Humans do not disappear.

The aspirations an old man cherished pass to his grown son. The young man finds his partner and starts a family, and his child watches the parents' backs as aspirations begin to bud. The old man is the past, the young man the present, and the child the future. Thus, humans do not disappear.

A lifespan of not even eighty years.

The most insignificant creatures among all seven races.

They have neither superior bodies, nor magnificent blessings, nor eternal life, nor blazing valor. But humans possess beauty. Human beauty continues forever, unbroken.

"How happy was the age when we could look upon the starry heavens and read the map of the paths we could—and must—travel?"

I witnessed beauty passed on like a sacred flame.

Hundreds of years.

Over that time, humans changed. The cruel age drove those insignificant, powerless people into a corner. The mighty trampled them, and the land burned. Yet they did not disappear. Though the land was trampled, though the rivers ran red with blood, though the world burned, humans rose again in the end.

They rose again and shone like stars.

"And how happy was the age when starlight brightly illuminated those paths?"

On and on it passes.

My will, which yearned for beauty and the Age of Stars, became a sacred flame. My descendants inherited it, the disciples I taught inherited it, and my people inherited it. Thus was born the peninsula that all the world called insignificant.

The little peninsula was nothing beside the other nations of the vast continent. It was not as prosperous as the Iron Kingdom, nor as great as the Heavenly Empire. Its influence did not reach as far as the 「Black Archipelago」's, nor was it as powerful as the 「Great Land」.

But it was beautiful.

To my eyes, this land was so very beautiful. It sparkled like a host of stars embroidered across the night sky. The old people and children singing of peace, whispering of love, laughing and chattering over fanciful tales were beautiful. Beautiful beyond measure.

Above that beautiful field of stars stood a man in royal dragon robes. He resembled me greatly. Facing the wind, he held a blade inscribed with the words Dragon Sword in an antique hand. Held it tenderly.

"Honored Ancestor."

The man was smiling.

"Was this the Age of Stars you spoke of?"

An unassuming smile.

An easy, hearty smile.

"I think I understand a little now... why you cast everything aside and wielded your sword to protect this land. What the stars you sought to protect were, and what beauty could make you burn away even your own life."

Seen from behind, the man resembled me greatly.

Was that why?

"I believe I could do the same."

Why his life ultimately met the same end as mine?

"If the time ever comes, I too will gladly become a lantern."

Not long afterward, a man who called himself a descendant of a god began trampling and burning the lands to the east. Those flames were so vicious that the screams of the innocent reached even here. At last, their blades turned toward this insignificant peninsula.

"For my stars."

The most insignificant land on the eastern continent.

The most insignificant army, the most insignificant people. Thus began the prelude to the longest and most desperate war. The absolute monarch upon the throne smiled like a boy.

"For the starry heavens."

Just as I once had.

* * *

The fence around the circular stadium was shrinking faster and faster. More and more fighters were being ground to death against the contracting fence in the midst of their battles. The stadium recreated city streets, and now the smell of blood hung thick over them. Corpses strewn across the ground were a common sight. Before I knew it, the Martial Limits Duel had entered its middle-to-late stages.

'I've recovered a fair amount of stamina.'

As always, my heart of steel had swiftly restored my body. With my stamina replenished, I moved slowly and safely between the buildings. Along the way, I discovered something new.

BOOM!

Buildings came crashing down. All of them stood on the outskirts. As the fence contracted, the buildings it touched collapsed.

'Even the buildings get destroyed when the fence touches them.'

And they collapsed incredibly quickly. Anyone inside would be crushed beyond recognition. As the Arena announcer had said earlier, it seemed to be a measure to keep the match from dragging on. Hands protruded through gaps in the rubble—the remains of fighters who had been lying low, only to die without anyone noticing.

'In the end, we'll have to fight like mad. Luckily, I have plenty of stamina. I've almost recovered from the aftereffects of using 「Lantern」, too...'

Ultimately, the outcome would hinge on who started fighting first. The fighter who struck first would have to fight the most, expend the most stamina, and deal with all manner of variables. In short, they would be fighting at an enormous disadvantage.

'Then won't the match become even more tedious at the end? The fighters who've survived that long will be pretty shrewd. Unless they're idiots, they won't start fighting first...'

The 「Arena」 had put several measures in place.

But even those measures seemed unable to fix the fundamental problem. Thinking this, I stepped out of the building and walked on. My destination was the center. With the fence shrinking rapidly, it was about time I claimed the exact center of the circle.

The circular stadium was vast, but I had been walking steadily all this time, so it was not far away. As I walked, keeping watch over my surroundings, Suspicion sent me several signals.

'Why is it so quiet? The fighters must all have had similar ideas, so they should be gathered around here fighting. Is it already over? Impossible. Fighters will keep coming in from the outskirts. With so many of them gathered, there's no way things could have ended this quickly...'

The closer I drew to the center, the more utter silence prevailed. The cold stillness was eerie enough to send a shiver through me. I could not hear a single clash of swords, a sound that had been common even on the outskirts. Moreover, the closer I came to the center, the more unnaturally numerous the bodies littering the ground became. Dismembered bodies. Rather than fighters killed battling one another, they looked as though something enormous had swept over them.

As I walked with a frown, a powerful stench of blood struck me. Looking down, I saw that thick, flowing blood had soaked the entire area. As though red rain had fallen. It was a repulsive sight. I pressed farther in, sickened, and saw something grotesque.

'What...'

There stood a mountain built of corpses.

A mountain assembled from bodies chopped into pieces like butchered livestock. The instant I saw that grotesque, horrifying sight, I moved away.

'An illusion?'

Were there shamans or mages among the fighters?

Had they played some trick to show me that terrifying mirage? After considering it, I turned my head. No. The illusions magical beings showed came from the spirit world. Naturally, I should have sensed Mana. But I had sensed no Mana from the mountain of corpses I had just seen. Instead, I had smelled death. The scent of blood from the freshly dead, the stench rising from rotting corpses...

'Damn it.'

Only then did I realize my prediction had been wrong.

'I relied too much on common sense.'

My prediction had been perfectly reasonable.

Fighters at comparable levels. I had imagined what would happen if they were forced into one place and the space kept shrinking. But what if there was a monster who was not their equal?

'The Martial Limits Duel brings together countless fighters from across the continent. Being a sword walker is only the minimum requirement. The vast majority of participants will be sword walkers, but of course there are sword runners among them. And... '

Even among those 「sword runners」, there were exceptional monsters.

Like Seolyun.

「This one is far more dangerous than that girl.」

"... How could a human do something like that?"

「It is possible precisely because he is human.」

Liam glanced at me.

「Common sense shattered without a second thought. The world you prided yourself on knowing so well collapsing overnight, transforming into something entirely different and horrifying. And everyone swept up in it, going mad together.」

"..."

「Young descendant, there are things in this world that shatter common sense as though it were nothing.」

As I turned and walked away, I sensed someone's presence.

「On this vast, vast continent, there are far too many such monsters.」

"..."

「The man you swore to take revenge upon is one of them. A swordmaster stands at the pinnacle even among the monsters that shatter the world's common sense.」

A fighter in a pitch-black helmet suddenly burst into view.

Their level? Their skill?

I could not tell. Even so, instead of swinging my raised sword, I stood staring blankly. They did not look capable of fighting.

「And so, young descendant.」

"..."

「You must someday possess a sword capable of killing a monster like the one approaching us with a single stroke. Even then, it will not be enough to face a swordmaster. The enemy you declared you would kill stands at the very pinnacle of the things the world fears, does he not?」

The fighter who had suddenly appeared was a bloody wreck. Their black armor had been savagely hacked apart, and the blood spilling from it traced a red line across the ground. Their mangled legs wobbled. Sobbing came from behind the helmet.

"Please... spare me."

It was a voice that had long since lost all will to fight.

A voice filled with terror. With that dying cry, the fighter fell headfirst to the ground. Neither voice nor breath could be heard anymore. Then, from beyond the place the fighter had emerged, I heard approaching footsteps. At the same time, my instincts screamed.

「You will be afraid.」

Run.

「But you must not flee.」

Run without looking back.

「Face your trial, young descendant.」

Forget any thought of standing against him.

「Only then can you grow stronger.」

Countless cries of weakness swirled within me. My heart pounded. Its rhythm accelerated, and cold sweat ran down my skin. With my hands trembling, I bit down hard on my lip. Hard enough to draw blood.

「Only then can you accomplish what you desire.」

I drew a brief breath.

Then I spoke.

"The one coming toward us—is he someone I can beat?"

「Who knows? No one knows the outcome of a duel until swords cross.」

"Is he strong?"

Liam answered without hesitation.

「So strong that comparing you to him would be an insult. Do you remember the yawning blond fellow in the waiting room earlier? It's him.」

"The one you said was a member of a Great Family?"

「Yes. One of the five most powerful families on the continent.」

As Liam whispered, a long, drawn-out yawn sounded in the distance. A lazy "Haaah." The attitude fit neither the place nor the situation.

「The rulers of the six free cities, the indolent 'Rhapsody.'」

The unhurried footsteps drew closer.

Slowly, his figure came into view. The special equipment concealed even his appearance completely. But I could feel it unmistakably. He was strong. Far, far too strong.

Were he and I truly both swordsmen?

No—were we even the same kind of living creature?

So overwhelming was he that even breathing felt difficult.

And yet.

『Our land burned, and once again those who shone were trampled. The radiant, beautiful age lost its luster, and mouths that had whispered of love gave forth sobbing screams.』

『Even so, we will not be broken.』

I gripped my sword.

『Over hundreds of years, I came to understand.』

『No, perhaps I had known even before then.』

『Perhaps that was why I thought humans beautiful.』

『Perhaps that was why I loved humans.』

The gleaming point of my sword aimed at him.

『Even if the world burns, humans do not disappear.』

『Stars do not disappear. Though their sparkling light and beauty may fade for a time, someday they will blaze and shine again.』

『Humans will never disappear.』

『The Age of Stars does not end.』

I no longer wavered.