Chapter 49
After the communication ended, Duke Clasta turned to look at Orwell.
Orwell was staring at the duke as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What are you doing, just standing there?”
“…I think I just witnessed something I shouldn’t have.”
“You were the one who told me to contact her.”
Indeed, it had been Orwell who insisted that the duke should call.
The duke had been so persistent in asking how Ariel was doing that Orwell eventually told him, if he was that concerned, he might as well call her himself.
“Uh… that’s true, but I just didn’t expect you to be so… warm.”
“Shut up. Get out.”
After dismissing Orwell, Duke Clasta finally let out a deep sigh.
“…Phew.”
This was the first time he’d ever truly cared about someone’s well-being.
All of his past communications had been strictly about operations. What did it matter to him if the person on the other end had eaten or slept?
When he saw Ariel’s startled expression upon receiving his call, he briefly wondered if contacting her had been a mistake.
But when he awkwardly asked how she was, Ariel had responded with excitement and began to chatter about everything.
Knowing how she was doing brought a strange sense of relief.
That unfamiliar change—caused by the girl—felt odd, but not unpleasant.
The next day, Ariel led the knights up a mountain.
“Huff… huff…”
The knights were panting heavily as they climbed.
“What kind of mountain is this? I thought we’d have it easy since we weren’t facing monsters.”
“At this rate, we’re climbing a cliff, not a mountain. But look at the lady…”
The knights glanced up at Ariel, who was walking ahead of them.
She climbed as if walking across flat ground, not a single sign of hesitation in her steps. Her sky-blue hair, tied up high, swung cheerfully with each stride.
“She’s amazing.”
“She’s just really good at controlling her body.”
“Her mana control is incredible too. Where did the master find someone like her?”
At a certain point, Ariel came to a stop and looked back at the knights.
“I’ll go in first. You all remember the plan, right?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The plan was simple: Ariel would engage the sword while the knights rushed in, grabbed the dwarves, and carried them out.
“Good.”
Ariel stepped forward.
Shiiing—
The cursed sword reacted to the intruder and gleamed under the sunlight.
“Hey there. We meet again, huh?”
Kaang!
Steel clashed with steel, ringing out sharply.
Despite having no wielder, the force behind the strike was immense.
“Now! Go, quickly!”
At Ariel’s signal, the knights sprang into action.
Kaang! Kaang!
The sword moved even more violently now that more intruders had appeared.
Its attacks made it clear—it wanted to eliminate Ariel first, then take care of the rest.
“No matter how hard you thrash, I’m not going down.”
Ariel deflected the cursed sword’s blows with fluid motion.
Under the sunlight, the sword gleamed—its blade still razor-sharp even after ten years of abandonment.
Its smooth, elegant design made it look more like a masterfully crafted art piece than a weapon. Clearly, no expense had been spared in its creation.
When the knights reached the dwarven village of the Ironwheel Clan, the dwarves were already waiting near the entrance.
Each knight grabbed luggage in one hand and a dwarf in the other, carrying them out of the village.
“Hold on tight. We’re going to start running now.”
Perhaps it was the increased number of intruders—
The cursed sword trembled in place and then began to glow.
The dwarves’ faces turned pale at the sight.
“N-No! Not now…”
“Hurry! Faster! We must get out of here! We’re all done for if it fires again!”
“We thought it failed…!”
The dwarves’ panic prompted the knights to ask questions.
“What’s going on? What is th—agh!”
Before the knight could finish, a beam of light shot past his head.
He ducked just in time and turned to see a tree split and burned behind him.
One glance was enough to know—taking a hit meant certain death.
“What the hell is that?!”
The knight shouted, looking toward the source of the beam.
From the sword, multiple rays of light shot out in all directions.
Dozens of beams glinted beneath the sun.
Some knights hid behind trees and boulders, but the beams pierced through stone with ease.
Those who thought themselves safe nearly died for their mistake.
“…Ha. What even is this?”
Knight Captain Swell grunted in frustration, ducking another beam as the dwarf chieftain, Hutan, spoke from his back.
“That’s the monster we created. The cursed sword is strong—back then, it took less than a minute to defeat ten of our warriors.”
His voice grew bitter.
“But we wanted to create the strongest weapon. We wondered—no matter how powerful a sword is, what could it do against many enemies attacking at once?”
Swell dodged another ray and shouted, “So that’s what this is?!”
“Yes. We designed it to draw upon massive mana reserves and strike many foes simultaneously. We never saw it activate in ten years… We assumed it had failed.”
A rueful smile tugged at Hutan’s lips.
“But now I see—it simply hadn’t encountered a worthy enough threat to activate. I suppose we should take pride in that and die with satisfaction.”
From Swell’s back, Hutan watched the cursed sword relentlessly chase after the knights with its light beams.
If only knights were here, they might have escaped.
But their burdens—the dwarves and the luggage—slowed them down.
“Leave us behind. Truly, thank you for helping us this far.”
Swell hoisted Hutan higher and snapped, “And what would you do if we did that? Most of you can’t even walk!”
Tzzzzing!
Swell twisted his head just in time to avoid another beam—but it still grazed his cheek, drawing blood.
He gritted his teeth and continued, “In that condition, you wouldn’t survive going back to the village, let alone climbing down the mountain.”
“I know.”
“So you’re saying you’re going to die here?!”
“That sword is our creation. You must survive.”
“To be honest, I don’t know what we’re supposed to do either. We can’t just leave injured people behind. But trust in our lady.”
Hutan turned to see Ariel slashing down a beam from the sword.
“Your master is incredible. Even seasoned knights couldn’t achieve that level of skill.”
Deflecting pure magical energy put extreme strain on a sword.
Even if Ariel’s blade was high quality, it was still made by human hands—any normal weapon would have snapped under that pressure.
Yet hers remained flawless.
“To redirect a blow of that magnitude… she must have near-perfect understanding of her weapon.”
A beam struck her blade and ricocheted skyward.
A knight, spared thanks to her intervention, bowed in gratitude.
Before he could even finish, Ariel had already rushed to another knight, deflecting another incoming beam.
“To precisely calculate the angle of attack and deflection in real time… She’s astounding. But she’s still just one person.”
Despite her efforts, there were still too many beams.
No matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t block them all alone.
The knights began to slow—fatigue was setting in.
Even without battle, the steep terrain alone was exhausting.
Now, they had to dodge beams while carrying others—it was too much.
The cursed sword’s energy showed no signs of waning.
White beams rained down from above, stabbing into the earth.
Swell muttered again, “Yes, this is hopeless. But still, trust in our lady.”
He remembered when she had once taken down a giant beast alone.
A small and slender back.
But somehow, just watching her made you believe—if you followed that back, victory would come.
With that conviction, Swell declared:
“She won’t let us all die here. I’m sure of it.”
Ariel calmly assessed the situation.
There was still a long way to go before they’d be out of the sword’s range.
‘What should I do?’
Her mind raced.
‘Should I focus on protecting a few and get them out first? But what if others are struck during that time? What if a monster shows up?’
She turned and looked behind her.
The village wasn’t far.
‘Should I go back and try to heal the dwarves enough so they can walk?’
But their condition was poor—malnourished and weak. They needed real treatment.
‘I can’t hesitate. I have to decide quickly.’
She could feel the knights growing more exhausted.
Their movements were noticeably slower now.
She was still supporting them—but her mana wasn’t infinite.
And then, in her mind, Reagan’s voice rang out.
‘Stupid Ariel. You should’ve listened to me. Look at you now, charging in alone—what a mess.’
She knew it was just a hallucination, but the voice clung to her like a curse.
‘They’re all going to die because of your greed.’
“No. I won’t let anyone die.”
She whispered to herself.
There was one method she hadn’t tried.
The sword only moved because of mana.
Without energy, it would become nothing more than a beautifully crafted blade.
Ariel stepped onto a nearby tree and leapt into the air.
The cursed sword, which had been gracefully flying around and attacking, instantly reacted to Ariel’s approach.
Vrrrrr—
A beam of light shot toward her.
She couldn’t block it midair.
Twisting her body in flight, the beam grazed her, burning part of her clothes.
Another beam came.
This time, she didn’t dodge.
She extended her hand—directly toward the light.
