Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 152 - Sword God Gal Farion
[Believe in your sword. Entrust your life to your sword. Entrust everything you are to your sword.]
All this time.
That is what I thought, and that is what I did.
Believe in the sword. Become the sword.
Until I met that person.
No. That monster.
[Dragon God] Orsted.
Just standing before him, my hands trembled.
Not the trembling of a swordsman excited to face a worthy opponent. Fear.
I, the current [Sword God] Gal Farion.
Afraid?
Impossible.
Believe in my sword.
I can cut through anything.
Even the monster standing before me.
I drew my sword. Our eyes met.
"Gal Farion."
The monster said my name. He looked at me, unmoving. Until my sword fell from my hand.
My sword... could not reach him.
------
After that, I trained harder.
Yes. My goal.
Was that monster.
I would kill him.
I had to kill him.
Once I killed him, I would stand at the pinnacle of every sword that had ever existed.
No matter who stood in my way.
[Gal Farion.]
The image of Orsted speaking my name never left me.
He had no intention of attacking. No desire to fight.
Even so, I trembled with instinctive fear.
My sword trembled with me.
------
No matter how I trained, no matter what opponents I hunted down, I could feel no improvement in myself.
What was this inadequacy? What was this lack?
No matter how I refined my technique, no matter how many times I swung my sword, no matter how many powerful enemies I defeated, that [lack] never left. It was always there.
Every swordsman said I was strong. Said I was fast. Said I was the greatest swordsman of this generation.
But how could that be?
The moment I thought of that monster, I didn't feel strong at all.
While I was drowning in those thoughts day after day, my daughter Nina brought a man before me.
"Father, I want to marry him."
"No."
I refused without a second thought.
Heh. I think his name was Kino.
A man without a shred of initiative. No spirit of adventure. No ambition. The kind of man who only ever follows other people's orders, fading into the background like he isn't even there.
He wants nothing for himself, yet he wants to marry my daughter?
Don't make me laugh.
But what I didn't expect was that this man named Kino opened his mouth.
And the moment he spoke, he surprised me.
"Sword God-sama, I have already had relations with Nina. What conditions do you require before you will agree to our marriage?"
Cold and flat.
He said it just like that.
Then went right back to standing beside my daughter like a piece of scenery.
Had... relations...?
Well. My daughter's reached that age.
I suppose this is what comes of letting her run wild.
"Draw your sword, boy. Prove to this lord that you are a man worthy of my daughter's hand."
"Fine."
"I won't demand that you defeat this lord. But you will earn this lord's approval."
"Fine."
Greenhorn brat.
As was only natural, I beat him until there was nothing left to beat.
But he didn't say a single word the whole time. Didn't cry out. Didn't try to get my daughter to beg for mercy on his behalf.
"Boy. I'll give you one more chance. Once you understand what a sword is actually for, come challenge this lord again."
"Fine..."
------
Several more years passed.
I still hadn't improved at all.
At this rate, defeating Orsted was a distant dream.
I couldn't even defeat the man I used to be.
I sat in the training hall and watched my disciples swing their swords.
Talent. Effort.
Few have both. But as long as a person keeps swinging, there should be something to be gained.
Had I reached a point where the sword had nothing left to give me?
"Kino! You little brat, what do you think you're doing!"
The shout came suddenly from inside the training hall.
Sword Emperor Dimonsh Pris.
Kino?
Oh. That greenhorn brat.
The one who wanted to marry my daughter.
It's only been a few years and he's already back — that's exactly why I called him a greenhorn. The sword isn't something you master overnight.
Dimonsh Pris grabbed a nearby wooden sword and lunged at Kino.
Or rather, that was what he intended to do.
The moment Dimonsh Pris raised one knee, that front knee was shattered.
The hand gripping the sword broke at the same instant.
This is...
"Sword God-sama. I've come to take Nina."
Ha.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Now this is a true genius.
"Fine! Come and—"
He moved.
Before I could finish the words, the greenhorn brat struck.
But I struck too.
In fact, I was faster.
I'd already taken my stance. The moment Dimonsh Pris went down, I had the wooden sword in hand, back arched, settled into an iai draw.
A disadvantageous posture. But not disadvantageous for me.
Even from a bad stance, my sword speed still surpasses anyone who stands before me. That is what it means to be the Sword God.
But... why...
He kept up?
He kept up with my speed?
The man before me moved at nearly the same speed I did.
From the very beginning, Sword God Style had been built on speed and striking power. One blow, and most opponents were done. They couldn't take even one.
[Something is wrong.]
Why?
My strike was perfect.
So why...
Ah.
No.
I was wrong.
It wasn't that my strike wasn't perfect enough.
It was him.
His strike was more flawless than mine.
My sword needed time to recover after striking.
But his sword, after taking my blow...
Immediately returned to position.
This man is... a monster.
I never got to swing a second time.
-------
The name of Sword God no longer belonged to me.
Heh.
What have I even been doing.
I left the Holy Land of Swords and started wandering.
Even if I never swung a sword again, I didn't want to simply die.
But...
"Yo."
"Hm?"
Inside a tavern.
A man with a face like a monkey's sat down in front of me.
"Sword God Gal Farion."
"Heh. That name no longer belongs to me."
The man shook his head and ordered a drink.
"Having once held it is enough."
"Heh."
"Sword God. Have you heard of the Broken Sword of Saint Milis?"
"How could I not? Second only to the King Dragon Sword. If it weren't broken, it would surpass even that."
The man nodded and set down the sword he'd been carrying on his back, placing it in front of me on the table.
He didn't unwrap it. He waited until the drinks arrived.
"Gal Farion. Now that you've lost the title of Sword God, do you still love the sword?"
"...Of course."
"Do me a favor, and this sword is yours. It's been reforged from the Broken Sword of Milis."
I drew it out.
It was indeed a fine sword.
"I could kill you and take the sword anyway."
"You wouldn't do that."
"Oh?"
"You are [Sword God Gal Farion]. Your pride would never permit it."
Pride, huh.
I lost that the day I met Orsted.
I couldn't even make myself move in front of a stronger man. What pride is there left to speak of.
But.
"...You're right. Who do you need me to cut down?"
"Rudeus Greyrat. And his daughter."
"Fine. I don't know who that is, but I'll take the job."
"You actually don't know him? You haven't heard the rumors?"
"What rumors? Never heard of him. Is he a swordsman?"
"A mage."
"Then I'd be even less likely to have heard of him."
The man smiled.
"My name is Geese. Ten days from now, meet me here."
He passed me a map with the location marked.
"Understood."
-------
"Hello there."
On the tenth day.
I was still on the road when she appeared before me.
A girl with wine-red hair.
Beside her, a young man.
"Ah~ when you think about it, the number of strong people Hitogami could actually use in recent years really is quite small. Narrowing it down by elimination isn't hard at all, is it?"
Hitogami?
What's she talking about.
"But you're not one of Hitogami's apostles, are you? Let me guess — Geese hired you to kill Rudeus Greyrat?"
"You guessed right. It's just a transaction."
The girl stopped paying attention to me. She turned to the young man at her side.
"You see, this is what happens to people with bad luck. If you'd said back then that your target was my older brother, you wouldn't be standing here right now."
The young man let out a cold scoff. Said nothing.
The girl drew her sword and took a stance.
Sword God Style.
Heh.
I really am being looked down upon.
"Little girl. Do you know who this lord is?"
"The previous generation Sword God, Gal Farion. Am I wrong?"
"You know who I am, and you still take that stance?"
"I like crushing people on their own ground, in the fields where they're strongest. My personality is just rotten that way~ Though in my older brother's words, I'm just mischievous. He's always had a soft spot for me, so what can you do~"
No more words.
I drew my sword.
Iai.
Many years.
Many years since I had fought at full strength.
This strike would be everything I had.
Sword God Style secret technique.
Light Blade.
Die.
Arrogant little brat.
One slash.
Light.
And then, right before my eyes—
"This is..."
Light Reversal.
This girl.
Knows that technique.
This era. Full of monsters.
-------
-------
Aisha sheathed her sword and brushed off her robe.
"Such a slow sword. The previous generation Sword God shouldn't have been this weak."
Then she turned to North God III.
"You see, if your target had been my older brother back then, this is exactly what would have happened to you."
North God III looked at the headless body of the previous generation Sword God. He said nothing.
Aisha stretched her arms above her head.
"Alright. Next up, we go help my older brother. Things over there may have already started."
➤ Next: Decisive Battle