Chapter 79

EP.79 Side Story, The Apostate (End)

The Sword of Death, Ganikart.

Kai saw the disaster standing before him. It was a skeleton made of human bones and the bones of monsters. The bones did not form a complete shape. They protruded. It was not a single skeleton. Dozens of skeletons were mixed together.

The bones of monsters, humans, and orcs.

The mixed skeleton was bizarre. It was unbalanced.

Ganikart moved his drooping right arm.

The sound of the greatsword dragging on the ground was low.

The right arm holding the greatsword with a hole in it was enormous.

It was not a human arm. A human spine wrapped around an arm with six fingers. Compared to the enormous right arm, the left arm was thin. Unlike the right arm, which looked like a monster's, the left arm resembled a human's.

“...”

Kai lifted his head.

It was a giant, so tall that he had to look up to see its face. The Sword of Death, Ganikart, covered his face with tattered clothing. Kai squinted his eyes. Through the tattered clothing, a helmet was visible. The helmet was not intact; half of it was broken.

'Black eyes.'

A black gleam flashed from the broken helmet.

The black eyes, like the depths of an abyss, stared at Kai.

“You.”

It spoke.

“Why don't you draw your sword?”

Kai looked at the holy sword he had lost long ago.

A sound came from behind him. The knights, who had noticed the disappearance of the monster, were approaching Kai.

‘No, I must stop...’

No words came out.

Kai turned his head back. Knights were running towards him.

Whoosh.

The greatsword swept across the grassland.

The blade did not aim at Kai. The wind blew, and the wind carried a foul smell.

“...Ah.”

Swoosh.

The knights running towards Kai fell.

They died with their necks cut, leaving no trace of their final moments. With one swing, the knights were swept away.

It was different from when they charged at the Armored Dragon.

This death was meaningless.

Blood splattered. Death filled the grassland.

“I ask.”

Death called out to Kai.

Before everyone, death is fair.

“Why don't you draw your sword?”

Kai, terrified, reached for the holy sword. Stepping back, he gripped the hilt.

There was no light in his eyes.

No starlight filled the holy sword.

This was something he had never experienced. Kai clenched his teeth and adjusted his grip on the holy sword.

‘Why.’

Even as he did so, death drew closer.

‘Why doesn't the light come? Why?’

Kai lifted his head.

Death was already right in front of him. Death raised the sword.

Kai sensed his impending death.

The death he faced was meaningless. All his achievements were meaningless in the face of death. He couldn't even hold his sword properly.

Before death, humans are powerless.

“Didn't I tell you, Kai.”

And.

“Not to put too much faith in the stars.”

Someone grabbed Kai's neck and pulled him back. The sword embedded itself where Kai had just been standing. Kai slowly turned his head.

“...Master?”

There stood the Sword Master, Kuntel.

2.

Kuntel wiped the blood from his forehead.

His strength was drained from fighting the Armored Dragon. The state of his sword was not good. He should have taken a rest.

However, for some reason.

The moment he spotted the disaster from afar, Kuntel was already running. He was pulling Kai by the neck.

‘The Sword of Death, Ganikart.’

Death, which he had faced decades ago, was still the same.

The Sword of Death, Ganikart, is a swordsman. He does not strike an unprotected enemy.

“Kai.”

Kuntel tightened his grip on Kai's neck.

“You must not die here.”

If someone had to die.

It should be him, not the hero.

“Go, I'll handle this.”

He pushed Kai away with force. In the direction of the ash-gray mage. A chain shot out and wrapped around Kai just in time.

Kai, suspended in the air, opened his eyes wide.

Facing him, Kuntel smiled.

“I leave the rest to you. Kai.”

After sending Kai away, Kuntel looked forward again.

He faced death. Death extended a human arm and pointed at Kuntel's sword.

“A holy sword, I see.”

Death asked.

“Back then, were you the swordsman who didn't draw his sword?”

“I was a swordsman who didn't deserve the title back then.”

Death raised the sword.

“So now you are a swordsman.”

“Thank you for the compliment, I don't know what to do with myself.”

Kuntel curled his lips into a smile.

It had been 30 years since the day the Sword Valley collapsed. Over the past 30 years, Kuntel had repeatedly visualized the Sword of Death in his mind.

‘I remember everything.’

The man called a superhuman swordsman dedicated his life to face a single sword. The years of effort bore fruit. Kuntel saw it.

Where death swept.

Kuntel took a light step forward.

Death swept everywhere except in front of him. Dodging the strike, Kuntel drew his sword.

‘Abandon the thought of reaching it.’

You cannot cut the disaster.

Do not think about what you cannot do.

‘The important thing is to buy time.’

To give the hero time to escape.

Even that seemed impossible. The death he faced was more terrifying than any enemy.

The ground split with each swing of the sword.

Death grazed his skin.

The death that was right in front of him was terrifying.

However, Kuntel did not feel fear.

He had been prepared to die the moment he drew his sword. There was no regret. If there was a place to discard this life that had reached its peak and was now falling, it was here.

Swish.

The greatsword swept past Kuntel's head.

Swung by the enormous arm, the greatsword was heavy and sharp. Neither its weight nor its sharpness could compare to Kuntel's sword.

However, Kuntel had something.

Something the Sword of Death did not have.

‘Skill.’

Ganikart swung the sword like a blunt weapon.

He did not use sword techniques. Even so, it was powerful enough, but if he could get close enough... that was the realm of skill.

‘Get close. Bleed. Alter the trajectory. Disrupt.’

The superhuman swordsman, who was prepared to die, showed everything he had. The skills he had honed over decades slowed the approaching death.

It would be impossible if the opponent were a mage.

It would be impossible even if the opponent were an ancient monster overwhelming with sheer force.

However, the opponent was a swordsman.

If the opponent were a swordsman... Kuntel was confident he would not be overwhelmed by sword techniques.

‘I am a Sword Master.’

How many sword strikes had they exchanged?

It felt like a whole night had passed, or perhaps just a few seconds.

“Huff, huff...”

Kuntel's clothes were soaked with blood and sweat.

Blood flowed from his body, cut by the wind pressure. His fingers, which held the sword, were worn out from challenging the impossible.

Just standing was a hardship.

“...”

Ganikart, looking at Kuntel, struck the ground with his sword.

Boom!

The wind pressure that erupted pushed Kuntel back.

“I ask.”

The Sword of Death put down his sword.

Instead of his monstrous right arm, he held the sword with his left arm, which resembled a human's.

“What is your name?”

Kuntel answered the question.

“I am Kuntel of the Richtenau School.”

“Kuntel.”

Ganikart pulled the sword from the ground. He lifted the greatsword with his left arm, which seemed unsuitable for such a weapon. The tip of the sword pointed at Kuntel.

“I pay my respects to a proud swordsman.”

He adjusted his grip on the sword.

Kuntel's eyes widened.

‘It’s different.’

It was not a monster's sword. It was a human's sword.

It was not a sword swung by brute force alone. From the stance Ganikart took, Kuntel felt a sense of familiarity.

Boom.

Ganikart, having adjusted his stance, took a step forward and swung his sword. Seeing the approaching sword strike, Kuntel burst into a bitter laugh.

‘Is that so.’

He could not fail to recognize that stance.

He could not fail to recognize the trajectory of that sword.

‘You were a Sword Master too.’

The sword techniques descending from the Sword Valley.

They were displayed through the sword of the Sword of Death, Ganikart. A being with a body that could overwhelm even a hero, using the skills of a master.

There was no way to block it.

Kuntel sensed his death. There was no way to avoid the approaching sword. It was not a matter of strength or speed.

‘The level is different.’

As a Sword Master, Kuntel knew.

The level was different. An enemy at an immeasurably high level. He could clearly see his head being cut off.

He saw death.

Before death, humans are pitiful.

No matter how great their achievements, everything becomes meaningless in the face of death.

Crack.

However, sometimes.

There are those who try to leave something behind even in death.

Swish.

Death swept past Kuntel.

Kuntel's head was cut off. His heart was split. The blade that could not withstand the force broke.

In exchange for all of this, Kuntel swung his sword.

The broken tip of the sword touched Ganikart's body. The determination of a man who had dedicated his life reached the disaster.

“...”

Ganikart looked at Kuntel's disassembled corpse on the ground.

Then, he saw the hero fleeing far away.

Ganikart did not chase the hero.

He put down his sword and, carrying the unconscious Gletus, moved towards the beyond the dark plain, into the depths of the Demon World.

3.

“...So, while Master Kuntel was holding off the Sword of Death, we ran away.”

I moistened my throat with alcohol.

“That's the end of the story. After that, I met Gletus a few more times... and I faced the Sword of Death once more, but if I tell that story, it would be too long.”

“That's enough.”

Cardi nodded.

He stroked his glass and spoke.

“Impressive.”

“What is?”

“I'm talking about that Sword Master. To think of facing the Sword of Death with a sword... it's astonishing.”

I smiled bitterly at his answer.

Cardi was right. That day, in the dark plain, the Sword Master Kuntel achieved a great feat. We know best how remarkable it was.

‘The next time we faced the Sword of Death, we fled in a hurry.’

“So, Cardi.”

I put down my empty glass and looked at Cardi.

“What is a shadow?”

“...You said you faced the Sword of Death?”

“Yeah, I've faced it up close.”

“Did the sword have a hole in it?”

I nodded.

‘A greatsword with a hole.’

I remembered the iconic appearance of the sword.

“He probably didn't use it against a swordsman... but he might have used it against you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Filth would have flowed from the hole in the greatsword.”

“...Yeah, I remember. Filth that swallowed any spell I cast.”

Because of that, only Kai could face the Sword of Death. My spells lost their power in front of that filth.

“Right, it swallows everything that uses starlight as a medium. That is what is called a shadow.”

Cardi brought the lantern from the table.

He placed the lantern on a stand and began to speak.

“We mages manifest spells through a deal with the stars. Every magic has a trace of starlight, no matter how faint.”

He pointed to the flickering flame.

“But think about it, Raniel. Isn't it strange? Everything is balanced... yet why is there nothing that balances the stars?”

Cardi