Chapter 26

Chapter 26. Scabbard (Sword House) (3)

"How is it that Korea has nothing but lunatics like that?"

Before he could even finish a sentence, a blade had been driven into his throat.

According to the interpretation, it had been 'unavoidable, in order to prevent a Fall'—

"A complete absence of common sense."

SSS-rank Yacha, who was guarding his side, said as he looked at the Prime Minister.

"His perception, and the way he sees the world, are on an entirely different dimension from the ordinary person's."

"If you, Japan's strongest, are a mere ordinary person, then what does that make me — a lesser creature?"

"Prime Minister. Slicing a person's neck halfway and then conversing for tens of minutes in that state requires an extraordinarily precise technique."

It was a feat that might only be possible for someone deeply versed in anatomy and profoundly skilled with the sword.

Not killing was harder than killing.

On top of that, not a single drop of blood had been spilled.

"I'm not well-versed in swordsmanship, so I can't explain in detail, but… that was pure swordsmanship."

Yacha was a being who tore anything and everything to pieces, so he wasn't familiar with the finer points of the sword.

Still, he could say with certainty that Shin Si-woo hadn't displayed any kind of Transcendent power.

"I couldn't even keep up with Shin Si-woo simply swinging a sword."

"I see. And then there's the power to summon the demons that devoured the Red Sea, the meteor shower that covered the sky, the healer role…"

Truly, a Transcendent.

He was qualified to be called the brother of Jesus.

Which only made him all the more enviable.

"And on top of that, a Transcendent who knows restraint. In front of the Patriot, I'd have already been hit by a bombing and my corpse wouldn't have been found."

Shin Si-woo was a man of character.

There were that many Hunters with cracked minds.

"Yacha, will it be fine to send Masaki to him?"

"Brainwashing — honestly, even if we're caught, isn't it a low-risk ploy? He even spared the Prime Minister's life — would he draw a blade on that fragile little guy?"

"Hnng… the problem is the interpreter who was beside Shin Si-woo."

"Ahh—."

Yacha lost his words.

Sato Masaki possessed a special power to almost unconditionally control a designated target.

This too had been obtained through [Awakening] by overcoming a trial.

But…

"That interpreter may not be an ordinary person."

"The odds are high."

Kang Seol-a, known as a non-Awakened.

At first, since she was the daughter of the Korean power-broker Kang Mu-jin, they had assumed she was attached to a Transcendent for purposes of power-transfer or something similar.

But meeting her in person — it hadn't felt that way at all.

"Should we pull back?"

"For now, let's test the waters. If it seems it'll work, have him deploy the brainwashing power."

Of course, for now, it was just a plan.

"The lava Gate hasn't even vanished yet — it won't be too late to judge once we see the result."

The lava Gate.

Even with three Japanese Transcendents managing it for years, all they had achieved was [suppression] of this great catastrophe.

Its root, the Gaecheonji cult leader Gye Man-hwi, couldn't even be found — hidden somewhere out of reach.

On top of that, it had been an even greater catastrophe than Korea's [Red Sea]…

"It'll probably take another two days before it reaches the [abatement] phase—"

Before Yacha could even finish his sentence.

"Hohh… Yacha, look at WorldNet."

"Good heavens—. The man who just left us…"

<Th-the lava blanketing the area around Mount Fuji is beginning to disappear at an astonishing rate!!!>

The crimson lava was being chewed up by even redder demons.

"Isn't Yuki by Shin Si-woo's side?"

SSS-rank Hunter Yuki had followed Shin Si-woo as the guide to the lava Gate.

The half-elf who oversaw the Spirit World.

For her, the limitations of space were something that could be overcome at any time.

"Then why has there been no word at all?"

* * *

SSS-rank Hunter Yuki.

Upon becoming an elf, she had discarded her surname.

She opened the [Spirit World] and cleared a path connecting Tokyo to Mount Fuji.

Through it, she led Shin Si-woo.

'Just a nod at me and then he doesn't look my way even once?'

Earth's first half-elf, Yuki.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone fell for her mystical appearance.

And yet Shin Si-woo…

Vvvng—.

Gripping his sparkling sword, he said nothing.

Instead, the woman who had come along as his interpreter spoke to her.

"Hello?"

A beauty on par with a Transcendent despite being a non-Awakened — it made Yuki feel strangely off-balance.

"…Yes."

More than anything, it was awkward.

Still, Yuki carried the fate of her nation.

She had to do something.

First, they exchanged names.

"Wow, you're the first person in Japan to ask for my name. I'm Kang Seol-a."

"I'm Yuki. Ms. Seol-a, might I ask what Lord Si-woo is doing right now?"

"Well. When he's holding a sword, he's incredibly focused… he's probably working out how to handle the lava."

Kang Seol-a stole a glance at Shin Si-woo.

The Jewel set at the tip of his sword was blinking through various colors in succession.

Red, blue, gold.

Probably…

'Si-woo, so it's really true that you went through Raise a Sword as a trial.'

Kang Seol-a was certain that was him conversing with the sword.

Shin Si-woo had never told anyone the specifics of his abilities, but Kang Seol-a — who had watched him for many years — could be certain.

'Going to the trouble of conversing with a sword, of all things.'

They were old friends.

Witnessing for herself the reason Shin Si-woo's mind had cracked the way it had, she got a strange feeling.

As she was thinking that—

"Lord Si-woo — might I ask what he likes?"

Yuki showed curiosity about Shin Si-woo.

Kang Seol-a had no particular intention of stopping her.

'Ms. Yuki, unless you can transform into a sword, winning his affection is close to impossible, you know.'

But, concealing that sincere thought, she continued blandly.

The answer to the question of what Shin Si-woo liked was simple.

"Si-woo…"

Kang Seol-a glanced to the side.

There she saw Shin Si-woo's sword.

It had clearly been a very small sword, but at some point it had grown to the length of a longsword.

"He likes swords, I see. I can make a spirit sword—"

Yuki naturally brought up the topic of swords.

She held out hope that perhaps Shin Si-woo might react.

"…Why aren't you interpreting?"

Yuki shot Kang Seol-a a look.

It was a glare as though accusing her of holding her in check, and Kang Seol-a was dumbfounded.

'Si-woo once talked about swords when he was blackout drunk.'

That time, a thoroughly smashed Shin Si-woo had muttered that spirit swords were trash.

Knowing that, she had been showing some consideration.

Letting out a deep sigh, Kang Seol-a asked Shin Si-woo,

"Si-woo, are spirit swords any good?"

"Big Sis, they're complete trash. I don't know what spirits are like here, but over there they've got glass mentalities and they're cowards — the moment anything goes slightly wrong, the sword's balance just falls apart."

Yuki didn't know what was said, but she understood that Shin Si-woo had said something negative.

And yet Kang Seol-a went out of her way to convey that through the interpretation.

For someone who threw away a chance, consideration was unnecessary.

"He says spirit swords are too lame, so he's not interested."

"Ah…"

Things got even more awkward.

Yuki chose silence instead.

After walking a short while in awkward silence, they had, at some point, arrived at the exit.

"Beyond this point, the land of lava unfolds. It's lava that can't be extinguished with resources from reality like water or ice. Only the power of Hunters can erase this lava."

Her explanation finished, Yuki took the lead.

Now it would be just her and Shin Si-woo alone together.

Having separated herself from Kang Seol-a — whose status as Awakened or not was unclear — she intended to carry out the Prime Minister's prepared plan.

"Ms. Seol-a, you're an ordinary person, so if you could wait here—"

Before Yuki could finish her sentence, Shin Si-woo spoke.

"Not a problem."

His sword shone with a brilliant golden light and poured a sacred radiance onto Kang Seol-a.

"Big Sis, it's a Divine Barrier. Even if a tentacle of an Outer God pierces through, this can block two hits — don't worry and follow along."

"Ah…"

For some reason, no barrier was applied to Yuki.

With a bitter expression, she crossed the Gate.

Hwareuk——!!!

A terrible lava that melted villages, burned away nature, and reduced the homes of humans to nothingness came into view.

Heat filled every direction.

As a spirit-master, Yuki shuddered at the energy so incompatible with her.

Sreureuk—.

Just then, Shin Si-woo drew his sword.

"————."

And then he said something.

It was probably a name.

'A being transcending Caliber…'

Yuki, who handled [Spirits], knew well.

Beings of high rank — such as primordial Spirit Kings or ancient spirits — one wasn't even permitted to speak their names aloud.

Hearing them was the same.

Kiiiiieeee———.

Meaning that the bewitchingly shining blood-red greatsword in Shin Si-woo's hand possessed a name of that very 'Caliber.'

'D-demons…'

Yuki swallowed her breath.

That crimson greatsword summoned the horrifying monsters that had moved even Jesus.

They had appeared on Japanese soil.

Jjijik—jjik!!!

Vivid red lines rose up in the air, and through them, hideous monsters emerged.

Enormous heads with mouths that tore wide side to side, and enormous eyeballs — crimson demons.

'G-good heavens—.'

In less than a single second — a fleeting instant.

Monsters like that poured out by the tens of thousands.

Yuki used her elven bloodline to enhance her sight.

She struggled to perceive this instant.

Monsters that cascaded down like afterimages.

They were diving into the lava and chewing it up.

But their eyes—

Deureureuk.

'Th-they're looking at me?'

Every last one of the Million Demons was looking at 'Yuki' — only her.

A chill ran up her spine.

Regardless, the demons continued to devour the lava blanketing the surrounding area.

'M-monsters!!!'

Ssaaaaaaa————.

At some point, the heat had vanished.

The crimson lava that had enveloped the area was no longer visible.

But…

Wuaaaaa!!!

The enormous demons, having grown in size, did not vanish — they simply continued their movements.

And those terrifying monsters swarmed around Yuki.

'Th-the smell of blood—'

In an instant, she felt as though she had been trapped inside a cave made of blood.

Within it, every one of the demons grinned horrifically, staring at Yuki.

'W-what are they going to do with me…'

Yuki was struck with terror.

The spirits wrapped around her body took one look at the demons and fled.

Yuki wanted to flee too.

So she opened a gate to the Spirit World.

Teop!

One of the demons ate the gate that led to the [Spirit World].

'A gate that can't even be touched…'

Though Yuki didn't want to accept it, she had no choice but to acknowledge reality.

Those monsters' purpose was—

'To eat me!!!'

To devour Yuki.

Her legs gave out.

Just then.

Chureup—.

A demon opened its mouth and extended a massive tongue.

With it, it licked Yuki.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

Yuki screamed and fainted.

* * *

【Ahh, Master!!! This maiden has tasted an elf after such a long, long while.】

I had annihilated the lava corrosion.

And then I'd granted Iris a small favor.

'Iris ate elves and World Trees the most.'

Within worlds that repeated, Iris had fought countless World Trees.

As worlds repeated, Iris increasingly made her own judgments.

"Sword, We shall devour the World Tree and obtain even stronger power!"

In that sort of way.

Such experiences were inscribed onto her soul, and the completed sword was Iris.

It wasn't that I didn't understand her reacting to an elf.

The problem was…

"Si-woo, she's not waking up — what do we do?"

Yuki wouldn't wake.

It seemed the shock had been considerable — which I could understand.

'If I'd actually let her be eaten, there'd have been real trouble.'

For Iris, elves were like a tonic.

All throughout our passage through the Spirit World, she had sung of wanting to eat an elf.

Thanks to the mediation of Yuria and Reinhardt, we had reached a dramatic compromise: she could have just a taste.

「5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella. [15/100]」

I had gained a great deal from handling this corrosion.

From however many wicked deeds Gye Man-hwi had committed here, Iris's value had jumped all the way to 15.

And thus—

Paat!

[Your bond with Iris Ruzbella deepens.]

[The Baby Sword can summon demons.]

A new ability had been added to the Baby Sword.

I was already the master of the Million Demons, but because the Baby Sword was young, summoning had been impossible.

Now that problem had been resolved.

'When an Ego Sword's manifestation time exceeds 15, a new power is unlocked.'

This meant yet another possibility for me.

I'd obtained a concrete reason to awaken and raise all of the swords going forward.

'It'll be right to free each of the other swords' powers, one at a time.'

I had called them NPCs, but deep down I knew they too were parts of the swords.

A name tinged with both love and resentment, you could say.

'I'll have to pay for all the grief I caused.'

Of course, the 5th Sword Iris and the 1st Sword Reinhardt had been NPCs I'd felt attached to from the start.

Even as I was thinking this, Big Sis Seol-a kept slapping Yuki's cheeks in an attempt to wake her.

Slap slap!

"Ms. Yuki, wake up!"

I snickered and summoned a single demon.

Then I placed Yuki on top of it.

"When she wakes up, she'll come over on her own."

Unlike when Iris was manifesting, the demon didn't seem to want to eat her or anything.

'About ten can be summoned, it seems.'

Having tried it once, I had a feel for it.

While I was at it, I summoned two more demons.

"Big Sis, you can ride one, right?"

"O-of course!"

Alongside Big Sis Seol-a, I headed for the summit of Mount Fuji.

[Molten Sea]

The parent body of the lava Gate.

It lay at the summit of Mount Fuji.

Inside that Gate, my target would surely be waiting.

'The Apostle of the Dark God, the Gaecheonji cult leader.'

A being capable of making a Gate his abode.

Gye Man-hwi, whom the Japanese government and Transcendents couldn't find, was probably hiding inside the Gate.

While preparing for a Dark God's Descent, at that.

'If I take him down…'

I'd obtain the Baby Sword's house.

And while I was at it, I'd get a clue as to the demon worshippers eating away at the world.