Max and Bargo lived in the same era.

However, Max got famous first. It was said that he was so skilled that he even surpassed the skill of the greatest Dwarven Blacksmiths.

Bargo couldn't accept that.

How could a mere human be greater than the dwarves, which were blessed by the Blacksmith God himself!?

Bargo visited Max and bet on who could make the better sword. They agreed that the loser wouldn't make another sword ever again.

Unfortunately, Bargo was handily defeated.

After that, Bargo stopped making swords. Instead, he put his heart and soul into making spears in order to surpass Max.

Bargo and Max competed again later. That time, he just barely won.

That was when Max and Bargo became renowned for their peerless swords and spears.

Even after that, Max and Bargo didn't stop competing. They repeatedly won and lost against each other.

This relationship continued on through their death. They continuously battled for supremacy even in the underworld.

Then, Sun Lei, an Elvish Blacksmith from an earlier era, joined in on their competition.

They had already mastered their craft, so it was impossible for them to determine whose weapons were better.

That's why they grabbed any souls that passed by and asked them to judge their weapons. They were quite obstinate at that.

This is why people stopped visiting them altogether. They knew that if they went, they'd get caught up in all sorts of trouble.

It had been a really long time since someone could judge their work!

"Hmm." Kang Oh sported a careful expression.

There were three weapons laying in front of him.

Max's sword, Bargo's spear, and Sun Lei's bow.

The three blacksmiths created materials with their memories, and used them to forge these weapons.

They were brand spanking new!

It was probably more accurate to call them limited time goods that could only be obtained in the underworld.

"Then..." Kang Oh began to look them over one by one.

He started with Max's sword.

It was an SS-rank sword called Max Esna!

"I named it after my fifth child," Max said.

It had more than 2,000 attack power, and also had four extraordinary abilities. It was definitely worthy of the title 'peerless blade'! However, it was nowhere near the level of a 'holy sword' like Max Perado.

"Ah, I see." Kang Oh put down the sword and picked up the spear.

Gluttonous Whale Spear!

It was an SS-rank spear that possessed the 'Gluttony' skill like Demon Sword Ubist. Even without taking anything else into account, this spear was a work of art.

"I was inspired by the Mamonas," Bargo fiddled with his rough beard and said. 'How is it? It's amazing, right?'

Finally, Kang Oh looked over Sun Lei's bow.

Snow-White Heart.

It was white like its name. The bow could create blizzards through the spirits' power, and used frozen arrows, rather than physical arrows.

'Sephiro would love this...' Kang Oh thought briefly.

Then, the blacksmiths urged him to make his decision.

"Now that you've seen them, pick my spear," Bargo yelled.

"What are you talking about!? My bow's the best. Isn't that right?" Sun Lei yelled.

"It's my sword. My sword is definitely the best," Max said.

It was like three children were fighting.

Kang Oh didn't want to be here anymore, so he just picked one at random. He was a Demonic Swordsman, so he was most familiar with swords.

"I choose..."

Right when he was about to pick up the sword, however, Bargo and Sun Lei stared at him murderously. Seriously, they looked like they'd really kill him if he picked the sword.

Kang Oh stopped reaching for the sword, and then switched to the spear.

This time, Max and Sun Lei gave him that look. If he picked the bow, then Max and Bargo would look at him like they'd rip him apart.

'I knew this would happen.'

Ultimately, if he picked one, the other two would hate him.

At the same time, he couldn't tell them that all three were equally good, or that he couldn't tell which one was better. It definitely wouldn't work on these three.

If that's the case, his best bet was...

"All three are nothing special."

Then, the three blacksmiths gave him the same look. It was as if they would beat him down with their hammers!

"What?"

"Is this really your best? Well, is it?" Kang Oh taunted them once more.

"How dare you!"

"Do you want to die!?"

Max and Bargo went absolutely crazy. Sun Lei grabbed his bow with a cold expression.

However, Kang Oh didn't back down.

"Then prove me wrong."

"How?" Sun Lei asked. He pulled the bowstring, and a frozen arrow automatically formed.

'They've taken the bait.' Kang Oh smirked.

"I'm a Demonic Swordsman. I can only use demon swords."

'That's why I can't use Max Cain or the Light and Darkness Spear!'

"So?"

"In a week, the Resurrection Stone will appear along with the Mamonas, which has become a Soul Eater. Please make me your best demon sword by then."

"Mm."

"A demon sword, huh."

"I'll use them against the Mamonas and pick the most useful of the three. That way, I'll be able to determine which weapon is truly the best. You have to actually use a weapon to know how good it is."

Kang Oh had looked for other demon swords. However, not only were demon swords incredibly rare, but the ones he did find only possessed the power of darkness; they didn't have a demon sealed within them.

He pulled out Sarahoff and showed it off. They could already see Ubist, and Tasha was with Loxia right now.

"I won't accept a half-assed demon sword. It has to be a demon sword with something sealed inside of it! Please bring me a complete product."

'I want to try out a new demon sword!'

"Why do we have to do that?" Bargo crossed his arms and looked speechless.

"Ah, that's right. You specialize in spears, not swords. Then I guess you fail!"

"Fail!? I started out making swords!"

"Can you make a complete demon sword?"

"Of course I can! I'm the best Dwarven Blacksmith on the planet!" Bargo raised his index finger.

'I thought as much.'

Max, Bargo, and Sun Lei were Grandmaster Blacksmiths.

If you were to pick the three greatest blacksmiths in history, you would undoubtedly choose them. However, he wasn't sure who the best was.

With their skill, they would obviously be able to make demon swords.

"You can't make swords. Have you forgotten your bet? Haha, I suppose it's just between me and that greenhorn." Max gestured at Sun Lei with his chin.

Sun Lei smiled. 'Fine, I'll accept your challenge!'

Then...

"I'm going to make a sword spear," Bargo said bluntly.

"That's still a sword." Max furrowed his brow.

"It's a spear. But he can only use swords, so I'm going to add a little attachment to it," Bargo insisted.

"Why don't you just stay out of this? You'll just embarrass yourself. It's been hundreds of years since you've made a sword. I'm saying this for your benefit."

"Yeah, right." Bargo glared at Max.

"Demon swords aren't my style, but I suppose making one isn't such a bad idea," Sun Lei said. Then, he immediately returned to his smithy, as if he couldn't bear to be part of this conversation any longer.

"Hmph!"

"Tch!"

Max and Bargo turned their backs to each other.

Kang Oh retrieved his demon swords, Max Cain, and the Light and Darkness Spear.

"Hum-hum-hum." Kang Oh snorted.

'Come to me, my new demon swords!'

* * *

Three days had passed.

Kang Oh trained with Javen, dealt with some Soul Eaters, and became more and more used to fighting in the underworld.

He used the rest of his time visiting the blacksmiths, and talking to them about the demon swords.

Max, Bargo, and Sun Lei.

All of their demon swords were different, but one thing was similar. They would recreate demons from their memories and seal them within the swords.

"Please choose a legendary creature."

"Get lost." Sun Lei may have delicate features, but he had a foul mouth.

"Alright." Bargo was the opposite; he looked rough on the outside, but he was actually a gentle man underneath.

"..." Max was the type to remain silent when he was working. He also thought of Kang Oh as a nuisance.

That's why Kang Oh kept visiting Max. He wanted to annoy him some more!

'Ah!'

Now that he thought about it, the three demon swords shared one other trait.

The type.

Kang Oh wanted a weapon far larger than Demon Sword Ubist.

Why?

First, he wanted to use a sword he'd never used before. Blood was a one-handed sword, Sarahoff was a longsword, and Ubist was a greatsword.

If he wanted a different sword, then he would need either a dagger or a weapon even larger than a greatsword.

However, a larger weapon would be more effective against a huge monster like the Mamonas. A small weapon wouldn't even hurt it.

While he eagerly awaited the completion of the demon swords, Kang Oh went all over Noah.

He also met Acasus.

Acasus was a midget. He was about half the height of a normal, full-grown adult man.

Contrary to his height, however, he was larger than life. After all, he was a Grandmaster Tamer that had tamed four mythological beasts on the same level as the Phoenix!

In the underworld, however, he was taking care of all manner of dogs and cats.

Chirp!

Rudy flapped its tiny wings from beside Acasus, and performed cute tricks.

Acasus had a long relationship with Rudy. He had previously been one of its guardians, after all.

"Hahaha."

Acasus was a warm person. He was friendly with pretty much everyone. Seeing him with a cat in his embrace was like looking at a real-life Buddha.

"Did you say his name is Rudy? A Phoenix shouldn't just eat flames. They should eat meat and vegetables too."

"Really?" Asu looked shocked. 'A Phoenix can eat meat and vegetables too?'

Then, Rudy flew towards Acasus and tried to shut him up. 'Don't tell them that!'

"Please give it some meat and vegetables after it eats some flames. That'll make it grow quickly and healthily," Acasus said, gently stroking Rudy all over.

"Aha, thank you very much. Rudy, did you hear? Don't be picky and eat everything!" Asu smiled.

Rudy laid down and rolled around, as if it were throwing a tantrum.

Chirp!

'I'm only going to eat flames!'

Of course, it didn't work at all.

"Should I just give you meat and vegetables instead?"

Chirp...

Rudy burrowed its head into its body. It looked like a yellow tennis ball. So adorable!

"I don't have any advice for you. Waryong is growing so well on its own."

"Haha, is that so?" Sephiro scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Gyaahk!

Waryong pulled its neck back, stretched out its wings, and then waddled around. It tended to do that when it was in a good mood.

'My master's the best!'

"Good, good. Keep it up." Acasus stroked its chin, and Waryong seemed to smile.

"There's a small fingernail-sized bump on a wyvern's chin. They like it when you touch this area."

"Aha!"

Sephiro immediately tried it out. When he scratched that area, Waryong happily rubbed its head against Sephiro's body.

Acasus was even able to tame Ubist.

"I've never seen it before, but it looks kind," Acasus said. Then, he began to comb Ubist's fur.

Ubist was made up of darkness, so flecks of darkness passed through the comb.

Despite that...

Purr.

Kang Oh had never heard such a gentle, happy sound from Ubist.

'Not only did he tame it, but it's even starting to wag its tail. He's amazing!'

He started to respect Acasus even more.

However...

Some people in Noah were the exact opposite of Acasus. He encountered one of these people on his second day in Noah.

* * *

There were countless people in Noah. For example, the Legendary Hero, a dragon, legendary Masters, and even villains!

"I've never seen you before. Are you new here?"

Destructive red flames suddenly came flying at Kang Oh.

Kang Oh immediately pulled out Demon Sword Ubist. One of the huge fireballs was split in two and was absorbed, while he dodged the other one.

"Let's see how long you last!"

The old, emaciated man with age spots on his face bombarded him with vicious spells. His spells' power even surpassed Helena.

Kang Oh couldn't even get close. Moreover, the spells were increasing in range and power.

'Who is he?'

He was either at the cusp of becoming a Grandmaster Mage or already was. However, there wasn't anyone that stood out in his memory.

History's greatest mage, Lacia, was a woman. He had already met Kunta too.

Then...

Brilliant light came flying at the mage.

It was the Orc Hero, Howlka.

"Don't get in my way," the mage yelled.

"Get lost. If you don't, then you'll get a taste of my axe." Howlka slightly flattened his axe, giving him a glimpse of the glimmering blade.

"I'll turn you into a roast pig!"

An incredible battle between Howlka and the mage began.

Only after he saw the mage use the Total Annihilation curse did Kang Oh figure out who he was.

Katan!

He was the lowest of the low that'd killed the most people in history!