9 Bringing Life(Rewrite)
Now that he was alone, he walked toward the forge. As he looked into the remaining embers, Rebellion came out and floated near him.
"Your thoughts?"
He turned to the floating blade as he pondered on that himself.
"It's been so long, 30 years is a long time. That day, I made my coat, my gun, and you."
"In remembering it if you believe that. You nearly died of blood loss as you got it into your mind to use your blood in the process. It worked in the end though."
"And I shall do it again."
He reached behind him and drew out Submission. The blade had been made with Magisteel and nothing else. It was supposed to be just a training weapon, but he was not satisfied with that. Over 4 years, he had tempered the blade in his mana causing it to develop a weak consciousness.
Now, it was time to elevate it to be worthy of him using it. He reached out and began to compress the flames of Incinerate Anthem, his Holy Lightning from his heritage, and his Death Mana.
He had gotten the trick down and in his hands a duality formed. Holy flames and lightning were coursing and with it the opposites. Flames and Lightning powered by Death Mana evened each other out creating a Negative Positive Reaction.
He held his hand out and surged this into the forge. Instantly, the forge was full of a mix of black and white flames spinning against each other. Kurayami left even the handle on as it was going to change as soon as he was done.
He placed the large sword into the surging flames and using his mana sense, checked on the progress. At the same time, he used his mana to force the flames into the metal which caused the sword to begin to glow a red hot.
He pulled it out of the flames as he did the first thing. He extended his arm and cut his wrist open on Rebellion's floating blade. Instantly, his blood poured out and fell on the hot sword.
Bloody steam began to rise, but his blood was absorbed by the blade as if sand and water. His wound closed soon after as he placed the sword back in the forge. Now, came the hard part as he reached into the Spatial ring he had been given.
He pulled out a chunk of Stygian Iron which Azazel had plenty of. Kurayami, stuck his hand directly into the flames as he was pretty much fireproof thanks to his sacred gear. He placed the piece of metal on the sword and waited until it got hot and malleable.
Once it was ready, he pulled it out and his sword down on the anvil. He raised the hammer Azazel used in his forging and began to surge his mana into it. This caused the hammer to glow the same as the fire.
Black and White as his apposing natural affinities struggled to mix. Regardless, he began to hammer down the piece of metal until it had fused with Submission entirely. At that point, he placed the sword back in the forge while adding more Stygian Iron.
After he was satisfied with the concentration of that metal, he added a few pieces of Celestial Bronze and some Adamantium. A very rare metal made by dwarves and Azazel had to pay a hefty sum for just a few pounds.
The Forging could take hours as periodically he would slit his wrist to pour his blood into the metal. This would ensure, the blade was bound to him and him alone. For over 16 hours, he continued to work on his blade until he did not add any more metal to the mix.
Now, he began the folding, as the blade was going to have an uneven distribution of metal as he started from the middle. For the next. Using the tools Azazel had in his forge room, he hammed the blade down to the middle to fold the metal into itself.
Each time he did so, he added more of his blood which was starting to be a problem. Even his insane vitality and regeneration were beginning to have trouble producing more. He was close to passing out, but he was no longer human.
He could tolerate this as he had done so as a regular man. But when he reached the magical 100 he fell to his knees as he was done. He placed the new sword down on the anvil.
When he stopped forging, the blade began to float in the air by itself. The reforged blade began to warp in on itself. The metal expanded as it drew on the ambient mana and his own. At that moment he looked at his left arm where black coils began to appear.
He had succeeded. His sword flew toward him which he took into his open left hand. He raised the giant greatsword which curved slightly. Rebellion was a straight Greatsword while Submission was a curved one.
(Image here)
"Can you hear me?"
Instantly he got a response.
'Yes.'
"Welcome to life. My friend."
Rebellion floated over and began to spin around the new blade.
"Welcome sister. I hope you prove worthy of our master's blood."
Submission also began to spin around Rebellion causing both to be spinning against each other in a small dominance display.
"I shall be. Because, from what I understand you were not forged by his hand."
"My shell was not, but my soul was. I was made decades ago by our master's hand."
Kurayami ignored them as he pulled out two potions from his Spatial Ring. A gift from Azazel. He drank a Healing potion and a Mana Potion as he was drained.
"No need for competition. All is well."
The swords stopped spinning as he held his arms hand and drew them back. Rebellion and Submission both relented.
'As you say.'
'At your word.'
Once he was done, he walked out of the forge after 24 entire hours of hard work. No one was around it seemed so he walked out of Azazel's lab before finding a quiet area where he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Without a sword in his hands.
---
He did not know for how long he slept, but when he woke up he felt a firm, but gentle shake of the shoulder. When he opened his eyes he saw his father, Akeno and Raynare.
"How long was I out?"
"Son, you stayed in the forge for a whole day and you slept here for another day. Azazel called me as soon as he found you, but what left you so tired that you slept here instead of home."
"This."
With a thought, Submission appeared in his arms. Seeing the blade that his son had essentially forged, he was speechless.
"You made that?"
"Essentially, took a lot of effort to make a blade that large, but worth it."
Akeno and Raynare looked at it with stars in their eyes as if he had made that with his own hands.
"Wow."
Raynare wanted to touch it, but she knew better. These weapons were temperamental after all so they did not try. Regardless, Kurayami stood up and stretched out a little.
"Are we going home?"
Baraqiel shook his head.
"I can teleport you home, but Akeno and Raynare still need to train."
"In that case, I will stay."
That gave Raynare a fun idea.
"If you are up for it, mind sparring with me. It would be a good way to test out Asmodai."
He was up for about any time.
"Sure."
Baraqiel shook his head as he was about to lead them to the sparring field to test out Asmodai. However, at that moment Kurayami's stomach started to rumble. When Baraqiel heard that he decided to hold off on the spar for a little while.
"How about we get you something to eat first son?"
Kurayami had to agree as he felt eating would be a good way to recover his energy
"Yeah, that would be better."
Raynare sighed.
"Fine."
Seeing he had an opportunity made Kurayami scheme in his mind. He wanted to see how his father handled some Mapo Tofu, extra spicy.
"Dad, want to try some Mapo Tofu? You can see why I like it so much.:
Baraqiel thought about it and he did not see anything wrong with the idea.
"Why not? How bad can it be?"
Akeno and Raynare did not try to warn him anymore as he thought they were exaggerating. Besides, he fought against the Devil Kings so what was a little pepper to him? He would end up regretting that thought.
When they went to the kitchen and the cook saw Baraiel ordering some Mapo Tofu he silently gave Kurayami a head nod. He knew how much Kurayami loved spicy food so he upgraded to Carolina Reapers.
Kurayami ordered himself 3 servings of it while Raynare and Akeno ate breakfast earlier. When they sat down Baraqiel gazed down at his plate that seemed to be blood red. Now that Baraqiel was seeing it he could smell and feel the burn.
"You like this stuff?"
Kurayami nodded as he was already digging in.
"Yeah, try it. It's not that bad."
Akeno and Raynare waited for him to regret it and when the food touched his tongue Baraqiel felt that he had just consumed molten lava. He wanted to spit it out, but he didn't like to waste food.
He forced himself to eat it which caused his throat to burn. Raynare and Akeno looked at Kurayami and told you so looks. If even Baraqiel could not eat it, what hope did they have?
Kurayami ignored them as he enjoyed his meal. Already he felt his energy recovering from his expenditure. He was glad that the spice was increased as it made it all the better. Seeing how his father was not going to be able to finish he offered to do it for him.
"Dad. I see you can't handle the heat. I can eat it."
Baraqiel looked at the look his son who said you can't do it. He forced himself to eat, but each spoonful felt worse than the last. When he finished Kurayami had devoured all of his food.
He opened up the zipper in his coat and a mass of steam left his body. Seeing that made Raynare and Akeno look at him with impressed looks. Still how hot was it to make him steam?
"Delicious."
Just as he was about to talk to his dad, Baraqiel got up and ran away. That made Kurayami's face twitch as a smile almost appeared on his face as even his father could not handle it. Still, it made Kurayami curious if his father enjoyed the pain he received.
When he came back he had a cup of ice which he was crunching on. Kurayami chuckled slightly at his father which made Baraqiel feel it was worth it. He rarely smiled or laughed and if that made him happy he was glad he did it. Still, why was it so spicy?"
"Well now that you ate, you ready?"
Kurayami nodded as his metabolism was off the charts. After only a few minutes of rest, he was back in action. Now it was time to test Submission's new form and Asmodai's power.
When Baraqiel led them to one of the training rooms he looked at both of them carefully.
"Remember, those weapons are not toys and can kill. Be careful."
Kurayami and Raynare knew that for a fact as they always had some care when sparing. They both walked to opposite sides of the training room and brought out their weapons. When Submission appeared in Kurayami's hand the curved blade surged with pitch-black flames with a white afterglow.
Around the blade white and black lightning crackled and surged. Seems that the forging did a better job than he thought.
'Show me your power.'
'It is yours, my master.'
Seeing both weapons out, Baraqiel was starting to want one himself. At the same time, Raynare activated her sacred gears which caused her right eye to turn black while her arms were covered in black armor. Baraqiel raised his hand as both of them got into a combat stance.
"Fight."
Both of them rushed to each other while he swung his sword with one arm to clash with her scythe. Asmodai had a longer reach while Submission had much more impact which ended up pushing her back.
Kurayami was heavier, taller, more experienced, and stronger which all factored in, but he held back just a tad. When Asmodai and Submission clashed, she felt the impact go up her arms.
And he was fast, as he swung again, and against with just his left hand. As a curved Greatsword, the blade moved faster as it cut through the air. This was annoying as her specialty was physical combat, but Kurayami had a huge edge over her.
His strength was much higher than hers, and his experience in combat was frankly scary. Still, she did not panic and instead used the moment she got pushed back to try to land a kick on his ribs.
She forgot one thing, he was taller than her. He raised his left leg and blocked her kick while he swung Submission toward her neck. She jumped back and disengaged, but he pursued right after her.
A second light sword appeared in Kurayami's right hand, but it was dark black instead of bright as he started to rain down blow after blow. She cursed in her mind as Kurayami was a dual wielder. He was going easy at the start, but now he started to put in a bit of effort.
Every time the weapons crashed into each other the metal clanging and crashing. She was managing to resist, but It did not mean she was happy about it as with every clash she got pushed back.
Akeno watched on which made her smile.
"He is winning."
Baraqiel had to agree with that statement as Kurayami had more experience and training. this was the first time she was using her other sacred gears so her use of them was rather mediocre.
When she activated Delete Field he would destroy it same with her trying to use his own shadow against him with Shadow Prison. Not a good matchup so she was just wasting her energy.
The longer they fought the more she was pushed back. Submission began to burn hotter and with more intensity while Asmodai began to push back. Both weapons were trying to outperform the other, but sadly for her, Submission was winning the exchange.
He gripped down on Submision's handle as spikes entered his palm. She began to feed on his blood with his permission which caused a giant surge in power. Raynare never expected that as it was a unique ability of Submission.
The whole field was covered with flames as she charged right in. He swung down down onto Asmodai over and over again which continued to push Raynare back. At that moment he spun around and landed a kick on her ribs launching her out of the field.
"I win."
Once she was out of the field, she held her side sad that she lost.
"Not fair."
"Yes fair."
He waved his hands and made the fire vanish from the field. As for Raynare, she got up and rubbed her side.
"I swear you are too powerful."
"It was expected."
She frowned as she pulled on his arm.
"Come on, no encouraging words."
He shook his head.
"You lost, but lasted a bit."
The fight had only lasted about a minute, but as they moved faster than the eye could see it seemed longer. She kept tugging at his arm so he thought of something.
"If it was anyone else they would have lost way sooner. Be proud."
Her face went blank as she knew he was not trying to be arrogant, but it still sounded like that. Baraqiel and Akeno approached to cheer up Raynare. Kurayami one, but she was getting the attention as she was a real kid.
"Well done both of you, however, I could see how Raynare seemed to struggle with her sacred gears and she is less experienced. We can fix that in time, but the main thing is we need to get you two to Balance Breaker."
They both wanted to unlock their balance breakers, but who knows when that will happen. It was all about either emotion, great training, or luck so they would just have to wait. Still, they heard the next part of good news.
"Also you will be getting your familiars very soon."
The three of them got excited about that, especially Kurayami. He always loved animals as they helped him in his last life. Once they recovered, Baraqiel teleported home.
It was a Friday so they would be staying home for the next weekend. When they got home Shuri was gazing at the large full moon in the sky with a frown. Her son had been gone for 2 days.
When the portal opened up Akeno rushed to her mother for a hug. She and Raynare were very close to Shuri as was expected. Kurayami loved her as well, but his muted emotions did not let him show it much.
"I am back."
Shuri sighed as he looked fine.
"What did you do?"
He held his hand out and brought out Submission for a moment. He showed his Mother his blade as she would want to see it.
"I reforged my blade myself. Took me a day and then I feel asleep taking another day. Sorry for worrying you."
Shuri sighed as she walked over to him to get him in a hug.
"It's fine. You are turning into a young man. I am proud of you. Now, come along. Food is ready."
Here, they all enjoyed a well-cooked meal. At the dinner table, Shuri noticed something. His eyes were glowing again.
"Happy?"
"I am."
Raynare giggled as she pointed at him.
"He is like a glowing fish."
Kurayami knew what she meant.
"Not inaccurate. Deep sea fish glow."
At that moment Shuri looked at Kurayami.
"On another note, have you met any girls at Grigori?"
He shook his head.
"None."
Raynare looked in his direction.
"Not one at all."
"No."
Shuri sighed as his EQ was still in the dumps.
"How about Raynare?"
"What about her?"
"Isn't she pretty."
"Is she?"
Shuri was feeling a headache.
"Would you like to marry her?"
He tilted his head.
"Why would I do that?"
Raynare frowned as she liked him, as much as a 10-year-old girl could like someone. But it seemed he did not like her. She looked down at the ground as Kurayami spoke up.
"Maybe."
That was the most progress he had made in years which made Shuri smile. She looked at Raynare with a smirk.
"So you do not mind marrying him, Raynare?"
Raynare shook her head.
"No. I wouldn't mind."
Shuri was happy to hear that.
"It's a little too soon for something like that, but it is good to talk about it. How about you Akeno?"
The moment she said that Baraqiel and Kurayami looked in her direction. Their gazes spoke a million words. They would murder any boy who tried. Shuri sighed as at least progress was made.
