“Are you mad?”

“…I am not mad.”

“You’re mad.”

“…Did I not say that I am not!”

The shock from the act of raising and waving both her arms around must have been considerable.

The corners of her lips were turned down in a pout.

But pouting wasn't going to undo the subordinate contract we had already formed.

“…You damn robber.”

Pfft—

“I said I'm sorry for not telling you beforehand. But thanks to it, the pain is gone, isn't it? I got hurt in the process, too.”

Even if she treated me like a robber, I didn't have much to say for myself. It was true that I had waited for the Demonic Sword's energy to subside to some extent.

But it was also a fact that I had formed the subordinate contract when her mind wasn't sound due to the pain.

Due to the nature of the blood-mediated subordinate contract, for it to take true effect, it required not just verbal consent.

It needed a powerful sincerity, enough to stir the mana infused in her blood.

Her subconscious had likely agreed to the subordinate contract based on the primal judgment to ‘avoid pain’.

…Even if that wasn't the whole story, I couldn't deny the fact that I had aimed for that exact timing.

“…Promise me you will never make me perform such an outrageous act again.”

“Hmm…”

“If you do, then I shall forgive my Orabeoni, if only a little.”

Her condition(?) was simple, but it wasn't something I could easily promise.

Pfft—

It was just too amusing.

It was a sight I hadn't been able to see easily even in my first playthrough.

Back then, I didn't have the , so I couldn't form a complete subordinate ritual.

With a half-baked ritual, the level of compulsion I could exert was naturally much lower.

That's why this was unexpected for me, too—that she would wave her arms so enthusiastically just because I said one word.

The sight of Shim Cheong, the ‘Heavenly Demon’ who once dominated battlefields, raising both arms high and waving them around diligently... I had a feeling I would want to see it again someday.

“This is troubling.”

“……”

“Could I maybe make you do it just ten more times later?”

“……”

“I'll use them sparingly.”

“Eek—!”

At my joke of a proposal, she immediately raised the Demonic Sword and charged at me.

I had no choice but to settle for about three times.

* * *

“You have promised. I will count them meticulously.”

“……”

“Do not even think of trying to gloss over it. I have quite a good memory.”

Tightening her loosened jeogori and huffing, she looked down at the Demonic Sword in her right hand and changed the subject.

“So, is the succession of the Demonic Sword finished with this?”

“Well, you would know best.”

“……”

“For now, yes.”

She had drawn the Demonic Sword, been acknowledged by it, and inherited its energy.

Of course, drawing out that inherited energy was a separate issue, so it would be difficult to talk about grand things like using all of the ‘Heavenly Demon's’ power right away.

That was something to be supplemented over time.

As long as the Demonic Sword was successfully in her hand.

For now, that was OK.

Nodding at my brief reply, she soon turned her head back.

And then.

“Then… what about that.”

Thump—

Thump—

She trailed off, looking at the crimson mass where the Demonic Sword had been embedded.

As if rejoicing at its release from the Demonic Sword, its faint pulse had grown slightly faster and stronger.

“…Is it fine to just leave it like that?”

“It's true that the source of the sealing ritual has been removed, but that doesn't mean it will revive right now. There's still time until the residual mana is completely exhausted.”

Shrug—

“After all, it's a sealing ritual that held it bound for over several hundred years.”

As if my answer wasn't to her liking, or perhaps she just couldn't accept it, she furrowed her brow and muttered.

“…Is there not something that can be done?”

“Something to be done?”

“If I did not mishear, I recall you saying that was the heart of a Primordial Demonic Beast. Then just…”

…It seemed she was asking if we couldn't just destroy it right here.

In fact, as she spoke, the tip of the Demonic Sword was slightly raised.

Pfft—

Seeing is believing, as they say.

Instead of bothering to list the reasons for her question.

Ssk—

I took the Demonic Sword directly from her hand and approached the crimson heart-mass.

And then.

Slash—

I slashed the mass horizontally in a single stroke.

Against the sharp edge of the Demonic Sword, which hadn't dulled even after hundreds of years, the mass split open helplessly.

It spewed a dark purple liquid from the gash.

But that didn't last long.

“……!!!”

Soon, bundles of tentacles burst out from the gap, and the grotesquely writhing tentacles, along with the liquid, filled the empty space.

In a form even more grotesque than the original.

A bundle of tentacles that was closer to ‘proliferation’ than recovery.

“As you can see, this is what happens.”

“……”

“This mass will probably regenerate even if you tear it apart a hundred times. If it could be destroyed by mere physical force, your ancestors would have torn it to shreds long ago.”

“…How bizarre.”

“It is bizarre.”

In truth, the word ‘bizarre’ was not enough to describe this phenomenon.

Though it looked like a simple black blade on the surface, this Demonic Sword was an item infused with the very soul of the ‘First Heavenly Demon’.

Considering his esteemed status, having reached a transcendent realm all on his own without anyone's help, this was undoubtedly an item that had risen to the rank of a Holy Relic.

Of course, at my current level, I couldn't draw out all of its power, but it was a high-tier weapon that wouldn't have been out of place inside the White Door—where Divine Instruments were stored—surpassing all the artifact slots in the Order's treasury, the Sevens Door.

“Even if I can't wield it properly, it makes no sense that a weapon of this caliber can't cut through a single mass like that—.”

It was then.

T-ring—!

With the sudden notification sound of a system window, two sentences appeared before my eyes.

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', frowns at your words.]

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', mutters, asking how someone who knows that could do such a thing.]

“…Huh?”

Reading the sentences that had suddenly appeared, I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.

T-ring—!

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', is flustered by your reaction.]

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', asks if you can perhaps hear its voice right now.]

The voice of the Demonic Sword I held in my hand was appearing before my eyes in the form of sentences.

“Why is this…”

To be precise, receiving a message from a weapon with a will of its own wasn't that strange.

Even without going as far as a Divine Instrument, a high-tier Artifact with a will could deliver a specific message to its user.

However, that was only when a battle intensified and the level of resonance between the user and the weapon reached its peak.

To put it simply, it was something that could only be experienced intermittently in the realm of ‘Sword and Body as One’.

Moreover, even that wasn't capable of maintaining such a high level of conversation with two-way feedback like this.

It was, at best, a one-shot, one-way transmission of the weapon's will.

I was bewildered by this unprecedented experience, but a sentence that soon appeared revealed the cause of this phenomenon.

[ has been activated.]

[Based on the analysis of the Order's database, the language of the armament is being translated.]

‘…To think it had a function like this.’

It was something completely outside the scope of my expectations.

This was my first time obtaining the Chosen One Trait, so in a way, it was to be expected.

But no matter how vast the Order's database was, I truly had no idea it possessed the data to translate and convey the language of armaments.

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', urges you for an answer.]

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', asks once more if you can hear its voice.]

“…I can hear you.”

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', lets out a disbelieving laugh at your answer.]

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', conveys that this is the first time its voice has reached someone directly.]

…Of course, not all weapons would be capable of such an intelligent conversation.

In the first place, weapons with a will were rare, and in most cases, the will wouldn't form a separate ego (Ego) like this, but would at most leave a one-way message.

This was likely only possible because it was a weapon that had reached the level of a Divine Instrument.

Given that a Divine Instrument itself was a weapon that an ordinary Hero would be lucky to even glimpse once in their lifetime, it was unlikely that an opportunity to use this translation function so actively would arise.

Nevertheless, I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from curling up.

“Is something the matter, Orabeoni?”

“……”

“Why are you suddenly muttering to yourself like that?”

Pfft—

“Something is the matter.”

“……?”

“A ve-ry big something.”

A conversation with a Holy Relic.

…This was an event that could only be a gain, never a loss.

Without even needing to weigh the pros and cons, to put it simply, this was a weapon infused with the will of the First Heavenly Demon, who had reached the ‘realm of the gods’.

If I could receive even a quarter of his knowledge and skill, not only could I dramatically increase the speed at which I learned the Heavenly Demon's Divine Art.

Based on undiscovered ancient information, I could also access options in realms unknown to others.

For example.

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', demands that you stop talking and put your hand into that hideous mass first.]

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', says that you will probably find something to grab.]

…Something like this.

It was a demand, almost an order, given without any particular explanation.

But I followed its words without complaint and took a step forward.

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', shows interest in your unexpectedly(?) obedient behavior.]

Splash— Splash—

“……”

The reason was simple.

This was a weapon imbued with the soul of a Hero who had sacrificed himself for over several hundred years solely to protect Murim.

This was the first thing the weapon spoke of, putting everything else aside, the moment its voice was heard.

From its perspective, this was likely the most important thing it had wanted to talk about for the past few hundred years.

I figured it wouldn't be a light matter that I could judge as good or bad.

[The Holy Relic, 'The Most Sacred Demonic Sword', advises you to bear with it, even if it feels unpleasant.]

Squish— Squelch—

Arriving in front of the heart, I pushed aside the tentacles still filling the gash and plunged my arm deep inside.

Jiiiing—

Then, along with a vibration that shook my mind like tinnitus, a bizarre voice began to be heard from somewhere.

【■■■……ijŒþºαø.!!】

【⍹⍷⍳⍶⏄……!!!!!!!!!!!!!】

…I knew it would be like this, but my brow furrowed automatically.

It sounded like the creepy laughter of an old woman, the terrified cries of a child, and the sound of a rabid mammal's belly being torn apart.

The string of collapsed, nonsensical language and the indescribable, chaotic noise threatened to turn my mind inside out.

The unpleasant sensation of the tentacles at my fingertips only amplified the discomfort.

Wriggle— Wriggle—

Just as the unpleasantness transmitted through my five senses reached its peak, and the unbearable revulsion was about to erupt as vomit.

Thud—

My fingertips touched something solid.