Ch.141Sacred Flame Guardian Knights (2)

The Helm Knight’s battle cry seemed to have some kind of provocation effect. Right after he shouted, the gazes of the dead focused on him. Though some undead still swung their spears and blades at Najin, their numbers had significantly decreased.

“It’s not provocation, but rather an amplification of starlight.”

‘What?’

“You know how the dead are drawn to starlight? Like how undead are drawn to the living. So amplifying starlight can provoke the dead.”

Merlin whispered in Najin’s ear.

Apparently feeling quite guilty about not teaching him how to control starlight before, Merlin explained in great detail. Afterward, she made excuses like “It’s been so long since I’ve hidden my starlight, my memory’s a bit fuzzy…” while nervously gauging Najin’s reaction.

‘Don’t worry about that. I wasn’t bothered by it.’

Najin said this to stop her constant glancing, which was getting on his nerves.

“Really…? Are you sure?”

‘Yes. Really.’

As Merlin’s expression visibly brightened, Najin parried the dead’s weapons and moved away. Once he created some distance, even the few undead targeting him rushed toward the Helm Knight instead.

Additionally, even the undead who had been sniping from the walls and watchtowers transformed into beast-like creatures and leaped down toward the Helm Knight. The gathered dead numbered at least 20.

About 20 undead. Among them, 14 were Sword Seeker level, judging by the distinctive aura wrapped around their weapons. Honestly, Najin wasn’t confident he could escape unscathed if surrounded by that many.

But the Helm Knight was different. Despite being surrounded, he wasn’t being pushed back—he was pushing them away. He swung his long spear to repel the dead, kicked them away, and rampaged among them.

The sight of this massive man, easily 2.5 meters tall, wielding a 3-meter spear looked like a giant on a rampage.

Seeing him so composed, he must really be a transcendent after all.

“What are you staring at? Hurry up and go! Even I’m struggling here!”

Apparently not as composed as he seemed.

As the Helm Knight screamed, Najin dashed into the fortress. His destination was the top floor, where the Star Fire would be. That’s where the master of this fortress would be.

He could have climbed the walls and jumped over obstacles to head straight for the top of the castle, but he didn’t. If that had been his plan, he would have done so from the beginning rather than charging the front gate with a lance.

‘Since it’s come to this.’

Najin decided to follow the Helm Knight’s romantic approach. After all, Najin was also a romantic at heart. Frontal assault—what a heart-stirring concept. Romance over efficiency. Emotion over reason. Najin’s sword energy flashed.

“This is driving me insane, really.”

‘That’s why magicians are—’

“What?”

‘I didn’t say anything.’

What would a magician know? As Merlin wailed, “That’s magician discrimination!” Najin swung his sword. After all, a swordsman swings his sword one more time when a magician grumbles.

2.

The Atulu Fortress seemed to have concentrated its forces outside. Though the castle was quite large, there were only a handful of knights stationed inside. By the time Najin approached the top floor, he had encountered only three undead while breaking through the castle.

An empty fortress.

A stronghold that didn’t feel like anyone lived there at all.

Climbing the stairs toward the upper floors, Najin suddenly looked at Merlin. She was just watching his actions without saying anything special. Najin found this somewhat unfamiliar.

Since coming to the Outer Continent, Merlin had been interfering less with Najin’s choices. Usually, she would say things like “It would be better to do it this way” or “How about this?” or “That’s a foolish method. Want to hear a more efficient way?” But lately, she hadn’t been doing that.

It was the same when he fought the Helm Knight. It was a life-or-death duel, a dangerous situation, and if Najin’s intuition had been wrong, his journey might have ended there. But Merlin hadn’t said anything about his choice.

Unlike on the continent, where she would scream whenever Najin made reckless decisions, she had only asked, “Can you handle it?”

“You’re not a child anymore.”

Merlin spoke, having heard Najin’s inner monologue.

“Both your star and my star are fixed in the same sky. Even if the number or height of stars differs, the fact that they’re fixed in the same sky doesn’t change.”

‘And?’

“It means I can’t keep treating you like a child anymore.”

Not a child and guardian.

More like a relationship between seniors and juniors.

Since they were now in the same space, the same battlefield, Merlin said she had to see him differently.

“So I should respect your choices. As long as they’re not completely hopeless or a path straight to death. You had your own thoughts when fighting the Helm Knight, right?”

‘It was more intuition.’

An opponent who wanted to be a knight.

Someone who expressed honor and pride through alcohol, yet wanted to be intoxicated by it. Najin hadn’t charged in without any calculation.

“That’s enough. If you made a judgment and choice based on your own reasoning, I’ll respect that choice.”

Because she had to.

That’s what Merlin said.

“To become a transcendent, you need trials. Not just physical but mental growth as well. And that’s something no one else can do for you.”

Contemplation, anguish, conflict, and the answer that emerges from them.

That answer isn’t something someone else can provide. Only the answer you find yourself has meaning. For this reason, Merlin said she would respect Najin’s free will.

“And as for the consequences of your choices… well, we can bear them together.”

‘Together?’

“Why are you asking something so obvious?”

Merlin sighed and glared at Najin.

“Do you think I’d let you die in a foreign land? This isn’t the continent where it’s difficult for me to intervene. If you’re really about to die, I’ll step in. As for the aftermath, well, we’ll just have to deal with it.”

Najin laughed incredulously.

Merlin spoke lightly, but knowing what she meant by “aftermath,” Najin couldn’t take it lightly at all.

What Merlin meant by intervention wasn’t her mental form currently beside Najin, but her true form—the star at the edge of the Outer Continent moving. That meant…

It also meant the suppression of Camlann would be shaken.

Just as there’s a boundary line between the continent and the Outer Continent that the dead of the Outer Continent can never cross, there’s also a boundary line at the edge of the Outer Continent that the cursed beings of Camlann cannot cross.

A boundary line that Arthur created in exchange for his life.

And it was the Constellations of the Round Table who guarded that boundary.

The moment Merlin, the strongest constellation among them, moved her star, the boundary would shake. The “cursed beings” of Camlann would cross the boundary. Then the world’s balance would collapse. The mixing of the Outer Continent and Camlann wouldn’t just be a problem for the Outer Continent—it would affect the continent as well.

“That’s a heavy burden.”

Najin muttered unconsciously.

Merlin probably meant to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll save you once if you’re in mortal danger,” but Najin took it very differently.

‘If I’m about to die, Merlin will intervene, and the world’s balance will be shattered.’

At that moment, the countdown to destruction would begin. Contrary to Merlin’s intention, Najin was reminded of the weight placed on his life.

‘Aren’t the world’s balance and the boundary more important than me? It’s a bit burdensome.’

Najin asked jokingly, but…

“More important than you? Such things? Why?”

Merlin didn’t take it as a joke.

She tilted her head. Her transparent eyes stared at Najin and asked back. Najin couldn’t answer that question. He stopped climbing the stairs and turned to look at Merlin.

A moment of silence.

Najin and Merlin’s gazes met.

Merlin, who had been blinking as if wondering what was wrong, suddenly opened her eyes wide. As if she realized she had misspoken. She hurriedly tried to cover it up.

“Ah, they are important. They are, but… Well, I’m just saying. Let’s talk about this later.”

Merlin laughed awkwardly.

Najin couldn’t laugh with her.

…Najin and Merlin’s minds are connected.

Even without speaking aloud, they can communicate just by thinking. But as Najin’s level increased and his mental imagery expanded, they began to share each other’s monologues and emotions to some extent.

As a result, whether they wanted it or not, uncontrolled intense emotions or monologues sometimes flowed to the other person. Like just now. When Merlin said, “More important than you? Why?” Najin heard her inner thoughts.

Balance, peace, stability.

Such things aren’t important.

Such things, I don’t care about at all.

Along with the monologue, sticky emotions melted into Najin’s heart. These were emotions Merlin had never shown in front of Najin before.

Hatred. Regret. Remorse. Anger. Resentment. Sadness.

Compressed emotions surged like waves.

Normally, she would control and suppress these emotions herself, but on this topic, Merlin couldn’t do so. Because it was like her reverse scale.

“Yes, let’s talk about this later.”

Not knowing that her monologue and emotions were flowing to Najin, she was still smiling. But Najin found it difficult to take her smile at face value.

‘Merlin.’

“Hmm? What?”

Najin looked straight at Merlin. Najin’s sunset-colored eyes were reflected in Merlin’s blue eyes. Her expression was no different from usual. But for some reason, her eyes seemed somewhat precarious to Najin.

Najin shook his head and said:

‘It won’t happen.’

“What won’t?”

‘I won’t let you have to intervene and give up everything. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.’

“Well, of course? But why bring this up?”

‘Just saying.’

The fleeting emotion quickly subsided. Merlin, returning to her usual slightly ditzy and clumsy self, turned her gaze away from Najin.

Then, she opened her eyes wide.

“Hey, look ahead! Look ahead! Look!”

She slapped Najin’s shoulder repeatedly and pointed forward. An undead was charging toward Najin with terrifying momentum.

I guess we’ll have to continue this conversation later.

Thinking this, Najin gripped his sword tighter.

3.

“Hey, how can you look at me during combat! That was dangerous!”

As soon as he defeated the undead, Merlin whined as if she’d been waiting for it. It’s because of you. Swallowing the words that rose to his throat, Najin moved on.

The final staircase leading to the top floor.

What awaited Najin after climbing the stairs was an open view. The top floor of the fortress had no ceiling. With no ceiling, ventilation should have been good, but Najin frowned the moment he arrived.

The stench of rotting corpses was overwhelming.

The rooftop was filled with corpses. Some wore the same armor as the knights he’d seen below—the armor of the Star Fire Knights—but most did not.

There were those wearing armor from other knightly orders, those without armor, those in magician’s robes, and corpses whose identities in life were unrecognizable.

The only commonality among these diverse corpses was the hole where their hearts should have been. Corpses who died with their hearts stolen. Amidst the stench from these corpses that filled the top of the fortress, there stood a fire stand.

Star Fire, the fire of stars.

Though stars were platinum-colored, the Star Fire was not. It was a red fire no different from ordinary flames. Only gold particles popped up with a ‘crack’ sound among the flames.

So this is the Star Fire that the Star Fire Knights were guarding.

The smoke rising from the fire stand soared high into the sky. Najin shifted his gaze slightly to the side. Next to the fire stand, there sat a man like a corpse. That man was looking straight at Najin.

“Are you the master of this fortress?”

Najin asked.

He didn’t answer the question. He just slowly stood up.

The man’s appearance was miserable. His blackened, charred armor was shattered in places and couldn’t fully cover his body. The skin visible through the gaps in his armor was black and withered like charcoal.

He looked as if half his body had been consumed by fire. But differently put, only half had been consumed.

Only half showed burns and wear. Then what about the remaining half? Unlike the undead who had completely worn away and lost their sense of self, intelligence could be felt in the man’s eyes. It meant half of him was still human. However, he didn’t open his mouth to speak despite Najin’s question.

Not because he couldn’t hear or understand.

Because there was no need to answer.

He brought his drawn sword to the Star Fire.

The flames of the Star Fire transferred to the sword. Red flames burned using the blade as kindling. Whether it was the flame of the Star Fire or the form of his sword energy was unknown.

With the burning sword, he performed a sword salute.

Najin didn’t ask any more questions either. He held his sword vertically with the tip pointing to the sky. It was a sword salute he had learned from Ivan.

Sword salutes were exchanged.

No words were necessary.

Introduction, name, all of that was replaced by the greeting offered with the sword. Najin took his stance. The man also took his stance. Sword energy resembling Star Fire and sword energy resembling constellations each emitted their own light at the top of the fortress.

Then, with a thud.

The two rushed toward each other.