Ch.103Chapter 103: Trigger (2)

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After using the power of the dragon sword to completely ‘burn away’ the first mark of corruption without a trace,

Removing the remaining marks of corruption was incredibly simple.

All I had to do was repeat the same process I went through when eliminating the first mark.

First, arrive at the destination specified by Fafnir.

Then, examine the surroundings to locate where malice was creeping up from beneath the snow-covered ground.

To eliminate it, draw the dragon sword from its scabbard as if using a fighting spirit technique.

After confirming the flames rising from the pitch-black blade that cast its presence with a clear metallic sound,

Simply place the dragon sword over the corrupted mark buried in the snow, which couldn’t be clearly identified.

Then the flames on the sword would burn away the corrupted mark as if they had a will of their own.

I didn’t need to perform any intense physical movements like deliberately gathering fighting spirit and striking down on the mark.

This corrupted mark would simply vanish upon contact with the flames rising from the dragon sword.

Without a single exception, from the first to the seventeenth and final mark.

Moreover, while the flames looked the same visually each time I drew the sword,

The energy they emitted when burning the marks grew increasingly stronger.

[It burns well. Burns well indeed. Young one, keep going without rest.]

By the time I was eliminating the fourth mark in this manner, Fafnir was actively encouraging me as if thoroughly enjoying himself.

I don’t know what he finds so exciting, but my mind is simply troubled.

‘It shouldn’t be this easy to eliminate these…’

No matter how crude these marks might be.

As I mentioned when eliminating the first mark.

To remove something like this would normally require an experienced priest skilled in consecration, plus a knight with enough combat ability to guard the priest and prevent any mishaps caused by twisted entities that might emerge from the mark during purification.

Yet here I am, burning them away without a trace with just a small flame produced by imbuing fighting spirit into a sword.

“To be able to clean up marks related to corrupt divinity as easily as sweeping up crumbs of fallen snacks…”

How could such a lament not escape my lips?

Although I’m consciously downplaying them by using the term “corruption,”

The marks I’m eliminating in real-time are, despite differences in rank, clearly created based on power closely related to divinity.

While they differ in nature from those great beings who inspire awe by their mere presence as they look down upon us from on high,

These marks were inscribed using the energy of a being who stands at the pinnacle of the ten thousand demons, one who rivals those divine beings in power.

It makes no sense that they would vanish without a trace just from contact with some mysterious flame.

Yet here I am, witnessing this impossible scene unfolding before my eyes, by my own hand.

[No need to be bewildered. I guarantee that later on, you’ll likely witness things even more astonishing than this.]

With a voice carefully restraining any hint of laughter,

Fafnir’s words echoing in my mind, balanced perfectly between encouragement and mockery, don’t seem absurd—which makes me think what I’ve done tonight will remain in my memory for life.

Sigh… Once this is all over, I’ll definitely ask about what these flames are.

[Inseok. Your pace is slowing. We still have nearly ten marks left to eliminate.]

…But first, I should diligently finish the task at hand.

“I’m heading there now, no need to rush me.”

I replied as such, organized my complicated thoughts, and naturally shifted my steps toward the location of the next mark to be eliminated.

And so, proceeding with the single-minded purpose of eliminating every visible mark,

Before I knew it, I had successfully burned away all seventeen corrupted marks that Fafnir had sensed, in less than three hours since beginning my activities after sunset.

In other words, I could now return to my lodgings and get a decent amount of sleep.

The work was so smooth that I felt no tension throughout, despite removing marks manifested through the power of corrupt divinity, however weak it might be.

Of course, due to repeatedly drawing on my fighting spirit and trudging through snow that reached up to my waist,

“Yaaawn…”

I couldn’t help but let out a yawn expressing mild fatigue.

As soon as he heard that yawn,

[Young one. Well done. Let’s go in and rest.]

After saying nothing of note following the elimination of the final mark, Fafnir suddenly spoke words of appreciation.

[Thanks to your solitary efforts, the possibility of innocent lives in this fortress being harmed has greatly decreased.]

He praised my achievement with a voice filled with composure after acknowledging my hard work.

If someone else had offered such praise, I might have simply accepted it without much thought.

But I never expected to hear such words from Fafnir, who according to legends, once stood shoulder to shoulder with beings of the demon realm a thousand years ago,

Spreading infamy that still remains in tales of how he wreaked havoc in the human world.

Well, I suppose it’s all good.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since discovering his identity and spending time with this dragon,

It’s that the Fafnir conversing with me now isn’t as evil as the one depicted in legends and epics.

If he were truly that evil,

Even if he had survived and remained active contrary to the epic that claimed he died after battling my ancestor,

Had he not abandoned his evil nature, he couldn’t have formed amicable relationships with the heroes of the Great Holy War era, including my ancestor.

And despite being confined in the sword in spirit form and falling into a long slumber, he’s never once expressed any complaints about it in my presence.

How should I put it?

While the dragon known as the Red Tyrant from a thousand years ago,

And the dragon conversing with me now are the same being,

I found myself speculating that there must have been some pivotal moment that changed him so dramatically.

[I can hear all your thoughts, you know.]

‘Couldn’t you pretend not to hear such things?’

[…I have nothing to say, but someday I’ll explain everything to you.]

‘I’ll wait. And if you could also explain about the flames on this sword, that would be even better.’

[That’s a bit…]

‘Oh, why not? I’ve done everything you asked without complaint, but you can’t tell me about this somewhat—well, it’s too suspicious to call it minor—these clearly unusual flames?’

[That’s something I’m not allowed to reveal.]

What is he saying now?

He’s dwelling in a sword that produces flames capable of completely incinerating demonic corruption,

Yet he can’t give a straightforward explanation about those flames?

This is complete nonsense…

[Lumen, I made such a promise to that woman.]

‘….’

Tsk. He’s bringing up my ancestor; there’s no arguing with that.

It seems it will take considerable time before my questions about the flames that suddenly rose from the dragon sword in response to my fighting spirit are answered.

[What I can tell you for certain is that you’ll naturally come to understand when you become the true master worthy of wielding that sword.]

Fafnir’s voice, offered as a form of consolation, did reach me, but…

‘In your view, is my skill level sufficient to be recognized as the true master of this sword?’

[…When you first gripped this sword and awakened me, I felt nothing but blandness.]

‘And now?’

[One year.]

‘….’

[By my estimation, within a year, you’ll be able to awaken the true power residing in this sword and use it together with the ring I gave you.]

Fafnir’s assessment, given in response to my indirect question about my current level, was quite cold.

One year… About two months have passed since my regression, and it would take another year from now before I could possess the power to face beings from the demon realm.

A rather middling timeframe—long if you consider it long, short if you consider it short.

Well, I appreciate that it gives me a realistic perspective rather than false hope, providing a foundation for further effort.

‘It might sound like grasping at clouds, but I’ll believe you. I’ll work hard to shorten that one-year timeframe you mentioned.’

When I conveyed these sincere words,

[Such resolute words please me greatly.]

The most robustly cheerful voice I’d heard from him since we began conversing resonated in my mind.

[Oh my, we’ve wasted time talking in the cold. Well, we’ve eliminated everything that needed to be eliminated, so let’s go back and rest.]

‘Understood.’

With that, I set off to return to my lodgings, processing my conversation with Fafnir after completely eliminating the marks.

Plop, plop, plop

This isn’t the sound of metal piercing something.

After eliminating all the corrupted marks Fafnir had detected,

It’s the sound of snow sinking beneath my footsteps as I head back to my lodgings to get some sleep.

Similar to the sound I heard when I first went outside?

When I first walked around the fortress interior, the snow reached my knees.

But after spending enough time to eliminate all the marks, the accumulated snow now reached my waist.

The snow was so intense that my mercenary self before regression, who had to risk his life just to use fighting spirit, would have worried about freezing to death.

“…Somehow, I feel better walking through this deeper snow than I did in the shallower snow earlier?”

As I muttered to myself, despite trudging through snow up to my waist, my physical condition was actually better than when the snow only reached my knees.

My body, which had previously only prevented cold from affecting me, was now radiating heat that melted snow upon contact.

And despite the fatigue that had made me yawn after finishing the task,

My mind was now as sharp as if I were walking on a blade’s edge as I traversed through the snow.

Tonight was the most actively I’d used my fighting spirit since my battles with Main and Laplace after my regression.

I never thought that merely using a bit more fighting spirit would improve my physical condition so dramatically, but feeling such a remarkable change gradually occurring in my body,

I felt both tipsy like I’d been drinking and confused at the same time.

I was at a loss for words due to my confusion, but…

[You will climb to those heights much faster in the future. This is barely worthy of being called the peak of your growth curve, so don’t be too surprised by such minor changes.]

Hearing Fafnir’s voice preemptively stopping me from being surprised, I realized how much stronger I had become compared to when I first regressed.

I almost felt satisfied that my efforts to hone my skills without wasting time had shown clear results.

But knowing that the calamity that would someday befall this world was immensely threatening, I couldn’t be content with just this level of progress.

‘I hope there will be more surprises to come.’

[Why is that?]

‘Because to prepare for any possible calamity in the future, I need to become incomparably stronger than I am now.’

[Remember that the more urgent your mindset, the more you need the leisure to proceed slowly.]

‘I gratefully accept your advice.’

Without getting carried away by his praise, I continued my conversation with Fafnir about becoming stronger as I walked.

The journey back to my lodgings was made with even lighter steps than when I first left.

Upon returning to my room, I fell asleep with a sense of reassurance.

Feeling accomplished for having preemptively prevented the Shadow Legion attack that I remembered, I closed my eyes as soon as my head hit the pillow, thinking about what I would do tomorrow.

But as soon as I got up, tidied myself, and stepped out of my lodgings,

“…It was you, wasn’t it?”

My fourth day at the fortress started off on the wrong foot, with my sister standing in front of my door with a very calm expression, convinced that I had done something last night.