8: Chapter 8

Ddraig paused. "The First-Generation Saint Sword Wielder, the holder of the Primordial Saint Sword. He was the sinner who swung his sword at God, the one the Church and Heaven have always cursed—the Fallen One."

Luo Yu felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

Swinging a sword at God.

For a Holy Sword Wielder to do such a thing was practically the ultimate rebellion against the world.

That wasn't just a matter of courage, but of absolute strength.

After all, God was an existence far transcending even a Super Devil. "I never imagined my ancestor had such a massive background."

Luo Yu felt a bit strange inside.

It wasn't pride, nor was it anything else.

Either way, the word "traitor" sounded incredibly grating. "The First-Generation Saint Sword Wielder, a traitor to Heaven and the Church."

Ddraig immediately corrected him. "He was the Fallen One who swung his sword at God. I never said he was a traitor."

Luo Yu was stunned for a moment.

A Holy Sword Wielder attacking God, standing on the side of the Devils, and opposing God—wasn't that betrayal?

As if seeing through the doubt in his mind, Ddraig continued to explain, "The title of 'Fallen One' was just a label forced onto him by those angels in Heaven."

"During The Great War, the Primordial Saint Sword didn't belong to Heaven or the Church at all. It had been wandering the Human World, and your ancestor was the first to use it to its absolute limit. He was never under the control of Heaven or the Church to begin with."

Luo Yu didn't expect such inside information.

He had always assumed the Holy Swords belonged to Heaven and the Church from the very start.

As for why his ancestor chose to stand with the Devils, it was no longer important, nor could it be investigated. "This Holy Sword fragment inside me must have been left behind after the Primordial Saint Sword shattered, right?"

Luo Yu was currently more concerned with his own situation. "That should be correct,"

Ddraig said. "After your ancestor fell, the Primordial Saint Sword shattered as well. A portion was taken by the Church and forged into their exclusive Seven Holy Swords. Another portion fell into the hands of others, who also used Alchemy to forge several Holy Swords."

"Your ancestor was the first generation Holy Sword Wielder, and it makes sense that he passed the Holy Sword fragment down to his descendants through his bloodline before he died. Looking at it now, it only needed you to break through to the Maou-Class to activate it."

Thinking about it this way, many things suddenly became clear to Luo Yu.

For example, the marriage arrangement between him and Sona.

That contract was fundamentally signed using the Holy Sword fragment as a medium. Otherwise, relying solely on bloodline power, how could it have persisted for thousands of years without being broken?

Sitting on the sofa, Luo Yu began to slowly mobilize the Holy Sword fragment in his right hand.

His method was similar to guiding a Sacred Gear, which was not difficult for him.

Before long, a Holy Sword took shape.

To be precise, it was a hilt.

The black-gold hilt was slightly thicker than usual. It was carved with patterns of the sun, moon, and stars, appearing entirely natural. It exuded a noble and holy aura, with a hint of the bottomless depth of the cosmos. "The blade is completely broken; only the hilt is still somewhat intact."

Luo Yu could see clearly that only less than half an inch of golden blade remained on the hilt, with a perfectly clean break. "If I had obtained this before the [Boosted Gear] awakened, it would have been a decent help. But now, frankly, it's rather useless."

He weighed the hilt in his hand, feeling a bit disappointed and frustrated. "If I used Alchemy to forge a Holy Sword, it might be fine. But Alchemy is simply not my strength."

The [First Holy Sword] was, after all, the ancestor of all Holy Swords in the Three Realms.

If this hilt fell into the hands of a master of Alchemy, the Holy Sword forged from it would definitely stand at the absolute pinnacle of all Holy Swords.

Luo Yu didn't believe that the item his ancestor, the First-Generation Saint Sword Wielder, left for his descendants before dying could be anything ordinary.

Besides, this was the medium for the Sitri Clan's contract.

This hilt was definitely the most core part of the entire [First Holy Sword]. "Partner, I have a good idea, depending on whether you're willing to part with this hilt."

While Luo Yu was still hesitating, Ddraig suddenly spoke up. "To the Church, this hilt of the [First Holy Sword] is an extraordinary Holy Sword. But to me, it's only a matter of whether it's useful or not; there's nothing to be unwilling to part with."

Since Luo Yu spoke so decisively, Ddraig stopped beating around the bush. "Fuse it into the [Boosted Gear]. I can't say how much of a boost it will give, but two things are certain."

"First, you'll get a decent weapon, which is much better than being empty-handed."

"Second, you are already a Holy Light Dragon, and the power in your body is entirely holy power. With the enhancement of this Holy Sword fragment, your power will be more compatible with the [Boosted Gear], which will also be of great benefit to developing your Aurora Juggernaut Drive form next."

Luo Yu said with certainty, "Never mind two; getting even one is a win."

The boost the Holy Sword fragment gave to his Aurora Juggernaut Drive form far exceeded what he had initially thought. Being able to easily obtain a handy weapon on top of that was just a bonus, filling his shortcoming of lacking a weapon.

He raised his hand and formed a hand seal, reinforcing another layer of Arcane Magic barrier on the walls of the room while also setting up a boundary to prevent the noise from being too loud later. "Boosted Gear!"

Luo Yu gave a low shout, and a red light burst from his left arm. A completely crimson gauntlet covered his entire forearm, its sharp claws cold and gleaming, with a fist-sized emerald jewel embedded on the back.

The entire gauntlet looked packed with explosive power, its deterrence maximized. "Crimson Emperor Flame!"

A cluster of crimson flames suddenly flared up in his palm. The scorching temperature felt as though it could melt steel, and heatwaves rolled in all directions.

If he hadn't set up the boundary beforehand and deliberately compressed the flames within a controllable range, this villa would probably have been burned to ashes long ago.

This flame was the innate life flame of one of the Two Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig Goch, which had been sealed by God. It was known as the ultimate flame capable of burning all things; once touched, it could never be extinguished, capable of burning even gods to ash.

After Luo Yu developed the gauntlet to near its limit, as Ddraig reclaimed his name, this ultimate flame was also unsealed.

Originally, this flame was called the "Blazing Inferno Flame," but Luo Yu found it too long and awkward, so he directly changed it to Crimson Emperor Flame, which sounded clean and crisp.

Ddraig didn't object either, probably thinking the name he originally came up with was too ugly as well.

The hilt of the First Holy Sword was enveloped by the Crimson Emperor Flame. For a flame that could burn even gods to ashes, melting a hilt was naturally child's play.

Luo Yu continuously increased the intensity of the fire, and the dark-gold surface of the hilt softened bit by bit.

Ten minutes later.

The hilt completely vanished, leaving only a puddle of dark-gold liquid. From then on, all traces of the remaining hilt of the First Holy Sword completely disappeared from the Three Realms.

Luo Yu did not immediately fuse it into the Boosted Gear.

This was a habit he had formed, just like when he broke through to the Maou-Class at the Mirror Lake of Light today. He liked to choose a suitable environment to first purify things—whether himself or external objects—squeezing out all impurities to raise their quality by another level.

The liquid formed from the hilt of the First Holy Sword originally had negligibly few impurities, almost zero. Even the top alchemists would not be able to find any flaws.

But in front of the Crimson Emperor Flame, an ultimate flame that even gods feared, no matter how few impurities there were, they would be completely purged.

The Crimson Emperor Flame continued to burn, and the impurities dispersed as wisps of black smoke. "I'll leave the rest to you, Ddraig."

Luo Yu withdrew the flame and grabbed the dark-gold liquid with the Boosted Gear. The liquid quickly seeped into the interior of the gauntlet.

Without wasting words, Ddraig immediately got to work.

It was going to completely fuse this material into the Boosted Gear, reshaping it into a form more suitable for Luo Yu.

The holy power inside Luo Yu's body began to rapidly deplete.

This was with his tacit permission—Ddraig was borrowing his power to complete the modification.

Ten minutes passed.

Over half of his holy power had already been consumed.

Luo Yu could clearly feel that changes were taking place inside the gauntlet, becoming more and more integrated with him, just as Ddraig had said.

All of the original slight sluggishness had completely vanished at this moment.

His holy power flowed through the gauntlet as smoothly as if it were a part of his own body.

Another ten minutes passed.

The external appearance of the Boosted Gear had also changed.

The originally completely crimson gauntlet was now covered with a layer of dark-gold luster, looking more heavy and profound. Several dark-gold patterns had appeared next to the emerald jewel, intertwining with one another.

He could faintly feel that these patterns seemed to have a special purpose. "It's done, partner. I need to sleep for a few days."

Ddraig's voice came through, sounding clearly exhausted. "Get some good rest, Ddraig."

Luo Yu comforted him.

Then, staring at the brand-new Boosted Gear, his heart itched with the desire to test just how fierce this thing was now.

The starry sky was brilliant, and the moonlight was enchanting.

In the bamboo pavilion of the garden, Sona was staring blankly at an unfinished chess game.

Strictly speaking, this game was the one she had lost to Luo Yu yesterday. "No... if the knight retreats and then the pawn is pushed forward, both the bishop and queen on the right will be in danger."

Sona frowned, playing it out repeatedly. "By the eleventh turn, Luo Yu's rook was already lying in ambush, waiting for me to jump in."

"Unless I had seen through his plan by the seventh or eighth turn, one wrong move led to another, and I fell completely into the pit he dug."

The more she pondered it, the more hopeless she felt.

The gap in chess skills between her and Luo Yu was not just a little bit.

Sona looked up at the moon and softly muttered:

"Is it because our experiences are different..."

These were Luo Yu's words.

Seeing more and thinking more naturally led to knowing more.

Sona stared blankly at the chessboard, lost in thought. "Once you figure some things out, the path becomes smooth."

She murmured softly, as if speaking to herself.

Playing chess is just like living life. No regrets once a move is made, knowing when to advance or retreat, when to keep or let go—it's all a reflection of one's character. How much hardship a person has suffered, how many things they have carried, is all displayed clearly on the chessboard. "These words really don't sound like something someone your age would say."

Sona looked up, gazing at the empty seat opposite her.

She didn't know what Luo Yu had actually gone through to develop such an unfathomable personality.

She reached out, preparing to pack away the chessboard.

But the moment her fingertips touched a chess piece, her expression suddenly changed.

A wave of burning heat came from her forehead.

She raised her hand to touch it, her fingertips meeting a raised pattern, like something surging beneath her skin, interlocking with each other to form a complete chain. "The contract... why did it appear on its own?"

Sona waved her hand abruptly, a ripple spreading through the air as a Magic Water Mirror emerged.

Her face was reflected in the mirror.

The golden pattern on her forehead was clearly visible, wrapping around in circles like a brand carved into her very bones.

This was the Contract Chain.

Something carved onto her body the day she was born, it was the agreement signed between that person and the Sitri Clan. Her lifelong destiny was nailed down from that very moment.

But this chain was usually hidden, never appearing on its own.

What was going on today?

Sona raised her finger and gently poked the chain.

The instant her fingertip touched the pattern—

*Crack.*

A faint sound of cracking.

The chain snapped from the middle, shattering into countless points of light, like ashes scattered by the wind, slowly dissipating into the air. "It's broken?"

Sona froze in place.