The doctors and paramedics arrive within a minute of my call. They promptly apply health commands, and the room transforms to meet the medical team's needs. I exit the room to avoid obstructing them, practicing the breathing exercises I learned during my knight training while waiting by the door.

Some time passes, and Porter, along with the Krystal Knights, arrives at the door. I rise to greet them, but two knights immediately restrain my hands and put them behind my back.

"What's happening? Why are you arresting me?" I shout with a trembling voice, trying to maintain composure.

"Altair ren Helios, you are being arrested on suspicion of causing this incident. The heirs will judge you in the Lotus Chamber based on recorded evidence to determine your sentence."

"Wait! What about Delilah? I won't go until I know if she's okay." My face tightens, and I feel anger consuming me.

One of the knights steps in front of me. I recognize him as the sub-captain of the incident division in the cloud stratum.

"Lilah ren Acos is dead.."

My eyes widen in shock, and I collapse to the ground. "No, that can't be true. Let me see her! I need to see her with my own eyes!"

I look towards Porter in supplication.

"I knew the day would come when you would kill her. Damned monster."

My heart pounds in my chest, my hands clench into fists, and my mark burns as if my wrist is melting.

"If you want a monster, then you'll have one."

For the first time, I feel my body respond to my aggression and immediately strike one knight's head with the back of my neck. In the confusion, I use my arm to finish off the other, and he falls unconscious with just one blow.

I run into the room, and there I see Lilah. The paramedics look at me with terrified eyes. But then the other knights enter the room and try to stop me. A knight with gauntlets tries to hit me with great speed, but unlike my brother's swift and precise strikes, his blows are slow and clumsy. I quickly find an opening to counterattack and knock them out with one blow.

I glance at Lilah. I want to stay, but an alarm starts ringing loudly in the complex and I leave the room with tears in my eyes. I reach the entrance facing the square, but the rest of the squads and the Krystal guards surprise me with a barricade. Porter leads the assault alongside the Krystallo Knights.

The knights attack first, and I can dodge their strikes and find openings, using a change of pace in my attacks. Against multiple opponents, it's essential to turn it into small one-on-one battles, controlling the battle's rhythm.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The last of the knights with Krystal legs attacks me at full speed and tries to knock me down, but I see it coming and knee him in the liver, leaving me and Porter only standing. He attacks first and we exchange change blows, comparing him to the others he is by far better, but the winner has already been decided. I strike his chin and he folds to the ground, then I strike his face multiple times until I know he will not get up. The unconscious bodies of knights surround me.

For the first time, I can see the great potential I had. If they hadn't denied me the chance to be a knight, I would have been comparable to or even better than my brother, the legendary knight. A smile covers my face in satisfaction, and I can see how the guards with shields slightly retreat with terrified faces. But the smile on my face fades as I recall the image of the city in flames and my brother on the ground.

The guards step aside, and from the barricade emerges the heir of security and sports. The heir wears his typical white suit with a blue tie. He carefully removes the round glasses that contrast with his robust and muscular silhouette.

"No, I won't let you," I immediately say as I sprint towards him.

When I reach him, I try to knock him out with one blow, but his abilities are not to be underestimated, and he blocks me. We exchange blows. He manages to land a punch on my face, but I, in turn, deliver a stronger one to his stomach. I see him bend, and I direct my fist to his chin to finish things. But then explosion-like sounds echo from the sky, and a Krystal gauntlet descends, fitting onto his arm. I barely manage to guard, and I'm sent flying a few meters.

The explosions repeat, and the other armors descend from the sky, connecting to his body. Upgraded and more powerful versions of the Krystal arms, legs, torso, and helmet join to form the Krystal armor. I can't help but feel excited to see the complete Krystal armor for the first time. I'm sure it's the first time it's been used. The only one with the ability to use it without repercussions and limitations would be the heir of security.

As I blink, he has disappeared, and I find myself on the ground. The Krystal armor transforms and restrains my entire body, forcing me to kneel and look toward the wall of shields blocking the way.

Amadeus emerges from the wall. Despite the situation, his face shows his typical stoic expression. He walks unhurriedly towards me and the heir of security.

"Amadeus, this is all a misunderstanding. You, more than anyone, know I would never do anything to hurt Lilah."

"I know very well that it wasn't you," says Amadeus, maintaining his expressionless face.

My face lights up.

"But have you seen your arms?"

"My arms?"

The heir of security allows me some mobility, and then I see it. Although my mark continues to shine in white, the scars on my arm surrounding it glow in a red hue.

"What does this mean?"

"Look around you. It means you are a human capable of harming others."

I see the chaos that I have inflected and the blood in my hands. I finally understand it. This was not the first time I had done this. The dreams I had were all real.

"What will happen now?"

"Red Command," says Amadeus in a tone so grave that it's unrecognizable.

As he speaks, an alarm sounds throughout the complex. The ground transforms, and from it emerges a pillar from which a kind of pistol is created. The first one I've seen in person.

"Altair ren Helios, according to the code of the High Quartz and the law proclaimed by the 9 heirs —" Amadeus takes the weapon and places it on my forehead — "you will be executed."

"Until later, my friend" —I say with a smile.

Amadeus puts on that gentle smile, and a tear rolls down his cheek before taking the shot.