Excalibur, the Sword of Stars.

The Sword of Selection, which chooses its own master, grows alongside that master. Whenever its wielder accomplishes a great feat and inscribes a star in the heavens, Excalibur grows, engraving its master's star upon its blade.

A sword forged of starlight, strengthened by starlight as its fuel.

Originally incomplete, Excalibur was perfected by its first master, the great hero Arthur. The thirteen stars Arthur embedded in its blade made the Sword of Selection complete. But Arthur eventually met his death, and a long time passed thereafter.

Ten years repeated ten times, and that span repeated ten times again.

Now, a thousand years later, the holy sword had been drawn by a boy's hand.

Whether the boy had chosen the holy sword or the holy sword had chosen the boy did not matter. What mattered was that the boy had drawn it—and that he yearned to set his own stars in the heavens.

And, as always, Excalibur answers its master's will.

Excalibur responds to the will of a boy who seeks to overcome his limits, accomplish great feats, and become a hero. Thus, the moment its master obtained a star, and now, at this very moment when he sought to obtain another...

BOOM.

Excalibur answered its master's call.

The first star engraved upon the holy sword resonated. That shining star belonged not to Arthur, but to Najin. With a resonance like the tolling of a bell, its first function was unleashed.

Its inherent restorative power and sword aura output were enhanced.

And to those was added Release.

The starlight enveloping Excalibur's blade surged. Like a torrent rushing through a narrow channel, it flowed along the blade and gathered at the tip. The point buried in the dragon's heart flashed platinum.

HISSSSS!

With his body burning and his vision blurred, Najin did not notice the change in Excalibur. He merely gripped it, thinking of nothing but shattering the dragon's heart before him.

'It won't come out.'

He had meant to pull the sword free and strike again, but it would not budge, as though firmly embedded in something. That did not matter. Najin changed his plan. He pushed Excalibur deeper into the heart.

CRUNCH, CRRRUNCH!

The sound of the dragon's heart being gouged away, hard as ore, rang in his ears. Guided by that sound, Najin tightened his grip. Though the flames were burning his body, he took another step toward the heart at the center of the heat.

Deeper. Deeper still.

At last, Excalibur's crossguard struck the dragon's heart with a clunk. Its blade was buried inside, no longer visible. He had pushed it as deep as it would go.

'Turn it.'

And instinctively—

'As though turning a key.'

Or perhaps unconsciously—

'Release the light gathered at the tip.'

Najin twisted the hilt.

He turned his wrist with all his strength, twisting Excalibur. He did not know why he did it. Just as on the day he first saw Excalibur, a voice filled with unwavering certainty had told him, 'This is how you do it.'

Release.

The moment he twisted Excalibur, the light gathered at its tip was released. It was not only starlight that had collected there. Najin's sword aura, shaped like a constellation, had contracted to a single point at the sword's tip.

Starlight, sword aura, mana.

All of it was released in an instant.

The dragon's heart could not contain the light bursting from within. It was a light that nothing could imprison. Cracks raced across the heart with sharp cracking sounds, and light seeped through them.

Platinum starlight spilled out, followed by a platinum constellation that spread through the gaps like branching limbs.

The widening cracks finally reached their limit. With a crack, the dragon's heart split along its fractures. At that instant, starlight poured from within like an explosion. The bursting light broke the dragon's heart into tiny pieces.

Starlight spread in every direction.

A constellation branched out along its path.

The released light shattered the dragon's heart, driving back even the flames that filled its surroundings. Starlight flooded the red dragon's world, where only fire had existed. The moment a constellation bearing that brilliant starlight filled it, it was no longer the red dragon's world.

Its source had been shattered. Its world was collapsing.

The red dragon's world began to crumble.

2.

Immediately after Najin leaped into its mouth, the red dragon began thrashing madly. As though in agony, it spewed Breath in every direction and stamped the ground.

SKREEEEEE!

The resounding voice that had commanded the heavens was gone, replaced by the scream of an ugly beast. Crying out in pain, the red dragon roared at the sky.

"It's thrashing like mad."

Unable to approach through its wild rampage, the hunting force kept their distance and watched. Then the red dragon, which had been breathing fire toward the sky, briefly convulsed. Its scream cut off, and its flames died down.

Then—

THUD.

The dragon's head, held straight toward the sky, crashed to the ground. Apart from the convulsions of its body, the red dragon could no longer move. It was as though it had lost the very source that allowed its body to function.

"Oh, look!"

Someone pointed at the red dragon's belly.

A sword protruded from it. Then the blade cut a straight line, splitting the dragon's belly open. Najin stepped out through the opening, gasping for breath.

Had he truly entered the dragon's mouth, shattered its heart, and come back out? The hunting force stared in shock at the boy who had cut his way out of its belly.

It was a great feat. A feat worthy of a star. The knights were astonished and awed by the boy who had recreated the legend of Siegfried the Dragonslayer. Yet they could not voice their admiration or cheers.

"Hah, haa..."

For Najin was in a terrible state.

Burns covered his body, and flames still clung to him. Even breathing looked agonizing. The skin on his arms had melted, leaving them hideously disfigured.

His feet scraped along the ground as he dragged himself forward, then he toppled face-first. He planted his hands on the ground to rise, but his broken arms could not lift his body.

It was then that Richard Paulsen approached him. He helped Najin up from the ground. Paying no heed to the flames clinging to Najin even as they burned his own body, Richard supported him as they moved.

"..."

The knights followed in silence. Richard poured the water they brought over Najin's body. Once the fire went out with a hiss, he took a potion from inside his clothes and poured it over Najin's head.

"Are you with me?"

Najin wanted to speak, but only ash-laden breaths emerged from his mouth. In the end, he nodded.

"It seems your fight isn't over yet. Am I right?"

Najin nodded again.

Richard smiled.

"I had a feeling."

Supporting Najin, he walked him over to the dragon's neck. Once they arrived, Richard left him there and stepped back a few paces.

No one approached Najin or the dragon.

They simply kept their distance in silence.

Deprived of its source, the dragon was slowly crumbling. A sword driven into its neck would kill it, but it would die even if left alone. Anyone could finish off a dragon already on the verge of death.

Yet no one did.

Taking prey someone else had all but slain went against an adventurer's code, and stealing another's achievement went against a knight's honor. Those who understood that code and honor quietly watched Najin finish the dragon.

"Haa..."

Breathing raggedly, Najin raised his sword before the dragon's neck. Unable to move, the red dragon watched him with frightened eyes. There was no anger left in them.

Only fear.

Meeting the dragon's gaze, Najin brought his raised sword down. The sword aura had faded completely, and he could barely put any strength into his hands. He could not even cut properly through the dragon's crumbling scales. He raised his sword and struck again.

Once, twice, three times...

On the fifth strike, Najin severed the dragon's neck. Dragon blood gushed from the cut. Amid the bursting blood, he lifted his head and looked at the sky.

The light sources fired into the sky by the light cannons had already been destroyed.

Most of the mineral lamps scattered on the ground had been shattered as well.

Yet his surroundings were not dark. The stars in the night sky were shining. Among the countless stars embroidered across the heavens, Najin found his own. The star he had so desperately longed for shone in one corner of the sky.

Then another star rose right beside it.

It was the star of dragonslaying, bestowed upon the boy who had recreated a legend.

3.

A nova had appeared.

Amid the chaos in the heavens, Nayuta watched the newborn star with interest. New stars did sometimes appear suddenly, but this one was shedding an extraordinarily bright light.

It was a sign.

A sign that another star would be born.

A newly born nova was about to obtain another star? Nayuta had never seen such a thing. Nor was there any mention of it in the records left by previous masters of the Gray Tower. Perhaps there had been something like it in the age of myth...

But it had never happened in the Empire's thousand-year history.

King Arthur had suddenly stirred for the first time in a thousand years. The witch's constellation had appeared after a thousand years. Born amid these momentous events, the nova was making its presence known.

'Surely not.'

Was it truly about to obtain another star?

The star shining pure white reached its critical point. Then, with an explosive burst of light, another star rose beside it.

Two stars had risen in one go.

The newly risen star shone pure white.

Nayuta stared at the shining star, entranced. The thought that she stood at the heart of a historic moment filled her mind.

The Gray Tower was in an uproar over the witch's sudden appearance in the heavens. The voices of mages and imperial officials seeking her rang through her office... but Nayuta heard none of them.

"Well..."

She let out a laugh.

Reading newborn stars and giving novas their names was the duty of the master of the Gray Tower. As she gazed at the stars, words she had once heard from her predecessor echoed in her ears.

「Nayuta.」

He had been her teacher, a mage with a decidedly overbearing streak. When the old man passed the position of master of the Gray Tower to her, he had said:

「Someday, your day will come to name a star.」

「That day will surely come.」

「You will name not some ordinary star, but a brilliant one. And on that day, you will understand.」

Karon, the Sword Saint.

Gerd, the Empire's foremost warrior.

Yuel, the murderous fiend.

The old man who had named the stars of those three Sword Masters smiled as he stroked Nayuta's head.

「The master of the Gray Tower.」

「You will understand that this position, with its right to name the stars, is the most blessed position of all.」

She had thought it an old man's nonsense.

The mutterings of an old windbag.

「How will you know whether a rising star is such a star, you ask?」

「You foolish pupil. Do you intend to become master of the Gray Tower without even the discernment to read a star? When the time comes, you will simply know.」

「You will know that this is the one.」

There was no need to ask why those words came to mind now. She knew by instinct. A powerful instinct. Nayuta reached toward the star hanging in the heavens. Between her pale fingers, it shone as though almost within her grasp.

Two stars shone brilliantly, firmly holding their place in the shaken heavens.

The master of the Gray Tower read them.

Challenge, and dragonslaying.

The feats the boy had accomplished were shining in the heavens.