I Pull Out Excalibur

16 – The Unbearable Light(2)

It wasn’t until early morning that the battle finally ended.

They had successfully overcome the countless addicts prepared by Hakan and the numerous traps and mazes in the tunnels prepared by Jorse, but they had taken too much time, delaying their progress.

“We’re going to die.”

Open groaned in pain.

Having swung his sword so much, Open grimaced as he rotated his stiff arm and glanced at Ivan. Ivan’s expression was hardened.

Well, it’s understandable.

During the battle, the two of them had seen something rising in the sky of the underground city. They couldn’t discern the details, but they knew that something had happened, something that was enough to attract attention from the upper district and still remain.

In other words, it meant that things had gone awry.

In silence, the two returned to the center of the underground city. The center was filled with the corpses of the addicts, and a pungent smell of blood and drugs permeated the air. Even empty, the atmosphere of the center was far from peaceful.

Members of the organization standing stiffly.

Residents lurking in the buildings.

At first, their gazes briefly landed on Ivan upon his return, but soon Ivan noticed their gazes shifting. Their gazes were directed towards the center of the square, where a figure from the upper district seemed to be standing.

Different from the attire of an ordinary soldier.

A figure veiled in dark leather, hiding their face and body.

“…An agent of the Order.”

Open murmured softly.

Ivan’s expression crumpled slightly. As Ivan took a step forward, the agent lifted their head. And at the moment their gazes met, the agent spoke.

“Ivan, the sinner, listen.”

It was a declaration.

“Knight Berlo of the Holy Order wishes to meet you. Sinner Ivan, respond to the summons.”

Knight, Berlo.

Ivan’s expression hardened at the mention of that name.

“Follow me.”

Ivan briefly followed behind Ambu before leaving.

Watching quietly, Opfen sighed heavily when Ivan disappeared from sight. He had a feeling that things had gone horribly wrong.

…Opfen was a mercenary.

To survive as a mercenary, one had to make quick judgments. Opfen assessed the current situation and made a decision. It was a decision he had put off for a long time.

“So it ends up like this in the end.”

Opfen sighed and headed somewhere.

2.

An alleyway untouched by the dim light of a lantern.

Najin, leaning against the wall of the narrow alley, slowly caught his breath, his body still recovering from the recoil of wielding a weapon that he had just become accustomed to.

The feeling of being dragged by his body’s momentum and exhaustion.

On top of that, the injuries he sustained during the battle with Hakan added to his struggle even just to stand.

“What I can be grateful for is…”

Najin looked down at his own arm.

The arm that took the full force of the explosion. Thanks to that, his previously limp arm had recovered enough to be movable now. It would be difficult to swing a sword, but it wasn’t hindering his movements too much.

Abnormal regenerative ability.

It wasn’t hard to guess where it came from. It must be thanks to Excalibur’s blessing. In the legends, King Arthur, armed with Excalibur, would instantaneously recover, even if his arm was broken and there were holes in his body, and charge towards his enemies.

Najin didn’t possess such transcendental regenerative ability yet, but the regenerative ability of the Holy Sword was a great help. The fact that he could barely move now was also thanks to this Holy Sword.

“…”

Najin silently looked at his right wrist.

As he narrowed his eyes and became conscious of the flow, a pattern in the shape of a constellation appeared on his wrist. This was the result of thinking that he needed to hide Excalibur.

A sword of stars that transformed into stardust and embedded into his body.

By being aware of the flow and grasping the empty space, he could draw out his sword again. Najin, who had been staring at the constellation engraved on his wrist for a while, couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

“It’s unbelievable.”

Reality still didn’t quite feel real to him.

But now, Najin knew that he would have to pay the price for drawing out his sword. Ivan had said it was okay to cross the line, but even that had its limits.

This, however, went far beyond the line.

There were many who witnessed him drawing out the Holy Sword. Among them were soldiers sent from the upper district, so it was only natural that the news had reached the higher-ups.

How would they react?

“Perhaps…”

He might be questioning himself.

Najin always anticipated the worst situations. In the rare event that things went well, he didn’t even dare to hope for the same. The world had always been cruel to the boy.

The possibility of Ivan and Offen turning into enemies was high.

They were also human, and for humans, self-preservation was the most crucial rule. Until the situation was clear, escaping should be the top priority.

“But… where to?”

There was no exit in the underground city.

The only way up was through a single passage in the center. Even if he climbed through there, he would only meet death pierced by the swords of guards and knights.

Where, how, and how far should he escape?

It was unknown. He had to think about it now.

Blink.

His eyelids kept closing. In the fatigue fueled by drained mana, Najin felt the accumulated, mysterious fatigue of wielding Excalibur. With the thought of closing his eyes for a moment, Najin leaned his head against the alley wall.

How much time had passed like this?

Thud.

Najin’s eyes widened at the sound of approaching footsteps. Footsteps and a dragging sound echoed in the alley. The sounds were getting closer.

“…”

Najin held his breath, suppressing any movement.

In the darkness, Najin’s eyes widened as he looked at the figure revealing itself.

“If you bleed like this, who wouldn’t notice? You foolish kid. Since you’ve been caught, come out quickly.”

It was Offen, the swordsmanship master. In the joy of seeing him, Najin, who was about to get up immediately, paused for a moment. He couldn’t know how much time had passed or what Offen had chosen.

“Tsk. Raising a disciple is useless. You should’ve been suspicious from the beginning.”

Offen clicked his tongue.

Then, he pulled out a bag from his bosom and swiftly threw it towards where Najin was hiding.

“Come out. I don’t intend to kill you.”

“…”

Najin cautiously got up.

When Najin picked up the bag thrown by Offen, it was filled with bandages and simple potions for treatment, along with plenty of jerky pieces.

“Use that to cover your wounds. There’s nothing easier to trace than someone bleeding profusely.”

Muttering that, Offen gestured to Najin. It was a signal to step aside. As Najin moved, Offen threw the corpse of the addict he had brought all the way here onto the spot where Najin had been sitting just a moment ago.

Then, with a thud.

He plunged the knife into the addict’s corpse, covering it with the addict’s blood on the concrete floor.

“Now, it’s best to move without leaving any traces. The pursuers will be on us soon.”

“…What?”

“What do you think? Can’t you see I’m trying to help you escape?”

Offen glanced at Najin.

Najin stared silently at Offen. In that gaze, Offen let out a long sigh and spoke.

“A knight and a thug from the upper district came looking for you. Seems like they sent you to jail, but Ivan got summoned. By now, they’ve probably discussed and made a decision.”

Offen tousled his own hair.

Annoyed by the situation.

“Ivan is a practical guy. A guy who’s become pragmatic. In this situation, he knows what’s best. Ivan’s plan to raise you went wrong, and ultimately, there’s only one option left for Ivan.”

He mimicked the gesture of slitting his own throat.

“To kill you. If he doesn’t, Ivan will die too. In the end, before being a knight, he’s a person. People, you know, value their lives the most.”

“…I understand.”

“Yeah. So don’t resent him too much.”

Offen exhaled deeply.

“But, I don’t really want to see that kind of scene. It’s not something decent. So, I hope you escape.”

Offen didn’t want to witness the sight of each other raising their swords to kill. The image of one side dying was equally unpleasant.

“But, where to?”

Najin asked.

“There’s nowhere to run. Eventually, we have to leave this underground city, and the only exit is at the checkpoint…”

“There’s one more.”

Offen interrupted Najin’s words.

Interrupting, he pointed at Najin’s bag.

“There should be a map inside. The lowest floor of the underground city, where they dispose of garbage. Beyond that, there’s a cliff where the water flows down.”

A place ordinary people couldn’t descend.

A steep cliff that even someone like Ivan or Offen, risking their lives, had to descend. Once you went down, there was no way back up, an impassable cliff.

“If you descend the cliff and follow the water, you can leave the underground city. You’ll have to risk your life, but accept that much. Anyway, there’s no other way than there.”

The only way to leave this city alive.

For Najin, there might be no known path, but this bag and map had been prepared by Offen long ago. Since the day he confirmed Najin’s talent, Offen had been preparing. In case things went wrong, to send Najin out of this city.

Offen was a mercenary.

He was a renowned mercenary who had survived for many years.

During the days when his name was spread in the upper neighborhood, Open was always thoroughly prepared and found incredible ways to survive, always expecting the worst. He used his skills that had been of no use since he fell into the underground city for the boy he had taught.

Open shrugged his shoulders towards Najin, who looked at him with trembling eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you moved?”

“…What about Ivan and Open?”

“We have no chance if we try to escape.”

Open sneered.

“Everyone who has fallen into this city has been branded by the Seonghwi Sect. As soon as you step into a place where moonlight shines, pursuers will follow. But you’re not one of them.”

You haven’t fallen into the city because of a crime.

You haven’t been judged in the Seonghwi Sect’s courtroom.

You were just born in this city, and you don’t have a brand.

“So, you can escape.”

“…Why are you going this far for me?”

“I don’t know.”

Open chuckled bitterly.

“To be honest, unlike Ivan, I have no attachments to life. I was the leader of a successful mercenary group in the upper neighborhood, you know?”

A story that he had never told before.

“I’ve had good treatment, tried everything, seen everything. I’ve experienced almost everything there is to experience in life. But there’s one thing I haven’t been able to do.”

Open talked about his life in the upper neighborhood.

“A star.”

Open looked at Najin.

“To have my own star. It’s the first step to becoming the king of the night sky. To engrave a star on that night sky by accumulating achievements recognized by the sky. I couldn’t do that, me.”

Precisely, I was about to try it, but then I fell into this city.

Muttering like that, Open sneered.

“I failed though.”

Open raised his hand.

“But you’re different.”

You are.

“You have talent. You’re not a worthless person in this place. It’s too much of a waste for someone like you to wither away without even challenging anything in this shabby place.”

Najin, you have talent.

In a city like this, there is a light that should not decay.

Perhaps on that day, Offen caught a glimpse of the dream he had let go of in the boy.

“Last night, a star illuminated the underground city. Was that your doing? Rumor has it that you drew the Holy Sword, is that true?”

Najin nodded silently.

Then, he clenched the air, conscious of his own wrist. Even though he held it as gently as possible, the scattered starlight faintly illuminated the alley.

Even though it was heard as a rumor.

The moment Offen faced the Star’s Sword, his eyes widened.

With hazy eyes, Offen absentmindedly reached his hand toward the star that Najin was holding. However, as soon as Offen’s hand touched it, the starlight scattered, as if saying he was not qualified.

“···Anyway.”

A star that could not be caught even if reached for. Therefore, Offen laughed for the first time in a long while, looking at the star that shone brilliantly, just like his youth when he dreamed.

“Because I’m a rascal.”

With bitterness hidden, Offen reached for his waist.

“That, it’s too dazzling to run around with. It seems like not a useful sword. So···.”

The sword that was filled there.

The sword that Hoggel Inspiration, who suddenly came to the center before coming here, handed to Offen.

“Tell that young one.”

“I won’t repair it even if it breaks this time, so use it well.”

The sword Hoggel Inspiration forged for the boy.

Offen handed that sword to Najin.

“Hoggel Inspiration said that.”

If it breaks, he’ll kill him.

In response to those words, Najin unconsciously laughed.

“Go on.”

He conveyed what he needed to convey.

And he also said what needed to be said. Offen slowly stood up, put the boy on his back, and took a step. After he had taken a few steps, a voice came from behind.

“Offen.”

Offen turned around.

There was Najin, slowly bowing his head.

“Thank you. Master.”

In the end, calling him a master. Looking at the boy who deeply bowed his head, Offen chuckled and let out a light laugh.

3.

“Be straightforward.”

Beryl, a knight of the Seonghwi Order, demanded.

“Cooperate with the search, Ivan.”

Surrounded by the Order’s hounds, Beryl knelt, addressing Ivan in a low voice.

“Find the boy with the holy sword and kill him. If you fail to bring me his corpse, I’ll kill you…”

A former colleague from the same knighthood.

Smiling at Ivan, who had lost his honor and couldn’t be called a knight of Atanga anymore.

“If you bring him, I’ll help you regain your lost honor.”

Pointing to Ivan’s vacant eye, he said.

“To reinstate you as a knight of Atanga, I’ll write a recommendation in the name of the Seonghwi Order.”

Unlike High Priest Orlang, Beryl knew how to negotiate with reality and handle people. Human or beast, no different. With a whip or a carrot, any sage could rule like a beast.

“Choose, Ivan.”

Beryl proposed and threatened Ivan.