Chapter 66
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 66
Translation: godsn
Tracking the Demon of the Magic Sword wasn't difficult. Having annihilated the Subjugation Squad, the demon no longer seemed to fear anything, openly committing massacres wherever she went.
Yurien and the Giosa Owners encountered the Demon of the Magic Sword in early 1632.
It was a day when light snow had fallen intermittently before stopping. The sky remained overcast, as if displeased. Across the barren fields, the demon had left behind corpses and blood like footprints. The metallic stench of blood trailed behind her like a tail.
"There she is."
Vice-Captain Baron pointed ahead. The woman's tangled black hair fluttered wildly in the wind. Clad in tattered rags, her appearance was a mess of dust, blood, and filth as she grinned. In her right hand, she clutched the magic sword Valdergiosa, its dark mana undulating, staggering forward unsteadily. Her bare, filthy feet kicked aside severed human heads carelessly.
Yurien stepped forward. Sensing their presence, the demon turned to face them. Their eyes met.
[Disgusting.]
The Holy Sword clicked its tongue and muttered. Through True Sight, Yurien saw her and agreed. It was disgusting. A bottomless blackness bubbled up like boiling foam, completely obscuring any trace of her original soul. The malevolence covering her soul was darker, fouler, and more horrifying than any evil Yurien had ever witnessed.
[I've seen several humans corrupted by Valdergiosa, but this one's particularly saturated with malice. Has the corruption lasted longer? Three years now? Any normal human would've broken down long ago, yet she's still holding on. Be careful.]
The Holy Sword warned. Without responding, Yurien took a step toward the unfortunate woman.
"Bearer of the Magic Sword."
She was likely an innocent victim. Just unlucky enough to be corrupted by the magic sword. Though he felt human pity, there was no way to save her. Through True Sight, she was irredeemable evil. The malice was so thick it made his eyes sting slightly. Yurien closed his True Sight.
"As the Azure Sky Knights who protect the Giosa, we shall subjugate you."
He raised Langiosa. The woman lifted Valdergiosa in response. Through her tangled hair, she bared white teeth in a grin. Holy Sword and Magic Sword clashed.
The battle didn't last long. With each exchange, Yurien felt chills run down his spine.
He was a genius. Since childhood, he'd never met his match among peers. As he grew older, even potential mentors disappeared. Year after year, he grew exponentially stronger, surpassing everyone. Becoming a Master was inevitable.
Never once had he encountered a wall. Never once had he felt the possibility of defeat. Even during his training days when he lost, he'd always intuited that he would eventually surpass that opponent. And that intuition had always proven true.
But now, for the first time, Yurien faced a wall. The first premonition of defeat. No image of victory came to mind. No matter how he attacked, she countered flawlessly, leaving no room for even the slightest mistake. As time passed, merely holding his ground became difficult. Death grazed his neck by a hair's breadth.
[No good. Coordinate with the other Owners. She's too strong.]
Finally, Langiosa intervened. Yurien, who'd been swinging his sword as if possessed, snapped back to his senses at the warning. He leaped back abruptly. The woman stared at him intently with inhumanly black eyes.
"Magnificent. What a true pity."
His heart pounded beneath heaving shoulders. He genuinely regretted it. That the first opponent to ever overwhelm him had to be a demon he must slay. Why did someone with such exceptional talent have to become the Demon of the Magic Sword? Had they met differently, they could have sparred repeatedly, reaching greater heights together. The words left his lips unbidden.
"If you had been a knight... I would have truly crossed swords with you in earnest."
"Captain Yurien."
Dietrich called out to him as if issuing a warning. I know damn well you're obsessed with nothing but the sword, but you can't be like this here too, you lunatic. The compressed nagging within Dietrich's call seemed almost audible. Yurien smiled bitterly. The regret and sorrow were merely personal sentiments.
"I know. This isn't a duel—it's an extermination."
"Shall we join in now?"
"Agreed."
He affirmed Baron's question. Baron's Mad Sword Saligiosa, Teresa's Guardian Sword Dimongiosa, and Dietrich's Conquest Sword Lemingiosa revealed themselves one after another. Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the woman raised Valdergiosa like a beast bristling its fur.
What followed was a fierce battle. The woman refused to fall easily. She held her ground remarkably long against four Giosa Owners fighting with intent to kill.
But she couldn't hold out forever. The demon was finally defeated. Yurien pinned her down and pressed his sword against her neck. To be precise, he attempted to behead her immediately, but her inky black mana surged and wrapped around her neck, resisting the blade.
A contest of strength ensued. The demon, who had been drenched only in her victims' blood until now, thrashed like a beast now armored in her own blood. The exhausted Giosa Owners grumbled something indistinct around them. Vice Captain Baron's muttering reached Yurien's ears.
"What a waste. As the Captain said, she would've been magnificent as a knight. With that talent, to lay hands on a Magic Sword of all things..."
Yurien felt a flicker of anger at those words. Who in their right mind would willingly grasp a Magic Sword knowing what it is? As his words implied—what could someone with such exceptional talent possibly lack? It wasn't this woman wielding the Magic Sword, but the unbearably thick, repulsive malice of humanity that stung his True Sight just to behold.
"Do you think... she chose to grasp this willingly?"
Pinning down her limbs while pressing his sword against her slender neck, Yurien murmured those words. Pitch-black eyes, so dark the pupils were indistinguishable, gazed up at him. Eyes that didn't seem human. Glassy orbs shimmering with killing intent.
Whether it was regret for her talent or mere pity for an unfortunate woman—Yurien impulsively sought something human within those eyes. He opened his True Sight, which he'd kept closed throughout the fight. Staring down at the malice so thick it obscured her original soul, he spoke softly:
"You wouldn't have wanted to do these things."
At that moment. The instant his words reached her.
Beyond the bubbling black malice like a swamp releasing gases, something blazing flickered into view. That light writhed as if wailing, tearing through the blackness clinging to her and rising to the surface. It stretched out its arms as if desperate to escape the malice.
Yurien forgot to breathe. He froze completely. A faintly burning violet silhouette. Though not as distinct as a living person, he recognized that soul. Forgotten memories revived vividly the moment he saw her.
The woman he'd glimpsed briefly at the banquet. A soul that had harbored an ember. That seed, no larger than a fingernail, had now blossomed into flames here.
Her soul, breaking through the malice, stared at him. For the briefest moment, her essence suppressed the malice, reclaimed its place, and moved her body. That soul was weeping. Following its lead, her physical body wept too. The eyes once filled only with bloodlust now spread with moisture—exactly one drop. A single tear trailed down.
[Good heavens, she's enduring within that? Even briefly regaining control of her body?]
Even without needing to hear the Holy Sword's awestruck murmur, he knew the moment he saw it. Though merely a single drop, that tear was nothing short of a miracle. Like a fresh leaf sprouting from a long-dead ebony tree.
What... what have I just witnessed?
"A tear."
"Captain?"
"She's crying."
"...Who? Surely not—"
Yurien didn't comprehend the words leaving his lips. Even as he spoke, her soul was already being submerged again beneath the tide of malice. The seed had bloomed, but its roots were still too shallow. His True Sight showed him her desperate struggle before she was inevitably swallowed by that swamp of corruption. He stared blankly as that flickering light sank into the seething darkness.
She's fighting so desperately. Even in that abyss, she's alive and screaming. That tiny ember is burning so fiercely—she's resisting with everything she has.
He wanted to help. To reach out and grasp her hand. But there was no way. He could only watch. Even her slender, trembling fingertips disappeared completely, leaving only the churning malice behind. Something sharp twisted in his chest. A suffocating weight spread through his entire body.
"They say nothing remains of a person's ego once the Magic Sword consumes them," Dietrich's incredulous voice reached his ears. "Captain, that's just a flesh puppet wielded by the Magic Sword."
No. That's not true. She's not dead yet. She's alive. He'd seen it. Seen it with his own eyes. Yurien shook his head, half-dazed as he replied, "Something remains. She's fighting."
"Fighting? Against what?"
"The Magic Sword... and her own will."
Only after the words left his mouth did clarity return. He understood now what he'd just witnessed. That tiny spark hadn't been extinguished—it had endured within that horrific malice, burning even brighter. She's fighting. He could scarcely believe such a thing was possible. The Holy Sword hesitated before speaking.
[Once... there was a human who overcame a Magic Sword. Someone who conquered its corruption, awakened Valdergiosa, and reclaimed their body. This woman... perhaps she too could—]
The woman's body, now wholly consumed by malice, bared its teeth and snarled. Yurien pinned the thrashing figure beneath him and studied her face. The tear's trail still glistened on her cheek—a trace left by a miracle. The wrists gripped in his hands were painfully slender.
Over the bloodied, blackened woman, Yurien superimposed the image of her as he'd first seen her. Laughing among noble ladies in the banquet hall, engaged in casual conversation. A woman he'd assumed would live an ordinary life before forgetting her entirely. Now here she was—so wretched, yet so fiercely ablaze, nurturing that faint glow into flame.
"This feels wrong. Let's finish this and go back."
"Even if some consciousness remains, our duty hasn't changed."
Though Dietrich and Teresa urged him on, Yurien couldn't move. Mere moments ago, he'd thought killing her was necessary despite his pity. But having witnessed her soul clinging to life within that darkness, he found it impossible to deliver the final blow. His right hand gripping the Holy Sword trembled faintly.
[The Demon of the Magic Sword is evil, but this woman bears no sin. Whether you judge her or grant her a chance to overcome it—both paths are just. The choice is yours.]
The Holy Sword's quiet whisper echoed in his mind. A choice. A choice... His decision was already made. When there was still hope, when she was fighting so desperately—he couldn't possibly cut her down himself. To stamp out a spark that had just begun to burn? How could he possibly do such a thing?
"I can't."
He resolved to save her.
"I'll give her a chance."