We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Is the sun burning?
“Wh-what is this Curse Power Sword made by humans, and human strength…? N-no way…”
The male of the Divine Race contorted his face as he tried to retreat. However, Listea was holding the blade of his sword, preventing him from retreating as he wished.
Nevertheless, the male Divine Race’s thoughts had not stopped.
“A red and blue Curse Power Sword. Did the relationship between them break when the blue longsword snapped, and you regained your original power? …Hahaha, ahahahahaha! Then, your red straight sword, having lost its counterpart, has had its performance sealed!”
That’s right. By Slaton intentionally snapping the blue longsword, the red straight sword lost the means to send the absorbed power and techniques.
Therefore, it could no longer absorb anything else.
“You miraculously escaped from a pinch once. But now you have no means to resist us. Now, let’s repay the past debts. Savor my divine arts with your very being!”
The male of the Divine Race poured power into his divine sword. And he spoke powerful words.
“By the power of my words, I command! My sword, cleave the flames and scorch life itself!”
The divine sword left Listea’s hand. The male of the Divine Race swung the divine sword with all his might. The blade, filled with divine power, struck Listea, who was engulfed in flames, again and again!
The roar of flames echoed. Sparks flew, and a hot wind raged.
But.
“Wh-why… why is this happening…”
The male of the Divine Race stopped, stunned. That was only natural. Listea, who had been cut countless times in an instant by the divine arts, was still standing as if nothing had happened, enveloped in flames.
What’s more, the scorching flames burned even brighter, as if showing Listea’s strong will.
“Hmph, the Divine Race is truly foolish,” Slaton said, heartily laughing as he desperately deflected the fierce attacks of the two demons with his broken longsword.
“Oh, esteemed Divine Race. Can you, with your grand divine arts, extinguish the sun’s radiance? Can you steal the sun’s heat? Do you think you can harm the sun!”
“!”
This time, the male of the Divine Race completely panicked and retreated.
“The opponent you are facing right now is the true embodiment of the sun! If you think you can resist the sun, then unleash your boasted divine arts as much as you want. And then, die consumed by the despairing flames!”
The male of the Divine Race couldn’t even retort to Slaton, who was cursing him with foul language. His eyes widened, and he continued to retreat, fixated on Listea, who was engulfed in flames.
The battle between Listea and the male of the Divine Race would likely be decided soon. However, the battle unfolding was not just there!
“Humans really do boast a lot,” a black-haired young man said, swinging his magic sword. A man of average build swung a thick spear with great speed. Slaton, unable to hold back, leaped backward and landed on the ground, supporting himself with his knees.
“Haa, haa…” Slaton looked exhausted from fighting two high-ranking demons.
“The battle with Oland is over. They are just humans, after all. There’s no need to save them,” said one of the demons.
“Then, we shall decide this battle. It’s a shame, but while your partner seems to be saved, you will die instead,” said the other, approaching Slaton with confident steps, as if certain of their victory.
But Slaton’s defiant grin had not disappeared from his face.
“Decide the victory? That’s my line.” Slaton put strength into the hand he had planted on the ground.
“Just as Reis, who could unleash her full power once her sword broke, I too can finally exert my full strength!”
The black-haired young man showed a look of caution towards Slaton, who still exuded an insolent aura even when cornered. The average-built man’s steps became cautious and careful.
“Alright, I’ll show you my true strength.” Slaton shouted!
“Sorry to keep you waiting! Now, let’s show you our power against these demons. Appear, Earth Dragon Duranel!!”
Slaton’s shadow rippled like waves. Then, the shadow swelled. A majestic dragon’s roar echoed not only through the hall but also throughout the entire fortress.
“Finally, my turn!!”
From Slaton’s shadow, the Earth Dragon Duranel appeared! Duranel unleashed a powerful dragon art with a single roar. The old man, who looked like a sorcerer, was engulfed in a jet-black breath and vanished without even time to utter a dying scream.
“Hoho, you’re full of spirit. You were pent up because I didn’t call you, weren’t you? Fine, I’ll let you rampage to your heart’s content!”
“You foolish Slaton. It was because you couldn’t handle the Curse Power Sword properly that I couldn’t break free from the shadows.” Duranel’s sigh sounded like a terrifying growl to those without a dragon heart. Slaton seemed to take it as Duranel’s enthusiasm and eagerly jumped onto his back.
“By the way, I forgot to tell you. Reis’s straight sword is the red of flames. Then, what color is my blue longsword?”
“Color… what are you saying?” Even for demons, the appearance of a dragon, a higher race, brought despair. The completely frightened black-haired young man tilted his head, his face contorting.
“Yeah. What color is the blue of this broken longsword of mine? If you don’t know, I’ll tell you!” Saying this, Slaton raised the longsword, broken from its midpoint, high above his head. Then, he shouted.
“What I detest the most is that this sword’s performance and its creator, who easily made me the counterpart to Ril’s fire, assigning me water as a partner, simply because Ril is fire!!”
The blue longsword, held high above, shone dazzlingly with a watery blue light. The light shimmered like water, rapidly converging on the broken blue blade. The blade, absorbing the watery blue light, grew enormous in an instant.
“Duranel, let’s go!”
“I don’t need you to tell me!”
Duranel’s roar echoed again. Simultaneously, Slaton and Duranel unleashed a synchronized combo attack! The “darkness” unleashed by Duranel instantly engulfed the remaining two demons.
“Wh-what the!?”
“My magic! Why can’t I escape!?”
Only the confused voices of the two echoed from within the darkness. However, only their voices could be heard; their figures never emerged from the depths of the darkness. Slaton then swung down a giant sword shaped from compressed water.
“Slarin, don’t kill them until we get information from the Demon Lord’s court, alright?”
“O-oh! I-I was considering that too? Besides, don’t call me Slarin in a situation like this!” Oh. Slaton’s sword tip hesitated for a moment. He definitely forgot his objective, didn’t he? Honestly, what a bothersome man. In contrast, Slaton’s partner, Listea, is always calm.
“Speak. Why are the Divine Race secretly operating in the Demon Race’s Country?”
The male Divine Race was now surrounded by scorching flames in all directions, with no escape. No matter how much divine art he unleashed, it was useless against Listea, who had become the embodiment of the sun. He couldn’t escape. The male Divine Race was driven into a corner. However, perhaps it was his pride as a member of the Divine Race, or his dignity as someone from the Imperial Honored Mansion, but despite being overwhelmed by Listea’s presence, he refused to speak. Should I praise him? The Divine Race, having invaded the land of their natural enemies, the Demon Race, with a specific plan, would not easily break under mere threats. Especially if the one threatening them was a human they looked down upon. Listea also didn’t seem to expect to get answers through a mere interrogation, so she wasn’t disappointed. Instead, she unleashed her power to end the battle.
“I won’t kill you. But you will atone for your sins!” Saying this, Listea swung down her straight sword, which blazed with a scorching color. The distance between her and the male Divine Race was far. However, the sun’s flames enveloping Listea consumed everything. The male Divine Race, burned by the flames, let out a scream. He convulsed in pain. However, the male Divine Race suffered no burns, nor did his clothes catch fire. Listea had burned his spirit! Originally, the power Listea used was curse arts. And curse arts are adept at affecting the target’s mind and environment. The male Divine Race screamed, not from physical pain, but from spiritual agony. However, Listea did not relent.
“Until you realize the weight and suffering of the sins you’ve committed, and the lives of the people you’ve senselessly taken, these flames will not disappear.” Listea was truly angry. To consider the souls of the sacrificed, not just the conclusion of the battle, was truly heroic.
“Oh ho, Ril and Suraner, you’re both quite entertaining!” Srain said, smiling with satisfaction as he watched the conclusion of the two battles. He deflected all of my sword strikes.
“So, what about you?” Srain asked, looking at me, even while perfectly parrying the consecutive blows of the Spirit Current Sword and focusing solely on defense.
“Ril and Suraner have both fulfilled their roles. So, what will you accomplish from now on? Do you think you can defeat me with that bizarre sword technique of yours? Or do you have some other objective?”
At Srain’s question, I stopped my movements with the Spirit Current Sword. However, Srain did not exploit this opening. It was at this moment that Srain and I finally faced each other directly, properly.
“Your sword has been strange from the start. It lacks ferocity and looks like ordinary slashes, yet somehow I find myself defending against it. It’s power is easy to deflect, its speed easy to dodge. Yet, somehow I find myself receiving your blows. Eliel, who uses a strange sword technique, what do you see?”
“See?” I echoed Srain’s words. He continued.
“Your sword doesn’t convey the will to settle things with me. Yet, why do you confront me? It can’t be just to stop me, can it?” Srain is sharp. It’s true, I wasn’t focused on winning against Srain, I just wanted to stop his reckless actions. So, why? Srain was trying to see through the root of my actions. And I, too, was trying to understand Srain’s intentions. Why had Srain drifted from place to place as a mercenary? Why had he joined forces with us? And why, now, did he act in such a way as to destroy everything he had built?
“I wanted to know. What is happening in this country? To do that, I thought I needed to know you deeply.”
“And so you drew your sword against me? With that, what did you learn? What did you feel?” Srain asked me with pure curiosity. He wanted to know the answer I was trying to find out. I also wanted to know about Srain. However, since I was asked first, I had to answer.
Just as I was about to open my mouth, a giant demon burst through the doors of the ruined hall with a roar! It quickly surveyed the scene and fixed its gaze on Srain. The giant demon spoke with awe.
“Your Majesty Mad Abyss Demon Lord, why are you in a place like this…?”
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