Chapter 77

After the Dream The holy jewel was once again stored underneath Starmine Hall. The cursed stake had been removed, but the spider web of cracks was still there. The time in which the jewel’s beauty was unblemished now felt like a dream. Diamond and Joseph stood looking at it together. They seemed disinterested in its destruction and felt no joy at having survived the day. This was a kind of ritual to help them accept the outcome they had feared would come. “I’m not looking forward to what’s ahead of us. We’ll need to explain this to the lord. We wasted a lot of money,” Diamond said. “You don’t need to worry about that. We didn’t spend much more than the amount you’ve been paying in taxes for the last century to store yourself here,” Joseph replied. “I hope that’s true.” “Besides, this was not a total failure. The facility functioned flawlessly as a fortress. The fact that the enemy couldn’t destroy the venue and had to perform that indirect attack is proof of our defensive capabilities.” “That’s because someone softened the blow for me. Even though there was no reason for her to risk her life like that.” Diamond gently stroked the holy jewel’s cracks. “I guess holy swords can’t stray too far from their purpose. The Jewelry Production facility has been set back, but what about the project to remake me as the Sword of Resonance? Will it work?” she asked. “Do you really want to do it?” Joseph responded. Diamond’s original name was the Sword of Distortion. The Sword of Resonance was only a temporary name the adventurer Diamond had given her after rudely saying her original name sounded ugly. She used the name to deceive herself and forget that she hadn’t been destroyed, lost her mana, and mutated into a form that was little different from an ordinary human’s. Outside of singing, dancing, and becoming the core of her holy jewel resonance facility, she had no power. Not enough to stop the destruction that would be wrought by the massive Stampede that was approaching anyway. “Yes, I do.” Diamond touched the broken holy jewel and prayed silently. The jewel began to vibrate, and the cracked portion fell to the ground in fragments. A few seconds later, the entire jewel shattered like a glass plate that had dropped on the floor. “Good. The core is unharmed,” Diamond said. There was a crystal inside the jewel that changed colors as it shone. The larger jewel wasn’t actually her core—just an outer shell made to store mana. They couldn’t perform the original Jewelry Production plan now that it was broken, but they weren’t completely out of options. “We’re going to design a new holy sword made to suit my mutated form. This is the start of a new project,” she said with determination in her voice. Joseph looked confused. “But…who are you going to choose for your new wielder?” he asked. “Her, of course. I’ve trained many girls over the last century, but…I’ve made up my mind. I’m not gonna let her adventure end here,” Diamond said. “Is her style compatible with yours? There is no guarantee she will choose you, either,” Joseph pointed out. “That won’t be a problem. Are the technical aspects ready?” Diamond asked. “No,” Joseph said, shaking his head. Diamond almost stumbled in response. She had expected him to say they could get started right away. “Why not?! Can’t we use the mana from concerts that we’ve stored in the fake holy jewel?!” “We do not have a sword from which to start. You have rejected all the blades we have shown you, saying you don’t want to transfer your body into something so blunt.” “Oh yeah… I have been saying that, haven’t I?” Joseph was not subtle about his sigh. Diamond glanced around uneasily, wondering what to do, and something caught her eye. “Hey, Joseph. Wouldn’t that work?” she asked. “That is…that girl’s sword, is it not? It’s also broken,” Joseph said. “The sword can be repaired, just like I was. Nothing dies as long as the heart remains unbroken.” Diamond was pointing at the sword that had been brought underground along with the destroyed holy jewel. It was a famous greatsword passed down by the dragonians, forged from an alloy of iron and mineral found in dragon claws and bones. The Dragonbone Sword.