Before I died, I wondered to myself.
How had I lost so badly? Was it not a fairly normal question?
Why had this sword, a blade renowned for its power and ferocity, become so weak? It was as if I wasn't even using a magic sword anymore.
I pulled all my strength back and slowly tried to stand up.
The after-effects from Rage of Iratus were severe on the body.
It made it nearly impossible to function after using it.
The skill had incredible power, but it was only to be used as a trump card. A final ability to end a battle quickly.
I eventually got to my feet and stared at my opponent.
I knew I was probably going to die.
Arvild had sustained a fair amount of damage from me, but he was still fighting at mostly full strength.
By comparison, I was already waist-deep in the grave...
Why was Vengeance so weak? Why was it acting like it wasn't even my sword? Didn't I at least deserve to know? I tried talking to it so many times before, but it never wanted to respond.
The last time I heard it was when Cassandra was nearby.
It was strange...
This sword hated Arvild almost as much as Cassandra. Why was it not aggressive towards him?
Wasn't Arvild a false wielder?
I decided that I wanted to at least know this before I died.
Vengeance...what have I done wrong? Why are you ignoring me? Answer me! If you don't help me, I'll die here!
[Must I spell it out!? COWARD! FALSE WIELDER!!! YOU'RE A DAMN COWARDLY FALSE WIELDER! HIDING BEHIND YOUR SHIELD LIKE IT WILL SAVE YOU! I HATE THAT SHIELD! I WANT TO KILL MY ENEMIES, NOT HIDE FROM THEM! DO NOT HIDE FROM YOUR PREY!!! THAT MAKES YOU A FALSE WIELDER!!! IF YOU WANT TO HIDE BEHIND A SHIELD, CONVINCE BRAVERY TO BE YOUR SWORD! AS FOR ME, I WANT TO BATHE IN THE BLOOD OF MY ENEMIES!!!]
Without the shield, his attacks will kill me! How the hell do I survive an attack from Arvild if I can't block!?
[Fool. Don't allow yourself to get hit. Kill your enemy before they can fight back. KILL YOUR PREY!!! KILL THIS FALSE WIELDER AND PROVE YOUR DOMINANCE!!! ANNIHILATE YOUR ENEMIES! MASSACRE THEM! I AM NOT MEANT TO BE USED WITH A SHIELD! IF YOU CAN'T FIGHT WITH MERCILESS, DOMINATING FEROCITY, YOU DO NOT DESERVE MY POWER!]
When I thought about it, it seemed reaspnable coming from a sword bearing such a menacing name. Apparently, using it like a standard sword was both wrong and insulting to it.
Vengeance was definitely some kind of demon sword. In fact, it seemed like it was possessed by the spirit of a murderous psychopath hell-bent on revenge.
At this point...I had nothing else to lose.
I didn't want to die here and Arvild seemed to have composed himself.
[Choose, my wielder. Forsake your shield and use me to slay this false wielder. Or keep your pathetic shield and remain a false wielder, yourself. I will forsake thee. I will abandon you to die a weakling peasant's death. But if you seek to live...obey me. This Arvild stands opposed. He is a false wielder. A coward shall never be permitted to wield Bravery and misuse its power. HE MUST BE VANQUISHED!!! THIS FOOL HAS CAUSED YOU FAR TOO MUCH SUFFERING! I DEMAND HIS BLOOD!!!]
Fine then...I'll do as you ask. You want his blood? I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU WITHOUT THE DAMN SHIELD!
"I'll admit, you did a lot more to me than I thought you would, Mizik. Perhaps you aren't as weak as I thought you were..." Arvild said. "I'm going to enjoy presenting your head to Isabella!"
At that moment, I raised my shield arm and threw my shield away from myself.
"FIREBALL!!!" I screamed as I shot an exploding ball of flame at the useless piece of flat metal.
The spell impacted the shield and exploded.
It was already badly damaged, but now it would be basically unusable.
"Have you lost it!?" Arvild said. "How do you expect to survive if you can't protect yourself?"
"By killing you before you can kill me!!!" I shouted.
At that moment, I felt a surge of something within me.
[GOOD! NOW MAKE HIM SUFFER!!! KILL HIM!!!]
At once, all of my strength returned to my body.
Vengeance blazed red with a roaring flame and I pointed it at Arvild.
A wind-like purple energy shot forth and enveloped Arvild.
He looked around and suddenly his proud and mocking expression turned to fear.
"Vengeance...Death Curse!? What...what the hell is this!?!? What did you just do to me?" Arvild shouted.
[NOW HE IS WEAK. I HAVE RESTORED YOUR POWER!!! KILL HIM! GIVE ME HIS BLOOD!!! SLAY THE FALSE WELDER AND FREE BRAVERY FROM THIS COWARDLY FOOL!!!]
Rage of Iratus now had its cooldown refreshed.
I wanted to kill this asshole already, so I decided to see if Vengeance would help me out more.
"RAGE OF IRATUS!!!" I shouted.
My vision didn't turn red this time. Instead, the flames surrounding Vengeance began to burn brighter.
"H-hold on...just because your sword is working now, you think you can win!? Don't make me laugh!" Arvild said somewhat shakily.
["Laugh as much as you want, FALSE WIELDER... It may bring you comfort in the last few moments of your pathetic life,"] I said.
It almost felt like something else was speaking with me...
["Vanguard Strike!"] I said as I shot forward like an arrow and threw a punch at Arvild's stupid face.
He was caught off guard but dodged the strike. After that, I brought my sword down on him.
He caught my sword with his shield, but...
["As expected. FULL MOON SLASH!!!"] My blade slashed his shield multiple times and caused him to drop his guard.
I lunged forward and stabbed Arvild in the shoulder.
"BLAST NOVA!!" Arvild screamed in vain.
["Assassinate."]
I teleported behind him as soon as the explosion went off and dodged it completely.
Just before my blade finally reached his neck, Arvild ducked and put some distance between us.
"Sunlight blade!!!" He shouted and brought his sword down.
I took one step to the side and lunged at him again.
"Shield enchant! Ice! Shield wall!!" Arvild used his skills in just before I was upon him.
["Grand dispel! Armor destruction!"]
I dispelled both of his skills as I slammed the hilt of my sword into Arvild's shield.
As soon as it hit...for just a moment, I saw fear in his eyes.
He was scared now.
Was Arvild truly a coward? Only brave when he had the upper hand?
I saw a thin veil of magic surrounding his shield disappear.
Then his shield cracked and his fear became terror.
The shield shattered from my skill and at once, I saw the runes on Bravery begin to darken even more.
I see... If I can force him to feel fear, then the sword becomes useless.
Arvild scrambled back and put distance between us.
"You! What are you!? Some kind of monster!?" He said shakily.
At that moment, Rage of Iratus wore off.
I felt upset by this but as soon as it did...
[MORE!]
The skill was refreshed.
I smiled.
["I AM VENGEANCE!!! RAGE OF IRATUS!!!"]
The flames on my sword had gotten noticeably bigger since I had started winning the fight...
I raised my sword high into the air and the flames grew significantly.
Arvild's eyes went wide in horror as I brought my blade down.
The roaring crimson flames erupted in his direction and Arvild just barely managed to jump out the way.
The flames exploded as they hit a wall in the arena and destroyed it completely.
Luckily, no one had been sitting in that particular section.
However, the nobles I could see in the stands looked terrified. Could they see something I didn't?
All I knew was that Arvild looked terrified of me. Although...he didn't seem to be looking directly at me anymore.
As I stepped towards Arvild, I noticed that he had picked up my old shield and was now holding it by the top instead of the broken handle.
His eyes had gone wide as he stared in my direction.
"WHAT IS THAT THING!?!? WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS THAT!?" He screamed.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
Regardless, I wanted to make him suffer.
["Fool. I am Vengeance. Or did you forget? I am your Overseer. Your one and only god. You dare raise my subordinate against me? You dare harm my wielder? You will be punished. I will have your head...I will have your soul."]
I lunged at him and chopped his fingers off at the top of the shield.
"GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Arvild screamed as he dropped the shield.
Arvild backed up and started whimpering in fear.
He tried to grip Bravery in both hands and attempted to defend himself with it.
He was shaking like a leaf.
This man was a sniveling coward.
My hand began to move on its own and I reached out and grabbed the blade of the sword.
Something happened that surprised me...
The runes on Bravery had darkened significantly. Instead of an immaculate silver color, the blade turned dark gray.
["See your wielder for what he is, Bravery. Now you know the error of your selection. He is a coward. As evidenced by your blade..."]
I clenched my hand and the blade crumbled in it. All the way down to the hilt.
I felt myself smile as I pointed Vengeance at Arvild.
["And first...TO THE ARM THAT DARED TO ATTACK ME, TO THE ARM THAT DARED TO DEFILE BRAVERY WITH COWARDICE, I CURSE YOU!!!"]
I swung Vengeance and chopped his sword arm off from the shoulder in one smooth motion.
"AHHHH!!!! NOOOO!!!!" he screamed.
Arvild fell back and tried to get away from me, but I had no intention of letting him live.
["Chain lightning!"] I said and used my free hand to shock Arvild while he was on the ground.
I grabbed Arvild by the neck with my free hand and started squeezing him as hard as I could.
["Die. Bleed for me. Suffer! LET ME BATHE IN YOUR BLOOD, COWARD!!! YOU WILL WIELD BRAVERY NO LONGER, FALSE WIELDER!!! DEFILER!!! ABOMINABLE, INSUFFERABLE WHELP!!!"] I screamed as I felt Vengeance speaking with me.
I kept squeezing his throat. Harder and harder.
I began to feel the crack of his bones, and then...
"Kuh....gah... Smoke...Bomb...!" Arvild managed to say.
He used his remaining arm and created an explosion of smoke that obscured my vision.
He hit me directly in the face with it and I dropped him.
["Get back here and die for me! Enemy detection!"] I said.
Instantly, I could see the silhouette of Arvild running towards the hole in the arena for dear life.
["Arcane ballista!"] I said as I fired a bolt of magic from my free hand.
Unfortunately, my arm was still acting up.
I didn't feel the pain, but my arm wouldnt extend completely.
My aim was off and I just barely missed my mark.
Arvild reached the hole on the wall and managed to get away.
Damn coward...
The smoke cleared and I reached for the sword that Arvild had dropped on the ground. Although, I suppose it was only a hilt without a blade at this point. I decided to place it in my inventory. I'd look at it later...
For now...I felt tired...
I allowed Vengeance to return to my inventory as Rage of Iratus wore off once again.
Then...I collapsed to the ground. And I saw Isabella running towards me just before I passed out.
[You did well, my wielder. I knew you were the right choice. You will be safe with your beloved. Rest now. Our prey might flee, but tomorrow is another day. Soon, we will hunt again...and I will have VENGEANCE!!!]
* * *
I awoke the next day wrapped in bandages and once again in the castle hospital.
I really need to stop coming here...
Isabella, of course, was sleeping beside me in a chair.
She was still in her wedding dress.
It was quite dirty and parts of it looked slightly torn.
A damn shame, really. That dress looked beautiful on her. But I supposed anything would, when I thought about it.
"Hey," I said to her.
Her eyes opened quickly.
"Mizik!" She said as she lunged forward and hugged me tightly.
"Ah! Watch it!" I said as I felt pain soar through my body.
"S-sorry!" She said as she drew back from me.
"Don't worry about it, Isabella. Are you alright?" I asked her.
It seemed like an odd thing to ask in the circumstances, but her dress was filthy and torn. Not to mention, our wedding day was ruined and she nearly watched me die. Still...
"Me? I'm fine! What about you!? You almost died out there fighting that bastard! Then it looked like you went crazy or something..." She said.
"Ah...kind of... Vengeance is a really weird sword..." I said as I looked away.
But as I did, I heard the sounds of quiet weeping.
I looked back over to Isabella and saw her face drenched in tears.
"Umm...did I say something wrong?" I asked. Isabella shook her head in response.
"You have to...stop scaring me like this... This is the second time you've almost died on me, Mizik! I don't want to lose you!" She said as the tears streamed forth.
Isabella gently laid her head and hands on my chest and cried softly.
I stroked her hair and waited until she stopped. The scene was quite familiar, to be honest.
My left arm was completely bandaged and I was patched up all over the place.
I reached into my inventory and pulled out Vengeance.
"Mizik? What's that for?" Isabella asked curiously as she raised her head.
"Excuse me for a moment," I said.
I placed the tip of the blade on my arm and tried again.
"Grand heal."
At once the magic emerged from the sword and wrapped around my arm... Although, something about it was off.
The healing magic had red energy mixed into it.
Instantly, my arm felt almost normal again.
There was still a bit of soreness, but it felt fine.
I used the blade to start cutting the bandages off.
"Wait! Mizik! Should you really be doing that!?" Isabella said suddenly.
"Yeah. We have a wedding to get to, right?" I said as I slid the last of the bandages off.
I moved my arm and it worked just fine.
I placed the blade on several parts of my body and began using the same technique.
"The...wedding has been postponed... Until at least next week..." Isabella said sadly.
At her words, I felt nothing but anger towards Arvild.
That bastard nearly killed me, but I got him back good.
Still...he delayed our wedding.
But truthfully, I almost felt like thanking him. Because of his idiocy, I made amends with Vengeance.
And now I felt stronger than ever.
Once I finished healing myself, I cut the rest of the bandages off and got out of bed. I felt almost completely rejuvenated.
This sword really was amazing.
If Vengeance, a sword used to kill, was this good at healing my wounds, what could a sword like Compassion do? Could it regenerate lost limbs? Revive the dead?
I turned to Isabella and smiled at her. She stared at me in awe.
The medics had taken my armor and shirt to heal my torso, but luckily, I was still wearing pants....
Otherwise, it might have just gotten very awkward...
"Mizik, you're really are amazing, you know that?" Isabella said plainly.
"Well, I try. My father didn't raise a wimp," I said proudly.
"No, he certainly didn't," Isabella said with an adoring smile.
"You should probably go get changed and cleaned up, Isabella."
"R-right...I haven't bothered to change since yesterday..."
After that, we decided it would be best to just take it easy for a while.
I hoped soon that Isabella would truly become my wife.
Nothing was going to stop me now.