Ir knew well what she looked like even without a mirror.

Her hair grew in uneven patches, her burns had melted the skin above her eyes, partially covering them, and her nose was so distorted that breathing was sometimes difficult. The rest wasn’t any better. The burn that took half her face had twisted her lips as well. How much practice it had taken just to speak properly.

Moreover, the burns had claimed one of her ears. The side where the ear shell was gone and exposed left her unable to properly collect sound, causing dizziness. Though she had grown accustomed to the echoing sounds now, in her younger days she would often vomit from the headaches and dizziness.

Though these scars left many hardships, people summed up all of this in a single word when referring to her.

‘Monster, they called me.’

That’s what the nobles had screamed in horror when she first entered the imperial palace. After that, the word ‘monster’ in the palace became a term used to refer to Ir rather than actual monsters.

Being who she was, it was only natural that the shepherd they first encountered was too afraid to approach.

‘Should I have covered up more?’

Ir unconsciously pressed her hat down further.

Even within the palace, she always covered her body and face. This was true even in summer when just standing still would make one drip with sweat. If she didn’t, she would have to face people spitting at her and hurling insults, calling her disgusting with every step she took.

Even without that, she tried to show as little of herself as possible. Who would want to cause others discomfort?

‘It’s my fault for letting my guard down outside the palace.’

The knights of the 9th Division were used to her. None of them called her a monster even when she didn’t cover her face and body. Some of the more tender-hearted ones, unbefitting of knights, would even get teary-eyed when drunk looking at her.

Though those tears would only disappear after they received a sharp smack on the back and were told to cut out such nonsense.

Ir thought as she followed Shulat. She would need to properly cover her face again before calling the other knight divisions after they found the Holy Sword.

***

Ir recalled what she needed to find.

The Holy Sword.

A symbol of divine power said to have been sent down to earth by the gods for humanity.

Though called a legendary sword, the Holy Sword had appeared several times throughout the continent’s history.

The Holy Sword didn’t accept just anyone as its master. Records were full of accounts of how it would alter its surroundings to prevent those it disliked from approaching, and wouldn’t even allow anyone but those it acknowledged as its master to touch it.

Ir recalled the earliest remaining record of the Holy Sword.

‘If you have a desire, grasp this sword… was it?’

For something called a Holy Sword, it seemed strange that it would accept those full of desire as its masters.

In any case, the sword was famous for the legend that whoever obtained it would become Emperor.

‘That’s why all this chaos started.’

Taking another step forward, Ir thought of the people waiting outside the cave. All of the imperial knight divisions except for the 9th Division currently inside, along with their masters – numerous members of the imperial family – were waiting outside the cave.

Waiting to see if what was inside was truly the Holy Sword.

The current Emperor had 19 children from 12 wives. Since the empire had no law of primogeniture, all 19 of them were qualified to become Emperor.

It would have been better if one of them had shown outstanding talent and excellence, but the abilities of the direct imperial family members were all similar.

‘Well, there is one who stands out…’

But that person had given up their right of succession. Because of this, the mediocre imperial family members were desperate to check and kill each other. In such a situation, how could there not be chaos when the Holy Sword appeared for the first time in hundreds of years?

From the day rumors of the Holy Sword’s appearance spread, the imperial palace had been in turmoil, ultimately leading to all knight divisions except those directly under the Emperor gathering here in this remote area.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew from inside, extinguishing all the lamps everyone was holding.

“The wind!”

“Light the flames!”

Panicked voices rang out from behind. Ir quickly drew her sword and glared into the darkness. She began to strongly sense something beyond the darkness. Not human. Something bigger and more massive.

Perhaps sensing the oppressive force, muffled groans could be heard from the knights behind Ir. For even trained individuals to struggle against this force…

Ir was certain of what lay beyond the darkness. Because of this, she stepped forward without hesitation.

At that moment, another fierce wind blew, and though no one had lit any flames, the surroundings brightened.

As everyone squinted at the sudden light and looked ahead, their eyes widened.

“The Holy Sword!”

Beyond the wide clearing, a single sword was embedded in the dead-end wall.

“That’s it! That’s the Holy Sword I saw!”

The shepherd shouted excitedly upon seeing the sword.

“That’s, that…!”

“It’s real! Just like the legends!”

Though they were on a mission, everyone couldn’t help but get excited seeing something they’d heard about since childhood.

“Everyone quiet!”

Ir suddenly shouted. As her voice echoed through the cave’s clearing, the others quickly shut their mouths.

“Stop making a commotion. First, we search the surroundings. Don’t go near the Holy Sword. Everyone remembers the warning from before, right?”

At Ir’s serious voice, the knights regained their composure and nodded.

Just before entering the cave, Ir had read to the knights the records of the Holy Sword that the palace scholars had found in ancient texts. Specifically, about what happened to those who tried to obtain the sword and the various strange powers the sword showed before accepting its master.

“The Holy Sword is picky. Records say it won’t stay idle if anyone other than those it considers its master approaches or tries to touch it. So don’t approach carelessly.”

The knights nodded even more vigorously.

“Shulat, come here.”

“Me?”

“From now, approach the Holy Sword slowly, one step at a time.”

“Yes…”

Though grumbling, Shulat immediately turned to face the Holy Sword. With a tense expression, he swallowed hard and spoke in a grave voice like someone leaving their last words.

“If the Holy Sword suddenly tries to stab me, you must protect me.”

“According to the records, the Holy Sword doesn’t like being stained with impure blood. Don’t worry.”

“Why is my blood impure!”

“Why? I saw you eating Kurum fruit before coming in.”

“Ugh, when did you see that?”

Shulat’s face reddened, having eaten the fruit that was said to ward off misfortune but made even urine smell foul.

The legends of the Holy Sword weren’t all wonderful. Weren’t there records saying that those it didn’t like would be torn to pieces before they could even touch it?

Shulat gripped his sword and slowly stepped toward the Holy Sword.

One step, two steps, three steps…

When Shulat had approached about fifteen steps away from the Holy Sword,

Woong woong woong!

The sword embedded in the wall began to vibrate, and the vibration spread throughout the cave’s clearing.

“Shulat, retreat slowly!”

“Y-yes!”

The extremely tense Shulat immediately backed away at Ir’s command. As he did, the vibrations traveling through the air subsided again. Ir carefully approached Shulat’s side and marked the spot near where he had gotten closest.

“Everyone, slowly come up to here.”

At Ir’s command, the knights and the shepherd approached cautiously with reluctant expressions. The sword showed no reaction until they neared the line. But the moment they tried to cross it,

Woong woong woong!

As if shouting ‘Get out!’ the sword began to vibrate again. Ir sighed and drew the line longer before ordering.

“Absolutely do not cross this line. And now, prepare to make camp.”

***

The camp preparations were completed quickly.

“Take a break for now. I’ll give new orders after an hour of rest.”

Everyone nodded in understanding at Ir’s words. Though they shouldn’t have been tired from just walking for a few hours, strangely, everyone had felt heavy since entering the cave.

Staff Officer Utu approached Ir’s side, plopped down, and spoke.

“We walked for about six hours. But it feels like we’ve been walking for 60 hours.”

Utu muttered while looking at the small wooden block attached to his waist. It was a clock used by knights on missions. With several gears installed inside the wooden block, it showed how much time had passed, accurately telling time even in places with rough terrain, bad weather, or where senses became dulled for unknown reasons.

“We shouldn’t be this tired, so it must be the Holy Sword’s influence.”

Utu saw the shepherd alternating between looking at the Holy Sword and Ir with a terrified expression, and swallowed a sigh. Seeing the shepherd’s gaze, Ir wrapped cloth around her mouth, making Utu feel unnecessarily bitter.

“When do we withdraw from here?”

When Utu asked, Ir glanced at the Holy Sword and said, “When the advance party arrives from above.”

“Advance party… that’ll take some time.”

“I suppose so?”

Ir and Utu smiled bitterly at the same time.

Outside, the imperial family members and other knight divisions were waiting.

They had handed over the task of finding the Holy Sword to the 9th Division in case of any danger. After all, since the 9th Division was composed of commoners, it wouldn’t be much of a loss if someone died.