Chapter 10

Chapter 10. New Growth Path (3)

The Tower was a world that recreated [Raise a Sword] in the form of a trial.

I had to clear the 'quest' given here to obtain the 'Sword Master's Dominion.'

Flash!

I surveyed my surroundings from atop the green circle— the three-meter-wide safe zone.

A crude cave.

'Floor 2 looks the same.'

An identical location to the [Abyss] where I'd arrange for NPCs to pick up swords.

But something had changed.

WHOOSH——.

The smell of blood hung thick from every direction.

I checked my surroundings, wondering what was going on.

And then I noticed something strange.

'Huh?'

Beyond the safe zone, I could see a woman.

She looked young, and her gaunt frame was particularly conspicuous.

She was clutching a sword and rejoicing like a madwoman.

"Aah! This wretched body of mine is growing. Sword! You truly are Our savior!!!"

The woman was clutching a small sword that looked similar to the Baby Sword, utterly overjoyed.

I recognized her instantly.

'Iris Ruzbella.'

The NPC who'd given me my second ending.

For the record, that playthrough's ending had been [Bad Ending].

All of humanity had been wiped out and the story ended, if I recalled correctly.

'The person who destroyed the continent became my sword?'

Only then did I fully grasp what it meant to be the Sword Master.

That was my past.

What had I been like back then?

"She looks about my age but that skinny...... Hmm, an ability that grows stronger proportional to the blood the sword absorbs? Should I add that too?"

My parents had died in the Gate Catastrophe during my sensitive pubescent years.

Society was in chaos, daily life was unstable.

Multiple factors had overlapped, and during that period, I'd viewed the world through a slightly crooked lens.

On top of that, [Raise a Sword] was a pixel game that somehow boasted character illustrations with photorealistic quality.

'Yikes.'

That was the woman who'd destroyed the continent.

Someone I shouldn't be encountering casually.

And yet.......

For some reason, looking at her, I felt an emotion I hadn't intended.

That's right.

I was feeling nostalgia.

'The first NPC I ever grew attached to.'

Complicated, bittersweet thoughts flickered through my mind.

5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella, and 1st Sword, Reinhardt Euclid.

The System had said three instances, but the NPCs I'd truly felt affection for were only those two.

'I liked Reinhardt because he followed instructions well.'

In Iris's case, it was my childhood empathy.......

I'd lost my parents, and she had a backstory of being abandoned—so I think she'd tugged at my heartstrings.

While lost in those thoughts—.

【Master!!!】

The voice of an old man welcoming me shattered my reverie completely.

Reinhardt, who'd gone silent, had returned.

"Did something happen?"

I asked casually.

Reinhardt then shouted.

【A wretched thing was trying to awaken, and this humble servant blocked it with every ounce of strength!!!】

As though seeking praise.

I commended him for his efforts and asked for the details.

【Blood entered the world of swords—.】

Reinhardt's explanation began.

When the Baby Sword had absorbed blood, the 5th Sword began to stir.

If that had been all, it would've been fine, but.......

When the Baby Sword absorbed blood a second time, the smell of blood had spread through that world.

"So 5th Sword Iris Ruzbella awakened in response to the blood?"

【Worry not! This humble servant sent that vile demon sword back!!!】

Should I take this as a good thing?

I calmly observed Iris Ruzbella, who had appeared as the [Tower]'s trial.

Being the early stages, her gaunt appearance was starkly noticeable.

But.......

"Ahahahahaha!!! We are growing. The abandoned princess of the Great Empire shall return—."

She was slaughtering people who had fallen into the [Abyss], steadily regaining a healthy appearance.

'No matter how I look at it, she doesn't seem controllable.'

The quest's objective was to overcome the trial given in the Tower.

I still didn't know the trial's specifics.

I tried to discuss this trial with [1st Sword, Reinhardt].

But then.......

【H-how is that wretched thing here!!!】

Reinhardt was aghast at the sight of young Iris.

From that point on, neither Reinhardt nor I could say a word.

Because of the carnage Iris had wrought.

"Most noble father, Emperor of the Great Empire of Ruzbella. Your abandoned youngest princess shall build her strength and come to claim the throne—."

During the thirty minutes the safe zone persisted, Iris Ruzbella killed every living thing in the [Abyss].

Monster, human, whatever.

All became an equal handful of blood.

SLUURP———!!!

"Aah...... Sword!!!"

The sword absorbed that blood.

And Iris's body grew healthier still.

When this space had first appeared, Iris Ruzbella had been skeletal, practically starving.

But thanks to the 'trait' I'd given her, Iris regained her health in an instant.

'The sword grows, and the excess blood is converted into physical strength for the user.'

A build I'd thrown together without much thought as a kid.

Having witnessed it in person, my impression was this:

"Better results than I expected."

Small wonder she'd destroyed a continent— that was real power.

As I was nodding to myself, Reinhardt asked.

【Could it be...... that wretched sword is also—.】

I nodded silently.

As though he'd been expecting it, Reinhardt simply murmured, 'If it is the Master's will—,' and left it at that.

I wanted to discuss things further, but there was no time for that now.

The thirty-minute safe zone had expired.

Flash!

[The Trial begins.]

[Defeat the 5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella.]

[Condition: Use the 'Baby Sword.']

[Reward: Sword Master's Dominion, ????]

Defeat Iris with the Baby Sword?

The difficulty was tougher than expected.

【Master's safety is the highest priority!!! If it comes to it, summon this humble servant and strike down that vile creature!!!】

Reinhardt's worried outburst was understandable.

Despite having only just grasped her sword, Iris had displayed overwhelming force.

But.......

"1st Sword, Reinhardt. I won't need to bring you out."

I believed this trial would be very easy.

Because I was the [Sword Master].

Could the master of the sword not even handle the childhood of one of his swords?

'Iris is incomplete right now.'

Countering a sword in its young, weak state was nothing.

I'd designed every last aspect of the sword she held, and her abilities too.

* * *

The safe zone vanished.

Meaning my presence had been revealed within the [Abyss].

"Sword, you're saying there's something tasty over here?"

Iris's [Vampiric Demon Sword] followed the scent of blood and guided her.

Her voice drew closer and closer.

And then Iris came face-to-face with me.

"Father......"

Red hair, brown eyes, and a considerably pretty appearance now that she'd filled out— Iris Ruzbella.

She asked.

"......An assassin sent by father? What is it about that accursed death star that drives him to cast Us out so cruelly?"

Crimson light flickered across her brown irises.

"Judging by that composed stance, you're no ordinary man."

"I'm—."

I'm not an assassin sent by your father!!!

I wanted to at least say something.

But she didn't give me the slightest opening.

"DIE!!!"

WHOOSH—.

Iris's sword came hurtling at me.

I calmly read the sword path.

Iris's sword had only just had its alignment decided and gained the [Vampiric Demon Sword] trait.

No different from my Baby Sword.

CLANG!!!

I lightly raised the Baby Sword and blocked her sword path.

Sword struck sword, and sparks flew through the air.

Even if the swords were similar in level, the depth of enlightenment was worlds apart.

"A swordsman who surpasses Our swordsmanship...... Father must truly despise his youngest daughter."

I recalled her backstory.

An NPC I'd chosen as a kid because her character illustration looked pitiful, so I knew her detailed backstory by heart.

'The youngest princess, born under the death star.'

A woman who'd been confined to the imperial palace her entire life.

Her 'palace' had been a remote wing with not a single attendant.

Yet Iris had mastered swordsmanship on her own, and when the Emperor discovered this, he'd cast her into the [Abyss].

That's how she'd ended up picking up my sword.

CLANG—! PING! RING!

While thinking all this, I deflected every one of Iris's strikes.

I had absorbed the enlightenment of all my swords, granting me unparalleled talent when it came to swords and swordsmanship.

"S-surely the Imperial Knights weren't sent?"

She asked me only after we'd crossed blades for a while.

A look of considerable alarm on her face.

But I knew it was all an act.

'She's bluffing.'

I calmly read Iris's behavior.

After massacring every living thing in the first [Abyss], Iris would acquire a single Authority.

One that I had recommended to her, no less.

[Lord of Blood]

A power that grew stronger the more blood was consumed.

And the ability to summon demons using the spirits absorbed by the sword.

I read the precursors.

"DIE!!!"

Iris, who'd been feigning dejection, whipped into a complete reversal.

From the tip of her sword, crimson blood surged forth.

SPLASH——!!!

It took the form of a massive monster and lunged to devour my body.

But it was only a single demon.

Iris right now was absurdly weak.

And.......

'Chaos.'

My main weapon, the Baby Sword, was aligned with [Chaos].

Neither good nor evil, yet straddling both sides.

'Meaning I can draw on just one alignment when I want to.'

I focused on a radiant light.

The sacred energy mixed within the Chaos flowed along the blade.

In that state, I set my stance and swung the sword.

[Single Slash — Horizontal Cut]

The swordsmanship of Reinhardt— who had saved the world in its most noble form— was realized at my fingertips.

It met the sword that had destroyed the world in its most depraved form.

CRACK———.

And so, Iris Ruzbella's world crumbled.

The sword she'd been holding had shattered.

"Our sword......"

She stared at me with a devastated expression.

The broken blade rolling on the ground, and the bladeless hilt still clutched in her hand.

"Who...... are you?"

Whoosh—.

I approached with an indifferent expression and took the sword hilt from Iris's hand.

Then spoke.

"I am the master of this sword."

"It had a master?"

She collapsed to the ground in despair.

I assumed the trial would end right there, but.......

Iris Ruzbella.

She was shrewder than I remembered.

"You think We'd let you take the only thing We have!!!"

WHOOSH—.

She grabbed the broken blade off the ground and swung it at me.

Slicing her own hands in the process, desperate to take the sword back from me.

That sight made me burst out laughing.

'That's exactly why I chose Iris.'

An NPC who truly cherished the sword.

An NPC who sincerely followed the sword's voice.

Come to think of it, Iris had been the first.

I parried her blade and spoke.

"Yes, this sword is one I gave to you."

A thought struck me out of nowhere.

Was the end of this trial really just defeating her?

Something told me it wasn't.

'Understanding.'

The souls dwelling within the swords weren't NPCs.

They were people who had witnessed the end of a world.

Wasn't that precisely why this kind of trial had appeared?

I gazed intently at the broken cross-section of Iris's sword.

The severed blade and hilt naturally reunited at my will, merging into one.

I handed the sword back to Iris.

"Treat it more preciously."

She stared at me with an expression of utter incomprehension.

"The t-true master of the sword? M-may this maiden take it to mean...... that you accept her?"

My guess had been right.

A now-meek Iris.

"Yes, you are worthy of wielding this sword."

"Aah, you grant this maiden salvation......"

Salvation?

I wasn't so sure.......

Before seeing the ending, Iris Ruzbella had died countless times.

After innumerable repeats, she'd barely reached an ending.

And even that hadn't been a particularly satisfying one.

[Bad Ending — The continent has been destroyed.]

Because the world had been completely annihilated.

"Ahahahahaha!!! Sword, the world you and We wished for has come true! Look upon this continent, devoid of a single living thing!!!"

Yet Iris Ruzbella had met her end more happily than any other NPC.

'From Iris's perspective as an individual, it could indeed be called salvation.'

There was no need for me to answer.

Flash!

「You have overcome the trial in perfect form.」

—Sword Master's Dominion acquired.

—Bonus reward: Authority 'Lord of Blood' acquired.

The [Tower]'s world began to blur.

Iris's collapsed form scattered and vanished.

Simultaneously, the Floor 2 clear message appeared.

Flash!

[Tower, Floor 2 has been cleared.]

[Clear Time: 10 minutes]

[Grade: SSS]

[Preparing rewards......]

While waiting for the rewards, I examined 'Sword Master's Dominion' and 'Lord of Blood.'

[Sword Master's Dominion: The ability to command the swords by force.]

[Lord of Blood — Stage 1: The ability to store absorbed blood in the sword, converting the excess into the user's physical strength.]

I'd gained the power to control my fearsome swords.

And on top of that.......

'Lord of Blood.'

A growth-type skill, no less.

Exactly the ability I needed had appeared.

I'd attained transcendent enlightenment regarding the sword, but my physical body couldn't keep up.

The [Baby Sword]'s alignment was Chaos.

It could accept malevolent energy like blood.

'I just need to maintain the good-evil ratio at 50:50 and convert the excess into my body's strength.'

I'd found a way to build a body capable of properly manifesting my enlightenment.

And finally—.

[Floor 2 Clear Rewards:]

1. The advanced growth path for 'Baby Sword — Chaos' has been unlocked.

2. Tower Entry Ticket x 3

3. SSS-rank Random Box.

4. 10,000 Coins.

'As expected, climbing the Tower grows the Baby Sword.'

A new build had appeared for the Baby Sword.

Probably a power rooted in Chaos.

The rest was identical to the Floor 1 rewards.

With all rewards distributed, it was time to be forcibly transferred out of the Tower.

But then.......

Flash!

「5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella. [1/100]」

—Communication with a new Ego Sword is now possible.

'As expected, it went up.'

The 5th Sword's manifestation value had increased by 1.

I'd anticipated it would rise.

The fact that it hadn't risen sooner had been the strange part.

'The question is whether I can control her.'

One hour in the Tower, one second outside.

Even if it was only one second, the 'real Iris's' power was profoundly terrifying.

I'd designed her myself, so I knew.

'Unless some continent-destroying crisis erupts, I probably shouldn't......'

Would something like that ever happen?

Just as I tilted my head in thought—.

【Aah...... Master of the Sword—. You're finally looking at this maiden.】

A bright, cheerful voice rang in my ears.

* * *

The moment Shin Si-woo entered the Tower.

An unidentified Hunter in a black robe infiltrated Goyang City.

He entered the deepest point of the [Red Sea]— the Parent Body's Gate.

Then switched on a live broadcast.

Normally, the Red Sea, which appeared as a [Red Gate], had the sea parted on both sides with a path running down the middle.

The Parent Body, however, was different.

A vast crimson sea flowing serenely.

Atop it, the man in the black robe screamed.

He set his own body ablaze.

It was the moment demon worshippers revealed themselves to the world.