The Laughing Swordsman

Zack picked up one of the cut logs behind him and held it out in front of him. Seeing this, Apollo hopped out of Eden's hold and eagerly walked up. He took the log and smiled.

"Thank you!"

Eden gasped, wondering why Apollo had to leave her hold, but kept silent.

Zack was clearly tired, but still laughed amicably.

"So your name is Apollo? I never knew Eden had a younger brother until now, you look just like her."

Eden opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Apollo spoke up.

"Yeah, anyway, I want to try this too!"

Zack raised an eyebrow.

"You mean carving? I suppose my skills really were too impressive. Here, take this carving knife for now. Be careful not to cut yourself."

He held out the knife, but Apollo shook his head.

"I have this!"

He held up his bokken and waved it around.

Zack smiled bitterly.

"...I see. If you ever have trouble using that and want the carving knife, you can always borrow it."

Apollo nodded, then looked at the wooden block in front of him intently. He appeared to be at a loss. Seeing this, Zack decided to speak up.

"When carving, you first have to envision the entirety of what you wish for it to become. This is because every cut is permanent. In other words, a single mistake will ruin the entire thing."

Apollo muttered as he inspected the cut log in his hand.

"Every cut is permanent..."

Zack nodded.

"Especially for your first time, you want to be care-"

To both Eden and Zack's surprise, Apollo tossed the cut log into the air with a tiny bit of spin. Right before it fell, his bokken flashed. A chunk of wood fell off while the cut log bounced upwards.

As it began coming down again, Apollo slashed once more. Another chunk of wood fell off, but this time it didn't bounce as high. He continued swinging at the cut log.

Apollo was slowly moving faster and the cut log went from bouncing, to vibrating in the middle of the air. Then, in just a minute or so, he was done.

The wooden carving fell from the air and Apollo caught it. By now, a fairly large crowd had formed, interested in this new way of carving.

Someone in the crowd called out.

"Ah, the angels are talented as expected!"

Zack and Eden both walked up and looked over the final product with Apollo. It was a figurine. Overall, the edges were cut fairly crudely. While Zack's statues were very smooth, Apollo's consisted of several flat sides to imitate that.

Though that was pretty normal considering Apollo just kept slashing at it.

As for the structure, it was a man in a suit with five horns and a pen in his hand. Or more accurately, a demon. Specifically Serosh.

Zack nodded several times.

"This is pretty well done, not to mention how fast you did it! Have you done carving before, Apollo?"

Apollo shook his head.

"No."

Zack gasped as his eyes widened.

"You have great potential then! Though there are a few mistakes you made."

He pointed towards the carving.

"For starters, the cuts are a bit on the sloppy side. Also while hair is hard to make, nobody's hair sticks out like that! It almost looks like horns."

Zack then pointed to the pen in the figurine's hand.

"You messed up on the hand here. You added an extra finger that sticks out awkwardly. Also, you didn't give the carving a stand!"

Eden sighed.

"If this is his first time carving, he's practically a prodigy! These small details are trivial."

Zack chuckled.

"Yes, yes, they are. But I'm just telling him how to improve even further. He can become a master!"

The crowd got boisterous.

"Woah! Who is that?"

"It's an angel, he's an angel?"

"An angel?"

Murmurs spread amongst the crowd. In just a few moments, people came to the consensus that Apollo really was an angel. It seemed some of the people that witnessed him flying stuck around.

Zack clasped his hands together enthusiastically.

"Apollo, with just a little practice, you could become a famous carver! Why don't you try once more?"

Apollo gave Zack a quick glance before looking back at the figurine in his hand.

"No thanks."

Zack's eyelid twitched.

"But-"

"Zack."

Eden cut him off and sighed.

"Apollo... isn't my younger brother. He is an angel, so he probably doesn't have the desire or need to become a carver."

Zack raised an eyebrow.

"Angel?"

That was when he noticed the murmurs of the crowd around him. He blinked a few times, finding the overall situation a little surreal.

"What?"

Zack shook his head.

"I must be dreaming."

He then picked up the chicken, opened the door to his house, and shut it behind him.

Seeing this, the corner of Eden's lip twitched. She shook her head and turned to Apollo.

"You are very talented in swordsmanship. I should have noticed it earlier, you carry the sword with you all the time, after all."

A small smile formed on Apollo's face.

"Yeah!"

Eden reached out towards his bokken, gently touching the blade. Her eyes widened once she realized it was very dull.

"...Wow."

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Where do we go next?"

Eden blinked a few times.

"Would you like to visit the dojo? It is where many people practice swinging swords for fun."

Apollo's eyes lit up when he heard that.

"Oh, yeah, yeah!"

Apollo raised his hands in the air and jumped up and down.

"It sounds like fun!"

Eden coughed awkwardly.

"W-Would you like me to carry you there?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"Why?"

Eden cleared her throat.

"No specific reason. But it will be easier for you to be carried!"

Apollo blinked a few times, then nodded.

"Ok!"

He jumped up while Eden promptly caught him. She smiled slightly before pushing through the crowd.

"Make way please!"

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