Chapter 76. Communication (2)
When Enoch opened his eyes.
There was the infinite World of Impermanence.
A space where the sky sparkled like stars in the night and a vast land meeting the horizon stretched out infinitely.
But this time, something was different.
Slowly, I raised my head and looked forward.
What came into view was the sight of the world, endlessly connected like clear water. But the next moment, a light of astonishment appeared in my eyes as I looked ahead.
─Hwa-reu-reu-reuk
A massive blaze, had spread out.
In the instant I raised my hand to cover my face from the searing heat that clawed at my cheeks, my eyes widened even further as I saw something.
A colossal wall of flame stretched out infinitely.
Beyond it, someone was slowly walking.
Step.
With the hood of a ragged and worn robe pulled deep,
The hundred-battled swordsman, holding a familiar one-handed sword trailing,
The Empire’s last Sword Saint.
He walked out from the heart of the blaze, transcendent.
Behind the hem of his robe, flapping grandly in the wind, a colossal fire trailed like a formless cloak.
Above the sound of his footsteps as he walked, only the crackling of the fire and the rustling of his robe echoed.
The Sword Saint stopped before Enoch like that. His gaze, hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, turned towards me.
“──!”
An overwhelming sense of pressure instantly brushed down my spine. I instinctively materialized my sword and pointed it. My breath became ragged with tension.
The memories of dying to him in the Inner World until now felt as though they were shouting at me to prepare for battle if I didn’t want to die immediately.
“…….”
But for some reason, the Sword Saint remained standing in place and made no movement.
‘……He’s not attacking?’
It was clearly a different atmosphere than before. Suddenly, a thought, perhaps, flashed through my mind.
Swoosh.
I slowly lowered the sword I was pointing at the Sword Saint. And so, by the time the tip of my sword was pointing towards the ground.
It was then that the Empire’s last Sword Saint opened his mouth.
“Enoch Elsyde.”
A deep, resonant voice.
Undoubtedly, it was the voice of the Sword Saint I had heard until now.
For a moment, my heart pounded fiercely. The Sword Saint, whom I had only seen while inheriting his memories until now, was speaking to me directly?
“For the first time, I greet you with words, not with a sword.”
The Sword Saint’s body was clear. Unlike the shadow form I had first seen, he seemed to have regained his original majestic appearance.
But his face was still hidden by the shadow of his deeply pulled hood.
Only the sharp jawline and gray beard of the old swordsman were visible beneath the black shadow of the hood.
Suddenly,
The Sword Saint elegantly planted his sword into the ground, leaning on it.
Thummmmmmm─
A low, massive metallic sound echoed.
On the ground of the world, transparent like a water surface, huge ripples spread intensely beyond the horizon, centered around the sword that had been driven in.
From the center of the vast concentric circles drawn by those ripples,
“……You and I.”
The Sword Saint said, gazing at me without moving.
“There’s no need for introductions, is there?”
“Indeed.”
Amidst the bursting tension. I nodded.
“Thanks to someone, I’ve died quite a bit.”
“Well, don’t be too upset. You didn’t actually die, did you?”
The Sword Saint shrugged his shoulders once. And then, he slowly added a word.
“Hoo, well now…”
I realized that my body had unconsciously tensed up a little. What words would the Sword Saint possibly follow up with now?
In the past.
The hero who single-handedly cut down countless Magical Beasts and the powerful mages of the Empire, and protected the entire oppressed Beast-kin with nothing but a single sword.
「The Empire’s Last Sword Saint」
After seeing the achievements he had accomplished throughout his life directly in the Inner World, it was impossible not to feel considerable tension at every word and movement of the Sword Saint.
Soon, the Sword Saint slowly opened his mouth.
“That I can finally speak like this─”
─And then he grinned, and added.
“It truly feels good! I was quite suffocated!”
An unexpectedly very cheerful tone.
I was speechless for a moment.
“……?”
What was this?
Something felt considerably off.
Furthermore, even in the Sword Saint’s expression, which was faintly visible under the hood of his robe, there was no trace of tension or pressure when looked at closely.
‘……What is this? Was the Sword Saint this kind of person?’
I, who was slightly experiencing a mental breakdown, unconsciously tilted my head.
‘He is really the Sword Saint, but…….’
That was undoubtedly the Sword Saint himself.
Because I had seen his life until now. And because I understood his will contained in his sword to some extent, I could be more certain than anyone else.
‘But why does the feeling seem subtly different?’
At the end of all sorts of thoughts, just when the absurd thought of whether this wasn’t the real Sword Saint but a fake occurred to me.
Suddenly, the Empire’s last Sword Saint began to pour out words like a waterfall at a very high speed.
“Hoo, you wouldn’t know how hard it was for me to live here in silence for a while, to tell you that story, I must start from when I first met you here! At that time, it seems my own consciousness wasn’t properly formed yet, so my memories are hazy, but actually─”
‘…Ah.’
Listening to that, my expression gradually became wry.
‘This old man, he talks way too much.’
No. Is this right?
I looked at the Sword Saint before me in a daze.
As if determined to talk at length. He had just left his sword stuck firmly in the ground and was ignoring it. With his arms crossed, the Sword Saint poured out words as if he were rapping.
Honestly, it was unbelievable.
……Certainly, the life I saw in the World of Impermanence was endlessly desperate and heavy. And at the same time, it shone with the convictions he had built.
It must have been like that.
The corner of my mouth twitched.
‘But that Sword Saint was this talkative?’
A feeling of betrayal was gradually starting to rise from within. It was because the Sword Saint had shown such coolness until now that I had inwardly thought he was awesome.
Yes. Until just a moment ago, that was the case…….
“─So, you know, when you yourself realized the fact that you are a being who won’t die no matter how many times you die here, I even felt quite proud and uplifted, uplifted? Speaking of uplifted, something suddenly came to mind, did you see any Beast-kin with cat ears in the Beast-kin village? They were quite cute in their own way, besides the Beast-kin with dog or wolf ears, I inwardly vowed that I would definitely touch their fluffy ears and tails on their heads someday during my lifetime…”
“…….”
But to think his true identity was this severe case of over-talkativeness.
Listening to his voice, which seemed to serve as a background music in the Inner World. I thought of a simple solution.
‘…Should I, release the Inner World?’
No, no.
However, I soon dismissed that thought. Even though my ears hurt a bit, I could talk to the Sword Saint in the Inner World.
That meant I could gain information.
That was the purpose from the beginning anyway.
I cut off the Sword Saint's rapid-fire rap, which was still ongoing, and opened my mouth.
“I have something to ask.”
“Ah, ask whatever you wish!”
Even though I had cut him off, the Sword Saint instead seemed to welcome it, his face brightening as he spoke.
“During my lifetime, I didn’t have much opportunity to open up and talk directly with anyone……. But here, I will gladly answer anything I know.”
“…Really?”
“It seems you have only lived being deceived. It is true.”
He said, raising one finger while his arms were still crossed from talking.
“However. This time, it won’t be possible for very long.”
“You seem to enjoy talking quite a bit?”
“I won’t deny it.”
The Sword Saint slightly raised his other hand, which had been crossed with his arm.
“That will be the answer, I suppose.”
For a moment, a light of surprise flashed in my eyes.
The Sword Saint’s hand, was transparently disappearing.
─*Swoosh.*
Not only that, the Sword Saint before my eyes was gradually fading and disappearing from the edges of his body. I slightly tilted my head.
“……What? You’re already disappearing?”
The Sword Saint looked at himself disappearing and said.
“Indeed. As of yet, the time you can spend talking with me here is too short.”
“Why?”
“I do not know that either. However, I have a guess.”
The Sword Saint momentarily raised his head and slowly looked up at the starry night sky of the Inner World.
He opened his mouth in a low voice.
“Within the long history of this land, countless Sword Saints established their convictions in their respective eras. And perished.”
The Sword Saint turned his gaze this way and said.
“However, freely entering and exiting the Inner World like you do. And summoning past Sword Saints like me is something separate from merely reaching the realm of the Sword Saint.”
“Separate.”
“Yes. Even for other past Sword Saints, including myself, no one has ever been able to do such a thing until now. At least based on my own records and the records of other Sword Saints I saw and heard about during my lifetime, it is the same.”
The bottom of the Inner World, transparent like a water surface.
The Sword Saint leaned on his sword, which he had driven into the ground, with one hand. Ripples lightly spread across the ground, translucent like a water surface, glistening softly.
They reached my feet and gently shimmered.
The Sword Saint continued speaking in a calm tone.
“That is to say. In other words, this place, the 「World of Impermanence」, and the ability to summon other Sword Saints in this world to learn Swordsmanship. That is your unique talent.”
I slowly nodded at those words.
Indeed, what he said might be obvious.
It was originally said that ‘the Swordsmanship of a Sword Saint cannot be used by others’. That is, no one other than the person themselves can use the Swordsmanship of another Sword Saint.
But on this side, I could see their experiences in the Inner World. And inheriting Swordsmanship was also possible.
Of course, talking directly with the Sword Saint might be due to absorbing Persona's Magic Gear.
Anyway, it was obvious upon reflection that this ‘World of Impermanence’ was my unique talent. But that wasn’t what I was curious about.
“So. You don’t know anything more about this Inner World in detail?”
“Precisely. However, because of that, there are things I can tell you. And this is, at the same time, important advice.”
“……I’m listening.”
“You are overlooking the essence, Enoch.”
The Sword Saint slowly drew his sword.
My eyes were reflected in the silvery-white sword blade.
“A Sword Saint’s ‘Swordsmanship’ is the completion of one’s self and conviction. And this Inner World is no different from a place where your ‘self’ itself resides.”
With his back to the horizon of the clear and vast world, like a night sky filled with countless stars. The Sword Saint stood tall and spoke transcendentally.
“Nevertheless, regarding this place. Regarding your own Inner World, it seems you still don't properly understand it?”
The Sword Saint spoke solemnly.
“If you truly wish to reach the realm of the Sword Saint, you must understand this world.”
“…….”
I habitually touched the corner of my mouth with one hand as if to cover it, lost in thought.
Certainly, the Sword Saint’s words were not wrong.
This Inner World was definitely still full of questions.
I wanted to understand it better than I did now, in many ways.
It was just that until now, I had neither the leisure nor the method to try and understand this place called the World of Impermanence.
I quietly opened my mouth.
“Then, what do I need to do to understand this place?”
“There are many methods I can guess, but there isn’t enough time to talk properly yet. So, starting with what you can do right now…”
He slowly raised one finger.
“You need the swords of other Sword Saints, besides me.”