Chapter 91 : The Crimson Sword, Vlad

{That aside.}

Ophosis spoke.

{Since you came here, it seems that Hans couldn’t bring himself to throw away the dagger in the end. Am I right?}

I nodded.

“He tried to get rid of it after meeting me, but by then it was already too late. The fiends had caught the scent and were closing in.”

Ophosis clicked his tongue.

{Tsk, tsk. Soft-hearted in a way that doesn’t suit him.}

“Don’t worry. After I took the dagger, I killed the baron to draw their attention.”

Ophosis blinked at me.

{…A baron? You killed a noble?}

“That’s right.”

He tilted his head a few times before asking,

{Is it allowed to kill nobles these days?}

“Of course not.”

{Wouldn’t there be a massive bounty? Aren’t the royal knights after you?}

“There’s a hundred gold bounty on my head, and the royal knights have indeed come after me.”

{And yet you killed him?}

“I did.”

{Why?}

“Because he was a bastard.”

{Just for that?}

“What more reason do I need?”

{…?}

“…?”

For a moment, we simply exchanged bewildered stares.

Ophosis finally asked,

{Are you insane?}

“We’re all someone’s lunatic.”

{So you are insane.}

So the legendary blacksmith saw through me in just a few words. His insight truly lived up to his name.

{It’s a wonder you’re still alive. No—how are you even still alive?}

“Good luck.”

{That’s more than luck. Killing a noble should mean the entire kingdom hunting you down.}

“Well, isn’t it simple? No matter how fearsome you make it sound, the kingdom is nothing more than countless individuals. As long as I cut down and slip past those who come at me, that’s all there is to it.”

{Hm… I suppose that’s true.}

“I cut down the fiends who came for the dagger and the bounty, and I cut down the mighty royal knights who came to arrest me. That was enough.”

Ophosis looked at me even more curiously.

{Are you an Aura user?}

“Yes.”

{Strange… I don’t sense any mana from you.}

“Well, let’s just call it a peculiar constitution.”

{And with that, you defeated even the royal knights and made it all the way here?}

“Something like that.”

{Hahaha!}

Ophosis roared with laughter.

{So you’re quite the swordsman. I didn’t recognize you at first.}

I nodded calmly.

“It’s enough that you recognize me now.”

{And the youngest—he’s safe?}

“He is. He’s under the protection of Count Stavanger.”

A faint smile flickered across Ophosis’s face.

{…That’s a relief. Truly. He always refused anyone’s help, stubborn as a mule… I wonder what wind changed him.}

He looked at me.

{Was that wind you?}

“Perhaps. I can be like the wind, you know.”

{…}

“Kidding. Anyone would change once they have family. The weight of being the head of a household—well, it changes a man.”

{That’s true.}

Ophosis nodded quietly.

{So, you’ve come for the Ninth Sword?}

“Yes.”

{Do you really intend to take this vicious thing out into the world?}

“I have my reasons.”

{…So it was destined, after all.}

A sigh heavy with regret escaped him.

I studied him for a moment, then asked,

“Is there some kind of test? Do I need to prove myself?”

{That’s right. You must prove you’re worthy of wielding this savage blade.}

“How?”

Ophosis shook his head.

{That isn’t for me to decide.}

“Then?”

{The sword itself will decide.}

With that, Ophosis stepped aside.

And at last, the Ninth Sword came fully into view.

From the faint light that emanated from Ophosis, crimson steel shimmered as if gently caressed by it.

The sword lay unsheathed, displayed openly. Its blade was unnervingly smooth, gleaming with an edge sharp enough to cut light itself.

Though it had been abandoned and left untended for decades, its killing aura was still intact.

{This is the last of my nine blades—the Crimson Sword, Vlad.}

My eyes swept over it with renewed focus.

The dark shadows and Ophosis’s faint glow slid along the blade’s edge.

{A monstrously feral thing. If you can grip it without losing your body, without having your reason invaded, and still draw out its power, then—and only then—can you call yourself its true master.}

“So, all I need to do is control it?”

{Exactly.}

I tilted my head.

“Losing control of my body? To a mere sword?”

{There’s a reason I imprisoned it here.}

Ophosis’s tone grew grave.

{Inside this blade dwells a demon. A bloodthirsty demon. A wicked spirit so vile that the average man’s mind cannot resist it even for a moment.}

“I see.”

{It slumbers now, but the instant you take hold of it, the demon will awaken from its long sleep. It has been starving for decades, denied blood all this time. It will be far more savage than ever before.}

“Oh?”

I listened intently, intrigued.

{The moment you grasp it, the thing will burrow straight into your inner world. Then it will devour everything it can, little by little consuming both your body and your mind. If you can’t resist it, that’s the end. Your body will be taken over, and a fiend drunk on blood will be born.}

“Kya.”

{As I said, it’s not something the willpower of an ordinary person can withstand. Even if you somehow endure at first, Vlad will never stop seeking an opening. You can’t let your guard down for even an instant. The moment you’re at your weakest, it will rise up and rebel.}

“Oh-ho.”

{And when that happens, you’ll be wrung dry of mana and vitality until your dying breath, becoming nothing but a fiend that craves blood. When you die, Vlad will simply move on to find another host. Thus, the cycle of blood continues to roll on.}

“So, in short, I would become the host of this demonic sword?”

{That’s the precise expression.}

In other words, once I’m dominated, the sword itself becomes the true master.

Now that was interesting. So interesting I couldn’t help but ask, “Old man, how did you even make such a monstrosity?”

Ophosis shook his head.

{I don’t know. I’d be forging in a frenzy, then suddenly I’d wake as if from a dream, and the blade would be complete. At some point, I began losing the memory altogether.}

A state of perfect immersion, then.

{It happened every time I made one of the nine blades—without exception. As though it wasn’t me forging them at all, but the God of Smiths, Volund, borrowing my hands. Vlad, in particular, was strange. The gap in my memory was the longest when I made it.}

“I see.”

That only made me all the more intrigued.

Just what kind of blade was this?

Folding my arms, I studied the Crimson Sword, Vlad, a faint grin tugging at my lips.

“Sounds fun.”

{…Were you even listening to me? I said you’d become a fiend.}

“Of late, I haven’t been all that different from one myself. Taking hold of it won’t change much.”

{…What a bizarre fellow wandered in here.}

Still, there was one more thing I had to ask before I touched it.

“And if I fail to become Vlad’s master?”

{Do you remember what was inscribed on the door?}

“…Something about only those with the qualifications being allowed entry?”

{It also meant that those without the qualifications would never leave.}

I gave him a look of disbelief.

“Where on earth did you get that interpretation?”

{From right here.}

“…”

{If someone leaves this place as a fiend, what then? They’d slaughter their friends with their own hands. That can’t be allowed.}

Now that would be troublesome.

I gathered my thoughts before asking, “So, if I can’t subdue this thing, I’ll be trapped here forever?”

Ophosis nodded.

{That’s right.}

“In this cramped, pitch-dark room? And what fun is there in that?”

{What else? You’d talk with me until you wither away.}

I considered for a moment, then replied, “Hm. That wouldn’t be so bad. Could be fun.”

For some reason, I rather enjoyed talking with this old man. We got along surprisingly well.

{Hahaha! Is that so?}

Ophosis laughed heartily.

{I must admit, I enjoy speaking with you too.}

“Glad to hear it.”

{Still, I’d rather not see you trapped here.}

“I was only half-serious.”

Ophosis chuckled as he looked at me.

{Then may that feral blade behave itself before you.}

I nodded.

“Let’s discipline it first, and then we’ll continue our talk.”

{Very well.}

Hm. Then again, I had the Heavenly Demon in my inner world.

‘…Shouldn’t be a problem.’

At the end of the day, it was only a sword.

There was no way I’d allow myself to be dominated by an object. If I were to be swallowed by a mere blade, I might as well die out there.

For a swordsman to be defeated by his sword—what a joke. The whole world would laugh.

Without hesitation, I grasped the sword.

Throb.

The hilt was hard and cold, yet it pulsed faintly, as though a heart were beating within, blood surging through living veins.

And then—

Flash.

The demon awoke.

Ophosis, hailed as the incarnation of the God of Smiths, Volund.

The legendary blacksmith who poured his soul into nine masterpieces of the sword.

And the last of the nine—

The worst, most wicked of all: the Crimson Sword, Vlad.

Flash.

From its long slumber, the demon opened its eyes.

[Ahh… At last…!]

Vlad threw back its head and laughed.

[Fwahahaha! Hahahahaha!]

After a wild fit of laughter, its lips curled into a crooked grin.

[Such a long, long time. How many years has it been? How long have I slept? This unbearable thirst! I’m parched—mad with thirst!]

Vlad clawed at its own throat with sharp nails, shrieking.

[Ahhh, thirsty-thirsty-thirsty-thirsty-thirsty-thirsty-thirsty-thirsty-thirsty! I need blood! Fresh blood! Crimson blood! Thick, dripping blood! I must drink it. I’ll drown the world in blood and drink my fill!]

The thirst was overwhelming.

Decades without so much as a drop of blood—Vlad’s hunger was beyond imagination.

[Keh-heh-heh! Keh-heh! Freedom! Sweet freedom! Hahahaha!]

Vlad lunged straight along the arm of the reckless human who dared to seize it, rushing headlong into his inner world.

[Foolish human! Do you crave power? I will give it to you! Hahaha! But in return, you will surrender everything to me!]

Every thought burned with the desire to seize this man’s body and escape the prison it had endured.

[I will drench the world in blood!]

And so it reached the human’s inner world.

Most humans never even realized such a space existed within themselves—let alone that something had invaded it.

[Hahaha! I’ll devour you from the inside out!]

Vlad burst through the doors of the inner world with a crash.

But there was already another guest waiting.

[Huh? And what are you?]

On a plush chair, half reclined, chewing on something lazily, sat a man who looked back at it with indifferent eyes.

(End of Chapter)

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