Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Master of the Demon Sword (4)
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'What the hell is this thing babbling about right now?'
The Red Sky Sodin stared at the demon sword gripped in his hand as if it were a leech clinging to his body.
'That rampage of power back then... you're saying it wasn't the demon sword's power, but that brat's?'
There was no need to strain himself to recall the memory.
That terrifying vortex of power was etched vividly into his mind.
Controlling his thoughts and actions even now.
The moment Sodin focused his mind, the scene unfolded in his brain as vividly as if it were happening right before his eyes.
A sandstorm.
Black flames.
A swarm of insects.
Each element forming that vortex of power clearly held profound strength and aura beyond what met the eye.
Even for a great archmage who had reached the pinnacle, fully wielding just one of those powers would be no easy feat.
And yet.
All three forces had harmonized perfectly in unison, forming that vortex of power.
And finally, the masterful swordsmanship that unified it all!
It had nothing to do with the amount of power or level of attainment.
It was a type of power that no being confined to an unstable fleshly vessel could handle.
Even a high elf, born with magical talent comparable to an archmage from birth, would have its body torn apart by overload if it tried to imitate that.
The demon sword!
A being that defied reason, unbound by flesh or even the constraints of life itself.
Such defying power should only be permitted to such a defying existence.
Thus, Sodin had no doubt that the vortex of power was the demon sword's doing.
As for Rishir.
He assumed the brat's display of combined powers was merely part of the authority granted by the demon sword.
Why?
Because that was common sense.
It was the law of the world he, an old man who had lived a long life, had felt at every moment.
"Demon sword!!!"
That was why Sodin could not believe the demon sword's words.
No. He refused to believe them.
He saw it as deceiving him.
Beguiling people with sly, superficial words.
That was precisely why it was called a demon sword.
"You dare test me, the Red Sky!!!"
"...!"
In that instant.
Rishir pointed ahead with his arm and fell back.
The mage once hailed as the pinnacle of flames.
The Red Sky Sodin unleashed the flames he had meticulously stored without restraint.
They were mere fragments of will, not yet ignited into form or power.
Even so, everyone present felt the ferocious heat on their skin.
"Sodin!!! Please don't do something foolish-"
The Heavy Sword cut off the desperate cry of the Elder.
The swordmaster's hollow, sorrowful gaze said it all.
He was no longer one of their comrades.
Perhaps he never had been.
So-
"Enough with the emotional responses. You get what I'm saying, right? Shuon."
"..."
He wasn't the only one shocked by a comrade's betrayal.
The Elder, locking eyes with the Heavy Sword, soon hardened into a resolute expression.
It was truly wise judgment.
Even as they suffered from the violation of their camaraderie, the great archmage Sodin paid it no mind.
Sodin unleashed his aura without restraint.
Thus appealing to the demon sword.
A pure energy even superior spirits and high demons would covet.
Sodin cried out confidently.
"I'll say it once more. No!!! This is my final declaration!!! Demon sword!!! I am the one truly worthy of being your master!!! I- no, only I! Can wield your power in its entirety!!!"
Thump!
Thump!
The demon sword's pulsations grew violent, as if excited.
A fragment of the black night.
The great archmage's sincerity captivated even the demon sword, which lusted only for swordsmen and scorned all else.
Sodin could feel the demon sword listening to his words.
'The demon sword is accepting my energy... And assimilating its own energy with mine...!'
The great archmage knew the fate of those devoured by the demon sword.
The Elder had shown him a related tragedy.
Even so, the great archmage began assimilating himself with the demon sword without hesitation.
That power!!!
If he could seize that chaotic, magnificent power, he was willing to offer himself up.
"I'll give you everything I have. No! I'll give you everything in this world! So, use that power only for me! That power of chaos!!!"
The great archmage raised both hands gripping the demon sword high.
Everyone present knew that pose.
The form that channeled the vortex of power into the sword.
Demon swordsman.
The moment that inscrutable existence fully manifested.
The great archmage's action was a proposal, an offer of contract.
I permit you to manifest as that demon swordsman through my body!
If the demon sword granted the great archmage the authority of demon swordsmanship, his existence would instantly be subjugated to it.
"Damn it...!"
Rishir's group, who had been waiting for an opening, moved to intervene at once.
But at the same time, they realized why they hadn't acted rashly until now.
"Urk- Gah...-"
Shelloa, mistress of the seal.
Her body convulsed, and the glasses precariously perched on her nose fell to the floor.
The flaming noose binding her body had turned into a snake, burrowing into her mouth.
"I, the Red Mage Sodin, swear upon my soul and power- Once I take the demon sword, I will leave this land without resistance!!! So do not interfere with me!"
Rishir's group faced two choices.
Abandon the heroine of the seal and fight the great archmage who obtained the demon sword to the end.
Or let the demon sword and great archmage go and save the heroine of the seal.
"Just let him go!!!"
Everyone was startled when Rishir shouted without hesitation.
Even Sodin.
"Hey, are you insane!?"
The Heavy Sword widened his eyes and raised his voice, but Rishir ignored him.
Trembling eyes.
With a seemingly timid expression, he said,
"This mansion is right in the heart of Ilradden's residential district. If we clash head-on with him here, it'll cause irreparable damage. And the moment it starts, the heroine will lose her life. We can't let that happen."
A smile crept onto Sodin's lips.
He read the fear Rishir hadn't fully hidden in his attitude.
'Coward!!! You're afraid to face me!'
Kuhahaha!
Sodin burst into satisfied laughter.
"Wise, Rishir! Very wise! That cleverness you showed me back then wasn't an illusion after all!"
No matter how one looked at it, it wasn't praise for a clever young man.
Rather, it resembled mockery of a foolish brat.
Sodin bobbed the hands holding the demon sword aloft.
As if showing its pathetic form to the demon sword.
'Demon sword!!! Look closely!!! Is that brat truly more suitable as your master than I!!!'
The assimilation had reached a certain level.
Now the great archmage and demon sword could exchange intentions through will.
Thus, the great archmage actively disparaged Rishir where he couldn't hear.
Thrusting his flaws before the demon sword.
'Please don't disappoint me!!! Any more hesitation, and even I will doubt your intelligence!!!'
To urge the demon sword's decision.
And then.
A woman of unknown identity appeared beside him.
The woman, draped in black hair cascading to her ankles like a dress, was visible only to Sodin's eyes.
The woman's aura treated humans as mere tools named "beast," utterly alien.
A face that could mimic human form but not human emotions.
Yet- was it his imagination?
Sodin glimpsed a fragment of human emotion in her expression.
It was something even the demon sword itself hadn't realized.
Right now, she was feeling instinctive unease and letting it show on her face.
"Kuhahaha!!!"
Sodin burst into laughter once more.
At this moment, with the demon sword's corrosion progressing by the second.
He was drifting further from the figure of the sharp-minded crimson great archmage.
The madly cackling thing no longer resembled the keen intellect of the Red Sky archmage.
'Sword's Night, Beast! That name shall resound! This is beyond acknowledging that brat—it's outright fear!!! Demon sword! Is your hesitation perhaps to fawn over that brat!?'
As Sodin provocatively taunted, the demon sword instead lost its emotions and reverted to its original alien demeanor.
It stared fixedly at the old man blinded by power.
The great archmage believed he could withstand the demon sword's domination and maintain a normal "master and sword" relationship.
However.
In the demon sword's view, that period wouldn't last long.
Soon the relationship would invert, and the great archmage would become a mere tool.
Having ruined countless beasts blinded by power and overconfident in themselves, the demon sword was certain.
Therefore.
It was a truly desirable situation for the demon sword.
She was fully aware of that fact.
Yet. Why?
The woman in black turned from Sodin toward the opposite direction.
Rishir.
A timid expression and cowed posture. He seemed to wish the situation would just pass quickly.
But in that moment.
The woman in black. Her body shuddered abruptly.
"Is that it! Demon sword!!! I understand!!! That brat! You desire the ruin of that brat who humiliated you!!! Good! As you wish, I'll burn him to ashes!!!"
Meanwhile, the great archmage's patience reached its limit.
As the demon sword kept staring at Rishir, Sodin cried out with bloodshot eyes.
However, at the demon sword's following reaction, Sodin felt his mind cool momentarily.
The demon sword openly distanced itself from Sodin.
As if he were about to set himself ablaze and charge at it.
Sodin's eyes nearly rolled back.
There is no such thing as demon swordsmanship?
Was that truly something a demon sword would say!?
Roar!
The emotional turmoil Sodin felt affected it, causing his energy to rage unstably.
The room was instantly engulfed in flames.
"...!"
The Heavy Sword and Caroer's eyes gleamed.
Sodin's agitation. The opening it created!
They saw it as a chance to exploit his gap.
"Where do you think you're going!!!"
Sodin swung his arm.
The flames encircling the space then engulfed them.
"Ugh...!"
The Heavy Sword raised his greatsword, and Caroer deployed a magical barrier.
The ferocious flames of the great archmage empowered by the demon sword held power that was hard even to block.
Even as he lost himself, the great archmage kept his senses razor-sharp.
Everyone was certain of that.
Until a certain man kicked off the floor amid a gust of wind.
Whoosh!
The cowed posture had actually been crouching in preparation for a leap.
Sodin's thoughts, dulled by emotional upheaval, took longer than usual to register the change.
By the time Sodin sensed the anomaly, Rishir was already right in his face.
"Where-...!"
Sodin panicked.
Thus, he tried to unleash all his power.
The crimson great archmage's desperate flailing, infused with full power, was swift enough to reduce the defenseless man to charcoal.
The moment the great archmage's flames were about to swallow the man-
A powerful spiritual energy conveyed a specific intent to everyone present.
For a moment, they thought it was the demon sword's will.
It wasn't.
It was a proposal from a human to the demon sword.
And at the same time, it happened.
"!!!"
The jet-black sword spewed black sludge-
That characteristic energy formed a helmet, covering the great archmage's face.
The flames the great archmage had willed to 'ignite' with intent!
Their momentum weakened drastically in that instant.
The woman in black clutched her chest.
Aftermath of the previous 'demon swordsmanship'.
The demon sword had collapsed from bearing 'demon swordsmanship'.
In the end, the demon sword's action only created a fleeting gap in the crimson great archmage.
The Heavy Sword, watching that fierce clash from beyond the flames, widened his eyes.
'Dangerous!'
At this rate, the crimson great archmage's flames would swallow Rishir along with his surprise sword strike.
Yes. Surely it would.
'Wait, that-'
The Heavy Sword doubted his own eyes and ears.
Shiiiing-
A sound like vibrating glass.
A violet afterimage drawn in midair.
The holy sword of the seal.
That sacred blade's power was sealing the crimson great archmage's flames.
'Shelloa, did she wake up!?'
So thought the Heavy Sword.
For the holy sword's power could only be wielded by its owner.
"Stop!"
The crimson great archmage swung his burning hand- the demon sword gripped in it- toward the man.
Slash!
The demon sword floated into the air.
The great archmage's arm holding it had been severed.
"Stop!!!!!"
The crimson great archmage spewed blood-red flames from his eyes and mouth.
His flames enveloped Rishir's sword and arm.
So they couldn't harm him!
Rishir lowered his left hand gripping the sword.
At the same time, he extended his empty right hand forward.
Click.
The demon sword floating in midair was sucked into his hand as if drawn.
Slash!
It was the sound of cleaving flames.
The flames that had engulfed the room died down in an instant.
The crimson great archmage collapsed limply to the floor.
"Hoo."
The man swung his left hand.
Thus shaking off the flames clinging to the sword.
Then he swung his right hand.
Thus shaking off the blood clinging to the sword.
The Heavy Sword formed a pleased smile at the sight of the valiant young swordsman.
"...Huh?"
But that smile quickly froze.
The Heavy Sword leaned forward, straining his eyes.
Rishir's usual sword was still sheathed at his waist.
'Then the sword Rishir just swung was-'
The Heavy Sword's gaze shifted slowly.
Finally, he muttered in a trembling voice.
"How is that thing there..."
That man was holding both the demon sword and the holy sword.