Revenge pact

SPLASH

The boy kicked his legs and started using his arms to paddle in the direction of the faint light. Although it seemed close by it took way longer than expected for him to finally reach land.

After a while, Adonis reached a narrow wooden pier adorned with a few paddle boats tethered to its poles.

Utilizing both his arms, he pulled himself onto the platform and stood upon its wooden planks.

This small pier served as a gateway to a sprawling medieval Romanesque shopping district.

Alongside the path, wooden stands were manned by merchants sporting animal-themed masks, forming a bustling spectacle.

As Adonis ventured deeper, the pathway led to smaller buildings adorned with enigmatic signs.

The trajectory of the path wound inward, the structures growing in magnitude while the number of stands dwindled. At the heart of this circular journey loomed a massive dark spire crowned by a towering flame.

'This is it, Lord Eos. The black market, Roman Branch.' Adonis announced as he shook his head vigorously in an attempt to dry himself.

In a few more minutes he was satisfied with his current state and decided to explore the large plaza.

Adonis unbuckled his staff from the strap on his back and used it as support as he walked along the pier onto the stone path.

The district was filled with many masked individuals walking from stand to stand purchasing all sorts of goods or having a particular service such as fortune telling fulfilled.

As he walked along the path going deeper and deeper into the plaza's center, the merchants called out to him trying to catch his attention, but the boy ignored all the enticing offers and carried on walking towards his destination.

He continued to walk for about an hour or so till he came to a halt before a modest, weathered building crafted from grey stone.

The store's appearance was humble, its exterior marked by the patina of time. Above the entrance, an aged wooden sign bore inscriptions in Latin, while a small window adorned the space just above the door.

"Masa's weapons." He said as he read the sign.

Adonis opened the wooden door that looked like it was about to fall apart and casually strolled into the store.

Displayed on the walls were multiple swords of different sizes, each of them all being poorly made and full of flaws.

Adonis smirked as he observed the weapons and reached for a long curved blade on the wall; when he picked it up he weighed it in his right hand and swung it around a few times.

"Is that the one you want lad? That'll be 100 gold coins." A raspy old voice sounded from in front of Adonis.

Adonis raised his eyebrow as he studied the flawed blade. He threw it up causing the blade to spin in the air multiple times finally as it descended he caught it once again in the opposite hand and studied it once more.

"You're kidding... You can do much better than this," he said flatly.

After sparing the blade one more glance, Adonis turned his attention to the source of the voice before his mouth curved up slightly.

The source was an elderly man, his age seemingly surpassing seventy years. His long, grey hair cascaded over his shoulders, a testament to the passage of time.

Deep wrinkles and soot adorned his face, narrating a life well-lived and marked by experience. As the old man's dull, monolid brown eyes met Adonis's gaze, an absence of joy seemed to linger within their depths.

Masa, the store owner looked at the boy uninterestedly as he held out his hand gesturing for payment.

"Are you going to pay or not kid? If not leave."

Adonis placed it back onto the wall before he picked up a smaller sword with a straight blade and a leather sheath. With the blade still in its sheath Adonis swung it around a few times and threw it into the air to catch it swiftly immediately after.

The boy repeated this process with every single weapon on the store's walls before he was stopped by the swordsmith.

"If you aren't going to buy anything, you should leave. This isn't a place for kids."

Adonis looked at the old man with the dragon mask, his eyes full of mischievous intrigue and curiosity.

"You know sir, It's incredibly difficult to forge dozens of weapons of the same weight, with the same flaws and unbalanced in the same way. So how about we stop wasting each other's time, and you show me your real weapons? " Adonis smiled politely as he studied the old man.

"..." The swordsmith raised his eyebrow as he heard the words of the boy.

"Show me the ones you supply to the Wakoku Nation."

"What're you on abou-" The store owner continued to feign ignorance as he listened to the words of the masked young boy in front of him.

"Buyer Code: 20 8 5- 12 9 7 8 20 9 14 7- 20 8 9 5 6 " Adonis interrupted him as he nonchalantly said the sequence of numbers.

"G-general Percy?" he said as he choked on his words.

***

The old man led the boy down to the basement, many different thoughts scrambling in his head.

'This kid, how'd he know about the basement... How does he know General Percy's buyer's code? Who is he?!'

They eventually descended into the shop's basement, a space that served as both a repository for the weapons and served as their birthplace.

Illumination emanated from a central fire, casting its glow upon a colossal iron anvil that supported a substantial hammer. Adjacent to this setup, the basement floor lay cloaked in a thick layer of dark red sand, an unsettling hue reminiscent of bloodstains.

Within this sea of sand, multiple weapons protruded, their forms bared. Katanas and long yaris jutted from the grains, a testament to the diversity of weaponry stored within.

With each step, the crunch of Adonis's sandals resonated in this peculiar sand. He navigated the expanse, methodically assessing and identifying each weapon with a meticulous gaze.

'Looks like he just forged these...'

The old man walked towards the anvil and he took a seat on the wooden chair behind it before he inspected the young boy in front of him, contemplating what to ask him first.

"Hey, kid... What is your connection to General Percy?"

'Straight to the point are we? Old Man Masamune?'

Adonis smirked as he ignored the words of the old man and approached a long Odachi with a blade the same length as his whole body. The hilt of the sword was a glossy scarlet red with the brass tsuba boasting a strange pattern.

He placed his hand on the handle and pulled it out of the sand, unexpectedly he was met with great resistance. After tugging with all his might, he managed to pull the blade out.

He gripped it with both his hands as he swung the blade around gracefully yet slowly, the blade was simply too heavy for the boy.

After testing the blade for a couple of seconds and deeming it a bad match for him in his current state, he threw it straight at the swordsmith.

"Catch!"

"Ahh!" The swordsmith/store owner caught it clumsily as he struggled not to cut himself.

'What a bad actor.' The young child giggled, turning his attention elsewhere.

Adonis advanced toward a chokuto that stood entrenched.

The sword bore a unique handle, setting it apart. Crafted from reinforced steel, the blade stretched to an impressive length of 80cm, characterized by its straight form and a sole sharp edge. Remarkably, it lacked a tsuba, the traditional handguard, while the handle was composed of a robust onyx slab of wood.

Adonis was met with the same level of resistance when he pulled it out of the sand, upon finally retrieving the stubborn blade he repeated his testing process.

The sword was much lighter than the Odachi the blade was way lighter than it should've been for the density and type of metal it was.

"I pick this one, how much?" Calmly looking at the swordsmith/shop owner, Adonis grinned.

"I can't sell to you kid." After thinking for a while Masamune looked at the child in front of him and exhaled frustratingly.

"Hm?"

"Although you did use General Percy's Code... it is clear you are not him. And I only sell goods to those of the Wakoku Nation or those who prove their martial prowess." Shaking his head, Masamune stared at the boy.

{Just kill him and take the weapon, kuku.} Eos chuckled to himself, amused by his outrageous idea.

"Hehe... What makes you think I'm not Percy?" Ignoring the Deity's words, Adonis teased the old man.

"Well, first of all; you're barely 5 feet tall," Unamused, Masamune looked at the boy from head to toe.

"Good point. Well, it's not like I can convince you otherwise." Looking at his reflection in the blade of the sword, Adonis sighed.

"Return the blade, and make your way upstairs." Masamune gestured towards the stone stairs.

"Well I didn't say I was leaving, now did I?"

"Hm?" The old man raised his eyebrow.

"So, what do you wanna see?" Adonis smiled playfully.

"Kid, don't waste my time." Masamune waved in an attempt to dismiss the boy.

"What do you want to see?" He repeated, sounding sterner and slightly colder.