Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 176 - The Augury Tower (3)
176: The Augury Tower (3)
176: The Augury Tower (3)
Moments after I summoned the Holy Sword, I heard a voice in my head.
[Y-you’re not a Hero!
Who on earth are you?!]
Something I was probably too used to at this point, I knew I wasn’t going crazy.
“Hm?”
Halting in my tracks, I raised an eyebrow, lifting the sword up in front of me.
What used to be a dull, inactive gem in the base of the hilt was now snow-white, glaring like a star and emitting a same-colour glow, almost reminding me of the flashlight on a smartphone, just less intense.
“Oh, are you the Ancient Hero?
Good morning.”
Just like Ina warned me when I asked her all that time ago, it indeed did talk to me.
It was a bit annoying―I’d rather just have a weapon that did only what I wanted to without interfering or being a nuisance―but, with a faint hope that it might come in useful one day, I decided to just put up with it.
Well, it’s not like I even had a choice, but still.
[I asked your identity, heathen!
Answer me!]
With a vigorous yell, the surprisingly young-sounding voice questioned me.
Considering the description mentioning him as an ‘Ancient Hero’, I thought he would sound much older, but he didn’t even sound that much older than me.
“Stop shouting.
You’re my sword, so be quiet.”
[Ack-!
Don’t tell me, a lackey of the Demon Lord…?!]
“Wrong.”
Sighing, I used my other hand to take my mask off for a few seconds, revealing my face to the sword before putting it back on.
“See?
Perfectly human.”
[I-Indeed…
However, nevertheless…
Why am I not being wielded by a Hero…?”
“And how do you know I’m not a Hero?”
Looking away from the sword, I dropped my arm to hold it at my side and continued walking through the forest, a thin mist beginning to seep through the endless trees.
There was no visual sign of it, but with my enhanced senses, I could tell.
‘There are monsters nearby.’
Meanwhile, the Ancient Hero continued.
[O-of course you’re not!
Just look at you!
And not to mention the fact you have no divine pow–…]
“…Why’d you stop all of a sudden?”
Casting a suspicious glance at the sword’s gem, I wondered what he was shocked about now.
[This…
is the scent of divinity…?
Why do you…
No, it is not the same as the Holy Goddess I know, and yet…
unmistakably…]
‘Hm?’
For a moment, I was puzzled about what he was going on about, but then I realised.
“Oh, you mean that.
Yeah, I have a Goddess’ Blessing.
It’s not the one you’re thinking of, though.”
‘Is that really enough to make me a Hero?
I never even thought about that before, but I guess it’s true…’
[Truly!
This is…
peculiar, yet incredible.
Are you then the Hero of another realm?
And just how did this generational Holy Sword find itself in the hands of a man not blessed by the Holy Goddess?
What about the Demon Lord?]
“Too many questions.
I’m busy right now, we can talk later.
Name’s Enki though.”
Inwardly, I just wanted to avoid the topic at any cost.
I wasn’t sure what would happen if this guy found out I actually killed the Hero who was supposed to wield the Holy Sword, but either way, things would be a whole lot smoother if that part was kept under wraps.
[Ah, yes!
As you say, Enki!
Apologies!]
Thankfully, he seemed like a good enough person to recognise my unwillingness to talk and respect it.
Relieved to see him drop the subject rather quickly, I realised he definitely was completely different from the Hero I met all the way back then.
‘Lead him down a path of righteousness…
Yeah, I can’t imagine that happening, but who knows.’
Briefly recalling the description of the Holy Sword, I gave a wry smirk from behind the mask, suddenly remembering what I intended to ask.
“So, now that you’re awake, what can the sword do?
I saw that it unlocked something called Sunlight Spear, but how do I use that?”
[Of course!
You just need to infuse the Holy Sword with your divine power, and with the will of the Goddess’ Hero, the power shall be unleashed!]
He said that all enthusiastic-like, but…
“…Right.
And when you say, ‘infuse the Holy Sword with your divine power’, how exactly might someone go about doing that…?”
That was exactly the problem.
I had never been taught how to control the Winter Mother’s Blessing that I had received, and no matter how many times I tried to meditate and learn how to do anything with it myself, I couldn’t figure it out.
It’s been a while since I regretted not asking Lucretia to teach me before I left Drakon-Rasa, but of course, that was far too late now…
[Ah, you must be a new Hero!
There is no problem then, that is what I’m here for, to be a mentor for the new generation!
Allow me to teach you.]
Fortunately, he sounded confident, and because he was an experienced Hero already, I thought I might just be able to learn it right now.
“Oh, reall–”
However, right at that moment―
“Wait.”
Rustle~
Snapping my head towards the right, my ears picked up a slight rustling in the bushes.
As I narrowed my eyes, a gust of wind blew through the area, causing leaves to sweep across the forest floor, brushes and branches to whisper and creak, and along with it, a faint odour was carried to my nose.
Bending my knees slightly, I shifted into a posture ready for whatever enemy appeared.
For a second, nothing happened.
“…!”
Then, my body moved.
Feeling a sudden flashback to the time that cat girl pounced at me from a place I couldn’t see, I twisted my body and swung my arm at the same time, slashing it in mid-air and repositioning before I even realised what happened.
Glancing down, all that remained was the bisected corpse of a fur-covered monster that lied somewhere between a mix of a panther and a wolf.
Then, I looked further down at my hand holding the Holy Sword.
For a while, my gaze lingered there, feeling unusually powerful in how I just moved, even killing the monster in a single hit.
‘Is this Heightened Senses too…?
It feels a lot more natural for some reason…’
Considering there was nothing in the Trait’s description that implied it would teach me swordsmanship, I chalked it up to being a pure result of my sharpened instincts, which was arguably just as impressive.
In fact, I would argue that having great instincts was better than just knowing how to swing a sword.
Recognising that, I then felt the corner of my lip curl up behind the mask.
“…I’ll have you teach me later.”
Muttering that, I thought it’d be better to get to beat the Floor and get to a safe place for now.
Still wary, I watched the surroundings intently, waiting until another gust of wind swept through the area.
‘…This way.’
Using Heightened Senses to determine which way led to the Floor Boss, I continued forward.
