Overpowered Sword Chapter 97

Level up with swords (97)

“uh?”

When Leon closed his eyes and opened them, a scenery he had never imagined unfolded before his eyes.

Sun and moon.

A celestial body that should appear smaller than a coin covers half the sky with its round body, and a mansion made of light and clouds is built along with an abyss deeper and darker than the darkness of the night.

The scenery was truly fantastic, to the point where a physically impossible phenomenon seemed natural.

“The floor… doesn’t exist?”

I try to take a step without realizing it and my foot gets bitten.

There is no space.

As endless darkness stirred beneath his feet, Leon’s head throbbed as he looked into it. The pain came from the backlash of the optic nerve, as if he was trying to force himself to see something he shouldn’t have been able to see.

Instinct understood one step before reason.

That darkness is something no mortal should ever face.

“Look ahead, Leon.”

It was then.

A warm and even gentle voice rang out, as if filling the entire unknown space with harmony.

As soon as he heard those words, Leon looked ahead.

It’s not something you did yourself.

The words themselves were imbued with great power, fixing his gaze straight ahead. Statement. Although it wasn’t even an imperative, the restraints left no room for mortals to resist.

‘No, then the owner of this voice is-‘

On the day of the oracle, there was only one being who could bring him to an unidentified space.

goddess.

Then, as if confirming his guess, a figure made of light appeared in front of Leon. gold and silver. A lump of light in a lumpy shape, wrapped in two colors of brilliance like a robe.

Leon, facing that, unconsciously covered his eyes.

“Wow!”

I can’t look at it. The moment he saw it with his naked eyes, he moved his hand because he had a premonition that his entire eyeball would be burned. However, the light that penetrated through the pair of palms colored the vision white.

Divine glory.

It is the power that can destroy an evil being from its foundations with just a single ray of rays, and it is the pure and clear light of God.

“it’s okay.”

The goddess’ soft voice comforted him.

“Just as looking at a huge mountain does not cause you to be crushed by its weight, and looking into the deep sea does not cause you to sink to the bottom. I was just a little surprised because I realized the difference in rank.》

“… … .”

《Calmly. Slowly reflect on the sensations in your body, starting with your fingertips. This space is my own territory. Nothing can hurt you without my permission.”

It was indeed as he said.

As the light emanating from the radiant form gently enveloped Leon, his mind that had been oppressed by the presence of God was immediately corrected.

It was immediately after that that my senses returned.

From your fingertips to your wrists, elbows, and shoulders.

Only then did Leon regain control of his body and slowly pushed up his eyelids.

“Goddess, sir?”

“yes.”

A light shaped like a woman’s silhouette smiled faintly. No, I didn’t see his face, but it felt like it.

An appearance that is far from living things.

Is that form the essence of God?

“no.”

After reading Leon’s question, the goddess denied it in one word.

《To face the true body of God, you need a corresponding level. You haven’t reached that level yet.”

“Ah, I see.”

Leon was embarrassed by those words and unconsciously scratched the back of his head. Some people may say that it is blasphemous to look directly at a god, but the warrior’s lack of skill was pointed out in front of the goddess.

Then the goddess read his thoughts and hurriedly added.

《Leon, it’s not that your skills are lacking! Unless you’re a monster like Rodrik, it’s almost impossible to see through a god with a mortal body!》

“… Is that so?”

“is it so! Rodrik was looking straight at me from the first time I saw him. He really was a child who could not be called cute.》

As if mentioning Roderick had triggered the situation, the goddess began to grumble in that loud, majestic voice.

That he has a foul mouth or that his behavior is too extreme.

When Roderick was alive, he seemed to have a much more temperamental temperament than now, and Leon, who had been listening to the gossip, stuck out his tongue. Does it make sense to blow up a mountain because there is no road or split the sea because there is no ship?

《I had such a hard time dealing with the aftermath that the dimensional crack that the Demon King tore up wasn’t a big deal.》

If this conversation were to be relayed to the Holy Church, Saint King Roderick might be misrepresented as a heretic rather than a hero.

Of course, neither Leon nor the goddess had any intention of doing so.

《… The chat has gotten a bit long.》

After chatting for a few more minutes, the goddess came to her senses and cleared her throat. Aside from her divine dignity, I could see a glimpse of her foolish talent, and I felt like I knew why El Cid called her Sister Poon.

《It’s not a big deal!》

“sorry!”

“joy! I’ve already heard everything. I thought Leon was a good boy, but he turned out to be a bad boy, like Rodrik, who called me a loser!》

“Well, that’s not it… I thought about that, but… .”

As the goddess with puffy cheeks grumbled, Leon broke into a cold sweat and tried to make an excuse.

So I didn’t notice that the goddess was secretly smiling.

After watching him fluster for a while, she realized that time was running out and opened her mouth.

“Okay, let’s stop joking here.”

Leon suddenly raised his head at the serious voice.

“Leon, why did I call you here? To say thank you to everyone as a hero? Or to release the seal on the holy sword?》

“… I do not know.”

“No, you know.”

The goddess declared.

《Leon, the person who was supposed to be standing in this place was not you.》

At those words, Leon gritted his molars without realizing it.

‘Lian, is it you again?’

A person with the same name who was born with the appearance, birth, and talent of a protagonist.

If it weren’t for El Cid’s whim, he would have obtained the holy sword and the title of warrior, the most chosen man in the world.

The inferiority complex that still remained in his chest boiled over. If the goddess retrieves his holy sword and gives it to Lian at this point, will she be able to calmly accept that decision?

I could never be sure.

《Leon.》

The goddess called his name as if comforting his agony.

“A warrior fascinates many people with his brilliant life, but only a few live happily until the end. Because they own so much, they have to carry even more burdens, and it is impossible for them to be satisfied with a small life and enjoy peace.》

Fate is like that.

You can’t avoid it, you can’t run away from it.

Once you start, the only correct answer is to keep going until the end. All other paths are wrong answers that lead to a cliff.

《There was a hero who defeated the five-headed demon dragon, but lost all his comrades and could not get up from his sick bed.》

Even though it was a sacred law, it was not omnipotent.

Among the powers approaching the realm of the gods and the powers existing in the abyss of magic, there was a power that even the goddess could not touch. If she gets hit by something like that, she will die or suffer aftereffects regardless of whether she wins or loses.

“There was a hero who could not save his family in his hometown even though he saved millions and tens of millions of people.”

A warrior must act like a great nation.

Justice cannot be realized if one is swayed by personal emotions. Even if they were my blood relatives, I couldn’t give priority to them, and I couldn’t create a vacuum in the battle line just because they were my close friends.

《For the light that guides everyone, the warrior must face a darkness deeper than anyone else. Sin, evil. How many times have I seen scenes so horrific that I couldn’t even imagine them.》

Overthrowing sin means facing the scene.

Just as soldiers who returned from the battlefield suffered for a long time from the terrible memories, the warriors also had to suffer from the horrors caused by the evildoers they had fought and defeated.

Even though I believed in the goodness that exists within people, I could not forget the evil lurking in the shadows.

“It is not a burden for you to bear.”

The light flowing from the goddess wrapped Leon in a warm embrace.

《It is not your job to handle.》

She truly intended to give the child who decided to walk the thorny path on his own one last chance.

“If you want to quit right now, please tell me. It’s not too late. I can get you back on track to the happy and peaceful life you were meant to live.”

There will be many enemies there who must risk their lives to fight, and there will be a few evildoers who take advantage of someone else’s pain.

At least it won’t be enough to create a mountain of corpses and a river of blood.

The goddess’s voice clearly conveyed that fact.

You don’t have to live as fiercely as you do now.

Even if I only take care of my own self-interest with the power I have in my hands, someone will save the world for me.

‘… ‘I thought I heard it somewhere.’

Leon chuckled as he recalled memories from a year ago.

―If you want to defeat that young master named Rian, I will give you a little help. The duty you bear as the owner of the holy sword is to pass it on to someone else and fulfill your wish. Saving this world at the cost of defying fate a little doesn’t make sense, does it?

What did he reply to El Cid’s words?

“Goddess.”

Just like that night, Leon took a step forward.

“That’s cowardly.”

But his answer didn’t end there.

That was the best answer I could give that night, but the current Leon could have added a few more words.

“Goddess, I wanted to be special.”

It was a blatant revelation of desire.

“I wanted to get a beautiful lover with unusually colored hair and eyes and great looks. Even if it was a tragedy, I wanted to be born into a worthy family and live a life where my efforts were rewarded with greater rewards.”

If what you wish for comes true, nothing is impossible in this world.

But the biggest misfortune of all was that a person who had everything he wanted appeared before his eyes.

Ryan.

His handsome appearance with blond hair, his status as a member of the royal family of the Clyde Empire, his first love, Chloe, and even the fact that, as I learned later, he was originally destined to become a warrior.

“Even though I knew I couldn’t do it, I never thought I’d give up.”

I tried dozens or hundreds of times and lost.

Even though I knew I couldn’t win, I kept fighting and swung the wooden sword until the calluses on my palms hardened like granite.

Even if the effort is worthless, I believe that it is not meaningless.

And there was someone who recognized the arduous efforts.

“Only El Cid.”

Leon, choked up, closed his mouth, then spoke again.

“Only El Cid recognized my potential.”

A flood poured into my dry and cracking self-esteem. He lent his strength by shouting that a warrior is not determined by good blood or family, and that you are noble.

At that moment, Leon was reborn.

I straightened my mind, which had been distorted by three years of wandering, and looked straight ahead, like a blade forged with folding iron.

“Goddess.”

Leon simply opened his mouth honestly and confidently.

“I am not a great person. “I was a kid who stayed in the same position because of my inferiority complex, and even now that I have grown a lot since then, I think I am still immature as a warrior.”

Despite the lackluster content, his voice was full of confidence.

“But I trust El Cid more than anyone else.”

Holy King Rodrik.

He is a great hero who left behind the greatest achievements in human history, and a benefactor and teacher who broke his limitations and led him to this day.

This is what the great hero said.

You are my student, and you are capable of doing anything.

“Goddess, please leave me as a warrior.”

At that time, Leon made a decision.

“For El Cid, who recognized me rather than anyone else, I will prove that his choice was right, even if it means sacrificing this life.”

Even with the goddess in front of him, his resolve did not waver at all, making his inner resolve several times stronger.

Words carry power, even without going so far as to say them.

Moreover, words that promise before God become a kind of oath (Vow), which binds the speaker and provides power at the same time. The oath Leon made was so powerful that even the goddess was slightly surprised.

《… Hehe, I think I said something pointless.》

The goddess, knowing his sincerity, smiled sweetly.

“great. Leon, I recognize you as my agent. If you do not abandon your pride and wield your sword for justice and goodness. I will entrust you with the role of guiding the light of this world.》

“I will gladly accept your wishes.”

The goddess nodded once at those words,

“I will bless my agent.”

Without a thought, a pillar of light spewed out and enveloped Leon.

《The Guardian’s stigmata.》

A stigmata resembling a rectangle is engraved around Leon’s heart.

It is a protection that increases your strength when dealing with the ‘enemy of the world’ and can accept both sunlight and moonlight and convert it into energy.

It was a power that only a few of the Holy Knights possessed.

《The stigmata of the Purifier.》

A flame-like stigmata is engraved under Leon’s collarbone.

It is a divine protection that nullifies poisons that are below the power level and exerts absolute power against curses and all contamination.

By concentrating his power, he could create holy fire.

《Stigmata of the Prayer.》

A translucent stigmata is carved in the center of Leon’s forehead.

It was a divine protection that nullified mental interference, strengthened willpower, and amplified mental power itself several times. Since his telekinesis has also become several times stronger, he will be able to use his power more freely than before.

There was also an effect of increasing the power of the sacred law.

《Finally, the stigmata of the Observer.》

Leon’s eyes turned completely golden.

Now the color does not return to its original state. Eyes to correct the balance of the world. It was a blessing that made it possible to identify and intervene in ‘imbalances’ or ‘cracks’.

It was also possible to see through ‘foreign enemies’ who had disguised their identities.

The goddess, who had bestowed all protection with the four stigmata and had reached the limit of her ability to interfere, waved her hand.

《My sword, Leon, who does not kneel even in rough storms. May your future be filled with good relationships and happiness. I will always be watching you from this sky.》

Just as Leon was about to say goodbye, the world turned upside down.

* * *

The pillar of light disappears.

The departure was as quick as the arrival. Before he could open or close his mouth, he was back inside the cave.

El Cid, who remained in the cave, greeted him.

[Oh, that seems plausible? The poor nun must have written it quite large.]

“what? What is that… .”

While puzzled by El Cid’s sudden noise, Leon soon recognized the power overflowing around his body.

It wasn’t just holy power.

As I clenched my fists, my grip strength increased several times and wrapped around my palms, and the aura overflowing from my veins burned golden. The circulation of aurors is also several times smoother and faster. It felt like all the impurities in his body had disappeared.

‘The purifier’s stigmata!’

Apparently, as the stigmata were engraved, the aftereffects of that power burned away all the impurities.

It is a change that is nothing short of a complete transformation.

Compared to before receiving the stigmata, his combat power may have increased three to four times, perhaps even more. Unable to realize the absurd change, Leon clenched his fists several times.

If you swing the <Seven Star Sword> in this state… ?

‘It’s going to be incredibly powerful.’

It would be possible to recreate at least the destructive power of defeating the cave giants.

[Hey, it’s good to be satisfied, but should I take a look too?]

“huh? ah!”

Leon then pulled out the holy sword and saw with his own eyes how the state was different when all the seals were released.

The stigmata of the beholder.

Golden eyes read waves of power and vibrations in space that are not visible to normal human vision. Just by looking at the scale of the energy centered around the Holy Sword, you could see that it was a world away from before.

“… This is the power of a hero.”

As I strongly grasped the hilt of the sword, lightning made of holy power bounced around the blade. The holy sword El Cid, which had regained its original power, emitted its holy power like a thunderbolt just by swinging it.

Warrior Leon.

It was the second coming of a true hero who continued Rodrik’s lineage.