[The Fragment of Calamity wishes to form a bond with you.]

[Do you accept? Y/Y]

Do I accept? I don't even have the option to decline... Neraxis sighed as he watched the red system screen hovering in front of him, seemingly tracking each of his movements.

The pain went away; however, a new issue arose, and that was the so-called Fragment of Calamity.

He did not know what it was. Frankly, he could even see the system glitching out a little bit, blurring some letters before once again revealing them.

The red system screen was not something he had ever seen or heard of, so it was only natural for it to be some kind of anomaly.

But it was strange; it appeared at the same time as the sword disappeared and his headache started, meaning, in a way, it must be connected.

"Are you the sword?" He decided to ask the text in front of him, thinking it a foolish thing to do.

However, despite his expectations, a subtle change appeared in the system screen, as the text suddenly began morphing until, finally, it changed to a single word.

[Yes]

Neraxis was stunned for a moment, but before he could ask any other questions, the sword's persistence continued.

[Do you accept? Y/Y]

[Accept. Y/Y]

[Y/Y]

As he noticed things were getting slightly out of hand, he interjected, "Alright, alright, give me a moment to think."

[Fine.]

Sassy... Neraxis rolled his eyes at the red system screen and proceeded to stand up and dust himself off before taking a glance around the backyard.

It was not as bad as he thought. Aside from the broken target dummies and a little bit of charred grass, everything else was intact.

Or so he thought, until a nearby tree fell on top of his fence and began rolling through the ground, leaving a bunch of trash in its wake as well as sending the ash from earlier floating all over the sky.

Neraxis watched in silence and tried dodging some of the incoming ash, but instead, he tripped over his porch and fell down.

As he did so, the wave of ash from the tumbling tree swept upon him and covered him from head to toe.

[Hahaha, Press It Already Y/Y]

...Fuck. Neraxis stared at the sky. The tree had caught onto something in his backyard, but the debris still managed to reach him.

It did not help that the red system screen was teasing him either.

But despite the uncomfortable situation he found himself in, he still couldn't help but be cautious.

"You, what are you anyway?"

[I am a sword, obviously. Y/Y]

"Yeah, a talking sword that went inside of my system. Explain yourself..." Neraxis said while putting a hand over his forehead. Even after the pain from earlier went away, talking with the sword made his brain hurt.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

It was like talking to a wall, one that did not want to answer.

[I will tell you if you accept.]

"And what assures me that I won't be selling my soul off to some demonic sword?" he said with a scoff. While the sword did prove handy, if it had some shady side effects, he could do without it.

However, the next words it said made him freeze on the spot.

[I am a demonic sword, but don't worry, your soul will be left untouched... for the most part.]

"...Uh? Fuck off." Neraxis made up his mind in a mere instant and waved the red system screen away.

He had a bit of work to do, starting with getting rid of the massive tree in his backyard. Having a massive burden such as a demonic sword would do him no good.

But just as he began walking away, the red system screen expanded, covering his entire field of vision and displaying a single message.

[W-Wait! Look, I am a demonic sword, but I am not evil. I won't go for your soul, but I will have to assimilate myself within it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to form a connection with you.]

"A demonic sword always comes with a side effect. Then what is yours?" Neraxis asked with a tone full of suspicion.

[I don't have anything like that. I merely need your blood sometimes to refuel my strength. That is all.]

He listened but, nonetheless, found it hard to believe. A demonic sword was something that contained evil energy, a sort of resentment from a powerful demon. Yet for it to still be a demonic sword and not contain any serious side effects seemed too good to be true.

As for blood, it was barely negligible. He had a lot to spare. After all, the awakened were abnormal, and so was their regeneration capability.

Of course... If it sucks out blood without moderation, then... Neraxis thought as a shiver ran down his spine.

However, just like before, another system message appeared, but this time, it was a bit different.

[Evangeline, The Fragment of Calamity wishes to form a bond with you.]

[Please accept. Y/Y]

Neraxis noticed something off and spoke up. "Why are you being so desperate?"

[If you don't accept, then I will disappear permanently. The remnants of my soul are just barely holding this conversation together. So, for the last time, if you want answers to whatever you seek, accept my offer, and I shall answer them.]

The text was getting blurrier and blurrier by the second, while at the same time, a small part of the red system was beginning to turn blue once again, signifying that he had limited time.

It put him in quite a pinch, and he did not know whether or not he could trust the talking demonic sword, who apparently was talking to him through its soul.

But from the previous text, he was able to get a name: Evangeline. It seemed like that was the name of the sword.

He watched as the blue began dominating the red until, finally, there was only one part left, the single line that was there all this time.

[Y/Y]

Neraxis felt like the choice he was about to make would be a mistake; however, his gut was telling him to do it.

He hesitatingly reached out for the two accept buttons and pressed them.

But even after a few seconds had passed, nothing out of the ordinary happened. He began thinking that maybe he was just a bit too late.

Hmm... Neraxis stared at the now-empty blue system screen and sighed. It was a pity, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

However, just as he thought that it was finally over, the blue system interface color started changing back to red, but this time, it was a much smoother transition.

He felt a stir within himself. It was a familiar feeling to mana, but it was clearly not it. He was incapable of sensing or using it yet.

There was one more indication that something did indeed happen, though, as a strange black sword symbol appeared on his wrist, as though it was a tattoo.

But just from a single glance at it, he could tell it was not anything simple. It emanated a faint red energy, which he could only assume to be mana—or, since it was a demonic sword, possibly even demonic mana.

Neraxis was unsure of how it worked or what the differences were; however, if the sword did plan on living up to its word, then he would know soon enough.

As he was momentarily lost in his thoughts, the red system screen suddenly vanished, and immediately, he could feel something off.

The connection, where he previously needed to think of the system for it to pop up, was now gone. Instead, what replaced it was a single name.

...Evangeline? Neraxis thought in his mind with a wary look as the black sword symbol began lighting up in a reddish color, and in the next moment, he received a response.

[Ah... I am finally free!]

Just as those words dawned, the familiar sword from before emerged, the pure black hilt and crimson blade ever-present, reflecting the setting sun in the distance, as well as reflecting his disheveled appearance.

However, that did not last long, as the sword flew out of his grasp and began flying around him, doing all sorts of loops and turns without stop.

And all he could hear was,

[I'm freeeee!]

Neraxis blankly stared at the flying sword before sitting back down on his porch.

I can already feel the headache coming, but... he thought and glanced at his trashed backyard.

I should probably clean this up first. Who knows when the others will get back...

[Freeeee!]

...And there's the headache.