The Incompetent Hero and the Sacred Sword Awakening (2)
As I came down the mountain, the first people I saw were Baekryeon and Seollin.
"Baekryeon, Seollin."
"Doryeong!"
"You! Are you okay?!"
The moment I called out to them, Seollin closed the distance in a single stride.
"Something enormous seemed to happen up there… Was Red Oni strong enough to force you to draw out that much power?"
"Ah… that wasn't actually because of him."
I had toyed with Red Oni the way you toy with a child.
The real problem had been the Sword Demon who appeared afterward.
I had only exchanged proper blows with her twice, yet those two exchanges had left scars of destruction so deep it looked as if a natural disaster had torn through the mountain.
Their worry was only natural.
Of course, from my perspective it was far more astonishing that Baekryeon had managed to carry Baekho safely down the mountain through that catastrophic wreckage…
"Ah, right!"
"?"
"This isn't the time!"
Seollin suddenly seized my hand and pulled me toward Baekryeon, who was still with Baekho.
"Baekho's condition is really bad right now."
"What?"
What the hell was this about now?
Baekho's condition was bad? Hadn't she simply been steeped in aphrodisiac?
Or had forcing her power past the limit finally dealt a fatal blow?
"Doryeong…."
"Baekryeon, what on earth is she talking about? Baekho's condition is bad?"
At my question Seollin looked carefully at Baekho, who had been laid out on the ground.
"There are traces of a massive amount of aphrodisiac administered to Baekho's body. Enough that it would have been a lethal dose for an ordinary human. But… it doesn't seem to have been only the aphrodisiac. They probably used a drug that continuously weakens her power so she couldn't easily resist."
"A drug that weakens her power?… Then…."
As I trailed off, Seollin carefully nodded.
"Yeah. In a state where it's already hard to keep her sanity because of the aphrodisiac, her power keeps being drained, and on top of that she forced her strength out. So even now she's still growing weaker. I managed some emergency treatment, but a full cure is beyond my abilities."
"A method? Is there a way to treat her?"
At my question Seollin shook her head in silence, looking anything but confident.
So there was no way?
I shifted my gaze to Baekho lying there. For the moment she was only breathing shallowly and looked all right, yet her complexion was alarmingly pale.
Damn it…. What do I do?….
If it had been an enemy threatening me, that would have been fine.
I could simply smash that enemy in a single stroke.
If it had been a mountain-like obstacle, that would have been fine.
My sword can split even a mountain.
An enemy I can cut, smash, pierce, and bring down. But in the end this is only the power of destruction that breaks things.
In a situation where I have to save someone else, there is absolutely nothing I can do.
Ah….
"Inventory."
I hurriedly opened my inventory and pulled out every elixir I had taken from the treasure vault the last time I went to Yeomhyeongok with the Emperor of Yeom.
When Seollin saw the elixirs I produced, her eyes went round.
"Wh-what are these?! Where did you get them?!"
"Things I got from the treasure vault when I went to Yeomhyeongok with the Emperor of Yeom last time. I roughly grabbed whatever looked good for the body and stuffed a ton into my inventory…."
"Inventory?"
"…I put them in something like a transparent bag. Is there anything among these that might help?"
Seollin carefully examined the elixirs I had laid out.
With extreme caution she selected a few and approached Baekho.
"Seollin…."
"It's okay. Baekryeon, it'll work out somehow…."
Even without certainty herself, Seollin gave Baekryeon a small smile and began administering the elixirs.
After roughly ten minutes of treatment and observation, Seollin carefully looked at me and Baekryeon.
"Seollin, how did it go? Is Baekho all right?"
"For now… we got past the immediate crisis. But it's only a stopgap. She's still just as dangerous. Even the elixirs couldn't provide a fundamental solution."
"Those were top-grade elixirs."
"That's not the issue. If I were to give an example of Baekho's current state… it's like continuously pouring water into a jar with a cracked bottom. Fill it with a large amount and it will be full for the moment. But you can't stop the water that keeps leaking out."
Seollin said that much, then looked at the remaining elixirs.
"Honestly… if it had been an ordinary person, they would have recovered. The elixirs you pulled out are so precious that even the heads of each martial sect or the family heads would barely get to see them one by one. If I took those and refined my inner energy right now, my current internal energy would increase several times over—they're that incredible… but because Baekho's vessel is so vast, now that the vessel is cracked, even these elixirs can't fully restore her."
"…."
There was something I could understand about that with absolute clarity.
A long time ago.
After I possessed Leon's body, when I coincidentally achieved all stats 999 and my stamina rose to overwhelming levels.
Noren, who was in the same party and a priestess, cast healing on me, yet because my vessel was far too large and Noren's ability was far too lacking in comparison, she only recovered a little before she exhausted herself.
If what was happening to Baekho now was the same as that….
"…Let's go to the capital."
"?"
"Baekryeon?"
"Perhaps there will be some method in the capital. And even if not… there is someone there I can trust for advice."
Baekryeon spoke while tightly holding Baekho's hand.
Seeing that, I asked her,
"How long does it take from here to the capital?"
"With Doryeong's speed, it will not take more than a few days."
"We'll have to match your pace, won't we?"
"I will keep up."
Baekryeon's voice carried the weight of resolve.
After watching her for a moment, I turned my gaze to Seollin.
"How about it? How long can she hold on?"
"Hmm… if I keep administering the elixirs, about two weeks?…."
Two weeks.
The moment I heard those words, the Sword Demon's statement rose in my mind.
"…The Regular National Assembly of the Yeom Kingdom. She sent the Cult Demon King there."
The Regular National Assembly of the Yeom Kingdom.
The national conference where the Emperor of Yeom and every sect leader and family head of every martial faction and house in the Yeom Kingdom gather.
Sending the Cult Demon King there—the intention was obvious.
She meant to slash the overall military power of the Yeom Kingdom using the Cult Demon King.
The only one who could stop the Cult Demon King was me.
So I had to return to the Yeom Kingdom this very moment. Otherwise there was no telling what kind of rampage the Cult Demon King would unleash.
"Doryeong…."
"…."
But if I did that, the Baekho lying right in front of me would die.
Of course there was a possibility of finding a way to treat Baekho in the Yeom Kingdom, yet if I moved first to stop the Cult Demon King, Baekho's treatment would drop down the priority list.
The remaining time Seollin had estimated for Baekho was roughly two weeks. If the schedule stretched longer than that, Baekho's life would be in danger.
"…All right. Let's go."
In the end, after deliberating, I decided to head for the capital.
Come to think of it, Juzaku was still at the Emperor of Yeom's side.
Even if Juzaku's current power was partially sealed, the Cult Demon King should still be carrying damage from fighting me, so she ought to be able to contend somehow.
…Of course, if that damage had already been recovered… well, nothing I could do about that, but I was certain the Cult Demon King would not be at one hundred percent.
In this world, when a being of great power takes major damage, a corresponding risk remains.
Baekho and I were living proof of that fact right now.
"We're going to the capital of Jo—Hyeongyeong."
"You're going to Hyeongyeong?"
"Yes. And for the time being… the yokai will not be thinking of attacking this place, so focus on the city's restoration with peace of mind."
"Understood. First I will send a messenger bird to inform the capital in advance."
"I'd appreciate that."
After roughly explaining the situation to Yongdol, we hurriedly prepared to leave for Hyeongyeong.
I would carry Baekho.
Among the three of us—me, Baekryeon, and Seollin—I had the best stamina and was also the fastest, so the decision was simple.
"Don't worry, Baekryeon. We'll definitely find a way to restore the Sacred Beast."
"Yes. Thank you for always cheering me on, Seollin."
"I packed food too. Let's go."
I stuffed the provisions Yongdol had supplied into my inventory and took Baekho into my arms.
Aside from her shallow breathing, she continued sleeping like a princess in an enchanted forest.
According to Seollin it was an instinct to conserve as much power as possible….
Even though she wore a human form, I supposed she was still a Sacred Beast after all.
Tadat!
"!"
"F-fast?!… Even faster than before?!"
I raised my speed higher than usual.
At the same time I carefully adjusted so the pace would not put any strain on Baekho in my arms.
Baekryeon and Seollin seemed flustered by the speed that exceeded their expectations, yet once they grasped the urgency of the situation they began catching up to my pace.
"But what happened to that Red Oni guy?"
"I am curious about that as well. There is no way Doryeong would have let him escape."
"Ah… about that."
Given how chaotic everything had been, I had never properly explained it to Baekryeon and Seollin.
"To put it simply… some crazy bitch showed up and I ended up losing him."
"Crazy bitch?"
"You mean a powerhouse strong enough to face Doryeong was helping Red Oni?"
"Yeah. And the one who subdued Baekho was that one too."
At my words I felt Baekryeon's body tremble slightly.
It was partly about Red Oni, the enemy of her family, but also because it was the one who had subdued her ancestor Baekho—so the reaction came unbidden.
"She's my master's disciple."
"…What?!"
"You said Doryeong's master's disciple?!"
"Yeah. It was a completely unexpected meeting for me too…. But since Master said it himself, it must be true."
I meant every word.
I was thoroughly flustered by the truly unexpected encounter with the Sword Demon.
In the first place, how on earth had she managed to keep surviving through well over a hundred years?
Had the Sword King himself known something about her and known she would not die of old age?
She was definitely the sole survivor of a destroyed nation, he said.
Destroyed nation.
That might be a keyword worth remembering later, but right now I had no leeway to care about it.
So for the moment I would simply take it as it was.
"Don't worry. Next time we meet, I'll definitely win."
"Mm… I believe in you."
"By the way, the master of a monster like you…. I can't even imagine how strong he must be."