The Seven Star Sword had originated in an ancient legend on Asca Island. Thousands of years ago, three princes had all fallen in love with the same witch, sparking a vicious struggle within the royal family.
That battle had directly caused countless soldiers and civilians to die violent deaths, and the kingdom had fallen apart in an incredibly short time.
At the time, the entire kingdom had been strewn with corpses, and rivers of blood had flowed. At the height of the carnage, strange signs had appeared in the heavens, and a blood moon had hung overhead.
Amid endless bloodshed and death, the most wicked of cursed blades—the Seven Star Sword—had been born.
Later, the witch who had survived used three gems to create a barrier and seal the cursed blade away.
Thousands of years later, in the present day, the blood moon once again loomed over Asca Island.
This change instantly roused the elderly witch of the current generation. In a hurry, she summoned the villagers. Once they were ready, they took the three gems passed down through the ages and headed for the altar.
At the command of the highly respected witch, the group split into four teams. Three teams took a gem each and headed for the three great towers, while the witch prepared to erect the barrier and seal the Seven Star Sword.
The elderly witch was carried along by the village's able-bodied young people, and they soon reached the area where the ruins stood.
However, once everyone had climbed up to the altar, the witch's expression gradually eased.
Behind her, the able-bodied young people stared in astonishment at the Seven Star Sword, which glowed with an eerie green light. Some of them even looked at it with a dazed, entranced expression.
The Seven Star Sword continued to lie quietly on the altar, its eerie green glow flickering. There were no signs of human activity nearby.
"Thank goodness." The old witch let out a long breath.
"This time, nothing went wrong during the blood moon."
The old witch's expression relaxed. The Seven Star Sword had caused no trouble during the most dangerous part of the blood moon, which was the best outcome they could have hoped for.
Every time something strange had happened in the past, it had been during a blood moon. Swordfighters who had heard the legends and overestimated themselves had taken the Seven Star Sword, bringing about tragedy.
Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong this time.
Soon, the witch shook her head, clearing away her tangled thoughts. She strode out of the altar and looked toward the distant towers to see whether they had been prepared.
Once they were ready, they could get through this blood moon safely.
However, the moment she left, a young man who had never seen the Seven Star Sword with his own eyes quietly stepped onto the altar while the others weren't looking.
By the time anyone noticed, the young man had already reached out and touched the sword's hilt, curiosity getting the better of him.
In an instant, the young man's eyes turned crimson, and his face twisted into a ferocious grimace.
Seeing this, the others knew something was wrong.
They instinctively backed away, preparing to seek help from the respected witch outside. But their movement drew the attention of the young man, now under the Seven Star Sword's control.
In the dim space, a shadowy figure turned its head. Its eyes, glowing with an ominous light, were reflected in everyone's gaze.
The next moment, a shrill scream rang out from the altar.
"Argh!!"
Hearing it, the witch's expression changed dramatically. She spun around and hurried back into the altar.
But it was already too late.
The dim altar had been stained red with blood, and chunks of severed flesh lay strewn across the ground.
Amid the broken limbs and ruins, a figure holding the Seven Star Sword stood motionless, staring expressionlessly at the aged witch.
The ominous aura and thick stench of blood rushed toward her, making the witch instinctively retreat. But she quickly regained her composure.
The three towers were nearly ready. Once they were, the Seven Star Sword's power would be greatly weakened.
Just then, the villagers who had rushed over after hearing the screams saw the carnage on the altar. Their expressions changed, and they trembled uncontrollably.
Still, they remembered to get the respected old witch out of there, shielding her behind them.
Soon, more than thirty villagers clutching various farming tools shakily stepped forward, ready to subdue the rampaging young man.
The witch's eyes widened in horror. Breaking free of the villagers supporting her, she shouted instinctively, "Don't go near it! You don't understand its power!"
At that moment, the young man, wreathed in an ominous aura, slowly walked out from the altar. With everyone watching, he raised the Seven Star Sword, its eerie green light flickering.
Green light flared, reflected in everyone's eyes.
The cursed blade's ominous power instantly invaded their minds and took control of them.
Then the thirty-odd villagers turned around one after another to face the rest of the villagers, their pupils glowing an eerie green.
"This is a disaster..." The white-haired old witch was overcome with despair. In a situation like this, even if they managed to seal the Seven Star Sword again, there was no chance that she or the villagers here would survive.
The villagers behind her stared in shock, instinctively calling out their family members' names.
"Hey, you little punk, don't scare me!"
"Zagu!! What are you doing?!"
When their family members didn't respond, some even tried to go forward and pull them back.
"No, don't go near them!"
The witch tried to stop them, but the villagers, bereft of reason, paid no heed to the woman they normally held in such high regard.
They pushed the witch aside and went to meet their family members.
But what greeted them was not the warm embrace they knew, but a cold blade.
The old witch closed her eyes in despair, unable to bear witnessing kin turn against kin.
Yet things took a turn that the witch had never expected.
A bone-deep chill spread from nowhere. A cold wind swept in and engulfed everyone.
The sudden change made the old witch open her eyes instinctively.
Frost covered the altar, and all she could see was the sudden onset of winter. Ice that radiated a piercing chill spread across the ground, glittering like blood-red crystals beneath the blood moon.
Dangerous, yet irresistibly beautiful.
Soon, many villagers stared helplessly at the humanoid ice sculptures raising their blades to strike them.
"Thud..." Heavy footsteps rang out.
Then, from the nearby forest, came the sound of branches snapping, followed by trees crashing down.
As if some prehistoric beast were prowling through the woods, it seemed to be plowing a broad path through the forest.
Next, a gigantic hand tipped with five blades reached out from the trees, slicing through several of them as easily as a hot knife through butter.
Accompanied by shrill cries, the trees toppled, sending snow billowing across dozens of meters.
Under the blood moon, the enormous shadow of a creature with fearsome antlers appeared and disappeared. A pair of crimson lights flickered amid the snow.
An invisible wave swept over them, making every villager's heart race and teeth chatter as they trembled in fear.
Before one crisis had passed, another had already begun.
Yet before the villagers or the witch could react, the crisp sound of two sets of footsteps came from the drifting snow.
Then two slender figures, one tall and one short, emerged from it, backpacks slung over their shoulders.
"Is that the Seven Star Sword in that person's hand?" a clear young girl's voice rang out, echoing through the ruins.
The next moment, another female voice answered her.
"Probably."