The 5-Silver Clearance Sword Turned Out to Be a Legendary Demonic Blade

The ship bound for the Avalon Islands cut through the night sea, its hull rocking violently as waves slammed against the bow. On deck, I followed Black Flame Dragon's frantic instructions and snapped a close-up photo of the pattern engraved at the end of the sword hilt. It was a bizarre, unsettling design featuring a hexagonal red gemstone.

I stared blankly down at the shabby sword in my hand. This rusty metal rod was supposed to be one of the legendary demonic blades? No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like something you'd pull out of a scrap heap.

"Boss. You're still carrying that thing around?"

Baron approached, clicking her tongue. She had her newly purchased sleek mithril knife tucked neatly at her waist.

"From what I can see, the edge isn't even sharp. The weight balance is garbage too. Just toss it. It's nothing but dead weight."

"No... the guys in the gallery said it's actually really valuable."

"Valuable? This piece of junk?" Baron snorted. Even to her—a former butcher and sword expert—this was pure trash.

That's when it happened.

BOOOOM—!

The ship lurched violently, as if it had slammed into something massive.

"What the hell?!"

"Enemy attack! Everyone prepare for battle!"

Luna's shout rang out from the crow's nest. Dark shapes burst from the sea and swarmed onto the deck. Scaled bodies, dorsal fins, and razor-sharp tridents. They were the deep-sea fishmen known as Deep Ones.

"Kieeeeee—!"

"They're the Demon King's minions! Hold them back!"

Karina drew her sword, radiating golden aura. The Hero Party was exhausted, but their combat instincts were still sharp. Every swing of Karina's blade sent fishmen heads flying.

"O holy light!"

Elin deployed protective barriers from the rear while Seria hurled fireballs. Our restaurant staff weren't about to sit idle either.

"How dare you mess with our boss's ship?!"

Baron charged forward with her massive butcher's cleaver. Her slashes weren't just killing the monsters—they were butchering them.

"Let me separate your bones from your flesh! This part's for sashimi, and this is perfect for spicy stew!"

Vargas was swinging his cross-shaped mace, delivering divine judgment on the heretics. And Lucy? She was perched at the very top of the mast, yawning as she watched the show.

The battle seemed to be going in our favor. But there were just too many fishmen. They kept crawling up endlessly from beneath the hull.

"Huff... haa..."

I stood in a corner of the deck, staff in hand, firing off dark arrows. Even though I was a dark mage, my level was still low, and most of my skills were cooking-related, so I wasn't much help in actual combat.

"Graaaah!"

Right then, one of the larger fishman leaders charged straight at me. The creature had instinctively sensed I was the weakest link.

"Watch out!"

Karina shouted, but she was surrounded and couldn't break free to help. Baron and Vargas were too far away. The fishman leader's trident thrust straight toward my chest.

I have to block it—!

Without thinking, I raised the thing in my hand. The five-silver piece of junk.

Clang—!

A crisp metallic ring echoed. The old, battered scabbard I thought would shatter easily stopped the trident cold. No, it did more than stop it. The moment the trident touched it, the tip melted away in a cloud of black smoke.

"Huh?"

Both the fishman leader and I froze in shock. At that exact moment, a grotesque voice slithered into my mind.

The sword began to vibrate with a low hum. The rusted scabbard crumbled away on its own. What emerged was a chilling blade as black as midnight, rippling with blood-red patterns.

What the fuck? This crazy sword bastard?

The sword latched onto my hand. Mana poured out of my palm like it was being sucked through a straw.

"Aaaargh! Hey! You fucking bastard, stop sucking!"

I screamed, but regardless of my will, the sword absorbed my mana and unleashed an explosive wave of sword energy.

"Kieeeeek?!"

The fishman leader staggered back in terror. But it was too late. My arm moved on its own. It felt like the sword was swinging me.

Shwooooosh—!

I had only swung my arm. But from the tip of the blade erupted a blood-red crescent slash of sword energy.

KWAAAAAANG—!

The fishman leader's body split cleanly in two vertically. The slash didn't stop there—it tore through over a dozen more fishmen behind him and even split the surface of the sea. For a brief moment, the night ocean flashed crimson.

"......"

A heavy silence fell over the deck. Karina, who had been fighting fiercely, Baron, and even Lucy up on the mast—all of them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stared at me with wide eyes.

"W-what the...!?"

Karina muttered in a daze.

"Daon... were you a swordsman? That incredible sword energy..."

"Wait... Boss? That sword wasn't just junk?"

Baron's jaw hung open so wide it looked like it might fall off.

I gripped the trembling sword with shaking hands. More than half my mana was gone, leaving me dizzy. But the blade was still humming, clearly unsatisfied.

"Shut up! Will you be quiet?!"

When I yelled, the sword flinched.

The sword's ego sounded genuinely confused. Of course I could resist. I had a soul contract with the Demon King and handled cursed items from the curse girl every day. My resistance was maxed out.

"From now on, if you suck my mana without my permission, I'll melt you down in a furnace, you little shit!"

The sword went completely still. Surprisingly simple-minded for a demonic blade.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked around. With their leader ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dead and terrified by the slash I'd unleashed, the remaining fishmen had all fled back into the sea.

"Daon!"

Karina came running over.

"Are you okay? What was that just now? That was an incredible technique!"

"Ah... well... it's something like a secret family technique. It only comes out in emergencies..."

I made up a vague excuse. At that moment, Lucy leaped down from the mast with a soft thud. She walked over and stared intently at the black blade in my hand.

"Hmm."

"It smells unlucky. Thousands of vengeful spirits are clinging to it."

She gave the sword a light tap.

The sword screamed and trembled. Of course, only I could hear it.

"Looks like you got stuck with a bad owner, little sword."

Lucy giggled.

"Still, it seems pretty useful. Daon, guess you'll finally start earning your keep?"

Was this what earning my keep looked like? It felt more like mindlessly draining my lifespan.

The next morning, we finally arrived at the port of the Avalon Islands. But the sight that greeted us was devastating. The famously beautiful harbor city was half-destroyed, with black smoke rising everywhere. Dark clouds hung in the sky, making it gloomy even in broad daylight.

"Oh my god..."

Elin covered her mouth. Demon King's flags flew over the harbor, and monsters had taken over the streets.

"Look over there!"

Luna pointed to where the surviving residents had been gathered in the plaza and forced into hard labor. Armored demon soldiers stood guard over them.

"I will never... never forgive this...!"

Karina ground her teeth.

"I'm going to wipe them all out right now!"

"Wait a moment."

I stopped her as she prepared to charge straight in.

"A frontal assault is too dangerous. They have hostages."

"Then what do we do? Just stand here and watch?"

"No. Who do you think we are?"

I turned to look at our staff standing behind me.

"We're employees of the Demon King's Table. We fight with food."

"Cooking? In this situation?"

"Yes. Demons have enormous appetites. They're especially crazy about food from the human world."

I recalled the information I'd seen in the gallery. Food from the Demon Realm was notoriously terrible—mostly rotten meat or sulfur soup at best. If we wafted the scent of stimulating 'otherworld modern fusion cuisine' toward them?

"We'll lure them. Stimulate their noses ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and draw them away from the hostages."

I looked at Lucy.

"Lucy, can you smell out the strongest demon among them?"

Lucy sniffed the air.

"That castle in the center of the island. There's a pretty strong one there. Smells like it belongs to the 'Gluttony Lord' faction?"

Okay. Gluttony Lord. Jackpot. We've got our target.