episode_0011

“Your essence is not a sword to kill dragons!”

Yongmageom, Scar, always woke up to the same words.

The unforgettable sting of Lian, as if it was enough to hear it over and over again.

If the day started with nagging, it would have been gloomy, but Scar was different.

“Master, thank you again today….”

Even though she was just a dream, she sincerely thanked Lian for scolding her every day for her own good.

It was because he was the only one who truly saw through Scar’s essence.

“Indeed, as the master of delusions, I cannot be satisfied….”

She cherished the memories she had with Lian’s sword, but at the same time, she hated it enough to want to tear it apart.

True to the word “bittersweet,” she sometimes laughed like a fool when reminiscing about the past.

And sometimes she would go crazy, banging her head against the wall like a madwoman.

It was not an exaggeration to say that she was already insane.

The reason why the once bright and cheerful demon sword had deteriorated so much was due to the past after being sold to Lian.

***

“You foolish master! Do you think you can live comfortably after selling me?”

As soon as the Yongmageom Scar appeared at the auction house, it received an explosive response.

From the starting bid, the prices soared to record highs, and the subsequent bids increased exponentially.

A sword that everyone coveted. Made from the material of the strongest dragon, it was only natural.

“Indeed, it’s me! I am being treated as befitting the world’s best sword!”

Scar naturally swelled with pride as he directly felt his popularity.

Look! Isn’t everyone in need of me?

Despite that, Scar sincerely mocked Lian for saying she would sell him.

In the end, Scar was auctioned off for an amount that could build a small kingdom.

The bidder who won Scar started as a merchant and rose to a wealthy magnate.

He showed a satisfied reaction as he held Scar in his hands, and Scar began to have expectations.

“They must want me so much to have paid such a huge sum, right?”

Various fantasies began to bloom in Scar’s mind.

Traveling the world with the new master, fighting demons, roaming the wilderness, crossing mountains, watching the master grow.

And in the end, facing a fierce dragon in battle and standing atop the dragon’s corpse together.

Just imagining it made Scar eagerly anticipate the adventures with the new master.

However, Scar’s fantasies never materialized into reality.

“Keep it safe in my collection room!”

“Yes, my lord.”

The magnate who was Scar’s new master had no intention of embarking on any adventures.

The reason he bought Scar for a hefty sum was not to use it himself but simply out of a desire to collect.

As a result, apart from the moment he received it, the magnate never held Scar again.

Scar lay alone in a cold and dry space.

Yet she did not lose hope.

She thought that the magnate was perhaps preparing a body for her to use.

But no matter how much time passed, the magnate never appeared before her.

The only human touch she received was from a maid who came to clean and care for Scar’s body.

It was almost as if the maid, not the magnate, was her true master.

“How long do I have to wait to be able to be used as a sword?”

As the idle time passed relentlessly, a year had flown by.

And finally, the magnate came to the warehouse where Scar was kept.

“You’ve returned!”

Scar was overjoyed.

Even though she had been left alone for a year, and even though the magnate’s body had become much larger than before.

The fact that her new owner had come to find her again filled her with gratitude.

From now on, if she embarked on an adventure, she could close her eyes to the days when she had been abandoned.

However, as she watched the people entering the warehouse one after another, Skaha’s joy diminished.

They were guests visiting the mansion of a noble, all dressed in splendid attire.

Introducing Skaha to these people who seemed to advertise their nobility, the new owner presented her.

Swords made from dragon body parts, swords favored by swordsmen, magical swords with self-healing functions, and so on.

Adorned with various modifiers, they elicited admiration from the people, but Skaha was not happy at all.

When she was introduced at the auction house, she had been thrilled by the enthusiastic cheers.

There were so many people who considered her important.

But now Skaha realized.

Among all those people, there were hardly any who truly needed her as a ‘sword’.

To them, Skaha was nothing more than a ‘decoration’ with symbolic significance.

Realizing this fact, Skaha could no longer be happy.

No matter how popular she was, she believed her worth lay in being a ‘sword’.

‘Will the time come when I can wander the world freely again, like before?’

From then on, the image of her former owner, Lian, began to haunt Skaha’s mind.

The days when they roamed the world aimlessly, fighting together when enemies appeared.

Skaha, who thought such a life was natural for someone born as a sword, realized it was not.

Even as a sword, she could be used as a tool to display power, Skaha realized.

‘Wait, if I wait, maybe the moment of freedom will come.’

Three years later, the moment of freedom Skaha had wished for arrived.

Due to the schemes of other nobles, the mansion was accused of plotting a rebellion and was confiscated, including Skaha.

Thus, Skaha, who had been languishing in the cold warehouse, was moved to the royal capital.

Although the opportunity to meet a new owner had come, unfortunately, her fate was decided before that.

The sorcerers of the Matop who had close ties with the Marigal Kingdom.

They had their eyes on Skaha.

The Marigal Kingdom, which had always been favored by the Matop, readily handed over Skaha.

‘Wasn’t the Matop famous for having no interest in anything other than magic?’

Anxiety overwhelmed Skaha.

The Matop, who considered swordsmanship a barbaric skill, also saw swords as tools used by mediocre individuals.

Although called a magical sword, it did not mean it was a sword that manifested magic.

Therefore, there was no reason for the Matop to take an interest in Skaha.

“A sword made by grinding a whole dragon?”

“I still don’t understand. How did they think of making a sword, not a staff, from a defeated dragon?”

“We don’t need to worry about such details. Transfer the magical sword to the experimental platform.”

“Yes, sir!”

Skaha was placed in the center of a wide courtyard surrounded by protective magic.

In front of her, numerous sorcerers were chanting spells.

As Skaha’s anxiety grew, the voice of the man who had ordered her to be moved could be heard.

“From now on, we will verify the practicality of all magic with the dragon-slaying sword Skaha instead of a living dragon.”

Since it was impossible to cast magic on a real dragon, they would experiment with Skaha instead.

The sorcerers, who had underestimated the value of the sword, began to cast magic on Skaha without rest.

They engulfed her in flames, shot high-pressure water at her, and mercilessly struck her with rocks.

Each time, Skaha screamed in agony and writhed in pain.

“Ah, it hurts! Stop it!”

It was a typical fight, where if the sword had broken in the middle, it would have been over, but Skaha had a regeneration function.

No matter how much damage she took, she quickly restored herself to her original state.

A miraculous ability that required no separate repairs.

However, at this moment, it felt more like a curse than a blessing.

“Ouch! It hurts…! How long are you going to keep hitting me!”

The wizards felt frustrated as they watched Skaha quickly recover from their attacks.

Despite knowing about her regeneration ability, the wizards were annoyed that their swords, which never broke, were useless against her.

They increased their output and unleashed powerful spells one after another.

“Please stop…!”

But no one listened to Skaha’s pleas.

There was no one among the wizards who could hear the sound of the sword, and even if there was, they would not heed the sword’s request.

Skaha had no choice but to endure until all the wizards’ mana was depleted.

Even if she endured, the next day would bring another hellish time, and she could not escape the shackles of pain.

Skaha, who had turned from a ‘decoration’ to a ‘target,’ began to live a life that she could not see without tears.

During the day, she was the subject of the wizards’ magical experiments, and at night, she was left abandoned on the experimental field.

As days went by, Skaha’s mind was on the verge of collapse.

When her heart was slowly breaking.

In a faint consciousness, Skaha suddenly remembered a distant past.

“Hey! Skaha! How many times do I have to tell you to understand? Your essence is not a sword to kill dragons!”

“Hmph! What a joke! Where else can you find a sword as perfect for hunting dragons as me?”

“Then let me ask you. What aspect of you is suitable for killing dragons?”

“Don’t you know that, owner? My strong and sharp body can pierce through dragon scales, and my excellent regeneration ability exists to withstand a dragon’s breath!”

“You’re wrong. No matter how strong you are, you can’t pierce dragon scales unless you hit the same spot multiple times. Instead, unique daggers like Ikel and Lipse can easily cut through the gaps in dragon scales if timed correctly.”

“Ikel and Lipse are weak! Besides, they don’t have a regeneration ability like me!”

“There’s no rule saying you can’t block enemy attacks with a sword, but your essence is not a shield, right? You can’t completely block a breath. Moreover…”

“Moreover?”

“You’re subtly sensitive to pain. If you were hurt by the lightning strike a while ago, you wouldn’t be able to withstand a dragon’s breath.”

“That, that wasn’t pain, it was just a surprise!”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.”

“Ugh! Seriously!”

“Anyway, your toughness is the power to break through opponents so solid that there are no gaps, and your regeneration ability is the power to maintain top condition even in prolonged battles. It’s not about existing to kill dragons.”

Now, a faint memory.

Skaha began to miss that time so much.

He was the only one.

Only he saw her as a sword and worried about her.

Even though he teased her, he cared for Skaha.

After realizing that fact, Skaha no longer felt any pain from the magic flying towards her.

Instead, whenever she thought of Lian, her heart began to ache as if it were being torn apart.

She was hit directly by a fireball.

The memory of shooting flames at Lian, leaving him in flames, tore at Skaha’s heart.

The ice magic froze her soul coldly.

The past where she reacted coldly even in happy situations and hurt Lian choked her breath.

Rock, iron, lightning strikes, and countless other spells pounded her body, but she suffered in agony while thinking of Lian, who had skillfully dodged all of them.

“Come to think of it, my master prioritized evasion over blocking with the sword, all for my sake? I didn’t even realize that fact until now…?”

Even the ultimate high-level magic finale that struck Skaha was meaningless.

The fact that she couldn’t even convey a single word of gratitude for the pain she endured to Lian was nothing compared to the pain of not being able to do so.

Atonement, she needed atonement.

She had to go to him, confess her sins one by one, and show genuine remorse.

“But how…?”

As a sword, she was not as free as humans.

Unable to even walk on her own, Skaha sighed and fell silent.

“World’s best? What nonsense. I couldn’t even recognize the master who saw me for who I am! What kind of ‘world’s best sword’ am I when I can’t even find him or apologize?”

Skaha’s emotions, which had been building up, finally burst out uncontrollably.

“I was foolish! I was the world’s dumbest sword…!”

Skaha cried endlessly, blaming herself.

If she had a voice, she would have cried until her throat went hoarse.

“I want to meet my master! I want to apologize! It’s long overdue, but I want to thank him too! But I can’t do anything…!”

Skaha, who had never once complained about being born as a sword, now despaired at the fact.

“I…!”

Skaha, who chastised herself as a useless sword, spent nearly two years in agonizing pain at the mausoleum.

All of this was her karma, and she believed that all the magic cast by the sorcerers was divine punishment.

Thinking this way, Skaha began to accept all the pain.

Hope was a luxury to her.

During the day, she repented in pain, and at night, she cried sadly thinking of Lian.

She sincerely hoped that her once proud resilience would disappear completely and be completely destroyed.

“Even death is a luxury for me…!”

Fate did not allow Skaha to die.

Her suffering did not end in death, but her resilience only grew stronger as time went on.

Skaha, who resented her fate while enduring her pain, did not turn away from the suffering.

“My mind… is foggy…!”

Skaha did not dream.

But one day, she suddenly lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.

Even in her dreams, she could not be happy.

The events of the day appeared in nightmares, tormenting her.

Still, Skaha endured to the end, and in the end, she faced the man she had longed for.

Lian, her former master, always reached out to her in the end.

Skaha hesitated for a moment, but unable to control her emotions, she grabbed Lian’s hand tightly.

“You fool! That’s why I said you’re not a sword to kill dragons.”

Unexpectedly, Lian scolded Skaha affectionately, shattering her expectations.

Confused, Skaha surprisingly welcomed Lian’s scolding.

A single tear streamed down her cheek.

Feeling the reality of returning to his side, Skaha smiled for the first time.

She knew it was a dream.

Nevertheless, at least in front of her master, she decided to smile happily.

“It was a dream…”

As the bright time came to an end, Skaha’s vision darkened.

When she opened her eyes again, the usual view of the laboratory spread out before her.

“Indeed, I am… huh?”

Skaha noticed a subtle change.

The moisture that remained on her cheeks when tears flowed.

Can a dragon have cheeks?

With this question in mind, Scar gently touched her own cheek.

Feeling the soft texture under her fingertips, she began to doubt her senses.

“Arms and legs?”

Even when she flexed her muscles, a large wing spread out behind her back.

Resembling a dragon’s wing, she immediately pinched her own cheek.

“Ha…! Haha…!”

The tingling sensation on her cheek confirmed that this was not a dream but reality.

It was then that Scar realized with certainty.

That she had become a being mixed with human and dragon.

It was an incomprehensible situation, but Scar decided not to dwell on it.

The important thing was what she could do with this body.

“This is my last chance for redemption.”

She had legs to run to Lian, arms to embrace him, and wings to fly into his arms.

It meant she could go meet Lian at any time.

“Now, all that’s left is…”

Scar approached the wall, took a deep breath, clenched her fist, and then struck the wall with all her might.

Thud!

Unfortunately, the wall did not break due to the protective magic covering the entire experiment room.

But Scar did not despair.

“My owner told me. My strength is meant to break through solid obstacles…!”

Thud thud thud! Crash!

Not giving up, Scar continued to pound on the wall of the experiment room.

Her fist broke through the protective magic and completely demolished the wall.

“Who goes there!”

Magicians rushed to the noisy commotion where Scar was.

They were the ones who had inflicted endless pain on her.

Disgusting individuals.

But Scar paid them no attention.

She didn’t even want to waste time fighting with them.

Turning her back on them, she spread her wings magnificently and flew out of the tower.

“This time, I will definitely…!”

Scar vowed not to repeat foolish actions.

She flew high to find where she belonged.

And the next day, rumors spread worldwide about a dragon in human form appearing.

Some said it was a mistake to see the demon tribe coming to reclaim the Dragon Sword.

Others claimed it was the mischief of a polymorphed dragon.

And yet another suggested that Scar had transformed into a human.

The controversy became a topic of discussion in all countries, but no one could uncover the truth before the news abruptly stopped.

After that, there was only one dragon-related rumor.

And even that was an unbelievable rumor that many dragons were flying through the sky searching for someone.