Chapter 1023

As Ajisai unsheathed Berserk, I heard some grunts coming from Hagane’s soldiers. I thought they might be expressing terror at being caught up in the blade’s power, but no.

The only emotions visible on their faces were grief and regret.

「This is all because of our powerlessness……」

「Now even Princess Ajisai……」

They were saddened to see Ajisai sacrificing herself in order to activate Berserk. Like I thought, Hagane’s soldiers seemed to care very deeply for Berserk’s wielders.

This sort of respect and admiration was more than the normal feelings one would show for their superiors.

Fran moved as if she wanted to stop Ajisai, but she kept her mouth shut. Right now, relying on her was our best chance at stopping the giant antidemon.

Besides, the wielder of a divine sword just resolved herself. We had no place disrespecting her determination. Fran stood silently, clenching her fists so hard that she drew blood.

「Fran.」

「Ajisai.」

The girls met each other’s gaze, though only for a few seconds. But in those few seconds, things took another turn.

「Hold it, girl who wields Berserk. There’s no need to sacrifice yourself anymore.」

This voice came from Jayne, the Demon Lord.

「…? What do you mean?」

「I’m saying it’s the job of us adults to put our lives on the line in times like these.」

Jayne suddenly stepped in front of Ajisai, blocking her path. However, Ajisai simply shook her head and tried to move past.

「The antidemon is already regenerating. We don’t have time to waste.」

Ajisai spoke the truth. The giant antidemon’s body was now visibly beginning to heal. We couldn’t afford to ignore it any longer.

Still, Jayne did not back down.

「Just trust me and wait. Everything will be fine. Even without your powers――」

Booooom!

As if right on cue, the surface of the antidemon exploded. Flames consumed its body, turning all the regenerated parts to ash.

This was clearly no ordinary magic. We turned to see a figure flying in the skies above us.

「We adults can handle it, including that man.」

「That’s…… Izario!」

As Fran pointed out, the one responsible for the explosion was Izario, who was supposed to be missing. He had a translucent ghostly figure propping him up.

「Jayne, you found Izario?」

「Precisely!」

After responding to Fran, Jayne lightly flicked her arm to the side. Then, a dagger suddenly appeared in her hand.

She had caught the dagger as it flew right into her hand at high speed. This was the national treasure said to be one of the Demon Lord’s trademarks.

「When it comes to catalysts for necromancy, this dagger is the best of the best. I used it to create a ghost with maximized abilities for detection and summoning underlings, and had them search under the rubble.」

So she used the dagger as the core of a ghost, and had it summon a bunch of other ghosts. Ghosts can operate freely even under piles of rubble, so that’s how she managed to find Izario.

Jayne wasn’t contributing much to the battle earlier, probably because she was focusing on this operation.

「But, is Izario really okay?」

「Well, probably not for long. But don’t worry! You have me here too!」

Jayne shouted, raising her dagger high in the air. Divine aspected mana gushed out.

「Repent in death, celebrate in death. Know death, record death, and live in death! Necronomicon!」

A door opened up before our astonished eyes.

「Divine Sword Release!」

The blue-black light emitted from the dagger blinded us standing nearby. After the light subsided and everyone could see again, what appeared in front of us was not even a weapon.

「A book?」

『Is that really a divine sword? Well, I guess “divine sword” is a generic term, so not all of them take the form of actual weapons……』

After all, Sophie’s Oratorio was an instrument. Still, I never imagined another divine sword was hiding right next to us!

A huge book with a metallic cover floated in the air, maybe about the size of a 22-inch TV? The silvery cover had similar engravings to the dagger, so there can be no doubt that they were the same.

Seeing as how it overflowed with divine mana, anyone would be convinced that it’s a divine sword.

The Sorcery Blade, Necronomicon. It floated onto Jayne’s hands, though hovering a few centimeters above rather than touching her.

「Chapter of Heroic Spirits, Entry Seven, Reproduce Description. The seventh demon lord, undefeated over seven battlefields. Upon drawing his blade, he felled seven heads and annihilated seven castles. The proud warrior-king vanquished seven kingdoms after warring for seven days and seven nights…」

In response to Jayne’s voice, the pages of the book flipped on their own. Then, small glyph-like figures flew out of the pages and formed some kind of magic circle in the air.

The magic circle glowed brightly, with some large object gradually rising out of it.

A coffin.

A very luxurious and intimidating stone coffin with intricate engravings all over. Whoever was buried inside must have been of noble birth.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the cover of the coffin removed itself. The insides were relatively small compared to the size of the coffin, only containing a single mummy.

「Awaken, heroic spirit! My predecessor!」

『……It has been a while since last seeing a true battlefield.』

I could see a grin peeking out through those bandages.

「Exactly. You will join us in defeating that giant thing.」

『Hoh? Simply wonderful! What a truly horrific creature! A foe worthy of my power! Know the might of the former Demon Lord, Morten Dovey!』

Judging by that name, he seems to be one of Jayne’s ancestors, just like Tort in her necklace. However, his power was on a different level. I think this Morten guy would reach Threat Level A if ranked as a monster.

The bandages wrapping the mummy’s body unraveled themselves, dissipating into particles of light. The same light flowed back into Morten’s body, transforming into a suit of armor. Considering the terrifying amount of mana cloaking him, I never want to get on his bad side.

We’ve seen Tort fighting in the flesh too, but this guy was way stronger.

「Now go. Next, the Chapter of Heroic Spirits, Entry――」

This wasn’t the end. Jayne went on to summon two more undead sharing the Dovey name, before sending them out to the battlefield. These two were just as strong.

Morten was a swordsman, while the newly summoned Dyeth and Maut were the sorcerer type. It seems this ability could call many different types of undead.

Was the ability to control powerful undead the divine sword’s power?

Perhaps noticing Fran’s questioning gaze, Jayne gave us a brief explanation.

「They are the past wielders of Necronomicon, or rather, what remains of them. Necronomicon is the blade guiding us demonkin. Those who forge a contact with it shall become heroic spirits, and continue protecting our nation even after their deaths.」

So the price of using Necronomicon is being bound by the blade and forced to work after death? Both Fran and I were horrified at the thought, but Jayne seemed to have a different opinion.

「Ahahaha! Such a wonderful power, isn’t it?」

She really meant it. Maybe powerful necromancers like her seriously didn’t mind that kinda stuff.

「See! Ignis, Oratorio, and Necronomicon! A collaborative performance of three divine swords! You don’t want to miss this one!」