“Master, I think…you shouldn’t take that sword.”
The said Saniwa Sage, that blond man who was standing in front of the small sword he just received from the Master Smith, blinked twice upon hearing Konnosuke’s request. A bit tad confuse by his words.
“Why, Konnosuke?” He asked, facing the little fox spirit who indeed looked worried than he usually did. “This is a very rare sword, is it not? I know it’s a bit thin and looks weak. But I believe it’s a strong one—-far stronger than any other swords I’ve encountered so far.”
Konnosuke was still reluctant whether it was a good idea for Erwin the Saniwa to take the blade or not. Both of his ears dropped down, tail between his legs. “I know, but…Master. That sword, I recognize it. No one ever wanted to take it as an ally, nor that it has the willing to help any Sages as far as I know.”
“Which is?”
“That sword, the spirit resided inside it, is untamed.”
Untamed. That was the first time Erwin ever heard it, was it even possible? He could feel some presence that somehow different from the usual. It had this ferocious, uncontrollable aura. When the blond held the sword for the first time, he felt that rather than wanted to serve the sage, this sword felt as if it wanted to slice his neck open. Wanting to kill him instantly. Untamed was probably the right word to describe such a sword.
“Interesting.” He muttered, forming a smile that looked like a smirk instead. “A bit blood-thirsty sword, isn’t he? Making me want to meet him in person even more.”
“Master, you can’t be—”
Erwin put the short blade into the altar before he kneel and started praying, calling the infamous spirit who had a plenty of bad records with other Sages. People called him as ‘suicidal” for reasons, and this was simply one of them.
Although it was untamed, the spirit he summoned was way beyond his imagination. He thought, since it was a rather wild one, the appearance would be indicate the trait. Yet, what Erwin saw in front of him was a rather petite, grumpy young man with a short black hair and sharp blue eyes. The spirit wore white shirt with a cravat as his necktie, along with white trousers and a tight high brown boots. As addition, he also wore a blue military long coat and geared up with belts and unfamiliar equipment and blades.
No, of course, the gears and equipment this spirit wore right now were exactly how the 3D Maneuver Gears looked like.
“Fuck off, old man. I have reject most of sages who came to me, and you’re no exception.”
My, an untamed sword with an attitude, he supposed.
“My deepest apologize. My name is Erwin Smith, and I am here not to make you to obey my words, O Mighty Blade,” he stated, looking straight at the spirit, while Konnosuke seemed to hide behind the blond’s leg. “I call you to offer you a deal. Won’t you make a deal with me?”
“A deal? I don’t have time to listen to your babbling, filthy human.”
Ah, what a shame. I was about to offer you a freedom.”
“…” the spirit glared at the sage, although it didn’t have any threatening feel. “What do you mean?”
“Your former master, Levi Ackerman, died while on the battlefield and you’ve been kept since then. As his blade, you possessed the same wish: freedom, but you’re unable to make that wish come true.”
Hearing his former master’s name, the spirit cringed, looking at the sage with a rather alarmed expression. “What exactly do you want from me, foolish sage?”
The bait had been taken.
“I will give what you’ve always wanted all this time, in exchange that you will help me vanquish the demons who roam into this realm. You shall be my sword, and I shall grant your wish.”
The spirit grinned. Konnosuke looked up at Erwin with horror on his face.
“Will you, now? Do you even know what that means? It means your death, sage. No spirits can be released unless you break the contract, which means two: either my dead, or you die.”
“Then so be it.” Erwin talked back to him, determination on his mind. “If it can make the change, make the demons go back to their origin and the world in the future can be saved, sacrificing my self is always an option and I am ready for the risk I will take.“
Humans were full of desire and ambitions, but the spirit never seen anything like this before. He wasn’t sure whether he should be amazed or afraid with that kind of ambition, truth to be told. Not even his former master even showed his deepest desire to anyone. Sharp blue eyes kept looking at the Saniwa Sage, thinking quietly about this deal. It was a total silent until the spirit broke it.
“…very well. Your life in exchange of my freedom. It’s so boring to be kept inside the metal container without have anything to do, after all. Slicing up those demons is probably a good kind of exercise.”
“I thank you—”
“But remember this,” the short spirit pointed out, “If you failed, you’d die by my hands anyway. Surely you have given this a thought, right?”
He was called as untamed with reasons, and Erwin could see that very well.
“It’s a deal. My head, whether I am succeed or not, for your freedom.” The sage nodded in agreement. “Then, what should I call you? Did your former master give you a name before?”
“No. We 3D Maneuver Gears are all the same, none of them ever gave us names before.”
“Then, Rivaille.”
“Rivaille? What the fuck is that?”
“Your name. So it will be easier for me to call you whenever. How about it?”
He swore this sage was the most stupid, air headed one he ever met. Now he wondered why he wanted to trust this man in the first place. Although he didn’t quite protest the name. It…wasn’t bad.
“…call me whatever you like, then. I trust you will make a good use of me, Sage Erwin Smith.”
Erwin simply smiled. “That is the main reason why I come to you, Rivaille.”