Leon was convinced the red-haired girl would fail.
That was why they had allowed her to try first.
After all, this was his very first attempt at forming a contract with a spirit, so he didn't know much about the process. Now that he had someone to demonstrate it first, he was eager to observe.
"This is the ancestral hall?"
According to the records, the Sword had been sealed in this place. Many had tried in the past, but none had succeeded in forming a contract. Instead, every one of them had been injured by the power of the Holy Sword.
"You're unqualified, and yet you're trying to grasp power."
Leon shrugged, showing no sympathy.
He appreciated humanity's will to pursue power, but too many people lived under the illusion that they were special—that they would surely succeed.
She hadn't even considered whether she truly had the ability to claim a legendary sword.
"So then, what kind of person are you?"
Leon narrowed his eyes at Claire, and the redhead quickly replied, a bead of cold sweat trickling down her cheek.
"Of course I'm qualified!"
"Eh~ I'll wait and see."
Leon shrugged again, thinking she was just a brave girl ignorant of her own limits. The moment she declared herself qualified, she revealed how unprepared she truly was.
Of course, Leon hadn't prepared much either—only memorized the incantation required to form a contract with spirits.
Alpha, however, held no concerns.
She simply could not imagine Leon failing.
Their journey to the sanctuary had already proven that rules meant nothing to him.
This man possessed the raw force necessary to shatter rules. He never needed to obey the laws set by others—rather, others were forced to obey the laws set by him.
And if not for the fact that Ea couldn't be used as his everyday blade, Leon wouldn't even bother seeking another sword.
Just as no one would use a nuclear bomb as a regular bullet, Leon wanted a weapon he could wield permanently.
In truth, he wanted two, if possible.
One would belong to Leon Fol Palettia.
And the other to Midnight.
One side symbolized the sun, the other the night.
One side glorious and perfect, the other lawless and obscure.
Naturally, two men would require two swords.
But fortunately, Aurora's soul had also become his companion after their journey to the sanctuary.
Now she lingered like a phantom within Leon, sometimes appearing to converse with him.
And she held knowledge dating back thousands of years. When Aurora learned Leon was searching for a usable blade, she revealed the location of another magic sword—one that opposed the Holy Sword.
Leon had already sent people to look for it.
Thanks to the efficiency of his girls, he believed he would hear news of it soon.
Thinking about it, Leon couldn't help but harbor a small sense of anticipation. Sacred sword or magic sword, it didn't matter—so long as he was a man, he could never dislike a fine blade.
Before long, the three of them reached the ancestral hall.
After confirming the strong seal upon its doors, Leon became convinced something worthy of sealing lay inside. The rumors about the Holy Sword were most likely true.
The ancestral hall wasn't large.
They quickly reached its deepest chamber.
"This is… the Holy Sword?"
The three looked upward.
There, embedded in the highest pedestal of the hall, was a one-handed longsword. Its appearance was indeed magnificent enough to be called holy. Though it looked like an artifact hundreds of years old, its blade bore no damage and not a trace of rust.
Claire swallowed hard.
She needed power, and this Holy Sword was her only path.
The red-haired girl glanced back at the boy behind her, seeking reassurance that their prior agreement still stood.
Leon blinked, then smiled, making a gentlemanly gesture of invitation.
Claire's cheeks reddened, but she instinctively covered her backside. In the previous chapter, someone had left it swollen and throbbing.
Unforgivable.
So abominable.
Though he was handsome, his inner character was utterly devilish… though she seemed to forget how excited she had been when she was struck.
"Please, let me try." Leon spoke.
"Hmph! Just you wait and see." Claire clenched her tiny fists and declared.
The redhead was determined to take her revenge once she obtained the power of the Holy Sword and grew stronger.
Though her cat spirit longed to tell her, "My dear master, the gap between you and this man is far too vast. Even if you had not just one, but a hundred holy swords, it would not bridge that difference."
Claire took a deep breath and stepped toward the pedestal.
"O proud spirit sealed within this ancient Holy Sword, if you accept me as your master and forge a pact, then I shall become your sheath! I command you three times—form a contract with me!"
With her sweet voice, the red-haired girl uttered the solemn words of the contract, pouring her magical power into the Holy Sword in hopes of being acknowledged.
Gradually, the blade released a blue-white sacred light.
It rose from the pedestal, lifted into the redhead's slender arms.
"I did it!"
Claire cheered, raising the sword high above her head.
Alpha frowned, a beautiful magic revolver materializing in the blonde elf's hands. At that distance, she could easily fire a bullet through Claire's skull.
Though embarrassed, this was the sword she had sought for Leon—it was never something Claire should have been able to claim.
"Alpha, stop."
"But…"
"If that's truly the legendary Holy Sword, then I don't want it anymore."
Leon shook his head calmly.
How could the Holy Sword said to have slain the Demon King who destroyed the world possess only this level of power? Don't forget, many had challenged it before Claire, and all had failed. Think carefully—could it really be this easy?
And the idea that this girl was the chosen one?
Even more absurd.
How could a sixteen-year-old in such an undeveloped world—arrogant-tongued, foul-mouthed, and even excited by being beaten—possibly be the one? Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
The next moment unfolded exactly as Leon expected.
Bang!!
"How… how could this happen? The sword broke?!"
The Holy Sword in Claire's hands shattered.
The redhead stared at her palms in disbelief. It felt as if she had fallen from heaven straight into hell.
Just as she considered picking up the fragments from the ground, returning to the Mitsugoshi Company to buy glue, and seeing if she could somehow stick it back together—
"Hey! Idiot, look behind you!!"
"Eh, an attack?"
At Leon's warning, Claire instinctively turned her head. The next instant, her crimson pupils widened.
She saw a sword floating in the air. Its blade radiated a blue-white magical light, bright enough to drive away all darkness.
This was the true Holy Sword—the Demon King Slayer!
---
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note: I just realized I had been using the wrong name. The correct one should be Terminus Est.