Chapter 27: Ebony Sword

Edward looked into the demon's eyes, and even before fighting, he noticed something strange. The first time they met, it was clearly intelligent, at least as much as a human. However, now that he looked at it, he couldn't see the same intelligence in those eyes, but barely anything more than ruthlessness and savagery.

The demon clearly wasn't interested in a staring contest though as it pounced at Edward, ready to rip him into shreds.

Edward wasn't afraid of fighting it, although it was probably stronger than him it wouldn't really be much of a problem. However, he wanted to test something, so he began running.

The demon roared and chased after him, and didn't hesitate to crush anything standing in it's path. As Edward ran deeper into the enemy lines, the demon followed behind him and crushed tens of orcs on the way, killing them with a touch, or at the very least crippling them.

This made Edward smile, Morgana's greatest weapon had become so uncontrollable it was killing her own troops.

Morgana quickly saw the situation down there, but was stopped by Merlin from doing anything. The orcs were left on their own, facing both the humans and the mindless demon.

They were intelligent creatures though, and began avoiding Edward like the plague. This, however, had terrible consequences for them as they became easy pickings as they broke their formation.

This however forced Edward to finally face the demon, as there were no more orcs to slow it down.

Brandishing his sword, he jumped toward the demon, and feeling it's powerful Chi, he ducked, dodging a large claw, and slashed upward.

However, much to his dismay, his sword broke into fragments as it hit the demon's skin. Left with only a handle, Edward was left speechless as he threw it away and jumped to dodge another attack.

Gritting his teeth, he went into close combat as he punched the demon, easily dodging it's hits. While powerful and fast, it had become dumb and could only rely on it's body strength.

If it were overwhelmingly stronger than Edward, then he would be helpless. However, the gap was so large as to create this situation, so Edward was able to dodge each and everyone of it's hits.

Moreover, he was manipulating it's movements so as not to create any weak points for him, and he periodically punched it.

At some point, Edward felt the ground tremble, and a few horses came storming their way. Three of the knights charged at the demon, and slashed at it, their weapons meeting the same fate as Edward's.

However, the force of the hits were enough to push back the demon, and completely open it's defence.

Then, the last knight, the Black Knight, came in charging, his dark blade shining with an ominous light. The demon barely registered the ones who attacked it as it still tried to attack Edward.

However, this proved to be a mistake as it's huge arm was sent flying in the air, while Percy rode past him.

It roared as it finally registered the new threat, but with now one less arm.

But as the humans rejoiced as they had finally managed to hurt the beast, it opened it's mouth wide open as it turned toward Sir Percy and fired a ray of darkness.

The Black Knight could no nothing but watch as the dark ray hit his horse, pulverising it. As for him, he blocked the blow with his sword, but the force sent him flying, while his sword fell out of his grip.

Everyone watched as the sword fly through the sky, before falling at Edward's feet. No, it didn't fall, it pierced into the ground, reminding one of the great legend of Excalibur.

The demon, registering Percy's threat had been neutralized, growled at Edward before rushing at him. As for Edward, he found himself unable to dodge as he had too been stunned by the attack.

This small lapse in his concentration gave the demon the opportunity it sought since the beginning of the fight, Edward couldn't escape anymore.

Faced with the demon's sharp teeth and claw, Edward knew that his small body wouldn't do it anything, and after a moment of hesitation he steeled his heart and grabbed the ominous sword.

As he did, he felt the world darken as a sinister voice told him "Submit."

Edward frowned and replied "Fuck off!"

A sneer resounded, and he saw the world once again. The demon was still charging at him, but Edward found himself unable to move.

The demon reached him, and with a powerful bite, tore his upper half away.

Edward felt immense pain flood his senses, but that was only for a moment as when he reaches the stomach of the demon, time seemed to unwind.

His body moved up the throat of the demon, and and joined back with his lower half. The demon took several steps back, returning to it's original position, while the sinister voice said "You are a far more worthy than that lad, Percy. With me, you shall become invincible! Not even death can touch you as long as you hold me!"

As it said that, a skeleton dressed in a black robe and wielding a huge scythe appeared in the air above them. It looked feminine, and was looking at him with an intense gaze.

Edward only grunted though and replied "You may fool other men, but don't try to fool me. This is nothing more than an illusion."

The sword really had taken over all five of his senses, making the scene look very real. Unfortunately for it, Edward had Chi Sense, and knew those were mere constructs of the mind.

The sinister voice seemed to turn more feral as it growled "It would have been fun to corrupt someone as pure as you… a pity. You can die then."

As it said so, Edward felt an immense pressure on his mind, threatening to break it. The pain was worse than anything he ever felt, to the point it seemed impossible to put into words, other than his mind being torn apart.

But amidst the pain, Edward gritted his teeth and attacked back. The pressure became lesser as he battled the will of the sword with his own.

The sword's voice became noticeably weaker and more afraid as it exclaimed "How is this possible? How can your mind be so strong?!"

Edward sneered and pushed even stronger as he replied "You are nothing in front of my will. Begone!"

Edward felt something explode as his will seemed to take form and crazily expanded outwards. The sword's sinister voice turned weaker and weaker as it cried crazily, but this didn't help it as it's presence was quickly extinguished.

As it did, Edward's world turned black once again. This confused him, as he thought he had passed the test. But then, the skeleton in a black dress appeared in front of him.

Curious, he asked "Are you death?"

The skeleton nodded, and said "Don't you fear me?"

Edward noted Death not only looked but also sounded feminine. He replied "Death is what makes life worthwhile. While I do apprehend you for now, I do not fear you."

Death let out a small chuckle, surprising Edward, and said "While the sword's spirit would have corroded you over time, it also gave the sword most of it's powers. You will not be able to resurrect now."

Edward shrugged and said "A trusty weapon is much more important. And it is still a very sharp weapon, which was what I sought."

Death seemed to smile, although it was hard to see as she was a skeleton, and she said "As a Sorcerer, do you know about the ageless spell?"

Edward's face finally changed as he said "Of course I do… You are the entity. Of course, who else than Death itself could make someone ageless."

Death chuckled "Indeed, it is I. If a Sorcerer manages to pass my trial, then I shall grant them their reward. You have passed my test."

Her words stunned Edward, the Ageless spell was much more than becoming ageless, it meant that other than a battle wound, nothing may kill Edward. He won't die of illness, poison, or nefarious energies.

This was great for a mortal already, but for a Sorcerer it was much more. Every time a Sorcerer used a spell, they had to be extra careful of the consequences. It was also the true reason why Edward hadn't learned any spells until now.

He had already gathered more than enough knowledge, and he could learn spells while still learning knowledge of the mystical arts if he wanted to. However, he was always cautious of the side effects, hence why he never learned a spell.

This spell however would allow one to ignore the after effects of most spells. Many spells would have small effects on the body, such as making it a bit warmer than usual, or make a certain part of the body scratch from time to time.

But many others were much more vicious, and would corrode the body over a long period of time. With the Ageless Body, a Sorcerer would be able to borrow the energy of any dimensional being, and as long as they didn't sign any slave contracts or anything like that, then they didn't need to worry.

But such power required a price, and a steep one at that. Not much was known about the trial to gain an Ageless Body, but Sorcerers did know that if one failed, then they would die. This was what happened to nearly every Sorcerer who tried to use this spell before.

So it was even more astonishing that Edward, a beginner Sorcerer who barely knew any spell, had passed the test and was chosen by Death.

As Edward was about to express his doubts, Death said "You are special, Edward Bell."

As she said that, Edward felt the sword disappear, and the dark abyss turned into a planet in the cosmos. Edward was now sitting in a chair, across Death, who served him tea.

This made Edward smile a little as he took his cup of tea and said "You remind me of my mystical arts teacher."

Death's appearance started to change too as flesh and skin appeared all over her bones, turning her into a beautiful young woman with short raven hair. Edward also noticed he himself was in his true form, the Armor of the Ancient was nowhere to be seen as he was dressed in casual clothes.

Death sipped on her tea and said "Yao, the Ancient One… For many years he hesitated to cast this spell, but eventually decided not to. He did well, as he would have failed."

Edward asked "What is this trial, exactly? And how come no Sorcerer who passed your test in the past haven't said anything about you?"

Death smiled, for real this time, and said "No Sorcerer interested me before today. As for the trial, it simply requires the caster not to fear me. A simple yet hard test."

Edward had a look of realization as he said "So that's why nearly everyone failed before, as only those who fear death would desire an ageless body."

Death simply nodded, so Edward asked "What's so special about me then? What is it that made a being such as you interested in me?"

Death looked deep into Edward's eyes and said "Humans are very special existences in the Universe, especially those of Earth. Your origins grants your race immense potential for power. Mutants, Eternals, Variants, Mutates, Inhumans, Mystical Arts, even technology…"

She sighed as she continued, looking into the void "You humans strive to copy what you are not and use every tool available to gain power. Any human could use an external power to become powerful."

Then, her eyes looked back into Edward's, and she said "But then, there is you. You hold access to multiples possibilities to become a powerful being, but you insist on relying on this weak body. Tell me, why is that?"

Hearing her question, Edward replied "I don't really know, I would say pride, probably. But that does not make me special, there are many more martial artists who sought the same as me."

Death smiled, as if satisfied by what he said, and explained "I never specified to whom you would be special, nor are you the only one I find special. But to be honest, there is something you have, that others do not. And it is also why I sadly won't be able to give you my blessing."

"And what is that?" Edward asked, at the edge of his seat. He was dejected he wouldn't get the ageless spell cast on him, but his curiosity right now was much stronger than his disappointment.

Death suddenly grinned, and replied "Among those I find special? Your normality. Among martial artists? You are the first one to break the limit."

As Edward showed shock, surprise, and was about to ask his question, everything before him disappeared, and he found himself back into the real world.