Chapter 37
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Chapter 37
[What are you doing?]
"If I'm going to move in earnest, this will only get in the way."
As the blade moved, the petticoat and dress fell away in strips. My legs felt wonderfully free below the knee. While I was at it, I slashed away the dangling sleeves as well. Scraps of fabric fluttered down through the air. I caught one of them and used it as a ribbon to tie my long hair up high.
As I picked up the longsword, I frowned at the blade. This cheap sword, never maintained and carelessly wielded, was a complete mess. I tossed it aside and unsheathed Baraha Islaf's sword from his waist.
"May I borrow this, senior?"
Baraha Islaf's blade was a greatsword, far larger than a standard longsword. It looked far too big for me to wield. Of course, such concerns didn't bother me. It was a well-trained masterwork. What pleased me most was how sturdy it appeared.
I started to discard the scabbard out of habit, then remembered it belonged to Baraha Islaf and carefully set it aside instead. I gripped the greatsword in my left hand. And let my right hand hang loose.
[Huh? Huh? Me? You're using me? Wow, wow! It's been so long!]
"There are many of them. Besides, most are things I've never seen before."
A blade materialized, flowing from my palm. I grasped the Demonic Sword Bardegiosa I'd drawn with my left hand, then switched Baraha Islaf's sword from my left to my right. Patterns of light blazed across the Demonic Sword's glass-like transparent blade.
[Can I use my ability? Huh? Can I?]
"Yes. That's why I summoned you."
The approaching demons' shrieks pierced my ears. I pointed the Demonic Sword toward the surging horde and whispered.
"So go wild as you please, Demonic Sword Bardegiosa."
The Demonic Sword Bardegiosa had two major abilities.
First, specialization in slaughter. The Demonic Sword was specialized in slaughter among the Giosa series, so the owner would intuitively understand the most efficient method to kill any target before them. This was an exceptionally useful ability when facing demons I'd never seen before, just like now.
And the second was....
[If I can go wild, can I use my whole body?]
"Not quite, you damned Demonic Sword. As always, just my left arm."
[Fine, let's do this! I'm so excited!]
The moment permission was granted, black energy surged up from the Demonic Sword's hilt. It consumed my left arm as it crawled upward, staining part of my hair and my left eye black.
The killing intent that accumulated in the Demonic Sword converted into mana. Using that mana, the Demonic Sword could manipulate my body. This ability was why the Demonic Sword before its awakening could control its host, and why unresolved accumulated killing intent would drive the owner to unintended murder.
I was right-handed, but I wielded a blade quite well with my left hand too. Add the Demonic Sword to that, and I was effectively ambidextrous. When facing multiple opponents, I'd hold my usual sword in my right hand and the Demonic Sword Bardegiosa in my left, surrendering my left arm entirely to the Demonic Sword.
The Demonic Sword in my left hand fought brilliantly without my conscious control. Because I'd used this method frequently in the past I'd erased, I'd become quite skilled at wielding a blade with my left hand even without the Demonic Sword.
A demon at the front of the surging horde reached me and swung down at my face. It resembled a leopard, but had six legs, more than ten eyes, and skin that dripped like mud—a grotesque thing. Right behind it came something like a one-eyed giant covered entirely in scales, thundering forward.
The leopard-like demon swung its front claws at me. I dodged by pushing off the ground and leaping into the air. The dress, now slashed into a miniskirt, billowed in the wind from my jump.
My jumping power, enhanced by mana, was extraordinary. I reached a height where I could look down at the crown of the demon's head—a creature as tall as a two-story building. At that height, the force of my ascent and gravity balanced for just a moment. An instant of weightlessness. My eyes, one black and one purple, fixed on my target.
[The one that looks vaguely human! That one's mine!]
"Do as you please."
Purple mana flowed down my arm and coiled around the greatsword in my right hand. I swung the blade. A purple slash separated from it and tore through the air. It bisected the leopard's body as it searched for the vanished human, pressing its claws into the ground.
The Demonic Sword Bardegiosa moved my left arm. Black mana split into multiple strands and burrowed into the one-eyed giant's crown like serpents hunting prey. The giant's head shattered.
Normally, when left and right arms moved independently, maintaining balance was nearly impossible. But I handled my body with practiced ease. I landed gracefully as a cat after dispatching two demons in midair. My long hair, streaked with black, fluttered in the wind.
Other demons trampled over the fallen ones and surged forward in turn. The death of their allies meant nothing to them.
The moment I landed, I pushed off and charged forward. Fast as a swallow skimming water. As soon as I reached between the legs of something like a cross between a bear and a wolf, I swung the greatsword upward from below.
A long purple arc remained in the air. The mana layered on the blade exploded outward for an instant, swelling to the size of a giant's sword. The bisected demon fell. Meanwhile, my left hand, wrapped in black mana, pierced another demon approaching from the side.
I didn't look back at the severed demon. As the owner of a Demonic Sword specialized in slaughter, I instinctively recognized vital points, and I had more than enough skill to strike them.
I moved to the next demon. A creature with a claw as large as my body brought its front paw down to crush me. I easily leaped onto that paw. Another demon, seeing me there, tried to stomp me. But I was already gone. Only the demon whose paw had been stomped shrieked.
While the Demonic Sword Bardegiosa in my left hand severed the shrieking demon's head, I blocked another demon's tail—whipping down like a whip—with my right-hand blade. My slender arm, which looked as though it would snap at a touch, calmly withstood the massive blow. I was pushed back slightly, but I didn't waver.
Leap again, slash, land, charge, crouch, thrust, climb, block, strike. My slender form moved through the air as if gravity held no dominion. Purple mana traced my movements before scattering and fading. The Demonic Sword's pitch-black mana coiled like flames, then writhed like serpents in all directions.
The blade swept past as gently as fingers caressing the strings of an instrument, yet where it passed erupted as though struck by a bomb. Each footfall landed with the crushing force of a sledgehammer.
This was Echinacea Loaz's swordsmanship. She moved through the air with the lightness of her frame, and only after she had passed did her opponents realize they had been cut. A blade that approached like a butterfly, then bared its fangs the moment it made contact.
The range of her movement was terrifyingly vast, utilizing even the air itself, yet the trajectory her sword traced was strikingly simple. But simplicity did not mean careless technique. Her judgment was already complete before the blade moved, so when it finally did move, it appeared to pierce straight through to the answer without any intermediate steps.
Abundant mana poured forth, controlled with exquisite precision, making it all possible. Had her innate affinity for mana been any less, she could never have wielded such power with a body that hadn't undergone sufficient conditioning. Of course, there would be consequences—tomorrow her overworked body would certainly protest with muscle soreness.
I'd be sore afterward. Still, it was easier than when I ventured into the Nodule years ago. This place wasn't exactly a walk in the park either, but that was several years back now. I've grown stronger in the meantime, that much was certain.
[Forty-nine! Ugh, fighting humans would've been so much more fun!]
"Just shut up and fight, Demonic Sword."
[No way! Come on, fifty! Let loose!]
"That wasn't an invitation for you to let loose your mouth too."
[Don't care, can't hear you! Can't hear youuuu! Fifty-one!]
The Demonic Sword chattered excitedly. I gave up trying to silence it and kept moving. For the first time in ages, I wasn't worried about anyone watching, and I could burn through mana freely while moving my body. It felt like stretching after being curled up for too long. The enemies I faced were mere monsters—nothing to hold back against. A faint smile crossed my lips.
This was the sight that greeted Baraha Islaf's eyes as they opened.
"Ugh..."
He immediately grabbed the back of his neck and groaned. In doing so, he lost focus for a moment, but the instant he lifted his head, he froze.
In one hand, a transparent blade wrapped in black mana. In the other, Baraha's own sword enveloped in violet mana. Echinacea Loaz hovered in the air, wielding both without apparent strain, even wearing a slight smile. Her long hair, bound up with cloth scraps, fluttered behind her like a tail.
In reality, she had merely jumped to a great height, but to Baraha's eyes, it appeared indistinguishable from flight.
"What... this can't be real..."
A dream? That was his first thought. Baraha splashed water on his face, confirmed the empty scabbard lying neatly beside him, then looked forward again.
Echinacea Loaz stood with a sword in each hand, sweeping through the monsters. Those terrifying creatures were being slaughtered one-sidedly, with only a handful remaining.
He pinched his forearm hard enough to bruise. Even with the pain, the sight before him didn't change. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and looked forward once more.
Echinacea Loaz pushed off a monster's knee and launched skyward. Where her foot landed shattered completely. In an instant, she reached the creature's eye level at that dizzying height, sliced through its eyes with her blade, and fell back down.
Clean, efficient movement. Blue blood sprayed like rain. Her slender, pale forearms were fully exposed where she'd carelessly torn her sleeves. Below her skirt, now stained with crimson and monster blood and tattered at the hem, her slender legs extended. Her high-heeled shoes touched the ground. Then she leaped skyward again.
Overwhelming. Beautiful.
Baraha's thoughts scattered. Wonder seized his mind before confusion or shock could take hold. His heart raced wildly. He watched her as though entranced.
The last monster fell.
Monster corpses lay scattered everywhere. Echinacea stood among them and swung the greatsword in one great arc. Blood splattered from the blade. The Demonic Sword absorbed the blood clinging to its own form and quietly vanished into her hand. The black that had stained her left eye and hair faded as the Demonic Sword's mana withdrew, returning to their original color.
Only after she sheathed the sword did Baraha realize the identity of that transparent blade. A Squire of Changcheon would certainly recognize the appearance of Demonic Sword Bardegiosa.
The Demonic Sword Bardegiosa...?
His complexion turned ashen. And when Echinacea turned to look at him, her face had gone pale as well.
I had struck him with enough force to keep an ordinary person unconscious for at least half a day. I'd thought that since Baraha was so large and sturdy, he might regain consciousness a bit faster. But I never expected him to wake up just two hours later.
My head spun. How much had he seen? Did he recognize the Demonic Sword? Could I silence him? What would happen if he told? The first person who came to mind was Yurien. I absolutely, desperately did not want him to find out. Not from him. Never from him.
[Huh? Why is he awake? When did he wake up? He saw everything! If he saw it, we have to kill him! We can't let this get out, right? Let's kill him!]
The Demonic Sword chattered in a tone still flushed with battle excitement. I rubbed my eyes with a weary hand and let out a sigh that was almost a groan. Then I slowly made my way across the scattered monster corpses toward Baraha.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org