"The Ebony Blade is kept in a storage shed a bit away from the villa. If I slept with that thing nearby every night, I'd go insane."
Leading Leon and the others around the villa, Dane Whitman pointed at a small warehouse ahead and joked.
"You're pretty optimistic then. I'm surprised you didn't dump that creepy thing into the ocean or something."
Leon teased.
"Well, it's a family heirloom. Throwing it away would be a little too extreme. I'm afraid my ancestors' spirits might sit up out of their coffins just to come scold me."
"And you're not afraid they'll come after you if you hand it to me instead?"
"The Ebony Blade is a medium for souls. They'd have to defeat you first. I don't think that's likely. After all, Homelander Leon Stark is the strongest superhero I've ever seen… right?"
Whitman opened the dust-covered warehouse door and casually flattered Leon.
"Good taste."
Leon laughed freely and followed Whitman into the building, eventually arriving at a basement chamber at the very back.
The room was pitch black.
Using the faint light from the doorway, Whitman lit several candles. Despite having existed for centuries, they still worked perfectly.
The layout of the chamber was extremely simple—almost crude.
It resembled an enlarged tomb.
There was only one entrance and no windows. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of smooth black stone, decorated with the golden crest of the Whitman family.
Gold surrounded a dark symbol representing an unknown entity.
That symbol was—
The Black Knight.
The only unusual structure in the room was a 1.5-meter-high solid cube pedestal in the center.
On top of it sat an ancient wooden chest roughly the same length.
"Believe it or not," Whitman said, turning back toward the others, "aside from the time my family elders showed me this sword when I was a kid, this is only the second time I've ever entered this room."
"That's… very down-to-earth."
Leon replied vaguely before stepping forward.
His fingertip tapped the wooden chest that held the Ebony Blade.
Whoosh—
A burst of telekinesis swept away the thick layer of dust instantly, revealing a polished waxed surface that looked brand new.
The lid was decorated with three abstract paintings, each about fifty centimeters wide—apparently illustrating the glorious history of the Whitman family.
Without hesitation—
Leon reached out to open it.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
"You're not preparing anything first?"
"Like casting a spell or something?"
Whitman hurriedly tried to stop him, breathing faster as panic crept into his voice. He clearly knew what would happen once the box was opened.
"Why would I?"
Leon's heart was like iron—unyielding.
No existence could shake his mind.
A mere Ebony Blade was nothing to him.
If the original Dane Whitman could inherit the sword, Leon had even less reason to worry about Sersi or Sprite being mentally corrupted.
As long as they didn't touch it directly, there was nothing to fear.
The earlier caution had simply been polite talk.
With that thought—
Leon grabbed the hinge lock and flipped the lid open.
Creak—
The wooden friction produced a rough sound.
But what truly drew attention was the sudden surge of bestial whispers echoing in everyone's ears.
And on the inside of the lid, a warning was engraved:
"Death is my reward."
"Kill… blood… slaughter… death…"
The Ebony Blade lay within the chest, wrapped in sealing cloth.
As the box opened, the exposed portion of the pitch-black blade rippled like iron filings reacting to a magnetic field.
Dark, seductive energy visibly flowed across its surface.
"Why are you buzzing like flies? So annoying."
The mosquito-like whispers around his ears made Leon frown in irritation.
In the next moment—
A burst of Conqueror's Haki, crackling like black-red lightning, erupted from him.
Instantly—
All the whispers vanished, retreating into darkness like mice fleeing a cat.
"Gulp…"
Dane Whitman was too frightened to speak. His throat bobbed involuntarily.
"Sersi… is Leon okay?"
Sprite clutched the hem of Sersi's clothes and hid behind her, peeking out cautiously.
"He's fine."
Sersi smiled gently and stroked Sprite's short blonde hair.
"I trust him. And those strange voices are already gone."
Come on…
Leon eagerly reached out and grabbed the Ebony Blade.
He lifted it effortlessly, completely unaffected.
Any form of mental corruption was meaningless in front of his immunity to mental influence.
However—
The Ebony Blade was not Leon's real objective.
No matter how powerful it was, it couldn't travel between worlds.
And it wasn't strong enough to be something Leon absolutely needed.
To unleash its true power required an extremely pure evil heart.
Compared with Leon—who considered himself righteous, kind, and compassionate—the sword was more suitable for an ultimate villain.
Or perhaps a saint whose mind was so pure that the blade couldn't corrupt them, using it simply as an indestructible holy sword.
Leon had already decided where the Ebony Blade would eventually go.
As for himself…
A system prompt appeared.
[Question: Perform today's sign-in?]
System, let's see your limits.
[Ding! Daily sign-in completed.]
[Congratulations, Host. You obtained: "All-Black Necrosword."]
All-Black Necrosword
The primordial weapon drawn from the shadow of Knull, the God of the Symbiotes.
Forged by tempering it with the head of a dead Celestial, then enduring countless trials of flame and high-frequency sonic vibrations.
Thus it became the progenitor of all symbiotes.
Base Form: Necrosword
Core Abilities
Symbiote Supremacy – Absolute dominance over all symbiote lifeforms.
• Symbiote Traits – Shape-shifting, bonding with hosts, symbiosis, genetic memory inheritance, regeneration, and replication.
• Weakness – Fire and high-frequency sound, a psychological imprint formed during its forging within the Celestial furnace.
• Physical Enhancement – Grants the wielder immense physical augmentation and effective immortality.
• God-Slayer – The blade can pierce and harm divine beings.
• Shadow Domain – The wielder can travel through shadows and enter an endless dark dimension filled with shadow creatures that can be summoned and controlled.
• Godslayer Evolution – The weapon's durability and power grow stronger with every god it slays.
Description:
Fire.
Lightning.
The Sword of the End.