Chapter 5

Chapter 05: The Ego Sword Picked Me Up (5)

One Who Awakened the Form of a Sacred Object

―Do you think everything that is first becomes an Achievement? Achievements follow the will of a god!

“Is that god the Creator, or several gods including the Creator?”

Flambeju seemed to have been caught off guard again, because his face reddened as he shouted.

―Concentrate!

The Lizardmen, having lost their kin, narrowed their encirclement and charged in.

There was still a path of retreat left, but I did not flee through it.

Because this was my life.

I had suffered a slight wound, but that made me like it even more.

I picked up the trident that had fallen to the ground.

WHOOOOOOSH!

‘Strong!’

That was an assessment directed not at the enemy, but at myself. My strength far exceeded my expectations. The reason I had cut down a Lizardman in a single stroke was not only because Flambeju was sharp.

The spear lodged in the eye of a charging Lizardman, and though the creature tried to support itself with its tail, it could not endure and fell.

Behind it, I saw crimson solid lines among the ones rushing in.

WHOOOOOOSH!

Those caught in the trajectory of the sword could not keep their lives.

I had trained in martial arts for a long time, but this was the first time I had ever cut off someone’s breath so easily.

‘Not bad.’

No, that was an extremely refined thought.

I was tremendously excited. It felt as if I might sink completely into slaughter at this rate.

However, that did not happen. For some reason, even after being driven into a corner, I held on to my reason.

‘Is this the effect of an Achievement?’

―Your mind, chosen by Yog-Sothoth, shall never collapse.

That was true. Even amid a scene of slaughter I had never experienced in my previous life, I maintained cold reason.

SWISH! SCHLIK!

After I cut the remaining two solid lines, a path of retreat opened.

―A-An Achievement?!

Flambeju’s bewildered shout buzzed around inside my head.

When I concentrated, information about the new Achievement hummed through my mind.

―You have seen through the essence of a sacred object. A sacred object is not a tool, but an existence containing the Creator’s authority and the secret of creation. One who becomes one with its will may cause changes in the sacred object’s form. However, such change is permitted only within a range that does not damage the sacred object’s essence, and excessive modification shall invite the “Abyssal Backlash.” This is a danger that shakes the Star Realm, and even one who has established an Achievement may face a calamity they cannot withstand. Bear this in mind.

‘As expected, the structure is that an Achievement appears as long as I solve something even Flambeju, who has existed since the beginning, considers impossible.’

The newly obtained Achievement was “One Who Awakened the Form of a Sacred Object.”

According to the information the Akashic Records gave me, changing Flambeju’s form was not a one-time event. I could change him into any form I wanted at any time.

―Concentrate, Master! A path has opened! Now you must run! There is no need to overdo it from the start!

The Lizardman group charged in from the left and right, but before I knew it, a broad road had opened in front of me.

Grab!

I seized the spear of the one trying to stab me from the rear side. After wrenching it away and driving it into the creature’s stomach, I kicked its leg and knocked it over.

‘The tail!’

The Lizardmen were not human. I could not perfectly subdue them with martial arts techniques developed against humans alone.

That was why I enjoyed it.

Not only could I pour my martial arts into fighting them, but I also did not need to worry about whether I might accidentally kill my opponent.

BOOOOM!

I stomped on the Lizardman’s face. After driving Flambeju into the twitching creature’s neck, I turned to look at the ones trying to charge at me.

SWIIIIISH!

A Lizardman’s chest split diagonally. It did not die, but countless lines pierced through it. Nearing death, it had fallen into a state where it could only die no matter how it was attacked.

Without even needing to check the trajectory, I thrust Flambeju forward.

SQUELLLLLCH!

The Lizardman collapsed without even managing to scream. The ones shrieking and squawking were the others charging in from afar while forming an encirclement.

―As expected of the master I chose! I was half in doubt when the Necronomicon said it had found a suitable master, but to think your skill would be this great! With the resonance between you and me, there will be no existence we cannot kill! But do not overdo it! Those bastards number more than 100, a great army!

Flambeju was right. The solid lines revealed through resonance with him dragged me outside the realm of humans.

My breathing had grown a little rough, but my movements had not dulled. A chill at having taken someone’s life brushed past me, yet behind it, an indescribably pleasant excitement swelled.

I cut down one more Lizardman. However, this time, I ended up allowing a counterattack. A trident had lodged shallowly in my thigh.

‘I see. The solid lines don’t secure my safety.’

I could take an opponent’s life through the solid lines, but in that process, I could be struck instead.

Before I knew it, even more Lizardmen were pressing in from every direction. They were quicker than humans, and their strength seemed excellent as well. Of course, the current me easily surpassed their physical abilities.

Flambeju’s anxiety was conveyed to me in full. The blond young man connected to the sword stamped his feet and looked around at the Lizardman group.

―A monster! A monster! The humans have called in a monster!

―That is a “sacred object”! A human holding a “sacred object,” a knight! We must bring “Karkash” too! Perform the Great Warrior’s Rite! Begin the War of the Gods!

I could hear the Lizardmen’s words clearly. Some words became muddled, and questions arose during the process of interpretation. I could not be certain whether their designation of “sacred object” was accurate.

The meaning of words like “Great Warrior’s Rite” and “War of the Gods” was also unclear.

What was certain was that the Lizardman species had a culture that valued “duels between the strong.”

Karkash!

In the Lizardman language, it meant Spire of Fresh Blood.

Several Lizardmen moved quickly and shouted.

―Karkash! Karkash! Karkash!

Before that thing called Karkash arrived, I had to reduce their numbers. Depending on the situation, I would have to retreat before then.

SHWEEEEEK, THUD!

Whenever I found a trident fallen on the ground, I threw it at a Lizardman. Those pierced by spears were knocked away, and their numbers steadily decreased.

However, as time passed, my injuries also increased.

―You have been more than magnificent enough! Right now, surviving is winning!

Flambeju’s judgment was correct. But it was not my judgment.

And when faced with that rational judgment, needless defiance stirred in me.

In my life, I had never once forced my own will through.

“Whether it works or not, I’m going all the way.”

Flambeju did not actively try to stop me. Because he was my sword, and I was his master.

―……Keep just one thing in mind! If you die, I end as well! I staked everything to bring you here. Everything!

At that moment, a gust of wind flew in, carrying a fishy stench.

That wind blew through the gap between the Lizardmen split to the left and right.

Karkash!

He was a man wearing a red helmet. The moment he appeared, the Lizardmen all fell silent at once.

Karkash held a trident in his hand. He wore no armor, but his scales looked harder than most armor.

Lizardmen tended to be large, but Karkash was especially huge. He looked easily 2.5 meters tall, and the protrusions on his tail were striking.

As he approached, I got a closer look at his tail, and they were not natural protrusions. It looked as if blades and fragments he had taken on countless battlefields had lodged in his flesh and hardened there.

The bizarre-looking Karkash merely flared his nostrils. Yet a loud noise came from him.

―Worship! Revere! Offer your life force! I shall grant you victory!

It was a sharp voice like scraping iron plates.

“What is this now?”

―That one is the leader. Even at a glance, he does not seem easy. Be careful, Master!

“No, I’m talking about the noisy sound.”

―Noisy sound?

Karkash had approached to a distance of 50 meters, and I could see something wrapped around his head.

“A snake?”

The pair of eyes attached to the Holy Sword blinked.

The blond spirit dwelling in Flambeju turned his head and looked at Karkash.

―D-Do you mean to say you can see that too? And even hear it? How can that be when you are not even that object’s master?!

At that moment, the familiar heavy voice rang inside my head. A connection to the Akashic Records had been established.

―Grok Naal is an artifact born with the heart of the demon race as its core. It maximizes the wearer’s physical abilities and slowly absorbs the life force of those subordinated under his authority, converting it into energy. This is not forced exploitation, but the result of a contract established through oaths. In exchange, the wearer gains mighty power, yet the more oaths there are, the deeper the blood fetter becomes.

Grok Naal was an artifact made in imitation of a sacred object.

“I’ve been hearing the sound since earlier. Anyway, an artifact that absorbs the life force of its subordinates? All sorts of things exist.”

―I thought you were special from the moment you could see my form, but Master’s potential knows no bounds!

My face reddened a little at Flambeju’s praise, which sounded like admiration. At the same time, a question surfaced.

‘But why did Grok Naal’s information appear? I was told the Akashic Records would open only if I offered a sacrifice to Yog-Sothoth through the Necronomicon…….’

I looked at the Necronomicon that I had set down on one side. But near it, I noticed the corpse of a fallen Lizardman. As if every last bit of moisture had been wrung from it, the Lizardman was completely dried out.

Even now, the Necronomicon was wholly occupied with sucking up the blood soaked into the ground.

―W-What is that? Is that thing drinking blood right now? I thought it was a grimoire from another world, but it was a demonic object! Among sacred objects, there are none that covet blood and life!

The sacrifice offered to Yog-Sothoth through the Necronomicon was none other than “blood.” And in exchange, I seemed to have learned information about Grok Naal.

“I never offered a sacrifice, but that thing acts on its own.”

―Yog-Sothoth.

I shuddered at the sound that came like an auditory hallucination.

I was the only one who heard it. Flambeju did not seem to have heard anything.

‘Does that mean the Necronomicon isn’t my possession? That thing may be an altar that offers sacrifices to Yog-Sothoth, or perhaps something more.’

I pointed at the red helmet Karkash was wearing and asked.

“Is that also a sacred object?”

―Nonsense! That is not a sacred object, but a demonic object. No, it is a half-baked artifact made in imitation of a demonic object!

Karkash seemed to have been strengthened by the helmet’s influence. Black energy stretching from the helmet stabbed into the necks of his kin.

Karkash’s muscles grew thicker and thicker, while the others lost their strength.

“If I can’t see any solid lines, that means there are no openings, right?”

―That is right! So now…….

I ran. Having no openings meant he was stable. In other words, it meant I needed to shake him a little.

A common-sense choice would only lead to a common-sense result. To fight a battle I was certain to win, I had to overturn the board.

SWISH! SCHLIK!

I cut down not Karkash, but the Lizardman who followed him.