Chapter 44

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God — Chapter 44

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Allen stood before the boulder in which the fake Demon Sword was embedded.

In the distance, he could hear Lucas and Belvemos fighting. Their battle was still fierce.

Standing before the fake Demon Sword, Allen spoke inwardly to the real Demon Sword.

‘Kaglos, there's something I want to ask.’

—What is it?

‘Is that demon over there stronger than you?’

—Ha!

Kaglos answered as though the question were absurd.

—That fellow seems reasonably capable, but he's nowhere near my level. Don't insult me, Vishken.

Most demons were prone to boasting, but judging by his reaction, Kaglos seemed sincere.

Then again, that was what Allen had suspected.

When Kaglos fought the first family head, his power had been no less impressive than that of the Ten Great Demons. And according to Kaglos himself, he hadn't even been in his prime back then.

‘Then that's good enough.’

—What are you planning to do?

Allen answered with his actions.

“This.”

The fake Demon Sword embedded in the boulder.

The moment Allen reached toward it,

“Hey, Allen!!!”

Lucas's shout came from far away, where he was fighting Belvemos.

He had realized what Allen was about to do.

But Allen had no intention of stopping.

‘Don't worry, Brother.’

Grab.

Allen's hand closed around the fake Demon Sword.

‘Nothing bad will happen.’

Shhhk.

As befitted a sword made by Renard's father, the fake Demon Sword slid easily out of the boulder.

Demonic energy flowed through the hilt of the fake Demon Sword into Allen's body. The grip felt as hot as heated iron.

Then a voice reached him.

—You looked so confident, and this is all you could come up with?

Belvemos's voice echoed inside his head.

—You must be that fellow's younger brother. All the better. This will be even more amusing—

Belvemos's voice abruptly stopped.

Sure enough, a moment later,

—...Huh?

The voice echoing in Allen's head sounded bewildered.

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Belvemos's soul was drawn into a deep darkness.

An endless, pitch-black space, like a universe whose stars had all gone out.

Belvemos opened his eyes there and looked around.

“Where on earth is this...?”

He remembered the young swordsman grasping him.

Then, just as he attempted to use his power to invade the soul of the boy who had come into contact with the sword,

Some force had dragged Belvemos into this place.

He couldn't understand what was happening.

How could a space like this exist within a human soul?

He had seized the bodies of numerous humans and demons, but this was the first time he had encountered anything like it.

Clank.

It was then that a loud metallic sound rang out.

At the first sound he had heard in the darkness, Belvemos instinctively turned his gaze toward it.

What he saw startled him.

‘That human boy?’

Beyond thick iron bars,

Wrapped tightly in long chains was the human boy he had seen outside.

But their appearances were the only thing they shared.

‘No, they're different.’

Belvemos, who could perceive the essence of souls, understood.

The young swordsman he had seen outside and the being before him merely shared the same outward appearance. They were entirely different.

“Who are you?”

Belvemos's voice began to tremble.

“What is this place? Why is something like you inside that insignificant human's body...?”

His voice grew quieter and quieter.

Belvemos sensed something strange about his own condition.

As when he had bowed his head before the Demon King, his soul was gripped by terror.

Rustle.

At that moment, the being inside the iron cage raised its head.

A face identical to that of the young swordsman outside.

The moment Belvemos met the expressionless being's eyes, his soul trembled like an aspen leaf.

His soul screamed at him.

Run away from here. Do not approach that thing.

He couldn't understand why he felt such terror.

Only one explanation came to mind.

‘Fear has been engraved into my soul.’

Belvemos turned around.

He ran into the darkness.

No, he fled.

He had no idea which direction led where. He couldn't even guess how far this pitch-black darkness extended, nor did he try.

All he could think about was getting away from that iron cage.

And just as Belvemos, fleeing from the unknown being, glanced back over his shoulder,

Clank!

One of the chains binding it snapped, and the darkness vanished.

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Ding!

[‘Soul of Ten Thousand Demons’ resists ‘Demon Sword Belvemos.’]

The message appeared the moment he grasped the Demon Sword.

Allen, who had still harbored some doubts, felt relieved.

‘It worked.’

It was the same message he had received when he grasped Kaglos.

The Soul of Ten Thousand Demons.

The existence he called Question Mark, residing within him, had successfully blocked Belvemos's soul.

Kreeeeeeee!!!

A horrifying scream erupted from the Demon Sword.

At the same time, a change came over the Lord of Steel Castle, who had been fighting in the distance.

“C-Castle Lord!”

“The Castle Lord...!”

The Lord of Steel Castle, who had been crossing swords with Lucas, staggered and collapsed. At the same time, sweat poured from his entire body like rain.

Lucas hesitated briefly at his sudden behavior.

‘What's happening?’

The sword Lucas had aimed at the Lord of Steel Castle's neck wavered.

At first, he wondered whether the demon was trying to deceive him again. Such an act would hardly be difficult for a demon that lied as naturally as it breathed.

But if that were the case, the situation on Allen's side was equally strange.

Kreeeeee! Kreeeeeeeeek!!!

An agonized scream.

The sound was coming from the Demon Sword.

It sounded like the wailing of a soul cast into hell. Several swordsmen found it so unbearable that they dropped their swords and covered their ears.

Lucas was about to rush toward Allen. He feared that Allen might be losing control of his body.

However—

“Wait...”

An arm blocked Lucas's path.

“Wait just a moment.”

It was the arm of the Lord of Steel Castle, who had regained his senses.

Lucas hesitated at the Lord of Steel Castle's warning.

He knew it too.

They couldn't approach without taking any precautions.

What if Allen's body had been seized by Belvemos?

Lucas might end up falling victim to the demon while rushing to save his younger brother.

If that happened, the situation would become disastrous. With the Lord of Steel Castle in poor condition, a heavy responsibility rested on Lucas's shoulders.

And after some time,

Kree... ee...

Gradually, the screams coming from the Demon Sword subsided.

The noisy gorge fell silent. The Flying Sword Division, Steel Castle's swordsmen, and the Imperial knights surrounded Allen.

Remaining on guard, Lucas approached him.

“...Allen.”

Lucas shook his head as he called Allen's name.

No.

The one standing there now—

“I'll save you soon.”

Was not his younger brother, Allen Vishken.

It was probably the demon that had been sleeping within the Demon Sword, now fully resurrected...

“Huh? I'm perfectly fine, though.”

“...?”

Lucas, who had been gathering mana into his sword, looked puzzled.

The clear, cheerful voice was completely out of place in the situation.

Allen smiled brightly and swung the Demon Sword around.

“Look. I'm telling you, I'm really fine. This thing's completely useless now.”

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“What do you mean? I'm carrying out my mission.”

Even so, Lucas couldn't readily believe Allen's words.

He had already fallen for a demon's lies once. Lucas now understood just how cunning demons were and how skilled they were at deception.

What if the person standing there wasn't Allen?

What if the demon Belvemos was pretending to be his younger brother?

This wasn't merely a vague suspicion that such a thing might be possible.

Rather, there was a strong possibility that the person standing there wasn't Allen at all.

‘That's probably the most likely explanation.’

Belvemos's soul had undoubtedly left the Lord of Steel Castle's body.

In that case, it was highly likely that the displaced soul had transferred into Allen, who was now holding the Demon Sword.

There was no way Allen could withstand a demon's soul that even the Lord of Steel Castle had failed to resist.

‘It's the demon pretending to be him.’

Just as Lucas reached that conclusion,

Whoosh!

Someone swept past him at tremendous speed.

Recognizing the figure, Lucas shouted.

“Castle Lord!”

Saul, the Lord of Steel Castle.

With his sword drawn, he was charging toward Allen at tremendous speed.

Steel Style, First Form.

Razor Slash.

Whooooosh!

The swordsmen surrounding Allen were startled.

The Lord of Steel Castle's sword was so fast that, to their eyes, it looked as though Allen's neck had already been severed.

However—

“...”

The Lord of Steel Castle did not cut Allen's neck.

His sword stopped directly in front of Allen's throat.

For an instant, the world beneath the gorge seemed to fall silent. The faces of Allen and the Lord of Steel Castle were reflected together on the flat of the sword.

Seeing that Allen was unharmed, Lucas secretly breathed a sigh of relief behind them.

He, too, had thought the Lord of Steel Castle was genuinely trying to kill Allen.

Allen was the first to speak.

“See?”

With a sword pointed at his throat, Allen grinned at the Lord of Steel Castle.

“I told you it was really me.”

He reacted as though he had known the Lord of Steel Castle would stop his sword.

Their eyes met at close range. For a moment, the Lord of Steel Castle recalled the day several months earlier when Allen had suddenly come to visit him.

The same eyes as back then.

Swish.

The moment he saw those eyes, the Lord of Steel Castle withdrew his sword.

“It certainly seems that way.”

“You startled me. I thought you were really going to kill me.”

“I assumed you'd react if you were a demon. If this had all been an act, you would have attacked me when the opportunity presented itself.”

“Then do you believe me now?”

“I have to. I can't sense any demonic energy even from this close.”

Allen had shown no reaction when a sword was swung toward his vital point, and even at close range, no demonic energy could be detected.

With that single move, the Lord of Steel Castle had confirmed that Allen was unharmed.

And above all,

Crack, crack.

The next moment, cracks began spreading across the fake Demon Sword in Allen's hand.

Shatter!

The fake Demon Sword broke apart like glass.

Fragments of the Demon Sword rained onto the ground. Unlike before, the fragments had lost their red glow.

The fake Demon Sword had shattered and lost its power.

“Phewww.”

Sighs and exclamations arose from every direction.

“I-it broke.”

“I-is it over?”

“It seems so.”

The Demon Sword had broken.

The Lord of Steel Castle had regained his consciousness, and Allen, the second person to grasp the Demon Sword, was also unharmed.

With this, everything involving the demon had finally come to an end.

Meanwhile, Lucas approached and asked angrily,

“What possessed you to do something so dangerous?”

Sensing Lucas's displeasure, Allen smiled awkwardly.

At times like this, it was best to simply laugh it off.

“It's not as though I acted without thinking, so please don't be too angry, Commander.”

“You only call me Commander at times like this?”

Lucas sighed deeply and spoke.

“...We'll talk later.”

In any case, everyone was currently relieved and celebrating the safe conclusion of the battle.

Not wanting to spoil the good atmosphere, Lucas postponed his scolding.

Instead, he looked at the fragments of the Demon Sword scattered on the ground and spoke bitterly.

“Everyone made it through more or less safely... but the mission was a failure after all.”

The sword they had finally found was a fake, and even that had broken.

It had been a major mission undertaken by the combined forces of the Flying Sword Division and Steel Castle, but ultimately, their efforts had come to nothing.

However—

“I wouldn't say that.”

“...?”

Lucas and the Lord of Steel Castle looked puzzled at Allen's sudden remark.

Allen then drew one of the two swords hanging at his waist.