Book 8: Chapter 6

「……」

On the sandy beach called the Invasion Coast in the Zadark Kingdom’s Western region, Sancreed was holding a single sword at the ready.

Having a green gem fitted into it, it was the Wind Sword. It was the sword that Sancreed received from the God of Wind Wyrm.

Sancreed focused his mind on the Wind Sword, and started to flow magical power into it.

「……O Wind!」

At the same time he shouted that, Sancreed’s magical power dwelled in the Wind Sword.

The power of intense wind enveloped the Wind Sword, and the gem emitted a faint light.

Swinging that several times, Sancreed then cancelled the Wind Magic Sword.

Up until now, it was fine. When using the Wind Magic Sword, he had no complaints whatsoever with the Wind Sword.

「O Light!」

What he tried to invoke next was the Light Magic Sword.

However, far from accepting the magical power that Sancreed was flowing into it, the Wind Sword was repelling it.

The regurgitated magical power assailed Sancreed, and together with a bit of pain, he felt a faint amount of lethargy.

「……Tsk.」

As expected, he wouldn’t drop a sword, but annoyed by that faint discomfort, Sancreed thrust the Wind Sword into the sandy beach.

The Wind Sword was this kind of sword. As a sword for Magic Sword-use, it possessed efficiency to the point that there was nothing greater than it, but it wouldn’t absolutely wouldn’t accept anything other than a Wind Attribute Magic Sword. On the contrary, it would end up attacking him like this with anything else. It was too much of a problem for him to entrust his life to it.

After Sancreed sheathed the Wind Sword into its scabbard, Transfer Light sparkled in a place a bit away from him.

After that gathered and popped, what appeared there was the figures of the Demon King Army’s Northern General Altejio, and then his wife, Margaret the Blacksmith.

Margaret, who was carrying something that looked like a sword wrapped in cloth, expressed a smile when she found Sancreed and ran over to him.

「Sancreed-sama, I’ve brought you a sword!」

Since Sancreed’s magical power was too strong, average swords would break immediately. It was there that Sancreed commissioned Margaret to manufacture a sword for his own personal use, and Margaret also continued to pour extraordinary passion into the research and prototypes for it. It seems that that sword was finally completed.

Running over to him, Margaret opened up the cloth and displayed the contents while looking up at Sancreed with a whole faced smile.

What was there was a sword with a simple design. The transparent gem that was fitted into it fit in perfectly with Sancreed’s hand.

「Hou……」

「It is the Hard Sword Raizanok. I used the imitation Holy Sword that Yklsaas-san brought, and fragments of the enemy called the Holy Armor Soldier. Its sharpness isn’t all that great though……」

「Is that so.」

Sancreed nodded, then told Margaret to move away a bit.

After confirming that Margaret hurriedly went away, Sancreed lightly swung about the Hard Sword Raizanok.

There wasn’t much of a great difference between it and the Wind Sword that he swung earlier in terms of weight, and the same went for its size when comparing them at a glance.

「O Wind.」

Gathering the power of wind and wrapping the Hard Sword Raizanok’s sword blade with it, Sancreed made a small nod.

Indeed, it was stable. It didn’t have a dangerousness to it like the swords up until now.

Going “in that case”, Sancreed poured his magical power in a bit stronger.

However, the Hard Sword Raizanok accepted this as well and strengthened its response to it.

Seeing that, Altejio raised a voice of admiration, and Sancreed expressed a smile.

If it’s with this, then maybe──Feeling that way, Sancreed poured even more magical power into the Hard Sword Raizanok. Every time he did, Raizanok would strengthen its response……and then, suddenly, a high-pitched *kiin* sound started to play.

「……Mu.」

Thinking “so this is its limit”, Sancreed was about to stop pouring magical power.

However, he immediately noticed that it wasn’t at its limit. It was because the sword hanging on Sancreed’s waist──the Wind Sword was playing the same sound as Raizanok.

「This is……?」

When he was about to touch the Wind Sword with the other hand that wasn’t clutching the Hard Sword Raizanok, right before his hand could touch it, the Wind Sword turned into a gust of wind and vanished.

「Eh……!?」

Margaret unconsciously raised her voice, but Altejio and Sancreed were also surprised.

Immediately after the Wind Sword vanished, a green wind started to envelope Raizanok’s sword blade.

It was sucked into Raizanok’s transparent gem……and dyed it green.

Before long, when they thought that the gem would be dyed completely green, it once again returned to being transparent.

Like that, what remained in Sancreed’s hand, was only the Hard Sword Raizanok that was the same as before.

「What was that just now……?」

Margaret was unable to believe what had just happened right before her eyes.

If they were to express only the simple facts, the Wind Sword disappeared. That was all.

However, it wasn’t that simple.

It looked as if the Wind Sword was absorbed into Raizanok.

A sword being absorbed into a sword was impossible, and Margaret didn’t remember creating such a revolting sword either.

that being said, the Wind Sword was a special sword. From what she had heard, it was a sword that the God of Wind Wyrm had awarded to Sancreed. In other words, it wasn’t simply a sword, it was a sacred treasure. In that case, it probably wasn’t that mysterious even if something were to happen.

……But, even so, she didn’t know why it took the form of the Wind Sword being absorbed into Raizanok. Moreover, its appearance seemed like it didn’t change at all from how it was at the start.

「……」

Sancreed silently looked down at Raizanok in his hand for a while, but before long, he held it at the ready and started to concentrate.

「……O Wind!」

When he poured magical power to use Wind Magic Sword, the transparent gem turned green and started to shine.

And then, wind congregated.

The power of the wind that enveloped the sword blade was wild, and the gem emitted a strong──but stable light.

While confirming that sensation, Sancreed was convinced.

Raizanok’s performance had increased more than it was before. Most likely, its sharpness did as well.

「……You’ve created quite the interesting sword, haven’t you.」

「Mu, muu……I have somewhat mixed feelings about it since these were specifications I wasn’t aiming for though.」

「If the results are good, then everything is fine. Besides……what is this. It fits terrifyingly well in my hand.」

After saying that, Sancreed held Raizanok out.

Seeing the sword blade that emitted a dull radiance, Margaret made an inquisitive face.

「……Muー. It’s quality has clearly raised compared to before.」

「So it really did?」

「Yes. As a blacksmith, I don’t want to admit it, but it certainly has.」

Since it combined with a sacred treasure, it could probably be said to only be natural that it did.

However, why did it turn out like that? Margaret thought that most likely, the cause wasn’t the Wind Sword, but Raizanok.

When she thought “in that case, is Hard Sword Raizanok a sword that becomes stronger by absorbing other swords”, she felt like that was also wrong.

That earlier resonance reaction.

It was a phenomenon that looked as if it was the Wind Sword that went to fuse with Raizanok.

For example, what would have happened if this wasn’t the Wind Sword, but a sacred treasure made from the hands of one of the other Gods?

Would it similarly fused with it? By fusing……what would be beyond that?

「……The Holy Sword.」

With a mutter, those words spilled out from Margaret’s mouth.

She thought “could it be”. However, there were parts that she could agree with.

The Imitation Holy Sword, Lufil Sword.

Fragments of the Holy Armor Soldier.

Weren’t those all things born from the hands of a God?

In that case……the thing that Margaret had created, the true identity of Hard Sword Raizanok──

「The base body……of the Holy Sword?」

It was said that in the past, the Hero Ryuuya wielded the Holy Sword that controlled the power of the Gods.

It was unclear as to what was the vessel used to control the power of those Gods, but wasn’t it literally a 「sword」?

She was thinking that just like how the Wind Sword had fused together with Hard Sword

Raizanok just now, Hero Ryuuya was granted a sword that would become the base sword and fused the sacred treasures into that.

In that case……what was here right now, wasn’t it a sword that held the possibility to become another Holy Sword?

「……I see.」

Hearing Margaret’s mutterings, Sancreed nodded looking like he consented to that.

If it was a sword that would become a Holy Sword, he could understand why it had fit so well in his hand.

The one to wield the Holy Sword was the Hero……and Sancreed was also a Hero after all.

「In that case, Margaret. That means that you forged the Holy Sword, doesn’t it.」

「Eh? E, ehhh!? Nonono! It would be impossible even if I were told to forge another one like it!」

Seeing Margaret shake her entire body sideways, Sancreed chuckled.

「No one would tell you to do such a thing. But in a certain way, it’s a sword that couldn’t have been forged unless it was you.」

Certainly, the thinking of and implementation of the idea of melting down the Imitation Holy Sword which there was only one of and using it as a raw material, there was no one other than Margaret who would have done it. In that meaning, it was a sword that couldn’t have been made unless it was her.

「If this is going to become a Holy Sword……」

Sancreed said that, and lovingly caressed Raizanok.

「The time that its completed will probably be when I can wield a sword with all of my strength. Until then, I need to do as much as possible to make sure this sword doesn’t break.」

「Even in its current state, since a sacred treasure is mixed in, I don’t think that will break though……」

「……Is that so?」

Seeing Sancreed look down at Raizanok with a slightly joyful look on his face, Margaret hurriedly shook her head sideways.

「Nonono, forget I said that! Let’s go in the direction where you do as much as possible to not break it!」

Seeing Margaret continue to shake her head, Sancreed and Altejio burst into laughter at the same time.

Noticing that he was messing with her, Margaret puffed her cheeks, and Altejio poked that cheek.

「……Well, as much as I would like to test this sword out a bit more.」

「Yes. We need to make a report about it.」

Nodding with each other, Sancreed sheathed Raizanok into its scabbard, and Altejio held Margaret.

Like that, the three of them Transferred to the Demon King Castle.