After passing on the Death Flame's power to Bete, Tsunayoshi returned once again to the Hephaestus Familia.
Within their massive forge complex, he had his own private room—a quiet retreat prepared specifically for times when his projects ran late into the night.
The moment he opened his eyes that morning, two enormous, soft mounds pressed down on his face, cutting off his breath entirely.
"Mmph—!"
Flailing slightly, Tsunayoshi pushed away the warm weight smothering him and sat up, dazed and half-asleep.
"What the hell—?"
"Success!"
In front of him, the dark-skinned beauty Tsubaki beamed with excitement, her hands gripping his shoulders as if she'd just won the lottery.
It took Tsunayoshi a moment to process what she meant.
"The new forging method… it worked?"
That "new forging method" was the joint research project he'd helped Hephaestus and Tsubaki develop—an unprecedented technique that infused Heroic Feats directly into a weapon during its creation.
Tsubaki's grin widened. "That's right! We finally did it!"
Before Tsunayoshi could react, she threw her arms around him again, burying his face between her chest in sheer excitement.
Once again, he was seconds away from suffocation—but this time, he didn't resist.
"…Well, I suppose this counts as a reward," he muttered, voice muffled.
"Thanks to your help, Hephaestus-sama and I managed to inject a Feat into a weapon successfully—it's finally possible to forge a blade that transcends its limits!"
After a few indulgent seconds, Tsunayoshi extricated himself from her arms, his curiosity now fully awake.
"So? What were the results?"
Tsubaki's crimson eyes gleamed. "Heh, you'll love this. The weapon we forged isn't just new—it completely surpasses every existing class of sword! It's beyond even the magic swords you know. No more usage limits. No degradation. And… it can activate innate spells and skills."
Tsunayoshi froze for a heartbeat. "You're serious?"
That wasn't evolution—that was revolution.
Magic swords (kenshi) had always carried a fundamental flaw: limited uses. Their overwhelming power came with fragility, their cores burning out after only a few activations.
But what Tsubaki described wasn't just a stronger blade—it was an entirely new species of weapon.
"So this was just an experimental forge?"
Tsubaki nodded eagerly. "Exactly! We didn't even expect it to work this smoothly!"
"Let me guess," Tsunayoshi said, his mind piecing it together, "you used the materials from Amphisbaena."
"Of course."
That explained everything.
Dragon fang for the core, crystalized scales for the energy matrix—and the heart of the beast as the fuel source.
"You even used the heart?" he asked, half in disbelief.
Tsubaki smirked. "Naturally. Though we could only manage that because of you—your forging space kept it alive. Without that preservation chamber you made, the dragon heart would've lost its vitality before we could stabilize it."
Dragon hearts were volatile. The moment they cooled, they lost their magical potency, turning from divine catalyst to inert lump. But Tsunayoshi's Forging Space could suspend a material's decay entirely, preserving freshness indefinitely.
Which meant—this blade had been born from a living heart.
Overcome with excitement, Tsubaki grabbed his face again, pressing him back into her chest. "This success is all thanks to you!"
"…You're welcome," he managed to say, his voice muffled again.
Just then, a quiet sigh came from the doorway.
"You two seem to be having fun," Hephaestus said, leaning casually against the frame.
Her single visible eye gleamed with amusement beneath her red bangs.
Tsubaki grinned sheepishly and released Tsunayoshi.
Hephaestus stepped inside, crossing the room with slow, deliberate steps. "So, Tsunayoshi, how was it? Comfortable?"
He blinked. "…Her hug? Yeah. But I imagine yours would be pretty nice too."
The goddess rolled her uncovered eye. "You really are a little pervert."
Still, she sat down beside him on the bed and wrapped her arms around him anyway, her voice a gentle tease.
"Well then—tell me. Does the embrace of a goddess who spends her life hammering metal feel as soft as you expected?"
Tsunayoshi rested against her without hesitation. "Honestly? Softer. I can't feel any of that supposed muscle. Are you sure all that forging hasn't just made your body… softer?"
Hephaestus chuckled lowly. "You really do know how to talk, don't you?"
Tsubaki snorted from the corner, but Hephaestus didn't let go. Instead, she looked down at him with the faintest of smiles—half indulgent, half fond.
After all this time, she'd learned exactly what kind of boy he was: mischievous, flirtatious, but honest to the core.
"The test went far better than expected," she said, her tone turning professional again. "The Feat infusion worked perfectly. The magic sword we forged not only broke past its former limits—it erased them. For the first time, a magic weapon can be used indefinitely."
Her lips curled slightly. "And since the base material came from Amphisbaena, the blade also inherited part of the dragon's unique magic."
Tsunayoshi's eyes widened. "You mean…?"
Hephaestus nodded proudly. "Yes. We've created the first of a new lineage—Transcendent Blades. Weapons that bridge the boundary between magic sword and divine relic."
And at that moment, Tsunayoshi knew—this success wasn't just a forging milestone.
It was the spark of a new age.
(End of Chapter)
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