Lys lowered the sword slowly.
He moved it from the tight defensive hold in front of his chest and pointed the blade straight forward at the goblin. His arm shook at first, then steadied. The blue rune on the blade grew brighter.
The goblin took one step back.
Lys kept the blade pointed right at it. His mind worked fast now, putting the pieces together while he stood there on shaking legs.
The new screen had appeared the exact moment he understood the sword worked better than anything else on the creature. Every cut from the knife had healed on the goblin in seconds. Every scratch, every deep gash on its arm was gone.
But the wounds from CorpseSlayer stayed. The knee cut was still there, half-healed. The goblin's body could fix everything except what this blade did.
Somehow, it made sense to Lys that it was not just cutting the goblin. It was taking something from it. The sword was pulling away the corrupt mana that let the goblin heal so fast. Without that mana, the wounds stayed open.
The goblin had stopped itself from attacking Lys at the stream-side earlier to heal itself fully, but the knee was still not fully healed because the sword had taken the mana from that spot first.
And that must be why it was scared of the sword, unlike before the battle between him and it started. Before, it didn't know the sword could hurt him this badly, but now it knew. That's why it was hesitating from attacking Lys blindly while the sword was in his hands.
Lys understood all of it now. Not from seeing the system description or anything. He felt it in his bones, the same way he felt the sword only belonged in his hand; nobody else could use it, nobody should.
He spoke the name of the sword out loud, quietly and low. As if acknowledging it for its name.
"CorpseSlayer, huh! A fitting name for this sword, for sure. It really is a corpseslayer."
Suddenly, the rune along the blade flared bright, as it pulled more mana from him. His vision started to blur almost instantly at the edges for a second. But he forced his knees to stay locked and kept the sword steady.
Before the pain from too much mana draining stops, a new system window opens right on top of the old one. This one looked heavier, with dark edges and faint red lines running through the words.
[CorpseSlayer…..True Binding Initiated]
[Cursed Sword of the Fallen Witch]
[Syncing with Host's Divine Blessing...]
[Sync Complete]
[New Properties Unlocked for Host:]
---Cursed Sword of the Fallen Witch---
{ Corrupt Mana Absorption (Active) }
Trigger: On blade contact with cursed/corrupted entity
Effect: Drains corrupt mana from target, converts to Host's mana
Damage from CorpseSlayer is hard to regenerate for corrupt-mana-dependent beings
{ Experience Absorption (Active) }
Trigger: On kill of cursed/corrupted entity via CorpseSlayer
Effect: Absorbed corrupt mana converted to Host EXP on kill
[Note: EXP system now active, see Status Screen]
Lys read the words once, fast. Then he read them again. His chest still rose and fell hard. Blood dripped from his split lip onto the ground. He understood what this meant. Because this was exactly the type of power that he needed right now to survive from this abomination.
He closed the window with a thought.
The goblin stood ten feet away, watching the sword's glow fade slowly. All the hunter's confidence that it had left its body almost instantly. Its shoulders stayed tense. Its yellow eyes stayed fixed on the blade. But it did not run. Something, pride, anger, whatever goblins had, kept its feet planted where it stood.
But just as Lys lifted his eyes and locked them with the creature, it lunged suddenly.
It came forward in one last desperate rush, arms swinging, trying to end the fight before things got worse for it.
And Lys also didn't flinch. He did not dodge. He simply set his feet wider and held his ground.
He looked the goblin in the eyes and spoke, short and quiet, with a strange calm in his voice despite his condition.
"You should have just let me take the herbs, you stupid fat monster."
The sword glowed brighter in his hand.
The goblin was still in mid-lunge, mouth open in a roar.
"You should stay at that stream and not chase me all the way here."
Lys was already moving forward to meet it, blade pointed straight ahead.
Neither of them looked like the same hunter and prey from a minute ago. Both of them knew the switch had happened.
As Lys tightened his grip on the sword's hilt, he spoke the last sentence with a smirk, "You should have never messed with me. Because now, I'll make sure you can never mess with anybody else. And I'll make it final."