#012 Wild Wind
#012 Wild Wind
What is a Holy Sword?
It refers to a divine armament imbued with the power of a god.
It is a sword that grants even an ordinary human the power to strike down a Demon King simply by holding it.
Yes, to use an analogy, it is like a gun.
A child cannot defeat an adult, but a Holy Sword, like a gun, is an object that allows even a child to defeat an adult.
Then how many Holy Swords are there in total?
Well, there are a few things that are strange to call Holy "Swords," but the number of Holy Swords existing on this continent is seven in total.
'This isn't even something set up for Heroes and Demon Kings to face off.'
Just as there are seven Demon Kings, there are also seven Holy Swords.
Whether the chicken came first or the egg came first, I do not know.
Whether the Demon Kings took seven seats to oppose the seven Holy Swords, or whether the gods sent down seven Holy Swords to the earth to oppose the seven Demon Kings.
Or perhaps it was simply because both humans and Demonfolk liked the number '7.'
I could not tell which it was, but I knew very well what the Holy Swords were and what powers they possessed.
Why, you ask?
Because I beat them all to death.
I faced all seven Holy Swords and killed six Heroes.
Just one.
I was ultimately driven back to the Demon Realm while facing the last Hero, but in that process, I was able to grasp precisely the true nature of the Holy Swords and their background.
A Holy Sword is simply an ancient 'artifact' with a very special power.
It only got framed as a Holy Sword because it came to be used against Demon Kings; a Holy Sword was simply an ancient relic.
A primordial power that may have existed from tens of thousands of years ago—no, from the very moment human history began.
Through my research on the Holy Swords, I learned everything about their history, origin, and methods of use.
Including how to use a Holy Sword.
Even the 'Trigger Word' that seals a Holy Sword's power.
O wind.
WHOOOOOSH.
For a moment, I lost myself in the golden wind whirling around Lucius.
'Ah, my heart.'
The phantom pain began to flare up again.
Though this body had no heart, the heart in my soul began to feel as if it were being torn to shreds.
Why, you ask?
Because that was the Holy Sword that had torn my heart to shreds.
Right then it was reassuring beyond measure, but remembering that time made me want to throw it into the magma of some volcano.
WHOOOOOSH.
As the golden wind surged, Lucius stared ahead with a proud gaze.
His eyes, which had been blue, began to slowly dye gold with the Holy Sword's power, and the golden wind also gradually lost its force, settling around the Holy Sword.
After a single storm had swept through, the Holy Sword finally revealed its subtle form.
"That is... a Holy Sword?"
With both the rust-disguised seal on its surface and the invisible mana seal released, the Wind Holy Sword captivated humans and Demonfolk alike.
"Ahh... so this is a Holy Sword."
Even Lucius was merely holding the Holy Sword aloft in a daze; he stood still without any thought of swinging it.
"Hero."
TAP, TAP.
"It's about time you swung it. How long are you going to keep me waiting?"
"Ah."
Only after I lightly tapped Lucius's leg with the tip of my foot did Lucius blink several times and turn his gaze toward me.
"M-Master...?!"
"Do you feel the power?"
"...Yes."
A Holy Sword provides power to the master who activated it.
The kind of powerful force that could snap the neck of a powerless undead like me in an instant now dwelled within Lucius.
"What will you do with this power now?"
"I..."
Lucius looked down for a moment.
"With the Holy Sword's power, I..."
On the ground, Nertio, who had tried to steal the Holy Sword, was trembling in fear, and the villagers also kept their mouths firmly shut in awe.
"Lu-Lucius! A Hero from our village! Wow!!"
"Th-that's amazing! You know, the money I borrowed from you last time—I'll pay it back double after this battle! Understood...?"
"Lucius, we never meant to ostracize you! Nertio made us do it!!"
Yes, awe.
There was respect for the Holy Sword's overwhelming power, but they had also suddenly become afraid of Lucius, who wielded it.
So, like thieves with guilty consciences, the people who had treated Lucius poorly immediately began sucking up to him.
Because a Holy Sword Hero has power.
Someone once said.
-You must not fear power itself. You must fear the one who seizes that power!
I remembered hearing it from the undead Ice Witch of the Northern Vale, from the frozen lands.
-Where did you hear that?
-I don't know! Ever since I gained this power, those words keep coming out.
The Ice Witch, who would freeze her opponents to death and then extract the moisture from them to create death water spirits, was ultimately struck down by the Heroes.
Yes, you do not need to fear power.
The power of a Holy Sword is not the Holy Sword's power itself, but a power that changes depending on 'who' wields it.
A power that can make one a god or a Demon King—that is the power of a Holy Sword.
Because a Holy Sword possessing one of the seven attributes of mana is merely the source of the power representing that attribute.
The Holy Sword Lucius holds is the 'Wind Holy Sword.'
A Holy Sword that can summon a wild wind capable of tearing everything apart, or stir a gentle breeze that lulls everything to sleep.
Of course, things may be a little different in this era, but in a backwater like this, a Holy Sword Hero 'accidentally killing all the villagers during an awakening accident' would not be a major blemish.
What matters is how he will use the Holy Sword for humanity going forward.
"How will you use it?"
"...First."
Lucius turned his gaze toward Nertio.
Nertio, startled, ran to the village chief, and the village chief tried to aim his gun at Lucius with trembling hands.
"Y-you're going to kill me, aren't you?! Aaaah!!"
BANG—!
"Too slow."
A blade of wind flowing from the Holy Sword sliced the gun apart in an instant.
"A-aaah!!"
"I won't miss twice. You dare aim a gun at my master again...?"
The village chief dropped the gun and collapsed to the ground, and the gun rolled across the floor, split in half.
"Heh."
Lucius grinned and gestured toward the Holy Sword with his eyes.
"With this Holy Sword, I will eliminate any threat aimed at you, Master."
"......."
"Master. What worries you?"
Lucius turned his gaze toward me.
"Just say the word. I will tear it all apart with this blade of wind."
He was in a state where he would kill even a person if I gave the order, and I approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What worries me is you."
"...Pardon?"
"Are you trying to eliminate what I fear and what threatens me? No. You must not kill recklessly."
Corpses are a pain to dispose of.
"I did not put a Holy Sword in your hands to tell you to kill people."
Corpses were a primary resource for necromancers, and Black Mage bastards like Zepar could use them however they pleased, whether as corpse bombs or anything else.
"Calm down. No one here can threaten you."
"But what about you, Master...?"
"Can't you just protect me?"
That was why I had made you a Holy Sword Hero.
I chose you, Arthur Lucius, because you seemed least likely among anyone to get drunk on Holy Sword hype and swing it around recklessly.
I handed over the Holy Sword because I judged you to be the kind of guy who would plunge the Holy Sword into my enemies, not into my back.
"I believe in you, Lucius. So..."
SWISH!
Something flew at me from behind.
"!!"
HISS...!!
It was a small poison needle aimed at my shoulder, and from among the humans whose bodies had frozen stiff from the Holy Sword's aftershock, a single goblin had finally succeeded in launching a poison needle at me.
However.
CLANG—!
Lucius pulled me close and swung his sword.
"A Hero who protects his master."
The poison needle bounced off the Holy Sword and flew into the sky, and Lucius grinned, smiling at me.
"Will this do?"
"...Hm."
I understood why he had moved so urgently to save me, but did he really need to pull me in like that?
Though I was not fully in his arms, being pulled by a man's touch was deeply unpleasant.
With one hand aiming the Holy Sword to the side and the other wrapped around my back, irritation surged up inside me.
This bastard, now that I see him up close, he might be as handsome as my other human body...?
"...Ahem."
"Ah, I'm sorry!"
"From now on, don't pull me... haah, never mind."
If I gave Lucius strange instructions for no reason, I didn't know what might happen later.
If I gave an order like "Protect me without touching me," then later, if I was truly in danger, I wouldn't be able to rely on Lucius to protect me.
'It's not yet time to take that kind of risk.'
I could not die yet.
If I die like this, if my soul escapes from this body, one wrong move and I could lose my reason and simply wander the world as a vengeful spirit.
'The Underworld is dangerous too.'
Even if I were to drift to the Underworld, it would be dangerous.
No, that would actually be the worst.
'Because the Goddess of the Underworld is out for my blood.'
I took a step back from Lucius and cleared my throat.
"Lucius. This is an order."
"Yes, Master."
"Those goblins over there... take them all down. And extract the Mana Stones."
I wouldn't kill humans, but goblins were the exception.
"I'll be right back, Master."
He vanished like light, and only a moment passed.
Fwoosh—!!
Between the goblins surrounding the villagers, a golden storm began to rage.
I.
Lost myself in the beauty of that golden light.
'Mana Stones, jackpot.'
The wild wind unleashed by the Holy Sword was the light of my life extension.