82. And the sword lived happily ever after
“Ah, it was a nostalgic time~”
After being forced to sleep for repairs, I recalled the past after becoming a sword for the first time in a long time. This was the effect of witchcraft applied to me rather than of my own will.
The effect of the congratulatory message is inexplicably complex, but the result derived from it is to restore me to the shape of the past. As a result, old memories come back vividly.
It’s good to reminisce about old nostalgia, but you should refrain from being too immersed. I took a step back to the corner of the world of images and watched the unfolding panorama of memories.
“Eh, it feels good to watch a movie, but the order is messed up.”
The specters gathered around me before I knew it. But the guys who would normally go on a rampage to eat me were calm now. All of their gazes were directed toward the screen spread out in front of them.
Is this truly a great broadcast of dark history? This is a bit embarrassing no matter what. As I smiled and flicked my hands, a movie theater chair popped up in front of me.
This is also a luxury that is possible because it is the world of images. Surrendering to the soft sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time, I turned my attention towards the scene unfolding in front of me.
– Please, can someone answer me. Please······.
My life is unraveling like a thread. For decades after becoming a sword, in silence and solitude, there was me who forged my soft human ego into a sword.
– Ahahahahaha! Hey, this isn’t bad either!
After that, countless scenes appeared and disappeared. Me thinking about a name suitable for the magic sword, me who was embarrassed after absorbing the soul first, and me who lost my master first.
A sword that took care of its owner’s descendants and swallowed the soul one day. A sword that controls the spirit and body of others. A sword that roams the battlefield, a sword that confronts its nemesis, and finally a sword that has brought countless souls under its control.
– You, mine, do it.
And a familiar sight unfolds. Cream picking me up for the first time, and me struggling against it. And the bond of soul that flows naturally between us.
Yeah, I thought it was odd. Souls of light and souls of darkness are absolutely incompatible, so why did our bond come so naturally?
– Ah, the sense of ownership, the same thing? Passed, huh?
– By the way!
When I looked at it from the perspective of a third person, I could clearly see the change in my soul. The bond between us has existed from the beginning. It’s just that they’ve been separated from each other for a very long time, and only a very faint string remains.
The moment Cream gripped me, the dormant bond was awakened, and the moment I accepted Cream even with empty words, our souls became one again.
A long time from before the beginning of time until now, a distant space between Earth and another world. An eternal promise that nothing can break.
“Ah.”
However, our bond has not yet been fully revived. This was my fault, not my opponent. Unlike the opponent’s soul, which flickers into one whole.
There was still an empty space in my soul. Not even a little bit, but close to half. Now, I was just a collection of fragments of half-souls.
Not enough. And it’s embarrassing. I felt an unbearable thirst. A soul, more souls were needed. Not someone else’s, but my soul.
So that I and we can be perfect.
*
The ritual that lasted for several days was now coming to an end.
The ashes of the saint of the sun, the eyes of a warrior to replace the saint of the moon, and the big toe of the saint of stars. Moreover, all of them were directly offered by the three saints.
If it was a normal injury, it could be healed quickly with the power of a saint, but offering it to a ritual was tantamount to sacrificing oneself.
These injuries do not heal easily, and an additional price has to be paid for recovery. The reason was Cream wearing the hood and Choco limping.
“Eight, really. I don’t even like that sword!”
“Sorry.”
No matter how shameless Cream was, she had no choice but to apologize this time. Choco had always disliked Karbal, but this time she had no choice but to cut off a part of her own body with her coercion.
Even though she has regenerative powers befitting a pure-blooded beast, it was because of that that Choco limped on her feet. The burden placed on her existence could not be easily recovered, no matter how close to immortal life force was.
“Even if I do, Master is worried!”
“Huh?”
“Your damage is worse than mine. Are you really okay?”
Choco’s worries Cream smiled awkwardly at her young words. What she offered as a sacrifice for this ritual was one of her pupils. Although, following the elder lich’s advice, she now wears a hood over her face.
Actually, it doesn’t matter about aesthetics or blindness. Because Cream is a warrior. Importantly, the fact that she was injured was what she was.
Although armed with her natural qualities and all kinds of protection, she is human. Among the three races, she has the shortest lifespan, the weakest body, and the most fragile mind.
“Of course, Master is not an ordinary person…”
“I know what you are worrying about.”
She said that while Cream was transhuman in many ways, she didn’t mean that it would make her live with the blow out of her eye. However, she only responded with her nonchalant expression.
“It’s okay.”
[Don’t worry too much, wouldn’t that kid have a way?]
However, Choco suffered alone as her master as well as her dagger, which contained the soul of her senior, were dried up.
[And, the hero has become like that, but do you think the gods will stay still? You don’t have to worry too much.]
“Ew, then I’ll believe it.”
Choco finally shut her mouth to her continued persuasion. Apart from cream, Muffin had an irresistible aura.
As a metaphor, if cream is the mother, muffins are like the king of a country. Of course, people will love their parents more, but the attitude they show will be more sincere in front of the king.
[Now, come here.]
However, because the elder lich called, Choco’s thoughts were cut off there. Cream and Choco, each wearing a long and short holy sword, approached her side.
Even though two extremely divine beings, a warrior and a saint, were standing by her side, the elder lich did not reveal any boundaries. As if they knew they couldn’t hurt themselves.
[Can you see? The ceremony is almost finished. Now you just have to wait.]
“If so…”
[Yes.]
Black shards were flocking over the handle floating in the center of the paperweight. They soon settle into a single form. It looks exactly the same as before it broke.
However, the two men with extraordinary inspiration felt that the sword had a different atmosphere than before. Its cruelty and wickedness remained the same, but a familiar scent emanated from the darkness.
“Ugh, what is it? Upset.”
Realizing that it was her smell, not someone else’s, Choco trembled. As the ritual was performed by sacrificing the two, Karbal also came to have the source of two existences to some extent.
[It won’t change much. Maybe its power will wane a bit, but that’s unavoidable once it’s destroyed. However, the nature of the power will not change.]
Soon, the shape of the demonic sword was fully restored. However, the Chukmunjin did not disappear and was still exerting its power. Now that he has completely restored the exterior, it’s time to repair the interior as well.
While maintaining the bond between her cream and soul, Karbal’s inner world was invaded little by little due to the protection she received. The resulting cracks and distortions were slowly healing.
[However, there are definitely things that will change. As I said at the beginning, resistance to divinity.]
“Resistance to Divine…?”
[That’s right. Although their powers are incompatible with each other, since they now embrace your origins, Karbal will no longer be harmed by divine powers. If you want to harm my friend, you will need at least a bishop level or higher faith, and if you want to completely destroy it like before, even a saint level will be difficult.]
“Nonsense. Is that possible?”
As she became a saint, Choko, who had acquired some understanding of her divine power, let out a shocked voice. But her knowledge, which she had learned in such a short time, was very thin compared to that of her old judge.
[Although it may have changed, the essence of Karbal is Solium. She only used the absorption effect of the divine power of that god’s flesh a little.]
“Then?”
[You are right.]
On the other hand, Cream, who received the protection of the three gods, did not communicate with the gods, and was not educated separately in the war, but was surprisingly knowledgeable about her abilities.
As she raised her rhyme meaningfully, the elder lich nodded her head in affirmation.
[Regardless of rank or power, if it is divine power, your power will no longer harm Karbal. Even more so, since the two are bonded by soul.]
“What?!”
And the contents were even more shocking than I thought. Choco was astonished, and the Holy Sword, which was still unable to get out of the spell, also hummed without spitting out mental waves.
What the elder lich meant was simple. Cream’s divine power, the protection her soul wrapped around, no longer harmed Karbal. No, i can’t do it
Cream’s protection will no longer eat away at Karbal’s inner side, and even if Cream uses her holy power to her heart’s content during battle, Karbal will no longer be shattered. Perhaps.
[Lie・・・・・・.]
Cream will be able to put her divine power over the sword’s blade. Of course, the demonic sword would cause a backlash, but that would not break the demonic sword.
Until now, there was only one weapon in the world that could withstand the mighty output of a hero. Inviolability (EX). A holy sword that could not be destroyed by anything in the world with authority outside of its standard.
However, at this moment, another weapon was born in the world that cannot be broken by the might of a hero.