Chapter 311: A Talking Weapon, Cagliostro Isn’t Even That Loyal To Guinevere?!

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Riven was taken aback as the light consumed him completely and then slowly disappeared.

He collapsed into the floor, his entire torso turned into a skeleton, Daniela screamed in horror and poured all the remaining potions on him.

The bottles emptied one after another as she kept pouring without stopping.

And to her shock, flesh and skin regrew anew over his own bones, allowing Riven to be practically reborn, leaving her in deep shock.

She watched the process happen right in front of her eyes and could not look away.

"H-He’s back!" she screamed. "Riven!" she cried. "A-Are you okay?! You turned into a skeleton for a moment there!"

She grabbed his shoulders and checked him over several times to make sure he was really solid again.

"I-I have never seen something so insane before..." muttered Vladimir in disbelief. "But he did it?!"

He stayed a few steps back, still staring at the place where the light had been.

Riven slowly sighed as his long black hair regrew around his head. "Yeah, I’m fine..." he held the weapon with his hands. "I hope we can get along well now, Cagliostro."

His fingers closed around the shaft carefully, waiting to see if it would reject him again.

"..." the polearm let out a small metallic humming sound before calming down, its glistening golden aura turning completely rainbow, encompassing Riven’s entire body and seemingly fuse with it, disappearing and reappearing as a rune on his right hand.

The light settled into the shape of a clear mark on his skin and then went quiet.

"Ooh?" Riven was surprised. "So is this how my sister carried you along? Well, how surprising. Anyway, you’re mine now. I hope you can provide me with the strength I require. We’ll be fighting more terrifying foes soon. And maybe, eventually my sister and the rest of my family."

He looked down at the rune while he spoke, testing whether the weapon would respond.

"..." Cagliostro slowly seemed to understand him better, and...

A voice echoed from within her.

"I see, so you are Guinevere’s younger brother, Riven Claymore."

"?!"

Everyone was left speechless as they heard her voice echoing through the dark, damp cave.

Daniela and Vladimir both turned toward the weapon at the same time.

Riven was shocked. "You can talk, how-"

"Of course I can talk, did you think that someone as strong as me was mute?" Cagliostro sighed. "Nonetheless, it’s thanks to you I’ve actually evolved into my Legendary new form, although not complete, as it is L- Rank, but an upgrade is an upgrade. You have my thanks."

Cagliostro, as it turned out, was an Intelligent Weapon this entire time.

The calm way she spoke made the whole situation feel even stranger than before.

"Well, this makes things awkward..." Riven sighed. "So you knew everything... Well, I hope my sister doesn’t realize it was me who took you." He glanced at the rune on his hand once more, already wondering how long he could keep the weapon hidden.

"All she could see was a giant skeleton monster," Cagliostro said. "I don’t understand what sort of powers you possess now, Riven Claymore, but I am fairly sure that’s new. From what I remember, you were seen as someone incredibly weak and useless among your family, isn’t that correct? How come you’re now strong? How come you possess the power to steal me from my master in such a terrible way? You’re much more different now."

She spoke in a calm tone, but the questions kept coming one after another.

"Yeah," Riven nodded. "I’ve changed. Now that you’re mine, I hope you can cooperate. I know my sister was strong, and is still stronger than I am, but it won’t last forever. I will continue growing and I want you to see how I eventually surpass her and everyone else in my family, and then my father."

He kept his hand on the rune while he waited for her reply.

"..." Cagliostro’s spirit remained in silence for a brief moment as she heard Riven’s words and then sighed. "You think I loved her or something? Guinevere was indeed a strong warrior, but she was someone that often times felt directionless. She only did what she was told, and even when she showed some clear signs of her own plans and ambitions, they were often always pushed back the moment she interacted with her father. That girl fears him more than any of your other siblings... perhaps because of what happened to her mother."

The last part made Riven look up.

"What?" Riven didn’t know Guinevere was so afraid of their father. "What happened to my sister’s mother?"

He had never heard any details about that side of the family before.

"I am not completely sure myself," Cagliostro spoke with a deep and mysterious voice. "But I heard that Arthur used to abuse her and treat her badly, and this is why it led to their divorce. She was a high-society socialite and diplomat. Her marriage to Arthur was a public relations masterpiece if I said so myself. However, when she failed to produce a male heir first, Arthur grew bored and divorced her, citing "irreconcilable differences" while stripping her of her assets, from what I remember."

Riven stayed quiet while the information settled in.

"He stripped her of her assets?" Riven was shaken. "Shouldn’t it be the opposite, don’t women..."

He stopped mid-sentence, already guessing the answer would not be simple.

"Well, that’s your father, he finds ways. He makes the women he marries sign a lot of papers, in case of divorce, she would forfeit most of her assets to him," explained Cagliostro. "Oh, I’ve heard many times how your sister cried in annoyance and pain over the injustice her mother faced." She added the last detail without any change in her tone, as if it was something she had overheard more than once.

"Guinevere..." Riven spoke silently for a moment. "I had no idea there was such a facet to her... well, among all my siblings, she was the only one that didn’t really bully me verbally or physically, but she never really showed any affection either, or care. I don’t remember ever speaking to her more than two or three times through my whole life."

He thought back over those few short conversations and realized how little he actually knew about her.

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