I Pulled Out the Excalibur

Chapter 21 – Honor, Pride, and the Stars (2)
Najin ran through the tunnel.

It was the path out of the Underground City, opened by Ivan. Clenching his teeth, he raced along it.

The boy was not foolish.

He understood the resolution and thoughts with which Ivan had opened this path. Najin was aware. Aware that if he didn’t kill Ivan, Ivan would die. He knew Ivan had no other choice.

Yet, Ivan let Najin go.
It meant Ivan was prepared for death.

The agony on Ivan’s face as he raised his sword, his trembling sword tip, and his form pushing Najin into the tunnel and standing guard at the entrance flashed before Najin’s eyes. Najin clenched his teeth even tighter.

He felt like screaming.

He wanted to ask Ivan why he made such a choice. Why did he risk his life for him? Najin couldn’t understand the reason. Their past interactions didn’t justify Ivan’s decision to save him.

Honor and pride.
The weight of these was still unknown to the boy.

The young Najin didn’t comprehend what Ivan had chosen to remain as in the end. He didn’t understand, but he remembered the light in Ivan’s eyes at that moment.

“Climb to the highest point.”
“Shout from there.”
“That I, the Knight of Atanga, Ivan, was there.”

The image of a knight, talking about his dreams with shining eyes, lodged deep in Najin’s heart. It was the weight of someone’s life.

A weight that could never lighten.
Never be forgotten.

Feeling this heavy pressure on his heart, Najin ran. The tunnel was dark, cold, and seemingly endless. In the pitch-black tunnel, even the light from the mining lamps had vanished. Najin ran tirelessly.

A mercenary and a knight chasing the stars.

Bearing the weight of those who risked their lives for him, the boy looked up high. The stars were still invisible, but that didn’t matter.

In a place where no stars shone, the boy vowed.

To etch his own star in the night sky.

To hang his star at the highest point.

***

The pursuers chasing the star arrived one by one.

There was an entrance to an old, neglected tunnel leading to the Underground City. It wasn’t difficult to guess that the boy had fled there. All that remained was the simple task of entering the tunnel and killing the boy, but…

“…”

No one dared to move hastily.
There was someone guarding the entrance of the tunnel, and the pursuers felt the formidable aura emanating from him. They intuitively knew they had to defeat this man to enter the tunnel.

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Clang.

The pursuers drew their swords one by one.
They pointed their weapons at the former knight they once knew as an ally, but they were mistaken about one thing.

“I am Ivan.”

The man standing before them was not a half-knight who had lost his honor and fallen into the Underground City. Although he had lost his honor, he had kept his pride until the end and thrown his life away for the future that would shine.

A man who had gambled his life to keep his oath.
A man who wanted to be a knight until the very end.

Foolish, yet noble in its foolishness. Who could mock such nobility? Standing before them was a knight prepared for death.

“Knight of Atanga, and”

In the Underground City, where no stars rise.
In the city of sinners, dimly lit only by faint mining lamps.

“I am Ivan, the knight chasing the stars.”

His sword wrapped in sword aura.
A dark blue glowing aura. It was an ordinary color, nothing special. Not like Najin’s Sword of the Star that brightly illuminated the Underground City, nor like Najin’s aura that resembled starlight.

Yet, even so.

Ivan’s sword shone.

“You cannot take a single step further.”

Holding the shining sword.
Risking his life to protect something.

For this moment alone, Ivan could proudly declare himself. Proudly proclaim that he was a knight of Atanga, a knight chasing the stars.

With that realization, Ivan smiled.

The pursuers began to charge towards the smiling Ivan. More than ten gathered, their swords razor-sharp. But Ivan didn’t retreat a single step.

“Knights of Atanga do not retreat.”

For it was their pride.
Ivan swung his shining sword to buy time for his squire to escape the city. To return the time he had stolen from the boy.

“Come, as many as you like.”

My pride is not so light to open a path for those ignorant of honor and pride.

“Ivan, have you gone mad?”

Ivan did not respond.

“Do you think you can fight me? Plan to fight the entire order? What foolishness…!”

Berlot ruffled his hair in irritation. Things had gone awry. The mission entrusted to him by the High Priest Orland. He was responsible for this mission, and now, punishment was inevitable.

He had to continue the pursuit alone.

As Berlot drew his sword irritably and took a step forward, Ivan, who had been silent and motionless, finally spoke.

“Ah, senior.”

Ivan smirked.
Facing over ten shadow operatives at once, his body was covered in wounds, and blood flowed from a deep cut on his shoulder. His breath was rough, and his breathing uneven.

Exhausted to the limit.

Yet, Ivan’s posture remained unshaken, and the sword in his hand still shone brightly.

“What’s with that look?”
“…What?”
“I asked what’s with that look. I thought when you left the order, abandoning honor and pride, you were grasping onto something great… But what is it?”

Ivan scoffed.

“It seems like you’re not holding onto anything, but rather being held by a leash? What’s the difference between you and the corpses strewn around here? To me, you’re just another dog of the order.”

A clear mockery and ridicule.
Berlot’s eyes flared with rage.

“I can’t let that comment slide. It’s an insult to the order. I’ll give you a chance to retract your statement.”
“Hahaha!”

Ivan burst into laughter.

“You’ve forgotten the mindset of a knight since leaving the Knights of Atanga. If you’ve forgotten, then it’s up to this unworthy junior to remind you.”

Unwavering posture.
Unshaken gaze.
A sword that still hadn’t lost its light.

“Insults are cleansed through a duel. Honor and pride are proven with the sword. That’s the rule of knights. You’re nothing but the order’s filthy hound.”
“Ha!”

A clear provocation that crossed the line. Enraged by the offensive words, Berlot laughed mockingly as he unsheathed his sword. A dark blue aura like Ivan’s wrapped around his sword. But unlike Ivan’s, his aura didn’t shine.

Taking steps towards Ivan, Berlot’s sword wrapped in aura. Still, Ivan remained motionless.

He looked like he might fall with a simple push, but Berlot knew better than to be careless. Even cornered, Ivan’s eyes still shone. Berlot felt a chilling sensation from that gaze.

The aura of a man prepared for death. The spirit of one who swore to hold his sword until the very end.

In the darkness, swords and auras collided. Sparks of aura and droplets of blood flew. It was the blood of a knight, and also the life of a knight. Clashing swords, Ivan smiled.

He couldn’t hear it anymore.

The footsteps receding behind him.

‘I’ve bought the time. Damn brat.’

What kind of squire makes his knight risk his life for him? A damn fool, that’s what.

Ivan smiled till the very end.

Because until the very end, he could be a knight.

***

The waterfall where the water cascades down.

Najin was descending the steep cliff, inserting stakes into the ground. Despite slipping on the wet cliff and droplets, he used the rope tied around his body and his body’s momentum to gradually descend.

Exhausted from continuous battles, Najin squeezed out the last of his strength.

The end of the seemingly endless cliff was in sight. The extending waterway caught Najin’s eyes. Carefully, he continued to descend the cliff.

Thud.

Landing on the ground, Najin caught his breath. His palms were raw from gripping the stakes so tightly, the skin peeling off. Najin bandaged his bleeding palms and took one last look back.

The cascading waterfall.

Looking at the waterfall, pouring only in one direction as if to say there’s no going back, Najin silently watched. He mulled over his memories of the Underground City, where he was born and spent his childhood, then turned away.

His eyes were set on where the flowing water led.

Once he started running, there was no stopping, no turning back. Najin didn’t know where the water would lead. But he was certain about one thing – there would be stars.

He ran along the waterway.
Arriving at the end of the road.

The path ended, and a wall blocked Najin’s way, but the water still flowed. Offen had said to hold his breath and dive at the end of the path. Unsure of what lay beyond, Najin felt fear but…

“…Hoo.”

He steadied his breath and jumped into the water.
He let the rushing water carry him. The rough current swept Najin away. In the churning water, Najin narrowed his eyes.

He couldn’t see anything. Nothing at all.

He felt like he was sinking. His breath was running out. When he reached his limit, Najin looked up. Above him, the endless surface of the river.

Something reflected on the surface.
It was a twinkling light.

Najin moved towards the light. His body, which felt like it was sinking, began to rise.

“Cough, gasp… Hoo…”

Najin’s head emerged above the water as he gasped for air. Breathing heavily, he slowly moved towards the riverbank. After failing several times to grasp the protruding roots and scraping his body against them, Najin finally managed to escape the current.

His body ached. Unable to stand, he lay flat on the wet riverbank.

Lying in the field, gasping for breath, Najin realized what the light he saw on the water’s surface was. He blinked several times and, for the first time in his 18 years, looked up at the sky.

The vast night sky.

There, countless stars shone brightly.

A scene indescribable by any line from a fairy tale unfolded before him.

For the first time, the night sky he looked up at was beautiful.

More than anything else.