Ch.33Chapter 33: Dream (1)

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A day that began with a duel and ended with a duel.

My first duel with Shizu at the awakener-exclusive training ground ended in a bitter defeat that made me acutely aware of my lacking skills.

Just as I entered my room to rest and reflect on my defeat to prepare for a better tomorrow, I was suddenly transported to a space filled with fog by the guidance of the dragon sword.

There, I engaged in a life-or-death struggle disguised as a duel with an unknown opponent.

I lost this one too.

When I thought I had seized an opportunity and moved to decide the match with a large motion, my opponent skillfully exploited the opening and defeated me with a single shoulder throw.

It was a defeat that left me feeling much more frustrated than the duel with Shizu at the awakener training ground, as victory had seemed within reach only to vanish in an instant.

The fierce voice that had mocked my skills and taunted me relentlessly echoed in my ears even as I washed myself, making it clear how much I had suffered.

“Haaah…”

After drying all the wet parts of my body, including my damp hair, I sat on the bed wearing only pants, ready to sleep, but my mind was still processing the pain of defeat experienced in the fog.

“I don’t know when, but that bastard will summon me there again.”

I was counting down to the moment when I would meet that mysterious figure again.

He had clearly said it.

That when he calls next time, I should come running immediately.

“Sure, fine. I’ll come running. Since I need to see your face that you hide in the fog.”

*Grind*

My frustration still hadn’t subsided, and I found myself grinding my teeth whenever I thought of him.

But as I felt the softness of the bed beneath me…

“Huaaawn…”

The burning passion disappeared as if washed away by water, replaced by a yawn that revealed one of humanity’s most basic desires: sleep.

“I must have really exerted myself.”

The fatigue accumulated from staying up all night and continuing intense movements without rest seemed to have reached a point where it could only be fully resolved through sleep, even with my super-regenerative abilities.

“There’s no point in pushing further; I’ll only be tired tomorrow. Let’s sleep.”

Thinking I should greet tomorrow in the best physical condition possible,

I quickly slipped under the covers and rested my head on the pillow.

Tomorrow… before sword training… I need to properly work on physical conditioning…

…

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…Where is this?

I closed my eyes and fell asleep, yet it seems I’ve fallen into another strange place.

The fog so thick I couldn’t see an inch in front of me was similar to the place where that mysterious entity dwelling in the dragon sword had guided me before.

But this place was different—it was filled with the distinctive acrid smell of burning sulfur. Where on earth was I?

I was definitely asleep.

Is this… a dream?

As I forced my sluggish mind to work, trying to make an objective assessment of the current situation,

-KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Without any warning, a terrifying scream that seemed to shake heaven and earth struck my ears violently.

My body instinctively cowered from the overwhelming fear of hearing it defenseless, and as I turned my head toward the source of the sound, the fog that had been filled with that terrible sulfur smell suddenly cleared.

Not far away, a silver-haired woman drenched in sweat appeared.

Despite clear signs of fatigue, she maintained a composed expression. In her hand was a black-gleaming bastard sword,

And at the end of her sword lay a massive dragon, sprawled on the ground, breathing roughly as if on the verge of death.

“…This is the end, Fafnir.”

*Thump*

The moment that familiar word left the woman’s lips, I felt my breath catch.

…Fafnir? That dragon?

I turned my gaze from the woman to the dragon that seemed about to breathe its last.

Though I had only just laid eyes on it, I instantly understood.

Its massive body that would not be outdone by—rather, would overwhelm—any existing dragon.

Crimson scales reminiscent of blood.

An overwhelming aura that seemed to instill fear in any living being who faced it, despite its clearly dying state.

Above all, those vertically slit pupils of the same crimson color as its scales, gleaming with greed and malice.

There was no doubt.

This was the legendary evil dragon, now dead and gone, known only from historical texts.

The Red Tyrant, Fafnir.

Am I witnessing Fafnir’s final moments?

As that thought struck me, I turned my head in surprise to examine the black sword in the woman’s hand who was confronting Fafnir.

A bastard sword with a blade and all components gleaming black.

That too was unmistakable.

The dragon sword Fafnir.

One of the legendary weapons that is now in my possession, though unrecorded in history.

Which means that woman is…!!

As I shifted my gaze from the sword back to the woman holding it,

*Thump thump*

My heart pounded fiercely the moment her image filled my eyes.

The surprise and emotion I felt upon instinctively recognizing who she was drove my heart to beat violently.

Though I had never seen her before, I could easily tell who she was.

Silver shining hair.

Beauty that would not be outdone by any splendor in this world.

Black eyes containing a strength within gentleness that might waver but never break no matter what difficulties she faced.

A face I had seen countless times through not only historical texts but also numerous paintings passed down through generations.

This woman was none other than…

-LUMEEEEEEEN!!!!!!

My ancestor and,

-RANOOOOOOSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

The great hero who, relying on a single sword, defeated great evils threatening the world one after another, achieving immortal divinity in living form and ascending to the high heavens through her accumulated achievements.

Lumen Ranos.

Overcome with emotion, I unconsciously tried to approach my ancestor, but,

-GRAAAAAAAAAAH!!

Fafnir’s cry, suppressing pain and releasing all the resentment within at once, stopped me in my tracks.

Though clearly near death with sword wounds all over its massive body including its belly,

Fafnir had no intention of dying quietly, and for one final desperate act, it quickly gathered itself and leaped into the air, spreading its wings.

-You shall accompany me, Lumen Ranos!

This voice, full of malice rather than screaming, coming from the legendary evil dragon called Fafnir by my ancestor’s lips, was unmistakable.

It was identical to the fierce voice I had heard in the fog.

-Do you have the courage to face these flames without fleeing?!

After this roar filled with overwhelming anger, Fafnir took a deep breath for its final desperate act.

*Whoosh*

Soon after, terrifying flames rose from its mouth.

It was a breath imbued with fearsome heat that would turn anything it touched to ashes.

So the legend that it reduced a mighty kingdom’s capital to ashes in a single night was not an exaggeration.

*Whoosh*

The flames in Fafnir’s breath grew in heat and size as time passed.

It was a sight that would make any ordinary person lose their mind with fear upon facing it, but,

“Hm…”

My ancestor raised her head and faced Fafnir’s flames with a calm gaze, a gentle smile spreading across her face.

“I should be the one asking.”

She countered Fafnir, then took the bastard sword she had been holding in her right hand and gripped it with both hands.

*Click*

She assumed a stance very familiar to my eyes.

“Do you have the courage to face the sword of Lumen Ranos?”

She raised the sword held in both hands to head height—

A high stance imbued with sword intent that cuts down all obstacles approaching from the front in one breath, overwhelming everything with sheer power rather than complex movements.

It was the very motion I had always dreamed of but never achieved.

The starting point of everything I wanted to accomplish, which I only began to grasp after my regression.

*Woong woong-!!*

I could hear it.

The exceptionally beautiful sound of the sword resonating with my ancestor’s fighting spirit.

And I could see it.

The color symbolizing my ancestor’s fighting spirit blooming on the blade along with that resonance.

It was red.

Unlike the blood-red color of the evil dragon’s scales,

It was a red closer to orange, imbued with the warmth of the sun dispelling the dawn’s dimness.

-What nonsense! Die!

With a cry as if possessed by evil, Fafnir gathered the flames in its mouth to their limit and then spewed them out.

The thick fog that had obscured my vision evaporated with those flames.

I was so overwhelmed by the sight of everything burning that I couldn’t move, but,

“HAAAAA!”

Before those flames could engulf her, my ancestor shouted a battle cry and swung her sword downward from her stance.

It was a simple motion combining perfect form and beauty that made me forget the life-or-death situation and utter pure admiration—swinging a fairly heavy sword without even the sound of cutting wind.

*Whooosh*

The scene that unfolded after she swung her sword was overwhelming beyond description.

The flames that had been flying toward her, ready to burn everything, disappeared before the sword wind generated by the simple downward swing.

-N-No!

The evil dragon, whose finishing blow had been rendered futile, could not hide its dismay, and was shocked by what happened next.

“This is!”

My ancestor had somehow leaped up to where the dragon hovered in the air, reaching the fatal distance needed to kill a dragon with one strike.

“THE END!!!”

*Slash*

My ancestor swung the bastard sword more simply than when dispersing the massive flame breath, but the result was no less impressive.

The dragon’s massive body, with a presence incomparable to my ancestor’s, was cut in two from the waist the moment the sword strike ended.

*Splash*

The sight of blood spraying from the severed body and landing on my ancestor’s hair as the massive body split was astonishing.

-AAAAARGH!!

Fafnir’s scream at this unbelievable result was the epitome of desperation, but,

*BOOM-!!*

It was drowned out by the earth-shaking sound of its massive body falling to the ground in two pieces.

With my ancestor gracefully landing on the ground after demonstrating an unbelievable feat with a single sword,

The most crucial moment of this legendary scene—passed down through generations as a few brief lines in historical texts and embellished in minstrels’ epics—came to an end.

After landing, she might have been bothered by the blood splattered all over her body and hair, but instead of brushing it off,

“Phew…”

She let out a sigh of relief, signaling the end of the fierce battle.

*Thump thump*

My heart continued to race from the emotion of witnessing this legendary scene with my own eyes, beyond words.

But until then, I didn’t know.

That I would face an even more surprising sight.

*Grin*

After sighing, my ancestor began brushing off the dragon’s blood covering her body, and though I should have been invisible, her gaze turned toward where I was standing.

“…!!”

Our eyes met.

Though I should have been invisible, she looked at me as if she knew I was there. I was so surprised that I tried to speak, but no matter how hard I tried, my lips wouldn’t move.

My ancestor, who not only met my gaze but slowly approached where I was standing,

*Tap tap*

Lightly tapped my shoulder and,

“This much is necessary.”

…said these terrifying words.

What? Ancestor? You’re joking, right?

Experiencing confusion where I couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality, I tried to force my unmoving lips to call out to my ancestor, but,

“When you become stronger, I’ll show you something even more amazing than this.”

Looking at me, my ancestor smiled playfully and held out the bastard sword—no, the dragon sword Fafnir—in front of me.

*Kiing*

A gentle sword resonance sounded as the fog completely cleared, and the sunlight high in the sky reflected off the blade, striking my eyes.

“…Huh?”

When I opened my eyes after closing them briefly due to the brightness, all I saw was the familiar ceiling of my room.

“Was it a dream?”

*Flutter flutter*

*Chirp chirp chirp*

The sound of birds flapping their wings and chirping as they pecked at insects to fill their stomachs at the break of dawn indicated it was definitely morning.