[The Trial of the Demon Sword is over.]

[You must decide between two choices.]

[The demon sword's power and abilities will change based on your decision.]

[Punish - Get rid of Blood for good.]

[Blood is a monster that has murdered countless people and living beings. It cannot be forgiven. Punish it!]

[Forgive - Offer Blood your hand.]

[Blood is filled with great sadness and hatred. Perhaps she never had any other choice but to become a monster.]

"Punishment or forgiveness..."

Kang Oh, who'd read over the system message, thought over his choices.

'If I choose to punish her, then the demon sword will likely lean more towards destruction and pure power...'

Punishment or forgiveness. It was clear that option 1 was far more violent and destructive!

'But there must be some benefit to forgiving her.'

He glanced at the young girl's face and his mind was made up.

'Yeah, let's forgive her.'

Sure, it was a game, but he couldn't just kill a young girl.

He withdrew his sword and also disengaged Devil Trigger.

"Here."

He stretched out his hand.

[You have chosen to forgive her.]

[Forgiving her has determined the Demon Sword Blood's power and abilities.]

[The Demon Sword Blood has become an evolving weapon. The sword may be weak now, but it will gradually become stronger from now on.]

[Demon Sword Blood has retained its ego. Henceforth, Blood will feel and experience everything that you do, whether it be what you see, hear, eat, etc.]

'An evolving weapon...'

If he'd picked punishment, then the demon sword would likely have been powerful right away. However, it wouldn't grow more powerful as time went on.

'I made the right long-term choice.'

Then...

The surrounding environment shook, and Kang Oh was shown a recording from the past.

It was regarding Blood and Grande Loxia.

* * *

A long, long time ago...

A blood mage, who resented the world, sacrificed himself to summon a demon within the deep recesses of the Great Forest.

The demon's name was Paradum.

He was called the Bloodthirsty Demon.

Paradum visited several tribes near his abode.

The demon annihilated all of the tribes' warriors, flaunted his strength, and instructed the people to offer a beautiful young girl to him.

They had no choice but to accede to his demands.

After that, several young women were offered to him as tribute; they became his playthings and would then die for nothing.

However...!

If darkness exists, then so too does light.

The past Guardian of the Continent defeated Paradum, and the countless women that were offered up to him were allowed to return to their respective tribes.

The mother of what would one day be called Blood narrowly survived as well.

But even after escaping Paradun's grasp, her remaining life was filled with nothing but suffering.

She'd had no choice but to become an offering! Even so, upon her return, no one in her tribe welcomed her, as she was pregnant with the demon's child.

On the contrary, her very presence angered those who'd lost their families to the demon, and caused others to fear the child that lay in her belly. These became justifications for the tribe's scorn and violence against her.

Despite that, the woman didn't give up on her child. She gave birth to a girl and raised her.

The discrimination, scorn, and violence only intensified after giving birth.

The same scorn and violence was inflicted upon her child, 'Tasha', as well.

To Tasha, life was nothing but suffering. There was never a day when she wasn't crying, and her body was never left unscathed.

On the day she turned ten...

A member of the tribe was murdered, and Tasha and her mother were blamed for it.

No matter how much they screamed and pleaded that it wasn't their doing, it didn't matter.

The tribe mercilessly stoned the mother and her daughter. Tasha's mother wrapped her body around Tasha, protecting her from the rocks, but died as a result.

It was at that very moment that...

"I'll kill you all!"

The power of a demon that had long laid dormant within her awakened. That was the moment that the Great Forest's Demon, Blood, was born.

Tasha completely annihilated the tribe. Despite that, her hatred and resentment hadn't faded.

She was completely consumed by her hatred and fury that she killed countless living beings that resided within the Great Forest.

As she did so, she became increasingly powerful. She had soon become so powerful that none could even hope to challenge her.

Several tribes and living beings could do nothing but tremble in fear.

That was when the young, gallant, and powerful Grande Loxia came to the Great Forest.

Grande Loxia drew Blood to the Parmarl Underground Labyrinth and engaged her in battle; and after a difficult battle, he emerged as the victor.

However, he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

He'd realized that Blood, or Tasha, bore a deep sadness and hatred, as well as a wound that would never heal.

Even so, he couldn't just leave her here.

She had killed countless people; that was an irrefutable truth. If he just left her here, she'd go on another rampage and kill several more people.

In the end, Grande Loxia sealed her in his sword.

Blood was sucked into his snow-white sword and the blade erupted with blood red energy, spreading everywhere like an explosion.

That's how the Demon Sword Blood was born.

* * *

Once the recording was finished with, Kang Oh was greeted with the sight of familiar faces.

There was Eder, who was ready to bash his head in if necessary! Then there was Sephiro, who was aiming an arrow at his forehead!

"Could you please lower your weapons?" Kang Oh said.

"Did you pass the demon sword's trial?" Eder asked.

He didn't back down; his mace was still ready to strike.

"Yeah, so could you put that away?"

Kang Oh furrowed his brow.

Eder and Sephiro quickly glanced at each other.

'He seems fine, right?'

'Yes. It seems that way. Unfortunately!'

Eder and Sephiro lowered their respective weapons.

"Congratulations," Sephiro said.

Kang Oh nodded his head and lifted his new weapon, its tip pointing at the sky.

"Item information."

[Demon Sword Blood (Lv1)]

Blood, the demon that made all beings within the Great Forest tremble in fear, is sealed within this sword.

The snow-white blade emanates scarlet energy, making the sword extremely beautiful but also ominous.

The sword has an ego of its own. It sees, hears, and feels the world through its wielder, and grows.

Untradeable.

Upon death, there is a high chance that the demon sword either drops, or you become a monster under the demon's thrall for 24 hours.

+ Evolving Weapon: Has its own level. Takes a portion of its wielder's experience points. These experience points are what the demon sword uses to grow. The higher the level, the more powerful the sword and its abilities become.

[Next Level Up: 0%]

+ Life Steal: Dealing damage restores your HP. The amount of health restored is based on the damage you deal and the demon sword's level.

+ Vampiristic Reinforcement: Successfully life stealing increases the sword's attack power by 2%. Life stealing again within a 10 second period causes this effect to stack (10 stacks max).

Rank: SS

Abilities: Attack Power 100, Physical +10, HP +100

Minimum Requirements: Clear the Trial of the Demon Sword

The SS-rank Demon Sword Blood!

'It's different from Ubist, which shares its level with its wielder and requires items to grow.'

Demon Sword Blood was a weapon that leveled up. The higher its level, the more powerful it became.

At certain thresholds, it'd probably gain new abilities too. After all, its abilities were kind of weak for an SS-rank weapon.

'Takes a portion of my experience points, huh...'

It was an SS-rank weapon. He was more than willing to take the hit.

He was already feeding Ubist all sorts of junk to get it to grow, so what's a few experience points here and there!?

Finally...

'An ego sword?'

"Excuse me."

Kang Oh shook the demon sword and called for Blood. He thought that perhaps she'd be able to speak to him, as it was an ego sword.

...

However, there was absolutely no reply.

"Huh?"

"What are you doing?"

The nearby Sephiro and Eder replied instead.

"Ah, that's..."

Kang Oh briefly explained the features of his new demon sword.

"Hoh, an ego sword, huh. That's quite fascinating. Moreover, it's an SS-rank weapon... You've hit the jackpot!"

Sephiro stared at the demon sword in fascination.

"Ms. Blood!"

Kang Oh shook the demon sword once more.

...

She didn't reply this time either, but at least this time, the sword shook. It was as if she was saying, 'Why do you keep calling me!?'.

"Seems like you can understand me, but you can't speak yet," Kang Oh said.

Then, a figure appeared out of nowhere.

Though there was a scar over his left eye, his face was nevertheless soft and kind. His hair and beard were neat and tidy, and he had a large, tough frame despite being an old man! He cut a striking figure.

"You are..."

Kang Oh knew right away who this was.

He was Grande Loxia!

"How are you all doing!?"

Grande beamed.

[You have completed the quest, Inherit the Demon Sword.]

[As a quest reward, you may learn a Demonic Swordsman skill.]

[Please learn the skill directly from Grande Loxia.]

"Hello, Lord Grande. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kang Oh. I inherited Demon Sword Blood," Kang Oh greeted politely.

It was an automatic reaction to him realizing that Grande Loxia would teach him a skill.

"My name is Eder."

"I am Sephiro."

"It's a pleasure. I'm Grande Loxia. Well, to be more specific, I'm more like a vestigial memory that remains within the demon sword, so I'm not really alive."

"Then what are you...?"

"I'm kind of like a ghost. After all, I died quite some time ago."

Grande Loxia shrugged his shoulders. Although he stated he was like a ghost, his expression and actions seemed like the real deal.

"I see."

Kang Oh nodded his head.

Grande glanced at the demon sword, which Kang Oh was holding.

"I can feel life within the sword's red light, so you must've made the same choice that I made."

He must be referring to the 'forgive' choice that Kang Oh had decided upon.

"Show her the world. Take it as a request from an old man," Grande requested.

"I understand."

"Thanks."

Grande sported a lighthearted expression as if he'd dropped a heavy burden.

"Don't you have something to give me?"

It felt as though Grande Loxia would just up and disappear, so Kang Oh quickly reminded him of why he was here.

"Ah, that's right... I'll teach you one of the Demonic Swordsman skills that I know."

"What kind of skill?"

"It's called Blood Cross. It uses HP, not MP to activate, and unleashes a cross-shaped aura. The effects of this technique differ based on the demon sword that you're using."

Kang Oh looked disappointed after hearing Grande's explanation.

'I don't really need an aura skill...'

Kang Oh already had Tempest Tiger. Plus, it had already reached the intermediate rank!

Not only that, but he could unleash an Abyss Aura when using Devil Trigger as well. Thus, he really didn't need another aura type skill.

"Do you want to learn Blood Cross?" Grande asked.

"Do you happen to have any other skills that you can teach me?"

"Why? You don't like Blood Cross?"

"No, not really," Kang Oh firmly said.

"Hmm."

Grande stroked his beard.

A short while later...

"How about Seal Demon?"

"Seal Demon?"

"It's a technique that allows you to seal a demon within a sword."

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

"Is this used to make a demon sword?"

"Indeed. But you can only use the technique once in your life. Plus, you can only seal a demon within a peerless blade."

"Hmm. Do you have any other skills that you could teach me?" Kang Oh asked.

He needed to know all of his options first.

"No," Grande said.

There were two choices ahead of him.

Blood Cross or Seal Demon.

There was nothing to think about.

"Please teach me Seal Demon."

"Are you sure? Blood Cross is a really good skill," Grande asked for a final time.

"As I said, please teach me Seal Demon."

Kang Oh didn't hesitate at all.

"Alright, I got it."

Grande stretched out his hand towards him. A sphere of light exited his hand and was sucked into Kang Oh's body.

[You have learned Seal Demon (Active/Skill).]