Solo Swordmaster

#490. “…Goodbye, my old friend.”

* * *

“I honestly don’t know.”

“what?”

“The reason you stay as a mere swordsman.”

“What kind of joke are you talking about out of the blue?”

“Can’t you overthrow such a small oriental country at any time and become king?”

“So you want me to play war like you?”

“It is not a war game. If you were born as a man from ancient times, it is only natural that you have big ambitions.”

“My master is rising from the grave and making the sound of throwing a knife.”

“Seriously think about it. If I rule the west of the world and you occupy the east, wouldn’t it be easier to deal with the Seven Dragons?”

“In short, I’m afraid to fight black one-on-one, so please take care of me instead, is this?”

“Every time I fight a black one, I always win.”

“But in the end, you were the one who was kicked out without conquering Jerusalem.”

“That’s because the mean guy avoided confrontation with me and only targeted the weak.”

“Wasn’t it you who said that being called mean by an enemy general in war is the highest compliment for a general?”

“Anyway, isn’t it too naive for a sword master to surprise you?”

“I always ambush when I catch the Seven Dragons.”

“Keah, that’s different.”

“Stop talking nonsense and fight in moderation. If you have already failed more than 10 times, you should know how to give up.”

“This war is not waged out of my own greed. It is Europe’s desire to reclaim the Holy Land.”

“It is not the desire of Europe, but the desire of the aristocrats in your country. Don’t you know that every time you go on an expedition, there are songs from other countries?”

“As long as you capture the Holy Alliance, they will repay you.”

“I don’t think it’s something to say about starting a war against France to supply money and soldiers.”

“It was Philip VI, King of France, who promised to cooperate with the Crusades if he helped him succeed to the throne. I just got paid for it.”

“I let you go because there was a justification for that. If you don’t, you’re a friend and Nabal, and you’re dead in my hands.”

“Whoa, if you want to kill me, ask for a duel anytime. Of course, you’ll have to fight to find out who dies.”

“Don’t be pretentious, and if you’re a king, build up some virtue like a king. If you live like that, you will be stabbed by someone else.”

“It is the fate of a swordsman to be killed by a sword.”

“Anyway, you speak well. Be a Mouth Master, not a Sword Master.”

“Hmm, you really have a rough mouth. Is it because the operation of the sword tower is not working well?”

“…The operation of the Tower of Scares is going well, right?”

“Don’t force yourself to give up. Hundreds of years have passed since you built the Tower of Swords, but there is no disciple who eventually became a sword master.”

“That’s because my teaching method was incomplete.”

“It is not a matter of teaching law. In the end, only those determined by heaven can become sword masters.”

“Then what am I?”

“Isn’t your teacher a very special person?”

“Don’t interfere and just watch. Soon you will be able to see the Sword Master from the Sword Tower.”

“You said that 100 years ago.”

“This time it is real. I found great talent.”

“If you can say that you are a talented person, you must have made some pretty good disciples.”

“Well, a little bit of patriotism is a problem, but the talent is pretty good. Her character is good enough to be called a saint.”

“Patriotism… isn’t that child from France?”

“…How did you know?”

“I think you, who don’t interfere in political affairs, are nagging you today.”

“…”

“To think that they even gave such consideration just because it is a country of disciples of Huhu. It seems you liked this disciple quite a bit.”

“Don’t get me wrong. Because that has nothing to do with it.”

“For that matter, the treatment is very different from the disciples so far.”

“Because you have that much talent.”

“It’s not because of his talent, but maybe it’s because he likes him as a man?”

“what?”

“Hmm, deliberately accepting and raising a bride as a disciple. I’ve felt it since a long time ago, but you guys are really great too.”

“….”

“Anyway, good luck. I wondered if it had withered a little since there had been no scandals in the past hundred years, but you still look lively…

”

“Hey, come out.”

* * *

Someone says.

A dungeon is like a separate world.

In that sense, this moment.

The world of Indy Jones’ dungeon was facing destruction.

Kugung Kurrureung.

Debris falling from the ceiling crushes the pyramid.

Gold and silver treasures spilled from a broken safe flow down a waterfall and are swallowed up by lava.

The monsters running around fall into the abyss along with the collapsing passage, and the fragments of the relics that bounce up get stuck in the ceiling.

That look is truly the end.

Made by Indy Jones.

Dungeonized by Labyrinth.

The majestic and beautiful ruins of the city were terribly collapsing.

But at this very moment.

The cause of the collapse was quiet.

Limon, who collapsed the dungeon just by entering, had his arm shattered and stiffened by the recoil of using the sword.

Richard accelerated the collapse with just a swing of his sword, and eventually collapsed on Limon’s shoulder with his chest pierced.

The afterglow that shook the world as the two sword masters collided made only that place enveloped in silence even in the chaos where everything collapsed.

So it was.

That voice came out so clearly.

“Huh, I guess you can’t win either.”

I’ve been listening for such a long time

Still familiar and missed.

Hearing that voice that hasn’t changed a bit from 600 years ago.

Limon quietly opened his mouth.

“…You ignored me when I talked to you, but now you’re thinking of talking to me?”

“I didn’t ignore it because I wanted to ignore it. It’s because I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to until this spell was broken.”

Black tattoo on ear.

And even the broken black armor.

A man with a rich beard who glanced at the remnants of the spell, which began to scatter little by little from the moment his heart was pierced.

Looking at the Sword King Richard, Limon said sullenly.

“Are you proud of being a puppet after being a sword master?”

“Don’t be so sarcastic. This, in my own way, is the result of resisting with all my might.”

“He cuts his friend and talks about it well.”

“You’re better than you who pierced your friend’s heart.”

Do you think he told a witty joke?

Seeing Richard let out a low laugh, Limon remained silent.

It was because he knew that the fact that he devoted all his energy to fighting himself was the result of resisting the spell in his own way.

Don’t just focus on Limon.

If you were aiming for Charlotte or Yuna-Kyung or She-Ra.

No, even if it had only spread the shock wave in all directions without focusing it entirely on Limon.

Limon would have worked harder to protect the others.

I didn’t know that my life could be in danger.

Fighting while protecting someone against the same sword master was something that even Limon could not guarantee, even risking his life.

In that sense, it was thanks to Richard’s consideration that Limon was able to settle the matter so easily.

Of course, I didn’t have the heart to thank him for that.

“Limon, I’ll be honest.”

knowing that fact.

Richard laughed quietly.

And he spoke softly.

“I resented you a lot in my life.”

Limon was not surprised by the candid words he heard from a friend who died over 600 years ago.

I just asked quietly.

“You mean you raised the sword?”

“Her work doesn’t matter. As you said a long time ago, the sword painting came about because of my own work.”

Richard laughed bitterly.

He’s done everything for hundreds of years to make the British Empire immortal.

As the king of a country, it was a natural thing to do.

But that’s why he couldn’t resent the swordsman Joan of Arc.

Originally a meek character, the cause of her becoming a slayer and causing the advance of madness was in herself after all.

“Then it seems that you resent me for being a hindrance to your success.”

“I won’t deny that that’s one of the reasons.”

After the death of the Sword Emperor.

There were four sword masters active in the early days of the Age of Heroes.

Limon and Sword Demon, who were disciples of the Sword Emperor.

And it was the sword king and the sword who had mastered swordsmanship on their own.

Among them, the sword demon who caused the massacre died, and for about hundreds of years, the world was ruled by three sword masters in balance.

But that’s just the appearance.

He too, the king of the British Empire.

The black sword that was the old man on the mountain.

In reality, I always cared about Limon and had to be careful not to cross the line he had set.

The same sword master, and that’s because he didn’t have the confidence to survive against Limon, who had defeated the Sword Demon in a one-on-one duel.

After all, to Richard, Limon was also a wall he couldn’t overcome as an absolute being before being a friend.

“Of course I understand that blaming you for that is pointless.”

However, he is the Sword Master.

If there is a wall to overcome, all you have to do is fight and win.

He was not a weak and naive person to the point of resenting the opponent just because he was stronger than himself.

Nevertheless, there is one reason why he resents Limon.

“But I resent you for not fighting me wholeheartedly even once in your life.”

“…Sword masters wielding their swords with all their heart, is that what someone who knows that one of them will die?”

“I am also a swordsman after all.”

If it had been the enemy, I would have been able to fight with all my might, even if the odds were low.

The problem was that they were friends.

That’s why Richard only sparred with Limon.

We couldn’t seriously fight for each other’s lives.

In the end, he always regretted not being able to even get a chance to challenge Limon, even though he regarded Limon as a wall in his heart.

“That’s also a swordsman who has never found a worthy opponent in his life.”

It’s not just Limon.

A sword that thoroughly avoided a duel.

Sword Demons, etc.

As a king, he couldn’t compete with other sword masters even if he had to fight with all his heart.

It was a deplorable situation for a single swordsman who longed for a match against a formidable enemy.

The reason why he lived in war all his life was to quench his thirst as a vicarious satisfaction and to compete properly even with black fruit.

Of course, Black avoided confronting him head-on until the end.

“The reason I stepped forward even though I knew I would lose the fight with your disciple was not to protect the country, but also to satisfy my own greed.”

In that sense.

It wasn’t only because Limon bought 10 days to come across the continent that he was able to laugh even after being defeated and dying by Swordfire.

It was because I was able to fight with all my might against the same sword master for the last time in my life.

Others may say that his death, which was murdered by a friend’s disciple, was a tragedy, but for Richard, it was a rather happy outcome.

He eventually became the Sword Master.

Because he was a swordsman who lived by the sword and died by the sword.

“But even though I was satisfied the moment I died, it became my regret that I couldn’t fight you sincerely.”

“….”

“And that time was taken advantage of.”

If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have been so easily hooked.

Richard lamented briefly.

“Thanks to that, I’m sorry that I caused you trouble even after death.”

“But I’m not sorry, I’m glad I did.”

“I can’t give you any material reward anyway, so why don’t you speak at least flattering words?”

With a smile, he brushed off Limon’s sarcasm.

Richard continued.

“Anyway, thanks to that, I can finally tell you this now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thank you, Limon.”

“…”

“For protecting my country many times.”

Even 600 years ago when sword fire invaded.

Even 70 years ago when the Demon God descended.

And also during the London crisis.

I express my gratitude to my friend who ran first and protected the British Empire.

“And another…”

“…”

“Tell me…”

Hearing Richard’s erratic and ominous words, Limon frowned.

“Are you just trying to pamper me because I’m dead anyway? Or are you cursing?”

“Whoa, whoa. Isn’t it also a friend’s right to make a friend suffer?”

Parss.

Is it because the mana that formed the body is scattered?

A body that gradually turns into ashes following the disappearance of all armor and tattoos.

“My friend, the trials that will come to this world in the future will be severe.”

“To the extent that even you can’t stand it.”

“But still…”

“Please win me over.”

It seems to be sad.

Or maybe you’re worried.

Leaning on a friend’s shoulder.

Richard ended his speech with a low but heartfelt wish.

“Goodbye my old friend.”

Clink.

therefore.

Richard is completely reduced to ashes.

Instead, a broken crown appeared in that empty spot.

Slowly picking up the belongings he had collected along with Richard’s remains in the distant past.

Limon closed his eyes.

He said goodbye to his only friend in his life.

“…Goodbye My old friend.”