Sword.
The sword is one of the most familiar weapons to me.
First of all, the sword was the easiest weapon for me to obtain, and thus, it was the only means I had to resist when I had no strength.
And even after I learned magic, it was one of the weapons I always used in close combat.
Before coming here, I always had a sword at my waist, and I felt at ease knowing it was with me.
So, when I first infiltrated, I felt anxious—because the sword that was always with me wasn’t there.
Well, in the end, this place was relatively peaceful compared to the other side, so I didn’t really have a chance to use the sword.
Anyway, the sword that I had forgotten for a while because I hadn’t needed it is now needed again in this situation.
But a problem arose. Perhaps because I hadn’t used the sword in a long time, holding it now feels a bit awkward. It doesn’t seem to move as smoothly as it used to.
It’s unavoidable, though. Even if I kept up with occasional training, it’s true that I haven’t wielded the sword in a long time. So the conclusion is, I need to recall my senses for using the sword now.
I first recalled the swordsmanship I used.
There was only one person who taught me the sword.
Duke Redross Arcindus the First.
A person second only to the Demon King among demons and my mentor.
And my teacher.
He is a dragonkin. Dragonkin are generally larger than other races. Redross, fittingly, is over 200 cm tall and has a massive build.
There’s an obvious difference in body size between him and me, right? Yet, for some reason, he taught me his swordsmanship.
Dragon King Style. The swordsmanship he taught me.
Redross and I had significant physical differences, as well as differences in experience and mental strength. Because of this, learning the Dragon King Style was very challenging for me, and I had to overcome that.
But I overcame all of that, and I gained a true sword.
I closed my eyes and began to recall his teachings.
“Does it frustrate you that you can’t block and only get hit, Hella? There’s nothing you can do about it. If you don’t know, you’ll get hit.”
No, not that one.
“Listen carefully, Hella. The wind is free. No one can capture the wind, and because of that, the wind can go anywhere.”
“The wind does not stop. Even if an obstacle stands in its way, it never stops.”
“And the wind shows us many forms. Sometimes it’s weak like a gentle breeze, and other times, it’s strong like a typhoon.”
“Remember these well; they are the essence of the swordsmanship you will use.”
These were his words to me before he taught me the sword.
“Do not stop moving; wield your sword freely as your heart desires. The speed doesn’t matter. You can move fast or slow.”
“But you must never stop in the middle. Once you start swinging your sword, the flow of movement must not be interrupted. Keep moving, like the wind.”
“If you keep cutting down your enemies in this way, when your sword stops again, you’ll be the only one standing on the battlefield.”
“This is the sword of the Wind Dragon.”
And these were his words as he taught me the sword.
Now, with his words in mind, I closed my eyes and recalled my past sensations. I envisioned myself wielding the sword, dashing across the battlefield.
The thought didn’t last long.
“Kuueeeek!”
It was because the sandworm didn’t wait for me and pounced.
As the darkness lifted from my vision, I saw hundreds of teeth moving as if to grind me up.
And I…
I dodged the sandworm that lunged with its mouth open, struck down with the sword held in reverse onto the sandworm’s body, and pulled.
A thin gap appeared where the sword moved, and blood trickled down like raindrops.
“Kuueeel!”
And the agonizing scream of the sandworm.
The sandworm tried to turn its head and attack me again.
But I gave it no chance.
Fixing my body by embedding my sword in the sandworm, I struck down with the sword held in my other hand.
That sword strike made the sandworm bleed again.
When the sword stopped…
Thud.
The sandworm split in half.
“Next.”
I immediately turned around and began looking for the nearest enemy.
“Kuueeel!”
“Someone, help!!”
I identified the nearest enemy, dashed over, and stabbed.
Then cut.
I slammed down with one arm, slashed with the other. I focused only on this and repeated it.
Slash.
“Next.”
Slash.
“Next.”
Each time I swung my sword, blood splattered, flesh burst, and the flying blood splashed onto my clothes and cheeks, a foul smell rising.
Screams, cries, shouts, pleas for help.
All kinds of loud noises rang in my ears.
But.
Without stopping, I continued. I filled my mind solely with wielding the sword. Shaking off all other thoughts, I ran, focusing solely on swinging the sword.
The thought was speed.
I kept moving. I swung my hand faster. I moved my legs more swiftly.
Act quickly, think quickly, move everything even faster.
As if I had become a tempest.
Dragon King Style.
Wind Dragon’s First Stance, Gale.
I unleashed my most familiar swordsmanship freely. Without restraint.
Continuing to slash, tear, and run without pause.
“Kuueeeek!”
“Next… hmm?”
When I came back to my senses, all the enemies were dead.
And as I looked around for the next enemy…
Boom!
I saw the largest sandworm collapse onto the ground with a loud noise.
***
“I’m back.”
After confirming that there were no more sandworms to handle, I immediately returned to where Reina was.
But strangely, what greeted me was silence. Bliss and Reina were simply staring at me blankly.
Feeling curious, I approached Bliss and spoke to her.
“Miss Bliss?”
“Lady Ruina…”
And she, gazing blankly at me, replied.
“Yes.”
“You’re amazing!”
Soon, she grabbed my hand and shouted loudly.
“What?”
And with my hand still in hers, she started talking nonstop.
“Oh, it was truly incredible! It felt like watching a sword dance. It was concise, fast, and practical, but at the same time, there was a certain grandeur. How should I describe this feeling? Elegant beauty? Practical splendor? Anyway, I was so surprised at how strong you are! It’s similar to the holy knights! Or perhaps, could it be like that useless paladin over there? In my eyes, Lady Ruina is far superior to that foolish Artorius, don’t you think?”
What the hell.
At first, it was fine, but as I kept listening, it became increasingly hard to hear. Speaking in such a loud voice that the whole place could hear, my face started to heat up.
Especially when she mentioned Artorius, she raised her voice even more.
This is awkward. How am I supposed to face Artorius now? Every time I see his face, Bliss’s words will come to mind.
And if I accidentally hurt his pride and he takes it badly… that’d be terrible.
First, I need to stop this chatter.
“Oh, how can I even express it? My heart kept racing as I watched! How could this… Mmph mmph!”
“Enough! I appreciate the compliments, but it’s embarrassing.”
I covered her mouth with my hand. Despite blocking her mouth, I felt something moving against my palm, as if she was still trying to speak.
“Ruina!”
After silencing Bliss, Reina approached with her arms open.
Is she trying to hug me?
I checked the condition of my clothes. Currently, my clothes are dirty, smeared with sandworm flesh and blood.
If I were to hug Reina like this, her clothes would surely get dirty.
So, I extended my other arm to stop Reina from coming closer.
“Reina, don’t come any closer. My clothes are splattered with blood, and yours will get dirty.”
“Aww… okay. And, Ruina, you looked amazing just now.”
“Thank you for that.”
As we were having this back-and-forth…
“Long live the hero!!!”
Cheers erupted from behind. It seemed certain that the sandworm was truly dead.
“It feels like things have finally wrapped up. Let’s head back.”
I removed my hand from Bliss’s mouth as I spoke.
“There’s still so much I haven’t told you…”
“I’ll listen later.”
Bliss looked a bit disappointed, but upon my promise, she brightened up and took Reina’s hand, walking ahead of me.
I expected Reina to resist, but surprisingly, her expression was bright as if they were close.
Watching them, I thought, *When did those two get so close?*
Just as I took a step, shadows started to form around us.
*What is this?*
Curious, I turned around and saw something enormous rising.
“Eeeek!”
Another ear-splitting screech echoed.
“What the hell…?”
Without thinking, I let out a curse I hadn’t used in ages.
The situation was that absurd.
*Wasn’t it dead? Or, was there another one? Then why is it emerging now? Why on earth?*
As bewildering as the situation was, I had to decide what to do quickly.
The sandworm’s head, with its vicious mouth wide open, was rapidly approaching.
I forced myself to start thinking.
Behind me were Bliss and Reina.
The diameter of the sandworm’s mouth was roughly seven meters, and the spot where we were located would be…
In the center.
*Can I evade that enormous mouth while taking both of them with me? Can we escape its range in one sprint? Can I manage with just this buff? What if I abandoned Bliss? Or, if I confront it with my sword, could I hold it off at least once?*
I thought, pondered, and thought again. With little time, I had to be faster, faster, even faster.
Accelerating my thoughts.
As I did, the speed at which the sandworm approached gradually slowed.
Everything around me began to move in slow motion.
And in this slowly moving world, I pondered.
What should I do?
I could see the sandworm’s mouth slowly approaching.
My mind grew more frantic.
I could see hundreds of its teeth, moving slowly.
My gaze became more urgent.
But no viable solution came to mind.
My heart raced.
*What if I ran forward? I wouldn’t be able to save Bliss and Reina. Or sideways? It’s no different from the other option. Could the hero save us? Or maybe Olivia could rescue us with magic?*
As my desperate thoughts cycled through ideas, each rising and falling, they all reached the same conclusion.
If I went on like this, I’d die.
The only solution that all my thoughts converged on was…
To remove the ring and use magic.
If I removed the ring and used magic, we’d all survive. But if I used magic? The hero and paladin over there would realize that I was using demonic energy.
Even if they didn’t notice, Bliss surely would.
What should I do? How can I get through this situation?
Thinking.
If I don’t remove the ring, I’ll die, and even if I remove it and survive, I’ll still die.
But if I don’t remove the ring, death is certain, while if I remove it and live, at least I have a chance.
Even in this situation, time continued to flow, and the sandworm’s mouth was slowly drawing closer.
I made my decision.
I’d remove the ring and use demonic energy. What happens afterward? I’ll deal with that later.
“Screw it!”
Cursing for the first time in ages, I grabbed the ring.
“Stop.”
A small voice came from behind. It was so faint that if it weren’t me, it would have been drowned out by the sandworm’s screech, unheard by anyone.
But the moment that voice reached me, an astonishing event occurred.
Right after the voice echoed, the sandworm’s approaching speed began to slow down.
*It… stopped?*
Soon, the sandworm came to a halt.
Not everything stopped; its teeth continued moving.
“Eeeeeeek!”
Its screeching also continued.
But the sandworm’s body froze, unable to approach us.
As if something had restrained it.
In this bizarre situation, I turned around, searching for the owner of the voice that seemed to be the cause of this.
And soon, I realized who it was.
The owner of the voice was Reina. Just to be sure, I looked around again, but every one of my senses concluded that Reina was the source.
When I turned my gaze back to her, an unfamiliar sense of unease settled over me.
First, her demeanor was different from usual.
Her normally lively eyes were lifeless.
Her face, usually always wearing a smile, was now expressionless.
It wasn’t a big change. To anyone else, she’d probably just seem a bit down.
But, somehow, just looking at her made my hands tremble uncontrollably. My head felt as if it had been struck, making coherent thought difficult.
Something about Reina felt off. It was as if she wasn’t really herself.
Yet this feeling, this sensation.
It was familiar. Strangely familiar. It even felt nostalgic.
Where had I felt this before?
I immediately started searching my memory for where I’d felt this sensation, and soon, one particular memory came to mind.
And as I realized the source of this eerie familiarity, I was shocked.
Why.
Why does Reina’s figure remind me of him?
The Demon King.
As I looked at Reina now, a scene he once showed me in Shurden resurfaced in my mind.
Back then, it was the same as now. We were on the sand with nothing around us but our swords, and a sandworm had suddenly lunged at us.
But when the sandworm opened its enormous mouth to swallow us…
“Watch closely, Hella, and etch this sight into your eyes. The sight of your king.”
With a single gesture, he had halted the monstrous beast.
Just like right now.
The Demon King.
He possesses a special ability.
And this ability is the reason why all the dukes acknowledged his supremacy, why he was able to unify the once-chaotic demon kind, and why the entire demon race accepted him as king.
That ability is…
Absolute Obedience of Beasts.
Every beast in this world follows the Demon King. No matter the language barrier, difference in species, or size, they obey his command.
And these creatures carry out his orders silently, even if commanded to sacrifice their lives.
As if loyal to their king.
And even the mighty Four Great Beasts are no exception.
Thus…
Demonic energy, demonkind, and beasts.
All the world’s darkness follows him.
That is why he is the Demon King.
Unique among the demons, the most powerful, and why his ability made him king.
The situation now seemed as if his power had manifested.
The sandworm, which had been moving perfectly fine, stopped right before devouring us, standing motionless as if obeying an order.
And from what I heard, the one who issued that command was Reina.
There’s nothing strange about it.
Aria Aiphion—she is the Demon King’s daughter. Perhaps it’s only natural for her, who inherited his blood, to use his powers.
But it raised questions.
Why did her ability manifest now?
Why had she never done this before?
Was she hiding this from me even though she could use it?
Why didn’t she tell me?
Did she not trust me?
And how can she use her power while her demonic energy is sealed?
Countless questions whirled in my mind.
But I set them all aside for now.
What mattered now was that Reina had bought us time.
And with Bliss’s blessing, I could save both Reina and Bliss.
For now, survival comes first. The questions can wait.
Making a quick decision, I moved immediately.
After finishing my thoughts, I approached Reina and Bliss, wrapping one arm around Reina and the other around Bliss.
“Eek!”
“Kyah!”
They both seemed startled by my sudden action, but given the situation, I ignored it and ran.
Thanks to this, I soon escaped the sandworm’s range.
Finally, I could catch my breath.
After carefully setting them down, I looked back.
“There’s another one! Everyone, throw the hooks!”
Soldiers, quickly assessing the situation, threw hooks at the sandworm again.
And not long after…
With another loud noise, this long, long hunt finally came to an end.
Reina here to save the day !
thanks for the chapter !