Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 3 - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

THE DEMON SWORD’S PURPOSE

“…eo… Leo…!”

He could hear a voice desperately calling out to him.

“…Ugh… Aah…”

He opened his eyes, lying faceup, only to find Riselia peering down at him, her argent hair shining and tears glistening in her ice-blue eyes.

Aaah. You’re so beautiful, my minion. Despite the dire situation, Leonis found his mind occupied by a rather odd thought.

The Dark Lord tried to move, an effort that only rewarded him with a horrible pain that shot through his side. He’d failed to evade the Void Lord’s attack, which had sent him plummeting to the earth. Blood gushed out of the wound, pooling on the ground.

A human body is so painfully brittle and frail… So utterly incorrigible…

Gasping for air, Leonis mouthed half-formed curses. He could tell the strength was rapidly leaving his body. This was a sensation he’d long forgotten since gaining an undead body.

“Leo, are you all right?! Leo…!”

As Riselia’s voice grew distant, Leonis turned his eyes to his right hand. Even with his consciousness fading, he didn’t let go of Dáinsleif. He couldn’t, for it was the sword she had entrusted to him. It was his greatest memento of her. The Demon Sword’s blade still pulsated with ebon light.

Dáinsleif, a sword created by the Goddess of Rebellion…reacted to the Void Lord.

What did that imply?

Has Roselia been reborn as the Void Lord?

Leonis had gone into magical stasis for a millennium to protect the human vessel that the Goddess of Rebellion was supposed to be reincarnated into one day.

I awakened in this world again to keep my promise to her.

He’d sworn to find her again, even in this strange world so detached from his own. However, if Roselia had truly been reborn as that terrible monster…

For… For what purpose did I…?

The Void Lord drew closer, little by little, and as it closed the distance, the Demon Sword began to react more powerfully.

“Miss…Selia… Run…” Leonis parted his lips as his mind grew murky from the blood loss. If nothing else, he wanted Riselia to survive. It was because of Leonis that she became his minion, after all. “Regroup with Regina and the others… And escape…”

“Leo!” Riselia shouted at him, almost scoldingly.

Kneeling down on the ground, she clutched Leonis’s powerless form.

“What are you…? Ugh…”

A sweet pain rain through Leonis’s neck. Riselia’s small fangs bit into him.

“You already…drank my blood earlier…,” Leonis whispered with a bitter, exhausted smile.

But then he realized… This was different. She wasn’t draining him…

She’s sharing…her blood with me…?

Leonis’s heart thumped hard. He could tell that Riselia’s blood was circulating through his body. His chest grew warm at the pure, gallant act of his minion. But…

It’s…too late…

Leonis sank into the dark…

“…Please?”

Elfiné turned around to look while pressing the pedal as hard as she could. Arle Kirlesio pointed at the Central Garden ahead of them.

“I need to get to the tallest tower. That one over there. Please, take me there.”

Looking ahead at where Arle was pointing, Elfiné saw a skyscraper that was still mostly in one piece.

“And what are you going to do when you get there?” Regina asked as she shot down the Voids farther along the road.

“I will defeat that monster.”

Elfiné and Regina exchanged concerned looks.

“Defeat it…? That’s a Void Lord.”

“I know. I came here to kill it,” Arle declared, holding up her sword in front of Regina.

“So that sword is…,” Sakuya muttered as she slashed a Void that had tried to climb onto the vehicle.

“Yes, it’s a Holy Sword made to destroy that thing.”

Sakuya nodded at Arle.

“Elfiné, I think you should do what she says.”

“Sakuya…”

“We’re heading to the Central Garden either way, and going up there might make it easier to find Selia and the kid.”

“…I guess you’re right.”

“Understood. Arle, I’m putting my faith in your Holy Sword’s power.”

“…I won’t let you down.” Arle nodded firmly with her weapon at the ready.

“The only problem is whether we can get there…,” Regina observed. Voids were appearing nonstop, just like during a Stampede.

Crack… Crack… Crack…!

Suddenly, a massive fissure appeared in front of the group’s vehicle.

“…What?!”

It was a colossal fracture that dwarfed all the ones that had come before it. A statue of a giant with glowing wings erupted from within that crack.

“…This is bad. That angel is—!” Arle shouted.

“Gooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh…!” the giant howled, swinging its rocklike arms down on the vehicle.

Elfiné turned the steering wheel hard to one side, but it wasn’t enough to dodge in time. The Void’s limbs were simply too massive.

“…?!”

It was going to crush them. Elfiné squeezed her eyes shut. But then…

Whiiish!

A black whip coiled around the enormous arm and hurled the Void away in what seemed like a casual gesture.

Boooooooooooooom!

The huge Void went flying off the bridge and into the sea below, creating a gigantic splash of water.

“Wh-what was that?!” Regina exclaimed.

“…I don’t know. But…,” Elfiné replied. This was their chance to break through. Using the Eye of the Witch’s powers to cancel the vehicle’s speed limiter, Elfiné floored the acceleration pedal.

As the vehicle sped off, a small girl remained behind, perched on one of the bridge’s supporting poles. She turned her wrist lightly, retracting the length of her shadow whip to her hand. Her dusk-colored eyes saw the vehicle off and then turned to peer into the water below.

The surface of the sea swelled, and the angel-class Void rose from its depths.

“You look like a fun enough toy to play around with,” the girl mused, running her fingers over her lips with a faint smile. “As a maid loyal to her master, I shall be your opponent.”

The Realm of Shadows’ umbral maid pinched up the hems of her skirt politely in a curtsy.

“…Leonis… Leonis, listen…”

He could hear a voice in the darkness. It was that of a girl. She sounded a bit younger than she should have been. Her slender fingers gently caressed his hair.

“I need you to promise me. In the distant future, if I change and become something else…” She smiled sadly. “I want you to kill me with that Demon Sword.”

“…Wh-what are you saying?! I could never do that!” the boy exclaimed, shaking off her hand.

“Even if I ask you to?”

“Of course! I… I could never…”

The boy shook his head. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. The girl embraced him gently.

“Understood. I’m sorry. Forget I said that. But…” She drew close to whisper in the boy’s ears. “But if that day comes… I want you to remember. My wish, and your purpose. And then… Please find the real me. I’m sure the Demon Sword I gave you will guide you to your fate.”

That…was no dream. It was my memory…

Leonis felt his heart thrum hard as he was yanked back to the waking world. He’d recalled something she’d said to him over one thousand years ago. It was a promise that Leonis had forgotten.

Why did that memory…?

Leonis’s eyes opened.

“…eo… Leo…?!”

“Miss…Selia…”

Riselia’s arms were wrapped around Leonis’s head. Just like when he first awakened in Necrozoa’s mausoleum. He could still feel faint, sweet pangs of pain on his neck, and he could sense mana running through his body. Riselia had shared it with him along with her blood.

I see. Maybe these memories…

Riselia had consumed Leonis’s blood and mana many times. Remnants of those recollections may have mixed in with the blood she took from him. And with it returned to him, the memory had awakened. Was such a thing even possible?

Leonis himself wasn’t entirely certain, but it was the only explanation he could come up with. A promise he’d made with the goddess Roselia in the far past—an oath he’d forgotten.

No… She had sealed the memory away.

Roselia had locked it away so that when the time came, Leonis would remember his purpose. If her reincarnation failed, and she ceased being herself, he would put her down with the very weapon she had gifted to him.

That was the mission she entrusted me with…

Leonis gripped Dáinsleif. Had the Goddess of Rebellion foreseen that the Voids would twist her noble soul?

But if this is my purpose, to what end did I…?

“Leo…” Riselia gently caressed Leonis’s back as he shook.

“I…made a promise,” the Dark Lord breathed.

“Yeah.” Riselia nodded. “What kind of promise?”

“That I would find her, no matter what. And…”

On that day, Leonis had sworn that, even if it was far into the future, he would find her no matter what. He would locate the real her.

…?! Something struck Leonis like a bolt from above. The real…her…? The boy’s eyes went wide.

She’d definitely said, “I want you to find the real me.”

Leonis looked at Dáinsleif’s blade as it pulsed in chorus with the Void Lord. Roselia’s voice, as he remembered it, surfaced in his mind:

“I’m sure the Demon Sword I gave you will guide you to your fate.”

What could that have meant?

Roselia gave me this weapon to kill her.

If that Void Lord was the true vessel for her soul…he never would have been able to draw it against her. That much was clear. She was the Demon Sword’s true master, after all.

I see. So that is what this is all about…

Dáinsleif was beckoning Leonis to strike down this fallen, false god—guiding him to seek out Roselia Ishtaris’s real soul.

The actual task she gave me was…

Leonis grabbed onto Riselia’s arm with one hand and pulled himself to his feet wordlessly.

“Leo…?”

“I’m fine now, Miss Selia—”

Leonis shook his head and faced the approaching Void Lord, the False God of Nothingness that housed the Goddess of Rebellion’s soul.

“Ooooh… Oooh… Oooh, oooooooooh…!” The Holy Woman’s song summoned a small army of humanoid Voids. Cracks ran through the air. Dozens of gray arms crept from them and grasped at Leonis and Riselia.

“While I’m using the Demon Sword, I’ll be essentially defenseless. Can you keep me safe?”

“…Yeah. Leave it to me, Leo.” Riselia nodded with a smile. Even when Voids surrounded them, her eyes didn’t betray a hint of fear.

Such is my worthy minion. A dauntless smile played over Leonis’s lips.

Confidence aside, Riselia would have trouble holding back this many Voids on her own. Leonis held the Demon Sword overhead.

“Loyal armies of the Realm of Death, gather at my beck and call!” He raised his voice in a clear, resounding command. The shadow at his feet expanded, painting the ground around him black.

Rattle… Rattle, rattle, rattle… Rattle, rattle, rattle…

An army of hundreds upon thousands crawled out. This was one of Leonis’s eighth-order anti-army spells—Form Undead Army. Unfortunately, it could only create low-ranking skeletons that were no match for the Voids.

These soldiers are but bone puppets that operate on my mana. However…

If brave warriors’ souls could possess those empty vessels, it would make for a different story. And as the Undead King, Leonis could feel the Crystalia Knights’ spirits still trapped in this ruined city.

These brave warriors’ souls still longed to fight alongside Riselia Crystalia.

Then, as a Dark Lord, I shall grant your wish! Leonis relinquished control over the undead horde. Immediately, the eye sockets of the soldiers lit up with a crimson glow. They began rattling their teeth in distorted laughter, an expression of their boundless joy at the chance to wield swords in battle again.

“Leo, what is this…?” Riselia took in the sight of the chattering skeletons with a confused expression on her face. An ordinary girl would’ve undoubtedly passed out at such a scene.

“The souls of the Crystalia Knights occupy these skeletons. Miss Selia, lead them to battle.”

“Huh? Me?!”

“Please. I need you to hold back the Void hordes for as long as you can.”

“…Understood!” Riselia nodded, her look of surprise becoming one of determination.

Her silvery hair lit up, and her ice-blue eyes turned crimson. Mana enveloped her body, coiling around her to form a beautiful red dress. She stood dignified, the Bloody Sword in hand, the very image of a Vampire Queen. With her Holy Sword held high, she commanded, “Brave Knights of House Crystalia! Follow me!”

The army of skeleton soldiers clicked their teeth in response.

As the battle between undead and Voids began in earnest, a red flower bloomed upon the battlefield.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Riselia slashed her way through, the hem of the True Ancestor’s Dress fluttering as she strode forward. The Bloody Sword gave off an ominous glow, leaving red trails through the air. The blood running across its edge turned to blades that went flying in all directions.

The humanoid Voids were the defiled souls of those who had fought for the Third Assault Garden in the past. But this truth did little to make Riselia falter. Her Holy Sword would destroy their souls, freeing them. That is what drove Riselia forward.

She continued to slash through the Voids, and her skeleton followed the crimson glow of her weapon. It felt as if all the power in her body had been unlocked. Strength seemed to pour from her. The dress Leonis had given her devoured her mana rapidly, but it forcibly drew out her Vampire Queen power in exchange.

It’s consuming more mana than I thought.

If this skirmish was to last much longer, it would surely deplete Riselia. As she cut through one Void after the next, she snuck a glance in Leonis’s direction. He stood above the rubble, his Demon Sword pointing up at the heavens. Over his head, a small black moon was beginning to take shape.

That moon… Riselia furrowed her brow suspiciously. Every time a skeleton fell in battle, a stream of light flitted out of its remains and was swallowed up by that obsidian sphere. Each one that fed the moon made it grow larger.

Are those the Crystalia Knights’ souls…?! Just as Riselia came to that shocking realization…

“Graaaaaaaaaaah!”

A Void lunged at her, brandishing its sharp claws.

“…!”

“Milady!”

A spiky iron ball connected to a chain smashed into the Void’s head. A hulking skeleton wearing heavy armor had hurled the weapon right in the nick of time.

“You mustn’t be careless, princess!” chided Dorug, the grappler.

“Indeed! The power of the Vampire Queen is vast, but you mustn’t grow overconfident.”

“We shall fight alongside you!”

The archmage Nefisgal and the swordsman Amilas stood at Riselia’s side, their weapons in hand.

“Thank you! You saved me there…”

Without a moment to lose, Riselia rejoined the fight, her crimson dress dancing in the wind. Her Bloody Sword raged with mana, sweeping through Voids.

Six years ago, I couldn’t protect anything.

Riselia had only been able to cower and pray for salvation. Now, she had the power to protect herself and others. The Holy Sword the planet had given to her, and the might of the Vampire Queen…

The silver-haired girl’s overflowing mana left trails of red as it cut through the air. The Voids gathered around her, as if drawn to that glow.

“…Aaaaaaaaaaah!” Riselia moved to force her way out of this encirclement. But just then…

Boom, boom, boom!

Flashes of light burst forth like shooting stars, piercing through the Voids’ heads with pinpoint accuracy.

“…?!” Riselia turned around with a start, only to find…

Four figures stood on the rooftop of a ruined skyscraper. Regina had her Drag Striker readied and was sniping the Voids from afar with deadly aim. She didn’t use the more powerful Drag Blast for fear of hitting Riselia.

“I can’t really see anything in that huge mess. What are all those skeletons?!” Regina exclaimed.

“That’s probably the power of Leo’s Holy Sword…,” Elfiné answered while holding a hand up to her temple.

Three Eye of the Witch orbs floated around her. A stream of luminous numbers ran across them.

Even a skilled sharpshooter like Regina couldn’t accurately hit targets at such a great distance using only the naked eye. Elfiné’s Holy Sword calculated the trajectory of Regina’s shots to support her.

“How’s it going on your end?”

“Just a little longer…,” Arle Kirlesio replied.

With one of the Arc Seven—the Demon Smiting Sword, Crozax—held in her hands, she filled the blade with mana.

“They’re climbing up, Elfiné,” Sakuya observed, swinging Raikirimaru to cut down a force of Voids that tried to scale the walls.

Despite her efforts, there were too many of them. Regina moved from supporting Riselia to assisting Sakuya in staving off the Void onslaught. Raikirimaru’s blade crackled with electricity as it flashed through the air, decapitating the monsters in fast succession.

With horrifying howls and the sound of clashing metal echoing around her, Arle closed her eyes. Crozax was a hero’s weapon, entrusted to her to slay the goddess. The fierce sheen of the blade whited out the air around the half-elf.

“…Is that really a Holy Sword?!” Regina exclaimed, shielding her eyes.

“Roselia Ishtaris, the Goddess of Rebellion! I will strike you down!”

Unleashing all the mana in her body, Arle loosed Crozax’s power!

Back on the battlefield, as skeletons clashed with distorted monsters, Leonis faced the Void Lord floating above him. The Holy Woman, Tearis Resurrectia, now contained Roselia’s soul.

However, that spirit both was and wasn’t the Goddess of Rebellion. With his Demon Sword held aloft, Leonis looked up to the sky. A black moon glinted ominously above. It was a seventh-order spell of the Realm of Death—Suray Gira, the Blue Moon of the Dead. The ritual magic gathered wandering souls and converted them to mana.

The obsidian moon sucked up the Crystalia Knights’ souls and swelled up to three times its size.

“Dead Ones, Let Your Mana Become My Own, as You Are Set Free From the Shackles That Bind Your Souls.” At Leonis’s command, the moon dispersed into particles of mana that gathered in the Demon Sword’s blade.

Thou Art the Sword to Save the World, Gifted by the Heavens.

Thou Art the Sword to Ruin the World, Made to Rebel Against the Heavens.

A Holy Sword, Sanctified by the Gods.

A Demon Sword, Blessed by the Goddess.

Dáinsleif let out a dark glow, its blade swirling with massive amounts of mana. But at the same time…

“Goooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Many magic circles formed above the Void Lord. It was the same spell that had reduced the Central Garden to burning scrap in mere moments, the Smiting of the Heavenly Stars.

Again?! Now?!

Because he’d had to concentrate on controlling the Demon Sword’s power, Leonis was utterly defenseless. He couldn’t guard himself or chant a protective spell like last time.

Which one of us will finish first…?!

Suddenly, a flash of light fired from afar cleaved into the Void Lord’s mana furnace.

What?! Leonis’s eyes widened in shock.

A torrent of intense light blew away the spell that was on the verge of being completed, destroying the magic circles that had formed in the sky.

That attack just now… Was that Regina’s Drag Blast? Or is this Shary’s doing?

Either way, this was Leonis’s chance. He focused back on Dáinsleif. The Void Lord let out a rumbling howl. The attack it had suffered was evidently quite substantial, though still not enough to slay the Holy Woman.

“Perish, Tearis Resurrectia of the Six Heroes, vessel to a false god…!”

Leonis swung Dáinsleif down, putting all the mana he had into the attack.

Whoooosh!

The overflowing, raging black light consumed the mana furnace, shattering it to pieces…and with this, the gigantic Void Lord began to crumble, collapsing in on itself like an old castle.