Black Blade

Black Blade (黒刀, Kuro-gatana?) is an Artifact and Hajime Nagumo's seventh masterpiece. Given to one of Hajime's lovers/wives, Shizuku Yaegashi.

Appearance
The Black Blade is a Kissaki Moroha-Zukuri-Style Shirasaya Katana with a curved and slender double-edged jet black blade and a black hilt. According to Shizuku, the Black Blade has a striking resemblance to one of Japan’s most famous swords, the Kogarasu Maru. Its Saya scabbard is also Jet-black made of Azanthium.

Abilities
Being Hajime's seventh masterpiece, the Black Blade is an extremely powerful Artifact of supreme craftsmanship crafted from compressed Azanthium, the hardest ore on Tortus, the sword has immense strength and sharpness blade to cut through steel even when wielded by an amateur swordsman. The Black Blade is also extremely light letting Shizuku retains her lightning-fast speed and reflexes without losing its strength. Due to being crafted using Azanthium, its nigh-unbreakable, blocking and deflecting a powerful laser beam in the Great Schnee Labyrinth. It was also enchanted with the Gale Claw skill, allowing the Black Blade to create a wind blade from its tip, as well as extending it up to 60 cm if mana is applied.

After Hajime acquired Evolution Magic, which enhanced his Creation Magic, he enchanted the Black Blade with several magics from the Age of God. It has Gravity Magic, letting her control its weight, pushing or pulling targets toward the sword; Spatial Magic, letting her cut through space; Restoration Magic, letting it restore itself from any damages done or slowly healing its wielder using a restorative aura; and Spirit Magic, letting her cut the souls of her enemies. Hajime modified the Black Blade to make it easier to control, making the spells enchanted inside of it to be permanently active allowing Shizuku to activate it at full power through thought alone, as well as turning it into a living sword using Spirit and Metamorphosis Magic.

Its sheath could clad with thunder when applied with mana, as well as its mouth shooting needles with tremendous force.

History
After Hajime attained Age of God's Creation Magic, he crafted countless variety of weapons and equipment to practise his Synergist skills. Eventually he crafted the Blade Blade based on the manga he read as reference for the basic framework while using his superior transmutation experience from crafting Kodachi short swords to cover up any deficiencies in his lack of knowledge and understanding about Japanese swords. Due to his preference for marksmanship, Hajime kept the Black Blade in his Treasure Trove as a prototype instead of using it in combat himself.

After rescuing the Hero Party from Cattelya's ambush, Hajime gave Shizuku the Black Blade as a gift which she is extremely grateful for. After receiveing the Black Blade from Hajime, Shizuku passed it to the Heligh Kingdom's best Synergists including Volpen for them to appraise and modify with magic circles for her to use its magic abilities. After practising her Yaegashi ryu swordsmanship with the Black Blade for two months, Shizuku would use her new weapon to defend herself from being ambushed by Eri's undead knights, and later in fighting the monsters of the last two Great Labyrinth after joining Hajime's party for Age of God's Magic.

Trivia

 * Kissaki Moroha Zukuri (鋒両刃造) blades like the Black Blade are sometimes referred to as Kogarasu Zukuri (小烏造), since the blade of the Kogarasu Maru one of the most reowned Japanese sword is shaped this way and is well known for its distinctive sugata with a curved double-edged blade, which one edge of the blade is shaped in normal tachi fashion, but unlike the tachi, the tip is symmetrical and both edges of the blade are sharp. It is unique as a bridge between the old double-edged Japanese Tsurugi (based on the Chinese jian) and the traditional Japanese tachi and eventual katana.
 * The Black Blade which lacks a tsuba (guard) and proper handle wrappings is also considered shirasaya (白鞘), "white scabbard",is a plain  Japanese sword consisting only of a saya (scabbard) and tsuka (hilt).
 * The Black Blade is similar to the Murata-Tou the first Gunto produced for the Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji era which like the Black Blade is also a Kissaki Moroha Zukuri style double edged Katana crafted by Tsuneyoshi Murata, a General of the Imperial Japanese Army who is both a famous firearms designer and expert marksman much like the Black Blade's creator Hajime Nagumo who is both a gunsmith and master marksman.