## Chapter 345 – The Sword Waiting to be Drawn (10)
<Aaron's Parallel Story Episode 16>
***
The city didn’t originally belong to the White Demons. Neither the palace, nor the audience chamber, nor the throne upon which that being sat belonged to the White Demons. They were human. In the ancient era of light, when human civilization reached its peak, it was built for the eternal glory of the king.
But not anymore. Now, in that place, sat a specter, not a human. The golden crown on his head, the red cape, the luxuriously adorned garments, all of it was displeasing to the eye.
“Incredible,” said the White Demon sitting on the throne. The expression in his eyes was one of pure admiration. “Honestly, it’s astonishing. That you can demonstrate such skill with the body of a weak human.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of applause echoed hollowly in the audience chamber. Only the king and the man were there.
“As a human, you must have questions,” the king said solemnly. “Why live as slaves just for being human? Why do only we suffer oppression and pain? I understand those questions. It’s no wonder you resent us.”
The man began to walk on the carpet leading to the throne.
“But what can be done? That’s the law of nature. The strong exploit the weak. The lion eats the rabbit. It’s a law that has existed since the creation of the world. It won’t change a thousand years before, nor a thousand years after.”
“……”
“That’s why I congratulate you. That a rabbit eats a lion, isn’t that truly astonishing? Or perhaps… maybe I was wrong. Were humans not rabbits, but wolves with fangs?”
The king rose from the throne.
“I’ve understood the truth of the world. The strong must behave like the strong, the weak like the weak. But today, your strength has opened my eyes.”
The man didn’t respond. Even though his body was trying to collapse, he kept it upright with sheer willpower, advancing step by step.
“What do you say, warrior? Will you join me?”
“……”
“I know you’re dying. But don’t worry. I have connections with a mage. I can heal those wounds.”
“……”
“Until now, humans have been exploited because they were weak. Because they were no good for anything else. But you’ve proven otherwise. You’ve shown the human potential. If that’s the case, then I must reconsider too.”
The king waved his cape and, with a smile, extended his hand.
“What do you say, strong warrior? Will you conquer the world with me?”
“……”
“Here we are, I, the king, and you, the hero. As in the past, when the king and the hero united, won’t we open a new era together?”
The man remained silent. The murderous intent in his eyes intensified more and more.
“There’s no need to distinguish between races. White Demons and humans can coexist. Yes, with your strength and my governance, we can dominate the entire continent.”
The king’s serene appearance began to crumble.
“I apologize. I was wrong to underestimate human power. If you join me, I’ll reconsider the treatment of humans. You’re right. Humans weren’t rabbits. My mistake.”
The distance between them was shortening.
“Don’t you see that it’s foolish to oppose me? You’re dying. Individual strength has its limits. You alone can’t do anything. Your strength only makes sense under my leadership.”
“Shut up.”
“I’ll rip that mouth of yours off,” the man said briefly.
“Hahaha, what arrogance! Do you know you’re dying? Do you think I reached the throne with words alone?”
The king pulled back his cape, revealing a finely crafted silver sword.
Sching.
The well-sharpened sword was drawn. It was a sword offered to the human king in ancient times. Imbued with magic, its value was immeasurable.
“Foolish! If you had knelt, I would have spared your stupid life,” the king said, showing his fangs. At the same time, the tip of his sword pointed at the man. A firm stance, without a hint of doubt. Unlike other White Demons, the king didn’t learn to use weapons just for decoration. He had learned formal swordsmanship.
In the palace treasure chamber, ancient martial arts manuals were kept. After training based on those texts, the king became the strongest in the city. Most White Demons don’t train. They rely only on their innate strength and ferocity. But the king was different. Although he was born with more strength and talent than the others, he didn’t become arrogant. He became stronger through constant training and real combat. Thus, he eliminated his competitors and consolidated his position as king.
“Die!”
The king stepped heavily. In an instant, the place where he was became blurry. The man swung his sword to the left.
Clang!
The swords clashed. The king’s shadow moved again, appearing to the side. At the same time, another attack came.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
From the left. From above. From below. Again from the left. The king moved, leaving shadows behind him. It was difficult to follow his speed with the eyes. He wasn’t just fast. There was slowness in the speed, and in that slowness, change. A cut that seemed to come from above, actually emerged from below. One that seemed to come from below, actually came from the side. He accelerated and then slowed down, and as he changed, he accelerated again. Blue sparks flew everywhere.
The man barely managed to block the attacks with his old sword. Normally, his supersenses allowed him to anticipate his enemy’s movements. But they didn’t work with the king. The king’s strength was beyond his senses. He was only blocking, nothing more. Every time he deflected the sword, his entire body ached. The king’s sword had such overwhelming force that it vibrated his body with every blow. He couldn’t counterattack.
“Where’s the confidence that you’d rip my mouth off?”
Slash.
Blood spurted from his thigh.
“Foolish! Foolish!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every time the swords clashed, the man’s wounds gradually increased. He barely managed to avoid fatal wounds. But he couldn’t prevent his body from being injured.
‘…….’
Even if his body were in perfect condition, this would be a difficult fight. From the beginning, the king was sure. He wouldn’t lose to anyone. It wasn’t arrogance. It was confidence in the strength he had accumulated.
Slash.
With another sharp sound, the sword cut his abdomen. This time, the man couldn’t block the attack.
“Jajajaja!”
The king laughed, sensing victory.
“…….”
His vision was turning red. His body wasn’t responding. He no longer felt pain. He only felt cold. The cold spread from the back of his neck, covering his entire body. Maybe it was the sign of death. The man sensed it. When he stopped moving his sword, death would begin. He had no choice but to decide.
‘Draw it.’
When did he realize he had a ‘sword’ in his heart? Following the vibration of that sword, the man could gain strength. In the arena, he could avoid defeat, and sometimes, he managed to win fierce bouts to save the lives of his opponents. But the man didn’t like that sword in his heart. For him, the sword was just a tool to kill and wound. He had only used it to avoid dying, but he had never really wanted to wield it.
If he drew it, if he took the sword from his heart and gained strength, he feared he would become a demon. That would be the ‘sword demon’. A demon obsessed with the sword and a killer. At that moment, the man would no longer have a human heart. Only a demon who cut and killed everyone would exist.
That’s why he wished. He wished he had a way to control the sword in his heart. Could a value like honor guide his sword correctly? Or would there be a great king somewhere who would use his sword correctly? Now he didn’t know. This was the end of his life.
‘Life is incomprehensible.’
The man smiled. He never thought he would have to draw the sword from his heart. He would rather die than use it in vain. That was his decision. Only a miracle in his life could make him draw his sword.
“Die!”
Shiiing!
The sound of the air being torn. The man opened his eyes wide. The king’s final attack. A blue trajectory was rapidly heading towards his neck. The man’s death was approaching slowly, but surely. It was too late. Too late. He couldn’t counter that blow. He could only watch as his perception of time slowed down infinitely.
Even if he blocked, it wouldn’t end there. The second and third attacks would follow. Only the fruitless exchanges so far would repeat themselves.
So, he had to finish it. With one blow.
Was it possible? With a body on the brink of death. With a body that could barely move.
Could he deliver a final blow that would allow no counterattacks or evasions?
According to his calculations, it was impossible. Sadly, the current man couldn’t defeat that king. So he decided. Only once in his life, to awaken the sword that lay dormant in his heart.
‘Open.’
The man’s eyes calmed. The light in his pupils disappeared for a moment. At that moment, his gaze was fixed on a very distant point.
“……”
It was a deep, black sea. A concept and an ideology made concrete, something a human couldn’t perceive.
Splash.
The waves roared. Countless black particles broke and scattered. Each foam contained an infinite amount of knowledge. Each ripple shone with countless perceptions.
‘This place is…’
The man knew. The place from which he unconsciously gained strength, even without knowing how to wield a sword. It was a sea where all the concepts of martial arts in all dimensions materialized. From the beginning of time to a distant future. In this sea lay everything related to martial arts. From rudimentary techniques to principles that traversed the universe.
‘So…’
Borrowing all the strength of this sea was impossible for the man. That’s how it had been until now. He had only observed and emulated clumsily. The man wasn’t even at the starting point.
He regretted it a little. If he had learned to handle the sword a little earlier, he could have taken a small portion of the strength of this sea. But he quickly changed his mind. If he had gained strength without a purpose, that strength would have turned his heart into a demon’s. A meaningless sword was just a tool for murder.
The man needed a clear purpose to draw that sword. If he had that reason, there was no need to hesitate. Just a little. A little more. The man surrendered to the roaring waves. Soon his body fell into the dark sea.
Bubbles emerged. He couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t breathe. Probably, this would be the last scene the man would see. Before his body fell into the depths of the sea, he had something to do.
The man opened his eyes.
“……”
The light returned to his dull pupils. The king’s sword was approaching quickly. A transcendental will ignited his nerves, moving his arm. In his right arm, he held the old sword.
‘I can see it.’
The whole world was tinged with colors. The man realized. What he saw was the world of martial arts. A shared perception that transcended cognition. Like a deaf master who dedicated his life to music saw music with his eyes. Like a mathematician who made a monumental discovery felt complex equations as sound. Complex concepts invaded his sensory domain. Red. Black. Blue. The man’s world was tinged with bright colors.
He instinctively understood what those colors meant. They were the paths that the swords traced when they crossed.
‘If I swing my sword in the red zone, things will go wrong.’
The man’s eyes moved quickly, scanning the colors of the world and understanding their meaning.
‘If I swing my sword in the black zone, I will surely die.’
Red was the Red Line. Black was the Death Line. Sadly, there was very little blue. Also, those areas were shrinking rapidly.
“……”
Now, it was fair to say that there was no blue. Wherever he looked, red and black overwhelmed him. He had lost the chance to win.
‘Not yet.’
The man waited. He waited for the moment that would inevitably arrive. The world was covered in black. The red glow was no longer visible. Black. A deep black. Death.
The king’s sword was very close. The blade was about to separate his head from his body.
And at that moment, in the midst of total darkness, a bright strip of light appeared. The man’s sword cut through the light.
Simultaneously.
“Aaaaaah!”
The king’s right arm, the one holding the sword, was severed, spewing blood. The king screamed in sudden pain. With a bewildered look, the king looked at the man.
“Wait! Wait! Stop……!”
Shing.
A thin white line was drawn on the king’s neck.
“Wait, stop……!”
Plop.
The king’s decapitated head fell to the ground. The headless body trembled for a moment, then knelt and fell.
‘Is this the end?’
Clang.
The sword the man was holding fell. It was a half-broken iron sword. As soon as it fell, the blade broke in two.
Fwoosh!
The flames had already reached the audience chamber. They surrounded the man and the king’s corpse, like fire snakes licking the air with their red tongues.
“Huu……”
He didn’t feel heat. He didn’t feel pain. He only felt cold. He couldn’t move. The cold that began in his feet climbed up his thighs, freezing his abdomen, and now it was climbing up to his head.
The man’s eyelids trembled. He wanted to rest.
He wanted to end it all.
“Is anyone there, Lord Nameless?! Lord Nameless!”
A shout interrupted his rest.
“If you can hear me, please respond.”
Hurried footsteps.
The man looked towards the entrance of the audience chamber. Beyond the wall of flames, someone was there.
“Could it be…… Lord Nameless?”
“……”
“Wait! I’ll save you……!”
“Don’t come any closer.”
His vision was blurry. He couldn’t see well. But he could hear the young man’s voice. It must be Bian.
“What are you doing here?”
He should be protecting the refugees at the south gate. If he failed, there was no point in having killed the king.
“I came to inform you. We won! We… protected the refugees.”
“How?”
“Other gladiators helped us. We weren’t all trash!”
I see. It was possible. While Kainil and his group fought the guards at the south gate, the gladiators who escaped late joined Kainil.
“It was thanks to you. If you hadn’t distracted the guards in the arena, none of this would have happened. The White Demon army has dispersed. Maybe…”
He didn’t need to hear the answer. Because the king had disappeared. The White Demons weren’t loyal or faithful. They followed the king because he provided them with human food in the city and entertainment in the arena. Without knowing if the king was alive or dead, the White Demons wouldn’t fight the humans for revenge. They were busy saving their own lives. If the king reappeared, they might gather, but that possibility had vanished. This city had been freed from the king’s yoke.
“All thanks to you. You’ve changed the fate of the city, of us,” Bian shouted from beyond the flames. “But first, let me get you out of here…”
“Don’t come any closer,” the man said. “I’m going to die anyway.” Whether it was because of the fire or the loss of energy, the man’s fate was decided. If Bian entered to save him, he would only die with him.
“B, but……”
“Tell that man. If he loses his purpose, I will rise from the grave and kill him.”
Bian remained silent. The young man knew it too. He could see the bloodied man through the flames. There wasn’t a single superficial wound. It was a situation where it wouldn’t be strange if he were already dead. He was prolonging his life with sheer willpower. But that would also end soon. The man was prepared to accept his death. There was nothing to leave behind.
“Do you understand?”
The man looked at Bian as he spoke. Bian lowered his head.
“Then… tell me.”
“……”
“Tell me your name, so we can remember it.”
His name? It had been a long time since he abandoned it.
Bian shouted, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a name you abandoned. It doesn’t matter if it’s one invented right now. We want, I want… to remember. I want proof that you existed. I don’t want to leave it as a Nameless joke.”
“You speak well.”
“Then tell me.”
The man pondered. What meaning did a name have? Was a name proof of the life a person had led? Or was it what the owner of the name aspired to be? Either answer could be correct.
The man had also had a name at one time. A name his parents gave him. He had treasured it, but he had sworn to abandon it. In that case, that wasn’t his name.
‘My name.’
Bian looked at the man with a determined gaze. The fire was dangerously approaching the young man. He wouldn’t move until he heard his name.
“My name is……”
The man smiled and said, the name of those he had wished to resemble, but had never achieved.
“Lidygion.”