snap.

Hakan snapped her fingers.

At that moment, the alley was dyed crimson. Using the blood spread everywhere as a catalyst, Hakan employed the simplest yet most effective alchemy.

Explosion.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

The alley shook with a thunderous roar. An explosion, different in scale from those that had burst the addicts, engulfed the alley. Walls crumbled from the shockwave, and rocks fell to the ground with heavy thuds.

Rising dust and hot air.

Hakan waved her hand to clear her vision.

As the dust settled, what was revealed was the scene of a devastated alley and the boy who had been thrown outside the alley by the shockwave.

“Huh.”

Hakan let out a laugh of disbelief.

Despite being caught in such an explosion, the boy was still standing on his two feet.

Najin stood, supporting himself with his sword.

As if he had pulled his arm back to protect his face in that brief moment, one arm hung limply, but his face was unharmed. His sunset-colored eyes still glared at Hakan.

Those were chilling eyes.

And they were eyes Hakan had seen before.

Because the Knight of Atanga who had confined her to this city 17 years ago had the exact same eyes as this boy. A chill ran down her spine as Hakan curled up the corners of her mouth.

“Well.”

Hakan gestured.

“Let’s see how much longer you can hold out.”

When you can no longer move.

I’ll gouge out those eyes.

Despite consuming that many addicts, Hakan still had many forces left. After all, this was a plan she had prepared for 17 years.

Now, addicts were converging on Najin not just from behind but from all over the city.

And Najin…

He merely readjusted his grip on his sword. The sword energy emanating from Najin’s sword didn’t waver in the slightest.

2.

Hakan, who had been smiling at the thought of finishing off the boy and gouging out those unpleasant eyes, eventually stopped smiling. Her face began to harden.

“…What’s going on?”

Hakan muttered in disbelief.

She had clearly cornered him.

She had used her hidden techniques, drained his stamina, and made him suffer an explosion that broke one of his arms. Even at a glance, the boy’s body was not normal. He was so battered that it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed right away.

But why is he getting faster?

Hakan observed what was before her.

Najin was now facing addicts rushing at him from all directions, not just from the front. The situation had worsened. The battle had become more arduous due to his injuries. Yet Najin was moving even faster than before.

The boy who had occasionally moved awkwardly, as if being swung around by his sword due to his accelerated body, was no longer there.

As if he had become accustomed to handling mana in that short time, Najin was actually increasing his speed. With his faster movements, he was cutting down the addicts rushing at him from all directions.

‘What the hell was Ivan hiding?’

This is strange. Too strange.

Could there be someone of that age who could move like that, and even draw out sword energy? Even to Hakan, who wasn’t well-versed in the history of swordsmen, this seemed odd.

A battered body.

In inverse proportion to that body, the sword energy shining more brilliantly.

The light emanating from the boy’s sword was growing more intense with time. It was beginning to form a complete sword energy beyond mere fragments. Looking at this, Hakan let out a laugh of disbelief.

“This is insane.”

That guy, he’s still growing.

Movements becoming faster, more concise, and more efficient. The boy was cutting down addicts to clear a path, and when Hakan tried to use blood as a catalyst for alchemy, he threw himself out of range.

Splash!

Hakan could only remain silent as she watched the boy roughly swing his sword to shake off the blood staining it. The boy’s reaction to alchemy after seeing it just once was not just surprising but terrifying.

His growth is fast. Too fast.

His adaptation is quick. Bizarrely so.

At this rate, he’ll catch up.

Though she currently had the upper hand, Hakan was certain that the longer this dragged on, the more the boy would catch up to her. Though she didn’t want to admit it, Hakan knew she had to acknowledge this fact.

Shwaaaaaaak!

A path opened as the boy swung his sword.

His fierce sunset-colored eyes glowed ominously in the dimly lit underground city. Though she clearly had the upper hand, Hakan began to feel increasingly anxious.

The tide of battle is turning.

If this continues…

Crack.

That’s when it happened. Hakan narrowed her eyes at the small noise. The sound came from the sword the boy was wielding. Hakan looked at the sword Najin was swinging.

“Aha.”

At that moment, Hakan burst into laughter.

Because she saw it. A shallow crack forming on the sword Najin was wielding. She clearly saw the crack spreading each time he swung the sword.

A sword handled too roughly.

A sword that had taken the full brunt of the explosion.

As a result, the sword had developed a small flaw, and that flaw had disrupted its balance. If he had been wielding the sword in a normal manner, it wouldn’t have mattered, but…

Najin was now drawing out sword energy.

And it was unstable, raw sword energy.

The fluctuating sword energy was eating away at the sword. The sword’s lifespan was being rapidly consumed. Though the boy who had crossed the line and started running was growing rapidly, it was only Najin himself who was growing.

Najin is growing.

But the sword in his hand can’t keep up with his growth.

Crack!

Finally, Najin’s sword broke.

The moment the sword broke, the white radiance that had been dwelling in the blade scattered. The boy who had been shining lost his light along with his sword.

“Kill him.”

Hakan gestured.

The addicts rushed toward the boy who had lost his light. The boy’s sunset-colored eyes were no longer visible, obscured by the bodies of the addicts.

3.

The sword broke.

With a broken sword, he couldn’t win.

Najin gritted his teeth and rolled his body. He began running, evading the addicts that were pouncing on him. But there was nowhere to run. The drug dealer Hakan had scattered addicts all around Ivan’s territory, and they were crawling out from everywhere he went.

In the end, he had to fight.

But how?

He needed it. A weapon. A sturdy weapon that could withstand his sword energy, one that would never break. The first thing that came to mind was a practical solution: going to Old Man Hogel’s forge.

‘It would be great if the sword was completed.’

Even if it wasn’t completed, he could hold out by carrying dozens of swords and breaking them one by one while resisting.

‘But.’

That’s impossible.

The path there is too far, and he couldn’t break through all those addicts without a weapon. Though he was moving his body without feeling pain now… Najin sensed that this wouldn’t last long.

His entire body was starting to ache.

If things continued like this, he would be defeated, and defeat meant death.

He had just crossed the line and started running; he couldn’t die in a place like this. With his mind heated up, Najin searched for a solution.

‘…Draw the sword.’

And.

‘You can draw it. Draw the sword.’

There was a voice echoing in his ears.

It was the voice that had been tormenting Najin for thirteen days. Though Najin had always resigned himself, the longing he couldn’t let go of until the very end echoed in his ears.

…Yes, there is one.

A sword that would never break.

A legendary sword among legendary swords that could withstand his sword energy.

‘But that’s…’

It was an object that trash from the underground city like him shouldn’t dare touch. The moment he touched it, he would die. It was something he should never grasp. Moreover, he wasn’t even certain he could draw it.

He shouldn’t bet on something uncertain.

He shouldn’t do such a thing, but.

Najin suddenly realized he was running toward the plaza. The soldiers who had been guarding the sword were nowhere to be seen, perhaps having fled, and the cloth that had been covering the sword had been removed in the chaos, revealing the sacred sword in its entirety.

The sacred sword shining with platinum light.

The Sword of Stars with thirteen stars engraved on its blade.

The moment he faced Excalibur, Najin’s eyes turned platinum. Starlight. The moment he faced the starlight he had longed to see so much, the boy couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t a sneer or a scoff, but a pure smile.

The stars he had yearned for so much.

The moment he faced the stars that shone brilliantly even in the dark underground city, the boy’s mind turned pure white. Worries, anguish, the thought that he shouldn’t break taboos—all of it was completely wiped away. What filled the emptied space was pure desire.

“I’m going to die anyway.”

One way or another, he would die.

If he didn’t act, he would be caught by the addicts and die.

If he was going to die anyway.

If he was going to crawl at the bottom and die at the bottom anyway.

“I might as well try.”

Najin kicked the ground.

The boy who had crossed the line and started running no longer thought about the consequences. Looking only at the present, Najin ran toward the sacred sword.

Though he wasn’t certain he could draw the sword…

‘I can draw it.’

No.

He was certain.

He was certain he could draw the sword.

The intuition that had never betrayed Najin was shouting. That he could draw the sword. Trusting his intuition as always, Najin reached out toward the sword embedded in the rock.

Hakan, who had chased Najin to the plaza, also saw this. Seeing the boy reaching out toward Excalibur, Hakan burst into laughter.

Has he gone mad after being cornered?

No matter how talented he might be, did he really think he could draw that? That sacred sword that hadn’t been drawn for hundreds of years? Hakan sneered at the overly arrogant boy.

However.

The moment the boy’s hand grasped the sacred sword.

Hakan could no longer laugh. Her lips, which had been curled in mockery, parted, and her eyes widened. Her face was filled with astonishment.

Gong, gooong…

A solemn bell sound echoed.

Along with the echoing bell sound, a massive shockwave spread out from the boy. Addicts touched by the shockwave were pushed back and fell, and Hakan, unable to maintain her balance on the shaking ground, sat down on the floor.

Sitting on the floor, Hakan watched.

The sacred sword beginning to shine the moment it was grasped by the boy’s hand. The legendary sacred sword starting to emit the greatest sword sound.

Excalibur.

The sword that had been considered merely a legend because it hadn’t been drawn from the rock for hundreds of years was being pulled into reality by a single boy.

Crack!

The sacred sword began to be drawn from the rock.