Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Sword Demon and Demonic Sword (4)
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Only two hours had passed since I told Hyeon-a to bring me a decent story.
Now, a completed short story was already sitting on my desk.
When Hyeon-a first brought me the paper, filled to the brim with text and wearing a confident expression, I inwardly scoffed, wondering what kind of strange tale she had concocted this time. I began to read with a bored look on my face, but… I couldn't help but be astonished.
"This… Did you really write this?"
"Yep! It's fun, right?"
"You absolutely didn't have a subordinate or another friend ghostwrite this for you?"
"I told you, no! I really wrote it myself!"
"This is… this is…"
[The stars of the plains flow in my soul.
Over a thousand years ago, my soul sisters lived on the distant western plains.
They lived with the earth as their floor and the sky as their roof, leaving no records and wandering until their deaths.
In a time so ancient we cannot even fathom it··· (omitted)··· my sisters still ride through an eternity within an endless cycle.]
To save them, we need a great many master swords forged by the 'Haunted Blacksmith'.
Please, help us. -Hyeon-a, Commander of the Tae'ak Assassination Squad, Heavenly Demon Cult.
"S-such incredible writing…"
The fact that I had held zero expectations for her amplified the wave of emotion that washed over me, leaving my heart feeling heavy.
Of course, the last sentence was so full of ulterior motives that it broke the mood a little, but those two lines alone couldn't completely erase the touching narrative that preceded them.
"This really came from your head?"
"I just took a story some woman I killed once told me, embellished it a bit, and turned it into a tale. How is it? Fun, right? I had fun writing it!"
"..."
I began to see her, whom I had always dismissed, in a slightly different light.
Somehow, her skin looked smoother, her features more defined.
"You… you… you didn't write this. You're lying…!"
"Why? Is it too moving? Hehe."
I clutched my heavy heart and shouted at her.
"A cruel, crazy bitch like you has no right to write something so moving!"
"Wh-what?!"
Hyeon-a, who I always thought was thoughtless and had never known a day of worry, suddenly seemed like a sensitive and pitiful assassin, forced into a life of murder against her will.
I slumped into my chair and calmed my heart.
She sidled up next to me and whispered into my ear in a suggestive tone.
"To save them, we need a great many 'master swords'…!"
"G-ghh!"
I fought back the urge to run to the display rack, grab a master sword, and hand it to Hyeon-a.
'Calm down! This is a trick! The devil's whisper! That woman is a crazed killer! You can't fall for a few lines of text!'
Taking a deep breath, I finally managed to calm myself and spoke to Hyeon-a quietly.
"Hmph, excellent. With this level of quality, I can complete the narrative for my sword with just a little adaptation."
"Mm! Good! But this is a story about a person. Why is it becoming the narrative for a sword?"
"You don't need to know. Well, you might find out naturally when the time comes. Anyway, can you write stories like this for me whenever I need one?"
"Of course! I've jotted down a few of the more memorable stories I've heard. I'll write them out nicely like this one for you later. But there's a condition!"
"What is it?"
"Give me one more of the swords you made!"
Normally, I'd be less inclined to give her anything when she begs so openly, but I couldn't get a scenario of this quality for free.
"Fine. Pick one."
"Oh, really?! For real?!"
"I don't lie. You know that. From now on, every time you bring me a story of this quality, I'll buy it from you for one of my weapons. How about it?"
"O-oh, yeah. Really?!! Awesome! You can't take this back, okay?"
As I nodded, her eyes sparkled, and she headed toward my weapon display.
"Hee hee! What should I pick this time? A longsword? A straight sword? Ugh! I want them all!"
Leaving Hyeon-a to stomp her feet excitedly in front of the weapon rack, I went into my workshop and pulled out the paper where I had written down the settings for the Soul-Severing Sword.
"First, to make her as similar to the protagonist of this story as possible, it would be good to set it that the Soul-Severing Sword was female before she was sealed."
Of course, I couldn't perform the feat of extracting a human form from a demonic sword.
That was no longer in the realm of what a blacksmith could do.
Besides, since it already had the form of a sword, its gender or appearance in a past life didn't really matter.
However, these settings were important in their own way, as their mere existence would allow me to better immerse myself in the role of the demonic sword and display more realistic reactions in my interactions with the Sword Demon.
"Hmm, the eldest daughter of a general's family, who dedicated herself to her country only to be abandoned when she was no longer useful—let's keep that setting as is."
A detailed and clear narrative is essential for role-playing.
"That would also explain why she's weak in the emotional department but shows an expert's demeanor when it comes to rational judgment or the flow of battle."
Using the short story Hyeon-a had given me as a foundation, I began to complete the character sheet for the Soul-Severing Sword.
"The fact that she lost all her parents and friends in the past and fought a lonely, desolate battle is almost identical to the Sword Demon."
"In that case, the demonic sword would feel a sense of kinship with him, both as a fellow warrior and in how he forges his path alone. I'll have to show an appropriate reaction when a moment like that comes."
After drafting and revising various settings several times.
I finally completed the one-line summary for the Soul-Severing Sword's character.
-The Soul-Severing Sword, though corrupted by its long imprisonment within the blade, unconsciously desires someone to save it from the deep darkness.-
"Good. This should be enough."
After reading through the completed settings one more time, I focused my mind and entered the consciousness of the Soul-Severing Sword.
***
*Clip-clop, clip-clop.*
An ebony carriage was crossing a gentle mountain path.
With the warm sunlight and a cool breeze, it was the kind of weather that would have put any ordinary person in a good mood.
But Unmyeong, who was watching the scenery from inside the carriage, was lost in deep thought and couldn't enjoy it with a peaceful heart.
'I was told it would strongly resist the scabbard, but for the cloth to have already turned black… What tremendous demonic energy.'
The Soul-Severing Sword, wrapped in cloth, was scattering an eerie demonic energy as if in displeasure, causing the fabric to stain black and decay.
Watching this, Unmyeong scoffed at the demonic sword.
"Just because you have a single eye, you want to see outside? Pathetic."
[Unmyeong, are you afraid of me?]
The demonic sword's voice seemed to have shifted ever so slightly from a neutral tone to a more feminine one, but Unmyeong dismissed it as his imagination and didn't pay it much mind.
"Nonsense. I fear nothing."
[As long as you are born human, you can never be free from fear. You lie to me to hide your weak inner self.]
"You even put effort into your bullshit."
[Be honest with yourself. Acknowledge your weakness and accept me completely. Then, I can grant you infinite power.]
Unmyeong turned his head, trying to ignore the Soul-Severing Sword's voice.
Hearing such things for a fleeting moment wasn't a big deal, but after listening to this nonsense nonstop for days on end, even someone with Unmyeong's mental fortitude was starting to get annoyed.
Just then.
"Halt!!!"
With a rough shout, the carriage came to a sudden stop.
Already in a foul mood, Unmyeong's face twisted slightly as he asked the subordinate driving the carriage.
"What is it?"
"Armed men have suddenly blocked the road. Judging by their appearance, they seem to be bandits."
"How many of them?"
"At a glance, there are more than ten. Should I go and take care of them?"
"No need. My whole body is stiff from sitting for so long. It's been a while since I've stretched my muscles."
"Understood. I will guard the carriage, then."
Unmyeong rotated his arm in a wide circle, loosening up, then picked up the Soul-Severing Sword from the opposite seat, opened the carriage door, and stepped outside.
*Clank.*
As the carriage door opened and he stepped onto the grass, the group of bandits blocking the path came into view.
"Hey, you! Drop the weapon in your hand and surrender!"
"You look like some pampered rich kid. Let's not waste energy and do this the easy way, eh?"
"The clothes that bastard is wearing look pretty high-class, too. We're gonna make a killing this time! Heh heh."
Normally, they would have settled for a simple toll, but seeing Unmyeong's carriage and the robe he was wearing, the bandits grew considerably more aggressive, thinking they could score big.
Above all, the fact that there were only two people in the carriage party made the bandits feel no sense of danger due to their numerical superiority.
Had they observed Unmyeong and his subordinate more carefully, they might have noticed a few things that were out of the ordinary, but that was too much to ask of bandits blinded by greed.
Even as the bandits excitedly closed in, Unmyeong calmly analyzed the situation.
'There are many, but they're just third-rate and second-rate trash. The strongest one among them is barely first-rate.'
Normally, he would have manifested his sword aura and fired it off to annihilate them in a single blow, but right now, he wanted to test the demonic sword's pure power.
Unmyeong swung the demonic sword in a wide arc, shaking off the cloth, and opened his mouth.
"The time has come to prove your worth. Show me you are useful."
[Why should I?]
As expected, a defiant answer came back, but Unmyeong paid it no mind, raising the demonic sword and taking his stance.
Seeing Unmyeong like this, the bandits jeered and threatened him.
"Khahahaha! Looks like this guy wants to have a go with us!"
"Stupid bastard. How does he plan to take us on alone? It's a bluff, don't fall for it."
"Yeah, there have been more than a few guys who tried to act all cool like that to get away."
"If he were a real master, he would have drawn his sword ki by now. He's just holding a weird-looking sword, that's all."
"B-but, the sword that guy's holding… something's strange about it. It gives me the creeps…"
The bandits' judgment wasn't entirely wrong.
True masters would have revealed their sword ki or an even greater power by now to intimidate and chase them off.
Even a madman bent on slaughter would typically reveal his power to terrify his victims before the massacre, not maintain such a composed posture.
Besides, those types usually had a distinct look of madness in their eyes, so it was impossible for the bandits not to notice.
That's why they concluded that Unmyeong was just bluffing with a uniquely shaped weapon.
*Grip.*
But Unmyeong was eager to test the demonic sword's power, so he simply ignored the bandits' taunts and held his stance.
Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Unmyeong prepared to leap, pulling the Soul-Severing Sword far back in a combat-ready position.
Seeing Unmyeong's posture, one of the bandits charged forward.
"That son of a bitch is still bluffing! Hey! Today, you're gonna…!"
*Thump!*
In an instant, Unmyeong leaped forward and cleanly sliced the head off the babbling bandit.
*Slice.*
The black blade of the Soul-Severing Sword cut through the bandit's neck without resistance, scattering a spray of red blood.
*Fwoosh!*
The bandit, seemingly unable to even comprehend what had hit him, collapsed with his eyes wide open, his head and body separated.
Leaving the fallen bandit gushing blood in all directions, Unmyeong swung the sword in a wide arc to flick off the blood on its blade.
*Swish.*
"I'll admit, you are indeed the finest of all the swords I have ever wielded."
Even without the demonic sword using any special abilities, as a simple tool, a blade, it could truly be called the best.
The Soul-Severing Sword grumbled in response.
[Why did you flick the blood off? It felt so good.]
In the blink of an eye, their comrade had fallen, and the bandits froze in place.
Unmyeong slowly turned his head toward the remaining bandits and replied to the demonic sword.
"Don't worry. There are still plenty left."