Demon Sword (2)
I headed to class in a state of high alert, feeling like an assassin's crosshairs were on me.
-Looks like no one's around.
Tyrbing spoke up. Yesterday, I'd learned one key fact.
Tyrbing's detection range wasn't all that wide. So how had it suddenly sensed its brother at dawn?
This meant there was a high chance the demon contractor was a male student at Orbis Academy. And since dorms were separated by year, probably a first-year like me.
Narrowing it down further to students who might contract with a demon—recently plummeting grades, some bad incident, or just shitty behavior in general.
A few suspects came to mind.
……
"Oh, there you are?"
While stealthily tailing my prime suspect, someone called out to me.
Black hair and obsidian eyes. It was Arima Kanna.
"You know about the swordsmanship club event this weekend, right?"
I didn't.
"You've been slacking on club activities, and it's kinda bumming me out. We're heading to the Sword Graveyard for a field trip. I really want you to come."
Arima Kanna nodded as she spoke. The Sword Graveyard was a "field"—back in the day, a monster impaled with a thousand swords emerged from a gate, turning the surrounding area into a field. It was just one monster, so they took it down without issue, but during the subjugation, the thing burst open, and all those swords embedded in its body got slammed into the ground. At that moment, a "law" took effect, making them impossible to pull out.
The crazy part? Every single one was a relic.
Since the Baekya Guild had subjugated it, they owned the relics, but even 1st Grade heroes couldn't yank them free. Now it was basically a tourist spot—a treasure you could see but never have.
…Huh?
A thought flashed through my mind right then.
Tyrbing could eat those, right?
But actually trying that would piss off the Baekya Guild so bad they'd sue me into oblivion.
"Yeah? I've always wanted to check it out. I'll clear my schedule."
"Heard a bunch of seniors are coming too. Guess every swordsman wants to see it at least once."
"Can't blame 'em."
A thousand relic swords stabbed into the earth? Any swordsman would wanna gawk at that.
"Oh, and the Baekya Guild's running some fun event this time."
"What kind?"
"Pull a sword outta the ground, it's yours. As if anyone's actually doing that."
-What? Free swords?
Tyrbing shot up at the words "free swords."
-We gotta go…!!! Must go…! Ooh, so chilly.
Right as I was chatting with Arima Kanna, the student I'd been secretly watching vanished somewhere.
"Shit! …Thanks for the heads-up. Gotta run somewhere."
"Sure, sure. You look busy."
****
"Lady Dainsleif, how long do I have to put up with this…!"
Rozien was bound by red, tentacle-like restraints. But it wasn't exactly a hehe situation.
His arm was twisting bit by bit.
-Just wait a little longer. This weak-ass body isn't efficient enough.
"Urgh…!"
Rozien groaned from the intense pain. Watching his arm contort while fully conscious was torture—mentally and physically.
His right arm started twisting more, turning a pale red. Black skin began bulging through the cracks. The distortion spread from his wrist, rapidly overtaking his entire arm.
"…."
Rozien cautiously examined his transformed arm. He could feel the mana efficiency on a whole other level.
His strength felt insane too—easily three times what it was.
-Like it?
A seductive woman's voice echoed in Rozien's ear. It had started out neutral, but now it was unmistakably feminine.
-Hehe, we tweak a few more things, and you'll be so much cooler.
Rozien swallowed hard without thinking. He knew it was wrong, but feeling this overwhelming power made his desires creep up anyway.
"Th-then… just a little more…."
-That's the spirit~! Good choice!
As Rozien nodded hesitantly, the seductive voice praised him from within his body. His face flushed red, heart pounding like crazy.
'Ugh… my body….'
Then his eyelids drooped heavily.
"Gasp!"
Rozien's eyes snapped open to a barren wasteland. A sky with a red sunset, cracked earth everywhere.
And right in front of him, a longsword glowing faintly red was embedded in the ground.
"…."
He instinctively knew it was Dainsleif. As he slowly approached—
Vmmm!
An eyeball appeared on the blade, and in a flash, a stunning beauty materialized before Rozien.
"Gasp!"
Rozien tumbled back in shock as the beauty gripped his thigh tight and….
****
-Kekeke, humans are so stupid and gross.
Dainsleif sneered at Rozien flailing on the ground in confusion. She'd read his memories, manifested as his type in voice and form, and just like that, he was her slave.
The voice was hers, of course—demon swords didn't have gender anyway.
-Ugh, watching this is getting nauseating.
Seeing Rozien blush and babble at the illusion she'd created fueled her disgust for humans even more.
From Dainsleif's view, it just looked like Rozien jerking off alone like an idiot.
-Demon swords aren't tools. We're the masters.
She thought her idiot brothers were fools for not getting that simple fact. Especially Tyrbing, the biggest fragment from their original.
That's why it got sealed. Somehow it broke free, but whatever.
That didn't matter. What did was how ridiculously weak Tyrbing had gotten.
Sure, she'd taken a big L recently and lost half her mass, but eating Tyrbing fixed that. Its suspiciously feeble aura? No issue—just fill the empty vessel with water. Simple.
-Devour the biggest fragment, and I'll be a perfect sword in no time…!
****
-….
This was a void space, empty of all existence. Or it had been—now there were two unwelcome guests.
A sun-like blazing orb far off, and Tyrbing. It was livable enough, aside from the intense heat whenever Yi Han-su used fire authority, making it flare up fiercely.
-The flames are getting stronger.
Tyrbing glanced up as it spoke. The fire grew daily, while it was still crawling on the ground like a worm.
'If I eat Dainsleif this time, will I get my authorities back?'
Tyrbing had lost all but one authority. At least Gluttony remained—a blessing.
-Lately, that punk's been treating me like dirt.
Making it attend classes and take tests in its place. And the humiliating morning wake-up routine every day.
-If I had my authorities…!
Just one strong one… In demon-human contracts, demons were supposed to dominate utterly.
-Damn it.
Right now, all it could do was make a faint light from the blade mimicking "Sun's Radiance" a tiny bit. Plus the "sleep" it devoured via Gluttony. And Gluttony itself.
Yi Han-su's body had terrible efficiency. A little tweaking, and it'd be prime real estate.
But he refused modifications. Such a waste.
-Dainsleif's good at handling humans, though.
If absorption worked, it'd read those memories. Just then, Tyrbing's gaze shifted.
Yui-seol walked past Yi Han-su, and they started talking….
-Hold up! Tell her it's a great idea there!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The flames flared in frustration too.
-Aargh! Hot!
Fwoosh….
'Fuck, this is frustrating as hell…!'
Humans wandered their whole lives with effort. Yi Han-su had wandered hard.
-Hold up! Tell her to head somewhere secluded for an iaijutsu demo right now…!
Fwoosh!
-Ho… hot…!
That was when it happened.
-Stop. Now.
[Why?]
-Brother's nearby. And the demon contractor too.