Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 35
>Chapter Title: A Worthless Demon Sword
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The sword, which had been slurping up blood with a wet sucking sound, paused for a moment.
[W-What?]
“Ugh! Don’t stop, hurry up and suck the blood! My clothes are getting soaked!”
When the sword stopped absorbing, blood began to leak from the wound. The torn clothes could be mended and made usable, but bloodstained clothes were quite a hassle to wash.
At my scolding, the sword trembled slightly in surprise, then hurriedly began to suck up the blood again. The blood that had been leaking out instantly stopped.
“W-What was that?”
“Is it some kind of black magic we don’t know about?”
“He truly was a great man…”
“E-Everyone, cover your ears! We could die if we listen in!”
The slaves hastily covered their ears, huddling in a corner and trembling. Contrary to their terrified gestures, hope flickered in their eyes.
To them, possessing a power they couldn’t comprehend meant a higher chance of surviving this match.
[You… why aren’t you dead? You should have been a mummy by now! What in the world are you!]
The sword spoke, its voice filled with confusion.
“How are you going to pay for this?”
[W-What?]
“Ha, are you planning to dine and dash? You pierced someone else’s clothes and sucked their blood, and now you’re going to run?”
[Th-That’s…]
I had lived as a housewife in the Gag World.
It was a necessity to survive with a mother who would blow up the kitchen and laundry room like a full-time scientist whenever she did housework.
In the Gag World, “housewife” is a terrifying profession, one that might as well be called “warrior.”
They can swing three children from each arm like a swing set and can easily carry ten sacks of rice if there’s a sale.
They display even more terrifying power at limited-time daily sales or seasonal discount stores.
And that’s not all. In markets where prices aren’t fixed, they engage in incredible psychological warfare and negotiations.
My housewife’s intuition was telling me. This guy was a pushover.
“We live in an age where you get a gift card for donating blood. You’re not thinking of running off just because you’re a sword, are you? Nah, no way.”
[Do-donating blood? A gift… what? The, the times have changed that much?]
***
The demon sword Gargandoa. A powerful demon sword that, hundreds of years ago, had killed countless lives, enough to make rivers of blood.
Gargandoa was a demon sword that grew stronger the more blood it absorbed, so it was called both the strongest and the most wicked of demon swords.
The cruel thing about Gargandoa was that it turned even those who cherished life into slaughterers the moment they held it. It would shatter the user’s mind, turning them into a being that only massacred the living.
Since Gargandoa did not distinguish between friend and foe in its thirst for blood, it was treated as a dangerous weapon even in the demon realm.
On the day the blood flowed like a river and countless lives were lost, the Dragon Lord sealed the demon sword Gargandoa and cast it into the abyss.
The reason such a fearsome demon sword was stuck among a pile of trashy swords was all thanks to the Demon King.
As the Demon King invaded the middle realm, the dimensions trembled, and the demon sword, which had been cast into the abyss, was drawn like a magnet to the immense demonic energy and summoned to the Demon King’s land.
Unable to absorb blood for a long time, the demon sword had become very worn. That was why it ended up being thrown in with the trash swords.
[‘Why…! Why isn’t he dying!’]
The demon sword couldn’t hide its bewilderment as it sucked Rian’s blood dry.
The fact that he wasn’t going mad after being stabbed but instead wore an annoyed expression, and that he seemed perfectly fine after it had absorbed enough blood for ten grown men, was utterly astounding.
“Even if you didn’t know, this is just wrong. It’s not like blood grows on trees.”
What flustered the demon sword even more was his demanding tone, asking for compensation. For the sword, which had always been an object of fear or reverence, Rian’s attitude was confusion itself.
To the demon sword, which had always won by mentally breaking its opponents before they could even do anything, Rian’s firm attitude instilled a fear it had never felt before.
[Th-Then I shall lend you my power! With my power, you can become the strongest on earth. I will give you the power to obtain anything you desire!]
As it spoke, the demon sword regained its confidence. That’s right. It was the strongest, most wicked demon sword that anyone would covet!
“Is that it?”
But the response was a look that said, “Is that all?” The demon sword felt a cold sweat break out, despite not having any sweat glands.
“Hmph, if you could get off with just lending a bit of power, no one in this world would have any troubles.”
Rian clicked his tongue as if talking to a child who knew nothing of the world, then shook his head and spoke.
“Forget it. Never mind. It would be more valuable to just melt down the blade and sell it.”
[What?! You, do you know what kind of sword I am! I am the strongest—]
“The hilt looks pretty useful, too. It’ll probably sell for a high price, right?”
The demon sword felt like it was dripping with cold sweat. No matter how much it had been the strongest sword, that was hundreds of years in the past.
Now, its power was greatly weakened from the long sealing. If it were melted in a furnace now, it would surely melt away.
[‘Anything but that…!’]
The demon sword, with zero social experience and centuries of only talking to itself, spoke in a desperate voice.
[That is too hasty a decision! Y-You should at least try using me once!]
At those words, Rian’s eyes glinted.
“Eh, it’s obviously a worthless sword that was sitting among a bunch of old-looking ones. Why would I need to check?”
[W-Worthless?! I am absolutely not a worthless sword! I am a great demon sword that even a dragon could barely seal!]
“Oh? Even a dragon?”
[Yes! And not just any ordinary dragon! I am a demon sword that even the Dragon Lord himself barely managed to seal!]
After being lashed with only a whip, it was now excitedly thrashing about after being given a small carrot.
“But there’s no proof…”
[Hmph! Use me at once! Then you too will know my greatness!]
“Checking it is fine, but… can I really learn anything just by swinging it once?”
[Then you may swing me until you are satisfied! You will surely be in awe of my greatness!]
Rian thought.
‘He fell for it.’
The reason Rian had beaten around the bush to get the demon sword to say, “You can use me as much as you want,” was because of the demon sword’s contract.
Even a demon sword that had been sealed for a long time possessed enough immense power to control Rian’s body and make him stab himself in the stomach. As such, it couldn’t be used easily at will.
To use a demon sword according to the master’s will, one either had to possess a power strong enough to overwhelm the sword’s, or, like now, secure a promise.
Typically, when making a promise with a demon sword, it would demand a price, like in a devil’s contract, or set a limited number of uses.
Gargandoa, too, had intended to help Rian only once, but thanks to Rian’s carrot-and-stick approach, it ended up making the terrifying promise, “You can use me until you are satisfied.”
Simply put, it was no different from someone with zero social experience signing a contract with a predatory company.
“Well then…”
[Kuhahaha! Yes! Go on and swing me! Know my greatness, be astonished, and praise me!]
Unaware that its future had just been mortgaged, the demon sword simply laughed heartily with joy.
*Clang, clatter!*
“Come out! It’s your turn!”
As if on cue, the closed cage bars rose. Rian grasped the hilt of the demon sword embedded in his stomach and said.
“Can’t you stop the bleeding?”
[That much is simple.]
Thanks to absorbing the blood of at least a hundred humans, the demon sword could use simple magic. Just as it said, not a single drop of blood flowed out even after the sword was pulled out.
A transparent film-like substance over the gash in his stomach blocked the flowing blood.
[This only stops the blood from flowing out; it has no other effect. It means the wound will not heal.]
The demon sword, worried that Rian might die before even getting to swing it, mentioned this casually.
“Hm? Oh—, it’s fine, it’s fine. As long as my clothes don’t get bloody, that’s all that matters.”
His tone was so nonchalant it would have dumbfounded even a demon sword that had slain countless lives.
“Hey, do you want me to drag you out by force?”
While he was whispering with the demon sword, quite some time must have passed, as a rough-looking man approached with a frown. It seemed he intended to throw Rian into the arena as before.
“Ah, I was just choosing a weapon…”
As Rian smiled sheepishly and strode toward the entrance, the man clicked his tongue and stepped back. The slaves, who had been covering their ears, followed behind Rian, trembling.
“Woooooaaaaah—!”
Listening to the massive roar, Rian thought.
‘But don’t those people ever get tired? Why… do they shout like that every day? They’re not part-timers, are they?’
With a thought befitting a resident of the Gag World, he walked to the center of the arena, the demon sword hanging loosely in his hand.
“The monster that our five brave gladiators will face is!”
*Clang, clatter!*
The iron cage on the opposite side rose, and the monster they had to fight walked out with heavy, thudding footsteps.