I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

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***
 
Marie was an ordinary girl.

A young child living with her sickly single mother.
Though they lived in the slums, they supported each other and dreamed of a modest, peaceful future.
In short—

“—! —!!”
There was no reason at all she should be gagged, surrounded by people draped in deep robes, her mother unconscious beside her.
…Why? Why…?

In her mind, meaningless words formed and fell apart again and again.
All she’d wanted—
Was to make her mom some tomato soup, her favorite, after school.

But on the way home, her vision had suddenly gone black, and when she came to—she was here.
“We offer unto thee—”
A chilling voice echoed through the dim underground cavern.

“We offer unto thee—”
One of the robed figures pulled something from their cloak. It gleamed in the dark.
A dagger, honed and wicked.

The man holding it walked slowly toward Marie’s mother, who lay unconscious on a stone altar.
“Accept this plump offering—”
His voice oozed with foreboding as he murmured those cursed words.
“—And fill thy cup with her blood.”

Then he raised the dagger toward her mother’s chest.
“—!!!”
A muffled scream tore from Marie’s gagged mouth.

Leave Mom alone.
Don’t hurt her.
Her scream, though stifled, carried those desperate pleas as she hurled her body forward with all her might.

“Quiet, you’re just a sacrifice.”
But one of the robed men grabbed her and forced her down again.
No matter how she struggled, she was a starving slum kid. There was no way she could overpower an adult man.

“Watch your mommy die carefully. You’re next.”
His voice reeked, both literally and figuratively, the words slithering out from between rotten yellow teeth.
Her head was slammed against the floor. Another scream burst from her mouth.

Why?
Why was this happening to them?
They’d lived upright. Had no special talents, sure—but never hurt anyone. Never did anything to deserve this.

Why, why—
“...! ...!!”
Marie squeezed her eyes shut and prayed.

Please.
Please help us.
If there’s a god who protects people—please, please…

Save my mom…
Face pressed to the ground, Marie gasped for breath.
“No one’s coming to save you. You’re probably wondering with that puny brain of yours why this is happening.”

But the only answer was a voice like poison, whispering into her ear.
“Because you’re weak. That’s why you’re getting eaten.”
The voice, gnawing like acid, burrowed into her skull.

“No matter how much you struggle, if you’re born weak, you should just accept it and be eaten. That’s the natural order.”
And with that, the dagger came plunging down toward her mother.
Marie shut her eyes tight. Tears spilled freely from the corners.

“I like that line.”
Then—
Someone spoke.

“Let’s go with ‘you die because you’re weak.’ That applies to you, too.”
…A voice like a god's.
A flash of light swept the cavern.

So fast it felt like the wind had passed through—but it was a gale of slaughter.
And then—
SLASH—!!!

The robed cultists’ torsos and lower halves separated cleanly.
All of them wore blank expressions. As if they hadn’t even registered their deaths before it came.
“Well done, Miss! Any later and things could’ve gotten bad!”

“There’s nothing I can’t do.”
“…”
“If you’re gonna praise me, do it properly. Don’t mess around.”

“…Yes, I apologize.”
As those voices exchanged—
“…”

Marie stared, dumbstruck, at the one responsible for this scene.
Even in the dark cavern, her silver hair gleamed. Her features were divine.
And more than anything—

The weapon in her hand wasn’t a simple sword, but something like a divine radiance in the shape of one.
That figure looked just like—
“...A god…?”

Hearing that, the "god" turned to look at Marie.
Then tilted her head.
“This kid’s out of it, huh?”

“…”
“She looks like she’s hallucinating. Someone treat her already.”
“You really don’t hold back with kids, do you.”

The Hero who appeared at the end of that desperate prayer—
Was clearly nothing like the one from Marie’s dreams.
***

Fighting demon worshippers always came with horrors.
Especially the types who weren’t just outcast weirdos, but the kind who actually carried out “summoning rituals.”
Demons, by nature, feed on human suffering. So summoning them requires fitting sacrifices.

The smell of corpses. Rotten guts. Dried, blackened meat.
These are the sensations most strongly associated with demons.
“Ugh, shit, I got entrails on my shoe.”

“Shall I help, Miss Hero?”
“No. You’ll just smear it more if you touch it.”
“…”

No matter how many times you see it, the sight of demon worshippers’ blood and guts strewn everywhere is hard to get used to.
Carlyle shook his head, scanning the area.
Now that the mother and daughter had been saved from being sacrificed, he could properly assess the situation.

They’re real.
He’d found a stronghold of demon worshippers on the first try.
Thank the heavens. A few minutes later and there would’ve been a death.

“Student Carlyle.”
Behind him, Shiona let out a disbelieving chuckle and spoke.
“How in the world did you find this place in one go?”

“…I’m just very lucky.”
“Uh-huh. Lucky, sure.”
…She might as well have said bullshit outright.

“Hmm—seems the Hero trusts you for good reason. If I don’t know something, maybe I should ask you too.”
“Praising me won’t get you anything.”
“Oh, really? Well, I’ll try anyway. Who knows what answers you might give.”

“…”
“I’ve got some personal questions myself. Maybe I could start—”
“—If you’ve got time to talk nonsense, get over here.”

The Hero snapped irritably, dragging something behind her.
“Let’s shake some answers out of this one. Looks like he might talk.”
Turned out it was a demon worshipper with both legs crushed below the knee.

“—You won’t get away with this! You think you’ll walk free after—”
CRACK.
His leg broke another inch under the Hero’s heel.

…Gray had crushed it with a dull look on her face.
“Aaaagh—!”
Before the scream even ended, she casually stomped on his throat.

The scream faded into choking gurgles.
…He was still breathing, though.
“Three rules. I talk, you answer. Every answer I don’t like, I crush a new part of your body. Follow those and we can get along.”

“...Y-You—”
CRACK.
His leg was ground down another inch.

As he silently screamed with his whole body, Gray picked her ear and said:
“I didn’t even say anything yet. Don’t answer out of turn.”
“…”

“Oh, actually, now I’m annoyed.”
CRACK.
His arm shattered this time. Because she was annoyed.

Now he writhed like a worm, not even able to scream.
“…”
Yep.

This is our Hero.
Carlyle had seen similar scenes in past lives.
A little while later—

“AAAAAAAAAAARGH—!”
“I told you not to scream.”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH—!”

“…Miss Hero, even the Church’s Inquisitors and Imperial security forces don’t go that far.”
“So what? I’m neither an Inquisitor nor a cop.”
“…No, you’re the Hero… right. Never mind.”

After an unspeakably horrible few minutes—
The demon worshipper had definitely become close with Gray.
He told her a lot. No doubt about that.

Shiona pressed her palm to her forehead and sighed.
“…They really were trying to summon a demon. Student Carlyle found it spot on.”
According to the thoroughly mashed demon worshipper, they’d already sacrificed quite a few abducted victims.

They just didn’t get to complete the summoning—thanks to Gray’s interruption.
“Well, still good we stopped them. If we hadn’t, something—”
“No.”

Carlyle’s voice cut in, and both Shiona and Gray turned toward him.
While they’d been “bonding” with the cultist, Carlyle had been silently searching every corner of the cavern.
And now—

His face looked different.
Like someone who had just realized they were in serious ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) danger.
You can never fully trust a demon worshipper’s words.

Even dying ones—especially dying ones—are twisted to the core. They never do anyone a favor.
Carlyle knew that. That’s why he combed the place thoroughly himself.
And his conclusion—

“The demon’s already been summoned.”
“…What?”
***

Cardinal Felix rubbed his eyes and reached toward the small table beside his bed.
The comm device was buzzing insistently—someone was calling.
“Yes, Felix speaking.”

His voice was thick with sleep, but the voice on the other end was urgent.
[Cardinal? Good—thank goodness you picked up. It’s Carlyle Belfast.]
“Ah, it’s you. How’s the field study? I made a reservation for dinner tomorrow—”

[A demon’s been summoned.]
“…”
Felix let out a heavy sigh and stood up from bed.

So much for going back to sleep.
“Explain. In detail.”
[I need to ask something. Can you act on it immediately?]

“Depends on what it is.”
[It’s a civilian rescue operation. We must act.]
“How many die if I don’t?”

[I swear on my life—many.]
“Guess I better fetch a star or two. What do you need?”
Felix yawned as he spoke. On the other end, he could sense Carlyle chuckle quietly.

That was the Gray Cardinal for you. In moments like this, there was no one more dependable.
And then—
[Ah, also—don’t cancel the dinner reservation.]

“Huh?”
[I’ll have it all wrapped up by today.]
“…”

It was the kind of declaration that made you fall for him a little.
A declaration of absolute victory.