I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Rebirth

“NOW, JET!”

“Grrrr!”

Jet used Greater Shapeshift to enlarge his already gigantic body even further and brought his tail down like a hammer on the giant monster we were fighting. The gray fur running down his back made the dire wolf look like a falling star.

I couldn’t help but think to myself: man, he’s huge. Jet was probably several times bigger than before, spanning ten meters from nose to tail. He was also taller, and his legs were as thick as logs.

But his heavier frame didn’t cause him to slow down. If anything, his increased strength made him much faster. Gigantic as he was, he was as stealthy as ever; his feet fell silently on the ground.

Jet closed in on our target while perfectly dodging every attack it threw. He brought his gigantic paws down on the head of the Invisible Death, cracking its hard crystal shell. This wasn’t enough to take the formidable monster down, but it still sent a shock through the creature’s skull. Jet had given it a slight concussion, enough to stop the monster in its tracks.

This was our chance.

“I’m going in!”

Go for it!

Fran fell from the sky, swinging me in a great arc.

“BROOOOORGH!”

But the B-Threat wasn’t about to die that easily. It raised its crystal scales and fired them at Fran in a lethal volley while also sniping her with its tail.

Fran didn’t even blink. She calmly defended herself against the scales with a combination of agility and swordplay. Usually, this would be the point where she teleported away and reapproached the enemy with a chain of Air Hops. The resulting attack would have been sloppy at best. But Fran was now in complete control of her mana. Her Air Hops now looked like she was running on the ground.

Such were the fruits of her training. She deflected the monster’s tail snipes with perfectly executed Sword Arts while maintaining a steady offense with those same arts.

Fran was still subject to gravity, though, and she was falling slowly through the sky. Her attacks only multiplied as she got closer and closer to the Invisible Death, but she didn’t let up her defense for a second. She weaved through the storm of bullets with perfect ease.

There was no pride in her eyes as she looked down on the monster beneath her. This victory was nothing to be proud of. No, it had simply been inevitable.

“Taking it down!”

Got it!

“Flashing Thunderclap!”

And so Fran moved to seal her win.

“Yaaaah!”

“Groooar!”

There!

The Invisible Death retaliated with its scales and light spells. Now that Fran was on offensive, I went on defense. My enhanced precision allowed me to pluck the scales that were about to hit Fran out of the air while deflecting the creature’s light spells with my own dark spells.

We were closer to the monster now. Fran used an Advanced Sword Art and brought down her black lightning-wrapped sword on the monster’s shell, trying to carve it in half. The Invisible Death—with its giant crystals, heavy barrier, and formidable shell—was now no match for us.

The art itself wasn’t anything special. Fran had just gotten much stronger. Her black lightning was enhanced with my Elemental Blade and sliced through the creature’s shell to burn it from within. The monster wasn’t down yet, but Fran remained calm as ever.

“Tsh!”

“Grooooar…”

She cast a spell to reveal the Invisible Death’s crystal and pierced right through it with me. We’d almost died fighting an Invisible Death last time, but now it was an easy win. We were much more experienced now, sure, but Fran and Jet were far stronger than before.

You’re so strong now, Fran.

“You’re repeating yourself, Teacher.”

I can’t help myself. I’m just so happy when I see how much you’ve grown.

“But it’s been over a month.”

Even then!

“Besides, I didn’t change as much as Jet did.”

Not your looks, at least! Besides, Jet looks totally different now.

“Woof?”

Jet, now the size of a cow, approached Fran. She gave him a good petting.

The thing that changed most about him was his fur. It was still black with red mixed in, but the red was more prominent, with two new streaks of silver running down his back. He’d also got much fluffier, as shown by the increased frequency of Fran fluffing him up.

You guys did great for getting so strong over a short period of time.

“Woof!”

“Hm!”

Suddenly, the voice of a woman, inanimate but kind, rang in our ears.

Skills acquired from Invisible Death crystal. Synthesizing common Skills into Advanced Skills.

“Hm.

P.A. was back. She still wasn’t as strong as before, but she was back. She couldn’t freely converse like when we used Unleash Potential, but she was at least as strong as when I first arrived in the world. Consuming Fanatix was the right decision.

Now that P.A. was managing my background systems, spells and telekinesis took much less effort to use. Fran could also hear her voice now.

I tried explaining to her everything that happened, but she didn’t quite get the whole thing. Fran just thought of her as a spirit that was living inside me.

I had also told Fran about the memories I’d recovered—of my death and how I became a sword. The Goddess of Chaos had visited me before my maintenance was over and awakened them, saying it might have an adverse effect on the memory seal if I fixated on my lost memories for too long. But she only gave me back part of my memories, because I would’ve lost my mind if I got them all back. That’s the worst part of remembering, I guess.

I made sure to leave out all my racy memories, of course. Fran was too young for those. How was I supposed to explain that part, anyway? The gods thought I might be tempted by my sexual memories, so they sealed them away? I might die of embarrassment if I had to tell her that.

But wow…it’s almost been a month since I came back, huh?

“Hm.”

Our teamwork’s perfect now.

“Pitch-perfect.”

“Woof!”

Our fighting styles were all confused when I came back. Fran and Jet looked different, and P.A.’s support increased my combat prowess. We worked on our teamwork for the better part of a month. This battle was the result of that training.

Our teamwork wasn’t the only thing that was shot when I came back. It was a crazy time…

One month ago.

What is this…?

My body was floating, like it had been released from the pressure of weight.

I think I was at the bottom of the ocean, slowly being lifted from the water by a ray of light. Or maybe I was being pulled out of a gravity well by an anti-gravitational force.

In any case, I felt a mixture of both relief and refreshment. It was a very strange sensation.

Where am I, anyway?

Everything around me was dark. I couldn’t see anything.

What was I doing again? I felt like I’d been asleep for a long time. But instead of feeling the drowsiness of a long slumber, I felt light as a feather, even if I did still feel half asleep.

“Still in dreamland, sleepyhead? I need to talk to you.”

Huh? I heard a woman’s voice when I was spacing out. She sounded mischievous and sensual. A voice I would never forget. Goddess of Chaos?

“I thought I’d speak to you before you fully reawakened.”

I couldn’t see her, but I knew the Goddess of Chaos was talking to me.

“First of all, I will release the seal on part of your memories.”

What, really? That came out of nowhere. I thought I’d lose my mind if I got those back.

“You seem fixated on your memory loss, and it will have an adverse effect on the seal if you keep it up.”

Adverse effect?

“You’re going to keep trying to remember a memory you can’t remember, won’t you?”

True.

That nagging feeling was apparently enough to disrupt the memory seal, which might cause a chain reaction to my other memories.

“You don’t want to lose your mind like Fanatix, do you?”

Fanatix had mentioned the dangers of a human soul trapped inside a sword. I knew it well enough, too. But after seeing the Godsword’s insanity, I wanted nothing to do with it.

“And so we have presently decided to undo the seal on a part of your memories. Prepare yourself.”

Huh? Wai—

Before I could answer, a flood of memories rushed through my mind.

Urgh…

The sensation was indescribable. It didn’t hurt or sting but was nauseating. It was the same kind of sensation as when I Cannibalized Fanatix but less intense.

Memories of my time as a human and being hit by a car returned to me. The identities of the three women were revealed to me by a memory hidden away in the nooks and crannies of my mind, and with it, the scene of my memories being sealed away.

But I had yet to recover all of my memories. The memories of my reincarnation were still vague. Especially the part between me touching Cherubim and waking up in the pedestal.

Still, it answered the great question of why my memories were missing…though it reminded me of some very painful moments. Like when the three goddesses embarrassed me by rifling through my memories… I didn’t have any weird kinks, so that experience was just painful.

I didn’t mind the memories of my death. Not anymore. Fran had endured worse injuries than I ever had. Besides, I would never have met Fran if I hadn’t been hit by that car. How could I possibly hold a grudge now?

“What is it?”

N-nothing. Now that I have my memories back, can I just keep doing what I have been doing until now?

“Yes. You needn’t to worry about that. I’m not going to work you like a horse and order you to speed up your mission.”

Good. Getting stronger by collecting crystals should automatically heal Fenrir, anyway.

“But you know,” the Goddess of Chaos mused, “you were hit by a car trying to save a little girl on Earth. Here, you saved a little girl on the brink of death…do you have a thing for little girls?”

D-don’t say it like that! You make me sound like a pedo!

“I’m kidding.” She chuckled. “In any case, we’re out of time.”

Wha—?

“It’s time for you to wake up.”

So the restoration is finished? I hadn’t felt this awake in a long time. Not since I said goodbye to Fran at the pedestal. I hadn’t felt anything since then. But even so, I knew that I was asleep.

“Tell the little black cat I said hi,” the goddess smiled. “May you have a blessed chaos.”

That’s the second time I’d heard her say that! Was it her catchphrase or something?

Wait. Second time? I feel like I’ve heard it once before…or maybe I’m imagining things.

Sixty seconds until Specimen Teacher fully awakens.

Huh?

An inanimate yet warm voice greeted me after the Goddess of Chaos’ departure.

P.A!

Yes.

Wait, you can talk now?

At present, I am able to merely hold a conversation with you. I will, however, return to my former state soon. I am currently borrowing the energy of this personality as an emergency measure while he is asleep.

Uhh…personality?

Is she talking about me? Did that mean that P.A. could talk to me now because she was using some of my powers?

Subject P.A. will be deprived of power once Specimen Teacher fully awakens. Before that happens… I would like to thank you again, Teacher.

Huh?

You have given me another chance to be useful to the User.

But you said you’ll be deprived of power. You’ll be going back to sleep.

My odds of recovering Fenrir’s powers are now at 77 percent. I have also recovered some of my frozen permissions.

So you’re feeling better now?

Yes. Consuming the virtual personalities of the discarded Godsword expanded my operation domain.

I guess she was saying eating Fanatix was the right thing to do.

It is time.

P.A! If Fenrir gets better, you’ll get better! I promise I’ll do my best to save you!

Thank you—

And then the world around me changed.

The inky blackness around me was pierced by a ray of light. The light expanded and exploded, dispelling the darkness instantaneously. I didn’t have retinas to see what was happening directly, but I imagine it would’ve been like getting hit with a flash-bang at point-blank range.

Color returned.

Blue skies. Green fields.

And standing at the center of it all, a girl. Her black hair was messy, but her skin was nice and healthy. Her body was flat without any curves. She had black cat ears on her head and a tail to go with it. Her large eyes were filled with determination.

I recognized her in an instant. She was someone I would never forget.

Fran.

My partner. Fran. 

“Teacher?”

Hi.

Fran answered me in a small voice, as if making sure she wasn’t hearing things. I responded at a similar volume.

There was so much I wanted to say that I couldn’t say anything.

For me, it felt like I had woken up after a good night’s sleep. My lack of a body meant that prolonged slumber had no effect on me. But I just knew that I missed her. If I had tear ducts, they would be flooding right about now.

“Teacher…”

Fran.

“Teacher!”

Fran ran towards me and hugged me while I was still in the pedestal. She wasn’t just embracing me, she was practically crushing me with her arms. An inferior sword would’ve been crushed into scrap metal, I bet. A non-combatant would probably be dead. Her embrace was that strong.

But I was happy to see it. Fran’s lack of control only showed me how lonely she had felt. She missed me so much that she couldn’t hold back.

“Teacher…”

I’m back, Fran.

“Hm…!”

I used telekinesis to wipe away the tears that were gathering at the edge of her eyes. Fran leaned into it, rubbing her head against my hilt for affection. You’ll hurt your head if you rub it that hard.

“I’ll be fine.”

I was petting Fran’s head when I heard a mysterious noise.

Rumble…!

Huh? Well, it was no mystery to me. Fran’s stomach was rumbling. In the middle of our tearful reunion.

Grumble!

“I’m hungry…”

Five months later, Fran was still Fran. I didn’t know whether to be happy that she remained as she was or lament her lack of maturity. She didn’t look much different, either.

She rubbed her stomach with her left hand while holding me with her right. She then turned to me with a stern look on her face. “Teacher.”

Y-yeah?

“Take out the curry.”

C-curry?

“Hm!” Fran’s gaze was intense. She was happy that I was finally back. It wasn’t just because she could finally restock her curry supply…right? “Curry.”

“Woof!”

A-all right, all ri—Huh?

“Bark, bark!”

Jet had joined us at some point. He must have come out of Fran’s shadow. He was so much bigger now, though.

Essentially, he was the same direwolf he’d been before. He still had his lustrous black coat, but there were some differences to it now. He’d had flecks of red fur before, but only around his neck. Now, there were streaks of deep red on his neck, legs, and tip of his tail. It was all over him. There was also a line of silver running down his back. The aura he emanated was different, too. In a word, he looked impressive.

Jet had definitely evolved.

Jet, you’ve—

Rumble, rumble, grumble!

You’re hungry, too! I don’t even have time to be shocked!

“Teacher…curry…”

Aah, sorry about that! Here! You want extra spicy, right, Jet?

“And extra-large!”

“Woof, woof!”

In that case you can have an ultra large plate of curry with ten terrific toppings. And Jet, you can have the super-hot curry instead.

“Yeah!”

“Awooo!”

Fran and Jet immediately got to devouring the curry I served them. It was like they hadn’t eaten in days. I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to finish it all, but they put it away nice and easy.

Had they been eating right? I had cooked them a good amount of food outside the Withering Forest, and Fran should still have some left over in her Pocket Dimension…

Wait! Did Skill Sharing deactivate?!

If it did, she wouldn’t have been able to use Pocket Dimension or Cooking. Surviving in the Garden would’ve been far more difficult.

Fran…you’ve worked so hard—

“Hm? I had all my Skills.”

What? So Skill Sharing was still on?

“Hm.”

Then why do you want curry so much…?

“Because Fran finished all of their curry in the first two months.”

Oh, so that’s why… I was usually there to manage her food. She would only stick to eating her favorite food if there was no one around to stop her. Surprisingly, Fran had managed to keep herself fit. I would’ve been shocked if she’d gotten chubby in five months!

Want some, Amanda?

Amanda had a wry smile on her face. She’d been here all along, but I’d put off addressing her, since we didn’t need to hide anything from her.

“I’m fine, thanks. Would you mind telling me what you’ve been through, though?”

Only the bits that I’m allowed to. Actually, I’m more interested in what happened while I was asleep.

“Sure. I can fill you in. There’s lots to talk about.”

Thanks. I don’t think Fran’s gonna let go any time soon.

“Munch, munch, munch!”

“Scarf, scarf, scarf!”

“No, it doesn’t look that way…”

Their meal would take a while to finish even with their empty stomachs.

Maybe I should take out a bed so they could take a post-meal nap.