"...It is a success."
Akumo turned back, the green tooth-like blade gripped in his hand. Before him stood Hephaestus, her eyes wide as she stared at the finished work.
"The name of this weapon...?"
"I shall call it 『Green Fang』."
"Truly... truly..."
'How could such a weapon come to be...'
Hephaestus's gaze remained fixed on the Green Fang with undisguised wonder. To a layman, it appeared to be nothing more than a green dagger, but she saw it clearly.
She saw the overwhelming potential held within the blade at the moment of its completion—a certainty for the path of pioneering it would carve. From even a fragment of its essence, the Goddess of Smithing burned with a desire to know more.
"We must go outside and test it immediately—!!"
"Wait, wait a moment!"
"Why? Are you not curious as well?"
"It's not that... are you alright?"
"What are you talking about!"
"Your eyepatch..."
Grab—
As if by reflex, Hephaestus's hand flew to her right eye at Akumo's words. Realizing that the restraint had indeed fallen away, she began to hide her face in a desperate panic.
"Hephaest—"
"Do not look!"
"Wait—"
"It must be hideous... please, just leave for a moment! I will put the eyepatch back on immediately!"
Hephaestus crouched low, searching the workshop floor with frantic eyes, yet the object eluded her sight. Akumo, observing her distress with composed authority, walked toward the fallen eyepatch behind her.
Thud—
"Here it is, Hephaestus-sama."
"Eh...?"
"I am fine, so take your time and put it on."
"Uh... thank you..."
Akumo spoke with calm stoicism, placing the eyepatch directly into her hand. There was no revulsion in his eyes, only a pragmatic concern for her well-being.
'...Wait.'
"You! You saw my face, didn't you?"
"Ah... yes. I apologize for that."
"That's not it! You... don't you feel anything?"
'He surely must have seen it...'
Hephaestus recalled the reactions of the children—and even the Gods, with the sole exception of Hestia—who had seen her bare face. They had all responded with disgust or avoidant discomfort. Yet, the man standing before her showed not a single shred of hesitation, concerned only for her dignity.
"I understand what you worry about... but it is not a reason for me to view you negatively."
"Regardless of whatever scars you carry, you are the benefactor who helped me forge this blade, are you not?"
Leaving the Green Fang in her palm, Akumo offered a brief, warm smile before turning and walking slowly out of the room.
"...."
Watching his departing back, Hephaestus's hand dropped from her face. She forgot to even put the eyepatch on, staring blankly between the Green Fang he had returned and the doorway where he had vanished.
"Akumo..."
"Akumo!"
"Elder Sister? Is Aiz's weapon also finished?"
"No. I talked with her, but it seems the direction she wants for her weapon is a bit different."
Tsubaki explained that Aiz desired an 'unbreakable' weapon capable of enduring her magic, leading her to choose the Goibniu Familia instead.
'Makes sense... Aiz's offensive power with Ariel already seems sufficient.'
"...Wait, what did you just say?"
"Pardon? About what?"
"Aiz's weapon 'also'?"
Tsubaki, sensing something unusual, stared at Akumo with suspicious eyes. Just as she stepped forward to interrogate him—
Step, step—
"Correct. Akumo's weapon has also just been completed."
"Hephaestus-sama!"
Grab—
"Thank you, Akumo."
"No, the gratitude is mine."
Hephaestus smiled, handing the Green Fang back to Akumo.
"Then that green dagger is...!!"
"Even at a glance, it is a masterpiece worthy of its name, is it not?"
"The name! What is the name?"
"Green Fang."
"....What?"
Tsubaki's mind went blank for a moment. She tried to process what Akumo had just said, but unable to comprehend the logic, she could only ask again.
"What kind of name is that!!?"
"It just felt like I should call it that..."
"Does that even make sense?!"
Tsubaki unleashed a barrage of nagging at Akumo for giving such an absurd name to a masterpiece. While Akumo was helplessly swept up in her scolding, Hephaestus gazed into the jewel of the Green Fang, becoming lost in its crystalline brilliance.
"Truly... will you not join our Familia?"
"Ah... my apologies, but I must refuse!"
'As I thought... I suppose it's not possible.'
"However, I will visit often to supply ore, so I would be grateful if you could help me again as you did this time."
"Heh, fine. That's enough for me!"
Before any disappointment could set in, Hephaestus responded with a smile of her own, eventually pulling Tsubaki into a long conversation with Akumo regarding the weapon's intricacies.
"The True Name, huh..."
—'It is likely a masterpiece on par with, or even exceeding, a Magic Sword.'
—'Since you are the one who created it, you must discover its True Name yourself.'
"I certainly don't have a talent for forging Magic Swords... but if Hephaestus-sama said that much, is there truly something hidden in it?"
Slice—!
Akumo held the Green Fang and entered the Dungeon to test its capabilities. Its cutting power seemed no different from other First-Tier armaments, but instinctively, he could feel that the blade was different.
'Wait... now that I think about it.'
"The tactile sensation of the cut has been perfectly consistent since the beginning. Is this its ability?"
Thoom—!!!
Only after slaying an Infant Dragon did Akumo realize that unlike other weapons, the Green Fang dealt uniform damage even when striking tough hides or hardened parts instead of weak points.
"Oh...!!"
'This would be far more effective against monsters than humans.'
Exhilarated by his new weapon, Akumo continued hunting solo down to the 15th floor, accumulating a massive hoard of various magic stones.
Ssshh—
'Hm?'
Swish—!
"Was it my imagination...?"
Was it due to the creation of the Green Fang? Another change had manifest within his soul, and the Goddess watching remotely from Babel did not miss it.
"Aah...!! Yet another new light...!"
'A light of a sublime hero, different from the solitary dignity his light has shown until now!!'
"Truly... 🖤"
'A weapon he made together with Hephaestus, he said...?'
"Aah~"
'I'm starting to feel jealous... 🖤'
"Ottar? How does he look to you?"
"...No matter what weapon he holds, Akumo is strong."
"Pfft... yes, that's correct... even without a weapon, he was a child who shone brilliantly..."
"...."
"Ottar, you should have your own weapon made soon as well, shouldn't you?"
"If the Goddess wishes it."
'Ottar's light has grown brighter than usual as well... Ottar, you must shine even more radiantly, too 🖤'
While Akumo was crafting the Green Fang in Orario, two figures—a massive man and a silver-haired woman—stood in a secluded area far outside the city.
"....The execution?"
"Soon."
"Did you speak clearly to the Evilus?"
"I delivered the message directly to Erebus, so there will be no issues."
Reflecting on the nightmares they had experienced, they felt an even greater need for a hero. An evil god, sensing their desires, had successfully enlisted them into the coming 'Great Feud.'
Even so, Alfia and Zard had no intention of stopping.
To defeat the incarnation of the nightmare they saw that day, a hero was necessary—and they were not heroes.
"As for Akumo..."
"Do not worry. A hero will only shine more brilliantly through trials."
'We shall merely serve as the stepping stone for his heroic ascension.'
"That is enough."
Clenching his fist, Zard began to dwell on the words he had delivered to Erebus.
—'Never... do not touch Akumo. That boy will be dealt with by Alfia and me.'
—'You lot need only focus on providing trials for the other hero candidates.'
Alfia, standing beside him, felt her heart waver at the thought of Akumo. Yet, she recalled the words he had once spoken, reaffirming her resolve to sacrifice her life if it meant the world could overcome the nightmare.
—'Power is merely a tool. In the end, it belongs to those who wield it.'
—'That likely holds true even for the Gods.'
The nightmare of Orario was approaching. No one knew who would pioneer their own path through that nightmare and who would crumble.
—'Therefore, whatever choice you make, it can become a path to be pioneered.'
Even for the Gods.