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Chapter 309: Monstrosity (1)
[Ah.]
The Holy Sword swallowed hard.
A rough voice, like the howling of a beast.
Yet, it was unmistakably the voice of will, an expression of intent.
She heard it clearly.
[Finally, I can actually speak my mind. Damn. Took long enough.]
"What?"
Ketal was startled.
The reason was simple.
"It could talk? I thought it could only howl, so I assumed it couldn't speak."
[Did you really think I was some mindless beast?]
An annoyed and angry voice reverberated, stirring the mystery within him.
Ketal laughed and responded,
"Well, all you did was howl, so what else was I supposed to think?"
Something, something with its own will, with intelligence capable of assessing the situation, was inside him.
He had already known that fact.
Although he was surprised it had spoken, the existence of its will was no shock.
But the Holy Sword was different.
[A… a monster?]
The Holy Sword knew Ketal harbored something strange inside him, but it had always assumed it was merely an extension of Ketal’s own strength, never paying it much attention beyond that.
But now, there was something massive, alien, and formidable sensed within Ketal.
[Th-this is…]
[Silence, toy.]
The beast spoke in irritation.
[Don’t clutter my ears.]
[Ah.]
The moment it heard that voice, the spirit of the Holy Sword trembled, like a mortal standing before the true form of a god.
[U-uh!]
But the sword endured, reasserting its own will and regaining its shaken composure.
This persistence annoyed the beast.
[For a toy to withstand my will… it truly is broken.]
"So, the Holy Sword can communicate. Does that mean it can speak with people besides me?"
[This toy is yours. It’s not strange for it to feel my presence within you.]
"Ah, I see."
Ketal nodded as if understanding.
"So, what should I call you? Should I stick with the ‘mystic beast’ I've been calling you, or do you have a true name?"
[Don’t call me a beast. It’s insulting to be compared with something so mindless. …But then again, using my true name now that I'm bound to someone would be a disgrace to me. Although it’s not my favorite, I suppose there’s no other choice.]
The beast thought for a moment before answering.
[Call me Monstrosity. It’s what the young ones used to call me.]
What resided within him was what Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, had mentioned: a creature that had slain countless gods and demons, one that defiled the world more than any other.
The creature, which the combined forces of all beings in the world could barely subdue, was a monstrosity.
Ketal didn’t seem particularly shocked.
He wore an expression that said he had suspected as much ever since Hephaestus had mentioned it.
"Since when have you been inside me?"
[Ever since you acquired a piece of me.]
"Was it when I got the axe? That’s been quite a long time."
Ketal had possessed the axe since he was weak, so long ago that he could barely remember.
The monstrosity had been within him since then.
But he hadn’t even realized its existence until he acquired the mysterious power.
That meant it had remained surprisingly dormant for a creature of such infamy.
[Dormant? Me?]
That remark annoyed the monstrosity.
[That’s nonsense.]
"What? You weren’t just lying still?"
[I tried everything to tear you apart and devour you, but nothing worked. It was a waste of time.]
When the monstrosity first entered Ketal’s body, it rampaged, intending to devour his flesh and consume his mind, using him as a stepping stone for its rebirth.
But no matter what it did, it had no effect on Ketal.
It was all in vain like a human flailing helplessly in the vastness of space.
Had nothing changed, Ketal might never have become aware of the monstrosity's existence.
[But you began to embrace outside forces.]
The mysterious powers of the world.
Mystery.
Ketal had sought and acquired as much of it as possible, and the monstrosity within him seized that opportunity.
Using mystery as nourishment, it gained strength, eventually manifesting a beastly consciousness and finally able to utter words.
"So that’s why you’ve been cooperating so smoothly; it was because of that."
The more mystery Ketal gained, the stronger the monstrosity became.
That was likely why it had helped him reclaim the mine.
Something was parasitizing him from within.
It was a terrifying situation in some ways, yet Ketal spoke casually,
"You've been watching from inside me this whole time. Guess I could consider you an old friend. Nice to finally meet you. How’ve you been?"
[Bastard.]
The monstrosity spat in irritation.
[Stop trying to drag me out. It's incredibly annoying. Leave me alone.]
"So, that’s why you’d have fits whenever I tried to wield mystery. Sorry, but this power is mine. I can’t just leave you be."
[What a nuisance.]
"That's my line. You're the one who tried to take over my body without permission."
Ketal chuckled.
His relaxed demeanor made the Holy Sword uneasy.
[Isn’t this… dangerous? We should probably talk to the gods right away to do something about it!]
The monstrosity was indeed a formidable being.
Once, even gods and demons had to join forces to deal with it.
Even without much information, the Holy Sword knew this was not a being to be taken lightly.
But Ketal seemed unfazed.
"There won’t be a problem. After all, it gained strength only by consuming the mystery I obtained."
How was the monstrosity able to speak, to manifest its consciousness, and to grow in strength?
All because it had consumed the mystery that Ketal had acquired.
In the end, it was his power.
While the monstrosity had grown stronger, its nature had aligned more closely with Ketal’s.
Resistance at this point was impossible.
[Bastard.]
The monstrosity merely cursed, making no effort to refute Ketal's words.
The Holy Sword was thoroughly confused.
"So, will anything change in our relationship?"
[No. I still cannot escape from you. All I can do is a little bit of defiance. Go ahead, tear apart or kill whatever enemies stand in your way. I, too, enjoy seeing the arrogant ones outside crushed. But beyond that, I have no interest.]
With that, the monstrosity fell silent.
Ketal called out to it a few more times, but there was no response.
"Seems like nothing’s really changed."
That was enough.
Humming, Ketal drew his axe.
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Some trouble had arisen, but his purpose remained the same.
He focused his mind and drew out the wavering mystery within him.
The Monstrosity tried to avoid it in annoyance, but Ketal forced it into manifestation.
As a result, the wavering mystery settled onto the axe.
It was aura.
“Oh! It worked!”
Ketal was thrilled.
The manifested mystery was in a stable form, unlike before.
Now he could draw out the mystery as he wished, without any issues.
He was extremely pleased.
“The mystery consumption isn’t as high as I thought.”
With his supply of mystery, he could maintain it for the entire battle.
But there was a problem.
“While using this, I can’t enhance or protect my body properly.”
The issue wasn’t quantity.
It was the method.
It felt like all his mystery was being drawn into the manifestation.
Perhaps with more practice, it would improve, but for now, it was impossible to use aura while also using mystery on his body.
Ketal casually asked,
“If you’d help, I think it would work out. Why not lend a hand?”
[Why should I?]
The Monstrosity replied indifferently.
Ketal hadn’t expected much, so he paid no mind and focused on the aura.
[…Ah… uh.]
And then, as it gazed at the aura, the Holy Sword let out a groan.
For the first time, it could watch the aura for an extended period, studying it closely.
The Holy Sword realized something.
That was dangerous.
It was qualitatively different from ordinary aura.
An instinctive fear, a terror of death, welled up inside.
It felt as though its heart was being aimed at with a bow.
[Ugh… Ah…]
The Holy Sword trembled in fear.
Ketal glanced at it and asked,
“For a demon or Holy Sword to react like that, it must be because of you, right?”
Hephaestus had spoken about it.
The Monstrosity’s power was something close to death.
The Monstrosity responded.
[Young ones have an instinctive fear of me. It should be that way in truth.]
The Monstrosity’s voice carried a hint of pride as it spoke.
Ketal toyed with the mystery a bit more.
After several dozen minutes, the mystery was nearly depleted.
“Currently, it lasts about thirty minutes, I’d say. Not bad.”
Satisfied, he returned to the sanctuary, lay on the bed, and took a rest.
After a period of silence, the Holy Sword cautiously asked,
[Y-You are… that Monstrosity… aren’t you?]
In the distant past, the oldest being that had killed countless gods and demons, tainting the world.
That entity clearly resided within Ketal.
Ketal seemed largely unconcerned, yet it was an incredibly dangerous presence.
Despite its fear, the Holy Sword intended to understand the Monstrosity’s intentions for Ketal’s sake.
There was no response.
Overcoming its fear, the Holy Sword asked again.
[E-Excuse me? Monstrosity?]
[Don’t talk to me, toy.]
The Monstrosity replied in irritation.
[A pitiful tool. If this one hadn’t shown mercy, you’d have been discarded, tossed around by young ones, and eventually faded away. You’re of no interest to me.]
The Holy Sword felt a surge of anger, for the words struck a nerve.
The Holy Sword knew that it hadn’t been of much help to Ketal.
It spoke up, as if to defend itself.
[I-I still know a lot about Ketal, though? Unlike you, who can’t even speak with him or resist him from within.]
Its voice was trembling, like a shivering tree.
[Know?]
The Monstrosity sneered.
[You think you know this one? You, of all things? How laughable. You know nothing.]
It continued, sounding contemptuous.
[Not just you. All of them, the things inside, the things outside—they’re the same. None of you know a thing about him.]
[Wh-what do you mean?]
There was something odd in those words.
It didn’t seem like the Monstrosity was merely talking about Ketal’s background.
[Do you know where he came from?]
[Uh… um… that barbarian from the White Wasteland…]
[Do you think I’d be bound to a mere creature like that? Of course, you know nothing about him.]
The Monstrosity was within Ketal.
It knew him better than anyone, understood him more than anyone.
[An outsider. Neither from here nor there.]
[An outsider…?]
[If you don’t know, so be it. You wouldn’t understand anyway.]
The Monstrosity spoke dismissively.
The Holy Sword stammered, unable to retort.
Quietly listening to their conversation, Ketal’s eyes darkened.
“You. You know about me, don’t you?”
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