episode_0031

In the beginning, there were good and evil.

Evil proposed to the good, “Let’s make a bet on the world.”

Choose someone in this world whom you think is the most upright. If he overcomes all the trials of the world and reaches the right conclusion, it will be your victory.

If even once in the countless parallel worlds, he reaches a conclusion that can be deemed right, I will admit defeat.

Will you accept?

The good accepted the proposal, and thus a bet for the world was established.

The good surveyed the world and found a man who appeared beautiful and upright.

The good chose him as its representative, and all the men in the parallel worlds received the talents bestowed by the good.

Talents such as the ability to confront a nation’s army alone, the talent of a magician so exceptional that it appears only once in a thousand years, the talent of a swordsman capable of completely reversing the course of a battlefield, and the talent of a hero who could save the continent—all kinds of talents flowed into different men in various parallel worlds.

However, evil had no intention of fairly carrying out the contest. It sought to disrupt the man’s life by using everything at its disposal.

Anticipating this, the good left a legacy to the last man in the world.

That was the “dream.”

Excerpt from an unnamed scripture

* * *

“Seo, the Holy Sword?”

Mmm

The splendid sword trembled in Vess’s hand.

Why?

It was the Holy Sword he had seen and used in his dream.

Why was the Holy Sword in his hand now?

Unconsciously, Vess gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword.

Grrr

Then, a tremendous amount of power flowed into him from the Holy Sword.

A sense of omnipotence, as if he could accomplish anything.

It was the same feeling he had when he annihilated the demon legion in his dream.

Could it be that I have obtained the Holy Sword in reality?

Grrr grrr

The Holy Sword trembled in his hand, as if conveying its delight to him.

“They called it the recognition of the Holy Sword.”

In her dream, Beatrice said, “The Holy Sword is not a sword that anyone can use. It’s a sword that can only be used after receiving the recognition of the Holy Sword and being engraved on the sword.”

In her dream, Vissus dodged the attack of the demon legion commander and grabbed the Holy Sword to immediately receive its recognition and complete the engraving, thus being able to freely wield the power of the Holy Sword.

“But it seems like it’s already been engraved.”

Before being engraved, the Holy Sword had the appearance of an old sword, but the Holy Sword that Vissus is holding now emits a brilliant light, unmistakably appearing to be the Holy Sword to anyone who sees it.

“Does the engraving in a dream connect to reality?”

As this was the first case of equipment used in a dream being connected to reality, the current situation didn’t feel real to Vissus.

Now, not only power but also equipment is brought over.

It’s not a bad story.

Not just swordsmanship, divine power, and mercenary experience, but also the Holy Sword of a hero.

If one could use the overwhelming might of a hero as experienced in the first dream, surviving wouldn’t be the issue; one could single-handedly destroy the ‘organization’ itself.

…Well, maybe not to that extent?

Vissus recalled the strength of Diavel depicted in [Eclipse].

Even though he might be tough, at any rate, other ‘organization’ members are at a level that can be adequately suppressed.

“The problem is not just bringing good things like this, but bringing negative things as well…”

Vissus thought of the mercenary V who died in her dream.

Another version of herself who died with a hole in her chest. The memory of that death remained vivid.

If injuries or other afflictions, such as poisoning or abnormal conditions, were brought over instead of abilities or equipment, it could be extremely dangerous.

Now that she knew it wasn’t just bringing abilities into reality, she needed to be cautious.

“No, more than that, have I been too careless until now?”

If she had brought the fatal wound of Mercenary V’s dream into reality… just imagining it was dreadful.

Of course, it has divine power, so it won’t just die helplessly.

Should I sleep with the saint and all? So that if there’s a problem in the dream, I can get treatment right away.

…No, that’s a bit…

Uung…

The brilliant light of the holy sword gradually weakened.

“…Huh?”

Then the light completely went out, and it returned to the appearance of the old sword before being engraved.

What is this?

Wow, so it wasn’t me, what is this?

As the tremendous amount of power flowing in from the holy sword also disappeared, an immense sense of loss filled Vess’s body.

“No…”

“Hmph. You seem to have weakened considerably as well.”

At that moment, Lucifer’s voice came from the bracelet on his wrist.

“Oh, Lucifer. I forgot about you.”

Vess, who often had many dreams, kept forgetting the fact that the demon Lucifer was sealed on his arm in reality.

“The holy sword. It was a weapon that even stood out among the archangels.”

Was I an archangel?

Not only the hero Vess, but was it also used by the archangel Vess?

“Well, it seems like the sword you used has a different wavelength, but it looks like you’ve found another sword somewhere. Even so, for the sword’s power to completely run out and enter a dormant state… That’s something you couldn’t have imagined in your former self.”

That’s very good news. Hahaha.

Lucifer laughed loudly, but his subsequent words did not reach Vess.

A dormant state, huh?

Certainly, no matter how much it’s called a holy sword, it’s strange for infinite power to surge endlessly.

Where should I recharge it? It’s not a phone, after all…

Vess exerted divine power with his hand and caressed the holy sword.

Uung…

As he did, the holy sword trembled slightly.

However, no matter how much divine power he poured out, the holy sword did not change back to its previous form.

“With that level of divine power, you wouldn’t have even taken a penny from the holy sword. Your divine power isn’t even worth that of a low-ranking angel, Vess!”

“That’s true.”

Verses, who had dreamt of becoming an angelic secretary, knew that the divine power she used was far from sufficient compared to that of the angels.

In her dreams, she constantly emitted this level of divine power from her body.

“Am I unable to use the Holy Sword in my current state?”

She had hoped for an unbelievable power-up, but in the end, it became a power she couldn’t even use.

She needed to either obtain a massive amount of divine power at the level of a celestial secretary for self-recharge or find out how the knightly secretary, Verses, had been charging the power of the Holy Sword.

“In the end, it’s back to square one.”

Still, the fact that her dream equipment could become a reality was a gain in itself.

“Hahaha! You look ridiculous, Verses!”

Verses turned her gaze to the bracelet.

If it weren’t for Lucifer, she wouldn’t have been able to figure out why the Holy Sword wasn’t functioning properly.

It was an unexpected help, one might say.

Certainly, it was probably just to make fun of me.

Definitely.

“My current divine power is insufficient.”

“Haha… Wait, Verses, you’re not…!”

“But isn’t it enough to quiet you down?”

“S-stop it! Grr!”

Using her divine power, Verses subdued the bracelet and quietly put the Holy Sword back into its scabbard.

“But I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

It was a power that wasn’t part of her original plan, but now that she couldn’t use it, Verses felt very disappointed.

It’s like being given something and then having it taken away.

Because it was the source of the power that easily defeated the demon army in her dreams, and because she had experienced that power, her disappointment grew.

…Wait a minute.

Wouldn’t Sophia know?

She had been active by the side of the knightly secretary!

* * *

“Your Grace!”

Verses spotted Sophia and Artoria waving at her.

“Sophia. Artoria… Ugh!”

Sophia brought her face close to Verses’ neck and nuzzled her.

“Eek! What are you doing right now!” exclaimed Artoria.

“Sophia, Sophia?”

“Vyrsus. Today, I came after dreaming of memories with me.”

“…What?”

“I smell that Vyrsus I know.”

“…What?”

Can you tell by the smell?

“No matter the smell, just step back for now! Your Highness won’t tell you easily!”

Artoria pulled Sophia back.

“Now, Vyrsus. Can you tell me what you saw in the dream?”

Sophia looked at Vyrsus with bright anticipation.

“First, look at this.”

Vyrsus drew a holy sword in the shape of an old sword from the scabbard.

“A sword?”

“A sword?”

“Oh, this is called a holy sword.”

‘?’

‘?’

A hook was drawn in the minds of the two women.