1026: Blade of Man, Song of Doom
《Excess mana shall be transferred to temporary name Master.》
『Whoa, what’s with this mana!』
《Temporary name Master is now capable of controlling it all. Please concentrate on the Arch-Sorcerer skill.》
『R-Roger.』
Announcer-san was right. I managed to grab hold of the leaking mana and manipulate it. It’s still going to dissipate sooner or later, but I can slam it all into my next attack.
While still focusing on the mana, I noticed something bothering me.
『Hey, Announcer-san. You called me “temporary name Master”?』
《Affirmative. By a.s.similating the Bringer of Hope, your status has been elevated. You have received a name from the Divine Realm as a result. Due to the current emergency situation, such notifications have been disabled.》
『You’re saying you stopped all the excess talking stuff to let me focus? Hold on, a name? S-Seriously? Does that mean I’m now a “Named Item”?』
The same as Fran’s armor, right? N-Not like a divine sword?
《Your full name is “Human Blade, Master”. However, you are not a divine sword.》
『O-Oh, okay. I guess it didn’t change much. B-But this “Human Blade” thing……』
Doesn’t it sound dumb? Like, really really dumb?
There are all sorts of cool names like “Demon Blade”, “Spirit Blade”, “Flame Blade”, “Dragon Blade”, etc! But human? I get to be the “Human Blade”? I mean, it’s not wrong, but it just sounds super weak! Couldn’t you pick out something a little better? Come on, G.o.ds! One word can make all the difference in the world!
Besides, should I even be happy about this?
『Are there any disadvantages or anything? Such as losing my emotions like the other me?』
《There is no issue. Temporary name Announcer-san will prevent all the negative effects of naming.》
『I knew it! So there are negative effects!』
Am I really gonna be okay? Even the slightest change is kinda scary!
《There would normally be an increase to rationality and loss of emotion, however, these characteristics have already been observed in temporary name Announcer-san. In addition, I have finished completion of a countermeasure based on the personality data received from individual Bringer of Hope. Temporary name Master’s further transformation into a sword can be prevented.》
『You’re saying that I don’t have to worry about anything thanks to your already machine-like behavior and the Bringer of Hope’s a.s.sistance?』
《Affirmative.》
『So, you’re certain about this?』
《There is no issue at all.》
『Okay, I guess?』
I’d have hated it if my name changed into something completely different, since Fran gave me the name Master. It turned out fine though…… except for “Human Blade” still sounding lame!
I tried checking my stats, and sure enough, it changed there too. My name was now “Human Blade, Master”, instead of just “Master”.
Furthermore, the Sorcerer skill changed as well. This skill has been supporting me even since I came into this world.
It only got an “Arch-“ tacked onto the beginning, but the performance was on a whole different level. I could already tell the improvement in effect.
I’m sure applying it to my spells and skills will let us reach never before seen levels of power. Moreover, this wasn’t the only thing I got from the Bringer of Hope.
「Master, that’s so much mana!」
「Woof!」
Much to my surprise, my mana capacity had increased by 5000, with my mana conductivity getting upgraded to SS. That means I can infuse even more mana into my blade, pus.h.i.+ng my attack power even higher.
I immediately empowered myself with Evil Crusher, Golden Formula, Mana Regulation, Evil Torrent, as well as the rest of my skills. I also transferred some mana over to Fran and Urus.h.i.+.
《Transferring surplus mana to individual Fran and individual Urus.h.i.+.》
『Fran, Urus.h.i.+, are you two okay? Don’t push yourselves too hard.』
「Nn! I’m fine! I can handle it!」
「Woof!」
Just as she said, Fran managed to control all the mana I supplied her. If Fran teleported in with Black Lightning Roll and unleashed a Heavenly Judgment, it would be the strongest attack we’ve ever done. I’m sure of it.
However, she still needed time to focus her strength. Meanwhile, someone else stepped up first.
Pororon.
「Sophie.」
「While it is true that my Oratorio isn’t suited for offense, that doesn’t mean I can’t fight.」
Poron.
A tiny sound, but it contained ma.s.sive amounts of divine energy. For some reason, I was shaking. That single note triggered my excitement? Or was this emotion fear?
I shuddered at the appearance of the saintess beside us, surrounded by a large number of musical instruments.
She plucked the small harp in her hands with her fingers. The rest of the instruments began playing in response.
First the keyboard, followed by the woodwind, bra.s.s, and percussion instruments joining in one after another. Soon enough, dozens of instruments played in perfect sync. The majestic melody of an orchestra echoed across the battlefield.
The slow tempo of her music gradually increased in speed, until it became something as intense as hard rock or metal.
But this wasn’t the end.
The song only kept accelerating, so fast that it made all of the listeners uneasy. Until finally, the rhythm was so fast that it was impossible to keep up.
Continuous waves of mana enveloped the battlefield, making everything glow. Then, all sound was suddenly cut off.
I wondered what was going on, but it seems this was all just a prelude.
「Death… Inescapable death…」
Sophie’s beautiful voice flowed out in tune with the slow melody.
「None can flee from their doom.」
Mysterious, yet ominous. The hymn-like notes combined with Sophie’s soprano voice to create music powerful enough to disturb anyone hearing it
「All will mourn, grieve, dread, and perish.」
The Song of Adventurers was a tune inspiring optimism, a positive outlook for the future. However, this song was, as the lyrics suggested, the Song of Doom. Music has two sides, one of hope, and one of despair.
《Detected reduction in the stats of temporary name Antidemon Goliath. Internal mana levels falling.》
The effect seemed to be completely different too. The Song of Adventurers was a top level buff for strengthening her companions, while the Song of Doom was a debuff for weakening her enemies.
Sophie’s singing transformed into a dark blue light, which slammed into the giant antidemon in several waves. Each hit reduced the antidemon’s mana.
Moreover, the surface of its body began falling apart. The antidemon was crumbling from the edges, as if weathering away.
「Fall! Embrace your fated doom!」
Many of our soldiers stood still, either too enthralled or too awe-struck to continue attacking.
Sophie’s song had taken its toll with the giant antidemon’s aura clearly weakening. However, it wasn’t the only one in bad shape.
「My madness will became a curse!」
Sophie screamed with her eyes streaming with tears of blood. Her face was completely pale, with no color on her lips.
Singing the Song of Doom must be draining Sophie’s life force too, but she refused to stop. She stood firmly, raising her voice and continuing to play Oratorio.
Her fingernails cracked and peeled, the blood spurting out to stain the strings of her harp red. The Song of Doom finally came to an end.
「The end comes for you! Now disappear!」
As soon as Sophie coughed out the last words, she collapsed to the ground along with blood still streaming from her mouth and eyes.