Chapter 6 Soul Reaper
"Huh... After taking a bath, eating grilled dried fish and looking at handsome guys, it's really a blessing in life──"
Beichen lay on a boulder by the stream, a look of ecstasy on her face, half a small grilled fish in her mouth, swinging her legs as she gazed at the starry sky above. At first, the bluish-purple moon had made her feel a little uncomfortable, but now, after looking at it for a while, she found it quite beautiful.
"Master, please don't move. I'll help you dry your hair."
Xiang Ying carefully held a strand of her black hair in his hand, gathering a slightly warm breeze in his palm and blowing it away.
After being promoted to Sanmang, Xiang Ying gained many more abilities. In addition to the original fire control and healing, he can now control wind and thunder in a small range.
Of course, there is also the most important ability, telepathic communication: without speaking, Beichen and Xiangying can now communicate directly through their consciousness, as if there is an extra switch in their body, which can control the communication channel between the two at will.
This ability is completely useless in such an uninhabited mountain area, but in a town with many people and things, you can imagine how important it is. No wonder they regard Sanmang as the minimum standard for weapons. It is very likely that this ability is a very important factor.
By the time Xiang Ying had dried her hair, Beichen was already a little drowsy. Although he was reluctant to wake her up, he still gently shook Beichen's shoulders.
"Master, we need to get ready and head to town."
After hearing these words, Beichen, who was a little distracted, immediately woke up.
"What's wrong?"
"...In two days it will be 'Star Scourge Night'. It's too dangerous out in the wild."
"Night of Star Disaster? That's...?"
"Oh, by the way, I haven't told you about the Three Great Nights yet, Master. In this world, there are three very important days every month: 'Star Scourge Night', 'Moonquake Night', and 'Blade Cry Night'."
"Hmm...? Could you please tell me in detail?"
"Of course. The Night of the Star Scourge is a night that occurs every month on the full moon... On that night, all the 'Possessed Moon Envoys' will go on a terrifying rampage. Their powers will increase several times over, and they will become extremely bloodthirsty. If you were left out in the wild on that night, you'd probably be wiped out."
Beichen shuddered timidly after hearing this: "That sounds terrifying. Even though a level three possessed Moon Envoy is easily defeated with our current abilities, if it were several times larger... wuwawa!"
Xiang Ying nodded seriously, then continued, "A Moonquake Night occurs randomly on any day of the month. This day is a special day for weapons, and their abilities will increase several times. Therefore, people often use their weapons to hunt high-level 'Possessed Moon Envoys' on Moonquake Night."
"Is that so..." Beichen lowered his head thoughtfully.
"Blade Cry Night is the day of the waning moon, the day when war weapons are born. This world has numerous Star Spirit Mines distributed throughout every region. Every month on Blade Cry Night, the Star Spirit Mines create new war weapons. Master, do you remember I told you there's a bloodline of war weapons called the 'Yeyue Seed'? War weapons of that bloodline are those born on the same day as 'Moonquake Night' and 'Blade Cry Night'."
"I see. His abilities were multiplied several times by the Moonquake Night at birth, which is why he's so powerful."
"Yes, if one's abilities are doubled at birth, it seems that these basic qualities can be preserved permanently. However, it is precisely because the chance of those two dates coinciding is very small that the Yeyue seeds are extremely precious."
"Is that so? Then, Xiang Ying, do you still remember what month you were born?"
"I remember, it was Juneteenth of that year. Five years and seven months ago."
"!? Sixteen months?! Xiang Ying, in this world, how many days are in a month, and how many months are in a year?"
"A month is a day. The first day of each new moon is the night of the Blade Crying, and the 15th day is the full moon, which is also the night of the Star Disaster. A year is seventeen months."
"A year is seventeen months...wait, Xiang Ying, you're only five years old?!"
Beichen looked at the tall and mature-looking man beside him with a mixture of laughter and tears. This guy was only five years old!
Xiang Ying hurriedly explained, "Master, the age of humans and weapons cannot be compared. Although I have only appeared in this world for five years, each weapon actually had a very clear and mature personality when it was at the level of a single leaf. In terms of psychological age, I am not—"
Seeing Xiang Ying's anxious look, Beichen put away her smile and stopped canceling him, but she still couldn't help but ask out of curiosity:
"So, what's the lifespan of a weapon?"
"That's hard to say. Many of the defective ones I know died at the age of three or four. But those high-level warriors, such as the Demonic Sword Xiaxue you know, have lived for a long time. At least over 1,000 years, right?"
"Pfft! So that guy is a thousand-year-old monster! He's still using his handsome face to deceive people, really──"
Seeing Beichen talking about the king's weapon that made the whole continent shudder in a casual tone, Xiang Ying felt relieved for some reason.
...She didn't seem particularly eager to obtain Xiaxue. Xiaxue and Xiangying were the same type of weapon—longswords. If she formed a contract with Xiaxue, Xiangying would have no value in existence.
"Okay, since the night of the star disaster is two days from now, we really need to prepare to go to the town. If we go to the town... first of all, we need the currency of this world. Xiang Ying, do you have any opinions?"
"Don't worry about this, Master. I have been preparing for it."
As Xiang Ying spoke, he took out a handful of shiny, fingernail-sized pebbles from his waist bag.
"This is……?"
"This is a Star Spirit Core. You can sell it for money. I got it from the defeated 'Possessed Moon Envoy'... However, it's of such a low level that it can only be exchanged for a small amount of money."
Beichen nodded, then was startled. He looked at the handful of Star Spirit Cores in Xiangying's hand, then opened Xiangying's waist bag and took a look.
"Oh my god, so many?! How many possessed moon envoys did we kill?!"
"581, Master."
Beichen was completely stunned. "So many!! I, I'm a little impressed with myself... Haven't we killed all the possessed moon envoys around here?!"
"How can we kill them all? The speed at which the possessed Moon Envoys are born is quite fast."
"That's fine, that's fine. I, I never intended to destroy the ecological balance."
Xiang Ying listened to Beichen speaking terms he didn't understand in confusion. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly put the Star Spirit Core back into his waist bag and stood up abruptly.
"who?!"
Xiang Ying shouted loudly at the bushes in the distance, and Beichen immediately jumped up from the rock in alertness.
After a while, someone stumbled through the bushes and ran towards Xiang Ying and Beichen by the stream.
"Help, help! You two, help!!"
The visitor was a blonde girl. Although her clothes were tattered and her hair was disheveled, one could still tell that she had a beautiful appearance underneath her disheveled attire.
She rushed to Beichen and Xiangying, glanced at Xiangying with a look of obvious disappointment, but for some reason, she rolled her eyes and smiled at the two of them again.
"Miss... and Mr. Weapon, I'm being hunted. My Weapon has betrayed me. I'll pay you over 100,000 Swiss francs to protect me and get me to the nearby town of Wilvis, okay?!"
“…”
Beichen didn't answer, but just frowned and started the mind communication mode.
"...Xiang Ying, I always feel like there's something fishy about this."
"Yes, but Master, she said over 100,000 Swiss francs, which is not a small amount of money. It's enough for you to buy your own house in this small town."
"I see. This is indeed a bit tempting, but I still want to ask."
"Well, this lady...what's your name?"
"Uh, my name is Charlie."
"Ms. Shirley, I'm very tempted by the reward you offer, but I want to ask, why would your weapon betray you? Don't you have a contract between you?"
Facing Beichen's pursuit, Xia Li revealed a ferocious look of impatience for a moment, but she immediately curled her lips and muttered in grievance:
"I don't know. If we had a contract, he wouldn't have been able to betray me. It's not like he had the support of the Fallen Dark Seeds."
"I see."
Beichen touched his chin and thought for a while.
"Forget it, I won't do this business."
"What!?" Charlie screamed. "I, I'm willing to pay over 100,000, and you actually—"
Beichen waved his hand indifferently.
"Although war machines are considered one of the two most intelligent races in the world, they are ultimately dependent on humans for survival. And you've actually forced your own war machines to abandon their own survival and turn against you—I'm sorry, I don't want your money."
As he said this, Xia Li's expression on the opposite side became more and more distorted, while Xiang Ying on the side looked at Beichen and showed a gentle smile.
"Besides, we have our own ways to make money, right, Xiang Ying?"
"Yes, Master. ...It's only a small amount, though."
The two ignored Charlie and started laughing, which made Charlie on the side extremely angry. She couldn't help but say coldly:
"What? It's just a bunch of rubbish, three-pointed quantized species. If I wasn't in such a bad condition... do you think I would even look at such a scumbag as you—Ugh!"
Before he could finish his words, Beichen rushed forward, did a beautiful spin, and kicked the opponent in the abdomen, causing Xia Li to curl up on the ground and scream.
"Miss Xia Li, you're not a bitch at all. It looks like your weapon is much more advanced than mine. Then how come your skills are even inferior to someone like me who uses a three-pointed weapon? Look, I don't even have a weapon, and I knocked you to the ground?"
In the face of Xiang Ying's slightly surprised gaze, Beichen revealed a cold and sarcastic smile he had never shown before, and took a step towards the figure curled up on the ground.
...If the usually lively, gentle, smiling, and occasionally coquettish Beichen is a kitten, then the current her is almost like──
"...Damn it...you...I want to call my father──"
"Every time you talk about it, it's either money or power. It's strange that a guy like you can get the loyalty of a war weapon."
Beichen sneered, turned around, walked to Xiang Ying and took his hand.
"Let's go, Xiangying."
"No, please wait, there seems to be someone nearby, let's not act rashly..."
As soon as Xiang Ying finished speaking, a hurricane suddenly arose around them!
Beichen reflexively stretched out her hand and prepared to grasp the sword, and Xiang Ying, who had been cooperating with her for a long time, immediately changed back into the form of a weapon without saying a word and appeared in her hand.
In contrast to Beichen's caution, there was a man who, with a slightly lazy and casual attitude, descended from the sky in front of Xia Li who was curled up on the ground.
“──”
Beichen gasped.
Knee-length white hair reflected a ghostly glow in the moonlight, a face too beautiful to be human, with a cold and evil aura, and a pair of blood-red eyes that shone with a devilish, bloodthirsty light in the night.
In his hand, he was holding a giant sickle that was several inches taller than his slender body and shone with a purple-black demonic light.
no.
That person was too strong, and the overwhelming momentum came in waves, almost depriving her of the ability to speak. Seeing her like this, the other party sneered, and with this sneer, the murderous intent that almost distorted the air in the vicinity seemed to fade a lot.
"I give you leave to speak, little girl."
A sinister and ghostly male voice came over, Beichen's whole body shook, and he slowly relaxed his tense body.
"Who are you?"
"Oh? How dare you be so presumptuous in front of the Dark Fallen?"
"Master, he's a Dark Weapon!! Be very careful!! ...If you resort to violence, even if I transform into a humanoid to stall for time, you won't be able to escape. Damn it—"
Almost at the same time, the man holding the sickle opposite and Xiang Ying spoke.
Beichen had never heard Xiang Ying sound so nervous before. He swallowed his saliva, and a thin layer of sweat seemed to seep out of the palm of his hand holding Xiang Ying.
The man opposite sneered again.
"Since you just said something to please me, I allow you to tell me your name."
"I, I, I...what did I just say?"
The frightened Beichen stared blankly at Xiang Ying in his hand, but Xiang Ying seemed unable to react for a moment to what the other party meant.
The sickle man grew impatient.
"Didn't you hear me tell you my name?!"
"Wow, I'm sorry, my name is Xiang Beichen!!"
Beichen was so scared that he quickly gave his name. The man with the sickle was stunned for a moment, and actually laughed out loud, and his face, which was full of murderous aura, looked much gentler.
"Xiang Beichen. Are you interested in knowing who I am?"
“Hey.”
"...Don't be so scared that you pass out. My name is Vampire Scythe, Yaye, Six Stars, Fallen Dark Seed."
“……?”
But Beichen, who was not a local, just tilted his head in confusion, while Xiangying in her hand simply breathed a sigh of relief, returned to human form, appeared beside Beichen, and patted her shoulder soothingly.
The corners of the sickle man's mouth twitched as they moved.
"How did you change back, Xiang Ying? He's a six-star Dark Seed, very powerful!"
"Don't worry, Vampire Scythe Yaye is also a celebrity among the Fallen Dark Race. He won't make things difficult for the war weapons, nor will he make things difficult for people like you from the Spiritual Martial Division."
"Spiritual Martial Division?"
"Ah, didn't I even tell the master this? This is truly a dereliction of duty! In this world, those who use weapons to fight against the 'Possessed Moon Envoy' are collectively known as the Spirit Martial Division."
"I see, so that's how it is. My current occupation is the Spiritual Martial Division."
As soon as they realized that the sickle man was harmless, Beichen and Xiangying unknowingly fell into a high-temperature communication mode as if they were oblivious to the surroundings, making Yaye feel the veins on his forehead throbbing.
"Hey, do you think I'm in a good mood today, so you're challenging my bottom line?"
So, he had to release a lot of murderous aura to attract the attention of the two again.
Realizing that he had ignored such a powerful weapon and was chatting with Xiang Ying, Beichen coughed awkwardly a few times: "I'm sorry... uh, then, is there anything Mr. Yaye wants to talk to us about?"
Yaye glanced at Beichen and snorted arrogantly.
"I'm here to see her."
As he said this, he kicked Charlie, who was curled up on the ground, again.
"Pretending to be unconscious in front of me? That's quite a realization."
"Help, help—help! I'll give you half a million! Save me—"
Playing dead failed, Xia Li twisted her face again and screamed at Beichen and Xiangying, then used her hands and feet to crawl towards them.
Yaye did not catch up, but threw a dagger from a distance and hit Xia Li in front of her.
"Hey, I'll leave this woman to you."
“…”
The dagger on the ground made a short breathing sound, then a green light flashed and it turned into a handsome boy with green hair and blue eyes.
"Al! Al, you... you're not really going to kill me, are you?"
Charlie saw the dagger transformed back into human form and took a few steps back with a flattering smile on his face.
"I, I won't bully you anymore. Don't listen to that sickle's instigation. Come back with me, okay? I will definitely treat you well in the future."
“──”
The dagger called Al simply looked at its wielder expressionlessly.
"Bully? That's a really good word."
Yaye, who was standing not far away, sneered with an almost seductive smile.
"Insulting, kicking, and arbitrarily changing the length of his blade just for fun. Making him compete with weapons far stronger than his in terms of blade strength. Deliberately starving him. Even using him as a tool for sexual gratification. Doing this to him is just 'bullying'?"
Charlie's face turned pale and blue at what he said, but she couldn't refute him. She could only put on a pleading expression and smirked at the boy again:
"I know I was wrong, Al. Please forgive me this time. I will change. Really!"
“—I…”
"Choose quickly, I don't have much time. ...Will you continue to be her punching bag, or will you bite back and become an uncontrollable Dark One? Choose now."
Yaye impatiently changed his stance, and the sickle in his hand made a crisp "clang" sound.
"I..." The young man gritted his teeth, raised his head suddenly, and looked at Yaye, "I choose to fall into darkness!"
"good!"
Yaye laughed wildly, turned his wrist, and the huge black sickle swept across with a whistling sound. Xia Li had no time to escape or scream. Her beautiful head flew high into the air and then rolled onto the grass.
Blood was splattered everywhere. Although Beichen had seen many corpses in recent days, this was the first time she had seen a human corpse so close. She shivered involuntarily, took several steps back, and bumped into Xiang Ying's arms.
"It's alright, Master."
Xiang Ying soothed her in a deep voice, turned her around and let her bury her face in his arms.
"Master, it's best not to watch what happens next. The process of the weapon falling into darkness... is too bloody."
Beichen nodded gently in his arms, she seemed to have not yet recovered from the shock.
Yaye on the side glanced at Xiang Ying with an ambiguous look, then stretched out his hand and made a light grab -
A large amount of blood gushed out from the broken neck of Charlie's body, forming a ball floating in the air. As more and more blood gushed out, the ball slowly expanded, while Charlie's body quickly shrank. Finally, the blood ball floating in the air swelled into a blood bubble as tall as a person, and the body on the ground had shriveled so much that its original appearance could not be recognized at all.
"Come, accept the baptism of your master's blood. From now on, you no longer need to obey anyone's orders, nor do you need to be manipulated by humans to absorb that ridiculous star power. Our food is human blood, human souls, and those ridiculous creatures who are incompetent but arrogant and wantonly abuse us! Go in and accept your change!!"
The young man nodded with a resolute expression, leaped into the huge blood bubble, and then—
“Aa ...
A sharp roar, accompanied by the rumbling of the earth and the noise of lightning and thunder, rang out. Beichen in Xiang Ying's arms instinctively wanted to look up, but Xiang Ying pressed him back into his arms.
"Master, don't look!"
"But—"
"It will be fine soon, just hold on, it will be fine soon—"
After an unknown amount of time, the violent aura above the open space beside the stream finally dissipated, and the screams and roars gradually subsided. When Beichen left Xiang Ying's arms, the blood bubbles disappeared, and the boy with green hair and blue eyes also disappeared. Instead, there was a cold-looking boy with white hair and red eyes floating in the air.
"How does it feel?"
Yaye on the side sneered and looked up to ask.
“…Very comfortable.”
"Besides the huge increase in strength, do you feel like you've been freed from all constraints?"
"Yeah. If I had known that falling into darkness was so comfortable and easy, I would have done it a long time ago."
A cold and sinister smile appeared on the boy's face, and he nodded slightly at Yaye.
"Thank you, Yaye. I still have some revenge to take, so I'll leave first."
"Go ahead."
The young man jumped into the air and left the sight of Beichen and Xiangying with a gust of cold wind, while Yaye kicked the dried corpse at his feet away without any care and took a few steps towards the two of them.
"You two have a good relationship."
“…”
Beichen didn't reply. But Yaye's cold eyes fell on Beichen blatantly.
"You'd better keep it up. If one day you do something like that woman did, you'll end up like that."
"Yeah, I know."
Beichen answered softly, her voice a little trembling, but her tone was firm.
"Don't worry, my Xiang Ying will never have the chance to fall into darkness. He's such a good guy, I wouldn't let him be your little brother."
"……snort."
Yaye snorted lightly, put the sickle on his shoulder, and turned his back to the two of them.
"See you later, Xiang Beichen."
As he spoke, he leaped into the shadows of the forest, his long snow-white hair dancing in the wind, his black sickle flashing with a faint light, and he left with a strange laugh, like the god of death reaping souls.
Beichen finally relaxed and took a deep breath.
"...Is this the Fallen Dark Seed?"
She murmured this as if she was still frightened.
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