Chapter 378: Dust
Black runes ran along the polished silver length of the sword, scratched across it as if they had been carved there by a blade held in an unsteady hand. Inky darkness swirled within the runes like pools of ink and power lingered over the weapon like an avalanche frozen halfway down a mountain.
A deep sense of wrongness slammed into Arnold’s chest and threatened to rip his last meal free from his stomach. This was nothing like any magic item he’d ever seen before. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and ice traveled up at his spine.
It was terrifying.
“You had a weapon like this?” the knight exclaimed, lifting the weapon to the sky. “How stupid are you? If you’d drawn this when we’d fought, you might have actually had a chance. Were you really so arrogant that you thought you could win without using your full strength?”
“She told me not to draw the sword,” Arnold said, gritting his teeth. He reached deep into himself and drew as much power from his core as he could, letting the magic roil within his body. It burned in his chest and threatened to eat away at him from within. He fought to keep it concealed, not letting so much as a scrap leak free. “Can’t you tell that thing is dangerous?”
“All power is dangerous,” the knight replied with a shake of his head. “But cowards don’t dare to wield it. That’s the difference between you and a real adventurer. What kind of idiot brings a weapon he’s too scared to use onto a battlefield? You pathetic idiot. Surrender. Putting you down will be an even bigger favor for your teammates than I thought.”
“None of this is part of a real adventurer’s job,” Arnold snarled. “The tournament is just a way to show everyone how far we’ve come. I don’t care what you say. I’m not going to let my team down.”
With the last of his physical — and every scrap of his magical — strength, Arnold thrust his left arm up into the knight’s leg. Electric energy poured out of his body in a deluge of magic. A brilliant crack split the air as a yellow flash erupted between his palm and the metal.
Arcs of energy carved down the knight’s leg and into the ground, tearing through him and filling the air with the scent of cooking meat instantly. A scream of pain slipped from the other man’s lips and he staggered back, his armor smoking.