The Toxic Queen

"Master Nathan... Master Nathan...."

Nathan felt someone shake his body. He immediately woke up and checked the crescent moon world timer.

He breathed a sigh of relief because only 7 minutes had passed. "Fortunately, I didn't sleep too long." He smirked.

"Did you know that The Sword of Disidia is in this place?"

Nathan suddenly stared at Luna's words. "The Sword of Disidia? The sword my father once used, which was also the sword of the holder of the Blessing of Sloth?"

Luna nodded quickly. "Yes. The sword is in this place. you can use it because it emits a pillar of green light."

Nathan immediately stood up. "Incredible! Let us acquire that sword immediately!"

They all walked out of the cave at a brisk pace.

"Fang…"

Fang ran towards them from a distance upon hearing Nathan's call. It even turned into combat mode to get to him as fast as possible. 

Upon reaching Nathan, Fang returned to its original form and shoved its head rather cutely onto his hand to ask for a pat on the head.

"Master Nathan, Master Nathan..." Luna ran a little, then pointed to a spot in the distance.

"Over there," Luna pointed to a volcano where a pillar of green light was clearly shooting out from the center of the volcano.

"There lies the Sword of Disidia."

Nathan took his place beside Luna. "I think it would be difficult for Fang to climb up to that place."

"Young master." Edna jogged to him. "I can fly and take you to that place."

"Yes, sure, if we can fly, it would be easier for us to reach that place." Luna then jogged and jumped into the air. Simultaneously a white light also appeared, which afterward formed into a crescent moon. "I can fly too, Master Nathan."

"Okay, then. I think Fang is better off just waiting here. Edna?" Nathan turned to Edna to confirm.

Edna was suddenly in her Dragonkin Form. White draconic wings emerged from her back, and a pair of horns popped out of her head. But things were different than before. This time her maid outfit wasn't torn apart!

"Yes, young master. I'm ready." Edna smiled warmly.

"Let's go, let's go. We don't have much time." Luna shouted excitedly and floated first into the sky while waving her hand at Nathan and Edna.

Edna flapped her pair of wings and instantly was lifted into the air. The girl approached Nathan and hugged him from behind.

That way, Nathan was also able to fly to the mountain, albeit rather slowly.

"Would you be afraid if I fly really high, young master?"

"No, no, no, I've done something more extreme than this with Fang. Let's go, Edna."

The three of them then flew away.

Nathan looked down and saw the cave rapidly turn smaller and smaller before disappearing from sight completely.. He gulped, feeling rather uncomfortable at how high he was being carried flying this time.

Edna's head was next to his, and their cheeks were touching. This made Nathan a little nervous, but her sweet scent calmed him down.

They then floated slowly when they were close enough to the volcano's vent. Magma occasionally erupted into the sky. The temperature was also so high that Nathan started to sweat profusely.

"Master Nathan, Master Nathan. Follow me!" Luna darted into the interior of the volcano. 

Edna followed. 

She then landed in the volcano's interior, on a place that can still be stepped on. She did it slowly. "Can you withstand the heat in this place, young master?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes, I think I can handle it. I have a high affinity with the fire element."

Nathan stomped his feet. And from where he was standing, he could see a sword with a blue aura stuck in the middle of the magma pool. A bridge-like footing led to the center of the magma pool, where the sword was stuck.

Nathan raised his hand, covering his eyes to prevent the small sparks from wounding them.

Nathan took off his shirt, which was slightly burned by the sparks.

He felt a stinging sensation all over his body, but he could still hold it in.

"Young master, can you do it yourself?"

"Yes," Nathan nodded, "You wait here, Edna. And." He turned to Luna. "Are you able to follow me, Luna?"

"Yes, I will come too." Luna instantly floated and quickly got close to the sword.

Nathan sighed and started walking towards the edge of the magma pool. He gulped as he stepped his foot on the step above it.

Nathan walked slowly, ensuring he didn't step on any footing that might cause him to slip and cost him his life.

BOOM!

An explosion of magma suddenly occurred and was thrown toward him! But he managed to jump back and dodge it.

He almost lost his balance.

"Young master…!!!" Edna shouted from afar.

Nathan raised his right hand. "No, I'm okay."

Nathan gritted his teeth and walked faster. He jumped when he reached the small land where the sword was stuck.

Nathan placed his hands on his knees and tried to control his breathing. The very high temperature seemed to drain all of his body fluids.

Nathan raised his body and walked slowly towards the sword.

[The Sword of Disidia]

[Punishments will be charged, and justice will be served. A powerful force will be meaningless if it is not used to defend those who need it. Power is not for those who only care about themselves. Be the enforcer of justice and the laws for those who stray from the path of truth.]

[Registered Users]

[1. The Old Pervert]

[2. The Grim Reaper]

[3. The Toxic Queen]

[4. The Sneaky Dream Catcher]

Nathan looked at the description of the sword. "The Toxic Queen?" There was one name that was quite familiar to him. "I've heard this nickname before, Ruth Gardner, my stepmother. Yes, I'm sure of it."

"All the names on this sword seem familiar to me." Nathan frowned as he tried to remember and relate what he had remembered to all the names.

"Master Nathan, here, here, they are the aliases of Mr. Devon's party members."

Nathan looked up at Luna. For a moment, he recalled where he had heard those names from.

"Sneaky Dream Catcher is an alias of Nicolas Gilson."

Nathan immediately clenched his fists at the sound of the name. That person was one of the main reasons he had worked so hard until now. "There's a lot I have to do. I can't delay in the slightest."

The sword in front of him looked more like a greatsword than a normal sword. The sword's length was almost as tall as an average human, with a dark silver blade that emitted a blue aura.

"What should I do, Luna?"

Nathan wanted to leave that place immediately, but he could not carelessly touch any object in this dimension without first confirming the risk he would take.

Luna floated closer to him. The girl was silent and seemed to think. "This sword was used by the holder of the sloth. And only he can use it optimally."

"Then? Why are there so many names listed on this sword? And if my father used it too, does that mean the names listed here are the names of those who are still alive?"

"Take a look here, Master Nathan." Luna pointed to additional information from the sword.

[A power of this magnitude is too great for a human to wield. All 5 people listed in the sword must agree and submit their trust to the person they represent.]

"Ah yes, I seem to have skipped this part because I was too focused on the listed names." Nathan nodded and understood what Luna meant.

"So, I won't be able to use this sword unless the four names here entrust it to me?"

Luna shook her head. "No, even I thought otherwise. You are the holder of the blessing of the sloth. So I think you can bypass this rule with no penalty."

"Really? Looks too good to be true." Nathan looked back at the sword.

[Nathan Gardner]

[Greed Meter: 72%]

"Then what can this sword do? Why isn't there a description of any skills or abilities I can do with it?"

"You have to make sure you can wield this sword first. This sword will decide by itself what kind of power it will give you."

Nathan nodded. "Okay, from what you've explained, it looks like I'll be fine. Maybe I don't need to think any longer."

Nathan turned back to face the sword. "Do I need to draw this sword to show I am worthy of wielding it?"

Nathan brought his hand closer to the hilt of the sword. He did it slowly, in a state of almost losing all his body fluids.

"Let's do it. There's no turning back."

Nathan closed his eyes as he touched and gripped the sword's hilt. Instantly, he felt a vibration of energy that seemed to stop his heartbeat.

"Master Nathan…!!!"

"Young master…!!!"

The last thing he heard was Luna and Edna's screams. Then the same thing he felt every time he entered a dungeon happened.

The high temperature, the sparks, and the explosion of the lava instantly disappeared. What remained was darkness, total darkness. Even Nathan himself seemed unable to feel his own presence.

"What happened to me? Where am I? Luna? Edna?"