Ch.293The Path Towards The Grave (4)

“Eyes open, I see?”

Merlin smiled. It was a natural smile, the kind Merlin would typically make. The azure eyes, flowing blue hair, tilt of the head, stance, breathing—down to the smallest detail, it was the Merlin that Najin knew.

It was Merlin, but…

Something made Najin keep his mouth shut. His heart pounded heavily. Something, like a very thin thread, was tickling inside Najin’s mind. A thread so thin that it might be missed if he didn’t focus.

“Come on, let’s go quickly.”

Najin looked at Merlin.

Looking at her made him feel at ease. At any moment, at any point, Merlin always made the right decisions. And unlike Najin, being an overwhelming power, she wouldn’t be toyed with by anything.

“We need to move quickly when we have even a little freedom. Will you take my hand?”

Najin trusted Merlin.

Because he trusted her…

Najin made his decision.

“Here.”

Najin reached out his hand. But what his outstretched hand touched was not the hand Merlin had extended to him. Najin grabbed Merlin’s neck.

“Gah! What… are you doing…?”

Merlin looked at Najin with disbelieving eyes. Indignation, confusion, tears welling at the corners of her eyes, hands reaching out to resist but then curling back as if afraid of hurting him. Suppressed breathing and sorrow.

And Najin did not loosen his grip.

He squeezed Merlin’s neck even harder. His fingers dug into her skin with a cracking sound. As Merlin’s expression contorted in pain, Najin curled up the corner of his mouth.

“What a third-rate actor.”

“What… do you mean?”

Najin thrust his face close to Merlin’s. Meeting her gaze, he spat out his words.

“Merlin doesn’t act like that. Even if I get hurt, wrong is wrong. She’s a foul-tempered magician who would break my arm and throw me to the ground, then mutter, ‘This is your fault.'”

“…Huh.”

A crack appeared on Merlin’s face, an expression of disbelief flashed across. It was as if the information she had extracted was different.

And Najin snorted.

Of course, it was a lie. Najin didn’t know how Merlin would act. The only certainty was that in this situation, Merlin’s emotions should have flowed back into Najin. But there were no emotions flowing in.

The Merlin before his eyes was fake.

And Najin had proven that fact.

“Indeed.”

Despite being strangled, Merlin’s voice rang out clearly. The corner of her mouth stretched wide. Her eyes curved like half-moons. She began to burst into laughter.

Hahahahaha.

The laughter.

Ha, haha, hahahahahahaha!

The sound of laughter.

Laughter echoes throughout the world!

Laughter is contagious. Laughter leaks from the mouths of your companions who have collapsed as if asleep. The corners of their mouths stretch wide. If you look up at the sky, even the stars in the sky have mouths and are sneering.

And then BOOM!

Your guide, the guide who always told you the right answer in any situation, explodes! Like a firework. Splat, paint splatters on your face and body.

“……”

You silently brush it off. Your guide exploded and died right before your eyes, but you don’t care?

You’re cold-blooded.

Bang, bang, bang!

All your companions inflate like balloons and burst! Is it blood, entrails, or just paint? Even now, won’t you open your eyes?

Ah, very well.

Because you’re close to the answer. You’ve noticed that you’re being played by the power of the Empress of Bliss. But what changes just because you’ve noticed?

Splat, splat, splat, splat.

Paint falls from the sky. Paint spreads on the ground. The whole world is spreading with colorful paint. The world you were looking at was actually all a false world. You’re still standing in a hallucination.

Is it a hallucination? Has your perception changed? Has information been intercepted? Or if not, a dream?

It’s impossible to know.

There’s no way to know.

The rain continues to fall. Green, red, yellow, blue, colorful rainwater beats on your body. It beats on the ground you’re standing on. Splat, you feel the ground has somehow turned to mud.

“……”

You don’t open your mouth. Not listening to the voice and focusing on your inner self—a good choice.

But not the best.

Closing your eyes means you’re giving up on receiving new information. When you close your eyes, you can’t see anything. And you can’t verify anything.

You’re not standing in mud.

Splash, the ground suddenly collapses. What you thought was ground was actually a huge pit. Perhaps it’s the sea. Or maybe it’s in flames.

It’s cold. Your body, pierced by an awl, screams. You feel the heat as you burn in fire. As you sink into the sea, your body is crushed by water pressure.

Or maybe you’re falling from the sky.

Hurry, you must open your eyes.

Open your eyes and respond.

Move.

Act.

Choose.

Ha, hahahahahahahahaha!

Open your eyes.

For with eyes closed, you cannot go anywhere.

2.

His body sank. Or perhaps it rose. Perhaps it fell, perhaps it burned. Amid all kinds of sensations rushing in like a tide, Najin steadied his breath.

And he focused entirely on his inner self.

He pondered who he was and gritted his teeth while holding onto his belief in himself. When he focused inward, Merlin was there. Merlin gave him a bitter smile and was pushing back the surging paint.

She is with him.

He is not alone.

With Merlin holding out in his inner self, Najin had to find a way out from the outside. Though he had no idea where or how to move.

Taking a deep breath.

Najin grasped the air. Even if all his senses were damaged, the sensation in the hand that held Excalibur remained intact. Because even the Empress of Bliss couldn’t touch Excalibur.

With his hand holding Excalibur hanging down.

Najin began to illuminate the stars he possessed. The stars engraved on Excalibur vibrated and scattered light. As the splashing paint receded, Najin created a small space, just a span, where he could place his feet.

He must not open his eyes. The moment he opens his eyes, he would receive new information, and that information would be distorted, and distorted thoughts would fill his mind.

Najin blocked his own senses.

Leaving only the sensation in the hand holding Excalibur, Najin maintained his center so as not to be swept away by anything.

‘Ah.’

And Najin recalled something.

Two years ago, from the moment Najin drew Excalibur, it became a part of him. Najin’s body was the scabbard that held Excalibur, and Excalibur was stored in Najin’s soul, journeying together.

What could be the reason he could reach the realm of Sword Master while holding Excalibur?

It’s because Excalibur strengthens the user’s starlight, and because of the mystery inherent in Excalibur. But there was an even more fundamental reason.

Unity of Person and Sword.

Najin regards Excalibur as himself. The stars engraved on the sword lead to his self-confidence. Even if he were to forget himself, the moment he grasped Excalibur, Najin could protect himself.

A realm that can only be reached by those who have trained with the sword all their lives, dedicated their lives to the sword, and through a very narrow gap, grasped enlightenment.

Najin stepped into that realm using a shortcut.

And, as those who have reached that realm often say, the sword in their hand feels as if it’s alive.

“You may close your eyes.”

“You may cover your ears.”

“Even if the whole world is dyed black, and you can’t see, hear, or feel anything, it’s fine.”

The first Sword Master, Siegfried.

Sometimes ahead of Arthur, sometimes following Arthur, and in the final moment standing by Arthur’s side, a certain swordsman curled his lips and shouted like this.

“Witch of Abyss.”

“As long as I have a sword in my hand, you cannot take anything from me.”

“Because the sword is myself.”

“I will cut you.”

“I will cut you, whom Arthur could not cut, and prove that I am superior to Arthur.”

Beyond the realm of Unity of Person and Sword, the words of a swordsman who went further. Recalling the story Merlin had told, Najin concentrated his senses. He blocked his bodily senses and received information through Excalibur.

It wasn’t easy. It’s like using an organ that he had never used in his 20-some years of life. Like learning to blink for the first time, learning to breathe, learning to walk on two legs, Najin moved.

Rustle.

And.

“Ah.”

He began to see. He began to feel. Through Excalibur, Najin perceived the world. He cut down the paint rushing toward him.

No matter how powerful the Empress of Bliss might be.

She cannot cast a veil over Excalibur, which has no sensory organs. Even if she could, who in the world could contaminate Excalibur? The sword of stars, antithetical to demons, conveyed undistorted information to Najin.

Cut and cut again.

Until a gap appears.

There will surely come a moment when a small gap appears in the stage of the Empress of Bliss. Waiting for that moment, Najin held his breath like a seasoned hunter.

Swoosh!

He cut through the water. He cut through the paint. He split the shaking ground to break the magic, and he cut the masks of the laughing clowns.

How much time had passed?

Gaps began to appear little by little in the perfect stage of the Empress of Bliss.

Because the Empress of Bliss wasn’t dealing with just Najin alone. Although she was focusing most on Najin, she was currently exercising her power on at least ten transcendents simultaneously.

But each time Najin cut through the paint.

Each time Najin took a step forward.

To fill the empty spaces left by the cut paint, the Empress of Bliss was moving paint from elsewhere. After this was repeated dozens, hundreds of times.

The rain that seemed like it would never stop, the ground that seemed like it would never dry, the lake whose bottom couldn’t be seen.

For the first time, the bottom was visible.

Just about a second.

Perhaps not even a full second, just a fleeting moment.

Some transcendent seized that time.

3.

As he swung his sword, Najin sensed it.

That a change had occurred.

From somewhere, explosively bursting starlight swept away the paint. That star was rushing toward Najin. It was approaching, cutting through and sweeping away the paint surging toward Najin.

Najin thought he knew who it was.

Silently swinging his sword, Najin moved his steps. He did what he could do. By silently performing his role, Najin helped him rampage.

The time Merlin endured.

The stage that Najin grabbed and scratched.

Turning that scratch into a crack, and that crack into a huge hole, was the role of another star.

Swoosh!

The wave made of paint split, and someone landed with a thud next to Najin, sliding. He stood right behind Najin. The moment their backs met, Najin burst into laughter.

“What did I say?”

Najin opened his blocked senses.

“Didn’t I say it’s time to show that Rondinell is alive and well?”

When he opened his eyes and looked ahead, blue hydrangeas were blooming all over the stage. Looking at the beautifully blooming blue flowers, one could escape from the power of the Empress of Bliss.

Because each of those flowers was a star.

Flowers blooming all over the battlefield.

Stars contained in each flower.

The stars that hung in the sky of Rondinell had become flowers, filling the wilderness.

“I knew you would come.”

Najin turned around.

“Kirhov.”

There was Kirhov, back-to-back with him. Catching his breath, he readjusted his grip on his sword. And now the two could realize where they were standing.

The ground stained with paint was filled with tombstones.

Swords were stuck in the ground. Spears were stuck in the ground. Musical instruments were placed, paintings were placed, and in some places, bows, arrows, all kinds of weapons and things that could symbolize someone’s life filled the wilderness.

All of those were sacred relics.

And all of them were the graves of some constellation.

Sword Tomb, Music Tomb, Bow Tomb, Flower Tomb, Painting Tomb…

A place lined with all kinds of tombs. Now they could understand why there was no one when they looked back. Everyone except Najin had been dragged into those tombs. They must be wandering inside the stage of the constellations by now.

This was the trap set by the Empress of Bliss.

“It wasn’t a path to the stage.”

Merlin, who appeared beside Najin, said.

“It was a path to the grave.”

She was right.

The path they thought led to the domain of the Empress of Bliss, to her stage…

Was a path to the grave.