I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

“⋯⋯Will you really be alright?”
“What about?”

Felix puffed lazily on his pipe as he answered Shiona’s question.
Off in the distance, the grey dome erupting from within the barrier was visible even from here.
Standing side by side with Shiona out in the wasteland, watching that scene through a telescope—it was almost scenic, in its own way.

…Of course, the only reason he was out here at all was because he was curious what on earth that Carlyle Belfast brat had done this time to ask him to help clean it up afterward.
And frankly, what they were witnessing now more than explained that request.
“⋯⋯I meant cooperating with a boy who can do that.”

“⋯⋯.”
Hmph.
That’s true, isn’t it.

Felix gave a crooked smile as he continued watching what was happening inside the dome.
Everything within it moved in slow motion.
Everything else in the world was functioning normally, but inside that dome, it was as if time itself had slipped into another world.

…Let’s say it again, just to drive the absurdity home.
He’d torn out a section of space and altered the flow of time inside it.
“How the hell does something like that even work?”

That’s not the kind of thing that should happen outside of myth. What’s he doing at a school?
Actually, even in myths, how many beings could pull that off?
Luckily, Felix had someone he could ask.

“Can you do something like that?”
He looked down at his own shadow as he spoke, and it twitched in response.
The interpretation was probably something like:
—No?

“⋯⋯.”
Mm. Thought so.
Even a so-called “fragment of a god” couldn’t manage it.

Maybe if you reassembled all the fragments into a full god it’d be possible...
The shadow squirmed in a clearly offended manner.
Probably meant:

—I-I could do that too, if I had a full body!
“Sure you could.”
Felix replied dryly, furrowing his brow.
Because now, off in the distance, Carlyle was doing something else that looked unmistakably bizarre.

The grey dome began to expand violently outward.
As if just stopping time wasn’t enough—it needed something more.
Then, Carlyle slowly reached down toward the head of the Black Mirror Beast where he stood.

At that moment, the grey mana that had spread outward condensed back into that one point in an instant.
All of it. The mana that had slowed down time itself by merely being present—it was all now focused entirely on that spot.
You might wonder: what was he planning to do that required such an absurd amount of energy?

But once you saw what began to emerge from Carlyle’s fingertips—
You’d understand, whether you wanted to or not.
“⋯⋯!”

Felix staggered back as he saw the black energy writhing at the tip of Carlyle’s hand.
His shadow twitched as well.
He instinctively understood it.

Just how dangerous that thing was.
“⋯⋯Shit.”
Felix bit down hard on his pipe, muttering the words.

It was quite a distance away. Even through a telescope, Carlyle was just a tiny dot.
And yet—
That sensation, like bugs crawling beneath his skin and up his spine, chewed at his mind.

…Cold sweat poured down his back.
Felix, who prided himself on having seen all manner of grotesque horrors in the world as the second-most powerful figure in the Orthodox Church—
He’d seen the “Junkyard” buried beneath the Mage Tower.
The “Punishment Division” of the Sand Kingdom.
The “Clocktower” of the Empire.
Urban legends and horrors hidden all across the continent.

But compared to the malice radiating from that tiny dot on the horizon—
—those were child’s play.
He knew it instinctively the moment he saw it.

Whatever could wield that kind of energy…
…was undeniably a mortal enemy of humanity.
“⋯⋯That’s demon death energy.”
Shiona murmured from beside him.

Her usually sleepy eyes had opened slightly for once.
“The aura of a demon. I never thought I’d see it again in a place like this.”
“⋯⋯Yeah. I know.”

Of course he did.
That energy over there—it was the very thing Felix had spent his whole life researching.
But even so…

Even so, he had never seen death energy of that density before.
Not one demon that had crossed into the material realm from Hell had ever wielded something like that.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I believe we should go support Carlyle right away.”

Given that, Shiona’s suggestion was entirely reasonable.
“No matter how suspiciously well Mr. Carlyle understands demons—this level of death energy is completely outside the norm.”
Simply touching that aura could inflict all sorts of hideous effects on a human being.

Even if he’d just shown off a bunch of impossible miracles, exposing himself directly to that was another story entirely—
“Yap.”
—And yet.

Carlyle, from far off in the distance, casually grunted and crushed the death energy between his palms.
CRACK!
With a sharp sound, the aura shattered and dispersed.

“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
Hm.

Wait a second.
Felix and Shiona fell silent at the same time.
No.

…No.
“Was that always supposed to be that easy?”
“⋯⋯.”

Felix slowly shook his head.
He really wished she hadn’t asked him that.
Because he had no idea either.

He’d never seen anything like that in his life.
***
“⋯⋯I never want to experience that again.”

As Carlyle thought those words, Miss Hero—now returned to being a sword—snorted.
[Try thinking about how it feels to be trapped inside a blade the whole damn time.]
Fair. Seems like you’ve had it rougher than I realized.

[...That easy agreement’s somehow more annoying, you know.]
I’m just empathizing. Doesn’t mean I’m going to start treating you any better.
*[......]

It’s not hard to at least pretend I care with words, right?
[...You insufferable bastard.]
Carlyle blinked at the muttering Holy Sword.

Huh. You didn’t do it this time.
[Do what?]
The electric zap. Usually you do that when I tease you.

He actually found it kind of satisfying—like getting a crisp reaction. It was almost disappointing that it didn’t come this time.
[Ah, well—I discovered something interesting.]
Excuse me?

[Not just syncing minds with you… actually going inside your body, I found some surprisingly useful information.]
⋯⋯.
[I plan to make good use of it. I even left a hint behind.]

...Hint? What are you talking about?
[There’s something.]
…If he could see the Holy Sword’s expression right now, Carlyle was certain she’d be grinning like a scheming fox.

Honestly, he would’ve preferred the usual electric jolt. This was just unsettling.
...Anyway.
Surgery complete.

The patient—the Black Mirror Beast—had the demonic tumor embedded in its brain successfully removed.
...But did you really have to do it with your bare hands?
[Oh, come now. I’ve handled much worse when fighting Hell head-on.]

Sure, but still…
Felix definitely saw all of it.
That kind of “performance” was going to make things way harder to explain later.

It probably looked like watching someone crush a nuclear reactor core with their bare hands and walk away just fine.
…Which, well, Carlyle had basically done.
Well, we’ll worry about that later.

For now, it was time to observe the result of his previously failed attempt at taming the Black Mirror Beast.
Carlyle lightly tapped its head, and the enormous fin visible from the edge of his vision wobbled slightly.
For a creature this size, that must’ve been a nearly imperceptible sensation—yet it responded diligently every time.

“⋯⋯Oh.”
What should he call this?
He wasn’t sure what kind of emotion it was trying to convey, but at the very least—it wasn’t hostile.

Compared to that old timeline, where merely climbing onto its back had triggered a frenzied barrage of attacks—
This was a massive improvement.
No matter what he did, it responded with calm, cooperative gestures.

At this point, it was almost… cute.
Like a massive flying puppy.
“⋯⋯Mr. Carlyle. Is it really safe to just leave it like this?”

Vespa asked anxiously, watching the Black Mirror Beast hover obediently in place like an airship moored in the sky.
From her perspective, it looked like Carlyle had just “done something” and the monster had suddenly calmed down.
But the answer was simple:

“No, of course not. We have to raise it properly from now on.”
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯Comrade. Are you treating the Sea Matriarch like a house pet?”

“What are you saying about our little Blackie?”
“⋯⋯.”
He’d already given it a weird nickname.

Panhyma stared at him like he’d lost his mind, but Carlyle continued to seriously contemplate the “Blackie Training Plan” with no shame at all.
Hmm… Now that they were this close, how could he raise it?
Maybe shrink its size? It was a catastrophe-class beast, so there had to be a way...

Vespa, quietly watching him, gave a firm nod.
“If Mr. Carlyle says so, then it must be right!”
“⋯⋯.”

“I’ll help you think of a way too!”
“⋯⋯.”
…She really needed to work on developing some healthy skepticism toward Carlyle’s ideas.

***
[System Message]
▶ Affinity with target “Black Mirror Beast” has greatly increased!
▶ Communication with the target is now possible.
▶ A new event for “form transformation” has been unlocked!

[System Message]
▶ The “Imperial Family” is now wary of you.
▶ Probability of contact with “noble-type demons” has significantly increased!