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TL: ALT
Chapter 90 – Divine Sword
As I ran up the stone steps of the dungeon shrine,
“You have come.”
The fox-eared nojaloli god was waiting for me outside the shrine.
“God!”
“I know. The time is limited. Come here.”
God said this with an unusually serious face and walked up to the balustrade where the money box was.
God opens the door of the worship hall to the left and right.
Then, just like that, she slid into the worship hall.
“W-wait a minute!”
I quickly climbed up the railing and followed God.
I did not feel comfortable going deep into the worship hall, but since she insisted that I follow her, I had no choice.
God says it’s okay.
There would be no risk of getting hit.
“Look at this.”
God indicated with her eyes what was placed in front of the altar-like structure at the back of the worship hall.
It was a sword.
It was a straight, rounded sword with a blade about two feet long.
Both the blade and the hilt are a cloudy, azure color, like jade.
To be honest, it doesn’t look very sharp.
The sword has no hilt.
However, it is harmonious in design.
It is not so much that the sword did not have a handguard intentionally, but rather that the idea of attaching a handguard to the sword itself did not exist.
It was a time when the idea of attaching a handguard to the sword itself was not common.
The technology of making sword bodies out of steel had not yet been perfected.
There was no technology to add a curve to the body of the sword to increase its sharpness.
Swords were used in politics as ceremonial objects.
The sword seems to have been made in such an era, but I do not know what it was made of or how it was processed.
In a word, it looks like an out-of-place artifact treasure sword unearthed from an ancient tomb.
The treasured sword rattled while emitting a faint glow…! And the pedestal is shaking slightly.
What is it?
It’s like a poltergeist phenomenon.
“It was brought from Atsuta in a hurry.”
God said.
“Look, and you will see. It’s rattling violently. This sword has not rattled since the last war. No, not even then did it move so clearly.”
“W-wait a minute. Could it be that this sword…”
God did not answer my question but took the sword in her hand.
“You may take this with you.”
“Huh?”
The sword was presented to me so carelessly that I involuntarily shuddered.
Because… if this sword is really that sword, it’s not good to touch it or even see it, is it?
“What, you don’t want it?”
“N-no! Why are we talking about this? Is Clovis really such a bad guy?”
“I don’t know. Even from my point of view, I don’t think the elves are that much of a threat. But it is true that an enormous causality is approaching.”
“What do you mean by causality?”
“The course of events, the way things are done, the fate of this world. Everything will be twisted to its destiny.”
“Because of Clovis?”
“Perhaps. I can only see the signs of the impending causality. I do not know how the causality will be realized. Nor can I intervene directly.”
“…So you will lend me this sword?”
What Clovis is trying to do is probably large-scale sorcery using Spirit Magic and Ritual Magic.
Flood the dungeons in various places and make the cascading waves converge in this Okutama Lake Dungeon along the dragon vein.
Using the massive amount of energy gathered, a “hole” is opened to the world where Clovis originally came from.
It is said that Clovis was the reigning king in his former world and led the elves to overrun other races.
He told Haruka-san at the Tengumine Shrine that he was returning to his original world to take revenge for being removed from that throne.
Even if his goal is to return to his original world, it is hard to believe that what Clovis is doing will not have a negative effect on this world.
It is very likely that something serious will happen on this side as a side effect of Clovis’ plan.
Okutama Lake Dungeon Flood――This is still a good thing.
The worst thing that could happen is the collapse of the dungeon that Haruka-san mentioned earlier.
If the dungeon collapses, a large area around Okutama Lake could be swallowed up by the dungeon, which has turned into a black hole of souls.
Although Okutama Lake is outside the city center, it is still just inside the city.
Depending on the extent of the collapse, the entire center of Tokyo, one of the world’s most populous cities, could be swallowed by the dungeon.
Furthermore, dungeons are said to grow by feeding on souls.
If Tokyo’s population were swallowed, the collapse of the dungeon would not only stop, it might even accelerate.
Even in the world where Clovis and Haruka-san lived, which does not seem to have a very high population density, the world was almost destroyed by the collapse of the dungeons.
Thinking about the same thing happening in this world… I see; of course, this sword wants to be activated.
The possibility that Clovis is aiming for the collapse of the dungeon is not unlikely.
In fact, it’s probably the right thing to do.
After all, Haruka-san came to this world because the dungeon collapsed in the other world.
If that is the case, then the possibility that Clovis, who is trying to return to the other world, is deliberately trying to cause the dungeon to collapse is quite high.
However, it is not a sword that can be accepted without hesitation.
No, for starters,
“I thought the weapons of this world didn’t work on monsters?”
I ask God my doubts.
“That perception is not correct. The weapons of this world have no causality that makes them effective against monsters… This is more accurate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly. Think about guns. Guns hurt people because they have the ability to hurt people, right?”
“That’s right.”
“In other words, guns have the ability to kill people. The same goes for items found in dungeons. Items contain causality that can kill or injure monsters. Therefore, they are weapons against monsters. However, earthly weapons lack the causality to kill monsters. Therefore, earthly weapons are ineffective against monsters.”
God said it with an attitude, of course, but it is a theory that seems to have a lot of problems.
The reason guns can kill people is not because of causality but simply because they can fire bullets with enough power to destroy the human body or something like that.
But… I see.
It’s well known that there are no firearms among the items that drop in dungeons.
Maybe this can be interpreted as the stereotype that “guns can’t kill monsters” causally prevents the itemization of guns.
Well, there are examples of monsters using firearms and cannons, like Karakuri Drones and Karakuri Tanks.
No, since it is also a causal factor that “firearms can kill people” and “firearms are for killing people,” does that mean that firearms can be adopted when they are used as monster equipment…?
It’s a God theory with a hundred questions, but I don’t have time to go into it right now.
“…I’ll just assume that’s the case for now. What about this sword?”
“Huh. The weapons of this world cannot harm monsters. The sword also has no causality with something as absurd as a monster. Therefore, this sword cannot cut monsters.”
“What, it can’t?”
“Don’t panic. It’s true that it can’t kill monsters. But it is also true that this sword has a strong causality. So what is it that this sword has strong causality against?”
“Let’s see… If the myth is true.”
“Indeed it is. The sword has a strong causality with the great serpent. The king of the eight-headed serpent, who even attained divine status, the deadly serpent.”
“Wait a minute. Then is it a lie that Clovis’ goal is to return to his original world?”
The collapse of the dungeon is just a “phenomenon.”
No matter how mythical the sword is, it will not be able to kill the phenomenon.
According to God’s words, what awaits me is not the collapse of the dungeon but a more tangible threat.
“I have already told you. I do not know. But it seems that you will need this guy to break the huge causality that is approaching. A serpent and a god. Or maybe even a dragon. There are not many weapons left that can cut through such things. Until the appearance of the dungeon, the mythical realm was on the verge of extinction, cut off by an ever-expanding science.”
I don’t like to hear such grandiose stories.
“Well… we won’t know what will happen until we lift the lid, but you’re telling me that a situation could arise that would require this sword? And that it’s something on the level of myth?”
“Umu. Your understanding is always spot on. Then take it. This sword is also a god in itself. Hold it with all your heart as if it were my shadow.”
“…May I use Appraisal on it?”
I asked God as the least resistance.
“You can do as much or as little as you like after you receive it. You don’t have much time, do you?”
God held the sword out to me, and I reflexively grabbed the hilt.
The cool hilt strikes as if in recognition of me.
I have a bad feeling about this, but I’ll just try to use Appraisal on it.
Item?─────────────────
Kusanagi Sword
A sacred treasure.
Details unknown.
Ability value correction unknown.
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