Ch.282Icarus’s Wings (2)

Thousand Star, Icarus unfolded his stage.

The last time he unfolded his stage was 712 years and 37 days ago. And not a single Constellation who was drawn into Icarus’s stage that day survived.

For they all sank into the deep sea.

More than 700 years have passed since then. The world forgot Thousand Star’s real name, forgot the characters used to write his name, and even forgot the existence of the nation he founded.

Forgotten and made to forget.

A Constellation who ultimately became the Forgotten Star.

The star forgotten even by himself screamed. His scream was performed through the mouths of whales. Tens, hundreds of thousands of whales opened their mouths in unison to sing their master’s scream.

Buooooooooo……

The sky trembled. The earth shook. Thousand Star’s stage swallowed the world. The sky stretching to the horizon turned pitch black and surged violently like waves. The sky had become a sea.

【Did someone say you can only swim in the sea?】

【Friend, we need to break our framework of thinking.】

The sky was the sea.

【You’re not swimming in the sea.】

【Wherever you swim becomes the sea!】

The empty space where whales swam was also the sea.

【The blue sky, the withered land, the desert, anything can become the sea.】

When they touched the ground, even the undulating surface could become the sea.

【So, let’s travel.】

【So, let’s sail.】

The whales swam. Everywhere they touched turned into sea and rippled. The throbbing sound of whales swimming with the waves echoed.

【Until we reach the stars.】

The Great Sea of All Things.

A stage that turns everything in the world into sea.

This was the stage Icarus created to be with his friend who could only live in the sea. But this wasn’t Icarus’s stage alone. It was a stage shared with his friends, tens of thousands of whales.

The sea swallowed everything.

Tens, hundreds of Constellations descending were swept away by the waves. Even transcendents couldn’t resist the currents created by hundreds of thousands of whales. The stars who descended here to kill the owner of Excalibur had to struggle to survive against Thousand Star rather than pursuing their original purpose.

“……”

And Najin silently looked ahead.

He saw the endless sea stretching before him.

He saw countless whales charging toward him, and the Constellations who, despite being swept away by those whales, still desperately approached to kill him.

“Merlin.”

“Yes.”

Merlin snapped his fingers. The ground beneath Najin’s feet froze. Even in the surging sea, Najin created a place to step. Straightening his posture, Najin exhaled deeply.

While holding Excalibur, Najin is a transcendent.

What this means is simple. The transcendent techniques that Najin had only been able to imitate until now, he could now reproduce.

The First Horn.

Najin raised his sword. The seven stars engraved on Excalibur shone. All eyes—stars being buried in the sea, stars rushing toward Najin, and stars trying to stop them—turned to Najin for a moment.

And Najin brought down the raised sword.

Triumph.

SWOOOOOOSH!

A massive sword energy bisected the battlefield.

The sea split. The waves were cleaved. Whales were cut in half, and even the stars rushing toward Najin were swept away. Long-lived Constellations could withstand it, but the lesser ones could not.

With a single strike, more than ten Constellations fell.

Demons who lost their stars sank beneath the sea.

For a moment, silence fell over the battlefield. It was an unbelievable power for a strike from a novice who had just ascended to transcendence. Amid gazes mixed with shock, fear, and anger, Najin gripped his sword again.

……The Triumph sword technique consumes a lot of energy.

Perhaps the prime Alderan Basaglia could handle it, but it’s not a technique that a newly ascended star should be able to manage. But that’s only in normal circumstances.

Flash.

Excalibur immediately began replenishing the starlight Najin had consumed. Watching Excalibur shine again by absorbing the overflowing starlight around him, Najin laughed in disbelief.

‘I heard about it from Merlin, but.’

Isn’t this truly an absurd sword? Even if not immediately, he could use it again before long. Najin readjusted his grip on the sword and pointed it forward.

As if to show that despite using such a technique, he wasn’t tired. As if declaring, come at me all you want.

If they wouldn’t come…

With a tap, Najin kicked off the sea and ran. Wherever Najin stepped, the sea froze.

‘Then I’ll go to them.’

The task he needed to accomplish in this war.

Contemplating this, Najin began to run.

2.

Without subjugating Thousand Star, the war couldn’t proceed. That was the view of the Sacred Host and the judgment of the Empire’s commanders.

The final destination was the Empress of Bliss’s domain.

To reach there, transcendents needed to open the path, and the army needed to maintain it. But as long as Thousand Star existed, the very act of “creating a path” became meaningless.

A being who forms an army by himself.

A disaster feared even by the transcendents in the night sky.

While Thousand Star rampaged, knights would be reduced to powerless humans swept away by a natural disaster rather than an advancing army. To minimize allied casualties, Najin needed to open the path alone.

Lure Thousand Star.

Lure the stars that descended to kill him.

It was an incredibly dangerous task, but when was there ever an enemy that wasn’t dangerous? Since this was a war he started, Najin volunteered for the most difficult role.

SWOOOOOOSH!

Cutting through the surging waters, Najin ran. Following the starlight Najin created, transcendents and whales began to chase him.

Naturally, it wasn’t easy.

No matter how many whales he cut down, there was no end to them. Though Najin had many transcendent allies, it’s always easier to kill than to defend. Especially in such chaotic battles.

BOOM!

The spot where Najin was about to step exploded violently. Water shot high into the sky. Spinning to change direction, Najin frowned.

Dozens of thorns were flashing in the sky.

As those thorns all aimed at Najin and shot toward him, Najin looked down at his feet. Dozens of hands were grabbing his ankles. The Constellations were pouring their powers onto Najin without reservation.

Thorns, spears, magic, swords, blunt weapons…

The sky continuously flashed with transcendent strikes from various weapons. When Najin paused for a moment, countless attacks rained down. Just as Najin readjusted his sword to cut them down—

“Being stuck in a place like this.”

The sky flashed.

“Don’t you have a long way to go, boy?”

A blue streak of sword energy cut through the magic pouring down on Najin. Najin looked up and burst into laughter. Blue flower petals were scattering across the battlefield.

Sword Master of Ruin, Kirhov.

Blue hydrangeas bloomed across the battlefield. The blue flowers blooming everywhere gathered in one place each time Kirhov swung his sword.

“I have much to say.”

Landing beside Najin, Kirhov shrugged.

“But this isn’t the place to discuss it.”

“I agree.”

“Let’s meet again somewhere farther.”

Kirhov positioned himself behind Najin, while Najin rushed forward. As blue sword energy exploded behind him, Najin ran. Kirhov silently took charge of one part of the battlefield.

“I am Kirhov.”

His voice echoed across the battlefield.

“The last knight of Rondinell, Kirhov.”

His voice was full of joy. Delighted that the stage for the revenge he so desired had unfolded, that the path to the Empress of Bliss had opened, he shouted with ecstasy.

“You are too insignificant to block the path of the greatest knight. You don’t belong in this story.”

A blue star shone.

“You cannot pass me.”

But Kirhov’s star wasn’t the only one shining.

“Go.”

Each time Najin advanced forward, unnamed transcendents brushed past him. They didn’t speak much to Najin.

“I owe a debt to the Round Table. How could I call myself a knight if I ignored such a debt?”

A knight once saved by the Round Table.

After many years, he became a transcendent and ascended to the sky above. Now he willingly descended to this land for Najin. Even at the risk of his own annihilation, to repay the debt he owed to the Round Table.

“Merlin! What a dear face. Have you been well?”

A mercenary king who once fought alongside the Round Table passed by Najin. He smiled at Merlin, then pushed Najin’s back. As if urging him to go on.

“If I can be part of a legend, I’m willing to take this much risk.”

Heroes who were active hundreds of years ago.

“Go on.”

Stars who had abandoned their ideals in the harsh environment of the Outer Continent, living day by day just to survive.

“I’ll open the path.”

But stars who were once heroes.

“Hahaha! This is it, this is truly a battlefield of stars!”

They took up arms once more to become heroes again. Drawn by the starlight created by Excalibur, they leaped toward the fire like moths.

“I may have lost honor and pride, but before that sword, I still want to be a knight.”

“What a nostalgic light.”

“Ah……”

“Go on.”

“I’ll handle this place. Well, I can certainly manage this much. Go, greatest knight.”

Though they had reached transcendence, they were still humans in the end. Inconsistent, foolish, pretending to be rational but sometimes acting on impulse… such foolish humans. But that’s why they shine.

Flash.

Burning all their precious starlight, they blocked the transcendents targeting Najin. They created a path for Najin to advance. Some did so to repay debts, some out of gratitude for King Arthur’s sacrifice, and others simply out of desire to be part of a legend.

Though their intentions differed, their purpose was the same.

Open a path for the greatest knight to run. They would sacrifice anything for that. The vast sea shone platinum with the starlight they created.

“……”

Najin was silent. Because now he truly understood.

What it meant to have drawn Excalibur.

What it meant to become a hero.

“Is it heavy?”

“A little.”

“So, is it burdensome?”

At Merlin’s question, Najin smiled and shook his head.

“Not at all.”

Rather, it was what he had expected. Feeling the weight of the burden on his shoulders, Najin increased his speed.

His gaze fixed on the largest whale.

The mother of all whales hovering in the sky, staring down at Najin. A whale carrying Thousand Star’s palace on its back. Just as Najin took a step forward—

Buooooooooo……

Suddenly, a whale shot up from beneath the ground. Its wide-open mouth swallowed Najin. Najin swung his sword to cut the whale, but the emerging whales weren’t just one.

An even larger whale rose, swallowing even the bisected whale. Najin frowned at the surging waves. This would never end. With his aching arm, Najin took his stance to unleash the Triumph sword technique once more.

The First Horn.

Just as he raised his sword high and was about to bring it down—

Thwack!

The sound of a staff being swung echoed from somewhere. At that moment, the body of the whale lunging at Najin bent like a crescent moon with a crack.

“Oarsman!”

And then came a familiar voice.

Najin looked toward the source of the voice. There stood a man wearing a captain’s hat with his foot firmly planted on the edge of a sailboat.

“Didn’t you miss me?”

The Romantic, Anton Kehano.

Seeing the familiar face, Najin burst into laughter. Najin reached out, and Anton, approaching rapidly through the water, snatched him up.

SWOOSH! The sailboat carrying Najin glided over the waves and turned. It was a movement impossible to achieve by rowing, closer to magical movement.

Lapis, the first-class navigator on the sailboat, flicked his hat with his finger and looked at Najin.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Najin.”

“Lapis.”

“Yes, it’s me. And that is……”

Lapis’s eyes wavered for a moment as he looked at Merlin hovering beside Najin. Merlin smiled brightly at the sweating Lapis.

“You’re human now, aren’t you? I only mess with witches.”

“……”

As Lapis nodded, Anton whistled.

“My goodness, to think you were the one who drew Excalibur. Well, well. To think I employed the greatest knight as my oarsman? That’s a tale worth telling over drinks for years to come.”

Anton chuckled and put his arm around Najin’s shoulder.

“This time, I’ll row for you.”

Since you rowed for me.

Since you took me to her.

“This time, as promised, I’ll take you to your destination. Where to, Captain?”

“There’s only one place, isn’t there?”

Standing at the bow, Najin pointed.

“Thousand Star’s palace.”

Confirming the destination, Anton whistled.

“Whew, that’s going to be one hell of a voyage.”

Then he tucked the staff in his hand into his waist.

“Lapis? I apologize in advance.”

“For what?”

“I’m going to use a sword now. I know you hate it, but I hope you’ll turn a blind eye just this once.”

“Oh please, you’re asking permission for something so trivial?”

Laughing as if in disbelief, Lapis scratched his forearm. The flowing blood hardened and soon formed into a sword. Handing over the sword made from his own blood, Lapis whispered in Anton’s ear.

“Go, Mad Anton.”

Anton’s old star name.

That is, the name from his days as an avenger who slaughtered witches, and Lapis smiled as he called him by it.

“I’d like to see it again after so long. It’s a bit awkward to say, but I quite fancied you back then too.”

Bursting into laughter, Anton kicked off from the bow and jumped up.

“As much as you want.”

Anton Kehano gripped the sword.

Despite a gap of over 400 years, the moment he held the sword, Anton’s aura changed.

He closed his eyes and opened them again.

“……”

The smile was gone. What stood there was not the cheerful romantic Anton.

The madman who had hunted witches alone had opened his eyes.