Ais was extremely satisfied with the Tachi in her hands.
Even though it looked quite rustic, possessing no exaggerated shape—it was simply a very ordinary, proportionally enlarged long sword. It didn't even have red cords wrapped around the hilt or similar decorations that adventurers from the Far East were so fond of.
The blade itself presented a chilling iron hue in its entirety, featuring only a naturally formed, wave-like cloud pattern.
But it was very good!
Most importantly, it looked truly sturdy!!
The heavy sensation transmitted through her hands inexplicably gave the young girl a feeling of immense security. However, what she absolutely didn't expect was that this was not actually the formal weapon, but merely a "sample."
The real big guy was still to come—
Isagi brought out a black "large iron box." Its overall height was over two meters, looking as if it could only be carried horizontally on one's back. There was a sword hilt on one side, making it appear like an incomparably heavy greatsword.
In reality, it was exactly that.
Moreover...
When the young boy pulled it out, Ais could even hear the sounds of some kind of "clack-clack" mechanical deformation occurring inside.
Finally, what appeared before her eyes was a giant weapon that was difficult to describe.
It was different from the [Glimmer Greatsword] Isagi had used previously, or the Greatsword [Moonlight] that was part of the First-Class Armament set [Wolf's Repast]. Although those were also incomparably huge, generally speaking, they still retained the shape of a "sword."
But the weapon before her eyes was different.
It was also a sword, yet it was thicker and broader, truly resembling a giant door slab. Or perhaps calling it a "Great Cleaver" wouldn't be incorrect either.
Chopping bone, slicing flesh, breaking hide—
Just one glance was enough to know that its hypothetical enemy was absolutely not a humanoid creature.
Too huge, too heavy.
When Isagi handed it over to Ais, the girl felt her hands sink immediately. For the first time, she had the feeling that it would be difficult to even swing a weapon.
So heavy, really so heavy!
It was completely like a large lump of condensed iron that had been forcibly polished into the shape of a "weapon."
Rough, arbitrary, possessing an unspeakable aesthetic of strength and power.
More importantly. More importantly.
Ais discovered that on one side of the sword tip, and also at the rear of the blade, there was a cylindrical object that looked like a chimney.
"What is this for?"
"Jet propulsion."
"?"
Ais felt that whenever Isagi spoke, she always couldn't understand a single word. But very quickly, Ais personally experienced exactly what he meant.
First, under the boy's guidance, she shouldered the giant sword.
This was truly no simple matter; even when Ais attempted it for the first time, she felt it was quite a strain.
She found it hard to understand why this greatsword was so heavy, but the good news was, with such a heavy weapon, no matter what, it was unlikely to be broken by her, right?!
And when she gripped it with both hands, rested it on one shoulder, and postured to slash down...
Continuing to follow Isagi's teaching, she began to "Charge"—
Actually, it was just pressing a certain small, trigger-like button on the sword hilt.
"Be careful now."
"Careful...?"
Ais was originally still wondering why Isagi was looking after a child, telling her to be "careful, careful, careful." She was a Lv.5 adventurer, his senior!
The result!
Suddenly, a massive force came from behind. Because it was too sudden, her hands couldn't suppress this power at all, causing it to vent out like a gushing flood.
Boom!!
An incomparably violent vibration exploded by her ears. Accompanied by magnificent azure flowing fire, the blade heavily smashed into the garden before them, directly collapsing the ground into a massive crater filled with densely packed cracks.
Far away, Astrea, who was watching all this from the second floor of the Western-style mansion, almost thought there was an earthquake.
Looking again at the destruction suffered by the garden in the distance, the Goddess rubbed her temples, feeling a genuine headache. Late at night, what exactly were these two children doing!
Most importantly.
Cecil and the others had already returned to their rooms to sleep. They better not wake up all the girls, otherwise wait...
The Goddess's thoughts were a little "complicated."
On the other side.
Ais was clearly given a fright as well. Through the power transmitted from her hands, she could understand what had just happened—
This weapon could actually move on its own... no, it was that cylinder spewing flowing fire, wrapping itself in massive kinetic energy, actively pushing the weapon to smash down.
So amazing!
Blinking her eyes, the girl's small face was full of shocked expression.
And next, there was something even more amazing.
That was, Isagi asked her to shoulder it once again. Then, the boy came behind her, his hands joining hers to shoulder the giant sword behind her back.
"Hold it steady this time, Ais."
"Okay..."
The golden-haired girl let out a very small, soft sound.
She didn't know why, but it felt a bit strange.
Under the cold winter night, the faint, warm breath coming from behind her, as well as the tactile sensation of the boy pressing up against her that seemed impossible to ignore, plus the somewhat scorching temperature of his hands.
Inexplicably.
Not knowing why, Ais felt her heart beating violently, even stranger than when she had let Isagi use her lap as a pillow before!
What was with this feeling of inexplicably getting a bit hot?
A dense, rosy flush began to slowly surface on her tender, fair little face.
Ais lowered her head slightly, as if doing so could conceal the heat on her cheeks. Fortunately, her attention was very quickly and helplessly forced to shift, unable to remain on these things.
Because Isagi pressed the switch on the sword hilt once again.
"Here it comes!"
"!!!"
"Hold it!"
"Un!"
"Hang in there, Ais."
"Understood!!"
She focused her attention all at once.
Almost all her attention was concentrated on her hands. She couldn't help but do so, because the power coming from her hands was simply too robust!!
Ais could even feel her own hands starting to tremble slightly, accompanied by the greatsword shouldered behind her emitting an ear-piercing, vibrating hum.
[Contest of Strength]!
The kinetic energy erupted by the greatsword itself was firmly suppressed by her and Isagi's hands. Suppress, suppress, suppress...
They had to work extremely hard to make it "endure" like this!
"This is called Charging, you know."
The greatsword used for hunting Great Dragons was unadorned and lackluster; therefore, its ultimate technique was also this simple and ordinary.
A heavy sword has no edge; great skill needs no work.
Until the kinetic energy accumulated by the greatsword behind them had been suppressed to the absolute extreme.
Ais clenched her teeth.
For the first time, she felt physical fatigue. Even her hands began to ache.
Unlike the past, it was no longer the weapon unable to withstand her strength; the situation was reversed—it was her body starting to be unable to withstand the weapon's power.
"3!"
The boy began to count down in her ear.
"2!"
As if something was finally about to arrive, Ais's little heart was also clenched to the extreme at this moment.
"1!"
Clench tight!
Clench tight, clench tight, clench tight, clench tight, clench tight!!
The girl's legs began to tremble uncontrollably; she felt like she was about to be unable to stand.
And right in this instant.
Isagi released the trigger on the sword hilt, allowing the blue flowing fire spewing from the greatsword to gradually extinguish. The originally unstoppable kinetic energy, wrapped in a force of a thousand jun, also gradually dissipated under this night sky.
"?!"
Not slashing it out?!
The power that needed to be suppressed suddenly vanished, causing Ais to freeze for a moment. They had already reached this point, and the result was actually holding it back?!
Answer.
Nonsense! If they swung that strike just now, the courtyard would be gone!!
Isagi knew very well what kind of destruction could be caused after suppressing it to the extreme and fully charging the greatsword, then unleashing everything in one go.
And most importantly.
"It's not over yet."
Taking the greatsword from the exhausted girl's hands, Isagi waved it casually. Subsequently, Ais surprisingly discovered that faint light had also surfaced on its incomparably thick blade edge.
It was still the familiar white, gold, and then red from just now.
That's right.
This greatsword could also "Open Blade," just like the Tachi the girl used a moment ago. Moreover, the effect was exactly the same, and it could even...
Isagi had only discovered this matter two days ago.
His Divine Power seemed to be able to bestow a certain mechanism—such as "Open Blade"—onto any weapon. Of course, not all weapons would work; for instance, blunt instruments like clubs didn't have a "blade," so naturally, there was no way to open it.
Thus, Isagi had a very bold idea.
He placed the greatsword in his hand back into the original "Big Box." This was actually a [Sword Case]; its full name should be called the [Hunter Weapon Compendium].
According to Isagi's vision.
This wouldn't just be a "Greatsword." It should also contain "Tachi," "Dual Blades," "Switch Axe," "Charge Blade," and so on...
Gathering all weapon characteristics inside, it would be the Azure Star's good helper, the Solitary Bird's best partner, and even more so the strongest weapon for him to stea... ah no, to let Ais join the Astrea Familia!
Poaching someone is all about catering to their preferences, after all.
Look, wasn't settling Tiona very simple? Now it was Ais's turn. As long as he made the girl "unable to leave him," then naturally, sooner or later, she would run over to this side.
Isagi felt his train of thought had absolutely no problems!
"This weapon is still a prototype; it's not finished."
Isagi was telling the truth.
Currently, it could only use the "Greatsword" form, and its functions were incomplete. After all, it was something he came up with on a whim and had Cecil rush to produce in these past few days.
Most importantly, although he had added his Divine Power, the current Cecil had not yet upgraded to Lv.3.
If she acquired the [Mystery] Development Ability later on, perhaps she could take it to a higher level.
Even...
Listening to the big picture the boy was painting for her, Ais simply couldn't look forward to it more!
"So, Miss Ais, just use this Tachi temporarily for now."
In a few days, they would go to the Dungeon together to crusade against the "First Miracle (Infant Dragon)" to gather [Excelia] for Tiona. It would be just the right time to test the new weapon.
As for this [Hunter Weapon Compendium], if it was to be crafted according to the standards of a First-Class Armament next, it would definitely take some time.
Most importantly.
It was actually to wait for Cecil to upgrade to Lv.3 first.
"I estimate it will take another month or two."
If the Blacksmith girl continued to slowly leech [Excelia] from the Goliath crusade like before.
"Okay!"
Ais nodded obediently, simply looking like a considerate little girlfriend who would say "okay, okay, okay" to whatever the boy said.
In reality.
At this moment, the girl was also thinking in her heart that she definitely couldn't take such a valuable thing from Isagi for free—she naturally knew the price of a First-Class Armament!
So, what kind of return gift should she prepare?
Blinking her eyes, Ais thought at this moment, maybe I should go back and ask Mama Riveria...
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan