Chapter 24 - The Hidden Piece Ruins My Life
—Finally! Finally, this body has awakened.
It was a sensation different from just being loud or having my head ring.
A sensation that shook my entire brain.
I reflexively threw the dagger.
And then, it became quiet.
As if everything had just been my illusion.
"What the hell is this?"
Anyone could see that this dagger was the problem.
It was the only source of the strange sound and the only reason it had faded.
"F*ck..."
I was lost in thought. Of all the things I had obtained here, this was it. In the end, I had to overcome this crisis with this, but just holding it felt like my head would explode.
Either my head explodes, or I die steeped in poison. A proposition where I didn't want to choose either side.
"Keuk keuk. So you had it hidden right under my nose. Yes, I thought as much. But what to do? It seems you haven't been able to get away yet."
A voice from above ground. It was still distant, but it was only a matter of time before I was discovered. In the first place, the path down to this basement was a single one.
I have no choice. I have to somehow shake him off here. Either hide and land a blow, or at the very least, find an angle to escape.
"Smoke Bomb!"
A thick smoke should have densely… spread? In reality, nothing happened.
"Smoke Bomb. Smoke Bomb! Smoke Bomb?"
It wasn't just Smoke Bomb. My other skills, including Decoy, and the status window that I could always see whenever I wanted. Nothing could be used.
No matter how I thought about it, there was only one cause. The message that had flickered before my eyes when I held that strange sword. In other words, I had lost the goddess's blessing because I had held that sword.
"You seem to be confident in hiding. Let's see if you can deceive the eyes of this Aron, even in this limited space."
Aron was cautiously approaching in his own way. Thanks to that, I had bought some time, but that was it. I had no other means left. Except for that dagger.
'I have to do it, don't I?'
I don't know why it severed the goddess's power, but it was the hidden piece that the same goddess had told me about, even at the risk of defying causality. A dagger so powerful it could even sever the goddess's power.
The fact that my head felt like it would explode was a flaw, but if I was going to die one way or another, it was better to die fighting.
I clenched my teeth and picked up the dagger.
—How dare you! How dare you cast this body aside?
As expected, that noisy voice originated from this dagger.
'Shut up and answer me. What did you do to the goddess's power?'
—What did I do? That filthy energy. I sliced it away, of course. Hahahaha!
Clink. At the loud laughter, I had once again thrown the dagger away.
—How dare you! You cast this body aside twice? Die, you wretch. No, I will make it so you cannot even die peacefully!
'Stop your bullshit and tell me how to survive. Your master is in a bit of danger right now.'
—Master? What master? Did you think you became my master just by holding me?
This goddamn dagger, I told it to be quiet, but it just chattered on even more loudly. At this point, it was do or die for me too.
"Oh, is that so? Then you can just die here too."
I struck the dagger with Rankol's sword. A bizarre sight of threatening a sword with another sword. Just in case the dagger might break, I eased up on the strength in my hand a little.
Fortunately, my wish came true. The dagger didn't break. The only unfortunate fact was that Rankol's sword, which had struck the dagger, had snapped in half.
'My sword! My only weapon!'
Rankol's sword, it was fine even when hit with a hammer… Anyway, I'm screwed. I've lost the goddess's power, and now I've lost my sword too. And Aron's voice echoed from right above.
"Keuk keuk. You must have been in a hurry. To go in without even closing the door."
Now it was all or nothing. I had no choice but to fight with this sword. I leaned my body against the wall and held my breath. This alone was a concealment that most people wouldn't be able to notice.
—Are you really struggling against a mere creature of that level?
'He's no ordinary guy, okay? That's because you didn't see him fight.'
—No. Even at your level, you could have won long ago. If only you could fight properly.
'Easy for you to say.'
—Indeed. Sometimes, showing is easier than telling. Now, accept me.
'Accept you? How do I do that…'
I soon understood what the dagger was chattering about. Because my mouth was speaking words I hadn't said.
"A curious body. It is strong, though it has not been trained. This too can be seen as potential."
—What is this? Give me back my body!
"Watch closely, you lowly being. What I show you is the path you must walk, and it may be the only right answer on this path."
"What are you suddenly spouting on about by yourself? Have you gone mad?"
Aron had finally come down. It made sense, as the being that had taken over my body had no intention of hiding its presence.
"Hoooh. How audacious. You are the one who is mad, for not bowing your head even after facing this body. You amateur."
"Suddenly acting so high and mighty. Why, do you feel like something's changed just by holding one relic? But a feeling is just a feeling. Nothing changes that quickly."
"I will show you."
That day, the me that I was watching stomped its foot. That single step completely changed the life I had lived until now.
Clenching and unclenching a fist. Sitting down and standing up. Stretching out an arm and swinging it. My body, lightly warming up to adapt to the body it had just taken over.
The sight of those movements and the tense atmosphere were so mismatched that even Aron couldn't recklessly charge in.
"What are you doing! How dare you, in front of me."
"And what are you doing? Has the fight not already begun?"
"Eek!"
It was a clear provocation. Aron, enraged to the tips of his hair, rushed in recklessly.
"Hmph."
My body dodged lightly. A movement like a matador playing with a bull. What surprised me more were the things I was now seeing and feeling.
It was definitely my body, and my eyes were the same. But I could see things I couldn't see before, and I dodged things I couldn't dodge.
The difference was simple. The current me was so calm it was chilling. The being that had taken over my body did not panic, and because it did not panic, I could see Aron's attacks.
Dodging something you can see clearly is simple. As my body deftly dodged Aron's attacks, Aron's heart grew anxious, and his attacks became larger.
—Ah...
Aron was just like I had been a moment ago. A big attack prepared with an anxious heart was too obvious from the preparation stage. Of course he would be counterattacked.
"The foundation of an assassin is a cool head."
"How dare you lecture me about assassins? You, a mere green amateur."
"Another thing. An assassin should move his sword in the time he wastes running his mouth."
"You bastard!"
It wasn't teaching Aron, but teaching me. Aron, who had no way of knowing that fact, attacked more and more fiercely.
"Do not rush, amateur. My lesson is not yet over."
The talking dagger showed all its movements slowly and repeatedly. They were movements that made you want to copy them just by watching.
Was it because that feeling grew too deep? My senses slowly began to return.
"Is this your limit already? Can't be helped. Watch closely. The path you must take."
'Man, he's so full of himself,' I thought, but I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud. The strike he showed. It was truly a magnificent thing.
"Shadow Slash."
A jet-black energy seemed to gather on the sword, and then it was swung lightly. Compared to Dagger Storm, it was a simple slash. But why was it? Why did my Dagger Storm feel so shabby?
Aron was in the same state of mind as me. He broke out in a cold sweat all over his body and spewed out his mana as if having a seizure.
"Do you think I! That I will die like this! Basilisk!"
The mana turned into a green serpent and confronted the simple slash. But before a mighty power, a feeble power is but a parlor trick.
The nine daggers that Dagger Storm had barely managed to offset. The even more powerful green poison dragon couldn't withstand a single clash and was split in half. Aron beyond it, too. The wall behind Aron, too.
For a single moment, I even felt as if the entire world had been split in half.
—Remember. This is the path you must take in the future.
"Keuk..."
At the same time, all my senses returned. Was it a side effect of having my body taken? Or did I move beyond my limits? My mind grew distant from the pouring pain.
'It's not safe yet…'
I could only think it; I couldn't even lift a finger. My consciousness gradually faded. That was the second time I had fainted in my life.
"Why did you do such a thing?"
I could feel its presence, but I didn't dare to meet its eyes. Because a light of intermingled gold and white was pouring out ceaselessly.
"I was merely trying to atone for my mistake."
In front of it, the goddess Ruin could be seen. The goddess, Ruin, who had boasted a dignified figure in front of the heroes. She was bound in golden chains, kneeling.
The chains seemed too precious to bind a sinner, but they were as heavy as their light, and Ruin could not move a single finger.
"Is that all? There must have been tens of thousands of ways to atone for a mistake."
"That is..."
"Do not make excuses, goddess. I exist above you."
Its eyes shone more golden than the chains that bound Ruin.
Meeting those eyes, Ruin poured out her true feelings as if in a trance.
"In truth, I saw a fragment of the shadow in that being."
"I know. That is why you released the seal of Kal Adun. But that does not serve as a reason."
"He was the sharpest sword in history. Now that the sword's master is gone, I sought to wield that sword and cut down the evil."
"You are wrong. Kal Adun can do nothing. He was a sword that was merely wielded according to his master's will, until he became a sword that stabbed his master. Having lost his value as a sword, he is nothing. That is why he was abandoned."
"But the times have changed. Kal Adun has lost his power, and we have become mightier, so now is the time to handle that sword according to our will."
The unidentifiable being silently looked down at Ruin. Those small eyes sometimes felt so immense that Ruin couldn't even breathe properly.
"Child. I do not trust your intentions, but being merciful, I will give you a chance. Before the 7th day ends, make it kneel before me. If he accepts the glorious task and truly wishes to become my sword, I will forgive your sins and his."
"I will obey your command."
"Hurry. I am endlessly merciful, but I know that endlessly giving chances for failure is not mercy, but foolishness."
"Yes!"
As soon as she was released from the chains, Ruin departed. But the unidentifiable being still had business left.
"Luna, the most brilliant child of the Valhallan. Come forth."
"You called?"
"You have not yet entered the ranks of the gods, but you are a Valhallan, closest to the gods. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"You will follow my command and chase after Ruin. If that child fails, you will complete the remaining command."
"Understood."
"Do your best. If you do, Ruin's position will become yours."
"Yes!"
Misfortune was approaching, moment by moment.