It didn't move…

The sword stuck on the stone didn't even budge after pulling it…

​​

"Hahaha! I knew it!" Rufus laughed after noticing that Diether failed to take the sacred sword with him. It is finally his turn.

However, the young man wasn't accepting it yet.

Hmph! Hmph!

Diether tried a couple more times but it was really unmoved by his pulling force.

"Haaa~ I'm not the fated one, huh…"

'I probably used all my luck just to meet Master Reiji.' The young man thought after noticing that there was no point forcing himself to own the sacred sword. Anyway, if he gets to choose where to use his luck, he'd rather use it on the mysterious Sentient Arcana rather than this picky sword.

He looked at Rufus who was also confident in his strides.

"Heh… Let's see if you could pull it up. I think that what is needed isn't the fated person but an Arcanist capable of removing such curse."

"Haha! Just because you can't pull it up doesn't mean that it's no longer possible…"

Rufus replied as he walked to the altar. He briefly admired the sword before holding its handle gently.

The sword was a bit cold but it does feel good to grasp as expected of a sacred sword.

He noticed that Diether didn't exert too much power of Spiritual Energy in his attempt. However, Rufus has a different plan. He wanted to forcefully take the sword!

He circulated his energy around his arm as he took a deep breath.

Hmph!

He tried pulling out the sword and it actually moved a little!

"Ugh… Is that it?"

Rufus was a bit disappointed after seeing that that was the extent of what he can do to the sword.

'I really can't, huh… Too bad.'

Diether, who saw everything, didn't say a word but he's chuckling on the side.

Rufus can only leave the altar feeling defeated.

***

A couple of minutes after the two young Arcanists left another Sentient Arcana appeared beside the sacred sword.

It is the Divine Shield Arcana…

"Fern… What's going on?" Neri asked after noticing something from the two Arcanists who just came here.

"Hmmm… So you've noticed as well."

"Yes… You're quite lucky that they didn't exert all of their strength."

"Indeed. What's wrong with those two?! They were already wielders of a Blessed Arcana… But they are still trying to take me?!" Fern loses his composure…

Just now, the two young Arcanist were actually capable of pulling him out.

Diether didn't use too much strength so Fern was still able to steady himself.

However, that last guy used a lot of strength so he had to work a bit harder.

"Which Blessed Arcana marked them, did you noticed?" Neri asked.

"Yes… I felt it when they touched me… They're marked by another Blessed of Albeiron."

"Albeiron? Similar to your Deity? What's going on? Didn't you say that you have already taken care of the other eight Blessed Arcana of that deity? The remaining one should be a rusty sword staying at the headquarters, isn't that right?"

"You're right… That's why I'm confused as well…" Fern was also not sure what was going on. He should be the last or tenth Blessed Arcana by the Sword Deity.

There shouldn't be an eleventh!

The eight other Blessed Sword were now under his control and they do not have any wielders! As a matter of fact, their existence and their location were also kept secret by him alone!

He has total control of those other eight!

"Tsk! I'm not sure what's going on… But at the very least, those two guys helped me weaken the curse… Kekeke…"

Fern laugh wickedly after realizing that the stone that was binding and stopping him from using his Arcane Magic had lost most of its effects!

At this rate, he just had to forcefully remove himself and it will just probably take a couple of days before he can become completely free!

"Really?!"

Neri couldn't help but be excited… Their plans had been postponed for a very long time because of the curse that was used on their leader.

They've been unable to do anything about it for many years so they can only lay low in their activities and gather their strength…

They started actively looking for decent Sentient Arcana to increase their forces and influence in the world.

Aside from that, they have similarly affected the government of this kingdom like what Nero did at Enetha Empire.

"That's right… Anyway, once I'm free, I'll check the prison that those old Arcana asked about… I can't ignore their requests at the moment… In the meantime, call Vivi and have her change the plans. We will be starting after I've checked the secret prison in the chaotic land."

"Very well. I'll let her know..." Neri replied before vanishing completely. It seems that she was also quite a bit excited about Fern's condition.

As soon as Fern was left alone…

He gathered his strength as he used his Mystical Energy to try and break the stone…

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A few cracks appeared after a minute of his forceful actions. Fern was delighted upon seeing the result. He was exhausted a bit but he was still celebrating.

'Just like what I thought… About two days or so and I'll be free!'

***

Reiji called for Mourad and Vinete.

The two practitioners were left in the Dojo while the others had already returned to their homes.

"Master!"

The two half-imps immediately bowed in front of the sword after confirming that no other practitioners are present.

"Are you curious why I called you here?" Reiji asked.

"Y-yes, Master… Did we do something wrong with our techniques? Ahh… No, I know that I failed to execute my techniques properly, will you help us, Master?" Vinete immediately corrected herself.

"R-right…" Mourad replied. He doesn't really want to practice again since he was already tired but if his master says so, he will do his best.

"Haha… Don't worry… You guys did well in your fight. You just need more experience and practice to avoid any awkward movements. Anyway, it's not the reason why I called you here… I want you guys to summon your own Arcana… You can call it as perks of being my direct student."

"Really?! Thank you, Master!" The two immediately went happy after realizing the kindness of their master.

"Yes… I have a bad feeling that we'll be facing a strong opponent in the next few days or months… So I want everyone to become stronger as quickly as possible…"

Reiji mysteriously replied. The two were unsure what it was but it seems that they'll be facing some troubles soon.