Sword Devouring Swordmaster-Chapter 79 : Chapter 79

Chapter 79. Whirlpool (2)
The winner of this 「War Duel」—the one themed after a territorial war—was Han.
When I first heard the result, I couldn’t believe it. Han won? How? After losing to Seol Yoon and passing out, I had assumed the winner of this War Duel would be the 「Great Land」. After all, I had done one stupid thing after another.
To digest the Dragon Sword, I had wasted the chance to summon my 「Guardian Dragon」. Then, stepping forward to face Seol Yoon one-on-one—that was another foolish move.
In any territorial war, the defender always holds the advantage. If the defending side maintains formation, simply stalling for time brings profit. Besides, this War Duel had even given us a fixed time to hold out, hadn’t it?
Instead of charging into a duel against Seol Yoon, I should’ve stayed hidden among our troops and steadily reduced the enemy’s numbers. Not even a full contribution—just doing that would’ve been fulfilling my duty.
What I did—fighting Seol Yoon alone—was irrational, unstrategic, and purely emotional.
A self-indulgent act born of personal greed. And in large-scale warfare, emotional, solo actions are forbidden. By that measure, I hadn’t fulfilled my role at all—and instead committed a list of reckless offenses.
So honestly, I thought my reputation as a warrior would hit rock bottom after this. But the world doesn’t always move by logic or reason, does it? Especially not here, in the Steel City. A city of lunatics whose brains are soaked in duels and who worship anyone as long as it’s romantic.
And their verdict on my impulsive behavior was simple.
“…You’re saying we won because of me?”
Because of me. To my ears, that sounded like the barking of a mad dog.
Now that my head had cooled after the fight, I could see it clearly—it was nonsense.
“Of course! We won thanks to you!”
“That makes no sense.”
“Sword Demon Liam! The enemies fled after witnessing your valor! The moment you defeated the Black Bride, they tucked their tails and ran!”
“How does that make sense? From their perspective, they took out a troublesome elite fighter—me—and nearly reached our walls. Why would they flee just because they lost one duel…?”
“Look at the results right in front of you!”
The more I listened, the more I realized these people weren’t joking or mocking my fainting spell. They truly believed what they were saying.
Every single one of them was still burning with excitement from the War Duel, their eyes bright with emotion. Like true duel-addicts, they seemed to expect me to lift my sword high and declare victory. Do that, and they’d probably start flipping in midair from joy.
“But still, it doesn’t make logical sense.”
I couldn’t help it.
“Think about it. If we—”
Unfortunately, I’m the kind of lunatic who can’t let go of something until I understand it. As I kept rambling, ignoring the awkward stares around me—
「Enough, my young descendant.」
“……”
「Keep this up, and you might truly die even in the real world.」
Even my ancestor Liam told me to stop. Then one warrior struck right where it hurt.
“You don’t have any friends, do you?”
“……”
“Damn, what are you, a paranoid freak? We’re telling you what we saw and heard, and you still can’t accept it? What are you, some socially handicapped loser—”
“Well…”
“Goddamn it, whatever. Just pick your damn Dragon Relic already. How’d a guy this socially hopeless even survive as a warrior…”
I couldn’t think of a single rebuttal. My ancestor sounded pleased.
「A rare sage, this one.」
“……”
「Without anyone telling him, he immediately recognized that you’re both a paranoid and a social misfit. Even the wise men of the war era would’ve been impressed by such insight.」
…And so, after that little incident, the War Duel ended with me choosing a Dragon Relic.
Some warriors and spectators started calling me “the Awkward Gladiator,” but that wasn’t worth worrying about.
Anyway, In the cooling atmosphere, I chose the Dragon Sword. Of course I did. Nothing else even caught my eye.
Liam, watching me, clicked his tongue.
「Tsk. You’ve won, yet it must feel wretched.」
“Why would it feel wretched?”
「Because of the prize you’ve received—you’ve already eaten it in the Spirit World. You consumed the soul within, so what you hold now is nothing but an empty shell. Wouldn’t that make you feel miserable?」
“Ah, so that’s what you meant.”
He wasn’t wrong.
In the Spirit World, I had already devoured the Dragon Sword. And as for the other Dragon Relics, they were all useless trinkets.
Liam examined them briefly and declared that they were mere decorations shaped like the Dragon Sword.
The power within them only resonated with the light of the 「Light」—boosting troop morale, nothing more. So yes, to me, these relics were all worthless.
However—
“Sometimes I think, Master, you’re far too pure.”
「What?」
That was from his point of view.
“This blade might be useless to me, since I already consumed its power. But… who else knows that?”
「…You don’t mean—」
“Oh, I do.”
From my point of view, this was far from useless.
“I’ll sell it. Now’s the perfect time to fetch the highest price. In everyone else’s eyes, it’s the very sword that won the War Duel—a relic capable of summoning a Guardian Dragon. Ah, I wonder how many steel coins it’ll bring.”
「Ha! Ha, hahahaha!」
A very expensive, useless piece of metal.
「Strange, my young descendant. Your shameless face gleams like steel itself. Yet to my knowledge, none of the Karavan possessed a face of such hardened iron…」
“I must’ve inherited it from my most glorious ancestor, Master!”
「Hahaha!」
“Hahaha!”
Who was calling who shameless here? Watching my master’s unmatched brazenness, I declared I’d resell my War Duel prize—and the collectors went insane.
Some spectators and warriors shouted that I was mad to sell such a glorious artifact, but I didn’t care. Glory doesn’t fill your stomach.
A few Eastern Continent warriors even pleaded that the relic be returned to them for the sake of history, but I ignored them.
My condition was simple: It goes to whoever offers the highest price.
And thus—Before the official Arena auction even began, the War Duel champion’s “resale” had already started.
Something completely unprecedented in the history of the 「Infinite Duel」. A champion selling their prize on the spot? Unheard of.
Utter madness.
Of course, there was one thing I had to deal with first.
“Arhan.”
A visitor came before any buyer could.
“You’re selling the Dragon Sword? For money?”
The 「Black Bride」—Seol Yoon. It was time to face her anger.
***
“You’re selling the Dragon Sword? For money?”
The girl, Seol Yoon, asked quietly as she looked at Arhan, whose complexion seemed oddly pale. Her tone was simply curious—but Arhan’s reply was unnecessarily long.
“Ah, yes, well, as you know, our domain’s finances aren’t exactly in good shape… And we’ll be needing a lot of gold soon, and, well, as you might recall, I’ve already inherited the will of Han contained within the Dragon Sword. Besides, before the duel, we agreed that the winner could do whatever they wanted with it—”
He talked too much.
To Seol Yoon, it sounded like he was desperately making excuses. Perhaps he felt guilty about selling the treasured relic of the Eastern Continent.
The sight made her smile faintly.
“It’s fine. Like you said, the winner decides what to do.”
“R-really?”
“Mm. Do as you wish.”
She meant it. The Dragon Sword? She no longer had any attachment to it.
“But Seol Yoon, you said before that the Dragon Sword wasn’t just an ordinary blade—”
Arhan kept talking, but Seol Yoon only found it amusing. He wasn’t as rational as he pretended to be. He was the kind of man easily swayed by emotion.
If she cried and begged him not to sell it, he’d find some reason—any reason—to keep it. He’d even create an excuse to hand it back to her. That was the kind of man Arhan was.
“I really don’t mind.”
She cut him off gently. And she meant every word.
The Dragon Sword no longer mattered to her.
She had sought it because it was said to contain the wisdom of Han’s ancestors—because legend claimed the True King resided within it.
She had wanted to ask that True King if paradise truly existed, and if she could ever reach heaven.
But not anymore.
“I’ve found something far more valuable.”
No one knows what tomorrow will bring.
The answers one seeks must be found by oneself.
That is what makes the world beautiful.
“So really—do whatever you want. I’m fine.”
That was the enlightenment she had gained through 「Thousandfold Change」.
She no longer sought answers from her ancestors. If paradise did not exist at the end of her path, she would create it herself.
She would reclaim what was precious by her own strength.
“Truly.”
That was Seol Yoon’s conclusion. Her answer alone.
“R-really? Truly—”
Seeing Arhan stammer, Seol Yoon simply smiled. And as she smiled, she realized—she had almost forgotten she could smile this naturally.
***
Things turned out differently than I’d expected.
I thought Seol Yoon would rage, maybe even attack me again. But strangely, she seemed genuinely indifferent. Not pretending to be cool—but truly at peace. A little unsettling, but fortunate for me.
‘Lucky.’
Everything I’d done—my reckless solo duel, my devouring of the Dragon Sword—had somehow turned out for the best. Even earning the right to choose the relic, thanks to the crowd’s cheers.
‘Too lucky.’
Even Seol Yoon said she didn’t care what I did. Every problem that should’ve blown up had somehow vanished. If someone else were in my shoes, they’d be dancing, thanking the gods.
But me?
‘Why… Why does it feel too lucky?’
As the chronic paranoiac I was, I couldn’t shake the unease. And honestly, it was justified.
‘I’m not the kind of guy who gets lucky.’
My life is always tangled into knots. That’s why this smooth flow felt terrifying. Like the eerie calm before a storm.
“The 「Red Bank」 has arrived.”
Wearing my Sword Gladiator attire, I welcomed a stream of visitors. All of them were big names.
The 「Red Bank」 of the Black Archipelago—those who controlled all the gold on the continent.
The Masters of the 「Machine Empire」, who sought any precious artifact. Noble houses who slept atop mountains of gold.
They offered every kind of treasure for the Dragon Sword—massive piles of gold coins, solid bars of gold, noble titles, and even rare magical artifacts impossible to obtain through normal means.
Each offer was more tempting than the last. It was hard to believe I could get all this for a useless hunk of metal. Yet, no matter how dazzling the offers, the unease wouldn’t leave me.
Why? These people weren’t tricksters.
What I considered treasures were, to them, trifles from their overflowing vaults.
Even so—why did the anxiety linger?
Why?
And then—
“Hm.”
—I found out my unease had been right.
Again.
“The long journey was worth it.”
The moment the man appeared, my mind froze. For a second, I thought I was hallucinating.
I blinked several times, wondering if my paranoia had finally bloomed into madness. But no—it was real. This was reality. Mouth slightly open, I looked again.
Ash-grey hair. Or one might call it silver-grey—but in the Iron Kingdom of Cherville, no one would.
“Amusing.”
For in Cherville, that color was known as the color of iron.
The mark of the bloodline that had ruled this kingdom for centuries. And among those of that blood, there was only one young man in his twenties—because every other iron-blooded youth had been erased from the world by him.
“Very amusing.”
A madman who slaughtered his own siblings to secure the throne.
A man who commanded the most powerful sword on the continent—his Executioner.
“To see a lowly man like you do such things—it’s been entertaining.”
My enemy.
The master of Swordmaster Carlos.
“I’ll sit for a while. You won’t mind, will you?”
The Iron Prince—Ian Cherville—had arrived as my guest.