Editor: Sebas Tian, Joker, Speedphoenix

  As the figurative furnace cooled, the light surrounding the newly merged item began to dim.

  “Wow… “ I blinked, impressed, before reaching towards the final result and grabbing it by the hilt.

  The blade glimmered. The light that came from the chandeliers illuminating the room almost seemed to sparkle off its edge. It, the final product, was a blade of Japanese origin—a katana. Specifically, it was a longer sub-type of katana known as a Tachi. Or at least that was what it would have been had its size been any less disproportionate. The blade was so long that drawing it from a scabbard looked like it would be a royal pain. Fortunately, there was no need for me to carry my weapon the same way the average Joe would. I had a magical inventory, and I planned to use it.

  My new weapon’s blade wasn’t nearly as wide or thick as the western styled swords that I had been using to date, but its weight matched, no, exceeded its predecessors’ nonetheless. The grip, the part that I had grabbed, was fairly simple as far as its design went. So simple, in fact, that it lacked a guard.

  By contrast, its blade was beautiful. It was dyed a fiery shade of crimson and almost seemed to embody the concept of flame itself.

  The only thing the weapon lacked now was a name.

  And I had just the perfect one in mind.

  “Alright, from here on out, your name is gonna be Zaien.” After christening it, I analyzed the weapon to ensure that it had taken on its new moniker.

  ***

  Zaien: A greatsword in the shape of a katana synthesized by a Demon Lord by the name of Yuki. This blade despises sin and forgives not those that commit it. Through its blade, which only grows sharper and more powerful as it bathes in blood, Zaien convicts sinners of their crimes and delivers their sentences itself. Equipping this weapon leads to a drastic boost in its wielder’s stats. Quality: Immeasurable.

  ***

  To summarize, Zaien was a crimson blade capable of judging and punishing sinners. And that was precisely why I had given it the name I had. Zaien was a combination of two Japanese words. The former denoted sin, while the latter denoted flame. Together, the two formed a perfect description of exactly what the weapon was.

  Its specs were quite literally off the charts. It was obviously not only far superior to anything I’d made to date, but also likely more powerful than anything I would ever make going forward. Yet, according to its description, the sword was still incomplete. I guess that’s probably why it’s got that whole immeasurable quality and all that.

  Of course, it went without saying that I didn’t mind. Gradually strengthening a sword that only grew more powerful as it continued to cut was an entire male fantasy in and of itself.

  As for the weapon in question? It also seemed quite satisfied with its transformation—which made sense given the sinister air that had possessed it prior. The thick, grudge ladden miasma that it had attempted to channel into me was now replaced with joy. Its happiness was literally seeping into my being. Yeah, I’d say this whole experiment turned out pretty damn well. I see no reason not to use the hell out of you.

  “Wow! That thing’s huge!” said Lyuu. “The blade’s got this weird curve to it too. Is it s’pposed to be some sorta cutlass, Master?”


  “Nah. It’s a katana.”


  “A katana…” muttered Leila. The demon girl was looking at the weapon with eyes full of unbridled curiosity. “I believe they stemmed from the east…”


  You know, Leila’s got a pretty serious curious streak, huh? The fact that I’d voiced only to myself was one that I’d only noticed fairly recently.

  “I see…” said Lyuu. “Well, uhmm, would you mind lettin’ me see it, Master?”


  “Sure. But you might not be able to wield it. It’s pretty heavy.”


  “No worries there! I may not look tough, but I’m a warwolf, and strength is somethin’ that just comes to us, y’knowhat the heck!?” The warwolf cut herself off with a screech the moment I handed her the oversized blade. “Why the heck is this thing so heavy!?”


  Yeah, that’s pretty much the exact reaction I figured you’d have.

  Leila and I laughed as we watched Lyuu, who had already started to sweat in desperation as she did her best not to drop the blade. Only after watching her struggle did I casually take it back.

  “Man, you guys sure are mean…” she said as she panted. “I can’t believe y’just stood there n’ laughed even though I was ‘bout to drop it!”


  “Don’t blame us. Your reaction was just so classic that we couldn’t help ourselves,” I chuckled. “Anyway, I’mma head out and give ‘er a spin.”


  “Do you know when you’ll return, my lord?”


  “I’ll definitely be back by dinner, so make sure you make my share!”


  I gave the girls one last shout as I walked across the true throne room and left through the front door.

  ***

  I called for Rir, who had returned to the forest with his underlings, immediately after doing a few practice swings. The reason was obvious. The two of us were to set out to hunt, both to test my new weapon and to earn some much needed DP.

  “Wow… Not bad.”


  A few minutes after we started, I found myself standing in front of the butchered corpse of the first monster we’d encountered, nodding in appreciation. Needless to say, Zaien had impressed me. The sword had quite literally adjusted its own trajectory in order to better the strike I had executed. As a result, the slash had ended up literally perfect. It had cleanly cleaved the monster into two equal halves. Wielding Zaien just… felt right.

  It was in part a result of the way I fought. I had always just relied purely on brute force. I had a lot of power behind my swings, but much of it was wasted. That, however, was no longer the case. The lovely crimson blade assisted me in following through with my attack and thereby put the would-be wasted force to good use. Talk about user-friendly. God damn. And these bonus stats too. Holy crap. My body’s light as a kite. Hell, I feel agile enough to pull off all the crazy acrobatic sh*t they need stuntmen and wires for in movies. With ease.

  The weapon’s auto-assist was a really nice feature, but it wasn’t the only thing that left me feeling pleasantly surprised. Zaien was sharp. Incredibly. Fucking. Sharp. The first swing I used had happened to contain a little bit too much power because of how gung-ho I had been feeling. Thus, Zaien had cut right through both the monster and the tree next to it without the slightest bit of resistance. So sharp was the blade that it scared me. I was worried that I would accidentally end up touching it without meaning to do so one day and end up losing a finger or five.

  I suspected that Zaien’s current state at least in part stemmed from the will that resided within it. It had really wanted to be able to fulfill its role as a weapon, after all.

  “You’re sharp, you look awesome, and you’re even easy to use. God damn. You’re pretty much the best possible weapon a man could ask for,” I said with a smirk.

  Zaien once again began channeling its joy into me in response to the praise I sang it. Huh. That’s a bit of a charming reaction. Hell, I’m even feeling kinda tempted to call it cute.

  You know what? I’m definitely going to engrave a fire-based spell into this thing later. Maybe I’ll go with the one I got from one of the books I bought, the one that ignites things it cuts and reduces them to cinders.

  Despite eating much more mana, Zaien had, unlike Hasai, spawned with three slots, likely as a result of the ultra high-class materials used in its creation. Wait. Will it be able to do that whole growing by drinking blood thing if it burns things down on contact? Ehh, whatever. I’ll figure that part out afterwards.

  I had yet to decide on what I was going to put in the other two slots, but since I didn’t have any ideas off the top of my head, I shelved the thought for another time.

  My excitement had been a little more than just obvious. The sheer extent to which it seeped out from my being had actually caused Rir to smile wryly in my direction. But that didn’t discourage me. I continued to spend the rest of the day testing my new blade out regardless.

  ***