FVN Chapter 213 : Chapter 213
Chapter 213 : Chapter 213
A legacy is not passed down through bloodlines alone.—Successor.
When Luke called me that, his intent was fully conveyed to me.
'The sword lineage.'
It was the birth of a genealogy thicker than blood.
—It is a record of the sword into which my entire life has been condensed. I have not had the chance to think of a name yet. You handle that on your own. I only hope it helps you.
The oral secrets he had engraved into my mind shone brightly.
With a soft swish, I placed my lightly curled left hand behind my back—
and raised the sword finger of my right hand in front of my face.
"……Cult Leader, must you truly draw blood?"
One more step forward.
Chloe's worried voice faded behind my back.
"One can only get angry when insolence has its limits."
The Family Head chuckled.
"It only brings a hollow laugh, Bihen Benkou."
"……."
"Did you call it the true sword of Springeus?"
SHWRING—!
There was no particular order from the Family Head. Hwarang Neil drew his sword on his own. Not a single emotion showed on his pale face.
"Teach him a lesson. Taking one of his arms is fine."
"As you command."
Neil bowed politely and strode toward me.
There was not a shred of hesitation.
WHOOSH—!
His blade sliced horizontally through the air. The trajectory drew a smooth arc.
It was just before it could touch my right arm forming the sword finger.
"Cult Leader!"
The sound of friction was not loud. It was to the point of being drowned out by the shouts of Chloe and Richardson.
Thud.
It was like a fish head falling beneath a cutting board. It was Neil's blade, snapped in two.
"What's that just now?!"
"I-I saw it clearly! That's definitely……!"
The murmurs grew louder. The panicked face of the Family Head was also visible straight ahead. He was completely astounded.
'So this is what it's like.'
Only after actually manifesting it did I seem to know for sure.
'Strictly speaking, it's different.'
The Formless Sword of the Empire is ultimately slaying with the mind. It's a supreme technique close to an illusion that destroys the opponent with sheer killing intent alone.
Putting Luke aside, it's not a realm that can be manifested simply because one's born with an excellent bloodline.
'It's merely a transparent blade forged from mana.'
It's a swordsmanship that only resembles the Formless Sword in appearance. It's embarrassing to even call it an imitation.
Remaining standing with my sword finger raised, I turned my head in a full circle. Everyone in the area was terrified. Their mouths were all half-agape.
These people aren't at fault. In the first place, they called their own supreme technique Ethereal, and I'm the one who arbitrarily called it the Formless Sword.
'Springeus's supreme technique is indeed the Ethereal.'
Of course, the real one's right here.
Neither the Empire's Formless Sword nor Springeus's Ethereal—
"No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days."
I decided to call it that.
Because this is a swordsmanship designed by a swordsman named Luke, who dedicated his entire life to it.
SWISH—!
An attack rushed in from behind. It was Neil's Ethereal. Attacking from the rear, nonetheless. The bastard seemed quite flustered too.
"I thought even your emotions were frozen, but I guess that's not the case."
A gale rose from behind my back.
The blade of No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days deflected the Ethereal. It looked like a body-protecting true qi.
Neil's faint sigh scattered into the vermilion airflow.
"At any rate, I'm glad."
I passed by Neil, who collapsed as if the strength had left his legs. Above his head, the shattered fragments of the Ethereal fluttered down like snowflakes.
"J-Just now, it was definitely……!"
"It was without a doubt the Etherealwidget!"
"This makes no sense! How can Bihen Benkou use Ethereal……?!"
The Family Head's body staggered. His face looked as though he didn't know how to process this.
From behind him, the Hwarang Unit burst forward all at once. They deployed a formation that seemed meant to protect the Family Head.
"Protect the Family Head!"
Ethereals surged above the hands of a dozen or so people. It was just an instant. The erupting mana solidified into transparent blades in the blink of an eye. It was a completely different nature from the mana read by the Ghost Eye.
'No wonder I didn't notice it at first.'
I lowered my sword finger to the side once before returning it to its original position.
SHWREEEK—!
It was the sound of a volley of daggers clawing through the empty air.
The Hwarang Unit, who had been charging all at once, froze in their tracks. It was as if they had been frozen simultaneously.
Fragments of the Ethereal flowed down between the trajectories of No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days layered in the air. It was a bizarre sight rarely seen anywhere, as if a burning sunset and powdery snow were mixed in a single place.
"……."
Eventually, I stood before the Family Head. No one could intervene. The others watching were all frozen in shock, just like the Hwarang Unit.
"I-I cannot believe it. How can you wield the sword of Springeus……?"
I released my sword finger. Because it looked like he was about to collapse, I had to catch him.
"Stand up straight."
"Bihen Benkou…… Who on earth are you?"
"The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
"Stop joking around. I am asking why a swordsman of the Empire can manifest the Ethereal."
It was a question premised on the fact that mana is the foundation of the Ethereal from the very start.
"Can you not tell even after seeing it? This is not Ethereal."
Luke passed down the swordsmanship's oral secrets as if engraving them into my mind. Therefore, if you were to ask about the principle or method of manifestation, even I have no way to explain it clearly.
Well, one thing is certain…… operating my Innate True Qi without rest yesterday unintentionally became the foundation to draw out this power, or something along those lines.
"The life of a certain noble human born with the bloodline of Springeus."
I caught my breath for a moment and thought of Luke.
He lived a long life. Overcoming a short lifespan might have been because his illness was originally mild, but he had a reason why he absolutely had to postpone death.
'To complete his mission.'
The price of defying heaven was cruel. The end of a life forcibly prolonged was ugly beyond measure. It was a miserable end that no swordsman ever desired.
'The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.'
On the flip side of the proud knight, a completely exhausted human was crouching.
Luke Springeus.
He yearned for a short life, like a flower that blooms brilliantly and then withers away in a fleeting moment.
"That is why I named it No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days."
His wish embedded within the oral secrets was exactly that.
It was not a swordsmanship blossomed by a swordsman of a lofty realm, but the very life he wished for and yearned for as an ordinary human.
'An obsession toward a life of another color.'
I looked back. It was entirely vermilion. It was as if the sunset had settled. The numerous remnants of the Ethereal had long since vanished.
"There may be many ways to burn through a short life, but this at least proves that the method you chose was wrong."
"……Then please tell me the answer you know."
To the point of missing even the family curse he had overcome on his own, what kind of appearance did the flower he truly wanted to bloom actually possess?
"Finding the answer is your responsibility."
As soon as I finished speaking—
I drew the Heavenly Demon straight away.
SHWRING—!
At the same time, a massive commotion broke out behind me. It felt as if a wave crafted from despairing sighs was crashing in from behind. Amidst the tumult where screams, groans, and gasps tangled wildly together—
"……."
The Springeus Family Head closed his eyes tightly.
I spoke after watching his Adam's apple bob.
"Continue the sword lineage."
"What did you say……?"
"I will ask one last thing. Where is Deganelo's attendant who came here?"
"I swear, I do not know. He vanished without a trace after that day."
"I see."
Readjusting my grip on the hilt with both hands, I held the Heavenly Demon upright. A single line of vermilion light from No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days permeating the tip of the blade crossed the center of my face.
Tzzzzt—
The inscriptions engraved on the blade glowed. It looked as if each stroke caught fire, awakening character by character.
Soon, the light that coiled around the blade spread out strand by strand in all directions.
"Aaargh! What's this?!"
Screams erupted from everywhere.
Wherever the light fell like scattering sparks, the surroundings distorted. The cracks forming here and there gradually expanded, beginning to blanket the entirety like overlapping ripples generated sporadically on a water surface.
CRACKKK—!
As the cracks split open, light leaked through the gaps. The family members curled their bodies tightly, trembling in terror.
THUD—
The cracks collapsed all at once like shedding skin.
What emerged from behind them were steel dolls. It was accompanied by a heavy metallic clanging.
'Legion.'
The steel dolls responding to my call descended between the crowds. Red eye-glow and hazy steam mixed together, rising from the gaps in their helmets.
At that arrogant momentum, the family members shuddered as if frost had touched their skin.
"……."
The Family Head's Adam's apple bobbed heavily once more. His body, barely held upright, was precarious as if it would crumble at a mere touch.
I approached him closely. Even so, I wanted to preserve the Family Head's dignity.
"Keep this in mind, Family Head. I am watching."
I did not need to hear an answer. Because his sharply trembling pupils were telling everything.
I turned around immediately.
Every single family member was looking at me with a terrified expression. The members of the Hwarang Unit who met my eyes flinched their shoulders. Faint exhalations leaked out here and there. The Legions were surrounding them.
How should I put it……
It's somehow familiar. The facial expressions looking at me while trembling in fear, the gestures, the atmosphere, even the composition where the winner and loser are clearly divided.
Everything aligned exquisitely with the memories of my past life.
It was then.
Footsteps echoed.
Slicing through that scenery, a child was leisurely walking toward me.
'Claudia.'
Is she able to move already? She shouldn't overexert herself.
By the way—
She's approaching without hesitation. She didn't even spare a glance at the family members carefully trying to stop her. She maintained a nonchalant face even when passing by her own father's side.
Claudia, who soon stood before me,
extended a single flower toward me.
"……."
It was a white rose glowing faintly like a night-glowing pearl.
"What's this?"
"Don't you know what a flower is?"
"No, I know, but……"
Why a flower all of a sudden out of nowhere?
"Please deliver it. I'm begging you."
"To whom?"
"Romeo."
"……And who's that?"
"Romeo Windermere. The boy I like."
My mind went blank. To think I've come down to running errands for kids playing romance games now.
"He gave it to me. He said it's a flower that never withers. Look. I received it the year before last, but it's perfectly fine, right?"
Well, it doesn't seem to be an ordinary flower.
I know it too, for now. The red rose symbolizes Springeus and the white rose symbolizes Windermere.
In other words, these two audacious brats are looking at each other in a world completely different from the adults' circumstances.
'Just like those guys.'
After receiving the flower from Claudia, I brought it to my nose and gave it a sniff. Amazingly, it had a scent.
Only then did Claudia smile brightly.
"I've decided to return this flower as a sign of accepting his marriage proposal."
"Isn't the year before last a bit too much? His insides must've burned entirely to ash. There should be a limit to making someone anxious."
"Because I thought I'd die soon."
I quickly closed my mouth, which had drifted open slightly without my realizing it.
Claudia turned around, glanced at her father, and whispered to me alone in a small voice.
"I thought I wouldn't be like this as the day of my death drew near, but my head's getting completely filled with thoughts of Romeo instead."
I looked at Richardson. Suddenly, a wave of pity for him washed over me.
"Don't you think Romeo's probably the same as me?"
"Hmm, could be."
"That's why I want to give Romeo my answer as soon as possible."
Claudia's eyes looking up at me were infinitely clear. In the spot where the shadow of death had been lifted, there wasn't a fingernail's worth of room for hatred to enter.
"Please, Cult Leader."
I pulled my chin back. Like an adult.
"Don't worry."
I approached Richardson, who had become a pitiful father in an instant.
"What happened to what I asked for?"
He flinched. He seemed flustered since I asked suddenly while he was frozen. After blinking a few times, he nodded as if remembering belatedly, letting out an "Ah."
"He went to the mercenary barracks at the front lines along with the soldiers of the Imperial Capital Knight Order. It seems they were short-handed to control the irregular mercenaries, so they ultimately requested management from the knight order's side."
It meant Krnock and Deli had followed them at that time as well. Even though things were slightly off-course, I was glad their whereabouts were identified quickly.
Richardson informed me of the point where the soldiers of the Imperial Capital Knight Order were deployed.
Before leaving,
I approached the Family Head one last time.
"Masa and Roxy looked truly happy being together."
Of course, he wouldn't be ignorant of that either. He had merely looked away deliberately despite knowing.
Soon, the Family Head knelt down and began to sob.
Now, only the guilt of exploiting his daughter's death would remain entirely with him.
I departed from Springeus, leaving the Legion behind.