C968
In the Mirtan village, home to the Zieghart blacksmiths, the sun had set, but the artisans seemed to gain even more vigor, igniting fiercer flames and hammering with all their might. The thunderous sound of hammers echoed as Vulcan let out a long sigh like tobacco smoke.
"This damned sword, I swear."
He gritted his teeth, staring intently at the black sword that gleamed with a dark red hue as if blood had coagulated on it.
"How am I supposed to handle it when the heat of three golden coals isn't enough?"
Vulcan's fists, thick as pot lids, trembled.
"There's no solution. There's absolutely no solution!"
Golden coal isn't something that can be mass-produced. Even if you put all your effort into making a hundred pieces of coal, you'll be lucky if one of them becomes golden coal. However, even after using three, they couldn't even melt the surface.
"I might as well smash it to pieces!"
Vulcan lifted the enormous hammer hanging on the wall, looking very serious.
"Stop!"
Pasirion, the shaman sent by the Beast Union to break the curse of the black sword, sprang to his feet.
"It hasn't completely changed!"
Pasirion waved his hands slowly, urging him to stop.
"Thanks to the heat you generated with the golden coal, we were able to erase some of the curse embedded in the black sword. It's as if we've made a significant dent in the thick walls of the blood curse!"
He clenched his fist, saying that now that they knew the method, using the same technique repeatedly would eventually break the black sword's curse.
"That's not easy, I tell you!"
Vulcan frowned, staring fixedly at the black sword.
"Golden coal isn't something you can just make because you want to. Besides, all the shamans who were performing the purification ritual have fallen ill!"
Pasirion and the Beast Union shamans had used purification techniques on the black sword, stimulated by the heat of the golden coal. At first, it seemed to be working, but the intense bloody energy of the sword caused the shamans to cough up blood and collapse.
"They've suffered internal injuries, but it's not too serious. Once they recover a bit, they'll be able to use their magic again."
Pasirion shook his head, as if to say not to worry.
"Huh..."
Vulcan seemed to find some stability in Pasirion's calm attitude and took a deep breath.
"How much of the curse is left now?"
Vulcan tilted his head, rotating his wrist up and down.
"Ninety percent... We've only managed to remove about ten percent."
Pasirion looked away, as if ashamed of his own words.
"—But this is only the beginning! We've created a small crack in the curse, so next time we can break down the whole wall!"
He clasped his hands in front of him, asking for trust.
"—Can't we just smash it like this?"
Vulcan bit his lip and grabbed the hammer again.
"—N-no! Don't do that!"
Pasirion urgently spread his hands.
"The sword is in a latent state right now. If we stimulate it and awaken it, it could unleash a bloody storm!"
He shook his head, insisting that they shouldn't manipulate it in any way without care.
"It's frustrating! So frustrating!"
Vulcan threw the hammer he was holding behind him and grabbed his head.
"Who knows how long it will take to make more golden coal, and how long it will take to restore that guy..."
He clicked his tongue regretfully.
"I'm sorry."
Pasirion bowed his head, looking ashamed.
"I'm not angry at you. I'm just frustrated because there's nothing I can do for Alice."
Vulcan waved his hand, saying Pasirion had no reason to apologize.
"I heard Alice has already prepared herself to regain her strength on her own, unable to wait for the purification of the black sword."
He stroked his beard, turning his gaze towards where Zieghart was.
"The fact that she moved on her own without saying a word means she didn't want to be a burden to us. I understand what that troublemaker is thinking, and that's what makes it so frustrating." Vulcan frowned, remembering Alice's melancholic gaze.
"I understand..."
Pasirion nodded heavily, saying he understood how Vulcan felt.
"Our alliance leader hasn't recovered his full strength either. He smiles and says he's fine, but for those of us watching him, it's agonizing." He bit his lip slightly, thinking of Ogram, who smiled at everyone despite probably feeling the greatest sense of loss.
"Hmm..."
Vulcan slowly closed and opened his eyes, seeming to empathize with Pasirion's words.
"We have no other choice. I'll try making golden coal again. It'll take a while, but..."
He clicked his lips, saying this seemed to be the only way.
"Thank you."
Pasirion bowed, expressing gratitude for believing in him.
"Don't mention it! I'm more grateful to you for coming all this way to help!"
Vulcan waved his hand, apologizing for venting his frustrations.
"How about we share a drink today instead?"
"Sounds good. This time, I'll try to win."
Just as the two men smiled slightly at each other, the black sword on the workbench began emitting an unsettling sword mantra.
"W-what's happening?!"
"What's suddenly happening..."
Vulcan and Pasirion widened their eyes, looking at the black sword that was causing intense vibrations. They had never seen it behave like this, not even when applying the heat of golden coal or enveloping it in magic.
"Step back!"
Pasirion clasped his hands together. Gray smoke rose from between his fingers, enveloping the black sword. It was a binding spell to suppress the hostile energy. However, even under Pasirion's spell, the black sword bucked like a wild colt, throwing dark red bloody energy in all directions.
"The, the sword has awakened! Get out of here right now!"
Pasirion yelled at them to get out of the workshop, stomping his foot.
"Pasirion!"
"I'm fine! You have to leave first so I can leave too!"
He yelled that he was fine and that Vulcan should leave first.
"Damn it!"
Vulcan gritted his teeth and headed for the workshop door. But the dark red energy unleashed by the black sword made it impossible to approach the door or the walls.
"This damned sword!"
Vulcan threw his large hammer at the wall where the bloody energy burned. The energy, as if refusing to allow anyone's approach, completely shattered the hammer.
"We can't get out!"
He swallowed hard and looked around. The dark red, bloody energy was spreading throughout the workshop, beginning to erase the space where he and Pasirion could stand.
"J-just wait a little longer, the other shamans..."
Pasirion's hands trembled like his voice. He was clearly overexerting himself.
"Ha..."
Vulcan sighed, looking at the ceiling and walls of the workshop that seemed about to collapse.
"Is this how I die?"
Various memories flashed through his mind. The unfulfilled love of his youth, crying alone after making his first sword, regretting making a sword for an assassin, witnessing the moment after completing the Heavenly Tremor. But the only sword that came to mind now was the Heavenly Drive.
He had wanted to forge that boy's sword until Raon stood at the top of the continent, and it was so regrettable to die like this.
'No, you'll do well even without me.'
Vulcan smiled broadly, remembering the young Raon he first met in the coal furnace.
'Raon. Never break, just as you were back then.'
Just as he closed his eyes, thinking of death, the door and walls of the workshop collapsed, and a tall woman with sunset-colored hair that flowed like waves entered.
"Ah..."
Vulcan opened his eyes, looking at the woman with a cold appearance who approached with brisk steps.
"Alice? Why are you here..."
The person who had burst through the workshop door was Alice. He couldn't understand why she was there when she was supposed to be concentrating on her recovery in Zieghart.
"It's been a while."
Alice gestured to Vulcan with a faint smile.
"So you were here after all."
She twisted her lips, looking at the black sword that was still thrashing despite being under Pasirion's spell.
"What?"
"This thing called me here."
Alice chuckled, saying the black sword had led her to this place.
"Called you...?"
Pasirion shook his head, looking back and forth between Alice and the black sword.
"S-step back! Right now, this sword intends to devour the rest of your soul and be reborn as a true demonic sword!"
He yelled that if that happened, no one could stop it.
"Even now, it's thrashing like this because it senses your presence!"
Pasirion bit his lip as he pushed back the demonic sword with his magic tether. Red blood dripped between his white teeth.
"—Both of you, step back. This place will collapse soon."
Alice gestured for Vulcan and Pasirion to leave the workshop.
"—A-Alice?"
"—Don't worry. I'm different now from when this thing sought me out."
She hadn't told anyone, but since she woke up, she could sense the presence of this black sword. As if their souls were connected, the black sword called to her whether her eyes were open or closed. That voice was both a temptation and a threat, and also a curse from the past that reminded her of Sif.
She had forcefully endured the temptations and threats of the thing by training her body to the point of exhaustion, but now there was no need to hold back.
"—Let's see what you've got, cursed sword."
Alice grabbed the black sword, baring her teeth. As soon as her hand touched the black sword, a terrifying bloody energy ignited along the blade. It was a massive and dense energy that could devour her body in an instant and engulf her soul.
Alice didn't reject the black sword's bloody energy seeping through her hand, but accepted it as it was. Her skin began to turn red as if it were about to burst.
"Alice!"
"No!"
Vulcan and Pasirion widened their eyes, seeing Alice's entire body covered in protruding blood vessels.
"It's alright."
Alice smiled, gesturing to the two surprised men not to worry.
"I've been waiting for this."
When the black sword's bloody energy filled her mana circuit, she opened the aura in her dantian. The blue aura, refined from the Dragon Heart's energy, cut like a sword, shattering the endless bloody energy flooding her mana circuit.
'Now it's my turn, isn't it?'
After erasing all the bloody energy that had infiltrated her body, Alice turned her attention to the black sword. She pushed the blue aura surging like waves towards the black sword. Her vision turned black as if she had entered a world of mental imagery as her soul resonated with the black sword's curse.
She could sense a wall of bloody energy so thick that the end wasn't visible. However, there was a fairly large crack etched in the right corner.
'That's it.'
Realizing that this crack was the black sword's weak point, Alice fired the aura she had raised to the extreme. She could feel the wall of bloody energy protecting the curse slowly breaking. But the black sword, as if unwilling to fall like this, raised a massive flame of bloody energy. The dark red flame devoured the blue aura and pressed against her soul.
'Do you think I'm going to die here?'
Alice gritted her teeth and opened her soul realm, pouring out all the aura she possessed. Alice's aura and the black sword's bloody energy grew larger and larger, devouring each other like ferocious beasts. However, since the space they were fighting in was the black sword's domain, Alice slowly began to be pushed back.
The black sword raised a sticky, bloody energy as if to devour Alice's soul, dominating the space where she stood.
'Haa...'
Alice bit her tongue, feeling the violent waves of bloody energy raised by the black sword.
'This is dangerous.'
Although the black sword was also under restrictions and couldn't exert its full power, it seemed that with her current level, it could crush her soul. If there hadn't been a crack in the spell, it would have been truly dangerous.
'But...'
I haven't shown everything either. While climbing North Grave Mountain, she hadn't just trained her body. She had relentlessly refined her mind, thinking of the resentment towards herself, the pain of not properly raising her son, and the desire for revenge against those who caused this.
"—And…"
—Now she had the pure aura she had obtained thanks to Raon. She drew out that intense and grateful energy. Her soul realm, which had grown even further, bloomed along with the blue aura, bursting into a brilliant radiance.
The bloody energy that had been pressing on Alice's soul began to diminish before the blue light she had raised.
Even while being pushed back, the black sword poured dark red bloody energy from the sky and the ground, as if determined to resist to the very end.
"—Cursed sword!"
Alice gritted her teeth and stomped her foot. She advanced forward, suppressing the intense energy waves of the sword with her ocean-like blue energy.
"This power is mine! Either you give it back to me, or you shut up and follow me!"
She grabbed the black sword with both hands, saying she would break it if it didn't listen. The bloody energy and aura clashed incessantly, causing the workshop walls to crumble and the floor to sink. Tremendous waves of power sent dark red sparks flying in all directions.
A massive explosion occurred, erasing the workshop and its surroundings as the dark red light and blue light alternated.
"Ugh!"
"Huh..."
Pasirion, who had been protecting Vulcan, urgently extended his hand to clear away the smoke that had risen into the sky. Alice was kneeling on the blackened ground, holding a sword in her hand that was half-melted with dark red bloody energy.
"This damned thing just doesn't listen. Just like someone I know."
Alice let out a dry laugh, wrinkling her nose. The black sword in her hand showed no reaction, as if it had become an ordinary sword.
"W-what just happened..."
Pasirion widened his eyes, looking completely confused.
"It's obvious, isn't it?"
Vulcan nodded, smiling.
"—The damned sword has found its master!"
* * *
On a night when the full moon was sharp, Karoon walked with heavy, clouded steps down the hallway of the Lord's Mansion. He stopped in front of the audience chamber at the end of this path and raised his calm, sunken eyes.
"—I was waiting for you."
Roenn, who had been standing in front of a pillar, bowed his head and opened the door to the audience chamber.
"—..."
Karoon gave Roenn a slight gesture and entered the audience chamber.
"—You've come."
Glenn nodded, the blue moonlight on his shoulders. He seemed as mysterious as a sword god and as distant as a monk who had achieved enlightenment.
"—Karoon. Why did you call for me?"
Glenn lowered his gaze slowly, as if ready to listen to anything.
"—Do you remember when I said I would see you again after training with Raon?"
Karoon stood before the dais, stepping on the red carpet.
"—Of course."
Glenn nodded, saying he certainly remembered.
"...Please make me stronger."
Karoon's shoulders trembled slightly before slowly kneeling.
"I know the position of Head of House isn't determined solely by strength. But I also don't want to give up on strength. I want to keep pace with that guy until the end. No, I want to surpass him again."
He pressed his forehead to the floor, begging for help to become even stronger than he was now. It was something he would have been very ashamed to say before, but the growth from defeat had changed him.
"I will follow you in any way, Father."
Karoon called Glenn 'Father' instead of 'Head of House', saying he would do anything.
"—Hmm..."
Glenn stroked his chin and nodded.
"Considering the achievements you've accumulated so far, it's certainly possible to help you with your training. However..."
He narrowed his eyes, looking at the moonlight descending softly.
"Even with my help, you won't be able to catch up to Raon on your own."
Glenn clicked his lips, saying that Raon was still getting stronger even now.
"—I see."
Karoon bit his lip until it bled.
"—Then it's impossible after all."
He had worried about Glenn's refusal, but hearing that it wouldn't work even with his help felt like the sky was falling.
"—I understand. Thank you."
Karoon put strength into his legs to stand up. His head felt dizzy and his whole body felt weak, but he couldn't show such a pathetic appearance in front of the Head of House.
"—Then..."
"—Wait."
As Karoon bowed his head and was about to leave the Lord's Mansion, Glenn gestured with his hand.
"Wait a moment. Someone else is coming."
Glenn pointed to the door and said to wait a little longer.
"—I'm sorry, but I'm not in a condition to meet anyone right now..."
Just as Karoon shook his head and took a deep breath, the door of the Lord's Mansion burst open as if it were about to collapse, and Alice entered.
"Alice?"
Karoon widened his eyes and looked at Alice. He had heard that she had regained her aura and had fainted, but he hadn't expected her to be awake now.
"Father."
Alice bowed her head to Glenn.
"I have come to request the favor I mentioned before."
She straightened her back confidently, as if she had come to reclaim something she had left behind.
"Help me regain my former strength!"
Alice lifted her chin and asked for help with her training.
"Huh..."
Karoon opened his mouth wide and stared at Alice. Seeing her attitude, which seemed more like an order than a request, he couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
"—Karoon," Glenn called to Karoon as he rose from his throne.
"As I said, you won't be able to catch up to Raon no matter how hard you try on your own. But..."
He let out a faint smile, looking at Alice with the dark red sword on her shoulder.
"It might be possible for the two of you. Are you willing to try?"
A red flash shone in Karoon's eyes as he heard Glenn's words. He parted his lips without a moment's hesitation.
"—Of course!"
-
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