I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

43 – The Grand Technique

“Well, it just… happened…”

“No matter what, that’s not right..!”

I tried to soothe the resolute Mark, pressing firmly on the bleeding arm. But the blood surged more vigorously.

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For a moment, the Mark paused, then sucked the blood with an intensity akin to someone greedily drinking water on a parched throat.

“…From now on, at least once a day! You must give me blood.”

After satisfying its hunger, the Mark regained its usual manner. I roughly agreed, saying, “Understood.”

“You’ll be going into combat soon, so stock up.”

With only a little left to fill its belly, the Mark reverted to its usual self.”

[Heh, only when needed.]

“Don’t want more blood?”

As I delicately removed the Demon Sword from my wrist, it convulsed like a baby deprived of its bottle.

“Ah…! I don’t dislike it! Hey, Contractor! The wounds are healing, see!”

In an instant, as the wounds began to heal, the Demon Sword vibrated vigorously. Upon touching it to the wound again, it quietly started absorbing the blood.

It felt like pacifying a whimpering baby by giving it a pacifier.

Lost in such thoughts,

Thud, thud.

Someone knocked on the door. There was only one person who’d knock on the door at this time.

“Uh, Iris, I’ll be out in a moment.”

I spoke to the Demon Sword before saying, “I’ll feed you later, so stay inside for now.”

[ …ugh… ]

The Demon Sword hastily slurped blood, whimpering. As I urged it, it transformed into a light ball and slipped into the back of my hand.

Thud, thud, thud!

As the heavy knocking resounded, instinctively, “Yeah, coming out soon!” burst out as an answer. Being alone, the wound healed rapidly.

Since the blood that had almost stopped flowing stained the sink, I washed away the bloodstains with cold water. Finally, I cleansed my hands with soap. After wiping even the wrist where the injury had been, I opened the door and stepped out.

Iris stood there, eyes widened, holding a clenched fist. She seemed startled by the sudden opening of the door.

“Sorry, needed to use the restroom? Hurry in.”

I quickly exited the restroom, making way for her. Iris followed me, taking a step to the side. As I moved again, she mirrored my steps.

Momentarily taken aback by Iris, who seemed to have no intention of entering the restroom, I hesitated. Iris approached me and sniffed curiously.

“I… smell blood.”

At those words, a shiver ran down my spine.

‘She smelled it even though the door was closed… Iris has a keen nose.’

Sweating cold, I thought I needed to be more cautious from now on and said, “Hey, what’s with smelling blood? I just went to the restroom.”

Narrowing her eyes at me, Iris scrutinized before nodding in understanding. Thinking I did well by washing my hands with soap, I headed to the living room with Iris.

A few days later, the anticipated day of the match arrived as scheduled. The demonic sword, soaked in blood every day, was in better condition than ever before.

[Hehehe, everyone will bow before my mighty power!]

As the demonic sword burst into gleeful laughter, a sinister aura spread, causing the sword to resonate ominously. The horrifying energy, capable of driving people insane, began to dominate the surrounding space.

Splat.

[Ouch!]

“Don’t spew weird things and just stay still,” I said as I struck the demonic sword’s blade, and a crimson energy was absorbed into the sword.

[Even if it’s me, being hit like this!]

“After this match, you won’t need to wield the sword for a while… hmm…”

[Hmm, come to think of it, it was my mistake.]

In an instant, the demonic sword’s voice became subdued. I questioned its sudden change in attitude.

‘Is it really that delicious?’

If the demonic sword desired blood, it didn’t need to come out in such a posture. When summoned, it could fly somewhere and extract blood, then return to me through the contract. However, it wasn’t impossible to obtain blood through other means.

This meant that the demonic sword, by acting this way, indicated that my blood was exceptionally delicious. The image of the demonic sword murmuring in delight every time it fed reinforced that opinion.

‘It didn’t taste particularly special.’

Although I once licked a droplet, enchanted by its apparent deliciousness, it was just ordinary blood.

‘Maybe I could make a living selling blood to vampires?’

While imagining selling blood to vampires, I drifted into thoughts of being captured, domesticated, and turned into livestock. Just as I was getting lost in the fantasy of being domesticated by a beautiful vampire, a clinking sound brought me back to reality.

Woooo!

From outside, the announcer’s voice narrating stories about me and the excited voices filled the air. I thought, ‘People seem really energetic today,’ as I stepped outside.

Shrrrr, clink.

The door on the opposite side opened, and out walked an orc with greenish skin. Not just one, but a total of five orcs emerged, each carrying a massive sword, bow, staff, or shield.

Among the orcs wielding swords, one had a blade shaped like a saw. Since orcs had the intelligence of a 3 to 5-year-old child, they didn’t immediately charge.

From a distance, arrows flew, and the orc with the shield took the lead. The spellcaster with the staff chuckled, creating a black magic bead at the tip of the staff.

[The opponent is just five orcs? This is barely a warm-up.]

The demonic sword, sounding amused, muttered in a dry voice as I raised my sword, observing the orcs approaching with heavy footsteps.

Swoosh -.

I swung the sword from the bottom left to the upper right. It wasn’t a particularly forceful swing; it was as light as drawing a line in the air.

Thunk.

Along the line I drew, the orc’s body split. The orcs rushing forward rolled to the ground, their lower bodies continuing forward, while their upper bodies twisted backward.

They died without even realizing their own demise.

In less than a minute of battle, silence descended upon the arena.

“Wowww!”

“Kyayayaa!”

Overwhelming, a fight that could only be described with that word. The audience was ecstatic. Just as they were about to turn away, thinking it was already over,

“If it ends like this, wouldn’t it be a shame? That’s why I prepared!”

Shururuk, shurururuk, shurururuk! Kwoong! Thud! Kwoooong!

Iron bars, varying in size according to the creatures, made loud noises as they simultaneously rose up. And beyond them, all sorts of creatures poured out.

As dozens, if not hundreds, of gigantic creatures poured out, the cheers of the audience reached a deafening level in the arena.

“Can the newly appeared star endure this trial?!”

Kieeeek! Ggueeek!

The emerging creatures attacked each other or devoured one another, but all eyes were on me.

[These insignificant bugs are just crawling around; there’s no one worthy of a proper fight. Tsk…]

The demon blade didn’t seem impressed with the strength of the creatures.

[However, with this many, it might be difficult to handle them all at once.]

Even among the creatures, there were some as tall as me. It seemed challenging to cut through the air when dealing with smaller creatures.

Of course, the problem could be solved by swinging the sword multiple times, but the demon blade seemed unwilling.

[Hehehe, unavoidable. Let me allow you to use a great technique this time.]

“A great technique?”

[Yes.]

The demon blade chuckled as it extended the length of its black blade.

[Lower your stance and hold the sword at an angle.]

“Like this?”

Following the demon blade’s instructions, as I adjusted my posture, the demon blade began to glow with a crimson light.

[Now, swing the sword quickly!]

As if gathering power, the crimson glow on the sword swirled violently as I swung it from bottom to top. Then, the voice of the demon blade echoed.

[‘Blood Wave!’]

What? Isn’t it usually the person swinging the sword who shouts the spell?

Simultaneously with this trivial thought, the crimson energy attached to the sword shot forward. The force I thought would cut through the oncoming creatures instead seeped into the ground.

The ordinary dirt floor transformed in an instant, resembling the appearance of a sea tainted with exhaustion. Massive waves rose in the blood sea, swallowing all approaching monsters.

Chiik, chwaaaah -.

The sound of something melting and the grotesque noise of monster bodies breaking into pieces mingled, creating a dreadful cacophony. Those no longer breathing were instantly engulfed by the crimson waves, leaving no trace behind.

“Oh, isn’t that the thing coming out there? That…”

As the name of a specific work was mumbled, the Demon Sword, who had been nonchalant until then, exclaimed in surprise.

[This is a technology I developed!]

Like a creator whose copyright had been violated, the Demon Sword was taken aback. Certainly, in this world, the Demon Sword might have copyrights.

“Are there no other technologies besides this one?”

[Hohoohoo, of course there are. This body has a repertoire of -..]

The road dragon, which had just been sealed, glanced toward the presenter, letting slip some sealed whatever repertoire it had.

The presenter, evidently unprepared for things to turn out this way, wore a thoroughly flustered expression.