I Pull Out Excalibur

3 – Star’s Blade, and Voice (1)

I deliberately didn’t change my clothes.

I walked through the streets, still wearing the blood-soaked uniform of the postal service. Merchants began to emerge one by one as the store opened.

Thud.

I walked silently among them.

Those who met my gaze twitched, shivered for a moment, then turned their heads away. They pretended not to see me. Well, I knew I was Ivan’s hunting dog.

In this street protected by Ivan, he was both a fence and an absolute ruler.

Ivan protected those who followed the rules he set and showed mercy. But if you crossed the line, he wouldn’t show an ounce of mercy and would administer strict punishment. Ivan often warned those who had become accustomed to his mercy.

Do not take mercy for granted and do not cross the line.

What I did today, turning Tricksy’s pub into a mess and walking the streets without changing clothes, was an extension of that warning. Ivan instructed me to act this way.

“He’s gotten lax lately.”

“One by one, signs of crossing the line were emerging.”

“While you’re at it, give him a reasonable scare, Najin,”

I merely followed that instruction.

“Eek…”

As I walked down the street, a merchant I encountered cowered in fear and took a step back. He was a merchant who usually walked the line, tightrope-walking on the boundary drawn with Tricksy.

“…”

I silently stared at him.

The man’s gaze lingered on the thickened bloodstains on my clothes and then shifted to the knife sheathed at my waist.

Thunk.

Silently passing by his trembling figure overwhelmed with fear, there was still no order from Najin to deal with him. I hoped this served as a proper warning.

“Please.”

Don’t cross the line.

Don’t provoke Najin’s temper. The more you do, the more I have to deal with, unnecessary bloodshed. And that is not a pleasant task.

Slimy, sticky, unpleasant.

It’s different from moral guilt. It just feels damn unpleasant. Especially when facing the relatives of the deceased.

“Hoo…”

Exhaling deeply, I continued walking.

How long did I walk? When I arrived at my destination, I stopped and raised my head. There, in this underground city, was a bustling district gathered with only the finest.

Gleaming and noisy ore lamps.

Luxurious items crafted from refined ore.

Goods, food, and fabrics from the upper district.

This place served as a kind of checkpoint, sending cans of ore up from here and receiving goods in return, the only passage to the upper district in the underground city of Artman.

Thunk.

I moved towards the most splendid building among them. It was the residence of the ruler of this sector, Ivan with the heterochromatic eyes.

2.

Ivan with the heterochromatic eyes.

Before falling into the underground city of Artman, he was a knight and a skilled swordsman. Though he ended up falling to this city in disgrace, he was still a formidable swordsman, effortlessly unsheathing his sword.

A true warrior reveals his prowess no matter where he falls, especially one as skilled as a knight. Ivan was no different.

He quickly seized control of the underground city.

Ivan pushed the original owner of the bustling district, the spider Horace, to the city’s outskirts and took his place. Crushing those who dared challenge his authority, he expanded his influence. It marked the beginning of a long and brutal civil war.

“I don’t know the details, but…”

The civil war ended a long time ago, and I knew the result was Ivan’s victory. Even now, several years later, Ivan remained the effective ruler of this city.

“And.”

At the same time, he was my mentor and employer.

Ivan was the one who picked me up when my parents abandoned me and taught me how to survive in this city. Mostly, it involved teaching me how to kill people, but that’s beside the point.

“Ivan, are you in there?”

I knocked on Ivan’s door.

Soon, a voice from inside told me to come in. As I opened the door and entered Ivan’s office, a middle-aged man with a blindfold over his right eye came into view.

Broad shoulders. Forearms covered in scars. Sparse white hair peeking through the jet-black strands.

The owner of this office was Ivan. He glared at me with his remaining eye, a fierce gaze that seemed capable of tearing a person apart even after killing them. It happened the moment his gaze met my face.

“Hey, it’s you!”

Ivan’s expression relaxed.

He laughed heartily and banged the table with force.

“I thought some damn spider’s offspring had come to collect my soul. Why are you flipping the blood so much? I thought the guys downstairs had all been castrated and were coming up.”

“I wasn’t nervous at all, you know?”

“Hey, can’t you see it here? Sweating?”

Ivan shouted, pointing at his own neck.

Even if he shouted, all I could see were small scars. I shrugged and took off my postal coat and hat.

“I told Ivan to scare you a bit.”

“Did I say that?”

“Isn’t it too early for dementia to set in?”

“It’s a joke, a joke.”

Ivan sighed, exhaling a gray plume of smoke. It was a signal to report on how the job went. I sat on the sofa in the office and began the tale.

“As Ivan predicted, Trixi pulled the strings towards Horace. Some of Horace’s organization members were visible.”

“I knew that would happen.”

Phew, exhaling a gray smoke, Ivan muttered.

“Trixi may play on the edge, but he doesn’t have the courage to cross the line. Did someone with that courage suddenly cross the line?”

He banged the table.

“There’s a corner of trust. So how many were there?”

“Twelve. About half of them seemed to be from the Horace family.”

“So?”

Ivan’s mouth curled into a long smirk. I briefly answered, looking at Ivan with curious eyes.

“Out of the thirteen, twelve had their arms or legs cut off, one each, and the task of disposal was left to Kavin, who left the limbs intact. Tricksy was killed.”

“Without a single injury? All thirteen of them?”

I nodded my head and Ivan let out a loud laugh. A rough laughter that resonated in the office. Ivan laughed for a while and then let out a long sigh.

“Heh, Tricksy’s face would have been worth seeing. Well, I guess you thought at least one of the thirteen would survive even after gathering them all.”

“Tricksy said the same thing.”

“Anyway, he’s a crazy bastard.”

“Tricksy?”

“Not Tricksy, I mean you. You.”

Where did such a monstrous guy come from?

Mumbling like that, Ivan flicked his lighter and lit his cigarette. The sound of a match being struck echoed throughout the room.

“If there’s another task, call me. Rest until then. Oh, and…”

As if something came to mind, Ivan supported his chin with his hand.

“Don’t go near the square for a while.”

“The square?”

“Yes. Someone has been sent from the upper town. Because of the upcoming ordeal of the Seat.”

The ordeal of the Seat. The Seat, which means the stars.

Upon hearing the word “Seat” ringing in my ears, I reflexively repeated the question.

“… What is the ordeal of the Seat?”

“Oh, you haven’t seen it before? It’s like some kind of event that takes place every thirteen years.”

Thirteen years ago, I was five years old.

It was natural that I didn’t know. I tilted my head and listened carefully to Ivan’s words.

“The Seat, do you know who the Sword of Selection is?”

“Arthur?”

“Yes, Arthur. Isn’t there the most famous legend related to the Seat? The one where he pulled the sword out of the stone.”

I knew it.

Excalibur, the legendary sword stuck in the rock. The sword that heralded the beginning of the Arthurian legend and later became the form of the constellation that Arthur engraved in the sky, the Star Sword.

“The Seat, the Sword of Selection, inflicts the ordeal on the entire continent every thirteen years. A simple and clear ordeal that requires pulling out the sword stuck in the rock. It’s actually called an ordeal, but it’s just an event. No one has pulled out that sword in hundreds of years.”

Ivan shrugged his shoulders.

“Spreading one’s legacy far and engraving it into people periodically… something like that. In every city where people gather, knights appear, so they showed up in this underground city too.”

That’s the issue right there.

Ivan said, clicking his tongue.

“Even if they appear in all kinds of cities, these swords are made of Arthur’s starlight, after all. They are sacred relics. And when such sacred relics appear in this trashy neighborhood, do you think the upper district will just stay quiet?”

Considering how the upper district views this place, the answer was clear.

“They won’t let anyone touch the swords.”

“That’s right. When this time comes, the followers who worship the stars get quite excited.”

“If someone approaches the swords, do they execute them for blasphemy?”

“Something like that. Usually, it doesn’t go as far as execution; they just beat them up a bit. But in some cases, their heads might roll right on the spot.”

Ivan tilted his head as if he were fed up.

“Harsh.”

“Isn’t it? So, try to avoid the square area as much as possible. The guards sent from the upper district will be guarding the swords all day.”

“When did these swords appear?”

“Last night.”

Ivan looked at me in silence.

There was no mischief in his eyes like before. As a senior who had lived a longer life than me, Ivan gave me advice.

“It’s best not to do anything that would offend the people from the upper district. Remember that.”

He pointed to his eyepatch.

Ivan chuckled as he covered his right eye, which was taken from him when he was banished from the upper district to this city.

“Live within the boundaries of what’s right. Crossing that line can make life miserable.”

Probably his own experience.

Reluctantly, I nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Go on.”

As I was about to leave the office like that.

“Last night.”

Ivan called me.

With his chin in his hand, Ivan said casually.

“The ordeal of the Holy See begins tonight at midnight. If you’re in a good spot, you might witness a scene where a sword ’embeds’ itself.”

I tilted my head.

Ivan let out a sigh and added, “Table by the window at Taria Pub, number 31. It’s a lucky spot. Call it in my name. Give me at least one table.”

I laughed belatedly, understanding the meaning of his words.

I bent my head slightly to Ivan and quickly exited the building.

3.

Taria Pub, located near the square.

The pub was bustling with people who didn’t want to miss the opportunity that came after 13 years. It was inevitable. It was a rare chance in their lives for those who had lived in this city, cut off from the outside world, forgetting about the sun and starlight.

An opportunity to see the stars.

An opportunity to reminisce about the forgotten scenery of the outside world.

The residents of the underground city were willing to pay a fortune, surpassing their usual modest means, to secure a seat. Among them, the window seats held the highest value.

“…”

Those window seats at Taria Pub.

A prominent spot overlooking the square. There, Nazine took a seat and placed an old, worn-out fairytale book on the table alongside a refreshing drink.

The Tale of Arthur.

Nazine quietly waited for the time to arrive, with the last page of the fairytale book already open. There were only a few minutes left until midnight. Nazine swallowed his dry saliva and stared out the window.

Stars, starlight, constellations.

The only desire of a boy from the burial ground who had no interest in anything from the outside world. Though the stars hadn’t fallen yet, the boy’s eyes sparkled like stars.

“One minute.”

Nazine counted silently in his mind.

One minute that felt like an hour passed. When there were only about ten seconds left, Nazine exhaled a long breath and opened his eyes wide.

Ding, ding, ding…

Along with the sound of the bell resonating throughout the pub.

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Nazine immediately raised his head and looked beyond the window at the ceiling of the underground city. The once fragile ceiling, supported only by dim stones, now shone brightly.

Tiny blemishes on the ceiling.

Small gaps worn out over the course of many years.

Platinum-colored particles seeped out from the tiniest cracks where not even sunlight could pass through. Nazine realized belatedly that it was starlight.

Flash.

The flickering starlight illuminated the stones on the ceiling. It was late at night, but the underground city shone brighter than ever before.

It’s beautiful. Nazine thought absentmindedly.

Throughout his 18 years of life, Nazine witnessed starlight for the first time. Sentences from the fairytales he had read countless times wandered in Nazine’s mind. Brilliant starlight shining in platinum colors.

Ah, Najin sighed unconsciously.

Soon, the starlight seeping out from the ceiling began to gather together. The brilliant starlight converged to form a single shining sword. It was the Holy Sword that the church worshipped, Excalibur, a star-forged sword.

Together with the radiant starlight, Excalibur began to descend. Drawing a trail of platinum light, Excalibur plummeted from the sky of the underground city toward the square.

Although Najin had never seen a shooting star, he thought it might look like that.

“Wow…”

Sighs echoed from various corners of the tavern.

Those who had spent a fortune for the view of this short scene filled this place. Witnessing the starlight they had forgotten, they groaned and yearned for the past.

After a brief fall, the Holy Sword stuck into the center of the square.

Excalibur did not make a loud sound when it struck the ground. It only gave off a solemn and resonant sound, sweeping through the underground city.

“Ah…”

Najin looked at the sword stuck in the center of the square.

Though it was difficult to see clearly from a distance, there were clearly constellations engraved on the blade of the Holy Sword. The constellation of King Arthur, who had wielded a sword and raced across the continent in the past.

I want to see it.

I want to see it up close.

The boy’s eyes shimmered. Najin couldn’t tell if it was because of the starlight scattered by the Holy Sword or the light emitted by the boy’s eyes themselves. As Najin leaned his face against the window, almost sticking to it, he felt a sense of unease.

“What is it?”

An unknown unease.

No, it was something different from unease. Something stirred deep inside. The stirring eventually turned into words and sentences, filling Najin’s mind.

A single sentence filled his mind.

Draw the sword.

Najin couldn’t understand why that sentence came to mind. He shook his head to dismiss the foolish fantasy that came up in his mind. He must be crazy. If he were to touch that sword, his hand and even his neck would surely be severed.

Clang, clang!

That was when it happened.

Thud.

Soldiers who emerged from somewhere surrounded the sword stuck in the ground. With their armor covering the starlight, the sword was no longer visible. Sighs filled with regret echoed throughout the tavern.

“Just let me see a little longer.”

Najin, too, licked his lips while glancing at the soldiers.

It’s not like it would wear out just by looking. Why are the people from the upper district making such a fuss? With that thought in mind, he slowly stood up from his seat.

Najin’s eyes, which had shone with starlight, regained their original color and temperature. His eyes, filled with cold resignation. Najin left the tavern without a word.

The starlight that he had encountered for the first time in his life disappeared from Najin’s side in an instant. It was blocked by the boundary separating this underground city and the “upper district.” Najin suddenly thought that the soldiers surrounding the sword were no different from the ceiling of this city.

“Sigh.”

Najin exhaled.

Dreaming futile dreams only made life more tiresome. These were words Offen and Ivan, his two mentors, often repeated like a mantra. Reflecting on that sentence, Najin tried to organize his thoughts.

Tried to, but…

Amidst the flood of numerous words being washed away, one sentence stood firm:

“Draw the sword.”

An unshakable line, untouched and unorganized.

Endlessly revolving in his mind, Najin pondered over that sentence.