Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Grwid, the Possession Sword
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Honestly, I had hoped I might at least touch the edge of an illusion sword. With a troll's body, a spirit sword was a given.
"Disappointing, but not bad."
A sword with a slightly wider blade.
A broadsword. Its scabbard and overall form were all ash-gray, giving the impression it was forged from bone.
Grwid.
Though a spirit sword, the soul dwelling within was that of a troll, and its unique ability was possession.
"Possession, huh."
Possession.
A folk spell or ritual to summon a god down to earth—simply put, it could be called possession.
"It's probably possessing the troll into the sword."
If so, Kallias could wield the troll's power, if only for a short time.
'But possession is usually a one-shot deal.'
No telling how long it would last.
There might be risks involved too, so it was too early to celebrate.
"Still, having an ace up my sleeve for emergencies isn't bad."
Being a wide, long two-handed sword, it couldn't be worn at the waist. He'd probably need to craft a belt and carry it on his back. Moderately heavy with a long reach, unlike Roas, it would take some time to get used to wielding it.
"The troll's blood... such a waste."
Given its size, the blood it spewed had pooled in puddles here and there. Kallias used pottery and vases from the troll's junk pile to collect several containers' worth. Precious blood that might not come again anytime soon.
He had to gather what he could while he could.
Troll blood could be used to make so many things.
"If only I had Brans's double bag."
The situation hadn't allowed him to bring it, which was truly regrettable.
"Once the war ends, I should come back."
The Bira tribe's relics would fetch a high price from the sacred alchemists.
Even broken artifacts would be invaluable to them.
Just putting them up at the church or Trista's auction house would make a fortune.
"Money is good the more you have."
He stuffed a few more Bira relics into a suitable bag and paused as he was about to leave the troll's lair.
"Hmm..."
Scanning everywhere with his tri-colored eyes for anything worth taking, something caught his attention.
"What is this?"
On a plainly empty wall, a faint golden shimmer flickered.
Not the red or blue of the tri-colored eyes' abilities, but gold.
Something was definitely there.
If it were dangerous, the tri-colored eyes would have shown red, so no need to worry.
"Do I need to break through the wall?"
He started to draw the newly acquired Grwid but put it back. It felt a waste to use a new sword for digging, so he drew Roas instead.
Kiiing.
It let out a sharp ring as if in complaint, but what could he do.
You're the handiest one for this.
Taaang!! Sword energy slashed at the wall, causing a violent tremor.
Yet strangely, not a single scratch appeared on the wall.
"What the hell."
Just ordinary rock, but not even a mark. That made it even more suspicious.
"I don't remember hiding a hidden piece like this."
Even the Devouring Sword left no mark.
A spirit sword, and it couldn't scratch this? Suspicious indeed.
Definitely not an ordinary wall.
Someone had artificially created it.
The corner of his mouth curved into a smile.
Kallias sheathed the Devouring Sword and drew the possession sword—Grwid.
The ash-gray blade and blood-red edge gleamed under the glowstone light.
Gripping the possession sword firmly, Kallias immediately infused it with holy power.
"Urk."
In an instant, nearly thirty percent of his holy power vanished as if sucked away, and strange patterns spread across the blade.
Once the patterns fully spread, an ominous green glow emerged, and vitality suddenly surged through his entire body.
The tension in his muscles felt different.
The grip in his hand felt distinctly firmer in every joint.
Immense power welled up, igniting an uncontrollable fighting spirit.
Grasping the overflowing power with both hands, he swung in one motion.
Kwaaaaaang—!!
A deafening roar shook the entire cave like the world splitting apart.
"This... is good!!"
Before Kallias, who had swung the possession sword, the cave's inner wall had crumbled defenselessly, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust.
"Incredible power. As expected, a sword that possesses the troll."
He could use the troll's power.
Seemingly short duration, but it could shine in a crisis.
Aces were always better in abundance.
Swoooo.
The possession ended.
The duration was quite short.
He could maintain it longer, but the holy power consumption was too immense.
Just that brief use had taken nearly thirty percent.
But the benefits were certainly worth it.
"I see. Even the troll's regeneration."
Partly due to potions, but during possession, regeneration skyrocketed exponentially. Thanks to that, Kallias's wounds had recovered to nearly ninety percent.
His body felt light, and there were no particular risks to the possession.
If any, it was the massive holy power consumption.
"I was disappointed it wasn't an illusion sword, but this makes up for it."
He felt like he'd struck gold.
Clank.
Sheathing the possession sword, Kallias crossed the scene he'd created with light steps.
He'd smashed through about three meters of outer wall, creating a passage.
"As expected."
From inside, the walls looked odd.
Not naturally formed stone, but protruding mud and stone walls artificially made.
The bizarre bricks bore geometric patterns and runes, and at the passage's end, a faintly felt holy aura brought a sense of refreshment.
"Holy power."
He sensed the energy of a god.
'A sacred object... probably not.'
Sacred objects didn't reveal holy power so blatantly.
They were usually well-hidden.
So, not a sacred object.
Then what? One possibility came to mind.
"No way it's here?"
Kallias picked up his pace.
Thud!
Kicking down the crumbling stone wall—Kwang! It collapsed, cold air brushing past his face.
Within the fallen stone wall.
Kallias's eyes widened.
"I never expected to find this."
The church's saint, revered as a saintess. She had vanished mysteriously in the north.
The main quest he was currently pursuing.
The one whose carriage wheel headed north.
"Patalite. What are you doing here?"
Kneeling.
Clutching her sword as proof of her piety, praying—a statue.
The church's saint and highest paladin.
The second-generation saintess who had reached master.
Patalite stood petrified like stone.
"The saint's holy power. I've sensed it through sacred stones before, but this vast amount... truly astonishing."
His depleted holy power began filling up in an instant. After battles and the troll possession, it had nearly bottomed out, yet just being here restored it rapidly.
When a pilgrim dies, a sacred stone like sarira forms inside from their holy power.
But that's only a fist-sized amount.
"Patalite..."
She must have held a vast quantity of sacred stones within.
After death, over long years, the crumbling sacred stones turned her flesh to stone.
[Patalite]
[You have glimpsed Patalite's piety, who became a sacred stone and formed a holy site.]
[Witnessing the end of the wondrous saintess increases your faith.]
[Faith +10]
Much was puzzling.
By lore, Patalite was last sighted in the north, with no further appearances noted.
What became of her after was unknown even to him.
To think she ended her life here. He hadn't expected it, but finding Patalite truly sparked many thoughts.
'Patalite...'
Many mysteries, but he decided not to dwell.
His own existence in this world defied explanation to begin with.
Gazing at her bittersweetly, he drew something from the stigmata on the back of his hand.
A single flower in exquisite harmony of black and white.
Valterus's Tears.
"This should do for planting."
Valterus's Tears grew only in sunless soil with powerful holy power.
That is, places preclaimed as holy sites.
This was the site where Patalite, saintess after Stella, had turned to stone, forming a holy site—perfect for planting Valterus's Tears.
No better spot existed.
Like paying respects, he planted it before her kneeling gracefully, clutching her sword. The moment he did, it seemed to absorb her holy power as it bloomed fully, shimmering with faint silver light.
He stood at a distance, gazing at the flower and her for a long while.
The picturesque scene made his alien fate and surroundings feel transcendent.
But he shook his head and turned away.
"Time to head up."
The north was still at war.
Orcs still eyed it, and the empire's lackeys hoped Karpe's barrier would fall.
While he lingered, orc axes struck at the north's heart—he needed to return to the battlefield soon.
Boom! Crash!
He collapsed the wall to seal the passage again, gathered what he could, and exited the lair to thick darkness and musty odors once more.
Beast presences filled the surroundings.
Lugurus and cliff-bottom beasts swarmed at the blood scent.
-Grrrr.
Low beast growls targeted the lone Kallias.
Red eyes glowing like predators stalking prey.
But Kallias's eyes looked beyond them.
"Luteon..."
He wouldn't die.
No way to beasts like these.
Even so, not ending him was selfish.
Next time they met, that's when he'd turn him into a sword.
By then, he'd be stronger.
Kallias glanced at them, raised his left hand, and unfurled Leteti's Wings.
Flutter!
The wings flapped at his will, lifting into the sky.
Whoosh!!
Leaving sharp winds and baffled beasts behind.
Kallias soared from the ground.
* * *
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Orc footsteps echoed even here. The sound and ground vibrations bred needless fear and anxiety.
"Sir Liban. Where is Lady Rini?"
Orphin urgently sought Rini.
Signs of war's start sharpened her desperation.
"She went to scout the orcs' movements."
Answering Orphin, Liban wiped his sword with dry cloth and nodded knowingly.
"Going back to where Kallias fell?"
"..."
"He's probably dead already. You know that, Orphin. It was an abyss too deep for dropped torches to reach. Surviving the fall is a miracle. Even if he miraculously lived, how would he climb out? I grew up in the north, but I've never heard of anyone vanishing in the Sinking Forest and returning alive."
"..."
Orphin fell silent.
Liban was right.
The day Kallias fell.
They tried many things repeatedly.
Tying grass and vines into long ropes to lower, dropping torches, and such.
But a week passed with no sign, and the knights who waited hopefully now fully accepted his death.
"Orphin. I know he saved us and was a strong knight. Kallias wasn't a disgrace to House Jervan—he was a knight brighter than any."
Liban only now.
Acknowledged him after death.
"Didn't you dislike him?"
"I did. But you can't hate a dead man forever. Kallias was exceptional, that's fact."
But he was dead.
Even if alive, no way to rescue him—same as dead.
Time to let go.
That's what Liban said.
"The orcs are still strong. Jaybarshu holds firm, but it's wearing thin. Luckily, Kallias looted their supplies. If we take these, it'll help greatly. The issue is how to transport them."
Orphin swallowed a sigh at Liban's calm assessment.
If Kallias were here.
If alive, countermeasures would proceed smoothly.
He knew a secret path to move supplies.
But he hadn't told anyone beforehand, so unusable.
They'd seized rations but couldn't move them—endless sighs.
Things that would be no issue if he lived.
"Sir Liban is right. Lady Orphin. His death is tragic, but survivors must do their duty."
It was Jack.
After Kallias's death.
He showed interest in Liban and began following him. Already lining up.
Not just Jack—other knights were splitting into Liban or Emily's factions.
"Sir Jack. He dove into the abyss with a formidable foe to save us. Our survival is his arrangement."
"That's what I'm saying. So his sacrifice won't be in vain! We must swing our swords for the north."
Orphin was speechless.
No rebuttal came to mind.
The empire knight who appeared was strong. Formidable physique and high-grade spear.
His explosion terrified knights, enough to kill in an instant.
If not for Kallias.
If he hadn't sacrificed, all might have died.
"Lady Orphin."
"Sir Allen. What is it?"
"Situation looks bad. Seems we missed a earth dragon, and orcs reached the army."
"Right."
Rini and Emily.
Both looked unwell compared to before.
"Lady Rini. Lady Emily. How was it?"
"Orc footsteps. Echoing here. Battle likely tonight or at dawn. We need to prepare."
Then.
Bwoooo—!
The horn vibrated the air.
Hearts sank at the call to arms.
The scream-like trumpet signaling war's start crossed the blue sky.
All turned, eyes widening at the surging green wave.
"Kallias..."
Her small mouth, full of lament, could only pitifully call his name.