Chapter 112 : Chapter 112

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 112. Fragment (1)

The treasure of the Karavan family.

The sword once wielded by the family’s founder—its greatest patriarch, and the most powerful Swordmaster in history.

According to my father, the blade had been forged at least five centuries ago, yet it still gleamed with a terrifying sharpness, as if it could cut through anything at this very moment.

My vessel was far too small to contain all of the grandeur sealed within that blade. What I had digested was only the faintest fragment of it—a shard of a sword whose end I could never even imagine.

“...Hoo.”

It felt unlike anything before. No memories of the blade surfaced. No visions of the master who once wielded it, no vistas from a long-forgotten age. Only a single, fleeting voice brushed past me—not that of the old Liam who had withered and passed, but the voice of the great Swordmaster who had once carved through an era.

「Disappointed?」

An incomplete fragment. From it, I gained no ultimate swordsmanship, no absolute authority of a Swordmaster, no divine miracle that could shatter fate.

Only one thing.

“No.”

Karavan. The Trace of Steel.

I had drawn a little closer to the glory of the past. Feeling the restless new power stirring within me, I whispered:

“...This much is more than enough.”

***

Edan Rhapsody narrowed his eyes. The wooden rod in his hand had caught a strange flame—a fierce fire without heat, without warmth, a mirage of annihilation.

Trickery.

He recognized it at once.

A Mystery.

The personal authority of a swordsman who had reached the realm of the Sword Runner— one who could unfold their own world, giving birth to infinite possibilities.

Troublesome.

The moment he faced the flame, he understood its nature.

One word could describe it: Disintegration.

A fire that burned by breaking everything down.

The pitiful warrior’s flame was devouring all it touched—the three pairs of Wings Edan had unleashed, the oceanic Path dominating the duel ground, even the second heart pounding within his chest. In all his vast experience, Edan Rhapsody had never seen nor heard of such a Mystery.

An unprecedented phenomenon.

As he watched the flame gnaw at his greatness, he murmured inwardly:

A power steeped in malice toward the world.

How deep must one’s resentment run to forge fangs like this? Through what eyes must one view the world to birth such a power? A bitter laugh escaped him.

No wonder Toma lost.

For a brief instant, curiosity stirred within him—the blood of the Lazy Idler boiling in his veins, craving release from endless boredom. In that unremarkable warrior, he saw a dazzling spark of potential—fangs that, someday, might even reach him. But that curiosity soon faded.

Now was not the time.

He had come here as an avenger.

Whether the man before him might one day become a great swordsman was irrelevant. As the second son of House Rhapsody, as the brother of a ruined sibling, Edan Rhapsody had the duty to crush and trample the fool who had sullied his family’s name.

“Hoo.”

He carved away curiosity and feeling alike, until nothing human remained—only a blade of cold purpose.

He watched as the fire consumed him.

The flames of disintegration had already devoured one pair of Wings, and they would not stop there.

They would swallow all that Edan Rhapsody had built, reducing him to a frail man of flesh. Such was the cruelty in that fire’s will. But this was not yet a crisis.

If Edan willed it, he could extinguish the flame with ease. No Mystery, however unheard of, could stand against a Sword Expert’s authority. Once he summoned his Armor, the power of Impenetrability would activate, and such trifles would vanish without a trace.

But that wouldn’t do.

He had sworn before the duel began—that he would use nothing but his three pairs of Wings.

As one of the Five Great Houses, he would uphold the sacred rules of the duel, even at the cost of his life.

And besides—He won’t need it.

Such limitations would not affect the outcome in the slightest.

Never.

“...”

Edan slowly raised his gaze.

The pitiful warrior stood before him, cloaked in flame. Wings sprouted from his back—but they were strange, unlike any bird’s or butterfly’s. They were made of bone—gray, metallic, as if forged from joined blades.

Full of cheap tricks.

Edan stepped forward as though strolling through a sunny garden. His feet lifted, touched the ground again, and for a heartbeat he vanished, reappearing before me— like a mage’s teleportation.

His wooden rod traced a perfect arc. A simple thrust—aimed precisely at my blade’s edge.

He would break it, then carve despair into my bones. Crush, trample, strip away everything I held— the way noble houses always did.

He would not grant me an easy death.

He would keep his promise.

This warrior would learn just how vast the world truly was, and how merciless the five pillars that ruled it could be.

The rod cut the air, colliding with the steel of my sword.

A clear note rang out—a sword cry.

“...?”

I didn’t yield. Before the tide, I did not bend.

Edan’s brow furrowed.

I hadn’t moved an inch. In that instant, I must have looked to him like steel—unyielding steel on a distant shore, unmoved by crashing waves.

“Ah...”

A faint exclamation rose—from Toma Rhapsody, watching from afar. Edan didn’t understand why his brother made that sound, why his eyes shone as if he’d remembered something precious, as if he were a boy recalling a forgotten dream.

“Brother.”

Toma tried to speak.

“Brother, stop—wait—”

But the clash was louder than his broken voice.

***

My body burned. My heart blazed like a sun, and the blood in my veins flowed like molten steel.

Even the sword in my hand burned.

I could no longer tell whether I held a blade or a flame—and it didn’t matter.

“Fu—”

With one breath, I invoked the strength of a superhuman. But now, with these Wings, I wielded the strength of Steel itself.

Edan moved. A mere twitch of his foot—and I foresaw what would follow.

Doubt. The intuition that missed nothing.

It showed me the moment before it happened.

He would spread his Wings, move like teleportation, and in an instant, he’d be before me—cutting me down before I even understood how.

My awakening as a Sword Runner, my Mystery, the 「Flame of Doubt」—none of that could shield me from a perfected Sword Expert.

So I needed another shield.

“Hup!”

The fragment had shown me the sword of a distant past—A forgotten history.

A forgotten age.

The greatest Swordmaster of all, founder of the mightiest house, whose bloodline carried the most powerful authority.

The Wings of Steel are stronger than any other.

The Trace of Steel.

The moment I remembered it, the voice returned.

『I was born in war.』

My heart thundered. The heart of steel pumped molten Mana through my veins, spreading through my body and into my Wings.

『The phoenix rises from ash.』

The Wings upon my back were unlike any creature’s—forged of steel, as though stitched together from blades. No one had ever taught me how to use them. But I knew. The memory was in the fragment. In my blood.

『The world cast me into the fire.』

All Paths are connected. A Sword Runner’s Wings bind them tighter, allowing instant motion like a cord pulled taut. But could that connection be used for something else? Yes. I had seen it in the fragment—the true potential of the Wings of Steel.

『The world broke me, crushed me.』

How was steel born? To defy the world. To resist the era. To strike down what was greater, stronger, unjust. It wasn’t raw power or speed that defined Karavan’s essence. It was Steel.

And what was the nature of Steel? Simplicity itself.

『But the world did not kill me.』

Endurance. The strong do not survive. Those who survive become strong.

My master once said—Even when all else fell, Karavan alone stood at the end.

The moment I recalled it, every Path within me converged into one—not a Line nor a curve, but a single point.

That point burned upon my sword. My Wings shifted, their steel frames expanding, driving into the ground like roots, like a monument that would never move.

It’s not what they were meant for...

Fixed in place, my body and my sword became unmoving.

The Wings still roared with acceleration—not to move swiftly, but to hold firm, to never yield, to remain unmoved against all force.

A fine adaptation.

And so—the Unmoving Sword unfolded.

Unable to retreat, I faced Edan Rhapsody head-on.

“Come—Edan Rhapsody!”

It was all a blur. I couldn’t predict what kind of sword would fall upon me, how overwhelming it would be.

But still— I faced it.

“I will not run! I will not fall back!”

And—

“Come ahea—!”

Edan’s foot lifted—and in the next instant, he was before me.

“...!”

No time for words.

I held my breath and thrust. A thunderclap rang out. The impact through the blade was shattering. My skull felt like it might split, my limbs break apart—but my hand still gripped the sword.

I could fight.

“──!”

I withstood the crashing wave. But I couldn’t relax. A wave never came alone—and House Rhapsody wasn’t a wave. It was an endless ocean.

I was fighting not the tide, but the sea itself.

“Ugh—”

A quick breath. I’d blocked a thrust, now I had to think.

Where would the next one strike? Lower body? Upper? A killing blow? I couldn’t react by sight— I had to predict with doubt.

“──”

My brain burned, but I kept thinking.

I remembered Toma Rhapsody’s thrusts. Same school, different level.

I took my stance.

Clang.

I couldn’t see it, but I felt it. Blocked it? I didn’t know.

Their swords were the fastest in the continent. No use watching. If I felt it, I had to act.

Ka-kang.

Blocked again.

A miracle. And beyond Edan’s shoulder, I saw the crowd— and Toma Rhapsody among them.

The dullness in his eyes had lifted. He was remembering. As if recalling a brilliant past.

Just a little longer. I had to hold.

Damn it. Surely it’s been more than ten seconds.

Apparently, our young master’s memory wasn’t as sharp as I’d hoped. No time to curse him now. There was only one way to end this— for Toma Rhapsody to remember the truth.

I just had to buy that time.

“-!”

Our blades clashed again. Our breaths roared in unison.

Time itself seemed to stop.

Even the grains of sand rising from the earth looked frozen in the air.

The scent of sweat, the sting of sunlight—it all grew sharp. And then— the world lost its color.

Everything became black and white.No crowd. No villagers. Only the sky, the ground, two men, two swords.

In that dim arena, I met every strike head-on.

Kaga-kang!

Sparks flew— and in those sparks, I saw something.

A Path of flame connecting to Edan Rhapsody.

A path of fire, rough and perilous— a road no sane man would tread.

That brilliant road split the monochrome world in two. And by instinct, I followed it.

My stance—it wasn’t swordsmanship. It was like a blacksmith swinging a hammer.

A crude vertical slash. Wasteful, slow, impossible to land on a master like him. But— I chose it anyway.

“──”

Kaang! The sound of forging steel.

Edan blocked it, tilting his rod slightly. Then he moved—a stance I knew.

A thrust. Aimed for my eyes.

He would blind me—perhaps kill me outright.

He didn’t miss the opening.

But—

“...!”

It wasn’t an ordinary slash. It was Steel.

The swordsmanship of Karavan.

The heaviest sword on the continent.

Zzeong—!

An explosion thundered out.

The ground beneath Edan’s feet cratered. Cracks spidered through his wooden rod—as if lightning had struck from a clear sky.

「Young heir.」

His eyes wavered. For the first time—shock.

「You already know what comes next.」

I did not indulge in pride. Instead, I readied the next motion—the one I had seen within the fragment.

「Remind those who have forgotten history— who ruled the most brutal age, who stood atop the world in its ruin, who remained when all else fell.」

“...”

「Show them who stood at the peak of the Five Great Houses.」

The Second Steel.

「Make them pay for forgetting Karavan, my descendant.」

Polishing.