WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reincarnation of the Sword Demon

Chapter 97

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Twitch

Kyle told Julius he would attend the imperial palace party, finished the meal, and returned to the Rose Mansion.

His body had not fully recovered, and the physician had strictly forbidden strenuous training, but Kyle used the excuse of checking on Baal to slip alone into the Cultivation Chamber.

"Excuse me."

The Fragment appeared. Its face was just as pale as when Kyle had last seen it in Julius's room, and a strong, hungry light wavered in its eyes.

"You still look terrible. Did what I asked you back then put that much strain on you?"
"That is not the only reason. The presence of that vampire who entered the Sword Tower today has also burdened me."
"Akarion? Why?"
"Because the origin of vampires is dark magic that uses humans as vessels."

The Fragment let out a short sigh and shook its head.

"They say it gained a self and changed from being a mere host of dark magic... even so, it is something I find unsettling and want no part of. I cannot even understand how such beings can exist in the first place."

No wonder. Just like Kyle, Akarion could resonate with Dokkaebis, and Kyle had wondered why Akarion had never once mentioned the Fragment. It seemed the Fragment had been doing everything it could to avoid Akarion.

By now Kyle had a fair grasp of what burdened the Fragment. Beings that transcended it on an immeasurable scale. It was not merely a matter of preference. The Fragment was ultimately a remnant left behind by the Dragon King, an insubstantial spirit. Such beings were especially vulnerable to the corruption of the mind.

"Is what you are searching for in Izelion?"

The Fragment shook its head at Kyle's question.

"No... what I seek is not in Izelion. It is probably somewhere in the severed east."
"The east... right, from what I've heard, all contact with that side was cut off and nothing is known of what happens there."

Three hundred years ago, amid a massive earthquake, a current called the Wall of Severance had shot up along the eastern border. Since then, no one from the east and no one from this side had been able to cross it.

Expeditions were organized periodically to find out what had happened beyond the wall, but even those that managed to push through the barrier had never reached the other side.

That was all anyone knew. Kyle tilted his head, and the Fragment exhaled a short breath.

"Izelion is a family rooted in a clan that guards the Hyeonmyeong Mountain Range, a sacred peak known as the Spirit Mountain in the east. Even the place they are said to reside is right up against the Hyeonmyeong Mountain Range."
"And that range isn't caught behind the Wall of Severance?"
"It is. I hear that even Izelion cannot cross the Wall of Severance into the east. But... that may only be what is known to the outside world."
"You said you cannot leave the Sword Tower."

Kyle crossed his arms and sat on the floor.

"I still don't know whether Izelion will attend the imperial palace party, but if you want me to run an errand, please say so plainly. What exactly are you searching for, and what do you want from me?"
"Huu..."

The Fragment breathed a long sigh, conjured a chair, and sat down across from Kyle.

"What I seek is... the Dragon King."
"The Dragon King?"
"Dragon King Velatus. Five hundred years ago he was the king of the dragon race. He gave the Sword Tower to Ruin Alastor, revealed to him the secret of Ascension, and shared its obligation with him."

The Fragment's eyes trembled, and the tips of its fingers began to shake.

"He tore away a piece of his own soul, made me from it, sealed me inside the Sword Tower, then left for the east with the dragons who followed him... finding that being is my wish."

The Fragment steadied its quickening breath and looked straight at Kyle.

"After your Founding Ancestor Ruin Alastor ascended, the Dragon King crossed east with his followers."
"Why did he go?"
"That I do not know. I am not the Dragon King himself."
"Could the Dragon King be the one who raised the Wall of Severance?"
"That too... I cannot say."
"Suppose the Dragon King is in the east and I somehow manage to meet him. What would I need to do?"
"If you met him, that alone would be a relief. At least it would mean he is alive."

The Fragment fell silent for a moment.

"If he is alive... that is enough. Even if I am only a fragment that broke off, I worry about the wellbeing of my true self."
"I can't promise I'll reach the east anytime soon. I don't know whether Izelion will attend the party, and I don't know whether they have any way to cross over."
"Just promise me you will do your best."
"Of course I will. You gave me a cultivation technique I can use for the rest of my life, so I owe you that much. If Izelion doesn't attend the party, I'll go find them myself."

Izelion was the most reclusive of the Three Great Martial Families, but they were not a family that lived with their eyes and ears completely shut. Their lands did not welcome outsiders, but if someone with towering renown and the skill to match came calling, even Izelion would open its closed doors. Julius's friend the Wandering Sword Venerable had mentioned having at least a small connection to Izelion.

"My reputation is about to rise considerably after this, and I have the family name behind me, so I doubt Izelion would turn me away at the door."
"...I am grateful that you will do your best."
"There's no need to thank me. This was the agreement from the start."

Kyle gave a small smile. The Fragment watched him, breathed another long sigh, and rose from the chair.

"I must rest now. I have been exposed to far too many things that corrupt my existence. In particular, the rift you opened while waking Lavian Alastor was... dreadful."
"Can't you at least tell me what that rift was and whose voice came from the other side?"
"Angels and demons."
"Which of the two?"
"Is there a reason to distinguish them? Angels and demons are ultimately just names mortals find easy to understand."

Kyle tilted his head at that. Akarion had said that dark magic was power borrowed from outer gods beyond the world, and that priests called those outer gods not gods but demons.

'No reason to distinguish them...'

It was a cryptic remark, but he could not press further. The Fragment had vanished along with the chair.

'Even if I asked, it probably couldn't answer.'

The Fragment had said it was guarding against the corruption of its existence, but that did not seem to be the whole of it. On certain topics, the reaction the Fragment showed resembled that of the Demon Tribe members on Beltua Island who had been bound by a Silencing Spell.

'If it really is a Silencing Spell, then the Fragment doesn't even realize it. Sealed into its very existence... it means the Dragon King sealed the Fragment's mouth.'

He set those thoughts aside and raised his hand. He needed to bring Baal out of the Out-of-Place Artifact, where he had stashed it to stop it from causing a racket. Baal, a large single-edged blade resembling a cleaver, came popping out of the open space.

Kyle opened his Spirit Root and reached out to commune with Baal. Instantly, blood-red fog surged and churned, and Baal's consciousness realm swallowed Kyle whole.

[You little wretch!]

Something shot out from the Baal lying on the floor. It was the same girl he had seen before: gray hair tied in twin tails, curved horns sprouting from her head.

[How dare you, how dare you! You sealed me again?! You little brat, do you truly wish to die?!]

Golden irises blazed with killing intent from pitch-black pupils. Kyle stayed seated comfortably on the floor and stared at Baal.

Her appearance was that of a girl, and so was her voice, but her manner of speaking was identical to Baal's. This was the Dokkaebi of Baal, having changed its form. The horns on her head testified that she was the beloved sword of three Demon Kings, and the resemblance to the Demon Tribe was unmistakable, yet her feet were shaped like those of a bird of prey.

While Kyle calmly took in every detail of her appearance, Baal stood with hands on hips, staring him down with wide eyes full of murderous intent. Kyle opened his mouth under that killing gaze.

"Let's get something straight."
[Straight? About what?]
"You are a sword."

His finger pointed at Baal.

"And I am the master."

The finger turned back to himself.

"My belief is that a sword should be used as a sword."
[This brat is spouting some awfully brazen things...!]
"I met the lingering will of your last master, Astaroth Erebos."

Baal's eyes went wide. Judging by her reaction, she had heard nothing of Kyle's conversation with Astaroth's lingering will.

"Astaroth gave permission to unseal you, so I became your rightful master. Any objections?"
[I... this one knows nothing of that.]

Baal's eyes darted from side to side.

[Even if... even if you received permission from Lord Astaroth, th-that was not Lord Astaroth in person. It was nothing more than the lingering will sealed inside along with this one...]

And yet, despite that, Baal slowly hunched her shoulders and asked.

[But, brat. Did Lord Astaroth say anything else about this one? Perhaps... concern for this one, or... memories... things like that?]
"Nothing like that. Just said that if I needed Baal, I should come pull it out myself, so I did. That's all."
[Th-that's a lie. Lord Astaroth trusted this one above all others! Lord Sariel and Lord Belzebub as well, they cherished this one as their beloved sword!]

Baal shrieked and clutched her head, but Kyle had not lied by a single word. Astaroth's lingering will had said nothing at all about Baal. To begin with, Astaroth had never been able to commune with Dokkaebis, so to him, Baal had been nothing more than a sword.

"Anyway, I'm your new master now, so get that through your head. I'll be using Fenris more than I use you."
[This... you inferior race, you trash! You dare put that mongrel blade before this one?!]

Baal, who had been clutching her head, bared her killing intent again. Kwaaaar! The fog heaved like a wave.

[Unacceptable! This one is Baal, a sword that served three Demon Kings! This one is incomparably superior and sharper than that mongrel blade you carry!]

Whether in response to those words, Fenris at Kyle's hip began to hum and vibrate. A wolf's howl started seeping out, and Kyle immediately raised his hand and slapped the hilt.

"No."

A sharp rebuke. A yelping sound came from Fenris. Seeing that, Baal trembled from the shoulders down and spat out.

[Five hundred years old and still hasn't gained even a scrap of intellect! And you would truly put that worthless blade before this one?!]
"I didn't unseal you only because I felt sorry for you. Honestly, I did feel a little sorry, but the real reason is that you said you knew how to handle the Demon King's brand."
[Sorry...? You inferior, worthless creature! You are fifteen years old. You dare pity Baal, who has existed for hundreds of years?]

Baal could not hold back any longer.

[Raaaah!]

She charged with a screech. In her hand as she closed the gap in an instant was a large cleaver-shaped blade identical to the one lying on the floor. Swinging a blade bigger than herself with one hand, she came crashing down on Kyle.

Fwip.

Baal vanished from in front of him. Kyle had opened the Out-of-Place Artifact's space and stored Baal inside. The fog that had formed the consciousness realm disappeared with her.

About a minute passed. Kyle took Baal out again. Without even attempting to commune, Baal vibrated wildly.

[You wretch!]

The moment he began communing, the fog surged and Baal shrieked. She erupted from the blade, eyes wide, and glared at Kyle.

[How dare you do this to me...]

Without listening further, Kyle stored Baal again. This time he waited longer than a minute before taking her out.

[Y-you. Let this one finish...]

Baal burst out and spoke urgently, but again he did not let her finish and stored her away.

He waited even longer than the second time before bringing her out. By now Baal seemed to grasp the situation and did not raise her voice at Kyle. She stood in an awkward half-crouch, her golden irises twitching as she watched him warily.

"When you address me, call me Master."
[Wh... wha, what did you say...?]
"You don't want to?"

Kyle lifted the Out-of-Place Artifact in a wordless threat. Baal flinched and took a step back.

[M-Master, right, Master... ahem... Ma-Master is fair enough. You, brat... you did claim this one, after all.]
"Brat?"
[I will call you Master. But I cannot call you Master-nim. The only ones deserving of that from this one are the Demon Kings, rulers of Erebos...]
"Why is your way of speaking such a mess?"

He asked out of genuine curiosity, and Baal startled and covered her mouth.

[Ahem... wh-what is wrong with the way this one speaks?]
"It feels like you're forcing some kind of stiff dignity that doesn't quite fit."
[This one does not notice any difference. You are also the first one this one has ever truly spoken to...]

Baal mumbled, clearly not having expected her speech to be remarked upon.

'Well. That makes sense.'

Baal had existed for hundreds of years serving three Demon Kings. Each of those kings would have spoken differently, and that patchwork manner of speaking was probably what she had picked up from them.

"I'll let you off with just 'Master.' Now then-the method for controlling the Demon King's brand?"
[Before I tell you that, promise me this first. Brat... Master. You called this one a 'sword,' did you not?]

Baal's eyes moved as she asked.

[A sword is something for cutting and killing. If you take this one as a sword, then you should naturally give this one a purpose befitting a sword.]
"You're mistaken about something. I never said I wouldn't use you at all. I said Fenris is more comfortable and familiar, so I'd use it more. That's all."
[I see... so when this one is needed, you will use this one?]
"That's right."
[Oh ho...]

The twitching golden irises curved into a sly look.

[Then... if this one proves to be sharper and more capable and more useful than that mongrel blade, you would use this one more?]
"Maybe."

Kyle smiled back at her in kind. Fenris vibrated again at those words, but seemed afraid to draw Kyle's displeasure and did not howl or lunge out.

[Hmm hm hm...]

Baal grinned smugly and crossed her arms.

[Let me say this in advance. Master, this one loves to cut living things. What this one loves most of all is cleaving from crown to crotch and splitting a target clean in two.]

The smile was arrogant enough to be irritating. Baal waggled the fingers resting on her arm and continued.

[Second favorite is slicing from the collarbone diagonally to split the body in two. Now you understand, Master, this one loves splitting living things in two. Very, very much.]
"What about beheading?"
[Beheading... not bad, but it is not third favorite. The cut is too clean and too short.]
"Ah, so you like cutting through the innards."
[Exactly!]

Baal's eyes lit up as she cried out.

[Cutting through innards, a lot, very much, in long strokes. The feel of snapping bone in the middle of it all is the best!]
"What about thrusting?"
[Ugh, thrusting is not to this one's taste. Third favorite is slicing from the side to bisect the body.]

Baal giggled and shuddered with a dreamy delight.

[Ahhh... sweet memories rise up. Lord Astaroth's wars of conquest were truly the finest. Those days of feasting, cleaving countless members of the inferior races through their armor and all!]
"The conquest failed, though."
[It did not fail! Lord Astaroth showed mercy to you inferior races! Had Lord Astaroth not in mercy put this one away, Ruin Alastor would have been split in two at that final battle!]

Baal shrieked. When she raised her voice, Kyle quietly lifted his arm, and immediately Baal covered her mouth with both hands.

[A-anyway, Master. This one loves cutting and killing living things very much. Demon Tribe, humans, monsters, anything will do, but if given the choice, this one would like to cut something not yet cut.]
"Such as?"
[Elves! And dragons!]

Baal pulled her hands from her mouth and cried out.

[Dwarves, orcs, and beastkin this one cut during the conquest wars. But elves and dragons, this one has never cut. Master, you will need to prepare a slaughter worthy of satisfying this Baal.]
"I don't particularly want to cut elves."
[Heh heh, this one is not demanding elves and dragons right this moment. For now, this one will restrain itself with human blood... human blood has quite a distinct flavor of its own.]
"You can taste blood?"
[Of course! The moment the blade bites in, from the instant it cuts through an Aura-forged guard, this one can sense everything. The flavor of the mana composing the Aura, the softness of skin and the springiness of muscle, the squelching of innards and the savory richness of blood...]

Baal's eyes went hazy and unfocused again. She shivered for a moment, then collected herself.

[Well, this one understands that you will not be gripping this one right away. In short, this one must prove more pleasing than that mongrel blade. Oho ho, a simple enough task.]

Baal raised her hand with a flourish, and the large cleaver appeared again as before.

[Hear me, Master. The Demon King's brand expands the body and its qualities so the flesh can receive the memories that must be inherited. The Demon Kings this one served were all sole heirs to their brands, and each possessed the right qualities and standing. But that half-blood will not.]

Baal was right. The moment the brand was carved into Lucia, she had done things she had never understood and never been capable of before.

[If it accumulates, in the end she will forget who she even is. A great and vast memory that is not her own will fill her head completely. Within that vastness, the memory and existence of a mere half-blood will become nothing more than a drop of water swallowed by a surging sea.]
"And?"
[Master, is your wish to make the half-blood into a Demon King?]
"That's for Lucia to choose. If Lucia says she wants to become the Demon King, then she should become the Demon King. I only want her to remain herself even if she does."
[Master, every Demon King is the greatest being of their era among the entire Demon Tribe, but among all the Demon Kings throughout history, there are some who were ever so slightly less great. My second master, Lord Belzebub, used me even before receiving the brand, but after the brand came and the ritual was performed, he became a completely different person.]

Baal's expression shifted slightly.

[Lord Belzebub was swept away by the tide of memories flowing in from the brand. Expanding lacking qualities and making an unsuitable vessel suitable, that is the power of the brand. Master, does that half-blood possess a Spirit Root? If she does, what cultivation technique does she use to control her mana?]
"Lucia doesn't have a Spirit Root. Same as the full Demon Tribe. She never learned a specific cultivation technique; she just controls mana naturally, she told me."
[Oh ho... despite having inferior blood mixed in? Remarkable...]
"Don't call it inferior blood."
[Ahem. Then this is fortunate. Master, not all Demon Tribe control their mana with no method at all. The three Demon Kings who held this one were all different, yet every time they swung a blade, the mana flowing through them moved in patterns so alike it could bring this one to longing. The Demon Tribe has cultivation techniques too, different in method from you inferior humans, but they exist.]

Baal closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the memory.

[Start by correcting the way that half-blood controls her mana to be befitting a Demon King. Among the masters this one has served, Lord Astaroth was the greatest, so using Lord Astaroth's cultivation technique would be the right course.]

Baal paused and glanced at Kyle. After confirming he did not look displeased, she quietly opened her mouth.

[But, Master, keep this in mind, and do not blame this one later. This one's advice is about building a vessel strong enough not to be swept away by the memories that must be inherited. It is not a method to avoid becoming the Demon King.]

This succession of the Demon King was without precedent. Rather than a single heir, the brand had been carved into multiple candidates, and whichever among them proved most suited would ascend to that throne.

[A superior vessel means precisely that one is suited to become the Demon King. In truth... if she truly does not want to become the Demon King, she need only do nothing. Or flee from the brand's fate.]
"That's true."

An already-carved brand could not be erased.

"Among your masters, was there one who hated the brand and tried to run from it?"
[Lord Belzebub tried.]

Baal's voice turned subdued.

[But as the sole heir, he ultimately performed the ritual and became the Demon King.]

This time there were multiple heirs. If Lucia chose not to become the Demon King, set down her sword, and did nothing, the brand might judge her unsuitable and choose another candidate instead. That was not certain. There was no telling how this cursed succession ritual selected a Demon King. Had Lizet not said as much herself? That the condition might be killing every other candidate and being the last one standing.

"The choice is Lucia's."

A cruel thing to say, but the brand had been carved into Lucia, not Kyle. What Kyle could offer was help given out of bond and affection, nothing more. He could not decide Lucia's fate for her.

Helenas came to mind. Because Kyle had unintentionally bound a fate to himself, Helenas had devoted five hundred years to Kyle, to the Sword Demon.

Learning Astaroth's cultivation technique would raise Lucia's suitability as a Demon King, but even if she became one, the chances of her not losing herself would be greater.

If she did nothing, she would likely be judged unsuitable to be Demon King, but depending on how the trial unfolded, she would become prey for the other candidates. That path would leave Lucia without enough strength to protect herself.

'If she asks me for help, I can help. The candidates who come later will probably be as strong as Lizet.'

That was its own kind of enjoyable prospect for Kyle. But in exchange, Lucia's interest in the sword would vanish entirely. He turned those thoughts over and opened his mouth toward Baal.

"Baal."
[This one is listening, Master.]
"You were making noise about being better than Fenris. In what way, exactly?"
[Oh, oh oh oh! Master, are you curious about this one's excellence?]

Baal lit up and raised the blade.

[This one is incomparably superior to that mongrel blade, not just in craftsmanship, but unlike that blade which is merely black with no distinguishing feature, this one's edge holds the power of annihilation!]
"I'm not particularly interested in annihilation. Fenris kills people just fine when I cut them."
[There are beings in this world that do not die when cut! Moreover, this one remembers the sword techniques of all previous masters.]

Baal smiled with arrogant satisfaction and pointed at Fenris.

[That Fenris remembers no swords but two, the Sword Demon's and Ruin Alastor's! And even then, Ruin Alastor did not wield Fenris as a sword, so that mongrel blade will not remember all of Ruin Alastor's swordsmanship. It must remember only the Sword Demon's sword, and heh heh, just how impressive could the Sword Demon's sword have been?]

Twitch.

Kyle's eyebrow moved.

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