Vex collapsed. Behind her, not one, not two, but three Flame-Born Knights, each could defeat an entire army alone. Three of such powerful beings ambushed them.

That was their traps. The trap Calamity set up by sacrificing two days worth of Fire Elemental.

But something bothered Theo. Excluding the Lords and the Ancients, Flame-Born Knight was their strongest soldier. They were given the most important and most dangerous task, like protecting the summoner and the portal. So why did they send three Flame-Born Knights to defeat his party and the Miracle?

Did they perceive his party and the Miracle as a large enough threat to their overall plan, that they deserve such a powerful retaliation? Or was it because they had too much power that they could send a powerful force like that on a whim. The former was preferable to the later, but still a problem nonetheless.

If the latter was true, then this mission was doomed from the start. It was unlikely, however. If they had such a power at disposal, why didn't they send it to attack the army base camp? It didn't matter. What matters was they were ambushed by three Super Powers and Vex was already taken down.

Theo took a glance a quick glance at Vex. Taking his eyes off his enemy was a grave mistake, but he couldn't help but worry.

She was still breathing, albeit with great difficulty.

They were all shocked by the sudden turn of event and by the revelation of their foes. But they were not some mere adventurers. A gale swirled around the feet of one Flame-Born Knight. The next second, he was thrown high into the sky, quickly followed by a battle ready Val.

"[Serene Slash]" Theo slashed at the second knight, but a flame halberd stopped it in its track. The [Serene slash] that could cut steel armor clean, didn't even chip the knight's weapon.

The third knight swung his halberd at Theo while he was busy with the second Knight.

A thick vegetation spurted out from the ground and blocked the third knight's weapon. It only served to slow the blade down as it burned through it. It, however, gave Theo enough time to move out of the way.

But That was still not enough. The Knights were faster than Theo and he was surrounded by two of them. One second he was out of harm's way and the next second, two halberds came towards him from his front and back. And he could only block one.

Tina jumped and stood behind him, facing the Knight who attacked Theo from behind. Her feathers turned silver, and lighting ran wild on it, showing that her skill activated.

She blocked the Knight's halberd with her wings. She rushed into the Knight to push him away from Theo while Bry cast a buff on her.

Tina slammed her body into the Knight. A force enough to fall a Lava Gargoyle or Lava giant, the Knight took it head on. He didn't show any sign of serious damage.

Tina, on the other hand, was dazed because of her own skill. It was a powerful skill that used the user's own body as a weapon. But it was as powerful as it was risky.

The Knight slashed Tina. But an arrow struck his right hand and threw his halberd away before he could. It was an arrow containing enough power to kill a Higher Elemental from a distance of one kilometer, yet the arrow barely penetrates through the knight's gauntlet.

The Knight punched Tina, throwing her body to a nearby rock and shattering it in the process. Despite Tina's high defense and defensive buff from Bry, that punch was enough to crack a few ribs.

"And Tars think that we should be careful with these insects, laughable." That was the second time they heard the deep malicious voice. Everyone shuddered, hearing the voice. It was seemingly enhanced by magic, or maybe, it was their mortal instinct telling them to run.

A few meters from the third Knight, Theo was exchanging blow with his opponent. Lyana, Vivi, and Ed showered the Knight with spells. Ed with his ice spell, Vivi with mind magic, and Lyana with her lightning spell. But all that effort had little to no effect. The knight ignored those spells as most of them bounced off his armor, with a few leaving a scratch mark or two.

Theo was trying to hit the knight from all side. He moved, he dashed, he circled the knight, but all his attacks were either parried or blocked. What more frustrating was the knight hadn't even moved a step from where he stood.

The knight could have moved and dodged Theo attack, but why would he. His enemy was nothing more than a human. What difference could a human make more than an ant could make? Nothing.

"[Serene Slash]" Panes turned as thin as a drop of water and moved towards the knight's neck.

To mock Theo's effort even more, the knight didn't move nor did he block. He took the slash head on, the slash that could cut any enchanted steel or enchanted rock. The slash cut through ... his skin. It cut through his armor and whatever was inside, but then it stopped, unable to cut deeper than his skin.

The knight kicked Theo right on his chest. His armor did protect him, but a kick was a blunt attack. The armor couldn't block all the force of the kick.

Theo crashed into a rock and fell to the ground. He could feel one or two of his ribs broken.

The knight ran his halberd right through Theo's skull before he could even react, killing him instantly. Or that what would have happened if the knight wasn't so consumed in pride. The knight didn't move from his spot. He didn't take the chance to kill his enemy. Instead, he waited for Theo to get up.

Theo stood up, his legs shaking after the impact. [Serene Slash] was a skill focused on cutting power, If that didn't work, It was time for brute force, [Monster Beheading] and [Vaporizing Slash].

Theo took two papers from his pouch. One froze his blade solid and the other burned without leaving any mark and without immediate effect.

Theo walked to the knight, stopping just outside the Knight's range. He grabbed Panes with both hands.

He dashed forward. "[Vaporizing Slash]" Four consecutive, near instant slashes came from four directions.

The knight was not impressed, he could see them coming. It was a fast attack, but not even close to the fastest attack the knight have ever seen. The knight didn't put up any resistance.

A big mistake.

The Draken Steel, combined with the vaporizing flame, cut through the knight's armor. Through his skin. Through the flaming flesh beneath it.

Molten lava spilled out from the wound.

Theo smiled. The thrill and excitement facing and wounding such a mighty foe. And the prospect of defeating said foe was a little bit too much for Theo. But he also realized the danger. He mustn't let his enjoyment of the fight made him careless.

Theo launched the second slash. But the Knight grabbed his neck. He lifted Theo's body. Then stabbed his chest.

"So this one is a rodent, not an insect."

"Theo!" Vivi, Lyana, and Ed screamed when blood fountained out from his mouth.

Confusion replaced the dread they felt when blue blood came out from his mouth. Theo's skin turned blue, his whole body turned blue. It was not the work of the knight. He was as confused as them.

A blade came from above, aimed at the knight head.

Despite the surprise and confusion, the Knight's speed and reflex allowed him to block the coming blade.

The knight gauntlet shattered and broke after clashing with Theo's sword.

Theo smile became wider after he tricked the knight and destroyed his gauntlet. There was a chance, there was a real chance of them defeating a Flame-Born Knight. There was no need to use the item from his special pouch. Or so he thought.

The Knight's anger boiled to its limit. Molten rock came out from three spots on his body. It was his lava. His precious lava. And a mere rodent dared to spill his lava.

That was it. Playtime over. It was time to turn serious.

The Knight moved from his spot and caught the rodent by the neck before he could reach the ground. He slammed him into a rock with enough force to crack it open.

He threw the Theo around, not giving him a chance to attack or to defend or to run away. And Theo couldn't do anything.

With a precise and trained movement, he disarmed Theo and threw the Draken steel sword off his hand. And without any delay, the Knight stabbed his gut like he did with the woman before.

"Gahh!" Theo screamed. The Halberd went through his armor without damaging it. He could feel his body burning from inside out.

Like Vex before him, he fell when the knight pulled the Halberd out of him.

The knight raised his halberd, ready to end him. A violent aura exploded once more. The Knight released the full might of his aura to intimidate his enemies. The heavy air turned even heavier.

Vivi and Lyana could only watch. None of their attacks were effective. The gap between their power was too great. Even Theo couldn't do anything when the Knight was serious.

They could only hope that this was another trick by Theo, another Trick he used. They wanted to help him, but their bodies froze in fear. It was hard to move before, but now, they could hardly breathe.

Ed too froze in fear. The oppressive aura shackled his body, pinning him in place. His sweat-soaked clothes, his trembling legs, his wet pants from pee, he hated all that. But he hated his own powerlessness even more.

He knew he was weak. He was weaker than Theo, than Lyana, than Vivi. The only thing good about him was his [Dragon Breath] and that too has a high cost of using all his mana, causing him to faint after one use.

But he couldn't stand and watch when his friend was about the be executed. He knew he couldn't defeat the knight, but if he bought him some time, that would be enough.

Ed tried his hardest to move. He summoned all the might his small body could muster. He has to move. He must move. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. He wanted to, but he couldn't even do that.

'AHHHHHHH!!!! MOVE!! MOVE!!' Ed shouted inside his heart. he wanted to shout it out loud, but even moving his lips was impossible.

Suddenly, a surge of power entered his body. A power he never felt before filled him. His blood veins lit up, visible even from outside. His blue eyes shone with bright blue light.

He could move. The oppressive aura shackled him no longer.

He touched Vivi and Lyana beside him, freeing them from the freezing fear that froze them.

A blade of pure magic formed in Ed's right hand. He didn't know how he knew that. The knowledge just popped in his head.

He enhanced his jump with magic and swung the blade at the knight's head.

But the Knight moved his head and slammed it at Ed, hitting Ed with the back of his helmet. That alone was enough to throw Ed and cause some serious damage. A pain that Ed never felt before ran through his body.

The knight brought his halberd down. Theo grabbed the halberd before it cut his chest.

Their strength difference was massive. Theo couldn't even hold for one second before his arm cramped.

The heat from the flame halberd burned and scorched his hands. His brain told him to give up. But he held still. Losing both hands was better than losing his life.

Ed has no choices. None of his attacks worked on the Knight. He has to use his [Dragon Breath]. It would drain his mana completely and make him faint, but he had no other choices if he wanted to save Theo.

"[Ice Dragon Breath]"

Wind of unparalleled cold came out from his mouth. Mana shot out like a jet. The water in the air froze and crystallized. the frozen white air sucked every bit of heat from its surrounding, turning even the hottest of flame cold.

The knight jumped away, realizing how dangerous the breath was. He knew it wasn't a normal spell, it wasn't a mortal spell. It was a spell existing in the realm of myth. Not even the strongest of ice Elementals could conjure a cold like that.

The bane of fire. The bane of his race. He has to kill the dragonling before he became stronger. Before he became a threat to his lady.

The Knight hopped to a rock and raised an arm. He conjured a spear of golden flame, ready to throw it at the dragonling and end his life.

But a bolt of lightning struck his hand, strong enough to stun him for a moment. On the edge of his vision, he could see the demon girl shot the lightning bolt.

That was strange, the Knight thought. The demon girl had previously attacked him with only tier 2 and 3 spells, which his armor easily deflected. But the bolt that attacked him was a tier 4 spell. Why didn't the demon girl used it earlier, he wondered.

Lyana stood with her arms extended out. She had cast her first tier 4 spell, something that should have caused her to be overflowing with joy, but she didn't. It wasn't because of her own effort she was able to cast the spell. It was the strange power Ed gave her, that made her able to cast it.

Vivi ran to Theo. She helped him sat up and opened his helmet only to saw him slowly losing consciousness.

She took a bottle of healing potion and forced him to drink it. She then used her magic to reduce the pain he was experiencing.

"Vivi?" He asked after Vivi treated him.

Vivi smiled at his question. Only for a kick to land on her face a second after.

Her body rolled on the ground three times before stopping. Fresh blood trickled down from her hair, painting it red.

"You bastard!" Theo yelled at the Knight. The Knight kicked him too.

The Knight conjured another spear and stabbed it on Theo's stomach. Theo's scream rang out. But only the Knight heard it.

"You are all an exemplary specimen." The Knight said. "Our Lady Calamity wants to preserve some excellent specimen such as you. Rejoice that you will be spared. And your women there and there." The Knight pointed at Vivi and Lyana, who was in the same condition as Vivi. Unconscious, and on the ground with blood on her head.

"But not him." The Knight turned towards Ed.

Ed body hovered above the ground. A lance of golden fire pierced his heart. His head hung low.

His blue eyes wide open.

Blank.

Theo's eyes went wide. "E-Ed? ED!" But there was no answer. "ED!" Theo refused what he saw. That was not possible.

"Don't bother." The Knight pulled the lance from Ed. His body fell to the ground. "The Dragonling is dead."

Theo grabbed the spear on his stomach, only for his hand to pass through it like it was a normal flame. But when he tried to stand up, it held his body in place like a normal spear.

The Knight looked at Lyana. "Demon and human. An unusual pair." The Knight then turned his head towards the sky, where a battle between his brother and Val was raging.

From his back, a pair of flaming wings sprouted out. He bent his knee and prepared himself to jump.

With a flap of his wings, the Knight shot to the sky. But a hand caught his foot. A small hand, no larger than a child's, stopped him from flying.

Scales covered the child's hand. Dragon scales.