Excalibur, which had been motionless in midair, suddenly blazed with the same pure white light as before.
“Uh, uh…!”
At that moment, Eldora’s upper body began to tilt violently, as if pulled by an invisible force. The Excalibur gripped tightly in both his hands stretched out straight toward me. The intensity of the pull was so strong it was clear it wasn’t voluntary—it was being forced. He struggled desperately to hold on, but in the end, he couldn’t resist the sword’s power and lost his grip.
“Ah…!”
Moments later, Eldora’s face twisted into an expression too complex to describe. The sword that had slipped from his grasp spun once through the air before settling quietly into my hand. Unless he was completely in denial, he must have realized what had just happened.
“During the Golden Age, I symbolized absolute good, the embodiment of justice; during the Dark Age, I was a brilliant ray of light piercing through the darkness… The legendary holy sword Excalibur has confirmed the corruption of its wielder, Eldora Cornelius, and judged that he has lost the right to wield me. Though reluctantly, I now seek to use the power of my new wielder, Kim Suhyun, to purge the evil that taints my former master.”
So you knew all along, huh?
Whirrrrr…!
I gripped the hilt of Excalibur tightly, feeling a deep, weighty presence settle into my hand.
“Excalibur acknowledges Kim Suhyun as its rightful wielder.”
A simple yet profound message appeared in my mind.
“The titles ‘Summit (頂上)’ and ‘Sovereign of the Sword (劍의 군주)’ are now linked to Kim Suhyun.”
“All previously imposed restrictions on Excalibur’s detailed effects are forcibly lifted. Even if current conditions are unmet, Kim Suhyun’s qualifications allow full access to Excalibur’s true power.”
And then:
“Kim Suhyun’s Strength stat increases by 6 points.”
“Kim Suhyun’s Stamina stat increases by 4 points.”
“Kim Suhyun’s Agility stat increases by 2 points.”
“Kim Suhyun’s innate, special, and potential abilities each rise by two ranks.”
“From now on, every sword strike by Kim Suhyun will automatically be accompanied by a powerful magical force.”
“Kim Suhyun’s mana flow increases by 2.5 times.”
Six messages flooded my vision in quick succession.
“…….”
Reality began to shift quietly.
[Strength 111 (+14)] [Endurance 95 (+2)] [Agility 103 (+2)] [Stamina 105 (+6)] [Mana 96] [Luck 90 (+2)]
(Remaining stat points: 0)
<Achievements (11)>
<Innate Ability (1/1)>
<Special Ability (1/1)>
<Potential Abilities (5/5)>
I barely had time to process the sudden evolution of my stats.
Thump!
Suddenly, my heart started pounding.
Thump-thump, thump-thump!
My heartbeat grew stronger and stronger. I didn’t know why, but strangely, it didn’t feel bad at all. On the contrary, my body felt inexplicably energized, as if some long-suppressed potential was slowly awakening. If I stretched out with all my might right now, I felt like an enormous surge of energy would explode from within me.
“Haa…!”
I placed my hand over my pounding chest, trying to steady my breath, which had grown rough and uneven. Why was this happening? Why now?
…Wait. I remembered something I’d heard before. Uriel said that once my stamina surpassed 100 points, the Flame Core would unlock its seal and regain its true power. That power was said to be strong enough to rewrite this entire world—the Whole Plane.
Come to think of it, the first awakening of the Flame Core happened when my stamina hit 90 points. The second awakening was at 100 points, and the third at 101 points. And now, my stamina was a full 105 points—three points beyond the threshold that both the Flame Core and I had longed for.
Fwooooshhh….
As I thought this, the flames that had flickered across my body suddenly surged upward silently. Then, a strange sensation swept over me, as if my life force was being drawn out from the crown of my head. My legs nearly gave out. It was an unfamiliar feeling, as if my soul was being pulled out of my body.
More precisely, since gaining the Flame Core, my usually heavy heart suddenly felt light.
As I slowly circulated the mana to restore balance to my body,
“…Hmph.”
I could clearly feel it—my nape suddenly grew hot.
At the same time, Eldora collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. He stared blankly at me—or rather, at the space above me. I wasn’t the only one sensing something strange.
No, in fact, most of the battlefield was frozen in shock, all eyes fixed on the empty air where I stood.
…What’s going on? Why is everyone acting like this? What’s above me? Now that I think about it, I think I just heard a faint, haughty snort nearby. It didn’t sound like Suna—it was far too mature.
Then it happened.
“Pathetic little things… By the way, where is Thanatos?”
A voice, both lonely and heavy with weight, whispered softly in my ear.
It took me a moment to realize it was the Flame Core speaking. Not inside my head as usual, but clearly audible to my ears. Aside from the resonance and the fact it came directly from a mouth, it was unmistakably the Flame Core’s voice.
I was thinking this when something utterly absurd happened. The Flame Core spoke out loud?
Curious, I instinctively tilted my chin up to look, but—
“Ah!”
I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead of looking up, I suddenly froze. A strange energy pressed urgently against my head. The sensation around my temples was soft and warm, like a woman’s gentle hands.
“Ah, no. Don’t look.”
This time, a shy voice brushed past my ear, quite unlike the earlier commanding tone. At the same time, my head was forcibly held facing forward, as if determined not to let me look up.
“Flame Core?”
“Uh, huh? Flame Core? I might not even be the Flame Core!”
“What?”
“I said don’t look!”
Just as I tried again to glance upward, a sharp shout came with increased pressure on both sides of my head. It sounded flustered, almost embarrassed. How was I supposed to move with this?
“Phew… Who suddenly told you to look? I’m not ready yet…”
“What?”
“What if you see me and get disappointed…”
“No. What are you even saying…”
“Sh-shut up, shut up, shut up! I’m so embarrassed, just do your job already!”
“W-wait a minute.”
What was this? Everyone here seems to be looking, but I’m not allowed to? That can’t be. If my guess is right, with my suddenly boosted stamina, the Flame Core might have manifested in this world. That means I could see her beautiful form. I have to see it, no matter what.
“Ugh…!”
I tried to force myself to look, but—
“Eek…! Don’t look!”
The Flame Core’s grip tightened desperately. There was no way I could win.
Eventually, overwhelmed by the pressure, I lowered my head. My eyes naturally fell on Eldora, still sitting on the ground. He was staring up with a dazed expression, and when our eyes briefly met, he flinched and trembled. His pitch-black, lifeless eyes betrayed a spiderweb of fear.
Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. I felt like if I looked up, I’d understand exactly what was happening to my body. But with the Flame Core so fiercely refusing, I had no choice but to obey.
Fine. Anyway, the user data has evolved. It’s better to just finish what I need to do, like I was told. End this war as quickly as possible. I can deal with Hwajeong later.
Just as I thought that, Eldora started shaking violently, slowly shaking her head.
“No… I don’t want to…”
She took a step back, flailing her limbs wildly as if trying not to fall. The speed of her head-shaking only increased.
“D-Don’t come! I told you not to come!”
Another hysterical outburst. Maybe because of the shock she took during the battle on the Eastern Continent, it doesn’t even surprise me anymore.
Come to think of it, she’s kind of pitiful. If things had gone normally, she’d be thriving in the Southern Continent, searching for her sword sheath. But instead, she still doesn’t know the truth, has been used all along, and was ultimately abandoned by Excalibur.
“Excalibur? Excalibur! Why are you there? I’m your master! So why—whyyyy!”
But one timeline is one timeline, and this one is this one. Eldora died once already and was resurrected as a fragment of Thanatos. Given how things have turned out, there’s only one future left for her.
When I stepped right up to her, her terrified eyes instantly welled up with tears.
“N-No! I—I didn’t do anything wrong! I swear…!”
She claims she’s done nothing wrong.
Yeah. That’s not exactly wrong.
But…
I quietly spoke to the babbling Eldora.
“It’s not so much that you did something wrong…”
“Stay away…!”
“It’s that things went wrong.”
“……!”
I don’t know if she understood, but Eldora suddenly stopped talking. Then, as if at a loss for words, she slowly parted her lips.
“Kim Suhyun.”
At that moment, Hwajeong whispered something secretively into my ear.
“…Mm.”
I nodded, raised Excalibur straight up, and without a moment’s hesitation, brought it down with all my might.