Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 93 : The Land of the Demi-Humans (1)

The Land of the Demi-Humans (1)

"If the fae made him a scabbard, then he can't be an ordinary human."

Fae usually hid themselves and did not show their true forms to humans, so to humans, fae were often regarded as beings from legends or folktales.

On the other hand, perhaps because demi-humans had constant interactions with the fae, they showed no particular doubt about my story.

"The recently discovered temple is a relic built by dwarves long ago."

"How did that temple come to be discovered?"

"That's... a bit complicated to explain."

The dwarf paused a moment before continuing.

"It started... Yes, it was when the demonkin came to find us."

"Demonkin?"

I couldn't help but be surprised by those unexpected words.

Could even the Calamity of Madness be involved with the demonkin?

"The demonkin claimed that a calamity had arisen near here and asked for our cooperation."

"Is that really true?"

The story went like this.

The demonkin came to Lavantara and revealed that a calamity was present in this area, requesting Lavantara's help to deal with it.

At first, they were skeptical, but the calamity truly existed, so before things got worse, they decided to cooperate with the demonkin.

According to the demonkin, the Seven Swords Under Heaven were necessary to defeat the calamity.

As Lavantara happened to possess one of the Seven Swords Under Heaven, they handed it over to the demonkin in exchange for subjugating the calamity.

Of course, since there was a chance the demonkin could be lying, the whole arrangement was handled under stringent magical contracts.

"And indeed, the demonkin defeated the calamity and vanished."

"Then, that temple..."

"A great change happened to the mountain range as the calamity and demonkin battled. The temple was discovered during that process."

"What was inside the temple?"

"A sword."

He wore a distressed expression, hesitating over whether he should tell me this.

But then, either because he made up his mind, he started speaking.

"Long ago, when the gods sent the Seven Swords Under Heaven to the ground, the dwarves tried to forge a sword even greater than those of the gods. As you know, we dwarves take pride in our craftsmanship above all other races..."

Of course, that excludes extraordinary beings like the fae.

Anyway, the dwarves sought to create a sword that surpassed even the blades bestowed by the gods.

Up to that point, there wasn't a problem—except for the almost mad obsession the dwarves developed for this endeavor.

"In the process, a sword was born. But it was no ordinary sword."

"If it wasn't a normal sword, then what was it?"

"A demon sword, and an especially dreadful one at that."

The dwarf who completed it was seized by madness the moment he grabbed the sword.

He began slaughtering the dwarves in the area, and was then killed by the dwarven warriors who followed.

"And then, one of those warriors picked up the sword, and the same thing happened again. After great sacrifice, the dwarves finally recovered the sword and sealed it away somewhere no one could find."

"Was that the temple?"

"That's right. The location where the sword was sealed wasn't recorded, so that no one, not even us, could find it... But who would have thought its location would be revealed in this way."

Knowledge of the sword's identity had been passed down orally because its danger needed to be known, but the location itself was not.

And now that the sword's whereabouts were revealed, the dwarves must have tried to move it elsewhere to re-seal it.

"You were attacked in the process, weren't you?"

"Yes."

I fell silent after hearing all that.

There were just too many things that didn't add up.

'Something's not right.'

Not only were there dwarves, but according to the profile here, many of the dead were those who had perished because of the Calamity of Madness.

And now, even the demonkin?

'No way...'

I imagined the worst-case scenario.

If something among all the changes so far had caused the future to be altered.

I went over the possible variables in my mind, separating out the more suspicious ones and organizing my thoughts.

'First, I need to find that sword.'

The rest could be dealt with after that.

But the sword itself was already gone.

The demon sword the dwarves were transporting—humans who attacked them would surely have taken it.

Somehow, I needed to track it down as quickly as possible.

From what I'd pieced together so far, that sword was surely the 'Calamity of Madness'.

* * *

There were four days left until King Leogart's birthday celebration.

Originally, I was planning to head to the Kezmen Mountains after the festival, but I changed my mind.

I needed to know more about the demon sword's powers, and the dwarf had said something else as well.

"In fact, Lavantara holds another sword among the Seven Swords Under Heaven."

The sword they handed over to the demonkin at the time to confront the calamity was the 'Sealblade Sylphin', the sword being protected by the elves.

"And there's another sword guarded by the dwarves."

The Peerless Sword, Deltode.

The moment I heard that name, my intuition told me that this was the sword I would need against the 'Calamity of Madness'.

"Isn't four days too tight a schedule?"

As I finished preparations to leave for the Kezmen Mountains, Riya cautiously raised this issue.

Though the Kezmen Mountains bordered the Kingdom of Talua, it was still too far to go and return within four days.

"If we use the magic tower, we can get near the mountains quickly. With help from other demi-humans, four days should be enough."

"That may be, but if we're late, we might not make it to the birthday celebration."

"I already told the duke, so he'll take care of it somehow."

Regardless of how rushed and reckless it was, I had to go.

I needed to check the synopsis of that place to see what exactly had become twisted, and to quickly learn what abilities the 'Calamity of Madness' possessed.

Besides, since the Peerless Sword Deltode seemed necessary to face the Calamity of Madness, I absolutely had to get my hands on it.

'I'll leave tracking the demon sword to Jade...'

There was always the chance the calamity would show itself while I was away, but I believed that if it was 'him', he could hold it off for a while, even against a calamity.

'I'll have to trust Count Ribina.'

Count Ribina and his order of knights had arrived in Shioten for the birthday celebration.

If he, one of the Seven Heroes, and the kingdom's best order of knights were together, they should be able to hold out until I returned.

Still...

'I'd better hurry, just in case.'

I turned my gaze to Riya beside me and nodded.

"From now on, we're going to the Kezmen Mountains. Is there anyone who can guide us?"

"Are you really letting us go home?"

Suspicion toward me had lessened much since the beginning, but certainly hadn't disappeared entirely.

I nodded confidently to the elven girl who asked uneasily.

"Of course."

"Then, let me do it."

The elf youth who had been scolded by Riya yesterday stepped forward.

"My name is Piorn. I was the best hunter in my village. I know the mountain paths like the back of my hand."

He seemed to believe my words were true, revealing even his name to show his trust.

"There really are humans like you... That's probably why you were chosen by the sword."

With that, he climbed onto the driver's bench of the wagon at the very front.

There were quite a few demi-humans, so we had nearly ten wagons.

'The Kezmen Mountains...'

I'd meant to make a more leisurely trip, but I never imagined it'd turn out like this.

* * *

The journey in the wagons was short.

After traveling via the magic tower to the spot closest to the Kezmen Mountains, we would have to scale the mountains on foot.

At the entrance to the range, the elf youth Piorn turned to me.

"There's a fast but rough path and a slow but gentle one. Which shall I lead you by?"

"The fastest route you can."

"Yes, understood."

As soon as he replied, Piorn began climbing the mountain at a sprint. The other elves and dwarves followed, and so did I.

'If it had been before, I'd have fallen behind for sure.'

The demi-humans were definitely different from humans.

Their mountain-climbing was astonishingly adept and quick.

I couldn't sense them using any magic power, but still, they could move at such speed.

[They're becoming one with nature.]

As if she was reading my thoughts, Grancesia spoke.

[Unlike humans, demi-humans are strongly influenced by nature. Elves by the forest, dwarves by the earth, beastkin by the air.]

'Is that really important?'

[It is, especially if you want to reach a higher level. To complete Only Mind, you must accept nature.]

That was, according to Grancesia, the key to completing Only Mind.

'Is Riya okay?'

While climbing, I thought about Riya, who had quietly kept pace behind until now.

I glanced back—Riya was floating leisurely in the air, keeping up without even running.

[Don't worry about her. Even without using magic, she's someone who could easily keep up.]

'... I see.'

After climbing for about two hours, deep into the mountains, the darkness thickened.

And then—

'Oh, there it is.'

[What is?]

'Synopsis.'

The synopsis only appeared when I entered specific regions, and only for episodes occurring there.

Since the entire Kezmen Mountains weren't the stage for the episode, I'd been waiting to see when the synopsis would come up as I climbed.

'This is...'

I frowned as I read the synopsis.

[What is it? Does it not have the information you wanted?]

'No, it does.'

There was information.

But the sheer volume was overwhelming.

'Is it because two calamities are tangled together?'

It would be impossible to read through every detail of the synopsis in the time I had.

For now, I'd just have to focus on the urgent information about the Calamity of Madness.

Whoosh!

Just as I was collecting my thoughts, I sensed something slicing through the air.

'An arrow?'

Not just any arrow, but one coated in black paint.

It wasn't hard to dodge, but if I hadn't mastered Only Mind, it could have been a deadly shot.

"How dare you try to enter here so carelessly!"

A sharp voice rang out.

With darkness falling and mist settling in, I couldn't make out the face of whoever had fired at me.

"P-please wait a moment! He is not an enemy!"

"What?"

Realizing I'd just been targeted, Piorn hurried to my side.

"What are you saying, Piorn? Why are you following a human?"

"I'm not following him! We were captured by slave traders, and thanks to him, we barely managed to escape!"

"You expect me to believe that?"

The hidden figure sounded incredulous, but his energy seemed to soften a little.

"Hehehe."

Suddenly, a soft laugh echoed through the woods.

The incongruity of it instantly drew everyone's attention.

The source of the laughter was Riya.

She slowly approached me, briefly glancing at the spot where the arrow had grazed past.

"How dare you."

My clothes were slightly torn.

At the sight, Riya's pupils slit vertically, like a reptile's.