Chapter 220
Th i s w a s c o p i e d fro m k ing m t l. or g
Four Swords
Damian lay sprawled out like he was on his own bed, blankly staring at the drifting clouds. Blood flowed from his wounds, staining the ground red, but he showed no sign of pain.
“Professor, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why did you send out a recall notice to the students? You could have just let us compete fairly.”
“I’m tired of docile behavior.”
“…?”
The old man looked at Damian and chuckled, adding lightly,
“Well, if I had to say, it’s a matter of temperament. Someone who obediently follows orders can’t handle a Magic Sword. If it were that easy to wield, how simple would it be for the Magic Sword to consume its host?”
“…”
“In that sense, you’re quite the find. You even disobeyed the orders of that terrifying Archmage, didn’t you?”
“That was…”
Damian, who considered himself rather obedient, searched for a rebuttal but gave up and changed the subject.
“By the way, where did the Magic Sword Hunter come from?”
“He was a Northerner. The Magic Sword made him a temporary host and moved south to find a new one.”
“If I’m not mistaken about the backgrounds of the victims… they were looking for me, weren’t they?”
“If you feel that way, it must be so. I don’t know your past. Though I’m old, and even if I weren’t, seeing that it left Gale to choose you as the host, I’m now certain as well.”
“Why didn’t it choose Gale?”
“You saw how the sword went berserk in his hands. Gale could handle the power of the Magic Sword, perhaps even better than you. But it wasn’t about ability; it was about character.”
“Character…?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how the Magic Sword found and recognized me?”
The old man shook his head.
“The important thing is that the Magic Sword came from beyond the North.”
“Are you referring to the Land of Death?”
“Yes. Have you heard of it?”
“…Yes.”
Damian recalled reading about the Land of Death in Zverev’s research on the manufacturing formula for the Gryphon Potion. Black pits that devoured the souls of wizards.
A nightmare landscape on the continent of death.
“An unknown entity from beyond the Land of Death must have identified you. It’s not a pleasing thought.”
Hearing this, Damian closed his eyes tightly and fell into deep thought.
“I hope it was a friendly gesture to give me the sword.”
“Everything in the Land of Death, every living organism and spirit, the land, the air, even a single cloud, is hostile to humans.”
“Is it alright to give me a sword from that place?”
The old man tapped his own Magic Sword at his waist and said,
“Why not? This one was buried in the Land of Death too. If you make an effort, you can use its power effectively. After all, you’re already handling even more vicious swords.”
“…”
“Eternia plans to dispatch elite forces to the Land of Death soon. We’ll likely hear more news then.”
At that moment, a familiar female voice echoed.
“Candy!”
Cecil, who they thought had left, was running towards them, her brown hair flying. The old man glanced at her and sighed.
“She’s quite the passionate child, isn’t she?”
“…”
As Cecil approached, the old man turned his back, pretending not to see her, with his hands behind him.
Cecil ran to the old man and began hitting him lightly with her fists in meaningless violence.
“…?”
The old man turned around curiously, and a startled Cecil quickly went to Damian, hugging his head to her chest.
“Stop bothering Candy. Now that Eternia’s professor is here, you’re finished!”
T h i s w a s c opi ed f r o m k i n gmt l. or g
Damian’s face was half-buried in Cecil’s chest due to her tight embrace.
Th i s wa s co p i ed fr o m king m t l. o rg
Damian lightly tapped Cecil’s shoulder with his fingers and said,
“…It’s alright now.”
“What?”
“The Magic Sword Hunter is dead.”
“…Oh?”
Cecil looked back and forth between Damian and the old man and said,
“Really? I thought they were the same person because their outfits were the same, but they’re different.”
“I can’t see. Can you loosen up a bit?”
“Oh, okay.”
T h i s wa s c o pi e d f ro m kin gm t l . o r g
Cecil loosened her grip on Damian’s head a bit. Then she looked down at his face and gently tidied his bangs.
“Why did you come back?”
“I was worried about you. Isn’t that obvious?”
“…”
This was the first time the two had reunited since the ball where things had gone awry. The awkwardness from that event left a strange tension between them.
“Ugh, there’s blood on the mask too…”
Cecil took out a handkerchief and started wiping the mask. She swallowed nervously a few times as she did so.
Then, she hesitantly asked,
“I’ll wipe inside the mask too. Can you stay still?”
“…”
Like dealing with a newborn baby, Cecil was careful and meticulous.
“I’m going to take off the mask.”
She held the mask with one hand and loosened the straps with the other.
Damian didn’t resist. Cecil’s face was bright with anticipation, like a child opening a birthday present.
As the mask came off slightly, Damian’s hair returned to its original color.
Cecil, now facing Damian’s true face, gently rubbed his forehead, nose, and cheeks with the handkerchief, as if confirming it wasn’t an illusion.
“Candy.”
T hi s w as co p i e d f rom k i n g m t l. or g
“Yeah?”
“You really were hiding your face because you’re ugly.”
“…”
Cecil looked down at Damian’s face with a sorrowful expression.
“Do you know? There was one person who was hoping you weren’t Candy while suspecting all the first-year combat boys.”
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i ng mt l . o rg
“Who?”
“It was Damian.”
“Why him? He seemed fine.”
“Because I like simple things. It’s better if I’m the only friend someone has.”
Damian blinked wearily, exhausted.
“Friends… I can count on one hand.”
“If you lie like that, I really want to kill you.”
“You have plenty of friends too.”
“Since you have no friends, you must have a lot of free time. There’s an artists’ gathering in Rigved in a few days… do you want to go with me? I have an invitation, and I can bring one more person.”
“Sure.”
“During that time, let’s put aside all other friends and just have fun together.”
Damian, too tired to think, agreed readily.
“Whatever… sounds good.”
“Do you remember that time at the ball?”
“What about it?”
“When I asked what you wanted in exchange for taking off your mask… I said I would…”
Peep!
Suddenly, something interrupted Cecil’s words.
Damian’s spirit, Peep, fluttered hurriedly towards them.
Peep naturally perched on Damian’s face and stared at Cecil.
Cecil was taken aback by the unexpected appearance.
T hi s w a s c o p ied f ro m kin g m t l . o rg
“…?”
Then, as if to tease, Peep flapped its wings.
Peep!
“You’re cute, but could you move? We have something to talk about.”
Cecil gently picked up Peep with both hands and sent it flying away.
Then she looked back at Damian and continued.
“In exchange for taking off the mask, I would… huh?”
“…”
Cecil poked Damian’s cheek.
His eyes were closed peacefully. Cecil pinched his side lightly, but there was no response. Damian had fallen asleep.
***
Healers from Eternia treated Victor and Damian and transported them back to Eternia.
Having assumed all the injured had been taken care of, they were surprised when Gale appeared before Calios instead of leaving. Gale gave him a Northern-style salute and said,
“It’s an honor to meet the hero of the North, Swordmaster Calios.”
Th i s wa s c o p i e d f r o m ki n gm t l . o r g
Calios looked at Gale and said,
“Ah, it’s a pity about the Magic Sword.”
Despite the outcome not going as he intended, he accepted it without complaint, showing a straightforward and pragmatic attitude.
“I’m satisfied with having witnessed the power of Lunatic, one of the Four Great Magic Swords.”
“You were using a familiar artifact. Is it from someone I know?”
Gale nodded.
“It belonged to Senior Kedwen.”
“So you were the one to inherit it. It suits you. Keep striving. There are still many Magic Swords looking for successors, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Calios smiled meaningfully and tapped the handle of his sword.
***
After meeting Cecil, I don’t remember much. I woke up once in the middle of the night, finding my head resting on Cecil’s lap in a carriage.
Whatever Cecil put in my mouth, I fell into a deep sleep again, with no further memories.
When I opened my eyes, it was early dawn.
Th i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n gm t l . o rg
I found myself lying in a bed in the Thorn Garden dormitory, realizing the mission was finally over.
As I tried to sit up to check my condition, something caught in my hand.
I looked and saw that I was holding hands with someone. Only then did I notice Trisha, who had fallen asleep with her head on the edge of the bed.
I felt a rush of warmth at seeing her again after several days. She must have stayed up all night nursing me. I felt both gratitude and guilt.
She had always taken care of me whenever I was injured.
I tapped Trisha’s shoulder to wake her.
“Trisha.”
“Mmm…”
“Trisha.”
“Mmm…”
“The Art Club won first place.”
“Mmm. Huh?”
Trisha’s eyes snapped open.
“Damian, you’re awake?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing she was holding hands, she quickly pulled her hand away in surprise.
“What the?! Why are you holding my hand without permission?!”
“…?”
“Unbelievable!”
“Since when have we been like this?”
“It wasn’t me!”
“That’s not what… Never mind. Thanks for taking care of me. I’ll make you breakfast with your favorite food.”
“No thanks! I’ll eat on my own, so just lie down!”
She then pushed my upper body back onto the bed.
“…Nothing happened while I was asleep?”
I suddenly felt uneasy thinking about Cecil. I was worried about the time Trisha had spent deceiving Cecil.
“Nothing! Well, no!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing… your sapling sword was acting weird.”
“Sapling sword?”
“Yeah. It was doing something with a new sword. It kept making creaking noises all night! I couldn’t touch it.”
“…What?”
“There!”
Trisha pointed to a spot by the door.
T h i s w a s c opie d f r o m k in g m t l . org
“Oh.”
My heart sank at the sight.
The wooden sword, transformed into a sapling, was tightly wrapped around the new Magic Sword like a constricting boa.
End of Chapter