Chapter 60
Chapter 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Rakea's Grudge and Secrets
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fwoosh.
-Kyaaaak!!
A scream from the wraith unlike any I'd heard before echoed through the cemetery.
The flames I'd shot earlier had reached it, even if only a small amount, and spread across its entire body in an instant.
The fire I'd used was the purest, most primal essence of fire itself.
Naturally, for a wraith born from grudges, it was nothing short of poison.
-Kyaaaa!
-Huh, El? Can it even answer with its body on fire?
"As expected of El! That ruthless look is totally cool!"
Ahem.
-Huh. Why are you looking for humans?
Yeah, I can't reveal why I'm searching for humans.
Not even to Silpi and Cheong—this is a secret.
How could I say I'm originally human and just want to see people living their lives?
'I planned to resolve the wraith's grudge and move on smoothly.'
But that opponent nags at me a little.
From the atmosphere, to gain the wraith's cooperation, I'd have to smash Rakea or help it vent its rage.
But sacrificing Rakea like this feels off.
'Just the same name, but it strangely gets under my skin.'
Outwardly, it shares no resemblance with the Holy Sword Rakea... yet my gamer instincts scream not to overlook it.
-Whoa, total villain! Feels more villainous than my old contractor!
This thing. Is that what you say to the Imoogi helping you...?
-Kiiii.
I snuffed out the flames consuming the wraith. Smoke billowed from its body as it fully turned its attention toward me.
It glared silently, clearly hating my actions.
Tss tss tss.
-I... want... revenge... death... destruction...
-Yes... Demon Sword... death... sacrifice...
So, piecing together the words, the grudges that formed this wraith were people sacrificed to Rakea?
-Huh? I don't know. I lived days drenched in blood over and over—how should I keep track?
Of course. Otherwise, it couldn't have amassed such thick death aura.
It's so vicious that I want to sever the tail I'm gripping right now.
Like touching some forbidden substance that's draining me physically and mentally.
-Right now? So later it's fine, what?
Of course.
If it's truly unrelated to the Demon Sword Rakea or Holy Sword Rakea, there's no reason to leave such a dangerous blade lying around.
'But no need to tell it that.'
Dealing with the wraith is exhausting enough; adding Rakea to the mix would be too much.
-...River... north... beyond the waterfall...
-Revenge...
-Hey?! Who does this snakehead think it's erasing?!
Did it sense my sincerity?
The wraith seemed oddly relieved as it slowly descended, coiling onto the ground.
Like a person slipping into a coffin for eternal rest.
-...Please...
-Keep it! Don't! Even if my body's half-assed trash, I don't wanna die!
Ignoring Rakea's noisy protests, I unleashed far hotter flames onto the motionless wraith.
To burn it away completely, without a chance to feel pain.
Fwoosh.
-W-What fire is this hot?!
-W-Wait a sec! Even so, I don't wanna die yet?!
"Hey, it's suddenly speaking politely to El?"
-Probably scared stiff at the thought of dying.
I confirmed the wraith had completely vanished in my flames.
Around Jijiyong's feet on the ground lay a few items dropped by the wraiths. I lifted them with wind.
'Traces of the Dead and Tattered Cloth Pieces.'
Traces of the Dead resembled shards of a broken mirror, while the Tattered Cloth Pieces were exactly that—ragged scraps of cloth.
'Items I have zero use for.'
As I inspected the typical junk loot and summoned flames to burn them...
-Wait!
Rakea suddenly blocked my action.
-That broken mirror shard thing. Could you give it to me?
-Y-Yeah! You were gonna burn it with that cloth just now, right? Looks useless, so gimme!
Rakea boldly demanded the Traces of the Dead from me.
Junk to me, but if someone needs it, that's a different story.
-But you were gonna toss it?
Useless to me or not, if it holds value to someone else, I can't just hand it over.
Merchant-like thinking, sure—but since I have demands of Rakea, I can't waste this opportunity.
-So, what do you want?
-Repair my body, duh.
What? The Traces of the Dead I know have no weapon repair effect.
No—beyond the description of a dead soul's lingering memory taking form, they do nothing.
That's why they're junk.
'But Rakea plans to repair its body with it?'
How?
-Your face says you're dying to know how I fix myself.
-You said that wraith had a grudge against me, right?
Nod.
Yeah, so the wraiths circled Rakea, radiating hostility.
-Then it means those who perished fearing me in life. I can feed on their terror emotions to heal my body.
-'Cause I'm a demonic sword?
Right—so it'll consume Rakea's terror imprinted in the Traces of the Dead to recover.
"I'm against it!"
-Me too. No need to proactively revive a dangerous weapon.
The trio, having overheard our entire exchange, unanimously rejected Rakea's request.
The reason? The inherent nature of a demonic sword.
With death aura this creepy and thick already, who knows what might happen if it recovers.
"I say destroy that sword right now."
-Me too.
Now they were outright calling for Rakea's destruction.
I relayed their responses verbatim to Rakea.
-W-What?! Why destroy me?! What did I do wrong?!
-What's that got to do with you guys?! You'll kill humans too if you meet them!
Rakea raised its voice in a desperate bid for survival.
The only one flinching was the wolf spirit beast.
"Why are you flinching?"
-You don't...
-If you haven't, just say so—why overreact? Makes you look suspicious.
At Silpi's words, the wolf spirit beast quietly bowed its head and rolled its eyes.
Something it's hiding?
-Y-Yeah! Ask me anything!
-Raine? Isn't that the goddess's name?
Yes, Raine is the name of the goddess.
But that's not all I'm after.
-No... I'm a demonic sword? Common sense says I shouldn't have ties to a goddess, right?
But the Holy Sword Rakea contains a fragment of Goddess Raine herself.
With its ego weapon trait on top, it's the most unique among holy swords.
'So it's really unrelated to Raine?'
Doesn't feel like a lie.
Seeing it genuinely baffled at any link between itself and the goddess only deepens my thoughts.
'How can I uncover Rakea's connection?'
Even without a connection, how to find solid proof to refute my suspicions.
'When in doubt... ask the pros.'
Hero Gallery warriors, lend me your wisdom once more!