Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 76. A Weapon for Last Resort

Chapter 76: 76. A Weapon for Last Resort
The days that followed became an endless nightmare. Elias kept his promise and chose victims at random.
Sometimes he killed them quickly, which was merciful by his standards. At other times, he drew it out, using his dark blade to hurt people in ways that shouldn’t be possible.
Kael was one of the people he liked to attack the most. Elias seemed to enjoy the ranger’s defiant spirit, and he would slowly torture him for hours while the others had to watch.
There were barriers around Ryn’s magic that she couldn’t break. Denna’s strength didn’t matter in a cell that was too small to move.
Marina watched the whole time. She saw her friends go through pain.
She saw people she didn’t know who had trusted her expedition die screaming. She watched Elias enjoy every second of pain he caused.
"Why?" she asked him once, when he was in a talkative mood and they had a short break. "Why do all of this cruel stuff to the innocents?!"
"What did any of us do to you?!"
Elias said, "That fucking village incident...! Making me the victim!"
"How fucking dare you forget about all that, you fucking bitch!"
"The Crimson Falcons make a mock out of me... looking at me like I’m some trash who played the hero even though I did the right thing for those assholes!" Elias starts to step on the ground until it cracks.
"And in the end... that fucking Greyson becomes a hero just because he can fix it all! No one remembers who saves their fucking asses, not even all of you assholes!!!" Elias shouted loudly while pointing his sword at them.
"And what makes me want to puke is that you all fucking believed in his dream of peace through nice things and household items."
"That made you enemies of what the world really needs, which is power that is free and clear."
"Greg is right about you," Marina said. "You’re not a hero."
"You’re just a monster who doesn’t even have feelings for another living being! All you care about is yourself and that big head of yours!"
"You fucking bitch... I’ll show you what feelings truly are!" Elias’s face darkened, and his next session of torture lasted six hours.
...
Weeks had gone by by the time Marina made the desperate choice to send someone out with her crystal, hoping against hope that they would escape Elias’s torture and get to Greg. The proud expedition were now just broken shells of what they used to be.
But there was one thing that kept Marina going through it all. Greg would show up.
She knew him well enough to know that once he found out what happened, nothing would stop him from getting to her. The question was whether any of them would still be alive when he got there.
Present day.
Marina’s mind drifted in the gray area between waking and sleeping. She was so tired that she couldn’t stay awake, but pain kept trying to pull her back up.
In this state of twilight, she could almost pretend the nightmare wasn’t real. She could almost picture herself back in Ferndale, sitting in Lylia’s restaurant with Greg across from her, his awful fishing jokes making her laugh even though she didn’t want to.
Then someone yelled, and the illusion broke. Marina snapped her eyes open to see Elias looming over another adventurer, a young mage who had remained silent since their capture. The man was kneeling down with Elias’s dark blade against his throat.
"Please," the mage said. "I have a wife and daughter waiting for me at home!"
"Please, I’ll do anything!"
"Anything?" Elias’s voice sounded like he was making fun of someone. "Then tell me, would you curse Greg Greyson?"
"Would you blame the man whose tools you trusted and whose ideas got you into this mess?"
"I don’t know what you want me to say!"
"Not the right answer." The dark blade moved, and the mage’s scream stopped suddenly, replaced by the sound of a body hitting stone.
Marina pulled on her chains, but they didn’t help. Anger and sadness were fighting inside her.
How many people had died by now? She had lost track. Every death felt like another piece of her soul being taken away.
"Still defiant?" Elias turned to look at her and asked, "What?"
"Do you still think your blacksmith will come to your rescue? It’s been weeks, bitch."
"Maybe he’s decided you’re not worth the risk after all. What a sad rejection, isn’t it?"
"He’ll come," Marina said, her voice rough but sure. "When he does, you’ll finally know what it’s like to face someone who really earned their power."
Elias wiped his blade clean and said, "We’ll see."
"In fact, I think we won’t have to wait long."
Outside the Sunken Castle
The carriage stopped at the bottom of the mountain, and Greg got out into the light of dawn. The entrance to the Citadel loomed before them, dark and scary, just like Marina had said in her letters before the trip.
The others were taking equipment off of the truck behind Greg. Not the peaceful things he had spent his whole life making, but something else. Something he had made on the long trip at night while Bork drove and the others slept.
[Items Made: Breaker’s Arsenal]
[Quality Rank: SSS]
[Note: You son of a bitch, you fuckin did it! You make a weapon, but there’s no properties? What are you planning?]
[The gods are watching with interest.]
Greg looked at the message and felt nothing. No guilt, no shame, and no happiness. Just cold resolve.
"Boss... Did you really only make one? With all your skill and all your materials, just one?"
Greg let out a long breath and kept his eyes on the Citadel entrance. "One is enough, if I make one, then I might as well just kill myself."
Bork frowned. "Enough for smashing Elias’ face in?"
"No," Greg said quietly. "I’ll use it if it’s needed."
Bork blinked, not sure what to do. "Do you mean... a last resort?"
At last, Greg looked at him. His face was calm, but his eyes were colder than steel. "Exactly."
"I didn’t make it so I could fight every monster here. I made it for one person and one reason. We take care of everything else with the tools we already have."
Bork scratched his head. "So, the traps? The problems? The barriers? The floors with those winds that drain mana?"
Greg nodded. "Our tools can handle all of that."
"The gadgets, strong ropes, mana stabilizers, and climbing spikes are all intended for use in the dungeon." He said while tapping the giant weapon. "This is for that fucking bastard."
Felix came along. "Sensei is right."
"The Arsenal tools we packed are the best for getting around and staying alive. Not for killing."
Bork let out a sigh of relief. "Good."
"Honestly, boss, if you suddenly became a full-time weaponsmith, I would think the world was coming to an end."
Greg let out a small smile. "If I ever start making weapons for fun, then yes, something is very wrong."
Seraphine came up with a soft frown. "So the plan stays the same. We only use tools to clear the dungeon. And the weapon..."
Greg spoke in a calm, steady voice to finish her sentence. "...for when you can’t talk it out anymore."
"Are you sure about this, Boss?" Bork asked for the last time.
Greg looked at his friends, family, and students. Bork, who is always loyal. Felix, with all of his nervous energy. Seraphine with her renowned for her exceptional analytical skills. And Mira is known for her unwavering loyalty.
Greg said, "I’m sure."
"We go in, save as many people as we can, and make Elias Grimhart pay for all his wrongdoing."
"Whatever it takes."
He turned to look at the Citadel entrance, and the tools of destruction hung heavily from his belt. The calm blacksmith was gone, burned away by anger and need.
Something else moved toward the darkness. It was a force capable of causing harm. It would make Elias Grimhart regret ever learning about the true Greg Greyson from his past life. The rescue had begun.