SOTBW - 207

“Najane has contracted a fatal illness?”

Taylor, who had been smoking a cigarette laced with sedatives, furrowed his brow. His hand trembled like that of a drunk as he stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

“The rumors say so.”

Olkoni gently took Taylor’s hand and tucked it into the warmth of the blanket. Since winter had arrived, Taylor had visibly lost weight. For weeks, his mouth had been so ulcerated that he couldn’t chew or swallow food. Even drinking water made him vomit, and he increasingly suffered from nosebleeds even while resting.

Olkoni and the knights of Recheo were well aware that death was looming over Taylor’s body. It was something everyone had anticipated. A Sword Master who failed to retire in their forties and continued to wield ki was bound to meet a terrible end.

They had begun preparing themselves calmly for Taylor’s departure. The knights of Recheo had long known this day would come, and they had been grooming Olkoni to take over as the new captain of the order.

It wasn’t something the knights had initiated on their own—it was Taylor’s command. One day, when the last Sword Master of Bastronia passed away, the Recheo Knights were to be fully prepared to continue operating smoothly. This directive was not only given to the knights but also to those who had consistently supported Recheo.

However, Olkoni couldn’t hide his sorrow as he watched Taylor grow weaker each day. The thought of sending off Taylor, whom he had followed like a mother, to a distant place filled him with endless grief. Though he had parted ways with many comrades during battles against the Seriths, Taylor was an exceptionally special presence.

Olkoni handed Taylor a warm stone to hold in his hand.

“What do you think, Dame Elderkerth? Do you believe the rumors are true?”

“Hmm. What do you think?”

Taylor asked for Olkoni’s opinion.

After a brief moment of thought, Olkoni nodded once.

“...I haven’t asked the person directly, so I can’t be certain. But I believe the rumor is credible.”

“Why?”

“I heard that Najane coughed up blood and collapsed. That means her body, as a swordsman who uses ki, has reached its limit.”

Having served Taylor for a long time, Olkoni knew well how the final days of a Sword Master who had poured every ounce of vitality into battle would unfold. While ki was powerful enough to fell dozens in a single strike, using it excessively consumed the life force of the Sword Master. Thus, most famous Sword Masters in history had laid down their swords around their forties.

Taylor had also retired from swordsmanship at one point but returned to the battlefield after the appearance of the Seriths. From childhood to old age, his body had endured tens of thousands of uses of ki, leaving it in tatters—like a torn piece of cloth fluttering in the wind. Yet, Taylor Elderkerth had managed to endure because he was a born genius as a swordsman.

The conditions for becoming a Sword Master included having superior physical attributes compared to others. Taylor’s endurance until now was due to relentless training to protect the nation.

But Najane was different from Taylor—not because she lacked training or effort, but because her innate physical condition was different. Najane possessed the talent to become a Sword Master, but her body was too frail. That was a fatal flaw.

“If she’s coughing up blood, it must mean she’s severely injured. She won’t be able to hold on much longer with just sedatives and alcohol… But it’s happening much sooner than I expected…”

Taylor let out a short sigh.

Olkoni straightened the disheveled blanket and consoled Taylor.

“No one could have stopped what happened to Najane.”

He remembered the day Maximón introduced Najane to his master. Having frequently witnessed Taylor’s ki, Olkoni couldn’t call Najane’s technique perfect. Taylor’s ki was dense and solid even from a distance, whereas Najane’s lacked destructive power.

If Najane had been flawless, Taylor would have taken her as his disciple. The fact that he sent her away meant she was lacking in some way. That deficiency wasn’t something that could be overcome through effort alone. No matter how hard she tried, the natural limitations of her body couldn’t be surpassed. Her health deteriorating earlier than Taylor’s was proof of that.

As Taylor recalled the first time he met Najane, his heavy eyelids drooped with effort.

“I had to choose between Najane’s life and the fate of Fort Noctis. I don’t regret my decision, but I suppose I’ll receive divine punishment. I allowed one person’s life to be ruined for the sake of saving many…”

“Then Najane…?”

“She doesn’t have long to live.”

Taylor’s wrinkled face darkened with regret. Not wanting to see Taylor blame himself, Olkoni decided not to bring up Najane again after that conversation. Though Taylor faced death with composure, reflecting on his life, even a life lived selflessly for the nation and its people left room for regret.

Perhaps Najane would become Taylor’s final regret. Taylor had knowingly allowed Najane to break down in Maximón’s arms for the sake of the greater cause, choosing to turn a blind eye. It was an unavoidable choice, and though he tried to console himself with that thought, it did nothing to ease the guilt gnawing at him.

Olkoni offered Taylor some alcohol to keep him from sinking too deeply into his thoughts. One might wonder why offer alcohol to a dying man, but Taylor hadn’t been able to sleep properly due to the pain. The healing priests had visited several times, but even drinking holy water no longer helped.

Fortunately, Taylor, who had spent several sleepless nights, quickly fell asleep after drinking a few sips of alcohol. But this relief would be short-lived. Undoubtedly, he would wake up within an hour, complaining of pain again.

Olkoni sprinkled water on the heated stones to keep the bedroom from becoming too dry. As much as he wanted to stay by Taylor’s side until he woke, he had already planned to go out on patrol with the other knights.

Olkoni left after giving strict instructions to the maidservants guarding the residence to take care of Taylor. His comrades were already prepared for the patrol.

This patrol was extremely important. For some unknown reason, the Seriths had vanished without a trace. It was unprecedented for these persistent monsters to hide so thoroughly, and it seemed to have unsettled other knightly orders as well. While the soldiers appeared relieved that they wouldn’t have to fight for the time being, the leaders of the knightly orders had different thoughts.

This was the second time. The Seriths had suddenly stopped their attacks and disappeared somewhere. Since it wasn’t the first time they had ceased their assaults without explanation, the leaders of the knightly orders had drawn their own conclusions.

When the Seriths reappeared after hiding, they launched attacks in ways that surpassed the knights’ wildest imaginations. Recalling the thousands of spider webs strung between the outer walls and inner fortifications—and the tangled corpses of soldiers caught in them—there was no denying that the creatures had evolved.

The memory of the adult Seriths soaring across the sky like boulders flung from catapults still sent shivers down their spines. So, if such quiet nights continued, it was only a matter of time before the Seriths attacked the fortress again, likely with another bizarre and unexpected method. Even the most seasoned knights knew that a tranquil battlefield didn’t necessarily signify peace or the end of war.

Olkoni climbed down the ladder and ventured beyond the field with his comrades. Outside the field, everything glowed brilliantly white due to the sparse snowfall. Since the Seriths hadn’t approached the fortress since Maximón and Najane’s fall, not even a single footprint marred the snowy expanse.

It was a beautiful yet eerie sight. The snowfield, devoid of any animal tracks, hinted at something ominous: perhaps the complete extinction of life around the kingdom of Bastronia.

As Olkoni measured the depth of the snow, he let out a long sigh, his breath dissipating into the air.

“I’m not sure if the horses will be able to walk properly…”

Olkoni mounted his horse and led the reconnaissance team. They moved slowly along the fortress walls without rushing. The purpose of this patrol was to assess the surrounding situation. Though the Seriths had vanished and halted their attacks, no one could predict where disaster might strike next. All the knights followed Olkoni with tense expressions.

The Noctis Fortress, built between two sheer mountains, was an impenetrable stronghold that anyone could see was perfect for defense.

To enter the Kingdom of Bastronia, one had to pass through the Noctis Fortress. While it was theoretically possible for the Seriths to bypass the fortress and cross the mountain range to attack the mainland, the likelihood of that happening was slim. Those creatures were strange and foolish beings that would prioritize devouring any nearby humans before moving forward.

Moreover, the Noctis Fortress was constructed by Aron Noctis, the third star of Astrun. It was said that Aron had struck the ground with his staff in front of the faithful, raising the fortress walls from the earth itself. His disciples recorded that it looked as though the walls had been pulled up from deep beneath the ground.

As Olkoni rode along the steep mountain path, he spotted a patch of melted snow and brought the patrol to a halt. The knights exchanged puzzled looks as they watched Olkoni dismount his horse and kick at the exposed earth with his boots. The damp ground, soaked from the melted snow, crumbled like desert sand, scattering in all directions.

After staring at the ground for a while, Olkoni put weight on his ankles and walked around the area. His feet sank into the ground as if he were walking through a desert. Only then did the knights realize something was amiss and backed their horses away.

Olkoni walked further, grabbing a handful of frozen snow and dirt. His fingers sank deep into the soil, which should have been solidly frozen. As he fiddled with the crumbling dirt, he turned his gaze toward the dazzling white snowfield, its brightness almost painful under the sunlight.

“…The ground is strange.”

Olkoni muttered to himself.

All the land seemed to have lost its vitality and moisture, drying up completely. Wherever he stepped, the ground collapsed and crumbled into fine powder, as though it had been parched by the relentless sun for years.

A sense of foreboding washed over Olkoni as he took out a pouch and scooped some soil into it. If this situation extended to other areas as well, no sprouts would grow even when spring arrived. Considering that most of the land outside the Astien Empire and the Kingdom of Bastronia had already been overrun by the Seriths, this was no ordinary crisis.

Of course, he couldn’t definitively say that the Seriths were responsible for this.

But if the creatures truly were causing the land to change…

Olkoni stared at the soil in his pouch, then gazed out at the endless barren plains. Even if humanity somehow managed to win the war against the Seriths, there was no guarantee of a bright future ahead.

With a somber expression, Olkoni glanced back at the reconnaissance team, the weight of the situation pressing heavily on his shoulders.

“It’s no longer safe to proceed any further. Let’s all head back.”