I checked the feel of what I had clenched in my left hand. It was long and black, like a tentacle, and its sharp end was like a sharp blade.
Thanks to this, my palms are soggy from receiving it. Well, it doesn’t matter because it will heal soon.
When I loosened my grip, the tentacle-like thing quickly returned to the owner as if it had been alerted, and instantly took the form of a great sword.
“… Who are you?”
“I’m Theodore. I’m a special student at the military school in Mildiana. …… Well, I’m confident in my skills even though I look like this. More importantly, is that sword you’re carrying an “evil sword”?
“……”
The man doesn’t say a word.
But what he holds in his hand is definitely a sword with evil power in it. Unlike the holy sword, which was created with the help of God’s power, there are various atrocious processes. A sword that is made through the process of the following is called an evil sword.
“The sword is often seen for its destructive power, but in reality, it seems to be specialized for ‘eating people’. It also allows the soul of the victim to reside in its body. The astral aggregates that you presented to me earlier were all victims of that sword, right?”
“You’re not human, are you? Your taste is different.”
“Do you share a taste for sword? The relationship between you and the sword is very interesting. I’d love to hear more about it, but–”
I filled one of my hands with magic power.
I created a black sword with my dark magic and points it at the man in black and says.
“It seems that it will be easier to draw conclusions if we really fight than if you just tell me your story. I’ll take you on. Come on.”
At that moment, Elsa, who was holding and supporting the unconscious Charlotte, said.
“Dear Theodore. No matter how strong you are, that man is ……”
“I’ll be fine.”
I showed her the palm of my hand that had caught the evil sword.
The hand that should have been cut by the blade no longer had any traces of it. An injury of this magnitude would heal quickly.
Elsa’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw this, but she still opened her mouth.
“But…”
I let out a sigh, then muttered quietly.
“Keep quiet for a moment. You’ll spoil the fun.”
“…….”
“You can just sit there with her in your arms. Unless you want to die as collateral damage, just stay out of the way.”
I can feel the breathlessness in the air. That should calm her down. Now I’ll concentrate on hunting the man in front of me.
The man in black gripped the evil sword tightly.
A strong miasma overflowed from the black blade, and the blade turned into a number of tentacles.
“…… Let’s go, Ledo Mesciole. Take that thing’s breath away.”
Instantly, the blades that had turned into tentacles penetrated the cobblestones one after another, coming at me from the ground.
The ground rumbled violently, and a swarm of tentacles shot out of the ground, shooting at me from every angle. I didn’t move from my spot. If I move, the helpless girls behind me will be in danger.
The power of darkness can be felt strongly from the evil sword of the main body. It has the power of darkness in it.
This would make it less destructive to those who also possessed the power of darkness. The tentacles that were approaching me were repelled one by one by the magic sword that I had improvised.
Huh! The blade grazed my cheek. Blood splatters, but it’s not a big deal.
However, there was nothing I could do if I just kept on preventing attacks.
I measure the distance between me and the man in black. It’s about ten meters.
This is far enough away–
“…… on the defensive?”
“It’s so fast I can barely handle it.”
The sharp blades struck back one after another, and the metallic sound echoed through the air.
The man was standing like a stick with his sword thrust into the cobblestones.
It was like a statue that had been there all along, unmoving. But when he saw that no matter how many tentacles he wielded, they just bounced back, a hint of annoyance appeared in his eyes. Now is the time.
I instantly drew out a magic circle and unleashed the 8th level of the karma flame technique. Flames that burned down the surroundings manifested and attacked the man.
It hit the man in black, but I found that the one hand that had been thrust out was nullifying the magic.
“Huh. Doesn’t the eighth level have any effect? Normally, a direct hit would burn through the bones.”
“…… Such games of fire doesn’t work on me.”
Although he said so, the tentacles weakened.
Apparently, it’s not enough to disable it just by standing there. And – I know I don’t have a very good understanding of how to deal with magic.
This was probably because I had rarely fought an opponent stronger than me.
“Well, how about this? Try to block it.”
The surrounding area has already been messed up by the blow of the man’s tentacled sword. There’s no need to hold back anymore.
When the man stuck out his hand again, I activated the technique.
A combined technique consisting of two arts: fire and wind–equivalent to the power of the 8th rank. But I activated it not for the man standing on the cobblestones, but for the cobblestones itself.
A tremendous explosion blew away the cobblestone.
“…… tch.”
The man jumped up immediately. Good reaction.
But.
“You’re full of holes.”
“What?”
Anticipating where the man in black would land, I moved quickly and took his back, swinging my sword in one hand. Immediately, the man’s evil sword blocked it.
I laughed as the two of us struggled against each other, the sound of squeaking echoing.
“You’re certainly strong there. It’s clear to me that you’re no ordinary person.”
“…… Who the hell are you?”
“Oh. What do I look like other than a naive boy to you?”
I slightly weakened the power of my right hand holding the sword.
Perhaps realizing the opportunity, the man at once increases his strength and tries to cut me with his sword. At that moment, I activate my magic.
A deafening explosion rang out behind the man. I parry his sword, and the man who couldn’t handle the magical surprise attack from his back is blown forward.
The man, who had quickly taken a passive position, I said before he could see me.
“That’s it. Well, that was fun.”
The moment the man reflexively turned to look at me, I slashed his neck.
Fresh blood spurted out. It sliced through his carotid artery, and I’m pretty sure it was lethal.
The man fell down, holding his neck. I looked down at him as he struggled and flailed.
“You were strong, but you relied too much on the power of that evil sword. You can’t defeat that great hero like this, you know?”
Eventually, the man stopped moving.
He’s only stronger than an ordinary prophet.
I enjoyed it a little, but something stuck with me. If he had this much of power. He should be able to measure the difference in strength between him and his opponent. If so, there is no way he can make an enemy of that great hero.
It’s not like he’s too stupid to know that.
There’s must something behind it.
I sensed a slight rush from behind me and caught it with one hand.
When I looked at it, I saw that it was a black tentacle. Before I knew it, a part of the evil sword had turned into a tentacle and wrapped itself around his back.
That means.
“I see. You’re not dead yet.”
With tremendous speed, the man jumped up and swung his evil sword. I catch it.
The man in black muttered as he grunted.
“You’re ….. monster.”
“You died once, didn’t you? It is upsetting to be called that by someone who comes back to life as if nothing happened.”
The man jumps up and stares at us from a distance. I said as I tapped him on the shoulder with my sword.
“You’re not afraid of dying. That’s what you get for manipulating the dead, isn’t it? How many more times do I have to kill you before you die?
“……”
I looked at the man in black, who was on the lookout for me, and smiled.
“Two or three times is boring. Keep it at least ten times, okay? ——it’s boring so far. I’d like you to indulge my destructive impulses for a moment.”
“…… what?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but you can’t understand me even if I say it like this. Well, I’ll make it clear. I want you to be my toy. Until you break.”
“…… don’t be ridiculous!”
In the Empire, even someone with this level of strength is extremely rare. Moreover, it seems that one kill is not enough to kill him.
Then let’s at least cut it up until his body can no longer regenerate.
So let’s get started, shall we? My little way of killing time.
◆
While everyone was speechless at the barbaric acts of Claude Duras, the But Major General Karsati, who had the highest rank, said.
“…. What the hell is going on here? Why did you kill her ……!”
“This is because she is the one who attacked the temples in the Granden territory.”
The men led by Major General Karsati began to buzz.
“How can you know that ……? She gave her life to fight for us and for the Temple! To slaughter a girl like that would be unthinkable! If you still believe that she is the one who attacked the temple, please show us some convincing evidence!”
“I can’t answer that question,” he said, “but look at it: can you still say, ‘I slaughtered a girl’ after seeing that?
The old soldier looked at the direction indicated and was astonished.
There, covered in blood and leaning against a pillar, was a girl who was dying – or should have been. Until just now.
But for now.
“…… Oh, come on, …….”
While holding her still bleeding neck with one hand, she braided her purple hair.
The girl staggered to her feet, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.
When the soldiers saw this, they all started to make a fuss, and even Major General Karsati got mixed up. He froze, looking disturbed and unsure of what to say.
Toto had been cut deeply from neck to torso.
She was struck with a tremendous blow that severed her bones, and it would normally have been no surprise if her upper and lower body had been split apart.
In spite of this, she stood up. Then Toto hee his empty eyes to Claude.
“It’s strange eh…..Did Toto just get beaten to death by a Great Hero? Turns out it wasn’t that bad… geho…”
The girl spat out a lump of blood that was tangled in her throat, and continued breathing hard.
“Where is it? I’m sure …. I’ve not been exposed ……. Can you tell me about it for future reference, Great Hero?”
The soldiers watched as the bloodied girl wiped her mouth whispered to each other, “Isn’t she possessed by the dead?” However, Claude dismisses the words.
“No. That girl is not dead. She’s a living person, without a doubt. The only difference between her and a normal human being is her ability to instantly recover from death, an amazing life force that was probably given to her by an evil god.”
When he affirmed them of this, Toto’s mouth arched in a …… high-pitched smile.
“Fufu …… hahaha! What, you already know that? That’s true hahahaha, Toto was surprised by this! But…”
Toto shouted, her previously amused face suddenly contorted in hatred.
“The Goddess whom Toto loves, whom Toto adores, whom Toto is willing to give her all for! You’ve treated the Goddess, the reason for Toto’s existence, as an evil god! I’ll never forgive you! I’ll kill you!”
Unlike the soldiers who were unable to comprehend the situation, Claude released a shockwave from his divine sword. It was so overwhelmingly fast that even Toto, who had become more than a human being, could not see it. It was the sword with its blue glow that stopped the god-speed blow.
“Hahahah, ……, that’s the Mare Viper! You did a great job protecting Toto.”
The divine sword Mea Viper moves by itself to protect the owner.
However, the moment Toto stroked the hilt of the sword, it shuddered and trembled.
Claude saw this and said.
“The divine sword is frightened. The divine sword was not originally meant to follow an outsider like you. How did you get that sword? Why can you handle it? Why is the divine sword so frightened? You will answer me, Toto and all. Until then, I will chop off your head as many times as it takes.”
“Hahahhaha….. You still think naively, you’re just a human being. No matter how strong you are, you’re still just an ordinary person! –You’re the one who’s going to die, Great Hero!”
Toto raised her right hand, which held the Mare Viper, to the sky.
The water flowing from the blade of the sword swirled and turned into multiple layers of water spears that attacked the soldiers.
The soldiers who had been upset by this immediately reacted, and those who could use magic set up barriers technique. But.
The water spear “slipped through” the barrier technique and closed in on the soldiers.
Claude blocked all of the dozens of spear attacks with the shockwave from his divine sword Revisistra.
The water that had kept the shape of the spear splashed out and then disappeared as if it had evaporated.
“The power that resides in the divine sword is not magic. It is nothing but the power of God, the divine energy. No matter how advanced the barrier technique, it cannot prevent the divine energy.”
“Okay, then.”
One of the magicians tried to construct a magic technique, but Claude stopped him.
“Don’t. The divine sword can nullify magic of the level of forbidden magic. This is no place for you to be.”
Toto, who had been watching the sequence of events, chuckled despite her overwhelming inferiority.
“It seems you know a lot about the divine sword. …… You are indeed a Great Hero. But you’re only that good. You know about your own divine sword, but you know very little about the other divine swords. This Mare Viver is not specialized in destruction or anything, you know?”
No longer listening to her, the shockwave from Claude’s divine sword approaches Toto.
Toto said as the blue divine sword Mea Viper prevented it.
“Playtime is over. Come on, Mare Viper. It’s time for you to show us your true power!”
When Toto tightened her grip on the Mare Viper, the divine sword tried to move away from her as if it were a conscious creature.
But it was no match for Toto’s power and it was raised high into the sky again.
At the same time, the blade of the Mare Viper glowed blue, and then…
“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
The mare viper emitted an unbearable sound that was very similar to a woman’s scream of despair.
All of those who saw the light and heard the shouting became motionless, as if they were frozen in place.
As soon as Toto confirmed this, she suddenly collapsed on the spot.
The effects of Claude’s slashing and the recoil of Mea Viper’s “abilities” deeply irritated her body, but Toto muttered with a greasy sweat.
“Damn it, ……, ……. Hain’s asshole has thrown a wrench in my schedule. …… I’m going to have to kill that asshole at least three times if I find him later. ……”
Toto laughed, lamenting that she was swayed by the unexpected behavior of her partner.
“But welcome to the world of dreams. There, you’ll meet your most cherished ones, share the joy of reunion, and while you’re dreaming – every last one of you will be torn apart by Toto …… Fufufu.”
There was no longer any sound coming from the temple, which had been full of noise.
It was as if no one was there anymore, no one said a word, just stood there and looked at the void.
And the divine sword Mea Viper, still in the owner’s hand, was trembling as if it were sobbing.
