[29th of May, 1547 PS]

Henry woke up early the next day, very excited to get his blade. The sword he had with him now was just a basic sword provided by the military, so it wasn't that good, and it was now almost broken. He knew little about demons, but he had that many species of demons had very thick, hard skin.

'Well, let's hope Mr. Jun put in a lot of effort.'

Henry had his breakfast and ran towards the cathedral. He would perform today's 10000 slashes with the new sword as an opportunity to get used to it.

Entering the training room, he found captain Eve training the Demon Hunter Corps members.

"Good morning, Captain."

"Ah, morning, Hellwalker. So, are you ready to go grab your sword?"

"Sure am."

"Very good. Let's go. Joseph, look after these guys."

"Sure, Captain" Joseph, who had been training his marksmanship, said.

With this, Eve and Henry began walking to the market. That was when Henry remembered he had a question to ask Eve.

"Hey, uhh, Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Why is it that despite the Demon Hunter Corps hunting demons for so long, you've never slain a demon king?"

"....That. I'll tell you, however, you must promise to keep this a secret."

"Alright, I promise."

"So....do you know that story where Lord Lurius purged all demons from the surface or whatever? You'll find a story like that in most of the churches, where their deity killed all the surface's demons."

"Yeah, I know that one, but I've always had many questions about it."

"That's only natural, since that story is false anyways, and is just something the priests have made up to tell the general public."

"What? What's the real story, then?"

"Back then, most of the deities allied together, wanting to slay all the demon kings, and they managed to slay 71 of them with ease. However, it is unknown what happened after then. What is known though, is that they ended up letting Bael live. Not only that, but they even made a deal with him where each party can only kill the low ranking, easily replaceable subordinates of the other party. That means that all churches may not kill any of the 72 demon kings, while the demons may not kill anyone with Archbishop level or above holy energy of any of the involved deities. Another term of that deal was that demon kings may only interfere directly with the surface once every 500 years."

"What?! So the oh so righteous deities contracted with the filthy demons who slay their worshippers and priests?"

"It was the only choice. At least they made sure the churches won't be eradicated by demons, and the most powerful demons were restricted. Plus, they still have specialized demon hunters in each church to deal with the low ranking demon and protect the common people. "

"Sure, those work very well, as proven by my wife's death and daughter's kidnapping" Henry said with sarcasm. "Ah, whatever! If those who declare themselves almighty and worthy of worship couldn't even kill a few demons, I will. And if I fail and die trying, I'll still be satisfied."

"Haha, it's good to have ambition, Hellwalker. However, realistically, what are your chances of doing what the deities couldn't do?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"That doesn't matter, they're probably not zero anyways. Also, which deities were not involved in this whole fiasco?"

"Only the World Tree."

'Ah, no wonder it's still getting poisoned by demonic energy. They must really want it to join this pact, so they're pressuring it. However...The World Tree, Yggdrasil, I can't help but feel like it's strange in power and demeanor from the other deities'

"Alright, thank you for answering, Captain."

"No problem. That's actually one of the reasons why I'm so invested in you. As a demon slayer with no Holy Energy, you have the freedom to kill as many demons as you want."

"Oh, I see."

Soon, they reached the Powerholders' Market and went to Jun's smithy. He was sitting outside, holding a wrapped object. Once he saw them, he perked up,

"Heya, ya two."

"What's up, old man?"

"Good morning, Sir Jun."

"So, is Hellwalker's sword done?"

"Sure is. Feast yer eyes. I'm quite proud of my work on this one."

Jun took the cloth covering the sword off, revealing a beautiful katana with a jade green blade and a black handle with jade green touches here and there.

"I made it outta Heavenly Aura Steel, the best steel available in Esheria. It amplifies any mana or aura that passes through it by a factor of 300%. I also matched its passive mana frequency to the mana frequency of your Demon Slaying Energy, so the sword won't be damaged even if you pump all your energy into it. As for durability and sharpness, I put it in Griffin blood for eight hours, so it can only be broken by 14-star aura or seventh circle magic for now."

"For now?" Asked Eve.

"Yeah, last but certainly not least, I put in a golem's mana heart. That means that as you inject more Demon Slaying Energy into it or it absorbs the mana of demons when it touches them, it'll grow sharper and more durable. You can think of it as the sword having its own aura."

Henry was surprised. He had high expectations, but this was far beyond what he thought. He hadn't heard of a more impressive sword except maybe Sword Saint Kim Tae-Hyuk's sword, the legendary One Sword To Sever all.

"I don't know how I can thank you for this, Sir Jun. Umm, I should at least pay for the materials."

"Haha, you couldn't pay for them even if you gave me every single Bari you had, you can't pay for these. Plus, I don't work for money nowadays, only when I feel inspired do I work. I've made more than enough money in the past."

"Thank you, truly."

"Oh yeah, here's the sword technique I promised ya." Jun handed Henry a paper book. It had some characters Henry didn't understand on the cover, but Henry knew they were Esherian.

"I tried to get a translated version but there wasn't one. After all, this technique shouldn't even be in my hands. However, its instructions are drawn in minute detail anyways, so the text isn't important. "

Eve seemed curious. "What do you mean it shouldn't be in your hands?"

"This is the Asura's Wrath Sword Technique, a technique taught only to the head "Executor" of the Heavenly Demonic Cult. It specializes in the slaughter of many while you fight alone."

"Wait, isn't the Heavenly Demonic Cult very strict about technique leaks?"

"Haha, never underestimate a blacksmith's connection in Esheria."

"I see. Hellwalker, grab your sword and try it."

"Yes, Captain." Henry put down the technique manual and grabbed the sword. Once he grabbed it, he felt it fit him perfectly, as if it was one of his limbs.

You have acquired a custom made sword from the artisan Jun Takeo. Your ⬛⬛ has increased slightly. Picking two suitable system functions to add....

Complete. The features "Techniques" and "Notable Equipment" have been added. The Techniques features can be used to store unlearned martial arts and other techniques in the system, removing the need to carry the manual with you. The Notable Equipment feature can keep track of any noteworthy battle equipment you posses.

"By the way, lad, I usually name my works, but you can name your sword. If it's a shit name though, I'll just name it myself."

"I see. Give me a minute to think."

"Take yer time."

'In this world, the demons have been hurting the weak since the dawn of time. Meanwhile, the deities that humans turn to for protection are just sitting and watching them die. This world is in a dark age of slaughter and injustice. I hope to end this dark age and bring an era where the weak can worry less about their lives, an era of light, and this sword shall be my partner during this endeavor"

"How about... Dawnbringer."

"Sounds good."

You have acquired the custom made artisan sword "Dawnbringer". It has been added to the Notable Equipment menu.