146 – Tomb of the Sword (5)
When the spirit held out its hand, I handed it the hilt of Yeongta’s sword and the bag containing the blades that I had kept in my arms.
I couldn’t let go of my hand to pass the sword to someone else, but I couldn’t stay with a broken sword forever.
I handed over Yeongta with the feeling of cutting off my own flesh, but even then, I couldn’t help but feel regret and looked at Yeongta held in the hand by the spirit.
Meanwhile, the spirit, who saw Yeongta with only the hilt of his sword left, looked shocked and surprised, and sighed with sadness as if it was his own fault.
“What on earth happened to cause such complete destruction? . “If a stranger saw it, they would think it was an artificially destroyed sword.”
“… Yes, but I heard that you have to take three tests to let Yeongta sleep here….”
“Yes. All swords are equal and have the right to sleep, but that doesn’t mean we can accept every sword that comes here. “I have no choice but to take a test and limit the number of swords that sleep here.”
It was a bit difficult to say that equality has the right to sleep, but it was not something that I couldn’t understand.
If we accept all the swords that come here indefinitely, won’t this area one day become overrun with swords and there will be no room to step in?
Furthermore, it is this spirit that manages the swords, so if the number of swords increases too much, managing each sword one by one will be a big task.
“So the test is…” .”
“Ah, the story got sidetracked for a moment. As you know, there are three tests.”
The first thing is love.
You must prove to the sword spirit that you love your master and are loved by him.
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The second is power.
You must prove to the sword spirit not only the power of the weapon, but also the power of the owner who wields it.
The third is the last.
At the end, you must prove to the sword spirit that you helped the owner until the last moment, or that you met a good end for the owner’s growth.
Only weapons that pass these three tests can find rest in the Sword Tomb, and even if the tester was a noble or royal in the secular world, this test could not be ignored.
“… Okay. But how do you judge the first test? “It would be difficult to prove something as invisible as love.”
“Yes, you can make it up as much as you like, and it’s not like you can prove it with things. Therefore, I will directly ask and judge the person who is involved in this matter and cannot lie.”
“Directly? To whom….”
Instead of answering, the sword spirit silently looked at the hilt of the sword in his hand.
“Are you sure you’re talking to Youngta?”
Yeongta was a special sword for me, but it was not a special sword for everyone.
It was a sword forged by Otar, a first-class craftsman, and had the characteristic of being a reverse-edged sword optimized for swordsmanship, but other than that, it was an ordinary sword that could be obtained anywhere.
Of course, like Nang or Holy Sword, he couldn’t talk, so he couldn’t respond.
“Just because you don’t have personality,
You don’t think the sword isn’t alive, do you?”
“Yes? That’s right….”
Well, regardless of what I personally like, Yeongta is an inorganic material, not an organic material, so it was natural to think that way.
It was normal to think that way, but when I thought about it, I saw before my eyes a creature that was just an ordinary sword hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
“Everything that has a form has a soul, whether small or large. “The cold iron sword is no exception.”
As the spirit affectionately stroked the hilt of Yeongta’s sword, a brilliant light similar to the one that came out earlier emerged from the hilt and began to seep into the spirit’s body.
“… ….”
After standing silently for several minutes, holding the hilt of Yeongta’s sword, a tear suddenly flowed from the corner of the eye of the spirit, down his cheek.
While everyone was tense, wondering what was going on, the spirit wiped away his tears with his sleeve and spoke in a voice full of sobs.
“I just became one with Yeongta and saw a fragment of the bond you and Yeongta shared. “Although the time you spent together was short, you have built a bond that is comparable to any sword offered here.”
“Then…” Did you pass the first test?”
“Yes, I passed. If you are uncommunicative, there will be no swords left here. Then the next test is strength….”
I didn’t have any problems with the power, but it wasn’t a difficult attack to be considered for combat.
No matter how the reverse-edged sword is a sword optimized for martial arts, its essence is a sword aimed at killing, and is not suitable for battles where life is at stake.
Even if I could cut down an enemy with a bladeless sword, that was no proof that I was a great bastard or that I was strong with a reverse bladed sword.
But….
“As you think, a reverse-edged sword is not a sword that can be called strong even with empty words. But in battle, the thing that most stabilized my mind was Yeongta.”
In battle, not only the power of the weapon is important. No matter how powerful a weapon is, if the wielder is distracted, he or she will often die from a blind arrow.
In terms of stabilizing the mind, Yeongta was better than any other sword in the world.
Even if I didn’t hold it directly, just having it around my waist calmed my mind.
“I don’t think that the power of a weapon comes simply from strength. “Even though it wasn’t suitable for killing, it was Yeongta that put my mind at ease the most.”
[Lord, Lord!! Then I… ?!!]
“When I heard about you, it was mostly a life-or-death fight. “It wasn’t as comfortable as Yeongta!!”
[aaah!!! He says such strange things again!! Is it because I was pushed around by that disabled sword?!]
“I told you not to use such bad words!!”
As usual, I grabbed the hilt of Nanga’s sword and looked at the spirit again. The spirit closed its eyes as if it was thinking about something, and then nodded its head as if it had made up its mind.
“That certainly makes sense. No matter how strong a weapon you have, if you are distracted, you can lose your life from a hit from an insignificant weapon. “I will pass the second test as well.”
“… “Now then, the final test remains.”
“Yes, what makes death meaningful is not how you lived, but how you died. “I hope you, the owner, will tell me what kind of end this child met and how useful he was.”
“It was in the fight with Mine that Yeongta was broken….”
To be honest, I was reluctant to say it because Yeongta’s ending was not that great.
How on earth can I say that I broke it because I used it as bait and forgot to retrieve it?
However, she could not keep quiet, so she tried to find a way to bide her time and end Youngta’s death, but no matter how much she thought about it, she could not come up with a suitable excuse.
“Umm… It was used as bait to deceive the enemy. So what happened next?”
“… ….”
I was worried about telling her a lie, but considering that she might have the ability to see through her lies, I told her the truth without hiding anything.
“So, I used it as bait and forgot to retrieve it, so it just broke pointlessly, right? “It was even recovered a week later.”
“…… Yes.”
“…… I’m afraid it’s far from a great ending. The third test is a failure. Then I’ll just….”
The figure of the spirit with its back turned was slowly falling apart like the fog dispersing over a lake.
If things continue like this, Yeongta will never find rest. I became impatient and quickly ran over and grabbed the back of the spirit’s head.
“aaah!! What are you doing now… !!”
“Shut up!! Now that things have come to this, I will force you into submission and give Yeongta rest!!”
“Ian!! What are you doing to the spirit!! Are you crazy?!!”
Hearing the commotion, the people waiting behind pulled out their swords to show the spirit well, but as Elaine stood firmly behind them, they all quietly put away their swords and began to retreat.
“Ugh!! “Let go of this!!”
The spirit shook off the hand that was holding the back of its head, gave me a look of disdain, and pulled out all the swords around it.
“Do you think there hasn’t been a single person in the last hundred years who has tried to do something to me by force?”
“Then today, for the first time, it will be broken by force.”
The tips of the swords hovering around the spirit began to point towards me, and they attacked me all at once. This was the signal and the fight began.
The sword was shot towards me, fluttering like autumn leaves, and I struck them all down and rushed at the spirit controlling the sword from afar.
And after a while, as everyone expected, less than an hour later, the spirit knelt in front of me, spitting out a liquid that looked like blood.
“Have you changed your mind now?”
“This, this barbaric trash…” !!”
“That barbaric scum is a bit violent, wouldn’t it be better to be more careful what you say?”
When he said that and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword again, the spirit flinched and lowered his head.
They say there are problems that cannot be solved with money, but there are no problems that cannot be solved with violence. There is nothing that cannot be solved with just a katana.
“Do you know what to do next?”
“… All right. Ha, you can do it.”
The spirit held Yeongta politely and, with unsteady steps, headed towards the great sword stuck on the hill.
And when he placed Yeongta on the altar under the great sword, an intense light that seemed as if it had been struck by lightning emanated from the hilt of Yeongta’s sword placed on the altar.