We mess with this man’s mind, temporarily neutralizing him.
Just for a moment.
A brief moment while we create the fragment.
“The ‘Voice’ invaded Yoo Jin’s mind with that possibility.
But soon it hit a wall.
|How is the human mental barrier so thick…?|
Can’t break through.
Not a single spot makes way.
Originally, the human race that focuses on physical training shouldn’t have such a strong mental barrier.
No. Even for a dragon with a strong mental barrier, if you keep pounding, you would find at least one weak point.
But this man showed no weaknesses.
It’s like facing an inanimate object.
Or maybe, like dealing with a swarm.
A swarm created by dozens of consciousnesses merging together.
Or perhaps, dozens of evil spirits are clinging to protect his mind…?
|Who the hell is this?!|
A chill ran down my spine.
Occasionally, one like this pops up.
For example, if one twin dies and the other is born with that soul attached, it would have two souls.
But this man’s soul seems to exceed ten upon rough count.
Does that mean he’s the sole survivor among ten siblings?
That’s nonsense.
I simply have no clue.
An impossible type of human.
No, a type of human that should not exist.
Whatever it is, it’s extremely dangerous.
I need to escape here quickly.
Just as ‘Voice’ began to panic at that thought.
The thick mental barrier started to open on its own.
|Huh?|
An ominous light seeped from within.
At this, ‘Voice’s’ thoughts froze.
What was crawling out from the inside the mental barrier shouldn’t be possible.
|Draken… Sir…?|
From the inside the barrier, huge tentacles began to slither out.
Slowly emerging, soon revealing a gigantic body that seemed to fill the entire space.
The being that emerged from that tiny hole was now several times larger than the mental barrier itself.
|Ahhhhh…!|
At this, ‘Voice’ shuddered.
It’s definitely that person.
The great one.
A being that shouldn’t be here.
We mustn’t make eye contact!
It drives you mad! A fate more terrible than death awaits!
‘Voice’ desperately began to flee, trying to avoid the massive entity bursting through the mental barrier.
|Could it be! Did I just make eye contact with the great being?! How are you still sane?! No, are you already insane?!|
Just then, an exit that had been blocked opened up.
‘Voice’ hurled toward the exit, successfully diving into the fragment.
There were troubles along the way, but anyway, the goal was accomplished.
Now, I just need to gain control over the fragment and it’s done.
Since the fragment was created using a vast amount of demonic energy, I should be able to draw out about 30% of the main body’s capability.
When faced with Lawrence, I couldn’t even use 10%, but this time is different.
…It has to be different.
|Huh?|
The form of the fragment began to strange.
It started to move on its own, breaking free from ‘Voice’s’ control.
The beautiful shape painstakingly crafted was soon nowhere to be found, replaced by a grotesque visage.
At ‘Voice’s’ desperate scream, there was nothing he could do.
Trapped without a way out, all he could do was wail in the demonic matter.
At the end, the completed form made ‘Voice’ scream in horror.
|My fragment has turned into a mere sword shape! The fragment of the great demon has become a mere imitation of a piece of metal!|
It’s a sword.
It got fixed in the form of a sword.
No. It seems like it might be possible to revert to an unstable state for transformation, but at least for ‘Voice’ who completely lost control over the demonic energy, it was impossible.
|Hwaaaah!!!|
Part of Belphegor’s ‘Voice’ screamed silently.
.
.
.
[Magic Sword]
[A sword made of the magic of a Great Demon. It possesses metal-like properties but can flow with demonic energy and magic power. A skilled user may be able to change it into an unstable state.]
It’s a truly magnificent sword.
It seems only the metallic part can be realized, as it only has the hilt.
This is an issue that can be resolved by just carving the sword grip.
The specs of the sword itself are quite substantial.
It’s a single-edged sword like the one from Transylvania.
The blade is firm, and the edge is sharp.
The good flow of magic could also significantly help with mana control.
Much better efficiency than just attaching a mana stone to a cheap sword.
Since the magic flows, it seems it could also be utilized as a totem.
But that’s not something I know how to use, so I’ll just acknowledge it as a function that exists.
“…….That. Molding. Seems. Possible.”
“Molding?”
Just for a moment of confusion, Mi Jeong realizes what she means.
The very last sentence in the status window.
The phrase that says a skilled user may be able to turn it into an unstable state.
With that, I closed my eyes and grip the sword.
Its touch is as firm and cold as metal.
But as I slowly infused my will, it transformed as if it were a soft jelly, its shape collapsing.
Then, when I gripped it tightly again, the sword became solid.
However, this time, the form is different from before.
This isn’t a single-edged sword but a massive double-edged sword.
It resembles the two-handed sword commonly used in Frost-style.
“Huh. A changeable weapon.”
Changing the form once more and then gripping it again, it transformed into a one-handed sword used in Merida-style, with a broad blade.
With this, I could pull out the maximum potential of my three swordsmanship styles.
Of course, it seems there are limits to the transformations.
It doesn’t seem to change freely and only within the general scope of ‘sword’.
I tried to extend it long like a spear, but that didn’t work.
Trying to shape it like an axe or like a branch-filled sword also didn’t work.
Even trying to shrink it to the size of a small bead was impossible.
Anyway, since I will use it as a sword, that doesn’t really matter.
“There are about two downsides…”
Of course, there are some clear disadvantages.
One is that it can only take on the form of the sword’s hilt.
Even if I tried to make a custom handle, it would be useless.
Whenever the shape changes, the custom-made handle will just break apart.
There is only one solution.
To make myself the handle.
This sounds insane, but…
If I secure the hilt in a thick form, it can be roughly gripped without a handle.
If I wear thick gloves, I won’t have to worry about hurting my hands, and the grip would be decent as well.
But the real problem is the second one.
The first could be solved, but the second has no answer.
That is…
|My fragment has turned into a mere sword shape! The fragment of the great demon has become a mere imitation of a piece of metal! Hwaaaah!!!|
This sword is a bit too noisy.
“Aside from the sword being noisy, it’s overall excellent.”
“……The sword is, noisy?”
“Yeah. It talks.”
“……Yoo Jin. Have you finally lost it?”
“No, I’m really saying it talks!”
Mi Jeong sighs at me as if I’m pathetic.
But it really is the voice of Belphegor coming from the sword!
When I offered the sword to the astonished Mi Jeong, her eyes widened.
“……It’s real.”
“What did it say?”
“……Told me to clean up the corpse. Heehee.”
I started to wonder if I had gone mad and was hearing things, but it seems that’s not the case.
The voice indeed came from this magic sword.
Judging by the circumstances, it must be the voice of Belphegor’s magic persona that’s flowing within.
I thought I had destroyed it by crushing the mana stone.
Looks like the persona somehow survived inside here.
Or perhaps, the magic sword itself has been filled with his persona.
|Crazy guy! Such a madman! Unhinged!|
I wonder if there’s a mute mode for this.
For now, aside from the voice spilling out, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal.
Now the magic has completely lost its function and has fused with the magic sword, so there’s no way to contact the main body.
And the state is stabilized, so there’s no concern about scattering magic around.
If I show this in front of Belphegor, he would never imagine it was made of his own magic.
As long as the noise negates all other problems…
“Why do you keep calling someone a madman?”
|Isn’t it a madman who calls a madman mad?! What else would you call it?! How is it possible to maintain sanity after making eye contact with the great being?! Are you even human?!|
“…?”
What does this mean?
I’ve never made eye contact with Draken.
I might have been dragged in front of the final boss, and captured his giant form in my eyes, but I couldn’t make eye contact.
“What do you mean? I never looked him in the eye.”
|Don’t lie! If you hadn’t made eye contact, how could a fragment of that being be inside your mental barrier?! How could you retain your sanity after accepting the fragment?! If this isn’t truly the act of a madman, then what do you call it?!|
“…?”
Am I possessing a fragment of Draken inside me?
That comment flashes the setting concerning the final boss in my mind.
Most of the details are missed out (which means I haven’t made them yet), but I remember the setting that anyone who gazes into Draken’s eyes will be brainwashed.
And the ‘fragment of Draken’ mentioned by the magic sword must be the source of that brainwashing.
But for some reason, I wasn’t brainwashed.
I had a guess regarding the likely reason.
‘I erased the memory myself?’
I have no recollection of seeing Draken’s eyes.
From what I remember, I never saw Draken’s eyes, instead escaping from the inner world perfectly.
But according to the magic sword, I had made eye contact, but it seems I had erased that memory.
It might be that I erased the memory to isolate the fragment of Draken and prevent brainwashing.
But I couldn’t have done such a thing on my own.
Could it be that ‘Mental Strength Enhancement’ trait took care of it automatically?
‘That doesn’t seem likely.’
If that’s the case, then who erased my memory?
I’m filled with questions.
But I can’t go delving into memories that might lead to brainwashing.
For now, since there’s no way to do anything, I’ll just express my gratitude to the unknown individual who sealed those memories.
“Thanks for the information. So, I’m giving you a special choice. First, shut it and become my sword. Second, keep yakking and be buried in concrete until you sink into the sea.”
|W-What about a third option?|
“There’s no such thing.”
|You… You demon!|
Hearing this from a great demon is either a compliment or an insult.
Ah. He’s just a clump of magic now, so maybe he’s not a great demon anymore.
“Hurry up and choose.”
|Ah, I understand… I will submit. Anyway, if the main body sees my current form, he’ll try to destroy me, saying I betrayed him. In that case, I might as well live my life humbly. |
That’s unexpected.
I thought for sure he would stubbornly refuse on the premise of a great demon’s pride, but he backed down quickly.
Is it because he underwent some changes in persona after being separated from the main body?
Or has Belphegor’s main body become weak enough to act this way?
I wanted to capture him and find out later.
|Don’t expect to extract information about the main body from me. I’m nothing but a leftover magi torn from the main body. I initially planned to hijack the fragment and connect to the main body to share memories, so right now I’m basically a blank slate. Aside from resembling the main body’s personality slightly, I have almost no memories, so you can see me as an entirely different personality.|
“You definitely look like it. Your way of talking is completely different.”
|Is that so…?|
For some reason, the voice seemed slightly gloomy.
I smiled and transformed the magic sword back into the shape of my old cheap sword, then sheathed it.
Only the hilt is sticking out of the sheath, so it looks quite odd.
I’ll have to figure out some kind of cover for it later.
|So what do you plan to do now?|
“What do I plan to do? I’m going to go kill your main body from now on.”
|Oh. I see. Well. Huh? Huhhh?|
Now with the reliable magic sword in hand, it’s about time to go hunt down and take out that guy’s main body.
