Konjiki no Moji Tsukai - Chapter 263

10 years ago, when Cruzer Jio got wind of a rumour regarding the location of a weapon he had once created, he headed towards there to retrieve it back. His reasons for doing this was simple, he wanted to collect all of the existing weaponries he had made and keep it away from the rest of this world.

Because of the weapons he had created, people gained power and at the same time, lost their precious families due to the very same reason, the power of his weapons. So in order to prevent such tragedies again, he recovered all of his existing creations even if he had to get it from them by force.

The place he was headed was called the 【Doa Ruins】. It was once a community where a certain existing race had lived in here.

Although several years had passed and most traces of its habitation were hardly visible, Cruzer walked along the rocky walls that could collapse anytime and searched through the withered buildings.

Then, he perceived something. It had a faint signs of life and also had a repulsive feeling. And more than anything, he could feel the presence of his creation.

While following his senses, he was led to a big stone statue. And surprisingly, he found a staircase leading to the underground as if it were concealed under the stone statue.

Of course, Cruzer felt the presence of his creation more strongly under him. However, shortly after taking his first step, the repulsive feeling made him hesitate in proceeding further.

It was due to a strong…..thirst for blood.

And following that was the unpleasant stench of rotten flesh stimulating his senses. Honestly speaking, he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, but since he had come this far, he thought of finishing what he had gone here in the first place.

The inside was constructed from dirt soil as he could see many ant nest in various directions. An average person would have gotten lost due to the complexity of the area.

However, Cruzer advanced without a hint of hesitation, this was all due to his mastery in scouting. The signs of his creation gradually got stronger and when he approached a certain passage hole, an intense pressure ran through him.

It was as if a knife had struck him from behind, a sense that wanted to take his life out of him, but the feeling soon calmed down at once.

He noticed that he was sweating a lot more compared to the usual. He wasn’t only directed with hostility and murderous intent, but it was an intense mix of various emotions.

But fortunately, he couldn’t feel it any longer. Silence had greeted him as he pondered what in the world was that feeling.

While gulping in nervousness, Cruzer entered the hole, making precautions to that strange feeling that could attack him once again. Surprisingly, the place he had entered contained several objects shaped like a coffin.

Cruzer unintentionally frowned. Because the blood thirst and the foul smell strengthened further upon his arrival. The place seemed to be a square building with a considerably vast space. And filling that place were innumerable coffins in every nook and corner of it.

The coffins were lined unnaturally forming a circle, and there were odd coffins placed at the center of this strange scene.

(Is there some sort of significance with these…)

In the center of the room, there is a space for people to walk extending straight towards the end of the room. And at the end was a statue he had scene before but many times larger and embedded on the wall.

The statue had an appearance of an ugly looking beast, but it strangely also possess a human-like face. It was so creepy that just by looking at it gives shivers onto his spine. While he was briefly looking at, Cruzer’s eyes opened wide.

Because at the huge statue’s forehead was a nostalgic sword stabbed on it. He was definitely sure that was one of his many creations.

He didn’t understand why it was in such a place, but he felt relieved for being able to find it.

On the way towards his destination however, he heard something collapse and shifted his gaze to its origin in panic. He found out then that an accident had occurred on one of the coffins at center of the room.

Cruzer concluded that it had probably collapsed due to the weak vibration of his steps. When he look through the casket, what he saw surprised him.

It was some mummy. It was pitch black, carbonised, and just by looking at it gives him a rather unpleasant feeling.

Moreover, it was impossible to tell what kind of inhabitants they were based on their mummified form. But Cruzer had little knowledge regarding the ruins.

(…..so this is the 『Cupidos Tribe』….)

TL Note: クピドゥス族 | Kupidusu Zoku. Read it as Cupidos Tribe

It was a mysterious race that, as one could see, had been extinct for several years. They had hardly showed up in history books and Cruzer who had lived a long life didn’t meet or either see them in general.

Although Cruzer he knew the name of race that built the entirety of the 【Doa Ruins】, as to why they did these kind of things as well as the mummification, he doesn’t have a clue.

(Hm? This is…)

Suddenly he noticed a bundle of paper placed at the head of the mummy. Although it had faded enough to prove its old age, it seems that its content hadn’t entirely withered.

Because he was intrigued, Cruzer picked up the bundle of papers in his hands. He treated it with care so that it won’t tear out of age. There he saw the name of the God they worshipped, and the first sword that the God had built for them.

“…..《Cursed Sword》……?”

It was hard to read, but that was actually what it states. And the name of that 《Cursed Sword》 was….

“….《Sacrifice》….”

Because he was scanning over it out of curiosity, he had said its name, which seemed to have been a mistake. At the next moment, the repulsive feeling assailed his senses once again. It was as if his power was being absorbed by something.

“Darn, a blunder….what’s happening!?”

Suddenly, the mouth of the statue embedded on the far end of the wall opened, and then numerous tentacles came out from it.

“Wha!?”

He immediately jumped back in retreat. But for some reason the tentacles were heading towards coffins. When he thought the tentacles stabbed the coffins, something was being sucked out from the inside and then the coffins turned to ashes.

Immediately, after turning one of the coffins into ashes, it proceeded to another, stabbing one coffin after another. And then, it finally attacked Cruzer. Thinking it was bad to stay at one place, he retreated at a far distance, which caused the tentacles to be bewildered as if they were confused how their target vanished.

(That’s strange…)

Looking at his feet, he saw that the ground wasn’t glowing. Apparently, the area covered by a strange light seemed to be range where the tentacles could only act within.

(But what is with this strange light..?)

While being dumbfounded by such spectacle, he noticed that the tentacles slipped towards the forehead of the large statue where his creation was stabbed and wrapped that sword with its body.

“What is it doing?”

To understand what was happening, he once again looked over the bundle of paper. And there, he saw something surprising. Cruzer immediately kicked the ground while placing his hand on the sheathed katana on his wait, and in a blink of an eye, he reached the large stone statue upfront.

Then, he severed the tentacles coming out of the mouth with his sword. A disgusting green liquid spurted out from the cut part.

The cocoon being supported by the tentacles falls to the ground. However, the tentacles wrapping around the sword were being sucked in as if it was being absorbed. Or more like, rather than being absorbed, the tentacles were covering the sword and changing its former shape. It seemed the strange light was also gone along with it.

“How in the world!?”

Apart from the shock of his creation turning into a different shape, he was surprised by the eerie eyeball that had appeared at the base of the sword. And then,

“Gegiygiygiygiyaaaaa!”

Cruzer couldn’t comprehend what was happening anymore. A suddenly shrilling laughter came out from the sword, and then the eyeball moved with *gyoro sound towards Cruzer’s direction.

“Hohou, so you are the next one who will uphold me….rather skinny if you ask me…but whatever…”

An unpleasant laughter that sounded as if someone was scratching a glass pane and a talking voice deep enough to instill fear were directed to Cruzer.

“Now, tell me your desire. What do you 『want』 to destroy?”

This sword…no, he realized that this object shouldn’t be made known to the world. Since Cruzer thought so, his actions were immediate.

He took out a sheathed knife and unties it from its sheath, then after taking it out, he slashed it towards the empty space. A rift opened from that place, the talking sword who noticed this found it strange and spoke ‘Hah?’

Cruzer placed the knife back on his bosom and stretched out his hands to the rift that had opened. Then, he felt his hands sunk into something as if it was buried in deep sand.

“Oi, what the heck are you doing?”

Without answering the question of the talking sword, Cruzer focused in moving his hands submerged in that rift.

“…found it”

Cruzer slowly pulled out his hands. And what he was holding was a jet-black sheath. Numerous chains were exaggeratedly tied around it as an incredible pressure was coming out from it. The moment he took this thing, the rift in the space restored naturally.

“What is that?”

Cruzer had a stiff expression as he approached the talking sword who voiced out such concern.

“…..I’m really sorry, my child. I never thought it would turn out this way.”

When Cruzer expressed a bitter expression, he dropped the sheath towards the talking sword.

“You bastard! W-what are you doing!?”

Upon touching the sheath, a dazzling light engulfed the sword and then….

……….. a sword inside a black sheath had fallen onto the ground.

The handle and sword were sturdily strapped by the chains to prevent its release.

After that, Cruzer picked up the sheathed sword, and went to the Belial Sea nearby. He came here because he had heard that this ocean was considered dangerous that no one had dared approached.

Although Cruzer dived into the ocean, he couldn’t go deeper due to strong current it possesses. However, he had judged that this deepness was enough for him to safely return back, and quietly let go of the sword to the invisible sea below.

Slowly, he gazed at the sword sinking towards the bottom of the ocean and then left that spot.

Honestly speaking, he wanted to actually destroy the sword, but the notion of him carelessly doing something on it, he deemed it dangerous and stopped such intentions.

And besides, there’s a terrible monster at the bottom of this sea, so even if the whereabouts of the sword was ascertained, it would still be impossible to retrieve.

(With this it’s over…. That thing isn’t something the world must know)

He was sad that his creation had turned into such an existence, but he also thought that his measures regarding it was good enough as way of cleaning up his mess.

(If possible, I want you to remain in this sea forever)

Cruzer who had resurfaced to the land, held up both of his hands and prayed quietly with such thoughts.