Chapter 28

Chapter 28. Scabbard (Sword House) (5)

"How could you possibly—"

Within the exploding sword-ki of ultimate Yang, the Dark God Necribas stared at me.

What was set in his eyes was fear.

And questioning.

'Has it already crossed over to this side?'

I, too, was curious.

Dark Gods and Outer Gods hid their origins away.

Their names were hints as to that 'origin.'

Necribas carried the alias of being the vessel that holds blood and death.

"My world is approaching, bit by bit—"

And this one was a Dark God who had taken over Gye Man-hwi's body through 'Descent.'

Descent meant seizing the body of an Apostle.

'Possible even without a root source on Earth.'

His words, "is approaching," meant that there was no root source on Earth yet.

Of course, that was a lie.

I believed that Necribas's root source existed on Earth.

The grounds: the fact that inside Reinhardt's [Azure Blue Sun], his body kept regenerating endlessly.

'His regeneration exceeds a normal level.'

In a normal Descent, he should already have been annihilated.

Necribas was writhing in pain and screaming, but he didn't look to be drawing any closer to death.

Even in [Raise a Sword], I had used Descended bodies to check whether their root sources had infiltrated the world.

It was the same on Earth.

"With regeneration at that level, the vessel would have to be in this world, wouldn't it?"

Inside that vessel would be the deaths Gye Man-hwi had offered.

Somewhere on Earth, his root source was surely hidden.

It might be inside a Gate, or somewhere in the Amazon undergoing demonization, or somewhere in the Pacific.

The reason I had let Gye Man-hwi Descend rather than killing him was to confirm this.

"……What are you?"

Necribas didn't answer me.

"How do you know of us?"

He threw another question my way.

'His root source is on Earth.'

That became my certainty.

Earth was already past the point of returning to its pre-Gate-incident state.

Somewhere in the world existed the root sources of Dark Gods and Outer Gods.

Not only that, the demon worshippers were in real time fulfilling the conditions to offer sacrifices and make them manifest.

I looked into his eyes.

"You have no intention of answering, I see."

Necribas continued to maintain his silence.

The azure flames of the [Azure Blue Sun] kept burning his body endlessly.

Now, he was swallowing even his screams and invoking his right to silence.

This was exactly what I had anticipated.

"I figured as much either way."

Dark Gods and Outer Gods were tenacious.

They hid their root sources where they couldn't be found and repeatedly Descended by using their followers as vessels.

Then, having eaten away at the world and reached a critical point, they manifested wielding tremendous power.

Just as the demon worshippers did, their masters too were seeds that prized their own lives to a pathological degree.

'Birds of a feather.'

In a way, Necribas had Descended into a suitable one of his own.

A cult leader and a Dark God had quite good compatibility.

'A bit disappointing, though—'

When I played [Raise a Sword], I had knowledge accumulated from cycling through the world.

But on Earth, things were different.

Just as when I first played [Raise a Sword], I'd have no choice but to hunt for their root sources one by one on my own two feet.

As I was thinking that—

——Waaah!!!

Suddenly, the Baby Sword cried out.

It had let out sounds from time to time, but this was the first such loud and resonant shout.

I focused on the Baby Sword.

—Waaah!!!

That cry carried meaning.

As the master of swords and as the Baby Sword's father, I tried to discern its meaning.

And I realized it.

'Baby Sword, you're telling me to use you to cut him?'

As if to confirm I'd read it right, the Baby Sword trembled in my hand.

I raised the Baby Sword and advanced toward Necribas.

"—What are you going to do?"

The Descended body, wreathed in blue flames, gazed at me with eyes dyed in astonishment and fear.

And I leveled the Baby Sword at him.

The Baby Sword was still too weak to finish off a Dark God's Descended body.

But, perhaps because he'd been hit by Reinhardt, he seemed to fear my sword terribly.

'You have your own way, is that it?'

I read the Baby Sword's will.

There was a specialness that only a small, precious sword could possess.

Ziiiing——.

I raised Aura.

White and black drew a spiral, gleaming along the edge of the blade.

The Baby Sword was a sword with a firmly established [nature].

'A sword of Chaos that crosses time and space.'

With this, I couldn't kill a Dark God, but something else would be possible.

'That's why the Baby Sword called out to me.'

I cut Necribas.

The mystical power the Baby Sword had obtained.

I would trust in that.

Jjeong——!!!

Along the Baby Sword's trajectory, a gray sword-mark appeared atop the crimson demon.

Necribas gushed blood and twisted his body.

That blood was sucked into the Baby Sword's cut.

I realized it.

'It's crossing space-time to find his root source.'

A Descended body.

His root source was on Earth.

There had to be a connection point to his [root source] somehow.

"W-what the hell are you doing!!!"

Ssaaaaaaa———.

Afterimages flickered across Necribas's crimson skin.

The Baby Sword's ability.

The power that transcended time and space had shown me the path toward his root source.

It was closer than I'd thought.

'Black monsters—. The polluted beasts.'

Above South Korea's 38th Parallel.

A land of death from which polluted beasts poured endlessly.

And China's territory.

"I'll come calling on you soon."

My purpose here was fulfilled.

Apparently exhausted, the Baby Sword let out a small 'Waaah…' whimper.

The Chaos Aura faded.

'Rest well.'

I offered the Baby Sword a greeting laced with gratitude.

Then I called forth [2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia].

"Yuria Lanestia."

At my call, the blade sparkled gold.

A great, mighty golden divine greatsword was in my grip.

I had only called the sword.

But—

"Kkeureuk—."

The Dark God Necribas foamed at the mouth and convulsed.

Kiring———.

A brilliant, radiant golden divine power is the natural predator of all [evil].

Using only the power contained in the sword, I pierced Necribas's heart.

Phuk——!!!

Crudely, yet with unwavering resolve.

My noble Holy Sword was boundlessly cruel when dealing with evil.

The blade that pierced Necribas's heart poured distant divine power into his Descended body.

Without even a scream, the crimson demon's body burst open.

Even the traces were annihilated by the shockwave of sanctity.

Ssaaaaaaa———.

At some point, silence had fallen in every direction.

And then…

Paat!

[Numerous observers have witnessed the deed of 'Sword Master—Shin Si-woo.']

[The world sends its praise for the great achievement.]

[You have completely handled an Incomprehensible.]

[World Quest — 'Find and deal with the root source of the Red Sea' — complete.]

[Derived Quest — 'Deal with the root source of the Molten Sea' — complete.]

[The Scabbard is delivered as a reward.]

[Additional rewards are being prepared…]

︙

Messages kept pouring down without end.

A distant euphoria welled up.

* * *

Seureuk—.

A Scabbard appeared, cleaving through the air.

'Finally!!!'

The Scabbard was black.

A pure white Jewel was set at the very top, where the sword was to be sheathed.

The rough, achromatic tone conveyed a restrained aesthetic, and it pleased me immensely.

More than anything, I had finally achieved my goal.

'You have a house now.'

My small, precious Baby Sword now had a place to live.

I slid the [Baby Sword] in my hand into the Scabbard.

The Baby Sword then said,

—Nice house!!!

It seemed the house was comfortable.

This Scabbard didn't simply function as a [house].

Its ability made itself felt naturally.

'The power to let the Baby Sword exist in the world without Mysteries.'

The Baby Sword was an un-Transcended sword.

To maintain the sword at all times, I had been wearing a bracelet made of a solid block of Mysteries.

And that bracelet had quickly lost its luster while tracing Necribas's root source.

It wasn't that the effect was gone.

It just meant the power of the Mysteries had been depleted that much.

'Chaos plus spacetime — fuel efficiency is poor, apparently.'

But now it was fine.

The [Scabbard] was an item that allowed the [Baby Sword] to always be by my side, without the aid of Mysteries.

Among its other functions—

Paat!

[The world of swords becomes clearer.]

My Ego Swords' [world of swords] seemed to have improved somewhat.

Since it was a space I had never seen, I didn't know the details…

'Hm?'

As I was thinking that.

My mind flashed.

'Chaos plus spacetime?'

Maybe.

If my [Baby Sword] came to wield its powers properly…

'Could it be that it can create a passage into the world of swords?'

The Baby Sword had opened a path to a [Black Gate] that hadn't yet manifested in the world.

If this nature continued to develop further and further!!!

'I could call my Ego Swords to Earth.'

Something absurd might become possible.

It was only speculation, but no matter how I thought about it, wasn't it a reasonable inference?

'If that happened…'

Earth was vast and immense.

And there were many cracked Transcendents and countless deranged dictatorships.

Didn't even a country that had been fine, like Britain, declare [British Empire] and go on about imperial resurgence?

'In the midst of chaos, cooperate with my swords and stabilize the world.'

My goal was to raise the Baby Sword and make it into a complete sword.

For reference, in [Raise a Sword], if the sword was discarded, broken, or the world was destroyed, it was a loss.

For the sword's sake, and for the safety of me and those around me, keeping the world from being destroyed was important.

Just as I steeled that resolve—

Paat!

[Enter the Tower to promote the growth of the 'Baby Sword'!]

Right on cue, a quest for the Tower appeared.

There were people who recklessly entered the Tower.

Those people often died or went missing in trials of increased difficulty.

On the other hand, if you entered after seeing a [Quest] like I did, you could achieve growth relatively safely.

Of course, before that…

'I should clean up here first.'

Only after receiving the rewards could I calmly look at the situation around me.

It was only now that I realized — I was standing on flat ground.

I had clearly been at the summit of Mount Fuji.

'There's a reason every one of my swords is Transcendent.'

A single wide-area attack had erased the mountain.

And not just the mountain.

The result included detonating the root source of the lava corrosion, [Molten Sea], and shattering the Dark God's Descended body inside it.

In the distance, I could see a crimson demon.

"S-Si-woo? Are you all right?"

Big Sis Seol-a, riding a demon, approached and asked.

Riding a horrific-looking demon across a plain, Big Sis had a startled expression.

"You dodged it well, I see. I'm fine."

I felt the satisfaction of having given Big Sis a heads-up through the demon before the Gate blew.

For reference, the demons could speak.

"Danger! Go down! Gate! Explode!"

They spoke in single words and let out terrifying roars, but…

At any rate, communication was possible.

"Si-woo, but is that Mystery?"

"Yes."

"G-good heavens!!!"

Big Sis stared at the shimmering ingot in my hand, stunned.

"How much does it even come to?"

"It's a 10kg ingot."

I had completely annihilated the Red Sea and the Molten Sea.

Gye Man-hwi, the root source, of course — and the Dark God's Descended body that had seized his flesh — I had erased them all the same.

And thus, I had obtained a [10kg Ingot of Mystery].

10kg was enough to restructure the Induced Awakened system and meaningfully increase the Awakened population.

"What are you planning to use it for?"

The Patriot would declare he'd donate it all to the state for the people's welfare, but I was different.

'A new Ego Sword.'

The 1st Sword, 2nd Sword, 5th Sword.

Currently, these were the swords I could summon.

And all of them could only manifest on the scale of 'seconds.'

To solve this problem, I'd have to either give the swords power to raise their manifestation values or unlock new swords.

'Once the manifestation value reaches 15, the Baby Sword can wield the Ego Sword's power.'

The most useful in that context was the [4th Sword, Muratan].

Of course, he was a stubborn, inflexible dwarf.

To win him over, I'd have to prepare an enormous amount of iron.

'To that mad dwarf, iron means human heads, but—'

In [Raise a Sword], Muratan — having handled every kind of iron — had realized that 'the flesh of a strong human' was tougher than iron.

So he had made himself a sword, and called himself a blacksmith who reforged the iron that was living beings.

Still, even Muratan reacted exceptionally to things like 'a metal seen for the first time' or 'a weapon seen for the first time.'

Anyway, I couldn't relay these thoughts as-is—

"Why are you deliberating so long over what to use it for?"

"I'm thinking of using it to seduce a sword."

At Big Sis's urging, I reluctantly answered.

At that, Big Sis stopped talking.

"…You're seducing a sword with Mystery?"

For some reason, Big Sis was glaring at me with a look of disgust.

Separately from that, I had concerns over whether Muratan would react to [Mystery] alone.

'A somewhat unusual weapon or special iron would be nice…'

* * *

The Grand Canyon.

The church of the living Jesus.

From the highest seat, Jesus gazed into empty air.

"Say, Jesus. This isn't what we agreed, is it? Waiting until that guy finishes his business before sending me over — on what grounds?!!! Our Queen specifically—"

The British Doctor pressed Jesus.

At that—

"Shh!"

Jesus placed a finger on the British Doctor's lips and said,

A long, dark finger silenced the British Doctor's words.

'This guy's head is well and truly cracked.'

The British Doctor fell silent.

It was because Jesus's eyes were soaked in ecstasy.

"Ahh—. Shin Si-woo, you…"

Jesus had seen.

Shin Si-woo tearing the crimson Dark God apart to kill it.

The magnificent sight of him annihilating a demon with a brilliant, golden divine greatsword.

"……A truly magnificent man, isn't he?"

Only after Shin Si-woo had ended the situation did Jesus look at the British Doctor.

"So, Doctor, you're going to go find my Brother Shin Si-woo, is that it?"

"According to the treaty between the British Empire and America, Jesus, you're obliged to—"

"Ahh, such a stuffy, tedious man."

Jesus cut the British Doctor off.

Then he drew a cross in the air.

A passage from Jesus's church here to Mount Fuji, Japan.

"Doctor, a warning. Don't trust your medicine and your scalpel too much."

"If I can't trust my guaranteed-kill, guaranteed-survival scalpel, what am I to trust?"

"There's a something that only I, Jesus Christ, can see. Ahh, I do hope you don't break."

An eccentric whim of a Jesus.

Thinking that, the British Doctor stepped through the passage.

'Shin Si-woo, I'll take everything of yours.'

Information about the demon worshippers.

The mysterious ability to erase a Gate-less corrosion.

On top of that, the absurd power to annihilate what was presumed to be a Dark God.

An omnipotence that even Jesus had marveled at.

'But as long as he's human, he can't threaten me.'

The British Doctor was convinced of it.