Ch.21Honor, Pride, and Stars (2)

Najin ran through the tunnel.

It was the path leading out of the underground city, the path that Ivan had opened for him. As he ran along it, Najin gritted his teeth.

The boy was not stupid.

Najin understood with what resolve and thoughts Ivan had opened this path. Najin knew. He knew that if he wasn’t killed, Ivan would die. He knew that Ivan had no choice.

Yet Ivan had let him go.

That meant Ivan had prepared himself for death.

The anguish that had lingered on Ivan’s face as he raised his sword, the trembling tip of Ivan’s blade, the image of Ivan pushing him into the tunnel and blocking the entrance—all flashed before Najin’s eyes. Najin clenched his teeth harder.

He felt like screaming.

He wanted to ask Ivan why he had made such a choice. Why he had risked his life for him. Najin couldn’t understand the reason. The bond between them wasn’t strong enough for Ivan to let him go like this.

Honor and pride.

The boy did not yet know their weight.

The young boy couldn’t understand what Ivan had wanted to remain as until the very end. Though he didn’t understand, the boy remembered how Ivan’s eyes had shone brighter than ever in the moment he made that choice.

“Climb to the highest place.”

“And shout from there.”

“That I, Ivan of the Knights of Atanga, existed.”

The image of a knight speaking of dreams with shining eyes settled deep in Najin’s heart. It was the weight carried by someone’s life.

Something that could never be lightened.

Something that could never be forgotten.

Feeling the weight pressing down on his heart, Najin ran. The tunnel was dark and cold, and seemed endlessly long. Najin ran tirelessly through the pitch-black tunnel where even the light of mineral lamps had disappeared.

A mercenary and a knight who chased stars.

Carrying the weight of those who had risked their lives for him, the boy looked toward the heights. Though he still couldn’t see the stars, that didn’t matter.

In a place where stars couldn’t be seen, the boy made a vow.

That he would carve his own star in that night sky.

That he would hang his star in the highest place.

2.

The pursuers chasing the star arrived one by one.

There was an entrance leading to an old, long-abandoned tunnel. It wasn’t difficult to guess that the boy had escaped that way. All that remained was the simple task of entering the tunnel and killing the boy, but…

“……”

No one dared to move carelessly.

There was someone guarding the entrance to the tunnel, and they sensed that the aura emanating from that figure was extraordinary. The pursuers instinctively knew that to enter that tunnel, they would have to defeat this person.

Clang.

The pursuers drew their swords one by one.

They pointed their swords at the former knight whom they had thought was their ally, but there was one thing they had misunderstood.

“I am Ivan.”

Standing before them was not a half-knight who had lost his honor and fallen to the underground city. Though he had lost his honor, he had maintained his pride until the end, and he had thrown away his life for a star that would shine in the distant future.

One who risked his life to keep his oath.

One who wanted to remain a knight until the very end.

Foolish, perhaps, but in that foolishness lay something sublime. Who would dare mock such sublimity? Standing before them was a knight prepared for death.

“A knight of Atanga.”

In the underground city where stars never appeared.

In this city of sinners where only the dim light of mineral lamps lingered low.

“I am Ivan, the knight who chases stars.”

A blue aura enveloped the knight’s sword.

A blue-glowing aura. It was a common color, nothing special. It couldn’t illuminate the underground city brightly like Najin’s Star Sword, nor did it resemble starlight like Najin’s aura.

And yet, despite that.

The sword Ivan held was shining.

“Not a single step forward from here.”

Holding a shining sword.

Risking his life to protect something.

In this moment, Ivan could proudly declare to himself. That he was a knight. That he was a knight of Atanga, a knight who chased stars.

Ivan smiled at that fact.

The pursuers began to charge at the smiling Ivan. There were more than ten gathered pursuers, and the swords they held were incomparably sharp. But Ivan didn’t take even a single step back.

‘A knight of Atanga does not retreat.’

Because that was the pride of Atanga.

Ivan swung his shining sword. To buy time for his seedling to escape the city. To return as much time as he had taken from the boy.

‘Come. As many as you want.’

My pride is not so light that I would open the way for those who know neither honor nor pride.

* * *

Berlo, Knight of the Order.

Berlo’s face instantly hardened when he arrived late at the place where starlight had surged. The scene before him was completely different from what he had expected.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Severed arms and legs.

And the bodies of the agents strewn about.

A quick count revealed more than twenty. The majority of the agents deployed to this city had met their end here. It was a huge loss, but if the objective was achieved, such losses could be tolerated.

But it seemed that objective had not been achieved either.

For there was no corpse of the boy who had drawn the Star Sword. Berlo slowly raised his head to look ahead. There stood the culprit who had created this carnage.

Ivan.

Seeing his old junior guarding the entrance to the tunnel, Berlo let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha…”

What foolish act was this?

Berlo felt anger toward Ivan, who had trampled on the kindness he had extended. His brow furrowed, and his expression twisted.

“Ivan, have you gone mad?”

Ivan did not answer.

“Do you think you can fight me? Do you intend to fight the entire Order? What foolishness…!”

Berlo irritably ruffled his hair. Things had gone wrong. This mission entrusted by High Priest Orlang—he was responsible for it, and at this rate, he couldn’t avoid punishment.

He had to continue the pursuit alone.

Just as Berlo nervously drew his sword and took a step forward, Ivan, who had been silent and motionless, spoke.

“Hey, senior.”

Ivan grinned.

Having faced more than ten agents at once, his body was covered in wounds, and blood flowed from a long cut on his shoulder. His breathing was rough and irregular.

He was exhausted.

Yet Ivan’s posture remained unwavering, and the sword he held still shone.

“What’s with that look?”

“…What?”

“I asked what’s with that look. You left the knights, abandoning honor and pride… I wondered what great thing you had grasped, but…”

Ivan sneered.

“It seems you haven’t grasped anything—you’ve been leashed. What makes you any different from these corpses lying around? To my eyes, you’re just another hunting dog of the Order.”

A clear mockery and ridicule.

Berlo’s eyes filled with bloodshot.

“I cannot let that comment pass. This is an insult to the Order. I’ll give you a chance to withdraw those words.”

“Hahaha!”

Ivan burst into laughter.

“It seems you’ve forgotten the mindset of a knight since leaving the Knights of Atanga. If you’ve forgotten, then this unworthy junior must remind you directly.”

A posture that never wavered.

Eyes that never faltered.

A sword that still had not lost its light.

“Insults are washed away with duels. Honor and pride are proven by the sword. That is the precept of knights, you filthy hunting dog of the Order.”

“…Ha!”

A provocation that clearly crossed the line. At these inflammatory words that heated his head, Berlo let out a hollow laugh and drew his sword aura. A blue aura like Ivan’s. However, an aura that did not shine like Ivan’s enveloped Berlo’s sword.

With his sword wrapped in aura, Berlo stepped toward Ivan. Still, Ivan did not move.

Though he looked like he might collapse with a slight push, Berlo knew not to let his guard down. Even cornered, Ivan’s eyes still shone. Berlo felt a chill from that gaze.

The aura of one prepared for death. The spirit of one who had vowed to never let go of his sword until the very end.

In the darkness, sword clashed against sword. Fragments of sword aura flew up, and droplets of blood splattered. It was the blood of a knight, and also a knight’s life. As their swords clashed, Ivan smiled.

Because he could no longer hear it.

The sound of footsteps moving away behind him.

‘I’ve bought time with this. You damn seedling.’

Where else in the world was there a seedling who would make a knight he should serve risk his life for him? What a damn brat.

Ivan smiled until the end.

Because until the end, he could be a knight.

3.

A waterfall where water flowed down.

Najin was descending toward the ground, driving stakes into the steep cliff. Even when his hands slipped on the slick cliff and water droplets, Najin gradually made his way down using the rope tied around his body and the rebound of his body.

Though his body was tired from continuous battles, Najin squeezed out his last remaining strength.

The cliff that had seemed endless finally showed its end. Najin could see the waterway stretching far into the distance. Until the very end, Najin descended the cliff carefully.

Thud.

Landing on the ground, Najin breathed heavily. He had gripped the stakes so tightly that when he opened his palms, the skin was all peeled off. After binding his bleeding palms with bandages, Najin turned back one last time.

The falling waterfall.

As if to say it could not be climbed back up, the waterfall poured in only one direction as Najin silently watched. The underground city where he was born and spent his childhood. Savoring the memories from there one last time, Najin turned his head.

What he needed to see was where the flowing water was headed.

Once he started running, he could neither stop nor turn back. Najin didn’t know where the flowing water would lead. He didn’t know, but he was certain that stars would be there.

He ran along the waterway.

And arrived at the end of the path.

The path ended and a wall blocked Najin, but the water was still flowing. Oppen had told him. To hold his breath and dive at the end of the path. Najin felt fear, not knowing what lay beyond…

“…Hoo.”

He composed his breathing and jumped into the water.

He surrendered his body to the rushing current. The rough waters engulfed Najin. In the swirling waters, Najin narrowed his eyes.

He couldn’t see anything. Nothing at all.

Not only was he being swept away, but he began to feel his body sinking. He gradually started to run out of breath. Then, as he reached his limit, Najin raised his head. What he saw was the endlessly flowing surface of the river.

Something was reflected on the surface.

It was a sparkling light.

Najin moved toward the light. His body, which had seemed to be sinking, slowly began to rise.

“Kuh, huh…! Hoo…”

Raising his head above the water, Najin gasped for breath. Catching his breath, Najin slowly moved toward the riverbank. After failing several times to grasp the protruding rocks on the riverbank, and scraping his body on the rocks several times, Najin was finally able to escape the current.

His whole body ached. Unable to stand, Najin lay spread-eagled on the riverbank, soaking wet.

As he lay on the field catching his breath, Najin realized what the light reflected on the water’s surface had been. Blinking several times, Najin looked up at the sky for the first time in his 18 years of life.

The vast night sky spread out.

Countless stars were shining there.

A spectacle that could not be described by any sentence from fairy tales was unfolding there.

The night sky he looked up at for the first time was beautiful.

More beautiful than anything else.