When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword - Chapter 74

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

Chapter 74   If it’s just the two of us

I still haven’t fully gotten used to the immense benefits of the Cursed Magic Sword.

I’m aware that I’m not able to exert its full power and feel its potential weighing heavily inside me.

However, from my recent battle with Helio, I’ve gained a slight understanding of how to move my body more effectively.

I utilized the newly learned movements to dodge Onyx’s sword repeatedly.

Each time the enchantment on my sword wore off, I reapplied it, maintaining maximum power while continuing the attack.

“Good job, you little shit! Keep coming at me like that!”

Even though he wasn’t landing any hits, Onyx continued to laugh with increasing enthusiasm.

Determined to crack that smile of his, I hastened my attacks.

With the enchantment active, I could now inflict damage on his magic armor.

So, I pressed on without fear, attacking faster and pushing forward.

“Hah!”

I ducked low to avoid the horizontal slash of his sword, slipped into his guard, and struck with my blade.

Black sparks and a few drops of blood scattered, leaving a shallow cut on Onyx’s strong abdomen.

“Haha! So this is the pain from that brat’s enchantment, huh? Damn, that stings!”

Despite his words, it seemed the damage wasn’t affecting him much.

Nevertheless, I persisted in my aggressive stance.

Even shallow wounds, if numerous, would eventually drain his stamina.

So, even if the wounds aren’t decisive, I needed to keep attacking relentlessly.

However, I couldn’t help but wonder why he was missing his right arm.

Could it be that someone took it from him? It’s hard to believe he lost it by accident, so it’s likely a result of a fight.

If that’s the case, who did it? An adventurer? Another demon?

If there is someone out there who could remove Onyx’s right arm in a direct confrontation, they must be incredibly formidable.

While I was pondering this, Onyx suddenly asked:

“Why the hell can you use the enchantment of Kuroinu? Is it some ability of your artifact or what?”

I considered it a reasonable question.

He probably had never heard of an artifact that could use another’s enchantment.

Especially one belonging to a demon, it must seem quite mysterious.

Sensing Onyx’s curiosity, I responded tersely.

“You don’t need to know.”

“Hey, there’s no need to be so stingy. I just told you my plan, didn’t I? Think of it as a thank you and tell me what you’re hiding—”

I didn’t particularly care about him knowing my plan.

Yet, he had the audacity to ask for something in return after casually sharing his own.

Without responding to his question, I readied the Cursed Magic Sword and charged forward.

I swung the sword, positioning it along my left side.

Then, I slashed horizontally in a straight line.

“Hah!”

In an instant, Onyx—

“Well, I guess I don’t really need to know after all,”

he said with a creepy grin, looking pleased.

“Because I can just do this.”

“…?”

In a flash, Onyx casually let go of the sword in his left hand.

Naturally, the sword fell to the ground with a clattering sound.

What’s he doing…? Before I could think further, Onyx, now with his left hand free, positioned it in front of him…

He grabbed my sword, which was swinging horizontally, with his bare hand.

“What—!?”

I stared in shock and exclaimed as my sword was stopped in mid-air.

He caught the magic sword with his bare hands? Impossible…

No, it’s not entirely impossible.

I’ve caught an artifact with my bare hands before, but that was only possible due to an overwhelming difference in strength.

Onyx and I should not have such a large difference.

Moreover, he had to relinquish his own sword and fall into a semi-equipped error state just to grab mine.

Despite that, he managed to catch my Cursed Magic Sword with his bare hands.

It was an incredible display of mental fortitude… or rather, recklessness.

It didn’t seem like a sane decision.

“Ouch! This is really hot, you know! Well then, excuse me.”

Onyx closed his eyes while still holding my sword.

His likely intention was to touch my artifact and directly check its performance properties.

At that moment, he was peeking at the Cursed Magic Sword’s properties.

By the time I realized this, Onyx had already finished his observation.

“Wow! This is one amazing artifact! Its attack power and bonus values are all at 500! So this is how it works…”

“Dammit…!”

I braced my feet and tried to forcefully pull the artifact from Onyx’s grasp.

The blade seemed to slip from his hand, and with the sensation of tearing flesh, it slid out.

Immediately, I leaped back, and Onyx licked his injured left hand while picking up his sword from the ground.

“I finally get why you can use Kuroinu’s enchantment. And it seems you can use Black Cat’s enchantment too. This really is one hell of an artifact, huh?”

“…”

He had seen the performance properties of my artifact.

In a fight, performance properties are the most crucial information and must be kept secret.

Having them revealed means he knows all of my hand.

In fact, the other enchantment I was hiding has been discovered by him.

I never expected Onyx would resort to such a forceful method to peek at the performance properties…

No, regrets can wait.

For now, I must continue attacking. I need to think quickly.

Even though he has seen the performance properties, I don’t have time to be flustered.

I haven’t managed to deal a fatal blow yet.

Even with the enchantment, I still can’t fully penetrate Onyx’s robust magic armor.

Time is getting critical, so I have to take a more aggressive approach.

So I’ll aim to destroy the artifact once more.

“Enchantment Magic—Black Flame Hellflare!”

I reapply the enchantment, infusing the magic sword with new black flames.

With this Black Flame Hellflare, the sacred power of the artifact increases dramatically.

Destroying the artifact should be feasible now.

Since I haven’t been able to deal a fatal blow, focusing on reducing the artifact’s durability is the realistic choice.

With this in mind, I once again readied the Cursed Magic Sword and charged forward.

“Indeed, your artifact is incredible. It has exceptional performance properties compared to any other artifact I’ve seen… no, among all artifacts.”

I closed in on Onyx in a single breath and gripped the sword tightly.

Aiming at the large sword he held, I swung the black flame-infused straight sword.

Break!

“Ha…!”

In that instant.

In what felt like a fleeting moment—

Onyx’s face, which had come close, seemed to twist into a sinister grin.

“But even so, you can’t defeat me.”

Suddenly, Onyx shouted, raising his sword to face me.

“Enchantment Magic—Death Curse Dead End!”

As he shouted this, a “black dragon” entwined around the blade of his sword.

To be precise, it was a black mist that resembled a dragon.

The sudden appearance made me widen my eyes in surprise.

But there was no time to stop; my sword and Onyx’s blade violently clashed as if drawn together.

The impact created an immense shockwave, but Onyx and I remained locked in a blade-to-blade struggle.

“Ugh—!”

I could feel the durability of both our artifacts being drained at the same rate.

This was due to the fact that both the black dragon sword and the black flame magic sword were imbued with equal amounts of sacred power.

The enchantments had raised the artifact’s sacred power to a level that made destroying them impossible. I couldn’t defeat Onyx.

I never imagined he had such a powerful enchantment hidden.

“Haha! You’re way out of your league, kid! You can’t win just by copying others!”

“Ugh—!”

Onyx’s sinister grin made me grit my teeth.

At the same time, I shuddered as I looked at Onyx’s artifact up close.

This enchantment is incredibly dangerous.

Not only had the sacred power been increased, but there was an ominous, malevolent aura that should not be touched.

Just being hit by it would mean death. I could feel it instinctively.

I had the chance to win. I had seen a way out. Yet, with just one move, the situation had drastically changed.

Even in a contest of strength, I was on the verge of losing, and I clenched my teeth in frustration.

Amid this chaotic battle…

A dispassionate voice rang out like a bell.

“Lord Onyx.”

“…?”

A female demon, who seemed to be Onyx’s ally, appeared. She had a serpent-like face and scales, and her red eyes were fixed on us.

As she spoke in a strangely calm tone, Onyx, who was caught in the clash, raised his voice angrily.

“Ah!? What is it, Black Snake!?”

“It’s time. We will use the adventurer as a hostage and dispose of that child.”

Upon hearing this, I couldn’t help but bite my lip.

Damn it. Had so much time already passed?

I thought I had a bit more leeway, but it seems I had spent more time than I imagined.

It seemed that Onyx felt the same way.

“Ah!? It hasn’t been that long yet! Don’t lie, Black Snake!”

“No, it’s already been forty-five minutes. I’ve even turned a blind eye to it to some extent, but it’s getting a bit too much for play now.”

“Eh!? Seriously!?”

Onyx once again shouted like a spoiled child. The demons conversed casually, but I was increasingly anxious.

The feared time limit. Now that snake demon would use the fallen adventurer as a hostage to threaten us.

I had been trying to defeat Onyx quickly to prevent hostages from being taken.

No, to begin with, the declaration of doing nothing for thirty minutes was just their whim.

Clinging to that was a sign of the unstable situation from the start.

Saving everyone was nothing more than a convenient illusion…

Realizing this now, the demon known as Black Snake finally moved.

She lifted the “small pot” she had placed beside him.

That was probably Black Snake’s artifact.

She took the artifact and pointed the mouth of the pot toward the fallen adventurer.

I could only imagine what would come out of that pot.

But demons’ artifacts are weapons designed to kill. They undoubtedly possess the power to kill.

If I don’t stop her, someone will be killed.

A human will be killed right in front of me.

As I silently feared this reality, Black Snake glanced at me while holding the pot.

“Now, I’ll inform the adventurer there. Throw away your artifact and surrender your head immediately. Otherwise, all the adventurers here will die.”

She then targeted one of the adventurers and coldly said,

“Yes, like this.”

“Stop, stop it!”

Ignoring my pleas, Black Snake began her attack.

This was surely a warning.

“Corrosive Venom Melt!”

In an instant, a mass that seemed to be “venom” was shot from the pot’s mouth like a projectile.

It headed straight for the adventurer lying a short distance away.

While I was locked in a blade-to-blade struggle with Onyx, I could only watch the trajectory of the venom.

— I don’t want anyone to die.

— I absolutely want to save everyone.

— I don’t want Citrine to see any more despair.

Even knowing that saving everyone was an illusion, I couldn’t bring myself to give up.

I felt powerless on my own and thought seeking an ideal was foolish.

But even if it was called a convenient delusion or laughed at as naive…

I wanted to show that child a gentle ending.

I knew my own helplessness once again and bit my lip in pain.

Then, as a last effort, I tried to turn my eyes away from the grim reality.

…In an instant.

A slender figure jumped in front of the adventurer.

“Eh…”

The venom that was supposed to hit the adventurer collided with the shadow that had jumped in.

No, more precisely, it struck the “pure white large shield” that the figure had been holding.

The venom clinging to the shield and the droplets dripping onto the ground made sizzling sounds.

The poison had both toxicity and dissolving properties.

Despite having taken the full brunt of the poison, the figure that had intervened stood there firmly.

Soon, a youthful face slowly peered out from behind the shield.

Sweat was beading on her forehead, and she was breathing a bit heavily, but…

With her usual gentle smile, she called out to me.

“Sorry for the wait, Rust-san.”

“…Dia.”

I couldn’t do anything on my own.

But with two of us…

Yes, shaking off my pathetic self-talk, Dia had come to my aid.