Chapter Fifty-Nine: Blades and Shadows

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Even if you searched the entire multiverse, you would scarcely find another sentence capable of provoking such fury in a father. With just those words, Jen instantly drove Elait into a rage so intense his eyes burned red. What a joke—who did this young man think he was! Elise was his treasured daughter, and he hadn’t even given his blessing, yet this rascal dared to try and snatch her away? Keep dreaming!

“Hmph... Hmph, hmph, hmph...”

With that, Elait was so enraged he laughed, his eyes radiating a dazzling crimson light. His usually impassive face was now twisted and contorted in fury.

“Very well. Let’s see what you’ve got that makes you think you can take my daughter from me!”

With a furious shout, Elait’s body suddenly erupted in sparkling motes of light, as he cast several protective spells upon himself. Not only that, the crimson, razor-sharp longsword in his hand glowed with magical brilliance, clearly warning that he was not one to be trifled with. Jen’s eyes lit up at Elait’s display—he had already deduced the man’s profession from this skill alone.

Arcane Knight!

In truth, “Arcane Knight” was simply a pleasing term. In Jen’s previous world, it would best be described as a master of both magic and swordsmanship. As an advanced profession, not just anyone could become an Arcane Knight; it required mastery in both spellcasting and swordplay, a feat that was exceedingly rare. For ordinary people, reaching master level in even one of these was difficult enough. But as a half-vampire, Elait need not worry about time cutting him down.

It was clear that becoming one of the three giants of Obsidian Stone City was no small feat.

Interesting. It seemed Jen should show some measure of his own strength.

Watching Elait go all out, Jen chuckled softly and reached out his right hand, picking up his pitch-black cane. He toyed with it lightly, then firmly gripped the handle.

A sharp crack echoed as Jen moved. The once unremarkable black cane split apart, its exterior layers whirling away like pieces of armor, revealing the razor-sharp blade within. In the blink of an eye, the cane reassembled itself into a strangely shaped longsword. At its center was a fine, sharp blade, while below, the black armor formed a crescent-shaped guard, transforming the weapon into a bizarre two-edged sword. The central blade was slender and straight, but below, it curved like a sickle, forming an eerie crescent edge.

Not only that, with the cane’s mundane disguise removed, bright magical runes flickered along the sword’s blade and hilt, coursing across its surface like programs running on a computer, forming various symbols before vanishing.

And as the sword appeared, it seemed to draw the surrounding shadows toward itself, so much so that Elait felt his skin prickle, as though the shadows draped over him had become some tangible entity. Seeing Jen’s weapon clearly, Elait’s face, previously flushed red with anger, now drained pale in horror.

“A demonic artifact!”

No wonder Elait was so shocked. In the continent of Klein, demonic artifacts and divine artifacts appear in pairs. Neither belongs to this world; they are possessions of gods or demon lords. These weapons are not only powerful, but each contains terrifying might, capable of altering the fate of anyone who stands before them, dragging them into the abyss with no hope of escape.

From ancient times to the present, those who obtain such weapons meet only two ends: either they are manipulated by the weapon itself, or by the entities lurking behind it. Regardless, the moment one gains unimaginable power, their fate is no longer their own.

Elait was no fool; the instant he saw the demonic artifact, he knew trouble was brewing. He had no illusions that this was just a magical weapon. As a child of darkness, Elait could keenly sense the overwhelming dark power surging from the sword—so much so that it seemed on the verge of bursting the entire space.

Now, Elait’s heart was filled with fear. If Jen truly wielded a demonic artifact, his identity could not be ordinary. Worse still, the appearance of the artifact meant Elait’s fate was now entangled with it—a dire predicament! Demonic artifacts curse their foes; if he fought the wielder, the artifact’s influence and curse would haunt his destiny. In simple terms, even if Elait survived a clash with Jen’s demonic weapon, he could never escape the shadow of death. It would become a permanent, unremovable “misfortune” debuff: spells would fail and backfire, he might stumble into a dragon’s lair and be devoured, or his army might arrive late to battle only to be surrounded and slaughtered. For enemies of demonic artifact wielders, death was almost inevitable, unless they themselves possessed a demonic or divine artifact, or secured the aid of a god to lift the curse—otherwise, they were doomed to die miserably.

Such entanglement of fate was the most terrifying. As a legendary Arcane Knight, Elait was powerful and experienced enough not to foolishly challenge a weapon capable of twisting destiny. Once tainted, not only his own fate, but even those around him might be affected.

Even for his daughter, the cost was too great.

Moreover, with the demonic artifact revealed, Elait knew he stood no chance. Even wrapped in layers of protective spells, like a fortress, he was keenly aware that these defenses were meaningless before the artifact. Unless he could obtain the Blood Demon Curse from Lanasal through the bloodline inheritance, fighting a demonic artifact was a death sentence!

But as a half-vampire... he wasn’t Lanasal’s secret offspring, so how could he acquire the Blood Demon Curse?

With that thought, Elait’s gaze toward Jen grew ever more serious. In his mind, there were only three types of people who could obtain a demonic artifact: those who stumble upon it and become its puppet; those sent by a demon lord as an apostle, able to wield it freely; or the demon lord himself, for whom the artifact is a signature weapon.

On the surface, Jen appeared to be the first type. Yet Elait sensed a clarity and coldness in his eyes that was not characteristic of those driven mad by a demonic artifact.

Which made things tricky—whether Jen was an apostle or a demon lord incarnate, it was an immense pressure for Elait. He was, after all, merely a half-vampire, hardly capable of courting the powers of the demon realm.

“Who are you, really?”

At last, Elait’s expression grew grave as he stared at Jen and questioned him.

But, unfortunately, Jen seemed to have no intention of answering. He simply raised the strange longsword in his hand, pointing it at Elait. Though the latter was an advanced Arcane Knight, Jen showed no fear. As a demon, and a demon lord’s son at that, he was stronger than the inhabitants of the material plane—no matter how weak he was in the demon realm, he still possessed far greater might, much like an elephant compared to a jackal. Even a newborn elephant is stronger than a vigorous jackal. Such racial talent is simply enviable.

And now that Elait had entered the domain of the underground city, his fate was already sealed the moment he stepped inside.

Seeing Jen’s gesture, Elait sighed inwardly, but could only grit his teeth and raise his sword, silently bolstering his courage. Perhaps this was not a demonic artifact after all, and he had misjudged... If so, defeating this young man would not only reclaim his daughter, but also gain a powerful magical weapon.

With that, Elait bit back his anxiety, then, sword and man alike, transformed into a blur and charged at Jen in a roaring flash!

“Stop, Father!”

Witnessing this, Elise was shocked. She had only just recovered from Jen’s sudden kiss, only to find her father recklessly launching an attack. Her face paled, and she cried out in an attempt to halt him.

But Jen was no slower. Almost simultaneously with Elait’s charge, he brought down his longsword, unleashing a torrent of silver light that surged toward Elait, engulfing him head-on!

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