Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 142: Twin Swords
A black suit of armor glimmered under the setting sun, standing amidst the forest.
It was Lucius, clad in the armor of Chiyou.
Six metal plates floated in the air around him. Resting his hand on one of them, he infused it with magic energy. The plate’s shape morphed dramatically, transforming into a magic sword adorned with griffon feathers.
He gently caressed the blade, almost reverently.
“Thank you… for everything.”
As if something essential had left the sword, its magic energy dissipated into the air. Simultaneously, the intricate inscriptions imprinted on every cell of Chiyou’s armor and its magic stone began erasing the sword’s information.
The weapon reverted to its original metallic plate. It would never again become that sword.
Lucius turned to retrieve two swords propped against a nearby tree. In his hands, they appeared like daggers due to Chiyou’s massive frame.
Handling them with care to avoid crushing them, he drew both from their sheaths. Then, he plunged the two swords into the metal plates floating before him.
As new inscriptions etched themselves across his body, he extracted the swords from the plates and sheathed them once more before placing them back against the tree.
“Thank you, Chiyou, for allowing me to use one of your precious slots for a mere lower-tier magic sword.”
Chiyou could replicate up to six magic weapons, but it typically reserved those slots for higher-tier armaments. It was rare for it to accept a lesser blade, and its criteria for doing so were a mystery, even to Lucius.
He recalled the original magic sword—it had been broken when Chiyou first awakened but still somehow called to it. Perhaps Chiyou’s attachment went beyond its affinity for weapons and extended to the people who wielded them.
Who was the original owner of that sacred blade?
Lost in thought, Lucius noticed the twin swords had finished inscribing themselves into the plates. As the plates reshaped and split into two, they immediately took the form of twin swords.
The newly crafted weapons were much larger than the originals, scaled to match Shiyuu’s size. In Lucius’s hands, they were like greatswords, but for Chiyou, they would serve as ideal one-handed weapons.
Lucius grasped the swords and swung them swiftly.
Once, twice, thrice—the sharp whistling of the blades cutting through the air reverberated.
Although Lucius was already accustomed to dual-wielding, using the original and copied sacred swords, he resolved to focus exclusively on twin sword techniques from now on.
Training is essential, but experience in real combat is irreplaceable. Fighting superior opponents is the true path to strength.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, twenty armored soldiers emerged from the crimson forest bathed in sunset. They appeared to be leading a subdued magic eater, restrained by four of them as if carrying a palanquin.
The magic eater struggled violently, but the soldiers’ immense strength kept it firmly held.
“This is what I was waiting for.”
Lucius murmured.
The soldiers flung the magic eater to the ground along with its magic sword. The monster landed silently on all fours, rising quickly and snatching the weapon. It then brandished the sword, its blade pointed directly at Lucius.
The magic eater seemed to instinctively recognize Lucius as its master’s true rival.
Lucius, in response, infused his twin swords with magic energy.
In his right hand, a white blade glowed with an ominous red light coursing through it. In his left, a black sword radiated a destructive darkness.
Taking his stance, he held the white sword forward and raised the black sword above his head.
For a moment, the two combatants locked eyes.
The magic eater charged first, rushing at Lucius with its blade.
Lucius evaded with minimal movement and immediately countered with a downward strike from the black sword.
A sharp metallic clang echoed as the monster blocked the strike with its own magic weapon.
My left-hand strikes are still lacking, Lucius noted.
Next came the white sword in his right hand, its red glow pulsating along the blade’s edge. With a powerful slash, he sent a blinding arc of energy toward the monster.
The strike left a shallow wound on the monster’s left shoulder. It retreated, bleeding but still standing.
In typical dual-sword combat, the off-hand weapon often serves as a defensive or supportive tool. However, when dealing with magic swords, their power extends far beyond their blades.
“It’s all about the inscriptions.”
He returned the magic swords to the plates, signaling the end of the duel.
The magic eater glared at Lucius, brimming with frustration, as if declaring the fight was not over.
Raising its weapon, it roared in defiance and prepared to charge once more.
But at that moment—
The black magic sword wielded by the magic eater began to crack, dark fissures appearing on its surface where it had clashed with another weapon.
These cracks swiftly started absorbing the surrounding air, creating an eerie vacuum.
Ad
Moments later, the sword burst with an ominous explosion, leaving a trail of darkness. The sharp tip of the blade soared through the air, producing a crisp cracking sound as it broke apart.
The sword and the magic eater dissolved rapidly, crumbling into dust and scattering into nothingness.
“It’s too aggressive to be used for defense. I need to figure out how to wield it effectively with both hands.”
The white sword resembled a treasured artifact, employing techniques to focus light and enhance its shearing force. What set it apart, however, was the glowing aura it emitted while spreading a faint curse.
The black sword, on the other hand, utilized a new darkness-based technique, allowing strikes infused with compressed darkness to create delayed, devastating cuts. This effect likely came from forming razor-thin compressed dark zones at the impact point, which then burst violently, giving the illusion of a seamless slice.
“Let’s call it a day.”
It was already the third day of hunting magic eaters in the forest. While he had grown stronger, his progress was steady rather than dramatic—perhaps because the corrupted magic weapons they encountered were not of particularly high grade.
A Familiar Road Home
As Lucius walked back to his house in Musuu Village, the route felt increasingly familiar. He opened the door and greeted, “I’m home.”
The voices of Sai, a priestess candidate, and Priena, wearing her signature mask, greeted him in song:
“Oh, deep ocean, infinite waters of Varna, guardian of order, witness the pure path. Great sea connecting heaven and earth, your eyes—”
Their singing halted abruptly as they noticed Lucius.
“Welcome back!”
Priena waved energetically.
“Ah, w-welcome home,”
Ad
Sai stammered, quickly hiding behind Priena. Though still shy around Lucius, Sai had clearly warmed up to Priena after spending the day together. With her naturally friendly disposition, she was quick to earn people’s affection.
“Another hymn? You were singing this morning too,”
Lucius remarked.
“Hymns to the Quadra God are part of a priestess’ daily routine.”
Priena replied proudly, placing her hands on her hips. It seemed her new responsibilities as a mentor to Sai had given her a sense of pride.
“But you didn’t sing at all during our travels.”
Lucius teased.
“S-shush! Don’t bring that up!”
Priena whispered urgently, pressing a finger to her lips.
“Alright, I’ll cook.”
Lucius offered, setting his magic sword on the shelf and preparing to wash his hands.
As he tied on an apron, he began slicing preserved vegetables and meat for dinner. Unlike Priena, who had no experience in cooking due to her aristocratic upbringing and life in the temple, Lucius had honed his culinary skills through necessity.
Using his dark compression technique, he manipulated two small black orbs to levitate and prepare ingredients in midair, much to Sai’s amazement. With careful control, he used red flames to roast the meat and vegetables to perfection in seconds.
The soup, prepared earlier in the day, was heated instantly with dragon flame magic, which allowed heat to penetrate evenly and rapidly—a technique well-suited for cooking but requiring precision to avoid accidents.
Lucius deftly arranged the food onto floating plates, which settled gently onto the table. Bread, borrowed from a neighbor, was placed in the center.
Ad
“Time to eat.”
He announced, earning enthusiastic applausecompared from Sai, who him to a wizard from her storybooks.
Encouraged, Sai eagerly asked if she could learn magic too. Though Lucius assured her it was possible with effort, Priena pointed out the difficulty due to the unique nature of priestess magic, dampening Sai’s enthusiasm slightly. Lucius, however, promised to teach her if she formed the right contract.
The conversation shifted to another technique, kōi—the ability to harden objects. While useful in battle for reinforcing defenses, Lucius explained its limited practical application, likening it to a kitchen tool only used occasionally for tasks like cutting through bones.
Dinner proceeded with a cheerful atmosphere, the group enjoying their meal while exchanging stories of magic and training.
“Do you know how to do this?”
“Of course. At the temple, this kind of thing was a daily routine. I’ve never done it with magical weapons, though. But now, I’m doing it with this one.”
Priena lightly tapped the thrusting sword leaning against the sofa.
I didn’t quite understand the connection between the temple and magical weapons, but I definitely wanted to learn how to refine a magic sword.
“Alright, show me how.”
“Sure. Sit down and place the magic sword on your hands.”
“Like this?”
Lucius sat cross-legged on the floor, resembling a meditative pose, and placed both ends of the dual sword on his palms.
“Yes, just like that.”
Even Sai, the priestess candidate, was watching with keen interest.
“It doesn’t matter whether you start from your right or left, but try channeling your magic power through it—from one side to the other, evenly across.”
Following the instructions, Lucius channeled magic from his left hand into the magic sword. The energy flowed through the sword and dissipated into the air.
“Alright, that’s it.”
“Huh… That’s all?”
It felt almost anticlimactic.
“That’s the basic version. The advanced version involves drawing the magic back into your body from the opposite hand or compressing the magic within the sword, but you can try those once you get the hang of it.”
—Compress the magic and draw it back, huh?
Reabsorbing the magic instead of letting it scatter would certainly be more efficient.
Lucius focused on the sword, channeling magic and attempting to compress it. It was similar to the sensation of condensing the scattered light when using the Holy Sword of Light.
He condensed the magic without triggering any spell formations, keeping it in its raw state.
—Did that work?
He gathered the now-dense magic with his right hand and cycled it back into the magic sword.
“What!? Lucius, you nailed it on the first try!”
Priena leaped from the sofa in astonishment.
But no one was more surprised than Lucius himself.
—No way.
Before absorbing the magic, the magic core’s energy density had been lower. Now, it was unmistakably higher.
Though the increase was slight, there was no doubt about it.
The feeling of that denser magic returning to him was strangely familiar.
“This is Shukumaren (Magic Compression Refining).”