Chapter 39: Another failure?
Chapter 39: Another failure?
" Another failure... It appears you really aren’t suited for–"
" Again! I didn’t tell you to stop!" He gnashed his teeth, refusing to give up.
" At this rate you might die." Roseline said, sounding annoyed.
"I’m better off dying than remaining like this!"
Roseline turned silent for a moment.
" I’m afraid I can’t let you do that." Roseline ended up saying.
Osborne felt his heart drop the moment he sensed her aura beginning to retreat from his body.
"...!" Roseline’s gaze turned sharp when he clutched onto her wrist.
" If you don’t want to lose that arm, then release me this second." She said coldly.
Osborne didn’t reply, the atmosphere within the room quickly dropped as if it was the middle of winter.
" Please... I’m begging you." Eventually he spoke up, this time his voice lacking its usual hostility.
Roseline saw him turn his head around, while his lips were stained with his own blood, his face was shaped into a look of desperation.
He really didn’t want this to fail.
This was basically his only chance left to do something, he couldn’t stand the fact that he was about to fail again.
At this rate, the dagger would be no different than a dud. If he had no way of controlling it, then it might as well be a liability.
If he could bond with it, he could finally learn of its true capabilities and change his wretched streak for good.
He really didn’t want to let go of this weapon, as much as it had left him with countless sleepless nights, it still had the potential to be a legendary item, an item even the hero’s sword was wary of.
" Just try one more time. Please..." He begged.
Roseline turned silent, her expression unreadable.
" Fine... But on one condition."
" W-What?" Osborne asked.
" I won’t mention it now, but you have to first agree you’ll do it."
"Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to do anything beyond your capabilities." She said.
" Fine!" Osborne decided to agree in the end.
Roseline nodded, before infusing her aura back into him.
BA-DUMP~!!!
" UERCK!" Contrary to what he said, Osborne couldn’t handle the third attempt, coughing out another mouthful of blood from his mouth, while blood began leaking from all his facial orifices.
’ I did it.’ but unexpectedly! He felt a familiar power brimming within his heart. While it was greatly weaker than hers, it was still there, his aura.
’ I... pulled it off.’ His vision gradually blackened before his body fell back.
Thump~
Osborne fell right onto Roseline, who held him in her embrace.
He looked quite comical, laying unconscious in her arms, since he was smaller in comparison.
" Bring it here." Roseline said.
The next moment, someone stepped into the room.
" My lady." Guinevere bowed the moment she reached her side, before offering Roseline an elixir bottle.
Which she took before feeding it to Osborne.
Roseline stared at Osborne in silence.
" You may leave us."
" As you wish, My Lady." Guinevere said before quietly exiting the room.
’ What a strange man.’ Roseline stared at Osborne in her hands.
’ For someone so weak, his will is surprisingly tenacious.’ she thought to herself.
Something she rarely saw amongst seasoned soldiers during her time on the battlefield.
Which only caused her interest in him to grow just a bit more.
********
Meanwhile, inside the daggers world.
" What’s going on?" Osborne watched as the dagger emerged in front of him.
At the same time, he felt little traces of aura slowly seeping into it.
Gradually, with time, fine cracks began emerging on the daggers surface, even the hilt wasn’t spared.
Osborne grew tired at some point and sat down, not knowing just how long had passed.
But eventually, the cracks on the dagger grew to an extent, that...
SHATTER~
With a bone tingling sound, it shattered into countless pieces.
" ...!!" Osborne raised his hands to shield his face from the countless sharpnel, but the next moment he realised he felt nothing.
He raised down his hands only to see the countless sharpnel floating in the air in front of him.
" What on earth is going on?" He muttered.
Thinking that would be the end.
The hovering sharpnel suddenly began heating up.
The heat quickly became intense, forcing him to get up and retreat to a safe distance.
Even from afar, he could see their moulton hue.
The daggers were heated up to the point where they became liquid metal, then each sharpnel began coagulating with one another.
They did this until only one large flowing red metal magma was left.
Osborne who believed this was the end, waited for a while even though, and yet nothing seemed to change, the metal magma remained flowing in the air in the exact same spot.
Eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he approached the flowing maga.
’ Does this mean the curse is lifted?’ Osborne stared up close at the magma flowing in the shape of an unstable sphere.
Even up close, the heat was still a bit intense, though less than before.
"...?!!!"
All of a sudden, the magma sphere shot towards Osborne.
His trained instincts forced him to retreat, but with how close he was, it was hopeless.
Osborne gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, expecting a burning sensation like never before, yet.
The moment the magma splashed onto him, he felt no such thing.
Instead, it felt rather cool instead.
Though he did feel some pain as the magma forced its way into his body through his pores, compared to all he’s dealt with so far, it wasn’t unbearable for him.
Osborne felt a strange sensation as the magma flowed within him.
As if it were flowing right through every meridian in his body in one cycle. The more it did, the less constrained he felt.
Every single filth in his body was burnt without a trace, purifying and strengthening his body in a way he never expected or knew.
After flowing through all his meridians. The magma arrived within his chest cavity, right next to his heart.
It then moved to the right side of his chest, before condensing upon itself.
In the real world, if someone had used their Aura or mana to check on his body, they would notice a second heart forming right next to his left heart.