The Famine Sword Carestia
Gulp.
Pina swallowed hard as she stared at the greatsword.
The Famine Sword Carestia.
It looked as though it had been torn straight from Disastro's body. Judging by how flawlessly it had been made, Matillo and Colpo must have put serious work into it.
The joint between blade and hilt was solidly fused. Vicious, jagged teeth jutted from the edge — clearly meant to slash and tear hide at the same time. Given that this was a weapon built to crush with sheer weight, the design suited it perfectly.
They even remembered to cut the sockets.
I ran my hand along the rough surface of the blade. The moment I touched it, an inexplicable drain washed through me. Disastro's aura, maybe. The eerie sensation wasn't exactly pleasant.
Pina, watching from the side, offered her take.
"It's incredibly vicious. Do you like it?"
"It's cool."
"Cool... I guess. Probably."
I lifted the greatsword and strapped it to my back. I fastened the buckle that ran from shoulder to side and adjusted the straps. It was heavier than any weapon I'd ever carried.
I turned this way and that, checking how it sat, then asked Pina.
"How does it look?"
"I don't think anyone should mess with you."
Pina gave me her honest feelings. Her feedback was satisfying. In other words, I looked threatening — and that meant cool.
"Nice."
"Is that... a good thing?"
Pina wore an ambiguous expression. I nodded.
Big and beautiful was always right. Same with the Dragon Bane, same with the greatsword on my back now.
The Bloodhorn Sword? That one would just live on inside my chest from now on...
"..."
My heart pounded at the long-missed weight on my back. I wanted to take this greatsword out and kill a monster right now. As material from a Supreme-grade monster, its specs were on a completely different level from ordinary weapons, starting with the damage. One swing to the head would be enough to teach manners to an overexcited monster.
Of course, if I got hit, it would be just as fatal for me. It felt like a glass cannon.
Maybe I should go out and swing it around a bit.
"I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"To swing this thing around."
"Ah, okay. Have fun~."
Pina waved me off.
Crunch.
A small stone rolled underfoot as I stepped forward. I lifted my head and looked at the clouds blotting out the sun above the outpost.
The altitude here was high enough that the clouds felt close enough to touch. Stretch out a hand and I might catch one; stretch out a sword and I might cut one in half.
Chirp. Chirp.
The cries of highland birds rode the wind and brushed against my skin. I found myself marveling anew at Lacrima's nature.
Even if this was the result of temporal distortion eroding space itself, the beauty of the landscape here was something no place I'd ever visited could match. It wasn't only the natural scenery that made a picture. Even the soldiers standing watch before the wooden palisade in the bitter cold, far in the distance, looked like a painting.
They seemed lonely, and they seemed to suffer, yet they were more resolute than anyone. If this palisade were ever breached and monsters poured down from the highlands, Cartadia would be thrown into chaos. If those monsters were Supreme-grade, Cartadia would take a fatal wound. Whether or not a sense of mission burned in their chests, the work they did was that important.
I stood in a clearing a little ways off. I unstrapped the greatsword and carefully planted it in the snow-covered ground. The blade punched through the snowpack and dug into the earth, standing upright for balance.
I gazed quietly at the Famine Sword.
The Starving Earth Dragon, Disastro. Endless gluttony and violence. The gourmand who called silence upon a species. The monster that seized the earth with its desire.
True to those monikers, it had never once been full in its life. Until that hunger swallowed it whole, it would never have known what it meant to be sated. And yet Disastro had been reborn as a weapon, ready to feast its fill.
Even though I was the one who killed it, I couldn't help but pity that hunger. It hadn't chosen to be that way. It had simply been born that way.
I reached out and gripped the hilt. The hollow sensation that came with touching the blade must have been Disastro's hunger — lingering in the dead flesh like a residual thought, beyond the creature's own senses.
I took the greatsword planted in the ground in both hands and lifted it. Looking at it again, the Famine Sword was far too crude to call a sword. Perhaps because of that distinctive dry coloration, it neither gleamed nor reflected anything. It felt as though someone had attached a massive plank to a hilt and carved it into a blade with a knife.
But it had an edge that could split hide on one side, and greedy, jutting teeth that would tear prey apart — so it was a sword.
I set a target in empty air. It was a mark only I could see. The target didn't move; it simply waited for the greatsword to come.
I stepped forward and slowly swung the greatsword.
Whoooom. The blade cut through empty air, trailing a thick rush of wind. The heavy greatsword, unable to overcome its own inertia, naturally completed a half-turn along its arc.
Thud. I looked at the tip of the blade resting on the thickly piled snow. It felt lighter to swing than I'd expected.
One swing wasn't enough to get a feel for it, so I slowly moved the greatsword a couple more times the way I wanted. Each time the blade moved, it swept the snow on the ground with wind. As my trajectory left its mark on the ground, the weapon began to settle into my hands.
Before long I went beyond casual swings and put real strength into both hands. I gripped the hilt as if I meant to crush it, while my feet moved lightly and smoothly, as though walking on thin ice. The Famine Sword danced with me, matching my will.
"...Ha, haha!"
This greatsword felt absurdly good. The material was a bit light, yet there was no frivolity in the sound — it had a satisfying swing to it. And the way those jagged teeth bared themselves as if starved for flesh was thoroughly chilling.
Bloodhorn Sword? What was that again?
I planted the Famine Sword in the ground again and dusted off my hands. On my bare palms, the grain of the hilt remained. I clenched and unclenched my stinging hands a few times and looked at the greatsword again.
"...Alice."
Adelaide's voice called my name by my ear. She was watching me from a short distance away.
"I was wondering what you were doing with a sword."
"You were watching?"
"From the very beginning."
I blinked at her words. I'd been so excited I hadn't even noticed she was there.
"I've seen the kingdom's knights train, but never a hunter. And indeed, though it's my first time seeing it, it's remarkable — swinging a greatsword like that around so freely."
Adelaide's eyes sparkled as she spoke. A hint of admiration showed in them.
"So, is that the greatsword that came from Antico?"
"Yeah. Made from the Disastro I killed."
"Ooh... May I touch it once?"
"Sure."
I readily agreed. Adelaide strode over and reached for the sword without hesitation. Her hand felt the hilt, then carefully traced the blade surface and edge without drawing it free.
"Indeed... What I sense is no ordinary thing. Residual thoughts, perhaps."
Adelaide took her hand from the sword. Then she smiled and said to me,
"I've seen something rather precious."
"Precious..."
"It is. The practice of a Master Hunter — wouldn't every hunter want to see that? You're a model for them all."
"It's not even practice."
I shook my head at Adelaide's flattery.
"I just wanted to try out a new weapon."
"Even that would be a great revelation to someone. Swinging a greatsword so freely is impressive even to a layperson like me. You seem to undervalue yourself a little."
Adelaide chuckled and continued.
"You received a princess's choice, did you not? And beyond that, you rose to the Master rank that everyone recognizes. Take a little pride. You are more magnificent and beautiful than any hunter I've ever seen."
Adelaide was the type to say embarrassing things without a second thought. I touched my face and nodded.
"...Yeah. Thanks."
"Are you embarrassed right now? How precious."
What's precious about that. I looked at Adelaide with a straight face. She looked a little disappointed.
"So when do you depart?"
"Tomorrow?"
"You barely rest."
"The situation is what it is."
I shrugged. I needed to finish this business soon. Kill Miteraos and put everything back the way it was. That was my promise.
"...Finish it quick and put things back where they belong."
"Right."
I wore a bitter smile for a moment. Adelaide studied my face, then spoke.
"By the way, are your memories still intact?"
"...Memories?"
"If you know the future, there are several things I'd like to ask."
Adelaide touched the corner of her mouth. I lowered my eyes briefly at her words. Was Adelaide also troubled by Cartadia's destruction? I couldn't find anything to say, so I just fidgeted with my hands.
"For example, food from the future..."
Oh. Never mind.
I stared at Adelaide in disbelief. She let out a soft laugh.
"I'm joking, joking. You just seem to be carrying everything alone. Just because you came from the future doesn't mean this whole affair is yours to bear. Don't take it too heavily."
Meaning this anomaly wasn't my problem alone.
Adelaide asked,
"Do you want to go back, by any chance?"
"...I don't know."
Could I even go back? I couldn't be sure of anything, but it didn't matter either way. But if at least I could choose my own fate...
"I have to finish this first."
Whatever I thought about, the immediate task — the yetis — came first.
Neveumano.
And Neveterde...
I clenched my fist. The fist had turned red from long exposure to the cold air.