Ch.23The Staff of Selection (2)

Arthur’s future successor.

The material for a hero to be selected by Excalibur.

For hundreds of years, Merlin had imagined such an encounter countless times in her mind. Of course, no one could ever be greater than Arthur… but at least being chosen by Excalibur meant they possessed the necessary qualities.

Even if not equal to Arthur.

Surely, they would be someone with the caliber of a hero.

That’s why when the sword was pulled recently, the candidates Merlin had in mind were only those called heroes in this era.

The Sword Master hailed as the greatest of the age? Or perhaps the Star of Sword who leads the Order of the Sword? If not them, then maybe the commander of a proud knightly order that upholds ancient chivalric codes?

Honestly, the pool of candidates wasn’t particularly impressive, but they were passable enough. They all possessed the fame, skill, and character worthy of wielding Excalibur.

‘But.’

Merlin looked ahead.

There stood a boy with an annoying expression, holding the shining sword.

He hadn’t reached the realm of Sword Master.

Nor was he a person of remarkable character.

He didn’t possess the complete caliber of a hero.

A boy with no fame or achievements to speak of.

The only thing he could boast about was having insulted Arthur, which was more of a demerit than anything worth points. Merlin mentally scored the boy before her.

Not even close to passing, a failing grade.

Like someone who, when brought to an interview, flipped off the interviewer with provocations. Merlin felt a throbbing in her forehead.

‘This… is the successor?’

She wanted to shout that this wasn’t Arthur’s successor and remove him from her sight.

‘Why on earth.’

Merlin glared at the sword in Najin’s hand.

The Sword of Selection, Excalibur. A sword that came to represent Arthur’s will after his death.

‘Why, such a youngster…’

Her king, now dead and gone.

Remembering Arthur in life, Merlin let out a long sigh. The Sword of Selection chooses the material for a hero. But selecting the path that hero would walk was the role of Merlin, the Staff of Selection.

Merlin looked at the boy before her.

Though she couldn’t hide her displeasure, Merlin took a deep breath, trying to set aside her personal feelings about the fact that the boy had insulted Arthur. Regardless, the damn youngster had pulled the sword. That fact remained unchanged.

The boy who pulled the sword, breaking centuries of silence.

What did Excalibur see in him? What possibility did it see to select this boy? She needed to know that herself.

Taking a breath, Merlin closed her eyes and opened them again.

Eyes like blue lakes. Stars rose above those eyes, as if constellations that had been submerged deep in the lake were surfacing.

“Kid.”

Merlin glared at Najin.

“Can you handle that?”

It was both a warning and advice.

And it was a trial that Merlin was presenting.

“That’s not a sword for humans to possess.”

“It means it’s a sword you can’t handle.”

“You’ll surely crumble, won’t you?”

A trial that Arthur himself had experienced hundreds of years ago.

Merlin posed the same question to the boy before her that she had posed to Arthur before he was called a hero, before he truly distinguished himself.

“You’ll surely crumble, won’t you?”

To test him.

And to select.

‘What?’

The boy’s qualities and potential.

2.

“You’ll surely crumble, won’t you?”

Najin frowned at Merlin’s words.

“What does that mean?”

“That sword you’re holding. You don’t seem to understand what it means to have pulled Excalibur.”

Merlin extended her finger.

Pointing at the sword Najin held, she said:

“Pulling Excalibur doesn’t simply mean you become Arthur’s successor. As long as you hold that sword, you ‘must’ walk the path of a hero. Excalibur will make sure of it.”

The Sword of Selection, Excalibur.

A sword that not only selects the material for a hero but also forces the one who holds it to become a hero. In fairy tales, this is depicted as something noble and beautiful, but…

“The path you walk with that sword is filled with countless obstacles. Countless and numerous trials await you.”

Reality is different.

Hardship and trials make a hero. Those who walk thorny paths, always balancing on the line between life and death. That is the true nature of those called heroes.

“The cursed things of Camlann, the knights of betrayal and their followers, the dragon at the end of the world and the witch of abandoned things…”

Merlin took a step forward. Wherever she stepped, heat haze rose.

“Filthy beings who have driven countless heroes to death and defiled their spirits and flesh. They will all take notice of you. And that’s not all.”

Merlin sighed.

“Among the many constellations in the sky above, how many do you think disapprove of you? And among those who walk the earth below, how many wish to eliminate you?”

Countless and numerous malice.

“Can you endure that?”

Things that inevitably accompany the path of a hero.

“If you were somewhat complete, I wouldn’t be saying this. Whether a Sword Master, a hero, the head of some group, or of very noble birth…”

If he were a Sword Master who had reached transcendence.

If he were a hero who had accumulated sufficient achievements and fame.

If he had followers who followed him.

If he even had a solid foundation that wouldn’t waver.

“If you had pulled the sword while possessing any of those things, what I’ve said would be mere advice.”

If he had even one of those things, he might not waver in the face of external pressures. Even if he did waver, he could quickly find his place again.

“But you don’t.”

Merlin looked directly at Najin.

“You have nothing. You’ll easily be swayed by the winds, perhaps lose your way, and are likely to become a plaything for the strong, a prey easy to toy with, a puppet easy to control.”

The future predicted for the boy.

“Can you…”

“Why are you talking so much?”

Najin interrupted Merlin.

Merlin frowned.

“What?”

“Why are you talking so much? The point is simple, isn’t it? I pulled the sword without knowing what I was getting into, and you’re asking if I can handle it. Isn’t that what you’re saying right now?”

His tone was disrespectful, but he wasn’t wrong. Merlin nodded with a sour expression. Najin let out a short sigh and looked back at Merlin.

“As you said, I have nothing. It’s true that I’m nothing special, and if someone wants to crush me, they probably could. Who doesn’t know that?”

Even without being told, Najin knew this fact better than anyone. Just to come up to the surface, how much had he struggled?

He had nearly died multiple times, and if it weren’t for Ivan’s sacrifice, he would already be a corpse rolling around somewhere in the underground city.

The strong will target me?

Countless things will try to bury me?

Najin snorted at Merlin’s warning.

Did she think he didn’t know that? When he reached for the sword, he had already prepared to risk his life.

“I didn’t pull the sword without being prepared for that.”

From the moment he crossed the line, Najin had made his resolve.

For someone like him who had nothing, the only thing he could possess was a longing for the stars. Rather than giving up out of fear from the start, it would be better to die being crushed.

Najin glanced at Merlin.

He had a rough idea of how the constellation before him thought and reacted. Backing down and being afraid wouldn’t help. Najin decided to be bold instead.

“Even Arthur wasn’t great from the beginning, was he? He’s called a great hero because he rose from the bottom without any foundation.”

Najin had read the fairy tale many times.

He had read the scenes of Arthur and Merlin’s meeting, of Merlin guiding Arthur, over and over. So perhaps there was a hint of disappointment in Najin’s words now.

Because the Merlin in the fairy tale Najin had read…

Was never a being who would say such things.

Because Merlin was the one who saw potential in someone who had nothing, who turned a nobody into a great king.

“For you, who guided Arthur, to speak like this… isn’t that a bit unfair?”

“Are you provoking me right now?”

“I’m just stating facts.”

Merlin let out a hollow laugh.

Did he notice it was a test? It didn’t seem like it.

“Anyone can talk.”

But it’s not bad.

The spirit to respond boldly rather than being afraid wasn’t bad. Merlin, feeling a bit of interest in the boy before her, snapped her fingers.

Snap.

The heat haze that had been rippling with her steps was instantly sucked into Najin’s eyes. Words are easy. But what always proves qualification is not words but actions.

“If you can say the same after seeing this.”

Merlin stopped walking.

“Then I’ll acknowledge you.”

The heat haze in Najin’s eyes.

What it showed Najin were the paths he would have to walk and the battlefields he would have to reach. The trials he would ‘inevitably’ face having pulled Excalibur.

The same thing she had shown Arthur hundreds of years ago.

If he could say the same words after seeing that, then she would reevaluate the boy. Thinking this, Merlin looked at Najin, who had stiffened.

3.

Countless scenes passed through Najin’s vision.

Though he was simply watching, Najin felt as if he were standing there himself. His body trembled. The vibrating stench made his nose bridge ache, and the hot heat made him feel as if his skin was burning.

A battlefield of vile and evil things. A dark domain where countless demons and their contractors ran rampant. There, he saw numerous strong ones being eaten alive by demons.

The moment his gaze met the demons’, Najin had to give his flesh to them.

Being torn apart, broken, and even after death, not finding peace but becoming their servant. Before he could shudder at the terrible end, his vision was shaken again.

A battlefield where stars are born and stars fall. A stage where stars can fully intervene. There, he saw the territorial behavior of stars that had already established themselves in the sky. He saw countless heroes being toyed with and ending their journeys.

Trampling those who aspire to become stars.

Breaking those who dream of stars.

Najin saw corrupted constellations stealing the stars of others. They were greedily increasing their size. The moment they caught sight of Najin, he was crushed under something massive. It felt like the foundation of his existence was being denied.

And beyond all those scenes.

Najin finally saw.

The land of death beyond the horizon. A place where beings incomparably larger than the previous ones resided. This time, Najin wasn’t standing there. He was merely watching from afar.

Something waved from beyond the horizon.

It looked like a mountain range waving, but soon Najin realized what it was. A dragon. A dragon so massive its end couldn’t be seen. Even without meeting its gaze, the moment Najin recognized its existence, his soul crumbled into pieces.

The land of the abyss, Camlann.

The moment he faced a fragment of that place, Najin’s soul collapsed. As this process repeated several times, the light in Najin’s eyes, which had still been shining despite the heat haze, began to fade.

“……”

Watching this, Merlin sighed.

Wrong, this is.

He’s broken. Well, there’s no way a youngster like that could endure such scenes with his mind intact. Even the strongest would be bedridden for months after seeing such scenes. Some would be completely broken.

Arthur had immediately stood up after seeing these scenes and declared his resolve to Merlin, but…

‘That was possible because it was Arthur.’

Who could possibly be like Arthur?

She had somewhat expected from the boy who spoke boldly without fear, but was it just words after all? With a sense of disappointment, Merlin reached out her hand towards the boy’s forehead.

She intended to withdraw the heat haze, erase his memories, and retrieve the sacred sword. If he crumbled here, the boy had no potential. Rather than letting him become a plaything for corrupted beings, it would be better to end it here.

Just as Merlin’s finger was about to touch Najin’s forehead.

“I… know.”

A voice was heard.

A hand suddenly extended and firmly grasped Merlin’s wrist. Merlin, with wide eyes, looked at Najin who had grabbed her wrist.

Focus was returning to his clouded eyes.

The heat haze was disappearing from those eyes.

Najin had escaped the illusion Merlin had shown him through his own strength. The eyes revealed as the heat haze disappeared were still shining.

‘…How?’

Before Merlin could feel surprise.

Najin opened his mouth and spoke.

“I know. I know that I’m nothing special. I know I’m not as noble or sublime as King Arthur. It’s natural for you to be unimpressed.”

Breathing heavily, Najin spoke. His breathing was rapid, and his wide-open eyes were bloodshot.

“Saying Arthur was born a man of destiny was just empty talk. I don’t think that. King Arthur was greater than anyone… I know he was the most radiant being who hung his star in the highest place in the night sky.”

Removing the darkness of humanity.

Sweeping away countless demons.

Bringing down all false constellations.

The great hero who ultimately stopped time in Camlann.

“That’s why.”

Because he was such a radiant being.

“I must go to a place as high as King Arthur, no, even higher.”

That’s what makes him worth aiming for.

Not because he was born a man of destiny, but because he was a great hero who led the era, that’s what makes him worth challenging. That’s what Najin was saying.

“I will go, no matter what stands in my way. Because I need to hang my own star in the highest place.”

He had promised a knight who hadn’t lost his pride.

He had sworn in a land where stars couldn’t be seen.

“So, I can’t return this.”

Najin firmly gripped Excalibur.

Excalibur was still shining.

“……”

Merlin silently looked at Najin.

Her blue eyes were looking at Najin, and yet not at Najin. Merlin saw a very distant past in Najin.

“No matter what stands in my way.”

“I will become a hero who leads this era.”

“I will hang my star in the highest place, to be a guidepost for those who follow me. For that, I need a symbol. A symbol like this sword.”

Her first meeting with Arthur.

Merlin recalled the image of Arthur, who hadn’t yielded even after seeing the future she had shown him.

“So, I can’t return this.”

“From now on, this sword must become a symbol along with me.”

“A symbol of victory, glory, and hope.”

Recalling the image of Arthur who had declared such things.

Merlin let out a long, very long sigh. Due to her hair falling forward as she lowered her head, Najin couldn’t see Merlin’s face, but there was a smile on her lips.

“Those words.”

Wiping the smile off her face, Merlin raised her head.

For the first time, she took a step back. No longer pressuring the boy, Merlin opened her mouth.

“That Arthur was a man of destiny.”

“I mean, it was just empty talk…”

“You’ll have to prove it. Cheeky brat.”

Najin blinked.

Merlin’s attitude had changed from before. Merlin shrugged and brushed back her hair.

“Honestly, there’s not a single thing about you that I like, but I’ll acknowledge your mental strength and spirit.”

It’s far from a passing grade.

But she had seen potential. Having seen potential, Merlin pondered. The choice she had to make now might require her to stake her own star, making it a significant decision.

The deliberation was both long and short.

In the end, what came to mind at the moment of decision was the last words of Arthur, the king she had served.

“Someday, when a new master of this sword appears.”

“I hope you will guide that person.”

“Don’t trust the choice my will leaves behind. Do as you please. See with your own eyes and judge. Just as you did with me.”

And then, Arthur had smiled and said:

“If you see a bit of light.”

“If you see even a faint possibility.”

“It’s your role to nurture it.”

“That’s why you are the Staff of Selection.”

She had seen potential.

She had also seen light.

Recalling the past, Merlin looked at the present.

‘Though I don’t like it.’

She couldn’t deny the potential.

Looking at the boy’s eyes that were still shining, a smile spread across Merlin’s lips. It was a smile tinged with interest, or perhaps expectation.

“Listen well, brat.”

Merlin extended her hand to Najin.

“You’ll have to take responsibility for the words you’ve spoken, and you’ll have to prove them. You must prove with your life whether Arthur was a man of destiny or not.”

Merlin grinned.

“If you can’t prove it, you’ll die by my hand. I’ll postpone the divine punishment I have for you until then. If you give up or run away in the middle, I’ll strike lightning into your head right then, so it’s better not to think about backing out.”

Her extended hand stopped in front of Najin.

Not at his forehead or collar, but at a position suitable for a handshake. Looking at the hand placed before him, Najin squinted.

What am I supposed to do? Seeing Najin looking at her like that, Merlin frowned. She growled.

“Won’t you take it? Do you want to die?”

Najin reluctantly took Merlin’s hand.

The moment their hands met, Najin’s vision was shaken. It was the same sensation he had felt when he was brought here. But it was slightly different from then.

In the shaking vision, Najin saw.

A constellation being engraved on the back of the hand that was holding Merlin’s. It was a constellation made up of eleven stars. The constellation possessed by the Staff of Selection.