"How long have you been spying on us?" Amarena growled at Lumin as the old human woman walked out of the shadows.
She looked more interested than mad. "Since Terry summoned me, saying you had broken the door and were about to tear up the garden. I thank you for your restraint in the latter regard."
"How much of our, uh... talk... did you hear?" Kir asked. Thɪs chapter is updated by n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"Enough to know how to help you," she replied. "Both of you."
Gesturing to the side, Terry appeared with an intricate-looking disc, set triangularly with red, blue, and yellow manastones that glowed in Kir’s sight.
Lumin gestured again, and Terry approached Amarena, holding the disc up to her.
"What is this?" she asked.
"That is a fulcrum. A tool designed by angels to help their own evolve. It works just as well for demons."
Amarena scowled, but she was curious. "How does it work?"
"Meditate with it while flowing your mana. You will find yourself inside your mind, and gain a greater sense for your progression. It does not, however, substitute for training," Lumin explained. "I have one for you as well, Kir. But it will take until tomorrow to retrieve it."
"Why do this for us?" Amarena asked. "We are demons."
Lumin smirked. "I have my reasons. Suffice it to say there are those who have always seen the world as it really is, which is far too difficult even without those trying to keep the truth from us." She looked at Kir, then back to Amarena.
"Be warned: you should find a master before you attempt to use that. The consequences for failure can be death, or worse, becoming a monster in your own skin." She let the grimness hang in the air for a long moment, then turned to Kir. "When you have said your goodbyes I will meet you in your room."
Turning, Lumin left along with her butler.
As soon as they were alone, Kir locked eyes with Amarena.
"Where will you go?" he asked.
"To seek Valrians. Maybe try my hand at slaying monsters. We demons grow best in combat... and once the ashfall spreads, there will be many monsters searching for new grounds... At least, according to my mother... It was my dream to bring ever larger trophies to her."
"Will you come back someday?" he asked.
"Perhaps when I have evolved. Or maybe once a year... When were you born?" she asked.
"My birthday is marked on the Day of Orphans," Kir said. It was a shared birthday for those who did not know their day of birth, at least on the continent of Areth.
"Then I will see you on that day... If not next year, then the year after." She pulled him into another kiss. "Farewell, Kir. Tell everyone I will miss their company."
Turning, she picked up her sword before leaping over the rooftops. He watched her, a heavy sadness in his heart dispelled only for the moment when she looked back. Then she was gone...
Lumin was waiting at the table when Kir returned, sitting across from her and placing Kangetsu between them. Terry leaned down and whispered something in her ear.
"What is this metal?" she asked.
"It’s an equal mix of chromium, cobalt, and nickel," Kir said.
"Hm. I wouldn’t have been able to tell it wasn’t steel if not for Terry."
Kir watched as she tapped the blade, activating her manasight. For a long time she stared at it, before forming a wordless spell that lay over the blade, revealing a spell circle underneath the oathmark.
"Oh my..." she whispered.
"What is it?" Kir asked.
"Kir... your blade is alive," she said.
Kir’s eyes widened. Hope welled in his heart. "Is it Noir?"
"Hard to say, there was no attempt by the soul within to open up to me, and I do not want to put you or myself through the trouble of getting a mage who can analyze it properly." She pointed at the oath mark. "What I can tell is that this spell form is merged into the blade. I recognize the pattern as one of the forbidden patterns used in Hell. But there are modifications. The only way to know everything the sword can do will be to bond it. And you are in no state to do so now."
"Why not?" Kir asked.
"Because you haven’t come to the end of reifying yourself. A weapon is forbidden for a reason. It takes more than simple mana to wield it. It takes attaching it to your very soul. Now, imagine what happens if you aren’t at your readiest, able to hold onto your sense of self when you bond it."
Kir tried, but quickly admitted "I cannot."
"It can break you. At worst, your soul will collapse into the blade, and you will end up trapped forever until it is destroyed, completely and utterly. Conscious and unable to move or act without a wielder."
He flinched, hating the idea that Noir could be in there, suffering.
"What do I need to do?"
"I already answered that question. Finish your reification. When that happens, we can discuss next steps." She stood. "Oh, and one last thing. Only obsidian-ranked adventurers are permitted to carry such weapons. And even then, there is a process to determine if the soul inside is a willing helper. If for some desperate reason, you absolutely have to wield it, at least make sure your opponent doesn’t have their manasight active. You’re only in trouble if you get caught."
She patted him on the shoulder as she walked past.
For a moment, Kir stared at Kangetsu. He hadn’t noticed it before, but the blade had slightly more mana running through it than the ambient mana around them. And the more he stared, the more he felt that, where the oath mark was, there was some sort of gap... not in the material but in the mana...
He was about to touch the mark when Kordia and Stella returned, followed by Sam.
Kir immediately stood and hugged them.
"It took some magic, but Stella got them to open up," Kordia reported. "Turns out succubus magic is good for more than just... you know," she blushed a little.
"Where’s Rena?" Sam asked as soon as Kir let them go.
"Amarena is..." Kir paused. Should he tell them about Amarena’s maven aspect? About the sword? He didn’t want to compound Sam’s grief now, so telling them later was probably for the best... he hoped. "She’s returned to her own journey. She’ll return next year, if she can."