121 Chapter 121: A Proper Sword (1/2)
A hushed murmur of disbelief was running through the spectators as they stared at me as if I was an idiot. After all, what kind of moron requested for his opponent to be given a more powerful weapon? Wasn't I shooting myself in the foot?
I ignored them and continued to address a stunned Stuart.
”I mean no offense, but the…uh, ornamental sword you gave us earlier wouldn't do Mr. Franklin here justice. As you have seen, it has crumbled and cracked under his continuous use of magic, and thus he is unable to show us the true extent of his full strength. I would like to beseech you to give Mr. Franklin a sword of much better quality, one that matches his abilities.”
Lionel Stuart watched me curiously, his mind currently buried in deep thought. ”That is indeed a bold request you are making. What about yourself? Would you also like a sword that can match your abilities as well?”
I shook my head and grinned. ”That will not be necessary. I presume you have watched a few of my matches prior to this. If so, you should be aware that I generally do not use a Divine Device during battle.”
”Interesting!” Stuart clapped his hands in undisguised interest. ”It is true that I have yet to see any of the spells I have heard so much about. You might have impressed me with three wood techniques, but what I really want to see is your much-rumored Constellation magic.” His eyes twinkled mischievously. ”Just don't blow my building up. It cost me a bomb to build it.” he nodded and favored me with a smile. ”Very well then, I'll accede to your request. Shawn, you don't have any objections to this, do you?”
Franklin grinned arrogantly. ”If the fool wishes to die facing my real abilities, then I will be more than happy to oblige him.”
”Do you really think you're capable of killing me?” I snorted.
Stuart nodded and beckoned Cecilia over. She exited the box and strode toward him.
”Cecilia, go get an appropriate weapon for Shawn. Oh, and…” he beckoned Cecilia closer. She obediently approached him and allowed her father to lean over and whisper several instructions into her ear.
”Yes, I'll contact him, Father,” Cecilia obliged. ”I'll also get Mr. Shawn an appropriate weapon as well.”
She vanished out of the room, the great doors sliding back and allowing her exit.
”Do you have a death wish, fool?” Franklin asked me snidely. ”If I was using a real sword, you wouldn't even last one minute.”
I responded with a thin smile. ”And how long do you think you'll last if I was using my real summoning magic?”
Franklin snorted. ”It doesn't matter what magic you have hidden up your sleeves. You'll regret this.”
”Actually, I wouldn't.” I was telling the truth. ”I've got nothing to lose. The worst that could happen is that I get humiliated in front of everybody, but it's nothing life-threatening. I can live with a broken ego. You, on the other hand, will lose everything if I defeat you.”
”You…!” Franklin snarled.
”How is your father doing?” Stuart took the opportunity to intervene before Franklin and I could squabble further. He was looking at me curiously. ”I heard that he was deployed to flush out a terrorist organization that was employing some new weapon to artificially create Emergence events.”
”Dad is still out on the field,” I confirmed. ”It's been about three weeks now. But given his abilities and experience, I'm not worried. Sometimes, Dad takes months to complete a mission, but he always succeeds, no matter what kind of objective he is tasked with.”
”That is true.” Stuart laughed heartily. ”The highly revered Angel of Fire is the stuff of legends. I've always wanted to meet him. When your father returns, send my regards to him. I've heard so many stories about him. He is one of the Heroes of the Federation.”
That was propaganda bullshit, and something Dad hated, but I tactfully didn't tell Stuart that. I merely nodded.
”If I'm not mistaken, in addition to summoning a Fire Angel, he is also a skilled swordsman. You said earlier that you learned your sword techniques from him?”
”I did,” I affirmed.
”Excellent. Perhaps you will be able to carry on his mantle in future.”
Stuart then turned toward Franklin. ”How about you, Shawn? How is your family doing?”
”Oh, my father…”
Uninterested in their conversation, I glanced at the spectators. Alicia and Adrian were still off to the back, watching me worriedly. Or at least, Alicia looked anxious. Adrian looked as relaxed as ever, as if he believed I would kick Franklin's ass eventually. That it was only a matter of time before I won. In some respects, he really reminded me of Harvey Deng.
The two of them should really come together and form an official fan club, except that there was no way I wanted such an abomination to exist, so I vowed never to give them that idea.
However, Adrian suddenly twitched, and then raised his smartphone to his ear. He seemed to be conversing with someone on the other end of the call, nodding and sighing before hanging up and grimacing. Alicia asked him if he was all right, and he nodded, waving her concerns away with his usual candor. Catching my eye, he grinned and showed me a thumb's up.
I nodded and returned my attention to Stuart.
The patriarch was laughing at something, but before he or Franklin could say anything else, Cecilia chose that moment to return to the room. The grinding gears of sliding doors announced her reentry, the heavy metal clanging noisily against the ground. Cecilia strode in confidently, bearing a long katana.
I almost fell over from the mere sight of the Divine Device. No…it would be more accurate to perhaps label it a Demonic Device. Despite being a fair distance away from the sword, I could feel the immense power radiating from it.
This sword is the real deal… I thought nervously. Yet, at the same time, I was beginning to feel a twinge of excitement in my gut. The prospect of going up against a sword of such caliber was mouth-watering. I could only hope that Franklin wouldn't disappoint me with all his bragging of being an elite, upper class swordsman.
Franklin, too, was stunned for a moment, but he quickly recovered. He began staring at the katana hungrily. ”L…Lord Stuart, this is…”
”Yes.” Stuart nodded. ”This is the legendary sword, Ye Mo, fashioned by Ou Ye Zi several centuries ago. I believe this sword will not disappoint your abilities.”
Franklin immediately dropped to his knees and lowered his head to display his gratitude. ”T…thank you, Lord Stuart. This is beyond anything I can repay you…”
”I'm not the one you should be thanking.” Stuart chuckled. ”It was Richard here who made this request.” He turned to me. ”Are you sure you will be fine without a Divine Device of your own? Ye Mo is an extremely powerful and dangerous sword.”
”Forged by Ou Ye Zi, huh?” Apparently the legendary swordsmith hadn't been forgotten despite the long ravages of history. His near mythical weapons had survived even to this day, in the 30th century. But I had never heard of Ou Ye Zi forging such a demonic sword. Furthermore, the original Ou Ye Zi was supposed to have lived during the Spring and Autumn period millennia ago, yet Stuart said centuries. Perhaps some other guy took on his name? That would make sense.
The katana didn't seem like the regular Divine Devices, but more of a prototypical. Yet it was in no way inferior to modern Divine Devices. It was an authentic demonic katana that radiated immense waves of killing intent and bloodlust, a monster that could only have been forged by a violent and insane swordsmith bent only on wreaking violence and unleashing death upon the world.
Just what sort of person was this new Ou Ye Zi, and why did he even bother taking on the name of the legendary swordsmith from myth?
However, I suppressed any desire I might have felt for a Divine Device of my own, and bowed deeply.
”Thank you, Lord Stuart. But my sword has not been broken yet.” I pointed at my discarded weapon. It was still lying in the corner of the arena, and remained in one piece despite its cracks and chips. The blade was broken beyond repair due to my overuse of extremely advanced wood spells from Green Dragon, but otherwise it should be able to handle one last technique.