Volume 5 Chapter 53 The Unleashed Being
Feeling exhausted and in intense pain as if my consciousness would fade just from being poked by a finger, I somehow managed to stay standing, leaning on Gram, without losing consciousness and returned to his original black spear. The aftermath of the final clash had stirred up a large amount of dust all around, reducing visibility to almost zero.
"...Hey Gram, why did you stop me at the very end?"
With a resounding voice that echoed at the very end, I reflexively altered the trajectory of my slash. As a result, although I managed to crush the large serpent belly, I slightly missed hitting Reed in the back. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I felt like I narrowly missed the mark.
"It was more of a spur of the moment thing, partner. It's not like he really wanted to kill you deep down, right?"
I furrowed my brow at Gram, who seemed to be avoiding the topic. While the Great Magic Blade was manifesting, there was some hostility and anger towards Reed, but now it wasn't as strong.
"Partner, you aren't exactly a pushover... I know that well. But this time, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even if that's the case, I understand that if it's necessary, you won't hesitate."
I've been struggling to grasp what Gram has been trying to convey. If he doesn't make it clear soon, I'll be at my physical and mental limits. I'm so exhausted that I feel like collapsing right now.
"Am... I even alive?"
Reed's hoarse voice reaches me from beyond the dust. It seems like he's conscious too.
"Slay... How about you?"
"Hahaha... I'm barely hanging in there."
Slay's laughter, which couldn't help but touch the ears, has now lost its strength. The sound conveys that both the weapon and its wielder are heavily injured.
As I move forward with the black spear as my cane, the swirling dust gradually settles, and Reed's figure comes into view.
Reed noticed me with his footsteps, then he turned his eyes towards me and let out a sigh.
"Damn it... to think I'd be shown mercy by a lower-ranked mercenary. Even the 2nd rank mercenary is worthless."
I can barely move, while Reed doesn't even have the strength to stand up. Reed seems to have regained his composure enough to silently accept who the winner is.
"Who's the fool that came seriously at that lower-ranked guy?"
"Damn, that's really true. Ah, damn it, I'm starting to want you even more."
"Are you still going to say it?"
Agreeing with my words, Reed, who is full of regrets, falls to the ground and throws his limbs out powerlessly. It's clear that even moving a single finger is difficult. The "Snake Belly Sword (Slay)" lying beside him is full of cracks and has lost its blade, but the will itself seems to be intact.
Next to him, the deep marks of The Great Magic Blade of Dragon Slayer (Balmung) are deeply engraved. If it weren't for Gram's intervention, Reed and Slay would have completely disappeared from this world by now.
"...Huh?"
Apart from the fact that blood was flowing from his left eye and nose, Reed was almost unscathed. However, his equipment and clothes were damaged by the shockwave of the slash, and that's when something strange caught his eye.
At first, I thought it was just dust that got in my eyes, so I rubbed them.
"Oh, you finally noticed. How slow can you be, partner?"
This time, Gram let out a sigh of exasperation, but I was not focused on that.
"Huh?"
Shaking my head, thinking it might be due to fatigue that I was starting to see illusions, I blinked my eyes several times, but the scene before me remained unchanged.
"Huh!?"
"You've been noisy since earlier. What's up, Black Blade?"
"Well, it's because you..."
Reed glared annoyingly at me, but I couldn't come up with a suitable response. I was still in shock, surpassing the moment I found out that Reed's snake belly sword was a weapon with a will and that demons were involved in this commotion.
Pushing aside his tattered and damaged clothes, I noticed Reed's chest was unusually prominent. Despite lying on his back, it seemed like two large mountains, almost rivaling Kyunei's, were fiercely asserting themselves as if freed from a constricting bind.
"...Don't stare at me like that. I have some modesty too."
Finally, Reed seemed to realize where my gaze was directed, his cheeks turning red as he struggled to turn his face away, unable to move his body at all.
His reaction confirmed that it wasn't an illusion or a mistake.
"I see you have quite an impressive item... I mean"
As I slowly began to grasp reality, I timidly asked Reed,
"Um... Reed-san. Are you perhaps... a 'woman'?"
"Even with your polite tone, that's incredibly rude. ...Since I was born, I have never once identified as a man."
...
......
I finally understood why Gram had intervened so quickly.
"──Wait, seriouslyyyyyyy?!"
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)