Under Aize's control, the Black Furnace Demon Sword immediately reverted to its manifested form, fully withdrawing the blade.
Sensing the weakness radiating from the Black Furnace Demon Sword, Aize couldn't help but speak up.
"You really overdid it, Black Furnace."
Aize hadn't expected that simply voicing a complaint about his lack of starlight energy would cause the Black Furnace Demon Sword to go so far as to sacrifice its own power for him.
This was truly... reckless.
After all, although a specialized weapon bound through authority recognition could merge with Aize's body and recover even when damaged, the degree of damage still affected the time required for restoration.
In cases like this, where the Black Furnace Demon Sword had depleted its own power, it would be one thing if it were ordinary consumption—but if it had been completely drained by another, recovering would be much more troublesome.
What's more, the recovery speed of a specialized weapon also depended on its wielder. The stronger Aize was, and the more power he held within, the faster the weapon could be nurtured back to health—and vice versa.
Under these circumstances, with Aize's current strength, if the Black Furnace Demon Sword were completely drained and suffered severe internal damage, who knew how long it would take for it to fully recover.
Clang…
In response to Aize's reprimand, the red Universal Crystal embedded in the sword's manifested form glimmered faintly.
Aize immediately sensed the will of the Black Furnace Demon Sword.
It… no, perhaps it should be "she"?
She was actually upset that he had tried to stop her!
"You really…"
Aize suddenly didn't know what to say.
All Pure Starlight Armaments possessed independent consciousness.
And since they had a self, it was only natural that they each had their own personalities.
Some Pure Starlight Armaments had fairly decent dispositions, while others had extremely foul tempers. They could practically be considered a distinct form of life.
As for the Black Furnace Demon Sword, her personality was actually one of the better types.
Her temperament was somewhat unpredictable, and she could be a bit temperamental at times, but she didn't interfere excessively with humans. Even when someone slightly offended her, as long as it didn't truly enrage her, she would usually choose to ignore it.
Just like earlier in the Equipment Bureau's underground facility—she had clearly sensed that the Aize holding her was mediocre in ability, far from meeting the standards required to wield her. Their compatibility rate wasn't even 10%. Yet even so, she didn't do anything to Aize and still allowed him to hold her.
Unless someone tried to subdue her with force or treated her disrespectfully, the Black Furnace Demon Sword typically wouldn't go out of her way to trouble anyone. She would simply ignore them.
Compared to some Pure Starlight Armaments with vicious, volatile temperaments, that was already considered very good.
Of course, the Black Furnace Demon Sword's nature was still somewhat unpredictable—and particularly stubborn.
She wouldn't favor anyone who disrespected her, but once she acknowledged someone, she didn't want her user to treat her with special deference either.
What she expected from her wielder wasn't reverence, nor trust—but something beyond all that: simply to regard her as a sword.
In other words, in her eyes, she was nothing more than a sword—a tool.
A sword exists to fight.
A tool exists to serve its master.
It was this belief—this conviction—that caused the Black Furnace Demon Sword, upon sensing Aize's desire, to unhesitatingly choose to sacrifice her own power in order to fulfill his wish.
If it had been any other wielder, the Black Furnace Demon Sword would not have gone this far. To her, those people were nothing more than fleeting passersby in her existence. As a weapon, she could change masters at any time. Unless under truly exceptional circumstances, she would never go to such lengths for just one of them.
But Aize was different.
The Black Furnace Demon Sword knew very clearly: she had already fused with this person, completely and inseparably.
She now belonged to Aize alone.
From this point on, for the rest of her existence, she would serve only him.
And once Aize died, as a personalized weapon that shared a unified existence with its master, she—along with all of Aize's exclusive armaments—would shatter with him.
They would grow together, become stronger together, face every opponent, every enemy—together.
And when the time came, they would face death—together.
Given that, as a sword, what was there to hesitate about?
If she could be of use, then what did it matter if she had to sacrifice herself?
That was the will Aize felt from her.
But…
"If I want to grow stronger, I can train myself, or find other ways. It doesn't always have to come at someone else's expense."
Aize had his own thoughts—his own convictions.
"You're my first exclusive weapon. We still have battles ahead of us—how could you just bow out here over something like this?"
The Black Furnace Demon Sword was incredibly powerful, and her abilities were unique.
In battle, she was an Indispensable force.
Compared to gaining a little extra power at the cost of losing the Black Furnace Demon Sword—a potent Pure Starlight Armament—Aize would much rather keep things as they are.
"From now on, without my permission, don't ever do that again. Got it?"
Aize didn't want to keep resorting to forceful measures to control the Black Furnace Demon Sword; he wanted to fight side by side with her as an equal partner.
That's why he spoke with such seriousness.
"———"
The Universal Crystal set in the Black Furnace Demon Sword immediately dimmed, all its light vanishing.
She… seemed to be pouting again.
Aize couldn't help but laugh softly.
But he knew the Black Furnace Demon Sword had heard him—and that she wouldn't repeat that behavior.
Stowing away her manifested form, Aize suddenly fell into thought.
"If I can't draw power from Black Furnace, what about other sources?"
That was it.
Though he no longer intended to siphon power directly from the Black Furnace Demon Sword, Aize had another plan.
"If Black Furnace can influence my Star-Vein heritage by releasing the Universal Element stored in her crystal, then other Universal Crystals should work the same way, right?"
"Even if I can't get more Pure Starlight Armaments or Universal Crystals right now, there are still regular Starlight Armaments and Universal Ore, aren't there?"
"They should be able to do something similar, yes?"
He didn't need an ownership bond to access them—just touching any Starlight Armament or Universal Ore, combined with his flawless weapon control, should allow him to release their Universal Element.
If he could release the element from the ore, he could use the same trick as before to boost his strength.
Even if he didn't yet know how to channel the Universal Element to awaken his Star-Vein abilities directly… there was still Black Furnace to guide him.
Absorbing the sword's own power was off the table, but if he and Black Furnace worked together to manipulate external Universal Elements, there'd be no problem.
"Let's give it a try."
Thought for 5 seconds
Thinking this through, Aize couldn't sit still any longer; he immediately pulled out the Starlight Armament he'd used before.
"Black Furnace, cooperate with me."
Gripping the activation core of the Starlight Armament in one hand and that of the Black Furnace Demon Sword in the other, Aize began to manipulate the former—projecting his consciousness into the Universal Ore embedded within it, and releasing the Universal Element stored inside.
Clang!
The sulking Black Furnace Demon Sword no longer pouted; its Universal Crystal glowed red, assisting Aize in guiding the freed Universal Element and, just as before, channeling it directly into his body via their bonded authority link.
Before long, the Universal Ore on the Starlight Armament in Aize's hand shattered to dust.
Aize only smiled.
His physical abilities and Starlight Energy had once again swelled out of thin air.
Granted, the boost wasn't as dramatic as what the Black Furnace Demon Sword had just provided—but this was only the gain from a single ordinary piece of Universal Ore.
True, Universal Crystals were rare and precious—but Universal Ore was far more plentiful, or else the Sixth Academy wouldn't allow students to take it freely.
"It looks like I'll have to figure out a way to get a large quantity of Universal Ore."
How to do it?
A small amount would be easy enough, but securing a large stock would almost certainly be denied by the Academy.
And even if they did grant permission, they'd want to know my purpose.
And Aize had no desire to expose his secret.
He thought long and hard—and still couldn't devise a foolproof plan.
"No choice…"
He would have to ask someone for help.
......
On the top floor of the Senior Division building, inside the Student Council office:
"You need a large amount of Universal Ore?"
Claudia, seated behind her desk, showed a look of surprise.
"Yes."
Azie stood before her with a serious expression and nodded.
Claudia, unsurprised, nonetheless grew curious.