Prologue ~Right Hand Man Of The Demon King~
Volume 2 Beginning - Demon Sword Tournament.
Prologue ～Right hand of the demon king～
2000 years ago in the great spirits forest Ahartherun.
An 8 headed water dragon was raging causing a huge downpour of rain to fall.
Spirits have a temporary body and a true body. A temporary body can look very different from their true body but if they appear in their true body they become much more powerful.
Spirits are strange creatures. It is said that they are created by the hearts of countless people.
Traditions and legends, rumours, desires, fear and hope. Spirits are the embodiment of all those things.
If peoples fear of fire is high enough then spirits of fire can be produced. If they have faith in water then it may produce water spirits.
The 8 headed water dragon was born from the story that the tears of a god fell into Ahartherun and the legend arose that those waters gave birth to people.
It is also the true body of the great guardian spirit of water Riniyon.
[Editor-san :- It could also be Liniyon. I hate it when authors use names that begin with r in Japanese. I'll update it if we ever get an official name from the LN.]
It's currently raging against the intruder who's trying to burn the forest.
The name of the intruder is the demon king of tyranny Arnos Voldigod and he is not afraid of Riniyon.
"Fumu. Were half of my subordinates just taken out with one blow? It seems your power matches up to your legend pretty well."
Arnos takes a step forward and prepares to go into action but a mazoku steps forward and stops him.
The mazoku is clad in armour and is carrying a sword at his waist.
With white eyes and white hair, he surveys the battlefield with a cool look before kneeling in front of the demon king and bowing his head.
"My lord, I graciously seek permission to offer your august presence my council."
"Granted."
"You need not bother yourself with such a small fry. If you give the order I will slay it in a single moment."
Hearing those words Arnos laughs.
"Shall we have a bet then? If you take more than a moment you lose and I will have you drop that formal speech with me. If you beat it in a single moment as you say then I will give you any reward you want."
To that the mazoku said
"You are playful. You know I cannot resist a wager."
*Kin* a sound of a sword being sheathed was heard.
The next moment The raging 8 headed dragon vanished as it was chopped up into countless pieces. Every single drop of water that was falling disappeared.
After a long interval, the sun breaks through and begins to shine on the forest again.
"How was that?"
"Your mastery of the sword is as great as ever Shin."
Still kneeling the mazoku lowers his head again.
While kneeling he destroyed the great guardian spirit Riniyon and even cut away the falling water.
The owner of a thousand demon swords and the mazoku's strongest swordsman.
The right hand of the demon king, Shin Reglia.
A simple iron sword hangs at his waist. He didn't even draw a demon sword against Riniyon.
"If I ever fought against you the outcome would be uncertain."
"No. Even with my thousand demon swords, I do not reach the feet of my lord."
Arnos laughs at the words of the too loyal Shin.
"Then how about a sword only match?"
"I might be able to scratch your most august presence."
"What are you saying? You are the person I recognise as my right hand. I'd be troubled if you couldn't take at least one of my arms."
With his head still bowed Shin says
"If that is your command."
*Kukuku* Arnos laughs from the depths of his stomach. The demon king knew even with those words his subordinate was so loyal he would not take his arm.
Even if it was only a bit of fun or a play match, Shin Reglia would rather choose death than point a sword at his lord.
"Hey Shin. If peaceful times ever come I want to enjoy a sword fight against you without reserve."
"Your will."
That era is not far off Arnos thought.
"Aah, that reminds me. The bet was my loss. What reward do you want?"
"I wish to be granted the honour of reincarnation."
"After the wall is made?"
"These 1000 swords are dedicated to my lord. After the death of my lord through reincarnation I will not be able to live shamelessly nor even mimic living a long life."
Arnos was troubled by this mans nature.
"Weren't you bad at root magic?"
[Editor-san :- I've been using origin whenever Arnos talks about roots/origins/sources but since we already have origin magic this one had to be root magic. Could have gone with source magic as well.]
Root magic is magic that effects your root (origin). Reincarnation ｢Silica｣ magic is the highest level of this magic.
If its Arnos then his power and memories will be handed over to his next body. Those that are not so good at root magic will not be able to reincarnate in a complete state and they will suffer damage to their power and memories.
"It won't be so bad to start a new sword and start from scratch again in the new age."
Shin is a seeker who has single-mindedly sought truth by walking the path of the sword.
Although he is said to be the mazokus strongest swordsman he was defeated by the hero Kanon who is also a sword user.
He might be remembering the limit of his current vessel.
If your reincarnation is incomplete then there is the possibility that you may get stronger in your new life. Perhaps he wanted to bet on it.
"Alright. Do as you like."
"I am most grateful and happy. Once I reincarnate, even if I lose my memory, my origin will not forget my lord."
"Don't be so uptight. You can do what you want."
Using Thought Transmission ｢Liikus｣ Arnos speaks to the whole of Ahartherun.
"How long are you going to play dead my subordinates? Burn this whole forest and reveal the great spirit Reno."
Responding to the call of Arnos, the subordinates that were killed by Riniyon begin moving thanks to Resurrection ｢Ingaru｣.
From many places in the forest, back flames begin to rise. In an instant, the fire had spread to the whole of Ahartherun.
"Now then."
Arnos fixes his eyes in front of him. From the forest engulfed in black flames, a figure was coming straight to him.
"Did you come, hero Kanon?"
Carrying the holy sword the hero Kanon is running towards Arnos from about 1 kilometre away.
"You wouldn't think you'd obliterated his origin yesterday." Shin says.
If their origin is destroyed then that person dies. Resurrection ｢Ingaru｣ will not work either, however, there is one exception. The hero Kanon.
That guy revives again and again. Usually, it's one person one origin but Kanon has 7 of them. As long as one survives it can revive the other 6.
The demon king Arnos has mastered almost all magic but in one area he loses to the hero and that is in root magic.
That is also the reason Shin falls behind Kanon.
No matter how many times he loses he revives again and again, however, if I destroy his origins in this place then it will be my victory.
It's an unfair match but that's what happens when you make the demon king your enemy.
Even if this game was repeated for eternity Arnos doesn't think that he will lose even once.
"Kanon will be my opponent Shin. You look for the great spirit Reno."
"Your will."
After replying Shin disappeared.
"Well then Hero Kanon. How many times will I kill you today?"
Arnos develops 6 magic formations and fires 6 Flame Prison Annihilation Cannons ｢Geo Greys｣ at the approaching hero.