A dragon.

The mightiest living creature on the continent, reigning supreme over the seven races. A master of the sky that grew without limit with the passage of time. The dragon that had appeared above the battlefield—the 「Guardian Dragon」—looked down upon its enemies with leisurely pride. It could read the emotions etched in their eyes. Fear, bewilderment, a subtle awe...

Those looks were familiar to a dragon. Every creature on the ground displayed the same emotions upon seeing a master of the sky. With its wings spread, the Guardian Dragon behaved in a thoroughly “dragonlike” fashion. It briefly savored the fear of those insignificant creatures, reminding itself just how magnificent it was. Then it began clearing those insignificant creatures from its sight.

That was all too easy for a dragon. It had no need to display such weapons as Dragon Speech, which called forth all manner of miracles, its immensely massive body, or the countless forms of magic it instinctively knew from birth. It merely had to breathe in and out, as all living creatures did. For other creatures, this was essential to sustaining life. For dragons, that breath held a different meaning. The Mana they inhaled transformed into pure elements within their lungs, and a special organ unique to dragons, situated near the windpipe, turned those elements into violence. Merciless violence that destroyed anything.

“Raise barriers!”

The commander of the 「Great Land」’s conquering army shouted urgently. Some of the magical troops who had barely survived Maia the Valkyrie’s assault managed to erect crude barriers: transparent shields that repelled outside attacks. But magic created by mere humans could not possibly withstand the breath of a dragon, the being called the most “perfect” of all seven races.

“We can't stop—”

A beam of light shot down from the sky. It struck the center of the tightly packed conquering army, creating a crimson spot. Following the direction of the dragon’s muzzle, that spot moved, drawing a long line across the battlefield. Nothing remained where the line passed. Vast numbers of soldiers died without leaving a trace.

Even those lucky enough to survive were in trouble. Soldiers who had lost arms, legs, or parts of their torsos to the intense light crawled across the ground, screaming. The horrific sight took the edge off the conquering army’s valor. Seeing the ruined bodies of comrades they had been chatting with moments before dealt them a psychological shock. Yet the Great Land’s conquering army, which never retreated, did not lose its courage. Even in the face of overwhelming death, they fought to the end. The Guardian Dragon, which had descended here to protect Han, knew that. So it opened its jaws wide and, rather than releasing another breath, let out a mighty roar. Pure Mana set the air trembling.

ROOOOAR!

Sonic violence poured down upon the cavalry, beyond comparison with the infrasonic growls of wild beasts. Dragon Fear. As the creature at the very top of the continent’s ecosystem roared, the conquering army’s cavalry came to an involuntary halt. The survival instinct latent within the human species stopped them in their tracks. Irresistible fear consumed the soldiers’ minds like a disease.

And on top of that...

“Urgh—”

Every horse the cavalrymen rode began bucking and thrashing wildly. All the soldiers were thrown from their saddles. Their formation collapsed into chaos, and soldiers began dying one after another beneath the kicking hind legs of the frantic horses. Amid it all, the commander shouted.

“A-arrows. Arrows! Javelins! Anything—”

With his eardrums still throbbing, the commander gave orders while barely clinging to his wits. The soldiers obeyed. A barrage of projectiles followed. By good fortune, a few reached the dragon overhead. But it meant nothing. The dragon had not failed to dodge them. It had chosen not to. It felt no need.

“Ah...”

Dragon scales were the hardest substance on the continent. To leave even a scratch on them required, at the very least, a weapon made from one of the Three Great Metals, or a blade wrought by a 「swordmaster」, capable of cutting anything on the continent. As the commander belatedly remembered that fact, profound defeat settled over his face. How could he overcome this situation? The Khan’s descendant, the one person he thought might stand against a dragon, was not here...

Then a voice came from somewhere.

“It will disappear soon. Do not worry. Concentrate on minimizing our losses for now. They said the Guardian Dragon could rampage for only one minute.”

The fighters from the eastern continent.

The participants in this event knew that the dragon had been recreated through the witches’ magic, that it could only be used three times, and that each use was limited to one minute.

“Looking only at the dead, the situation may seem hopeless, but the conquering army’s numbers have barely diminished. And why would they? There are so many soldiers in this legion that it makes one sick.”

They were not afraid of this unexpected turn of events.

The fighters from the eastern continent, particularly those from Han, had witnessed and experienced the actual war in the past, not merely its recreation. Those people had not the slightest doubt that this battle would end in victory for the Great Land’s conquering army.

Dragon artifacts?

Fighters of extraordinary skill?

The aid of the magnificent Guardian Dragon?

“I do not know why you are afraid.”

None of that meant anything.

The Great Land’s conquering army would win regardless.

They knew because they had experienced it themselves.

The Guardian Dragon that protected Han had truly existed during the War of Conquest. A dragon known only from the nation’s founding legend had joined Han in its hour of crisis and burned its wicked enemies. Han’s army regarded the appearance of the Guardian Dragon, which they had heard of only in legend, as a miracle. A miracle God had sent to save them.

Everyone except the king, who had boldly declared that he would not surrender, praised that miracle. Hope welled up in them: perhaps now they could protect their peninsula from the wicked conquering army.

The Guardian Dragon that appeared during the War of Conquest was more powerful than the dragon recreated in this virtual world. Wise as a dragon should be, it excelled in strategy and tactics, deploying its myriad innate arcane powers wherever the situation called for them. The cavalry, the very symbol of the conquering army, was helpless before its roar, and its breath burned the endlessly advancing legions to ash.

Yes, the majesty the Guardian Dragon had displayed then was beyond comparison with what they saw now. The dragon that appeared during the War of Conquest had not even been subject to a one-minute limit. Flying proudly through the sky, it had stood with Han throughout the war.

But...

“There is nothing you cannot bring down, is there? You are an invincible legion.”

Even so, Han had fallen.

The fighter still remembered that day. The walls collapsing in ruin. The sounds of blades and screams coming through the open gates. Dismembered corpses. The Guardian Dragon sprawled dead, its tongue hanging out...

Not even a fantastical being from a founding legend could suppress the malice of the conqueror who had trampled the eastern continent. This time would be no different. Cruel malice would topple the walls and burn everything. Just as it had on the day Han vanished into history.

* * *

The Guardian Dragon I summoned with the Dragon Sword exceeded my expectations. The defenders, who had nearly been driven back to the walls, regained enough room to form ranks. It had also blunted the enemy’s surging momentum. Lowering morale mattered in a battle of this scale. It was a shame that I had only two chances left to summon the Guardian Dragon, but there was no other choice if we were to hold out for the remaining time.

The cavalry floundered, and panic spread through the conquering army. Then the minute elapsed, and the opening in the sky slowly closed. The Guardian Dragon that had swept through the enemy vanished like smoke. I sheathed the Dragon Sword and drew the winter-steel sword Dwight had given me.

Then the Arena announcer’s voice rang out.

- You all saw that! What an overwhelming presence! That is the Guardian Dragon that fought alongside Han during the War of Conquest! Although it lacked noble blood and was a young dragon not even a hundred years old, it still gave the Great Land’s conquering army a bitter taste of its power!

- Some of you may already know this, but a legend surrounds the Dragon Sword held by our fighter, Sword Demon Liam. Whoever possesses a dragon artifact can summon the true king!

The announcer’s voice burned with enthusiasm.

- No one knows what that legend means. We have recreated a special power in the Dragon Sword, but perhaps the other artifacts contain arcane powers of their own! Don't you all want them? They carry such a poignant history, harbor an arcane legend, and this one was wielded in these War Duels by the valiant gladiator, Sword Demon Li-am—!

Judging by what he was saying, he seemed to be talking his heart out to squeeze even a little more money out of the dragon artifacts at the auction after the War Duels. It was ridiculous to hear him cashing in on my name, but what could I do? In any case, I was in no position to worry about what was happening outside.

“There's still a shitload of them.”

The conquering army was still far too numerous. Rather than an army, it looked like one great wave. A natural phenomenon that surged, then surged again. Honestly, I was sick of it.

'I need to save the other two summons for more critical moments. We've weathered the immediate crisis. I can use each one to get us out of trouble.'

Yes.

The defenders’ task was to hold this place.

Not to wipe out every last enemy.

- Now then! The Guardian Dragon put on a magnificent display, but an enormous army remains! Can they hold out against it for the remaining time? Han’s fighters, playing the defenders, must protect the walls until the end of the day! And! Not even an hour has passed since the war began!

There were more than twenty-three hours left.

Though it already felt as if days had passed.

- Which fighter are you cheering for? Put your gold on the side your favorite fighter is fighting for! Predict who will win! Watching with your fortune at stake will make the experience all the more entertaining!

Watching the fighters battle, the announcer laughed like a clown.

As blades clashed and a war of the past was recreated, the humans in the circular stadium enjoyed gambling on the fighters’ victory or defeat. For a moment, anger rose in me at that absurd spectacle. But I soon let it go. Instead of looking far away, I looked close at hand.

There was an enemy before me.

And there was a sword in my hand.

Those were the only two things that mattered now.

「Go, young descendant.」

* * *

I could see a 「path」 running through the countless people.

I swung my sword along that unbroken path. The blade scattered blood and took a life. When one man died, two more rushed at me from behind him. I shifted from a thrust to a slash. Whenever my movements threatened to falter, I spun once, unleashing sword strikes all around me. The swords I had digested revealed themselves one after another, cutting down my enemies.

「Fang」 proved useful in this melee.

As humans poured at me in brute numbers, the assassin from the Free City taught me how to hide amid the presence of others. I stripped a dead soldier of his Great Land uniform and draped it over myself. A little blood smeared on my face erased my presence. When I revealed my presence and then concealed it, my enemies reacted in surprise, as though I had vanished and reappeared.

Through the clamorous battlefield, I moved with an assassin’s steps and wielded a knight’s blade.

With the ambush technique of a mercenary who had died a futile death, I killed three or four men. When enemies surrounded me, the sword strokes of a wandering swordsman who had lived like the wind called forth a whirlwind. I kept moving along the unbroken path, the route to survival. Those countless swings drained my stamina in moments. At times I became so breathless that my vision clouded over.

Even with a heart of steel, my stamina was not infinite. There were brief moments when I went blank, as if my consciousness were flickering out. Every time, without fail, a blade came at me. I barely clung to my senses and tried to dodge, but my movements were slow, leaving me with small cuts. The bleeding was slight, but as the wounds accumulated, they sapped my strength. I began to think I might be unlucky enough to die to a stray blade or arrow.

My will to fight could not burn forever.

A strange languor seized my body from moment to moment. It almost felt like drowsiness washing over me. Sometimes I could not tell whether I was swinging my sword or floundering underwater. The clamor around me sounded like a low, droning hum. My mind was blank. War was quieter than I had imagined...

“Sword Demon! Snap! Out of it!”

CRACK!

An impact reverberated through my body and sent me flying. Only then did I come to my senses. The humming around me sharpened into distinct noise. The clash of spears and blades, cheers, screams, and the sounds of flesh and bone breaking filled the air. I barely managed to get up after rolling across the dirt. My chest throbbed with pain. I could see a crack in the breast of my mithril armor.

I looked ahead in a daze and saw Maia.

Maia the Valkyrie, her wings spread.

“Do not succumb! To the languor of war! Even when your strength dwindles and the tedious sword strokes go on, you must keep your gaze sharp! Even when Death calls you! Shout that today is not your time!”

With spear and sword in hand, Maia the Valkyrie was cutting down enemies.

As beautifully as a dancer.

「Well, young descendant? It is different from the tales of chivalry you read, is it not?」

Liam spoke calmly.

「War, you see, has always been like this.」

“...”

「It begins with a plausible cause, but once war has started, the soldiers thrown into it eventually lose the ability to think at all. Conviction, victory, mastery of the sword. They forget all of it. What does any of this mean? Why am I here? Those questions sweep through their minds.」

Blood sprayed into the air.

Maia the Valkyrie roared like a beast.

「Once you overcome that endless meaninglessness, longing comes. The desire to return to a warm home instead of remaining on a battlefield like this. Such useless distractions as wanting to lie down before a blazing hearth, surrounded by family, and sleep in peace.」

The Valkyrie’s wings shimmered.

Her long spear pierced an enemy’s head.

Another fighter charged in, driving back the conquering army.

「Perhaps your revenge will be like this war, young descendant. Anger and the desire for vengeance are like a flame that flares briefly. They burn hot and fierce, but they are emotions that are ultimately consumed. Once they have used everything as fuel, only emptiness will remain. Like the meaninglessness and languor you just felt.」

“...”

「One day, you may regret it. I should never have begun this revenge. I should have lived a more meaningful life instead of surrendering myself to this anger. Such thoughts may seize you and torment you.」

Everyone was fighting.

「But even so, once you have taken up the sword, once you have resolved to advance, there is no way back.」

“...”

「The only place you can go is forward. The only destination left to you is up there.」

My heart pounded.

「So take hold of your sword, young descendant. As you always have.」

My pounding heart pumped blood throughout my body. The beating of my second heart granted me superhuman strength and honed my blade. I had to move forward. The place I could return to had already fallen. My destination lay ahead. Up there.

Only then did I truly come to my senses.

And then...

“...”

I saw a woman moving quietly in the distance. Her sword did not belong in a war. The sound it scattered was quiet, yet it carried softly through the noise of the battlefield. The light her blade created was cool and beautiful. Like a star in the night sky, drawing every eye and overwhelming everything around it.

I knew the wielder of that sword, beautiful as a star.

A heaven-born prodigy.

The Black Bride, Seolyun.

Through the gap in my helmet, my eyes met hers.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. Since coming to know Seolyun, I had never seen that expression on her face. Her eyes looked sad.

So very sad.

* * *

「Time Remaining Until the War Duels End 21:47:13」