53 – The Mischief of the Dark Sword
As soon as Jess realized that Lian was gone, they tried to run out of the mansion to find him. Noah stopped Jess from doing so. But Jess didn’t give up and continued to look for opportunities.
An opportunity came quickly. When Jess was chased out of the mansion and left in the Forest of Death, they took advantage of Noah’s momentary confusion and ran to find their owner.
“Master, master…!”
From the moment Jess recognized Lian as their owner, the two of them were bound by an invisible connection. Lian didn’t know, but Jess could feel it.
Instinctively, Jess could sense which direction Lian needed to go to meet. However, they couldn’t determine how far away they were.
With heightened senses, Jess evaded demons, drank from clear rivers to quench their thirst, and ate insects and weak demons as they continued to run.
After running and resting repeatedly, Jess managed to escape the Forest of Death before Noah. But still, Jess did not stop.
“Master!”
In Jess’s mind, there was only one thought: Lianne. How long had they been running? It must have been at least a day or two.
After enduring blisters on their hands and feet that would appear and disappear, Jess finally arrived at the zone of Jiso.
It was the result of an overwhelming determination.
“Ah… We’re almost there…”
Feeling the distance that had seemed so far away shrinking, Jess pushed forward even faster.
From Noble mtl dot com
Their luck had brought them this far.
“We caught you!”
“hahahahaha, looks like we’ve caught a tough one.”
“Let me go!”
Jess was captured by the hunters who specialized in hunting beasts and locked up in a cell. Because they had only eaten enough to survive and had been running with a constricted throat, Jess had the strength of a young child.
The hunters immediately sold Jess to a slave trader. Jess had tried to escape several times, but it was futile.
“Crrrk…”
Even though Jess had been caught while trying to escape, they growled in defiance, causing the slave trader to chuckle.
“This one seems quite useful.”
The next day, the slave trader sold Jess to a beast fighting arena. If Lianne’s arena was mainly for demons and human matches, the place where Jess was sold was primarily for battles between beasts.
Demon against demon, or beast against beast.
The beast fighting arena was notorious for forcing the beasts to fight in brutal matches by administering stimulants to them.
Jess was sold to such a place.
“In this match, we have the red-haired cub beast against To!”
[Chapter 2]
Jess faced a beast, its saliva dripping, while baring her fangs under the influence of the drug.
She must survive. She must survive and… meet her master.
In the moment when Jess was prepared to risk her life in battle, her noble lineage awakened. The sounds of beasts’ cries echoed through the air, and the thick scent of blood permeated the surroundings.
***
I stood in the training ground, holding a dark sword after a long time.
“Now, throw it lightly.”
“Do I really have to do this?”
“Of course! It’s necessary for mastering combat techniques!”
I sighed at the whining voice of the dark sword and looked down at my hand. A slender body and a sharp blade were held in my hand, gleaming.
“Now, throw it!”
In response to the sword’s command, I threw the spear I was holding upward. Despite the light throw, the spear rose up to a height of 3 meters.
Whizz!
The spear that floated in the air, as if it came out of a comic book, spun in mid-air and landed firmly in my hand.
“Oh dear! When catching, you should not look at it!”
“Is this person really suffering from ‘chuunibyou’?”
A period of intense self-importance, as if everyone is watching oneself and one is the center of the world.
If it were a different sword, it would have caused a big fuss when lifted, but I wasn’t worried because I had learned how to control my thoughts when communicating with the sword.
“Now, throw it again!”
Excited by the voice of the dark sword, I roughly threw the spear into the air. The sword spun in the air, as if showing off its skills. Moreover, it imbued the tip of the spear with a crimson energy, creating a dazzling trajectory.
“Ugh…”
“Ugh…”
The training ground was not a space for my exclusive use, so there were others present. They swallowed their breaths while watching the spectacle of the Magic Sword.
“It’s definitely worth watching.”
A sword twisting in the air, performing mid-air rotations. It was a rare sight that couldn’t be seen anywhere else.
“This time, try spinning it with your hand!”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“hehehehe, as the great me has a plan, just follow my instructions!”
Perhaps because of the sword’s dazzling movements, I found it tiresome to watch. Curious about what kind of trick it would show this time, I casually twirled the spear. Then, the Magic Sword slightly departed from my hand and spun in mid-air.
As the sword rotated, the wind blew.
“But it’s just because you let it go and it’s spinning back!”
“However, it looks like you’re spinning it with tremendous force from the outside! Now, try catching it!”
Since I was secretly connected to the Magic Sword, I knew when was the right time to catch it. I swiftly grabbed it in the middle of its rotation, and the sword let out a pleasant hum.
“You’re the best partner!”
The Magic Sword seemed extremely delighted. Hearing the praise, I also felt a bit excited.
“But I don’t know how to use a spear. Is that okay?”
“Ah…! I didn’t think about that.”
The Magic Sword spoke with a serious tone, as if it had missed something important.
“Well, give it a light swing.”
“Like this?”
As I tried to swing the spear in the air, the Magic Sword suddenly stopped. I found myself hanging onto the spear, with the sword still attached.
“This won’t do! It’s not cool at all!” he exclaimed in a voice that sounded like a child throwing a tantrum.
Sighing, he replied, “Of course not, I’ve never properly swung a sword or a spear.”
“Hmm… In that case… Ah!”
The demonic sword let out a sigh of admiration, then suddenly began to shrink. In an instant, the creature transformed into a round, crimson gem-like object and spoke as it rose onto his palm.
“When I enter, summon me immediately. Got it?”
The excited voice seemed to have come up with a good idea. Curious about what it had in mind this time, he absorbed the demonic sword into his palm and waited for a moment before silently calling out, “Gargandoa.” And then…
Woong.
The palm began to glow like a neon sign, and blood started to surge out from the patterns. The slowly rising blood began to flow up his wrist and arm as if pushed by the speed of crashing waves, causing his body to tremble.
In an instant, his body was engulfed by the crimson blood, and his clothes changed as if he were transforming into a magical girl. It was a splendid outfit befitting a noble.
As the shape of the clothes formed, the blood that had been surging out from his palm regained gravity and began to flow downward. The blood droplets that fell from the tips of his fingers coalesced beneath his palm and transformed into the shape of the demonic sword.
“hehehehe, how about that for a magnificent entrance!”
After complaining so much about wanting to change his clothes, it seemed he had finally succeeded. Looking down at his new attire, he muttered to himself.
“Isn’t this outfit too flashy? It’s so decorated.”
Upon seeing the extravagant attire, he muttered to himself in disbelief, but the demonic sword rebutted.
“It has to be like this if you want to confidently say that I’m your partner wherever you go!”
It seemed to be the demonic sword’s taste after all.
“Now, try swinging your spear again.”
Wondering if anything had changed, he raised his spear to swing, but his body began to move on its own.
“hehehe, it worked!”
“What, what is it?”
[The clothes my partner is wearing are made using a part of my power, so I can control them as much as I want!]
“What?”
It couldn’t help but be a shocking and creepy fact. Just when I had finally gained the ability to freely use the Dark Sword, now I had to be controlled by it?
“Aren’t you going to take it off?”
[Huh? Is it uncomfortable? It should fit you perfectly.]
I sighed inwardly at the bewildered voice of the Dark Sword, as if it didn’t understand what the problem was.
“This means you’re no different from the contractors you’ve contracted with so far.”
[What are you talking about! The partner is a being completely different from those contractors!]
“But controlling is the same. It’s really uncomfortable.”
[Hmm, well, but this method is quick and cool, swinging the spear… uh, sword.]
The Dark Sword muttered in frustration, then suddenly spoke in a bright voice.
[Then let’s do it like this! I, the Dark Sword Gaargandoa, will only control the body when the partner Rian wants, and I will hand over control of the body whenever Rian wants! How about that!?]
As I listened to the excited voice, my tension eased. The Dark Sword seemed to be deeply immersed in using the sword stylishly.
“Tsk tsk, if this guy were human, he would have been stripped of his family, friends, clothes, wallet, everything in an instant.”
In the world of comedy, if you become a sucker, it’s not just your organs, but your girlfriend, parents, friends, clothes, wallet, and more that get stripped away. In serious cases, even your underwear gets taken.
I wonder if in the world of the Dark Sword, even the blade wouldn’t get stripped away.
“Alright, go ahead and do as you please.”
[hehehe, it’s a good decision!]
Honestly, it was just a thoughtless comment, but the consequences were not light.
Kugugugung!
With a single swing, the walls of the training ground collapsed.