The Sword Demon Tears People Apart

Guns. They’re good weapons.
Regardless of the wielder’s strength, just aiming and firing sends a bullet exceeding the speed of sound to mess up the target.
But their limitations were also clear.
I’m not sure, but perhaps they use the energy of an explosion to fire the bullet?
That was the problem.
A similar ranged weapon, the bow, is fired by directly holding the arrow and string with your hand.
In that process, mana is imparted.
It was the same even for farmer nobodies who knew nothing about mana.
Most things in this world, especially living things, naturally possess a small amount of mana.
But guns are different.
Just a slight movement of the finger to pull the trigger fires the bullet.
There’s no opportunity for mana to naturally imbue the bullet in that process.
And the fact that mana isn’t imbued…
It means it’s difficult to penetrate even the slightest mana resistance.
Clothes imbued with a tiny bit of mana.
The bullet, which is almost purely physical force, can’t penetrate.
Not just the clothes themselves, but even the skin nearby.
Of course, if you pump in dozens of bullets, it’s a different story, but at the point where you’re firing dozens of shots to kill something that would die with one stab of a sword, you’re out.
Well, even if it’s clothes imbued with minimal mana, it’s not something just anyone can get…
“For bandits, these guys seem to have a lot of money. Or did they loot it?”
Zeron grinned.
And with that, the smile disappeared from his face.
A cold gaze turned towards the bandits.
“Get him!”
Ratatatatata-!
The bandits’ rifles spew fire, unleashing a hail of bullets.
Nine guys with guns.
Firing more than ten shots in an instant, it’s already close to a hundred rounds.
Zeron swung his sword horizontally.
Whoosh-, following the trajectory, the wind rises and stops the bullets.
See, this is the problem.
Even a sword wind imbued with minimal mana can’t be penetrated.
He swung the sword horizontally once more.
Ping ping ping-! With a sharp sound, the bullets that hit the sword’s surface fly off like arrows.

“Ugh-!”
“Aaargh-!”
With death cries, the heads of the nine gun-wielders exploded.
“Wh-what!?”
“How!”
There was no obligation to answer.
Zeron kicked the ground.
Thump-, with a light sound, his body cut through the wind.
By the time they noticed, he was already right in front of them.
The bandits’ faces turned pale.
“Hello.”
Grin-, a cold smile bloomed on Zeron’s previously expressionless face.
It was a smile like that of a hunting dog facing bloody raw meat.
“Kyaaaah-!”
One head is cut off by the swinging sword, and an outstretched finger gouges out an eye socket.
Swinging a bandit whose eye socket is clutched, filled with crushed eyeball pieces, the heads of two bandits collide and burst like fireworks.
Flicking his hand, the flying blood droplets penetrate a head, and the roughly swung sword cleanly divides one bandit’s body left and right.
“Heh…”
What finishes it off is a fierce smile.
The faces of the remaining bandits turned deathly black.
*
Medea couldn’t control her trembling body.
People were dying right before her eyes.

Heads exploding, eyeballs being crushed, blood gushing, intestines spilling out.
But even so, she couldn’t take her eyes off.
The opponents were clearly enemies, and originally, she should have stepped up to help.
“Mi-mister…”
But seeing the scene before her, she simply couldn’t move.
Brown messy hair and dull blue eyes.
The mister who usually lay around in his room cracking pointless jokes seemed unfamiliar.
His pale skin, rarely exposed to sunlight, was dyed red with blood, and his usually languid eyes were fiercely upturned.
And… most alien of all, was that… smile…
It was hard to believe he was even human.
Rather, it was a ferocious smile resembling the monsters she had seen as a child.
“Haa… haa…”
Her breathing became rough.
Without realizing it, she tore her eyes away from the horrific scene and buried her face between her knees.
She might have heard the coachman’s worried voice, but she couldn’t even bring herself to respond.
That’s when it happened.
Step- step- Along with footsteps, the smell of cigarettes drew closer.
The expected pungent stench of blood didn’t come.
“Kid.”
Along with the voice, the sound of the carriage door opening was heard.
She remained silent, and after a brief silence.
Whoosh-, with the floating sensation of her body being lifted, she reflexively flailed her arms and legs.
“Wh-what!”
…She knew.
That it was Uncle Zeron, that he wouldn’t harm her, that he was that foolish uncle who subtly took care of her.
She knew, but…
The reflexive fear that gripped her was unavoidable.
She curled up her body and tightly shut her eyes.
“Oh my, our little one is scared stiff.”
Zeron chuckled as he carried Medea somewhere.
Even until he stopped walking and put her down on the ground, Medea didn’t open her eyes.
“Kid, open your eyes.”
“……”
“Come on, I said open your eyes.”
“……”
She kept her mouth shut tight and endured.
Then, it felt like a flash of light in front of her eyes.
“Eek!?”
Medea clutched her stinging forehead and unconsciously opened her eyes to glare at Zeron.
The uncle laughing while covered in blood was… less scary than she thought.
“See? I told you to open your eyes.”
When she just glared without answering, the uncle awkwardly scratched his eyebrow and pointed somewhere with his hand.
“Look, over there.”
She reflexively turned her head.
“Wh-what…”
There was a bandit who looked like he was about to breathe his last, with sword wounds on his arms and legs.
His eyes were rolled back showing mostly whites, and steam rose from the gushing blood.
Urp-, she felt nauseous.
Trying hard to hold it in, she glared at the uncle.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know, kid. Later, when I’m not around, if you hesitate, you’ll be the one who dies.”
The uncle smiled bitterly and reached out his hand.
Pat pat, lightly tapping Medea’s head, he drew the pistol from his own waist.
“Here.”
He mercilessly put the gun in her hand, then forcibly lifted her arm to aim at the bandit.
“I deliberately left the mana in the clothes intact. You can imbue the bullet with mana, right? Just do it like you usually do.”
What nonsense.
Why should I.
Can’t the uncle just finish it himself.
…Swallowing these weak words, she put strength into her trembling hand.
It’s all for my sake.
He’s saying this out of concern.
Dad is too overprotective to think of making me do this.
Steeling her resolve, she pulled the trigger.
Bang-!
It felt like something shattered.
*
Zeron smiled bitterly as he ground out his burnt-out cigarette with his foot.
Still not feeling better, he put another one in his mouth.
The cigarette tasted unusually bitter.
The kid was in the corner, throwing up everything inside her.
Urgh- uurgh-, the painfully continuous sound kept ringing out.
Zeron looked at the bandit with a hole in his head with gloomy eyes.
The bullet had perfectly penetrated the head.
The act of imbuing a bullet with mana, impossible naturally.
Those capable of this are called ‘Gunners’.
And the kid was already an excellent Gunner.
“Tsk-.”
Zeron clicked his tongue and took a deep drag of his cigarette.
He knew too. That this was a cruel thing to do.
There was no need for the kid to get blood on her hands.
What was the point of all that trouble David went through.
He stomped his foot irritably.
Crunch-! Pieces of brain and blood clots stuck to the sole of his foot.
“Phew…”
He exhaled the smoke he had deeply inhaled into his lungs.
But his chest still felt tight.
Still, it couldn’t be helped.
He had a really bad feeling about this.
If he didn’t prepare in advance, when the worst happened, instead of just getting blood on her hands, she’d be spilling blood from her slit throat.
That damn dream came to mind again.
Fucking hell.
His hand clenched, weakly breaking the cigarette.
He irritably threw away the butt and put a new one in his mouth.
“Kid, are you okay?”
He asked while looking at the sky.
The sky was still blue, the sun not yet fully set.
“Urgh… St-stop smoking…”
“Seems like you’ll live.”
Zeron grinned as he put out the half-smoked cigarette and walked to the back of the carriage.
Ignoring the kid’s protests to stay away, he lifted her up and put her in the carriage.
“Let’s go.”
The coachman nodded and took his seat.
Zeron sat opposite the kid and stared at her.
She was pale, but her spirit wasn’t broken.
That’s a relief.

Clatter-, with a shake, the carriage started moving.
It seemed the kid would need some time.
*
“So, kid. Why do you want to go to that academy? Why not just stay comfortably at home?”
Zeron poured alcohol into a glass and handed it to the kid.
The kid irritably snatched the glass, gulped it down in one go, and started coughing and spluttering.
“…Why do people drink this stuff?”
“That’s proof you’re still a kid. Anyway, so?”
“Why? Because it’s helpful. For me, and for dad.”
“Helpful?”
Zeron frowned.
He recalled the academy where he had stayed for nearly a month.
Although he hadn’t left his room, from the fragmentary images, it didn’t seem particularly helpful.
“Of course. What do you know?”
Zeron glanced at the grumbling kid.
Her complexion was still bad, but she seemed to have recovered somewhat.
Somehow, he was reminded of Elena.
“There are many talented people at the academy. Even commoners can take the entrance exam if they have the ability.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Competing and learning among them should be quite helpful. There aren’t many places where you can meet so many people of similar level in one bunch.”
“There are quite a few kids around your level at the company too.”
“Just be quiet and listen.”
“…Alright.”
As ordered, he quietly sipped his drink.
The kid glared at Zeron before continuing.
“And the professors are quite good too. The kingdom invests a lot.”
“Well… that’s true. I heard they’re about second-tier.”
It was natural since the key forces couldn’t be easily pulled from the royal palace.
Even if they’re second-tier, they’re still elites among elites.
In some ways, having more young people than the first-tier might actually be more appropriate for education.

No, come to think of it, wasn’t the dean of the magic department a 5th circle?
That’s first-tier among first-tiers, I wonder why they’re at the academy.
“Actually, all of that doesn’t really matter.”
“Huh? What do you mean? Then why go there?”
“Connections. And school ties. That’s the most important.”
The kid clenched her fist and spoke as if pressing down her determination.
“All the decent positions are taken by academy graduates. Or heirs of noble families. So, to help dad… I must graduate from the academy no matter what.”
Zeron looked at Medea with a strange expression.
At first glance she might seem a bit rude, but the kid was a rare filial daughter.
She just doesn’t express it.
Zeron grinned and drained the remaining alcohol in his glass.
“You still don’t understand? Connections and school ties, they’re of no help when it really matters.”
“What nonsense. How can they not be helpful…”
Zeron chuckled and tapped the sword at his waist.
“In the end, at the very last moment, the only thing you can rely on is your own strength. Whether the king throws a fit or the emperor throws a fit, if you have overwhelming power to the extent that you can rip off their heads, what is there to worry about?”
Hearing those words, the kid’s face turned deathly pale.
The kid hurriedly looked around, then with fire in her eyes, quietly screamed, “Eek-!”
It was a peculiar talent.
“You’ll get arrested for insulting the royal family…!? Are you really fearless…!”
“Arrest? Me? Who? Cheeky bastards.”
“Are you really crazy…?”
Medea looked at him with shocked eyes, but Zeron just chuckled.
Well, he wasn’t sure about the emperor, but the king of this tiny kingdom, well.
He probably wouldn’t act on it just because it’d be troublesome…
But if. Really if.
If that king were to touch his family…
Woom-, the sword in its scabbard quietly trembled.