NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 40
Bel Pegor, the Demon King of our nation, truly excels in many areas.
Whether it’s magic, swordsmanship, spear techniques, archery, or evasion skills, he boasts remarkable abilities in every field.
‘Because it’s me.’
It’s not for nothing that I’ve crushed countless Hero Parties, alongside six Heroes of the Holy Sword who are beyond counting.
‘Because I’ve put in a loooooot of effort.’
The method I used to defeat so many heroes was to fight the enemies, stealthily infiltrate the Hero Parties to learn, rob and steal their techniques, and exploit their weaknesses.
‘It was possible because it’s me.’
This isn’t just self-praise; I learned and absorbed techniques from countless individuals.
There’s unlikely to be anyone among the Demon Race with more skills than I possess.
I am truly a jack of all trades.
However, fundamentally, my best ability, the one I can confidently say I use best, most easily, and more skillfully than anyone else, is ‘possession.’
‘I can even possess with the amount of mana obtained from a single slime.’
It’s about dwelling within something.
Whether it’s a human, a corpse, or any kind of existence, I can infuse my consciousness into it and become entwined with that existence.
That is my ‘authority,’ ‘essence,’ and ‘power.’
The ability to seize the body of a colossal black dragon, or to forcibly take over the body of that arrogant necromancer upon my first summoning to the Human World, all stems from my powers of possession.
There are limits.
There are restrictions.
Since I can only dwell in one body at a time, the original physical form loses consciousness and gets discarded.
And the more alive and aware a being is, the harder it is to possess them.
‘Since it’s the way a soul dwells in a body, if another soul is already settled in, it’s tricky to claim the body.’
Of course, it’s easy to possess a corpse that has no mind or soul, but it’s notably difficult to possess a living being with a functioning consciousness.
That’s why I only collected corpses.
I only utilized bodies I could possess at any time, and this body I’m using is merely a result of possessing a corpse.
‘But to possess something that’s not a corpse?’
That would complicate matters greatly.
Entering a body with a soul means engaging in a one-on-one death match in the mind realm to claim the body.
Unless the opponent willingly gives me their body out of pure intent, I won’t recklessly attempt to take the body of a living being.
‘But if the other party grants permission to use their body, that’s a different story.’
As long as it’s someone I can genuinely trust with my body.
Thus, I decided to conduct an experiment.
To see if Lucius truly believes in and follows me.
‘Will Lucius actually offer up his body to me?’
If he does, I could teach him another way to wield the Holy Sword.
‘The Holy Sword isn’t only for drawing and swinging around.’
It’s a good opportunity to demonstrate my powers to him, as well as show others how much stronger I become when I am integrated into Lucius’s body.
Even without directly revealing the Holy Sword, I could show this level of power.
To be precise, it’s the power of the Holy Sword being used, but I don’t need to blatantly show the Holy Wind Sword to channel power equivalent to it.
Physical enhancement.
Using the power of the Holy Sword solely for body enhancement.
Since I should teach Lucius about this at some point, sharing it with him via an indirect experience wouldn’t be a bad idea.
So, I stepped into Lucius’s mindscape, taking the risk.
“Master…?”
This place is the pristine World of Pure White.
There, Lucius faced me head-on.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Lucius before me was an ethereal spirit.
His entire form was a translucent etheric shape, with only the outlines of a physical body remaining, typical of a soul lacking vital parts.
I was no different.
“Wh-what’s happening to my body…?! No, what about my clothes…?!”
“Why?”
I examined my condition.
‘Looks like there’s no problem.’
I was a bit anxious that my original form might be revealed, but fortunately, I could still showcase the appearance of the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus even in the mind realm.
‘It might be a bit much for Lucius.’
It’s quite different from my real appearance. While I am just a small girl in reality, now I’m imitating the actual Sorceress of Crimson Lotus.
If my real self is a girl, then my current form is like a youthful, stunningly beautiful mother who has a daughter.
‘Even I must admit, it’s quite impressive.’
No longer a girl, but the figure of a mature woman.
It was beautiful enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
‘It’s a perfect disguise.’
As a spirit, vital parts are obscured, and while the form of the body is visible, even just the silhouette can ignite desires in men.
Originally, my body was somewhat curvy, but it has grown to the point that Rosmas could only call it ‘merely.’
Sorceress of Crimson Lotus.
She is an 8th Circle mage.
Someone who carries two magic reservoirs bigger than a man’s head.
‘That was good.’
I reminisce about the time I defeated her.
Ah, the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus was truly wonderful.
Indescribably so.
‘She was truly the best woman among humans.’
So, choosing to be the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus amidst countless heroes wasn’t a poor decision.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Lucius?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Just… feeling awkward.”
“That’s understandable. Hm.”
No matter how much Lucius tries to be indifferent to women, he simply can’t turn away from this body.
“Master, what’s happened all of a sudden? That appearance is…?”
“The Sorceress of Crimson Lotus. You could say it’s my original form.”
“Then what about the body…?”
“Oh. The outside? You could call it a temporary body or a similar one. Well, it’s different from the one I had 500 years ago, right? I lost my original form during the battle with the Demon King. This one… um, a backup body?”
I wasn’t lying.
“When you seal a body that’s been injured in battle, the damaged wounds inevitably get worse and decay. So I changed bodies. To one that’s easier to seal. That made it a body that consumes less mana, and thus it became smaller.”
This explanation should suffice.
If I could see the girl’s soul, I could swap with her body, but unfortunately, when I possessed the girl, she was already dead.
“Lucius. Right now, that’s not what’s important. The enemy is deploying automatons, and we’re in a life-and-death moment if we can’t access the power of the Holy Sword.”
“…Yes. Then let’s unlock the Holy Sword….”
“I’m going to teach you another way to utilize the Holy Sword.”
“…Huh?”
“The Holy Sword doesn’t have to be drawn in order to be used. You can also use the power of the Holy Sword in the state of the ring you have now.”
“…….”
Lucius looked like he couldn’t quite believe it.
So far, he hadn’t been able to use the power of the Holy Sword without drawing it during his training.
“So I’m going to directly possess your body and use it. While I’m moving your body, you’ll observe as if you’re watching yourself from behind.”
Just like a summoned creature watching their summoner from behind.
“You just have to watch and learn the other way you can wield the power of the Holy Sword.”
“But, won’t it feel awkward? It’s a man’s body.”
“What? That’s a worry that’s not even worth mentioning, Lucius. You don’t need to worry about that….”
I pointed to my body.
“I’m worried you might feel a sense of deprivation since I handle your body so well.”
“…….”
Lucius flared up.
I extended my hand towards him again.
“I’ll show you. I might handle your body a bit roughly, but I’ll teach you everything I can.”
You need to trust me both physically and mentally.
Once I get permission, I can use Lucius’s body without complicated procedures as long as that trust doesn’t break.
“For now, just watch. And one day, when the time comes, and you’ve improved your skills, we’ll have the day to fight together.”
Probably, at least a thousand years later.
“Lucius, are you ready to properly wield your body?”
“…Will it cause any harm to you, Master?”
“Me?”
“While using my body, will it cause harm to you…?”
“Well, if I say no, that would be a lie.”
I’ll be using mana, after all.
“But that’s not an important issue, Lucius.”
“…Understood. I’ll try my best to learn.”
“Good attitude. Then….”
I approached Lucius and held his face in my hands.
“I’ll borrow your body.”
Whoooooosh.
The world grew dark for a moment, and before my eyes appeared a startled Rosmas and ‘my body,’ unconscious with closed eyes.
“Wh-what’s happening…?”
“Quickly.”
I tilted the sword held at an angle.
Bending my knees slightly, I leaned my upper body forward.
Ready to spring forward at any moment, I unleashed the power of the Holy Sword manifested as a ring outside my body.
“It’s no use! Commence concentrated fire!”
Shax commanded the firing.
Simultaneously, the barrels of the automatons turned to aim at me—Lucius’s body.
With a finger bone and every joint aimed at me, it would fire magical bullets capable of piercing flesh.
If hit, it would mean certain death.
But preparations were already complete.
By unleashing the power of the Holy Wind Sword and dashing in the direction the winds led… it’s over!
“Return Wind.”
Swoosshhhh!!
As I twisted my feet slightly, winds began to swirl around my entire body.
Boom, boom, boom.
The winds became a barrier and shot down all the bone bullets.
Shattered finger bones and bone bullets turned to dust and scattered.
“Equivalence.”
It has no real meaning, but I roughly recited a technique once used by a hero that came to mind.
‘Showing off in someone else’s body.’
“Wind God’s Trust (疾風迅雷).”
I kicked off from the ground and dashed.
I ran through the air.
Moving at such a speed that my form didn’t register to the eye, I slashed the automatons with my sword like a flash of light.
I slashed one automatons and immediately ran toward another on the opposite wall, slashing again, then used the wall to leap back toward the automatons on the other side.
Leap, slash, leap, slash.
It was a simple repetition, but if the speed is such that it takes less than three seconds to slay dozens of automatons,
then that becomes divine technique.
“Shax.”
I landed as if guarding my own body.
And pointed my sword at Shax.
“Now, only you remain.”
Boommm!!
The automatons exploded all at once.