Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 11 - Chapter 1.1

CHAPTER 1

THE UNDEAD KING

“With the name of my master, Roselia Ishtaris, I undo my seal.”

An artificial voice echoed through the colorless wasteland of the Realm of Shadows. The sphere of light cracked open, and from within emerged a Valkyrie with metallic wings, her hair the color of the azure sky.

“Wh… What…?!”

One of the Dark Lords who governed the world a thousand years ago—the Deus Machina, Schwertleite Terminate.

So that’s the Deus Machina’s awakened form…?

Leonis watched her with wide eyes, standing atop a hill lousy with undead. Even he, one of her fellow Dark Lords, never saw the Deus Machina assume this form before. He did hear that she had taken this form once, when she fought Divine Dragon Gisark, the Divine Dragon of the Six Heroes…

But I didn’t think she’d look like this.

…He recalled asking Roselia about this at one point.

“—Just who is the Deus Machina?”

Despite boasting power to match the other Dark Lords, Schwertleite lacked the ambition the Dragon Lord or the Lord of Rage boasted, nor did she conduct herself with the same reckless abandon as the Lord of the Seas or the Lord of Beasts. She never attended any of the Dark Lords’ Armies meetings, and the only Dark Lord she was at all similar to was the Devil of the Underworld—and even in that, it was in terms of how peculiar and unlike the others she was.

“The Deus Machina came from a distant star… It’s the weapon of an ancient people.”

“…The Deus Machina is a weapon?”

“Yes. An ancient weapon, predating the time when the divine races arrived at this planet. It is the last of seven Valkyries that fought at the edge of space in the war against the ■■■■. The last, and the strongest unit…”

“…?”

“Oh, pay what I just said no mind. It’s an old story from a distant, distant world…,” Roselia whispered, looking up at the sun rising over the altar.

“…I don’t quite understand. You call it a weapon, but does it have a will of its own?”

“Even I can’t tell if she has a will of her own. But…”

A day may come eventually when she recalls her mission…

At the time, I just accepted her words at face value.

But looking at her awakened form now, he did sense that her presence seemed somehow foreign to this world.

…I suppose the reason I can’t feel her power is because of her nature as a weapon.

Levitating in midair, the Deus Machina looked down upon the undead Leonis had summoned.

“Enemy force acknowledged. Commencing elimination of threat,” Schwertleite said with an artificial voice, holding up one of the light blades in her hand.

The colorless Realm of Shadows was enveloped in a flash of light.

“Leo…!”

“…Miss Selia, get down!” Leonis shouted, deploying a spell shield to protect Riselia behind him.

Schwertleite effortlessly swung down the light blade.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr!

A large, luminous slash gouged into the Realm of Shadows, leveling an entire hill. Thousands of his undead troops went flying and plummeted into the fissures in the ground.

…Impossible! She defeated a fourth of my army with just one attack!

Her weapon’s attributes were very similar to the Holy Sword Chatres used in the Holy Sword Dance Festival, the Ragna Nova. Except, of course, for the fact its strength was orders of magnitude greater.

The Deus Machina’s orb form was only its self-defense mode. But this was the true power of one marked as a Dark Lord.

Maybe dragging her into the Realm of Shadows was a bad play, after all…

Within the Realm of Shadows, Leonis was able to summon his undead armies without needing to consume any mana, making this his trump card at this moment when his mana was greatly depleted. But this also made for a demerit. Any undead destroyed within the Realm of Shadows have their souls destroyed, as they normally would when not bound to such a place.

In the past, replenishing those lost forces wouldn’t be that difficult, but producing new undead in the modern era wasn’t easy. If the battle ended up becoming one of attrition, he’d end up taking serious losses.

“Leo…” Riselia got to her feet behind him, the Bloody Sword in hand.

The raging wind blew violently through her argent locks.

“Are you all right, Miss Selia?”

“Yes. Thank you for protecting me.” Riselia stepped forward, standing beside Leonis, and looked up at Schwertleite. The Deus Machina’s body seemed to be outputting some kind of heat, because there was a haze surrounding her.

“Who is this girl…?”

“The true form of that orb of light, it seems.”

“…So we, um… We woke her up.”

“So it would seem…” Leonis smiled sarcastically.

“Leo.” Riselia gripped his hand. “Let’s run at the count of three.”

“No… I’d like to run if I could, but…”

The Goddess Boundary Field Schwertleite deployed earlier was still outside the Realm of Shadows, cutting the area off from the outside world. The boundary field was a unique spell Roselia developed for occasions when Dark Lords fought one another, making it impossible to leave until the duel was decided.

“…So we can’t run?”

“I’m afraid not.” Leonis nodded apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

Normally, anyone who isn’t one of the Dark Lords participating in the duel would be able to enter and leave the bounded field freely, but in Riselia’s case, she was Leonis’s minion, making her part of a Dark Lord’s arsenal.

“Miss Selia, I need you to get as far away from the battle as possible. Once one of us loses, the barrier should be lifted.”

“Leo—” Riselia tightened her grip on Leonis’s fingers. “I’ll fight with you. I’m your minion after all.”

“No. You’ve seen her power…”

“Right. And if you were your normal self, you’d beat her without breaking a sweat.”

“…”

“So I’ll be your decoy.” Riselia said, then let go of his hand and charged forward.

“Miss Selia!”

“Don’t worry. I don’t think she can attack me.”

“Well…”

She was right. It did look like the light orb was intentionally trying to avoid attacking Riselia.

“I don’t know why, but she kept calling me master. So—”

But then, the shadow at his feet warped, taking the form of a Black Wolf. “Lord Magnus. The time for talk is over, it seems.”

“…!”

A bright flash shined over the ground. Schwertleite’s light blade once again concentrated a vast amount of mana.

“Very well, Miss Selia. I leave you to guard my back.” Leonis gripped the Staff of Sealed Sins and tapped it against the ground. “However, if it becomes dangerous, I want you to flee at once. I’ll use the Seal of Servitude to order you to do so if need be.”

“A-all right!”

Leonis hopped onto Blackas’s back, held the staff overhead, and exclaimed: “Undead armies, all forces, charge!”

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Demon Wind Maelstrom!”

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Savage Lightning Slash!”

Cling….!

Countless slashes glinted in the darkness. Two fencers faced off, their hair the same color, their facial features mirroring each other—the movements of their blades, too, reflected like clear water.

It was the secret fencing style passed down in the Sakura Orchid royal house for generations, long before Holy Swords manifested in this world.

Our skill with the blade is equal. But the difference in our physical abilities is too great…

Sakuya perceived the slashes her opponent unleashed with gusts of demonic wind and dodged them at the last second. Her left eye shined amber, throbbing painfully.

It was the Mystic Eye of Time, granted to her by the Dark Lord. It allowed her to peer at possible futures that could transpire mere seconds in advance. Without the power of this Mystic Eye, she would not have been able to perceive the storm-like slashes her sister unleashed.

“…!”

She could predict the wind blade piercing her heart, severing her head, carving up her flesh. Peering at the branching possibilities of the future, Sakuya made split-second decisions allowing her to grasp the outcomes where she avoided death.

And as their skirmish continued, she was able to create a momentary opening to slash at her opponent.

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Lightning Flash!”

Raikirimaru swung through the air—however.

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Wind God!”

Setsura’s blade, embroiled in demonic wind, caught and deflected Sakuya’s blade.

“…Setsura…!”

The Holy Swords locked blades, spraying sparks into the air. Standing close enough to hear each other’s breathing, Sakuya looked right into her older sister’s eyes. Crimson, demonic eyes that glinted ominously in the dark…

There were so many questions that she wanted to—that she needed to ask.

Why was her sister, who died nine years ago, still alive? Why did she summon a Void Lord to the Seventh Assault Garden?

But words would no longer reach her. This duel of swords, fought with all her might, was her only way of asking her anything anymore.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Breathing out loudly, Sakuya braced her feet against the ground and strode forward, unleashing a lightning-fast flurry of slashes. The floor she stomped on crackled with lightning. The source of Raikirimaru’s power was one of electromagnetic acceleration. As she raced along the surface, and with every slash she unleashed, her blade grew faster and sharper.

…She was being anxious and impatient. She could tell. But if she didn’t press the attack here, her defeat would be all but promised. Using the Mystic Eye rapidly strained her stamina and mind. Processing the endlessly branching possibilities of the future was driving her brain to its limits.

I can only last another minute before I can’t take it anymore…

A flurry of slashes rained down on Setsura, but her older sister’s blade deflected every single one. Sakuya couldn’t use her trump card, the power of her Demon Sword, Yamichidori. That was a power reserved for cutting down the Voids. It boasted overwhelming power, but its speed was inferior to Raikirimaru’s, and against a superior fencer, that difference was fatally large.

“Is this the extent of your sword skill…?”

“…Kuh!”

Their white Sakura Orchid garbs flapped in the wind. As Sakuya was on the verge of reaching her limit, Setsura didn’t seem the slightest bit fatigued. It was like fighting the wind itself.

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Thundering Lightning Slash!”

With the flash of a blade, Sakuya slashed with all her might. Her blade, enveloped in lightning, severed Setsura’s arm—only for her sister’s visage to disperse like fog.

“…A wind afterimage… Her Holy Sword’s power!”

The wind billowed, and the white-clad fencer revealed herself within the dark.

“…!”

“Is that all you’re capable of…?”

Howling, demonic wind converged in a whirl around Setsura’s Holy Sword, held aloft.

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Cursed Maelstrom Slash.”

Setsura delivered her slashes like a raging storm. Sakuya’s uniform became tattered as countless blades of wind tore into it.

“Kuh… Uuu…!”

She predicted the trajectory of the blade with her Mystic Eye, barely avoiding the sword bearing down on her. However—

“Kah… Ngh!”

She felt a sharp kick sink into her gut.

“Guh…!”

Slammed against the corridor’s wall, Sakuya tumbled down to the floor.

“Haa, aah, aaaah…” She hurriedly got to her feet and tried to recover her stance.

“Stop me if you can—Sakuya.” Setsura gripped her wind-controlling katana, holding it aloft.

The swirling wind kicked up her hair, making her blue locks dance like billowing flames. It was like the images of a raging god passed down in the Sakura Orchid.

…!

Her Mystic Eye’s field of vision was full of countless possible deaths.

I can’t see one where I survive…

And so Sakuya decided to steel herself and gripped Raikirimaru’s hilt. She sealed the power of her Mystic Eye and looked upon her sister with her own two eyes.

And then—

“Haaaaaaaaaaa!”

She plunged into the brewing storm of swords of her own will.

The ground quaked. The disorderly army of undead that Leonis summoned marched through the wasteland of the Realm of Shadows.

Skeleton generals, shadow demons, soul generals, elder liches, death clouds, evil elementals, hell lords, greater shadows, skull colossi, a skull dragon—

The ranks of the undead rolled on like a wave, with Leonis racing on the back of a black wolf above them.

“Grant my minions the blessings of darkness—seventh-order spell, Suray Gira!” Leonis chanted and held up the Staff of Sealed Sins overhead. A moon made of mana that empowered the undead shined malevolently over his unliving army. At the same time, the Deus Machina standing on the surface spread her metallic wings. An intense mana glow emanated from the tips of her metallic, sword-shaped wings.

“…Here she comes, Blackas.”

“Yes—”

“Ragva Leite!” The Deus Machina—Schwertleite silently said.

Bwoosh, bwoosh, bwoooosh!

Her deployed wings unleashed spears of light that rained down on the ground. They formed pillars of light that rose up to the heavens, vaporizing the undead soldiers.

“…My precious Reaper knights…!” Leonis grit his teeth bitterly.

But the undead army’s march continued. Skeleton soldiers rose from the burned soil, filling the wasteland.

“Grand armies of the undead, follow me!” Leonis, still seated on Blackas’s back, swung the Staff of Sealed Sins like a baton.

The undead marching over the ground instantly fell apart, reassembled, and formed a gigantic hand that was large enough to reach the sky. Death Festa—the unique spell of the Undead King, Leonis Death Magnus. The soil full of bones swelled up and surged, manifesting hell within the Realm of Shadows.

“L-Leo… Whaa?!”

Leonis heard a scream far behind him. Riselia was swallowed up by the waves of bones, which were jostling her every which way.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you!” Leonis told her.

“I—I find that a little hard to believe…!”

“Just follow me, Miss Selia!”

Blackas kicked against the waves of skeleton soldiers, racing upward. He raced up the bone arm extending toward Schwertleite. Standing in midair, Schwertleite swung her blade down diagonally, and a blinding light flashed. It split the gigantic bone hand in half, making it sink to the ground in a rumble.

“Blackas, jump away!” Leonis shouted.

Blackas howled and hopped away from the bone arm falling apart, landing on another arm that formed. The countless bodies reformed themselves, creating a third arm, then a fourth, a fifth, a sixth—

Surging and undulating, the arms reached out for Schwertleite, who was floating in midair.

“Ragva Leite.”

The Deus Machina’s wings once again generated a mana glow.

“I’m not letting you do that! Vira Zuo!” Leonis fired an eighth-order gravity spell, amplified by the power of his staff. The gravity field the spell produced distorted the space around the Deus Machina, making its Ragva Leite spell veer slightly off course. “Fall, Deus Machina!”

Leonis swung his staff again. The massive skeletal arms burst from the ground, extending like whips, before bearing down on her.

Schwertleite vanished from sight—using the mana billowing from her wings like a jet, she propelled herself perpendicularly. Spinning in midair, she avoided the heavy attack launched at her, and used her light blade to crush the bony fists.

“Fool, you’re a bird in a cage!”

Leonis held his staff aloft, blocking the Deus Machina’s path with barrier walls that gradually cornered her. Schwertleite swung her light blade in an attempt to cut through the walls—

“I’m not letting you run. Attack at once!” Leonis gave the order.

The undead formed a wall of bones, while the undead artillery unit chanted spells in perfect unison. They unleashed a barrage of the third-order spell, Farga. Over two thousand instances of this powerful, explosive spell were launched at once. And as they did…

“Take this. Tenth-order spell—Arzam!” Leonis loaded as much mana she could into his strongest explosive spell.

Booooom!

Destructive waves of heat raged within the gigantic skeletal birdcage.

“Keh-heh-heh… Even a Dark Lord couldn’t get away from this unscathed… What?!” Leonis’s evil smile froze over.

The Deus Machina floated within the raging flames, unaffected. A shining, spherical force field manifested around her wings.

“An anti-magic field… A barrier that fully negates sorcery.” Leonis grit his teeth. “So she’s completely immune to spells.”

As a magical weapon, Schwertleite was the worst possible match for Leonis, who fought using sorcery. In that regard, she was even more troublesome than Veira was.

Schwertleite swung his light blade. The massive blade swept through the sky, cutting down the walls of bone that boxed in the Deus Machina.

“…Damn it. My magical artillery unit!”

“Lord Magnus, here she comes…!”

“…?!”

Something streaked through the sky in a diagonal trajectory—Schwertleite was charging right at Leonis, her light blade shining.

“…Great Death Wall!” Leonis chanted.

The bones at his feet swirled up, reforming to create a wall before Leonis. Schwertleite, however, paid it no heed, and continued her charge at Leonis.

“What?!”

The Deus Machina effortlessly shattered the barrier of bones and swung her blade down—but then.

“Haaaaaaaaaa!”

Countless blades of blood attacked Schwertleite.

“Leo!”

“Miss Selia?!”

Turning around, he saw Riselia, a pair of mana wings at her back, kicking against the wall of bones to race toward him. And in that momentary pause, Blackas slipped into the shadows and emerged at her side.

“Leo, are you all right?!”

“You saved me, Miss Selia,” Leonis said, running parallel to Riselia and looking up.

Schwertleite looked down on Riselia without moving.

She really won’t attack Riselia…

Leonis pulled a few swords out of thin air. “If spells won’t work, how about this?”

These were anti-Dark-Lord weapons forged from fragments of one of the Arc Seven, the Evil-Rending Sword, Zolgstar Mezekis. The swords floated in midair and began spinning rapidly, and then bolted toward Schwertleite, who swung her light blade, deflecting them.

“Not yet!”

Sitting atop Blackas’s back, Leonis swung his staff—the deflected Arc Seven swords spung in midair and once again went flying toward their target. And this time, they hit their mark.

Boom, boom, boooom!

Zolgstar Mezekis penetrated the anti-magic shield, exploding one after another. The swords were charged with Leonis’s explosive spells.

I wouldn’t assume that’s enough to defeat her…

But surely even she wouldn’t get away from this unscathed. But then—

“Unidentified weapon detected.” An artificial voice emerged from the flames.

“What?!”

Blowing away the flames, Schwertleite emerged, looking mostly unharmed. She held up her light blade, forming countless orbs of light around her.

“Commencing analysis.”

Unknown sorcery text started revolving around the orbs.

…What? This looks just like—

This was very similar to something else Leonis knew—Elfiné’s Holy Sword, the Eye of the Witch.

“Analysis complete—commencing duplication.”

Schwertleite spread out her arms, and in the next moment, the light orbs changed their shapes into swords. The dark gray sky was full of countless Zolgstar Mezekis blades.

“She duplicated an Arc Seven!? That can’t be possible!”

Schwertleite swung down her hand, firing the Arc Seven copies at Leonis.

“…?!”

Trtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtr—

The blades, loaded with the power to smite Dark Lords, gouged through the wall of bones with all the intensity of a storm.

“Ooooh!” Blackas roared, throwing himself in the swords’ path.

The many blades tore into his body, and he tumbled down to the ground.

“Blackas!” Leonis reached out for him, but the swords kept rushing toward him.

“…Leo!” Riselia pulled Leonis into her arms at the last second.

“Miss Seli—”

“Hang on tight, I’m not very good at flying yet!”

With Leonis in her arms, Riselia nose-dived in a tailspin, skimming over the ground as she flew past. The raining swords stabbed into the skeleton soldiers before exploding. Schwertleite didn’t press the attack—she really was avoiding launching any direct attacks on Riselia.

Riselia touched down, scattering a force of skeleton soldiers, the impact of her landing sending the crushed bones of the skeletons flying in all directions.

“Ow… Leo, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fi…”

But before he could finish saying “fine,” Schwertleite, who descended to the ground, swung down her light blade.

“…I’m not letting you do that!” Riselia reflexively drew her Holy Sword—which made Schwertleite pause, holding her light blade overhead without moving.

Her cold, glowing eyes were wide open, peering at Riselia.

“…”

But after that pause…

“…Master.” Schwertleite’s lips moved, speaking with an artificial voice. “My…thousand-year-old mission…”

“Wh-what?” Noticing she was acting strange, Riselia looked at her, confused.

“Miss Selia, get away from her…” Leonis tugged on her sleeve, urging her to move back.

But then…

Crack, crack, crack…!

A fissure streaked through the gray sky.

“…What?”

Noticing something was wrong, Leonis looked up. And at that exact moment—

Riiii…!

The skies of the Realm of Shadows tore open.

…How can this be happening?! This is my Realm of Shadows! Leonis was aghast.

And then…

Whoosh, whoosh, whoooooosh!

…countless flashes of light rained down, aiming at Schwertleite below them.

The blades of demonic wind peppered Sakuya’s body. But in the midst of the raging storm, Sakuya sprung forward, drawing on Setsura. Her sister’s crimson eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Haaaaa!”

She would never reach her older sister if she didn’t put her life on the line.

“Mikagami style, Ultimate Blade Technique—Lightning Flash!”

Slipping through countless possible branching deaths, the tip of Sakuya’s blade gouged into Setsura’s chest…!

“…Huh?!” That exclamation of surprise came from Sakuya’s lips. “Setsura…?”

She whispered in shock, her blade thrust into her older sister’s chest. She was aiming to sever her dominant hand—she was resolved to do that much. But it almost seemed like Setsura let Sakuya stab her…

“U-uuu…” A breath of anguish escaped Setsura’s pink lips. Her demonic red irises turned an indigo blue—the same color as Sakuya’s. And then…she wrapped her arms around Sakuya’s neck, like she was hugging her. This pushed Raikirimaru’s blade deeper into her heart.

“Saku…ya…”

“Setsura…?”

The name left Setsura’s lips, her voice no longer as cold as it was before. It was the kind voice Sakuya knew her sister had.

“The seal…on my heart… Before the vampiric power…resurrects me…” Setsura drew closer to her Sakuya’s body, whispering into her ear. “Listen to me, Sakuya.”

“…?”

“Very soon, the reckoning of emptiness will descend on your world.”

“You mean the Voids that destroyed the Sakura Orchid…?” Sakuya spoke, still gripping her katana’s handle. “What are you talking about, Setsura…?”

“…That swordsman wasn’t the one…who destroyed the Sakura Orchid…”

“…Eh?”

“…He was simply called over…as a result…”

Setsura’s hold on Sakuya tightened.

“The one who destroyed the Sakura Orchid nine years ago was…”

But then, burning pain ran through Sakuya’s neck.

“…Ah!”

Setsura bit into Sakuya’s neck, thrusting her fangs into it. The blood running down her neck stained her uniform in crimson. The burning pain soon turned to sweet throbbing, and Sakuya felt her body go limp. Raikirimaru slipped from her grip, vanishing into particles of light, and Sakuya crumbled to the floor.

“Setsu…ra…?”

Sakuya looked up, seeing her sister glaring down at her with crimson eyes. The wound Raikirimaru inflicted to her chest was rapidly healing. Setsura turned her back to Sakuya with a flap of her white garb.

“Setsura… Wait…”

Through a foggy mind and fading consciousness, Sakuya desperately reached out for her sister.