Dark Tidings (3)
Kriel was baffled. Typically, the glow of fighting spirit was seen as a mere reflection of one's inner landscape. People with fiery tempers often exuded red fighting spirit, and so on. Of course, blindly trusting such color distinctions was unwise. There were owners of crimson fighting spirit who unleashed violence on others without hesitation due to their explosive natures, just as there were righteous souls who couldn't tolerate injustice and also emitted red fighting spirit.
Now, with factors like elemental affinities coming into play, gauging a person's temperament from fighting spirit color alone had grown even harder. It became practically meaningless when traps appeared—like blood qi used by Dark Knights, which looked similar to red fighting spirit on the surface but wasn't fighting spirit at all.
Thus, trying to judge a person's good or evil based solely on fighting spirit color was not just rude but foolish. Still, unavoidable prejudices existed. In most regions of Tirnanog, there was a symbol that made people think, "Uh, this is a bit..."—the darkness of the Abyss.
Kriel unconsciously glanced at Tuon.
[Owner. Why do you stare at me so?]
"...No reason."
Kriel awkwardly averted his gaze. Tuon raised her voice in retort. Unlike her usual calm, subdued tone, the heightened pitch rang out with a clear timbre akin to Orishin's.
[Do you think I've corrupted you somehow? That vulgar curved blade's slander is shaking your faith in me!]
[Hey! Watch your words! I just pointed out that your fighting spirit color changed, and you're the one Kriel suspects!]
[The owner doesn't suspect me! He merely glanced my way!]
[And who was it that asked, "Why the stare?" upon noticing?]
While the two swords bickered, Kriel reflected on the past.
'When did the color change?'
As Orishin had said, before accepting Tuon, his fighting spirit had been white during the clash with the demonkin Satranyak. Not the pure, spotless white, but a pallid hue like bleached bone—still, white nonetheless.
'The next time I drew it out was against that half-formed Abyss spawn wyvern handler.'
That time, he'd shaped sword aura through Tuon. Influenced by her yin-cold nature as a spectral sword, it had taken on a glacial blue like the frost of the far north.
And the time after that...
"When I saved Mazel Gabi!"
Argentlam Duchy. The magic scroll terrorism at the Gabi Merchant Company branch. The fighting spirit he'd unleashed the moment he resolved to use the demonic sword to suppress the flames. It had turned dark blue upon merging with Tuon, but before that influence, the color flowing into the blade had resembled darkness.
The change was gradual and certain. In the gateway city, the sword aura dwelling in Tuon was icy blue; in Argentlam Duchy, a blue-tinged night sky hue.
'Even during that bout with Gila Dekair at the Lir family estate, it was black. Different from Abyss-tainted dark fighting spirit, but still.'
His duel with Dekair had been Kriel alone, without aid from Tuon or Orishin. It meant the black sword aura persisted without external corruption.
And just yesterday, before the Wraith King, when he'd infused sword aura into Tuon, it was the same night-sky shade but closer to pure black. Like the difference between dusk and midnight.
'Has my Honor eroded without me noticing, altering the color?'
Kriel shook his head after a moment's thought. His unyielding mind against the demon in the abyss proved otherwise. Without sufficient Honor, he couldn't have dismissed the demon's words so easily.
Even as Kriel pondered the link between his mental state and the discoloration, the two swords kept squabbling vigorously.
[You're always slandering me as a demonic sword, making the owner doubt me! Even at the Lir family!]
[It's not slander—it's fact!]
[I am no base demonic sword that harms its owner. I merely reveal the darkness within and guide him to the righteous path...]
[That's classic demonic sword dialogue, you know?]
Meanwhile, Armed's expression hardened as she watched the sudden chaos.
'What the hell are they talking about?'
Demonic swords, darkness—nothing but ominous talk.
"Kriel. What exactly is that sword you're carrying?"
"Ah."
Flustered by the sudden fighting spirit shift, he'd let his guard down. The two swords and one knight all eyed Armed warily.
Armed pinched the bridge of her nose.
'Is this really the knight who saved my territory yesterday...'
He'd looked so dashing charging in on that headless steed. Apparently, he'd been doing weird shit in private since his mercenary days, and little had changed.
"It's a demonic sword, as you've heard, but it's pretty decent, actually."
"Is that something you say to a demonic sword? What kind exactly?"
"It's complicated to explain..."
No point hiding it now. Kriel straightforwardly told Armed the truth, without overthinking. He'd beaten a demonkin controlled by a Great Demonic Weapon, and from that weapon, a new demonic sword had been born, claiming him as owner.
"A Great Demonic Weapon capable of dominating and wielding a demonkin? If so, it has to be at least on the level of a demon tearing out its own flesh and blood—"
Kriel shushed her, pressing a finger to his lips. A certain Great Demonic Weapon named Tuon flashed in Armed's mind.
"Hey. It's not the one I'm thinking of, right?"
Kriel looked away. Armed clutched her neck. Her pink hair, tied up high, swayed as her hand brushed it.
Rubbing her nape, she reviewed Kriel's past actions. If anything dominated him, it was chivalry, not the Abyss. Setting aside doubts, she voiced her concern.
"I trust you, but be careful. You're also Eve Kaha's Champion. Who knows how the church might react if they find out."
Behind her words lurked the implication: 'Even if the Eve Kaha church hunts you, I'll shelter you.' Though the nations of Tirnanog had grown closer against the Abyss, the Empire and Holy Kingdom were distinct. Worst case, she could hide him in her territory and play dumb. The Holy Kingdom wouldn't easily ransack an imperial noble's land, buying time.
Kriel replied in a carefree tone.
"Don't worry. Morgina knows. I explained it to the High Priestess alongside her."
"...Oh, really?"
Orishin shut his eyes in despair. No way. How did this guy always pick the worst things to say here? It was chillier than Tuon's frost. What now?
[Not sure, but is this a time to stay quiet?]
Tuon whispered to Orishin. This guy's got some tact.
As the swords held their breath watching the exchange, Armed blinked a couple times.
"I see."
The image of a black-haired saintess with red-tipped ends flickered in her mind. She'd suspected as much, but now it was confirmed. That saintess wanted Kriel too.
The upside?
"By imperial law, I'm in a stronger position."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Good that the Eve Kaha church knows."
Armed turned her gaze to Tuon at Kriel's waist. Ash-gray straight sword. A new demonic sword born from Gratuon.
"You. You're truly loyal to Kriel, right?"
[I embody the owner's desires. His desires are mine, so I am his most faithful supporter and staunchest blade.]
Kriel's desires, huh. Armed wondered if he had any beyond realizing his chivalric ideals. He claimed to love money, but a greedy man wouldn't have saved her territory for a single coin.
If the desires Tuon embodied stemmed from Kriel's knightly fanaticism, there seemed little risk of corruption.
'Come to think of it, he took only that sword when facing the Wraith King yesterday.'
Not corruption, but what if it egged him on to chivalric feats even in mortal peril? That worried her now.
"Kriel, don't take that sword's words at face value. It's dangerous."
"Among my gear, it looks the least risky."
A joke referencing his sinister charred armor or the new headless shadow steed. Armed smiled helplessly at Kriel's quip.
"You mentioned a letter from the Lir family? I'll forward it to the Western Army if it arrives. If we miss each other, come back here or to my territory."
She added,
"Wherever you go besides the Western Army, send word. I'll wrap things up fast and come find you."
Orishin couldn't shake Tuon's phrase: 'I embody the owner's desires.' It seemed deeply tied to why Kriel's fighting spirit had darkened.
It was the moment Kriel had walked half a day, mulling whether to ride the shadow steed.
[Hey, Tuon.]
[Approach not, curved blade. What if even my edge warps?]
[Got a question.]
Brushing off the usual curved sword disdain, Orishin asked.
[Has Kriel ever thought, "Man, black sword aura to match the armor would look cool"?]
It was an absurd question. Kriel chuckled. No way it'd change for that. And had he even thought such a thing?
Tuon replied in earnest.
[I cannot say he hasn't.]
"...What?"
As Kriel debated sword aura discoloration blame on the road west, a missive arrived at the Ket County estate.
The first line was brief.
Defendant's failure to appear results in dismissal of proceedings.
A phrase that typically signified the defendant's death.