章 235: [48.4] The Swordmaster's Gift
Cyrus and I lounged down by the pond near my house, leisurely enjoying the heat of the day. I lay on the grass underneath the shade of the tree while he sat beside me thumbing through his book.
I let out a sigh, "I wish I could do this every day."
Cyrus responded as he flipped the page, "You seem to be in a better mood today."
I pursed my lips, "Why wouldn't I be?"
He paused and raised his eyes from his book, "You don't want to talk about it?"
A strange waft of rancid smell reached my nose.
"Um. Do you smell that?"
Cyrus let out a sigh, "You don't have to change the subject. We don't need to talk about it."
I sat up, "No seriously. It smells like a dead animal."
We both looked up and deadpanned, "..."
The Swordmaster sat perched on a tree limb looking down at us. It had been several days since we saw her and not only did she smell like she hadn't bathed since then, but she also had bags under her eyes that were bloodshot from lack of sleep.
She jumped down holding a long oak box, "Greetings."
We both inched away from her.
I pulled out my wand and quickly gave her a cleaning, "Now I see how you and Marx are related."
She laughed, "Sorry. When I make swords, I get fixated on them and forget to even eat. Abadi would yell at me all the time."
My ears pricked up curiously, "Abadi?"
The Swordmaster ignored me and slammed down the box, "Enough chit-chat! Open it!! Hurry!"
She pushed the box over to Cyrus with large eyes of pure excitement. Cyrus stared at her suspiciously for a moment before opening the box. His eyes widened upon seeing a black blade so lustrous, he could see every detail of his own reflection. He picked it up and stared into the dark blade to further appreciate it.
"It's extremely sharp." The Swordmaster stood up and grabbed his hand to force it to slide along the blade, "See?"
Cyrus winced in pain as blood started to trickle down.
I jumped up and slapped away her hand in anger, "What do you think you're doing?!"
The Swordmaster looked at me in confusion, "The blade must recognize him as the owner."
"What does that even mean-"
As if in response, the black blade started pulsating.
Cyrus and I were both taken aback by the sword which seemed to have a mind of its own. Cyrus stared at the surface with a perplexed expression, "This is… This is weird. The blade feels-"
"-Like an extension of yourself?" The Swordmaster laughed, "I told you. Your previous sword was an embarrassment. This is what a sword should be like. Go on. Give it a try."
Cyrus turned to the trees and swung the sword.
A whipping sound sang from his blade and slashed against the trees. A slice appeared on the base and the tree slowly fell over, cut in half.
Cyrus took a step back, "This is… Strong."
I gulped, "Does it have a safety feature?"
She blinked in confusion, "Safety feature?"
Cyrus pursed his lips, "I guess I will have to be careful with it then."
I stared at the blade feeling oddly familiar with it. I leaned forward and gave it a sniff. A beautiful golden light danced along it and connected to Cyrus as if both the blade and Cyrus were the same person.
Is that what she meant by being an extension of oneself?
As I leaned closer, Cyrus held it away from me, "Don't get too close. You might get-"
Before he could finish his sentence, pure white cracks exploded across the blade, contrasting sinisterly along the black surface. Smoke rose from the cracks eerily, but the sword didn't break.
I stepped back, "What the heck?!"
The Swordmaster covered her mouth as tears appeared in her eyes, "It's so beautiful…"
"Oi." I immediately felt irritated and pulled Cyrus closer to me possessively, "Who is beautiful!? He's taken!"
Cyrus paused and smirked at me, "I am?"
Swordmaster ignored us and wiped away a tear, "I knew it. When I first saw you fight, I knew you'd have to be the one."
My eyebrow twitched, "Oi! I'm standing right here!"
She placed her hands on Cyrus's shoulders and spoke in determination, "I will accept you as my first disciple."
He looked at her incredulously, "Huh?"
That's what she was talking about?!
I let out a sigh of relief, "I was worried for a moment there."
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. While we waited for her to say anything, her body swayed for a moment before she fell flat on her back.
Cyrus gave me an accusatory stare.
I held my hands up innocently, "I didn't do anything."
We both leaned down and checked her out. I poked her face which twitched in response. Seeing her chest raise and fall, we both knew she hadn't just keeled over and died.
Cyrus spoke with a frown, "She just fell asleep."
"..."
He glanced at me, "Should we just leave her here?"
I let out a sigh, "Let's take her back to my place. I still have questions for her."
Cyrus nodded in agreement and helped me carry her back to my place. We threw her down on the bed in the spare room and both stood over her silently judging.
He asked, "How long do you think it will take for her to wake up?"
I shook my head with a sigh, "Who knows."
Cyrus gave me a smile, "So what shall we do until then?"
My cheeks flushed, "That sounds suggestive."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to him, "It's supposed to."
As he leaned down to kiss me, the door was thrown open.
Zephyr glared at the two of us, "Go make out elsewhere."
We both stepped away from each other.
I looked away in embarrassment, "W-We weren't."
Cyrus didn't shy away, "We were."
Zephyr rolled his eyes and motioned to the bed, "Why'd you bring her here?"
"She gave Cyrus a sword and then collapsed. What should we have done? Leave her there?"
He stared at me grumpily, "Yeah."
Ah. It looks like he's still upset about the Hazel/Alora situation.
I went to his side and elbowed him, "I have an idea."
Zephyr glanced at me without a smile, "What?"
I went over to the desk and grabbed a marker, "Let's draw obscenities on her face."
He let out a sigh, "That might be fun."
I grinned, "Right?"
I walked over to her side with the marker ready.
Suddenly, the Swordmaster sat up, "SHOW YOURSELF!"
I flinched, dropping the marker, "I swear I wasn't going to write on your face."
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