novelleonline Chapter 142 : Egosword (2)
Chapter 142 : Egosword (2)
Egosword (2)
After Louis's party occupied the elf village, they were granted about a month.
This was because it was said that the main figures of the Holy Nation, including the prophesied Saint, would be visiting the elf village a month later.
During that time, Louis's group took all possible benefits from the elf village.
First of all, for Silia, that meant ensuring Andrew Weissman's safety.
Andrew Weissman, who had been brutally overworked for four years, had his body utterly ruined.
He could no longer produce as much aura as before, effectively losing even his title of Swordmaster.
How on earth had he managed to survive four years of life-and-death hard labor with a body like that?
Silia, looking at the miserable appearance of the man who once represented the pride of the empire and was essentially her foster father, couldn't help but feel sad.
To Silia, Andrew said,
["I no longer have any strength. But I can still teach someone."]
In this way, Silia was now able to properly receive the swordsmanship instruction she had never had before.
At the same time, a weapon for her was crafted using the knowledge inherited from her ancestors.
["I spent many long years assimilated with the World Tree. I will make you what you need by retrieving a portion of the knowledge within the World Tree."]
["Then I..."]
["Of course, you need to help, you idiot!"]
Mirianne and Frederick, now remaining as mere thought forms, could only move by possessing Silia's body.
They made two swords, using branches of the World Tree and sacred stones created by the elves as materials.
Once the forms of the two swords were complete, both of them left Silia's body and transferred their consciousness into the swords.
To fully activate the swords' magic power, it was necessary for these thought forms to harmonize within.
To them, this was laughably easy, since they had previously neutralized demon realm seeds and managed the World Tree, tasks of a similar nature.
["Now, these two swords will be summoned by your will. That's because our thoughts dwell in them, and you are our only blood relative."]
["They're not quite on the level of the relics we used in the past, but they have some pretty special capabilities. Even if your opponent creates their own field with aura or magic, these swords can ignore it."]
This meant that anyone who possessed these dual swords would no longer be affected by the authorities of such powerful foes.
Of course, that did not guarantee victory, but it certainly remained a significant advantage in battle.
["These are the life's work and a gift from us as your ancestors."]
["It needs a cool name, don't you think?"]
Mirianne and Frederick shouted out the names they had in mind.
["It shall be called Double Rose!"]
["It shall be called Great Calibur!"]
Eh?
["What? Double Rose is perfect!"]
["You act like you know something about swords when you're a mage! The name of a sword is a man's romance."]
["But is the wielder of this sword a man? Think before you decide, idiot!"]
["Honestly, when it comes to swords, you get even stupider than me. Since when does a sword have a gender? It should fit the appearances..."]
Kang!―
Silia clashed the two swords together, making a sound.
["Both names are lame. I'll name it myself."]
["......"]
["......."]
When their suggested names were rejected, the two fell silent, apparently sulking.
Thus, the twin swords forged by legendary heroes came to be. The sword known as 'Bloodline' was born this way.
. . .
[Bloodline... Even now, I think that's a perfectly fitting name. Approved.]
[A sword imbued with the strength of our bloodline. Not bad.]
A human voice came from the sword Silia held.
"What are those twin swords...?!"
Bellain was startled to see the talking dual swords.
"Is that... Could that be what they call... an Egosword?"
Unlike normal swords, an Egosword was said to contain its own will or thought.
Since Mariannne and Frederick's thoughts resided within Bloodline, it was indeed an Egosword.
However, such weapons were seen as heretical in the Holy Nation.
This was due to the prejudice that any thought imbued into a sword must be that of a devil.
"I don't know what kind of thought is residing within, but just in case, I'll have to destroy that wicked sword!"
With that, Bellain released aura on all sides.
"Urgh!"
The moment Rio touched that aura, she felt as if her body was being crushed.
Her insides twisted, her movements slowed, and the battle turned against her.
It was the same sensation as when she had once touched Paulo the old man's aura.
"Eh?"
But Bellain, who unleashed that aura, opened his eyes wide.
Unlike Rio, who was affected, Silia seemed completely unbothered.
[You're going to destroy us? You, destroy us?]
At that moment, a man's voice came from the red sword of Bloodline.
The contemptuous tone made Bellain's face twist in anger.
"You wicked Egosword, watch your tongue!"
[Wicked? Us?]
This time, a woman's voice rang out from the green sword.
[Do you even know whose thoughts dwell in us?]
"Hmph! That's none of my concern. My job is to subdue all of you!"
Bellain readied his sword and charged at Silia.
[Here he comes.]
[You know what to do, right?]
"Of course."
After exchanging a brief conversation with her ancestors, Silia raised her twin swords to block Bellain's attack.
The moment their swords clashed, Silia was pushed backward.
She had to focus solely on defense against the ensuing onslaught.
She managed to parry a few attacks, but her own swords were the ones being knocked back.
"Hahaha! Is that all you've got?"
Bellain launched merciless attacks and laughed mockingly.
Even if she predicted and blocked his sword's path, Silia was still forced back.
It was a wonder she managed to hold onto her twin swords.
[As expected, his strength is superior.]
[He's faster, too. He's openly looking down on you.]
Just as they said, Bellain was thoroughly enjoying toying with his opponent.
Because of the sheer difference in specs, the more Silia parried, the more her arms ached.
"But that gives me an opportunity."
The opponent was stronger. But that wasn't why Silia wielded Bloodline—not just for a contest of strength.
"Hahaha! Is it over already?"
Looking down on his opponent, Bellain laughed as he swung his sword.
"The weak point of the Weissman style..."
Watching the sword coming down diagonally, Silia muttered to herself and crossed her twin swords.
"It relies heavily on charging, making it vulnerable to grappling techniques."
Bellain's ruthless downswing was caught like a pair of chopsticks by Silia's twin swords.
"W-What is this...!"
In the moment Bellain forcibly yanked his sword loose—
"When you try to pull away, it's already too late."
Chwaaaak!―
As Bellain succeeded in pulling back and retreating, blood flowed from his chest.
"Keugh!"
Pain twisted Bellain's face. As he retreated, Silia's sword had wounded him.
"I was going to go easy on you, but I guess that's impossible now!"
Aura gathered around Bellain's sword. The surrounding air expanded so suddenly that it seemed the space around the sword was distorting.
"... Another weak point."
Even seeing that aura, Silia muttered and smiled.
Vexed once more, Bellain moved to her side and swung his sword.
Due to the extension of the sword's reach from the aura, it was harder to catch the sword as before.
Yet, Silia moved to parry it in the same way.
In that instant, Bellain saw her movement and sneered.
'Idiot!'
She already stumbled from parrying just a moment ago. Was she really setting herself up for defeat?
'Huh?'
But Bellain was soon struck by horror. Silia's sword deflected his own without any issue.
'Why?'
His sword, which had been overwhelming her just a moment ago, was now being knocked back.
In that opening, Silia aimed the other sword at Bellain's solar plexus.
"Urgh!"
Managing to guard with his sword to his chest, Bellain could sense it: the aura that had gathered on his sword just now had weakened.
"You little brat... What kind of trick did you just use?!"
Utterly enraged, Bellain wildly swung his sword. The furious onslaught was like a torrential downpour.
Unable to block each and every strike, wounds began to appear on Silia's body.
Yet, even so, Silia continued to smile.
'What on earth is this?!'
Something unbelievable happened again: Bellain's aura, which bombarded her with countless strikes, weakened once more, and he was parried and forced back.
This time, he nearly dropped his sword. Taking advantage of his shock, Silia's attacks surged forward.
"Kraak!"
Cuts appeared all over Bellain's body from her slashing attack.
At one point, his leg was slashed and he fell to one knee.
"Guh!"
At that moment, Silia kicked him, sending Bellain flying.
Thud―
Even after crashing into a building wall, Bellain staggered back to his feet.
With bloodshot eyes, he glared at Silia.
"I know all the weaknesses of your swordsmanship. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out your movements, but now I have no problem."
"What did you say?"
"In particular, the greatest issue is when you use aura. The strength is immense, but the flow that sustains it is not refined."
"What are you trying to say?!"
When he shouted furiously, Silia replied,
"Your strength is like a sturdy safe. It's power that can't be forced open or bypassed unless you know the password."
"A safe?"
"I just happen to know that password."
Does that mean she knows how to break through? Is that why she analyzed his weakness?
Still, no matter what—
"Is that something so easy to do?"
"Of course not. If that strength were wholly yours, I mean."
"What are you talking about now..."
"As I said before, your aura's flow is strangely unstable. If someone tries to break through, it's so easy to neutralize."
In other words, like setting a safe password as 0000 or 1234.
"If the strength was truly yours, it would have taken a lot more effort to neutralize and break it down. So how did I manage it so quickly?"
"No way..."
"That's right. That strength is nothing more than something you stole."
Hearing his own strength denied, Bellain bit his lip.
"The blessing I received from God... is a lie?!"
Utterly furious, he released his aura at maximum output.
"That wretched mouth of yours...!"
A raging wind swept in and the sky trembled from the aura condensed to its limit on his sword.
"Shut up already!!"
Consumed by anger, he unleashed a slash at maximum power toward Silia, with enough force to cut across the horizon.
"I already told you earlier."
Silia blocked that monstrous power with her twin swords.
As Silia, being pushed back, tried to hold off the attack, Bellain burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahaha! Do you think you can block that?!"
Certainly, it was the strongest blow she had ever faced.
Her arm bones began to crack, and Silia gritted her teeth.
Even a high-level monster of the demon realm would be cleaved in two by such a slash.
"I don't intend to block it."
"What?"
At that moment, the very slash Bellain had launched with all his power began being absorbed by Silia's twin swords.
"As I've said before, your aura is easy to break. Thanks to that, it's easy to take advantage of the property of this sword."
Her dual swords, Bloodline, absorbed the entirety of Bellain's attack.
Utterly panicked to see his own aura vanish without a trace, Bellain shouted,
"What in the world is this?!"
Right then, Bloodline began to shine. The absorbed slash was starting to manifest.
[Aura is just another form of magic power.]
[Absorbed magic power can be wielded at will. This is the power of Bloodline.]
Silia returned the absorbed slash straight at Bellain.
Seeing his own attack reflected back at him, Bellain once again concentrated his aura to full power.
"Like hell I'll be hit by my own attack!"
This time, the aura took the form of a defense rather than an attack.
Aura pouring out from his body acted as a barrier to block the slash.
"Luckily, it wasn't so much that I couldn't block it."
"But is that really so?"
Suddenly, Silia moved to the side.
There, Rio—previously forgotten—had unfolded a crimson aura.
"Blood Sword Technique."
A huge whirlpool erupted from Rio's blood-soaked sword.
"Blood Sickle Cannon."
As she thrust her sword forward, a blood-red whirlpool shot toward Bellain.
"Kraaaagh!!"
Unable to withstand the two attacks at once, the barrier shattered.
The full force of both attacks rained down on Bellain, leaving him battered and bloodied.
"Kraaagh...! Not yet... not yet...!"
Even so, Bellain still stood on two feet. He summoned his will and grabbed his sword once more.
"It's over, you bastard."
Someone spoke from behind Rio, who had launched that red slash.
As Rio moved aside, Louis was revealed, holding a massive boulder.
"Farewell."
Louis hurled the boulder at supersonic speed toward Bellain.
As the giant stone reached right in front of him, Bellain broke into a cold sweat.
KWAAAAANG!!!
The village was split in half once again.