That day, with nothing pressing in the army, Esdeath spent her time training at Haruki's estate alongside the other girls. At the moment, she was sparring with Gin.
"All right—Esdeath, Gin, Nina, Kurome, Tsukushi, Pony, Meiki, Meina—take a break and come over. I've got something for you."
Haruki called out, interrupting their session.
When they gathered around him, they saw eight rings laid out before him, each one strikingly similar to the one he wore. Intricately engraved with elegant, ancient patterns, they were exceptionally beautiful.
Seeing the delight spark in their eyes, Haruki explained,
"These rings were crafted by me personally. They're completely one-of-a-kind. No one besides you can wear them. They each serve two major purposes.
First, as you might expect, they're for storage. Each ring contains a massive internal space. Don't worry—even if you tossed in a whole Super-Class Danger Beast carcass, you'd still have room. And anything stored inside will remain in its original condition—no rotting, no rusting, nothing like what happens in the outside world.
Second, I've embedded spatial coordinates into each ring. If you're ever in danger, just drip your blood on the ring. I can instantly teleport to your location using those coordinates."
(Note: A thousand years ago, Haruki crafted the Teigu Dimensional Formation: Shambhala, giving him deep expertise in spatial manipulation.)
"Go ahead, try them on."
As Haruki spoke, he handed out the rings one by one.
The girls eagerly took the rings and began experimenting with them, following Haruki's instructions. They stuffed anything they could find nearby into the rings, then pulled them back out, repeating the process excitedly. It was like watching a group of kids playing with new toys—Haruki couldn't help but chuckle.
Kurome, unsurprisingly, was the most amusing. Haruki overheard her muttering nonstop about wanting to fill hers entirely with food, so she'd always have something to eat wherever she went.
After a while, when their initial excitement had settled down, Haruki finally continued.
"You've all made tremendous progress these past few years—especially Gin and Esdeath. I've passed on everything I can. From here on, your growth depends on your own effort. With the strength you now possess, you're already among the elite in the Empire.
Now, I'll be giving you some weapons. They should help push your power even further."
With that, Haruki retrieved several weapons from his own storage ring. Each was unique in design, but all radiated a potent aura. He handed them out one by one.
Among the group, Gin was the only one who used firearms. The rest wielded swords.
So, Haruki gave Gin a pair of polearms—one long, one short—each with a distinct design (note: cold weapons, not firearms). Some might have already guessed it—yes, they were based on the legendary spears from the anime Fate/stay night: Gáe Dearg (Rose of Dispelling) and Gáe Buidhe (Rose of Mortality).
Gáe Dearg is a crimson spear that nullifies all magical effects by disrupting the mana flow of anything it pierces, making it especially effective for breaking through magical defenses.
Gáe Buidhe, a shorter golden spear, is covered in curse markings. Any wound inflicted by it becomes unhealable and worsens over time, regardless of healing attempts. (This version may differ slightly from the original source.)
As for Kurome, Haruki once again entrusted her with the Teigu March of the Dead: Yatsufusa, just like in the original story. But this time, Haruki had already prepared eight corpse puppets—crafted from the remains of Super-Class Danger Beasts, far surpassing the strength of her original puppets. With her vastly improved physical abilities thanks to Haruki's training, Kurome could now control them with ease, without the strain she once experienced.
Nina received a renowned sword from anime as well—Nietono no Shana from Shakugan no Shana. Modified by the System, it now possessed a similar property to Gáe Dearg, capable of cutting through magical defenses by ignoring conventional protection.
Tsukushi and Pony, along with Meiki and Meina, each received a pair of identical swords personally designed by Haruki.
In his previous life, Haruki had always been fond of katana-like swords such as Nietono no Shana, so most of his creations shared a similar style. Tsukushi and Pony were given matching swords with red hilts, black blades, and elegant engravings along the spine. Meiki and Meina's blades featured yellow hilts with black-and-white patterned steel, etched with blood-red markings that gave them a menacing appearance.
These four swords had a straightforward yet practical ability: they allowed the girls to channel their vampiric demonic energy into the blades. The nature and strength of the energy would determine the type and power of the resulting attacks.
Finally, for Esdeath—known as the Ice Queen in the original story—Haruki gave her the Teigu Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Essence. Since its creation, no one had been able to wield it, so it had remained sealed in Haruki's possession. But he was confident: if the original Esdeath could tame it, the even stronger Esdeath now certainly could.
Besides, both Haruki and Esdeath hailed from the Empire's northern frontier and possessed natural cold-element constitutions, making Esdeath the ideal match for a Teigu forged from the blood of the Ice Phoenix and Haruki himself.
After carefully explaining each weapon's name and abilities, Haruki didn't linger. Ignoring the girls' excited reactions, he simply instructed them to practice well—then quietly left.
For a warrior, their weapon is their truest companion. Haruki knew they would need time to fully master them.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake