Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Sword Demon and the Demonic Sword (3)
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Unmyeong was given a new mission: to ascertain the truth behind the Blood Cult's intervention and conduct a further investigation.
However, he first had to report the details of the attack to his superiors, so the Sword Demon headed straight for the grand mansion where the Heavenly Demon resided.
Inside the vast, black-timbered mansion, beyond the rows of cultists in black martial robes, the Heavenly Demon sat on a grand chair and spoke to the Sword Demon.
"I heard it was the work of one of the Six Paths Blood Demons. Which one was it, exactly?"
"It's impossible to be certain, as they didn't use any particular abilities. However, they wielded a saber, and their pure martial prowess was exceptional."
The Heavenly Demon, who possessed an androgynous beauty, stroked their fine chin and murmured.
"Exceptional pure martial prowess... a bit different from the other Blood Demons, who enhance their strength with wicked sorcery."
"The Six Paths Blood Demons are powerful even without relying on their abilities, so it's not entirely out of the ordinary. Besides, they were clad entirely in black with a mask covering their face, likely to conceal their identity."
Hearing Unmyeong's words, the Heavenly Demon nodded, finding them reasonable, and accepted his explanation.
"As you say, they might have refrained from using their abilities to hide their identity. Was there anything else of note?"
"Hmm, judging by the silhouette of their body through their clothes, I could tell they were female."
"The information is insufficient. A further investigation is clearly needed. Sword Demon, it seems I must give you another mission, even though you've only just returned."
"I will complete this mission from the Heavenly Demon without fail."
Unmyeong replied, his voice filled with firm resolve as he bowed his head.
"Indeed, I can rest easy with you on the case. Those bastards from the Blood Cult have been running rampant lately, and my patience was wearing thin. With you handling it, I have nothing to worry about."
"This time, I will offer you the head of that Six Paths Blood Demon."
"Excellent. You may go now."
"As you command!"
At the Heavenly Demon's command, the Sword Demon rose, left the great hall, and walked down the corridor.
As he walked, he sensed someone approaching from the opposite direction.
He looked up and saw a woman with flowing black hair walking toward him.
Once she was close enough, the Sword Demon recognized her face and offered a brief greeting.
"It's been a while, Ghost Demon."
The woman called the Ghost Demon returned his greeting just as briefly.
"It has been a while, Sword Demon. I'm glad to see you've returned safely."
It might seem obvious, but the Seven Demons were not close to one another.
Thus, they would exchange greetings upon seeing each other, but there was little else to say.
It would only be awkward to linger, so the Sword Demon was about to walk past, but the Ghost Demon spoke again.
"I heard your sword broke. Are you alright? I remember you cherished your weapon."
"Hmm, unfortunately, yes."
"For a sword made by that haunted blacksmith to break... you must have faced quite a formidable foe."
"I encountered one of the Six Paths Blood Demons."
"A Six Paths Blood Demon... I see. Then I suppose you'll be staying at the main cult headquarters until you receive a new sword."
"No. It seems I will be heading to the Central Plains immediately."
The Ghost Demon seemed a little surprised by his answer.
"It will take some time to forge a new sword, won't it? Or did you receive one he had already made?"
"Among the swords the Blacksmith had already forged, there was one that I found particularly pleasing."
"How curious. I would have thought you'd request something special."
"..."
Unmyeong could have said more about the demonic sword, but he didn't feel inclined to, so he kept it to himself.
The Ghost Demon, as if she had said all she needed to, turned back toward the great hall where the Heavenly Demon was.
"Then I wish you good fortune in battle."
Unmyeong watched her back for a moment before turning to leave.
Just then, the Ghost Demon stopped and spoke.
"Ah, a word of advice. It's best not to grow too attached to your weapon."
The Ghost Demon said, turning her head slightly.
"A weapon is nothing more than a tool."
Back at his residence, he carefully lifted the demonic sword, which was wrapped in old cloth and stored with great care.
*Swish*
As the cloth was slowly unwrapped, the demonic sword's red eye revealed its eerie presence and, as always, projected its will toward Unmyeong.
[Unmyeong, my foolish master.]
Watching it, Unmyeong gazed at the Soul-Severing Sword with an entranced look, as if beholding the naked form of a beautiful woman.
"I have no time to listen to your useless chatter."
Unmyeong turned the sword over and over, examining its appearance once more, and thought with a satisfied smile.
'No matter how many times I look, its form is so perfect it's breathtaking.'
He reaffirmed his vow to expel the evil will dwelling within the demonic sword and become its true master.
The demonic sword watched Unmyeong's actions, fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a displeased tone.
[How long do you intend to stare like a pervert? If you have something to say, say it.]
"Hmm, shut up. You're disturbing my appreciation."
[Ha, haha. You're insane. To think you could be so brazen while staring at another's body.]
For a moment, even the demonic sword seemed a bit flustered, its voice tinged with disbelief.
Having admired the demonic sword to his heart's content, Unmyeong followed the Blacksmith's advice, wrapped it in a thin cloth again, slung it over his back, and prepared to leave the Heavenly Mountains for the Central Plains.
After packing minimal food and necessary supplies, he entrusted them to a subordinate waiting outside and immediately boarded a luxurious ebony carriage that was also waiting.
"First, we go to Qinghai, where the last attack occurred. We'll search for clues about them there."
As the Sword Demon stated the destination and objective of the mission, his subordinate immediately took the reins.
And so, the journey of Unmyeong and the Soul-Severing Sword began.
***
"That Sword Demon is no ordinary guy."
Startled by the Sword Demon's insane words and actions, I momentarily forgot I was in the demonic sword's body and almost let out a vulgar curse.
The Soul-Severing Sword's backstory is that it was once a powerful and noble martial artist who, for some reason, was sealed away and became corrupted after being trapped in the sword for decades.
So, while its tone can be malicious, it should never sound vulgar or uneducated.
I'm supposed to always maintain my composure and provoke the Sword Demon, but my mask almost slipped just now.
"I need to stay sharp."
Honestly, I designed its appearance to appeal to the cultists, but I never imagined he'd like it this much.
Just as I tried to refocus, someone opened the workshop door and came in.
*Clang!*
The way they threw the door open, as if to break it, told me who it was.
"You again?"
I turned my head to see Hyeon-a striding in confidently.
"The dagger you gave me! I came to give you a review!"
"You've used it already? How was it? Good, right?"
"Yeah! It's an incredible masterpiece! Looks aside, it slices through people's necks as easily as tofu!"
"You've already cut someone's throat? Already?"
'Hasn't it only been a day since she took the dagger?'
"Yeah! There was an apostate!"
"Uh, hmm. Right."
This is why I don't mess around in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The thought of doing something stupid and having a horde of people like her descend on me is enough to give me a headache.
"The apostate didn't even realize his head was cut off and kept talking! Hehe, you should've seen it! It was hilarious!"
"Oh, really? Sounds like it was a real blast! Ha. Ha."
I replied to her in a deliberately soulless tone.
"As expected of a blacksmith, you're not interested in anything but making swords, huh? You really are abnormal."
"Why don't you ever think that abnormality is you... never mind."
As expected, everyone in the cult, this one and that one, is out of their minds.
Who on earth talks about slitting someone's throat with the same casual air as slaughtering a pig on a local farm and saying, "This knife is really sharp!"
And to even find it amusing.
It's not easy to maintain my sanity while living among people like this, but somehow, I'm managing that difficult feat.
"Anyway, what were you doing?"
Hyeon-a asked after pulling up a chair and sitting right next to me.
"I was writing a work plan."
"A work plan?"
She tilted her head and peered at the plan I was writing.
"Hmm, but is this a plan? Isn't it just a story?"
The plan she was looking at contained the scenario I was devising for the Soul-Severing Sword.
But the truth is, having never written a single line of fiction, I had no talent for this kind of thing.
So, naturally, the content wasn't very good.
"I was writing a narrative for the sword I made. It helps with immersion."
"Wow, the haunted blacksmith really is different!"
It was hard enough to come up with ideas in the quiet, but with an energy-sucking mosquito like her buzzing next to me, I couldn't concentrate at all.
As I wondered what to do, a groundbreaking idea occurred to me.
"Ah, right. Have you ever read any stories, or do you know how to write them?"
"Huh? No. I don't read books. They're boring."
"Yeah, that's what I figured."
As I turned my head away, she continued.
"Oh, but I've heard a lot of them."
"Heard them? Does someone read books to you?"
"No, not like that. Before I kill people, they always start blabbering about their life stories. I didn't listen at first, but some of them were pretty interesting, so these days I hear them out to the end."
"Wow, you really are something else."
The people around here really are built different.
"So, do you have any memorable stories from recently?"
"Yeah, a few. For some reason, the people I hunt all have interesting stories."
"Okay. Then pick out a few of those interesting stories and bring them to me. Oh, but you do know how to write, right?"
Hearing my question, Hyeon-a pouted, looking thoroughly offended.
"Are you treating me like an idiot? I've written tons of mission reports! Just you wait!"
Hyeon-a strode confidently out of the workshop.
I watched her leave and thought to myself.
"Can I really trust her with this? She's bound to bring back some crazy stories."
But I quickly dismissed the worry that had popped into my head.
'The Sword Demon, a great demonic lord, doesn't seem to be in his right mind either.'
A crazy story might actually be a perfect fit for him.