339 – The Owner of the Demonic Sword -1-

It is a sword that did not appear in the novel.

The demonic sword, which had enough darkness to distort space, neither appeared nor was mentioned in the novel.

‘There are too many variables…’

As if reflecting my troubled mind, Tyrfing was trembling. It was quivering in its sheath as if it was afraid of the demonic sword in front of it.

“Gulp…”

The demonic sword, which had the shape of a double-edged sword, had an appearance that did not seem special. It had a modest shape that was neither adorned with decorations that would make it seem extravagant compared to other swords, nor was it gigantic.

The blade of the demonic sword shone darkly, scattering a faint red aura whenever it caught the light. It was as if a river was flowing quietly.

I let out a hollow laugh at the cold aura emanating from the demonic sword, thinking it would be more accurate to call it a curse rather than a sword.

I wondered how it came to be.

Despite its plain appearance, the aura the sword emitted was extremely vicious. To the point where it distorted space.

Just in case, I looked at Shuen and asked if he was not enchanted.

“Mr. Shuen.”

“Why are you calling me, commoner?”

“How does that sword look to you?”

“It looks like a demonic sword.”

“Not that. I mean, does it feel like something terrible would happen if you touched it, or do you feel like you want to touch it?”

“Hooom.”

Shuen, who was deep in thought, nodded slightly and gave a brief answer.

“No. I’m scared.”

“I see.”

“One thing is certain, I don’t think the girl can catch it.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s an intuition. It feels like there’s a very evil thought embedded in it… If I catch it, I think I’ll go crazy.”

“Then what do you think would happen if I caught it?”

“…”

Shuen didn’t answer and just shook his head. As if to say, don’t have dangerous thoughts.

To me, a sword was just a tool without much meaning. It was good if it worked well, and if it didn’t, I could make up for it with skill. It was craftsmanship.

Of course, I didn’t have any greed because I had Tyrfing, the ultimate weapon, but even without Tyrfing, it wouldn’t have a significant impact on my power. I didn’t have much desire for swords.

However, the sword in front of me had strength beyond imagination. It was enough to make me greedy.

If Tyrfing was called a ‘demon sword’, then this sword could be called a ‘devil’. It was a sword that instinctively felt like it would take away my identity if I held it lightly.

[Activating Black Magic Resistance Lv.5]

‘…It doesn’t seem like black magic.’

It didn’t seem like a thought derived from black magic. Even when I activated black magic resistance, nothing much changed. It felt like something fundamentally different.

“…”

If I thought about my body, it would be right to leave without even looking at that sword. It had too much powerful energy to handle. But if that sword fell into the hands of a heretic…?

‘That’s a problem too.’

It felt like an unimaginable snowball would roll. But I couldn’t even think of destroying that sword because the magic power suppressed by the demon sword would burst out.

There are two ways.

One is to bury the sword.

Pile the debris on the sword and let it flow into the back alleys of history.

The other way is.

To take the demon sword myself.

It was a way to strengthen my power while not worrying about the demon sword falling into the hands of a heretic. Only if I could handle that sword.

The fight between restraint and gentleness may never end. If, really if, restraint defeated Elysia and ran towards the demon sword, the aftermath would be unimaginable.

It would be a problem if restraint was chosen by the demon sword, and it would be a big problem if it was dominated by the demon sword.

Then there would be only one way.

I called Mikhail and Shuen, who were looking down into the pit.

“Mr. Mikhail. And Mr. Shuen.”

“What?”

“Yes?”

I swallowed dryly and said.

“I’ll go down for a moment.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard a rebuttal. Telling me not to go, not to say scary things.

Even the Sword Master felt the overwhelming energy, so how much more would Mikhail and Shuen feel? If what I felt was a hundred, then what Shuen and Mikhail felt would be at least twice as much. That’s why they were making such expressions when I said I was going down.

Mikhail shook his head and said to me.

“No.”

“…”

“I said no.”

The holy sword was shaking violently.

As if it was telling me not to associate with the demonic sword on the ground, it was shaking fiercely. If the trembling of Tyrfing could be called fear, then the trembling of the holy sword could be called anger.

I shook my head with an expression that said I had no choice.

“I’ll just take a look.”

“It’s still a no. We don’t even know what that is, what if something goes wrong?”

“Something will work out.”

Shuen also shook his head as he looked at me.

“You can’t go. Commoner.”

“I thought Mr. Shuen would let me go… Why are you saying no?”

“Because… it’s dangerous. It’s a demonic sword. It’s a much more powerful demonic sword than the one you have, commoner.”

“…But isn’t it better than letting it fall into someone else’s hands?”

“…That’s true, but it’s still too dangerous.”

I shook my head slightly and jumped down into the pit.

“I’ll be back.”

“Ricardo!!!”

“Commoner!!”

I smiled slightly.

“I’m just too greedy.”

With a legendary sword in front of me, who could refuse? Even Roen wouldn’t be able to resist this.

…Maybe.

*

“…Hmm.”

I descended into the pit and waved at Mikhail and Shuen, who were looking down at me from above. I waved vigorously to reassure them that I was still okay.

Mikhail and Shuen were looking down at me with eyes full of worry.

“If anything happens, just say the word. The hero of the Holy Sword, Shuenjel, will come.”

“The Holy Sword… I…”

“Be quiet!”

‘Puhat…’

Reassured by their playful banter, I let out a small laugh and looked around the area where the Demon Sword was resting.

“Now… let’s see.”

The place where the Demon Sword was resting was smaller than I had expected. If the place where the Holy Sword was resting was like a living room, the place where the Demon Sword was resting was about the size of a bathroom.

That’s just a metaphor, though. It was about the size of an academy classroom. The place where the Holy Sword was resting was ridiculously large, so this place felt relatively small.

“Hmm… It’s too shabby to be the place where the Demon Sword is sealed.”

There was nothing in the room.

Only the Demon Sword embedded in the center of the room, with no display stands or decorations.

“Hmm…”

If there was anything unusual…

“There’s a lot written here.”

The floor and walls were inscribed with a language that was difficult to read. Like reading my own handwriting, I bent down and brushed away the dust on the floor. I could read some of the ancient language.

“Demon Sword…”

[Demon Sword (魔劍) Caliburn]

– The light and darkness of the world.

– Those who challenge the trial must harbor emotions of ugliness, sorrow, fear, resentment, regret, and anger.

– Only those filled with misfortune are qualified to wield the sword, and if a person with happiness wields it, they will be engulfed in darkness.

– They will pay the price for mocking the darkness.

“…?”

I hesitated at the unexpectedly stringent conditions. My life is a corpse without happiness. Recently, as the young lady started to walk, my happiness reached its peak, and I thought I was far from being qualified to wield the Demon Sword.

Moreover.

‘It’s too stringent, even for stringent conditions.’

Could there be anyone in the world as unfortunate as this?

How can a person only be unfortunate? Sometimes they are happy and sometimes they cry. I sighed and shook my head. I thought it was wrong to take the cursed sword with me.

At that moment.

-Wooong.

Tyrfing began to cry.

As if it had found its resonance point, Tyrfing started to cry and dance noisily in its sheath, then began to fly through the air.

“…What?”

The sword abandons its master.

“No…”

I laughed in disbelief.

It was quite funny to see the cursed sword being drawn to another cursed sword. I felt a strange sense of disappointment as I watched Tyrfing, which I had cared for with love every night, leave its master and move towards the cursed sword called ‘Caliburn’.

“…”

-Wooong.

The moment Tyrfing, which had left my waist, touched the blade of the cursed sword.

“…?”

It disappeared with a puff of black smoke.

-Passsssh.

Suddenly losing my sword, I shook my head and sighed.

“It was a sword that suited me well…”

So what should I do?

I looked at the cursed sword with cold, red eyes. There was only one way to quell the anger of a swordsman who had lost his sword.

To receive a better sword as a gift.

“…I didn’t want to be greedy.”

I took a deep breath and grabbed the cursed sword. I thought of immediately letting go if anything felt strange.

I had insurance.

The reliable insurance of ‘Limit Break’ and ‘Hand of Rehabilitation’.

If it seemed like my mind was being controlled, I would use Limit Break. Conversely, if it seemed like my body was being controlled, I would use Hand of Rehabilitation to escape, thinking I could challenge it without any side effects.

If worse came to worst, I could just destroy the cursed sword. I thought it would be disappointing to give up without trying.

-Kwaaak.

Like that.

[The Demon Sword ‘Caliburn’ has detected the challenger ‘Ricardo’.]

“…Huh?”

[…The qualifications have been met.]

God has taken my side.

[The trial of ‘Caliburn’ begins.]