Episode 267: The Weapon Master (2)
Damian sheathed his sword, Dawn, once more.
In the distance, the Weapon Master lay sprawled on the ground, his limbs severed and his skin flayed. The light emitted by Dawn had quite literally shredded him.
“Surprised you’re still alive,” Damian remarked.
It wasn’t so much that the Weapon Master was resilient; rather, Damian’s handling of Dawn was still unrefined. This was his first time wielding its power.
Damian approached the Weapon Master, intent on finishing him off for good.
Just then, a shrill voice pierced the air.
“Stop right there!”
“Don’t you dare harm our master!”
Cursed swords flew toward Damian. His focus on Dawn had weakened his control over the flying swords, allowing the cursed blades to break free and target him.
“Annoying pests,” Damian muttered.
“Don’t get cocky, human!”
“Or you’ll end up with a hole in your gut!”
Dodging the cursed swords, Damian channeled more magic into Dawn. The aura blade glowed even brighter.
“I’ll destroy you all right here,” he declared, ready to strike.
But before he could swing, Akilo did something unexpected. He lifted the Weapon Master high into the air.
Damian couldn’t fathom Akilo’s intentions. He assumed it was a desperate attempt to flee or heal the Weapon Master.
However, Akilo’s actions defied all expectations. He tossed the Weapon Master into a blazing furnace.
“What…?”
The furnace, now consuming the Weapon Master, roared with intensified flames.
“Hahaha! Yes! This is it!” Akilo laughed heartily, welcoming the transformation.
“I was worried the Cursed Sword of Annihilation would be incomplete, but to think I’d get the final ingredient like this!”
Damian was taken aback. The final ingredient for the Cursed Sword of Annihilation was the Weapon Master?
In his past life, Damian had never heard of such a thing. The Weapon Master had never been used as mere material for a cursed sword.
’…I’ve changed the future.’
In his previous life, the Weapon Master had crafted the Cursed Sword of Annihilation without interference. Thus, Akilo never had the chance to use him as “material.”
But this life was different. Damian had left the Weapon Master in ruins, allowing Akilo to throw him into the furnace.
“The body of a duke-level demon, a furnace crafted by tens of thousands of dwarves, and the body of a knight nearing grandmaster level! With this, the true Cursed Sword of Annihilation is complete!”
The red flames within the furnace turned a deep purple, and a fierce wind began to swirl around it.
Damian felt a sense of foreboding. If left unchecked, something catastrophic would surely occur.
He needed to destroy it. But just as he moved to act, something emerged from the furnace.
Its entire body glowed red-hot like molten lava, making it impossible to discern its shape.
A strange sound emanated from it as it rose, straightening its back and lifting its head.
As the red-hot body rapidly cooled, Damian could finally see what it was.
It resembled a human, with two arms and two legs. But upon closer inspection, it was entirely different.
The body was made of metal, from the skin down to the muscles beneath. The face had no eyes or mouth, just a metal plate etched with wave-like patterns.
”…What has happened to my body?” it murmured, looking down at itself. The moment it saw its transformed body, it froze.
“No… no way… Is this… is this my body?”
Its voice trembled with shock.
“But… strangely… I feel good… Strangely good…”
Gradually, its voice filled with exhilaration.
“I can feel it… the immense power within this body… I feel like I can do anything… What is this omnipotence?”
“Seems like you’re pleased,” Akilo commented, addressing the Weapon Master. The Weapon Master turned sharply to face him.
“Akilo! What have you done to my body?”
“I’ve given you the body of a cursed sword instead of a frail human one. Isn’t it magnificent?”
“I want to kill you right now!”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean. Be honest. Aren’t you satisfied?”
The Weapon Master fell silent, as if acknowledging the truth in Akilo’s words.
“Why didn’t you tell me I was the final ingredient?”
“Because you didn’t trust me. If I had told you, you would have killed me, wouldn’t you?”
Unable to deny it, the Weapon Master clicked his tongue.
Who would willingly enter a furnace that could melt steel in an instant?
“I’ll deal with you later. There’s someone I need to kill first.”
The Weapon Master turned to Damian. Even without a face, Damian could sense his intent.
“Damian Haxen. Let’s start the second round.”
The Weapon Master’s voice brimmed with confidence and exhilaration.
Damian clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“This is troublesome.”
The Cursed Sword of Annihilation.
A masterpiece crafted using the body of a duke-level demon, imbued with its powers.
Already a fearsome weapon, it had become even stronger by merging with the Weapon Master.
For Damian, this was far from an ideal situation.
“Troublesome?” the Weapon Master scoffed.
“Seems you don’t grasp the situation.”
The Weapon Master’s hand melted and morphed into a long sword.
“I’ll show you exactly what kind of power I’ve gained.”
Dark energy began to concentrate around the sword, drawing in the surrounding air. A storm raged around the Weapon Master.
He swung the sword, and a black slash shot toward Damian.
By the time Damian realized the sword had been swung, the slash was already upon him.
It was too late to dodge. Damian blocked the slash with Dawn.
“Ugh.”
The overwhelming force threatened to crush both Damian and Dawn.
Even with his triple-ring technique activated, it was a struggle. In the end, Damian had no choice but to deflect the black slash.
The deflected slash struck the ground, obliterating half the city.
The destruction didn’t stop there. The slash continued, shattering mountain ranges in its path.
It was as if someone had erased the mountains in a straight line.
“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”
The Weapon Master laughed heartily.
“To think a casual swing could do this! I feel unstoppable! No one can stand in my way now!”
Simply releasing his aura had obliterated the mountains.
The truly terrifying part was that the Weapon Master hadn’t even used the Cursed Sword of Annihilation’s full power yet.
“Even just releasing the aura blade could erase you without a trace! But that’s too boring! I’ll cut you down with my own hands!”
The Weapon Master’s body vanished, reappearing right in front of Damian in the blink of an eye.
He swung his sword at Damian, who instinctively raised Dawn to block the strike.
In that instant, Damian’s body was sliced in two.
The Cursed Sword of Annihilation’s power was distortion.
It had the ability to distort anything.
Just now, the Weapon Master had twisted space to cut through Damian’s body.
“Hahaha! You shouldn’t fight a cursed sword you don’t understand!”
The Weapon Master laughed gleefully.
But despite being cut, no blood flowed from Damian’s body.
”…Huh?”
Through the tear in Damian’s clothes, a black armor was visible.
It was the magic armor Hemeira, which Damian had used in his past life.
“Magic armor? And not just any armor! Where did you get such a rare item?”
Damian discarded his torn shirt.
“This is really troublesome.”
Damian already knew about the Cursed Sword of Annihilation’s power.
That’s why he had worn Hemeira beneath his clothes as a precaution.
“I wanted to kill you before the Cursed Sword of Annihilation was completed.”
Damian stretched his neck from side to side. The Weapon Master laughed.
“Still planning to fight? Good! Don’t give up! Face me! I need to test my newfound powers!”
The Weapon Master flicked his fingers, and the cursed swords flew toward him.
“Master! What’s happening?”
“You look even cooler!”
“Our connection feels stronger! We can feel it!”
The cursed swords chattered excitedly. The Weapon Master spoke with irritation.
“Quiet. Prepare to fight him.”
“But Master! He’s too strong!”
“We can’t kill him with our power alone!”
“You need to wield us!”
Normally, cursed swords could only unleash their powers when held.
Right now, they were just flying blades.
“Don’t worry. That’s about to change.”
The Weapon Master summoned dark energy.
The dark energy flowed from the Weapon Master into the cursed swords.
“Oh… Oh… Oh!”
“I can feel it… I can feel it!”
“The power… I can feel the power!”
Even without the Weapon Master holding them, the cursed swords began to unleash their powers. Lightning, fire, and darkness swirled wildly in the air.
Watching the spectacle unfold, Damian clicked his tongue in annoyance.
As if merging with the Weapon Master wasn’t troublesome enough, now there were ten cursed swords manifesting their powers on their own.
“Dealing with each one of these would be a fool’s errand,” Damian muttered, reaching out into the air.
“Come forth, Erebus.”
The tattoo on his wrist vanished, and Erebus appeared.
The Weapon Master’s eyes gleamed at the sight of Erebus.
“That sword! So you had it with you all along! I’ll kill you and take that sword! It’ll be the ultimate trophy!”
Ignoring the Weapon Master’s delight, Damian activated the power of envy.
He converted all his magical energy into dark magic and infused it into Erebus.
“Erebus, it’s time to awaken.”
Erebus let out a sound, neither human nor beast. In fact, it wasn’t a sound any living creature could make.
Simultaneously, the entire world seemed to tremble. The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and the city’s buildings began to crumble.
”…Incredible,” the Weapon Master marveled, awestruck.
“Truly incredible! What a magnificent sword! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life…”
But then, the Weapon Master’s demeanor shifted.
“A sword…? No… This isn’t a sword… This is… something else entirely…”
Cursed swords can recognize one another.
And since the Weapon Master had become one with a cursed sword, he could sense it too.
Erebus was fundamentally different from any cursed sword.
“What on earth is that? What are you carrying…?”
Damian offered no explanation. Instead, he commanded Erebus.
“Erebus, devour.”
A wave emanated from Erebus.
Everything it touched turned to gray. Rocks, metal, even flowers blooming on the ground were no exception.
The gray-tinted objects vanished immediately. As the wave spread, the city began to disappear.
Eventually, the wave engulfed the cursed swords.
The gray world was eerily silent, as if the very concept of sound had been erased.
”…Huh?”
”…What?”
At first, the cursed swords were bewildered.
But as their forms began to turn gray, their reactions changed.
“Ah… Ahhh…”
“Oh… Oh no…”
Their previously confused voices started to carry traces of pain.
Finally, the cursed swords screamed in unison.
“Aaaah! It hurts! It hurts!”
“My body! My body is disappearing!”
“Someone! Please, someone save us!”
The once silent gray space was now filled with the screams of the cursed swords.
“What are you all doing? Get a grip!” the Weapon Master shouted at them. But the swords were beyond following orders.
“Aaaah!”
“Aaaah!”
The cursed swords fell to the ground, rolling like discarded trash.
Soon, they began to vanish from the edges, as if nibbled away by mice, until they were completely gone.
“This… This is impossible…”
When the wave reached the Weapon Master, his body turned gray in an instant.
His entire being began to dissolve.