I Pulled Out Excalibur Chapter 259

War (3)

Winds of war swept across the continent.

Four nations surrounding the Empire suddenly declared war, an attack aid at the Emperor, assassins who even infiltrated the Imperial Palace, and an explosion in the very heart of Calot, the Empire's capital.

「What is happening?」

The Empire's people fell into confusion as all of it erupted at once. It was not only because the age of peace had lasted so long. In all of history, cases where the Empire had been "invaded" by another nation were rare enough to count on one hand.

In a thousand years, at most four tis.

And if one excluded internal strife, cases where succession struggles dragged in foreign powers, then there had only ever been one case where the Empire was attacked by another country.

That was only natural.

The Empire claid the cause of protecting humanity, and in reality, it spared no expense in doing so. It was the first nation of humankind, founded by King Arthur a thousand years ago when humanity stood on the brink of extinction. Every other nation was rely a branch split from the Empire.

Humanity's first nation.

And the breakwater that protected humanity.

The Empire was the mightiest nation. It raised countless knights, drew in Transcendents, and seated Transcendents in the positions known as the Empire's Pillars. The Empire always had at least five Transcendents.

Even Londinel, once fad as a great power before fading into history, had four Transcendents. By that asure, an Empire that held at least five in every era was a great power among great powers.

An existence no one dared challenge.

A place no one could violate, by force or by claim.

And yet, without warning, four nations declared war on that Empire. The Empire's people had no choice but to be stunned. The citizens of those nations were not much different. Their rulers cried for war, so they were conscripted.

"It is a war that cannot last long."

Elwin Pendragon.

The Emperor of the Empire spoke with his chin resting on one hand.

"They have no just cause. This is a war they started out of nowhere. The longer it drags on, the more it hurts them."

He scoffed.

"Is power still power just because you swing it around? The higher a ruler stands, the less he should be drunk on authority. Subjects are not idiots who know nothing. Even if they were fools, once a war drags on, they still start to ask one question. 'Why are we fighting this war?'"

The justification they raised was absurd: "The Carnival King is humanity's true ruler." No war could be sustained for long on nonsense like that.

"They will collapse from within."

That was why the enemy chose a short, decisive battle. They had to bring the Empire down before doubt grew too large. Strategists all said the sa thing: if the Empire stalled and held, it would win.

But Elwin thought differently.

Before he was the Empire's Emperor, he was a descendant of the Pendragon line. His ancestors had sworn before King Arthur.

To protect humanity.

And to slaughter demons.

Elwin had not even the slightest intention of sparing those beasts who had been toyed with by demons and turned their blades on the Empire. He had no intention whatsoever of fearing a demon-led host and taking a defensive stance.

"Look at the sky."

Elwin pointed upward.

Over Calot, the Empire's capital, the center of the sky was split open. Shining from that split was King Arthur's star. Where that starlight fell stood the Empire's five pillars.

"Look at the pillars that uphold the Empire."

With the sa hand raised to the sky, Elwin pointed to the pillars.

The second pillar had fallen.

The third pillar had betrayed them.

Even so, three pillars still stood firm. Elwin looked to the Empire's fifth pillar, then its fourth, and finally lifted his gaze to the highest tower.

The tower of the First Horn of the Empire.

In the sky, the eight stars he possessed were shining. The Emperor's lips curled upward. The sharpest sword of the Empire was returning.

"The Empire still stands."

News arrived.

"Knights of Britain, advance."

The Empire shifted to the offensive.

Instead of sealing the city walls, knights ard with artifacts, mages of the Magic Tower, imperial knight orders, and rcenary corps all began to march. In short, every force the Empire had moved out.

At nearly the sa ti, another piece of good news ca in.

The vanguard of Zantium, marching on the Empire, had been annihilated by a single person. At that report, the Emperor burst into laughter.

Gerd, the First Horn of the Empire.

The Empire's sword was returning.

2.

On the road to the Underground City, Najin kept replaying Gerd's words. When Najin said he would head for Artman, Gerd had warned him.

Avoid direct battle.

Focus on gathering information.

Najin's mission was to track the movents of the Starlight Order, not to subjugate the Constellation and the Lighthouse Keeper in the Underground City. Najin knew that as well.

'Of course.'

An unidentified Constellation with nine stars.

And the Lighthouse Keeper, a six-star Constellation and a Transcendent who, if he chose, could wage war against the entire Empire.

Forget fighting both. Even facing one of them was nearly impossible for Najin. He had defeated Transcendents a few tis, but those victories had been close to flukes.

Compatibility, help from other Transcendents, and power borrowed from outside sources.

Those were the reasons he had won.

No matter how capable Najin was, he still lacked the raw power to face a Transcendent alone.

- That's a relief. If you said you were going to fight a Transcendent, I was ready to stop you.

"I'm not that crazy either."

This was the continent, not the Outland. Even in an extre situation, he could not rely on rlin's help. rlin could descend only in the Outland.

Najin drew a long breath.

When he raised his head and looked ahead, the main church of the Starlight Order ca into view. A city built above the Underground City. Even from far away, he could see the spire rising at its center.

'The lighthouse.'

The residence of the Lighthouse Keeper, Eurypylus. Pure white light pouring from there wrapped around the entire city.

A barrier that severed inside from outside and isolated both.

- It really looks like a Forbidden Zone.

Najin narrowed his eyes as he watched the barrier made by a Transcendent. He could break through it if he wanted to. But that would draw too much attention.

'No point doing that when I need to infiltrate and gather information.'

Still, Najin knew a way to enter the city without touching the barrier.

······

Without a word, Najin lowered his gaze. Where he looked, a river flowed toward the city. Seeing the blue current, he let out a laugh.

'Co to think of it, this is the place.'

The place where he first set foot after escaping the Underground City.

'This is where I first saw the night sky.'

- That's right. It was.

Strictly speaking, calling it the first ti was a little awkward now, but in any case, this was also where he had first t "human rlin." Thinking back on the past, Najin walked on.

Two years.

Two years had passed since the day he escaped the Underground City through the waterway. To soone else it might have been a short ti, but to Najin, those two years had been longer than anything.

「Escape along the waterway.」

「Once you go down, you can't co back.」

「So don't look back. Just run.」

The image of Offen, who had shoved him forward, and Ivan, who had blocked the entrance to buy ti at the cost of his own, flickered before Najin's eyes.

'You told I would never be able to return.'

And they had been right. The raging current was hard to resist even for a Sword Expert. And even if soone traced that current all the way back to its source, a massive waterfall stood there. Climbing that cliff was impossible.

Impossible for a Sword Expert.

But not for Najin now.

Najin dove into the river. He swam against the fierce current. For Najin, who had split even crashing waves, this level of current was no obstacle.

The place he had been swept away from two years ago.

Back then, unlike now, he could not even swim properly. He had been dragged by the torrent, unable to keep his eyes open, able only to be carried away. But now Najin swam upstream with his eyes open. He retraced the path he had once taken and headed for where he had begun.

······Starlight did not reach the Underground City.

Naturally, there was no way a barrier created by an outside Constellation could cover the Underground City.

3.

In Artman, the Underground City, even morning ca in sunset colors.

In Artman, where the sun never rose, morning was lit not by sunlight but by ore lamps fueled with minerals, and those ore lamps always glowed with the color of dusk.

A city dyed in sunset light.

Paradoxically, the city untouched by sunlight was always painted in colors born of the sun. The residents of the Underground City used that dusk-colored glow to rember sunlight.

"No matter when I look at it, it's fucking dreary."

Of course, that did not apply to this man.

Lilac, one of the few taverns in the Underground City.

Until two years ago, it had been run by a man nad Tricksy, but after a certain incident, the owner changed.

Lilac's owner, Kabin.

Holding his pounding head, he let out a sigh. Nursing a hangover, Kabin washed his throat with cold water. Did I drink too much yesterday? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he snorted a laugh.

As if there was ever a day he did not drink.

Since that day two years ago, Kabin had stayed drunk. He had no choice. Underground City Artman had beco such a hell that he could not live through it sober.

It had always been hell to begin with.

But from that day onward, the Underground City beca a place no person could truly live in. The three strongest figures who had imposed a minimum of "order" on that lawless pit where criminals were dumped had all died. Of course it beca this way.

One-Eyed Ivan.

Land Spider Horace.

Drugmaker Hakan.

The rulers of each district died, power was left vacant, overseers ca down from the Upper District, and the sect's holy knights road the streets at all tis. The Underground City, already suffocating with foul air, beca even more stifling.

To the point he could not survive without being drunk.

With heavy eyes fixed on the ceiling, Kabin rembered that day two years ago. Starlight had erupted from the center of the city, and brilliant radiance had shot high into the sky. Thinking of that dazzling light that had nearly blinded him, Kabin grinned.

On that day, at that mont, everyone in the city opened their windows and looked outside. They did not bow their heads, not to the holy knights' shouts, not to the beatings from those high-and-mighty people from above.

Kabin had been no different.

Twenty years had passed since he was thrown into this city, yet he still longed for starlight. Probably everyone here did. People always longed for what they had lost.

"Fuck."

Muttering a curse, Kabin hauled out a pile of cheap liquor from storage. Right. This place was too fucked up to live in sober. He was popping bottles when it happened.

Knock, knock.

Soone knocked on the tavern door. Kabin frowned at the sound. Which lunatic was this? Did this idiot not know the tavern had been shut for ages, that it only opened once in a while for those fancy bastards from above?

There was no way those damned sect people would co to a tavern this early in the morning. More than that, they never knocked. They just threw the door open and walked in.

So Kabin ignored it. But the knocking grew louder. Finally fed up, Kabin got to his feet. He strode over irritably, yanked the door open, and shouted.

"Ah, shit, who is it!"

Then Kabin opened the door.

"Hey, you bastard, don't you know this place has been closed for..."

He could not finish the sentence.

Because he saw the face of the young man standing in front of him, the young man with a postman's cap pulled low.

"Long ti no see."

The young man lifted his cap slightly and spoke.

"Kabin."

No one in Underground City Artman failed to recognize that face. That had been true long before two years ago, and it was still true now.

Ivan's right hand, the organization's collector, the organization's executioner wearing the mask of a postman.

In other words, Ivan's hunting dog.

But after two years passed and the boy beca a young man, the people of the Underground City rembered him by a different na.

The owner of Excalibur.

The one who pulled out Excalibur, and the only human who succeeded in escaping the Underground City.