Even Looking Like This, I'm an Ego Sword

"…You felt something break?"

Jihyun asked back.

"Yes."

"Based on what?"

"My chest."

Like it had been scalded. Like it had been cut open by tears…!

"Ahem…."

Even I knew, the moment the words left my mouth, how ridiculous they sounded.

"…My chest hurts. Worse than before."

But what was I supposed to do about it? It really did hurt worse than before! And this was the only scrap of evidence I had that something was wrong!

Jihyun looked at me for about three seconds, then picked up her notebook and walked over to the observation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠team's tent.

"Observation Team Lead. Could you check the readings for me?"

"What's a subcontractor doing over here…"

"Last week's spike at 15:17. That one got closed out as cause unknown, right?"

"…That's true, but."

"One of our people was closest to the control line at that exact time. The timestamps match. And today, that same kid is reacting again."

The observation team lead's face hardened for the briefest instant, then smoothed back out.

"…Haha. I understand what you're getting at."

Yeah. This wasn't going to go our way.

"We can't pull the main force for a reason like that. I'd love nothing more than to play along with the child, but this is an operation with S-ranks deployed. My hands are tied."

…He wasn't wrong.

If I'd been in his position, I wouldn't have pulled them either. A ten-year-old subcontractor says her chest hurts, so please withdraw a twelve-person survey team? How exactly was he supposed to report that up the chain?

"Hmm…."

So what now? Was there any way to prove this wasn't just a joke…?

There wasn't.

"Then at least leave a record. Timestamped to right now."

"…We'll leave a record."

Jihyun stepped back.

One step back for two steps forward, maybe.

I just stood there full of fretting energy, fidgeting my fingers and bouncing on my feet.

But fortunately enough, Jihyun's words found their use fifteen minutes later.

Someone in front of the control screens knocked over a chair as they shot to their feet.

"Full retreat! Fall back past this control line! Now!"

KRRRRRMM—

The mountainside roared.

I'd never heard the ground cry out before.

Or wait—had I, back when I was a sword? Either way, hearing it with human ears was a first.

With a racket like a volcano erupting, the rift began to split open.

The light that had been dead and black lit up again from the inside out. Not red, not white…

Silver.

The color of a merciless blade.

"Byeori! Get over here!!"

Nayeon snatched me up into her arms. Jihyun was already yanking open a car door and cranking the ignition.

People ran. Tents collapsed. Instrument panels toppled. Someone fell and someone else hauled them back up….

It was pure pandemonium.

I watched the chaos in a daze, then suddenly noticed something.

My chest wasn't hot. The thing that had been burning so fiercely until a moment ago had gone quiet in the middle of this rift-tearing disaster.

…Why?

I looked at the rift. At the direction it was opening.

Something wasn't pushing out from the inside. The rift itself was tilting, very slowly, toward somewhere.

Collapsing…?

No. No, that wasn't it.

More like…

"…Is it looking around?"

That thing.

It was searching for me. More precisely—it had been searching for me, failed to find me, and was now smashing whatever was nearby out of sheer spite.

…So that was why it hadn't hurt.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The ache had nothing to do with distance. It hurt in proportion to how much that thing was looking at me.

Right now its eyes were pointed elsewhere, so it didn't hurt.

What it was looking at now was probably whatever was closest. In other words, the fifteen people who had approached the rift—

"Jihyun unnie."

"Get in! Hurry!"

"I don't think I can go right now."

Jihyun turned, still holding the car door.

"What did you just say?"

"The people inside are all going to die."

"What are you—"

"Byeori!"

Nayeon, who'd been tapping the steering wheel, bellowed at me.

"Get over here right now! That kind of thing is the Association's job—"

"I don't think the Association knows. Why it's doing this."

My words kept getting faster.

They had to. Even as I spoke, that gate was—

KRRRRRMM—!

…There was no time.

"…It's looking for me. Last week, and this morning too. But right now I'm too far away, so it can't find me. And because it can't find me, it's throwing a tantrum and going after whatever's closest."

"Then that makes running away even more important!"

"If I run, it'll keep not finding me."

"……!"

"Right now it's only crushing the immediate area. But what about after that?"

The range would widen. Over the mountain, to the nearby roads. Past the nearby roads, all the way to the distant village.

With S-rank hunters deployed, they'd stop it eventually—but there was no guarantee the casualties would be light.

I watched both their faces harden. Looks like they'd roughly grasped the shape of this too.

"If I get close, it'll tilt toward me. Then the internal pressure should drop, and we might be able to pull the entry team out in the meantime."

"That's just your guess! We don't even know if that thing is actually looking for you in the first place!"

"Well, yeah, that's fair."

I admitted it. It was only what my instincts were telling me, and Nayeon wasn't wrong.

"But think about it. What if I'm wrong? I take a wasted trip, and that thing keeps crushing people the way it already is. Same as now. But what if I'm right? The people inside get to live."

"……"

"Nothing to lose, right? Well—I can't say there's zero chance of danger, but…."

Jihyun took off her glasses.

When she did that, it usually meant the calculations were done—but today, the face of someone finished calculating wasn't what I saw.

"…Three conditions."

"Okay."

"When I say withdraw, you withdraw. No questions asked. You answered that yourself."

"…Okay."

"I'm using that one right now."

"……."

"Withdraw. Kang Byeori."

My breath caught in my throat.

I'd known she might pull that. I'd known, and yet…

Still. Having the air knocked out of me was unavoidable.

"You said you'd keep that condition. No matter what."

"Yes. I did."

"Then—"

"But that condition."

I looked straight up at Jihyun.

"Was made for when I'm in danger. Not so I'd stand around watching other people die."

"Byeori. We're one of countless subcontractors. Honestly, bottom-tier even among those. We're not heroes, and we don't have any obligation to go that far—"

"So you're just going to leave them like that?"

For a moment, Jihyun's mouth shut. She gripped the temple of her glasses like she might snap it, then quietly let the tension go.

"Haa."

"Jihyun! Grab Byeori and—"

"…Senior."

Jihyun turned to look at Nayeon.

"Byeori's right. And the more time we burn standing here, the more danger the people inside are in."

"Th-that's true, but—"

"Byeori. There's still one problem, though."

Leaving Nayeon's protests behind her, Jihyun looked toward the rift with a tense expression.

"Say you step up as bait. And say your guess is right, and that rift's attention gets pulled to you. How do the people inside get out? The entry path already collapsed."

…I hadn't thought of that.

She was right.

My method was only half an answer. Without a door to escape through, I could draw aggro all day and those people would still be trapped inside.

I couldn't ask the Association people either. Everything inside the control line was being sucked into the rift right now—for an ordinary hunter, even approaching was a problem.

"…If you cut it, it'll open."

"Cut the entry path open? Fine… with what? A wooden practice sword?"

Jihyun adjusted her glasses. Not taking them off—adjusting them. That meant the calculations were still spinning at full speed inside her head.

"I'll become a sword. If you swing me, you'll be able to cut it."

"…What?"

"…What?" "Whaaat?!"

Both of them stared at me at the same time.

"Did you forget? Even looking like this, I'm an Ego Sword, you know? A national-power-tier ultra-rare weapon in my own right!"

I planted a palm against my chest and put on my most confident face.

"…I get that you're an Ego Sword, but an Ego Sword's power scales with its master's ability."

Jihyun fired right back.

"Senior is C-rank. And she's not even a sword class. Even if she uses you, could she punch through a debris pile?"

"I won't come out at full power, sure. But I can roughly make up for what the master lacks. That's what a legendary blade does."

I said it with a shrug of my shoulders.

…Honestly, of course, I had no idea how much force would actually come out.

A C-rank hunter using me was a first. Being used after becoming an Ego Sword was also a first.

Still.

Hmm….

They said an Ego Sword only showed its true strength when the master's ability backed it up.

Didn't that work in reverse too?

It was a vague hunch, but—maybe the master using me could also tap into a portion of my power.

If she could borrow even a fraction of those S-ranks' sword strikes… then no matter that Nayeon was a C-rank hunter, clearing a blocked path should be doable.

Jihyun closed her mouth. That meant she had nothing left to argue with.

And then—

"…Alright. Let's give it a shot."

Nayeon had already climbed out of the car. With a set face, she planted a hand on my shoulder.

"…Master?"

"Unnie's going to show you exactly who our Byeori's master is…!"

"Senior! You're not even a sword class!"

"Doesn't matter! Byeori will take care of it just fine! She's the only Ego Sword in the entire country!"

She said it with total confidence. But the fingertips resting on my shoulder were trembling, just barely.

Of course she was scared. This was the same Nayeon who'd frozen solid in front of a B-rank monster not that long ago.

KRRRRRMMMM—!!

The mountain shook even more violently than before.

"W-what if someone finds out she's an Ego Sword—"

"We save people first and think later."

There was no time. Jihyun finally let out a sigh, then shouted toward the observation tent.

"Morning Star Guild! Guildmaster Nayeon, C-rank! Entering for rescue support! Please log it—timestamped to now!"

Behind the car.

I stood facing Nayeon.

"Byeori."

"Yes."

"If you're scared, even now—"

"Master."

I held out my hand.

"Just remember one thing. Next to me is the safest place on this entire mountain."

"……"

"So grip my hilt tight, and don't you dare let go. Got it?"

After delivering that earnest request, I took one deep breath.

How did it feel, becoming a sword again in front of the place I'd been broken a year ago?

Honestly, a little weird. Like a person going back to the site of a car accident.

But so what.

Back then I'd been swung around with no say in it.

Today…

Fwaat—

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

My field of view dropped. The whole world turned silver, and every sense went cold and sharp.

Nayeon carefully received me in both hands.

"…You were even bigger than I thought."

Of course.

Do you know how big and magnificent a sword I am?! Especially my hilt is… ahem!

Wooong—

I sent a single vibration by way of reply.

"Eek? D-did something just vibrate…?!"

So I could convey at least this much intent. Good to know.

Well, anyway.

"Let's go, Byeori."

Nayeon stuffed my stripped-off clothes into her jacket, then clumsily scooped me up and started running.

Past one control line, then two.

"Hey—hey! You can't go in right n—"

"Rescue support! We have clearance!"

Shake, rattle, bounce.

That lurching field of view I'd known in my prime.

Familiar—and yet strangely new, and somehow pleasant. Maybe because of these warm hands gently cradling the hilt the whole time she sprinted at full speed, careful not to hurt me.

The distance closed. At last it must have read my energy, because the rift that had been tilting the other way swung toward us.

Whoooosh—the wind reversed. The dirt and dust that had been sucking inward paused for a beat.

Urgent voices skimmed past my ears…

No—past my blade edge.

And so we arrived in front of the collapsed entry path.

Debris had the passage completely sealed shut.

No wonder they couldn't get out. Rift-corroded wreckage—most hunters wouldn't even be able to touch the stuff.

"Hiyah!"

Nayeon hoisted me up.

A baseball-bat grip. Shoulders locked with tension. And her eyes…

"Urgh…!"

Oh, for crying out loud.

She was so terrified her eyes had gone to slits. One of them was squeezed completely shut.

"AAAAAAAHHH!!"

Full swing.

The trajectory was crooked. Extremely, extremely crooked.

So I helped—just a little. For my precious master's sake.

Woooong—

The edge caught the wind. Sword aura from a high-ranking hunter I knew well wrapped around us.

And then—

KRAAAANG!

Less a clean, disciplined sword strike than a wild, flailing swing. Because of that, the debris pile didn't so much get neatly sliced as get blasted away into the distance like it had been hit by a typhoon.

Well. This way was actually better, honestly.

"……Huh?"

Nayeon opened her eyes.

"J-just now… whoa. D-did I do that…?!"

A dazed voice. She looked back and forth between her own hands and me, blinking like she couldn't believe it.

"So this is an Ego Swor—"

And just as she tried to put more strength into the hand gripping the hilt—

"Ugh…?"

Nayeon's arms started trembling hard. She staggered, braced herself against the wall, and a single red drop of blood rolled down from under her nose.

Output too much for a C-rank body, maybe. I'd regulated it as much as I could, but it still must have been too much.

Wooong…

Woooong…

"Nngh… i-it doesn't hurt at all…! I'm fine!"

Saying that with arms shaking like leaves….

Woooong…!

"…Ugh, fine! It hurts! This is ridiculously hard!"

Even as she said it, Nayeon gritted her teeth and adjusted her grip on me.

"But I'm not letting go! What kind of master drops her own sword!"

…I liked that attitude.

If you're going to be my master, you need at least that much guts! Mm!

The path opened, and people came pouring out from inside.

Supporting each other, dragging each other… limping.

"W-we made it…!"

"Last personnel! Confirming last personnel!"

"Get out, hurry…! Check for stragglers!"

Shouted chaos from the control side. In the middle of the frenzy, Nayeon heaved me up with a grunt and ducked behind the debris.

Fwaat—

The moment I returned to my original body, Nayeon pulled out the clothes and shoes she'd stashed and started dressing me.

"By-Byeori! Are you okay?"

"…Yes. What about your arms, Master?"

"Hmph! My arms are perfectly fine, thank you!"

Fine, my foot. They were already swelling up.

Nayeon couldn't lift her arms. She just sank down right there on the spot.

"…It worked out well, huh."

"Yeah—"

That was when it happened.

"Huh?"

The white line across my chest went past hot and turned ice-cold.

"…Oh."

Wait.

My body wouldn't move?

I tried to step back, and I couldn't go back.

Some force I couldn't identify was pulling me.

My clothes tugged forward. Every strand of my hair streamed toward the front.

And in that instant, from deep inside the distant rift—

Woooong—

Something called to me with the same energy as my own blade.

"……!"

It wasn't a sound. It wasn't words either.

Just something identical to what had flowed inside me for three years…

"…You."

I barely managed to keep my feet from leaving the ground.

"What are you."

From inside the rift, the silver light brightened by one more layer.

Almost as if it were glad to see me.

At the same moment.

From inside the collapsed entry path, three last shadows walked out.

The deep-zone advance team.

Three people who, from the instant the radio cut out, had been running nonstop back from the far side of the collapse point.

"—The exit! We're outside!"

"Control! Control, please respond!"

Noisy commotion.

The black-haired woman in the lead froze mid-motion, helmet half-removed.

Because of what she saw in front of her.

A place set apart ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the entry team.

A subcontractor guildmaster sitting slumped on the ground. And beside her, a small girl standing face-to-face with the rift.

That color.

That light.

That thing she used to polish every single day, long ago—

"……."

Her hand moved to her sword hilt before she realized it.

Once.

And then, adjusting her grip a second time.