When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword

Chapter 72 Play

When I finally found Citrine, I saw two demons.

One demon resembled an ogre, and the other a serpent.

Both exuded a considerable amount of intimidation.

Especially from the ogre-like demon, there was a palpable intensity that seemed to pierce my skin.

In addition, I noticed dozens of injured and collapsed humans.

Judging by their appearances, they were probably adventurers.

Why were they here…?

“Who are you?”

While I silently pondered, the ogre-like demon asked in a gruff voice.

I briefly diverted my gaze from the fallen adventurers and looked squarely at the demon.

Though I didn’t know the exact reason, I was certain these demons had hurt the adventurers.

As a fellow adventurer, I couldn’t overlook this.

“I’m Rust Stone, an adventurer.”

“An adventurer?”

Upon hearing my answer, the ogre demon frowned in suspicion.

Then it scrutinized me, as if appraising a commodity.

Probably, due to my appearance, I didn’t look like an adventurer.

Compared to the fallen adventurers around me, I was slender and still looked like a child.

After a moment of observation, the ogre demon seemed to accept me as an adventurer and asked a second question.

“What happened to the demons outside? They were supposed to kill any humans on sight.”

Hearing this, I secretly understood.

On my way here, I had encountered and been suddenly attacked by nearly ten demons.

So that’s what it was.

Reflecting on the incident from just a few minutes earlier, I gave a brief response.

“I took them all down.”

“Huh? Took them down? The ones outside? Come on, are you kidding me? Someone like you managed to…”

To prove it, I pulled out the artifacts I had collected from the demons and tossed them onto the ground.

The clattering of metal echoed through the cave, and the ogre demon stared in shock, eyes wide.

I had gathered these artifacts thinking some might be useful for ‘Artifact Synthesis,’ but unfortunately, none of them seemed suitable.

In my haste, I had picked them up haphazardly, and they were quite cumbersome.

“Wow, you’re something else. You’re not just a kid, are you?”

“If you resist, I’ll cut you down too. I want Citrine back.”

“Huh? Want her back, do you?”

The ogre demon glanced at Citrine lying below, smirking as he replied.

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? This kid isn’t yours. And yet you’re talking about ‘getting her back,’ like you’re something special…”

The ogre demon began to speak, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

He then suddenly pinched his chin, mumbling to himself.

“Hm? Wait a minute… A child adventurer? And that power…”

He suddenly widened his eyes and asked me again, this time with realization.

“Are you, by any chance, one of the two adventurers who were taking care of this kid earlier?”

“…So what if I am?”

The ogre demon burst out laughing.

“Haha! Are you serious? Do you have any idea how far it is from there to here? You arrived pretty quickly! Seems like what Quartz said was true!”

“…?”

Quartz?

Who could that be?

Anyway, that aside, I had something I needed to ask him as well.

Since I had been bombarded with questions, I had the right to ask something in return.

So, I asked the still-laughing ogre demon.

“Why did you kidnap Citrine?”

“Huh?”

“What was your goal in forcibly taking Citrine away, despite her reluctance?”

Hearing this, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I felt it was something I needed to know.

There might be complex issues between demons that humans don’t understand.

However…

“You don’t really need an explanation from me, but I’ll tell you out of whim. This kid is going to heal my arm. Additionally, she’ll join my faction, the Legion, and contribute to the rebuilding of the Demon King’s army.”

“Your arm?”

I looked at the ogre demon’s arm. Indeed, his right sleeve was empty, hanging limply.

When he said “heal,” did he mean regenerating the missing right arm?

Could it be with Citrine’s artifacts?

And what about the adventurers lying around here?

It wasn’t that I sensed any specific meaning behind the adventurers’ presence, but the ogre demon began to speak proudly.

“I’ll have her kill the adventurers here to make this kid’s artifact grow. That way, regenerating my arm will become easy. That’s why I brought them here.”

“Eh…”

Brought them here? The adventurers?

The moment I heard this, I felt the fragments of information scattered in my head connecting with lines.

I had thought of this when I saw the white demon who could move through space.

With that ability, he could abduct adventurers without leaving a trace.

So, I had suspected it, but it turned out these were the ones responsible for the ‘adventurer abduction’ incident.

That white demon wasn’t here now, but he must have been acting under the ogre demon’s orders.

And the purpose was to force Citrine to kill adventurers to forcibly grow her artifact.

I was genuinely surprised that such a method existed.

But what shocked me the most was that all these schemes were solely for the purpose of healing his own arm.

So, my honest reaction was:

“…Just for that?”

“Hey, ‘just for that’ doesn’t cover it. How much do you think my right arm, the one that will eventually become the Demon King’s, is worth? She should actually be honored to help with that treatment.”

Eventually becoming the Demon King.

He probably meant it seriously.

Anyway, I understood the gist of what this demon wanted.

He simply wanted to heal his right arm because it was inconvenient.

And it was likely for that large sword’s artifact.

Handling such a large weapon with one hand is quite impractical.

Or perhaps it hides an ‘ability’ that only activates with both hands. That seems likely.

With this understanding, I tried to challenge the ogre demon.

“So, you kidnapped Citrine for such selfish reasons, scared her, made her cry… and even tried to make her kill adventurers…”

But…

“If you’re saying that, aren’t you being selfish too?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“This kid never asked to be saved. Yet you decided on your own that she was unhappy, imagined she wanted help, and came all the way here to rescue her. I think that’s the real selfishness.”

My argument was interrupted by the ogre demon’s response.

I’m the selfish one?

Indeed, Citrine never directly asked me for help.

But when she was abducted, it was clear she was distressed.

Even without being told, I knew I had to help.

But it seemed the ogre demon wanted to argue that this was just a selfish assumption on my part.

“Isn’t it just a self-centered assumption that this kid wants to be saved? Besides, this kid is a demon. Even if she doesn’t harm humans, she’s still a demon. There’s no way she has a place in the human world.”

“…”

I suddenly remembered my conflict with Helio.

He had said something similar.

There’s no way a demon that doesn’t attack humans exists. There’s no guarantee she won’t cause harm in the future.

What he said wasn’t wrong. It’s clear that more people believe that way.

So it was clear that Citrine living in the human world is more difficult than I had thought.

“That’s why this kid’s place is with the demons! She can only make use of her power in my faction, the Legion! She’s meant to be here!”

The ogre demon shouted, laughing loudly.

Citrine, trembling, flinched at the sound of his voice.

I clenched my teeth in frustration.

It’s true that it’s difficult for Citrine to live in the human world.

There are various barriers she would have to overcome.

Perhaps it’s even an impossible task.

But still…

“Citrine’s… place…”

“Huh?”

I gathered strength in my legs, kicking off the ground as I shouted.

“Don’t you dare decide Citrine’s place for her!”

In an instant, I closed the distance to the ogre demon.

Startled by my sudden approach, he widened his eyes in shock.

But he quickly regained his composure and raised his sword.

As he swung it down toward me, I quickly pulled Citrine into my arms and leapt back, narrowly avoiding the blade.

Having rescued the girl from the demon’s grasp, I glared at the ogre demon.

“Citrine’s place is for her to decide. It’s not something others should decide for her.”

Neither he nor I have the right to decide it.

One should decide their own place.

So, to ensure Citrine can choose her own path, I must remove the constraints that are tormenting her.

That’s why I freed Citrine, who had been trembling beside the ogre demon.

For now, that’s all I’m allowed to do.

As I held Citrine and kept my gaze on the ogre demon, I felt her trembling gradually subside.

I gently lowered her.

Citrine seemed to want to say something, her lips moving, but her words were choked and couldn’t come out properly.

“Th-thank… you…”

Her nerves were probably causing her to falter.

To reassure her that she didn’t need to force herself, I lightly patted her head and then turned my sharp gaze back to the ogre demon.

The demon, in turn, squinted his eyes and looked at me.

However, he didn’t seem to be filled with anger.

He seemed more focused on something else, disregarding both my words and the fact that Citrine had been rescued.

“Heh, you’re really fast. The artifact you’ve got must be something special. This is getting interesting.”

“…”

The sword that had sliced through the air was still held high, but eventually, he lifted it to rest on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, I was contemplating what to do next.

There were two main options: fight or escape.

Citrine had been safely recovered.

With the original objective completed, it would be fine to escape with her now, but…

Unexpectedly, there were several adventurers lying defeated in this place.

I couldn’t possibly leave them behind.

But escaping with this many adventurers would be impractical.

Moreover, there were two formidable demons on the other side.

The situation was clearly disadvantageous. The only option was to fight.

As I secretly broke into a cold sweat, the serpent-like female demon spoke to the ogre demon.

“Onyx-sama.”

“Huh? What is it, Black Snake?”

“I have a suggestion. Let’s take the adventurers here as hostages and eliminate this child.”

Upon hearing the suggestion, I involuntarily gasped.

That’s bad. It’s extremely dangerous.

If they were to do that, I’d be unable to make a choice and would surely be defeated.

I couldn’t escape at the cost of the adventurers’ lives.

As I thought this, I saw that not only was I troubled, but the demon named Onyx also grimaced clearly at the proposal.

“Hey, Black Snake, don’t say such dull things! If we do that, the kid will be completely useless! Killing something that doesn’t move is no fun at all!”

“But Onyx-sama, you often get carried away with your whims. Please prioritize recovering your own arm and not losing sight of your original goal.”

“Eh—!”

Onyx raised his voice in a childish whine.

He then stared silently at the demon called Black Snake for several seconds.

Eventually, the serpent demon sighed and muttered,

“…Just thirty minutes.”

“Alright! As expected of Black Snake, you get it!”

This exchange wasn’t something I could just stand by and watch.

Seizing the opportunity, I kicked off the ground and closed in on Onyx again.

This time, to attack him.

I gripped my right hand’s [Cursed Magic Sword] with all my strength and positioned it at my left hip.

My target was his right side, which would be easier to cut since he had no right arm.

Onyx seemed absorbed in his conversation with the serpent demon, oblivious to me.

Fortunately, I had no hesitation in my heart.

If I didn’t take him down, everyone here would be killed.

Citrine would also have to endure more fear.

Therefore, I had to do this.

Thirty minutes? No, I’ll end it with one strike.

“Ha!”

I swung the black blade from my left hip, drawing the character “一” in the air.

Onyx was still laughing with his mouth wide open, looking at the serpent demon.

It’s going to hit!

Just as I was convinced of that—

A sound that made me doubt my ears echoed through the cave.

Thud!

“Eh…”

It sounded like metal colliding with metal.

A noise of something hard meeting something hard with tremendous force.

It definitely wasn’t the sound of a sword cutting through flesh.

So, unexpectedly, I let out a baffled sound.

For a moment, I thought maybe my sword’s blade had been blocked by some artifact.

Or perhaps the serpent demon beside Onyx had intervened and stopped the blade.

But no.

My [Cursed Magic Sword] had indeed struck Onyx.

It had hit Onyx’s exposed right side with remarkable precision.

It had struck… but the blade had stopped there.

“W-why…”

…It’s solid.

I couldn’t cut any further.

It was the first time I’d felt such resistance while wielding the [Cursed Magic Sword].

It felt like hitting a massive, solid rock with a wooden stick.

Or like trying to cut through thick, tough meat with a blunted knife.

I almost had the illusion that I’d switched back to the [Rusted Sword].

This was something I’d never experienced before.

“Hey, why are you despairing on your own?”

“—!”

In an instant, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen.

Before I knew it, I was sprawled far behind where I should have been, with Onyx in front of me.

Looking up, I saw Onyx lifting his leg. It seemed I had been kicked.

It was a powerful kick, but the damage wasn’t that severe.

However, I was unable to stand up immediately, still crouched on the ground.

The pain was part of it, but more than that, I was unable to move well due to the confusion.

I couldn’t help but be unsettled by the sensation still lingering in my right hand.

I truly couldn’t believe it.

I never imagined there could be a demon that the [Cursed Magic Sword] couldn’t cut.

It’s an artifact with a power of 500.

Its performance is close to that of the once-revered [Heavenly Holy Sword].

How is it that I couldn’t inflict a single scratch with it?

I should have hit him directly.

What is this…

“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

As I was in a daze, Onyx suddenly spoke in a low voice.

And belatedly, he introduced himself.

“My name is Onyx. You probably don’t know me, but I’m fairly well-known among the demons. Oh, but I think there was a weird nickname I had among humans. What was it again…”

He seemed to be trying to recall it, muttering to himself.

I wasn’t particularly interested in that weird “nickname.”

However, I had to pay attention to his next words because…

“Oh, that’s right! I remember now…”

Onyx said with a satisfied expression as he recalled.

“It was ‘One of the Seven Great Demons.’”

“…”

The Seven Great Demons.

The seven high-ranking officers once said to be part of the Demon King’s army.

Survivors of the great war who have lived for over two hundred years.

If such a demon exists, it’s no exaggeration to say that he is the strongest demon and the leading candidate for the next Demon King.

Even though he was only considered a figure of rumor…