Debuff Master

Chapter 574

The Weapon Seeker looked exactly like Weapon Master Shakiro.

“M-Master...?”

“Why would our master be...?”

“Master?”

His face looked exactly like Shakiro that even the Weapon Maestros were shocked.

“Master... Shakiro...?” Siegfried muttered in sheer disbelief. Even he was having a hard time believing what he was witnessing. He didn't expect this to happen at all.

How could the one who had raided the Bavarian Workshop, the one who had stolen Demon Sword: Papiyas, and had caused bloodshed in the Weapon Academy be Shakiro?

Siegfried thought this was the doing of another hidden disciple like Gerard or someone Shakiro used to train with, but he was mistaken.

“Do you... know who I am?” the Weapon Seeker asked.

“How can I not know?” Siegfried replied.

“How do you know me?”

“Do you not remember anything?”

“I have no memories of who I am or who I was.”

“...”

The Weapon Seeker recalled what happened three days ago and said, “I was alone in a dark cave when I opened my eyes.”

“A dark cave...” Siegfried muttered. Then, he remembered the place where Shakiro breathed his last, which was an abandoned mine located at the City of Pleasure, Dondegiri.

That was the place where they went to find clues to the Legendary Blacksmith, Herbert’s final masterpiece, only to run into the Red Cardinal, Vladimir. The fight ended up costing Shakiro his life.

‘Does this mean that he really is Master Shakiro?’ Siegfried was confused.

If the Weapon Seeker was really Shakiro, then it meant that Shakiro had decided to hide his death.

How did Siegfried reach that conclusion?

It was all because Shakiro had lost his memories. It was difficult to believe his claims that he just happened to wake up in that dark empty cave, but it was a possible explanation for his "resurrection."

“Master Shakiro,” Siegfried called out.

“Master? Am I your master?”

“Not officially, but I guess we can say I am your disciple since I learned from you,” Siegfried replied. Then, he tried his best to appease him, “Master Shakiro, please stop this at once. This is not the kind of person you are.”

“What kind of person am I?”

“You are not someone to cause unnecessary bloodshed, so please stop this.”

The rest of the Weapon Maestros hurriedly surrounded him and bowed on the ground.

“Master! Please stop!”

“You are not like this!”

“Elder Brother is right! Please come back to your senses, master!”

“Master...”

The Weapon Maestros cried out after realizing that their master had come back as a cold-blooded murderer after losing his memories.

“It seems all of you know who I am, or maybe I look like this Shakiro you speak of,” the Weapon Seeker said, sweeping his gaze across the Weapon Maestros.

“No,” Siegfried shook his head. Then, he said, “I am certain you are Master Shakiro. You've lost your memories, but I am certain it is you, so please—”

“I’m no longer interested in what you have to say,” the Weapon Seeker cut Siegfried off.

“Master Shakiro!”

“I’m just... just...” Weapon Seeker muttered, tightly gripping the Demon Sword: Papiyas. Then, he said, “I merely seek weapons. Nothing more and nothing less than that.”

“Please calm down and let us talk about this—”

“Enough.”

“I have no idea what happened to you, but I am sure—”

“I said enough!”

It was then.

Boom!

The Weapon Seeker unleashed a powerful burst of shockwave around him that threw back everything except for Siegfried.

“Ack!”

“Kuheok!”

“Aaaargh!”

The Weapon Maestros failed to withstand the shockwave in their current condition and were flung far away, crashing on the ground.

“Master Shakiro!” Siegfried screamed, hoping his voice would reach the Weapon Seeker.

“I don’t care whether I’m Shakiro or not.”

“...”

“All I care about is seeking weapons,” Weapon Seeker said, gripping Demon Sword: Papiyas.

Woooong!

The weapons of the Weapon Maestros orbited Siegfried.

“I exist... to seek weapons...” the Weapon Seeker muttered before he used Flying Sword and directed all of the weapons around him at a single target.

***

The Level 999 Hidden NPC, Deus, was having a lovely day with his granddaughter, Verdandi. He played with her for a while before leaving the castle, and he walked down the nicely paved main road of the capital, Preussen.

Pit... Pat...!

The sky turned dark, and rain droplets started to drizzle. The drizzling continued until it grew stronger and stronger before turning into a downpour.

“It’s raining...” Deus muttered while walking under the rain without an umbrella.

Shwaaaa!

The heavy downpour grew stronger, but Deus was not bothered by it.

Why?

It was all because he couldn't get wet from the rain.

The rain couldn't even wet Deus’ shoes, not to mention the hem of his clothes. He walked completely dry under the heavy downpour as if he were walking on a bright sunny day.

“I wonder if they are training hard today,” Deus muttered while continuing down the main street leading to the Weapon Academy. He had been dropping by the Weapon Academy to give valuable advice to the Weapon Maestros and the students there.

This was more like a hobby an old man was picking up in the later years of his life. He chased after power his entire life and he managed to attain the power to render him invincible.

How beautiful would the Weapon Maestros and the students be in his eyes?

They might not be strong in his eyes, but the fact that they were training hard daily in order to become a better version of themselves was something Deus highly valued. They were like cute little chicks chirping, trying to grow up into majestic birds in his eyes.

“I had a time like that, too...” Deus muttered, smiling melancholic and reminiscing about the past.

"Hm?" Deus grimaced and muttered, “It seems that something has happened over there.”

He noticed that there was something going on at the Weapon Academy and decided to head over there. Distance was a concept that did not apply to him. He possessed the ability to appear anywhere he wanted, so distance was something he could instantly close no matter how far apart it was.

“Hoho...” Deus let out a low laugh after seeing the sight in front of him.

There were corpses littered on the ground, the Weapon Maestros were gravely wounded, and his beloved disciple was fighting against someone.

The whole scene could only be described as utter chaos.

“E-Elder-nim!” Hakken exclaimed after seeing Deus. Then, he rushed over to him and said, “W-We have a big problem—”

“Quit making a fuss.”

“P-Pardon me, sir...?”

“I understand you’re shocked, but isn’t it normal for people to kill and be killed? That’s the law of this world, so everything is just going according to its natural flow.”

A horrific massacre like this was just another natural event to Deus, who had lived for centuries.

“W-What do you mean by—”

“I would love to help more than anyone, but I cannot interfere with the laws of this world.”

“...”

“That’s why...” Deus said with his hands behind his back. Then, he flashed a bitter smile and pointed at the ongoing battle, “All I can do is watch my disciple duel against that pitiful thing.”

For some reason, he used the words "pitiful thing" to refer to the Weapon Seeker.

“Elder-nim...” Hakken muttered. He wanted to beg for Deus’ help, but he knew that begging would achieve nothing. He could beg all he wanted, but he knew deep inside that Deus would not change his mind once he already made a decision.

“Hmm... But it seems my disciple has met his match this time,” Deus said.

Those were the last words he said, as he no longer uttered a word and simply watched the duel. The duel between his one and only disciple and a veteran warrior who had already reached the realm of a Master.

***

Shwaaaaa!

The downpour reached the Weapon Academy too.

The duel between Siegfried and the Weapon Seeker restarted. Siegfried was still on the receiving end of the attacks, as the flying weapons attacked him with pinpoint precision, not leaving any room for him to breathe.

The Weapon Seeker’s control over Flying Sword was extremely precise. Siegfried could exert the same precise control over his weapon, but it was impossible for him to control as many weapons as the Weapon Seeker was controlling.

What the Weapon Seeker was doing was not something possible with a human’s brain, and it would take a highly advanced artificial intelligence to do something like that.

However, the Weapon Seeker was doing it so easily and driving Siegfried to a corner. In fact, he would even attack with the Demon Sword: Papiyas whenever Siegfried tried to create an opening to counterattack.

Thanks to that, Siegfried did not have the luxury to pay attention to anything else and failed to realize that Deus was watching the bout.

“Kyuuuu! Hamchi will help you!” Hamchi cried out after belatedly spotting Siegfried struggling against his opponent. He took out his magic wheel and started running on it to buff Siegfried.

However, Siegfried was still struggling against the Weapon Seeker, even after receiving Hamchi’s buff.

‘There’s no opening at all... and he’s too fast!’ Siegfried realized there was nothing he could do to swing the momentum to his side. He was still much slower than the Weapon Seeker, even after activating the second stage of Overclocking and placing down all of his debuff fields.

However, the biggest difference was the sheer gap in their experience.

A clear difference in class.

The Weapon Seeker was the most experienced, strongest, and most difficult opponent Siegfried had ever fought thus far.

‘He has too many weapons. I can’t do anything. I’m dead if I slip up...!’ Siegfried felt as if he was walking on thin ice.

A single wrong step spelled death for him.

The fact that he managed to hang on until now without receiving any critical damage was already impressive.

‘His weapons. I need to find a way to neutralize his weapons!’ he came to the conclusion it would be impossible for him to win unless he found a way to stop the weapons from flying around.

‘Here goes nothing...!’

Siegfried parried the weapons and made a beeline toward the Weapon Seeker.

Smack

Spear Maestro Luna’s spear pierced his side, but he gritted his teeth and continued running toward the Weapon Seeker.

Baaam!

Then, he used Grand Duel as soon as he closed the distance.

Fwaaaah!

Fiery pillars shot out from the ground.

C-Craaaack!

And the Barrier of Victory formed, swallowing both Siegfried and the Weapon Seeker...

Bam! Bam! Thud! Bam!

The Weapon Maestros’ weapons slammed against the Barrier of Victory but were denied entry into where the Grand Duel was being held.

One versus one.

Siegfried and the Weapon Seeker were left all alone inside the Barrier of Victory, and the Demon Sword: Papiyas was the only weapon left with the Weapon Seeker.

‘Alright,’ Siegfried thought.

What was going to happen if the Weapon Master was no longer able to use any other weapons aside from the sword in his hand? It meant that the biggest advantage of the Weapon Master’s class, Flying Sword, would be nullified, and it was safe to say that he would be fighting with a handicap.

‘I have the advantage now. I just have to end this within one minute then–’

It was then.

Chwaaaak!

The Weapon Seeker suddenly unleashed a burst of blinding light. Then, he conjured dozens of weapons with his mana.

Heart of Swords.

The Weapon Master was already at the realm where he could use the mana from his aura blade to conjure weapons made out of mana. This was the third and final stage of the Weapon Master’s most powerful technique, Torrential Flower Rain.