Chapter 131 : Chapter 131

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 131 – The Border (1)

“Of course we’ll fight it.”

“……”

“You don’t understand what a Spirit King is. If this were the forest—or worse, an elemental realm woven by a spirit master—we would have died the instant we met its eyes.”

“But we’re not in a forest, are we?”

“Right. This is the Middle Realm—the world of flesh and blood, the land of the seven races.”

Audrey narrowed her eyes.

“The Spirit King Gaia standing before us isn’t the true one. What you’re seeing is a fragment, an avatar sent into the Middle Realm through some vessel. It’s far weaker than its real body.”

“……”

“But even so, it’s dangerous. And killing it won’t help us. Destroying that body doesn’t kill Gaia—the real one will awaken in the Spirit Realm. Then every earth spirit across the continent will obey their king and treat us as enemies. The land itself will turn against you, heir of Steel.”

Audrey sighed.

「You don’t have to worry about that.」

Liam’s voice cut in.

「All five Spirit Kings already despise the Karavan line.」

“…What?”

「Cut it down and move on. If the spirits seek revenge, I’ll deal with it myself. Affairs of the spirit world should be settled there.」

He had never said anything like I’ll handle it personally before.

As I stared, Liam’s expression softened.

「Think of it as repayment.」

“Repayment?”

「For letting me save face before our other ancestors. So keep honoring your bloodline as you just did.」

He grinned faintly. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Understood, Master. Loyalty and duty.”

Reliable as always—my master.

“Lady Audrey.”

“What now?”

“Setting everything else aside, just answer this one: if we all go at that thing together, do we stand a chance?”

Her reply came after a moment’s thought.

“There are a lot of factors—the size of its vessel, the strength it’s allowed to manifest here, how much energy it used breaking the wall—”

“Please make it simple enough for me to understand.”

Her brow twitched. Then, in the simplest possible form:

“…We can win.”

Good enough.

“Alright.”

I drew my sword. The moment the blade was bared, Gaia’s eyes shifted toward me. The obsidian gleam in them pulsed. The ground quaked as that mountain of a body began to move. Earth fell from its limbs in heaps as it spoke.

【You dare oppose me?】

The voice didn’t match the monstrous form. It was elegant, noble—like a refined aristocrat, not a beast.

【Mortals, defying the master of all earth?】

Boom.

Gaia stepped forward. In its hand, a fragment of the shattered wall—a chunk large enough to crush a building.

I looked at Audrey.

“Can you provide magical support?”

“I’m still not fully recovered.”

“So that’s a no?”

“I can manage the basics, but nothing big.”

That would have to do. I glanced at the others—Seol Yoon, Tom, Sherizik.

All of them looked at me.

“Then let’s clear the obstacle and get moving.”

I inhaled deeply. My second heart beat once, and the strength of a transcendent filled my body. Threads of Paths spread like a web before my eyes. Wings unfolded from my back as the world slowed.

I moved. And Gaia moved as well. Despite its massive body, it was fast—shoulders turning, its arm drawing back to throw the wall’s debris like a siege weapon.

“Master Arhan, I’ll go first.”

A thunderclap. In the blink of an eye, Tom appeared before Gaia. The aging steward had returned to his old self—a warrior of the battlefield. His sword thrust forward, piercing Gaia’s shoulder. Mana flared—lightning crackled, scattering dirt and stone.

The blade drove in—

【Begone.】

—then shattered.

“What—?”

A sharp crack rang out as Tom’s sword splintered like glass. Gaia’s hand lunged for him, but Audrey’s spell pulled him back just in time. The titanic fingers sliced through empty air.

【Metal is born of earth. What is born of earth cannot harm its master. Foolish mortals—did you think your mistake would go unpunished?】

Tom landed, panting. Audrey muttered, “Bad match-up.”

“What was that?”

“The Authority of Earth—an elemental rule that disassembles anything born of soil. Metal comes from ore, and ore from the ground. A sword is metal. A sword cannot cut what rules the earth itself.”

Metal doesn’t work? Seol Yoon looked stricken.

“…That was a new sword.”

She sighed miserably. But we had no time for sympathy.

If every metal weapon broke on contact, that made the three swordsmen here effectively useless. And if metal couldn’t harm it, even Sherizik’s armored strikes were meaningless.

“I thought you said we could win? How do we fight something that breaks swords? We’ve got three sword fighters! And if metal’s useless, Sherizik’s out too, right?”

“Descendant of Steel,” Sherizik said evenly, “I am strong even bare-handed.”

“I don’t doubt that, but still! Audrey, can your magic overpower a Spirit King? Maybe Witches have some kind of secret final spell?”

“There’s no such thing. But—”

She shook her head, then pointed straight at me.

“You can.”

“…Me?”

“You’re the heir of Steel.”

Her eyes gleamed.

“The Spirit King’s authority is absolute—but your blood holds a higher one. A power no element can touch. The ultimate rule that surpasses all worlds.”

“…What?”

“The Authority of Steel.”

I saw my reflection in her eyes.

“No one,” she said, “can take the Karavan’s sword.”

***

Thoom. Gaia’s footsteps shook the ground.

“Alright then.”

I steadied my breath and faced it. The walking mountain, alive and furious— a calamity of stone and vine.

Could I do this? Doubt crept in— then I crushed it. Yes. I could. Steel flowed through my veins.

【You still stand?】

Paths stretched before me— lines connecting me to my target. When one touched Gaia, my Wings unfurled, and I was pulled forward like a comet.

【Foolish.】

In an instant, I was upon its shoulder. Up close, it was terrifying— a living fortress.

“Let’s see how solid you really are.”

I swung downward. First Steel – Forging. A perfect vertical cut.

The edge struck between neck and shoulder, and mystic flames erupted from my body— the 「Flame of Doubt」 that unravels all Mysteries.

【You dull creature, can you not feel it? What is born of earth cannot—】

The fire spread across its rocky flesh. A flicker of panic crossed Gaia’s obsidian eyes.

The blade hummed— then dropped like the heaviest weapon on the continent.

【—harm me?!】

CLANG!

The sound was like a smith’s hammer.

The ground split beneath Gaia’s weight; its left leg crumbled.

Rock and vine fell away, turning back into dirt.

【…What is this?】

I didn’t stop.

With the tip still low, I swung upward. Second Steel – Polishing. The strike that strips away all defenses. The blade hissed through the air— flames licked across its shell, melting through the hardened surface.

【You—!】

Its massive hand reached for me. The world slowed again.

In that suspended moment, a memory surfaced— words from the Land of the Small Sword.

‘Your use of the Wings is creative, but not correct. The Wings of Steel are not for matching strong foes—they exist to crush everything beneath you.’

My heart thundered.

‘The Wings of Steel are the strongest of all. They say they can fly farther than any other Wings. Do you know what that means?’

The world nearly froze.

‘A Sword Runner can normally use only one Path—the Wings can’t endure more. Try to accelerate again, and they’ll break.’

I saw the web of Paths clearly now.

‘But the Karavan are different. We can fly farther. We can use several Paths at once. You understand what that means?’

I selected several points. My Wings vibrated—ready.

【What—】

Then I was everywhere. Multiple accelerations, one after another. I sliced the back of its knee, its shoulder, its chest, its neck— to any observer, it would look as though I’d split into several selves.

And finally, I rose high—above its head.

‘And when the Wings of Steel accelerate along the Steel Path, that’s when their true power awakens.’

Below me stretched a single glowing Line, clear enough to cut the world in two.

The Wings trembled—my body aligned with the Line.

‘A sword that nothing can stop.’

The blade in my hand felt no longer separate from me. The power was overwhelming—yet incomplete. Something inside me still held back.

Then— a second heartbeat. A surge.

New Wings burst from my back. To fill what was missing. My body evolved.

【Impossible.】

Two pairs of Wings. They flared, and I plunged— from the highest point straight to the lowest, my sword tracing a flawless line of steel from Gaia’s head to its legs.

【No… this cannot—】

Cracks spread. Its body crumbled, the obsidian eyes locking on me in disbelief.

The massive hand reached again, desperate to crush me.

【Why… why does your blade defy me?】

“Because it’s mine.”

【No… Metal… is mine. Metal is earth. What is on earth cannot harm its master. It cannot…】

“Seems like it can.”

At that, Gaia stopped speaking human words. It roared—a beast’s sound, raw and deafening.

I laughed.

“You really are noisy.”

I raised my sword. The motion—a vertical cut again.

The only one I knew that fit.

First Steel – Forging.

“Shut up and go home.”

Steel strikes twice. You lump of rock.

CLANG!

A deafening impact. Gaia’s body detonated, scattering boulders and dirt.

Audrey’s barrier absorbed the blast; when the dust settled, only a mountain of rubble remained.

The Earth Spirit King was gone. Back to its realm.

“…That was… it?”

Audrey’s disbelief echoed mine. The so-called Incarnation of Destruction— and it fell that easily.

Maybe its legend was exaggerated. Or maybe—

“You’ve changed,” she said quietly.

—or maybe I’d simply grown strong enough.

***

We’d beaten the Spirit King, but the aftermath was a mess. The road ahead was buried in dirt and stone— like a collapsed cliff. I stared at it, grimacing.

It reminded me of my early days— climbing cliffs like a dog to become a Sword Beginner, or scaling the orcs’ sacred mountains just to claim a new blade. Seems cliffs and I were destined enemies.

“What are you doing? Come on.”

Thankfully, no climbing today.

Audrey waved her hand— space warped, forming a passage through the rubble.

She’d never looked more beautiful. I almost clapped.

Then Seol Yoon tilted her head.

“Arhan.”

“Yes?”

“Your sword… what’s that?”

“What do you mean?”

Following her gaze, I looked down— and froze.

“What the…?”

My sword— wasn’t the same anymore.