I Pulled Out the Excalibur

Chapter 121

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Two Stars (1)

The Sword of Selection, Excalibur.

The sword that selects its master grows alongside its master. Each time the master achieves a feat and inscribes a star in the sky, Excalibur grows, engraving the master’s stars on its blade.

Made of starlight.

Enhanced with starlight as its fuel.

Originally incomplete, Excalibur was completed by its first master, the great hero Arthur. The thirteen stars Arthur embedded in the blade perfected the Sword of Selection. However, Arthur eventually met his death, and much time has passed since then.

Ten years repeated ten times, and ten times again.

A thousand years passed until today.

The Holy Sword was drawn by a certain boy.

Whether the boy chose the Holy Sword or the Holy Sword chose the boy, the sequence of events did not matter. What mattered was that the boy drew the Holy Sword. And the boy longed to hang a star in the sky.

As always.

Excalibur responded to its master’s will.

To overcome his limits and become a hero by achieving feats, Excalibur reacted to the boy’s will. Thus, when his master grasped a star, and now, as he aimed to obtain a new star…

Guung.

Excalibur responded to its master’s call.

The first star engraved on the Holy Sword resonated. The shining star belonged to Najin, not Arthur. With a chime-like resonance, the first function was activated.

Originally possessing recovery abilities and enhanced sword aura output.

Now, added to it was the ability to discharge.

The starlight enveloping Excalibur’s blade surged. The surging starlight gathered at the tip of the sword as if following a narrow waterway. The sword tip embedded in the dragon’s heart glowed platinum.

Chiieeeek!

Because his body was burning and his vision was blurry, Najin did not notice Excalibur’s transformation. He merely held onto Excalibur with the thought of shattering the dragon’s heart before him.

‘It won’t come out.’

He tried to withdraw the sword and strike again, but it was stuck as if firmly lodged in something. However, it did not matter. Najin changed his plan. He pushed Excalibur deeper into the heart.

Kaadeuk, kaadeudeudeuk!

The sound of the dragon’s heart, as hard as a gemstone, being shaved off echoed in his ears. Relying on that sound, Najin tightened his grip. Despite his body burning in the flames, he took another step towards the heart at the center of the heat.

Deeper. Even deeper.

Finally, the cross-guard of Excalibur touched the dragon’s heart. The blade of Excalibur was embedded in the dragon’s heart and could not be seen anymore. It was pushed in as deep as possible.

‘Turn it.’

And instinctively.

‘Like turning a key.’

Or perhaps unconsciously.

‘Discharge the light gathered at the sword tip.’

Najin twisted the hilt.

Twisting Excalibur with all his might. He did not know why he did it. It was just like the day he first saw Excalibur, a strong voice of conviction echoed, saying, ‘This will work.’

Discharge.

The moment Excalibur was twisted, the light gathered at the sword tip was discharged. It was not just starlight that gathered at the tip. Najin’s sword aura, shaped like a constellation, condensed into a point and lingered at the sword tip.

Starlight, sword aura, mana.

All of it discharged in an instant.

The dragon’s heart could not contain the light bursting from within. It was a light that could not be contained by anything. With cracking sounds, fissures spread through the heart. Light seeped through the cracks.

Platinum starlight seeped out.

And following it, platinum constellations branched out through the gaps.

The widening fissures eventually reached their limit. With a cracking sound, the dragon’s heart split along the fissures. At that moment, starlight exploded from within the heart. The bursting light shattered the dragon’s heart into pieces.

Starlight spreading in all directions.

Constellations branching out following the starlight.

The discharged light shattered the dragon’s heart and pushed back even the surrounding flames. The world of the Red Dragon, once filled only with flames, was now filled with starlight. When the constellations filled with radiant starlight took over the Red Dragon’s world, it was no longer the Red Dragon’s world.

The source was shattered. The world was collapsing.

The Red Dragon’s world began to crumble.

Immediately after Najin jumped into the dragon’s mouth, the Red Dragon began to thrash wildly. It breathed fire everywhere as if in pain and stomped the ground.

Kieeeeeek!

The roar that once dominated the sky was now replaced by the pitiful scream of a beast. The Red Dragon roared towards the sky in agony.

“It’s thrashing madly.”

Unable to get close due to its wild thrashing, the subjugation team watched the Red Dragon from a distance. The Red Dragon, breathing fire towards the sky, convulsed briefly. The scream ceased, and the flames subsided.

Then, Kuung.

The dragon’s head, which had been raised towards the sky, fell to the ground. Only convulsing, the Red Dragon could no longer move. It seemed to have lost the source of its power.

“Look, over there!”

Someone pointed to the dragon’s belly.

A sword protruded from it. Soon, the sword drew a line, splitting the dragon’s belly. From the split belly, a gasping Najin stepped out.

He truly went inside the dragon’s mouth, broke its heart, and came out. The subjugation team was astonished by the sight of the boy who tore through the dragon’s belly and emerged.

A feat. A feat worthy of inscribing a star. The knights were astonished and also admired the boy who reenacted the myth of Siegfried the Dragonslayer. However, in this situation, they could neither express admiration nor cheer.

“Huff, huff…”

Najin was in a serious condition.

His body was covered in burn marks, and flames still clung to him. Even breathing seemed painful. The skin on his arm had melted and was grotesquely deformed.

Zziik, zziiik…

Najin, who had been dragging his leg, collapsed to the ground. He tried to prop himself up, but with a broken arm, he could not lift his body.

At that moment.

Rihard Polsen walked towards Najin. He helped Najin up from the ground. Despite the flames clinging to Najin’s body and burning his own, Rihard supported Najin and moved.

“……”

Eventually, the knights followed in silence. Rihard poured water fetched by the knights over Najin’s body. With a hissing sound, the fire was extinguished, and Rihard took out a potion from his bosom and poured it over Najin’s head.

“Are you conscious?”

He wanted to speak, but only ash-filled breaths came out of his mouth. In the end, Najin nodded.

“It seems your fight is not over yet. Am I right?”

Najin nodded again.

Seeing this, Rihard smiled.

“I thought so.”

He supported Najin and walked to the front of the dragon’s neck. Upon arriving, Rihard stepped back, leaving Najin there.

No one approached the dragon or Najin.

They maintained their distance in silence.

The dragon, losing its source, was gradually crumbling. If someone drove a sword into its neck, the dragon would die, and if left alone, it would still die. Killing a dying dragon was something anyone could do.

But, no one did.

Taking away someone else’s prey was not the adventurer’s way, and claiming someone else’s merit was not the knight’s honor. Those who knew propriety and honor quietly watched Najin finish off the dragon.

“Huu…”

Najin, gasping for breath, raised his sword in front of the dragon’s neck. The Red Dragon, unable to move, looked at Najin with fearful eyes. There was no more anger in those eyes.

Only fear.

Facing the dragon’s gaze, Najin swung his raised sword. The sword, with its dissipated sword aura, barely cut through the crumbling dragon’s scales due to his lack of strength. Najin swung the raised sword again.

Once, twice, three times…

On the fifth strike, Najin finally severed the dragon’s neck. Dragon blood spurted from the severed neck. Amidst the spraying blood, Najin looked up at the sky.

The source of the light that shot up wildly was already shattered.

Most of the ground lights were also destroyed.

However, it was not dark around. The stars in the night sky were shining. Among the countless stars in the sky, Najin found his own star. The star he had longed for was shining in a corner of the sky.

And then.

Another star appeared right next to his star.

It was the Dragon Slayer star given to the boy who reenacted the myth.

A New Star had appeared.

Amid the turmoil in the sky, Nayuta watched the newly born star with interest. Although new stars often appeared suddenly, that star was scattering an exceptionally bright light.

It was an omen.

An omen that another star would be born.

Could a newly born star gain another star so soon? Nayuta had never seen such a case. There were no records left by the previous Masters of the Grey Tower. If we go back to the mythological era, it might be a different story…

But at least in the thousand-year history of the Empire, it was unprecedented.

After a thousand years, King Arthur moved.

After a thousand years, the Witch’s Constellation appeared.

In the midst of these historical events, the newly born New Star was showcasing its presence.

‘Could it be.’

Could it really obtain another star?

The bright white star reached its peak. Then, with an explosion of light, another star appeared next to it.

Two stars rose at once.

The stars shone brilliantly.

Nayuta, mesmerized, watched the glowing stars. The thought that she was at the center of a historical moment filled her mind.

The Grey Tower was abuzz with the sudden appearance of the Witch’s Constellation. Voices of mages and imperial officials seeking her filled the office, but Nayuta did not hear them.

“Hoo.”

She let out a chuckle.

Naming the newly born star was the role of the Grey Tower’s Master. As she watched the star, the words of her predecessor echoed in her mind.

「Nayuta.」

Her mentor, an old mage with a strong personality. When passing down the role of Grey Tower’s Master to Nayuta, he had said,

「One day, you too will name a star.」

「That day will surely come.」

「Not an ordinary star, but a brilliant star. On that day, you will understand.」

Karan, the Sword Saint.

Gerd Isabalt, the Empire’s greatest knight.

Yuel Razian, the Executioner of the Starblood Sect.

The old man who had named the stars of these three Sword Masters had patted Nayuta’s head and smiled.

「Master of the Grey Tower.」

「This position, which grants the right to name stars, is the most blessed of all.」

She had thought it was just the old man’s ramblings.

She had dismissed it as the mutterings of an old geezer.

「How do you know if a star is special?」

「My foolish disciple, do you plan to become the Grey Tower’s Master without the ability to discern stars? When the time comes, you will know immediately.」

「That star is the one.」

The reason those words resurfaced now was obvious. Instinct told her. It was a powerful intuition. Nayuta reached out towards the star hanging in the sky. The star shone brightly, almost within her grasp.

Amid the turbulent sky, two stars firmly established their positions, shining brilliantly.

The Master of the Grey Tower counted the stars.

A challenge, and dragonslaying.

The boy’s feats were shining in the sky.