Inheriting the Novel

Calamity of Dreams (2)

As soon as I entered Nabez, crowds of sleepwalking people moved toward me, reaching out their hands mindlessly.

They looked just like ghouls, monsters found among undead creatures.

'Ghouls would actually be better!'

These were, after all, just civilians being controlled.

If I defeated Sior, these people would wake up, so I couldn't thoughtlessly attack them.

At least the fortunate thing was that their movements weren't fast, so it wasn't difficult to evade them.

'But there are just too many.'

Nabez was the capital of a kingdom.

Naturally, there were a lot of people gathered, so the streets were literally teeming with people swarming and attacking others.

Clicking my tongue, I pushed a charging man hard in the chest.

As a result, the people following behind him fell over like dominoes.

'As time passes, their movements will gradually get more sophisticated.'

According to the synopsis, humans who became puppets of the calamity of dreams later arm themselves and move systematically, just like an army.

At that point, I wouldn't be able to shake them off so easily.

I glanced at the blue gleam sparkling in the sky and dashed off in the opposite direction.

'The demonkin may be fooled, but I'm not.'

A blue light glittered high above Nabez.

It was only a part of Sior, not the main body.

'Where the real one is located is......'

Soon, a beautiful palace that looked as if it had been carved from ice came into view.

The royal castle of Eintban, the Crystal Palace.

He would surely be there.

Sior, the winter spirit, would not be able to leave that place.

A short while later, the entrance to the royal castle I arrived at was utter chaos.

Bodies were everywhere, bleeding, while knights and soldiers under Sior's spell wandered on all sides.

'What a mess.'

The castle's entrance was practically wide open.

I could faintly hear a ruckus coming from inside, but I couldn't afford to pay attention to it.

'So he's here, after all.'

The moment I arrived at the entrance, a blue afterimage appeared.

A boy with blue hair and crystal-like eyes—this was Sior, the winter spirit.

"A human who possesses Genova. I cannot let you go inside."

Sior spoke stiffly toward me.

I calmly examined him.

'As I thought, this guy was the one who had Solaris.'

Strapped to Sior's back was a sword of unusual shape.

That was the Sword of Boundary Solaris, a blade that could cut the boundary of all things.

'Good.'

After checking his profile, I secretly smiled to myself.

It was exactly as I predicted.

"Why can't I go inside?"

"If you turn back quietly, I won't take your life."

He glanced at Genova, giving me a sharp look of caution.

From his point of view, I must be the most dangerous enemy, yet he was hesitant to recklessly attack—probably because of Genova.

Click.

I grasped Genova and let out a slow breath.

'It's almost time.......'

It should be happening soon, shouldn't it?

Just as I thought that, a small sound of footsteps rang out behind me from the sky.

"Well, this is an unexpected gain."

Looking over, I saw two demonkin.

One was Rutia, and next to her was a brown-haired demonkin—one of the demonkin Jade had been monitoring all this time.

"I can't believe we not only found the master of Genova, but another sword as well. That one looks genuine for sure."

The brown-haired demonkin said this, scanning between me and Sior.

"Well done, Rutia. Report to the Demon King and you will be greatly rewarded."

"Th-thank you."

Rutia glanced at me furtively, then immediately ran away in a hurry. She knew all too well what would soon happen here.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Zenon, master of Genova. I never thought I'd meet you like this."

Zenon slowly approached me.

The pressure rolling off his body was incomparably greater than when I had faced Veil before.

'The gap between intermediate-rank and advanced-rank...... is much greater than I expected.'

This was no level any ordinary Swordmaster could handle.

At the very least, it would take someone like Count Ribina to be able to stand against him—so I thought.

"I didn't really intend to hunt you down and kill you...... but since we've met like this, it's best to deal with you here. As for that spirit, I'll hunt him slowly afterward."

Zenon slowly stretched out his right hand. From the back of his hand, something long like a sword protruded.

It must have been a peculiarity of his kind as demonkin.

I licked my dry lips and stared at Zenon.

"If you kill me now, you'll regret it."

"Hmph. Nonsense......"

I pointed toward Sior, right in front of me.

"If you want to capture the one wielding the Sword of Boundary Solaris, you're going to need my strength."

At my words, Zenon snorted lightly.

"You're saying I need the help of a mere human?"

"Yes. Sorry, but you'll never defeat the calamity."

"... What did you say?"

"If that thing really decides to run away, do you think you can even catch it?"

There was not a single lie in my words.

No matter how powerful an advanced-rank demonkin might be, defeating Sior was impossible.

Chasing a being that could slip between spaces was out of the question from the beginning.

"But I'm different. The Seven Swords Under Heaven resonate within a certain distance."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but... can you say the same after seeing that?"

I pointed at Sior.

By now, chilling cold was swirling around him. Sior, sensing danger from the appearance of demonkin, had unleashed his power.

Srrrrng!

"Master of Genova, and demonkin. Do not interfere with me."

Drawing Solaris, Sior gave us another sharp warning. At the same time, cold spread in all directions, and the ground began to freeze.

The power of Sior, the winter spirit, was not limited to putting others to sleep and controlling them.

That was merely his ability as a "calamity"—a power obtained through calamityfication.

But Sior's true nature was that of a winter spirit.

He possessed tremendous strength, able to manipulate cold as freely as his own limbs.

Spirit power and calamity power.

And now, with Solaris in hand, Sior had become immensely powerful, even on his own.

'The only reason Fabian was able to defeat him was thanks to the help of countless mercenaries from Lintrea.'

Even for an advanced-rank demonkin like Zenon, confronting Sior would be a difficult task.

"Damn it."

Zenon seemed to realize that as well, and gritted his teeth.

He was certainly powerful, but to stand against a calamity was another matter.

And it wasn't like he could just pull back and call for other demonkin now. He was left with only one choice.

"... So what is it you want from me?"

"At least until we take that thing down, let's work together."

"That's all?"

"Yeah."

Zenon didn't take long to decide. It wasn't a suggestion that would do him any harm in the first place.

"I accept your proposal."

"A very wise decision."

I grinned at Zenon and drew Genova.

At the very least, Zenon wouldn't try to kill me right away now.

'Well, then.......'

Now, the rest would depend on what that kid did next.

* * *

The Count of Crimson Flames, Margal, was an extremely simple-minded demonkin.

Among demonkin, many worship strength, but in his case, the tendency was especially strong.

Because of that, searching for something in this way didn't suit his temperament.

"Ha!"

Kwaaaang!

When he stamped his foot powerfully, the ground exploded, buildings in Nabez collapsed in waves, and the humans nearby were blasted apart.

"Mo-monster!"

"Help us!"

Humans screamed and ran, but they collapsed just a few steps after being touched by falling snowflakes.

"... Even after all this, you won't come out?"

Margal curled his lip in annoyance.

He thought if he rampaged and destroyed Nabez, the calamity would show itself first.

But there was still no sign of that happening.

"They call it a calamity, so I expected something grand, but I never imagined it'd be something so cowardly."

Margal muttered, gazing at the falling snow from the sky.

Judging by the magic power or strength in these snowflakes, it was clear they possessed considerable force.

But even with such power, the calamity remained hidden. That annoyed Margal to no end.

"Tch, just when I thought I'd finally get to have a proper fight..."

As he grumbled, Margal turned his eyes to a presence rushing toward him in a swarm.

"Damn! To think there really would be a demonkin here!"

"We have to stop that monster from running wild!"

Covered in cloth as protection from the snow and armed on top of that were mercenaries from Lintrea.

"What are these things now?"

Of course, to Margal, they were just pesky bugs—nothing more, nothing less.

The calamity wouldn't show, and only humans kept popping up, so he was growing irritable.

"Huff!"

As the demonkin radiated a fierce pressure, the mercenaries gasped in fear.

'Damn. A demonkin...'

Among them was Max, the vice-captain of the Black Skull mercenaries.

'Rutia told us, if you see anything suspicious, don't fight—just run...'

Even Max, who had been on the battlefield for years, was only seeing a demonkin for the second time in his life.

And the first one had only been a low-rank demonkin, but even then, countless mercenaries lost their lives.

'That is definitely not a low-rank demonkin.'

That pressure and composure were on a different level from a low-rank demonkin.

Trying to face that thing would be pure folly.

'Running is the right thing to do.'

But he couldn't.

How could he flee, leaving such a monster that slaughtered people indiscriminately behind?

Especially for Max, who'd originally been a soldier of the Eintban kingdom, the resistance to that thought was even stronger.

"I'll take on the demonkin. The rest of you rescue any living humans and get to safety!"

At Max's shout, the mercenaries moved in unison.

Margal, arms crossed, simply watched their actions calmly.

"You're going to take me on alone?"

"... Yes."

Max drew his sword, prepared for death.

'If I can just buy a few minutes...'

With that thought, his body flew through the air.

Kwaaaang!

"Gah-urk!"

He didn't even know how he was hit. Even though he was an intermediate-level Sword Expert, he couldn't see a thing.

"Guh, ugh...!"

His armor was smashed to pieces and scattered over the ground.

As Max staggered to his feet, vomiting up a mouthful of blood, Margal spoke with a bored expression.

"Weak. If you're that weak, you're just trash. Well, all humans are the same."

Margal slowly approached the trembling, struggling Max.

"I'll be merciful for once... Hm?"

Max barely managed to look up at Margal, who trailed off mid-sentence. His gaze was fixed elsewhere.

"What's that...?"

What Max saw next was a girl with pink hair.

She stepped out onto the devastated earth and quietly blocked Margal's path.

"Oh?"

Margal looked amused by Maria's actions.

"But it seems you still haven't learned your place."

"... Ugh!"

Margal grabbed Maria by the hair and pulled her toward him. The more he looked, the more he felt an inexplicable allure.

A half-succubus, perhaps?

Just as he was thinking this, Maria's sharp eyes flashed as she met his gaze.

"An interesting girl. You're not afraid?"

"... What's most important to a merchant is guts."

"A merchant?"

Margal chuckled at the strange response.

Well, anyone bold enough to stand before him must be crazy.

"You said being weak is a sin?"

"Hm? Yes, of course. It's a sin to be weak."

At his answer, Maria nodded slowly.

"Is that so."

"Right."

Maria raised her right hand slowly and touched Margal's arm.

"Urgh?!"

Suddenly, a terrible, searing pain surged through Margal's arm and he stared at Maria's hand in surprise.

She was wearing a ring that shone with a brilliant light.

'What's that? A holy relic?'

Was that why she was so brazen in front of him?

'How impertinent.'

Margal twisted his lips in annoyance and reached to tear off the hand grasping his arm along with the relic.

But at that moment—

His vision filled with white.

"Huh?"

Margal blinked at the unexpected turn of events.

"What is this...?"

He muttered in a puzzled voice.

Just a moment ago, he'd been standing on burning earth.

But now, all he saw was an empty world, entirely filled with white.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

They can use the ring like that?

【(ㅇࡇㅇ)?】