Ch.155Witness – 1

‘How should I deal with this?’

The demonic sword was still emitting a pitch-black aura incessantly, as if resentful of having its body cut in half. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to have any automatic repair function.

I’d like to destroy it right now if possible. I want to, but I’m hesitating because if I carelessly break it, I might lose any way of finding the Demon God.

Of course, if this thing shows any sign of disappearing somewhere or trying to consume me, I’ll destroy it immediately. I have no intention of giving it any leeway and letting another incident occur.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t everything that’s happened entirely this thing’s fault?’

It was this sword that ruined my plan to awaken Leona as a hero.

I arranged for her to encounter Elisciere to create a minor trial, but the demonic sword arbitrarily emitted killing intent, nearly giving Leona trauma and causing Elisciere to become suspicious of it.

After that, the demonic sword, which had been constantly suspicious of Elisciere, eventually disappeared, only to reappear with Astaroth, whom we thought was dead, and then forcibly controlled Durahan. The snowball effect has been tremendous.

—You need not worry, human.

I jumped at the voice coming from somewhere and raised my spear. Looking around, I couldn’t see anything approaching, and likewise, my detection magic didn’t sense anything.

In that case, there was only one option left. I looked down at the halved demonic sword.

“What are you? Do you have consciousness? Or is the Demon God talking through you?”

I probed cautiously, remembering how the Goddess communicates with heroes through sacred swords.

Actually, considering stories about how the demonic sword had raged about why the hero wasn’t killed, or how it made its voice resound in Durahan’s head, this was somewhat predictable.

—Think what you will. It won’t change anything either way.

It seemed unwilling to answer properly. I clicked my tongue inwardly.

—How remarkable that a mere human can hear my voice so clearly. Even the ghost runt who handled me moments ago could only hear fragmentary echoes at best.

“Why don’t you stop spouting nonsense before I destroy you right now?”

—A human who has killed more humans than demons. And yet you wield sacred power? I’ve never met such a contradictory human before. How has humanity not gone extinct after you’ve killed so many?

It ignored me and continued. It seems to have seen the karma attached to my soul. I couldn’t help but sigh when I realized that this was yet another case of my past affecting the present.

The Sword Saint immediately exuded killing intent upon seeing me, fearing I’d turn into a murderous fiend; I could ride the ghost horse thanks to my past; and now I can even converse with a demonic sword.

—You are qualified, human. Don’t you want to wield me?

“Not at all.”

—Hmm. Truly peculiar. Not only have you killed enough to exterminate an entire species, but sacred power coexists within such a body, and you’re not consumed by desire even after hearing my voice.

“So, what is it you want to say?”

—Nothing.

“What?”

When such a baffling answer came back to my somewhat irritated question, my voice involuntarily rose.

It initiated conversation as if it had something to say, but then claimed it had nothing to say. Is it trying to play games with me?

—If you had wanted to wield me, we would still have things to discuss. But you didn’t, and the sacred power is blocking any attempt to force you to wield me, so what more is there to say? Or are you waiting for me to divulge answers to questions you haven’t even asked?

“……”

—Instead, I’ll repay you for the interesting spectacle you’ve provided. If you wish to meet my creator, you will soon enough. The Master has taken a deep interest in you.

“Well, that’s very helpful. A huge help indeed.”

—If you’re grateful, it wouldn’t be bad to try wielding me once.

The demonic sword calmly retorted, ignoring my sarcasm.

—I’ve said all I needed to say. Destroy me or not, do as you please. If you’re not afraid, you can try wielding me. If you can subdue me and use me as you wish, you would be the unprecedented human who can wield both demonic and sacred power…

BOOM! An explosion occurred. Light pierced down upon it. The demonic sword couldn’t finish its sentence as it was enveloped in light and disappeared. Only a faint golden glow remained where it had been.

“Useless talk.”

According to what it said, the Demon God is also interested in me. So there was no reason to keep the demonic sword around. If I just wait, the Demon God will appear on its own anyway.

‘Still, I should ask about methods.’

I was planning to ask Laura if she had set up any way to meet the Demon God.

The fact that the Demon God came looking for me means that, whatever the method, all plans have been laid out, and I had no intention of just waiting endlessly for the other side to make all preparations.

“Master!”

After I destroyed the demonic sword and contacted her, Nika came to pick me up as if she had been waiting. Leaping out of the dimensional gate, Nika trembled slightly upon seeing the devastated surroundings and the spear in my left hand.

Following Nika, who seemed to have many questions, back to the succubi hideout, I witnessed a strange sight. All the succubi were huddled inside the building, trembling.

Even Gloria, who had been sleeping from exhaustion when I left, was no exception. She was huddled in a corner with the other succubi who had endlessly abused her, trembling.

“What’s wrong with everyone?”

“It’s the aftermath of your battle with that being, Master. The sky here was split in half.”

“…Was it?”

“Yes. See where those trees have disappeared? That’s where the sky shattered and collapsed. If it weren’t for the light you used, we would have had to flee too.”

I realized anew how much power Durahan had exerted. Even at a distance that required dimensional gates to travel, the aftermath had spread. And if not for the spear, they would have had to abandon this place and flee.

“What about you, Nika? You seem fine, not scared at all.”

“I believed you would win, Master. If I believe in you, why would I need to be afraid?”

Nika twisted her body seductively and smiled alluringly. If only she hadn’t added the transparent follow-up like “Since I did well, as a reward…” I might have seen her in a slightly better light.

It took about two more days for me to help Nika establish a new residence for the succubi. The reason it only took two days to build a fortress was because the aftermath of the battle had spread throughout the demon realm.

Demons and magical beasts alike were busy fleeing from the demonic and sacred energies covering the sky, and Nika took advantage of this to successfully establish a residence in the most central location of the demon realm—near the Demon King’s castle.

She also came to receive my energy dozens of times a day. It wasn’t an excuse; it was visibly apparent that she was using tremendous amounts of energy to build a castle from scratch, so I just gave her what she asked for.

Nika also ordered the capture of male demons so that the other succubi could replenish their energy even in my absence. With me helping beside her, there was nothing to hold back.

The succubi, backed by my power, captured males regardless of species and turned them into energy dispensers in the underground prison of the fortress. It’s a slightly uncomfortable expression, but it was the most accurate term.

“…Tastes bad.”

“Fishy…”

Thanks to having shared my energy until just hours ago, they frowned or gagged, saying the energy tasted bad and fishy, despite having captured relatively strong ones.

“Let’s go back now, Master!”

As soon as the fortress was completed, Nika changed into maid attire and stood demurely beside me. Cliona, who had somehow survived the previous attack, was to lead in the Queen’s absence.

Cliona also seemed unable to resist the temptation of my energy, but she quietly backed down when Nika, unusually, glared at her.

“Master has returned, Head Butler…?”

A subdued atmosphere in the mansion greeted us upon our return from the demon realm. Diana, Trisha, and even my parents all had inexplicable tension on their faces.

“Young Master! Are you safe?!”

“Of course I’m fine. What’s going on?”

Only after calming down Beatrice, who had rushed over urgently, could I properly hear why the mansion’s atmosphere was like this.

In conclusion, this too was the aftermath of the battle between Durahan and me.

An enormous light and darkness suddenly detected from the demon realm caused all soldiers on the front lines to retreat urgently, and the entire empire, having witnessed the phenomenon, declared an emergency and shifted to a war footing.

Some were even saying that the hero had gone alone to defeat the Demon King. Of course, this led to further confusion with debates about who the victor was.

‘Just how far did it spread?’

If it split the sky not only in the demon realm but also in the empire, it essentially covered the entire continent. While I could understand it affecting the demon realm, I never expected it to spread all the way to the empire.

The only fortunate thing is that unless I go around blabbing, no one will know the truth. Nika will obviously keep quiet, and the four possessed individuals, Leona, and Aria aren’t the type to speak carelessly.

“I was worried that something might have happened to you, Young Master…”

I embraced Beatrice, who was trembling and couldn’t continue speaking. Fortunately, she soon calmed down and returned to being my personal maid.

It was after that when the head butler came looking for me.

“Excuse me, Young Master. A letter has arrived from the imperial palace.”

“From the imperial palace? What for?”

“I do not know that much. However, I was told that the Crown Prince specifically ordered this letter to be delivered to you.”

The letter had magic cast on it that even fairly skilled mages wouldn’t dare try to break. When I infused mana to deactivate the formula, the envelope opened. Beatrice and Nika stepped back at a distance.

I checked the contents. Next to a key taped to the paper was a brief message.

—Key to where we are. Come alone without fail.

‘What could be so important…’

The only people I might bring would be Nika or Beatrice, yet they not only pressed down hard on the letters but even underlined them.