Ch.120Wind Shear

The sensation of something that should be there, but isn’t.

And the sensation of something that shouldn’t be there, but is.

The collision of these two contradictory sensations was more than enough to evoke surprise in Serena.

Surprise settled on Serena’s face as she gripped something transparent in my palm. Her pupils, like the deep blue sea, rippled with agitation.

Despite clearly feeling the flow of cold air, it was a natural reaction since even with her sensitive perception, she could barely detect its outline.

“…Are you giving this to me?”

Serena raised her hand, half-clenched into a fist.

It might look strange at first glance, but considering that the sword’s handle was between those awkwardly gathered fingers, it wasn’t such an odd posture.

It was just like her usual grip on a sword, except the handle was transparent.

“You didn’t think I’d make you fight a demon bare-handed, did you?”

As I spoke those words, I glanced sideways at the demon. It was still standing in place, motionless. It hadn’t fully adapted to the body it had possessed.

It must have instinctively sensed that Serena was no easy opponent, so it wanted to be fully prepared before facing her.

Red vine-like tendrils surged and receded across its entire body, wrapping around it completely. The skin entangled in vines presented a grotesquely bizarre appearance.

Behind its back, the vines intertwined to form wing-like structures. Between them, blood absorbed from the corpses undulated.

Serena shook her head vigorously from side to side.

“No, my lord. That’s not it. But if you command it, I would fight to the death.”

“Why would I do that? I have plenty of useful weapons in my tower. I even brought World Eater from there to give to you. If you wanted, you could have taken any sword. I collected them all for suicide attempts anyway, so I don’t need them.”

“How could I dare touch my lord’s possessions? I am grateful for your words alone.”

In truth, I couldn’t care less whether Serena took weapons from the basement or not.

Since I had collected them for suicide purposes, and now that it was confirmed I couldn’t die, they were just useless pieces of metal to me.

“Still, if you think of anything you want later, just tell me. I’ll get you whatever you need.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Serena rotated her wrist this way and that, intently examining whatever was clutched in her fist.

True to her extreme sensitivity to mana flow, she seemed to have already grasped the outline of the sword in her hand to some extent.

“There’s nothing above the handle yet, but that’s because it hasn’t recognized you as its owner yet, so don’t worry about it. Since I brought the sword, I’m technically its current owner.”

Ironically, I, the nominal owner, couldn’t use it because I had no mana.

At my words, Serena waved her hand through where the blade should be. Her hand passed through emptily.

“Now I’m going to transfer ownership recognition from me to you, Serena. Normally this would only be possible if the previous user died, but since I’ve never actually wielded it, it should be fine, so don’t worry.”

Thanks to that, I never got to attempt suicide with it despite having obtained it.

“Besides, the way I obtained that sword was somewhat unusual.”

I smiled bitterly, recalling when I had acquired it from a place called Storm Ravine, now destroyed and gone.

I don’t know who left this sword there, but they would have been quite shocked to see how I obtained their legacy.

In a place where storms that could easily tear humans apart raged 24 hours a day, I took the sword without even using mana, let alone being recognized as its true owner.

I just used my body to get it.

My skin would regenerate as soon as it was torn, my body would regenerate as soon as it was dismembered—that sort of thing. It was a very familiar action for me.

The wind was so chaotic that occasionally I’d be blown backward, losing all the distance I had painstakingly gained.

Since I had nothing but time to spare, I’d just curse once and climb back up.

“Cup it in both hands and surround it with mana. You need to spread your mana throughout the entire handle, as if you’re personally infusing every corner.”

Serena grasped the transparent sword handle with both hands and calmly channeled the blue mana emanating from her body into the sword.

I glanced sideways at the demon again. Its wings were about half-formed. We probably had only about one to two minutes left.

Having absorbed enough mana, something blue appeared where the sword was presumed to be.

A faint outline of a sword.

“My lord, please tell me what to do next.”

“Nothing.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t need to do anything. It will take care of itself.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than the blue light illuminating the sword handle became even more vivid. Now its form was quite clearly visible.

“…!”

And the next moment, the blue light shattered into countless pieces.

Serena stared blankly at her palm where the transparent sword had vanished. She clenched and unclenched her fingers, as if trying to recall the sensation of the now-shattered sword.

“My lord, just now…?”

“It’s done. The ownership has changed. Not to me, but to you, Serena. No, actually, it already accepted you as its owner when you first infused it with mana, and now it has been completely absorbed into your body.”

Serena blinked with eyes like a startled rabbit. It was quite a rare expression for her.

“But just now, the sword handle clearly shattered.”

“It didn’t break. It dispersed.”

“…I don’t quite understand. I apologize, my lord.”

“Clench your fist. As if the sword is there.”

Serena, though looking puzzled, clenched her fist as I instructed.

“—!!!!!”

And once again, her eyes widened like a startled rabbit’s.

A storm whirled around Serena’s hand. Wind with tremendous pressure gathered around her, converging into one.

Between her fingers, the faint shape of a sword handle appeared. It was so subtle that one might dismiss it as an illusion if not looking carefully.

But it was definitely there. Serena proved it as she turned her wrist this way and that, examining her hand.

The faint form didn’t stop at the handle but extended far above it. Unlike when she first received the sword, it now had a proper blade and edge.

Serena ran her finger along where the transparent blade’s edge would be.

I could barely perceive the overall shape of the sword, but Serena seemed able to see it clearly.

Or perhaps it was because the sword recognized Serena as its true owner.

After swinging the sword a couple of times, presumably to get used to its weight, Serena grasped it with both hands.

Then, the sword began to transform.

A handle and blade like transparent glass revealed themselves to the world. The end of the handle had a hollow, and it was relatively very thin.

Unlike World Eater with its elongated crossguard, this transparent sword’s crossguard was a rounded sphere with a line drawn through it connecting to the blade.

Above the handle extended a transparent blade through which one could see what lay beyond, as if that were the most natural thing. It was noticeably longer compared to World Eater.

Now it was my turn to express surprise.

‘What the fuck is that?’

I had only known it as a sword made of wind. I never imagined it could transform into something like transparent glass.

Of course, since I couldn’t infuse mana into the sword, I could only barely form the handle, so this result might be expected.

When Serena opened her hand, the transparent glass sword disappeared as if scattering into the air. When she clenched her fist again, the faint form of the sword reappeared in her palm.

“…It’s a very fascinating sword.”

That was Serena’s first impression.

“I’m sure it is. It’s made of wind, after all.”

“Is this a demonic sword too, my lord?”

“No. I brought it from the upper floors of the tower, not the basement.”

Which meant it wasn’t a demonic sword that would drive its user mad or offer power at the cost of disadvantages.

Though I wondered if such disadvantages would even matter to Serena, who had been using World Eater, a sword with a demon dwelling in it, just fine.

“Can you use it well?”

“Of course, my lord.”

Serena assumed her characteristic stance, pointing the tip of the transparent sword at the demon. Just then, the demon had finished assuming its true form.

“Looks like it’s done transforming. I waited quite a while for you to get your true form, shouldn’t I get something in return?”

“That is not for you to point out.”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure.”

“I will give you one more chance to change your mind, mortal. Offer your flesh to me. I will grant you death.”

The term “mortal” made the area around my eyes twitch slightly. If I could die as easily as that title suggested, I wouldn’t be in this mess.

“And if I refuse?”

“I have already received payment. I am merely fulfilling the deal I spoke of.”

“And if I accept?”

“Then it shall be so.”

So, whether I refuse or accept, it’s going to take my body because it already received the sacrifice? What’s the difference?

“You really are full of nonsense.”

“I have not lied.”

“Sure, you haven’t lied. Maybe you just haven’t told the whole truth.”

I returned the answer with a hint of sarcasm.

“No, idiot. Why would I accept that?”

“Then, having received the sacrifice, I shall fulfill my duty.”

“Try if you can.”

With those words, Serena naturally stepped in front of me. The mana surrounding her entire body emanated a fierce aura.

“My lord.”

“I’m listening.”

“What should I call this sword?”

It seemed World Eater, which she had used for nearly a decade, had been cleanly erased from Serena’s mind. That was to be expected since I had ordered her to destroy it.

The name of that sword. I calmly traced back through distant memories.

What had the voice in Storm Ravine called it?

The memory surfaced quickly.

A word symbolizing the howling wind, perfectly fitting for a sword made of wind.

“Wind Shear.”