Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 145 : Return (1)

Return (1)

When it comes to fighting demonkin, there were two major advantages I had.

First, that I possessed Divine Blood.

And second, that I could use Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art.

Divine Blood could inflict great harm on demonkin just by existing, while Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, as befitted a technique created by Grancesia, unleashed intense holy power when attacking.

Thanks to that, even the same attack dealt far greater damage to demonkin when I landed it.

[A viscount-level should be just right for testing. Honestly, I'd prefer to fight a count-level, though.]

While I quietly approached the Magic Tower where the demonkin had gathered, Grancesia spoke to me.

Apparently, she was a little disappointed that I was going to fight a viscount-level demonkin instead of a count-level one.

'It's my first time using this in actual combat, so the easier, the better.'

[Is that so?]

Demonkin with titles were basically classified as advanced-rank.

Obviously, the greater their power, the higher their title, and for titled demonkin, even high-level Sword Masters struggled to guarantee victory.

Once you reached count-level, only monsters at the very peak of Sword Masters could barely stand a chance against them.

It was said that demonkin above that level couldn't generally be faced by humans at all.

'I think Marvin would do well, though.'

Among the Seven Heroes, only Ban Sylvest had reached the realm of Great Swordmaster.

But even Marvin had approached that point, almost within reach.

'Well, "almost" is the key—there's a wall you can't simply leap over.'

Or perhaps there were those who had already reached beyond Great Swordmaster and simply didn't realize it.

'Like Damian did.'

In short, the realm above Great Swordmaster depended much more on spirit than on physical body.

[If it's Marvin, I think I can give him some advice later. He really can't break the wall, just because he doesn't understand some tiny thing.]

'Really?'

[Yeah. I'll tell you next time.]

I couldn't help but smile at Grancesia's dependable words.

Probably only she among the Seven Heroes could give that kind of advice.

'Sometimes I think... the distance really feels endless...'

Would I ever reach the same realm as Grancesia one day?

'No, I have to reach it.'

If not, I'd have no face to show Damian.

[... Ugh.]

At the strange sound of her groaning, I realized I'd been thinking about Grancesia a bit too deeply.

Being able to converse through thoughts was convenient, but sometimes, it got awkward like this.

[I really don't understand both of you. Why do you even do this?]

Despite her words, she seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

Grancesia herself probably understood better than anyone why Damian had wanted to stand by her side.

And the same went for me.

'I've received so much help—it's the least I can do.'

[S-shut up!]

Chuckling quietly at the embarrassed tone in Grancesia's voice, I steadied my magic power.

I'd arrived at the entrance to the Magic Tower.

"Hm? What's this."

"Weren't all the humans supposed to be rounded up in the plaza?"

Two demonkin were guarding the entrance.

Each had intermediate-rank power, and, unusually, both had blue skin.

"What a fool. If you'd survived by luck, you should have kept hiding."

Chill flowed from the demonkin's body, freezing the ground at his feet. It seemed he had powers over cold.

"If you make a fuss, Lord Shagal will say something."

"Don't worry. I'll handle this right away. Just when I was bored."

The frost forming on his fingertips quickly turned into sharp icicles.

"I was disappointed that the others finished them off before I could have fun, so thanks. As a reward, I'll end you painlessly in one go..."

"You sure talk a lot."

Thunk!

With a crisp sound, the head of the approaching demonkin flew off and rolled across the floor.

The other demonkin—who had been yawning as he looked at me—froze with his mouth hanging open at the sight.

"Are all demonkin like that? Whenever you talk, you always have to show off."

"You...! What the hell did you just do?!"

"Weren't you the ones saying we shouldn't make a fuss?"

"...!"

"Good, we agree, then."

Perhaps only now realizing my true strength, the guy's face gradually twisted in terror.

In that regard, they really were like humans.

"So, from now on, I'll keep things nice and quiet for you."

* * *

'Damn it, why isn't there any news?'

Shagal, a viscount-rank demonkin, was currently extremely irritated.

By the original schedule, the portal to the Dreistler family should have opened already.

'Suddenly, there's no contact. Did something happen?'

Surely that couldn't be.

The one who had infiltrated the Dreistler family was a demonkin with a Polymorph ability as perfect as a dragon's, completely changing into someone else.

He could even hide his Demonic Energy almost completely, so it was impossible for Marvin to detect anything.

"These bastards, can't they even do one job right!"

"Don't get so worked up, shagal. The others will die from fright."

Georg, another viscount-rank demonkin, spoke, seeing Shagal shouting in anger.

Indeed, shagal's murderous aura was so overwhelming that the faces of the surrounding demonkin were turning pale, just as Georg said.

"You're all so weak."

"But... This is really troublesome. If this fails, we'll have no face before General Devlin."

Devlin, the count-rank demonkin, was currently resting in a human domain.

Given Devlin's fiery temper, if the operation failed, there would be no escaping blame.

"Let's wait a little longer, and if nothing comes up, at that point—"

Georg stopped speaking abruptly and turned to look somewhere.

So did Shagal.

"Wh-Why, what's wrong?"

A mid-rank demonkin, not sensing the situation, asked nervously, and Shagal's face twisted in fury.

"You pathetic fools! You can't even sense that?!"

That?

The demonkin looked around in alarm, but all they saw were their own kind crowded inside the Magic Tower—nothing seemed unusual.

"Everyone, be ready. Something unknown is coming up from below."

At Georg's prompt, the demonkin hurriedly readied their powers and watched the stairs.

After a moment, the sound of small footsteps echoed up.

Step, step.

The calm stride made the demonkin tense as they watched the person ascend.

"Hm?"

Demonkin who had been intimidated by Shagal and Georg were wide-eyed when they saw the 'human' climbing the stairs.

"What? It's just a human?"

"How did a human get here? Are the ones downstairs asleep?"

Each of the demonkin voiced similar thoughts.

Shagal and Georg, however, just watched the human in silence.

The other demonkin interpreted their faces this way:

'They must be flustered because a human showed up!'

They'd been told to get ready for battle, only for it to turn out to be just a human, so it was natural to be caught off guard.

One demonkin, hoping to help the two save face, shouted,

"Lord Shagal! I will take care of this arrogant human myself!"

Other demonkin sighed at the hasty spark of initiative.

'Ah, if only I'd spoken up a little faster.'

It would have been a chance to kill a human and easily score points, but oh well.

Thud!

... At least, until the charging demonkin's head flew off.

"Huh?"

"What the...?"

"Why did his head disappear?"

The demonkin who'd tried to act fast lost his head as soon as he got close to the human.

Just as he raised his arm to attack, his head was gone, rolling across the floor.

"Well, he's quite good—for a human."

Shagal nodded as he watched this human.

He'd felt the sudden disappearances of the others' presences from below and now understood why.

"Who are you?"

"Clay Vanhart."

At Shagal's question, the human answered without hesitation.

As soon as they heard the name, the other demonkin gasped.

"Clay Vanhart—that's the Sword Lord, isn't it?"

"What's that guy doing here?!"

The exclamations of the other demonkin rang out in shock, and Shagal and Georg glanced at each other.

If he was a member of the Seven Heroes, his performance could be explained.

'But Clay Vanhart only just became one of the Seven Heroes, didn't he?'

'From the looks of him, he's only just stepped into the realm of advanced-rank Swordmaster.'

Given his age, his skill was impressive.

If he were alone, it might have been a bit of a burden.

If he were alone, that is.

"So he's young and can't control his hot blood, huh."

"He's definitely strong for a human, but reckless. Does he really think he can take us all alone, even if he is strong?"

Shagal approached Clay slowly.

His hulking form was well over two meters tall, and his entire body seemed armored by solid muscle.

"Haaaap!"

Whoooosh!

A torrent of black Demonic Energy burst from the giant form, sweeping forth like a storm.

Some demonkin staggered and fell under the pressure of his power.

Crash!

Then the massive greatsword on his back swung down like a bolt of lightning.

Clay blocked it by crossing both arms.

"Oh? You're blocking—not with a sword, but with your bare arms?"

Narrowing his eyes, shagal noted that Clay had no sword.

'What's this about?'

He found it odd, but didn't dwell on it.

Rather, he considered it a stroke of luck.

'Even if we can't take Marvin down, if I defeat Clay Vanhart, that's plenty.'

That way, he could at least avoid blame for the operation not going according to plan.

"Georg! Take him down with me. The rest of you, make sure he can't escape!"

"Yes, sir!"

He had learned from the attack just now.

At Clay's current state, together with Georg, he could take him down.

"Did becoming one of the Seven Heroes make you think you're the strongest now? How foolish."

Gripping their swords, shagal and Georg moved to flank Clay.

"You'll pay for that arrogance soon..."

"Deltode."

At that moment, a faint disturbance spread outward.

With a small murmur from Clay, his presence changed.

'What?'

Shagal didn't know about the Seven Swords Under Heaven.

He didn't know about the power of the supreme sword, Deltode, which pushed the body's abilities past its limits.

"Shagal!!"

"Y-yeah! I don't know what that is, but at this level, it's still nothing!"

He could feel Clay getting stronger, but still believed that, if all the demonkin here combined their strength, they could take him down.

At least, that's what he thought.

But that thought vanished as a faint light began to spread from Clay's body.

"... What is that?"

It started from his back.

For a moment, something red shimmered across Clay's back, and then a brief flash of white light flickered over his whole body. Then, thin red lines spread out across his body.

'A magic array? No, an engraving?'

Even in all his long years, shagal had never seen anything like it.

He wasn't sure whether it was magic or something else.

Seeing Shagal frozen stiff, Clay slowly spoke.

"I should apologize first."

Looking at the red markings running from his back, down his arm, and onto his hand, Clay clenched and unclenched his fist.

It didn't feel bad at all.

On the contrary, his mind felt clear, and he experienced a strange sense of euphoria.

"This is my first time using this, so I probably won't be able to control my strength very well."

Heaven-Slaying Arms.

It was now revealed to the world for the very first time.