‘Stand tall and keep challenging yourself. Live as yourself, just as this old man endlessly raised his sword. As people do, as a lone skylark does, as a great dragon does, and as this old fighter did.’Tom thought: Did I live as myself, Santiago? I did my best in my own way… was that enough?
‘To those who challenge, the world appears differently. Even in darkness, light exists. In the vast sky, clouds exist. Between fluttering leaves and blowing wind, life and the songs of life exist. To those who sit down in defeat, the world is the loneliest place. But for those who challenge, it is different. In the world of unyielding humans, no one is ever truly alone.’
I challenged until the end. Sometimes I bent, but I still went on. If only you had been with me… it would’ve been wonderful.
‘The sea never gets soaked by rain.’
While living as a caretaker… I often thought that if you were here, it would have been wonderful.
Someone who tells stories as amusingly as you would’ve surely drawn people in. I wouldn’t have been lonely. Ah… now that I’ve grown old, I understand. Why did you always smile softly whenever I came looking for you. Being old and alone… is sorrowful. And lonely. That was the hardest part.
How you won in your final moment. What you managed to prove in the end.
Even after I grew this old… I never found out.
Then what did I learn? The history of artifacts across the continent, the lives tangled in the old blades lying in the Hall of Honor, their struggles, passion, blood…
I realize now that somewhere along the way, I stopped looking for the soul inside your sword and instead, I fell in love with swords themselves. How funny.
But it was fun. In running, in fighting, I felt alive. There were many people as great as you. Their lives and challenges comforted me. But… I was tired sometimes.
Perhaps… that was why he kept holding a sword. To greet a glorious death. To disappear with even the slightest dignity.
“……You’ve worked hard.”
His consciousness grew faint. Within that dimness, Tom saw a figure—uncertain whether hallucination or real.
The mist-like silhouette was Santiago. As if appearing from a mirage, Santiago reached out, and as always, patted Tom’s head.
Receiving the old fighter’s touch, the aged caretaker returned, for a moment, to the boy he once was.
His hair now white, his old helmet worn— he smiled just as he had long ago.
“Rest well, kid.”
“……”
“And when you’ve rested enough, rise again and challenge. Live like a fish that swims until the day it dies. Do not accept that you will wither with age. As long as you fight, a human can live forever. Do not rot and crumble. Disappear gloriously.”
With those words, Santiago vanished. And Tom slowly opened his eyes. Beyond the vanished Santiago— across the wide horizon— a mythical battle was unfolding.
A dragon. And a boy holding a sword.
The boy moved lightly.
The old man had no more thoughts.
Tom felt transcendent— as destructive forces clashed violently around him, he felt the shackles that bound him all his life finally fall away.
He felt light. His body and heart felt light. Had there ever been a moment when everything felt so light? He could not remember.
The old man, worn to the bone by time, was astonished at how light his heart could become— astonished that he could breathe so freely.
Feeling relieved— before him lay only the open sea.
The sea had become a stage for the young.
Standing on the beach, having passed his life’s role to a younger man, the old man stepped off the stage.
A character whose allotted time and role had ended must leave the stage.
But he felt no bitterness, no regret. Only relief.
With the crashing waves in his ears, Tom looked at the sun rising beyond the horizon.
The bright sun was so beautiful— Tom found himself smiling without realizing it.
And so— the old man’s 「Indomitable」 passed completely into the hands of the young man.
“Whooo—!”
There were no regrets.
Why?
Because Lord Arhan—someday, without doubt— would leave his name in the history of the continent.
***
The soul within 「Indomitable」 was twofold. Two souls intertwined, bound by a single purpose. However, the sword of the old Santiago held no use for me. He had a firm conviction, but his skill was insufficient— unable to defeat even a mediocre fighter.
The sharp blade belonged to the caretaker Tom.
『I was always one step too late.』
A lifelong purpose: To kill the ruler of the sky.
『When I lived in my hometown— by the time I returned to the village, everything was already too late. When the tragedy began, I appeared… only to run away before being caught in it.』
Throughout his life— whenever Tom lost something— he had always arrived too late.
『It was the same when my old friend died. I regretted it, I suffered… but it was already too late.
The one who should have received my apology was gone. The one who could have answered my question was gone. Just like when I first lost everything— I arrived too late.』
That became the source of Tom’s “Mystery.”
『When my younger sibling was bitten by a stray dog. When my mother suffered fever. When my father’s wound festered until he limped. So—』
Lightning.
『I wanted… to become faster.』
A bolt that tore through the sky.
『Faster than the thunder shaking heaven and earth. Like a single streak of lightning that pierces through storm and rain.』
That was Tom’s Mystery— and Tom’s sword.
“Hu!”
Crackle.
A small spark jumped. With that, I stepped forward and in an instant, reached the dragon above the sky.
This was a technique Tom could no longer use. A sword he could never wield with an aged, broken body. But in my young body— it unfolded once more.
“Did you gain some fortunate opportunity?”
However—
“All of it is meaningless struggle.”
That level of growth could not make me equal to a dragon.
THUD!
My body shook violently. I opened my eyes wide and saw the dragon’s front leg. A crushing impact— not a special attack. Just a casual swing of its claw.
Damn, that’s strong.
Dragons were the most “perfect lifeform” among all seven races. By simply aging, they awakened Dragon Tongue—magic’s primal source— and were loved by every element in existence.
Their breath could become a terrifying destructive force. But just as strong as their magic— they possessed the strongest, hardest body among all races.
It can’t even be compared to Dragon Aion…
The young dragon I met in the Sky Mountains— it lacked techniques, lacked understanding of its own body, and its immature body wasn’t fully hardened.
But the dragon before me.
“Huff!”
Its body was absurdly tough. It used everything—its tail, its wings—perfectly. Its eyes never missed a single movement of mine.
He was an excellent warrior.
「Fight cautiously, young descendant.」
“……”
「Your chance will come.」
Still—there was no need to shrink back.
I had plenty of weapons as well.
「That creature does not know every claw you possess.」
Liam was right. Even a mighty dragon could fall if struck once by an unexpected blade.
I repeatedly slashed through the air. But each time I leapt toward it, the dragon refused to fight— flying far away, waiting until gravity dragged me downward— and then charging at me.
It was maximizing the advantage of its stage: the sky.
Damn bastard.
So I turned it against him.
I let myself fall— deliberately exposing a weakness.
As always, the dragon charged.
Now. I pulled a dagger from my thigh and spun midair like an acrobat. My target—the eye.
Even dragons could not protect their eyes with scales. If I pierced it, I’d pour the 「Flame of Doubt」 inside. In a long battle, I would win— for the Steel Heart always held overwhelming advantage in prolonged fights. At that moment.
【Stop.】
The dragon spoke the Great Language. Dragon Tongue. A supreme Mystery that turned words directly into reality— the source of all magic.
My body froze midair. But I didn’t panic. Because.
『Do you know the legend of the preserved genius?』
A father who lost his son to a dragon.
A tale told by an old adventurer.
The Legend of 「Flight」 could negate even Dragon Tongue.
“……!”
The blue sky opened before me.
Under the Azure Heaven, my body accelerated unbelievably— faster than a dragon spreading its wings.
I aimed directly for its eye—And then.
…?!
WHOOSH—! My sword sliced through empty air.
Why?
“Many tricks, aren’t you?”
A voice.
I looked— and instead of a dragon, a winged man stood there— at least two meters tall.
「A polymorph spell.」
“……”
「Reducing your body when you cannot dodge—simple yet effective. Young descendant, this foe is no ordinary opponent.」
A gap opened in the air and the dragon seized it.
In the next instant— it turned from a human shape into a falcon. A falcon that shot at me like an arrow.
“Guh—!”
It felt like a spear impaled my chest. My insides felt like they were spilling out of my mouth.
But.
『A man can be destroyed, but not defeated.』
I endured.
Damn, this thing is strong for real.
The falcon-faced dragon hovered in front of me. I swung my sword—but hit nothing. Its body burst into a white poof of mist. Right before my blade touched it, it had turned into pure element. One could not slice mist.
Once again, my sword cut empty air— while the scattered mist ignited into roaring flames that wrapped around me.
SSSSHHH!
With blistering heat, I heard my flesh sizzle inside my armor.
The flames roared as they spoke:
“For such a pathetic bloodline, so many dragons had to suffer?”
“……Shut… up.”
“The first Steel may have been great. But his descendants—including you—are all pitifully weak. Pathetic. No different from any other wingless creature.”
My body burned. I had no idea how to fight it. Back when it appeared with the Divine Beasts, it clearly held back. But now—after losing me once— it showed its true power.
This was a true dragon.
BOOOOM!
With thunderous force, I swung Tom’s sword. But steel could not cut fire. Fire beat steel and steel could not beat fire.
“Die, last bloodline of Steel.”
Fine, then. I wouldn’t use Tom’s sword.
『The fact he proved it thousands of times in the past means nothing.』
I would use—Santiago’s sword. No.
『What matters… is proving it now.』
Santiago and Tom’s sword. A legend born from the intertwining of two old men.
The true 「Indomitable」.
“D… ragon.”
I glared into the flames. And spat out each word slowly.
“You… die here……”
“No. The one who dies— is you.”
The one dying was me? Fair enough. My skin was charred, and heat seeped into my organs and bones. Even with the Steel Heart’s superhuman healing, I was reaching my limit. But.
“……What is… this?”
Even if my heart broke, even if my body collapsed—I would not die.
“Why.”
For the next 30 seconds.
“Is this… your first time seeing it?”
Thirty seconds outside the laws of the world.
「Hold your mind tightly, young descendant.」
Exactly 30 seconds. During that time, I transcended nature.
My soul would never separate from my flesh.
「Steel Blood grows harder the more it is hammered.」
This was the Legend of 「Indomitable」.
Thirty seconds of immortality.
「From now on, for 30 seconds—」
“……”
「It will be one of the most agonizing, hellish moments of your life. 30 seconds will feel like 30 years.」
I could not cut mountains. I could not split the sea.
This was only— only for the final, final fight.
A legend containing the will of two old men.
「It may be meaningless. It may feel like pure self-torture. But…」
It might seem brutish. It might feel like prolonged agony. But.
「If you accept it as a trial—」
Steel Blood flowed in my veins.
「If you can temper your soul enough—」
The blood of Karavan. With Steel Blood—「Indomitable」 became the most terrifying weapon I possessed.
「And complete your armor—」
Thirty seconds of falling death. A trial incomparable with anything in the world. I would use it as nourishment. And.
「Then the dragon will know— why the world once feared Karavan.」
I would become— a steel harder than death.
***
「Name: Indomitable」
「A sword imbued with the legend of an old fighter and an old caretaker.」
「Lightning-type Mystery is contained within it.」
「– Move faster like a bolt of lightning. – Imbue the sword with lightning-element energy. – Immune to lightning-element attacks.」
「Resistance-type Mystery is contained within it.」
「– Grants a tougher body.」
.
.
.
「The Legend of Indomitable resides within it.」
「– Resist death. For 30 seconds, the body and soul can never separate. After 30 seconds, the user cannot move temporarily.」
Chapter 213: Chapter 213
10 min read