Infernal Blade – Part 10
Luke heaved a sigh. “Lisa.”
“Yes,” Lisa replied in a flat tone.
“You used a jewel steel without my permission.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sh-She used that to help me,” Cecily quickly interjected.
Luke ignored her. “Once is enough. If you do it again, I’m kicking you out.”
“Okay,” Lisa mumbled, hanging her head.
“Well, then. Time to head home,” Luke said casually.
Cecily stared at Luke in disbelief.
“What?” He stared back, irritated. “I’m just a civilian. I’d rather you focus on getting me to safety, knight.”
“That’s true, but…”
What Luke said made sense. He wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t sit well with her.
He had the power to defeat the ice beast demon. Surely, he could stand against this fire demon too. He could turn this situation around.
Yet Luke insisted on leaving without doing anything. Someone needed help, but he chose to abandon that power. Cecily found it hard to accept.
“Let’s go,” Luke urged Lisa.
Glancing back at Cecily, Lisa turned away and followed him.
“Aria is my friend!” Cecily shouted. “Aria has been suffering for so long because of what she is. She’s given up hope. She believes that’s just her identity, resigned to her fate! But that doesn’t mean she isn’t hurting. Even now, being used by that demon, Aria is still in pain, tormented by the fact she’s killing people! She’s my friend, but I’m powerless. I can’t do anything to help her. So, Luke, I need your help. Please—”
“Yes, you’re powerless. But that’s not my problem.”
Cecily’s eyes widened in shock. Powerless. The word hit like a punch, dragging back memories she didn’t want to relive.
Aria’s shadowed smile. The vagrant’s mistreatment. People consumed by flames. Demons tearing through everything.
All of it was beyond her capabilities, and she could do nothing. Her desire to save others was there, strong and burning, but she didn’t have the power to make it happen. No matter how much she wanted, she never helped anyone.
It was pathetic. She couldn’t face her late father like this. Her head dropped, fists clenched tightly. Even these hands couldn’t bring salvation. As a knight, as the head of House Campbell, she was not strong enough to protect her city.
Powerless. Powerless. Powerless.
Without power, she couldn’t reach Aria, or even call herself her friend. She was utterly helpless.
“I’m done with this.”
Finally, the frustration boiled over. Finally, Cecily snapped.
“I’m powerless.”
Her anger turned inward, directed at Cecily Campbell herself, the one who always had to rely on others.
“I’m powerless, so…”
She raised her head and stepped in front of Luke. His right eye narrowed in annoyance.
Holding his gaze, Cecily abruptly dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the cold, hard ground.
“What the…?”
If she was powerless, then forget everything. Cast aside her pride as a knight, as a person, as a woman. Beg if that’s what it would take.
“Please. Lend me your strength.”
Sink as low as she could.
“Luke Ainsworth, I’ll give you whatever you want. If it’s money, I’ll pay you until the day I die. If it’s my body you want, take it. If it’s labor, I’ll break myself working for you. I’ll give you everything. Just please…” Throw away everything and do what needed to be done. Cecily lifted her head. “Please… lend me your strength.”
Luke stood there with his mouth slightly open, staring at her in disbelief—as if he were facing something that defied logic and comprehension. He shuddered.
“You… you’ve really lost it.”
“I’m begging you too!” Lisa said. Clinging to Luke’s arm, she let out every thought she had been holding back. “Luke, you can save Aria! I know you can. Please, help Cecily! You know it too, don’t you? Aria isn’t an Infernal Blade!”
Cecily rose, perplexed. Aria wasn’t an Infernal Blade?
Lisa turned to Cecily, tears in her eyes. “Aria isn’t an Infernal Blade. There’s no such thing as an Infernal Blade in this world.”
“I knew it,” Luke sighed, like he had been expecting this all along. Cecily was the only one utterly confused.
“Wh-What do you mean? If Aria isn’t an Infernal Blade, then what is she?”
“She’s a demon,” Luke revealed. “That woman isn’t an Infernal Blade. She’s a demon.”
Cecily was left speechless.
“Aria said she was born on a battlefield,” Lisa added. “If that’s true, there’s only one explanation. Aria was a demon summoned during the Valbanill War, acquiring human flesh and blood. There are all kinds of demons. She just happens to be one that can take the shape of a sword. The one who created her likely died while making the pact.”
Infernal Blades were nothing more than the stuff of legends. These weapons being demons made a lot more sense.
“I-I don’t know all the details, but can a demon really keep its form for decades?” Cecily asked.
“It’s possible,” Lisa answered. “A demon’s body is made from the human flesh used in the pact and Aetheria. As long as the demon consumes enough Aetheria, they can live indefinitely.”
Consume Aetheria. That phrase clicked for Cecily. Aria had once commented on Lisa’s cooking, saying it was rich in Aetheria. For demons, Aetheria was their true source of nutrients. Aria had been eating just like a human, but for a different reason.
“It seems she doesn’t know the circumstances of her creation, but at the very least, Aria is aware that she’s a demon,” Lisa continued. “If that got out, she’d be destroyed. That’s why she’s lived as an Infernal Blade all this time.”
“What do you think an Infernal Blade is?”
Aria was a demon.
Lisa turned her eyes to Luke. “Humanoid demons have a complicated existence. They can think and live like humans, but they’re fundamentally different. The line between being human and demon is always in the back of their minds. They question their existence, why they live, and how they fit into this world. Aria’s been struggling with those questions, even now.”
Yes, Aria was suffering. Cecily could feel it.
She hadn’t accepted her fate as a tool made for killing. That’s why she always wore that faint, melancholic smile. She claimed she would be fine since she was only supposed to be used for a demonstration, but now she was trapped in the cruel irony of being used by a demon to slaughter humans.
A demon that looked and thought like a human—that contradiction was perhaps what made Aria so elusive.
“I know Aria’s pain,” Lisa said, placing a hand on her chest. “That’s why I don’t want to say goodbye like this. I want to help her, if we can. Please, Luke. This is my one request.”
Tears welled in Lisa’s eyes, but she didn’t look away. She stared at Luke with a desperate, pleading gaze.
Luke grimaced. Meeting Lisa’s earnest gaze seemed painful for him, and after a moment he turned away.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Lisa gave a start and quickly lowered her head. But when Luke muttered, “Fine,” she looked up again.
Cecily leaned in. “What did you say?”
“I said fine! I’ll do it, all right?” Luke snapped, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. “I finally get it: I can’t stand any of you. Don’t get used to this. It’s a one-time thing.”
“That’s fine. Thanks, Luke.”
“Shut up already. Don’t say another word. And get off the ground already. It’s hurting my eyes just looking at you.”
Grumbling, he pulled Cecily up to her feet, then glanced at Lisa. She wiped her eyes and bowed deeply.
“How much jewel steel do we have left?” he asked.
“Just one piece. I used the other earlier… but you’ll be fine, Luke. I know it.”
“Shut it. Don’t piss me off any further. The last one, huh? Fucking… Hand it over, along with the hilt.”
“Okay!”
From her pouch, Lisa pulled out the hilt Cecily recognized from their last expedition. It had no blade, just a guard. Along with it, she handed Luke a palm-sized stone—the jewel steel.
What’s about to happen? Cecily wondered. All she could do was watch.
“Come to think of it,” Luke said, “you haven’t actually seen this, have you? Well, today’s your lucky day. I’ll show you how that katana was made.”
Cecily immediately understood. He was referring to the katana that had cut down the ice beast demon, the sword that radiated heat. What did he mean by showing her how it was made?
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