Ch.8Omens of Civil War (4)

Early in the morning, Najin headed to Ivan’s office.

Ivan had summoned him first thing in the morning, but when he arrived, no one was there. Even when he asked the guard outside, he was told that Ivan hadn’t gone anywhere.

After hesitating briefly, Najin walked back to Ivan’s office. Then he kicked the bookshelf in the corner of the office with his toe.

Clatter…

The bookshelf slid sideways. Behind it was a passage leading to the basement of the building. Sure enough, the entrance to the basement, which would normally be blocked, was open today.

‘Seems like he wants me to come in.’

Najin scratched the back of his neck.

He knew what was down there. Down the stairs was a wide open space—a training ground where Ivan honed his sword energy.

And it was also the training ground where Ivan had taught Najin. When he was young, Najin was often called to the basement to receive instruction from Ivan.

“……”

Najin silently rubbed his shoulder.

The long scar etched into his shoulder throbbed. There could only be one reason why Ivan would call him here.

“Sigh…”

With a long sigh, Najin stepped toward the stairs. After descending for quite some time, he reached an open space. As expected, Ivan was standing there.

“You’re here.”

“What’s this about? Calling me all the way to the basement.”

“What else? There’s only one reason to call you.”

Ivan threw something. Najin saw it fall at his feet with a clang. It was a sword. A steel sword with a fairly sharp edge.

“Pick it up. Let’s see your skills after so long.”

“…With a steel sword?”

“Well, I’ll be using a steel sword too.”

Ivan twirled his wrist.

What he held wasn’t his usual sword, but an ordinary steel sword like the one Najin had. Still, it was a blade sufficient to tear flesh and split bone.

Unlike the wooden swords he always used for teaching, today Ivan held a steel sword. Najin swallowed hard.

‘When was the last time I sparred with Ivan?’

It was less like sparring and more like education, or rather, closer to a beating… but even that must have been years ago. Since Najin had been performing his role well, there had been no need for “education.”

“Najin.”

While Najin was lost in these thoughts, Ivan’s voice echoed through the basement.

“Focus.”

A cold, chilling voice.

Immediately after, Ivan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The moment he exhaled, Najin’s eyes widened. He quickly grabbed the sword from the ground and stepped back.

His instincts warned him.

To create distance immediately.

As Ivan finished one breath and narrowed his eyes, the air in the basement suddenly grew heavy. It wasn’t just his imagination. Najin felt a strange pressure as if someone was pushing down hard on his shoulders.

Swoosh.

Ivan slowly lowered his sword.

The slowly moving blade pointed at Najin. The moment he faced the cold blade, Najin realized: unless he fought with the resolve to die, he would gain another scar like the one on his shoulder today.

2.

Najin didn’t welcome the sparring with Ivan.

To be honest, he wanted to make an excuse about not feeling well and leave the basement immediately. Even though he knew that was impossible.

Honestly, he was afraid.

It was learned fear, and at the same time, the scars etched into his body.

Since childhood, Najin had learned from Ivan how to fight and how to survive in this city, and they often sparred during that process. And each time, Ivan would crush Najin with ruthless force.

He broke bones, beat him until he lost consciousness, and if he fainted, poured water on him to force him awake. Through this process, Ivan forcibly ingrained the knowledge of survival into Najin’s body.

‘It was helpful, but…’

Now that he was older and wiser, Najin understood. That it wasn’t purely intended to teach.

It was teaching, but also a kind of threat and warning from Ivan.

Don’t overestimate your talent. I am above you. Never cross the line. Don’t try to cross the fence I’ve built for you. I can crush and break you anytime. A warning with such meaning.

“Najin.”

“Don’t dream big dreams. You’ll only end up miserable.”

When Najin was fifteen and showed great interest in the upper town and dreamed of it, Ivan left a long scar on Najin’s shoulder during a sparring match. It was a clear warning. A warning not to dream presumptuous dreams.

Najin understood that warning and lived well without ever crossing the line Ivan had drawn. After that, Ivan didn’t interfere much with Najin and never suggested sparring again.

He must have judged that the whip had been sufficient.

‘But.’

But why now, suddenly?

What did I do wrong? Najin reflected on his recent actions. He had been faithful to his role as Ivan’s hunting dog and never crossed any lines. His only deviation was going to see Excalibur stuck in the plaza.

‘But Ivan permitted that.’

So what was the reason?

He couldn’t know the reason. But he knew what he had to do now.

Thud.

Najin stomped his foot on the ground.

He sharpened his senses to respond immediately no matter how his opponent approached. Staring directly at Najin, Ivan twitched the tip of his sword.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Instead of answering, Najin held his sword at an angle.

Rather than asking more questions, Ivan took a step forward. It wasn’t a step with weight behind it. But when the distance between him and Najin narrowed to within three steps.

Boom.

Ivan put weight into his step. Burying his foot deep in the ground, Ivan swung his sword. The weight in his step added to the blade, accelerating the sword in an instant.

Clang!

The moment the swords collided, Najin gritted his teeth. Though he had firmly planted his feet on the ground, when he parried Ivan’s horizontally swung sword, his feet slid back. His fingers holding the sword trembled.

The weight felt like something massive pressing down on him. When he was younger, he would have immediately lost his grip on the sword and rolled on the floor from that strike, but not now. Najin gritted his teeth and twisted his sword.

Clack, clack, clack!

Basic swordsmanship—letting the weight flow along the angled blade. However, the moment he angled his sword, Najin realized he had made the wrong choice.

Ivan was a knight and a Sword Expert.

A skilled fighter who had learned proper swordsmanship and perfected his own sword through real combat. It was Ivan who had taught these techniques to Najin in the first place. Naturally, a technique like deflecting the sword wouldn’t work.

Twist.

Ivan twisted his wrist. Ivan’s sword, which had slid along the angled blade, traced a strange trajectory. The moment the hilts locked together with a thud, Ivan’s sword wrapped around Najin’s.

Even seeing it, Najin couldn’t understand for a moment.

He only instinctively realized he needed to dodge and ducked his head. Ivan’s steel sword swept over Najin’s head, and just as Najin tried to regain his posture…

Thwack.

“Ugh!”

Ivan kicked Najin in the stomach.

A body enhanced with mana. Enhanced kicking power. The impact felt like being hit in the stomach with a club, and Najin rolled on the floor. But there was no time to rest while lying down.

Immediately springing to his feet, Najin parried Ivan’s incoming sword. With each parry, his shoulder and grip screamed in pain.

‘Not even giving me time to catch my breath…’

The kick to his stomach had disrupted his breathing.

Frowning, Najin parried Ivan’s sword. Having to pay attention not only to Ivan’s sword but also his feet, Najin’s eyes moved faster than usual.

His eyes could leisurely track Ivan’s movements.

But Najin’s body couldn’t keep up with Ivan’s speed.

He had to take hits from attacks he could see coming, and even when he could see how to counter a technique, his body couldn’t follow through, forcing him to parry and retreat repeatedly. In those moments, Najin felt frustration.

‘Mana, mana, mana.’

That damn mana.

Whenever he saw those who could handle mana, Najin felt both envy and bitterness. Ivan had never taught Najin how to handle mana.

All Najin could do was imitate Ivan. With eyes wide open, Najin moved his body, imitating Ivan’s breathing.

In that moment, his body moved a little faster than usual. A feeling as if something was pushing his back. For the first time, his body moved as he thought it would. When the swords collided, Ivan’s sword was pushed back for the first time.

“……”

At that moment, Ivan’s eyes narrowed.

Ivan’s arm, which had stepped back, tensed like a bowstring. Then, bang. Like an arrow being shot, the swung sword struck Najin’s sword.

“Ugh…!”

The moment he parried the sword, Najin’s body floated in the air. Sliding backward, Najin quickly raised his head. But contrary to Najin’s expectation, Ivan didn’t immediately rush at him.

He just stood in place, raising his sword.

It wasn’t a stance for attack. It was a stance to prepare for something. One-eyed Ivan covered his empty eye socket with the raised blade. The posture resembled the sword salute performed by knights in heroic tales.

And then, Najin saw it.

Whoosh…

Najin saw the pale blue energy quietly rising from Ivan’s raised blade, the sword energy (geomgi) that proved he was a master who had reached the level of Sword Expert. From the moment it was wrapped in sword energy, what Ivan held was no longer an ordinary steel sword found anywhere.

It was a special sword that only one-eyed Ivan could wield.

A sword only for him.

Najin was momentarily captivated by the beauty of the sword energy, but realizing this was no time to leisurely appreciate it, he quickly spoke.

“No, Ivan. Wait a minute.”

Najin backed away in alarm.

“Drawing sword energy is strange. Isn’t this going too far, even for you?”

It was strange. They had sparred many times, but Ivan had never drawn sword energy before. That was natural. There was no way Najin could withstand sword energy.

Sword energy can only be countered with sword energy.

The moment one tries to receive sword energy with an ordinary steel sword, both the sword and the wielder’s body would be cut in one go. The panicked Najin stepped back, but Ivan silently stepped toward him. One step, two steps…

And then, boom.

Ivan kicked off the ground and rushed at Najin. The steel sword wrapped in pale blue sword energy rushed at Najin, drawing a tail of light.

“…Ugh!”

Najin hurriedly raised his sword.

But there was no way an ordinary steel sword could block sword energy. The moment Ivan’s sword, wrapped in sword energy, collided with Najin’s sword, Najin clearly saw it.

Crack.

The sight of his sword being cut.

The blade crumpled, unable to withstand the repulsive force of the sword energy. The sword in his hand violently shook. Ivan’s sword pushed in, cutting through the steel sword. All of this appeared in slow motion to Najin’s eyes.

Crack, crack, crack…

The blade pushing in, cutting through the sword. The pale blue flashing sword energy. Blood vessels appeared in Najin’s eyes.

‘I’m going to die.’

Najin sensed death.

The moment he sensed death, all of Najin’s nerves stood on end. In a strange sensation where a second seemed to be finely divided, Najin’s body moved. An unknown force pushed his body.

And now, that force didn’t just push his body.

Flash.

Najin’s half-cut sword flickered.

For just a moment, light dwelled in Najin’s sword. Compared to Ivan’s powerful sword energy, it was insignificant, an unrefined, raw energy… but it was clearly a fragment of sword energy.

A light a boy shouldn’t possess.

A radiance that shouldn’t be buried in this underground city.

The moment he faced the radiance dwelling in Najin’s sword, Ivan’s eyes widened. The corner of his mouth twitched greatly.

Then the sword energies collided.

Clang!

With a rough sound, Najin’s sword pushed back Ivan’s sword. But before completely pushing it back, Najin’s sword broke with a clang. It wasn’t just Najin’s sword that broke. Ivan’s sword was also shattered.

Both swords were broken.

They weren’t swords made to withstand sword energy in the first place. The two steel swords, which had started to break from the moment sword energy was drawn and received, finally reached the end of their lifespan.

Clang.

The broken blades fell to the ground. Then, Najin’s legs gave out and he collapsed.

“Huff, huff, huff…!”

Najin gasped for breath.

His heart was beating wildly. Najin’s breathing became rough with the sensation of something squeezing his heart.

Drip.

Blood from his nose fell to the ground. Amid the oncoming headache and exhaustion, Najin raised his head. There was Ivan, looking down at him.

“……”

Ivan silently looked at Najin, then at the sword he held in his hand. The broken sword, the result of the collision between sword energies. Eventually, he let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re quite the troublemaker.”

Ivan had seen the light. Before the radiance the boy possessed, Ivan rubbed his face. Because he realized the moment he faced the radiance. Because he had to realize.

‘This is maddening.’

That light was the kind that someone like him should not bury.