Chapter 959: Chapter 950

950: Berserk's Wielder

After hearing everything on Alpha, we asked for details on the other divine swords. Naturally, the one we showed interest in next was Berserk.

「The Blade of Madness, Berserk, is owned and operated by an organization known as “Queens of the Night” under the Militant Nation of Hagane.」

「Queens of the Night?」

『The name of a flower blooming at night and wilting before dawn.』

A beautiful name to be sure, but those are some ominous connotations.

「There were two girls named Ajisai and Matsuyuki. Is it them?」

「Undoubtedly so. Those girls were made by Hagane to become Berserk’s wielders.」

「Made?」

「Yes. They are homunculi created by mixing the blood of the first wielder with various talented bloodlines. All other wielders are the same.」

No way! I thought they were just training people to use the sword, not literally making homunculi for the job!

But why would they go to such lengths? Can’t they just raise someone suitable like Silard did with Adol? As if she understood our confusion, the Silver Lady explained further.

「Have you heard the story about how the user of Berserk always dies?」

「Nn. I have.」

「The story is true. However, while the first wielder of Berserk did go out of control, they apparently survived.」

「Really?」

「Yes.」

According to her, this story was closely related to Berserk’s user restrictions.

Originally, Berserk could only be used by the first wielder and their descendants. If anyone else touched the blade for an extended duration, it would flat out kill them.

But then a big problem arose.

The bloodline of the first wielder died out. War, plague, assassination, and those that intentionally left no descendants. There were many different causes.

The country that owned Berserk at the time fell into turmoil. No wonder, since their most powerful weapon was suddenly disabled. In the end, the nation collapsed due to a combination of civil war and foreign troubles.

It was after this event when the nation of Hagane took in that country’s survivors, including multiple researchers and royalty.

Hagane at that time was nothing more than a vassal state constantly exploited by their ruler Silard. After studying Berserk in secrecy, they somehow managed to develop a method of operation, and utilized that immense power to break free from Silard’s control.

That’s why the Berserk Research Institute, which was composed of the fallen country’s former citizens, had a special status to the people of Hagane.

The Institute’s successor, Queens of the Night, was also said to hold great influence within Hagane’s borders.

「After many failed attempts, Hagane devised a method of activating Berserk: creating homunculi with the first wielder’s blood. Though they retain the ability to wield the blade, they always die afterwards, likely because they are not proper descendants.」

So the restriction only half-worked. A homunculus could freely touch and activate the divine sword, but they could not survive like the original wielder. That explains the story about everyone using Berserk dying.

「Those old soldiers were chosen by Hagane to support the divine sword wielders. They wish to avoid losing the wielders as much as possible, but I don’t know why their ranks are always filled with old men. I haven’t been able to overhear them speaking much on the subject.」

A nasty imagination led me to the idea of them being abandoned because of their age, but…… that didn’t explain why they were so motivated.

「So in conclusion, Berserk is limited by the user always going out of control, and by the restriction on bloodline. But in exchange, the wielder will receive a stat enhancement exceeding Alpha’s. Moreover, it will bring out their latent talents and potential.」

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「You mean it depends on the talent of the person using it?」

「Yes. Therefore, it is unknown what kind of ability will be drawn out ahead of time.」

Even if the wielders shared the same blood, their talents and abilities could be completely different. In that case, maybe even the wielders themselves don’t know what powers will be manifested when they activate Berserk?

Not to mention that they will always die. Since the user will be different each time, their powers will also be unique. Doesn’t that mean it’s impossible to take countermeasures against Berserk?

Now we know why Silard avoided an all-out war with Hagane. They knew there existed a possibility for a monster that even Alpha’s wielder wouldn’t be able to handle.

Moreover, Alpha’s wielder would be certainly be weakened or even killed during the battle. There was no merit to challenging them.

「Be careful not to get caught up when they use it.」

「……Nn.」

Fran’s visibly lost her excitement when she thought of Ajisai.

「I know nothing about Berserk’s other costs, since the homunculus activating it always dies.」

「I see…… So, what about the cost of Gaia or Ignis? Are they safe?」

After hearing that, Fran became concerned about the costs of the other divine swords. In particular, the safety of the wielders she had met. The Silver Lady said earlier that she had information on Gaia and Ignis.

However, the Silver Lady shook her head apologetically without any change in expression.

「My deepest apologies, but I do not have enough data to determine the costs for Gaia and Ignis.」

It seems both Ashwrath and Izario minimized the use of their divine swords to reduce any possible costs. Therefore, the Silver Lady never managed to figure out what prices they were paying for usage.

Regarding Alpha and Berserk, she apparently gathered a great deal of information by eavesdropping on the conversations of their companions and subordinates.

Getting similar details on guys like Ashwrath and Izario would be much harder, such they mostly worked solo.

「However, it is likely that the blades forged by the first divine blacksmith, Ulmer, have similar costs. In fact, Krystalos and Tempest have the same price as Alpha.」

So Alpha, Ignis, Gaia, Krystalos, and Tempest were all divine swords made by the same guy?

I got the impression that many of Ulmer’s swords were very versatile and easy to use. This was in contrast to his younger brother Dionys, who made swords with unconventional and vicious abilities.

「Then Ignis and Gaia pay level as the cost?」

「I believe so, though this is merely my hypothesis.」

Though it wasn’t really necessary, she also told us about the powers of Ignis and Gaia. Well, we’d already seen Gaia in person, and Garrus told us long ago about pre-activated Ignis, so they were just as expected.

Gaia for earth, Ignis for fire, Krystalos for water, and Tempest for wind. These divine swords gave the user the power to rule over their respective attributes.

Furthermore, they could ignore normal elemental resistances by infusing divine energy. Be it melee or ranged, physical or magic, these swords were very versatile, excelling in all fields.

Apparently, Krystalos was last observed on the continent of Gordicia nearly 1000 years ago, with Tempest’s last sighting even further back. Both of their current wielders were unknown.

Krystalos took the form of a blue and white saber. Hey, that’s a similar color scheme to me, so we might get along well. When activated, it turned into a shapeless mist. Pretty much the water version of Ignis, I guess.

Tempest was a mostly green estoc, and it didn’t change much post-activation, aside from getting a little flashier. However, it apparently had the ability to split into several bladed segments, all connected with an invisible cord of wind. The wielder could be seen swinging it around like a whip.

A whip of wind capable of splitting the earth and demolishing an army in a single strike. Amanda’s whip arts were already pretty scary, but this blade would probably make her look like nothing.

We saw Ignis’ immense power only a few moments ago. Krystalos and Tempest must be just as terrifying.

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