Second World
chapter-1881

"Exorcise it?" Paytowin asked.

Wilted nodded. "You have to eliminate the demon dwelling inside the weapon."

"Damn it. Why do you two have to make everything so troublesome?" John complained.

While they conversed, Spring Crown also asked Chris some questions regarding the fallen apostle's weapon.

"So, how do I exorcise the demon inside this thing?" Spring Crown asked. "Will a demon come out? We can all have a go at it if it does, can't we?"

Chris simply gave him a wicked grin. He said, "Open the cloth when you are ready." He then ran away.

Spring Crown sighed. "I'll never stop loving games, but I'm starting to think I'll hate the developers. Never mind. Let's see what you've got in store."

Spring Crown grabbed the shabby red cloth and pulled it off. When a part of what was covered by the cloth was revealed, red smoke rushed out from the opening. At the same time, an ear-piercing screech was heard.

The screech was so loud that Spring Crown dropped the supposed weapon in his hand to cover his ears.

Red smoke continued to come out. The cloth started to unravel by itself. More and more of the weapon became visible as the cloth peeled itself. When half of the weapon was exposed, which was a dark spear with streaks of burning red lines, the sealing cloth caught fire.

The flames spread so fast that the whole cloth turned into ashes in less than a second. The spear was seen in all its glory. It was floating in the air. Red smoke swirled around it. The screeching sound was still heard, but not as loud as before.

Suddenly, the red smoke gathered on the weapon. It enlarged and solidified until it formed an image of a demon's head. The demon's eyes stared at Spring Crown. Its face displayed a grimacing expression.

"Are you the one who wishes to wield this weapon?" The demon image asked.

"Me? No, no," Spring Crown replied. He then grinned. "I'm the one who will kick your butt."

"Such insolence! You will die!!!" The demon exclaimed.

The screeching crescendoed to a boom. A shockwave followed the boom. Spring Crown had to take several steps back due to the force. The red smoke forming the demon image burst apart following the boom. The red smoke evaporated after bursting out. The black spear fell to the ground.

Everyone was flabbergasted by what had happened, including Spring Crown. He looked around. No more red smoke. He turned his attention back to the spear lying on the ground. It was not moving.

"Huh? Where is the demon?" He asked.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jet and the others came to ask. Some of them had chosen their bloodlines. Some hadn't, but they came due to the commotion.

"Uh… We are not sure ourselves," Jack answered.

Spring Crown stayed there for some time. He looked around while staying alert. He even had his weapon out. Nothing happened. After thinking this was taking too absurdly long, he said to himself, 'f*ck it,' and walked toward the spear on the ground.

While Spring Crown approached the spear, Jack turned to look at Chris and Wilted. He saw that Chris was grinning while Wilted displayed a serious expression.

"Uh… Spring. Maybe you should wait a bit longer," Jack shouted at Spring Crown.

Spring Crown stopped because of Jack's warning. His hand had not yet touched the spear, but it didn't matter. His eyes suddenly turned cloudy, and his face became blank. He then dropped to the ground, not moving.

"Huh?" Everybody was dumbfounded by the turn of events.

"Is he dead?" Jet asked.

"His HP bar is still full," Grace said.

"Hey! What the hell is going on?" Jack asked Chris and Wilted.

Chris ignored the question, but Wilted answered, "He is undergoing a mental battle against the demon that dwells inside the weapon. If he defeats the demon, then the weapon is his to wield."

"Internal battle? Then why the hell do you need us to move away?" Jack asked.

"If you don't move away, how will the demon know which one of you it should possess?" Chris asked in return. He took out another weapon wrapped in red cloth. "Next! Four Winds, this is yours. The rest of you, go and choose your bloodlines first. You will get your weapons later!"

"Um… What will happen to Spring Crown if he fails to defeat the demon?" Paytowin asked.

"He will lose his soul. His body gets possessed by the demon, and he turns into an outlaw," Wilted answered.

"F*ck! Isn't that a permanent death?!" Paytowin exclaimed.

"Uh… Can I opt not to use that weapon?" Will asked.

"Chris, where is the weapon for the bard class? Give it to him first!" John yelled.

Chris ignored John's request. He continued distributing the fallen apostle's weapons following his whim. One by one, the players entered a coma and dropped to the ground. Even though they heard the risk of trying to subdue this weapon could lead to true death, they didn't back down. Some joked about not wanting to use the weapon, like Will did. But when it came their turn, they accepted the weapon.

When it was Jeanny's turn, her weapon turned out to be a spear as well.

"There were two spears among the Fallen Apostle's weapons?" Jack asked.

"I don't find it strange. I bet most of the Fallen Apostle's weapons for magic classes were magic staffs," John said.

"Her weapon is a spear. Spring Crown's one is rather special," Wilted informed.

"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked.

"You will learn about it when Spring Crown wakes up," Wilted said.

"IF he wakes up, you mean?" Jet said.

"Hey! Don't jinx it, man!" Paytowin scolded.

"You are rather superstitious, aren't you?" Jet returned.

When it was Leavemealone's turn. He sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes before going unconscious.

"Damn it! Does he have to act so cool even when going unconscious?" Jack complained.

"Longsword turn! Hey, multi-class boy!" Chris called.

"It's Jack. Goddmanit!" Jack cursed while approaching Chris. He took the wrapped weapon from Chris and started unwrapping it.

Since everyone knew what would happen, no one was startled anymore when the loud shrill sounded and the red smoke came out. Everyone covered their ears before the shrill sound was heard. Jack did so too, as the fallen apostle's longsword floated in front of him.

When the sound diminished to a tolerable level, he asked Chris, who had moved away, "Hey! Only one sword? I thought this was the ultimate weapon for Blade Dancer. Blade Dancer uses two swords!"

"Just defeat the demon dwelling inside the weapon and you will see!" Chris shouted back.

The demon face appeared then. "Are you the one who wishes to wield this weapon?" It asked.

"Yes. Get on with it, please. We're in a hurry," Jack said. His two hands covered his ears again.

"..."

The demon didn't know how to respond, so it just exploded. Jack had expected that, so he wasn't surprised. He also didn't budge from the shockwave. The black longsword fell to the ground. Jack sat crosslegged before the weapon and closed his eyes.

"F*ck... He is copying Haon," Jet uttered.

Jack waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

'Hm... Is something wrong? The others went unconscious not long after the demon face went boom,' he thought.

He opened one eye to peek. He realized then that whatever test he was supposed to face had already started. There was nothing around him. Everyone was gone. He opened both eyes, stood up, and looked around. No one. Peniel was also not with him.

He summoned his weapons. Storm Breaker appeared in his hand, but his magic staff did not.

"Hm..." He tried taking out another longsword from his inventory. He could.

He then tried using Flame Slash. A streak of flame followed his slash. He couldn't cast spells, though, and when he tried to transform into supreme dragon form. He failed. He then tried summoning War God's Wings. Nothing appeared. Equipment skills were unavailable.

"What about bloodline powers?" Jack asked himself. He used gold dragon wings. Nothing came out of his back. Bloodline skills were off-limit. He tried tools and potions. They were also not available.

"I see… This is the ultimate weapon for Blade Dancer, so I can only use skills compatible with that class," he concluded.

After he was done testing, he twirled his swords and shouted, "Okay, then. Where are you, demon? Come out! Let's get this over with."

He sensed something behind him. He turned back and saw a mirror.

"Huh? Didn't notice this was here before," Jack said. He approached the mirror.

He sensed mana from the mirror, so he knew it was no normal mirror.

"Hm... should I hit it?" Jack muttered. He tapped the mirror with the tip of his sword. Nothing happened.

"Hm..." He got nearer and observed his reflection in the mirror.

While he was trying to make sense of what this was all about, he noticed something odd. He saw himself grin.

'What am I grinning about?' He wondered before realizing he didn't.

His grinning reflection lunged with a sword thrusting forward, and the mirror shattered.