"Things may have turned out this way, but what we must do remains the same."

Immediately after the War Duels began, the fighters who had landed on the Great Land's side gathered together.

"I hate to stand alongside those who trampled our lands in the past, but the Arena said it would give the winning side one dragon artifact. Even if our chance to restore the honor of our lost lands is gone, we must at least reclaim a remnant of their faded glory."

Most of the fighters here came from the eastern continent.

They had lost their countries, including Han, to the Great Land's War of Conquest. They were unhappy with this situation, but they had no intention of doing nothing but complain. They had a purpose.

"Once these War Duels end, the East's precious heritage will go up for auction. And sad as the reality is, we who have lost our countries... cannot afford to buy those things. The wealthy of the West and the center, collectors who live amid mountains of gold, will sweep them all up. We won't even be able to compete in the bidding. Never mind a dragon artifact—we won't get our hands on so much as a decent blade."

The eastern fighters could not dispute that. Having lived as wanderers after losing their countries, they had acquired enough wealth and connections to make reasonably decent lives for themselves. Compared with the truly wealthy upper classes, however, they were merely insignificant brawlers. All they had was their skill with a blade. Some were only just beginning to find their footing. Rising again after losing the home of a lifetime was terribly hard. Truly, terribly hard.

"Fortunately, everyone here knows this: the Great Land's conquering army is more brutal and powerful than any other army on the continent. If the legions we experienced have been recreated exactly, defeat is impossible. Perhaps they won't even need us..."

"..."

"But even so, we must prove our worth. We must take up our swords to bring honor to our homelands, whose very names have vanished, and reclaim even a little glory. So let us do our best, humiliating though it may be."

Let us do our best, humiliating though it may be.

Those words struck straight through the fighters from the eastern continent. They had heard that the Red Bank of the Black Archipelago and the Machine Empire, which went mad for valuable collectibles, would attend the Arena's auction. Winning a bidding war against them was impossible. How could they fight with money against those known as the masters of gold on this continent?

Thus, they had to win if they were to obtain even one dragon artifact. Defeat was out of the question. They had to prevent every dragon artifact from being scattered among foreigners from other lands. They had to protect at least one.

"Listening to you, though, there's something I'm curious about."

One fighter who had been listening to the eastern fighters' resolute words voiced a question.

"What exactly are these dragon artifacts, that you're so obsessed with them? Do they hold legendary powers, like the treasures in the dwarves' Golden Vault? Or are they incredible things that overturn the laws of nature, like the magical tools crafted by witches?"

Not every fighter here came from the eastern continent.

Some ordinary fighters had chosen Han's side as well. It was only natural for them to have such questions, since they knew nothing of the eastern continent's circumstances.

"The dragon artifacts have no legendary powers. They're nothing more than ornaments, with edges duller than iron swords carelessly made by young dwarves," an eastern fighter answered. "But to the people of the East, they are more precious than any blade."

"... Why? Because of their historical value? Because they were symbolic objects passed down through the royal family?"

"No."

How could this be explained?

The eastern fighter pondered. To the people of the East, reclaiming the dragon artifacts was only natural. So natural, in fact, that it was difficult to explain why they had to be recovered. After a moment's thought, the fighter answered.

"Han was among the smallest of the many countries in the East. How do you think it held out against the Great Land for so long?"

"Strong walls?"

"No. Walls were meaningless before that fiendish conquering army to begin with. Han survived so tenaciously solely because of its ruler. Its king."

With a deeply resolute expression, the fighter continued.

"And there is an ancient legend in the lands of the East. Whoever possesses a dragon artifact shall summon the true king."

* * *

The general had brought seven dragon artifacts in all.

A sword, a shield, a helmet, armor, a bow, a spear, and a ring.

All the artifacts were colored in a blend of red and gold. At a glance, they looked like magnificent treasures. But on closer inspection?

'They just look like fancy ornaments.'

The sword alone made that clear.

Despite its impressive name, Dragon Sword, its edge was far too dull. The other objects were much the same. They would all look nice on display somewhere, but seemed impractical for actual combat. When I gave them a pointed look, the general spoke.

"Don't look at them like that. These objects were originally reserved for members of the royal family. Every one is a great treasure imbued with the spirit of our ancestors."

"... Ancestral spirit or not, I don't think this could even scratch armor."

"Now, now!"

"..."

From what I'd heard, Seolyun had been promised the Dragon Sword in exchange for interfering with my promotion match. That meant these things were cheap enough to give away for a mere fight between a sword beginner and a sword walker. The greedy people at the Arena could hardly be unaware of their true value, so I was probably right.

'Nothing but troublesome junk.'

That must be why they hadn't even put them on display, instead planning to give them a story through these War Duels and sell them off at a high price. If they were truly precious treasures, they wouldn't try to dispose of them this way. I looked at the fighters gathered around us. As though sensing my doubts, one spoke.

"Dragon artifacts are weapons from ancient legends passed down on the eastern continent. I've heard there are dozens of tales, but they all share one central idea: possess a dragon artifact, and you can summon the true king."

"..."

"But scholars studied them and found that they were merely fairy tales passed down by word of mouth. Even the dwarves commissioned to appraise them said they were finely crafted blades with little value as weapons. The Machine Empire's appraisers also said the objects had undergone no sorcerous or magical treatment of any kind. So it really is right to treat them as mere antiques."

Antiques.

Yes, that was exactly what they looked like.

While I was pondering, Maia shouted.

"The ring! I'll take the ring!"

"Wait, you can't just suddenly choose first like—"

"I like! The ring! I'm a woman too, you know! Of course, Sword Demon Liam! If you want it! I can give you a mere ring! Do you want it?"

"No, thank you..."

I shook my head in the face of Maia the Valkyrie's booming voice. With the first artifact thus chosen, she beamed. Putting on the ring brought no change to Maia. The flow of her Mana and the aura emanating from her body remained the same. This was the moment that revealed the dragon artifact to be nothing more than an antique.

Well, it didn't really matter.

"Then I'll choose mine too."

Whether it was truly an antique or not, it would work differently in this Arena. I distinctly remembered what the Arena's announcer had shouted earlier.

["The defending side also receives one benefit!"]

Right.

A benefit given to this side to balance things out.

["Whoever wields the defending side's Dragon Sword may summon the Guardian Dragon, the dragon that protected the fallen peninsula, for one minute! You may do so a total of three times before the War Duels end!"]

The strongest of the seven races.

Masters of the sky, growing endlessly with infinite ages at their disposal.

Dragons.

"I'll choose the Dragon Sword."

No man could resist this.

As I received the ornate sword, one thought briefly crossed my mind.

'... I probably shouldn't eat this, should I?'

Really.

Just for a very brief moment...

* * *

Choosing the dragon artifacts took very little time. Apart from the Dragon Sword, they had little value to begin with, so everyone chose at random. And so our time to choose ended, and we had to plunge back into the fierce battlefield. As I sheathed the Dragon Sword, all ornament and dull edge, I heard Liam's voice.

「The passage of the ages certainly seems to have ruined everyone's eye for quality.」

"Pardon?"

「Young descendant, does that sword look like an antique even to your suspicious eyes?」

Master, who had been silent all this time, spoke only after the choosing was over.

"Then is there something inside this sword?"

「Ho ho. You too are still an ordinary mortal, after all. You have a long way to go.」

"...?"

「To think you haven't noticed what dwells within that sword.」

The pounding of drums rang out. The ground shook as the terrifying cavalry charged again. This time was different. Their momentum was far more intense than in the earlier advance. With them before us, Liam continued speaking.

「A flame dwells within that blade.」

"..."

「A lonely flame that had to lead the way and illuminate the world when nothing could be seen ahead, that had to cry out that light would someday come.」

A flame.

Somehow, that word resonated in my heart.

「How dim the world's eyes have grown. A keen edge that can cut anything? Heroic power that can shake heaven and earth? Strange and mysterious powers? Those are not what truly matter in a sword. Haven't you realized that yourself, after devouring so many blades?」

"..."

「A soul dwells in a sword. And that soul determines the sword's worth.」

The enemy was drawing closer.

Their momentum was so tremendous that I doubted whether anyone here could break it. There was little room behind us. If we met them head-on and began to be pushed back, they would reach the walls in an instant. Then we would lose. We had to decisively break their momentum.

「The moment you truly understand what that means, a new path will open.」

"..."

「Remember, young descendant. To spread your wings, you must learn to hear a sword's voice without digesting it. That is the first step.」

Master's words were still difficult to understand.

Perhaps that was why useless thoughts kept coming to me.

'... I really shouldn't eat it, should I?'

An easy path lay right before my eyes.

But whenever I tried to take the easy way, my life became horribly tangled. It would probably happen again this time. So, as always, I would be better off choosing the difficult, shitty path.

"I'll try."

「Good. Throw yourself at it with ignorant stubbornness, as you always have. Like the mediocre talent you are.」

"No. This time, I won't do it with ignorant stubbornness."

I put away the sword I was holding and drew the Dragon Sword from its sheath.

「... Hm? What do you mean by that?」

"I'll take the easy way just this once. I have three chances, don't I?"

At that, heat flowed into me through my grip. Intense heat. Then a voice echoed in my head.

"Is it time for me to step forth?"

It wasn't difficult to know whose voice that was. I had felt it from the moment I grasped the Dragon Sword. The instant I answered the voice, the 'benefit' the Arena's announcer had mentioned would be used. I looked at the army surging toward me.

I had three chances.

And no matter how I thought about it, now was the time to use one of them.

"Step forth."

The heat that had seeped into my body grew like a blaze.

CRASH

A bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky. Dozens of approaching cavalrymen turned to ash beneath it. Black smoke rose from their incinerated corpses.

"..."

For an instant, silence settled over the clamorous battlefield.

Everyone, friend and foe alike, looked up.

The sky was opening.

"Uh..."

An unimaginably huge creature appeared above the wide-open sky. Its shadow alone darkened the battlefield. With the sun at its back, the creature opened eyes that glittered like jewels. No explanation was needed. Everyone knew what 'it' was.

"R-retreat."

Of course they did.

Everyone on the continent grew up hearing stories about 'it' from childhood. Countless legends and fairy tales spoke of 'it.' 'It' was the central figure in innumerable tales and legends, a figure in the myth of creation.

"Retreat! S-scatter—!"

The most powerful creature among all seven races.

A mighty race that nested at the summit of the great Sky Mountains, masters of the sky in both name and fact. Arrogant beings that looked down upon everything on the continent.

"Hurry, run—!"

A dragon.

At that moment, the Guardian Dragon that had protected the fallen peninsula descended into the sky. To kill every last insignificant creature crawling on the ground.

Watching it, I smiled with satisfaction.

"I'll understand the soul within the sword and make sure to hear its voice too. Just a little later."

With immense satisfaction.

「...」

"I'll take the easy way just this once."

Ah, seriously.