Chapter 135 : Chapter 135

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 135 – The Cloud Bridge (3)

“Witch. Orc.”

The dragon’s voice resounded through the air.

“You two—cross over. Beyond the bridge.”

Each time the dragon spoke, one of our party vanished. When it said Witch, Audrey dissolved like smoke. When it said orc, Sherizik too faded into mist.

I had no idea what principle was at work—what mysterious power had caused it.

“One could say,” the dragon murmured, “that those worthy have now departed.”

And that meant only one thing.

“Now, only the lowly remain.”

That left Tom, Seol Yoon, and me.

“How should I deal with you, then?”

Just the three of us— And we were utterly screwed.

***

Falling from such a height was a nightmare. As gravity dragged us down, the only thing a wingless human could do was thrash helplessly in the air.

A storm of thoughts rushed through my mind. If I had superhuman strength, could I survive the impact? But when I glanced below, the very idea vanished. Superhuman or not—if we hit the ground from here, we’d die.

Think. There has to be a way.

Tom and Seol Yoon were plummeting alongside me. And there was nothing we could do. Even a Sword Expert couldn’t fly. Unless one had awakened a Mystery of flight like the Valkyries I’d seen in the War Duel, a swordsman had limits. That was why groups always included someone skilled in Mystery. And our mage? She’d been whisked far away by the dragon.

“Tom! Can a Sword Expert’s armor absorb the impact?”

“It can!”

“Then—”

“I know what you’re thinking, my lord! But it’s impossible! The armor of a Sword Expert protects only the wearer! If I hug you two as we fall, I’ll survive—but the two of you will be crushed to paste. Then I’d just be clutching your corpses and weeping!”

“Ah…”

Damn it. The Sword Expert’s ability was useless here.

「Naturally. If you knew how the power of a Sword Expert manifests, you wouldn’t ask such a foolish question.」

“I was trying to think of something!”

Even in crisis, Liam couldn’t help but snark.

What about the mystery of 「Gale」? No, useless—the essence of that Mystery was altering the direction of force, not stopping it. I might change the trajectory of the fall, but not end it.

Could I use the mystery of Acceleration instead? Could I extend a Road upward, connect to something? For a fleeting second, I considered it—but realized how idiotic that was. A Path visualized a swordsman’s possible paths of movement. Without ground to step on, there could be no Path.

And that wasn’t the only problem. Far off, the dragon was closing in—coming to crush the intruders who had trespassed its sky. A chill ran down my spine.

Then Seol Yoon shouted,

“Arhan, come to me!”

I looked toward her. Behind her, something shimmered—Wings. Thin, translucent like a butterfly’s at first, then bathed in light, they grew into feathery wings. 「Thousandfold Change.」 Her ever-shifting mystery had awakened. And the shape of those Wings—yes, I recognized them.

“Valkyrie Wings…”

“I mimicked what I saw in the War Duel!”

Mimicked. She said it as if it were easy. It wasn’t. Copying another’s Mystery just by witnessing it? Not after long study, but instantly, while falling to your death?

Insane.

Yes. I’d forgotten— Seol Yoon was a genius.

“Tom said he can survive the fall. And he’ll be fine even if he lands below—he’s the strongest of the three of us. So all we have to do is make sure we survive.”

“That’s true, but—”

“But?”

“Being able to fly doesn’t mean you’re safe, Seol Yoon.”

Flight— was good news. But—

“What a fascinating trick.”

Our enemy was a dragon. Without sound or warning, the ruler of the sky appeared above us, as if teleporting. Like a hawk snatching prey, it seized Seol Yoon’s Wings in its claws.

A sickening crack followed.

Seol Yoon screamed, blood spilling from her lips as the Wings—those imitation Valkyrie Wings—snapped apart.

“Any more tricks left?”

The Mana wrapping the dragon’s body was unimaginably dense. Just touching it had shattered Seol Yoon’s Wings. Her eyes went unfocused—Mana Shock. The surge must have knocked her consciousness away. Blood dripped from her slack face.

“Pathetic. So pitifully weak.”

Its gaze looked down on us— those jewel-like eyes filled with arrogance, seeing all beneath them as lesser. The same eyes I’d come to loathe. The kind that belittled the weak, trampled the small— eyes just like Carlos’s.

“My lord!”

From below came a sharp shwack! as a long blade shot upward. It streaked toward the dragon— but bounced harmlessly off its scales with a metallic clang. The dragon’s lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. But the attack’s purpose wasn’t to pierce.

The hilt of the blade was tied with a rope.

“What—”

Tom yanked the rope hard. The blade whipped around, wrapping itself around the dragon’s body. The rope functioned like a climber’s anchor—holding fast, securing a line against the fall.

“I’ll draw its attention, my lord—!”

Tom’s body flared with light. The rope swung, and in the blink of an eye, he stood atop the dragon’s head. A Sword Expert—a fully matured Sword Runner. On his aged back spread ten brilliant pairs of Wings. In one hand, he gripped the rope; in the other, a slender rapier. Then came a thunderous crash, like lightning striking. His sword thrust into the dragon’s hide again and again—too fast to count. And then— all I could see was Tom vomiting blood, his rapier snapped in half.

「Unless he were a perfect Sword Expert, that armor of his could never wound a dragon.」

“……”

「It’s like flies buzzing around an elephant. No matter how hard they flap, could three little flies ever bring down an elephant?」

Flies. Yes—that was exactly what we were.

“Wretched insects…”

A single touch from the dragon had rendered Seol Yoon unconscious. Tom, for daring to glance its way, was coughing blood. The sheer presence of the dragon was crushing. It could have torn us apart in an instant.

“My lord… run…”

His cracked voice reached me.

I met Tom’s eyes.

“Tom, you said you know dragons.”

“……”

“I don’t know anything. Run? How? Tell me—anything.”

Tom gasped for breath.

“In the sky—under the sunlight—the dragon is absolute.”

“……”

“But where the sky does not reach, its eyes are blind. The lamp’s base is always dark… a dragon cannot see what lies beneath the lamp.”

The dragon’s claws swept down toward him. But at the moment of contact—clang!—a shell of armor formed around Tom. Not the full plate of a knight, but the open, functional armor of a gladiator—protecting only the head and vital spots.

“Tch. How annoying—”

The armor held against the blow. But it had too many gaps. And if I could see them, then surely the dragon could as well. Its reptilian eye rolled once. The next strike would pierce Tom’s flesh. And the old man would die here.

No. I wouldn’t let that happen.

At that instant, I felt a strange trembling— from my sword.

This isn’t…

It wasn’t the voice of a spirit. The blade itself was vibrating—alive.

I gripped it tighter, and a power spread from the sword like roots through soil.

「Did I not tell you not to discard that relic?」

A fragment of Spirit King Gaia, the power of the earth sealed within the blade— was awakening.

The dragon must have sensed it too. It abandoned Tom, turning its massive head toward me.

In an instant, its body shifted—appearing before me as if it had teleported.

“That… disturbs me.”

Its claws slashed forward— too fast for the human eye.

No superhuman reflex could match that speed. All I could do was place my sword where the claws would land— a desperate, precise interception.

The dragon didn’t stop—it meant to tear through my blade and my body at once. But then—

“What—?”

A sharp crack echoed— and the dragon’s claw was severed.

My sword, by contrast, was unscathed.

…So they weren’t exaggerating when they called this the strongest sword on the continent.

Even the force of that monstrous strike had been absorbed by the blade.

The severed claw spun through the air, and fury blazed in the dragon’s eyes.

“What are you?”

Then—

“That hideous stench of steel… and this impossible act… what are you? What is that sword, and what is that nauseating scent that’s been tormenting me since the start?”

Something about its words was off.

It’s called a steel scent—but it doesn’t know who I am?

Dragons were ancient, eternal beings. The ones I’d heard of all knew of the Karavan family. Yet this one… didn’t.

Could that be?

「Hoh.」

My master answered for me.

「This one’s a young dragon.」

“……”

「It makes sense. The dragons are bound by a pact—they should all be nesting atop the Sky Mountains. For one to appear this low? Odd. And it hasn’t summoned spirits or cast any of the complex Mysteries dragons are known for. Why only fight with claws and wings? Now I see—it’s not that it wouldn’t, it couldn’t. It’s still a child. Unawakened.」

My master cast a sidelong glance at it.

「And it just confirmed itself. It said the smell of steel drew it here. Ridiculous. A true dragon would flee from the aura of Steel, not approach it.」

Then, he chuckled.

「Young descendant, pour the power of the earth within your blade into that creature.」

“……”

「If the battle moves to the ground, it’ll be the one crawling like an insect, not you.」

The dragon’s eyes trembled ever so slightly. It had felt fear. Anyone would, when faced with the unknown— even a proud dragon.

「A young dragon is no dragon at all. It’s just a winged lizard.」

I gripped the sword infused with the Spirit King’s power. Then said,

“Curious, are you?”

And without hesitation, I swung.

“Then come down and see for yourself, little one.”

The power of the earth— erupted.