Days passed since Rei received the letter from Vira.
Currently, the Grandcypher was flying at full speed toward Valtz Duchy, cutting through the skies with impressive speed. On the deck, Rei could be seen training as usual, practicing his Butterfly Stance. He didn't want Narmaya to scold him for slacking off when she tested his skills again.
Rei stood alone, beside for few barrels and cannons around the deck. But what truly caught the eye were the countless purple butterflies that filled the air, their delicate wings shimmering with an otherworldly glow.
Every swing of Rei's katana summoned more butterflies, their forms materializing from thin air and dancing in perfect harmony with his movements. The deck became a sea of purple, the butterflies swirling around him like a living storm of light and color.
Then, Rei stopped. His katana froze mid-air, and the butterflies paused as they following his movement. He closed his eyes, his stance shifting as he brought the blade to his left side, his grip firm and deliberate.
The butterflies surged toward the katana, their forms dissolving into a radiant purple aura that enveloped the blade. The air crackled with energy, and the deck seemed to tremble under the weight of his power.
"Butterfly Effect: Dragonsbane."
In a flash, Rei vanished. The world seemed to hold its breath as he reappeared several meters away, his katana slicing through the air with blinding speed. Behind him, the space erupted with glowing slashes—each one a streak of violet light that lingered in the air like scars on reality itself.
The butterflies exploded outward, scattering in every direction as a powerful gust of wind tore across the deck. The force of the attack sent ripples through the air, and the sound of the blade cutting through space echoed like a thunderclap.
When the wind settled and the butterflies faded, Rei stood calmly, his katana resting at his side. The deck was silent, save for the faint hum of energy still lingering in the air.
"That should be enough for today," Rei said, his voice calm as he finished his training.
He made his katana disappear from his hands. Normally, he would train with Djeeta or Katalina during this time, but Djeeta was still asleep in his room, and Katalina had mentioned she was taking a break for the day.
In the end, he had the entire deck to himself, free to train without worrying about anyone else being affected by his power.
"Before I fulfill my promise to Lyria and make her pudding, I'll do one last test," Rei murmured to himself.
As he spoke, a crack began to form in the air beside him. It grew larger until it split open, revealing a dark void—the Zero Dimension that Lucilius had created long ago. Now, Rei used it as a storage space, as he had no other use for it.
From within the crack, a dark metallic hilt emerged. Rei grabbed it and pulled it out, revealing a magnificent golden blade. The weapon was adorned with intricate engravings, its edges lined with a glowing blue light. At the bottom of the blade, a large, sculpted face with an open mouth was embedded in the pommel, adding to the weapon's intimidating presence.
This was the Blade of Olympus, a weapon forged during the First Titanomachy by Zeus to end the war. Rei had recreated it based on his memories of playing God of War years ago in his world.
Rei admired the blade, his eyes tracing its details. The Blade of Olympus had always been one of his favorite weapons, especially after playing God of War 2. It was a weapon he had spent months trying to replicate, alongside creating Orchid's body.
"Let's see~" he said, sitting down on the ground to examine the blade.
Even though the appearance was identical to the one from the game, Rei couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. For some time now, he had been trying to figure out what it was. The blade had all the same abilities as in the game—it could even shoot purple lasers from its edge—but it still didn't feel *perfect*.
After a few more moments of careful examination, Rei sighed. He still couldn't find anything wrong with his creation. Everything seemed to be in place, yet the nagging feeling remained.
"Is it because I didn't fill this blade with godly power? If I remember correctly, the blue aura when Kratos wielded this blade came from his godly power, which he injected into the blade after being tricked by Zeus," Rei murmured to himself as he examined the blade.
In God of War 2, when Kratos used the Blade of Olympus, it was enveloped in a blue aura and shot blue lasers with every swing. But when Zeus wielded it, the aura was golden instead.
"But then..." The current Blade of Olympus that Rei had created didn't have a blue or golden aura—it glowed purple, as he had filled it with his own power to serve as its energy source.
In the world of Granblue Fantasy, there was no such thing as godly or divine power. Even beings like Zeus or Thor were just Primal Beasts created by Astrals, not mythological gods with golden ichor flowing through their veins.
So, unless he came into contact with someone who possessed that kind of power, he couldn't replicate the true essence of the Blade of Olympus. "Either I wait until someone with that kind of ability suddenly appears in this world, or I just abandon this idea..." Rei sighed deeply, feeling down as he realized he might never be able to use his favorite blade to its full potential.
"Maybe I should just make the Blade of Chaos instead. At least for that, I only need Primordial Fire..."
He didn't have to worry about finding Primordial Fire, as there was a Primal Beast like Surtr who wielded similar flames.
But as Rei was lost in thought, he didn't notice someone approaching him from behind. Aliza walked closer, her expression curious as she stared at what Rei was doing.
"Woah, that's a really beautiful sword. I've never seen anything like it before. Where did you get it?" Aliza's voice broke the silence, startling Rei slightly.
Hearing the sound, Rei was surprised. He hadn't expected anyone to be here at this early hour. Turning toward the direction of the voice, his eyes widened. The first thing he saw was Aliza's crimson eyes, staring at him with curiosity, her lips slightly parted as she gazed.
Her long grey hair was tied in a ponytail, free of the usual accessories that often adorned her. More noticeably, she was wearing Narmaya's thin training clothes, her previous attire no longer wearable after the battle with the primal beast Nephthys.
She was bending forward slightly, and from his position, Rei couldn't help but notice the curve of her cleavage, adding an unexpected tension to the moment.
"Hello? Are you there, Reeiii?" Aliza waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his daze. He had been staring at her without saying a word.
"Ah, sorry about that," Rei said, shaking his head. "I was just surprised to see you wearing those clothes."
"Hmm? You mean this?" Aliza tilted her head curiously, tugging at the thin fabric of her shirt. As she adjusted it, the outline of her figure became even more apparent, and Rei couldn't help but notice the curves of her chest.
"It's pretty thin, but it's really comfortable. This is from your friend Narmaya, right? She's a draph, like me?" Aliza asked, her tone light and curious.
"Yeah, she's also my teacher—the one who's been training me in her katana style," Rei replied, standing up to distance himself from the awkward view. As he rose to his feet, Aliza straightened up as well. Being a draph, she was shorter than most races, except for the Harvin, and had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.
"So, what's that sword?" she asked, her eyes flicking to the blade in his hand.
"This is the Blade of Olympus," Rei answered, holding it up for her to see.
Aliza's eyes widened as she took in the sword's unique design. The golden hue, intricate engravings, and the sculpted face on the blade gave it an intimidating aura. A faint purple energy radiated from it, sending a shiver down her spine.
"For some reason, looking at this sword makes me shudder. What kind of sword is it? Who made it?" she asked, her voice tinged with awe.
"I created it," Rei said with a sigh. "It's a replica of a blade from another world, but... it's kind of a failure."
"A failure? How is this a failure? It's beautiful and terrifying at the same time! And that purple energy—it's so intense, even for me," Aliza exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Well..." Rei began, and he started to tell her the story of the Blade of Olympus. He spoke of the Titanomachy, the war where Zeus forged the original blade using power from the heavens, the seas, the afterlife, and the earth. He recounted how the blade had last been seen when Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, stabbed it into his own stomach and left it behind in the Greek world before journeying to the Norse realms.
"And now, I've tried to recreate that blade with the same abilities, but it still feels incomplete. I think it needs the divine power of a god to truly be finished," Rei concluded, his voice tinged with frustration.
Aliza stared at him in awe, her mind reeling from the story. She had been listening intently for nearly an hour, and every detail—Titans, gods, Kratos, the Blade of Chaos, Athena—left her dumbstruck. It was all so overwhelming that she could barely keep up.
"Is that story... real? Did it actually happen?" she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Probably... I don't know," Rei admitted. He wasn't lying. He truly didn't know if the tales of the God of War were real or just stories from the game. After all, he was now in the world of Granblue Fantasy—a place he had once thought was just a game.
"I see," Aliza murmured. "Hearing about those 'gods' in your story reminds me of the Primal Beasts. Do you think they're similar?"
"No," Rei said firmly, his tone sharp. "The 'gods' in those myths are mostly scum, especially Zeus, the king of Olympus. Only a few gods in Norse mythology were decent. Primal Beasts are far better than those so-called 'gods.'"
Aliza's eyes widened in surprise at his sudden intensity. She hadn't seen this side of him before.
"Pfft! I've never seen you so aggressive. You really hate those 'gods,' huh?" she said, giggling softly.
"...Anyway," Rei said, quickly changing the subject, "do you want to see how this blade works?"
"Sure, sure! I'd love to see the blade that the Ghost of Sparta and the king of Olympus fought over," Aliza replied, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Huh? I didn't expect you to agree. Didn't you come here to train like usual? Are you fine with skipping today's session?" Rei asked, raising an eyebrow.
As he mentioned, Aliza usually came to the deck of the Grandcypher after he finished using it. She often used the space to train her movements, build stamina, and strengthen herself—especially after her recent fight with Nephthys, where she had struggled to even damaging her. For the past few days since joining them, she had been training diligently on the deck, sometimes with Rei, Djeeta, Katalina, or even Therese acting as her sparring partners.
"Hmm, well, at first I was planning to continue our sparring from yesterday," Aliza said, grinning mischievously. "But I'm more curious about that blade of yours now~."
"Alright then, let me prepare first," Rei said, making the Blade of Olympus disappear from his hand. He began to gather a few things, then suddenly vanished from sight.
"Wait here," his voice echoed as he disappeared.
"Huh?" Aliza blinked, confused by his sudden departure. But before she could process it, Rei reappeared, this time holding another set of Narmaya's clothes and a cloak.
"Wear this instead. We're going somewhere to test the blade—I can't really use it here. I'm afraid I might destroy something," he explained, handing her the clothes.
"Wait, where are we going?" Aliza asked, taking the clothes and cloak.
"To a small, uninhabited island," Rei replied casually.
After Aliza changed into the clothes and cloak, Rei suddenly scooped her up in a princess carry, startling her with how abrupt it was.
"Let's go~," he said with a smirk. Four dark wings sprouted from his back, and in an instant, they were soaring through the sky, leaving the Grandcypher behind.
"Ehkkk!?" Aliza yelped, her voice trailing off as they flew toward random direction.