Chapter 41: Wooohooo!

A little while later.

After being guided with a slightly wary look from Hilda, I arrived at the Ironheart Weapon Shop, which had a sign hanging in front.

“We’ve arrived. But, as I mentioned earlier, the interior might be a bit messy… Is that alright with you?”

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s go inside.”

“Wait a moment. Still, a place where a noble like you would visit… I don’t think this is quite appropriate.”

Ding-dong—

Ignoring Hilda’s hesitant words, I opened the door, and the sound of the doorbell greeted us.

The inside of the weapon shop was much better than Hilda had worried about.

The weapons on display seemed to have been regularly maintained, gently gleaming, and even in the corners, there wasn’t a single cobweb.

The floor was spotless, not a scrap of trash in sight, and there was no unpleasant smell for a weapon shop that also served as a forge.

‘It’s cleaner than I expected.’

Had Hilda been regularly cleaning up for her grandfather?

While I casually glanced around the relatively neat weapon shop, I spoke up.

“So, this is the Ironheart Weapon Shop.”

“Hilda said it might be messy, but it seems well-maintained. Plus, the quality of the weapons on display is exceptional,” Lucy remarked, examining some of the swords nearby.

Indeed. 

As expected, the craftsmanship of one of the Empire’s top blacksmiths was undeniable.

The sharpness of the blades and the overall balance of the swords were evident even from a glance.

While I was gently petting Lucy’s head, Hilda, standing nearby, asked.

“By the way, what kind of sword are you looking for?”

“A Demon Sword.”

“Aah… I see. A Demon Sword, you say? Then it’s this way… Eeek!!”

Hilda looked at me in surprise.

Then, stammering, she asked again.

“Wh-why are you looking for a Demon Sword?”

“My old sword broke. I need a new one.”

“Wait a minute. You do know about the Demon Sword, right? It’s a cursed sword. Once you hold it, it’s not just madness you experience. Even getting close to it will cause halLucytions.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

I waved my hand at Hilda, signaling her to calm down.

I was aware of the curse on the Demon Sword.

The sword’s notorious reputation spread after the knight commander of a certain noble family, who had wielded the sword, went mad and wiped out his entire family.

But I also had my own reasons to trust in my own ability.

Just as I was about to call for Duncan to show me the Demon Sword, someone walked out from the inner space behind the counter.

“Hilda! I told you not to worry about the shop! What kind of mercenary did you bring in this time as a customer?”

“Grandfather, please don’t say that! Today, I’ve brought someone truly impressive!”

An old man, with thick eyebrows and a broad nose, walked out from the back, scolding Hilda as he entered.

He was about the same height as Hilda, but his head only reached about the chest level of an average adult man.

I immediately addressed him.

“Are you Duncan Ironheart, the owner?”

“Hm? Yes, that’s me. And who might you be, coming all the way to this rundown weapon shop?”

“Grandfather! Can’t you tell just by looking? It’s a noble! The one who saved people from the Mage Tower by taking on the Swordmaster!” Hilda exclaimed.

“Wh-what!? A noble!?”

The old man’s eyes went wide at Hilda’s words.

“No way… How is it that a noble has come here?”

“As I mentioned earlier, I’m here to see the sword.”

“A sword? What kind of sword are you looking for?”

“I want to see the Heavenly Demon Sword.”

“Th-The Heavenly Demon Sword!?”

The old man exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide.

He quickly wiped the sweat running down his forehead with the sleeve of his robe and continued speaking.

“Phew… Your Excellency, that sword is cursed. Occasionally, curious nobles or brave knights have come to see it, but every time they approached it, they would hear strange voices and eventually give up. It would be better if you left now.”

“If you’re worried about me, it’s fine. I just want to see the sword.”

“I do worry about you, but I also fear that the capital will turn into a sea of blood. The last person who owned that sword was the captain of a certain count’s knights, who was once considered a rising star of the Sword Graduate. Do you know what happened to him?”

“He destroyed his own house.”

“I see you know. By the way, during his battle with the subjugation forces, he slaughtered six Sword Graduates. Now do you understand? If Your Excellency loses control, a hellish battlefield will unfold.”

Duncan spoke in a trembling voice.

It was easy to understand why he was so anxious.

Even I could tell that the Heavenly Demon Sword was clearly dangerous.

But I needed that sword.

It wasn’t because I was some kind of demon or anything like that.

The Heavenly Demon Sword, you see, is actually an Ego Sword with a self-consciousness.

When someone holds it, the sword’s malignant magic—twisted mana—causes the wielder to lose control, as though cursed.

The strange voices they hear are from the sword’s ego, causing it to whisper incessantly.

In the original story, Luke was too inexperienced when he met Duncan, so he could only destroy the sword.

But if I could suppress the rampaging magic, it would be an extremely useful weapon.

I stared directly at Duncan’s wrinkled eyes and spoke.

“Don’t you want to be free from that cursed sword?”

“…It’s a sword that even the church failed to purify. It’s too dangerous.”

“I can remove your shackles. Leave the sword to me.”

“But…”

“Duncan.”

My tone lowered, serious.

I stared at him with my blood-red eyes.

He lowered his head without saying a word, as though caught in the greatest dilemma of his life.

How could he not be torn?

If I succeeded, it would be great, but…

If I failed, everything would end that day.

‘Now, what will you do?’

After a long pause, Duncan clenched his fists and replied.

“Alright. I’ll show you the sword, but if you cannot control it, please destroy it immediately.”

“I understand.”

“However, the young lady over there must wait with Hilda. I cannot allow her to come along, as we don’t know what may happen.”

“I’ll go with you. If, by any chance, my master fails to control the sword, I’ll accept death from his blade.”

“Lucy…”

“Goodness.”

Lucy, who had been standing silently, stepped forward. Duncan pressed his forehead with his hand, looking troubled.

Though he seemed uncomfortable, I felt deeply moved by Lucy’s words.

She was willing to go that far—there was no way I could fail now.

After reaffirming my resolve, we all, including Hilda, who stubbornly insisted on following her grandfather, proceeded to the basement where the Heavenly Demon Sword was kept.

Thud. Thud.

“The closer you get to the sword, the more intense the halLucytions will become. You must cloak your body with mana and move slowly to keep your mind steady” ,

Duncan added as we descended the stairs behind the weapon shop, preparing to show the sword.

At his words, Hilda hurriedly covered her ears with her hands, but to me, it seemed like a pointless action.

After all, the sounds weren’t coming through the ears.

The voice of the Ego Sword, if you had to categorize it, would be more like a form of telepathy or bone conduction—directly transmitted into the mind.

In other words…

[…Kill…Rape…Destroy…]

Something like that.

“Master, I’m hearing strange noises inside my head!”

“Grandfather!”

“Stay calm, Hilda! Cloak your body with mana and maintain your composure!”

As the voices echoed in our heads, those of us descending the stairs hurriedly activated our mana, trying to keep it in check.

Hmm. To me, it just sounded like a regular human voice.

Could it be that only I wasn’t hearing the strange noise?

But as we continued down the stairs, the sinister atmosphere grew stronger, and the voices in my head became louder.

[…Take me in your hand…Kill them all!…Stab them!]

“Your Highness! This is worse than before! This is too dangerous!”

By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs and arrived at the basement, Duncan was drenched in sweat.

Lucy and Hilda also didn’t look well.

What should I do?

I feel fine, but…

It would be a shame to turn back now that we’ve come this far.

Maybe I should go in alone.

I briefly hesitated, then pushed open the basement door and stepped inside.

Creeeak—

“Your Highness! It’s dangerous!”

“Master!”

The rusty iron door creaked open, and Duncan and Lucy’s cries echoed from behind.

The moment I stepped into the basement, a chilling draft brushed against my cheek.

The demonic energy filling the space sent a prickling sensation throughout my body.

What a deadly atmosphere.

But where’s the sword?

Raising my hand to signal Lucy to wait, I looked around.

In the center of the basement, a black sword was embedded in the ground.

‘Found it.’

It was unmistakable, the horrifying demonic energy emanating from the sword.

That’s the Cheonma Sword.

But as I took another step toward it, the voice from earlier became more distinct in my mind.

[Oh wow! This is crazy! A Swordmaster has come this time?]

‘…..’

[Hmm? What are you waiting for? Take me now! Grab me and kill all the men, rape all the women!]

‘…..’

What in the world?

Staring down at the Cheonma Sword stuck in the dark basement floor, the voices continued to echo in my mind.

In the midst of this unexpected situation, I was left dumbfounded.

For now, I wanted to shut this damn Ego Sword up.

Let’s see…

To suppress the demonic energy, I need to overwhelm it with my mana, right?

Recalling the memories from the original story, I strode toward the sword, gripping its hilt tightly.

Crack—

[Oh, yeah. You finally grabbed me! Now, stab that old man with me, and then stab all the women!]

As soon as I took hold of the hilt, the Cheonma Sword went wild, spewing even more vile words.

What a crazy sword this is.

There’s no way I can let this keep talking.

What should I do?

I want to destroy it right now.

No, I should at least try to suppress it first.

With that thought flowing through my mind, I gripped the sword’s hilt even tighter, putting all my strength into it.

Ignoring the incessant barking in my head, I poured my mana into the sword.

Swoooosh—!

[Ohhhhhhh!]