The Grave of Swords
How much deeper had they gone?
A strange energy wrapped around his body.
It felt mysterious, but not threatening.
Fwaaaaaash!
A blinding light flooded his vision.
Jinhyeok and the others naturally shut their eyes and turned their heads.
They stayed that way for a moment.
Then a cool breeze brushed past them.
A breeze, even though they should be underwater?
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Next came the peaceful chirping of birds.
Warm light tickled his face as well.
He barely managed to open his eyes.
"Wha… wow."
A completely different scene unfolded before them.
Jinhyeok was standing in a lush green forest.
The kind of place that made you feel healed just by lying still.
He looked down at his clothes.
Water dripped steadily from them—proof that being underwater moments ago hadn't been a dream.
"Woohoo! Spirit paradise!"
An excited Elia began running around the forest.
Spirits—beings he'd encountered countless times in games and comics.
Yet in the real world, they were an utterly unfamiliar existence.
After getting to his feet, Jinhyeok moved with Seira toward the direction where light poured down.
Elia, who had climbed up into the trees, soon rejoined them and matched their pace.
When they emerged from the forest, a wide, tranquil lake came into view.
At its center stood a presence that looked mystical at a glance.
Golden hair that reflected the sunlight brilliantly, and vivid blue eyes visible even from this distance.
No matter how you looked at it, it was far removed from anything human.
"She's the spirit of the lake. The one who granted us permission to enter. Huh? Master? You okay?"
Elia waved a hand in front of Jinhyeok's face.
Jinhyeok gave a thumbs-up.
"Yeah. Just… thinking that spirits really do exist."
"There's an elf who's 3,271 years old and thumb-sized fairies—why act so surprised now?"
"When you put it that way, I guess you're right."
As the three murmured among themselves,
the spirit rose and began to walk forward.
With light, graceful steps, she walked across the surface of the water.
When she stopped right in front of them, the spirit smiled as brightly as her appearance.
"My name is Ariadne, Spirit of the Lake. I've been waiting for you."
Elia and Jinhyeok subtly stepped aside.
Seira, who had been staring at the spirit, opened her mouth.
"You know who I am?"
"You are the master of the Black Knight Order, aren't you? We've never met. I've only heard stories—from the person who entrusted this lake to me."
"Entrusted…?"
"The knights who gathered here called him this: Kan Lendio, vice-captain of the Black Knight Order."
Seira's eyes widened.
How could she not know that name?
It belonged to the comrade who had fought beside her the longest.
Beside her, Jinhyeok clenched his fist.
What lay here wasn't merely some lapis ore.
It was here.
The Grave of Swords.
"Before he fell asleep, Kan asked me a favor. If the master of the order ever came, he said, I should guide her."
Ariadne slowly stepped aside.
Beneath the shimmering ripples of the lake, a staircase of light formed.
Before stepping forward, Seira looked at Jinhyeok.
"You go first."
Jinhyeok waved with a smile.
"I'll wait."
He was desperate to see the Grave of Swords.
But he shouldn't be the first to face it.
The one who had the right was Seira Kincaiten, the captain of the Black Knight Order—her alone.
"I'll be back."
Seira nodded and followed the steps into the lake.
'Breathing…'
Though she was clearly underwater, she could breathe.
Sunlight poured down through the surface, and the water was so clear that visibility was excellent.
Descending the steps, Seira came to a halt.
Then she took a deep breath.
Dozens of graves spread out before her eyes.
Black stone graves stood in rows, with familiar swords planted atop them.
Seira approached one slowly and examined the sword.
Of course it was familiar.
It was the very blade her knights had cherished and wielded.
"Kite Magarov. Randolph Perciphy."
Standing before each grave, Seira spoke the name and bowed her head in silence.
Watching her, Ariadne, Spirit of the Lake, smiled.
She had witnessed the end of the Black Knight Order from nearby.
Whenever there was a spare moment, they spoke of Seira.
Sometimes they teased her playfully, but within those words were always respect, loyalty, and affection.
'So this is the kind of person she is.'
Even Ariadne, who had lived for thousands of years, had never seen such knights.
She had been curious.
What kind of person could inspire warriors like these to follow her sincerely until the moment of death?
Only now did she have her answer.
"Kamen Breed. Sein Ardan."
There were no names engraved on the graves.
Just as the knights had never forgotten Seira, she had never forgotten them.
The swords they wielded—and their names.
Standing before the final grave, Seira smiled.
"Kan Lendio."
After waiting quietly for Seira's moment of silence, Ariadne stepped closer.
"I heard the Black Knight Order made a vow before they parted. That they would walk their separate paths, but share their final rest together. They called it the order's last covenant."
"We did."
Seira looked over the graves once more, then tilted her head slightly.
"What's that chair in the center?"
At the heart of where sunlight poured down,
an absurdly uncomfortable-looking wooden chair sat there.
Ariadne smiled meaningfully.
"Seira Kincaiten, master of the Black Knight Order. That is your seat."
"My seat…?"
As she guided Seira toward it, Ariadne continued.
"Kan and the others said you always stood at the very front of the order. That you silently bore the weight of responsibility and duty—leading and protecting everyone alone."
"Weight… I'm not sure. I don't know if I did well enough."
"You did more than well. Otherwise, these free-spirited knights would never have kept their covenant to the very end."
Ariadne placed her hand on the chair.
"Vice-captain Kan said this: at the very least, in death, in their final rest, they would surround you and protect you."
Seira gazed quietly at the chair.
It sounded exactly like something Kan Lendio would say.
A man feared as a demon by his enemies, yet warmer than anyone to Seira and the order.
"He asked me to be sure to tell you this when you came. There is no place in this Grave of Swords for the captain to be buried. So when things grow hard, when you are tired, you should come by and sit here for a moment. Kan, Sein, and the others went to great lengths to find the most uncomfortable chair in the world. Please, sit."
Seira sat down on the chair.
"How is it?"
"Uncomfortable. The most uncomfortable chair I've ever sat on."
"That's wonderful. The knights will be delighted to hear it."
Smiling, Seira rose to her feet.
She stood up quickly not only because the chair was uncomfortable.
She was neither lonely, nor weary, nor exhausted.
And so, she would save this place of rest.
For a future that might one day leave her weary.
"This way."
Ariadne led Seira deeper into the lake.
It was time to fulfill Kan's final request.
Moments later, a sword came into view, and Seira's eyes widened.
In the graves of Sein Ardan, Kamen Breed, and Kan Lendio, their second swords had been planted.
Sein's Raven and Kamen's Muramasa were already in Seira's possession.
She had wondered where Kan's sword had gone—but it was here.
A sword placed atop an altar-like stone.
Its white blade was streaked with crimson lines like veins of blood.
"The Bloodfiend Sword, Bloodrain."
Seira murmured softly as she grasped the hilt.
"I don't know if I'm allowed to take this."
"You must take it. The sword wishes to drink more blood alongside its rightful master… or so Kan said. He even anticipated that you would hesitate."
Seira burst into laughter.
Just like Kan Lendio.
Perhaps because they had spent so much time together,
there were moments when he saw straight through her—at the strangest times.
"As you wish. I'll take you with me. To battlefields where far more blood awaits."
With Bloodrain in hand, Seira turned around.
She looked back at the graves and smiled more brightly than ever before.
Vowing to visit from time to time.
Shaaaaa—
Sunlight poured down through the surface, illuminating Seira and the Grave of Swords.
Ariadne smiled as well.
As the Spirit of the Lake, she could feel it clearly.
The joy of souls reunited with someone precious.
The earnest blessing of spirits wishing well upon the path their captain would walk.
Step.
Taking a few steps back, Ariadne fixed the image of Seira and the Grave of Swords in her mind.
'At last, they've reached each other.'
Threads of fate that crossed centuries, finally arriving where they belonged.
She wanted to remember it for a long time.
This moment—more sacred and beautiful than anything else.
A couple of hours later.
"Wooow."
Jinhyeok exclaimed in awe as he emerged from the lake.
He had just finished visiting the Grave of Swords.
The reverence he felt there was beyond words.
"That was something truly special."
Elia smiled in satisfaction as she looked around the lake.
A Grave of Swords guarded by a lake spirit who had lived for thousands of years.
It made her understand, if only a little, how noble and great the covenant of the knights resting here truly was.
"Come here and wring my hair out."
Elia handed one of her twin braids to Jinhyeok.
"Gently, okay? Don't pull it out."
"Yeah. Don't worry."
He squeezed the water out as carefully as he could.
There was so much hair that even a broom would be jealous.
"There's so much of it, losing a few strands should be fine."
"Don't think such evil thoughts, okay? Always remember that your opponent is a 3,271-year-old granny."
After a long while of careful squeezing,
Seira emerged from the lake with an incredibly refreshed expression.
As if on cue, Elia and Jinhyeok stepped forward and wrung the water from Seira's hair as well.
"Did you say everything you needed to?"
Seira nodded and looked at Jinhyeok.
"It's thanks to you, Master."
"Me? I didn't do anything."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to meet them again. Thank you. And… you were right."
A faint smile crossed Seira's face as she continued.
"They had no regrets. About the time they spent with me."
Jinhyeok puffed out his chest proudly.
"See! I told you! That you must've been an amazing captain!"
It wasn't just about being right.
What made him truly happy was that Seira herself had come to understand how great and admirable she was.
"And also."
Seira held out her sword.
"I found it. The last sword."
"Oooh."
He had been wondering how to carefully ask about it.
At last, all the swords had been gathered.
After gazing at the blade for a moment, Seira spoke.
"It is Bloodrain, the sword of Kan Lendio, vice-captain of the Black Knight Order."
As soon as Seira spoke the sword's name—
Ding!
The system's cheerful alert rang out.
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T/N:
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