Speechless

Snowflakes that had been drifting through the air settled back to the ground. Two girls, one tall and one short, each possessed of a very different kind of beauty, slowly emerged. They approached the others with steps that were either light and graceful or steady and composed.

Under everyone's gaze, the two crossed the frost-covered ground and walked straight past them toward the altar.

Seeing them casually head for the altar, the old witch instinctively reached out to stop them. "Don't go! The Seven Star Sword's power will..."

But the next moment, she froze in shock, her pupils trembling.

She looked up and saw a faint figure standing on the altar, though no one knew when he had appeared. The Seven Star Sword, which the witch regarded as a harbinger of disaster, was in his hand as he examined it closely.

Uta turned around, holding the straps of the backpack in front of her with both hands, and gave the old witch a bright, confident smile.

"The Seven Star Sword?"

"We're really strong, you know!"

"A mere Cursed Blade is nothing compared to Louis!"

It was only a terrifying Cursed Blade empowered by the blood moon. Uta's opinion was that it was nothing special.

On the altar, Louis raised the Seven Star Sword and carefully examined the faint green glow on its blade, combining his eyesight with Observation Haki.

Most famous swords in the world were forged in the familiar style of the katana, but the Seven Star Sword Louis held was different.

It was a double-edged sword. Its hilt was about three or four fists long, and both blades were pale blue. The middle was pitch-black, engraved with mysterious patterns and radiating an ominous, faint green glow.

At Louis's feet lay the young man who had been controlled by the Seven Star Sword. He had lost consciousness.

He had only been under the Seven Star Sword's influence for a short time, so nothing would happen to him for now. But that might change once the villagers here came to their senses.

He had killed so many people. The victims' families wouldn't care whether he'd been controlled or acted of his own free will.

He had no strength and couldn't keep his curiosity in check, and that had led to tragedy. He didn't deserve anyone's sympathy.

Compared to the unlucky young man at his feet, Louis was more interested in the Seven Star Sword in his hand.

His first impression of the sword was that it was strange and ominous. A force unlike Haki or a Devil Fruit was trying to enter his body.

At the same time, a whisper that only Louis could hear kept urging him to open his mind and promising to grant him great power.

Louis wasn't moved.

Instead, he raised the Seven Star Sword, turned around, and swung it toward the ruin's stone wall nearby.

"Clang..." The blade sank into the stone wall with ease. As Louis moved, it left an incredibly clean cut across the surface.

Louis's eyes flashed with surprise.

He had used very little force, about as much as an ordinary ten-year-old child might use casually.

Even so, the Seven Star Sword cut through the stone wall like a hot knife through butter.

That meant even an ordinary ten-year-old child could do the same with it. Of course, whether they could withstand the sword's influence was another matter.

After thinking it over, Louis made up his mind. He would take the Seven Star Sword with him and use it as a secondary weapon.

Then he raised it in front of himself again, checking whether either side of the blade had been scratched in the cut.

As Louis examined the sharp blade once more, the irritating whispers sounded again.

"Let go..."

"Give... you greater strength..."

"..."

"Tch..." Louis frowned, a trace of impatience in his eyes.

The next second, he expressionlessly reached out with his other hand and gripped the blade of the Seven Star Sword barehanded.

Then he applied force with both hands, bending the Seven Star Sword until its curve was visible to the naked eye.

Even dinosaurs couldn't bend the finest swords in the world by a single millimeter by stepping on them.

Yet now, the Seven Star Sword was visibly bending in Louis's hands.

The old witch froze on the spot. Yelena and Uta looked as though they'd seen a ghost.

They didn't know the sword's origins, but the fact that it had a will of its own and could control so many villagers proved it was no ordinary weapon.

Most importantly, they hadn't expected Louis to try to destroy it.

On the altar, the whispers that had annoyed Louis fell silent.

But Louis ignored that. He gradually increased the force in his hands, bending the Seven Star Sword further and further.

Soon, the sword had reached a dangerously sharp curve. Any more, and it could snap at any moment.

Just then, the faint green glow on the blade disappeared. This was an extremely rare occurrence. The blood moon still hung in the sky, yet the Seven Star Sword had already calmed down. In the past, such a thing had been almost impossible.

But now, the Seven Star Sword seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber. Its strangeness and ominous aura had diminished to almost nothing, and it no longer looked special in the slightest.

Seeing this, Louis released the blade and let it straighten. Then he hooked the scabbard up with his foot and slid the sword inside.

If the Seven Star Sword hadn't given in, Louis really would have snapped it. He needed a tool for cutting people.

Not a nagging chatterbox.

The blood moon still hung high over Asca Island.

But the Seven Star Sword that had controlled the villagers had calmed down.

The villagers affected by the Seven Star Sword gradually returned to normal, and the unlucky young man at Louis's feet began to stir.

Seeing this, Yelena, below the altar, used her ability to undo the ice and free the villagers she had trapped.

Then Uta trotted up the altar and came to Louis's side, curiously looking at the Seven Star Sword in his hand.

"This sword actually gets stronger under the blood moon? That's amazing!"

"Bonk..." Louis tapped the head that had leaned toward him.

"Ow, that hurt!" Uta cried, clutching her head.

Louis glanced at Uta, who had crouched down with her hands over her head, and said irritably, "Don't be so curious..."

Just then, Yelena came over, helped Uta up, and rubbed her head.

Then she looked at the sword in Louis's hand, thoughtful. "You're taking this sword with you?"

"Yeah. It's a very rare Cursed Blade. It'll make a good secondary weapon."

Louis had also learned to use a sword on Sky Island. He wouldn't call himself a swordsman, but he could use one alongside a spear.

"As long as you're happy..."

Yelena didn't comment further. She felt that Louis could fight just fine with his bare hands, and thought his indestructible body was the best weapon.

Just then, the white-haired old witch approached on trembling legs and gazed up at Louis, who held the Seven Star Sword.

Although the night was dark and the blood moon hung overhead, the witch could still make out Louis's appearance in the light of the torches that had been relit.

His body had the proportions of a golden ratio, his face was too perfect to belong to a human, and his wings were pure white.

His eyes were like stars, gentle and kind to all things alike. A sacred and noble aura surrounded him, making him seem untouchable.

As everyone watched in astonishment, she fell to her knees with a thud. Her aged, kindly face was filled with reverence.

"Divine one, have you come to reclaim the wicked sword that brought endless calamity to Asca Island?"

As she spoke, two streams of tears ran down the old witch's wrinkled face. Her eyes were full of hope and yearning as she looked at Louis.

"..." Uta and Yelena fell silent.

Louis simply replied,

"I'm not a god..."