SWNOVELXO Chapter 16: The Black Holy Swordsman!
Chapter 16: The Black Holy Swordsman!
"—Clang!"
Under the blood-red dusk, the nameless black sword sang as it left its sheath, scattering a curtain of ink-black light, then abruptly halted mid-air, its edge perfectly pressed against Freya's smooth, fair neck skin.
As the blade fell, a faint sword intent began to swirl and surge around the sword's body.
Feeling this bone-chilling sharpness, iridescent divine brilliance flickered momentarily in Freya's gray eyes.
After a moment, she narrowed her eyes slightly, following the blade to look at Luke.
His dark eyes were serene and profound, like the black sword in his hand, filled with unwavering determination.
That sharp gaze seemed capable of striking deep into the soul; merely meeting it made one's eyes sting.
What... what magnificent fine jade this is!
Just how much arduous training, soaked in blood and tears, how many life-and-death brutal battles must one endure to condense such a transparent and dust-free soul?
While marveling at the radiant soul light of this child (mortal) before her, Freya also felt somewhat surprised.
When mortals face gods, even if that god retracts all divine might, the essential difference in life levels between them still brings subconscious fear.
This fear manifests on the surface as respect, affection, and selfless devotion towards the god.
And Freya, known as the [Goddess of Beauty], her existence was akin to a potent tranquilizer for mortals, especially males—just being gazed upon by her would induce immense spiritual pleasure.
But just now, she had intentionally tried to seduce Luke, even violating the agreement made by the gods of Heaven, quietly releasing a trace of her divine power as the [Goddess of Beauty].
If it were any other mortal, it would be normal for them to die of happiness from cardiac arrest on the spot.
However, Luke wasn't charmed by her.
Not only did he instantly break free from her divine power, but he immediately drew his sword against her?
Even for Freya, a goddess, in her long divine life, such an unexpected development was extremely rare.
Especially after descending to the lower world, Freya, who had always orchestrated things from behind the scenes and was accustomed to making things around her conform to her wishes, saw the light called "rebellion" in Luke for the first time.
Ah... this feeling...
A blush of infatuation spread across her cheeks.
Freya's gaze towards Luke was already moist.
Especially when meeting his sharp, cold gaze, it made her uncontrollably excited.
This child... this man... this male!
He's simply too wonderful!
As for Luke's cold warning, falling upon Freya's ears, it only served to quicken the friction between her thighs.
"I see... No wonder Hestia seemed more composed at the Denatus today compared to her previous self-abandoning state... This time she really found an enviable child..."
No, not just envy.
Freya knew clearly that, for the first time in millions of years, she felt jealous again.
"Ah, ah... What should I do?"
With her back to the tower-like strong beastman from her Familia, Freya felt like she was about to go mad.
Fiery love flowed turbulently within her divine body.
Urgent desire scorched every nerve of her sanity.
Freya, the [Goddess of Beauty], was also the [Goddess of Love].
She could bestow unparalleled love upon others, but she also yearned to receive love from others.
Now, her love for the child named Luke had reached its peak, so she also yearned to receive equal... no, even stronger love from him!
What would it be like?
This man, whose soul was as cold and sharp as a sword blade, what would his soul become like when he fell deeply in love?
"Ottar, what should I do to win this child's heart?"
"..."
Regarding his patron goddess's plea for help, Ottar didn't answer.
The hostility that had risen in him due to Luke drawing his sword had now subsided again.
Ottar knew this goddess's personality very well—now was the goddess's "hunting" time, so he just needed to silently guard behind her.
Not receiving a reply from Ottar, Freya wasn't surprised at all.
A smile characteristic of a girl in love appeared on her face, and then... she stepped towards the black-clothed swordsman before her.
The pitch-black longsword was still held against her neck.
But she completely ignored it now, allowing her fair skin to be cut, leaving bloody marks.
She didn't even hesitate in her steps.
And seeing Freya completely disregard the blade in his hand, even actively approaching it like a masochist, Luke's sword hand trembled.
Killing a god... No matter how highly Luke thought of himself, he wouldn't have such unrealistic ideas.
At least with his current self, a hundred thousand swordsman Lukes combined would absolutely not match even a single finger of the Goddess of Beauty Freya.
Damn it... This crazy woman!
Watching helplessly as Freya approached with a face full of spring passion, with every step she took forward, the sword in Luke's hand retracted slightly.
In the blink of an eye, Luke had to sheathe his sword, then quickly retreated several steps, his expression slightly flustered.
This was completely different from the situation he had imagined!
Being threatened by a mere mortal with a sword, shouldn't a god be enraged with divine might?
But why did Freya become even more excited instead?
Could it be that this Goddess of Beauty is a legendary masochist?
The more she's abused, the happier she gets?
Luke felt his mind was a bit chaotic right now, unsure what attitude to adopt towards this goddess.
Be pleasant to her... unthinkable.
As for putting on a fierce look... what if it makes her even more excited?
"Hehe..."
Successfully forcing Luke to show a somewhat bewildered expression, Freya didn't continue approaching.
She stopped at the spot where he had just stood holding his sword, her red lips lightly pursed, her smile charming.
"Little one from Hestia's place, let's stop here for today."
"...Hm?"
Originally prepared to be pestered relentlessly, Freya didn't continue to entangle with him, which made Luke feel a bit guilty.
He remembered, in the original story, Freya seemed to treat Bell similarly... hiding behind the scenes, silently manipulating the overall situation, constantly appreciating the soul light Bell bloomed in desperate situations.
Freya... wouldn't plan to do the same to him, right?
But he wasn't Bell!
Bell, the core protagonist of the entire DanMachi story, would surely be able to explode limitlessly, rebound from rock bottom, and ultimately survive by forcefully activating cheats no matter what adversity, predicament, or desperate situation he faced.
And Luke... he was just a smuggled stowaway.
If Freya really arranged something for him, he could basically say goodbye to his life.
Facing Luke's complex expression, Freya chuckled lightly again.
"What, reluctant to part with me? Then how about trying my side?"
Crossing her arms over her chest, simultaneously puffing out her chest slightly, Freya smiled beautifully, and quite nakedly.
And hearing Freya's invitation again, Luke refused directly without hesitation: "No need, I still need to find my Kami-sama. Let's part ways here!"
After speaking, he turned and walked towards the outer city as if fleeing.
"Freya-Sama."
Gazing at Luke's rapidly retreating back, Ottar, who had been standing silently behind Freya all along without saying a word, finally spoke: "Letting him escape, is that really alright?"
Based on his understanding of Freya, among the men she was interested in, none had ever been let go.
"Hey, Ottar..."
Looking far at the intersection where Luke's figure disappeared, the excited expression of being in love on Freya's face calmed down again.
Then, she asked a question that Ottar found somewhat incomprehensible.
"Have you ever seen a shooting star?"
Shooting star, Ottar had naturally seen them, and more than once.
But why did Freya ask him this question?
Was there some special deeper meaning?
Thinking for a moment, feeling that he ultimately couldn't keep up with the gods' thinking, Ottar nodded and honestly replied: "Seen them."
"Then Ottar, do you think shooting stars are beautiful?"
"...They should be beautiful, I guess."
"Should be?"
Hearing Ottar's ambiguous statement, Freya couldn't help but glance sideways at him, but then shook her head with a light laugh.
"I forgot, you don't have this concept... Then let me ask differently, do you like shooting stars?"
"Don't like."
Nodding woodenly, Ottar became even more confused about Freya's intention in asking him this question.
"Then the reason for not liking them?"
Turning to gaze at the puzzled expression on Ottar's usually expressionless face, Freya smiled very joyfully.
"Shooting stars... are simply too transient."
Under Freya's gaze, Ottar recalled the shooting stars he had seen in the past, then continued: "Burning fiercely, releasing all their brilliance, then quickly dimming, never having the chance to shine again. I don't like that feeling."
"Exactly."
Freya looked at Ottar with approval, then she looked up at the evening sky that had turned from golden red to deep blue, sighing: "That child... his soul in my eyes is like a shooting star that could burn fiercely at any moment. But he's too unyielding, that relentless, unbending edge... Once he starts burning himself, after a brief brilliance, he will quickly meet his end. I don't want to see that child fall just like that, so I didn't push him too hard."
Freya, this Goddess of Beauty descended to the mortal world, even having sealed all her divine might, still possessed the ability to directly see others' souls.
And as one of the few diversions in her long divine life, observing the brief blooming of mortal souls in the lower world was this goddess's favorite activity.
But what did she just say?
She didn't want to see Luke fall after briefly blooming his soul light?
This Goddess of Beauty, wants to play for real?
Ottar's expression finally changed—he absolutely could not allow his patron goddess's radiance to be tainted by mortal filth.
"Freya-Sama..."
"—Ottar."
Raising her hand to interrupt Ottar, Freya gazed at a star twinkling far away in the night sky, her tone filled with anticipation.
"You don't need to worry about anything. The reason I care so much about that child is simply because in his soul, I also saw a tiny sliver of hope..."
"Hope?"
Frowning, Ottar completely couldn't understand what hope Freya was talking about.
"Yes, hope."
Ignoring Ottar's confusion, Freya just stared intently at that distant star hanging in the night sky: "The hope of transforming from a shooting star into a constant star... And I, want to witness what kind of ending this hope will ultimately lead him to."
Speaking here, Freya's gaze finally moved away from the starlight.
She wore a smile on her face, a smile Ottar had never seen on this goddess, so beautiful it made one forget to breathe and their heart skip a beat, their thoughts snapping like strings.
"Ottar, don't you think this is very interesting... And I have a premonition, this Black Holy Swordsman will soon shine before me again."
...
After rushing all the way out of the inner city, Luke finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are all gods this terrifying, really..."
Remembering Freya's perverted behavior earlier, Luke couldn't help but shiver.
Thank goodness, thank goodness Hestia is a normal goddess.
Shaking his head, Luke tried his best not to think about Freya, and started pondering his title/alias.
What kind of title would it be?
Since he uses a sword, it should be related to swords, but embarrassing titles like "Black Holy Swordsman" are definitely impossible.
After all, Hestia had guaranteed him that she would try her best to get him a normal, ordinary title.
And in the original story, Bell only received the title "Little Rookie" at the Denatus.
So now that it's his turn to receive a title, it should definitely be fine, right?
With faint anticipation, Luke quickly returned to the poor district on the outskirts of Orario.
The renovated church's windows emitted bright yellow light.
A bright smile appeared on Luke's face as he pushed open the church door and walked in.
In front of the church altar, Hestia was kneeling on the ground.
Seeing Luke enter from outside the church, she instantly prostrated herself on the floor.
"Uh... Kami-sama, what are you do...?"
"—Luke-kun!"
Maintaining the posture with her forehead touching the ground, Hestia's ashamed voice came from beneath her: "I've failed you!"
Failed me? What did you do to fail me?
Just as Luke wanted to ask clearly, Hestia spoke again: "The title, got it..."
Hearing Hestia suddenly mention the title, Luke's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
"Wh-What title?"
"Bla... Dark..."
In the prostrating posture, Hestia shrank back like an armadillo, then trembling, uttered the full name.
"Black Holy Swordsman..."
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