Reincarnated as a Sword Vol. 4

by Yuu Tanaka

  If you say so. I’ll look for an opening.

  Hm.

  “Arf.”

  “You came close. With that much power, you actually have a chance of interrupting my ritual. Not that my death would be enough to stop it. At best, it would buy you an extra ten minutes.”

  “Ritual?”

  “Ho ho ho! There is no use in telling you what it’s for. The ritual is already complete!” Linford bellowed.

  The vague magic circle behind him glowed with an intensity too blinding to behold and then released a vast amount of mana into its surroundings.

  “The other victims will turn into Fiends and create more slaves for the Evil One! Alas, we only succeeded in infecting three hundred and thirty. We were supposed to have thirty times that. No matter. Zelyse has plans for adding to our number.”

  It was the magic circle all along! Victims of the Fiend Water were beginning to transform throughout Bulbola.

  “If you’ll excuse me.”

  “Wait!”

  Fran slipped her hand into the Pocket Dimension and threw Death Gaze at Linford, but the barrier protected him.

  “Ho ho ho. You’ll need to throw a lot harder than that. Your sword really is the source of your power, then. Very well. You lot, capture the girl. Kill her if you have to.”

  “Understood,” said the surviving Corrupted Humans.

  They had regenerated at some point.

  “Come quietly and offer your body to Lord Linford. Plead for your life quickly while he remains merciful,” the creatures scoffed.

  Our Fake Identity showed Fran to be a mere D-Rank adventurer, after all. The Corrupted Humans grew haughty now that they thought she was beneath them.

  “Plead? You should be pleading for your lives instead.”

  “Ho ho ho! It pleases me to see such spirit in a girl your age, although too much spirit is bad for the soul. Enough foolishness. Kill her.”

  Linford disappeared. Damn it. Did he teleport away? Was that within the scope of Fiendmancy?

  “Brace yourself, little girl!”

  “You’ll regret talking back to Lord Linford!”

  The Corrupted Humans charged towards us. They looked shocked when they saw that Fran had disappeared, too. Not that she used any spell to do it. She just moved too fast for them to follow.

  Fran quickly disposed of the Corrupted, not even giving them a chance to defend themselves. Fran had greater stats and a wider array of skills than all of them combined. This was what happened when you underestimated your opponent.

  Fran, let’s destroy the magic circle for now.

  “I’m on it.”

  We barraged the circle with spells to destroy it and left the mansion. The city was restless despite the late hour. I heard screams of fear and roars of fury in the distance. The harbor was lit up, not only with lights, but with red fire. The three hundred Corrupted Humans had already gone berserk. We had no time to hunt down every last one. The Knight Guard would have to pull through.

  We have to get going.

  “Hm.”

  “Woof, woof!”

  We killed every Fiend we ran into along the way. The completion of the ritual made the transformed townsfolk lose their minds. Only Servants of the Evil One like Linford and his cronies kept their wits about them.

  We couldn’t leave the Corrupted Humans to run rampant…but I knew Zelyse and Linford were still up to something, and that was top priority.

  We’ll go after Linford and Zelyse while they’re still close. Jet, sniff them out.

  “Woof!”

  We cut down three Corrupted along the way. Ten minutes later, we arrived at our destination.

  ***

  How are things on your end, Master Linford?

  “Zelyse? Aah, you’re using the telepathic magivice.”

  Indeed. I am on my way to the Alchemists’ Guild.

  “I am heading to the temple as we agreed. Things are finally going according to plan. There was a bit of an obstacle, but I managed to activate the magic circle.”

  Obstacle?

  “Yes. The Count knows about our plans. I suppose even he could no longer turn a blind eye to his son’s foolishness. He sent the Black Cat beastgirl after us. It’s that adventurer, Fran. She was nothing special. I am sure that my minions have taken care of her by now.”

  We’ve no further use for Brook in any case, so the Count shouldn’t prove a problem. I do think killing this Fran girl is a bit pointless now, though.

  “All that’s left is for Theraclede to capture that girl… Charlotte, that’s her name. Then our preparations will be complete.”

  The Fiendstones have already been delivered to the temple.

  “I see.”

  To think that Fiendmancy can actually make contact with the temple sanctuary, even if only for a limited time. I still find it most curious.

  “A simple procedure. All I need is an open conduit. It so happens that the Moons Festival provides the biggest opening for that conduit.”

  Such a shame that it also allowed for the purification ceremony.

  “All we need to do is reverse the ceremony. Charlotte is highly suited to become a priestess—she will make the perfect sacrifice. We can reap over a thousand souls by using her blood.”

  How ironic that we need a holy priestess for the return of the Evil One.

  “A last resort. If not for that strange bread, we would have corrupted at least a thousand souls.”

  The Fiends will all be sacrificed to my crystal troops in the end. Just a little more time.

  “Indeed. Then I will make a magic circle out of this city. A fitting altar for the Evil One.”

  All bloodshed in this city will be an offering to him.

  “Yes. That is why we put up with Brook’s nonsense coup.”

  Let us take care, lest we stumble in our final steps.

  “I know. I await good news.”

  Chapter 6:

  The Greedy Alchemist

  Jet led us to a giant building.

  The Adventurers’ Guild looked small in comparison, and its facade had the dignified look of a fortress. It could easily hold a thousand people. This was the Alchemists’ Guild.

  “There are a lot of adventurers here,” Fran said as she surveyed the free-for-all in front of the guild hall.

  I recognized the adventurers from their gear…but who were they fighting? They looked like Fiends, although the lack of life in their eyes made me think they were Undead. And yet, I could sense their hearts beating.

  I Identified them as we approached. The adventurers were fighting creatures called Hellions. I’d never seen them before, and Fran was just as clueless. They were under the status ailment Damaged. I knew Poison, Paralyze, and Possessed, but what was Damaged?

  Let’s get an adventurer to tell us what’s going on.

  “Hm.”

  “Woof!”

  I noticed a familiar face as we got closer. Eugene the Alchemist was with the adventurers, shooting spells at the shambling Hellions.

  “Eugene?”

  “Fran!”

  “What happened here?”

  “Before that, I must apologize.”

  Eugene rushed to our side, looking sullen. His laboratory was raided not an hour ago. The attackers had turned into Fiends that went berserk in the guild and charged into his lab. They stole only one thing.

  “They took the Soul Essence you gave me…”

  Did the YTA want their Soul Essence back…? No, Zelyse had his eyes on the Soul Essence from the beginning. It was probably his doing.

  “I recognized an alchemist among the Fiends rampaging through the guild hall.”

  Eugene had gathered a team of adventurers for his excursion to the Alchemists’ Guild. When they got here, a swarm of shambling Hellions came to greet them.

  “We managed to rescue some of the alchemists. When I asked them what happened, they said that it was an illegal alchemical experiment gone awry, courtesy of the high masters. They’ve also been
sheltering my foolish pupil.”

  The High Alchemists intended to use Zelyse to further their own ends. Instead, he poisoned them and took control of the entire guild. To make matters worse, he had run out of slaves to experiment on and had taken to using the apprentice alchemists instead.

  His illegal research was called Human Hellion Studies—the same twisted experiments that Eugene had taken the fall for. Zelyse was grafting crystals into people to see if they could gain their power. Although he was supposed to have been exiled and had his research destroyed, some of the high alchemists thought it a shame to waste such promising research. They sheltered Zelyse and carried on his experiments. The research would prove valuable if they succeeded—they could’ve sold it to the country or the army for a dear price.

  “So these used to be alchemists?”

  “Yes… I asked the adventurers to see if removing the crystal would save them…”

  Eugene had tried everything from Cleansing Magic, Healing Magic, surgery, and good old-fashioned Skill barrages to remove the crystal. None of it worked. Destroying, or even removing, a crystal would kill the person it was attached to. They were no different from monsters.

  “They can’t talk?”

  “They’ve lost their minds. All they can do now is rage.”

  Theraclede had retained his speech. Were Fiends capable of receiving a crystal implant?

  “Half of them were already crawling out of the guild hall… All we can do is surround the guild to contain the rest.”

  Subduing the rampaging Hellions proved difficult. As weak as they were, the former alchemists had retained their ability to use magic. Telling the adventurers to “incapacitate” these creatures was no better than a death sentence. Removing the crystal implant was only worth trying if they happened to accidentally knock a Hellion out.

  “So we have to kill them?”

  “Yes.”

  We had no choice. It was unfortunate, but we were running out of time. We had to work fast.

  Teacher, go for the crystal.

  You’re right.

  Fran brandished me and charged through the horde of hellions. I felt the familiar sensation of crystal absorption. However, I didn’t gain the creature’s skills. The stone had been artificially attached, so that could be the reason. To make things worse, I only gained one point of crystal for my trouble.

  Let’s get this over with.

  “Hm.”

  Fran charged through the horde again, but every hellion I cut down only yielded a single crystal. Unfortunate. Suddenly, a new creature with a slightly different look appeared.

  “It’s strong.”

  Its stats are up there, too. And it’s not in a Damaged state.

  This thing was much faster and stronger than the others. It also had a single point in Sword Mastery. Fran took it down in an instant, but it was still tougher than all the rest. I got three crystal pieces out of it. Was that what Damaged was supposed to indicate? Perhaps Damaged meant that the creature was weak and didn’t yield much crystal. It could also refer to the state of the crystal itself.

  That took care of most of the hellions outside. I was about to barge through the Alchemists’ Guild door, but I didn’t detect any signs of life coming from inside. If there was anything alive in there, they weren’t that strong. So why was I getting a bad feeling about it…?

  Jet felt it, too.

  “Grrr…”

  He crouched in front of the guild doors and growled.

  What is it, Jet?

  “Bark, bark!”

  “Something’s coming.”

  I can’t feel a thing…

  I deferred to Fran and Jet’s judgment, despite not detecting anything. Their senses were much sharper than mine.

  “We’ll be ready when it comes out.”

  Right!

  We waited for a minute before I finally felt the encroaching presence. Its aura was faint, and its mana output felt weak. Strangely, I knew that the creature was strong. My Danger Sense triggered with each step it took. What interested me most was how unnatural the creature was. It did not feel like a living thing but like a crawling mass of mana. My questions were answered when the creature showed itself.

  Is that a Golem? Looks like it has Identity Protection, too.

  Even with Heavensight, I only managed to scan the creature’s name: Crystal Golem.

  “Grr.”

  Here it comes! Get ready!

  “Hm!”

  The Crystal Golem looked intimidating as it ran down the steps of the Alchemists’ Guild. Its hulking body was formed from crimson crystal, and it looked like an armored gorilla with its long arms and short legs.

  We felt no life flow through it. It really was a Golem.

  As we watched its movements, the Golem raised its right arm. Without warning, it blasted a beam of red light. It had Flame Magic. Flare Blast, to be exact. The ray of fire blazed across the battleground.

  There was no time to prepare! As we puzzled over its existence, the creature seized its chance and blasted us with magic. With that much power, the Crystal Golem might raze the neighborhood.

  Damn it!

  “Hang in there!”

  We frantically cast Healing Magic all around us. We were just in time, and no one lost their life. Thankfully, no one had taken a direct hit.

  “Raaagh!”

  “Take that thing down!”

  The adventurers charged towards the Crystal Golem and started hacking away at it. However, their attacks barely fazed it, despite its lack of magical barriers or defensive spells.

  “What is this thing made of?!”

  “It’s worse than cutting rocks!”

  The Crystal Golem was rock hard. The swords of low-rank adventurers barely grazed the creature’s crystalline skin. All they did was make it easier for the thing to blast them with another beam of flame. Several people caught fire and rolled on the ground desperately. We managed to heal them, but if we didn’t take this thing down soon, there would be casualties.

  “Hey, there. How do you like my Crystal Golem?”

  “Hm?”

  What is that? A hologram? Is he using Illusion Magic?

  A man appeared between us and the golem just as we were closing in on it. I thought he’d warped here, but it was a mirage. The figure was see-through, and bits of mana static interrupted his broadcast.

  The man was irritatingly handsome. He was in his mid-twenties, by my count. His blonde hair and blue eyes gave him a princely appearance, despite his short stature.

  “Who are you?”

  “Zelyse!” Eugene’s shocked cry revealed the newcomer’s identity.

  “It’s been a long time, Master.”

  So this was Zelyse? He was younger than I thought and didn’t look anything like I imagined. I thought he would be a seedy-looking researcher type in his mid-forties.

  “You haven’t changed a bit.”

  “Being a Magus has its perks.”

  So his youth was a product of his race.

  “What happened to the alchemists? Was that your doing?”

  “Yes. All failed experiments of crystal grafting. It appears that even if you manage to graft a crystal onto a human, they need to be strong enough to take it, both physically and mentally. My weaker subjects died immediately. The luckier ones merely went brain dead. I’ve seen necromancers raise livelier zombies. Well, at least they’re easy to control.”

  Zelyse boasted about his crimes as if they were medals. He was getting on my nerves. At least he was giving us free information.

  “I must dedicate more time to hellion research. That Crystal Golem, though? That’s almost done. What do you think? This is just another one of my great achievements. I don’t mean to brag, of course. Where would I be without my collaborator?”

  “Are you talking about Linford?”

  “Correct. And you must be the adventurer, Fran. I’ve heard about you.”

  “Who is this Linford?”

  Right, Eugene didn�
��t know about the old wizard.

  “Fiendmancer. One of the people behind this monster transformation mess.”

  “Hey, I helped, too. He taught me how to use Malice and Fiendmancy. I taught him alchemy and all there is to know about crystals.”

  I knew he was in on it!

  “So you are part of tonight’s unrest?”

  “That’s right, Master. In fact, I dare say I planned most of it. We needed a lot of souls, you know. Two to three thousand, at least.”

  Zelyse smiled innocently. He didn’t have a shred of conscience left in him. Eugene turned pale.

  “Wh-why…”

  “Let’s see. I guess I wanted proof that I was alive.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Fran tilted her head. I didn’t understand what he was talking about either.

  “Let me simplify it for you. I want to leave a mark on history. I want to be so renowned that they’ll talk about me a thousand years from now.”

  “And you plan on sacrificing the lives of thousands just for that?! Zelyse, what are you thinking…?!” Eugene glared at him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Where did you go wrong…?”

  “Nowhere. I was polite, yes, but this is how I’ve always been. I am thankful to you, Master. Thanks to you, my dreams will come true.”

  Eugene was a good person at heart. He couldn’t understand Zelyse’s malice—though malice was too kind of a word for Zelyse. He saw the rest of the world as mere material to further his means.

  Even now, I think Eugene believed there might be a chance for him to turn over a new leaf. But as far as I was concerned, Zelyse was past redemption. We were dealing with no mere rotten apple, but a mutant who actively infected and poisoned other apples. Apples like him needed to be disposed of, lest someone eat it and die.

  Unfortunately, he was good at hiding himself. It was hard to detect him until it was too late.

  “Besides, is it so strange to want to be famous? To leave behind a legacy? Everyone must have that desire.”

  “There is a limit to it! Are you satisfied with notoriety for committing a great massacre?”

  “Actually, yes.”

  His response was so immediate and guileless that it made me sick.

  “I don’t mind being notorious. In fact, being notorious might be better.”