“All ye wicked ones, tremble in fear! By the power of the Word, I shall manifest justice upon this world. This Incantation shall be potent, and its oratory, absolute!”
Kusanagi Godo’s cry was no longer a mere recitation. It was a declaration that rewrote the laws of the world, signaling the opening of a new stage. The blinding golden light erupting from his fingertips swallowed the morning sun, dragging us all into a massive bounded field.
When my vision, stained entirely in gold, finally cleared, we were no longer standing on the ruined rural roads of Sardinia.
Before us lay an endless expanse of golden earth. In the sky, a single, majestic golden sword floated where the sun should be, its radiance illuminating every corner of this realm. Thousands, tens of thousands of golden blades drifted through the atmosphere like stars, silently observing the battlefield. This was a sub-space where the boundaries between reality and mythology had collapsed, a world governed solely by the laws of the 'Golden Sword.'
“Ho, now this is a flashy stage!”
Salvatore Doni did not panic, even within this alien space he was experiencing for the first time. Instead, his eyes sparkled like a child discovering the ultimate playground as he scanned his surroundings.
Kusanagi Godo, standing before him, was no longer the frightened boy from last night. In his hand, he held a manifested golden sword, identical in form to the one floating in the sky. All traces of exhaustion and injury had vanished, replaced by a composure and gravitas that enveloped his entire being. Though his stance was still clumsy, his eyes shone with the sharp brilliance of a seasoned warrior who had weathered countless battles.
“The stage has shifted.”
I folded my arms, observing this bizarre world with interest. Beside me, Alice’s eyes glowed with a faint light as she pierced through the essence of this strange space.
“This is the power of Verethragna’s tenth incarnation, the ‘Warrior.’ My King, this is not merely the manifestation of an alternate dimension, but an innate domain that forces the opponent into a world governed by his own laws. According to my Spirit Vision… within this space, those golden swords are forcibly ‘reading’ the opponent’s Authority—the divine history and mythos that serve as its source. Based on that knowledge, they become weapons that strike with an absolute, conceptual certainty at the most fatal weakness.”
Alessandro added to her explanation, his gaze fixed on Godo’s transformation with profound reverence.
“Look, my Lord. His posture. The swordsmanship itself is unrefined, but the mindset of the one holding the blade is already at the level of a master. There is no more hesitation, no more fear. He looks as if he has become one with the sword. It seems the Authority has granted him not just the skill to swing a blade, but the very soul of a warrior.”
While they conversed, Godo finally moved. He did not swing his sword. He merely leveled the tip of his blade toward Doni. At that moment, hundreds of floating golden swords pivoted in unison, surging toward Doni like a meteor shower! Offensive and defensive as one—his will was the will of every blade in this world.
“Hahaha! Interesting! Bring it on!”
Doni roared, swinging his claymore to deflect the rain of blades. The thunderous roar of metal clashing against metal shook the golden world. However, the golden swords did not break. The parried blades immediately corrected their trajectories, relentlessly seeking out and diving into his openings.
Right then, a low murmur escaped Godo’s lips. It wasn't a battle cry. It was like the song of a bard, reading the fragments of divinity carved into Doni’s soul through the power of his Authority.
“I shall sing here of the origin of the power residing in Nuada’s silver arm! That power stems from the great king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the shining race of gods who first brought civilization to the land of Erin in the distant age of myth. He was a just and valiant incarnation of the sun, wielding one of the four legendary treasures that none could withstand—the ‘Shining Sword’ Claiomh Solais—to bring light and victory!”
The moment Godo’s words echoed, the trajectory of the golden swords attacking Doni shifted. Like living creatures, the swords anticipated the arc of Doni’s claymore, weaving through his defenses to obsessively target the ‘Silver Arm’—the Authority residing in his right limb!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
“You bastard…! You’re reading my movements!”
Doni was stunned. His swordsmanship was at the level of the gods, yet the golden blades reacted as if they knew his next move. He felt an unpleasant sensation—a slight, subtle drain of power from his right arm.
Seeing the change in Doni’s expression, Godo did not stop. He continued to speak the knowledge swirling within his mind.
“But his glory was not eternal! In the Battle of Mag Tuired, the fateful first conflict against the native Fir Bolg, he faced the enemy general Sreng! Despite his valor, he suffered a fatal wound, losing his right arm along with his shield! According to the ancient laws that state a god who has lost his perfection cannot be king, he was forced to abdicate his throne! That was the first wound and the indelible despair carved into the glory of the God-King Nuada!”
With Godo’s declaration, the onslaught of the golden swords grew even more ferocious. Moving beyond merely targeting the arm, the swords began to reenact the mythology itself, executing Sreng’s sword strikes to conceptually sever the ‘shield-bearing left arm’ and the ‘sword-wielding right arm’ simultaneously.
“I don't need those dusty old stories on the battlefield! The battlefield is a stage for swords and cold steel, not words!”
Doni roared, pushing his Authority to its limit. He knew nothing of mythology, but he could not tolerate the sensation of his power being denied. With explosive strength, he repelled the surrounding golden swords and charged directly at Godo.
Godo did not retreat. Though he was a complete novice at combat, he parried Doni’s claymore with his golden sword in a movement that was unbelievably natural and fluid.
SHING!
The moment the blades met, instead of matching strength with strength, Godo twisted his sword to deflect the impact. Simultaneously, he used his free left hand to snatch Doni’s wrist and rotated his body, attempting to break the other’s balance. It was the close-quarters technique of a master.
Godo himself was panicked. His body was moving on its own, instinctively finding the most efficient movements.
Are these… my movements?
His mind couldn't process it, but the golden sword in his hand felt as familiar as if it were a part of his own body. However, knowing his opponent was not one to be taken lightly, he pushed aside his confusion and commanded the golden blades once more as he spoke the next chapter of Nuada’s myth.
“Ho!”
Surprised, Doni twisted his body with animal-like reflexes to escape Godo’s grapple. He leaped back and shouted at Godo.
“You! You knew how to use a sword? You should have said so sooner!”
Godo ignored the comment and continued to awaken the power of the sword.
“No, I don't—but it’s too early to be impressed! Nuada rose again from the depths of despair! He met Dian Cecht, the god of healing, who forged for him an arm of silver that moved by magic. He returned to the throne under the name ‘Airgetlám,’ Nuada of the Silver Arm! But because it was not a true arm, Nuada’s soul remained incomplete! When his son Miach restored his true arm of flesh and blood, the jealous Dian Cecht killed his own son three times to erase that feat! His resurrection was built upon the tragedy of a son’s sacrifice and a father’s jealousy—thus, a shadow of sorrow always draped over his glory!”
At Godo’s cry, the silver radiance emanating from Doni’s right arm flickered. The tragedy of the myth, the source of the Authority, destabilized his power. The golden swords did not miss the opening; they surged in, carving dozens of fractures into the ‘Silver Arm.’ The weight behind his right arm’s strikes weakened visibly.
“Urgh…! You use such annoying techniques, newbie!”
Doni seemed more irritated than pained. He called upon another power that defined his existence—the ‘Man of Steel’—repelling the golden swords as he closed the distance again.
“Stop with the noisy bedtime stories! The only thing that matters is the fight happening right now!”
With those words, Doni squeezed out what little remained of his fading Authority and recited his own Incantation.
“I swear it here! I shall not tolerate the existence of anything I cannot cut! This blade is a sword that severs even the concept of severing Authorities! I swear it here, RAAAGH!”
With his shout, silver light exploded from his right arm, a single horizontal slash cleaving through the multitude of swords swarming him.
But Godo was waiting. He pronounced the final chapter of Nuada’s myth.
“No, this story isn't over yet! In the second Battle of Mag Tuired, the final conflict against the Fomorian demons, he finally faced his nemesis! Balor, the King of the Evil Eye, whose gaze pierces all and brings death! Nuada could not escape that baleful gaze; in a single look, his silver arm, his throne, and even his very life were turned to ash! That was the end of the glorious epic of the Great God-King Nuada!”
This was no mere listing of facts. To proclaim the ‘Conclusion’ of the myth serving as the source of Doni’s power was a potent sorcery that branded the Authority itself with the fate of ‘Defeat’ and ‘Death.’
With Godo’s sentence, the entire golden world trembled. Tens of thousands of golden blades floating in the sky, the earth, and in every direction surged toward a single target: Salvatore Doni. It was no longer a storm of swords. It was a massive golden tsunami designed to end the struggle.
“Gwaaaah…!”
For the first time, Doni’s movements slowed. The silver radiance surrounding his right arm flickered precariously like a dying candle before finally scattering like mist. Before the power of the Warrior, his Authority was forcibly drained and sealed. His right arm no longer possessed the power to cleave through space.
“Ah… I’ve never had a fight like this before…! This is the best! Truly the best!”
In the face of absolute crisis, Doni laughed maniacally. Shifting his claymore to his left hand to replace his powerless right, he staked everything on the Authority that would protect him in this moment and roared his Incantation.
“I bathed in the blood of the dragon, and this flesh became immortal. My flesh shall harden into steel, and my heart shall burn with fire. Even the edge of a blade on the battlefield shall not wound me; this body is both shield and weapon. Immortality is not a given blessing, but a right I have seized. O 『Man of Steel』, resonate now with my name!”
With his roar, the light of rune characters protecting his body exploded. The golden tsunami and the wall of steel collided head-on.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!
The golden world screamed and buckled. The space itself, unable to withstand the collision of two gargantuan Authorities, began to shatter like glass. The golden swords dissolved into fragments of light, and the earth regained the color of its original asphalt.
Once the sealing of the ‘Silver Arm’ was complete, the world of golden swords drew its own curtains, as if its role was finished.
Beyond the cracked sky, the original scenery of Sardinia reappeared.
The bounded field was vanishing.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register