#011 Awakening
#011 Awakening
Becoming the master of a Holy Sword.
Lucius could not easily take the hand Bel extended toward him.
The night raid.
In the end, Lucius had been nothing but dead weight against the village chief's scheme to seize Bel.
He had kicked at the one who came after him, but he hadn't been able to subdue him. Instead, he'd been shot, bleeding, and had made it so Bel couldn't move easily.
No matter how much Bel was like a Hero, Bel was now weak—weak enough to have said so herself.
She was a frail woman.
Since he was physically stronger, since he was a man, Lucius had a duty to protect Bel.
Because he was a man.
Because he was her disciple.
—Remember this, Lucius.
Lucius recalled the words of the hunter who had saved him when he was young, after he'd been abandoned.
—Every man carries chivalry in his heart. Chivalry that protects the weak, guards women, and can stake his life for others.
A knight.
In other words, "justice."
To carry out that justice, one needs power.
Even if that power was not something Lucius had built up himself.
Even if it was not a result earned through his own effort.
—Hey, how can I become a knight when I can't even sense mana?
—Even if your ability is lacking, if your heart does not change, then you are already a knight. Remember that.
"To be worthy of myself...! Master, I—"
"Move!!"
BANG!
Someone shoved Lucius hard from the side.
Lucius had a fairly large build, but he was no match for a young man with the bulk of an orc.
"I-I'll become the Hero!!"
"Nertio!!"
Bel's gaze turned toward Nertio, the village chief's son.
He had a build that didn't even need a gun, and he was the bastard who had sent Bel a sinister look and tried to ambush her in the night. But it was true that he was "stronger" than Lucius.
That was why they had attacked Lucius at night.
Because Nertio was stronger than Lucius, and because Nertio's father—the village chief—had a gun.
"Make me the Hero! Then I can wipe out those goblin bastards in one go!!"
Even with a gun, the power of a Holy Sword was still mighty.
A Holy Sword's master could take a bullet from afar without so much as a scratch on their skin, deflecting the shots, and even if their heart was pierced, they would recover in an instant and survive.
It wasn't just survivability—their combat ability was the same.
The Holy Sword was a weapon with the latent power to turn even an ordinary maiden into a Sword Master once she became its master.
"Earlier you called her a witch?"
"Prove that she's not a witch!!"
"...How insolent."
Bel pointed at the Holy Sword in irritation.
By sheer coincidence, as the villagers had gathered in the village square to escape the goblins, they had naturally ended up standing with their backs to the Holy Sword.
"Pull it out. Pull it out and prove you're the Holy Sword's master."
"......."
Bel stood beside the Holy Sword with her arms crossed.
Having untied the ropes herself, she was utterly composed even amid the threats of humans and goblins alike.
"Kill her!! Grrrk!"
"Gah, Holy Sword or whatever, just do something fast!!"
"Dammit, the goblins are fighting like their lives depend on it! What kind of goblins are these?!"
Whether the witch Bel was real or not, the combat power of the goblins trying to stop the Holy Sword Awakening far exceeded that of ordinary goblins.
No goblin fights desperately when attacking.
Unless they're fighting inside their cave, inside their nest, goblins never throw their lives away in a fight.
But these goblins were different now.
They were frantic to break through the humans blocking their path and somehow stop Bel—the witch trying to carry out the Holy Sword awakening ritual.
"Hoo...."
Nertio gripped the Holy Sword's hilt with a composed expression.
Bel gestured with her hand as if urging him to hurry up and pull, while the village chief glanced back and forth between his son and the witch, wringing his hands.
"The legend... was false? The legend of the Crimson Mage was actually a Demonfolk scheme? The one who called the Demon King's name was the real Hero? Gah, what have I done? No, it can't be. It can't be...."
The village chief could not come to a clear decision.
Lucius found it utterly ridiculous to watch the man agonize between being the village chief who had to eliminate the witch and being the father whose son might become the Holy Sword's master.
At the same time, he felt a sense of despair about himself.
"Master...."
If only she had told Nertio to get lost.
If only she had said this Holy Sword belonged to Arthur Lucius.
—If you wish to become a Hero even without a Holy Sword, then a Hero is a Hero.
His master had said that.
Could it have been for this very moment?
Was Lucius simply going to become a Hero without a Holy Sword while Bel chose some man who looked stronger than him to become the true Holy Sword wielder?
Because she had become disillusioned with him, who had failed to do anything properly during the attackers' raid and had only served as a bullet sponge?
"I...."
"GRAAAAAH!!"
Nertio's face turned bright red as he tried to pull out the Holy Sword.
But the Holy Sword remained stuck in the altar, just as it had for the tens of thousands who had come before.
"As expected, you're not Hero material. A guy who tries to kidnap a woman in the middle of the night, a Hero? Pfft, what bullshit."
"Y-you...!"
"Get lost. It's our Lucius's turn."
Our.
At that single word, Lucius squared his shoulders with pride.
Bel seemed to have said it without much thought, but Lucius found that single word incredibly reassuring, and it made him happy.
Bel still believed in Lucius.
Her words—that if his ability was lacking, he could borrow the Holy Sword's power, and if that wasn't enough, she would raise him herself—had not been a lie.
Now it was Lucius's turn to show his ability.
"Y-you...!"
"Hurry, Lucius."
Bel reached out toward Nertio, who had collapsed on the ground.
At the tip of her index finger, a red flame blazed brightly, and Bel nodded at Lucius.
No words were necessary.
Bel took it for granted that Lucius would pull out the Holy Sword.
Then, naturally, it was time to answer that faith.
"Hoo...."
Lucius grabbed the Holy Sword with both hands.
The Holy Sword that was supposed to be held for the first time at the coming-of-age ceremony.
It was truly the first time he had ever gripped this sword's hilt, yet for some reason, Lucius felt a sense of familiarity and longing.
"I am...."
Clunk.
"...Huh?"
He had meant to pull it out smoothly, but no matter how much strength he put into it, it wouldn't budge.
Lucius's heart sank.
"Th-this is...."
"To release the seal, you have to chant the spell. Pfft."
Bel walked over to Lucius and patted him on the back, laughing.
Even though this was a battlefield where goblins and humans were screaming and fighting, Bel placed her hand over Lucius's with a face full of mischief.
"!!"
A wet liquid flowed over the back of Lucius's hand.
It was unmistakably Bel's blood.
"No way...."
"...Shh. Ready?"
Bel winked one eye as a signal, and Lucius answered by silently gripping the hilt with all his strength.
"One, two—"
"HYAAH!!"
CLANG!!
It came out.
The Holy Sword that no one had been able to pull out all this time came free from the altar.
"Wow...!!"
Tears welled up in Lucius's eyes.
How many people had passed through the Hero Village, the Holy Sword Village, over the years?
Among them had even been Grand Sword Masters renowned across the continent.
But none of them had been able to pull out the sword, and everyone had simply assumed that some ill-natured mage had played a trick with bad intentions.
By now, it was merely being used in the village as a substitute for the coming-of-age ceremony—a device to show that life wasn't so easy.
And that Holy Sword had been pulled out by Lucius's hand.
"Master...!! I did it!"
"...Yes. You pulled out the Holy Sword."
Bel looked at Lucius with an utterly composed face.
"You were the one who pulled out the Holy Sword."
"Ah...."
A current ran through Lucius's entire body.
It wasn't just that he had become the Holy Sword's master—he was moved and overjoyed that he had repaid the trust Bel had shown him.
So now, it was time to defeat the goblins and eliminate every threat aimed at Bel.
"Master! I will protect you!"
"...There's still one more step, you know?"
"What?"
"Look at the Holy Sword."
Only then did Lucius's eyes turn to the Holy Sword.
Lucius had succeeded in pulling out the Holy Sword.
But the Holy Sword was still covered in rust, and Lucius was merely holding it.
There was no eruption of a mighty storm of mana from the Holy Sword, no thunder and lightning descending from its immense power.
Nor was he receiving countless amounts of mana from the Holy Sword.
"This is...?"
"H-hahaha!!"
Nertio, who had collapsed pathetically on the ground, pointed his finger and sneered at Lucius.
"You idiot! You're just some guy who pulled out the Holy Sword! Hand it over! Now!!"
"Th-that can't...?!"
"Annoying little shit."
THWACK.
Bel walked over to Nertio and planted a foot on his upper body in one swift motion.
"Guh, gahk...!!"
Keeping one bare foot planted squarely on his solar plexus, Bel quickly jabbed both of Nertio's shoulders with her toes.
She was barefoot from being dragged out in a hurry at night, but beneath her feet, a faint dark-red light shimmered.
Was it because he was holding the Holy Sword?
Or was it because he had pulled out the Holy Sword with Bel's help?
"From the moment he pulled it out, that guy is the Holy Sword's master, you moron."
Things that had been invisible to Lucius began to come into view.
Thump, thump.
Inside the Holy Sword.
As if bound by powerful chains, countless chains were wrapped tightly around the rusted Holy Sword.
Chains invisible to others' eyes—like mist, yet with a clear shape.
He had to undo all of them.
Only then would the Holy Sword's power become his own.
"M-Master...!!"
"Normally, you'd go to the altar, perform the ritual, undergo the trial, and all that. But now's not the time for that."
CRUNCH.
Bel stomped on the side of Nertio's face with her bare foot as he tried to get up.
Then she raised one hand toward the sky and spoke.
"Say it like this and raise it up with a flash. Got it?"
"R-really?"
"Of course. Have you ever seen me lie?"
"......."
More and more eyes turned toward Lucius.
The humans with anticipation, and the goblins with fear.
"Hoo...."
With everyone's eyes on Lucius, he gripped the Holy Sword with both hands and raised it above his head.
And then.
"O wind———!!"
In that instant.
FWOOOOSH!!
The rust on the Holy Sword burst off as if exploding, and a raging gale began to whirl out from the sword.