【 "Wield me, and countless people shall have their wishes fulfilled!" 】

【 Yunli in the sword sneered, every word seeming to be filled with temptation. 】

【 In its memory, countless figures flashed by like a slide show: swordsmen, old men, soldiers... 】

【 "The mediocre swordsman becomes world-renowned in the blink of an eye. The old woman on the verge of death finally avenges her blood debt. Your future is within reach; just tell me, what is your 'wish'..." 】

— —

Demon Slayer.

"If holding a Demon Sword could wipe out all those demons, I suppose it wouldn't be impossible." Shinazugawa Sanemi crossed his arms; his attitude toward the Demon Sword was surprisingly relaxed.

"Don't joke around, Shinazugawa. Have you forgotten Yanqing, whose mind was affected by the Heliobus back then? If a swordsman who has mastered Breathing Styles could easily slay Muzan after obtaining a Demon Sword... then he would also have the ability to easily kill everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps."

Iguro Obanai's face, wrapped in bandages, showed no expression. Only the white snake coiled around his neck hissed, flicking its tongue. "If you were to have your mind usurped by the Demon Sword, how would you be any different from Muzan? You'd be a Muzan that has conquered the sun... which is simply more terrifying than any demon."

"Actually, the moment you think of defeating demons through this method, you have already fallen into the Demon Sword's trap," Shinobu Kocho said calmly. "Given Muzan's habits, if he encountered a Hashira who was too powerful, he would find a way to hide and wait for that Hashira to pass away from old age before reappearing. But if the demon hides, the Demon Sword, which indulges in slaughter, would have no choice but to turn its butcher's knife toward humans."

"Shinobu is right," Kagaya Ubuyashiki's voice came from inside the house. "However, we don't have any Demon Swords here. Compared to uncontrollable power... it is safer to study the sword techniques of the Xianzhou Luofu and create new Breathing Styles."

— —

【 "Hmph, you're at death's door, yet you talk so much... Demon Sword!" 】

【 As soon as she finished speaking, Yunli threw the Demon Sword in her hand into the furnace fire, the scorching tongues of flame quickly swallowing the blade. 】

【 "The Sword-Forging Furnace is already prepared, yet you still struggle." 】

【 Meanwhile, the art style suddenly shifted. Yunli, standing by the sword furnace, transformed into a soft, little white cat. She hugged a Demon Sword longer than herself with her front paws and tossed it into the furnace with a "heave-ho." 】

【 Seeing the flames in the furnace "whoosh" upward for a moment, she leaped to the woodpile nearby to gather firewood. Only after adding enough wood did she raise her big, fluffy tail, curl up a fan, and fan the flames vigorously. 】

【 "The highly anticipated Sword Champion..." 】

【 "Countless people have their wishes fulfilled..." 】

【 "Tell me... your wish..." 】

【 Countless Demon Swords continued to tempt her. Yunli actually stopped beside one of them, pondering carefully. She tapped her feet lightly, and the molten fire, accompanied by memories, dripped bit by bit into the gradually melting blade. 】

【 "Don't you want to go to the Xianzhou Luofu? Don't you want to be the Sword Champion?" 】

【 However, no matter how the Demon Sword tried to seduce her, Yunli only threw it into the furnace fire with greater determination. Listening to the Demon Sword hissing in the flames, a trace of satisfaction gradually appeared on the young girl's face. 】

【 "My wish... is to melt down and hunt every Demon Sword like you!" 】

【 "The truth behind having one's wishes fulfilled is that you devour human will, turning them into walking corpses. But the direction of the sword tip should be a choice made by 'humans'." 】

【 The young girl strolled along the path burning with raging flames. 】

【 Both sides of the path were covered in Demon Swords. They gradually melted in the scorching heat, turning into glowing molten iron that seeped into the equally burning road beneath, rising in small, fleeting wisps of blue smoke. 】

【 As Yunli continued to move forward, these Demon Swords became fewer and fewer, until — — 】

【 She stepped into a clear, boundless world. 】

【 The flames had washed away the filth, and this boundless brightness gently enveloped everything after the refining. The wind blew softly, as if coming from a place extremely far away, or as if this world itself were breathing. 】

【 This was a world without Demon Swords — — the young girl stood in the center of the bright, unified heaven and earth, slightly lifting her face, feeling the warm breeze brush past her hair tips. 】

【 It was precisely to reach this place, this bright world after melting all the Demon Swords... that she had come. 】

— —

Arcane.

In the laboratory, Jayce took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the short figure standing on a lab stool: "Professor, in Runeterra... are there weapons similar to Demon Swords? The kind that can also devour the human heart?"

"Hmm..." Heimerdinger was silent for a long time before jumping off the chair and walking to the blackboard where he usually wrote.

"Sit down, gentlemen." He rarely used his usual exaggerated gestures. "Some things are too ancient, so ancient that they have almost become legends on the continent — — these legends are almost longer than my beard."

Jayce and Viktor exchanged a look and pulled their chairs over.

"In my long life, I have indeed heard of a type of weapon similar to a 'Demon Sword'. They have their own consciousness, will, and... desires."

"Darkin." Heimerdinger slowly spat out the word. "This is their collective name. It is said that they were once the most powerful group of warriors on the continent, but for some reason, they were sealed within weapons. They forever crave freedom... and revenge."

"Revenge? Revenge against whom?" Jayce asked.

"Perhaps to take revenge on the people who originally sealed them?" Heimerdinger shrugged. "However, the humans who sealed them are mostly dead. If they can't find their target for revenge, it is possible they will turn their target toward all of humanity in Runeterra — — the specifics, I do not know."

"In short," Heimerdinger continued, "Darkin will corrupt the user's mind — — this point is exactly the same as the Demon Sword, eventually taking complete control. If one day you encounter such a weapon, do not fantasize about being able to use your own will to resist the corruption of the Darkin... hmm, the best course of action is to stay far away from them."

Viktor asked at this moment: "Then, Professor, theoretically... is it possible to strip away these consciousnesses stored within the weapons and utilize them?"

"Viktor, this is exactly the most dangerous thought!" A tuft of mustache under Heimerdinger's nose perked up sharply. "Once you start considering 'how to utilize' instead of 'how to avoid', their influence may have already entered your mind! This kind of thinking of yours is exactly the same as those unlucky ones on the Celestial Screen who wanted to use the Demon Sword to fulfill their wishes but ended up being backlashed... it is the survivor's bias! The best approach is not to make contact!"

Heimerdinger jumped onto the chair so he could look at these seated young people eye-to-eye.

"Listen, young people. I know your curiosity, and I know your thirst for knowledge. But there are some boundaries that should not be crossed. The Darkin involve more than just physical rules; they also involve Arcane and magic — — this is also what I have always warned you about. If you want to live long... it is best to stay away from those primitive, chaotic powers."