Chapter 269: Family Man (3)

"It's a monster. Mermaid. Take cover. I'll buy us some time."

"Wait a minute. If things get complicated, we're truly fucked."

Eve stopped Elsi from acting on her words. AA was cautiously observing the situation. Dagon wasn't hostile towards us. Although it looked like a rotting onahole that a giant sexual pervert had fucking used and thrown away, it was speaking in a very soft and peaceful tone. I nodded my head.

"Yes. I threw it down. Um... You are Lord Dagon, right? We came here through Ati's introduction."

[What is your relationship with Artis?]

I pondered whether to call her Ati or Artis, but it didn't seem to matter much. Dagon rolled its giant eye around and stared at me. I spoke.

"Ati is my wife."

[Has her husband changed already? I thought it was Deorgon.]

"It just somehow ended up like that."

Complicated family affairs like dragon sexual intercourse weren't something to talk about here. I heard the sound of Elsi and Eve exchanging chatter behind me.

"Then does that make me the fourth wife?"

"I don't know. Fuck, if a dragon says she wants to be the first wife, do I have to make a concession?"

Dagon scanned us once with its giant eye and asked.

[Since you possess Artis's jewel and claim to be her husband, I welcome you. So, tell me in detail what brings you here.]

"Ati said that if we came to Lord Dagon, you would give us a weapon to defeat evil."

[A weapon to defeat evil. I have been asleep here for a long time, so I do not know what is happening outside. I want you to explain the outside situation in detail.]

I began my story. Right now, on the outside, there is a terrible religious organization called the Church of Love that discriminates against races. These bastards are plotting a scheme to resurrect the Demon King and bring disaster to this land, and they are cruel bastards who don't hesitate to enslave and brainwash other species to achieve this. I plan to sweep them all away and kill them this time, but I need a very powerful weapon just in case.

After hearing my story, Dagon rolled its giant eyeballs around and fell into thought. Going by Ati's words, all of her friends seemed to be human-friendly, so saying this would be the right answer, right? Because it looked like it had a hobby of cannibalism, I took a step back to escape at any moment and tightly grabbed AA's arm.

AA felt me grab her arm and, whatever she was thinking, pushed me slightly backward and stepped a bit forward. With her doing that, it was easier for me to escape if things went south, so I didn't say anything. Dagon's field of vision was sweeping over us. It was observing our appearance by rolling not only the giant eye in its central part but also the eyeballs attached everywhere.

[A human, a beastfolk, and what is that?]

Dagon's tongue pointed at Eve. Eve flinched slightly at that sight and tried to draw her sword but held back. I spoke.

"She is a mermaid hybrid."

[I see. So mermaid hybrids exist as well. Have you known Artis since the Demon Realm?]

"Pardon?"

What kind of bullshit was this. Was it indirectly insulting me by implying that my personality looked fucked up?

[No. Never mind. If not... I see. If you met here, there must be very complicated circumstances. Forget what I said. Did you say you wanted a weapon?]

It was rambling like someone who had unexpectedly heard about another's unfortunate family affairs. I wanted to interrogate it, but I wanted to hear the story about my personal family history in a place where my women weren't present.

[Wait just a moment.]

Saying so, Dagon sank beneath the water with a gurgle. Compared to its majesty when it popped out, it was incredibly cautious and quiet when it went back in. Once Dagon disappeared, AA asked me.

"Why did it say something like that?"

"Normally, when people feel loneliness, they just say whatever comes to mind. It said it's been alone here for thousands of years, so imagine how lonely it must be."

"Is that so. That's a bit pitiful. To live alone in a place like this. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to endure the loneliness."

According to Ati's words, both this Dagon and Mimir seemed to have remained in this human world with good intentions, but living alone like this did feel quite pitiful. But what the fuck was that bullshit about the Demon Realm? My biological mother was alive here. I thought I should meet my mother about this issue later. It seemed a much more complicated problem than I thought was sleeping in Lucius's past.

"Sir Hero."

"What is it?"

"If you were to get a new weapon, what kind of weapon would you prefer?"

"Well. I'm used to the sword I'm currently using... I feel burdened receiving a weapon like this."

"But that weapon is nothing more than steel. I've fought against beastfolk who fell victim to the evil magic of the Church of Love. If you use a normal weapon, it will definitely break. Aside from the weapon's power, it's a matter of durability."

"Is that so..."

AA revealed a regretful expression as she stroked her sword. But it couldn't be helped. AA was a swordsman, and if a swordsman's sword broke, their combat power would plummet. I didn't know how powerful the bastards appearing in this Church of Love subjugation would be, so it was right to thoroughly deck her out with the best equipment.

Shadows fell under the water again. A spray of water shot up with a similar feeling to when Dagon faced us earlier. Tentacles were crawling out next to Dagon's shaft. These tentacles were each holding a weapon: four swords and one mace. Dagon held out one of the swords towards us and spoke.

[This is the Demonic Sword that Torments Souls. The moment you cut an opponent, it traps their spirit inside the sword and inflicts pain.]

"Is it a sword that gets stronger every time it collects a spirit?"

[No, it just inflicts pain on the opponent. So if you hold this sword, you hear the screams of your opponents. The accumulated number of victims so far has reached a total of 103,642, so if you grab this sword, you can hear the screams of 103,642 people all at once. It's too noisy for me as well, so I'll put it down on the floor for now.]

It meant it was a fucking trash-like sword. After hearing the sword's explanation, AA shook her head with an uneasy expression.

"I just need a sturdy sword."

[This sword. It is sturdy. It is perfectly fine even after cutting 100,000 people.]

"It might actually be a surprisingly good sword."

"No, how can I use it when it cuts spirits and inflicts pain!"

AA was disgusted.

"The screams might be surprisingly quiet, and if you touch it once..."

I placed my hand on the blade.

"Kyaaaaaaagh! Aaaaaaaagh!"

"Save meeeeeee! Aaaaagh! Aaaaagh! Aaaaagh!"

"Kieeeeeeeek!! Ueeeeeeeek! Aaaaaaagh!"

"F-Fuck!"

I was also terrified and backed away. Elsi, whose curiosity was piqued after hearing the sword's explanation, approached.

"Cleric. I want to touch it too."

"Don't."

I pushed Elsi back and distanced myself from the sword. I only listened for a moment, but my mind went numb. Dagon frowned slightly and spoke.

[Mind. Weak. Then how about this sword. It is the Demonic Sword that Absorbs Blood. The more you cut your opponent, the more blood it consumes to grow stronger, and the owner grows stronger too.]

"Um... I'm sorry to ask this as the one receiving, but do you not have any normal swords instead of a demonic sword?"

AA carefully asked. Dagon calmly explained without showing any sign of anger.

[I am from the Demon Realm. Therefore, my swords are all demonic swords.]

It was a statement with persuasiveness. AA flinched at the mention of it being from the Demon Realm and looked at me. I spoke.

"It's okay. Trust me."

"...I understand."

AA nodded her head with a sign that she truly trusted me.

[Are you saying you won't use this sword either. Its owner becomes tremendously stronger.]

AA seemed completely uneasy about this sword. It was truly a mindset befitting a hero. But Eve's thoughts seemed to be a bit different. She raised her hand high with sparkling eyes.

"Me! Me! I want to use it!"

[A wise choice. I will teach you how to use it from now on.]

Dagon slightly swayed its body and showed a pleasant sign, like a salesman who successfully made a sale. The moment Eve tried to grab the blade, Dagon spoke.

[Instead of getting stronger the more blood this blade consumes, you must cut down and kill at least five people daily. If you do not kill, it will suck its owner's blood.]

"Fuck...!"

Right before Eve touched the blade, I pushed her away. Eve's face turned pale white as she clung tightly to me. She shouted.

"Fuck! You should've told me sooner!"

[There is a price for growing stronger. There is no weapon in this world that just grants power for free.]

"A-Are there any other weapons?"

AA said. Dagon threw the two weapons that had just been eliminated as candidates into the lake and picked another one from the remaining weapons.

[This is the Tearing Demonic Sword. It looks normal, but if you do this...]

The moment pressure was applied to the handle, the blade twisted bizarrely, taking on a shape as if it had been brutally smashed with a pebble. The appearance of the haphazardly bent and protruding blade looked vicious.

[It transforms like this.]

"Me! Me! I want to use it!"

Eve shouted in excitement. I had to stop Eve from doing that. Elsi also stopped Eve and spoke.

"Calm down, mermaid. You don't know the side effects."

"It just changes its appearance! What side effects could a weapon like that have!"

"Still, wait a little bit. Okay?"

It seemed to have perfectly hit the mark on Eve's preference. Dagon maintained its calmness despite her excitement and continued speaking.

[If you cut an opponent in this state, their wounds will not undergo healing but will instead rot away. Furthermore, it is much sturdier and stronger than existing swords. However, you must feed it blood when changing to this form.]

"If it's just that... I think it's fine?"

Eve was seriously deliberating over it. Dagon revealed the handle part that had been hidden by its tentacle and spoke.

[To transform it for one minute, it consumes as much blood as one water bottle.]

I didn't know because it was covered by the tentacle, but something like an injection needle was attached below the hilt. Dagon pointed at the injection needle and spoke.

[If you insert this, it will extract blood on its own. You don't have to worry about infection. It has its own magic applied to it. It also has a storage function.]

"I'll do it."

"Eve?"

I was taken aback by Eve's words and looked at her. AA also had a surprised face at her decision. Elsi, perhaps feeling anxiety at the mention of extracting blood, tightly held onto her and spoke.

"Mermaid. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why? I can just use it when necessary. Plus, it never said it had to be my blood. If I kill one and extract their blood, I get fucking strong for one minute, so why shouldn't I use it?"

"No, even so..."

"Groom. Do you not trust me? Hm?"

Eve tightly held onto me and said that. AA gave her opinion cautiously from a slight distance away.

"Still, I don't think it's a good idea."

"But it's a sword with transformation? Seriously? You want me to give this up?"

"Fuck, is transformation that important? What if you use that during an emergency later and die?"

Eve smiled shyly at those words and spoke to me.

"Groom. Are you worrying about me?"

"...Fuck. Do whatever you want."

I shook my head and gave my permission. I couldn't say no when she was clinging to it that much.

"Instead, don't use it when I'm not around, alright? Even if you use it, I should at least be there to treat you."

"Got it."

Eve grinned and held out both hands toward Dagon. Dagon gently placed the blade upon her hands.