Chapter 16: Incomplete Sword
Ingrid's head rolled on the ground, and droplets of his blood dyed the road a bright red color. His eyes were still open, and the expression on his face was full of shock like the crowd of onlookers.
All those laughters from earlier were replaced by fear; a ruby class mercenary was beheaded in front of them in seconds. And the killer didn't even use any weapons. He did it with his bare hands. The attack was so fast that his hand turned into something sharp. They remained in their place; not a single one of them was moving.
Then, after a few seconds of standing still, several screams filled the town, most of them coming from women for whom it was their first time witnessing someone being killed right before their eyes.
Few of the mercenaries reached for their weapons, but they let go of them as soon as they heard the man's voice.
"It looks like some of you want to have a duel with me as well. Here, I'll give what you want!" Zeno provoked the crowds. Then he pulled something from his pocket and tossed it in the air.
'A dice?' the people thought.
They wanted to ask what that was for, but their trepidation prevented them from doing so. Then, Zeno stepped forward, and it brought anxiety to the people gathered in the place.
"Where's the man who shouted about milk?" He asked while placing his hand over his eyes to shield them from sunlight, then surveyed the place. "There you are!" He grinned and leaped to the man's position.
The man dropped on his butt on the solid ground. He wanted to run away, but his legs wouldn't stop shaking.
"I-I d-didn't mean it, I-I'm j-just joking, s-spare m-me please!" He begged for his life as soon as Zeno appeared before him.
But the demon just smiled at him as a response, and then his pants started to get wet, and he slipped backward bit by bit by pushing his body away from the man.
"P-please no!" H-Help me! P-please!" He pleaded once again and even asked for the mercenaries to save him, but those people who were laughing with him earlier were shutting their eyes, and some of them even turned their gaze away from him.
Zeno moved closer to the man and sat down, then he pulled back his right arm, ready to punch at any moment.
"Count with me!" He said it with a look of ecstasy on his face.
The crowd didn't follow his countdown, but all of them continued to watch for what he would do next, while others were praying that the man would be spared or helped by someone.
But Zeno continued to count from five.
"Five.... Four.... Three.... Two.... One...." He said each number with a solid tone.
Then, he punched, but it didn't reach the man's face. Still, the shockwave from his attack sent the man tumbling backwards.
The crowd sighed in relief upon seeing what he did, and the man kneeled with his head touching the ground.
"Thank you! T-Thank you for sparing me!" He showed his gratitude toward Zeno upon realizing that he was still alive.
However, a small square-shaped object was hurled and struck onto his head as soon as he looked at Zeno. It made a crack on his skull then he lied on the pavement lifeless.
"I'm just joking as well," Zeno said before catching his dice; then the sea of people made way for him, and he continued his stroll through the town.
The people in the place were left there, dropping their jaws; some collapsed on their knees when Zeno walked away from them. The sudden change of emotion from excitement to fear, then joy to sorrow took a heavy toll on their minds.
They all had a single thought. It was not to mess with a silver-haired man whose eyes were lifeless and had a dangling red dice as an earring.
. . . . .
Kizeler, Priscilla, and Trix were among the crowd when Zeno killed the mercenaries. Trix was covering her mouth while watching the events unfold before her; she couldn't believe that the man with whom she was talking a moment ago would be able to pull something like that.
However, Priscilla was hiding behind Kizeler's back. She couldn't stomach what Zeno did to the two men. It was her first time witnessing a human killing another human. But contrary to their thoughts, Kizeler was somewhat relieved that he didn't attack Zeno when he met him during their mission; otherwise, he would be buried in that village.
They were in the middle of their conversation with Trix a few moments ago when they noticed that the people were running in a certain direction, so they chose to run where they were going.
And they found a huge number of people encircling two individuals. Kizeler and Trix were shocked as soon as they saw Zeno standing in the opposite direction.
Kizeler chose to remain silent and watch how things would go, but like the crowd, he was stunned as soon as he saw what really happened.
The white-haired man stopped Ingrid's charging by placing a single finger between them, then he put his right hand to the man's head and leveled him to his height. Afterward, he chopped his neck with his left.
It happened in a span of seconds, which amazed Kizeler. He tried to reciprocate what the man did inside his thoughts, but he couldn't make it as fast as what he had seen.
"That was insane," Trix said, then she bit her lips.
"Yeah, he showed no mercy," Priscilla agreed.
They waited for Kizeler's reaction, but he was still staring in the direction where the man went.
"Do not attempt anything that will put you in danger," Priscilla pinched Kizeler's side.
"Ouch," he complained, then he looked to Trix and asked, "Should we continue where we left off?"
Trix just nodded at him, and they returned to her post.
As soon as they got back from the incident, Kizeler continued their conversation.
"Like what I said before, I need you to finish this weapon for me," he said after placing his sword on the small table.
Trix picked it up, and she was surprised by the lightness of the weapon. It was still inside the scabbard, but it looked like she was just holding a small stick in terms of weight.
She slowly drew the sword; the radiance from its pearl-white color melted her heart. She let her fingers slide along its blade and felt its awesome sharpness.
'This is already a masterpiece,' she thought.
"Does it have a name?" She asked.
"It doesn't have one as of now because it's still an incomplete sword." Kizeler replied, which caused Trix to look at him.
"This sword for me is fine and complete. How come you keep on telling me that it's still unfinish?" Trix finally conveyed her thoughts.
"Because your father said so," Kizeler's answer made Trix glare at him.
Her father died a few years ago due to illness, and then this man was telling her that it was he who said that it was not finished yet.
"Are you messing with me?" She asked with furrowed brows.
"No, it was your father who really said it, and it was a gift made by him to my family. Your father forged this sword, Trix," Kizeler explained, his voice filled with sadness at the mention of his family.
Trix processed Kizeler's statement; she knew that her late father loved to give swords as gifts to special people, but the weapon she was holding was unfamiliar; she had never encountered this sword; even its scabbard was unknown to her.
Then, she laid down the sword and examined the scabbard. Her eyes lit up upon seeing small text inside its throat.
'W. Teylor,' she read it with her mind, and tears flowed down her cheeks. It was really his father's work.
"Are you okay?" Priscilla asked upon seeing the merchant crying, and she nodded her head in response.
"W-what do I need to do to finish this sword?" Trix asked while wiping her tears.
"My father said that the blade will be turned the same color as its scabbard, and its blade will be harder than tungsten once completed. Then the three holes above its handle will be filled by stones, and the user will be able to use three different elements as long as he is wielding the sword." Kizeler explained once again.
"Stones? Are you referring to the elemental stones from the Realm of Illusions?" Trix answered with a question.
Then she replied as soon as he saw Kizeler nodding at her. "But those were useless once they were brought out from the spirit world, and even if I managed to find ways for them to be useful, I don't have the means to sneak inside that place."
"We'll gather the materials for you; for now, concentrate on how to make its blade look like its scabbard. And I would like to borrow a sword from you to be my weapon since this sword will be in your care from now on," Kizeler stood up and looked at her display of weapons.
"Feel free to look for one, however, please answer my curiosity. It has been three years since my father died, but you appear here just at this moment, so I assume you're not that interested in having power. What's your motive now?" Trix asked him directly.
Kizeler raised a sword made of steel before he answered the merchant's question.
"Exgreia is changing; strange monsters are starting to appear from nowhere; individuals with exceptional abilities are slowly showing themselves to the world like that man from before," he said, then swung the sword in a horizontal slash.
"You have a point; it's my first time seeing a human like that," Trix stated.
Kizeler's next words made the two women gulp, and their eyes widened upon hearing his declaration.
"He's not a human, though; that man... is a demon and not a normal one." Kizeler said after he sheathed the sword.
. . . . .
After the event that happened in the town, knights from the kingdom were preparing to apprehend Zeno.
As soon as reports regarding a ruthless killer roaming outside the capital reached the king's ears, he dispatched the kingdom guards. He couldn't afford to let the man ruin the upcoming celebration. This year's festival would be different from the others; it would be the time when he would announce who was his next successor for the throne.
He was on the balcony of his palace when a hoarse voice echoed behind him. "Your king's humble servant is here. What are your orders, sir?"
"Great, you're here; have you read the report?" The king asked the man who was kneeling on his one knee.
"Yes, it brought extreme pain to me upon knowing that my little brother died," the man replied.
"Very well, lead the third battalion of the kingdom guards and avenge your brother." The king commanded.
"Thank you, sir!" The man stood up, and then he hung something on his neck: a pendant that had a plate with his name written on it, and above it was a crystal-white gem that resembled a diamond.
. . . . .
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone