Jealousy Dungeon - 4
A writhing tentacle tore through space and drew out a single sword from within.
Setting aside the unpleasant slime coating it, the blade was jet-black, its runes engraved in the exact same positions as Frach's — a perfect match. Calling it Frach's replica would not have been strange at all.
Anyone would be deeply unsettled by the existence of something that looked just like themselves. Frach, however, was nothing of the sort. She was shouting with pure delight.
"Hah...! Hah...! At last — this moment has come!"
Frach was panting with excitement like a middle-aged man whose long-awaited figurine order had finally arrived. In reality, she was merely stacking one magic sword atop another — but left like that, she would absorb it on her own soon enough.
"I've given you what you wanted. Now, as payment, reveal the truth you've been hiding."
"I think settling this with just one magic sword is a bit of a waste, don't you?"
"You spoke as though you had no greed. That wasn't the case after all, it seems."
"This is a story I've never told anyone. Not even people close to me."
I hadn't even told Rewen — the one who had confided his secret as a regressor to me — that I was a transmigrator. Handing a secret like that over to a demon who wasn't a friend, who could practically be considered an enemy, in exchange for a single magic sword? It was madness that defied all common sense.
"Very well. From my treasure vault, you may take up to two more items—"
"I don't need treasure anymore. Something else has come up that I'd like to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"It's still a long way off, but I plan to fight the Red Dragon within two years at the minimum. I'd like you to help me when the time comes."
"This time, the deal does not work out in my favor. Dragons are beings that even ancient demons like myself prefer to avoid. Demanding that I fight a dragon is an absurd request."
"Don't worry. Facing the dragon in single combat is entirely my responsibility. All I need from you is a tip on whether the strategy I've devised looks promising. Promise me that much, and I'll reveal my secret."
"Hmm..."
Leviathan's eyes began spinning wildly. It was a thoroughly grotesque sight, but I could tell she was calculating costs and benefits. Would she make an enemy of a clearly visible powerful foe? Or would she stand against a variable that defied all standards? At this crossroads, Leviathan was deliberating — and deliberating again.
"...I cannot readily accept your proposal. Therefore, I have a suggestion of my own."
"What is it?"
"I want you to show me your potential."
"In simple terms, you want to fight me?"
"Indeed — though it will not be a fight to the death. We stop when either side admits defeat. I do not expect you to possess power equal to a dragon. But if you can prove that you will become a being comparable to a dragon in the near future, I shall promise aid beyond mere foresight."
"A clean and straightforward proposal."
I nodded and accepted Leviathan's offer. All I needed to do was showcase the full extent of who I was in a fight against her. Before coming here, I had been prepared for a life-or-death battle — a sparring match was more than welcome.
"Frach, you heard all that, right?"
"..."
"Frach?"
No matter how many times I called, Frach gave no answer. When she had obtained the Blood Magic Sword before, she had gulped it down on the spot — but this time, she wasn't absorbing the sword at all. Had something gone wrong? The magic sword Leviathan had given her possessed an ego of its own, and I worried she might be fighting against this new consciousness.
But those worries proved unfounded as Frach's scream rang out inside my head.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
"What's wrong? Is this not the magic sword you wanted either?"
"No — this time it is unmistakably a magic sword with polymorph! A magic sword, and yet...!"
Frach's sobs came through with heartbreaking intensity. I couldn't understand why she was grieving when she had obtained the sword she had so desperately wanted.
"It is damaged! Damaged beyond what this body can absorb!"
"Damaged? It looks fine to me."
"The exterior may appear intact! But the polymorph function — the most important part — is broken!"
"So even if you absorb it..."
"This body will not be able to use polymorph...!"
Drip.
A single droplet of dew formed on Frach's hilt and slid down the blade. Given the precedent of her gushing water while claiming to be wet, the sight wasn't strange at all. But a sense of existential doubt about what a sword even was began to set in, and my feelings grew complicated.
"So the dream of polymorph is gone, then?"
"Nay — there remains exactly one way to save this magic sword."
"What is it?"
"Let us go meet this body's creator — the King of the Dwarves!"
"That can wait."
I had heard that a subterranean dwarf settlement was hidden not far from the Snow Woman village. I had planned to stop by after wrapping up this business amicably. But suddenly, a matter that needed resolving came to mind.
"Leviathan, there's something I'd like to ask you for a moment."
"What is it?"
"It's about Yukiko. I assume you can't tell me what kind of contract you made with her?"
"A contract can never be disclosed to anyone except the parties involved and any witnesses. Even if that were your wish, I could not tell you."
"That's fine. I'm not particularly interested in the contract's contents. But the reason Yukiko acts so deranged is because of the price of the contract, right?"
Leviathan quietly nodded. That much, at least, was information she could share.
"Can the target of that price be transferred to someone else?"
"...It is not impossible, but it would require the Snow Woman's consent. Only then can a portion of the contract be amended. However, if she refuses, there is nothing to be done."
"What a hassle..."
I wanted to do something about Yukiko's madness for the sake of smooth communication. But whether she would agree to amending the contract was uncertain. She might well prefer living with her sanity abandoned.
"Is it your wish to nullify the contract with the Snow Woman, by any chance?"
"It's not particularly that. So don't go saying things that are completely off the mark."
"Is that so."
Leviathan smacked her lips as if disappointed. If a third party wished for a contract to be nullified, there was no telling what price would follow. That price would likely fall on Sherin again — but the scale was different this time. There was a chance multiple people would bear the cost, so I firmly refused.
"Then let's wrap up that discussion here. Shall we start confirming your abilities now?"
"Very well."
I bent down and picked up Frach from the floor. Mana was circulating in Leviathan's sanctuary, so magic could be used — but if I was going to reveal my full potential, the magic sword was essential.
"Are you prepared?"
"I'm ready."
"Then let us begin at once."
Leviathan emerged from the jar, stretching her entire body wide. Even her bizarre appearance, once she properly took her stance, radiated an indescribable grandeur. She looked just like the final boss of some world.
"Haha..."
"Why do you suddenly laugh? Is my appearance that amusing?"
"That's not why I laughed. It's just that the current situation is so absurd."
It had started as horror. Once I realized I was invincible, it became an adventure. And now it was an action game. Even knowing reality wasn't a game, I couldn't help the corners of my mouth lifting at how rapidly the genre kept shifting.
"An incomprehensible human."
"Sorry for killing the mood. Let's properly go at it."
Frach's runes flashed crimson. At the same time, I opened the Dragon Heart within my body and amplified my mana. My mind grew clear and sharp. Countless spells I had conceived in my imagination manifested as magic circles all at once, yet I felt no dizziness whatsoever.
"This transcendent quality and density of mana... I see. The reason you were so confident even while facing me was because of the Dragon Heart!"
"You could say that. But this isn't the only weapon I have."
"So you have even greater abilities hidden away. Very well. I shall hold nothing back. I, too, shall face you with my full power."
Leviathan's eyes widened, unable to hide her surprise. She had claimed she would accept me as an equal, but whether she realized it or not, she had been underestimating me. Faced with my determination to go all out, however, Leviathan began drawing up her own power as well.
Her tentacles, which had been moving with delicate precision one by one, tore through the empty air. Beyond the rifts in space, a pitch-black void writhed with deeply unsettling motion. It was emptiness itself — pure void.
"Wh-what is that ability?"
"This is power bestowed by a great being that mortals can neither oppose nor comprehend. The only advice I can give you is this: do not fight against the unknown."
Leviathan kept spouting cryptic words. Then a streak of light flashed within the void, and it spewed forth a meteor laden with every kind of elemental force.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
It was a sight that made me wonder if she wasn't stronger than a dragon.