Practice Duel (5)
Shub has the same dream every night.
In it, her ancestors who were once Demon Kings scream in agony, crying out for revenge. She sees the day the demon world collapses helplessly beneath the onslaught of demonic beasts. And then the dead—those who were still alive back then—approach her with rotting, corrupted bodies, whispering in her ear.
She wakes up drenched in sweat dozens of times. Sitting up in bed, Shub lets out a long sigh and turns her gaze to the sword lying beside her.
The demonic sword, Dainsleif.
It was the blade she had taken on through her contract with Alex. It was supposed to be nothing more than a sword that manipulated its host’s mind and thirsted for blood. It should have stayed that way.
“Why… what made you like this…”
A sweet scent of mana tickled the tip of her nose. And she had a vague idea where that mana was coming from.
“Why did this sword end up in human hands?”
Her eyes, hollow from sleepless nights, looked at the demonic sword with clear worry. She had taken on Alex’s blade out of some inexplicable sense of duty. Was it guilt that had come too late, after so many of her kind had lost their homeland? Or was it a thirst for knowledge buried beneath her desire for revenge?
She wanted to know everything about the Otherworld.
Shub rose from the bed and carefully picked up the sword. The corrupted mana surged as if it had been waiting for her.
Explore. Explore the Otherworld. Analyze me thoroughly. Study me. Uncover the secrets of the Otherworld.
The sword whispered to her like that. To Alex, who didn’t understand the language of the Otherworld, it would have sounded like nothing more than a low hum. But to Shub, who had mastered forbidden knowledge, the words were crystal clear.
Let us tear everything apart and drink their blood. When everything has been torn, let us tear what cannot be torn. Let us drink the blood of the gods. Let us tear the gods apart and drink their blood. You are of the king’s bloodline. You are the king of the demon race. Take me. Take me and open the door. I will grant you the privilege to tear the world itself apart.
“I won’t do anything that insane. I won’t be controlled by you.”
I do not control. I do not possess. I simply desire.
The demonic sword trembled with what seemed like delight. Shub immediately threw it to the floor, but the sword’s voice continued to echo in her ears.
I only want what you want. And I do not control. I merely command.
A pure white light leaked from the blood-red blade, mixing with the corrupted mana and giving off an indescribably foul aura. Holy power. The sacred energy blended with the tainted mana created a stench that words could not describe.
Shub le Ruelle. Child starving for the hunger of knowledge. Take me. Take hold of me.
Shub drew magic circles all around the sword. Silence spells. Space fixation spells. The foundational arts of sealing magic. Yet Dainsleif did not stop whispering.
Take all knowledge into your hands.
The demonic sword laughed softly where she could not hear.
You should never have grown curious about me in the first place.
“You haven’t been sleeping lately, have you?”
“Y-yes…”
Shub’s dark circles had sunk all the way down to her cheekbones. Whatever was worrying her so much, she couldn’t sleep at all. She sat beside me, yawning constantly as she practically poured coffee down her throat.
“Alex’s demonic sword… it’s louder than I expected.”
“It can talk?”
This was serious.
When I had gone down the Massacre route in the game, the sword had spoken to Alex after he cut down everyone around him. It had asked if he didn’t want to cut even greater things and drink more blood. Alex, enchanted by the blade, had agreed and become a demonic swordsman who ravaged the world.
That was still quite far in the future from now. For the sword to already be developing an ego and speaking to Shub… if things went wrong, it could have a terrible influence on her.
“Shub. Give the sword to me. I don’t understand the language of the Otherworld anyway…”
“I-it’s fine. I’ve sealed it for now.”
“Sealed it?”
A first-year could use such advanced sealing techniques? When I looked at her in surprise, her face turned red and she averted her eyes, scratching her cheek.
“W-well… I did live as a demon for quite a long time… b-but in human years, I’m… only seventeen…”
“I-I see.”
“P-please don’t say things like… I belong in a chicken coop… or that I’m spoiled… o-okay…?”
“?”
What the hell is she talking about?
“Hey. Is my sword doing okay?”
A bright, cheerful voice came from behind us. Alex was waving his hand with a huge grin on his face. For a split second, murderous intent flashed in Shub’s eyes as she glared at him, but she quickly returned to her usual timid self and nodded.
Alex was holding a wooden practice sword. It looked like he had brought it for training.
“Alex. That sword is too dangerous. It would be better to officially request the Holy Kingdom to dispose of it…”
“I’ll take care of my sword myself~ What the fuck. That’s the first thing you say when you see my face?”
“Huuueee…”
This son of a bitch who starts off with such clean cursing. I already knew he had no intention of listening to us, so I didn’t react much. The others, however, didn’t know that.
Eve, who had been watching us from a distance, strode over again with heavy steps.
“Don’t speak to Shub like that. She was only saying it because she’s worried about you.”
“Ah~ I see. I really should listen more carefully to the words of the top magic student.”
Alex sneered heavily, then jerked his chin at me. Guess that was enough for greetings. I smirked and called my spirits.
“Why don’t you come at me with dual swords so we can get more practice in?”
“Sorry, but dual swords just look too fucking stupid. No offense to Panzy.”
Alex grinned as well, gripping his wooden sword tightly before charging straight at me. Shub and Eve quickly stepped aside. As if he had been waiting for that, Alex swung his sword.
I created an exoskeleton to support my body and lightly dodged his strike. The moment his left foot touched the ground, he spun and tried to slip into my blind spot for a follow-up. Undine didn’t miss the opening and created a water shield to block the path of his wooden blade.
One exchange. Two. Three.
Alex showed no signs of fatigue as he continued to press me without pause. His footwork was so natural it looked like he was dancing as he attacked.
“You’re not flipping the ground today?”
“I was curious what it would be like when you’re at full strength.”
I snapped my fingers and gave an order to Gnome. As if she had been waiting, she raised the earth from behind Alex, sealing off his movement. With his back blocked, he had no choice but to jump to the side or forward. I didn’t miss the chance and positioned Silph and Kasa on both flanks, forcing him to face me directly.
He wasn’t an idiot, so he seemed to be figuring out my plan and thinking of a way to break it.
“Using magic without any preparation process is seriously no joke.”
“I think so too.”
Hearing my shameless reply, Alex smiled with satisfaction and charged forward again. A frontal breakthrough, huh?
I created sharp stone spikes in front of me and launched them at him. I had set them so they would only deal impact damage and shatter on contact, so there was no worry of him being impaled.
“When I watch you attack, it looks like you’re putting everything into a single strike.”
“Hm?”
“So I thought about it carefully. If I want to beat this bastard, how the hell do I get through that shitty move? The answer was surprisingly simple.”
Alex raised both arms to cover his face and charged straight in. Whether the stone spikes wounded him or not, he didn’t care. He kept rushing forward like an enraged bull.
I quickly ordered Undine to block his path. Covering his face with water to cut off his breath, blurring his vision, or slowing his entire body—all of that was possible.
Just as I thought, Undine moved perfectly.
She wrapped a membrane of water around his face and raised a compressed water shield to stop his advance.
But even as his breath was being cut off, Alex kept his eyes wide open and charged straight toward me.
Even when the water shield blocked him, he grit his teeth and squeezed every ounce of strength from his body to take even one more step closer.
High-Pressure Water Cannon
“Trying to put everything into one strike means you can’t last long, right?”
“...Bullshit.”
Without hesitation, I ordered Undine to fire a high-pressure water cannon. Alex’s wooden sword thrust forward fiercely, reaching right in front of my face, but Undine’s water blast sent him flying far away.
He tumbled roughly across the ground several times before finally slamming into a tree and stopping.
Worried that he might have fainted, I hurriedly ran over to him.
I hadn’t meant to hit him that hard.
To be honest, the bastard had struck right at my weak point. There was nothing good about revealing my weakness.
“Hey, stop pretending to be unconscious. I can see you moving.”
“Ahem…”
Alex flinched and lifted his head. I had just thrown it out there, but seeing how his own legs had gone weak, it looked like this guy would never make it as a con artist. Well, that’s why he just honestly tries to kill everyone he meets.
“Haa~ I was so close to reaching you. What a shame~”
“If that had been a real sword, wouldn’t I have been the one who lost?”
“If we’re going by that logic, I should’ve died a long time ago, you bastard.”
Alex stood up as he spoke and patted my shoulder a couple of times. This guy picks a fight every chance he gets. I really want to make it so he can’t even look at me, but unfortunately he’s not quite that much of a free spirit.
“Now that I think about it, have you visited Panzy Vlad? How is she doing?”
“She told me not to come. So I ended up having a big fight with that professor—Pione or Piola or whatever her name is.”
“Kkuk… See? You really are so alike.”
“What? Alike with what?”
Alike with what, you son of a bitch.
Seeming to notice that my expression was turning fierce, Alex held back his laughter with great effort and changed the subject.
“Anyway, can she still fight? She’s not going to pull out saying she’s too injured, right?”
“She’s not that kind of person. She’s a knight to the bone. Honestly, I’m the one who’s worried whether I can even win.”
Alex frowned as if something about my words didn’t sit right with him, then let out a deep sigh and brushed off his clothes.
“Sigh, fuck. Never mind. Hey, demon girl. You’re taking good care of my sword, right?”
“O-of course… It hasn’t been damaged at all…”
“Hmm… Your eyes look sunken in. It seems like you can’t sleep. Don’t you think it’s about time you gave it back?”
“Th-the contract is a contract, Alex. The sword will be returned after the duel is over…”
Listening to Shub, Alex’s face suddenly lit up with a bright smile, as if something had made him incredibly happy.
“That’s right. The academy is very strict about contracts. You’re not feeling dizzy or anything, are you?”
Alex was being strangely kind to Shub. I continued to stare at him with suspicious eyes. Eve seemed to feel the same, watching him with narrowed eyes to make sure he wasn’t up to anything.
“Stop glaring at me like that. She’s a demon too, so you never know.”
Shub’s shoulders twitched.
“She might be listening to the demonic sword’s words and falling under its influence.”