Volume 17 Chapter 10 Victor And The 'Roselia Sword' Iii
"Why... why are you so obsessed with this sword?"
Even though it has a strange presence, it's just an unnamed sword.
Since it has no name, they can't even be sure if it's really the 'Roselia Sword.'
Is it really a famous sword that the ace of a top guild would care about?
"To rise to the top."
Deorus said.
"Do you know? My guild, 'Wings of the Overlord Dragon,' has been trying hard to recruit adventurers from other guilds for a while now. Even the Guild Master has personally approached the big 5, like 'Fallen Purgatory' and 'Fang of the Beast King'."
As he spoke, his expression twisted with anger.
"They're underestimating me. Even with me as their ace... the higher-ups are desperate to become the strongest guild on the continent, surpassing 'Shield of the Holy Emperor.' They want to say I'm not strong enough for that."
Victor could hear the sound of him grinding his teeth.
"So, they want to bring in other adventurers and make one of them the new ace... How can I accept such humiliation?!"
"So, you want more power, is that it?"
"Exactly! What I need are powerful weapons and armor. Not this sword that's just been Enhanced Bestowal, but a stronger sword! With that, I will become even stronger!"
Deorus shouted with bloodshot eyes.
His eyes looked like he was possessed by something.
No, he probably really is possessed.
By an obsession with 'strength' and 'glory'...
"But even so, to go as far as to harm your own teammates──"
"Shut up! You weakling wouldn't understand!"
Deorus shouted.
"We S-ranks are the strongest, but that's not the end. We're competing to see who's the best among the S-ranks. It's about pride, you know? The world we live in, what we risk, our very souls──everything is different from the weak!"
Victor couldn't understand this.
Isn't just becoming an S-rank enough? he thought.
To Victor, just being an S-rank was like being on a cloud.
He wondered why Deorus couldn't be satisfied with that.
"You really don't get it, do you? Haha, I guess weaklings are just weak."
Deorus laughed mockingly.
"You don't have the spirit to aim for number one. You have no pride. It's the mindset of someone who's given up on life, saying, 'I'm fine being second best'."
Saying this, Deorus stepped closer.
"Our talk is over. I'll kill you and take the sword. I'll report to the guild that everyone except me was killed by the [Trident Dragon]."
Considering their difference in strength, Victor had no chance of winning.
"I──."
Victor readied the 'Roselia Sword.'
"I don't want to die yet."
That was a natural feeling for a human.
Everyone doesn't want to die.
But──he realized he was somewhat detached, saying it so calmly.
He noticed his weak attachment to life.
"I won't listen to your pleas for mercy."
"Then, I have no choice but to fight to survive."
Victor stared straight at Deorus.
Could he win...?
He asked himself and quickly found the answer.
"It seems impossible."
The moment he realized this, the feeling of wanting to live faded, and a sense of resignation spread in his chest.
Strangely, he didn't feel fear.
Ah, I'm going to die here──He felt like it was happening to someone else.
He had lived his life naturally, flowing along, and now he was going to be killed just as naturally.
Everything was just flowing along.
He had calmly accepted reality.
...Is that okay?
He thought he heard a voice.
"What...?"
He looked around, but he couldn't find the source of the voice.
"What are you looking away for! [Physical Boost]!"
Then, Deorus attacked.
Had he used a body-enhancing skill? His speed was incredibly fast.
Deorus closed the distance with a Charge and unleashed a powerful slash.
"Ugh..."
C-rank adventurer Victor managed to dodge it, partly due to luck and partly because Deorus underestimated him.
"Whoa..."
Victor thrust his sword forward in a counterattack.
"──Too slow."
Zing...!
Victor's thrust was easily dodged, and Deorus's sword slashed across his chest.
"Ugh..."
"Hahaha! Even with a legendary sword, you're still just a C-rank! Your movements are slow, slow, slow! You look like you're standing still!"
Deorus laughed loudly.
"How sad... it's the difference in talent."
"Not... yet!"
Victor continued to swing his sword.
Two strikes, 3 strikes── all were dodged.
"I told you it's slow. I'm the S-rank adventurer 'Blade of Purple Lightning' Deorus! No one can match my speed!"
Deorus unleashed another slash.
Just like his title, it was a strike as sharp as lightning.
"Ah... ugh..."
This time, it cut into his shoulder.
Clang...
The pain made him drop his sword.
"Alright, it's the end. A mediocre adventurer like you doesn't deserve that sword. A special sword should be held by a special person. Someone like me, an S-rank adventurer."
Deorus immediately took a stance for his next attack.
"[Vertical Slash]!"
As expected from an S-rank powerhouse, Deorus seemed to have a variety of Sword Skills.
The sword came down from above with the sharpness of lightning.
(This is bad, I can't dodge it.)
Victor realized.
In one or 2 seconds, he would be cut in half and die.
...Is that really okay?
He felt like he heard a voice again.
If he died like this, he would achieve nothing, just killed without purpose.
(I didn't live to achieve something in particular.)
Of course, he didn't want to die.
But this situation was already 'checkmate.'
He thought it couldn't be helped.
After all, he was just an ordinary person.
An S-rank adventurer was seriously trying to kill him, so there was no way he could resist.
He would be killed.
He should stop the useless resistance.
He should just give up.
On everything──.
"...No, I don't want to...!"
Almost unconsciously, a voice squeezed out from deep in his throat.
It was completely different from his usual carefree tone.
A creaking, raw voice.
The voice of his true self──!
"That's right, I am..."
Victor's eyes widened.
He felt his heart being set free.
Always──he had always suppressed himself.
He had brushed off everything that didn't go well as 'it can't be helped.'
He thought that was just being natural.
But it was different.
He had just been giving up all along.
"I am not a special person like you. I am just an ordinary person. But that's okay."
Victor reached for the sword lying on the ground.
"I am me. I want to live as the ordinary Victor Zeora. I will not give up on my life any longer!"
...Then, lend me your strength.
Boom...!
The moment he held the 'Roselia of The Emerald Gale Claw Sword,' the entire sword glowed with a green light.
The wind swirled around him.
"What the──?"
The wind wrapped around Victor's limbs.
It felt like he was wearing gauntlets and greaves made of wind.
"My body feels... light!"
Victor was surprised.
He kicked the ground lightly and instantly moved behind Deorus.
"Wha──what!?"
Deorus turned around with a shocked expression.
"Impossible! You got behind me──."
"Unbelievable speed."
Victor muttered calmly.
"Could it be... the power of this sword?"
"You bastard!"
Deorus swung his sword at Victor.
Swish...
But in that moment, Victor quickly moved back and easily dodged Deorus's attack.
"That's... fast... too fast! Compared to this 'Blade of Purple Lightning' Deorus-sama's speed──."
"Wrapped in wind, moving at the speed of the wind... this is the power of the 'Roselia of The Emerald Gale Claw Sword'──."
The sword spoke to Victor.
About its true power.
About how to use it.
About how to fight.
"Even if the opponent is S-rank, if I borrow the power of this sword── I will not lose."
In that instant, he was certain.
Boom!
The wind-wrapped sprint was even faster than before.
"What!? I can't react──."
Deorus shouted in shock.
To him, there was probably only an afterimage left.
Thanks to Victor's sudden speed increase.
"Just a C-rank... damn it, relying on that sword... ugh!?"
The swung sword lightly sliced Deorus's arm.
"I fight with my sword. It's because I'm weak."
"You weaklingggggg!"
Slash!
Victor's sword whipped around at super speed, cutting through Deorus's legs.
"Ugh..."
Deorus fell, unable to hold on any longer.
It's not a fatal wound, but he wouldn't be able to move for a while.
"I will live with this weakness. I will rely on others. I fight together, not alone──I have no shame in that."
Victor said calmly, pulling back his sword.
He realized that Deorus had already lost his fighting spirit.
Killing him was not the goal.
The goal was to take control of the situation and ensure Victor's own safety.
* * *
After that, Victor treated the other members.
Fortunately, no one had received fatal injuries, and Deorus's party members used healing magic, allowing everyone to recover.
Then, they captured Deorus and turned him in to the guild.
The rest could be left to their guild.
As for the 'Roselia Sword' they obtained, it was handed over to the client, completing the request.
Victor's fellow adventurers had survived, but they would need time to recover, so he became a solo adventurer for the time being.
And so, his carefree adventurer life continued──
──until something unexpected happened.
"What is this...?"
A month later, Victor stopped by the town's weapon shop and noticed a familiar sword on display.
"'Roselia of The Emerald Gale Claw Sword'...?"
He was sure he had handed it over to the client.
"Oh, that one. It seems the owner sold it right away, and it ended up here," said the shopkeeper.
"I heard that the owner asked an adventurer to get a legendary sword from a dungeon. But it turned out to be different from what they wanted. They wanted a sword that sealed a legendary dragon, but the information was wrong... or something like that."
"A legendary..."
"So, the angry owner sold it for a pittance. In short, it's a fake legendary sword. Well, since it has a story behind it, we're not charging too much for it."
"I see... With this price, I might be able to buy it."
As he said this, Victor realized he wanted the sword.
Somehow──he felt that this sword belonged with him.
The sword he had once given to the client had quickly come back to him, and it felt like──if he exaggerated a bit──'fate.'
It was rare for him, who wasn't a believer in fate, to feel this way intuitively. So,
"Shopkeeper, I would like to have this sword."
Victor naturally said this.
──And now, this sword is with Victor.
Thinking back, he felt a deep emotion.
In the end, it probably happened as it was meant to.
"Hm? What's wrong, Victor-san?"
"I was just remembering when I got this sword and everything that happened after."
"Isn't that a legendary sword?"
"Yeah. But since there's no inscription on it, I couldn't be sure if this is really a legendary sword.
Even though it showed overwhelming power in the battle against Deorus, he couldn't believe he actually had such an amazing sword.
"Anyway, it's really sharp, and I usually used it for packing and cooking..."
After using it as a regular tool, he gradually forgot how incredible this sword was.
He even started to think that the battle in that ruin was just a dream.
That's why when he met Rain and confirmed that this sword was indeed the 'Roselia Sword' through the resonance with the 'Refaid of The Light Dragon Emperor Sword,' he was really surprised.
At the same time, it made sense.
This sword really does have that kind of power.
"Did you really do that with a legendary sword...?"
Rosa chuckled.
"Well, I don't use it that way anymore... mostly."
"So you still use it sometimes?"
Hummmm...
Suddenly, the sword vibrated, interrupting our conversation.
"It seems like the 'Roselia Sword' is calling... Rain might be ahead."
"I can't feel anything with my [Detection]... but should we go check it out?"
"Yeah... it's not that I don't trust your skill, but this is an unknown place. There might be traps that block [Detection]."
Victor said to Rosa.
"I see. Well, relying on this sword's reaction might be a good idea. Let's move forward. I want to join up with Rain and the others, following the direction this sword leads us."
Light shone straight from 'Roselia of The Emerald Gale Claw Sword.'
"Let's go!"
"I said, why are you suddenly walking in the opposite direction, Victor-san!?"
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