Chapter 76: Chapter 76: SlashBlade Mod and Yamato
Before his words had even fully settled, Steven hurried forward toward the frozen-solid door, as if worried Kal'tsit might change her mind.
Lowering his gaze, he inspected the door—completely sealed in thick ice, clearly not something that could be opened normally.
Glancing sideways, he caught Kal'tsit and the others watching him expectantly, curiosity flashing in their eyes.
Without hesitation, Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, wooden cube-like object, which he casually pressed against the wall near the door.
With a light press of a button, the previously immovable, ice-covered door suddenly creaked open on its own, as if some mysterious force had compelled it.
His actions left Kal'tsit and the others stunned once again.
They had assumed he would use his signature brute strength to smash the door down. But—what was this?!
There wasn't a single trace of Originium energy fluctuations—nothing to indicate the use of any arts.
He literally just pressed a button, and the frozen-shut door opened itself?!
What kind of paranormal phenomenon was this?
But Steven had no time to explain himself.
With buttons and pressure plates at his disposal, he had never really needed to learn how doors were supposed to be opened.
Not every problem needed violence to be solved. If there was a quicker, easier way, why wouldn't he use it?
Stepping into the now-open room, Steven nonchalantly closed the door behind him.
Some things shouldn't be seen by the operators of Rhodes Island.
Knowing their overreactive tendencies, he had no doubt they'd drag him into even more trouble if they witnessed this.
However, the moment he took in the scene before him, Steven realized that this situation wasn't as simple as he had originally thought.
No—this had already gone far beyond what he had agreed to deal with.
On the bed lay a white-haired girl, dressed in a black trench coat with red accents.
Ice spread outward from beneath her body, turning the entire room into a frozen, snow-white wasteland.
But that wasn't the real problem.
Her once smooth, pale skin was now marred with yellow-black crystalline Originium growths, flickering ominously.
The unstable glow instantly reminded Steven of those Originium creatures he had encountered before—right before they exploded.
But even that wasn't the biggest issue.
Her scarlet eyes, once sharp, now appeared hazy and unfocused, nearly lifeless.
She was seconds away from stopping breathing altogether.
She wasn't just in a critical condition—she was at death's doorstep.
"Shit, she's about to meet Charon."
This was no time for playful jokes.
Steven dashed forward in an instant, stopping at the girl's bedside.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a small glass bottle of pink healing potion, forced her mouth open, and—rather roughly—poured it down her throat.
This wasn't a golden apple—he didn't need to chew it up for her first.
But with her condition so dire, even swallowing seemed impossible.
The potion trickled out of the corners of her mouth, barely getting anywhere.
"This won't do," he muttered.
Without a second thought, Steven clamped his hand over her mouth, forcing her to swallow so that none of the medicine would go to waste.
Only after ensuring that she had taken in enough did he finally—somewhat regretfully—retrieve the remaining potion.
Gradually, the lifeless haze in the girl's red eyes began to clear.
Her once dull pupils slowly refocused, regaining a faint spark of consciousness.
Steven let out a small sigh.
"Yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to go outside and tell Kal'tsit to up my payment."
"Nobody told me she was literally one second away from dying when I signed up for this."
Steven was a split second away from turning a healing session into a funeral procession.
Honestly, his timing couldn't have been better—if he'd arrived even a moment later, he would have been staring at a corpse instead.
And that? That would have been way more troublesome, even for him.
Especially if Rhodes Island decided to start some ridiculous medical malpractice drama over it—that would be a pain to deal with.
Still, even though the girl had technically been pulled back from the brink of death, her situation was still far from stable.
Healing potions were only good for keeping someone alive—they didn't stop active Originium infection from continuing its destruction.
But this… was perfect.
Because it gave Steven the perfect opportunity to test out something he had been meaning to try.
Reaching into his pocket once more, he pulled out another bottle of the same healing potion.
This time, however, he didn't force her to swallow it right away.
Instead, he held the bottle's opening near her lips, watching as she slowly regained a weak, shallow breath.
"If you wanna live, don't ask questions," he instructed, his voice firm.
"Just keep it in your mouth. If you feel like you're about to pass out, swallow it."
The girl, still dazed and weak, blinked at him in confusion.
Steven lightly patted her soft, porcelain-like cheek, helping her regain focus.
Thankfully, her survival instincts hadn't completely faded—despite the pain and disorientation in her eyes, she nodded slightly in understanding.
Only once he saw her comply did Steven straighten up and reach toward his waist.
With no visible movement, a black-bladed katana suddenly materialized in his hand.
Its white hilt was adorned with golden infinity symbols, and its hexagonal tsuba bore the intricate engraving of a golden eastern dragon.
The jet-black scabbard was wrapped with two pale-yellow silk ribbons, and even though the blade remained sheathed, its very presence seemed to distort the air around it, as if ready to slice through reality itself.
Trying to extract Originium from a living body was no easy feat.
His usual [Netherite Sword] was completely unsuitable for such delicate precision work.
Fortunately for him, after unlocking Equivalent Exchange mod, he had also acquired a new weapon mod—one that was perfectly suited for showing off.
The SlashBlade Mod.
Anyone that is familiar with the said mod would realize by now that the weapon in his hands is the sword that Vergil used, "Yamato"
A name overflowing with arrogance—but well deserved.
As the strongest katana in the SlashBlade Mod, [Yamato] had more than earned its reputation.
And for some reason—perhaps due to the unique properties of this world—Steven could faintly sense that this version of [Yamato] possessed some of the original's abilities as well.
Holding the scabbard in one hand and gripping the hilt in the other, Steven glanced down at the motionless girl.
"This is gonna hurt," he warned.
"Just bear with it."
Before his words even fully reached her ears, Steven had already disappeared.
A blur of motion.
A flash of steel.
And just like that, Steven had moved from her front… to her back.
He ignored the strange SSS-rank evaluation flashing in the upper-right corner of his vision, casually sliding [Yamato] back into its scabbard as if he had only drawn it halfway.
With a sharp, clear click, the blade was sheathed.
And only then—delayed by mere seconds—did the Originium embedded in the girl's flesh react.
With a sickening crack, the corrupted crystals fell from her body, still slick with blood and torn flesh.
Her lips parted, a cry of agony welling in her throat—
Only for Steven to clamp his hand over her mouth, silencing her scream before it could even begin.
At the same time, the potion still in her mouth slipped down her throat, its healing effects activating immediately.
But the pain was far from over.
Steven reached behind him, pulling out a massive container filled with a thick, white liquid—
The moment the girl saw it, her pupils shrank in horror.
A soft, pitiful whimper escaped her throat.
She would almost rather be dead.
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