Joue en Lucette: The Demon's Sacred Dance
"Joue en Lucette"
Long, long ago, there was a man named Roland.
He was a priest who served the gods and a crusader who guarded their temples. One day, he harbored a single question.
Why could divine power and mana not be used at the same time?
Anybody with an interest in strength would have wondered the same thing at some point.
The gods had created everything, and breathed mana into every living being. Wasn’t mana then a part of divine power?
Separating divine power and mana seemed to distort the gods’ will itself.
Roland began his pursuit, driven by that small doubt, of combining divine power and mana.
He had often offered sword dances at religious festivals. As he danced, he channeled mana into the overflowing divine power he felt from the ritual.
At first, the two refused to mix like oil and water. But with every offering of mana to the gods, he kept feeding it upward until the two finally fused.
And Roland tasted ecstasy.
The dark night sky turned blindingly white. Heaven itself opened. Beams of light pierced the darkness from every direction, and he wept with a joy he had never known.
This was the Joue en Lucette. The beginning of a sword that hated the gods.
At first, many criticized Roland for his union of divine power and mana.
His views were so heretical that a trial was held. He danced the sword dance in the judgment hall, determined to punish himself.
No matter how you looked at it, the sword dance was beautiful. It captivated every eye.
As the dance continued, the divine power itself began to envelop Roland’s body. A tiny light of pure divine power burst from his blade. The judgment hall transformed into a sacred place overflowing with manifested divine power.
The trial meant to label him a heretic instead became a prayer hall praising the gods. The people had no choice but to accept him.
Closer to the gods than ever before, Roland rose to an important figure in the religious world. He flourished.
But was it the corrupting influence of power? Or had the union of divine power and mana been blasphemous? Roland’s mind began to unravel over time.
To recapture the ecstasy, he danced without sleeping for three days straight. When he wasn’t dancing, he acted with paranoid delusions or simply stared into vacancy.
Then the incident occurred.
Concerned priests tried to stop him from starving himself and dancing alone. Roland killed them all. He danced the sword dance upon their corpses.
Unconcerned with the dead priests, he trampled over their bodies while performing the sword dance for the gods. The sight was pure terror.
The sword dance for the gods had become the dance of a madman. Blood from the priests clung thickly to the holy sword that symbolized the gods.
Crusaders were sent to stop him, but no one could halt the dancer.
At the center of the church, Roland gradually built a mountain of corpses. Suddenly, he stopped the dance. He looked at the horror he himself had created.
Though still immature, Sister Jeroni hadn’t read a joke. His friend Floria, who had helped interpret the gods’ words. His sturdy comrade Sindor, who had always guarded the church.
The sword slipped from his now-limp hands. Roland knelt, tears streaming down his face.
Even in that moment, his hand still itched to hold the sword. He stabbed his own wrist with the broken blade lying nearby.
“Why… why, O gods… What have I done wrong…? I only wanted to get closer to You!!”
A cry of pain and despair echoed through the church.
“You reject even the feeling of Your embrace and the submission of your dignity? Then why did You give me this sword?! Why?! Why?!”
Roland came to his senses, shouting toward the heavens. He tore his hand free from the blade and grabbed the sword again.
Blood poured from his wounds, soaking the holy sword and mixing with the blood he had already shed.
Slowly, he began the sword dance once more. He scattered his own blood across every corner of the church.
Though the sight was grotesque, sacred light still poured from the tip of his blade. Roland tasted ecstasy again.
But this time the ecstasy brought him no joy.
With the sword raised toward the heavens, Roland performed the final motion. Tears of blood fell as he shouted:
“O gods Etelius! This Roland, your humble lamb, dares to offer You this single word!”
He thrust the sword brutally into his chest. He pressed the blade against his own throat.
“Etelius!! I hate you!!”
With a desperate cry, Roland’s head fell to the ground.
Abigail listened in silence to the horrifying tale. A girl with a dry, hardened sensitivity to old stories, she found the dangerous sword technique that Rai was trying to teach her nothing but suspicious.
“… …
“Your blasphemy toward the gods, divine punishment, mental contamination. Many theories exist, but the reason Roland went mad was actually simple.”
Looking at him with eyes of disbelief, Rai smiled and rubbed the back of his head with his fingers.
“It was just addiction to drugs. His brain got fried by the drugs. The gods had nothing to do with it. No punishment, nothing like that.”
“You’re saying Roland was on drugs?”
“Yeah. He mentioned tasting ecstasy while combining divine power and mana. Not everything has been confirmed yet, but it’s said that humans produce something similar to drugs inside their bodies. Like when battle gets too intense, you don’t feel pain. That’s what happened—he overproduced it.”
“How did you know that?”
Rai shrugged at Abigail’s question.
“I examined Roland’s corpse in secret at the church.”
“… …
Examining corpses still wasn’t easily accepted by society. Especially since healing magic and miracles could cure wounds, medicine had advanced slowly. Anyone trying to make scientific discoveries from corpses was branded a necromancer and given a terrible reputation.
Yet when Abigail heard that the church had done such a thing, her expression darkened.
“As I thought, church people are the worst.”
“That’s just your opinion. Anyway, let’s get back to the story. This sword technique… actually, Rushasso is more like a ritual. Simply put, it’s like doping. It boosts your body’s vitality, pumps your energy through the roof, widens your field of vision, removes fear, and dulls pain to a certain degree. It’s a perfect all-in-one.”
Abigail, who knew that perfection didn’t exist, said it with a mocking laugh.
“But it has all the downsides of drugs?”
“Exactly. Addiction, backlash after use, dependence, and all the bad stuff.”
Rai laughed and danced the sword dance again. Slow streams of light flowed from the beautiful arcs of his blade, painting the air like a galaxy.
Different from mana. Divine power. Abigail’s eyes widened.
“Like this, your body gets massively strengthened. Your vision widens too. If you experience it directly, you’ll feel like you can do anything.”
“You… were a priest?”
Divine power wasn’t some cheap strength you got just by believing in the gods. It was a kind of penance that priests received only after years of devotion and following the teachings of their faith.
She had been told to watch the sword dance, yet she was still surprised by the divine power. Rai answered with a complicated expression, as if her reaction disappointed him.
“I simply imitated divine power with mana.”
“That’s possible?”
“Those who beat the laws of the world are Archmagi.”
So that was why the guy kept mentioning Archmagi. Abigail swallowed the words, glaring at Rai with a confident expression.
“Anyway, if you learn it you’ll get stronger, right?”
“No thought given to the risks?”
“If you can get stronger, then it doesn’t matter.”
Abigail spoke firmly. Rai looked at her for a moment.
In those bright red eyes, there was no hesitation. A will so strong it seemed reckless. He thought that even a half-hearted imitation of a coward would be enough.
At that moment, Zeroa, on an adventurer’s commission, felt something and looked toward the academy. But Rai couldn’t understand.
Rai looked at the eyes full of will for a short time, then smiled playfully.
“Yeah? Then there’s a safe way to use it. No need?”
“There is?”
“Of course. I made it already. Magic users are the type who have to twist problems or solve them somehow once they understand them. I’ve already analyzed it and created a solution.”
Full of hope, Abigail’s eyes sparkled at the words that you could use great power without risk.
Rai laughed softly at her unusually bright, sparkling eyes.
“But since you said no need, I’ll have to throw it away.”
“… … In the end you’ll teach me, won’t you?”
“Eh? Do you think I will?”
No.
This man wasn’t the type to be bound by feelings or any justification. If he said he wouldn’t teach, he really wouldn’t. Looking at Rai’s eyes full of mischief as he shook his head, Abigail let out a small sigh.
“Teach me… I need it.”
She had broken a lot of her pride.
Rai stared at the back of her head as she bowed and asked for instruction. He approached her and whispered.
“Please teach me. You’re truly wonderful, Master Rai. I can’t endure how much I respect you.”
“… …”
Abigail’s eyes, when she lifted her head, burned with killing intent.
She glared at him as if she could devour him, but Rai’s eyes were still full of mischief. When she gritted her teeth after he tilted his head as if asking if she wouldn’t teach, Abigail clenched them and spoke.
“Please teach me. You’re truly wonderful… Master Rai. I can’t endure how much I respect you… I can’t bear it…”
“No. There’s no love in it. Add some emotion and say it again. It’s even getting to the point where I don’t want to teach Rushasso. Add some heart. Pour in some emotion.”
Abigail forced the words out stiffly. Rai grimaced and shook his head.
“Kuuu—”
He showed his fangs as if he would bite her neck right then, but Rai paid it no mind.
Abigail calmed the heart about to die from embarrassment. With difficulty, she opened her mouth.
“Teach me.”
It was a soft voice, completely different from her usual fierce tone. Full of shyness, it sounded like a cute girl hiding her face.
“You’re truly wonderful… Master Rai… I can’t endure how much I… respect you… ❤️”
Abigail’s face turned bright red as she said it.
Like a girl confessing love, her eyes shook without meeting his gaze. Her face, even up to her ears, looked as if it would catch fire.
“K, kuhahahaha… puahahahaha!”
In the end, Rai couldn’t hold back his laughter. He rolled on the floor holding his stomach. Abigail glared at him, but even with her red face, she was only cute.
After rolling around the floor laughing for a long time, Rai wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and stood up.
“Pass. Pass. With that kind of resolve, you can do anything. You’re cuter than I thought.”
“… …”
Abigail, embarrassed, didn’t answer. It seemed she needed a little more time for her heart to calm.
Rai, muttering to himself while chuckling earlier, gave her a piece of paper and a small case when her face returned to its normal color.
Inside the case were small ampoules filled with clear liquid.
When Abigail looked up after checking inside, Rai explained.
“It’s a neutralizer. You won’t need it right now, but after using Rushasso, drink it. It will reduce addiction and dependence. The body weakness after use is unavoidable. Your body needs rest, so don’t force it.”
Abigail looked at the ampoules while listening to the explanation.
They looked like water, but she couldn’t imagine how much knowledge had gone into making them.
The paper contained the recipe for the neutralizer. After carefully memorizing it, Abigail burned the paper that Rai had prepared in the fire.
“You memorized it already?”
“Yeah. Go ahead and recite it?”
“No, it’s fine. After all, you’re the one who’ll drink it. If there’s a mistake, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
It was a response without any hesitation. Rough and full of curses, but with sharp intelligence. He thought that even a half-competent fool would be better than imitating her brain.
At that moment, Aslan, on an adventurer’s commission, felt something and looked toward the academy. But Rai couldn’t understand.
“Then I should learn the method of turning mana into divine power first?”
“Huh? No. You can’t learn it. It’s a magic I barely use myself. You’re not an Archmage, after all. You’ll never be able to learn it in your lifetime.”
“… …”
Abigail frowned at Rai’s words.
Then how was she supposed to learn Rushasso, which required divine power as a prerequisite?
With a full belly of complaints, Abigail met his eyes. Rai answered with a smile.
“That’s why we’re going to become priests and learn divine power.”
“… …”
I don’t understand what kind of nonsense this is.
Even as her eyes became more dangerous, Rai continued speaking without caring.
“If you need divine power, just believe in the gods. Simple, right? Starting tomorrow, let’s go to a nearby church.”
“Together?”
“Yeah, I’m curious about the ritual too. How divine power can be used in what ways, what the important elements of the ritual are, and so on. There are many things I want to know.”
“No respect or love for the gods.”
Abigail was the same, but he would pretend to believe in the gods out of simple curiosity.
“You’ll fall to hell.”
“It’s fine. Once I do whatever I want, hell is already decided.”
Rai answered with a laugh as if it were natural.
“… … Can I even become a priest?”
Without any fear of the gods, she honestly didn’t think she could.
The divine power, the price of belief, might be a power she could never possess in her lifetime.
“It’s fine.”
Rai gave a gentle smile as if to reassure her.
A girl who had never believed in anyone her whole life felt a desire to lean on his smile for a short while.
“The gods are perverts, you know. They like virgins.”
“… …”
It was really only for a short time.