Chapter 211 ·Black History (4)
Black History (4)
What's going on all of a sudden?
Louis wore a puzzled expression at the two suddenly glowing in unison, almost as if they were resonating together.
"What, what's this!"
"Why are these things suddenly..."
Yugwang and Kaid, the owners of the manuals, reacted the same way.
They had never experienced anything like this while carrying the manuals around until now.
"What on earth are those items?"
However, for the Emperor and Ferus, the manuals were things they had never seen before.
So someone needed to explain to them what the manuals were.
"Who would have thought the East Continent's greatest treasure would be in a place like this."
"On top of that, I can't believe the Blood Sword Technique is actually from the East Continent."
At the same time, they ended up explaining the origin of the Blood Sword Technique.
Originally, the very first user from the East Continent left behind a bloodline in this West Continent, which had been passed down to their descendants.
"That's how the King of Woodrock became an ally of the East Continent..."
"I can now roughly understand why the demonkin war broke out decades ago."
It didn't take long to ascertain the whole truth.
"In other words, the Blood Sword Technique... is a dangerous power that could destroy the world."
When the king spoke so bluntly, Rio, the user of the Blood Sword Technique, flinched.
She felt fear upon realizing that the origin of her ability was something so dangerous.
"But don't misunderstand. I have no intention of harming you at all."
"It's not like you could even if you wanted to."
"Tsk..."
As Louis said, there wasn't anyone left on the continent who could capture Rio right now.
Even the Swordmasters, who had a slight chance, had all lost their former power or were left in ruins.
"But I won't deny His Majesty's words. According to a recent dream I had, it's certainly a dangerous power."
"A dream?"
Louis explained to the Emperor what he had recently seen in a dream.
How the Great Devils and the Chaos Dragon first met and fought, the reason why the Great Devils tried to settle down in this world, and also why the Blood Sword Technique spread here.
"The blood they shed fell into this world..."
"So you're saying that blood is the origin of the ritual meant to awaken them?"
"But why did you have such a dream?"
Louis shook his head, saying even he didn't really know.
And then continued.
"The Blood Sword Technique's true power is for a ritual to completely awaken the Great Devil. And I saw with my own eyes that the blood chunks the Great Devils left in this world serve as the source for them to regain their power."
"Then those blood chunks..."
"Are the power we now call the Blood Sword Technique."
In fact, Louis had come to understand just by overhearing the Great Devils' conversation in that dream.
"So the 'ritual to awaken the black horde' from our continent's legends was..."
"In other words, a ritual to awaken the beings known as the Great Devils."
The two from the East Continent responded as if some pieces had finally fallen into place.
To sum up, the Blood Sword Technique was essentially the power of the Great Devils.
"If it's the power of the Great Devils... it makes sense how the demonkin war could have been on such a scale."
"After all, that incident turned this continent upside down at the time."
It meant that with nothing more than the blood chunks of those Great Devils, a being like the "Demon King" who started that war could have been born.
Naturally, that kind of power would also exist in the successor, Rio.
"Thinking back, I guess that prophecy wasn't as empty as I thought."
"You mean the prophecy?"
The prophecy that said a Hero would appear to save the world, or a Demon King would appear to destroy it.
But when Silia recalled that prophecy, a bitter look appeared on her face.
"As you all know, the Hero is dead."
At her words, the special task force team members nodded.
They'd watched with their own eyes as the boy Dimo, who had the makings of a Hero, died.
"Yeah. We're well aware."
"That's why you all exist now, to take the Hero's place."
"Well, now we at least know how the Demon King destroys the world."
The Demon King, that is, the Blood Sword Technique user, would destroy the world through the ritual.
The ritual to restore the Great Devil to the height of their powers.
If they regained their prime, the world would be easily annihilated.
'Judging by the scale of the Great Devils I saw in the dream, not even multiple earths would be enough for them.'
Even the Chaos Dragon that had devolved those Great Devils had been out of his mind monster.
"But, say, how exactly is this ritual performed?"
"You're not actually going to try it, are you?"
"Why would I do that?"
"But Headmaster Ferus, you have such an endless thirst for discovery, you might eventually..."
"Shut up! Why would I do something so crazy?"
When Pram expressed her worry, Ferus got angry and made his position clear.
Louis looked on, visibly relieved.
"Why are you making that face?"
"..."
Of course, Louis had no intention of doubting him.
Truly.
"Anyway, Rio, you definitely possess the Blood Sword Technique. But do you know how to conduct the ritual that would awaken the Great Devil?"
"Well..."
Even though Rio had used the Blood Sword Technique for a long time, of course she didn't know how to perform such a ritual.
Naturally, Rio hesitated, feeling as if she were listening to something completely foreign.
"So unless the caster themselves intends to perform it, a world-destroying event can't occur."
"Let me ask you, Rio. Do you really intend to bring about the world's destruction?"
At the Emperor's question, Rio shook her head with all her might.
"What are you even saying, father! There's no way such a pretty and cute girl would do something like that! Isn't that right, miss Rio?"
"Uh..."
It was nice of Pram to defend her, but being hugged to the face was burdensome for Rio.
"So, in short, the ritual won't ever take place."
"In any case, there are specific conditions needed in order for it to happen."
At that point, Yugwang, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up.
"What do you mean?"
With everyone, including the Emperor, looking at him curiously, Yugwang had no choice but to explain.
"According to our East Continent legends, the first user of the Blood Sword Technique almost performed the ritual with his own power. As a result of that, 'the black horde'—that is, the Great Devils—briefly interfered with the East Continent, and after that, monsters in the continent became much more vicious and powerful."
"And that happened after just a brief attempt?"
"Yes. Just like the monsters of the demon realm here in this continent."
So, it meant that just attempting the ritual with the Blood Sword Technique could create a demon realm.
For the people of the Empire, this was shocking news.
"But as I said, conditions are needed for the ritual."
"Conditions?"
Yugwang briefly explained those conditions.
It would only be effective on land soaked in blood.
"...that is the condition."
"Land soaked in blood..."
"For reference, at that time, our continent was racked by wind of turmoil and unification. It was the norm for the entire continent to be stained with blood."
Back then, the East Continent matched the condition, so the ritual could go forward.
But what about the West Continent now? Is such a thing possible?
"Is there anywhere on our side that matches those conditions?"
"Hm..."
Wars had certainly happened many times on this continent.
Hundreds of years ago, and even during the previous generation's demonkin war.
But that was all in the past.
"There was bloodshed, but it's all long dried up."
"So... that means Miss Rio is safe, right?"
Recently, there hadn't been any region soaked in bloodshed, so the ritual was impossible.
And even if someone knew how, Rio wasn't the type to do such a thing in the first place.
"So basically, Rio isn't a danger to anyone now?"
"Yeah, that's right! Even if Rio's a bit crazy, she's not going to start a war on her own."
"Rio's not interested in people's blood anyway. The only fluid she cares about from the young master is his..."
Shwaaak!—
Just as Pram was about to make a dirty joke, Rio drew her blade.
Facing Rio, who menaced her with a cold, blue blade, Pram had to flee like a terrified mouse.
"I was joking! I said it was a joke!"
"..."
Rio chased after Pram in silence.
That quietly murderous presence was so chilling that Pram had to act out of a primal survival instinct.
"Hey! Pram! Don't go too far, get back here!!"
"Ah!"
Pram was someone who had to stay by Louis's side.
Forgetting that crucial fact, Pram hurried back, hiding behind Louis's wings.
"Move aside, young master. I can't kill her if you're in the way."
Rio spoke with a crazed look as she lost her composure.
Just as she said, if Pram died, who would be able to stop Louis if he went on a rampage?
"Rio, hold back."
"Yeah! Without me, who's going to keep the young master in check?"
"..."
Unfortunately, Pram was someone no one should ever mess with.
Realizing that, Rio glowered in anger, her expression dark and menacing.
"You just wait and see."
Seeing Rio looking dangerously likely to cover the whole ground with blood at any moment, the Emperor and Ferus felt a surge of anxiety.
"Louis. Please look after that girl, Rio."
"You're the only one who can calm her down."
How worried must they be for the Emperor and Ferus to make such a request?
Just as Pram was indispensable to Louis, Louis seemed to be just as essential to Rio.
"In any case, as long as Louis is here, Rio won't lose her mind, at least."
Just as Silia said, there was no problem with Rio.
"So, what will we do about this Blood Sword Technique manual?"
The manual and its six blueprints were still glowing even now.
No one understood why they were radiating together, but as for the manual, it didn't especially look useful.
"Just a moment."
Then Pram, staring intently at the blueprints, tried touching them.
"They're not exactly resonating together. They've just sensed something threatening and are on guard against each other."
Since this was the World Tree's own evaluation, no one argued.
If it was something related to the Blood Sword Technique, it was no surprise for the World Tree to see it as hostile.
"But..."
"But?"
"To be precise, I think it's the manual interfering on its own."
Pram pointed at the manual as she spoke.
Was she saying the manual itself had a will and was pestering the blueprints?
"The blueprints aren't reacting at all. They're just sounding an alarm because of outside interference."
"So the manual is trying to forcibly cling to the blueprints?"
For what purpose?
No one knew, but to be safe, they separated the two in case anything happened to the blueprints.
"Then, let's begin crafting the artifact now."
[I'll help too.]
[With us, we'll be able to finish it quickly.]
"Thank you both so much."
Ferus was visibly moved to be getting help from two legends.
"Just in case, the creation will take place in this village. I've already discussed it with Lord Kelian."
"Then, I'll be off. I'll return to the capital and take care of what remains here."
"See you next time, miss Rio!~"
Thus, everyone said their goodbyes and decided on what they had to do.
Ferus said he had already set up all the facilities here to craft the artifact in this village.
Since this is where Seifert domain's Louis resides, all threats of terrorism should be perfectly prevented.
Thanks to that, Ferus could now set to work on the artifact with peace of mind.
"By the way, you two."
"Yes...!"
"Yup!"
Louis called out to the last two left, Yugwang and Kaid.
"What will you do from now on?"
"Well..."
Neither could return to the East Continent.
But as far as Louis was concerned, he wasn't so charitable as to let them stay here forever either.
"So, do you have any skills that might be helpful? People need that kind of thing to adapt."
"I do have skills. Swordsmanship, for example?"
"Or spreading information about the East Continent?"
But there were already two Swordmasters here as instructors, so swordsmanship skills were essentially useless.
And how many people were even interested in information from the East Continent?
Both skills were ambiguous as far as integrating into society was concerned.
"Perhaps you could try deciphering the manual..."
"That's not especially useful."
"But there's a user of the Blood Sword Technique here..."
"Rio. You take a look and see for yourself."
To know whether it was of any use to Rio, Rio had to check it herself.
She immediately opened up the manual she was handed.
In that instant...
"Huh?"
A background she had never seen before began to unfold in Rio's mind.