[Thank you, really…]
Banshee smiled, a faint trace of tears, not real but more like a blurry afterimage.
“Before I died and even after death, this is the first time I’ve ever received a gift.”
It was a whimsical, cheap gift, but her gratitude made Christian feel unexpectedly awkward.
“What’s your name anyway? You must have had a name before.”
It felt odd to keep calling her Banshee, especially since they seemed to be stuck together for a while.
[……]
Banshee fell silent, her discomfort apparent, and Christian realized his mistake.
‘She’s a ghost, probably doesn’t want to remember her past.’
Ghosts remain earthbound because of unresolved grievances, and the stronger the grievance, the more powerful the ghost.
And the maid before him, a high-ranking ghost, meant that she harbored a deep-seated grudge.
[That is…]
“Never mind, what does your previous name matter anyway.”
Christian quickly backtracked.
“You’re under my command now, so I’ll give you a new name.”
[A new name?]
“Yes. How about Mary?”
It was a random choice.
In his previous life, many of the maids he encountered were commonly named Mary.
‘So, it’s like cats are named Happy (reference to fairy tail), butlers are Sebastian (reference to Black Butler), and maids are Mary.’
Though it was a name given without much thought, Banshee seemed moved again.
[Mary… Mary… It’s a beautiful name. Thank you, master.]
Unknowingly, Christian’s title had changed.
From young master to lord.
She truly acknowledged him as her master.
[With this grateful heart… from now on… I will prepare even more delicious virgin blood juice for you.]
“I don’t drink virgin blood juice.”
[But haven’t you been enjoying the strawberry juice I’ve been making? It’s topped with virgin blood.]
“Could you not make such terrible jokes?”
Banshee, now Mary, giggled mischievously.
Christian boarded the carriage with a look of discontent.
It was time to return to the estate.
‘But… I feel like I’m forgetting something. What was it?’
Christian puzzled over it.
—
“Brother!!!!!”
‘Ah.’
Christian suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
It was Theren.
The next day, Theren, red-faced with anger, confronted him.
“Why did you leave me behind?!”
From what Christian gathered, Theren had gone through a great deal of trouble.
Out of a concern for not tarnishing the family’s honor, Theren had been unable to reveal his identity, had no money, and nearly ended up being sold as a slave until someone who recognized him by chance had helped him escape.
Christian felt a twinge of guilt and apologized.
“Sorry, I forgot.”
“What did you say?”
“But you, isn’t your way of addressing me a bit odd? Didn’t we make a bet yesterday? From now on, you shall address me as ‘His Respected Majesty the King Emperor, Big Brother.’”
“……!”
Christian spoke with the voice of a friendly elder brother.
“Well, dear little brother, I am waiting”
“…….”
Thern’s fists were tightly clenched, trembling slightly.
“Re, Respected Big Brother.”
“Hmm, there is something missing.”
“…His Respected Majesty the King Emperor, Big Brother.”
“Yes, that’s right! From now on, respect this elder brother and do well yourself.”
“!!”
With a flushed face, Theren shouted sharply.
“One day, I will show you your place! Be prepared!!”
Watching Theren disappear as if fleeing, Christian chuckled softly.
‘Why is he so cute?’
It was hard to believe that such a cute guy would eventually be the one to kill him, according to history.
‘It must be because of that Ashed fellow.’
Christian’s expression darkened.
Ashed.
The legitimate heir to the family. And… the one opposing him.
In truth, Christian did not harbor intense revenge against Ashed because he wasn’t ‘Christian’.
But still.
‘I must trample over him.’
For Christian to achieve his goals, he had to overcome adversaries like him.
‘For that, the upcoming duel with Melin is crucial.’
Even a genius like him couldn’t obtain the dark magic on his own.
He needed allies.
Christian planned to make Melin his ally through the upcoming duel.
‘For that, I must be able to use this Grunade.’
Christian looked at the Grunade, an antique sword.
‘The corrupted holy sword used by a fallen hero.’
The Grunade was a very special holy sword.
It continued to be used as a holy sword even after its hero owner had succumbed to corruption and sold his soul to the demons.
That is, this holy sword had a unique history of being wielded by a mage.
‘That’s why many mages sought the Grunade. To a mage, a holy sword possesses the power of a natural enemy.’
Who are the primary adversaries of mages?
Clearly, it’s the Realm of light, the ‘Crusade Union’.
However, battles with the Union weren’t frequent.
Mages most commonly fought amongst themselves.
‘Though it’s collectively called the Magic Empire, if you look inside, it’s divided into several branches.’
At the very top is the Magic Emperor, ranked number one.
The Magic Emperor’s direct territory lies in the heart of the Magic Empire.
And to the north, south, east, and west, there are four Magic Kingdoms.
Each of these Magic Kingdoms is governed by a different Magic King, and the Dark Magus Family that Christian belongs to is part of the southern Magic Kingdom.
‘The Magic Emperor is like an emperor, and the Magic Kings below him are like the kings of kingdoms serving the emperor.’
Incidentally, the ‘Demon King of Bloodshed’ who would later instigate a great war was the ruler of the eastern Magic Kingdom.
‘Not yet, though. He might be the Duke of the Bloodshed Magus Family now.’
Bloodshed Magus Family.
One of the twelve distinguished Magic Families under the eastern Magic Kingdom.
The twelve Magic Families were scattered across the four Magic Kingdoms.
As evident from these relationships, mages endlessly fought amongst themselves.
Thus, the holy sword was a highly coveted weapon among mages.
It could easily deal a fatal blow to an opponent.
‘And there’s was a romance on it. The romance of subjugating a cursed holy sword.’
A holy sword is a symbol of a hero.
How satisfying would it be to subjugate such a sword?
Thus, many mages attempted to subdue the Grunade.
‘But all failed.’
Due to its rejection reaction.
The moment a mage touched the holy sword, sensing magic, the Grunade would exhibit a violent rejection reaction.
The only mage who could wield the holy sword Grunade was its original owner, the fallen hero.
Thus, the holy sword Grunade became an unwanted relic, ending up in the hands of the merchant Gruntel as an antique.
“Shall we see? How I would fare.”
Christian held the holy sword Grunade.
For now, it was fine.
A powerful restraining sphere sealed the spiritual power, suppressing the power of the Grunade.
But without this, the holy sword could not exert any power.
He released the sphere.
Then,
“!!”
Crackle!
It felt as if he had grabbed a red-hot iron with his bare hands, the intense burning sensation forcing him to quickly let go.
Christian’s magic had been rejected by the sword.
Fortunately, he avoided a burn, but had he been slightly later, his hand might have melted.
‘It really doesn’t work.’
However, Christian was not disturbed.
He had anticipated this.
He had procured the holy sword because he believed he could wield it.
“After all, a holy sword is just a weapon, an artifact engraved with magic that allows the use of ‘Light Mana,’ the holy power.”
The implication of his words was clear.
If one could analyze the principle behind the artifact’s magic that caused it to reject magecraft, it might be possible to discover the holy sword’s vulnerability.
Of course, this was theoretically possible, though no one had dared to attempt it.
There were several reasons.
Even if one found a vulnerability in the holy sword, it was unlikely to be a convenient flaw that just anyone could exploit.
If it did exist, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, a tiny gap that could result in failure if missed even for an instant.
Moreover, it was dangerous.
Even a slight mistake could cause the holy sword to immediately incinerate its wielder.
But Christian thought to himself,
‘There must be a flaw. That’s why even a corrupted hero could use it. I must discover that vulnerability.’
He felt a hunch.
‘Somehow, I think it can be done.’
His intuitions were usually very accurate.
Christian pulled something from a bag he had brought from the castle.
It was a hammer imbued with magi.
He lifted the hammer and struck down towards the holy sword.
Clang!
A loud noise echoed as the holy sword crackled and its holy power writhed.
Christian memorized the pattern of the mana circuits that manifested in response to his magic and repeated the action.
Clang! Clang!!
He mercilessly pounded the holy sword with the hammer.
Each time, the holy sword crackled with holy power as if in resistance, as if it was saying to stop.
‘You don’t like that?’
Eventually, the hammer could not withstand the holy power and crumbled.
The holy sword crackled as if challenging him, almost in defiance.
But Christian just smirked.
He shook the bag and a torrent of magical tools fell out.
Saws, knives, levels, hammers, forges, and more.
All were magical tools intended to pound the holy sword.
Was it just a feeling?
It seemed as though the holy sword had fallen silent.
“Let’s do this properly then,” Christian said with a mischievous tone.
“If you dislike it, then quickly surrender to me.”
* * *
How many days had passed?
Christian spent all day in his room, tormenting the holy sword.
If the holy sword had a consciousness, it would have begged to comply with anything he wanted, such was the cruelty of his torment.
‘Hmm, this isn’t easy.’
Looking at the numerous broken magical tools scattered beside the holy sword, Christian crossed his arms.
After all, a holy sword is a holy sword, isn’t it?
Even Christian found it challenging to decipher the artifact pattern of the holy sword.
But still.
“I’ve got it.”
He had discovered the holy sword’s vulnerability?!
It was an astonishing revelation.
‘It was possible because the holy sword was broken. Several of its protective magics had been damaged.’
Otherwise, even Christian could not have achieved this so quickly.
‘The problem now is how to utilize this vulnerability to wield the holy sword.’
Here’s the question.
Had the mages who previously attempted to wield Grunade failed to discover the vulnerability Christian had found?
That was unlikely.
Their failure to subdue Grunade was because it was impossible to exploit the vulnerability.
‘A holy sword created by the Constellations wouldn’t be designed so easily.’
Christian faced the same difficulty.
But.
“I think I can do it?”
It was an unbelievable tale.
Numerous renowned mages had challenged Grunade.
Could it be possible that all these mages had failed?
‘Even a high-ranking mage might find it impossible to wield Grunade, but I can.’
To be precise.
Only Christian could.
‘This holy sword was meant for me.’
That was the moment he thought.
The door opened.
“Are you ready?”
A woman smiling brightly.
“The appointed time has come, young master.”
Melin’s blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.
