Chapter 77 - The Hardness of Hatred
Altanato's forge.
The path leading to it was a dark cave.
『Are we in the right place?』
Naiad asked with an uneasy voice.
Clay calmly looked around.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, the torches hanging on one of the walls burst into flames, illuminating the area.
『I can feel an ominous presence.』
It wasn't something a demonic sword would normally say, but Clay agreed with Siltnaro's opinion.
"Shadows."
The flickering shadows of the torches rose up like monsters. Clay immediately tightened his grip on his sword.
GROOOOOWL!
One of the shadows lunged at Clay. He swung his sword as if he had been waiting.
CLANG!
"!"
It wasn't cut.
『My Demon King!』
Hearing Siltnaro's surprised cry, Clay quickly retreated. The shadow followed him just as quickly.
CLANG! CLANG!
Despite swinging his sword several times, the shadow didn't show a single wound.
"Siltnaro! Endure it!"
CRACK! CLANG! CRACKCRACKCRACK!
Clay stopped backing away and instead moved forward, swinging his sword hard at the shadow.
It still wasn't cut.
'But it's being pushed back!'
If he couldn't cut it, his only option was to use the sword as a blunt weapon. Clay used his strength to push the shadow back and continued to move forward.
『Clay! What are you trying to do?!』
Naiad shouted urgently. Even if he could push it back, it would consume an enormous amount of stamina.
He couldn't possibly keep it up.
GRIT!
Nevertheless, Clay didn't stop. He swung and swung and swung his sword again, and when he finally reached his target,
CRASH!
He broke the nearest torch with his sword.
『What in the…?!』
Naiad shrieked in a high-pitched voice, seeing the flame suddenly shattered.
GRUNF!
At the same time, the shadow that had been exchanging blows with Clay fell to its knees.
GROOOOAAAR!
And then it collapsed, lost its form, and disappeared.
"This is a trial."
Clay said as he scanned the spots where the disappeared torches and shadows had been.
"One torch for one shadow."
Countless torches lined the walls. And near them were the same number of high-strength shadows, growling.
They were like the fire and anvil used to forge a weapon.
"Altanato only pours his skills into materials that can withstand the tempering process."
A trial worthy of that legend was unfolding before his eyes.
"Just arriving at the forge could chip or crack the blade. In the worst-case scenario…"
『Don't worry, My Demon King.』
Siltnaro answered calmly.
『I will do my part.』
『Wait, I…!』
Naiad, who had unexpectedly become a part of the durability test, said in a startled voice.
『I can't even leave, so what am I supposed to do?!』
"Help Siltnaro."
Clay told her the only thing she could do.
"Because it might be too difficult for Siltnaro to endure on her own."
『Dammit…!』
She cursed. That was all the resistance she could offer.
"I'm sorry for relying on both of you. But I, too, promise that I will not spare my body."
Clay said as he looked at the menacing shadows that were blocking his path.
"Then, let's go."
Clay's body, which had firmly stepped on the ground, shot forward as if to pierce through the darkness.
♧
Donon, a nation located in the southern part of Yafenon.
Rich in mineral resources, Donon had steadily grown its influence by supplying iron ore to Yafenon. Thanks to this, Donon, which maintained a close relationship with the Holy Kingdom Alliance even if it wasn't a brother nation of Krata, was able to secure a position as a great power.
"What in the…"
Donon was now crumbling helplessly.
"What the hell is that monster!"
A body of crimson created from blood.
A being that could only be described as a blood fiend was sweeping away the soldiers of Donon in their entirety.
"AAAAH!"
"GAAAAH!"
"SAVE MEEE!"
Those who fell to him had their blood drained instantly. They became shriveled corpses and were mercilessly crushed.
"Pathetic."
Vlad.
He was a being who replenished his strength through direct slaughter, and he was a being who would move forward until all life was destroyed.
For that reason, he was called a calamity. There was no other name that suited him.
"Was he called the Demon King?"
Devouring the blood of tens, and hundreds of people, he muttered.
"The King of the Oldest Ones."
A being that was believed to have disappeared from the world forever with the appearance of Elheim existed in this era.
"Interesting."
In the past, there was no reason to clash. No, to be exact, they couldn't clash. The ancient gods maintained a balance in their own domains.
Until Elheim broke that balance, they really couldn't do anything.
"Kekekeke."
Therefore, he, the Lord of Blood, was delighted to be able to roam the continent, commit slaughter, and extort blood.
"Gasp?!"
The soldiers who charged at him were sliced in half by his Blood Blade. A knight who jumped from a high place and aimed for his head was immediately captured and had his blood sucked.
The overflowing pools of blood dried up like a drought as soon as his feet touched them. All the blood in this place belonged to him. No one could even talk about survival in front of him.
"D-dammit."
Tahren, the lord who was defending Donon's northern wall, was overwhelmed by the situation in front of him and kept backing away.
"L-lord!"
"We can't possibly win! That's a monster!"
"We have to run away quickly!"
Everyone beside him was screaming for a retreat like a terrified ghost. He put a firm grip on the sword he was holding.
"B-but we can't just run away like this! That bastard is trying to turn our entire country into a wasteland! We have to at least buy some time for the people in the capital to evacuate with His Majesty!"
He ordered the soldiers around him.
"Stop him as much as you can! As much as you…"
SLICE!
Suddenly, the lord's neck was severed. What the soldiers, who had their eyes wide open, saw was a crimson slash that had flown from somewhere, cutting his neck and continuing to fly, slaughtering dozens of people.
"Ah, ahh."
The soldiers lost their minds.
"RUN!"
"SHIIIT!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
With the soldiers also fleeing, the residents who were in the middle of escaping unarmed began to get tangled up.
People were falling, getting trampled, and dying.
This was a scene of pandemonium.
"If the hero, if he were here…"
In that horrible calamity, the only thing people could do was express their belated regret for the savior they had lost.
"Sniff, sniff, hero…"
"Damn it…"
"If it isn't him, no one will help us."
What was Krata, the leader of the Holy Kingdom Alliance, doing? In this situation where Yafenon had disappeared and Donon was being pushed back, Krata remained silent.
"We should have, saved him."
A belated regret descended upon them.
"We should have saved the hero…"
The blood fiend's slash, which had appeared from a distance, instantly devoured that voice.
♧
"Haaah, haaah…"
The end of the cave.
Clay, who had finally pushed back the last shadow and shattered the final torch to extinguish it, was panting heavily.
"Ugh!"
His body was a mess. Against the shadows that couldn't be cut, he had no choice but to keep swinging his sword like a blunt weapon without stopping.
The unmitigated impact was transferred to the hilt he was holding, and the shadows' attacks had been pounding on his body.
But he was not the one who had suffered the most damage in that process.
CRACK.
A fragment of the blade, which had a chip in it, fell off the demonic sword. The shadows had severely gnawed away at the demonic sword's durability. It had accumulated as much damage as it would have in decades of war.
"Siltnaro. Are you alright?"
『...Yes.』
A simple answer that came out after a period of silence.
A small amount of fading vitality was contained in it.
『What do you mean, you're fine? You're about to die.』
Naiad also said, panting.
『I tried to assist as much as I could, but the shadows' toughness was beyond imagination. At this rate, her durability…』
It was already in a very depleted state.
It wouldn't be strange if Siltnaro broke soon.
[You have arrived.]
It was at that moment. That voice appeared again.
[I didn't expect you to make it this far.]
『What are you talking about?! So you're saying you made it so that we would die on the way?!』
Siltnaro shouted, sounding angry from all her suffering so far.
『I almost broke down on the way! If I break, it would be all for nothing, wouldn't it?!』
[If it breaks, it just means the material wasn't good enough.]
Altanato answered calmly.
[I have a question for you, the one who swung the sword until the very end. Your sword could have been sacrificed. Would that have been alright with you?]
"No."
Clay's eyes became sharp.
"Absolutely not."
He had no intention of sacrificing his sword.
[Then how did you make it this far?]
There were moments when Siltnaro was about to break. At those times, Clay chose to attack the shadows multiple times with the lower part of the blade, which was less worn down.
The base of the blade could have broken, making the sword useless in an instant. The shorter attack range could have also put his own body in danger.
Nevertheless, he just did it.
"Because I know that this isn't the end of a body that's a total wreck."
He said, gripping Siltnaro's hilt tightly, who had only performed her role on the way here.
"If you know that, then you can do it."
[Is that so?]
Altanato's voice deepened.
[Were you a person who lived by faith?]
A hint of a question was contained within it.
[But that seems to have only been a part of your past. What brought you here now seems to be nothing more than a remnant of that old way.]
"And you find that disagreeable?"
[No.]
Altanato's hearty laugh echoed in Clay's ears.
[There must be a reason that made you that way. Something that left you with only the shell of 'goodness' and implanted 'hatred' inside it.]
RUUUUUMBLE!
The end of the cave.
The gigantic door that had been blocking Clay's way opened.
[I only judge the toughness of the material in this trial.]
Altanato said, as if declaring a proclamation.
[And the toughness that you have shown me seems to be sufficient.]
Clay slowly walked into the opened door.
[I have made my decision, so the rest is up to you. Welcome to the Forger's Room.]
An empty space.
Inside the door, there were several crucibles where lava was pouring down like a waterfall from above, a gigantic iron table and an anvil, and a hammer that looked like its handle was made from an entire tree that had been pulled out.
Step, step.
Clay scanned his surroundings and went deeper inside.
It was the moment he had arrived at the legendary forge, a place he had never been to even during his hero days.
THUD!
The door he had entered through closed, and soon, someone walked out from the dark crevices of the space.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
A man with a large physique that couldn't be compared to a simple dwarf. A man, who was about 10 feet tall and had an impressive crooked red beard, stopped in front of Clay and exuded a fiery light from his eyes.
"I am Altanato, the blacksmith who will forge your contamination."