951: The Divine Swords

Fran continued hearing about the divine swords from the Silver Lady.

Alpha, Berserk, Ignis, Gaia, Krystalos, and Tempest. The next name she mentioned was the Warmount Blade, Chariot.

We’ve only heard a little about this one. Chariot was said to take the form of a baton, and had the ability to summon and control a large variety of metallic golems.

「My last observation of Chariot was approximately 5,000 years ago. Back then, it was used by an adventurer known as “Battalion”.」

「Battalion! I’ve heard of them! The youngest adventurer to reach Rank S!」

If I remember right, they were an adventurer from ages ago who reached Rank A at age 10 and Rank S at age 14. As expected from Fran, she remembered the name of anyone strong.

But I had no clue they held a divine sword…… So that means the alias of “Battalion” came from leading an army of golems?

「As far as I know, Chariot controlled twelve different types of golems. With this power, Battalion annihilated countless antidemons single-handedly.」

Those s.h.i.+ny silver golems apparently showered their enemies with an endless barrage of laser rays and metal bullets. Everyone who witnessed the battle described them as the strongest legion on earth.

Uh, doesn’t that sound like a robot army? Chariot suddenly got really sci-fi, which feels out of place for this fantasy world.

「The rumors say Battalion vanished while visiting the continent of Capul.」

She didn’t know anything about Chariot’s restrictions either. However, since she never saw the wielder eating food, it’s apparently possible that their body had undergone some kind of mutation.

So the user’s body turns inhuman? The price might be similar to Overgrowth’s then.

「Speaking of heavy prices, the Golden Dragonblade, El Dorado, also enforced a very heavy toll.」

「El Dorado…… Wasn’t that divine sword already destroyed?」

「Ah yes, my apologies. I don’t have much data regarding the events of the outside world. El Dorado took the form of a golden lance, with the ability to summon and command a light dragon. Once activated, the enormous light dragon covered the earth in its golden brilliance.」

That ability sounds really similar to Lindwurm’s, the difference being that Lind summoned a fire dragon rather than a light dragon.

「The price is the user’s lifespan. The more you use it, the more you age. I recall that El Dorado’s wielders suffered very early deaths.」

『d.a.m.n. That’s definitely a price too heavy to pay.』

Never thought I’d see one worse than level drain, but there we go. Still, it’s a divine sword. There were undoubtedly many who wanted it regardless.

So that’s why it apparently went through ten different hands before leaving the continent. The only limitation was apparently compatibility with the blade. However, there were plenty of candidates since Gordicia was packed with dragonkin.

Afterwards, it got taken outside the continent and that’s probably when it got destroyed.

「……Is Lindwurm’s price also lifespan?」

「Lindwurm…… The blade used in the defense of Sendia, yes?」

She responded almost immediately, so she must have observed that battle as well.

「Nn. My friend is using it.」

Mea managed to activate her divine sword with Sophie’s support. However, she currently lost this ability, and probably wouldn’t be getting it back any time soon. That’s why Fran didn’t worry much about the price Mea needed to pay. But after hearing about how her lifespan might be shrinking, she suddenly got really worried.

「I have little data on Lindwurm, so I’m afraid I can’t say for sure. Do you know the creator of the blade?」

「Ummm………?」

『I think it’s the divine blacksmith, Fargo.』

That should be what it said on the list Lumina showed us.

「I see. The creator of El Dorado is Ulmer. The price seems to vary considerably from smith to smith, so I doubt that Lindwurm’s price is also the user’s lifespan.」

「Good.」

Fran let out a breath of relief. But wait, if Ulmer also forged El Dorado, did Gaia and Ignis also drain the user’s lifespan?

No, Izario didn’t look any older after activating Ignis, and Ashwrath has been using Gaia forever now. That doesn’t seem possible.

I guess I can’t say for sure, since I don’t know how long the average ogrekin is supposed to live. But still, if lifespan is the price, Ashwrath would have already killed himself by spamming Gaia’s usage. The price must be level drain, like we first thought.

There were now only two swords left: The Sanctum Blade, Sanctuary, and the Sagacity Blade, Wisdom.

「I’ve observed these last two swords fairly recently.」

「Recently? Then are they still on the continent?」

「Unfortunately, I have already lost track of them. I last saw Sanctuary about 70 years ago, and Wisdom about 20 years ago.」

It seems the past century counts as “recent” for a golem operating over several millennia.

「Sanctuary is an odd divine sword due to being defense oriented. The default form is a blue and white kite s.h.i.+eld, but it can also turn into full body armor. It has the power to create “sanctums”, which greatly enhance the user and their companions, while debilitating any enemies entering the holy grounds. I also believe it also gave the wielder skills such as s.h.i.+eldking Mastery. It was owned by the Knight Commander of a country called Ilgistia.」

Never heard of it. Well, there were plenty of continents and countries we’ve never seen or heard of, so that’s not too surprising.

「And the cost?」

「The cost for using this divine sword is rather special. The same goes for Wisdom, which I will talk about next. They were made by the same divine blacksmith, after all.」

「What do you mean?」

「I don’t know it can truly be called a cost, but the blade’s powers fluctuate based on who they are used against.」

Apparently, Sanctuary and Wisdom were designed to have different outputs based on the “evilness” of their opponent. Maybe due to the blacksmith’s emphasis on the creation of a weapon for fending off the Evil G.o.d.

They reach maximum output when used directly against the Evil G.o.d. Against an ordinary fiend, they can use one-tenth of their powers. Against other humans or monsters, they only acted as slightly above average magic tools. Well, antidemons contained evil energy too, so they’d probably work decently on them.

The final divine sword, Wisdom, was also a little special. When released, it had the appearance of several orbs floating in the air. In this state, it gave the user the ability to cast all magic in existence, as well as skills for boosting magic, thought acceleration, and simultaneous casting, among others.

The blade itself had no offensive power, as it’s strength was completely based on the talent of the wielder. It might be unparalleled if held by an extremely skilled sorcerer. Anyone capable of detecting their enemy’s weaknesses could cast the correct spell to exploit them.

However, the true power of these blades had never been displayed on Gordicia, so the Silver Lady never got the chance to see it personally.

Wisdom, like Sanctuary, was also a divine sword capable of healing and defense. That’s another similarity from being forged by the same smith.