Chapter 59
Something like a giant made of mud was dragging Shy along with a noose in its hand. That was why she couldn't make a sound. The strangled child's limbs flailed helplessly. She was still alive.
Without hesitation, Eki immediately rushed in and sliced off the giant's arm. The severed arm fell with a splat, turning into mud and scattering on the ground.
The giant wasn't particularly slow, but Eki was so fast that it only realized its arm had been cut off after she had caught Shy, noose and all.
Eki first cut off the noose around Shy's neck. The girl, now free, gasped for breath with tearful eyes.
"Keh, kehek."
"Are you okay? Just wait a moment."
Eki hid Shy behind her and turned to face the mud giant, which was approaching with large strides. The right arm she had cut off had already been restored. The giant extended a fist as big as her head. It was a fierce punch, creating a wind that scattered her hair.
But it was too slow for her. Eki easily dodged it and went inside the giant's body as if embracing it.
[It's regenerating, so is it a slime? A golem? Either way, I just need to break the core, right?]
The Demon Sword chattered idly. Eki thought the same. It was a Monster she was seeing for the first time, but when did familiar Monsters ever come out of the Node? Still, there was a basic form, so if it was regenerating like that, she just needed to find and destroy the core.
She could find the core with the flow of Mana, but Eki didn't need to. The Demon Sword, specialized in slaughter, allowed its owner to instinctively know the most efficient path to kill the opponent.
'That place, the solar plexus between the chest and stomach.'
She just had to stab her sword towards the place she intuitively knew. There was no need to infuse Mana. The blade pierced smoothly through the mud with a soft thud. And then it touched something inside the mud.
'Huh?'
The sensation at the tip of the sword was too familiar. The sensation of cutting through flesh and bone and rummaging through internal organs sent a chill down her spine.
Regardless, her body skillfully twisted the sword and pulled it out. Red blood gushed from the wound she had made, and the mud giant collapsed.
Eki retreated to avoid the pouring blood and mud. The mud flowed down from the giant's body as it fell forward. Then, only the 'core' part she had stabbed remained.
"……This is driving me crazy."
[Wow, what a treat. He's going to die, right? I killed him!]
The Demon Sword said in an excited voice. The core was a human man. Blood poured from the back of the old man with graying hair. It was the spot Eki had stabbed.
With a pale face, she crouched down and examined the old man. It wasn't an instant death, but he would die soon. She had never studied medicine, but she knew from experience, having killed so many people.
Who is this human? A person swallowed up with the Node? Why is there a person inside a Monster? Am I going to kill an innocent person? Again?
She felt nauseous. She could feel the sticky sensation of blood on the hand holding the sword, even though it wasn't there. Eki threw down Amethyst and covered her mouth.
"Oh……. Merry's grandfather……."
Shy muttered faintly from behind her. The girl stumbled out and placed her hand on the back of the blood-soaked old man.
"Hu, hu, hurt……."
Eki blankly stared at the flustered girl. Shy checked the wound and turned to Eki with a confused face. And asked.
"Can I heal him?"
"……What?"
"I, I, actually, I can heal wounds. Diseases disappear too, I can make it not hurt anymore. It's strange, right? Even you think I'm like a witch, right? Am I a witch after all?"
What is she talking about? Healing wounds is not being a witch. Eki was too flustered to respond immediately. Meanwhile, Shy, still with a confused face, reached out her hand as if she had made up her mind.
"I, I might make you uncomfortable, but still, still, I don't like pain. I wish no one would hurt. I'm sorry, Sister, I, I want to heal him."
A faint light emanated from Shy's tattered clothes. Eki saw a distinct pattern on the dirty skin between the girl's collar. A verdant tree pattern. A small dagger popped out from the pattern.
A silver dagger entwined with verdant vines bearing red berries, a sword where the blacksmith made the blade with human compassion, and wrapped the blade with human love. A Giosa that chooses its Owner without considering swordsmanship skills at all. The Healing Sword Elgiosa revealed its form.
Shy grasped the dagger. Elgiosa was a small dagger, but Shy was so small that she had to hold the dagger with both hands. The girl plunged it into the wound with trembling hands.
Even Eki, who knew about Elgiosa, was startled by the sight. If that were a normal sword, the old man would have died instantly.
But the sword made with benevolence did not harm the human. A faintly glowing verdant vine spread out from where the sword was embedded. The vine wrapped around the wound, bloomed with white flowers, and then bore red fruit. And then it turned into light and disappeared.
"Good heavens……."
It was a breathtaking sight. Eki let out a gasp of admiration. Shy slumped down, clutching Elgiosa. Not even a trace of a wound remained where the sword had pierced. Even the wound Eki had inflicted had disappeared. All injuries were completely healed. The old man would not die now.
[Tch, too bad.]
The Demon Sword grumbled. Eki rubbed her face with trembling hands. She had thought she was about to commit another unintentional murder. The old man was alive. Thanks to that child. A deep sense of relief spread through her. Warmth returned to her fingertips.
Shy, with tears welling up in her gray eyes, trembled and looked back at Eki. Before the girl could say anything, Eki approached and hugged the child. She buried her face in the small shoulder and whispered sincerely.
"Thank you, Shy. Thank you so much……."
"Si, Sister?"
Shy trembled in surprise. The skirt of a voluminous dress spread out and wrapped around the girl's body. Shy was buried in the frills. Eki smelled nice. Something like a sweet floral scent.
The girl hesitated, then carefully grasped Eki's collar. The silk fabric in her hand was so soft it felt like it would melt. The embrace that enveloped her was both strong and gentle.
Shy asked in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.
"A, are you not disgusted? By this? Everyone in the village, they all said it was strange that I suddenly healed him, and that I must have spread the plague, that I must be a witch……."
"I'm not disgusted at all. I'm grateful. And Shy, you're not a witch."
Eki stroked Shy's dry hair. She lifted her head, made eye contact with the girl, and smiled.
"You are a Giosa Owner, Shy."
"Giosa…… Owner?"
"Once we escape from here, no one will be able to harass you, and no one will call you a witch. Because you will be the Saintess of Ajenka."
"Sa, Sai, Saintess……. Huh? What did you say?"
Shy stammered with a dazed face. She still didn't seem to understand what was going on.
It would be difficult to understand right away. She could explain it to her gradually later. Once they left the Node and returned to Ajenka, there would be plenty of people who could explain it better than Eki.
"There's no way I could be, such, such an amazing person! Aren't you mistaken about something?"
"Don't worry, Shy. I guarantee it. You are already a Saintess."
"Th, there's no way……."
The trembling girl with wide eyes was cute and pitiful. Eki impulsively kissed the child's round forehead. Shy's face turned bright red.
"You'll find out when we get out. So, first, let's get out of here."
She hugged Shy tightly once more, then released her and stood up. And looked at the old man, who was still unconscious in a perfectly healthy state.
'A person inside a mud giant…….'
Eki examined the old man closely. There was nothing particularly unusual. It was the first time she had seen a Node turn a swallowed person into a Monster. However, she remembered seeing records that such cases existed.
Nodes are influenced by the place where they are formed, and the strong thoughts in that place are projected.
The mud giant with the noose was similar to the image of the villagers who tried to burn Shy alive from her point of view. Gigantic and terrifying.
"Shy, you said you knew this person? Who is he?"
"He's Merry's grandfather, from Gott Village."
Shy, stammering, answered, her gaze fixed on Eki's left hand. The hand wrapped in cloth. Eki subtly hid her hand in her skirt and asked again.
"Then, is he one of the people who dragged you here?"
"Ah, yes."
Shy nodded. She had suspected as much. Eki pinched the bridge of her nose. He was one of the villagers who tried to burn a child alive, calling her a witch. Even if she had accidentally killed him earlier, there was no need to regret it. She had been worried that he was an innocent person passing by the valley.
"……Shy. Didn't you hate this grandfather?"
"Hate him? Why?"
"That person tried to……."
Tried to burn you alive, the words came up to her throat. Eki didn't say the words, but Shy seemed to have noticed. Shy fidgeted with her fingers and said quietly.
"Everyone had sad things happen to them. They must have been so sad, it must have been hard……. I was scared, but I don't hate them."
"Sad things, like what?"
"There was a plague. Many people died……. My mom too……. I only became able to use this strange dagger after my mom died, and I thought that if I had gotten this sooner, my mom wouldn't have died. And then I started to hate myself for getting the dagger so late. I wondered why I only found this now."
Shy rubbed her tearful eyes with her clenched fist. The girl continued, covering her eyes.
"The villagers, they must have wanted to hate someone because they were so sad. If no one was hurting, this wouldn't have happened. So the bad thing is the disease, not those people."
Eki blankly looked down at the small girl. There was no way she could think like that. To understand the feelings of the people who tried to burn her alive, to say it wasn't their fault? At this point, wasn't it difficult to live a normal life?
[Wow, what is this, I'm scared of her. Is it possible for a human to live with that kind of heart? Humans who can't use me are rare, but she can't use me.]
The Demon Sword said in a terrified voice.
To become the Owner of Bardelgiosa, one had to have harbored malice or murderous intent. Since it was rare for a human to never have malicious thoughts in their life, most humans could use the Demon Sword. The problem was being controlled as soon as they became the Owner.
But Shy didn't seem like she could wield the Demon Sword. She was too good. To save the person who tried to kill her, and not even hate them. At this point, wasn't it difficult to live a normal life?
Eki somewhat sympathized with the Demon Sword's feelings.
