The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

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Chapter 72: In Search of the Demon Sword (4)

A sharp metallic scent filled the air.

In the center of the misty, blood-soaked clearing, a crimson sword was lodged in the ground, bound by thick chains.

"Long time no see."

I looked at the crimson sword, a smirk tugging at my lips.

The first time I came here, the overwhelming pressure emanating from the demon sword had made my legs tremble.

Recalling my past life, I leisurely walked towards the demon sword.

“How have you been?”

Clink, clink, clink!

As if in response to my call, the sword trembled, almost as if it was shaking like an old friend I was meeting after ages.

No, it wasn’t “as if” it was responding—it really was responding.

Begging to be freed from this place immediately.

'The Archbishop of Blood, Vescal.'

During the Demon War 500 years ago, a vicious demon who claimed countless human lives was sealed into the sword, creating the demon sword, Vescal.

“Heave-ho.”

I approached the chains binding the sword.

Clink, clink, clink, clink!

The sword moved even more violently.

"What? Didn't you ask to be freed?"

Even though I couldn’t see or hear a voice, I could picture Vescal, trapped inside the sword, desperately pleading.

“Alright, I’ll set you free.”

Clink, clink…

Maybe it wasn’t expecting me to agree so easily.

The sword, which had been trembling with excitement, now hesitated, watching me warily.

"Don’t be scared. I really will free you."

I drew the sword at my waist and channeled my power into it.

A gray aura wrapped around the blade, a faint flicker of fire dancing along its edge like a mirage.

Although it was nowhere near the level of what I could do in my ‘Incarnation’ state or when using ‘Ignition,’

‘This will be enough for now.’

I swung my sword towards the chains binding the cursed blade.

Sun Sword.

Third Form: Light Severance.

Claaaang!

The horizontal slash collided with the chains that had sealed the sword for a long 500 years.

The powerful chains, which had held the demon sword for centuries, were cut easily.

Ruuumble!

The whole cavern trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

[Mwahaha! Hahahaha!]

A crazed laughter echoed in my mind.

It wasn’t the deep, resonant voice I’d heard when I entered the cave earlier, but an unpleasant voice, like metal being scraped against steel.

[Finally... Finally, I am freed from this cursed seal!]

An overwhelming energy surged through the cavern.

It was hard to believe that this power came from a being without a physical body, trapped inside a sword.

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"Calm down, will you? I get that you’re excited to be free, but the cave will collapse."

[You...]

The sword that had been lodged in the ground floated into the air.

[Mwahaha. Thank you, human. Thanks to you, I am free from my long imprisonment.]

Krrrrrr!

The blood-red mist that had filled the cavern gathered around the sword.

The sword, floating in midair, transformed like a slime, taking the shape of a humanoid figure made of blood.

“As thanks...”

The thick scent of blood assaulted my nose.

Yellow eyes formed on the blood figure’s face, staring straight at me.

“I shall grant you the honor of becoming my new vessel.”

Now spoken aloud, the voice was filled with twisted desire and bloodthirst.

"Hah, how predictable."

I sighed deeply, looking at Vescal, whose body was now made of writhing blood.

"You haven’t changed a bit, have you?"

"...What? Changed?"

Confusion flashed in Vescal’s yellow eyes.

"By ‘changed’... Do you know Reynald, by any chance?"

"Huh?"

"Kahaha! I see, so that’s it! No wonder I felt a faint trace of that cursed bastard’s energy in my domain. You’re one of his lackeys!"

Perhaps Vescal had sensed the aura of Yuren, who was now sound asleep in the tent.

He shouted at me, his bloodlust thick in the air.

"...That’s not what I meant by ‘before,’ but sure, whatever."

I smirked bitterly and gripped my sword tighter.

By ‘before,’ I meant my past life.

Memories from my previous life flashed in my mind.

‘I lost an entire mercenary group to this guy back then.’

After a month of searching, we had found the secret chamber in the ruins and, as instructed, unsealed the demon sword.

The result was annihilation.

All of the mercenaries, except for me, were absorbed into Vescal, becoming nothing more than blood.

‘Back then, I was so scared I even wet myself.’

I shook off the memory, gripping my sword firmly.

‘Alright then.’

This time, I would face a powerful foe who had been an invincible nightmare in my past life.

‘Let’s see how much I’ve changed.’

The gray aura flared up.

I strengthened my grip on my sword and kicked off the ground.

Boom!

With a heavy vibration, the scenery stretched behind me.

In the blink of an eye, I reached Vescal and slashed downward.

Claaang!

Gray clashed with crimson.

A fierce wave of energy reverberated through the cavern.

Kakakakaka!

The fight was too fast to follow with the naked eye, an intense exchange of blows.

In the clash between gray and crimson, crimson was the first to give way.

“Grr!”

Vescal grunted, blood rippling as his body struggled to maintain its form.

“You’re good... I see why you’re so confident.”

Vescal snarled, pushing himself back.

From his blood-formed body, long tendrils extended, each ending in a sharp, glistening fang.

Dozens of these fang-tipped tendrils shot towards me from all directions.

Whoosh!

Fangs shot at me from all directions, but instead of dodging, I threw myself forward.

Concentrating my mana into the soles of my feet, I stomped down hard.

“Berald’s Martial Arts.”

Earth Shaker.

Rumble!

The ground of the cavern shattered, and a wall of earth, made of rock fragments, surged upwards.

The blood-red fangs that had been flying towards me were swept away, bouncing off the earthen wall.

“What the…!”

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Before the sound of Vescal’s shocked voice could even finish—

Boom!

My fist, brimming with mana, struck Vescal’s abdomen.

With a sound like an explosion, Vescal’s body, made of blood, scattered everywhere.

But only for a moment.

With a gurgling sound, the gaping hole in Vescal’s stomach rapidly began to regenerate.

“Grr…! An attack like that won’t work on me…!”

“Oh, really?”

Well then, no choice.

“I’ll just keep hitting you until it does.”

Berald’s Martial Arts.

Sky Break.

Boom!

Once again, Vescal’s body was blown apart.

But I didn’t stop there and continued to swing my fists.

Boom! Bang! Crash!

“Gah! Ugh! Grrrrrr!”

Vescal’s body, shrinking bit by bit, could no longer keep up with its own regeneration speed.

“You damn brat!”

Gurgle!

The blood stirred violently.

Vescal’s body, made of blood, spread out as a crimson sword floated in midair.

“Die!”

The demon sword, wrapped in blood, hurtled toward me with terrifying speed.

Facing the menacing sword, I aimed my own blade.

“Bloom.”

Sizzle!

With a sound like flesh burning, ash-gray smoke poured out from every pore in my body.

The flames wrapped around the sword’s blade flared violently.

Sun Sword.

Form 7, Solar Ring.

A ring of fire spun around the blade, its mana amplifying with every rotation.

Then—

Boom!

A deafening roar shook the entire cavern.

The demon sword, clashing with the ring of fire, was pitifully deflected and embedded itself into the ground.

[No… No way…]

The voice of the demon sword, which had lost its blood-made body, echoed in my head.

[How… How could this happen!]

Even though he couldn’t use his full power while trapped in the sword, he had once been the “Archbishop of Blood,” one of the pillars of the Demon God’s army.

Even against Reynald, the one who had trapped him inside this sword, he hadn’t been so utterly humiliated.

Yet here he was, defeated overwhelmingly by a mere boy who looked barely over twenty.

[Who… What are you…?]

Vescal’s trembling sword body gazed at Dale.

Dale, without a word, strode toward the sword embedded in the ground.

Ash-gray smoke hung thick around him.

The flames still danced along the sword he held.

Through the veil of ash, his eerie green eyes shone.

[Don’t… Don’t come near me!]

Vescal, forgetting all dignity as the “Archbishop of Blood,” shrieked in disgrace.

He twisted his body desperately, trying to flee from Dale, but trapped within the sword, he could only tremble violently as it clinked against the ground.

[Stay away, I said! Stay awaayyyyy!]

Ignoring the desperate scream, I grabbed the sword embedded in the ground.

“Man, you were annoying back then, and you’re still just as noisy.”

I poured the Primordial Flame into the sword.

[Aaaargh! Stop, stop!]

The last cries of agony echoed in my mind.

The Primordial Flame that seeped into the demon sword devoured Vescal’s consciousness.

About five minutes passed.

Sizzle.

The ash-gray smoke that had been pouring out of me gradually thinned, and the flames wrapped around the sword died down.

No more voices came from the sword.

Confirming that Vescal’s consciousness had completely vanished, I lifted the blood-stained sword.

“Hah.”

A hollow laugh slipped from my lips.

How much I had struggled in my past life just to erase Vescal’s consciousness from this demon sword.

‘I almost lost my body to this guy back then.’

The Blessing of Revival didn’t just restore physical death.

It could restore mental death as well.

In other words, if Vescal’s mind control completely overtook my consciousness, the Blessing of Revival would reset my consciousness back to its original state.

I had used that to engage in a battle of wills with Vescal’s consciousness for nearly a year, finally managing to erase him from the sword.

‘But this time, I erased Vescal’s consciousness in just five minutes.’

The difference between my past self and my current self was glaringly obvious.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I’d beat him this easily.”

Even though Vescal couldn’t use his full power while sealed in the sword, I hadn’t expected to defeat him so overwhelmingly.

“How strong have I really gotten?”

I looked down at my still faintly smoking body and furrowed my brow.

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