Return Of The Strongest Player

The underground passageway led to a rather cozy space. The space was around fifty meters on each side and consisted of a metal floor, broken pipes that oozed a certain kind of rotten liquid, and the potentially hazardous smell of what seemed like… 

'A sewage.'

Arthur spread [Mana Sense] across the closed space, causing his sense of smell to be heightened to a dangerous degree. Although absolutely disgusted by the smell, Arthur didn't make a move.

He remained silent, standing in the center of the room while observing its rather distinct traits, such as the rusted metal swords in all corners. The faint sound of a sword's clangs entered Arthur's ears, but it was too far away.

He couldn't sense a presence nearby, but there was something…

Something akin to a supernatural entity. A spirit, perhaps? A ghost? Arthur was unaware of the specifics, but it seemed someone was keeping an eye on him. As Arthur strengthened his senses, the presence suddenly vanished.

As if it had never existed.

Arthur let out a sigh, remaining silent. Suddenly, the seemingly unpleasant noise of metal scraping against itself entered his ears. Arthur furrowed his brows, approaching the origin of the noise, which seemed to be in a corner.

As he approached the origin of the noise, the floor suddenly revealed an opening, through which a black, rectangular cuboid rose. Its texture was incredibly smooth, with not a single bump on the entire thing.

The cuboid's advance halted at the height of Arthur's chest. 

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' feels a malevolent presence in the surroundings and advises its wielder to be careful.]

'Oh, so now you care about me?'

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' snorts and blushes, wondering who cares about its incompetent wielder.]

Arthur cracked a smirk only to wipe it within seconds. He then unsheathed Skofnung, gazing at the hole above the cuboid piece of metal. Arthur aimed the tip of Skofnung at that hole, penetrating it.

Skofnung let out a screech within Arthur's mind, piercing the rather tight hole as it dug inward.

[A/N: I promise this isn't what you think. I mean, you can imagine whatever you want. :).]

Suddenly, the metal surrounding Skofnung melted, engulfing the blade of the sword within its tight embrace. Arthur attempted to pull the sword but was unsuccessful in doing so. But it seemed he had done the correct thing.

But had he?

Within seconds, Arthur felt a drainage of his power. Shivers shot down his spine as his connection with Skofnung grew faint, following the detachment between their minds. Arthur attempted to desperately pull the sword out of the metal but was unsuccessful yet again.

'Fuck!' 

Clenching his teeth, Arthur continued trying, but to no avail. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the falchion escaped the embrace of the metal, causing the crimson-eyed man to fall to the ground.

It seemed like everything was all right… Until Arthur realized his connection with the Demonic Blade hadn't recovered. As he inspected the falchion, he realized that the sword was no longer Demonic.

Neither did it possess a will or any form of intelligence.

'What the fuck… Is Skofnung… dead?'

Arthur couldn't accept what had occurred before his eyes, gazing blanky at the sword clutched between his fingers. It seemed he was wrong. Why did he penetrate the metal cuboid? Because it seemed like the only logical option?

Because an urge welled up within his heart?

Wait, an urge? Why did he wish for the metal to engulf Skofnung within? Arthur–after actually doing so–certainly didn't feel like it was logical, so why did he feel so at the time? What had changed?

It was akin to post-nut clarity.

Wait, what?

As cold sweat trickled down Arthur's forehead, he felt the presence of the supernatural being yet again, but this time, it seemed much more pronounced. 

'This is the dungeon of the Blade Sovereign,' Arthur recalled the reason he'd entered the dungeon. 'In this place, a former Ranker located the legacy of the Blade Sovereign, which was I entered.'

Who was the Blade Sovereign?

The Blade Sovereign was one of the strongest Divine Rankers of all time, exceeding Zeus, Indra, and Odin in terms of sheer power. His power was unrivaled in his prime, to the point where even the High Guardians tended to avoid him.

The Blade Sovereign was a staple of the history of Heaven's Spire and was almost always mentioned as one of its strongest. Arthur even suspected that in his prime, the Blade Sovereign might have exceeded him in power.

No one was aware of the specifics, but it was said that the Blade Sovereign could shatter floors with a single swing of his sword.

His story was quite unique.

As a Divine Ranker, he was one of the strongest, but instead of pursuing the 99th floor, he decided to become a Guardian for the Tower Administration, coming under their rule for an unknown reason.

Following that, he was discovered as a traitor and was labeled a Fallen Guardian by the public eye.

However, instead of being killed, the Blade Sovereign seemingly went crazy, deciding to wreak havoc in the tower and destroy several floors using his overwhelming power, shattering the balance of Heaven's Spire.

The Guardians attempted to halt his reign but were unsuccessful.

It was only after a High Guardian stepped up that the Blade Sovereign was defeated. His legacy was hidden deep within the records of history, while his fall from grace was one of the most widespread stories of all time.

However, it was long after his fall that people began to realize…

The Blade Sovereign was not alone. Within the depths of the tower, there existed more of his kind… they were soon labeled the Starbreakers.

The ones who shattered expectations, surpassing the existing Divine Rankers by a massive margin.

But how?

And why did they not attempt to clear the 99th floor?

It was one of the greatest mysteries of the tower. The Blade Sovereign was the only known member of the Starbreakers, while the identity of the others was merely a myth.

In reality, the entire existence of the so-called group was a myth.