The Sword in the Stone

Berus knew that he had no option to get through this unscathed. Immediately he was attacked with a barrage of punches, slashes and scratches. He was tired, exhausted and without any strength left to defend.

Behind him, Iuria shivered. She was even worse off than he was. And he had to keep the fight away from her. She was so exhausted that she leaned against the rusted stone sword in the middle of the room.

And then it hit him.

Of course, the castle was different from what he remembered of the game. Still, during his time here he had encountered several things that were similar enough to make him doubt things. And finally, everything clicked into place. It had been a long, long time since he had acquired said weapon in-game, but he remembered now with intense clarity.

That old stone sword was called the Moonshadow Blade, a demonic relic from the past. The item only became active after the area boss was defeated, and even then, it wasn’t easy to acquire. Of course, said boss wasn’t here, and that had made it more difficult for Berus to remember. But at least he remembered how to get the sword.

For a moment, he was thankful that he was an automaton. Just like a demon, it was a Child of Nys, and as such, should be able to wield the sword without problems. With that in mind, he dashed toward the sword, as he tried to take as little punches as he could.

“Ahahahaha! Are you trying to escape? Or do you think this will save you? It’s hopeless, little machine. You will never escape. You will die here, and your friends will suffer.”

Gyria hit him in the back, but Berus pushed through the pain.

“What are you doing?” Ki-Rai hissed. “Your body is in pretty bad shape. You can’t afford to dillydally!”

“I know what I’m doing,” he whispered back. “At least I hope so.”

His joints hurt. His soul hurt. Everything hurt, really. But he continued on. His hand grabbed the sword’s hilt.

Behind him, Gyria laughed.

“What are you doing? No one can get that sword. We tried everything.”

If Berus could grin at her, he would have in this moment.

“Of course you couldn’t get it. It tookt the community almost a year to figure it out.”

No one could pick it up, but it was clearly interactable in the game, which stumped the players for the longest time. Until someone was stupid enough to literally use every skill they had on the sword. And one useless skill actually worked.

“[Demonic Aura].”

That skill was so useless most players forgot it even existed. Even Berus simply memorized it as the ‘useless skill’. But he could tell that it worked, just like in the game. As his mana bar drained, the sword under his hands started to glow red. He gripped it tighter.

“Hmmm?” Gyria tilted her mask. “What’s happening?”

He turned around to her as he continued to cast his [Demonic Aura].

“My name is Berus. I am a holy demonic knight. And together with the elven priestess of Lucine I will fulfill the prophecy.”

WIth these words he swung the sword free. And with that, demonic energy flowed into him. For the first time, General Gyria instinctively took up a proper defensive stance. Something had changed, and even the demons around could feel it. The throne room’s temperature rose, as the red light glowed stronger and stronger.

And then, Berus and Gyria clashed. Even though he still had only one arm, it was enough to swing the sword around. For the first time, they were evenly matched, as Berus hacked through the limbs with which Gyria tried to reach him. He even blocked her sword slashes easily. It felt natural, as he had swung this sword so many times before.

“Welcome back, old friend.”

Of course, as soon as the community had figured out how to obtain the sword, he too had gotten it. And he had used it time and time again, as he liked not only how much effort it took to obtain it, but its whole aesthetic. It was properly demonic. It was made from a pitch-black metal, and jagged spikes protruded from both the blade itself, as well as crossguard. Red energy pulsed through the blade and the crystal set in the pommel. Everything about the blade was sharp and dangerous. Maybe it was a little edgy, but even that was perfect for a demon. And it felt perfect for a demonic holy knight, as well.

It was his sword, after all. Even if it wasn’t the exact sword he had used in the game, he knew it as well as his original one. His attacks were clean and precise. Together with the skills Phorok’s skill stone bestowed upon him, he was stronger than Gyria at last. Crescents of demonic energy slashed the air and the room around them. Many of the spectators fled, while others, like Mikkah and Iuria, simply hid themselves away.

Gyria was bleeding. Black blood dripped to the ground, and her figure was thinner now. She finally seemed to take him seriously.

“As soon as you’re dead,” she huffed, “I will take that sword.”

“You can try if you want.”

Again and again they clashed, circling each other. But his body didn’t tire. He had, after all, no muscles that could grew tired. He was a machine.

Those thoughts encouraged him to attack her over and over. She would need a break. Or make a mistake. Sooner or later, he would land a critical hit. He just had to continue doing what he was doing. Cuts and stabs and skills rained down on Gyria, who was now the one on the defensive. It was a wonderful feeling, as if he was back as Vrixus, with the speed and strength that he knew. It was that deadly dance which he so loved. Here, finally, he was in his zone.

And he could feel her fear. She might not show it with her mask, but behind it, Gyria was scared. Her punches were only to shield herself from harm, and they grew less powerful with each passing moment. But Berus only drew more energy from this fight. He danced around the demon with elegance, cutting her limbs with flowing movements. Slowly but surely he pushed her back, away from Mikkah and Iuria. He was brimming with energy and happiness. And Ki-Rai was right there with him.

“Show her how it’s done! Yeah! Now this is what I call a fight!” she cheered.

He was winning. His experience from thousands of PvP fights told him that this battle would be over soon. She had no strength left to parry his attacks. Berus gripped the sword tighter and did a full turn. That movement ignited demonic flames within the sword, and with that strength, he slashed Gyria into two.

The fight was over.