"How do I use this?"
Hong Min felt as if the world had stopped. All the hope he had felt when throwing the sword turned into a comical despair. Of course, he doesn't know. He doesn't know anything he hasn't been programmed for.
Arda seized this moment of astonishment. He let out an angry roar and charged forward, his powerful tail rising to strike with crushing force.
404 moved instinctively, raising the sword to block the blow. He used it like a club, with its flat side. The sound of the impact was a muffled, deep thud, and the immense collision pushed 404 two steps back. He had blocked the strike, but it was a clumsy and desperate defense.
Hong Min yelled from a distance, realizing he didn't have the luxury of time to teach him swordsmanship. There was only one command that 404's mind could understand.
"Stop thinking like a swordsman! You are not a swordsman!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Think logically! What is the most efficient, least energy-consuming move to defeat the target before you? Execute that!"
Hong Min watched, panting, and felt a wave of self-loathing. He was useless again, shouting orders from the back lines. 'Damn it, I'm weak...' he thought to himself bitterly. 'But that will change. I swear I will change. One day, I will stand beside him, not as a burden, but as a partner.'
On the battlefield, 404 paused for a moment, as if processing the new command. Then something in his stance changed.
When Arda attacked again, 404 didn't raise the sword to block with brute force. Instead, he turned his wrist slightly and met Arda's attack with the edge of the black blade. This time, the sound wasn't muffled. It was a sharp, high-pitched ring, and sparks flew everywhere.
The deadly dance of learning began.
With every attack, 404 evolved. His first strikes were just violent vertical chops. Then they became diagonal, using the length of the blade to create distance. Then they transformed into precise and swift stabs aimed at the joints, which he logically deduced were the weakest points of Arda's body.
"Leave the Ash Blade, you monstrosity!" Arda screamed, his rage growing with every attack he was forced to parry. He was fighting a monster that was learning the secrets of combat in seconds.
But something strange was happening. With every strike, 404 was recording new data. He felt the blade itself emitting a low, pained hum, a sorrowful vibration whenever it neared Arda's chest or neck, as if the sword were resisting its purpose.
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404 ignored this anomalous data and focused on his mission. His evolution became terrifying. He was no longer just defending; he was dodging, attacking, and using the sword as an extension of his body. A horrifying combination of robotic precision and absolute power.
In contrast, Arda began to weaken. His rage, which had been his fuel, was now consuming him, causing him to make mistakes. Facing an opponent who was tireless, flawless, and growing stronger every second, his fate was sealed.
After what felt like an eternity, Arda made the fatal error. He lunged in a wide, desperate attack with his tail, leaving his chest exposed for a split second.
404 did not hesitate. He surged forward in a single, fluid motion and delivered a precise, lethal stab.
The roaring in the room stopped.
Arda fell to his knees, the black blade embedded in his volcanic chest. The fire in the cracks of his skin faded, and he looked with his ember-like eyes not at his killer, but at Hong Min, who stood frozen in the distance.
"You humans..." he rasped, his voice dripping with sorrow and confusion. "Why...? Why don't I understand... We were happy... We were at peace..."
Black blood began to trickle from his mouth. "Why... why did they dream of leaving? ...You said you wanted to leave..."
He laughed a desperate, blood-choked laugh.
"He... will not let you leave... except as a corpse..."
With his final words, the last ember in his eyes extinguished. His massive body fell to the ground with a thunderous thud, and silence descended upon the great forge, a silence broken only by the sound of Hong Min's panicked breathing.
[From the Files of the Explorer: Dream - Log #05 (Final and Decisive Version)]
Entity: Arda (Guardian of the Foundry)
Origin: Salamander, Magical Beast Type (per Murim classification): The Hammer Rank (per Murim classification): Rank 6 - Fortress General Description and Behavior: A massive creature resembling a bipedal lizard, its skin as dark as volcanic rock with glowing orange cracks, as if its heart were made of lava. Unlike the other beasts, its eyes were not just empty light, but two small embers that burned with an ancient intelligence and a deep sorrow. It is a fully sentient being, capable of speaking our language fluently. It acts as the eternal guardian of the foundry area and the great furnace. It holds a personal and burning hatred for humans, seeing them as "thieves and destroyers." Its combat is not random; it combines brute force with the exploitation of its environment. It is not just a monster, but a character with a history and a motive. Known Abilities:
- Immense Physical Strength and Agility: Strong enough to stagger my silent companion, and surprisingly agile for its size.
- Hardened Volcanic Skin: Its natural armor was completely impervious to stone-based strikes.
- Heat Resistance: Its presence in the heart of the foundry indicates exceptional resistance to heat.
- Intelligence and Language: Capable of dialogue and tactical thinking.
Personal Speculations: This one was different. Jalmoud was an instinct-driven animal, and the Sentinel was a machine. But Arda... Arda was a person. He had a name, memories, and a reason for his hatred. We didn't just kill a guardian; we killed the final chapter of a tragic story. The fact that he speaks our language and carries so much sorrow raises a disturbing question: what did humans do in the past to deserve all this hatred? His fall didn't give me a sense of victory, but a sense of guilt. I felt that what happened... was wrong.