Chapter 298: Chapter 349: How Can the Hime-Miko of the Long Sword Be Without a Sword?
In the living room of the shrine office...
Kaiser did not immediately respond to Seishuin Ena, but instead continued to eat his meal with a calm expression.
It wasn’t until Seishuin Ena thought she had no hope and began to feel disappointed that Kaiser silently swallowed his last bite of food and stood up.
"Clang!"
A long spear radiating ancient divinity was cast down, piercing the floor and standing upright before Seishuin Ena.
"If you truly wish to pledge your loyalty to me, then swear upon this spear."
Kaiser spoke the same words that only Mariya Yuri had heard until now.
"Yes!"
Yet Seishuin Ena didn’t hesitate for even a moment, not even questioning why she needed to swear upon a spear, and straightforwardly followed Kaiser’s instruction.
"I, Seishuin Ena, hereby swear to devote this life and body to my King, never to betray!"
The moment Seishuin Ena’s vow fell, the runes on the tip of the Gungnir gleamed briefly.
Suddenly, Seishuin Ena felt a throb in her heart, as if a voice were telling her that should she break this vow, the consequence would be death by a spear through her heart. It felt as though an invisible shackle had wrapped around her, both binding her and linking her to this ancient divine spear before her.
"So that’s what it is..."
Seishuin Ena had received relevant education and was also familiar with Kaiser’s information, so she immediately recognized the origin of this spear.
At the same time, she understood that since she had sworn upon this spear, the vow could never be broken. Even without Kaiser lifting a finger, the spear itself would become a shooting star, flying across the heavens to pierce her—even if she were on the other side of the world, even in a world different from the realm of the living, she would still be impaled by this unerring, inescapable spear.
It could be said that, with the Gungnir in hand, Kaiser would never again need to worry about betrayal.
Though, judging from the original story’s plot, Mariya Yuri and Seishuin Ena were not the type to betray others. However, one of them had a personality deeply concerned with the nation and its people, while the other was backed by a scheming deity and a large, influential clan. Even if the two had no such intentions themselves, they might still be used or manipulated, sold out without even realizing it.
So, just in case, and also to test the Gungnir’s capabilities in this regard, Kaiser had both of them swear upon it.
With this, even if something troubling were to occur, as long as it concerned Kaiser’s own interests, the binding of the vow would alert them, making them clearly understand what should and shouldn’t be done.
Not only Mariya Yuri and Seishuin Ena—when Erica arrived, if she still wished to swear loyalty to him, Kaiser would have her swear upon the Gungnir as well.
Even though Erica was someone who would never violate the spirit of chivalry, her backing—the Copper Black Cross and the Blandelli family—might not necessarily remain uninvolved, so this was the safest method.
Seishuin Ena might be naive and innocent, but that didn’t mean she understood nothing.
As the saying goes, great wisdom appears simple. Seishuin Ena may not be scheming, but her mind was sharp enough, so she immediately understood Kaiser’s concern.
To this, Seishuin Ena didn’t mind at all.
Just like she had said before, she was someone with clarity and decisiveness. Since she had already decided to serve Kaiser, and her grandfather and family had instructed her to do so as well, she would now only serve Kaiser.
Even without swearing upon the Gungnir, she would still prioritize Kaiser above all else—that was an inevitable result of her personality.
Thus, not only did Seishuin Ena have no complaints about the matter, she instead cheerfully said:
"Now Ena is King’s person, right? Can King dote on Ena now?"
Seishuin Ena’s bold statement once again made Mariya Yuri flush red with embarrassment.
"Ena!"
Mariya Yuri looked at her with reproach.
"Didn’t you say you wanted to be second?" Kaiser replied nonchalantly, "Then you’ll be behind Mariya."
"King?!"
Mariya Yuri looked at Kaiser with a face full of astonishment.
"Understood." Seishuin Ena immediately hugged Mariya Yuri and smiled, "Then Ena will offer herself to King after Yuri has been doted upon."
"You, you two...?!" Mariya Yuri’s face instantly turned bright red, not knowing whether it was out of anger or shame, causing her to cry out, "I won’t do that kind of thing!"
Unfortunately, neither Kaiser nor Seishuin Ena paid her any attention.
"Wait for me a moment."
Kaiser said this to Seishuin Ena, then left the living room and returned to his room from the night before.
Five minutes later, Kaiser returned to the living room.
In his hand, there was now a sword.
A tachi with an oval guard carved with six open slits, decorative patterns at the front end of the hilt, a white ribbon at the end, curved grooves along the blade, and a series of embossed curves along both sides of the blade.
Mariya Yuri and Seishuin Ena were instantly captivated by the sword.
They couldn’t help it.
"What a beautiful sword..."
Seishuin Ena blurted out in admiration.
"This sword..."
Mariya Yuri, through her exceptional spiritual sense, could feel the extraordinariness of this blade.
Upon closer inspection, the blade, guard, and hilt were all completely white, as if made of snow—beautiful and pure.
"How can the Hime-Miko of the Long Sword be without a sword?"
Kaiser chuckled and handed the pure white blade to Seishuin Ena.
"I’m giving this sword to you."
Upon hearing this, Seishuin Ena immediately looked up, casting a look of disbelief at Kaiser.
"King... giving it to me?"
Seishuin Ena seemed delighted.
"Yes." Kaiser placed the sword in Seishuin Ena’s hands and said, "I can’t give you the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, so use this sword from now on."
"Though it can’t compare to a legendary divine sword like Ame no Murakumo, this blade’s power is already quite exceptional for a human."
This was a sword personally created by Kaiser.
Last night, before falling asleep, Kaiser had studied the effects produced by fusing the Ame no Murakumo with his various powers.
The results were promising. The Ame no Murakumo not only could fuse with divine weapons manifested from his various Authorities, but also with all the signature weapons that acknowledged him as master.
Among them, after fusing with the Crown of Heavens, the Ame no Murakumo even materialized the phantoms of various Zanpakutō summoned by the Crown of Heavens.
After being materialized, the Zanpakutōs were identical to their originals—aside from lacking the abilities of the originals, their power and properties were the same, and they even inherited part of the characteristics of the Ame no Murakumo, greatly enhancing their utility and strength.
Now that Seishuin Ena had sworn loyalty to him, Kaiser naturally wouldn’t let this Hime-Miko of the Long Sword go empty-handed and weaponless.
Aside from Spirit Possession, Seishuin Ena’s greatest strength was her swordsmanship.
Having long held a legendary divine sword, Seishuin Ena naturally wouldn’t neglect her sword training.
With a powerful sword, Seishuin Ena’s full strength could be realized.
Considering this, Kaiser returned to his room, again used the Ame no Murakumo fused with the Crown of Heavens to materialize multiple Zanpakutō, and selected one of them to serve as Seishuin Ena’s weapon.
"This sword isn’t a divine weapon, but it far surpasses ordinary famous swords and blades. Even compared to well-known magic swords or holy swords, it’s not inferior—perhaps even superior."
Kaiser began his explanation.
"Its prototype was a sword used specifically to sever and send off souls, so it possesses properties that are especially effective against spiritual bodies."
"Its formation owes much to the Ame no Murakumo, so it also possesses some of that sword’s power, namely the characteristic of ’steel’ and the power to break magic."
"Soul-reaping power against spirits, the steel trait effective against dragons and serpents, and the anti-magic property—this sword possesses all three."
For most weapons, possessing even one of these traits would qualify it as a famous sword, magic sword, or holy sword—let alone all three.
Because of that, among weapons humans can wield, this sword was already of the highest tier.
At the very least, Erica’s famed magic sword Cuore di Leone was inferior to this one.
With it, even without the Ame no Murakumo, Seishuin Ena could exert peak-level human combat power and stand on equal footing with a Paladin-class character.
And combined with Spirit Possession, even Divine Beasts would not be beyond Seishuin Ena’s ability to challenge.
To maintain its existence, Kaiser also infused a great deal of Magical Power into the sword and used some knowledge of crafting artificial divine weapons to elevate it into a spiritual blade just beneath the level of divine swords.
"I hope you’ll make good use of it."
After Kaiser said this, Seishuin Ena immediately embraced the blade lovingly and cast a grateful gaze at him.
"Thank you, King! Ena will definitely make good use of it!" Seishuin Ena asked joyfully, "Does this sword have a name?"
Kaiser nodded.
"The sword is named Sode no Shirayuki."
This was Kuchiki Rukia’s Zanpakutō.
Sode no Shirayuki, like Hyōrinmaru, was originally an ice-type Zanpakutō. Its ability was to emit cold air from its tip, freezing anything it touched.
The Sode no Shirayuki that Kaiser created did not possess the original’s ability, but its sharpness, durability, hardness, and strength far surpassed it. It also possessed three special traits, making it a spiritual sword filled with essence.
And the reason this sword was chosen to be Seishuin Ena’s sidearm was simply because it looked beautiful.
After all, Sode no Shirayuki was renowned in the Soul Society as the most beautiful Zanpakutō, and it matched perfectly with Seishuin Ena, the ultimate Yamato Nadeshiko and child of nature.
"Sode no Shirayuki..."
Seishuin Ena murmured the name, etched it deeply into her memory, and solemnly placed it into the sword bag that previously held the Ame no Murakumo.
"Congratulations, Ena."
Seeing her childhood friend so happy, Mariya Yuri genuinely felt glad for her.
"Thank you, it’s all King’s reward."
Seishuin Ena’s face was full of joy.