What demon would ever imagine that some other race might exist in hell?
Even the Primordial Demons could never have expected that a saint-class powerhouse would walk into hell of his own accord.
Of course, I hadn't expected it either.
It was only much later that I learned how Elder Gran had been able to enter hell.
The Ultimate Skill [Argo][King of Expedition].
An Ultimate Skill was an exceedingly rare power, one rank above a Unique Skill, an ultimate ability that could only be obtained by someone at least on the level of an [Awakened Demon Lord].
Elder Gran was a hero, the first among the dwarves to awaken an Ultimate Skill. They said that because the experience of adventuring across countless continents had been engraved so deeply into his soul, he acquired [Argo][King of Expedition], a power that even allowed travel between different worlds.
Even after death, when only his soul and will remained, he still possessed the Ultimate Skill [Argo][King of Expedition], which apparently made it possible for him to continue adventuring through world after world.
'I still have no idea why he wanted to adventure all the way into hell, though...'
Anyway, maybe it was because I was a reincarnator, something even rarer than a possessor, or maybe he pitied me for gaining a new life only to be born as a demon of all things, but the old man helped me a great deal.
True to the dwarves' reputation as a race of craftsmen, he was the single biggest reason my mansion was built.
Not only that, he even taught me the Dwargo family's inherited swordsmanship, which supposedly only High Dwarves of the royal bloodline could learn.
At the moment, I was still a demon without a rank, so my soul's caliber was too low to use it properly. It was like hanging pearls around a pig's neck.
Still, that didn't change the fact that he had helped me tremendously.
...And now, even that bond was slowly nearing its end...
.......................
"...So the time has already come."
"A shame, but what can you do? Such is fate."
Ten years.
Today marked exactly ten years since the day the old man and I first met.
And at the same time—
"As I told you before, this is as far as this old man can go."
—it was time for him to leave this place.
One of the abilities of the Ultimate Skill [Argo][King of Expedition].
[Thousand Shifting Worlds], a power that could launch an expedition to any other world except the Central World, though only once.
However, the price of moving between worlds without restriction was that he could only remain in the world he traveled to for about ten years.
If he stayed any longer, the strain on his soul would become severe, and since Gran was already dead, his soul would surely be destroyed on the spot.
So now he had no choice but to move on to another world, whether he wanted to or not.
"...I'm sorry I've done nothing but receive your help and never managed to repay you properly."
"Ho ho, what are you saying? Having you as someone to talk to all this time was help enough. Meeting a demon like you in such a barren land was surely a stroke of luck for me as well."
Smiling brightly, he gave my bowed shoulder a few light pats.
"...You really think so?"
"Of course I do."
Gran, smiling kindly like any ordinary old man, lightly drove the pitch-black longsword in his hand down toward the ground.
"Back when I was in the Central World, I adventured across countless continents. The land of beastfolk, the dragons' temple, the resting place of spirits, even the realm of the elves... And having traveled the world for so long, I can proudly say I forged no small number of bonds along the way."
Just as he said, the life of the great hero Gran Dwargo was itself an achievement.
He was chosen by the Spirit King.
He shared drinks with other kings.
He crossed blades with countless heroes.
He even slew a nameless Demon Lord.
"Many people said there was no place beneath the heavens I had failed to adventure through, and that the people I protected numbered well into the thousands."
At the same time, he was also the first to gather his own people together and found a nation, leaving his name behind as a great king.
"And the bonds I formed were always one of two kinds."
Either trustworthy great men, or common folk who lived in a different world from his.
"But you were neither."
The demon before him was not some great man he could trust. But neither was he an ordinary vessel.
If I had to describe it, I was an egg that had yet to hatch.
An unknown egg with the potential to be reborn into something like him.
"That is why I truly believe meeting you was a stroke of luck."
Then Gran pulled the longsword from the ground and held it out toward me.
"Here. Take it."
"......This sword..."
"Mm. It's my beloved blade, restored by my own hands over these past ten years."
It was the sword he had been repairing ever since the day I first met him.
Half a lifetime of his was contained within it, the other half of a great hero's very being.
"...Why are you giving this to me?"
Because it had only been incompletely restored, it was far weaker than it used to be, but this sword was clearly the kind of weapon that could grow on its own.
It was an artifact that would be difficult to obtain even with a mountain of gold.
"It's simple."
But Gran had already had enough.
Wiping away his gentle smile, Gran revealed the face of a hero—no, of Dwargo the Adventure King.
He had formed countless bonds, and he had more than enough insight to judge people.
That was why—
"Because I saw it in you."
A soul that, though demonic, leaned closer to good.
"Because you have the qualifications."
A vessel that held possibility.
"Because you resemble them."
The fact that I resembled the heroes he had known.
That was his reason.
"So go on, take it. This sword is named [Sword of the Conqueror]. It suits someone like you far better than an old man who's about to disappear."
"......"
The demon kept his mouth shut, stretched out both trembling hands, and slowly took hold of the sword.
And at that same moment, Gran Dwargo's figure began to blur.
As if mist had rolled in. As if everything had only ever been an illusion.
And yet his sword remained in the demon's hands.
'......'
No one knew why he reached out for it.
Maybe he coveted the sword. Maybe he accepted it only because he couldn't refuse.
But one thing was certain.
[Report. You have acquired the unique-grade weapon [Sword of the Conqueror].]
He was a vessel worthy of wielding that sword.
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