Chapter 322 Tangled By Fate

Durendal was a claymore with a length of 150 centimeters. Its hilt was made of a dark blue colored metal. Its grip was was wrapped with a soft yet not slippery fabric. The cross guard was shaped like a pair of wings, adding a certain charm to it.

The pommel was made of a mix of gold and Vanadium, making it look way darker than any gold. Without question, it was sturdy enough to bash anyone's head to pieces.

The most interesting part of the claymore was, of course, the blade. The thin blade of Durendal was made from an unknown material that was claimed to be stronger than Vanadium, which was a seriously ridiculous claim.

The blade didn't have a definite color; depending on where one saw it, one would see a different shade of color. One might see a light pink colour on one side and a dark blue color on the other side, but when it was tilted, the color would be swapped.

For Basil, the blade looked like it was made out of bismuth, which was not in any way a suitable metal to be made into a weapon. He had seen a fool attempted to make a sword out of bismuth in his past life, and it didn't end pretty.

"This is a good claymore."

He knew, however, Durendal's blade wasn't made of bismuth. No matter how similar they looked, it felt completely different from the fragile bismuth blade he had destroyed in his past life.

It was heavier, denser, stronger, and of course, sharper. The blade sung each time Basil moved it in the air, and it made him can't wait to see its performance.

"Kyaaak!"

Luckily, he had a perfect subject that he could test Durendal on. The Wyvern was getting hotter on his tail ever since he laid his hands on Durendal, so it was time to test how well Durendal would fare against it.

Abruptly making a U-turn, Basil flew towards the Wyvern with Durendal held beside his waist. The Wyvern was taken aback at Basil's action, however it didn't slow down its flying speed in the least bit.

When Basil was already three meters away from the Wyvern, he channeled his Qi into Durendal. It hummed excitedly as if it was ready to unleash its power, however Basil immediately scrunched up his nose at that.

Schwing!

As it was swung, Durendal missed the Wyvern, cutting one of the pillars supporting the ceiling instead. It did happen not because of Basil's bad aim however; he had purposely dodged the Wyvern.

Basil could finally understand the reason why Goap didn't even give it a second thought before throwing it way. Something was wrong with Durendal, or rather, the Sword Soul occupying it.

"This insolent Sword Soul!" Basil exclaimed furiously. "How dare you trying to take over my hands!"

The moment Basil channeled his Qi into Durendal, instead of forming a connection with him, Durendal absorbed the Qi and used it as a bridge to take control of itself and the hands wielding it.

For any other people, it might not be a problem. Durendal was, after all, doing that to let the wielder fight and kill their enemies better.

It wasn't the case, however, for people as experienced as Basil. Having a sentient weapon that controlled the way he behaved was absolutely something he abhorred.

He was confident in his Sword Style and Combat Technique. He didn't need a mere Sword Soul that overestimated itself to control his hands so he could fight; he was better than the Sword Soul.

[Ku-ku-ku! It has always been the case with the people who are confident in their skills.] Durendal started speaking. [Charlemagne and that brat, Mordred, too, let go of me for the same reason. Only Roland had the most sense. Ku-ku-ku.]

"Know your place, you talking piece of metal," Basil retorted coldly. "Who are you to think you are greater than me? Not even Caliburn that is a hundred times better than you dare to view himself better than me."

[Ka-ka-ka. What a funny guy! Caliburn? That sword was destroyed when Arthur received—]

When Basil let go of Durendal, and took out Caliburn from his Spatial Ring, Durendal's Sword Soul immediately turned silent. He let it float beside him afterwards, and didn't pay much attention to it; he needed to focus on the Wyvern.

Channeling his Qi into Caliburn; True Light Magic, one of the purest forms of Magic that could only be used by a Spirit Elder; covered Caliburn and Basil. The Wyvern widened its eyes at the display, and shrieked panically.

"Kyaaak!"

If it didn't feel intimidated when Basil swung Durendal at it, it now did when it saw Caliburn was going to be swung at it. There was something unexplainable about Caliburn that intimidated it.

"[Path of Glory]!"

Basil swung down Caliburn at the Wyvern that was about to turn around. Caliburn's blade discharged a burst of True Light Magic imbued Qi at the Wyvern, which spread out like a path upon contact with the Wyvern.

"Kyaaak!"

The Wyvern screamed in agony as it fell to the ground. It had used its wings to block the attack; it had completely obliterated its wings and charred some part of its abdomen.

Boom!

It reached the ground after a few seconds, and at the same time, Basil also landed on the ground. He immediately approached the Wyvern with Caliburn in his hand.

[... That is not the Caliburn I know. It is not Caliburn, but it deserves to be Caliburn ... I am confused. Have I been mistaking the fake Caliburn as the real one for all this time?]

[You are still young—a foolish and compulsive one. That's why you don't know much. Your ignorance leads to your arrogance. That is the weakness that makes you inferior to the others.]

As Basil didn't have any intention to respond to any of the words of Durendal that was now floating uselessly beside him, Caliburn decided it was time for him as the "senior" to butt in.

He knew what Basil would do to Durendal, and because of that, he couldn't just stand and watch. His nature didn't allow him to let Durendal remain drown in his foolishness even until he withered away from the world.

[Better as you may be than your wielder, it is all but in your mind. Your wielder still has something that makes them better. Although in some cases, you are indeed better, that is not how to prove it.]

[... What is a Spirit Soul doing inside a sword?] Durendal was dumbfounded. [What kind of situation have I found myself in? Things have really gotten complicated after that little bastard Mordred put me in a bloody Demon's stomach!]

[A good sword is not determined by what it can cut, but what it can do along with its wielder.]

[Tsk. Do you not know what I have allowed Roland to achieve? I turned him from an incompetent Knight to a Knight that anyone from Braxtein was afraid of. What are you talking about? I am a good sword!]

Boom!

The Wyvern suddenly attacked Basil with its claws when the argument between Caliburn and Durendal became heated. Luckily, Basil had his Barrier ready, so he could shrug off the attack easily.

Upon reaching the helpless Wyvern, Basil swung Caliburn once and successfully decapitated it. He was slightly bewildered at how easy killing it, but he immediately found the reason why it was the case.

"What makes a weapon great is what it has allowed the wielder to pull through," Basil remarked, recalling about Vagus. "It is great because of what it allows the wielder to achieve, not what it forces the wielder to do."

[How can a human ever compete with my perfectness? Achieving something great by relying on a human skill will take a long time. I give my wielder the opportunity to achieve it sooner—I am the best because of it.]

"How funny," Basil sneered. "No weapon is perfect; every weapon has their plus and minus. Even you, which is definitely inferior to Caliburn, have something that still makes you better than him."

[Hoh? Have you finally realized my greatness? Tell me—tell me what makes me better than Caliburn.]

"Unlike Caliburn, I can remove you anytime," Basil answered coldly.

[Huh?! What do you—]

Even before Durendal's Sword Soul finished his words, Basil had already grasped Durendal and quickly poured Asia's soul into it. A heavy presence invaded Durendal's Sword Realm, sending the Sword Soul in terror.

"Whoso hath not the goods, hath not the reason to bark," Basil muttered in disinterest.

Although the reason why he had come here instead of immediately going to the Secret Chamber was Durendal, he didn't have any plan to rely on Durendal. He just needed it to be a vessel for Asia, so he had no use for the Sword Soul.

What he had initially planned to do was letting Asia occupy the sword and coexist with Durendal's Sword Soul in the Sword Realm.

He had no intention to obliterate the Sword Soul; however, after what had happened, he decided it was best to eliminate him. Durendal's Sword Soul was problematic enough to someday stand in his way.

Basil didn't like leaving a potential problem alone, so eliminating Durendal's Sword Soul was the best course of action.

"You should have listened to my husband," Asia said to Durendal. She had already occupied half of the Sword Realm.

"W-Who are you? How can you get into my Realm?!" The silver skinned boy with a pink hair, Durendal's Sword Soul was panicking. "What have you done to my Realm?! Why can't I do anything anymore to it?!"

Flash!

Suddenly reappearing in front of the Sword Soul, Asia stared into his eyes murderously. "Oh, can't you tell that I am slowly eating you up? I am going to overtake this place, and make it mine."

"N-No... That's not possible! I am born in this place! There's no—"

Asia interrupted the Sword Soul by suddenly picking him up by his neck. "Like a frog living under a coconut shell—you know nothing about the real world. What can you do about it now, boy? Are going to Cry?"

Asia smiled coldly—it was uncanny seeing it on her beautiful face. Durendal's Sword Soul, on the other hand, widened his eyes in fear as he could finally sense his impending doom.

Outside of the Sword Realm, Basil watched as Durendal trembled incessantly. A faint smirk adorned his face as he could finally feel his connection with it was gradually establishing.