Daiki Greyrat
We decided to head for the hills just outside the Citadel of Roa. Rudeus had promised Ghislaine a demonstration of a Saint-tier water spell. Eris, naturally, tagged along.
Truth be told, she only came to spar with me... and because she planned to challenge Ghislaine to a friendly match afterward.
"Daiki, let me hold your sword, please!" Eris asked, eyes sparkling.
"Sure."
I unsheathed the blade, feeling my mana reinforcement flow into it. Eris took it with exaggerated care, as if it were spun glass.
"Wow... it's actually quite light. I thought it'd be heavier."
I smiled.
"That's because you're an Advanced-tier swordswoman. It shouldn't be a problem for you."
Eris tried a couple of practice swings, but suddenly, her wrist yanked downward as if an invisible magnet had seized the steel.
"W-what's wrong with it...?" she stammered.
In an instant, the sword seemed to turn into solid lead. Eris's legs trembled, fragile as a newborn fawn's. She refused to let go, holding on until her strength finally gave out and the weapon clattered to the ground.
"Weird..." I said, picking it back up. "You were holding it just fine a second ago."
Eris sat on the grass, panting and sweating.
"G-God... You were right when you said that sword bites. It felt like it was sucking the life out of my hand."
Then it clicked.
The sword had a specialty: Bond. It only responded to the one it accepted as its master. For everyone else, it was dead weight.
"It drained your mana, didn't it?"
She nodded, eyeing the weapon with a mix of fear and curiosity.
"Let's see, kid. Hand it over." Ghislaine stepped in, ignoring Rudeus for the first time all day.
She gripped the hilt firmly... and the exact same thing happened.
The blade became absurdly heavy. So heavy that Ghislaine herself began to sink into the soft earth.
We stared, jaws dropped. It was the first time we had ever seen the Sword King actually struggle to lift something.
"...Enough," she growled.
She released the sword. We braced for a crash, but the metal touched the ground harmlessly.
"...It must be some spell, or maybe it absorbs mana. That has to be what makes it so heavy," Rudeus muttered, slipping into his analytical genius mode.
I retrieved the sword. In my grip, it was featherlight, an extension of my own arm.
I looked at Ghislaine, who was rubbing her wrists with a furrowed brow, and then at Eris, still catching her breath. If the Sword King couldn't hold it, physical strength wasn't the issue.
"Brother." I walked over to him, offering the hilt. "Here."
Rudeus scrambled back, waving his hands frantically.
"No way!" he squealed. "Are you crazy?! You saw what it did to Ghislaine! That thing swallowed her mana and sank her into the dirt! If I touch it, it'll rip my arms off and suck me dry!"
"It won't."
"How do you know?! It's a cursed sword! I'm a mage, Daiki! My arms are for holding wands and touching soft things, not for lifting demonic anvils!"
I took a step closer, invading his personal space.
"Rudeus. Trust me."
He froze.
That phrase was our code. If I said it was okay, it meant I had calculated every variable, every risk.
"...If I lose an arm, I'm writing you out of my will," he muttered, resigned.
I watched my brother's hands tremble as he reached for the handle.
"Here goes..." he whispered.
I let go, dropping the sword into his palms.
Rudeus squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the snap of bone or a sudden mana drain. He waited for the pain... but nothing happened.
Just the natural effort of keeping a heavy sword raised, his arms shaking slightly under the weight.
Rudeus opened one eye. Then the other. His gaze met mine.
"Huh...?"
He stood still for a second.
"Oof... it's heavy," he grunted. "Weighs a ton, like a sack of potatoes. But..."
He didn't sink.
"It's not biting me," he said, surprised. "It's just... a heavy sword."
Eris jumped up, a vein popping on her forehead as she pointed an accusing finger.
"WHAT?! Why can he do it?!" she screamed, indignant. "Rudeus has no muscles! I am a thousand times stronger than him!"
"Hey, I do have muscles...!" Rudeus defended himself, flexing a barely visible bicep. "I'm just not a meathead swordsman like you guys! I'm an athletic intellectual!"
Eris snorted.
"You're soft, Rudy."
"I'm aerodynamic!"
I smirked.
"It's the blood," I said, taking the sword from my brother's shaking hands before he dropped it. "Or maybe the sword just recognizes family."
Rudeus massaged his arms, keeping his eyes on Eris. She huffed at him, and he huffed right back.
"Well... I guess that makes me worthy," he said, puffing out his chest. "Though I prefer my staff. That thing has no magical style."
I sheathed my blade.
"Enough experiments. Ghislaine, you ready? Rudeus wants to show off."
Ghislaine nodded, though she still eyed my sword with suspicion.
"Show me the power of a Water Saint."
Rudeus grinned.
"Very well. Prepare yourselves. I, Rudeus Greyrat, will unveil my ultimate secret technique!"
"Yes!" Eris clapped. Ghislaine looked genuinely interested. And I won't lie, I was excited too.
Rudeus glanced at me before starting his chant, that spark of rivalry in his eyes.
"Challenging me, brother?"
"Mages are cooler than swordsmen! Let's see you top this!"
---
Rudeus Greyrat
"Muahahaha!" I raised my staff to the heavens. "Magic Power, heed my call! Magnificent Spirit of Water, ascend to the sky... Huh?"
That was when I noticed it.
"Mm? What is that?"
"I don't know, but that is an insane amount of mana!"
So she could see it. After three years, I finally had confirmation... she had a Demon Eye.
Ghislaine quickly slapped her eyepatch back on.
Should we head back to the city? I didn't know what that sky meant, but if things went south, I wanted a roof over my head. We'd be in trouble if it started raining spears.
"No. The closer to the city, the more concentrated the mana is. We need to get away," Ghislaine said.
"But we have to at least go back to the mansion and warn everyone!"
"In that case, I will go..." Ghislaine started to move, until...
"Rudeus! Get down!"
I ducked on instinct.
Something whistled past, slicing the air right where my head had been a split second ago. A chill raced down my spine.
"That was..."
"What... what was that? What just happened?"
"Sword God Style, Saint-tier technique: The Sword of Light."
My brother already had his sword drawn, Eris tucked behind him.
Oh... Ghislaine had shown me this before. Daiki too. A secret technique said to reach the speed of light at the tip of the blade.
I turned slowly.
"Who...?"
A man stood there. Blond hair, wearing what looked like an all-white school uniform buttoned to the collar. He might have been handsome, but a yellow fox mask hid his face. A dagger rested in his right hand.
That must have been it. The thing that almost decapitated me.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!"
"..."
At Ghislaine's shout, the stranger's face glowed.
A flash blinded us. I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Gaah!" Ghislaine roared.
Clash of metal on metal. Twice. Three times. Movements too fast to track.
When my vision cleared, Ghislaine stood in front of me, eyepatch gone. She had ripped it off the moment the light flashed to use her Demon Eye.
"Bastard! Who are you? An enemy of the Greyrat family!?"
"Almanfi the Bright. That is my name."
"Almanfi?"
"I came to investigate this anomaly on the orders of Lord Perugius."
Perugius.
One of the Three Legendary Heroes who sealed the Demon God. A summoner with twelve familiars. The name triggered a chain reaction in my memory.
Almanfi the Bright. One of the twelve.
"Ghislaine, careful. According to the books, this guy moves at light speed."
Daiki shifted, trying to flank her.
"Ghislaine! I'm backing you up!"
She growled, irritated.
"You joking? I don't need your help."
She didn't look away from the enemy. Before Daiki could react, Ghislaine's leg came up in a blur.
My brother launched backward like a cannonball.
"Rudeus, take the Young Lady and fall back."
Daiki Greyrat
I landed hard, boots digging into the dirt and kicking up dust. It didn't hurt. Ghislaine had used just enough force to clear the distance, not to damage me.
I spun around, swallowing hard.
Now what?
If that really was Almanfi, a normal sword was useless. I read The Legend of Perugius. He's a spirit of light. He can travel any distance instantly if it's within his line of sight. He didn't wander here; he literally beamed in the moment he saw the mana flare.
"Move, woman. This phenomenon might stop if I kill that boy."
I knew exactly who he meant: my brother. But why? What did Rudeus have to do with this?
"I am the Sword King, Ghislaine Dedoldia. That thing in the sky has nothing to do with us. Stand down!"
"Sword King? Why should I believe that? Prove it."
"Look! This is Hiramune, one of the seven blades of the Sword Gods. Still not satisfied?" She leveled her weapon at him.
"Swear it on your master and your family."
"I swear it on the name of my master, the Sword God Gal Farion, and the honor of the Dedoldia!"
"Dedoldia, was it? Very well. If we discover you lied, Lord Perugius will decide your fate."
Almanfi sheathed his dagger. The fight seemed over.
"Fine, assuming you aren't responsible."
"No apology for the ambush?"
"Your fault for acting suspicious," he replied, turning his back on us with disdain.
"Um..." my brother started.
"Mm?"
Just as Rudeus spoke, the sky bleached white.
A pillar of light descended, striking the earth in absolute silence. The instant it touched down, it expanded into a dome at terrifying speed, a silent tidal wave of energy. The mansion, the citadel, the forest... everything was devoured.
Almanfi vanished in a flash.
Ghislaine turned, shouting something lost to the soundless roar, and lunged toward us. The light took her before she took two steps.
She was gone.
"Shit!"
I turned to Rudeus and Eris.
"HOLD ON!" I screamed, lungs burning.
I poured every ounce of strength into my legs, turning myself into a human missile.
Useless. As I closed the distance, the light accelerated.
I reached out, desperate to close the gap, to grab a finger, a sleeve, anything.
My fingers grazed the air near them, and gravity died.
"Daiki!" Eris screamed. She reached for me, face twisted in terror.
I felt the ghost of her wrist against my fingertips, a fleeting contact, and then my arm was sucked into the void.
I missed.
[CONNECTION ERROR.]
[DESTINATION: UNKNOWN.]
When I opened my eyes, I was floating in a white void.
I knew immediately this wasn't reality. A lucid dream, maybe, or a dying hallucination. Yet, I felt... heavy. Different.
I looked at my hands. Pale, thin, no calluses. Bigger than I remembered.
I touched my face. Rough skin... stubble... stiff muscles.
It was... that body.
The vessel I had refused to acknowledge for years. I tried to frown, scream, cry... nothing. Just an uncomfortable tug under the skin.
Of course. My old face. My old body. The one that hadn't managed a sincere smile in eighteen years.
Memories of my past life slammed into me, even the ones I thought I'd buried. The loneliness, the apathy... it all came back to crush my chest.
Fate has a twisted sense of humor. Or whatever runs this universe. At this point, I didn't even care enough to curse it.
I finally had a family that loved me. A loyal brother, a strong friend... Just when I reclaimed my humanity, just when I learned how to live... gone. Again.
I wished it had lasted a little longer. Just a little more time in the sun.
I let out a sigh, or the intent of one, since there was no air here, and closed my eyes.
A presence appeared. A silhouette, stark white and empty, defined only by a wide, fixed grin.
"Hello. Pleased to meet you, Daiki."
I stared without standing, keeping my guard up even from the floor.
...Huh? What are you? God, or the bouncer for the afterlife?
The figure let out a tinkling laugh, as if I'd just cracked the joke of the century.
"Hahaha! Bouncer! That's new. No, I'm no employee. I am Hitogami. The Man-God."
He leaned closer.
"And I must say... that was terrible, wasn't it?"
Hitogami pressed his hands to his cheeks in mock sympathy.
"But don't worry. I'm here to help. Because I like you. You're different."
...Help me? I narrowed my eyes. Why would a God want to help me?
"Because your situation is... special." Hitogami leaned in. "And because your brother, Rudeus... He is in real trouble."
...What's wrong with him? I stood up instantly.
"He's fallen into the worst place imaginable. The Demon Continent. He's surrounded by monsters, alone, scared... and he's met a very dangerous man. A Superd."
Hitogami paused for effect.
"He's going to die, Daiki. Rudeus is going to die if you don't act."
...
...I see. What do you want?
"You see, you are in a spot that is... well, you'll find out soon enough! You need to take the first boat you can find. Your brother won't last long if you stay put."
...You're lying.
Hitogami paused.
...Rudeus isn't weak.
I stepped toward the "deity." Honestly, he looked more like a clown than a god.
"Such faith. But blind faith is dangerous. I see the future, little human. I see the threads snapping. Do you think a few lessons can stop the tide of destiny?"
...The future is a sum of variables and choices. Not a movie you watch with popcorn. It's a probability calculation. And you? You're just an annoying variable.
I let out a dry laugh.
"Annoying? I offer omniscience. I offer a way around the pain. Why fight in the dark when I can give you a map?"
...In my past life, my house burned down with my parents inside. Where were the gods then? Where were you?
"I only exist in this world."
...Thought you were omniscient.
Silence.
"You're stubborn. And cynical. I'm offering free help. Information. Power. Anyone else would kill to be here."
...You offer help? Really? Tch... is that what gods are like?
"What are you, Daiki?"
...I'm logical.
I turned my back on him.
...Wake me up. I have work to do. I need to find my brother. Not because I believe he'll die, but because we made a promise.
"You'll regret this!" Hitogami shouted. "You will suffer hunger, cold, and despair. And when you are broken, I will ask you again..."
...Suffering is just data. I can process it. And if you so much as lay a finger on my brother, you'll learn the hard way that humans can hunt gods.
"We'll see, little human. Are you sure you want to leave your brother to the mercy of fate? He needs you."
...
The mosaic figure stood motionless. Then, a grotesque, condescending smile stretched across its face.
He raised a hand, waving like an old friend.
"I understand. In that case, watch your step. Oh, and take my advice seriously... or else—"
...What?!
...