Sword Fiend (4)

“… Very well.”

Sword Fiend’s voice rumbled low from behind his mask.

“I’ll give you one more Demon Sword I possess… No, I’ll give you two more.”

For the Sword Fiend, this was an extremely high price.

The Demon Swords were like his own limbs, parts of his very body.

“That means, along with the Ghost Sword Quiennio, I’ll give you a total of three swords.”

But even if he paid such a heavy price, he absolutely had to find out how Ian had broken his curse.

For the two hundred years since the annihilation of the Sword Fiend’s clan, not a single person had broken his curse without any magic power, artifacts, or witchcraft, like Ian had done.

“Is this not enough for you to tell me how you broke my curse? Isn’t it a sufficient price?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure,”

Ian replied.

But Ian was not an easy negotiating partner.

“I already have plenty of fine swords. Even if you, Silence, offer me a few more Demon Swords, it doesn’t seem like an attractive offer to me.”

“…”

The Sword Fiend’s eyes sank behind the goblin mask.

“Then what more do you want? I need to get an answer from you, no matter what.”

“… There is something I want.”

Ian wanted to make the most of this chance to get something from the Sword Fiend.

“If you, Silence, would join my knight order, I’ll tell you right away.”

“… What?”

The Sword Fiend looked a bit flustered.

“That… That’s difficult. I’m busy. I’ve spent too long alone. I can’t let myself be tied down anywhere.”

“… Then this negotiation will be tough. Should we just continue the game we were playing?”

“No. Instead, I’ll suggest an alternative. I can’t formally join your order, but I can become a mercenary for you.”

“A mercenary?”

The Sword Fiend raised five fingers.

“Yes. I’ll take on five missions for you. If you just tell me how you broke my curse, no matter how difficult the missions, I’ll do five of them for you. I won’t ask questions—I’ll just get them done.”

“Hmm…”

Ian thought for a moment before replying.

“That’s a vague condition. What if I requested you, Silence, to tutor or guard me for about two years? How would such period-based jobs be counted?”

“For that kind of assignment, per request…,”

The Sword Fiend hesitated a little before saying, “half a year…?”

Ian frowned.

“No. Half a year?! Silence, are you joking?”

“T-That’s actually a very generous offer! Even the Heavenly Sword Lord or the Emperor has never contracted me for half a year!”

“No. That’s absolutely unacceptable. Not a chance.”

“…”

The Sword Fiend’s face behind the goblin mask seemed to fall a little.

Ian raised one finger.

“One year.”

“…!”

“If you agree to one year, I’ll keep negotiating on that condition.”

“O-one year…!?”

The Sword Fiend held his temple in contemplation.

But before long, his shoulders slumped helplessly.

“… I understand. There’s no way around it.”

“Good. But these aren’t all my conditions.”

“You want more…?”

“It’s nothing extravagant—just details. We can’t make such a contract with words alone, can we?”

The Sword Fiend nodded.

“That’s true. Speak. What do you have in mind?”

“Please tell me the complete list of swords you possess, Silence.”

“Wha…!?”

The Sword Fiend bit his tongue in surprise.

“That can’t be allowed! That’s out of the question! You want to know the full inventory of my swords?”

That was no different from demanding that he reveal all his abilities, countermeasures, and weaknesses.

In truth, it was no different from asking to be allowed to sink his fangs into the Sword Fiend’s throat at any time.

But Ian’s conditions did not end there.

“There’s more.”

“What…?”

“Among your list of swords, I will personally select and hold onto five swords.”

“…!”

“And for each mission you complete, I’ll return one sword to you.”

“… Y-you…!”

The Sword Fiend trembled.

“I know I’m in the position of asking you for a favor, but you are being too brazen! Not only do you want me to reveal all my secret techniques, but you want to take my Demon Swords as collateral!?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Ian did not give an inch.

“You and I, Silence, have only met twice. How can I enter into a contract with no collateral?”

Not even in his previous life had Ian ever met the Sword Fiend directly like this.

Everything he knew about him came from what others had told him.

‘Of course, I know the Sword Fiend is trustworthy.’

He had been the swordsman who most fought on humanity’s side at the start of the Human-Demon War in his previous life, and Ian’s comrades had spoken of the Sword Fiend as someone trustworthy.

At the very least, he knew the Sword Fiend was not one to betray people easily or use them carelessly.

However…

‘I need at least this much binding force.’

He hadn’t personally judged what kind of person the Sword Fiend was.

If by any chance, he was swindled by the Sword Fiend, there would be no way to respond, so he had to prepare at least this much.

“The information I give you, Silence, is also a deadly secret to me. I’m making this deal only because you proposed it, Silence. With anyone else, I wouldn’t even have negotiated.”

“K-Kkrr…”

The Sword Fiend growled.

Ian calmly met the Sword Fiend’s fierce gaze, waiting for his answer.

― Tremble, tremble…

The Sword Fiend then pointed two trembling hands to form the number seven.

“Seventy percent…”

“Hmm?”

“I can reveal up to seventy percent of the Demon Swords I possess…”

“Oh, that’s a bit…”

“But—but!!”

As Ian tilted his head, the Sword Fiend hurriedly continued.

“I’ll take on one more task…”

“Hmm…”

“N-no! Two more! Grr! I can’t do any more than this!”

“Sss…”

Ian crossed his arms and looked down at the Sword Fiend.

A nervous look flashed through the Sword Fiend’s eyes.

After a brief stare down—

“All right.”

“Whew!”

Ian nodded and held out his hand, and the Sword Fiend let out a sigh of relief.

“Since you, Silence, made a big concession, I can’t just keep refusing. I think this is a decent point of agreement.”

“At last!”

The Sword Fiend happily grabbed Ian’s hand.

“Now tell me how you broke my curse.”

“Yes, I’ll explain. But… Could I borrow just one of your Demon Swords?”

“My Demon Sword? For what?”

“I think it’s best if I show you my ability directly.”

“Hmm.”

Though puzzled, the Sword Fiend took a Demon Sword out of his subspace artifact as Ian had requested.

The Ghost Sword Quiennio.

“Since I was going to give it to you anyway, just take this one. It’ll do, right?”

Ian nodded.

“Yes. That’s fine.”

“But be careful.”

As he handed over Quiennio, the Sword Fiend warned Ian.

“You must be extremely careful with this. If you’re even thinking about using something like Sword Spirit Release right now, don’t. This is the most dangerous of all the Demon Swords I have. It will kill the user.”

“What kind of curse does it have?”

“It’s simple. The thick miasma of the underworld instantly destroys the body. Unless you have absolute resistance to sorcery, you’ll die for sure.”

The Ghost Sword Quiennio had the ability to spiritize the physical body.

Essentially, it moved the user’s flesh intact to a parallel underworld dimension.

While in the parallel underworld dimension, the owner could see ghosts, communicate with them, nullify all physical attacks, and even walk through walls at will.

However, the underworld was a realm filled with the miasma of wraiths; instead of air, miasma flowed everywhere.

Therefore, an ordinary human using Quiennio would be unable to return from the parallel underworld.

As soon as they moved into the underworld, their body would be invaded and instantly destroyed by the miasma.

“I see. Then you can’t use this sword yourself, can you, Silence?”

The Sword Fiend shook his head.

“No. I’m an exception. But as you know, I’m not ordinary. My body is immune to miasma. I was born that way.”

“I see.”

Ian accepted Quiennio with a calm expression.

“Then actually, that’s perfect. I can show you my method even more clearly.”

“… What are you thinking?”

There seemed to be a tone of expectation in the Sword Fiend’s voice.

“Please watch from over there.”

Stepping a few paces away from the Sword Fiend, Ian promptly raised Quiennio.

And then—

“Sword Spirit Release. Quiennio.”

He instantly invoked Sword Spirit Release with Quiennio.

“…!”

The Sword Fiend’s eyes widened.

“Are you insane! I just warned you—!”

But Ian had already vanished into a spirit form.

“W-what…!?”

The Sword Fiend clutched his thick hood.

And then his thoughts stopped.

Even for a Grandmaster, a human without a Demon-Infused Constition in the underworld couldn’t come back alive.

Was Ian dead?

Just like that, in such a pointless way?

How was he supposed to tell the Heavenly Sword Lord?

He must know Ian had met him already.

This is crazy!

About a minute passed as the Sword Fiend panicked.

― Shaaak…!

“…!!!”

Ian materialized before the Sword Fiend like a literal ghost.

“W-what?! H-how!?”

The goblin mask hid his face, but the Sword Fiend’s jaw surely dropped as far as it could go.

“Ian! Wait! Let me see!”

The Sword Fiend urgently grabbed Ian’s wrist.

If he had been tainted with miasma, he needed quick emergency care.

But—

“…!”

The moment he felt Ian’s pulse, the Sword Fiend froze.

“… You?”

He looked up at Ian.

“… How are you alive?”

Ian’s body was drenched with miasma.

It was as if sulfuric acid flowed through his veins instead of blood.

And yet—

“I suppose this proves my point.”

Ian looked entirely composed, as if he had just returned from a stroll.

“… You. Don’t tell me…?”

A bright intensity filled the Sword Fiend’s eyes.

Ian nodded slowly.

“Yes. I possess the same constitution as you, Silence.”

A Demon-Infused Constitution (含魔枝體) replicated with the Authority of Projection.

A body with absolute immunity to miasma, demonic energy, curses, and all sorts of malignant magic power.

“The curses of Demon Swords don’t affect me in any way. Just like you, Silence.”

“M-m-m-my god…!”

The Sword Fiend had almost collapsed but barely kept his legs under him.

“A Demon-Infused Constitution…! You—you also have a Demon-Infused Constitution!?”

Was there truly another Demon-Infused Constitution besides himself in this world?

“How—how!?”

The Demon-Infused Constitution was purely an inherited trait.

A long, long time ago.

A great spirit who possessed the Authority of Miasma and a pure elf united and founded the clan of Demon-Infused Constitution, the scarlet-eyed elves.

The Sword Fiend, too, was an elf who had inherited that bloodline.

An elf with mystically brilliant scarlet eyes that shone even in darkness.

But—

“And yet you…”

Ian was not an elf.

On top of that, his eyes were pitch black, utterly unlike the scarlet eyes of the demon clan.

Then how was it possible?

How could he have been born with a Demon-Infused Constitution?

The Sword Fiend pressed in close to Ian and interrogated him.

“How could this be!? Did you have a similar person among your ancestors? Or was it something you gained later?”

“Wait—please, you’re too close. Calm down…”

“No, I can’t calm down. This is really important to me. I’ve…”

The Sword Fiend’s eyes behind the goblin mask were trembling faintly.

“I’ve been searching for someone like you this whole time! For hundreds of years!”

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

Another fanatic added to the list, I guess.

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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