Hewg was a Misbegotten—a being bearing the Crucible's aspects.

During the age of the Golden Order, such beings were considered inferior from birth.

They were treated as natural slaves.

And yet—

Despite being a slave by status, Hewg somehow entered the Roundtable Hold and became its sole blacksmith.

That alone was suspicious.

Arthur had long formed a theory about Hewg's past.

Hewg had likely once served the Eternal Queen Marika.

During the Night of the Black Knives, when Marika secretly orchestrated events with Ranni behind the scenes, she needed a weapon capable of killing a god.

But she couldn't use the royal smiths of Leyndell.

Radagon might have noticed.

So instead—

She found Hewg, the Misbegotten blacksmith.

Hewg did not disappoint.

He forged the Black Knives, weapons capable of housing the Rune of Death.

Those were the daggers later used by the assassins who murdered Godwyn the Golden.

But once the knives were delivered—

Marika could never allow someone who knew such a terrible secret to live.

So Hewg died at her hands.

Perhaps he even became the first soul slain by the Black Knife.

Later—

The Two Fingers might have sensed Hewg's extraordinary skill.

His soul was summoned to the Roundtable Hold, becoming a being bound to the Hold itself.

(At that time, the Black Knife had not yet fully contained the Rune of Death, so Hewg's soul had not been destroyed along with his body.)

As long as the Roundtable Hold endured—

Hewg would never die.

He would remain here forever.

Hammer in hand.

Forging weapons for eternity.

Arthur once overheard Hewg's prayer during a quiet moment:

"Ah… forgive me… pardon me…

It is still not enough… I still cannot reach the gods…

But I will… I will surely fulfill your wish…

Please forgive me… Queen Marika!"

Those words confirmed Arthur's suspicions.

They even hinted at Hewg's cause of death.

Marika had likely executed him for forging a blade not yet capable of killing gods.

Ironically—

Once the Rune of Death was embedded into the Black Knife—

It truly became a god-slaying weapon.

After all, it had already killed the soul of a demigod.

Now, as flames devoured the Roundtable Hold, Hewg—bound to it—had entered the final countdown of his life.

Arthur thought for a moment.

Then he took out all his Smithing Stones, along with several special weapons.

No one knew when the Roundtable Hold would finally burn away.

Hewg's mind was already deteriorating.

If Arthur didn't use these materials now—

He might never get another chance.

As for why he only had a few special weapons left—

It was simple.

Arthur had already melted most of his other weapons into the Dark Moon Greatsword.

After refining the sword into his lifebound flying sword, he could enhance it by absorbing other weapons.

Thus, only the uniquely useful ones remained.

After upgrading the weapons, Arthur looked at Hewg, who had returned to his mindless hammering.

Then he took out the last weapon.

A Black Knife.

Its blade curved strangely, with three spike-like guards.

Strictly speaking, those guards were actually part of the blade itself.

Only someone with special training could wield such a weapon properly.

Arthur had obtained this dagger outside Leyndell, at the end of a narrow path beside the city walls.

A Black Knife Assassin had been carrying it.

Naturally—

That assassin had become just another corpse among Arthur's many kills.

The moment Hewg saw the dagger, his expression changed.

"This… is a god-slaying weapon."

Then he shook his head.

"No… not yet."

"It is still incomplete."

He looked at Arthur.

"Tarnished… do you possess an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone?"

Arthur nodded.

He did indeed have one left, though he hadn't decided what to use it on.

His Death Staff and Dark Moon Greatsword were already fully upgraded.

He had no real need for other weapons.

Hewg's voice turned pleading.

"Please… give it to me."

"I will complete this Black Knife for you."

Arthur thought briefly.

Then he handed over:

The Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone

Somber Smithing Stones [1] through [9]

Melina still lacked a suitable weapon.

Her fighting style resembled that of an assassin.

And the Black Knife—a short dagger—suited her perfectly.

Incidentally, the combat style of the Black Knife Assassins was extremely similar to Melina's.

Arthur even suspected that the assassins had once been trained by Melina herself.

Hewg placed the dagger and stones onto the anvil.

Clang.

Clang.

With just a few hammer strikes—

The energy of the stones fused into the blade.

Arthur watched in fascination.

He had always wondered how this worked.

Two hammer strikes—

And the weapon was suddenly fully upgraded.

It was even more mysterious than Arthur's own artifact-refining techniques.

When the work was done, Hewg handed the dagger back.

"This blade can slay the gods."

"It is the vow I made to Queen Marika."

"Now… my mission is finally complete."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Perhaps things weren't exactly as he had thought.

Maybe Marika had arranged for Hewg to remain in the Roundtable Hold—

So he could one day forge a weapon for the future Tarnished.

A weapon capable of killing a god.

But the truth no longer mattered.

Hewg's purpose had been fulfilled.

Arthur took the dagger.

Cold killing intent radiated from the blade.

Even he could feel that it was capable of piercing his flesh.

Hewg had not yet returned to his empty, mechanical state.

From his clothes, he pulled out a notebook.

"I can tell you're interested in my smithing techniques."

"If you don't mind… take this."

Arthur was surprised.

He hadn't expected such a reward.

Seeing Arthur accept the notebook, Hewg continued:

"The god-slaying Black Knife is now yours."

"Use it well."

"Slay the gods."

"My time is nearly over…"

"Please take care of that girl."

"And forgive me for saying this at the end…"

"You have always been my lord."

With those final words—

Hewg's eyes dimmed.

His expression returned to the blank emptiness from before.

But this time—

He might never awaken from it again.

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