The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 258

Capítulo 258: Chapter 258: The Spiritual Swords

“My son-in-law, are you cultivating the sword aura?” Avanora asked, her expression shocked.

“Not really… I wouldn’t say that I’m cultivating sword aura,” Damian said calmly. “Cultivating sword aura would imply that I can use it as a convertible energy, something capable of changing forms or being directly manipulated. But that isn’t the case.”

Damian glanced at the hundreds of swords embedded in the yard before continuing.

“Sword aura is more of a phenomenon, a manifestation of an extremely strong will, rather than a form of energy. It is inherently hostile in nature. Even when a sword is not being wielded, it continuously releases destructive force. Attempting to cultivate such an aura is neither safe nor efficient.”

Everyone followed his gaze toward the swords.

Each and every blade stabbed into the yard was a growth-type spiritual sword, meaning all of them housed souls within.

“Spiritual weapons,” Damian continued. “I’m not cultivating their energy. Instead, I’m using formations and specially prepared soil, created through several rare materials and unique processes. By combining the two, the thick soil can safely regulate and funnel the sword aura into other locations.”

He paused briefly before elaborating further.

“The formation you sense throughout the yard is meant to keep the swords stable, preventing their destructive auras from reacting with one another and causing chaos. More accurately, it establishes a sword resonance environment. No matter how many spiritual swords are embedded here, they will remain harmonized. In the process, they generate a unified sword resonance, hence the constant buzzing sound you hear.”

Damian waved his hand.

In the next instant, six streaks of red, white, black, brown, green, and violet light burst forth from his chest simultaneously.

They landed before him and transformed midair into six weapons of varying shapes and sizes.

The red light condensed into a long spear, pitch black with blood-red accents, as if perpetually drenched in gore.

It was none other than [Recna, the Spear of Torment], the weapon Damian had acquired from the tomb of the ancient progenitor of vampires.

The white light formed a double-edged sword with a silver-white blade and a black hilt, radiating a faint holy glow.

It was [Mercy, the Sword of Salvation].

The black light transformed into another sword of identical size and shape.

Its blade was completely black while its hilt shimmered in silvery white.

A purplish-black aura coiled around it, as though opposing Mercy by its very existence.

This was [Judgement, the Sword of Punishment].

The brown light took the form of a curved dagger.

Its brownish-black blade was paired with a golden hilt.

It was [The Dagger of Nuada].

The green light solidified into a massive greatsword with a wide, thick blade of dark emerald hue and a golden handle.

An overwhelmingly violent sword aura poured from it.

This was [Darmung, the Devastation Bringer].

Finally, the violet light shaped itself into another greatsword, equally terrifying.

Its blade was dark indigo, its hilt black, and its sword aura just as destructive.

It was [Balmung, the Sword of Doom].

As if possessing minds of their own, the six weapons drifted toward the yard and embedded themselves into the dense, specially prepared soil at random locations among the hundreds of other spiritual swords.

They joined them in amplifying the sword resonance and feeding the ever-flowing river of sword aura.

While those six weapons were extremely powerful compared to the hundreds of spiritual swords in the yard, they weren’t anything unique, since all of them were just as special and potent.

Some were even stronger than these six.

“Why did you put them in the yard? Don’t you need weapons for yourself, darling?” Lenora asked.

“No need, my love. Weapons don’t make a difference for me,” Damian replied, showing his hand.

A completely black sword made of shadow essence appeared in his grasp.

“I can use my shadow essence to create any sort of weapon myself, which is actually more efficient for me. I don’t think any weapon, spiritual or otherwise, could handle my full power.”

Damian made another gesture with his hand, and streams of light once again emerged from his chest, transforming into several items that radiated a presence almost as powerful as the weapons he had embedded in the yard.

Many swords floated before Damian, while the others watched, their expressions ranging from surprise to awe.

There was the [Dragon-Bane Sword, Gram], once wielded by the Norse god Sigurd.

It was known to release a sword aura that was particularly destructive against dragons or dragon-type creatures.

The second sword was [Tyrfing], also known as the Sword That Must Kill or the Cursed Sword.

It was extremely dangerous, possessing an unquenchable killing intent.

Anyone who wielded it would be consumed by an insatiable thirst for blood.

The third was [The Berserker’s Edge, Skofnung], a sword imbued with an unquenchable battle rage that even affected its wielder.

[Hrotti] was another sword, known as the counterpart to the Dragon-Bane Sword, Gram, since it too carried an abnormally high killing intent toward dragons.

The fourth was [Angrvaðill, The Faithful Blade], or the Singing Sword, a spiritual weapon that remained loyal to its wielder, empowering them regardless of their condition when wielded.

There was also [Dáinsleif], also known as the Death-Drinker Sword, a cursed blade that painfully drained the life from anyone who touched it.

Finally, there was [Gungnir, the Spear of Sovereignty], or the Spear of Runes.

This supreme weapon of the god-king Odin was engraved with thousands of runes.

Damian had even compelled Surtr, the Fire Giant King, to surrender his [Flaming Sword].

There was no particular reason he took the Flaming Sword, other than the fact that Surtr had already submitted to him.

Damian was intensely curious about the flaming sword.

It was a weapon formed naturally in the fiery pits of Muspelheim, its origin a complete mystery.

No one knew how or why it had come into existence.

Damian was deeply intrigued and believed that if he could uncover every detail about it, he might even create other swords like it, harnessing the power of different elements.

All these items were spoils from his conquest after he had slain all the Norse gods and subdued all nine worlds of the Norse pantheon.

With a wave of his hand, all the weapons flew toward the yard and embedded themselves into the yard of spiritual swords, becoming part of the collection.

Damian continued speaking as he made the shadow-essence sword in his hand disappear, retracting the energy used to form it back into his own body.

“Besides all these swords, equipment, and my other creations, I made them myself, infusing my own essence into them during their creation. I can summon them anytime, anywhere, freely.”

He looked around at everyone and said, “There are hundreds of spiritual swords here. Most of you don’t have a proper weapon, so why not take one from here?”

“You mean we can take a sword from here, darling?” Amelia asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Well, you have to be acknowledged by the sword itself,” Damian explained, “since these are spiritual swords. Only then can you wield them successfully.”

“So, who wants to go first?” Damian asked, smiling.

“I will!” Maria exclaimed, rushing forward before anyone else could react.

“You seem excited,” Damian noted with a smile.

He waved his hand, and in the next second, the formation he had set up across the yard deactivated.

The destructive energy released by the swords immediately ran rampant, but Damian restrained it, keeping it contained within the yard.

“The swords must be unrestrained if they are to acknowledge their master,” Damian continued.

“Release your presence, and let the sword come to you.”

Maria nodded and released her presence. In the next moment, a thick, silvery-white aura emanated from her, spreading outward like a veil.

“Hmm, not bad for a young high human. She has potential,” Valentina muttered, observing Maria’s presence.

Although the aura didn’t extend far, her presence undoubtedly reached the yard.

But the swords did not react immediately.

They seemed to wait, silently judging her, determining if she was worthy to wield them.

Almost all of the spiritual swords here were created by Damian himself, and his method was vastly different, truly unique.

Most of the swords he forged were made from rare metals only he could obtain, alloyed with living beings.

Damian often used people he hated, those captured alive, or anyone who entered his universe without permission, intending harm or exploitation as raw material.

As punishment, during the forging process, he would throw them alive into the smelting chamber, letting their flesh and soul become one with the alloy.

Most of the captives were gods or god-level beings, often from other universes.

As a result, many of these swords contained the essence of actual gods.

Feeding living beings into the forging process usually created what were known as corrupted swords.

The immense pain and negative emotions experienced by the beings at the moment of death fused with the sword, twisting it into a weapon of suffering.

Corrupted swords caused nothing but agony, even to their wielder, and were often considered unusable.

There was also a risk that a corrupted sword could develop an evil consciousness, a sentient, malevolent force as powerful as a monster, even capable of challenging the gods.

Even the gods themselves would never use this method to forge a spiritual sword, despite its efficiency.

But Damian did not care.

His goal was to inflict unimaginable pain on anyone who provoked his wrath.

The nature of the swords, corrupted or otherwise, mattered little to him.

Even corrupted swords could be controlled with a mere wave of his hand.