Soul of Searing Steel
chapter-30

Each civilization had their own specialty. For the humans in the Mycroft Continent, magic and Combat Aura was their specialty. Advanced alchemy was the specialty of the other world. Hence, when it comes to forging weapons, there were some modifications made while the main frame of the weapon was kept intact. It was, after all, the final weapon created by a dying civilization. Besides a few aspects that could not be understood, most of the methods and materials needed could not be modified.

The primary changes made to the weapon's design were the addition of sealing circles and the rebuilding of the energy core. It was all to prevent the demon's influence on the weapon. Hence, instead of a regular energy core, the magicians and mechanics of this world had inserted man-made soul core. As such, it enhanced the weapons and granted it strong consciences. They had the ability to suppress the call of the dimensional demon. At the end of it all, the final weapon was created. It was not known who was the person who suggested the idea, however, the final weapon's dormant mode was given a humanoid shape. That was the origin of us, the Divine Armaments.

There was something that you should know. Keep in mind, Master Radcliffe, the dimension demon has an all-powerful, near-omniscient level of sensing powers. When a certain number of beings have come to know of his existence, the demon shall be grant a clear vision of that world and would start an all-out invasion. That was why the secret of the Radcliffes cannot be let out. Right now, there are only a few people who know about it and have been sworn to the highest level of secrecy.

When the first few Radcliffes were informed about the existence of the secret, they stood tall and refused to back down. With pride, they took up their swords and bore the responsibility of protecting the land against the rise of the Aragami.

When you were born, a small part of your wrist bones was removed to create the core of the Divine Armaments. They are called Ying and Lin. In the beginning, they had no true form. However, after years of growth, they will listen to you, obeying your every wish, desire, and will. The end form could be anything, but no matter what form they take, they would be your favorite weapons.]

Joshua scoffed at the final comment. After reading the content of the letter, Joshua compared and found it was the same as the setting of the game. The Sealed Land was the place where the portal was. The portal that led to the other world. The world that was destroyed and abandoned. He did not know that the place had such an extensive backstory. Joshua organized his thoughts after taking in so much information. He leaned back in his chair and just when he was about to relax, he heard a loud noise coming from the living room of the house. After the noise died down, he heard Ying's panicked gasp. He could imagine the little Divine Armament had toppled something over and quickly tried to mend it before Joshua realized.

He smiled and turned his hand over and examined his wrist.

"Was is the bone?" He muttered to himself.

His curiosity was piqued, wanting to see it with his own eyes. With no hesitation in his expression, Joshua put the letter aside and focused his Combat Aura on the tips of his fingers. In a flash, he slit his wrist along the veins of both his wrists to pry open the flesh.

Hidden deep within the flesh and bones, there were gems, one in each wrist. Both were glowing with mysterious color and had rune marks on them.

The one in his right wrist was a silver gem with traces of green lining. The one in his left wrist was a black gem with several spots of rubies. Naturally, the one in his right wrist was glowing brighter than the one in his left wrist. Although it was black, it was still brimming with radiance, like an onyx. Even though they had different colors, both gems had rune markings that were branching out. Those runes had merged themselves with Joshua's body to form a perfect symbiotic state. They would grow along with Joshua.

Satisfied with what he saw, Joshua closed his wounds by concentrating his aura around his wrist. Instantly, the wound mended itself immediately, leaving no trace of its existence. Joshua was astonished at his ability to heal yet he remained silent. He took the letter and continued reading.

[The Vlad and Scarlet family, alongside with the Radcliffe family had moved to the north and chose to remain there. Unfortunately, the protection of the secret lasted only until the fourth generation. The Vlads and Scarlets had chosen to abandon their lifelong mission and decided to forget everything that had to do with the other world and the demon. The dwarves had no real connection to the event. All they were entrusted with was the creation of the Divine Armament's core. In fact, the only dwarf that knew about the event was Ironborn Moira. No sooner, it was only the Radcliffes that remained as the guardians of the secret and the Sealed Land.

As time moved on, the Divine Armament had made huge progress from the first prototype, to the latest sixth-generation Divine Armament, which I belong to. It was over 300 years since the first prototype was created and the rise of the Aragami had always been suppressed by the Radcliffes. The seal had never been broken. Everything was perfect… until recently.

Your father, my master, the Winter Count was never uncaring towards you. It was a circumstantial issue. He had to focus his mind on facing the Aragami. Half a month before this letter was written, the Great Ajax volcano had resonated and there was a rise of magic power in the area. Like the past, it was an omen to signify the coming of the Aragami. However, this time, it was different. The Aragami that appeared recently was stronger than any that your father had faced before, The seal had failed to stop them from coming out of the forest.

As such, your father personally led the attack and I was assigned to recall you from the south. He had finally decided that it was time for you to know the truth. Unfortunately, the situation was far dire than expected. Not only did were they much stronger, their numbers exceeded far from the usual count. In total, there were more than twelve Gold-tier Aragami and over hundreds of Silver-tier Aragami that had broken past the seal and came out of the dimension portal.

Unable to assume defense, your father had decided to go for offense instead. However, even after unleashing my true form, and performing mutual resonance, we were unable to defeat the swarm of Aragami. When all hope seemed lost, he had finally decided to do what's right. He had sacrificed all his life force to trade for a momentary power that exceeded those of ordinary humans. He did manage to kill every single Aragami around. However, the damage sustained from the Aragami was fatal. As such, when your father killed the last Aragami, it was his final breath as well. I was supposed to perish along with my master yet, at his final moments, he removed the restraints in my energy core and revoked the contract that bound his lifeforce to mine. In doing so, I was allowed to live for only a short period of time to complete his dying wish.

That concludes all that had passed. The secrets that were passed down to each generation of the Radcliffes have been passed to you, Joshua van Radcliffe. You are now the guardian of the city and the protector of the Seal. Your duty is to kill the unknown daemons. This is an inheritance, a responsibility, an honor, and history.

I find the need to repeat myself once more. This secret cannot be revealed to anyone. This letter must be discarded with extreme measures. If others know about the existence of the Dimensional Demon, I fear that no one can save us all. It would be fine if there are less than a hundred people who know about it but when that numbers go any higher, the Dimensional Demon will be able to detect our world. Once the Dimensional Demon has decided to attack, he will launch an all-out invasive force to destroy this world. Even though the Gods and the World itself will try their best to prevent that from coming in, the Dimensional Demon can still find a way to infiltrate our world. Be it a new species of monsters, blood sacrifice summoning, or anything means of summoning him into the world. It will be possible for the Dimensional Demon to break past the Gods and destroy this world.

You must treat this matter with the utmost priority. Remember, you're bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. That is what I will leave you with as my parting words. I have nothing else to say. Goodbye, young master. Farewell and be well.

Yours sincerely,

Fang.

"Tsk."

Joshua was mad. His aura was leaking out of his body uncontrollably as it burned everything around him. Not even ash remained. Joshua appeared emotionless even as he felt every vein in his body was pumping power-filled blood all around his body. He was feeling uneasy.

The fire spread and burned down the wooden window. Instantly, the cold wind blew in and dispersed the heat of the room. Joshua was immediately cooled down. The burning aura that fills the room was also removed. He walked towards the window and let the winter wind to cool his head further. He took a deep breath and sighed. The vapor that formed from his breath flowed with the wind, disappearing into the winter's night.

Joshua was not a man of many words, and he disliked expressing his feelings as well. However, at that moment, he had no words to say. He could not even find the proper emotion to feel.

The family of guardians… He had always wonder what it meant ever since he heard some nobles addressing his family name during his graduation from the Empire's Miskatonic Military Academy.

Joshua gazed at the sky. The snowstorm seems to have lightened up a little despite the heavy snowfall. The city was quiet and there was no enemy in sight. Moz was killed. All those that were with the Wilson family had escaped with their lives. It was supposed to be a matter of celebration. Yet…there was no such feeling of joy in him.

Joshua retracted his head back into the burnt room and scoffed disgruntledly.

"This is annoying."

He turned around and reached for the door.