章 12: Sword

You know, I never thought that I would be joining the hero party of this universe. Riou Genkaku is a young man around sixteen, just one year older than me.

Right, I follow Riou through the Cave of Winds in search of the Star Dragon Sword, the only sword that can nullify Neclord power. Right now, Neclord, the vampire, cannot be killed because a normal weapon and magic will not work against him.

Anyway, after fighting our way through, we arrive at the opening where there should be a person waiting for Viktor's presence.

And true to my prediction, as we walk toward where the Star Dragon Sword is located, someone is waiting for us, standing there in the corner of the room.

This man is Khan Marley.

We walked toward Khan, and before Riou could say something, Viktor beat him to it.

"Who are you? What are you doing hanging around here?"

"I was waiting for you, Viktor."

"How do you know my names?!? Are you one of Neclord's undead Slaves?!?"

Before Viktor could take out his sword, Riou and I held him down.

"Don't get too excited. I understand the feeling, though. Neclord… You are not the only victim of his cruelty. I also have a grudge against him."

"So you want a piece of him too, eh?"

"Yes… The Marley family has been hunting vampires for generations. My father and his father hunted Neclord in the past before they were both killed by the said vampire. Ever since I was a young boy, I swear that I would destroy him with my own hands. In the name of the Marley family, I swear that I will destroy Neclord!"

After hearing Khan's explanation, Viktor begins to relax before saying.

"So, what do you want from me?"

"My business isn't with you… It is with the Star Dragon Sword and the Rune of the Night. Neclord uses a Doppelganger technique to make a double of himself. The Neclord that you defeated is not the real Neclord."

"Doppelganger… Do you mean the one I defeated in the past is not the real Neclord?"

Neclord has been defeated in the past by Viktor's own hand. This happens when Viktor joins Tir McDohl in the Toran Liberation War three years ago if the timeline is correct. Viktor successfully defeats Neclord with the help of Tir McDohl and his True Rune of Death called Soul Reaper.

Oh, did I mention that Star Dragon Sword is also a True Rune? Star Dragon Sword is the holder of the rune called Rune of the Night, A True Rune representing the "power of the night," this rune allows "creatures of the night," such as zombies, skeletons, and vampires to exist.

This rune is the only thing that can only nullify the power of Moon Rune. The only thing that can cover the bright moon is the darkness of the night.

Oh? What is Moon Rune? Well, Moon Rune is another True Rune. The Moon Rune is a True Rune representing destruction and compassion. This rune also turns its bearer into a vampire. This rune carries a huge curse with it, as it actually dominates its bearer's mind until she/he gains mastery over its powers.

A bearer of this rune will go on a rampage as their thirst for blood begins to dominate their mind, and only complete control over it will make the thirst go away. However, the bearer needs a long time for he/she can control the rune.

"He's a vampire that lived for hundreds of years. Of course, he would learn some techniques that will keep him alive. However, if we use the Night Rune to cast his spirit out and seal it, I think we'll be able to capture his spirit."

"That stupid sword… Whadda ya mean 'Night Rune'? He's the reason why we didn't beat the first time!"

"Well… I know one thing, without the Star Dragon sword, we have no chance to kill Neclord. That is why I am waiting for you. I know you will be coming to get it."

"If you knew the location of that dumb sword, why you didn't take that old Star Dragon Sword for yourself?"

"That sword was not meant to be used by me. In any case, the way it looks…"

"That I figured…"

"So, may I travel with you? After all, we have the same goal."

After talking to Viktor, Khan looked at Riou before asking him to let him join the party. Riou thinks for a second before saying.

"Sure."

"Thank you. Well then, shall we retrieve the Star Dragon Sword."

With a nod from Riou, we continue our journey in search of the Star Dragon Sword.

~Thirty Minutes Later~

"AHRRRGHH"

You know I never dreamed of being fighting a sentient flying sword, but here we are.

After we explored all the caves, we arrived in front of a sword that was stabbed on the stone. It was a black stone that had the shape of a face on it. Viktor then begins to talk toward the sword and calls it pal, an old friend, or something like that.

However, instead of greeting Viktor back, the sword begins to shout about how dare Viktor leave it inside the cave and how Viktor is its servant.

When Viktor says that the sword should be shut its mouth, Star Dragon Sword begins to float in the air and grows in size.

And here we are. Fighting against sentient gigantic swords that can shoot lightning. Oh? I didn't say that the sword shoots lightning? Well, too bad because it can shoot a beam of lightning.

"Watch out!"

With a flick of my wand, I create a massive dome made of earth that blocks the incoming lightning. I can see Riou and Viktor nod at me for protecting them from the incoming attack.

When I feel the beam of lightning is over, I release my spell before charging at the sword with my spear and wand in hand.

While charging at the sword, I conjure a hundred arrows and fire them at the sword. When I see the sword blocking all the incoming arrows with its magic, I can see Viktor, Riou, and Nanami already sneaking their way toward the sword back. When they see my arrow make the sword busy, they begin to attack the sword with their weapon.

I don't know how we can defeat a sentient sword, but by looking at the aura around the sword, I can see that every time our attack hits, the aura begins to reduce a little bit.

Anyway, it looks like the surprise attack is working. With the sword's attention on Riou, Viktor, and Nanami, I charge at the sword once again, but this time, Freed Y also charges at the sword with his weapon in hand.

While charging at the Star Dragon Sword, I can see the sword create a beam of lightning toward Freed Y and me. However, before the lightning strike could hit us, a throwing knife stopped the incoming lightning strike.

Seeing the opportunity, I thrust my spear, hit the sword, and saw the aura reduced once again.

I continue to twirl my spear and continue to hit the sword with it, but I leap away from the sword when I see the sword ready to make another AOE attack. However, before I could get away from the sword, it released a burst of dark energy from its body.

A second later, we are thrown away by a burst of dark energy. I can feel my body is too heavy, and I can't even move a single finger. It looks like that attack is a paralyzed attack. Dammit. I can't even move my finger to cast a spell.

I look at the Star Dragon Sword that begins to charge a large amount of lightning around its body. However, before the sword could cast its spell, Riou's hand began to glow, and a shield symbol appeared above him.

After Riou activated his rune, our body began to glow, and suddenly, I could move my body once again. When I feel my body can move once again, I immediately create a stone wall around the sword to block the attack and make the lightning attack hit the sword.

*BOOM*

I hear an explosion happening inside the prison of earth. When the explosion is over, I cancel my spell and create a thousand arrows in the air, ready to be fired at the sword. When I see the sword still in his gigantic self, I fire my conjured arrow.

When my arrow hit the sword, Viktor, Riou, Nanami, Freed Y and Kahn charged at the sword with their weapon in hand. Seeing them fight the sword head-on, I also join the fight leaving Ellie in the back to support us with her throwing knife.

While fighting the sword, I also use my magic to support the team by pushing them away from the attack or summoning them in my direction.

After fighting the sword for at least ten minutes, I can see the sword begin to change back into its original size.

When Viktor sees the sword change back to its original size, he stabs his weapon on the ground before saying.

"Huff… Huff…. Are you calmed down now?"

"....Yes."