Ch 251
A figure sat before a bonfire, gazing intently at a Holy Sword.
His comrades asked him,
“Why are you staring at it so intently?”
“Is there a problem with the magnificent Holy Sword? This is fortunate.”
“What’s fortunate?”
“If something goes wrong with its condition, give it to me. Again, I say, it’s greed to possess seven of them alone.”
“You’re insane. Look at how you talk. Do you think you’ll be selected by a Holy Sword? Do you even understand that this isn’t like your weapons, which you just pick up because they’re powerful?”
“It’s not ‘a little’. It’s a lot.”
“Ugh, how vulgar. Please, I beg you, watch your language! The Saint’s safety is at stake!”
The comrades showed various reactions upon seeing the Hero’s appearance.
Some had a gleam in their eyes, some scoffed as if uninterested, and others showed worry on their faces.
Among them, the Fairy Shuyen was among those who showed worry.
She moved to the Hero’s shoulder and examined his expression.
“What’s wrong?”
The Hero, who had been engrossed in staring at the Holy Sword, noticed the Fairy and slightly raised the corners of his lips.
Simultaneously, he explained the reason.
The Fairy and her comrades showed even stronger reactions than before.
Because what came out of the Hero’s mouth was quite shocking.
“You don’t understand the Holy Sword…? You?”
The selection of a Holy Sword, something even a Hero lauded by all might find difficult to experience once.
He had received it multiple times, becoming the owner of all Holy Swords.
Yet, this Hero said he didn’t understand the Holy Sword.
“If you don’t know, who will?”
To his comrades’ bewildered questions, the Hero simply offered his characteristic smile.
Seeing the Hero, his comrades thought,
In a way, the Hero’s doubt might be quite reasonable.
Holy Sword.
The mysterious precious sword, whose creator and origin story were unknown, already existed in perfect condition when it was first discovered.
Such a Holy Sword gave its chosen owner its power without reservation.
However,
Can that power truly be said to be all that the Holy Sword possesses?
Even highly acclaimed great Wizards and Swordsmen often discover their hidden talents very late in life.
So, would a Holy Sword be any different?
Perhaps,
He might not have yet discovered all the hidden power of the Holy Sword.
The Hero’s passing, light yet meaningful curiosity gave his comrades a tingling curiosity.
Of course,
They didn’t place much weight on that curiosity.
What value would there be in ore that no one could mine and remained buried in the ground?
Hero.
Could there be someone who could wield its power more skillfully than the owner of all Holy Swords?
If there is a power of the Holy Sword that such a Hero cannot draw out, can that power truly be said to exist?
They soon lost interest and moved away from the Hero.
“…”
Leaving the Hero who continued to gaze at the Holy Sword.
✦✦✦
Energy eroding and running rampant in instability.
Because of this, memories of the past suddenly surfaced in the gradually clouding consciousness.
The Fairy Shuyen thought,
Is this what a life flash is?
“Ugh!”
Shuyen violently shook her head to shake off those thoughts.
‘What a life flash!’
This wasn’t the time to be having such thoughts.
‘This voice, this energy… it’s clear!’
The Fairy recalled the fierce battle she fought alongside her comrades.
‘The Backflowing Swamp Astrogue…!’
Originally a guardian of the swamp, it had become a disaster, corrupt and devouring all the High-Rank Spirits of the forest.
A being that, if it possessed more than just a desire for greed, could have easily claimed the name of night.
The great evil, which the Hero and his comrades had barely managed to defeat with their combined efforts, was about to return, and the Fairy Shuyen could only feel terrible despair.
And for good reason.
Because neither the Hero nor her comrades were here.
All that was here was one of the Hero’s many legacies-
And a man who possessed only one of the many Holy Swords.
Compared to the Hero Party that had defeated the great evil at that time, their strength was merely a fragment.
With this alone, could they really stop the returning great evil?
“Ugh…!”
Soon, the Fairy realized.
That she didn’t have the leisure to talk about possibilities.
The Fairy’s small body thrashed about uncontrollably.
Her small body, filled with strength, stiffened, convulsed, and twisted.
‘No…!!!’
It was a kind of resistance.
A fierce resistance with all her might-
‘No!!!’
And a futile resistance.
Thud.
The Fairy’s eyes, clear as dew, overflowed with muddy liquid.
One drop.
Two drops.
And-
Trickle.
The curse of the great evil, which had been parasitic in the Fairy’s inner self for many years, manifested itself, using her strength as a host.
Its appearance was like the backflowing swamp, as its name suggested.
‘No!!!’
The Fairy closed her eyelids with all her might, as if to blind herself, but she couldn’t stop the fierce reflux.
The filth that overflowed from her eyes had already formed a puddle on the ground.
It was already several times the volume of her small body, yet the reflux showed no sign of stopping, instead increasing in intensity.
Pain.
More than that, repulsion.
The scream the Fairy let out was swallowed up without a trace.
Plop.
Plop.
Through her small mouth, by the waves of backflowing filth-
‘Ah…’
At this moment.
What dominated the Fairy was neither the extreme pain nor the repulsion.
Regret. And self-loathing.
‘What have I done…’
She became aware of the terrible curse and stopped the return of the great evil.
The Fairy had had ample opportunity and strength to do so.
However, all those possibilities had lost their meaning, and the worst possible outcome was unfolding before her eyes.
‘It’s all my fault…’
The Fairy took full responsibility for everything.
Because she hadn’t accepted her parting with ‘that person’.
Because she had become absorbed in denying that parting.
If it hadn’t been for that, would she have defied the wishes of the person concerned, hidden the Legacy of the First Hero so that no one could take it-
And would she have locked herself away to protect it?
Dominated by negative emotions and thoughts, she isolated herself.
Providing a cozy environment for the curse to grow safely.
At the end of regret and despair, the Fairy made up her mind.
‘Now… there’s only one way…’
The Fairy created this place to block the visit of the uninvited guests.
The space, which should have been a pure testing ground, had deteriorated and taken on the characteristics of a fortress.
The Fairy thought,
Fortunately, there was some use to the result of her pathetic mistake.
Could there be a more suitable place to isolate and confine something?
That’s right.
The Fairy decided to confine herself and the great evil to this place.
The reflux, which had lasted only a short time but felt like an eternity, stopped.
The Fairy, using all her remaining strength, suppressed the surge of energy.
Without wiping the filth from her face, she shouted.
“You! Now that I think about it, I haven’t even heard your name yet! Will you tell me your name!?”
The Fairy opened her eyes with difficulty, desperately imprinting the other person’s appearance on her filth-blurred retina.
The appearance of the Hero who had awakened her.
The appearance of the man that ‘that person’ would surely have liked.
With him, she could rest assured and give ‘that person’s’ legacy.
All her senses were clouded as if they were sinking in a swamp due to the remnants of the filth, but the Fairy awakened her senses with all her might.
With the single-minded determination to remember his face and name.
“No!”
Then, a voice was heard.
“I think this isn’t a good time for introductions! Let’s postpone it to later!”
A sound that reached her dazed ears.
The Fairy didn’t understand the man’s words.
However, the appearance that reached her blurry vision.
The Fairy finally understood the man’s meaning.
The Fairy thought,
If light accompanies sound, wouldn’t its brilliance produce a sound like the night receding?
The Holy Sword held in the man’s hand emitted a brilliant light, a light bright enough to illuminate even the Fairy’s vision, which was clouded with filth.
Thus, the man’s appearance was clearly conveyed to the Fairy.
“Ah…”
The Fairy unconsciously made a sound.
Because she felt a strange nostalgia in the man’s expression.
That irresponsible expression that gave itself conviction despite all the uncertainties.
Yet, an altruistic expression that gave faith to those around him.
The Fairy thought of her comrades.
Embracing the faith in the Hero, their willingness to throw themselves into any crisis and uncertainty.
It was a moment that felt very long.
While the Fairy quickly organized her thoughts, the man was also organizing his thoughts.
Thus, with their thoughts colliding, the Fairy’s determination to assume the worst lost its meaning.
“Ah━”
She had many more things to say, but the Fairy had to shut her mouth.
The reflux began again.
The waves of filth easily broke through her tightly closed mouth and spewed themselves into the world.
At that moment.
The Fairy’s small body was swallowed up by something.
The puddle of filth that had collected on the ground surged up, forming the shape of a Giant.
It looked down on its opponent from a higher place than the original Fairy.
-How insignificant!!! Only one sword!!! Do you think you can face me with just that!!!
The Backflowing Swamp Astrogue roared with laughter.
Even though it was weakened by its unstable revival, it showed its composure without reservation.
It was the great evil that had faced the owner of the seven Holy Swords and his comrades in the last battle.
In its eyes, the young man who held only one Holy Sword was simply ridiculous.
Splat.
The Filth Giant’s raised arm easily reached the ceiling of the shared space.
From Lisir’s perspective, it was an immeasurable height, swallowed by darkness and not fully visible.
From that height, the Giant’s arm fell.
The man braced himself.
Then the Holy Sword shone even brighter, and the mantle fluttered even more strongly.
Whoosh!!!
A gust of wind arose.
The gust of wind, which had only increased the man’s speed, now lifted his body into the air.
The Legacy of the First Hero, Wind’s Plume.
It supported the man’s body like the wings of a swooping hawk.
Thus, the man’s charge described an unrealistic diagonal trajectory-
Slash!
The light strike he created precisely severed the Giant’s neck.
Plop!
Plop plop!!!
Thus, a waterfall of filth was created.
The filth that made up the Giant’s body lost its shape and poured onto the ground.
“…Ugh!”
At the same time, Lisir, who had landed on the opposite side, let out a small groan.
Naturally, he was not used to flying.
Unstable posture. Lisir felt a greater recoil than usual.
-Are you alright!?
Fortunately, thanks to the assistance of the Wind’s Plume, the burden was greatly reduced.
“No, this is too comfortable!?”
Lisir shouted, filled with the exhilaration of still being airborne.
At the same time, his gaze turned to the Giant’s neck.
He clearly saw.
-Kuaaaaaak!!! This pest!!!
The Giant was suffering from the swordsmanship.
Moreover, its energy was decreasing in proportion to the amount of filth flowing from its wound.
Was it due to the purifying energy?
Or was it due to the power of the Holy Sword?
‘Probably, the latter is more significant.’
Lisir felt a clear aura of negativity from the Giant’s existence.
‘Normally, it would have been overjoyed by the purifying power…’
However,
The Giant was currently manifesting itself by borrowing the Fairy’s energy.
Because its foundation was the pure energy of the Fairy, the Giant’s existence did not easily disappear.
-Lisir!!! It is not a Demon!!! A fallen Spirit!!! The purifying power you possess may not be very effective!!! So don’t rely on it too much!!!
Zallak, who had sensed Lisir’s thoughts, spoke.
“Then, I can rely on you?”
A-hing-hung.
Zallak made a strange sound.
-Zallak, your condition…?
The Hero’s Legacy showed confusion at the changed appearance of the Holy Sword.
“It’s coming.”
Lisir said, watching the Giant raise its arm again.
✦✦✦
Afterwards,
The same process was repeated.
The Giant repeatedly attacked too slowly, and
Lisir counterattacked with actions that were too fast.
-Stop!!! Livestock of the Hero!!! This insignificant fly!!! Can’t you give up!!!
As it continued to be wounded, the Giant shouted.
Lisir instinctively realized that the ‘insignificant fly’ was not referring to him.
The Giant’s movements were excessively slow.
Even considering the instability of its newly revived state.
‘Is that Fairy hindering the Giant!?’
An unexpected cooperation.
Nevertheless, Lisir frowned.
At this moment.
His anxiety became reality.
As the Giant continued to be wounded, its energy visibly decreased.
If this exchange continued, the Giant would lose all its energy and completely disappear.
‘If that happens, the Fairy-‘
Judging from the Giant’s reaction.
The Giant and the Fairy were highly likely sharing each other’s energy.
For example,
If the Giant died, the Fairy would also die.
-You must not hesitate! While Shuyen can still influence it, you must completely eliminate it!
“Wait! If that happens, the Fairy━”
The Hero’s Legacy did not answer.
Zallak also remained silent.
The Fairy hadn’t made her determination to burn her own existence in vain.
The best way to stop the return of the great evil.
It was to annihilate the Giant along with the Fairy’s energy.
That was the common conclusion of the three.
“…”
Lisir was not included in those three.
He gritted his teeth.
‘What should I do?’
Is there no better way?
“Wait━”
At that moment.
A thought flashed through Lisir’s mind.
“The Sealing Holy Sword!
-Lisir!? Another Holy Sword in this situation!?
“No, Zallak! The Sealing Holy Sword━ with the power of that seal, wouldn’t we be able to seal the Giant’s energy!”
-…!
-You fool!!! That’s a futile assumption! Lohr isn’t here right now!!!
“No!”
Lisir said, looking at Zallak.
“Zallak! Just like you appeared here, couldn’t we summon the Sealing Holy Sword here!?”
-Lisir, what are you…!
Zallak was speechless.
Just like he appeared here?
What does that mean?
How do you do that?
He still didn’t know why he could come here.
“Just recently, I was connected to her━ Lohr! Her energy might still remain! Using that energy, I’ll summon that Holy Sword here!”
Lisir did not dare doubt the power of the Holy Sword.
He once again entrusted himself to his instincts.
He grasped the empty air with his other hand and drew it out.
But should it be expected?
There was no sword drawn in his hand.
“Damn it…!”
Lisir gritted his teeth.
As expected, things don’t go so smoothly!?
Meanwhile, the battle continued.
Lisir had no choice but to strike the Giant to suppress its momentum.
He grimaced as if he had been cut himself.
As the Giant’s existence faded, it began to be felt more clearly.
The gradually fading energy of the Fairy.
“Damn it, what should I do…!”
Thump!
Slash!
Thump!
And slash.
He was already in a state of trance.
In his world, which had become as still as water, only the sound of his throbbing heart and the fierce sound of swordsmanship echoed alternately.
Thump!
But since when?
Thump!!!!
That heartbeat began to swallow up all other sounds.
-Lisir!!!
-You!!!
Lisir, who had been moving his body incessantly.
He had stopped blankly in place.
-Kuaaaaaak!!!
The Giant raised both hands with all its might, as if believing it was its last chance.
The waves of filth rushed towards the motionless target without hesitation.
Thump!
Even so, Lisir’s world was infinitely quiet.
Despite his best efforts, a sense of floating as if he were drifting dominated his body.
At this moment, only one will moved him.
Advancement.
The will to overcome the immediate limit.
Lisir completely entrusted himself to that will.
He entrusted his sword.
Drip.
Cracks appeared all over Lisir’s body.
Like the previous Holy Sword.
However, what seeped out was not light but blood.
And it was a manifestation of advancement that surpassed radiance.
Lisir, who desired advancement and displayed the power of advancement.
A completely different sensation enveloped his body.
He was now standing still, holding his Holy Sword high.
It was a pathetic action to parry the Giant’s strike.
From the viewpoint of swordsmanship, that was certainly the case.
-Again, again!!! What on earth is going to happen…!!!
Zallak shouted desperately.
Just like the moment he was summoned here from Lisir’s room.
His body began to emit light again.
-Kuaaaaaak!!!!
Zallak’s shout intensified.
Like the light bursting from his body.
At that moment.
The light subsided all at once.
At the same time, cracks appeared on the sword.
Like a hatching egg.
Light seeped through the cracks.
No. It burst forth.
The light instantly covered the cracked sword.
Thus, a Light Sword made entirely of light was created.
-You, you…!!!!
The Giant screamed.
The giant arm falling towards Lisir was gradually being pushed back by the brilliance of the Light Sword.
Whoosh!!!
At that time.
The light exploded.
And bloomed.
-Kuaaaaaak!!!
-Kyaaaaaak!!!
The Fairy’s scream came out amidst the Giant’s roar.
The Giant’s body was crumbling.
It happened the moment the tendrils of light entangled the Giant’s body.
Lisir shouted in ecstasy.
“Zallak!!! See, it works!!!”
The encouragement from the master he had longed for.
Zallak couldn’t react.
At this moment.
All he was doing was entrusting himself to his energy.
✦✦✦
『A new status is granted』
『Status: Will of Advancement』
『A new status is granted』
『Status: Will of Advancement』
『A new status is granted』
『Status: Will of Advancement』
…
…
…
『The target has acquired a new title』
『Title: Recipient of the Advancement Selection』
『Target: Rapid Advancement Holy Sword Zallak』
『The target’s abilities are temporarily drastically increased』
✦✦✦
Rapid Advancement Holy Sword.
To advance rapidly.
✦✦✦
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