"Again, I'll have to refuse this trade. Your reason is convincing but it's not enough for me to temporarily separate from Makaze."

Arthur remained firm, unwilling to hand over Makaze over such a brief story. Sure, Timos may be telling the truth but the Dark Blade greatly contributes to Arthur's prowess and his strongest skill [Thousand Waves] requires an unbreakable blade. Furthermore, Evil Wind may be the only one of its kind which can process Dark Magic and manipulate it, making it a perfect match for Arthur.

"You refuse without even seeing what I have to offer. I'm someone who believes in equivalence so If you were to return the Dark Blade, I can assure you that you won't be losing. In fact, I'm prepared to give you more and even teach you a few things that may come handy in the future."

Seeing that Arthur showed no signs of changing his mind, Timos added:

"Alright, we'll do it like this. I'll lend you a few things and you try them out. By then, if you're still unsatisfied, I'll stop talking. What do you say?"

Only silence came out of Arthur's lips. He stood there, his arm crossed and his eyes lingering on the night sky. Timos took the parasite's silence as acceptance so he immediately made his move, controlling the peaceful forest.

Within a few seconds, thin vines sprung from the ground, wrapped around a shabby wooden box.

"The first thing I'll lend you comes in two pieces. The first one is the object before your eyes. A wooden box unlike any other, unique and priceless. This thing, albeit shabby, can be broken by no one, including The Twelve. Once you put your blood on it, it belongs to you and you'll be the only one who can open it at will. Mind you, it can store anything, even stars, worlds, planets. Actually, the ring on your finger was made from the same wood."

Arthur glanced at the jet black ring that once belonged to Zodiak. It didn't feel or look like the normal wooden box but it's certainly different than the normal storage rings. Inside this ring, there are countless things and to inspect them one by one would take an eternity. That would leave anyone wondering how Zodiak managed to acquire so many things.

"Before she learned how to properly harness her power, Dimitra mistakingly used a huge portion of her power to create a medium-sized piece of wood. Seeing no purpose in keeping all to herself, she traded some with me and kept the rest to herself. Obviously, I gave her something of equal value, my blood essence with which she helped Tiarius create Riarravar. Very few people knew but that wooden chunk she accidentally created took a great toll on her, making her weak."

"You're speaking of a big deal as if it's nothing. Are you sure you want to speak of such ancient secrets?"

Arthur snorted, not knowing whether to believe Timos or judge all his words as nonsense, deceitful lies.

"Secrets? Hahaha. A secret stops being so the second a third person knows about it. Furthermore, what I spoke about are past events, the history that is no longer important."

The Black Devil waited for a few moments, watching Arthur stare at the box and trying to probe it using his sense.

"Just like the Dark Blade, this is a piece of Dimitra so there's nothing capable of affecting it. Moriah helped me change its form and turn it into a storage. Now, let's look at the thing inside, an unparalleled masterpiece that transcends anything."

Arthur knew that Timos was over-glorifying whatever was inside to appeal to him, nevertheless, he maintained his silence and waited for the box to open.

The parasite looked at the opening wooden box with half-interested expression. He walked closer and leaned his face, wanting to peek inside but such action was needless as the object was reflected into his eyes almost immediately.

To be honest, one would expect a heaven-defying item with an exceptional appearance, however, what Arthur saw was the definition of mediocrity.

A fairly short, wide, slightly curved blade made of a silvery material is held by a grip wrapped in gilded, navy blue skin. It lacked any kind of decoration, its appearance very basic. Ordinary.

"It doesn't have a name, an origin, or characteristics. No one ever used it, besides me, and, in my case, I only wielded once before storing it in this box. It was given to me by a certain entity that I will refrain from mentioning for the sake of safety."

"How come you were so open about the box yet strangely secretive concerning this sword?"

Expecting such a question, Timos gave an immediate response. "Because it's rather unnecessary to talk about its origins. If you agree to trade then, when the Dark Blade returns to you and I come to retrieve this sword back, I'll tell you a bit about where it came from. And, no, it wasn't crafted by any of the Twelve and the materials it was made from are unknown even to Quhea. Now, before you try it out let me warn you… this is a blade that does not rely on attributes or uses energy. It cuts and kills, nothing else. It can pierce anything you can imagine but its fuels on the user, meaning you, so you need to be careful when using it because each swing costs dearly. In the past, when I used it, I didn't know its true power so I ended up weakening myself for ten millenniums and the attack I unleashed demolished my whole domain along with Moriah's, going as far as severing his arm. I, the weakest of the twelve, managed to hurt the strong existence ever with just one swing. No one would have believed me so I kept quiet about the matter and blamed Xyktia, who, at the time, was experimenting with Black Magic."

"And why exactly are you giving such a powerful sword to me?"

"As I said previously, it's part of the trade. It will go back to the box the moment the Dark Blade reaches completion and seeks you. Moreover, I'm lending it to you because I know, in the time you'll be using it, you won't be able to cause what I consider 'real trouble'. At most, you'll cut a few heads and wreak some worlds, it isn't a big deal."

"I'm aware of the trade but you could have offered me a different sword."

"You make it sound easy to produce powerful swords such as the Dark Blade. Apart from this oddity, there's only Anduril and the combined effort of the eighteen Divine and Cursed swords that are worthy."

Arthur pondered for some time before stretching his hand toward the silver sword. He was about to lift it only for his hand to momentarily freeze. He was experiencing a feeling that had long since vanished, the helplessness one goes through when they can't lift a heavy object. He was only incapable of lifting it for the first three seconds because he exerted little force but when he mustered all of his strength, he was still able to properly hold it but his muscles were twitching and his veins popping.

"I'm surprised you were able to lift it on your first try. Good job. It requires a titan's strength to be able to swing it around. Oh don't try swinging it here, I don't want my forest to disappear."

Arthur was a bit eager to test it out so when he heard Timos' words, he couldn't help but inwardly snort. He raised it in the air but after a few seconds, he started feeling tiredness albeit his infinite Stamina.

"Don't show such a surprised expression, I already told you that it's something out of this world. The limitless Stamina you're so proud of is useless against it."

"Does that mean I can only use basic sword attacks without resorting to skills?"

"No, skills can be used but the cost is probably more than you could handle with this fake body of yours. I reckon that a serious swing will suck the life out of your arm and it'll need some time to recover."