[LSB] Chapter 112: Defying All Logic

"How... long has he been standing there?"

“An hour. He stopped moving the moment he finished making... whatever that is. Are those... oriental swords?"

It had been over an hour since Julian boarded the DCC mothership, yet no one had approached him to commission a weapon.

When he first announced that he was only here to forge weapons, not fight, most of the exterminators had stared at him with bewilderment.

After all—Julian Winters? A blacksmith?

The idea hadn’t even crossed their minds. To them, he was a warrior. A mutant.

Not a craftsman.

There was no real overlap between exterminators and livestreamed gaming tournaments—and if they did watch streams, it was usually streamers of their own kind, documenting battles against daemons.

So, most of them had just shaken their heads and moved on.

Some were visibly disappointed, realizing they wouldn’t get to fight alongside humanity’s only mutant.

Even Katsuki, the man who had approached Julian earlier to express his gratitude, had simply given him a final bow before returning to his training.

Since then, he hadn’t spoken a single word to him.

Julian had requested a smithy be set up inside the training hall, and with the DCC’s advanced technology, it only took a single snap of Dr. Heinz’s finger to have it assembled, literally.

Julian also requested a chunk of xylarion metal, and Dr. Heinz had been less than pleased about that.

In fact, he didn’t even know why he was granting Julian’s requests after he had outright refused the DCC’s. A part of him just wanted to throw Julian off the ship.

But there was something nagging at him.

Something about Victoria’s expression when Julian had said he would forge weapons instead of fighting. She looked almost... smug.

As if the DCC would be even more indebted to Julian for this than if he had chosen to fight.

That curiosity kept Heinz from dismissing him entirely.

Still, he was skeptical.

Even if Julian was the best craftsman in the universe, how did he expect to arm soldiers in the middle of an ongoing battle?

But Heinz had complied—and to his utter surprise—

Julian had crafted two weapons out of xylarion in under ten minutes.

Even with state-of-the-art tools, that kind of speed was insane. Still, state-of-the-art the smithy may be, it was still more for hobbyists.

Because really—who even forges weapons by hand anymore?

Yet, here Julian was, standing before two perfectly crafted blades.

Ancient weapons from New Japan, if Heinz remembered his history correctly. Yet—no one had stepped forward to try them.

And Julian?

He hadn’t gone out of his way to find anyone to use it, either.

Was this some kind of blacksmith’s pride? Had Dr. Heinz misjudged Julian?

Was he actually a man of ego?

Sadly, he might never get an answer. Because at this rate, Julian would remain unused until either the daemon wave was stopped—

Or Mars was destroyed.

As for the man in question—well, Julian remained where he had been the entire time.

Standing alone. Silent.

There was still xylarion left, but he didn’t want to waste it.

The warriors of Earth and the warriors of Artemia were completely different from each other, after all.

Those from Artemia were used to adapting to their weapons. But modern warriors from Earth?

They were used to having their weapons tailor-made for them.

Julian couldn’t make anything unless they told him what they needed.

But no one was approaching him.

So, he simply stood there, listening.

To the movement around him—

To the footsteps, the soft clicks of cyberware, the quiet clash of practice weapons.

And most of all—

To the sound of their hearts.

All of them were pounding with nervous energy, each heartbeat a drum of anticipation before battle. And soon—

The noise grew louder. More explorer teams had entered the mothership, stepping out of their own transports and boarding the DCC vessel.

The exterminators in the training hall weren’t aware of them yet.

But Julian was.

In this metallic colossus, his senses were sharper than ever.

The mothership was over three miles long, with a vertical span of roughly 2,850 feet from its highest to lowest point.

And within that vast structure—Julian could sense everything.

Even more than Ceres-9, this ship sang to him—an orchestra of humans, machines, and war.

And among the many notes—

He recognized one of the players.

For the first time since he arrived, Julian moved.

A single shift of his shoulder.

And just like that—Everyone stopped.

Every eye in the room flicked toward him, waiting—watching to see what he was going to do next.

But all he did was pick up the blades he had forged. He placed them on the counter in front of him—

And began wiping them clean.

Why was he even doing that?

Did he actually think someone was going to try them out?

They had weapons that could pierce planetary crusts—blades that could cut through tungsten like paper.

What was the point of some ancient swords?

The thoughts filled the air, unspoken but present.

Still, no one said a word.

They simply returned to their training—

Some warming up—Others resting, preparing for deployment.

All the while, large screens scattered across the training hall broadcasted the battle on Mars in real time. For now, the wave seemed manageable, but the daemon numbers were climbing.

Every minute, more emerged.

And pretty soon, they would all receive their missions.

The only reason they weren’t deployed yet was the risk of additional portals opening elsewhere.

Now that humanity knew how daemons arrived, they also knew that the next wave could come from anywhere. They had to be ready at any moment.

But once again, before they could return to whatever it was they were doing, their attention drifted as the doors opened.

New arrivals stepped into the training hall. And the moment they saw who it was, everyone stopped. Again.

Two of humanity’s best exterminators had just entered.

"That’s… Mohinder Khan!"

"Of course, he’s joining us."

"Mars is saved!"

The voice belonged to a man whose head was wrapped in an oversized turban, but it wasn’t the turban that made him imposing—it was the beard.

Long, smooth, and reaching all the way to his stomach, like an ancient god amongst mortals.

Even Julian didn’t need to see his face to know.

The moment Mohinder took a single step, Julian could tell—the only organic part of him was his brain. Just like Victoria.

And yet, despite being almost entirely machine, Mohinder’s physique wasn’t intimidating at all.

He didn’t tower over anyone. He wore ancient Indian robes, as if he were preparing for a ceremony rather than war.

But then again, he didn’t need a combat suit. His entire body was his weapon.

The woman walking beside him, however, was the complete opposite.

Where Mohinder carried himself with an almost effortless grace, she was already wrapped in a black combat suit, every fiber of her presence coiled and ready for battle.

“It’s the Phantom.”

“Don’t look at her—I heard my cousin met her once, and she nearly killed him for it.”

“Is she really that unapproachable?”

Cindy Solis. She didn’t spare anyone a glance.

She had already turned away the moment she entered the training hall, her voice clipped as she addressed the person escorting her.

“I’m wasting my time here.” Her tone was cold. “Just send me down there where I can actually be useful.”

The attendant hesitated but still blocked her path, shaking his head.

“I... was told that everyone should wait here until they’re called.”

It clearly took all his courage just to say that. And yet, at the first sign of Cindy opening her mouth, he flinched.

"First of all—"

Her brows lowered, her sharp gaze sweeping over the other exterminators.

“None of us work for the DCC. We’re not your employees. We work with you, not under you. I have no reason to follow your—”

But all of a sudden, at the end of her sentence, she froze and her narrowed eyes suddenly widened.

She had barely been looking at the people around her, but then—she saw him.

Julian Winters, out of nowhere.

At first, she thought she was seeing things.

She rubbed her eyes.

But no.

He was still there.

And for the first time since stepping into the training hall—Cindy Solis was speechless. She wasn’t for long, however, as a rare smile soon crawled on her face.

Small at first.

But unmistakable.

She was truly smiling.

The Phantom of the Battlefield—a woman notorious for being distant, feared for her ruthlessness—

Was smiling.

At Julian. And she wasn’t just smiling, she was now walking back into the hall.

Toward him.

Her steps were light. Almost… jolly?

The exterminators watching this unfold could only stare in shock. Cindy Solis—walking toward someone with joy?

What the hell was going on?

“Julian Winters!?”

Cindy’s voice rang through the hall as she waved excitedly—only to drop her hand from the air when she remembered Julian was blind. And just as quickly as her excitement had flared up, it vanished.

Because now—everyone was staring at her.

Her expression twisted in embarrassment as she cleared her throat and lowered her voice once she stood before Julian. After all, she had appearances to keep.

“What… are you doing here, Julian Winters?”

But she already knew the answer before she even finished asking.

Her eyes flickered past Julian to the forging equipment behind him.

And then—

To the blades in his hands. And as soon as they saw what they were, she knew…

"Are those... mine?"

She whispered so quietly, and yet the weight behind her words failed to contain the shock she felt.

And Julian’s casual response didn’t help.

“Yes.”

He stopped wiping the blade and gently pushed it toward her.

“A katana and a wakizashi. MEGAN told me you use a variety of weapons but primarily favor a longsword similar in structure to a katana.”

Cindy gulped at his words. Her fingers brushed against the pure-white alloy, the metal warm against her skin.

"...Why?"

Julian tilted his head slightly.

“You told me you wanted to commission a weapon from me,” he explained. “And since the DCC kindly provided the material for free, I thought it would benefit us both if I made your first weapon.”

“Wait… first!?”

Cindy’s eyes snapped up, subtly glancing at the other exterminators, who had all inched closer to eavesdrop.

“How long have you been here!?”

“About an hour or so.”

Her jaw dropped.

“And no one has requested a weapon from you yet!?”

A gasp tore from her throat as she covered her mouth, barely stopping herself from screaming.

“Are they crazy? No… I was like them too. I can’t blame them. A-anyway—”

Her hands tightened around the hilts.

“Can I… can I really have these now?”

But just as she clutched them tighter, Julian hummed and said,

“Not yet.”

Cindy's fingers stiffened, not wanting to let the weapons go. But after a moment of hesitation, she sighed and reluctantly handed them back.

Julian stepped away from the counter and moved toward the center of the training hall with the weapons.

The other exterminators near them instinctively parted, making space as he passed.

“I assume you’ve already mastered how to wield a katana,” Julian said, tilting his head slightly, his ears following Cindy as she also stepped onto the training floor, standing in front of him.

Julian took a small breath.

"But since you're skilled in multiple weapons—"

He raised both blades to his chest.

"—I made this as well."

With another breath, he brought the hilts of the katana and wakizashi together, and a sharp click whispered in the air.

Then—

Julian twisted the hilts, locking them together.

And with a gentle tug, he pulled them apart, extending the handle until it stretched nearly a meter long.

The katana and wakizashi had merged into something new.

“A double-bladed naginata.”

Julian swung the weapon, and the air itself vibrated. Each whistle of the blade slicing through the empty space sent chills down spines.

The sheer force behind the movements made the exterminators grit their teeth.

They could feel it.

Even without touching it—

Even without holding it—

They could feel its power.

Cindy’s entire body moved with each of Julian’s swings, her muscles tensing in sync with his movements. To think…

The weapon in his hands would soon be hers.

No.

It was hers.

Her eyes traced every curve, every subtle but powerful motion Julian made.

And then—

With another sharp gulp, she opened her palm beside her thigh. At once, her armor responded, and a handle shot out from her hip, landing perfectly in her waiting grasp.

She stretched her arm to the side—and in an instant, the handle unfolded into a sword.

Its edge hummed as a high-pitched whirring noise filled the air, and then the blade began to vibrate. Violently.

The very air around it distorted, warping with every pulse of its energy.

And without a single word—

Cindy launched forward.

Thrusters ignited along her back, legs, and arms, sending her hurtling toward Julian with deadly speed.

And with her weapon raised high, she swung straight for his head.

The onlookers gasped—

Julian was mid-swing, his back was turned away from her. He wouldn’t see it coming.

Of course, all of them forgot that Julian was blind and turning around wouldn’t make any difference.

But—

To their absolute shock—

With his back still turned, he spun the double-bladed naginata behind him—casually parrying Cindy’s attack.

The hall fell silent after that. But the silence didn’t last long, as what followed were screams and gasps.

Some of shock, but most of fear.

Because the moment the weapons clashed—

A piece of Cindy’s phasing sword went flying.

The fragment bounced violently, ricocheting across the training hall. The exterminators barely had time to react before the shard buried itself deep into the wall—

Sparking violently as it dug through the reinforced metal.

And that’s when it hit them.

Wait…

The realization hit them like a hydrogen bomb.

Cindy’s phasing weapon. The same cutting-edge technology they all used in their own arms—

Had just been sliced apart.

By a weapon forged by hand.

What kind of logic was that?

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AUTHOR NOTES

LEGEN...wait for it...