Chapter 367 - 361 : Precaution

Flashback...Just after Meson had passed the [Void Opening Key] to Sato within that unnamed pagoda (AN : Chapter 310).

"Listen to me, kid.'

Just as Sato was admiring the ]Void Opening Key] and cooking up different ideas related to it, Worrus' voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"You've gotten the cursed sword but I doubt you know much about it so I will tell you what I know then."

Listening to Worrus' words, Sato's attention was immediately drawn and his entire focus was centered on the man or rather, the space in front of him. Since Worrus was no longer in that dark space which had a much more stable space, he had returned to being invisible after he had changed his location.

"You already know that the cursed sword has the soul of an asura, which is either a high-level Saint-rank figure or a demi-god rank figure, however, this time around, it's a being somewhere between both." Worrus said.

"Based on the location of the sword as well as the story seemingly behind it, you're probably thinking that the asura soul within the sword is that of the Demon God's son, right?"

Sato nodded in reply and truthfully, that was what he had been thinking. Back before, Worrus had mentioned how the entire Black Grill's Cave was used to seal the Demon God's son. He also mentioned that the hall where the sword was kept had the asura's soul sealed within. After confronting that heinous demon in the sword, not just Sato but also anyone in his position would come to the same conclusion that that asura was probably the Demon God's son.

"Well, you're wrong and at the same time, right." Worrus said mysteriously.

"The Demon God's son's body and soul had been separated and sealed apart. Since the soul was the true essence of that sinister creature, it was much stronger than the body and was still very strong even with the absence of the body. Therefore, we had to divide it into 7 parts before sealing each part away from the other. After centuries of being apart from each other, most of the soul fragments had developed their own conscience and personality, becoming different from the original soul. The cursed sword in your hand has one of the soul fragments sealed inside of it. 3 others are hidden here while 2 were sealed away in a different location. As for the last one, it's lost." When he reached the last sentence, Worrus' tone was a bit weird, like a criminal caught in the act but still trying to lie his way out with an anxious and fretful tone.

"Lost?" Sato asked in confusion.

"Eh...to be specific, it got stolen from us. Hehe." Worrus awkwardly chuckled though a tinge of anger was hidden behind his cold laugh. It couldn't be helped.

The Great Hall of Grey Chaplains was supposed to be one of the most secured places in the world but someone had actually managed to break in and steal one of the most valuable possessions in their hands. This wasn't just a simple matter of theft but of also failing his predecessors and successors who sacrificed themselves to seal the Demon God's son. Losing one fragment of its soul had left him extremely angered but as he was unable to track the figure, Worrus had no choice other than to give up. Unwillingness and anger were the current reigning emotions in Worrus' head right now. Each time this topic was brought up, Worrus' ever-constant blank expression would experience a change due to his dissatisfaction with the event.

"I see." Sato replied. He had noticed the change in tone in Worrus' voice so he said this to interrupt his reverie. At the same time, Sato was wondering who it was that could waltz in here and actually leave with something as precious as a fragment of a legendary asura.

"Don't think too much about things. Right now, you only need to care about the fragment in your hands." Worrus said.

"While its level is weaker than the original and the fact that over the years the soul fragment is weaker than it previously was, it is still very dangerous. Each time you use the sword, you would be allowing it to recover its lost strength. The longer you use it, the faster it can recover. Once it has fully recovered, the soul fragment will be capable of possessing you and using your body as a host. At that point, you would be dead in every sense. There's also the other possibility of your body not being able to handle the abrupt increase in power so your body would explode. Your soul would be caught in the explosion and will also be inevitably lost.

"The only way to influence this was to reduce the recovering speed by using a few seals which are already in place. If you have a few others that are different from the one already in place, then there's no harm in bumping up the strength of the seal. You could also avoid using the sword as often as possible unless when necessary. I understand that since Saimon passed you the dual-wielding technique, you'd probably want to test it out, right? But proceed with caution. It wasn't easy for us to wait for someone like you and we wouldn't like to do so again." Worrus said with a somewhat melancholic voice.

"All you need to know is this, the cursed sword is useable in all battles but it's advisable to only do so when facing a worthy adversary."

It was due to these very words of Worrus that despite owning the [Cursed Sword Drakken], Sato had yet to equip it. He didn't remove his [Astral Blade] neither did he attach a new sheath to his belt. Unless he was confronted with a difficult situation, Sato had already decided not to use Drakken, at least for now.

However, nothing is absolute in this world.

The Kobold King had forced Sato and the others into a stand-still and based on the fact that it was not only looking down on them but also, they had yet to cause any severe injuries to it. There was no other choice left for Sato than to use Drakken to beef up his attack power lest they lose the battle due to his fear of the unknown.

'What's the worse that can happen? It's just a minor issue of explosion or possession and the chances of any of that happening is quite low. However, if I keep playing it safe, we will lose this battle. But with Drakken, our chances will surely increase.'

With the passage of time and exchange of blows, that initial thought which had been experiencing some hesitation was now turned to reality as Sato decided to wield Drakken for the first time in battle.

'Don't bring shame to me.'