One month later, William returned to the dwarves' neutron star forge.
As soon as he stepped out of the portal, he saw Dwarf King Eitri holding a sheathed longsword in one hand.
William immediately floated into the air. After exchanging pleasantries and listening to Eitri's brief introduction of the sword, William beckoned toward it. The 1.2-meter longsword slipped out of Eitri's hand on its own and flew into his.
The moment the sword landed in his hand, William immediately felt the weight Eitri had mentioned—120 kilograms. But for him, that was no big deal.
Given how heavy uru metal naturally was, and considering the added metals, the sword's current weight was already the most the dwarves could achieve under such constraints.
Gripping the 20-centimeter-long hilt, William gave it a pull. A radiant red light burst from the blade, and a chilling aura instantly swept through the entire forge hall.
Looking at the silver-gray blade covered in rippling water-like patterns from the hammer strikes, the more William admired it, the more he liked it. Laughing heartily, he swung the sword around.
Its 1.2-meter length was perfect for someone like William, who stood over 1.9 meters tall. After a few minutes of swinging it to get a feel for its balance, he held the sword horizontally in front of his chest and, just like he had with the Frost Hammer, began infusing the Heaven's Inquiry Sword with his spiritual power.
The more spiritual power he injected, the more responsive the uru-forged weapon would become, and the more magical energy it could contain and channel in the future—ultimately increasing its power.
With his prior experience infusing the Frost Hammer, William didn't make the mistake of pouring all his energy in at once. Instead, he sat quietly on the ground, closed his eyes, and began replenishing his spiritual power as he gradually channeled it into the sword.
The process went on for a full five hours. Only when his spiritual reserves had dropped to 10% did William finally stop.
The moment he ceased, radiant red light flowed across the sword's surface, then shot straight up into the sky, illuminating the entire forge like it was daylight.
The blinding light forced Eitri and the other dwarves to squint, their eyes unable to adjust.
Feeling the Heaven's Inquiry Sword fully in sync with his thoughts, William burst into laughter, then instantly appeared beside Eitri's personal anvil.
Holding the sword, he infused it with his magic and brought it down in a powerful strike.
Clang~~
A crisp sound of metal-on-metal rang out. The massive anvil, two meters tall and a meter thick, was instantly split clean in half.
William quickly lifted the sword and inspected it. The blade was flawless—not a mark, not even a scratch. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "What a sword! What a sword!"
Meanwhile, Eitri and the other dwarves looked on in silence as William laughed.
When the Frost Hammer had been completed last time, it had frozen Eitri's centuries-old anvil into pieces.
Now, after painstakingly forging a brand new one for himself, it had been split in half again—by another of William's weapons.
Inwardly, Eitri wondered if he were to craft a third weapon for William, would it destroy something else? Or worse, would he end up killed by it?
That ridiculous thought planted itself in Eitri's mind—and that was it. He decided right then and there: no matter what William offered in the future, he would never forge a third weapon for him.
Let someone else do it. He was done. No matter the reward—he would not agree.
Still unaware that he'd just been added to the Dwarven King's personal blacklist, William gently traced a finger across the sword's surface for a moment, then performed a flourish and slid the blade into its sheath. The crimson glow instantly dissipated.
Floating over to within a few meters of Eitri, William said, "I'm very satisfied with this sword, Lord Eitri. From today onward, we are friends. If you ever encounter a problem you can't solve, you can come to Earth and find me."
Eitri, who'd lived for gods only knew how long, easily caught the hidden meaning. If William were being truly sincere, he would have left a communicator or something. Waiting until the dwarves were desperate enough to leave Nidavellir and go to Earth for help? At that point, they'd probably be on the verge of extinction.
In such a case, it might be better to seek help from Asgard instead.
It was in that moment that Eitri realized: William and Loki were the same type of person. This made it clear to him that between himself and William, there was no real friendship—just a transactional relationship.
As far as William was concerned, the moment the dwarves accepted his ten thousand healing sigils, they were partners—nothing more, nothing less.
After bidding Eitri farewell, William instantly teleported to the underground lab of his home in London.
When Abigail saw William walk in holding a sword that shimmered with crimson light, her eyes lit up. She quickly ran over and clung to his arm.
"Darling, is this the weapon you've been obsessing over for a whole month?"
He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, then chuckled as he noticed her eyes fixed on the Heaven's Inquiry Sword even while clinging to him.
With a grin, William casually tossed the sheathed sword onto the marble floor beside the fireplace in the living room. With a dull thud, the 150-kilogram weapon sank straight into the marble.
"If you can pull that sword out, I'll give you a vibranium arrow. If not…" William shrugged, "then be a good girl and keep handling the group's affairs—and the construction on Dinosaur Island."
Abigail's eyes sparkled at the challenge. Then realization hit—there was no way she could pull it out. She shot William a glare, but still reluctantly dragged him over to the sword.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, she pulled with all her might. As expected, the sword didn't even budge.
"This is so unfair! You can't expect someone like me, who's never had any combat training, to go through the same test as Selene or Nyssa!"
She shook his arm a few times in frustration, and when William still showed no sign of relenting, she muttered bitterly, "I bet this sword can't even be pulled out at all. You're probably just using this as an excuse to shut me down, you bastard."
William smiled and shook his head. He reached down with a single finger, placed it under the hilt, and lightly lifted.
Clang.
A beam of crimson light shot through the room, flooding the entire living area with a radiant red glow.
Abigail, her mouth covered in astonishment, barely had time to stare when William let go again, and the sword slid back into its sheath.
"Wait—" she blurted, not having seen enough. She rushed forward and grabbed the hilt, trying once again to pull it out. Even using all her strength, she only managed to make the sword shift slightly.
"Damn it! William, help me already!"
"If you want to play, figure it out yourself." William strolled over to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a glass of strong Asgardian liquor, took a few satisfied sips, and said with a laugh,
"That sword—just the blade—weighs 120 kilograms. Add the sheath and it's a full 150 kilograms. So I suggest you give up before you hurt yourself."
"O-one hundred and fifty kilograms?" Abigail gawked at William in disbelief. "D-darling, you lifted that with one finger?!"
"Wait a minute—" She suddenly lit up, spun around, and left the room. Moments later, she returned wearing the Devonshire Mark IV armor.
Without a word, she marched over, grabbed the hilt, and tried once more to pull the Heaven's Inquiry Sword free.
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