Chapter 52

I am the Demon Holy Sword Droyschwarz.

I will eventually stand at the pinnacle of holy swords, as the strongest of them all.

After a thousand-year plan came to fruition, I finally obtained the 'Supreme Bearer.'

With this, the battle against the other holy swords is as good as won!

Come, my master! Let's find the other holy swords trembling in fear and put them out of their misery with kindness!

Onward to battle!

There's no time to linger in this backwater!

...Huh?

The firewood is running low?

...Fine, I'll split it. I'll split a thousand or two thousand logs! Fire up!

...While I was doing that, another holy sword approached.

The Wrath Holy Sword Einroth.

A brother sword created in the same era as me.

Fated to battle and kill each other to ascend to the throne of the strongest.

One of the pair.

Hehehehe.

I was just wondering how to get my reluctant master onto the battlefield when you showed up at the perfect time!

It seems you will be my first prey, Einroth!

I'll use your corpse as the foundation of my conquest!

...Or so I thought.

The sword aura emitted by my brother sword is at an extraordinary level of strength.

Strong, strong, strong, strong, strong...!?

What is this!?

Your intense sword aura is making me uncomfortable!

"Demon Holy Sword Droyschwarz... It's been a long time."

That voice is from the Wrath Holy Sword Einroth!

We are communicating through a voice that only holy swords can understand!

"We have been fated to kill each other for over a thousand years. I have finally found you. Prepare to be devoured and consumed by me."

Hmm... Well...

Have you changed a lot in the thousand years we haven't seen each other?

You've bulked up.

The strength of your sword aura is several times greater than mine.

"What, you didn't know?"

Huh?

"While you were hiding, the battle among holy swords continued. The Greed Holy Sword Zweiblau, the Fallen Holy Sword FiaGelp, the Vengeful Holy Sword HunfViolet, and the Delusional Holy Sword ZexVais. They all fell before me."

What!? Is that true!? I didn't know...!?

Come to think of it, it makes sense.

It's been over a thousand years!

The battles couldn't have stopped!

"Each time I defeated an enemy holy sword, their sword aura was released and absorbed by me. I repeated this four times, and each time my power grew."

Such a thing!?

Is that why you're so bulked up!?

"Otherwise, the coward who fled and hid would win in the end. The one who fought the most and won the most should be the final victor, to determine the king of holy swords."

That's true, but...

I wasn't hiding! I was just searching for the strongest bearer to achieve victory!

"The brave have perished, and only the cowards remain. One of those cowards has finally appeared before me. Once I defeat you, the only one left will be the whereabouts-unknown Carnage Holy Sword Siebengrün. I will find and defeat Siebengrün, and then I will be the king of holy swords!!"

This bastard, he's completely marked me as his prey!

But it can't be helped!

He has already defeated and absorbed the power of four other holy swords, making his power four times mine!

There's no way I can win!

Damn it! What kind of level-up system is this!

I didn't know such a thing existed!

If I had known that defeating enemies would make me stronger, I would have thrown myself into battle without being picky about my wielder!

If there's such a huge power difference between the swords, even my master...!

...Master?

What are you doing, picking up a broken sword? Is this the Delusional Holy Sword ZexVais? It's broken in half, just as the story goes?

What are you going to do with this broken piece...?

Reforge and revive it!?

You must be joking.

If that were possible, it would completely change the nature of our holy sword battles...

Skipping to the middle.

...It has been revived.

Seriously!?

How amazing is my master! Reviving a dead holy sword, what kind of incredible blacksmith is he!?

"...I am the Delusional Holy Sword ZexVais."

Yes.

I know.

It's been a while. It's good to see you haven't changed.

"Conflict is futile. Reconciliation is the true path we should take. We should work together to bring prosperity and happiness to this world...!"

I take back my previous statement.

You've changed a lot.

What is this holy sword saying? We are, after all, swords, tools of battle. To deny battle is to deny ourselves.

That's strange.

At least when we were first created by the gods, none of us spoke like this.

So, it must be because you were reforged by my master, right!?

The turning point was my master!?

"Hmph...! I will break you again and again until I consume the cowardly Droyschwarz along with you!!"

Ah, Einroth is getting ready to fight.

That bloodthirsty nature is the true essence of a holy sword!

"...Oh, is that the Wrath Holy Sword Einroth who defeated me?"

"Ah!?"

But Einroth, you immediately lost your nerve in front of the revived ZexVais.

Well, we are swords, so we don't have waists, but you get the metaphor.

You know what I mean.

Anyway, the reason the bold Einroth immediately got scared in front of ZexVais.

The sword aura emitted by the revived ZexVais is extraordinarily strong.

At least stronger than Einroth.

After defeating and absorbing the power of four other holy swords, ZexVais is now about twice as strong as Einroth.

It seems something happened when my master reforged ZexVais, some kind of power-up...

By the way, does that mean I'm the only one who's really weak?

"There is no longer any reason for us to fight. I have already been defeated. I have lost the right to participate in the battle for the pinnacle of holy swords."

"R-Right...!?"

Einroth is trembling.

That makes sense, if we were to fight, the revived ZexVais would win nine out of ten times.

Hehe, the holy sword is scared!

"I will use this power for the benefit of the world and its people. That is the duty of a sword wielded by humans."

So why are you sounding so saintly?

"Lord Einroth. Your master and my master seem to be in love and will be together. Then, let us become a pair of swords and protect our masters together...?"

"Yes, yes!!"

There's no choice but to agree.

If you say no, it's a death sentence. Even I can see that.

"Hehe, I look forward to working with you. Since I have been defeated by you once, I will serve you as a good wife sword."

"Y-Yes, I look forward to it!!"

Einroth had no choice.

That's how strong the power of the reforged ZexVais is.

My master is really amazing.

To be able to power up a holy sword like that.

...

Hey, my master.

Do you have a "Demon Holy Sword Droyschwarz Upgrade Plan" or something?

...No.

...I see.