Star-Embracing Swordmaster (Full)

Crossing the avenue that runs through the city, filled with brilliant lights, Sarnus arrived at a dark alley after passing a modest blacksmith's shop where a star rested.

"…..This place is exactly what I'd expect from a cesspool."

Ahead of him stood a four-story building in the shadowy alley.

It was the "Beacon of the Rose," a brothel established by the Knight of Prostitutes and the Rose of Soara.

A deep sneer lingered on Sarnus's lips as he saw the imposing structure of the rose, seemingly waiting for him with its smile.

"Growing up in a place like this, you've probably forgotten that you're a dragon."

What might have been a safe and welcoming refuge for a child was nothing but a miserable brothel to Sarnus.

But blinded by rage, he failed to notice the many anguished stares that followed his path.

The fact that countless children watched him anxiously as he walked by.

A child exhausted from hunger.

A child caught stealing and beaten.

And even the child crying relentlessly, unable to bury his dead mother in the frozen ground.

"That destroyed potential. I, my son, will reclaim it."

So many tears shed because he hadn't been where he should have been.

Yet, as Sarnus entered this place, he still refused to accept the child's sorrow, seeking only what he desired.

Creeeek-

A dragon of this era who only wants his son, who carries his blood, to become what he wants.

The smile of the rose began to open its arms toward the dragon.

"Vlad…"

"Come forward."

This is the smile of the rose, and the home of the boy.

A place that welcomed Vlad in place of his father, who wasn't there when he should have been.

"Let's end this now."

The city alleys glowed brightly in the night.

With Vlad's eyes raised, the light from the window began to burn intensely.

"My name is Vlad of Soara."

Beyond the stairs, Sarnus ascended slowly while Vlad unsheathed his sword.

Glowing like a star even without any decoration, it was unmistakably Vlad's sword.

Behind Vlad, who had drawn his sword, numerous candles watched him, illuminating his colors.

"Now, state your name."

"You damned fool…"

This is my deepest world.

Before you enter, you must prove your existence to me.

"You dare face me without even knowing the honor of being born of my blood."

The final confrontation between dragon and human, duke and knight, father and son.

At Vlad's words to leave everything else behind and speak only with swords, the last thread of reason that Sarnus clung to snapped.

"You dare challenge Sarnus Dragulia!"

Graaah!

With a thunderous roar, the ancient dragon charged at Vlad.

An aura of blood, built from the fangs of a dragon.

Sarnus's eyes, no longer human, glared at him.

[This is the final showdown of this journey, Vlad.]

Both Vlad and Kihano, who watched those eyes, knew.

They both understood that this was the last act of their long journey.

[Show him everything you have, without regret.]

Seize the initiative with brilliance, and end the duel without remorse.

The duel began, with both names exchanged under the gaze of many stars.

Boooom!

"Agh!"

The roar shook the entire building.

Even though it was his own world, Vlad couldn't help but be displaced by the sheer force of the shockwave.

Vlad, having taken the full brunt of the sound, was being relentlessly pushed back.

"Try saying that again!"

Sarnus let out a harsh growl when he saw Vlad stagger from the force, but the dialogue of the sword wasn't dictated solely by power.

[Counterattack!]

Sarnus's sword came forward again, but it was caught in Vlad's focused gaze.

Vlad's eyes were sharper than ever.

Clang-!

"…!"

Sarnus's sword, struck with incredible force, recoiled in an instant.

A magical technique that alters the balance at a pinpoint moment.

Vlad's eyes gleamed coldly as he applied this skill, not just against any knight, but at the pinnacle of the era.

Creak!

Sarnus struggled to hold onto his sword.

But Vlad was no longer there; his figure had vanished without a trace.

"…Damn it."

From a point to a line.

Vlad, who had been still, suddenly became a golden line, slicing the ground and the wall, moving in every direction.

Haaah!

His movements were impossible to predict, a deadly style of attack based purely on speed.

A motion that could only be performed in one stroke, for the essence of the sword was rooted in speed.

The sight overlapped with the image of the Sword Master Sarnus had seen long ago.

Crack-!

"Ugh!"

Unpredictable movements to gain the advantage.

Vlad faithfully followed the instructions and appeared like lightning, striking Sarnus's side.

"Tch!"

"…Bastard!"

But the instincts of a dragon were sharp, and though he didn't see it, he anticipated the attack.

Vlad's movements, which might have been predictable but unseen, were suddenly blocked by the blood-red aura, reducing them back to mere points.

"How dare you deceive me with Kihano's swordsmanship!"

The swordsmanship of Dragulia, which pursues perfection, seeks a weight that cannot be easily shaken.

And now, Sarnus's heavy sword was coming down on Vlad, who had just revealed himself.

"You carry my blood, and yet you dare!"

With the weight of an enormous mountain.

Thus, Sarnus's world, trying to crush Vlad, began to loom overhead.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

"Ugh!"

With each sword strike, Vlad's entire body shook violently.

It wasn't sharp, but the weight was unbearable.

Watching Vlad sway back and forth with every swing was proof of its power.

[You need to get out of there! Don't let him gain momentum!]

"Grrr!"

Vlad knew it, but it was difficult to escape from Sarnus's siege.

Realizing he was losing control, Vlad gritted his teeth.

"Haaah!"

Sarnus's world continued to press down on him.

The only way to avoid being crushed by that world was to push forward.

"Damn it!"

Vlad charged toward the immense force that seemed to erase everything with just a glance.

It was certainly a reckless action, but it was necessary to shift the course of the duel with a powerful force.

Crack!

"Ugh!"

The dwarven armor was shattered by Sarnus's sword, which dug deep into Vlad's shoulder.

The excruciating pain, which not even the armor enchantment learned from Justia could mitigate.

However, the current pain and loss were clearly necessary to bring Vlad one step closer to Sarnus.

"Aaaah!"

The distance was now close enough for their eyes to meet.

As Sarnus glared at him like that, Vlad's blow exploded within his blue eyes.

Crack!

"Aaagh!"

Sarnus's breastplate exploded, and the dragon's bright golden scales flew.

It was a fragment created from a dragon scale that had deeply cracked in Rutiger's world.

"I am not your son!"

Slash!

"Nor a failure!"

Slash!

The sharp, glimmering sword strikes from Vlad continued to slash at Sarnus.

"I am none of the names you've given me!"

Each step forward was firm, and every sword strike was fierce.

The speed was almost unbelievable, coming from someone already wounded.

This current attack, which felt like lightning, had reached a far-off state that could only be imagined, not achieved in reality.

"Ugh!"

This world that Vlad created was one made possible by the belief that he could do it.

No matter how talented he was, the child born in the mud needed his precious imagination to become a knight.

"Arrgh!"

Sarnus, who quickly distanced himself from Vlad's attack, barely managed to reset his stance.

But even that brief moment was something Vlad had chosen to grant him.

Rumble-!

The ground shook.

No, the world that Vlad had created was trembling.

"You've killed too many people."

Vlad's breath came out as white mist, not because the place was cold, but because his breath was burning hot.

"All for an ideal of perfection you can't even attain."

His heart was aflame, and all that anger and conviction was directed at Sarnus.

Vlad's body, fully tense, was like a drawn bow, ready to release.

"Come on! Dare to face me!"

A swordsmanship that kills with a single blow, seizing opportunities with unpredictable movements.

But now, Vlad was trying to slice through Sarnus at a speed that surpassed even those expectations.

[Go ahead. Walk the path you've chosen.]

This wasn't something learned from another. It was a path uniquely his own, one that he had mastered.

Vlad was trying to show Kihano the way only he could see.

"…I demand just compensation from you, Sarnus."

Someday, I too hope to shine like the stars in the sky.

The dream of the boy, once as bright as a star, now watched the nightmare of an era that stood in his way.

"Now it's your turn to give up!"

Boom!

A powerful wind blew behind Vlad, who was running like a flash of light.

It was the final gift from the rose's smile for the bird leaving the nest.

"There is no place for dragons in my era!"

"Graaargh!"

A bolt of light, an electric charge spreading—a firm and fierce strike that maybe only I could unleash after ten years.

"I've decided to do it this way!"

"Graahhh!"

Vlad's blow, carrying the pains of the past, the duties of the present, and the possibilities of the future, began to slowly pierce through the heart of Sarnus.

"Vlad, you bastard!"

"So die already!"

Against the perfect fragments that the ancient dragon held.

However, to destroy those fragments, Vlad's strength alone was not enough.

[Don't stop now!]

"…!!"

At that moment, another hand appeared, pushing on Vlad's hilt.

[You're almost there!]

A brilliant knight with chestnut hair.

It wasn't the faded Frausen, but the honorable gladiator Kihano, who, without Vlad noticing, stood beside him, pushing the sword with him.

"Kihano! You damn bastards!"

A blow delivered by both the sword master of the previous era and the sword master of the current era.

At the end of this strike, transcending eras, the dragon's desire for perfection began to crumble bit by bit.

[Even a single piece, let alone three, is too much to handle.]

Finally, locking eyes with Kihano, Vlad's deep blue eyes began to tremble.

It was like the feeling of finally meeting the person you'd longed for.

Crack! Crack!

A piece of the dragon started to break apart, slowly, along with Sarnus's scream.

But Vlad was more surprised by the black lightning crawling up his left arm than by the sensation of the fragment shattering.

"Kihano?"

The mysterious power of the Ruga tribe, which had severed the most perfect dragon.

That mystery was about to be activated again by the Sword Master who appeared in this era.

[These things are easier for someone who has done it before.]

I don't want to sever your bright soul just to break these perfect pieces.

Because the pieces tormenting you now are something our generation couldn't destroy.

[You've done well.]

"Kihano-!"

For the unfulfilled duty, to stop the tragedy that couldn't be avoided.

The Sword Master who returned delivered the final strike before the cry of perfection.

Crack!

The star shattered.

The star that had shone with crimson perfection.

"No!"

The only star that found me when I was nothing.

Kihano, who called me a knight, though I was born a dragon.

Now, with a smile on his face, he was leaving me behind.

***

Rumble!

With a roar, the sky of reality began to tear apart.

Today's sun started to slowly appear behind the night sky, which was gradually fading along with the setting black moon.

A ray of sunlight broke through under the night sky, slowly clearing.

And the first beam of light that filtered through the brightening sky fell on the back of Vlad, who sat, exhausted.

"...You did well."

In front of Vlad, Sarnus lay dying, with his heart pierced.

However, his eyes were no longer the original blue but shone with a clear chestnut color, reminiscent of someone else.

"Kihano."

Kihano had taken over the body of Sarnus, who was already dead.

But the pale tone of his face indicated that there was little time left.

"I'm proud of you. You really did well."

Kihano, with the demeanor of a father, spoke the words that Vlad had always longed to hear.

"Finding you was a stroke of luck. You were born a dragon, but you walked your own path, Vlad."

And the words that came from him now were words that Vlad had probably never heard in his entire life.

"...What will I do if everyone leaves? If I'm the only one left?"

A boy crying in front of his father, whom he was meeting for the first time in his life.

Kihano smiled peacefully as he looked at the boy.

"Goodbyes are both an end and a promise."

The color of both of their hair, under the sunlight, was so similar that anyone would have recognized it.

"So come here and see."

The light in Kihano's eyes was slowly fading.

But with a smile, he used his last strength to open his arms to Vlad.

"Still, I'm glad I could embrace you in the end."

Though they had been in the same world until now, they hadn't been able to share each other's warmth.

However, Kihano and Vlad, who could now embrace, embraced.

"Thank you, Kihano."

"...Yes. This is how we say goodbye."

Here ends our journey, which began on a winter's day.

And the ending we found is without regret.

The sun began to shine in the night sky over the two people who embraced each other.

The child who embraced a star.

The star that embraced the child.

That's why both are Sword Masters who embrace the stars.

Their farewell, witnessed by the vast night sky, shone like a star for all to see.

- End of the main story of Star-Embracing Swordmaster -

Author's note:

The main story has come to an end.

After a short break, I will return with a side story.

To all of you who have accompanied Vlad's journey from winter to spring, I sincerely thank you.

Translator's note:

And with this, I conclude the main story. I won't say my final words about the ending just yet—I'll do that after fully translating the side stories.

The novel has been fully translated and included with the extra stories if you want to read it you can do it through ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/indrascans

Join discord!

https://dsc.gg/indra