Holy Sword and Polymorph (1)
Holy Sword and Polymorph (1)
#
-Ting-ting-ting-ting!
[The Holy Sword says it has been patient long enough.]
[The Holy Sword demands compensation.]
The Holy Sword threw an enormous fit. It had been quiet for a while, so I assumed it was occupied with candy, but apparently not. Still, it had interrupted an important conversation when we had so much left to discuss: the Bone Fucker, Grandpa Goblin, our plans from here, and how to handle lifting Niniel's curse.
[Keep still for a bit. I'm not done talking—]
-Kyiiiiiiing!!
"Eek!" "Urk!"
Tremendous vibration! The Holy Sword set its blade ringing like crazy. The sound was enough to tear through space, making the girls scream. This little bastard wasn't fooling around. Before, it had been a light vibrating sensation, but now—
-Shatter!
—it was ringing hard enough to crack the cup!
"Hey! I get it! Stop!"
It shot out a high-frequency whine strong enough to crack glass. I wondered if I could actually use this in combat or something.
"That just now..."
Ariel asked, her complexion pallid. It definitely seemed like her larger ears made her condition worse than the rest of the girls. I gave a suitable explanation.
"Ah, well, this sword is an Ego Sword..."
I explained that despite being a sword, it possessed an ego, that I could communicate with it, albeit in a limited fashion, and that it wanted to use the Polymorph.
Ariel blinked a few times, then let out a small sigh.
"An Ego Sword, you say. Where in the world would you obtain such an artifact... Are all Awakened like you?"
"No? Those guys have the backing of the Holy See, so they're even worse."
Descriptions like flying through the sky and shattering boulders were simple facts when it came to them. Later on, they'd be the type to slice a whole mountain in half, after all.
"...To monopolize such abilities. I understand the reason, but it is a little..."
-Wooooong!!!
Ariel's muttering was cut off by the Holy Sword's ringing.
"...At any rate. So, about that. That mirror we recovered. I want to try using it. But it seems like it's been strangely modified. I'd like you to take a look and see if it's fine to use as is."
"Modified, you say?"
Ariel furrowed her brow. Had Rebecca not mentioned that? Well, she might have omitted it while dealing with the shocking fact that her former fiancé was a monster.
"Yeah. I was wondering if it would even work properly."
"Let us have a look first."
...
Rebecca led us to a suitably spacious room, and I set the mirror up at the designated spot. The moment the Holy Sword saw the mirror, it was excited to the point of chaos. Intermittently ringing its blade, or puffing out little spurts of flame. It was just so damn impatient.
Ariel drank a blue potion, then began to probe the mirror, a faint light emanating from her fingertips.
"..."
While she examined the mirror, Yuri, seemingly bored, kept poking me in the side.
"But a Polymorph, huh. It's not a knockoff that only changes your age, like your thing, right?"
"A knockoff... Yuri..."
Ignoring Reni's scolding, Yuri continued.
"Then with that, could you transform into an animal or something? Like, say, turning into an eagle?"
"It would be wise not to attempt such a thing."
"Why... is that?"
Her long ears apparently gave her excellent hearing. Without even turning around, Ariel objected.
"This is not such a convenient artifact. It has both a time limit and a limited range. The Polymorph would probably end by the time you left the mansion. If you want to experience becoming a bird, you should abandon the idea for your own safety. You would fall from the sky before getting far."
"Urgh..."
"In the end, it is an object that can only be used on the level of amusement. To begin with, for the use of high-level magic such as a Polymorph, becoming the object rather than the subject is..."
While Ariel kept murmuring, I examined the Holy Sword.
[Hey. You heard her. It can only be used inside the house.]
[...The Holy Sword is... fine with that much...]
This thing seemed quite disappointed.
[Let's just try it and see. Didn't you say before that if you could receive my Divine Power, you might be able to figure something more out?]
-Wooong!
Perhaps taking the Holy Sword's ringing as urging, Ariel stopped her murmuring and turned this way.
"...There do not appear to be any particular issues with its use. However, there is the possibility of personality shifts or side effects if the Polymorph is maintained for a long time."
Wow. This girl.
[Effect: Changes the target's appearance. Changes in appearance may also alter their personality. Long-term use may cause the Morph to become fixed as a side effect. Consumes magic stones.]
It was almost a perfect match for the description I had seen.
"That's amazing. You can tell all that just by touching it for a few minutes?"
"The explanation is here."
As Ariel said that and manipulated something, a warning message of similar content appeared on the mirror.
"This wasn't here before. I do not know who commissioned the work, but it seems they did a proper job of it."
"...You didn't figure it out yourself?"
I was speechless. All that drinking a blue potion and making your hand glow like you were doing something impressive, and the best you could do was find the instruction manual?
But without batting an eye, Ariel continued her explanation.
"There was no major change to the structure itself. And as for side effects, this is not a problem exclusive to this artifact but an issue with the Polymorph spell itself. This is something I originally knew. However, to go so far as to embed a warning message... it seems the client was someone who could not be trusted in the slightest."
"I-is that so?"
"In any case..."
-Wooooooong!!!!
Unable to hold back, the Holy Sword shuddered again. Now that the moment was close, it was throwing a fit.
Looking at the shuddering Holy Sword, Ariel pulled a magic stone out from somewhere, inserted it into the slot, and stepped back a pace.
"I imagine an Ego Sword cannot transform itself. You will likely have to assist it. As for the usage method... is there a need to explain?"
"No. I'll handle it myself."
I drew the Holy Sword from its scabbard, then stood it in front of the mirror. And then...
#
The moment I activated the mirror, the Holy Sword erupted with light. I was taken aback.
"Ah, no, wait. Does this thing normally emit light like this when you use it? This is pretty different from mine?"
"..."
She kept an expressionless face, but cold sweat ran down her cheek! Had something gone wrong?!
It didn't end with just the emission of light. The Holy Sword floated into the air and shuddered, before finally becoming a light source so bright it was blinding!
[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
-Bang!
"Eek!" "Urk!"
An unknown, powerful shockwave swept over my entire body. Wind? No, a kind of energy density...
"Guys. You okay?"
"I-I'm fine, but, my, my eyes!" "D-Divine Power...!"
"I-It worked! Finally! It finally worked!"
Amid the girls spouting nonsensical words, an unfamiliar voice rang out. As I gently opened my eyes, the appearance I had seen in my dreams manifested in reality, precisely as it was.
A beautiful girl about the same height as Ariel. Slightly sharp eyes that seemed to look down on people, with burning scarlet hair. A hand trembling as if she couldn't believe it. And...
"Kyaaak!"
As Reni screamed, my vision suddenly went dark! Reni covered my eyes! And then Yuri's shout.
"She has no clothes on, you pervert!!! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"It wasn't me!"
I could die of frustration! I just created the image exactly as I had seen it, dammit!
"Hmm. An expected result. It is not an artifact that creates clothing as well."
"...See!" "Urgh..."
"Rebecca. This person... this human... at any rate, bring her some suitable clothes."
"...Understood."
#
"Do I really have to wear this? It's way too itchy. And the feeling is unpleasant..."
"H-Holy Sword. You must not take it off. Hyiik?!"
"Whoa... th-this feels strange...."
"St-strange... H-hyut?!"
"I don't know... Is this what it means to be squishy? There's a reason he touches these all the time, huh? Makes me want to keep touching them."
"S-stop! Please stop! No!"
"Why? Do you not like this? He said those times you say no are just meaningless words and that you actually like it... Mmph!"
I clamped my hand over the Holy Sword's mouth.
It was all well and good that Reni had stepped up to take care of the Holy Sword, who couldn't even control her own body, like a newborn fawn. But this brat was spouting unnecessary crap!
[Please keep quiet! Or else you...]
The Holy Sword paid absolutely no attention. No, wait—did her form change so the messages were not getting through?!
"Mmmph! Mmph!"
"Y-Yoo-jin. I-I'm sure the Holy Sword knows she shouldn't do that now...."
For some reason, Reni seemed weak against the Holy Sword. Earlier, she had started going limp, saying something about the Divine Power exploding or whatever, and she was now sending strange looks toward the Holy Sword. As if in worship, as if in awe....
"Walking is hard!"
"P-Please take my hand...."
The Holy Sword, who had been fiddling with every part of Reni, sprang up and suddenly began roaming around the room. As if having arms and legs attached felt strange, she kept sitting down, standing up, walking, and trying to touch everything.
It was truly chaos...
I was sitting slumped over, clutching my head, when suddenly Ariel tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Ahem. This may be a strange time to ask, but there is something I wish to clarify."
"What?"
Ariel swallowed hard.
"That, ah, amplification... when might that be possible, if I may ask?"