Chapter 514
Chapter 514
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 514
Chapter Title: Junior Priest Kim Katt
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Anyway, starting the next day, Lisha set about some serious work.
I went with her—she'd announced the shop would be closed for a few days—to the black magic store, where we gathered all sorts of materials and tools before hauling them back home.
And when she mentioned setting up a simple workbench in the basement, I handled that job myself too.
By the time we'd finished everything, it was already noon before we knew it.
After lunch at home, Lisha carried the birdcage holding the nearly pulverized Bugall down to the basement. Cloudy and Winia followed her, curiosity piqued.
"Hic... Hic...! This is!! Unbelievable!!! I'll curse you! In the name of Bugall, Demon of the Sword, I'll bring ruin upon you humans!!!!"
Bugall could only wail endlessly. No, he'd kept wailing until he'd completely given up on life, tossing aside all pretense and spewing curses.
Demons and humans alike seemed to react the same way when death loomed. Well, that's just how the world worked.
"Heh heh heh, what 'ruin' from inside that birdcage, you little shit? Just humbly accept it. Reflect on the sins you've committed."
Now he was in for something worse than death.
I'd never intended to accommodate the bastard in the first place. Demons were the sort of things you used up and discarded—and got praised for it.
This one had just crossed the wrong person.
All that remained for him was a pathetic end, sucked dry to the marrow.
"You bastard!!! You above all!!! I'll destroy you!!!! No matter what it takes!!!!!!"
"Gaaaaah!!! I've been ruined by Bugall!!!!!!!!!!"
Bugall's bug-eyed, spittle-flying tantrum was pretty hilarious, so I played along, pretending to get shot and die. I twisted my body dramatically and screamed.
"Gyaaararararagrararak!!!!!!!!"
Bugall responded with some incomprehensible gibberish from his gaping maw, unleashing a barrage of curses. I'd tried giving the prick a fond last memory on his way out, and this was my thanks.
Utterly ungrateful bastards like this deserved to be beaten to death with a hammer.
"This little fucker bitches even when I play with him?"
"Katt, you're too cruel. It's hot."
"You think so? Come here, Cloudy."
Cloudy watched me toy with Bugall fondly and pulled me into a hug. Burying my face in her cleavage made everything feel right with the world.
"Gyaaarararararak!!!!"
"Shut it. Pipe down."
Winia thwacked the cage with her wand from the Brass Celestial Society, silencing him. She was the type who enjoyed tormenting things a bit herself. She pounded the cage like she was tenderizing cutlets.
Anyway, I'd head to the guild and church in a few days.
The matter of the demon sword was sure to be sensitive. No time to waste. I'd leave Bugall with Lisha for two or three days; if there were no results, I'd return him to the church.
The church, ever vigilant on demon matters, would soon catch wind of rumors about a demon sword in some backwater village. Better to hand him over before they did. If they griped about me capturing a demon, I could claim I'd interrogated him first as a junior priest.
Either way, it worked in my favor.
"Heh heh heh, enough tormenting him. Time to begin."
Lisha smiled brightly as she moved the cage.
She seemed thrilled at the prospect of starting the experiment. Whatever the outcome, Bugall had already brought some laughs to our household.
"I'll run a few tests first."
"Tests, huh."
*Snap.*
Lisha snapped her fingers, and a swirl of dark energy coalesced into the shape of a massive hand. It gently pried open the cage, then roughly yanked out the panicking Bugall inside.
"Gaaaaah!!"
"Quiet down. You're being noisy."
The black hand slammed Bugall onto the workbench, morphing into chains that bound his limbs. Black energy flaked off the chains' surface like peeling paint.
*Clank.*
What remained were genuine iron chains.
What the fuck kind of terrifying magic was this?
"L-Lisha sis? What spell is that?"
"A branch of black magic. Only I could pull off something like this."
"R-Right..."
Winia's reaction suggested it was some unusual spell. Lisha addressed the restrained Bugall coldly.
"Now then, your true form is that of a sword, correct? Show us your transformation."
"Shut your mouth! I've embraced death—I'll never submit!"
"You've submitted plenty so far. Don't be a hassle; just do as you're told. Inflicting pain is child's play."
A black needle materialized at Lisha's fingertip.
"Noisy—Gheeeek?!?!?!"
She deftly stabbed it into Bugall's thrashing head. The moment the needle sank in, he foamed at the mouth and went docile.
"Lisha? That black magic too?"
Impressed, Cloudy asked.
"Heh heh heh, indeed. Interested?"
"A little. Seems handy."
"It's not exactly 'handy' magic."
Lisha wielded her black magic with practiced ease, preparing some experiment. Dark smoke billowed as she force-fed Bugall a black potion, drew a magic circle, and chanted incantations.
Our Lisha really was a witch...!
Scary. I'd have to give her ass a good spanking tonight.
"What sort of fantasies are you having about me?"
"The usual ones."
"Eek... I'll be looking forward to it."
*Shrrk.*
After those black magic rituals, Bugall's unconscious body twisted and shifted into the shape of a dagger.
"Hmm... It works, at least. Though this form... Will it do? Weren't you hoping for a larger sword?"
"Yeah. He said it'd be a bigger blade in normal condition. He's totally wrecked right now, so this is all we get. Can't be helped. If it doesn't work out, skip it."
"Heh heh heh, as if there's anything I can't handle?"
Lisha poked my side playfully, grinning.
"Ooh, Lisha!"
"Just worry about how you'll praise me later!"
Declaring her confidence, Lisha pulled out various tools and began something resembling surgery. Whenever Bugall regained consciousness, he'd shift between dagger and demon form, screaming curses and wailing.
The basement echoed with the agonized groans of the tormented demon.
Cloudy, Winia, and I watched Lisha's black magic handiwork in awe, unable to stop marveling.
* * *
This brutal procedure continued for two full days.
There wasn't much to help with. Lisha just sent me on minor errands while she recorded notes, flipped through books, cast black magic, and pressed on with her tests. Karin popped down to the basement once and nodded along, muttering that Lisha really was a witch.
I was lounging in the living room on the first floor, reading a borrowed book on demon swords from the library, when Lisha called me from below.
"Lisha? Did you succeed or something?"
As I headed down, wondering aloud, Lisha turned to me with a beaming smile.
"Heh heh heh! Behold!"
Brimming with triumph, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the workbench. One look left me stunned.
"Th-This is...!"
Lying quietly on the workbench was Bugall, now grown to about 1.6 meters. But that wasn't the shocking part.
"Admire my handiwork!"
Next to Bugall lay a pitch-black longsword. Completely different from the one that serial killer had wielded. But I knew instantly.
This was a demon sword.
"A demon sword?"
No special aura emanated from it, but it was definitely one.
"Lisha?"
I glanced at her questioningly, and she puffed out her chest, explaining confidently.
"I've succeeded in separating the demon's flesh from its sword form."
"What?!"
The demon sword had been Bugall, and Bugall the demon sword—but from her explanation, Lisha had split the two forms apart.
"It took a fair bit of time... but I suppose I should explain. First, I artificially restored this demon. That's why he's bulked up."
Lisha grabbed Bugall's limp arm, lifted it, and let it flop down.
"No need to worry about a demon's well-being, so recovery was a breeze. Once restored, the side effects kicked in, and he went completely insane. Tsk tsk tsk, such a weak-willed demon..."
I couldn't follow the details, but I focused on Lisha's singsong explanation, delivered with utter confidence.
"Anyway, that let me easily separate his body and soul. From there, a bit of adjustment extracted the sword form. Heh heh heh, one success snowballed into simplifying the whole process."
What the hell was she even saying?
Either way, Lisha had pulled off something incredible in just two days. Extreme joy welled up inside me. I wanted to throw this smug Lisha onto the bed and climb on top right then. That's my girl...!
As I reached out, I grew curious about Bugall's current state, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"So, Lisha—what's his deal now?"
"Extracting his soul turned him into a complete vegetable."
Due to the artificial restoration and soul-form separation via black magic, the enlarged Bugall had become a total idiot.
He was merely alive—no reactions whatsoever.
I experimentally gripped the separated demon sword.
"Ooh...! This feel!"
"Pleased? That makes me happy."
"P-Perfect! Gotta test it out now!"
*Slash!*
I immediately sliced off Bugall's ankle on the workbench. *Clang!* The blade cleaved through demon flesh and bone with effortless lightness.
This... was a great sword!
Weight, cutting feel, durability—all top-notch.
"..."
Of course, as a vegetable, Bugall showed zero reaction to the severed ankle.
"Hah hah hah ha!!! Thanks, Lisha!"
I burst out laughing, set the sword down, and pulled Lisha into a hug.
"Seeing you this thrilled makes the effort worthwhile. So, planning to hand this Bugall over to the church now?"
"Yeah, for now. Anything else you wanna test? I can delay it."
"No, I've extracted all the info I need. He's worthless now."
"Cool. I'll drop him off right away."
"Do that."
Still hugging Lisha, I glared at the idiot Bugall.
"Huh?"
Freshly severed, his ankle hadn't dissolved into black sludge. The stump remained intact.
His flesh lingered in reality.
Imperfect, but maybe because it was made from that killer's soul and sacrifices?
Bugall's heart was still beating.
"In that case."
*Stab!*
I destroyed his heart and severed his head.
With that, Bugall breathed his last.
"Smart thinking. Even as a vegetable, the church might pry secrets out with their methods, and today's events could leak. Better to kill him and deliver the corpse."
She was right.
Tinkering with a demon sword was awkward enough. Killing Bugall here and burying the truth was cleaner.
He was useless now anyway.
Info extracted, request fulfilled, refined demon sword acquired. I'd remember Bugall as the giving tree—no, the generous demon.
Lisha added that since she'd separated soul, body, and essence completely, the church wouldn't detect anything from using this sword.
What a witch—my Lisha was the best...!
She knew exactly how to dodge the church's eyes!
"More importantly... heh heh heh, I've worked hard too. Time for my reward from you."
As I pondered, Lisha smiled seductively and started coquettishly nuzzling my chest like she was marking her territory.
"Heh heh heh, what should I do for you?"
"Really, it loses meaning if I have to say it. I told you to figure it out yourself."
"In that case."
*Grab.*
I hiked up the hem of Lisha's dress and gripped her ass, making her back arch.