Chapter 7
Chapter 7 – Underground Exodus (2)
I placed Momo on the table and sat in front of her.
“Before I tell you my story, there’s something we need to do first.”
“Something?”
“The minimum amount of attack power. I’m going to teach you that now, so focus your mind like before.”
“Wait, now that I think about it, this is weird too… What kind of principle even lets me learn things like this?”
I summoned the window in my mind again.
[Emergency Evasion Maneuver: ON]
“Momo, you explained some stuff earlier, but… even if I can’t fully understand it, I still want at least some kind of explanation…”
“Alright… If I have to explain it, it’s something similar to magic… A spell I struggled a lot to develop, so it’s hard to explain. If you really can’t believe me, you can ask Gildre.”
“…Alright. I’ll trust you.”
Yeah. Thinking about it carefully, everything Momo had done so far had only helped me. Without Emergency Evasion Maneuver, I would’ve died to that skeleton already.
Like when I first obtained Emergency Evasion Maneuver, I sat cross-legged on the floor and focused my mind.
“You don’t really need to sit on the floor…”
“You could’ve told me that a little sooner…”
“There was only a floor back there…”
“…”
Since I had already sat down, I just kept focusing instead of getting back up.
“Sigh… Listen while you focus. I’ll tell you why I—no, why I was sealed here…”
“…”
“At the end of my Hero journey, I learned a certain truth. Because of that, the Goddess punished me… A pretty cliché ending.”
“Th—”
“Don’t ask. You mustn’t know. Ah, it’s not something dangerous to you. So don’t worry. Really. Trust me. Okay? Please…”
Suddenly, Momo desperately tried to persuade me.
“O-Okay. For now.”
“…Thank you. You also wondered why I want to get out of here, right? Honestly, it’s nothing special. My life already failed anyway… Take me outside and end this life for me.”
“…What?”
“I’ll help you with everything I have… So later, much later, even if it’s right before you return home… I want you to find that method for me…”
“…”
“That’s why I’m helping you and trying to leave this place. I hope that’s enough to convince you.”
The words were so shocking that I couldn’t react immediately.
“…Sorry. Complicated, right? Just rest for now and sort out your thoughts.”
As soon as Momo finished speaking, I felt that sensation again, like my brain was being kneaded.
‘Urgh…!’
The feeling was still disgusting and horrible.
‘Right… Don’t tell me this is happening again…?’
I recalled the silhouette I had seen earlier in that white space—or image, or whatever it was beyond my consciousness.
That ragged version of myself that looked as though years had passed. What exactly was it? The future? Or…?
‘If I see it again, will I understand something?’
I prayed inwardly as I felt my consciousness slowly fading.
I was walking across crimson ground.
Burning ruins surrounded me, and distant cries and screams echoed intermittently.
Eventually, I arrived before a black castle so ruined it could barely still be called a castle.
At the center of the ruined castle sat a figure upon a collapsed throne.
Both of his arms were wrapped in bandages, over which he wore pitch-black gauntlets.
Blood that looked like it belonged to other people stained the gauntlets and bandages here and there.
And the skin visible above them was vividly purple.
“So, Hero… you finally came.”
“Yeah. I told you I would.”
“…”
Resting on the figure’s lap was the corpse of what appeared to be an adult woman.
She wore luxurious clothes that looked expensive, and her skin was purple just like the man’s.
When my gaze drifted toward the corpse, the man spoke.
“Hm? Don’t mind her. I heard she ended up like this long before I arrived…”
The figure gently laid the corpse beside the throne and stood up.
At the same time, I drew the sword hanging at my waist, my long black scarf fluttering behind me.
“Hoh… So you can handle it properly now? You used to struggle with it so much.”
“Haha. It took a lot of effort.”
As I spoke, I glanced down at the sword I had drawn.
It was a single-edged dao, and purple energy flowed along its blade.
The moment I unsheathed it, the purple-skinned man blinked eyes whose whites and pupils seemed reversed, touching the broken horn on his forehead as he slowly approached.
I gripped the dao with both hands and raised it upward.
“Blade Art First Form — Slash Like a Thrust.”
I muttered softly as I swung the blade.
“Aaaagh!!!”
“You’re awake? How do you feel?”
Before I knew it, I was lying on the floor.
“Ugh… I feel weird…”
I got up with a nauseous feeling crawling through me.
“It’s okay. That’s normal.”
‘What exactly was that thing I saw…?’
Unlike before, this time it wasn’t a white space from a detached perspective.
It was clearly some unknown location viewed from a first-person perspective.
“So? Did something appear in your mind?”
Just like before, Momo seemed completely unaware.
‘What is this…? Could it be some side effect even Momo doesn’t know about…?’
But for some reason, I felt like I absolutely shouldn’t tell her about it.
“Wait…”
Like when I learned Emergency Evasion Maneuver, I visualized the image in my head again.
[Emergency Evasion Maneuver: ON / Blade Art: Acquired]
There was now an extra line in the display.
“Blade Art…?”
Come to think of it, I had said something about Blade Art inside that vision too.
“Exactly! That’s Blade Art, one of the strongest sword arts on the continent!”
“The name sounds kind of lame though…”
“What are you talking about?! There’s no sword art cooler or stronger than Blade Art!”
“What other kinds are there?”
“Hmm… Longsword Art, Swift Sword Art, Dagger Art, Twin Sword Art, Defensive Sword Art, Martial Sword Art, Demon Sword Art, Heavenly Sword Art, Blood Sword Art, Earth Sword Art, Heavy Sword Art, Greatsword Art, Bewitching Sword Art, Water Sword Art, Fire Sword Art, Eight Sword Art, Severing Sword Art, Flash Sword Art, Spirit Sword Art, Head Sword Art, Hunting Sword Art, Death Sword Art, Spear Sword Art, Curved Sword Art, Divine Sword Art, Hair Sword Art, Bird Sword Art, Lantern Sword Art, Reverse Sword Art, Female Sword Art, Divine Sword Art, Multi Sword Art, Heat Sword Art, Half Sword Art, Wooden Sword Art, Bamboo Sword Art, Yin Sword Art, Yang Sword Art, Strange Sword Art, Mad Sword Art, Dark Sword Art, Night Sword Art, Medical Sword Art, Dragon Sword Art, Ice Sword Art, Snake Sword Art, Hunting Sword Art, Foot Sword Art, Love Sword Art, Drunken Sword Art, Star Sword Art, Foreign Sword Art… and so on?”
“Why are there so many…?”
Listening to the endless flood of sword arts pouring from Momo’s mouth made my head spin.
“And among them all, the greatest one is obviously Blade Art.”
Momo spoke with absolute confidence, as though her words were undeniable truth.
“So… what exactly is this Blade Art?”
“You’ve already mastered Emergency Evasion Maneuver, the ultimate evasion technique. So naturally, the next step is learning the strongest! Invincible! Mighty! Crushing! Shattering! Thunderous-Applause-Inducing Blade Art!”
Momo kept piling exaggerated praise onto Blade Art as though she personally embodied it.
“…Is it really that incredible?”
“Of course! It’s the sword art I used all the time when I was alive!”
“The sword art you used…?”
At that moment, Gildre returned from his patrol.
“Hm. Nothing unusual nearby.”
“Ah! Gildre, you’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
“I’m fine. Here, take this.”
Gildre handed me a worn iron sword he had apparently scavenged from somewhere.
“This is…?”
“I picked up something reasonably usable. Thought you’d need a weapon too.”
“Ah, thank you…”
I accepted the iron sword.
“Ugh… It’s pretty heavy…”
“Swords are supposed to be heavy.”
“Swords are supposed to be heavy.”
“…”
Listening to both of them lecture me, I tried taking a stance.
“Hm… Like this?”
“…? Isn’t this your first time holding a sword?”
“It is.”
“But that stance…”
“What about it?”
I was simply standing in whatever posture felt like it would swing well naturally.
“That is absolutely not a beginner’s stance.”
“Really? Is it because of Blade Art…?”
Emergency Evasion Maneuver had moved my body automatically before, so maybe Blade Art worked the same way?
“Blade Art…? Don’t tell me the Crimson Blood Sword Master personally instructed you?”
“Uh… Does this count as learning it?”
“Hmm… The Crimson Blood Sword Master was a Hero who wielded both Blade Art and Blood Sword Art freely. You should consider it an honor.”
Wait? She used two sword arts?
“Blood Sword Art…?”
“Ah… right. Back then I used to carry one sword in each hand…”
“…Me too.”
“Hm?”
“I want Blood Sword Art too! Blood Sword Art sounds way cooler!”
“…What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Instead of weirdly named Blade Art! I want to learn Blood Sword Art too!”
Both Momo and Gildre looked horrified.
“Uh…”
“Are you insane?”
“But… I want cool techniques too…”
“…Blade Art is already plenty cool. It’s one of the continent’s strongest sword arts.”
“But the name…”
“Just swing it already! Why do you talk so much?!”
Momo exploded at my grumbling.
“Ugh… Fine.”
I took my stance and recalled the feeling from the vision.
“Blade Art First Form — Slash Like a Thrust. Say it while you move.”
“Blade Art First Form — Slash Like a Thrust.”
As I quietly recited the words and swung the sword, my body moved naturally, like I had repeated the motion hundreds of times.
Of course, I couldn’t cut apart the hideout, so the sword merely sliced through empty air.
“How was that? That was—”
Crack!
Immediately after I moved, cracks spread across the sword before it shattered.
“Huh? What? Why did it suddenly…?”
“Hmm… Even if it was old, it shouldn’t break from a single swing.”
Both Gildre and I stared at the broken blade in shock.
“…Your sword couldn’t endure your sword art.”
“The sword couldn’t handle the sword art?”
“Yeah. Just like Emergency Evasion Maneuver, I forcibly imprint the absolute pinnacle of Blade Art into your body and make it move accordingly… I didn’t expect a side effect like this…”
“So… my Blade Art is too strong, and that’s why the sword broke?”
“Exactly. Once we get outside, we’ll need to find you a proper sword first.”
After quietly observing the situation, Gildre finally spoke.
“This is troublesome.”
“Huh? Why? Ah, the sword—”
“Even if I bring another sword from nearby, if it’s old, it won’t properly withstand the power of your sword art. And the gatekeeper we must face is no easy opponent.”
“Hmm… But who exactly is this gatekeeper? Can I really defeat something that injured you like that?”
I didn’t know how strong vampires were in this world, but Gildre was obviously far stronger than me. If even he had to flee from it, then I probably stood no chance.
“Ah, come to think of it, I never explained. I only called it a gatekeeper for convenience. It isn’t actually guarding the gate.”
“Huh? Then—”
“It simply happens to be near the exit passage. Think of it as similar to the skeletons you’ve already encountered.”
Now that I thought about it, every skeleton I had seen so far simply stood in its territory and attacked viciously when someone approached.
“Then… the gatekeeper is another skeleton?”
“No. It’s a lich. More specifically, it appeared to be an Arch Lich.”
An Arch Lich…?
“A lich is basically a skeleton that uses magic. An Arch Lich is… well, just think of it as a stronger one. From your perspective, they’re both equally dangerous anyway.”
“Right…?”
“The bigger problem is that Arch Liches usually possess intelligence…”
“Intelligence? You mean they can think?”
Wouldn’t a thinking skeleton be even more dangerous?
“Don’t worry about that. That one didn’t appear to have any sanity.”
“Oh, really? Momo said most of them do.”
“It seemed to have been created from the grudges of numerous skeletons mixed together. That’s likely why it lacks reason.”
I see…? Honestly, I still didn’t really get it.
“An Arch Lich… If it’s a lich… there might actually be a way…”
Hearing the word lich seemed to brighten Momo’s mood slightly.
“There is a method, so listen carefully.”
“A method…?”
“A way to defeat the gatekeeper and escape this damned underground world.”