Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Moonwhite Sword (1)
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Black Dragon.
Or Black Emperor.
It was a moniker Theo couldn’t possibly forget.
It had belonged to his former boss, after all.
‘They said the skies had the Dragon Incarnate and the earth the Black Emperor… that those two men alone kept the Ragnar era at bay.’
The Black Dragon was one of the Nine Dragons.
Yet hardly any information about him was known to the public.
Not even among Ragnar executives, nor in the intelligence division ‘Black Snow’ under his command.
Kyle had concealed him absolutely.
Even so, the Black Dragon’s fame had spread far and wide because wherever he appeared, he always left behind a distinctive trace symbolizing him.
Theo had glimpsed the Black Dragon once, from afar.
The sky painted red with sunset.
An old man sitting leisurely by the riverbank, fishing.
That image alone would have been like a beautiful watercolor painting.
But…
“Mm…! So you can see ‘this,’ huh?”
Theo hadn’t found it beautiful.
Behind the old man, hundreds of corpses were piled up like a mountain.
None of the bodies were intact.
Limbs scattered as if bitten off by something, faces frozen in utter terror.
And atop them.
A monster sat, licking its blood-soaked feet.
A beast with an eagle’s face and wings, a lion’s upper body, and a dragon’s lower half covered in scales and a tail.
“This is awkward. What now?”
Unlike his tone, the old man wore a black mask that didn’t suit his long white hair, making his expression hard to read.
And there.
Theo’s memory cut off.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in the middle of an empty field.
The stench of blood in the air, the pile of corpses, and the strange monster—all gone.
* * *
Theo never did figure out why the Black Dragon, who supposedly left no witnesses, had spared him back then.
Maybe a simple whim, or perhaps some urgent business had called him away.
But the pitch-black mask and the monster behind it—he could never forget them.
He only later uncovered a clue about the monster the Black Dragon commanded.
“Hey, heard the rumor? About why the Black Dragon vanishes every three months like clockwork?”
“Nah. Instead of that, how about we finish the job?”
“You’re so heartless. Listen up. That sword he uses? Turns out it’s a sword with a yokai sealed inside. Supposedly needs to drink a ton of human blood every set period, or it eats its owner.”
“…Where’d you hear that?”
“Where? All the security guys know it by word of mouth.”
Theo knew instinctively.
That the ‘yokai sword’ they spoke of was the monster he’d seen.
But he never breathed a word of it.
He didn’t want the Black Dragon suddenly remembering him and changing his mind.
He wanted to live as quietly as a mouse.
‘The Black Dragon hates being the subject of gossip, too.’
In fact, the colleagues who’d told Theo about the yokai sword turned up dead just days later.
Theo himself had no choice but to flee Black Snow like a fugitive.
And yet.
‘It’s here?’
Clank, clank!
The wooden box rattled incessantly, as if frustrated, despite being bound tight with iron chains.
Theo’s spine chilled at the thought of that monster bursting out any second.
‘The Black Dragon started wielding the Moonwhite Sword in earnest about four years later. So at this point, it was in Kirson’s hands, not his?’
Cecilia’s execution by conspiracy was three years away… Maybe there was some connection.
「Looks like you know what this sword is.」
Theo inwardly cursed.
He’d gotten lost in memories and failed to hide his agitation.
「That makes things easier. If you’re the relic’s master, you might just earn the Moonwhite Sword’s approval too. Care to try pulling it?」
Theo’s gaze shifted to Kirson.
The corners of Kirson’s mouth curled up around his pipe.
「Succeed in drawing it fully, and I’ll give it to you as promised.」
‘…!’
The Black Dragon’s cherished blade, for him?
Thump! Thump!
His heart raced.
Owning such a treasure was every swordsman’s dream.
「It’s been over two hundred years in my possession, and I’ve never managed it. So it’s not meant for me. Go ahead. Just know I won’t take responsibility for any mishaps.」
Right then.
Ding!
[A quest has arrived.]
+
[Tutorial Quest #13]
Receive the approval of the weapon emitting blue light.
· Difficulty: C+
· Reward: Ownership of Moonwhite Sword
· Failure: ■■
+
The quest window floated before Theo.
‘Higher difficulty than the dungeon clear. Definitely not easy.’
But Theo knew by now.
Quests never gave impossible tasks.
The harder they were, the greater the rewards.
And above all.
The desire to claim the Moonwhite Sword reared its head.
He’d felt it fighting the lesser drake. The importance of a true sword.
He desperately needed one that wouldn’t dull or break no matter the abuse.
‘And… before it reaches the Black Dragon, its yokai should be weak.’
Kirson had said it.
Over two hundred years since he acquired this yokai sword.
Sealed in that wooden box all that time.
Even a great yokai sword would be drained.
Worth a shot.
‘If I can tame that beast and bend it to my will…!’
Then.
He could wield the power of the Black Dragon, called the Emperor of Ruin for leaving nothing but devastation in his wake.
With that thought, the long-embedded fear in Theo’s heart seemed to fade.
Replaced by sheer resolve to make it happen.
Theo pretended to draw the [Blue Key] from his sleeve while retrieving it from his inventory.
“That’s…?”
Kirson’s eyes gleamed.
Cecilia’s face, meanwhile, filled with worry.
“My son, even to your clueless mother’s eyes, that sword looks too ominous. No need to push yourself.”
“No way Grandmother would ask her grandson to do something dangerous. I’ll pull out if it feels off. Don’t worry.”
Theo soothed Cecilia and met Kirson’s gaze.
Kirson’s brow twitched at ‘grandmother.’
He’d caught the subtext: hurt Theo, and he’d be the ‘damn old fool’ she’d called him.
‘Polite on the surface, but a total sly fox inside. How’d Cecilia end up with a kid like this?’
“Is that the key to unseal the relic?”
“You have to keep your promise.”
“…Never a straight answer. Don’t worry about the promise. Forgotten what my race is?”
Theo nodded.
Kirson was an elf. They were forsaken by spirits if they lied.
Hence, the tribe of truth.
Click!
Theo inserted the key into the padlock binding the wooden box.
It fit perfectly, just like opening the Camellia Palace storeroom.
He turned it sideways, and—
Clank, clank!
The chains snapped like bursting links, and the lid flew open.
Whooooosh—
A ferocious storm of yokai energy swept the room.
Theo’s long hair whipped wildly.
“This is…!”
Kirson forgot his pipe, clenching his fists.
A single sword lay neatly inside the wooden box.
How much of his life had he devoted to seeing it?
Yet the bastard never showed its face—until now, before this stranger grandson.
‘Real Moonwhite Sword.’
Theo swallowed dryly.
Identical to the one from his past life.
He reached out, touching the scabbard.
Tensing for the yokai’s assault.
“Huh…?”
“W-What?”
The Moonwhite Sword showed no reaction.
Its yokai aura even began to fade.
Bewildered, Theo blinked, then lifted the Moonwhite Sword from the box and separated it from the scabbard.
Shiiiing—
A jet-black blade emerged, like the night sky.
But still no response.
The mirror-clear blade merely reflected Theo’s face.
“…Looks like the legends were overhyped. Or maybe you truly are chosen, and that’s why nothing happens.”
Kirson bit down on his pipe again.
“Either way, glad it’s found a proper master now. Better with Cecilia’s son than some riffraff… whatever.”
Even as he said it was fine, reluctance dripped from Kirson’s eyes.
He stole glances at Theo, still fixated on the sword.
“But just maybe, if you don’t need it right away, could I examine it until the Awakening Ceremony…!”
“No. The seal isn’t fully released yet.”
“What?”
“I think I know how to do it properly now.”
Theo remembered vividly.
The monster atop the corpse pile.
Its eyes burned with the endless hunger of a starved beast.
Yet here it was, playing nice?
Absurd.
Right then, Theo recalled the monster licking its blood-drenched feet.
Quenching its hunger and thirst with blood.
‘Blood.’
That was the real key.
Theo swiftly pressed the Moonwhite Sword’s edge to his left palm.
“What are you doing…!”
Kirson startled, trying to stop him—but too late. Blood welled and trickled down the blade.
The edge was razor-sharp.
Fwooooosh—
The dormant blade shuddered violently, arcane runes surfacing along its length.
Faint blue light seeped from the letters.
Like moonlight.
That instant.
Flaaaare!
The world flipped.
* * *
Some nameless beast climbed the mountainside in glee.
‘Four hundred years? Finally free!’
It planned to treat this ‘qualified one’ well, after so long.
‘Heh heh heh! The despair and regrets deep in your heart—I’ll make them come true.’
Everyone harbored some desperate wish.
But circumstances, status, age, gender kept them from it.
The beast whispered like a devil, exploiting those weaknesses, offering power.
Nine times out of ten, they fell.
Humans believed power alone conquered limits.
The beast figured Theo was no different.
Thud!
It kicked off the ground, landing on a rooftop.
Below.
A man hung chained, head bowed.
Tears streamed down his face.
Lost family or comrades, no doubt.
Swoosh—
Arrows rained down on him.
-This is the despair rooted in your heart.
The beast snorted at the pitiful man’s helplessness.
Pathetic, not even resisting.
Clearly a loser who couldn’t do anything right.
…How such a fool qualified was beyond it.
But all the better.
Easy to devour whole.
‘That guy’s about fifteen, right? This one looks over thirty at least… Eh, doesn’t matter.’
Its usual suspicion dulled by over two centuries of starvation.
Rooooar!
The beast bellowed, lunging toward the man.
-Give me your body, human!
Even as its greedy jaws closed on his nape, the man kept his head down.
Just as fangs grazed skin—
Boom!
Clatter-crash!
The chains binding him shattered in an instant.
The man’s head snapped up.
Through wild, disheveled hair, eyes like a dragon’s—fierce—gleamed.
Theo.
-…!
The beast realized the trap too late.
Chomp!
But Theo had already seized its nape.
“Pathetic state, as expected. Not like the last time I saw you.”
Last time?
I’ve never seen you before?
The beast wanted to protest but couldn’t.
Crunch!
Theo’s grip was ironclad.
Theo smirked coldly at it.
The beast that once spanned dozens of meters was now barely two.
Emaciated, ribs starkly visible.
No way he’d miss this starved thing—not after slaying a lesser drake.
-W-Wait…!
It tried pleading, promising anything, swearing loyalty.
But—
Crack!
Theo’s hand tightened first.
Crunch-crack!
The beast’s head lolled limply the wrong way.