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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Demonization
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Demonization
"I should go see."
Hearing the shouts of Giranox and Testein, which sounded as if they had burned their very souls, I went outside.
Once there, I saw that every dwarf in the village had gathered in front of Testein's forge.
"So this is it."
"Is this a weapon? Or a decoration?"
"The intricate design is well-executed."
In front of the forge was a long, rectangular table, upon which the hidden weapons were displayed as if for an exhibition.
"It's not just exquisite, it's beautiful."
"The chief's skills are truly on another level. Just look at this craftsmanship."
"How did he even get this edge? I really can't keep up."
The dwarves looked at the newly crafted hidden weapons, once again amazed by Testein's skill.
"Is that a Baekgwanghwan?"
The first things that caught my eye were two round spheres. The original Baekgwanghwan was white, but thanks to the red color of the God-Slaying Beast's fang, the spheres had a faint crimson hue.
"It seems the chief was impressed by the spheres the benefactor used to take down the golem, so he gathered the remaining fang fragments to create them," he said.
"Oh?"
Once again, the brown-bearded dwarf appeared like a phantom to my left. At this point, I felt I should properly introduce myself.
"My name is Yuren Lox. We've met often, and you've kindly provided explanations, yet I don't even know your name…"
"I am Gald Raiphon. You can just call me Gald."
"I understand, Gald-nim."
The brown-bearded dwarf, Gald, seemed to have been waiting for me to ask, as he grinned and immediately stated his name.
After exchanging pleasantries with Gald, I looked back at the Baekgwanghwan.
[Activating Creator's Eye.]
[Baekgwanghwan]
A spherical hidden weapon designed to pierce enemies or strike vital points. Its effectiveness is maximized when used with the exclusive martial art, Flash Thunder. Upon mastering Flash Thunder, the user can alter the Baekgwanghwan's trajectory.
Abilities: God-Slaying, Acceleration.
"Gasp!"
"Benefactor? What's wrong?"
"It's… nothing."
I vaguely dismissed Gald's question, rubbed my eyes, and looked at the Baekgwanghwan again.
I wasn't seeing things.
The Baekgwanghwan had two options attached to it.
God-Slaying was a given, thanks to the material being the fang of a God-Slaying Beast, but the unexpected addition of Acceleration was also there.
Both Baekgwanghwans had the Acceleration ability, a perfect trait for a weapon that prioritized speed.
Jackpot!
Internally shouting my glee, I looked at the flower-shaped hidden weapon next to the Baekgwanghwan.
The flower's shape resembled a lotus, commonly seen in ponds. Even its color was a pale red, so much so that if you floated it on water, you could mistake it for a lotus that hadn't fully bloomed.
"It's a flower so beautiful it could pass for a decoration."
"Yes. Its form is more beautiful than I could have ever hoped for."
Listening to Gald, I approached the table and picked up the lotus-shaped hidden weapon, the Blood Lotus.
[Blood Lotus]
Though it resembles an unbloomed lotus, when thrown and it strikes a target, the Blood Lotus fully blossoms, tearing apart the target's flesh and bone.
Abilities: God-Slaying, Adhesion.
*Hah!*
The Blood Lotus also had two options. It was a hidden weapon meant to be embedded in an enemy's body, and it had gained the Adhesion option, which made it stick and not fall off.
I couldn't believe how perfectly suited the options were.
"Hmm…"
There were two Blood Lotuses, but unfortunately, only the first one I looked at had Adhesion. The other one only had God-Slaying.
It seemed an extra option wasn't always guaranteed.
*Clack.*
Just as I finished examining the Blood Lotus and set it down, Testein and Giranox came out of the forge together. Testein placed the dagger he was holding in his hand onto the table.
"Chief, you've worked hard!"
"Is this today's main event?"
"Testein! Hurry up and show us!"
The hilt and scabbard of the Gwiwangsal that Testein brought out were both a dark green color.
"Benefactor, why don't you draw it?"
At Testein's words, I gripped the Gwiwangsal. Though it was my first time touching it, it felt as if I'd been handling it for decades, fitting perfectly in my hand.
"I wonder what kind of masterpiece it is…"
"It must be as beautiful as the others."
"*Gulp*."
Every dwarf was staring at the dagger in my hand. Seeing the expectant looks from Testein and Giranox, I raised the Gwiwangsal above my head.
*Shing!*
"Huh?"
"That's…"
Contrary to the dwarves' expectations of an elegant dagger, a crimson blade dripping with killing intent revealed itself from the scabbard.
"Th-that's a dagger?"
"That's no joke."
"Such vicious killing intent."
"A demon… it's a demonic sword!"
As the dwarves said, the Gwiwangsal's blade exuded a killing intent so vicious it seemed capable of piercing and killing everything in this world.
"Hmm."
To have this much killing intent without having killed anyone yet… I was curious to see what would happen when this thing tasted blood.
[Gwiwangsal]
A hidden weapon whose name means 'Ghost King Slayer,' it fittingly contains a vicious killing intent. The tip of the blade possesses a sharpness that feels like it could cut your eyes just by looking at it, causing severe bleeding with even a mere graze.
Abilities: God-Slaying, Bleeding Enhancement, Immediate Recovery Impossible
The Gwiwangsal had three options.
The basic God-Slaying and its inherent Bleeding Enhancement ability were to my liking, but it was the option after them that completely captivated me.
"Incredible…"
Immediate Recovery Impossible.
At first glance, one might think it's not a big deal. In a fight between humans, almost no one can recover instantly.
But the targets I aimed to use Gwiwangsal on weren't humans, but monsters that transcended humanity, or creatures that were never human to begin with.
Against demons, divine beasts, and monsters that could recover from a gaping hole in their stomach in less than a second, that option would have a fatal effect.
"I am truly pleased. Thank you."
I turned to Testein and Giranox, who had been waiting for my reaction, and expressed my gratitude with a satisfied face.
"Haa…"
"Phew…"
Only then did a sigh of relief escape Testein and Giranox. It seemed they had been worried that the weapons might not meet my expectations.
"You've worked hard."
"Heh heh, hard work is nothing. To know that it pleases you, benefactor, makes all my fatigue melt away."
Testein said as he untied the bandana covering his forehead.
"It's true. I feel like I'm floating on air."
Giranox, who was clearly exhausted, used an expression that made it sound like he'd just done a line of drugs.
"These weapons are beyond my expectations. Thank you so much."
"Not at all. We are satisfied as long as you put them to good use, benefactor."
"That's right, Grand Prince. Just use them well for a good cause."
Like master, like apprentice, Giranox's usual words now came from Testein's mouth as well.
"And…"
"Please, speak."
"As you know, that dagger has a dense killing intent. You will have to choose carefully when to use it and when not to."
"I'll keep that in mind."
I nodded at Testein's advice and gathered the rest of the hidden weapons and the remaining half of the God-Slaying Beast's fang.
"Grand Prince. Are you heading back right away?"
Giranox looked half-asleep, the tension finally leaving him.
"No, you rest here for a few days."
"Pardon? Where are you going, Grand Prince?"
"I've received the payment for the request, so now I have to take care of the request and collect the rest of the fee."
**
The day after the weapons were completed, Arin and I immediately descended the mountain.
With the help of the mages Irea had stationed at the foot of the mountain, we were able to travel directly to the southern region of the Holy Kingdom where the demonization was in progress.
*Fwaat!*
The moment we arrived, the first thing I saw was the dark, purplish ground that looked like it was dripping with darkness.
The demonized land was cracked like a drought-stricken rice paddy, and it felt as though hellish demons would crawl out from the fissures.
*Fwaaaat!*
I looked toward the source of the flashing light and saw Irea and her priests driving the same heptagonal holy stones I had seen two days ago into the demonized ground, awakening the divine power within them.
*Zzzzzing!*
As divine power filled them, the holy stones emitted a blindingly sacred light and began to restore the demonized ground to its original state.
*Woooong.*
The demonic land, which just moments ago looked like a place where zombies would rise, began to transform back into an ordinary field.
"Yuren-nim!"
As the purification began, Irea, who had been catching her breath, ran over to me.
"You've come. Were the weapons completed?"
"Yes, they're finished."
"That's wonderful. Did you have any trouble getting here?"
"Thanks to you, Saintess, I was able to travel here comfortably. Thank you."
"I'm glad."
Irea still couldn't meet my eyes, her head slightly bowed, but she continued the conversation in a tone that was a little more relaxed than before.
"What's the situation?"
"For now, we've eliminated all the monsters in front of us, and we are currently purifying the land with the holy stones. We have to continue this process all the way to the source of the demonization."
"I see."
To purify the demonized land, we had to eliminate the monsters on the corrupted ground, drive holy stones into the earth, and perform a purification ritual to restore it. This process had to be repeated over and over.
In a way, purifying the demonized land was similar to a game of territory capture.
"So far, we've only seen zombies and skeleton soldiers, but from now on, more troublesome ones will appear. Your help then will be a great strength to us."
"That's why I came. Don't worry."
"Th-thank you so much."
Irea briefly lifted her head to look at me before quickly lowering it again.
"Uhm…"
"Irea!"
Just as Irea was about to say something else, a kind-faced, middle-aged man approached, calling her name.
"C-Commander."
The middle-aged knight called Irea by her name, something others found difficult to do as they all called her Saintess.
"You should call me Grandfather!"
"W-well, this is a battlefield, so…"
"Haha! You're right. You're right. That was my mistake. My apologies."
"No, it's alright."
The middle-aged man smiled magnanimously at the embarrassed Irea.
Grandfather?
Saintess Irea had no living relatives. However, there was only one person she called Grandfather.
[Activating Creator's Eye.]
[Name: Huraken Zenberg]
[Traits: Sword Fiend, Patience lv5, Analysis lv5, Center of Gravity Utilization lv5, Steel Stamina lv5, Aura Adaptation lv5]
[Favorability: 23 (Interested)]
[Current Mood: Feeling curious.]
So it is him.
The middle-aged man smiling warmly at Irea before me was a monstrous superhuman who had joined the ranks of the Sword Masters—of which there were only thirteen on the continent—using only basic swordsmanship honed to its absolute limit.
"Let me introduce you, Commander. This is Yuren Lox-nim, who has come to help us."
"So you're Yuren."
"My name is Yuren Lox, Commander."
"You know of me?"
"Of course. How could I not know of the great Sword Master of the Holy Kingdom and the Commander-in-Chief of the Holy Knights, Duke Huraken Zenberg?"
I bowed my head respectfully to Huraken, feigning long-held admiration.
"Well now! I was wondering what kind of fellow you were, since this is the first time Irea's ever mentioned a man's name, but you're quite a fine young man. I like you very much. You're polite, too. You have my approval."
"G-Grandfather!"
"Hahaha! What are you so embarrassed about? You were the one who said he was an amazing person."
"P-please stop!"
Irea pushed Huraken aside, her face flushing red. Huraken let out a hearty laugh as he watched Irea's face turn an even deeper shade of crimson.
"She's always been a shy child, but this is the first time I've seen this side of her. She's finally acting her age."
"Iii…"
Huraken seemed to be enjoying teasing Irea, his smile growing wider.
"Commander! Saintess!"
"Is it finished?"
"Yes. The purification is complete. It is time to deal with the monsters again."
"Understood."
Huraken nodded, his expression still relaxed and confident.
"Will you be joining us?"
"Of course."
"A swift reply. I like that even more."
Huraken grinned and started walking toward the demonized area first.
"Saintess, with him here, I don't think I was really needed."
"I honestly didn't know. Grandf—I mean, the Commander just showed up yesterday without any notice."
"I see."
In the original story, Huraken doesn't appear in the demonization episode. It seems this is a change brought about by the timeline of the demonization being moved up.
This isn't bad.
I was surprised to see Huraken, but I thought it was actually for the better.
I needed to let it be known that I had finished my business in the dwarf village so that the dwarves could be safe from Beil's watch.
If I made a name for myself on a battlefield where a Sword Master was present, rumors about me would spread much faster.
Besides, most of the monsters appearing were undead.
I might not be sure about other monsters, but when it came to the undead, I was confident I could take them down better than the Sword Master in front of me.
"From here on, the land is unpurified. Be careful."
*Squish.*
As I stepped onto the unpurified land, I felt something unpleasant and sticky grab at my foot.
"It's sticky, so you need to be careful when walking or running."
"Understood."
"They're coming. Zombies and ghouls ahead."
At Huraken's words, the Holy Knights behind him drew their swords, and the priests began to chant holy spells.
"Commander, there is a Dullahan on the right! It looks like it's preparing to charge this way!"
"I'll handle it. It's been a while since I've sliced up a Dullahan…"
*Thwack!*
While Huraken was leisurely drawing his sword, my dagger was already embedded in the Dullahan's thigh.
"Huh?"
"A dagger?"
"Why a dagger…"
The knights and priests who saw the dagger stuck in the Dullahan were giving me looks that said, 'What the hell are you doing?', but it only took four seconds for their expressions to turn to sheer shock.
"Huh?"
"What in the!"
"The Dullahan just vanished after being hit by a dagger?"
Hearing the screams of those who witnessed the Dullahan dissolve like foam, I turned to Huraken with a slightly apologetic expression and spoke.
"My apologies. The dagger was already in the air before I heard the command…"