Preparing the Weapon
Diana’s consciousness was incredibly intense, but that didn’t make it the kind of thing you did in the middle of the street.
“H-hey, you people! What… what the hell are you doing?!”
At her piercing shriek, I looked around and realized we had become the center of attention. We were the main attraction of the entire avenue.
“Guess we got a little too heated.”
“There’s blood everywhere, after all.”
“Get out! Get the hell out of the academy!!!”
A girl with twin tails who looked like a member of the disciplinary committee screamed at us. What choice did we have? We had to obey.
And that’s how I became a muscle-bound man expelled from the academy.
Even though I had been kicked out of the academy, we were officially Pilgrims.
Of course, to me—who hadn’t even properly understood the term Pilgrimage until yesterday—the title didn’t mean much. But to those who knew its true weight, it was an entirely different story.
“The Spiral of Good Deeds? Oh my goodness, you’re actual pilgrims! Please, come right in. What kind of support do you need?”
“This is… I’ve heard the stories. This way, please.”
“Tsk… you look so young. Do you really have to do this? Ugh, tsk tsk. Just come inside for now. I’ll give you whatever you need.”
The moment Diana showed them a single small horn, every shop around the academy began to stir with excitement.
“I’d like to use the forge first. Would that be alright?”
“Actually, the owner’s been dying to repay a favor. Since you’re pilgrims on top of that, there’s no way he’d refuse.”
The most surprising of all was the incarnation forge. It was a place that produced high-tier equipment, so I knew we’d need to get in quickly, but the waiting list was so long that even with every shortcut, it was normally only accessible in the latter half of the academy arc.
On top of that, the blacksmith capable of crafting end-game gear was an affinity character. You normally had to complete at least three of his events before you could even request a commission…
“So this is the person?”
“Yes, that’s right. You still have the blueprints I gave you earlier, correct?”
“…I thought you were requesting something weird and figured you wanted a toy, but at this level… yeah, it’s doable.”
The man was currently taking my measurements.
“What’s your strength stat like?”
“Over two hundred and still climbing?”
“Tsk, then compression will probably start happening soon. Stretch your arm out a bit more.”
Sword Tomb Orta. That was the name of the black-haired man standing in front of me, dressed in shabby blacksmith attire and measuring my body with a tape.
“At this size, you could swing a greatsword or even a colossal weapon. Tch. Benefactor, can I borrow this guy for a bit?”
“Of course not. Just quietly prepare what we need, please.”
“Ugh… I really wanted to see my new chunk of iron getting swung around. What a shame.”
Orta and Diana were chatting quite familiarly. It must have been a connection they’d built during the eight years I couldn’t see her.
If I saw the woman I loved acting close with someone I didn’t know, I probably should have felt jealous. But surprisingly, my heart remained perfectly calm.
Well, obviously. The guy doesn’t have a dick.
“So what exactly did you prepare?”
“A custom weapon?”
Custom weapon. Now that was a phrase that really struck a chord in a man’s heart.
The only problem was that my current condition was far from normal.
“…Is there even a weapon I can use?”
It was safe to say that almost none of the common weapons in this world would work for me. The reason those weapons were popular in the first place was because of their high mana affinity.
Swords, in particular, would cause mana to move on its own with just a simple swing. In other words, every time I swung a weapon, it was basically like rolling dice with my life on the line.
“Hehe, you can look forward to it.”
“Ugh…”
Still, when a regressor spoke with that much confidence, it meant she definitely had a solution. With no other choice, I changed the subject.
“When did you get so close with… Orta, I mean?”
“It’s been about five years. This is one of the privileges of being a regressor—spotting talented people early and securing them first.”
“That makes sense.”
In truth, if I hadn’t been born with mana incompatibility, I’d planned to mark a few affinity characters myself. Unlike me, she had no restrictions, so it seemed she had already made investments in several places.
“I’ve already invested in both Hans the Money-Eater and Max who eats with him.”
“…Did I tell you that nickname?”
“You did. It’s so accurate that I use it all the time too.”
My chest ached at the way Diana casually used community-style nicknames, unlike Orta. At the same time, I understood.
Because once you’ve seen the Hans and Max monk duo, there’s no other name that fits…
It was a nickname that hit their character traits so perfectly that anyone who had seen the monk duo even once couldn’t imagine them being called anything else. It was higher tier than Saintess, Sword Saint, or Fist Saint, and the affinity quests could be cleared with nothing but money. There was no more appropriate nickname.
The only minor side effect was that if you were too late with the money, they would switch to the enemy side. But since Diana had already invested, it should be fine.
“What about the others?”
“Hmm… As you know, I enjoyed a rather free life in high society, so there aren’t that many.”
“I see.”
She had been the mad dog of high society. Since most unique ability holders were nobles, earning a bad reputation in those circles made it difficult to form connections.
“Then, while the weapon is being prepared, I’ll explain the Pilgrimage to you.”
Clap, clap, clap.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
When I gave her a light round of applause, Diana bowed elegantly and began her explanation.
“The Pilgrimage is simple. We travel to the Evil God’s sealing grounds and deal with the fragments of the Evil God sealed there.”
“Just from that, it doesn’t sound all that different from a regular dungeon.”
“In practice, it’s similar. The difference is that the Evil God’s fragments are, as the name suggests, incredibly difficult to defeat.”
I had heard this during the headmaster’s brief explanation.
“You said they possess people, right?”
“Yes. When you defeat an Evil God fragment, the corrupted mana inside it latches onto you and turns you into a follower.”
“Then… this might sound bad, but couldn’t we just sacrifice one person to deal with it and be done?”
It was something I had been curious about ever since I first heard the explanation. Setting aside the fact that I had no intention of doing so, it was an extremely effective method. Wasn’t it something the people running the massive system known as the empire could at least attempt?
“Yes. In theory, it is an impossible method.”
“Why is that?”
“Because a person possessed by the Evil God becomes extraordinarily powerful.”
I roughly understood the feeling.
“You said it always latches onto the most talented person available, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Even if it’s just a fragment, it’s still part of the Evil God, so defeating it won’t be easy. Naturally, you’d only bring along the absolute best. And if the most talented among them gets possessed, they’d be someone who could rank among the empire’s top five.”
“If we’re talking purely about potential, yes, those are the kind of people it would choose. Now, what happens when someone like that becomes possessed?”
It was simple logic. If a person that strong grew even stronger, there would be no way to stop them.
“You said the Evil God’s possession acts like a kind of elixir. So an already powerful person becomes even stronger and turns hostile. There would be massive casualties before they could be defeated.”
As I spoke, another thought suddenly occurred to me. If it was only to that extent, wouldn’t it still be worth sacrificing a hero? There would be many sacrifices, but compared to completely eliminating the Evil God, it would be a cheap price.
“…There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
“Unfortunately, the possession continues in a chain. After the hero dies, the next talented person becomes possessed, then the next, creating a cascading effect.”
In the end, at least one possessed body would always remain. And if that was the case, the only possible conclusion was sealing. It made sense that they wouldn’t even consider trying to defeat it directly.
“I understand that defeating it is practically impossible. So how did people in the past handle it?”
“That is why the survival rate is zero percent. Although they are called fragments, they are actually parts of the Evil God’s body.”
“Ah, that.”
Suddenly, an image came to mind—the colossal god chained and sealed, split into five pieces.
“Yes. They are the Evil God’s limbs, torso, and head.”
“…I can imagine how strong it would be if all of them were released.”
It would probably hit with infinite power.
“Even while sealed, the Evil God’s fragments continue to accumulate power. The moment they cross a critical threshold, they break free from the seal. That’s why the people who created the seals came up with a solution.”
“What kind of solution?”
“They perform a replacement. They offer their own bodies and take the Evil God’s body in return. It resets the accumulated power.”
It was similar to giving a toad an old house and receiving a new one in exchange. The problem was that it wasn’t a house—it was your own arm being traded.
“What happens to the body that was given?”
“It begins transforming back into the Evil God’s limb. The process can take anywhere from ten to a hundred years.”
“And the body that was received?”
“Since it is the Evil God’s body, it naturally begins to erode the host. However, it does not cause possession.”
I understood the structure. It was a measure to draw the Evil God’s body into one’s own as much as possible, then die to prevent it from accumulating power inside the seal.
“It really is a living sacrifice.”
“Yes, exactly as you said.”
“And you’re saying I don’t have to do that?”
“That’s also correct.”
But that plan had one massive problem.
“If I can’t win by myself, then my constitution doesn’t mean anything, does it?”
“That’s why we need to solve that part.”
Diana said this as she pointed toward the forge.
“Alright, counting to 1,200 and we’re going in!”
“Hammer those iron plates more!”
“Where’s the black steel?! Bring it quickly!”
It was obviously a busy scene, but something else stood out even more.
“…Isn’t that a bit too big?”
Twelve blacksmiths were working on a single weapon for me. Yet looking at the size of the metal sticking out from the anvil and the finished products piled up in the corner, even twelve seemed insufficient.
“Why do you think I made you do strength training?”
Diana smiled brightly.
“Sufficient strength lets you overcome any obstacle.”