Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 6 - Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

HOLY SWORD AWAKENING

“—You’ve changed quite a bit since I last saw you, master.”

A disfigured monster who had once been hailed as one of humanity’s greatest champions had appeared from the tear in reality. His lower half was an amalgamation of gods, and all that remained of his original body was his handsome face.

“Looks like the eye I crushed is still missing.”

Surely he could have regenerated it with ease. There must have been a reason he didn’t. Leonis had no way of knowing what it was, though.

“Grohhhh… Grohhhhhhhhhhhh…!”

This ruler of the emptiness seemingly noticed Leonis, who was standing on a rooftop.

“Huh…? He recognizes me?”

The Archsage Arakael Degradios had identified Leonis, despite losing his mind to the nothingness. Perhaps Shardark still recalled his old nemesis, too.

—No. That doesn’t appear to be the case.

The defunct hero’s singular eyeball lacked awareness. It only acknowledged the massive presence of the Undead King as a threat and reacted instinctively.

A chance meeting between the Undead King and the Swordmaster of the Six Heroes. Had someone orchestrated this?

As far as Leonis could tell, no such person was around.

“Maybe it’s fate that has led to our reunion, master.” Leonis smirked under his mask as he aimed the Staff of Sealed Sins at the hulking Void Lord. “The time has come for me to take revenge. For the destruction of Necrozoa. For my many retainers, who died at your hand. For a thousand-year-old grudge!”

Leonis chanted his greatest destruction spell—the Dark Burst Flare, Arzam.

Booooooooooom!

The air trembled. An aura of darkness ruptured, consuming the surrounding buildings.

“Hmph. Perhaps it was too strong a wake-up call—what?!”

A flickering, radiant barrier surrounded Shardark, rendering even a destruction spell of the highest order completely useless. There wasn’t so much as a speck of soot on him.

“…Holy element sorcery?!” Leonis gaped.

So that’s how he stopped my earlier attacks…

“This is odd,” Blackas growled. “I thought the Swordmaster never used any magic.”

Leonis nodded. “You’re right. He didn’t. He always relied on his sword arm and nothing else.”

“Has he consumed some sorcery powers…?”

The Six Heroes were ultimate life-forms, capable of eternal evolution and growth. Much like how the Archsage had merged with the immortal Holy Tree, Shardark must have claimed some servant of the gods capable of wielding powerful magic.

“Very well, then. I need only continue to hammer you with spells until your mana runs out!” Leonis declared with a sneer.

“Lord Magnus, I don’t think that’s a gamble you should take,” Blackas warned him.

“How so?”

“Have you forgotten that your body is human now?”

“…”

His trusted companion’s admonition made Leonis hesitate. Indeed, Leonis had failed his reincarnation and was now in the body he’d possessed as a young hero, meaning his mana capacity was far less than his reign as the Undead King.

Had Leonis been at his full strength, his spell would’ve pierced Shardark’s barrier regardless of its resistance to dark sorcery.

“I can’t believe that I, of all people, am falling short in magic…,” Leonis lamented.

“—Look out!” Blackas cried.

Shardark’s eight arms shone, each of them manifesting a weapon.

“Four swords, a spear, a bow, a scythe, and a shield—all of them legend-class armaments.”

The spear crackled with lightning, and one of the swords was robed in wind. They had undoubtedly belonged to the Sakura Orchid deities Raijinki and Fuujinki.

“Grohhhhhhhhhhhh!” Shardark howled, and he threw the spear.

“Blackas!” Leonis grabbed on to the black wolf’s mane.

Kzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

The electrified polearm pierced the building Leonis and Blackas had been standing on, carving a giant hole through it. The structure began to fall apart like a landslide.

“He just threw a legend-class weapon like it was nothing…!” Leonis observed.

“Don’t talk, Lord Magnus, lest you bite your tongue—” Blackas said, hopping between the falling bits of rubble like stepping-stones.

“Farga!” Leonis fired a fourth-order destruction spell above him, destroying nearby debris to form a smokescreen.

Whooosh!

A massive object sped right past him.

“What?!”

Booooooooom…!

That heavy object struck the ground, producing a tremendous explosion.

…The reckless fool just threw the Aegis—a hero-class shield—at me!

The Six Heroes were a gathering of monsters, but he really stood head and shoulders above them.

Calling this monster the Swordmaster seems entirely inappropriate…!

Shardark had been known for his blade skills, but he was a master of all weapons.

Blackas landed on the ground and continued running, avoiding pieces of the collapsing building all the while. If they were to stop even once, one of the enemy’s weapons would skewer them.

And no doubt those aren’t the only armaments he’s got…

“Lord Magnus, even I can’t keep running forever…!” Blackas stated.

“—I know.” Leonis scowled beneath his mask.

A siren blared through the urban area. All citizens had evacuated underground when Raijinki appeared in the sky, but the problem was Excalibur Academy. If they were to send out a force of Holy Swordsmen, they would take overwhelming losses.

Dáinsleif might be capable of slaying him in one blow, but…

It was Leonis’s trump card, but it was not without flaw. Drawing the Demon Sword would drain Leonis’s mana in seconds, so he had to make sure he used it only when he was confident it would end the fight.

The problem was that his opponent was Shardark.

…He’s not like that potted plant, Arakael.

The Void Lord hurled another weapon at Leonis, this time an ax. Its spinning blade mowed down the buildings and then stuck into the ground.

Boooooooooom!

It must have connected with a mana supply line hidden below the ground because there was a blinding explosion.

…The way this is going, I have no other choice. I have to use it.

Leonis removed his Dark Lord’s mask and overcoat, revealing his academy uniform. This wasn’t an opponent he could beat while concealing his mana.

“Do you recognize my face, master?” he shouted toward the sky.

He’d hoped Shardark might react, but the monster’s face didn’t so much as flinch.

“…Tch, he’s completely corrupted. At least Arakael recognized me…”

Leonis reached for the handle of the Staff of Sealed Sins. Wielding the Demon Sword would severely damage the Seventh Assault Garden, but there was no other option.

Letting go of Blackas’s mane, Leonis landed on the ground.

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.

Leonis slowly made to draw the Demon Sword—

“…What?!”

—but something kept him from doing so.

“What’s wrong, Lord Magnus…?!” Blackas asked him, alarmed.

“Wh-why?! I can’t…draw Dáinsleif!”

Leonis pulled as hard as he could, but the Demon Sword simply wouldn’t come free of its scabbard.

“—It’s attacking again, Lord Magnus!”

A flaming sword came cutting through the air, hurtling toward him!

“Hahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

With a flash of lightning, Sakuya swung Raikirimaru.

Clangggggg!

Setsura blocked the blindingly swift diagonal slash with her own katana.

“Don’t bother,” she told Sakuya. “You cannot beat me.”

“We’ll see about that…!”

Sakuya took another step forward, attacking again. Sparks flew as their blades met.

“Impudent…!” Setsura snarled.

Her Holy Sword shone, and a demonic wind enveloped its blade.

…I see it. Over there!

Sakuya focused on the mystic eye of time. Amber light shone from it, and the world suddenly branched off. Her nerves’ transmission speed accelerated rapidly, stretching a moment out into infinity. As everything moved in slow motion, a massive amount of information coursed into the young woman’s mind—future possibilities unfurled before her.

Four led to certain death, but there was one outcome where she survived. Within a world where one second became millions, Sakuya grasped that sole potentiality.

As the guards of their weapons rubbed against one another, Sakuya lowered herself and released her katana.

“What?!” Setsura exclaimed in clear disbelief.

An outburst of demonic wind cut through the air, but Sakuya had evaded it entirely. She dove to Setsura’s flank and extended a hand—

“Come, Raikirimaru!” she called to her Holy Sword, which was still in mid-fall.

A magnetic charge ran through her fingers, drawing the weapon back into her grip. Sakuya took a step forward and struck.

“…!”

The tip of her blade caught Setsura’s cheek. Sakuya took another step and cut diagonally.

…!

Again, Sakuya saw it. Two possible deaths this time. Setsura vanished, leaving an afterimage. With a sound like a hurricane, she appeared at Sakuya’s back. Had the younger sister not moved her body slightly aside, her throat would have been pierced through. Sakuya kicked off the ground to jump back as Setsura swung her Holy Sword down, firing a sharp blast of air.

Kuh…!

Ignoring the searing pangs in her left eye, Sakuya called upon its power again. By slightly twisting her body, she evaded seven potential demises.

…I can’t control this eye properly.

Using it frequently was almost too much for her mind to bear. Sakuya decided she had to limit the use of the mystic eye to critical moments.

Unfortunately, every arc of Setsura’s katana was certain death.

“—How are you still alive?” the older sister demanded.

“…I should be the one asking that question,” replied the younger.

“With your sword skills, I should have landed a fatal blow on you three times already, yet you keep finding ways to cling to life,” Setsura declared, evidently perplexed. “Aren’t you going to use your Demon Sword?”

“I’m saving it for when I need it,” Sakuya lied.

Yamichidori’s power was no good here. She needed Raikirimaru, with its power of acceleration, to use this mystic eye to its fullest extent. Even if she could predict the future, it wouldn’t be of any help if she didn’t have the speed to react. She covered her throbbing left eye with a hand. She could use it only one more time before reaching her limit.

“You underestimate me,” Setsura stated coldly, raising her katana overhead.

Its blade shone bright, calling a howling storm around it.

“Mikagami-style swordsmanship—Demonic Gale Slash!”

Setsura vanished—and the next moment, the blade was right before Sakuya’s eyes.

Boooooooom!

The flaming sword tore into the ground, producing a powerful explosion. Leonis immediately called up a barrier spell, defending himself from the raging flames.

“…This is bad,” he hissed, the Staff of Sealed Sins tight in his hand.

Why couldn’t he draw out Dáinsleif?

His gaze then fell to the countless weapons thrust into the ground. An alarming possibility occurred to him.

…It can’t be!

If Shardark devoured gods and took their weapons…

“…You! Don’t tell me you devoured a Dark Lord?!” Leonis exclaimed at the enemy above.

If Shardark had, it only made sense that Leonis couldn’t wield Dáinsleif against him. Same as how he couldn’t use its power against Veira, the Dragon Lord…

The goddess had placed a restriction on Dáinsleif, forbidding its power from being used against other Dark Lords.

Damn it… Which of you fools got consumed?!

Leonis was furious—not at Shardark, but at the Dark Lord who had been absorbed. Was it Gazoth, the Lord of Beasts, or perhaps Dizolf, the Lord of Rage? Surely it couldn’t have been the Lord of the Seas.

…No, that doesn’t matter right now!

If Leonis couldn’t rely on Dáinsleif, he would need to use one of the Arc Seven, but Zolgstar Mezekis had been damaged in the battle with Veira. There was always the option of awakening his third minion, but that was liable to make things worse. There wasn’t enough time to undo the seal anyway.

Shardark landed on the ground.

“…?!”

The Void Lord’s eight horse-like legs collided hard with the shattered street. The pressure he exuded was intense enough that Leonis felt it from a fair distance. The boy felt beads of cold sweat run down his chin.

This can’t be… I, the mighty Undead King, greatest of Dark Lords, am feeling fear…

Leonis felt a sardonic grin spread across his face.

…Do I stand a chance? Can I defeat this monster?

Leonis Death Magnus was by no means undefeated. In his earliest days as the Undead King, he was the weakest of the Dark Lords. His mana capacity far eclipsed the others, but he’d lost his power as a hero, and he’d had to create his underlings using necromancy.

He’d lacked the natural power the Dragon Lord and the Lord of Beasts possessed and the vast forces that the Lord of Rage commanded. At the time, Rivaiz Deep Sea had unquestionably been the best Dark Lord.

However, with each defeat, Leonis rose from the grave mightier than he had been. He would learn more sorcery, greedily hoarding wisdom and strengthening his minions. Nothing was more fearsome than a fully matured undead.

Those many years of experience informed Leonis that this was a fight he could not win.

“Lord Magnus, we must retreat for now,” Blackas advised.

“…”

Leonis remained where he was, however, still holding on to his staff. Retreating now would mean abandoning the Seventh Assault Garden to its fate. To discard the land he’d designated as his kingdom would be to discard Dáinsleif—and the last wish Roselia Ishtaris had left in the Demon Sword.

The scene of Necrozoa’s defeat to the human armies surfaced in Leonis’s mind. And then he saw the eighteenth platoon, the orphanage’s children, the Demon Wolf Pack…and finally, Riselia, his minion.

“Grohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Shardark howled. Voids climbed endlessly through the tear in the sky. It was just like the Stampede from a few months ago and the catastrophe that had destroyed the Sakura Orchid…

Leonis took a sharp breath.

“I will not retreat, Blackas.”

“…”

“I am the Dark Lord that reigns over this kingdom.”

“…I see,” Blackas replied, raising his head and fixing his golden eyes on Leonis. “Then I shall accompany you, too.”

“Thank you, old friend…”

Blackas became a mass of dark flames that enveloped Leonis. This was a unique spell called Black Tyrant. It was magic that allowed Leonis to significantly increase his own physical attributes by taking in Blackas’s power.

Holding up his staff, Leonis spoke to Shardark. “—Come, greatest hero of humanity. The Undead King will be your opponent.”

The moment the blade of demonic wind was about to tear into Sakuya’s heart—

“Mikagami-style swordsmanship—Lightning Flash!”

Sakuya slashed at the future her mystic eye indicated. At the point where countless future possibilities converged—

“Kuh, aaah…!”

She managed to evade the katana trained on her heart by rotating so that it tore into her shoulder instead. And Setsura was…

“…So we ended up…cutting one another…,” Sakuya whispered into her sister’s ear, making the older girl’s crimson eyes go wide with fear.

Raikirimaru’s blade had stabbed Setsura’s chest. Or rather, into the black crystal hidden beneath her white Sakura Orchid clothes.

“…This whole time…that’s what you were aiming for?” Setsura asked.

Sakuya nodded. Her mystic eye gave her a glimpse of a future where her sister offered up that black crystal to the Void Lord, only for her to be swallowed by him. She knew she couldn’t let that happen.

Sakuya hadn’t come to kill her sibling, but to save her.

“Kuh… Aah…!”

Grasping onto her wounded shoulder, Sakuya faltered and fell. Raikirimaru slipped from her hand and dissolved into motes of light.

“—Fool,” Setsura spat. Her previously expressionless face was twisted with vexation. “You clung to life by way of a miracle, and yet you chose to cast it away like this…”

She reached out, grabbing Sakuya by the throat.

“Kuh… Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

A red glint shone in Setsura’s eyes. Her fingers dug into Sakuya’s neck.

“I won’t grant you an easy death. Become an undead minion instead—”

“Se…tsura…”

But just then, the air screeched with a whipping sound, and Setsura’s arm went flying through the air.

…Huh?

With nothing to support her weight, Sakuya collapsed to the ground.

“This swordswoman already belongs to my master. You will not lay another hand on her,” a lovely voice, as clear as glass, declared. The petite figure stood up atop the building’s water tower, looking down at the scene. “I could face you in her stead, if you’d like. Though I’m probably stronger than you are.”

It was hard to make out this new combatant’s face in the dark. But judging by the way she was dressed…

…A maid?

What was someone like that doing here?

“…”

Setsura gazed fixedly at the intruder…and then turned on her heel, stepping away from Sakuya.

“Sister!” Sakuya called out, grasping helplessly after.

But Setsura did not stop. She faded into the darkness without so much as a parting glance.

Shardark hurled himself at Leonis, the steel floor of the building they were in rumbling with each step of his eight massive legs. His body was coated in sizzling lightning, likely the product of Raijinki’s divine power.

“Eighth-order, tactical-level spell—Graz Garud!” Leonis struck the ground with the bottom of his staff.

Circular pillars of rock appeared in thin air, crushing Shardark from every direction.

His light barrier shouldn’t be able to block a purely physical attack spell.

However…

“Grohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Shardark shattered the stone prison with a howl and continued his charge as if nothing had been in his way.

…Such brute strength!

Leonis clicked his tongue and quickly cast more magic.

“Sixth-order spell—Belze Farga!”

This magic fired bursts of the fourth-order spell, Farga, in quick succession. Countless white-hot balls of fire buffeted Shardark in a sequence of explosions. Unsurprisingly, sorcery of that caliber wasn’t enough to harm the Void Lord. However, Leonis’s true intention was to use the blast to cause the structure around them to fall. As Shardark froze up from the attack, the building’s gigantic mass came crashing down.

Crrrrrrrrrrrssshhhhhhhhhh!

“Though I brought it to bear on you, humans built this edifice. Surely even a hero won’t walk away from that unscathed.”

The rumbling collapse kicked up a great cloud of dust, but Leonis wasted no time.

“Tenth-order destruction spell—Zemexis Jyura!”

Small asteroids appeared from nowhere, pummeling Shardark as he remained buried under the rubble.

Boom, boom, boom, boooooooom!

“…Haah, haah, haah… What?!” There wasn’t even enough time for Leonis to catch his breath.

Shardark was already rising from the smoke and dust. He was visibly injured, but none of it was substantial enough to be a hindrance.

“You monster…!”

Before Leonis had time for another spell, Shardark effortlessly threw a sword of wind at him. The godly weapon came flying, forming a whirlwind that kicked up debris.

…A sword endowed with the power of demonic wind. I can’t avoid it.

Leonis immediately thrust the Staff of Sealed Sins ahead and met the spinning blade with the staff’s handle.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

The dark flames around his body—Black Tyrant—surged violently.

“…Nng… Kuh, aaaaaaah!”

Ultimately, he failed to deflect the attack.

The air burst, and Leonis was blown away and landed hard against the ground.

“Khhk… Hah…”

His fragile body would have died from the impact had it not been for Black Tyrant’s power.

This is…pathetic…

Shardark drew more legend-class weapons from the emptiness and prepared to hurl one, a gigantic lance, at the boy struggling to get to his feet.

“Hyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Suddenly, a red shadow descended from above and stabbed Shardark’s arm with a sword.

“…Miss Selia?!” Leonis cried, astonished.

The young woman’s argent hair shone brilliantly, and she was wearing a crimson dress.

“Leo, run…!” Riselia called out desperately.

The Bloody Sword’s blade gave off scarlet light as it sank into the Void Lord’s arm, and razors made of blood stabbed the monster. Unfortunately, an attack of that magnitude wasn’t effective against Shardark. Riselia should have been no more than a fly to him, and yet—

“Grohhhhhh… Grohhh… Grohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

—the Swordmaster of the Six Heroes reacted to a startling degree.

“…G…oddess… Sel…ia… Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

…What?

Leonis frowned at Shardark’s broken cry.

The Swordmaster had lost his mind to the emptiness, yet now he spoke.

And did he just say…goddess?

Shardark grabbed Riselia and then attempted to bury her within his own body.

“—Miss Selia!” Leonis shouted as he ran over.

Blast it all… He’s trying to consume her, too?!

Leonis sprinted across the ruined street and through the clouds of dust. He had no plan. He was just running as the gears in his mind turned frantically. Magic didn’t affect Shardark, and Dáinsleif couldn’t be drawn against a Dark Lord. Substantial physical attacks appeared effective to some degree, but what about large-scale destruction magic from close range? Or maybe curses?

There were hundreds of methods to kill a champion…but none of them would work against the mightiest of the Six Heroes!

“Le…o… Don’t… R-run…!”

Half of Riselia’s body had already sunken into Shardark’s body.

—I won’t make it in time…!

“Look at me, Swordmaster—Shardark Shin Ignis!” Leonis shouted.

As if from nowhere, a bright burst of light erupted from Leonis’s hand, and he stopped in his tracks.

What…?

The luminous motes converged, manifesting as an object in his hand—one that greatly reminded him of something.

It resembled the weapon Riselia had used to battle the Voids in Necrozoa’s underground mausoleum. This kind of tool hadn’t existed during Leonis’s era, and yet he now held what was unquestionably a pistol.

…This… It can’t be. A Holy Sword?!

Holy Swords were a power that the planet granted humanity, allowing them to fight back against the Voids. And now one was sitting in his grip as comfortably as a sword he’d wielded for years. Its name was etched into the barrel in glowing letters—EXCALIBUR XX.

…A Dark Lord like me has awakened to the power of a Holy Sword?

Why now, at a time like this…? And why a pistol, a weapon Leonis had never so much as held?! There were many questions, but they would have to wait.

Mana began gathering at the top of the Holy Sword’s muzzle, letting off a brilliant radiance.

Wait, this is… My mana, it’s…dropping rapidly…

Leonis’s vast reserves were being focused to that single point. Even if his magical power was only a third of what it had once been, he still possessed enough to cast high-level spells in quick succession.

If all that energy were condensed into one shot, just how much force would it have…?

Leonis could tell, instinctively, that this was a weapon to kill heroes.

He held the Holy Sword with both hands, fixing its sights between Shardark’s eyes. All of his mana gathered at the muzzle, glowing bright enough to blot out all else.

This is all the strength I have. I can fire only one shot.

If this failed, he wouldn’t get another chance.

Leonis steadied his breath and brought his finger to the trigger. Shardark turned to face him.

…He noticed me!

“Grohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

With Riselia’s body still in his grip, the Void Lord ran toward Leonis. The boy gritted his teeth. Did he shoot? No, there was a chance he might hit Riselia. If he were as skilled as Regina, he might have been able to strike a moving target in the head, but…

But suddenly.

Multiple gigantic shadows burst into their battle and grappled the advancing Swordmaster.

“…What?!”

They were the gigantic Voids from Old Town. They swarmed Shardark and, with obvious intent, began to attack him.

“Grohhhhhhhhh…!”

The hero of the emptiness used his eight arms to swing his weapons about, slaughtering the Voids. However, the disruption did manage to keep him held in place.

Such was the tenacity of those seeking revenge for their ruined homeland. Now Leonis had a chance.

He pulled his Holy Sword’s trigger, and the streak of light hit Shardark squarely between the eyes—

Crack…

—causing a small fracture to form in Shardark’s forehead.

Crack… Crack… Crack…!

It expanded rapidly to cover the Void Lord’s entire body. Shardark’s arm was completely overtaken by the fissures, and Riselia fell to the ground.

“…Miss Selia!” Leonis called out as he collapsed.

With all of his mana exhausted, he couldn’t manage to stay on his feet.

“…How…regrettable… The goddess’s…vessel…within my…grasp…”

Shardark reached toward Riselia, but the hand crumbled away.

The vessel…? What is he saying?!

“Grohhhhhh… Grohhhhhh… Grohhhhhhhhhhh…!”

The hero who had been consumed by nothingness howled loudly enough to shake the collapsed buildings. Fractures overtook his body, distorting the space around him.

The Swordmaster of the Six Heroes, still fighting against the Voids holding him back, disappeared into the tear in space.