Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: The Sword of the First Emperor
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"What was that?"
I glanced around with a puzzled expression.
But there was nothing here besides the shattered remains of the statues. No one to speak to.
I tilted my head, about to turn my gaze back to the sword.
*Fwing!*
A light flashed before my eyes, and my head began to spin.
An overwhelming sense of exhaustion dominated my body, as if something was pressing down on my shoulders.
I nearly buckled to my knees, but I managed to steady my collapsing body just in time.
"Ugh!"
I placed a hand on the altar, and only then did my vision begin to clear.
I saw a jet-black form emerge from the sword, slithering up my right hand.
'It looked just like a demonic sword, and now it turns out there really was some kind of evil spirit inside?'
The dark energy began to seize control of my body.
My wrist was already moving on its own.
The tip of the sword was now aimed at my neck.
It was only because its control hadn't reached past my forearm that it couldn't stab me.
'What if it reaches my shoulder?'
I might have to fight a desperate battle with my own right arm.
At that point, the sword could easily pierce my neck.
*Thud!*
I grabbed my twitching right arm with my left hand and quickly scanned my surroundings.
But the altar was only inscribed with ancient characters; there were no hints to be found.
As helpless moments passed, the dark energy had already encroached upon my shoulder.
"Dammit!"
—Kehehehe! Finally... Finally, I am free!
The moment the evil laughter echoed in my mind, the poised sword tip shot toward my neck.
But just then.
*Schlick!*
The sword, which had been flying as if to pierce my flesh, came to a dead stop.
The terrifying sharpness of its edge drew a trickle of blood from my throat.
But in the end, the sword did not move.
—Wh-Why...!
"Grr! Get out of my body!"
I roared, my eyes wide, and the energy that had reached my shoulder rapidly receded.
A powerful aura had erupted from within me like a raging tide, pushing back the dark energy.
Soon, I regained control of my right arm and dropped the sword to the floor.
*Clang!*
The immense pressure that had been weighing down my entire body vanished as if it had been washed away.
"Hoo..."
I let out a long sigh, squeezed my eyes shut, and collapsed to the floor.
I had sustained considerable internal injuries in that brief moment.
I had to circulate my aura to calm the seething energy.
After finishing my meditation, I looked down at the sword, still shrouded in black energy.
'That was dangerous. If it wasn't for the Demonic Soul, I would have died.'
Honestly, in this day and age of magitech trains, I never thought something like a demonic sword could actually exist.
I just thought it looked peculiar, but that was a clear miscalculation.
No, actually, I hadn't calculated anything at all; I just went for it.
"Well, I survived. But what do I do with this?"
It was a dangerous item, but I couldn't just leave a treasure sword like this behind.
That option had never even existed in the first place.
Just then, the eerie voice from before echoed in my mind.
—Hehehe! Do not worry. Now that you are the contractor, Calipe will never leave your side.
"Calipe? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before..."
—Playing dumb won't help you. You can't escape me anyway.
"Where was it? Ah! Did I learn it in history class? Man, if only I'd ever actually studied."
—Hey! You brat!
As I stubbornly ignored it to the end, the evil voice abandoned its solemnity and shouted.
I pretended to clean my ear and wandered around the altar.
I was hoping to find some writing I could recognize.
—Can't you hear this? Even if you were deaf, my thoughts should be reaching you.
"Oh! I can read this. So, it was just written in various languages?"
I found an inscription in the common imperial language in a corner of the altar.
All the while, the mysterious voice continued to ring loudly in my head.
But who was I?
'I'm a master of letting things go in one ear and out the other.'
I could act nonchalantly no matter what this thing babbled on about.
It would eventually tire itself out and give up.
Sure enough, I heard the entity's dejected mumble.
—...Hah! I have existed for hundreds of thousands of years, but I have never met a lunatic like this.
"Yeah. I've got quite a temper, so could you please be quiet?"
—What? You could understand me all along?
"Yep. Now shut up."
Completely ignoring the voice, I brushed the dust off the altar and read the engraved words.
Lies dormant here, cradling calamity.
"Ha!"
I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
No matter how little I studied history, I couldn't forget this name.
Troike was the first emperor of the Vertos Empire, a figure whose deeds were the stuff of legend.
'Now I remember. Calipe was the name of the sword Troike used.'
Countless ancient texts mentioned Calipe.
But its actual existence had never been confirmed until now.
That was because Troike had never passed down the sword he used.
"I think I can guess why."
Considering what I had just experienced, the answer was obvious.
It was probably to seal away the being that had tried to take over my body.
But one question remained.
The word 'contractor' that the evil voice had uttered.
"I didn't even sign anything, so what contract? How can a contract be formed just by picking up a sword?"
—Why not? I had it all written down right in front of you.
"Where?"
—Well, you ignored it and came right up. Look over there.
I narrowed my eyes and looked down below the altar.
And there, in the space where the treasure chest had been, was a shattered stone tablet.
It seemed to have been broken during my fight with the statues.
"Hah... What a total scam artist. Gripping the hilt is the equivalent of a seal? Does that even make any sense?"
—Think carefully. If you entrust your body to me, you will gain a supreme power. It's not such a bad deal, is it?
"Like hell. You think you can just change your tune after trying to kill me?"
—That was merely a formality...
"I don't need it. Damn, I got my hopes up for nothing."
*Thump.*
I tried to kick Calipe into a corner of the cavern.
But the sword, sent flying by my kick, changed direction and came back.
*Whoosh! Thwack.*
It slowed down as it neared me and was then sucked back into its sheath on its own.
Then, the mysterious, mocking voice filled my mind.
—You have already become Calipe's contractor. Which means you cannot escape my grasp.
"Wait a minute, you've been talking as if you're separate from Calipe. What are you, then?"
—Me, you ask? Hehe! Yes. To make a proper contract, you must know of my existence.
"Stop trying to sound all important and just tell me..."
—I am the Sovereign of Darkness, the shadow of the Spirit Realm, the Dark Spirit King, Alkheim.
"Oh!"
I formed my lips into an 'o' and let out a small sound of admiration.
At that, Alkheim, dwelling in the sword, burst into triumphant laughter.
—Kwahahaha! It seems you have heard of my renown. Shall we proceed with the contract, then?
But his voice was cut short.
"No, I've never heard of you. I can't make a spirit contract with some unheard-of nobody."
—Wh-What did you say?
"What dark spirit? There's a limit to the bullshit you can spew. Aren't you just some pathetic evil spirit?"
—What are you talking about? You don't know of dark spirits?
"There are only spirits of the four main elements. That nonsense won't work on me."
I waved my hand dismissively and stepped down from the altar.
I had no more business here.
Time to grab the treasure chest and get out.
—Hey, hey, wait a minute!
Alkheim's voice continued to call out, but I calmly walked on.
***
Meanwhile, around the time Ray Carter was exploring the imperial family's secret tomb.
Frantz and Ellington were locked in a tense standoff.
"Who on earth told you this information? Boris would never have spoken of it."
"Ah, you mean your little informant, brother? Did you really think no one else knew what you picked up from the marketplace?"
"This is imper..."
The second prince was about to speak but bit his lip, realizing his mistake.
Although he was disguised as a member of a minor family, Boris's father was actually an executive in the Imperial Intelligence Agency.
He was someone who could not be spoken of carelessly.
Especially not to his political rival, the third prince.
"So you even get information from imperial spies?"
Ellington relentlessly exploited Frantz's slip of the tongue.
From just a single syllable, he had roughly inferred the situation and made a quick guess.
However, his guess was slightly off, so the second prince didn't fall for the psychological warfare.
"Am I the only one who has planted spies in the imperial palace? I've heard you have the court ladies wrapped around your finger. Quite the lecher, aren't you?"
"What is this? Are you resorting to slander now? Who on earth is spreading such nonsense?"
"Can't one tell just by looking at those around you?"
"Don't spew such sophistry. By that logic, since you are only surrounded by trash... Ahem! I shall say no more."
"You rotten bastard!"
Ellington's provocation nearly made Frantz unleash a torrent of sword strikes.
But he quickly realized the situation and hastily regained his balance.
*Whoooosh!*
Just then, a gust of wind blew, shaking both of them.
The princes were currently standing on a jutting iron structure atop the northeastern wall of Venderford.
There was barely enough room for their feet, and one wrong move would send them plummeting.
Dozens of meters down to the ground below.
The thought alone was dizzying, so Ellington and Frantz could only continue their standoff.
"Dammit, why hide it in a place like this?"
"My thoughts exactly. Quite a twisted sense of humor."
"Have you no intention of yielding? I seem to be a bit closer."
"If we're being technical, I have the clear advantage. I'm on the wall side, so I can retreat at any time."
The third prince shrugged and glanced back and forth.
But no matter how he racked his brain, resolving this tense standoff seemed incredibly difficult.
The hidden treasure of the imperial family was hanging from the very end of this structure.
Unfortunately, the second prince had discovered it first and was already on the structure.
The third prince had hurriedly followed, leading to this predicament.
*Whoooosh!*
As another strong gust of wind blew, Frantz and Ellington quickly lowered their stances.
If they didn't, the wind pressure could push them off.
"Ugh!"
Being in a position more exposed to the wind, the second prince let out a low groan.
Watching him, the third prince smirked and said.
"Just give up. I'm tired of talking."
"Hmph! I can't do that. No matter what, the imperial treasure will be mine."
"You'll meet your end that way."
"And you will be branded with the crime of assassinating your brother. Do you think His Majesty would name such a person as Crown Prince?"
At Frantz's sharp retort, Ellington clicked his tongue.
Emperor Raynold would surely disown him for killing his brother with such dirty tricks.
"Tsk! I can't argue with that."
It was a troublesome situation in many ways, so the third prince muttered and clicked his tongue in frustration.
But just then.
An event occurred that shattered their standoff.
*BOOM!*
A loud explosion erupted from the ground, and someone shot up to the end of the wall's structure.
"Ooh! What a jackpot!"
The person clung to the end of the iron beam and tilted his head.
An ornate box had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"Ooh! What a jackpot!"
The man snatched the small chest and grinned widely.
Watching the absurd scene, the two princes shouted in unison.
"Hey, why are you taking that?"