Ch.142Sacred Flame Guardian Knights (3)

People often say that you can tell what kind of life someone has lived by looking at their sword aura. Najin agreed with this to some extent, though with the prerequisite that the opponent had to be at least a Sword Seeker level.

A Sword Seeker’s sword aura contains mental imagery. And mental imagery is the scenery etched in one’s mind—the scenes one considers most important or impressive tend to take root in that imagery.

For Najin, it was stars; for Klaus Aten, it was the plains where he galloped with the Blue Wing cavalry; and for the knight commander of House Albania, it was thorns.

So what was the mental imagery of the man before him?

It was easy to tell. The man’s sword was burning red. The burning fire was both his sword aura and his mental imagery. The sword aura behind the man resembled burning starlight. The sword aura, flickering like flames, radiated heat that could be felt.

A sword aura containing mental imagery often shares the characteristics of that imagery. A sword aura raised while envisioning flames naturally possesses the heat of fire. It was similar to how Najin’s star-like sword aura was particularly effective against demons.

Whoosh!

As the swords clashed, Najin frowned at the wave of heat. He instinctively tried to step back but hesitated. It was hot, certainly, but…

‘I can withstand this?’

It was more bearable than he’d expected.

It was definitely hot—intense enough to melt brick—but for some reason, Najin could resist the heat. It would be threatening if it touched his body directly, but he could endure the heat generated when their swords collided.

-That’s the story your star carries.

Merlin whispered to Najin.

-You resisted the flames of the Witch of Glimmer and leaped into the mouth of a dragon spewing its breath. You even shattered the dragon’s heart while your entire body was burning in flames.

The story carried by Najin’s star—the feat he had accomplished.

-This level of fire should be bearable, shouldn’t it?

That was true. Instead of retreating, Najin took a step forward. Flames surged right in front of his face, but he paid them no mind. It’s not me who will back down, but you. If it’s a test of strength, I won’t yield either.

Clang!

As sword auras collided with a clamorous sound, Najin’s eyes narrowed as he sensed something off. He had been pressing down on the man before him, but suddenly released the force from his sword. He changed his stance and stepped back.

Slash! The opponent’s sword cut through empty air where there was no longer anything to meet it.

Najin stepped sideways and lowered his sword tip. His expression was deeply furrowed. What showed on Najin’s face was a sense of insult and displeasure.

“What are you trying to do?”

Najin spat out the words.

“Why are you pretending to be a forgotten one when you’re not?”

Najin pointed at the man’s eyes with his free hand. While the right eye lacked focus, the left eye was normal. Yet the man was viewing the world through his unfocused eye rather than his normal one. It meant that despite being able to move his body by his own will, he was choosing to surrender to instinct.

What was the point of this?

This man had been a rational human when performing the sword salute. But the moment he swung his sword, he became a forgotten one surrendering to instinct. Despite being capable of remaining human, he chose to face Najin as a forgotten one.

Najin found this extremely distasteful.

Isn’t it just like running away?

As Najin lowered his sword, the man silently stared at him. Then, he closed his clear eye completely. With his unfocused eye open, he charged at Najin like a beast.

“Huh,” Najin let out a hollow laugh.

So that’s how he wants to play it.

He hadn’t gone to all this trouble to fight a forgotten one who had lost their sense of self. This frontal confrontation wasn’t chosen because there were no other options, but because it was a sign of respect and courtesy that both the Helm Knight and Najin showed to their opponent.

I will challenge you as an equal opponent, not as a forgotten one. That was the declaration implied.

A stubbornness that bordered on foolishness. Yet, it was a romantic choice. The opponent must have understood this. Yet if he still chose to act this way…

Najin had his own ideas.

Grip.

Najin adjusted his hold on the sword.

A completely new way, different from how he had been holding it until now. Dragging the sword low, Najin muttered to himself. Let’s see if you can keep this up after seeing this.

2.

Guardian of the Sacred Fire, Shurlaine Vaigelman.

Commander of the Sacred Fire Guardian Knights.

The world regarded Shurlaine as an honest, proud knight who understood honor. But Shurlaine himself didn’t think he was such a proud knight. He was simply fulfilling his given duty.

To guard the sacred fire.

To ensure the fire continued to burn.

That was his duty. He wasn’t so immersed in chivalry as to sing of pride and honor, but neither was he so lacking in chivalry as to abandon his duty. Shurlaine was that kind of person. An ordinary person who simply did his best in his given role.

‘Why must we guard the sacred fire?’

Once, Shurlaine had asked his senior that question. Far from being displeased by his bold junior’s question, his senior answered with a laugh.

‘I don’t know either, why we guard it.’

The retired senior sipped his drink and said.

‘They say that fire has been burning continuously for 200 years? That’s a lie. In fact, it went out once about 100 years ago, and once when I was commander too.’

‘What? But that’s…’

‘It’s not particularly sacred fire. No star dwells within it. It’s just an ordinary fire.’

‘Then why do we guard it?’

‘Because people consider it sacred fire.’

He said as he put down his cup.

‘For hundreds of years, the people here have regarded it as sacred fire. They found comfort in seeing a fire that wouldn’t go out even in a blizzard. Even if it’s just an ordinary fire… to the people here, it’s a sacred fire (starfire).’

‘And,’ he thumped his chest with his fist.

‘It’s also the pride of our knightly order.’

The drunk senior spoke as if singing.

‘As long as the sacred fire burns, we do not surrender. Like the eternally burning flame, our pride too shall be eternal. Guardians of the Sacred Fire, rise!’

The maxim spoken in drunkenness carried no weight. It was far from noble or solemn. A light saying with no sense of gravity. Yet, somehow, those words took root deep in Shurlaine’s heart.

And, Shurlaine thought, it was a curse.

A curse that would bind him forever.

Shurlaine realized this about ten years after he became commander.

‘Ah…’

That day, the land guarded by the Sacred Fire Knights was destroyed.

The reason for the destruction was simple. The shifting boundary of the Outer Continent swallowed their land. The domain’s people either became monsters or were eaten by them. Everyone except the knights who could withstand the erosion met their death.

‘……’

The eyes of the surviving knights were empty.

It was impossible for honor and pride to dwell in knights who failed to protect what they should have. They had not fulfilled their duty. Can one who has failed to maintain honor, pride, and duty still be called a knight?

The moment they doubted themselves, the knights began to erode. As his comrades one by one became forgotten ones, Shurlaine had to make a choice. Because he was the commander.

Shurlaine’s eyes turned to the sacred fire stand.

The sacred fire that should have been burning fiercely was extinguished.

Looking at the extinguished fire, Shurlaine made his choice.

To light the fire.

Shurlaine lit the sacred fire stand with his sword aura. The sacred fire burned again. Shurlaine raised his sword encircled by the sacred fire high into the sky. Holding up his sword so the kneeling knights could see, he shouted.

‘The fire still burns.’

Perhaps he was shouting to himself.

‘As long as the sacred fire burns, we do not surrender.’

Whether it was the sacred fire or his own sword aura imitating it, Shurlaine couldn’t tell.

In fact, he didn’t need to know.

‘Like the eternally burning flame, our pride too shall be eternal.’

That wasn’t what mattered.

‘Guardians of the Sacred Fire, rise.’

What mattered was how those who saw the fire interpreted it.

‘Let us advance.’

Leading the sacred fire, Shurlaine advanced deep into the Outer Continent. The knights followed behind him. There was nowhere to return to anyway. If they couldn’t protect, if they couldn’t fulfill their duty, they would at least fulfill their responsibility by fighting. They chose to remain knights.

And so time passed.

10 years, 50 years, 100 years.

Their journey never ended.

Shurlaine looked back. There were his comrades who had become forgotten ones. His comrades couldn’t withstand the flow of time and became forgotten ones. One hundred years was too long to live singing of ideals.

They no longer had honor or pride.

What drove these forgotten ones was duty and responsibility.

They were simply walking, drawn to the sacred fire that Shurlaine kept burning.

Even if they became forgotten ones (those who forget) and lost their sense of self, they couldn’t forget the flame of the sacred fire. As long as the sacred fire burned, they moved according to Shurlaine’s directions. As long as the sacred fire burned, they were knights.

‘……’

But now even Shurlaine’s sense of self was beginning to blur. Because all the stars Shurlaine possessed had eroded.

Still, Shurlaine lit the fire.

If he too became a forgotten one. If he extinguished the sacred fire. His comrades, the Sacred Fire Knights, would degrade into a group of forgotten ones. Shurlaine could not accept that fact.

Shurlaine lit the fire.

Betraying his honor and pride, he hunted humans. He didn’t hesitate to use cowardly methods. He thought he had to maintain his sense of self, even if it meant doing such things.

Shurlaine lit the fire.

He ate hearts. He killed many people. Shurlaine, who killed innocent people, lost his honor and pride. But he had something more important than honor and pride. Duty. Only the duty to protect the fire remained, eating away at Shurlaine.

—— lit the fire.

He couldn’t even remember his own name anymore. No matter how many hearts he devoured to prolong his life, it was only a temporary measure and couldn’t avoid erosion. Shurlaine’s mind was blurry. By that point, he thought.

That he wanted to become a forgotten one.

That he wanted to let everything go.

But duty bound his body like a curse. In the end, he continued to hunt repeatedly. From some point, he moved like a forgotten one more often. He surrendered his body to instinct rather than his sense of self. There were many times when he entrusted his sense of self to the half of him that had become a forgotten one.

That way, he didn’t have to agonize, and he didn’t have to feel guilt.

A human who had walked a long path of hardship began to choose the easy path.

Time passed and passed again.

He continued to light the fire.

And now, 200 years later, he looks at the opponent before him.

A strong opponent. The starlight contained in his heart was also intense. The star that shone intensely and brilliantly was beautiful. It was not a star that a forgotten one like himself should dare to take.

But Shurlaine had to light the fire.

In truth, he no longer knew why he had to light this fire, why he had to protect it. Only the duty that he must do so whipped his body.

‘Ah.’

Shurlaine groaned.

Because the boy’s star was too dazzling. Because that star seemed to ask him, Is this the right thing to do? Finding it painful, he closed his eyes. He swung his sword, surrendering his body to his instinct.

Clang!

Swords clash and sparks fly. Even as his body shook, he didn’t open his closed eyes. Like many humans, Shurlaine closed his eyes and turned away, avoiding his own ugliness.

Clang!

However, the boy doesn’t let him do so.

The boy took his stance.

The moment he saw that stance.

Shurlaine had no choice but to open his closed eye.

“Now you’re looking at me.”

The boy smiled.

Somehow, the positions of the boy and Shurlaine had switched. Standing with his back to the sacred fire, the boy brought his sword to the sacred fire. The flame of the sacred fire burned at the tip of the boy’s sword.

Then, the boy performed a sword salute.

It was the salute of the Sacred Fire Knights.

Shurlaine’s eyes widened. It wasn’t just the salute. The boy’s stance as he approached, his footwork, the way he held his sword, even his breathing were identical to those of the Sacred Fire Knights. It wasn’t imitation but recreation.

Slash!

The boy swung his sword. The moment he swung it, the flame left the boy’s sword. Of course, the boy’s sword aura wasn’t fire. The sacred fire left the tip of his sword, but to Shurlaine’s eyes, the boy’s sword seemed to be burning.

With a single sword, the boy recreated the swordsmanship of the Sacred Fire Knights. With the correct stance, honestly, truly knight-like, he charged straight ahead. The boy swung his sword, illuminating the things Shurlaine had lost long ago.

The boy willingly imbued his sword with what the Sacred Fire Knights could no longer put into theirs.

That sight was too brilliant. Looking at it felt like it could blind one’s eyes. But it was a light one wanted to see, even if it meant going blind. A Sacred Fire Knight’s sword containing starlight. What a nostalgic sight this was.

In the boy, Shurlaine saw the glory of the past.

The past when the Sacred Fire Knights shone. The glorious past when everyone was proud. When reminiscing about the past, he was human, not a forgotten one.

“Ha.”

Finally, Shurlaine burst into laughter.

With both eyes wide open, he received the boy’s sword. Stepping back, he adjusted his grip on his sword. Unlike before, the boy didn’t immediately pursue Shurlaine.

Instead, the boy pointed his sword at Shurlaine.

“Najin.”

The boy revealed his name.

Shurlaine knew what that meant. Because he too was once a knight. Shurlaine remembered his own name, which he had forgotten for a long time.

“Shurlaine.”

Shurlaine Vaigelman.

3.

Shurlaine’s stance changed. A sword wielded with firm will rather than instinct was sharp. The blade that pierced fiercely was like a fire spreading across a field. When one came to their senses, there was little ground left to stand on.

Clang!

The swords collided. Sparks flew, Najin’s sword aura and Shurlaine’s sword aura canceled each other out, and metal clashed against metal. With each exchange of attacks, Shurlaine’s armor cracked.

Swoosh, sliding far back, Shurlaine grabbed his tattered armor and tore it off. Throwing away the cumbersome armor, he faced Najin.

The heat of battle had sufficiently risen.

They had exchanged enough sword strikes.

Though there was no dialogue, the two seemed to read each other’s intentions as they each took their stance.

What would likely be the final attack.

As they prepared for that attack, the flash created by the two sword auras sparkled. Two stars shone at the top of the castle.

“Hmm.”

That light also caught the eye of the Helm Knight who was swinging his spear below. Shaking off the forgotten ones, the Helm Knight looked up at the top of the castle. Looking at the stars scattering light there, he smiled bitterly.

“That’s shining quite noisily.”

Starlight that could blind one’s eyes.

Under the starlight, the Helm Knight muttered.

“That must be really annoying.”

He knew from experience.

The sword aura that boy raises, the starlight that boy scatters, makes it impossible for the opponent to turn away from reality. It brings forth what has been forgotten, what has been lost, what has been let go, forcing one to open their eyes.

Don’t run away. Don’t look away. Face it head-on with dignity. If you were once a knight, show at least that pride. If it’s not visible, I’ll make it visible.

That damn youngster forcibly turns his opponents into knights. He makes those who have already let go dream again. He offers one last chance to call out for honor and pride. Does that youngster know how terrible that is?

‘It’s poison. Terribly potent poison.’

A terrible poison for forgotten ones.

But, at the same time, it was an excellent drink.

Although the price of intoxication might be steep, one couldn’t deny that the taste was excellent. The Helm Knight slightly tilted his spear toward where Shurlaine was. As if raising a glass for a toast.

“Have a drink, Shurlaine.”

Even if it’s poison.

You won’t be able to resist drinking it.