episode_0015

“Lian, what do you think a sword is?”

“Huh? A sword is a sword, what else could it be?”

“I’m not asking about what a sword is in general. I’m asking what it means to you personally.”

“Um, just a tool for killing enemies?”

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes, am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not wrong. It’s just a somewhat disappointing answer. There are many other tools for killing besides a sword.”

“What do you think a sword is, Master?”

“I think of a sword as potential.”

“Potential?”

“Yes, not just for defeating enemies, but also for paving the way, and sometimes showing the direction a swordsman should take. That’s why I believe a sword can be something beyond just a tool.”

“A sword transcending a tool… I can’t imagine that.”

“There’s no need to think too deeply. For example, it could also be a beloved lover.”

“Master, that’s not human.”

“I’m talking about potential! Since you’re walking the path of the sword, explore the various possibilities.”

It was a conversation I had with my master, Swordmaster, in the past.

Now, after a long time has passed since that day, I could somewhat understand my master’s words.

I was using the sword to pioneer through places that couldn’t be called a path.

Clang clang clang!

I stabbed my fingers into the massive ice wall and pulled myself up.

The destination was a cave at the top of the ice wall, a mine where some people ignored the village chief’s warning and went to mine rare ores.

Originally, we should have gone around the mountain more, but there was no time for that.

“More… Faster…”

A sword with a slight sense of self, imbued with Drake’s blood.

It provided real-time information on the Drake pack’s location and suggested a way to climb the ice wall.

As my master had told me, a sword was not just a weapon.

As I walked the path of the sword, my perspective widened, and I could receive help from various directions.

It was truly a bundle of possibilities, but I still couldn’t understand the idea that it might become a lover.

That was just a delusion.

“Swish!”

Thanks to the assistance of the iron sword, I was able to shorten the time and reach the destination.

But I missed one because I arrived a bit late.

As Drake entered the mine, I confronted the Drake pack that I couldn’t enter with.

“Grrr!”

“Are you trying to block the way, insignificant human?”

The aggressive Drakes threatened.

I wanted to engage them more strategically, but there was no time for that.

I kicked the piled-up snow with my foot, causing confusion in the Drakes’ identification, and leaped forward.

I sliced off the front leg of the leading Drake and slashed its side.

Using its body as a stepping stone, I leaped, cutting in half the head of another creature that hadn’t noticed my presence.

As another Drake was about to attack, I rotated my body and kicked its jaw with my elbow.

The Drake’s flesh was torn off, and it met its end.

“They’re starting to track my location by the smell of blood.”

Even after killing the Drake and wiping the blood off, I couldn’t shake off the lingering scent on my fingertips.

The blood of my kin was becoming a means to protect the surviving kin.

But there was one problem remaining…

“The opponent is me.”

Let’s smile brightly, making all the drakes tremble in fear.

Even though my smile was genuine and joyful, it seemed to instill fear in the other person.

Emotions are always relative in any situation, making them mysterious.

“In the face of death, everything is futile.”

The snow that was scattered around lightly began to fade away.

Instead of the usual snowy landscape, a foul stench and the smell of blood covered the surroundings.

The bold crimson color swallowed up the purity and tainted the entrance of the mine beautifully.

“This is not the end, as there is someone inside the mine.”

After annihilating all the drakes waiting to enter, I released the grip on my clenched hand.

The lifeless body of the drake fell to the ground as its head rolled off.

The noisy lizards that were causing a commotion were no longer present.

[Strong…! Invincible…! The strongest…!]

This time, there were no eyes watching as I fought the drakes with just my body.

The iron sword at my waist was essentially just for decoration.

Yet, the sword conveyed a sense of awe and praise towards me.

“I appreciate the praise, but I didn’t use you this time, right?”

[Incomprehensible? Respect for the master…! Admiration…! Of course!]

“Are you saying it’s natural to respect and admire me even if you’re not being used?”

[Affirmative!]

The sword still couldn’t speak coherent sentences.

It required effort to interpret the sporadic words it uttered.

But even that effort seemed insignificant.

Who would be too lazy to interpret words full of praise?

Praise indeed lifts one’s spirits, as I felt good.

“It’s a feeling. When we return, I’ll ask the blacksmiths to take care of you!”

[Joyful!]

Although it was initially taken as a disguise, the sword was starting to grow on me.

“Huh?”

[Questioning?]

“No, I thought I heard a sound resembling sobbing from somewhere…”

I listened for a moment, but all sounds were drowned out by the intensifying snowstorm.

It must have been my imagination.

Stepping over the piled drake corpses like snow, I walked into the mine.

***

With the appearance of the drakes, human hands were no longer present in the mine.

The only light illuminating the space where all the miners’ lamps had gone out was a single lantern.

The miners cautiously moved forward behind the lantern.

“Hey, hey! Wouldn’t it be better to turn back now?”

“Why are you shaking so much today, even though you never stopped digging even when the mine collapsed?”

“Most rumors of mine collapses are baseless, but didn’t you see the drake swarm? If we come face to face with them in this cramped space, we’ll both lose our lives!”

“Even if we stay still, our livelihood will be cut off by the drakes, and we’ll end up as food. Whether we’re eaten or starve to death, it’s all the same, isn’t it?”

“That may be true, but…”

“Enough talk, just follow me. I saw a vein of ore that caught my eye. It was filled with an unknown energy, so it must be a magic stone that wizards go crazy for!”

While not as rare as the one-of-a-kind sacred stone, magic stones were still valuable minerals.

They efficiently boosted mana without needing to be processed, serving as a catalyst for magic manifestation.

Even in its raw form, it was worth a fortune.

“If we had such a precious mineral, why did we keep it hidden until now?”

“If we reveal this fact, the village chief will take 70% of the profits for the village development fund, and only give us the remaining 30%, right? In that case, it’s better to split it half and half with you and leave the village.”

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but I still worry, my friend.”

“Oh! If you keep acting like that, I might just end up taking all of the profits from Maseok, you know?”

“Fine… I understand.”

Once they had entered the mine, there was no turning back.

The miners carefully examined the mine, relying on torchlight.

Suddenly, the miner who had first discovered the rare ore jumped up and ran somewhere.

“Haha! It was here all along!”

The miner pulled out a dark red mineral from a pile of rocks he had made temporarily.

A sinister yet dazzling mineral.

Enthralled by it, the miner stood dumbfounded for a while before turning to his fellow miners.

“Look at this! The size and color! With this, we could live a life that even nobles envy…!”

But the miner’s words were cut short.

Behind the miner who was celebrating with a torch in hand.

A massive figure slowly emerged from the darkness, its gaping mouth leaving the miner speechless.

“Why are you acting like that?”

“Behind, behind…!”

“Behind? What’s behind…?”

The miner holding the torch finally realized his predicament.

The thick, sticky saliva of the drake dripping onto the ground.

The hot breath against the miner’s face confirmed the harsh reality.

As the drake’s shadow illuminated by the torch engulfed the miner’s shadow entirely.

“Ahh!”

The sharp teeth closed in, gnawing at the miner’s flesh meticulously.

If not for some interference.

“That was close.”

Lian, pulling the drake’s tail between his armpits, managed to avoid the drake’s teeth snapping at his face.

Struggling to survive, the shock of almost dying left the miner unconscious.

Meanwhile, Lian, pulling a drake five times his size, yanked its tail again.

Shifting his weight back, the drake’s body floated slightly and was pushed back.

Seizing the opportunity, Lian let go of the tail he was holding between his armpits and clenched his fist.

And without hesitation, he struck the drake’s face.

Crack!

The drake’s face shattered, spilling blood and organs forward.

Among the gruesome sight was the miner holding the rare ore.

Covered in the drake’s blood and flesh, the miner, like his comrades, lost consciousness due to the disbelief and horror of the scene.

“Oh, there was someone watching. It would have been a big problem if he hadn’t fainted.”

Contrary to his words, Lian calmly removed the drake’s flesh stuck to his fist.

Even if they were swallowed, denying it was all a dream and forcing them to faint was the end of it.

“This is why I find it most annoying to deal with people’s baggage.”

Lian lifted the unconscious miners and threw them against the wall of the mine.

Then, he picked up the rare ore that the miners had dropped.

“What is this? Why do I sense magic within the mineral?”

Not mana, but magic.

It was the source of power that only demons could use.

To Lian, who had fought and killed demons directly, it was a familiar energy.

Humans have always regarded magic as poison, so when Lian saw that it was contained within the mineral, she found it puzzling.

For a moment, the mineral that was in Lian’s grasp suddenly floated up and headed somewhere.

“It was strange to see the connections with the Drakes being cut off one by one, so I came to investigate. Could it be that there is a strong individual casually killing Drakes?”

“Are you the mastermind behind this incident?”

“Yes, that’s correct. My name is Fabian. I am a member of the Ma clan, eternal enemies of humanity like yourself.”

“It’s strange. This place is far from the Ma territory, yet you came all the way here in person…”

Lian pondered, scratching her chin with her finger.

Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she flicked her finger.

“Is it because of the ore you took just now?”

“You are quite perceptive for a human. Yes, this ore is astonishingly infused with the power of the former Demon King! It is so rare that mere humans like yourself should not even touch it.”

“Is that so? Then I must never lose it, right?”

“It goes without saying, to the point where it’s not even worth answering.”

“By the way, do you know about this?”

“What now?”

“The gemstone you took from me. It was definitely there just a moment ago…”

Crack!

A cracking sound gradually emanated from the gemstone.

Sensing something strange, Fabian urgently examined the gemstone.

And then he realized a crucial fact. A pebble embedded in the center of the gemstone.

When Lian flicked her finger and mentioned that she knew, he realized that it was the pebble that was shot out at that moment.

“It’s gone.”

“Oh, damn it!”

Finally, the gemstone of the former Demon King shattered completely, turning into dust along with Fabian’s composure.