Gladean Empire, Voyin Province: 936, February 7th, Wednesday, 1:00 PM.
“Can this thing go any faster!” Eric shouted with his head turned looking backwards, frightfully staring at the draconic specter chasing after them.
“Shut up or I’ll throw you off!” Claire retorted as she rode the spectral bike away from the creature—its faint crimson light fading slowly.
The large dragon behind them widely opened its mouth as it gained distance on the pair, its massive sharpened teeth at display for the young noble to witness. As the dragon approached with insatiable appetite—blocking the rays of the sun from reaching the bike—the creature snapped suddenly in an attempt to devour the pair in a single bite.
“Jump!” Claire promptly ordered, seeing no way out of the dragon’s deadlock. Reacting just in time to avoid the dragon’s jaws, Eric leaped off the bike to his right while Claire sprung to her left.
The bike was caught in the specter’s mouth as the dragon began to shred it into pieces with its teeth—leaving no traces of the spectral gear once it was done chewing on it. The motorcycle was nothing but an aperitive to the monster however, continuing its course towards the lieutenant as she struggled to pick herself up from the fall.
Unable to fully recover, Claire sat on the ground and showered the dragon’s face with a rain of bullets as she dragged herself away. The projectiles managed to stop its advanced –although for a mere couple of seconds—as the creature resumed its ravenous stride towards her. Claire continued to rapidly pull the triggers in her guns, releasing all the crimson energy inside the pistols until they finally succumbed under the strain and shut themselves off.
“Not now, not now!” she repeated furiously while smacking one of her pistols in her palm.
The dragon lunged at her with its mouth open and an earsplitting roar, the piercing breath of the creature hitting her face like a strong gust of wind. The lieutenant couldn’t help but close her eyes and protect her face with her arms, unable to look at the massive creature as it snatched its jaws at her.
It felt like time itself came to a halt as Claire braced herself for the impact, a sense of Déjà vu filling her mind as she found herself in such a terrifying yet familiar situation. Feeling the rush of wind slowly die out however, she opened her eyes and lowered her arms—giving her a view of the tall man’s back in front of her.
He wore a blue sleeveless flowing vest on top of a short sleeved white shirt displaying his well-defined arms, white pants and a black sash belt around his waist. Claire silently stared in shock as the man held the dragon’s mandible in place with one hand, his messy light brown hair tied in a short ponytail waving gently in the air.
The specter violently squirmed in an attempt to break free from the man’s grasp, but found itself overpowered by the tall figure holding it in place. The man strengthened his grip on the dragon’s jaw and lifted its head above his with little effort. Using his free hand, he swung two of his fingers upwards and landed a powerful strike against the monster’s chin.
A loud gasp instinctively left Claire’s lips as the force of the impact shook the ground lightly. Her breath quivered slightly and her eyes widened in shock, unable to process the sight of the dragon flying across the air like a small rock flung by a slingshot—landing far away on its back. With the specter at a safe enough distance, the man turned to face Claire—his bright azure eyes meeting hers.
“Sorry I couldn’t make earlier.” he smiled, offering her assistance.
Claire took his hand and stood back on her feet, drawing a massive blank on what she just witnessed. The man looked at her with a smile, his tall stature and azure eyes filling her mind with many ideas. Having memorized the basic features of a gladean knight from the many tales and legends she indulged in for many years, her mind screamed ‘knight’ as she connected the dots in her head.
“Are you alive?” Eric groaned as he approached, still injured from the previous two falls.
Claire flinched back with an unconscious gasp as the noble’s voice snapped her back into reality. “Y-you...” she took a quick step forward. “You are... a knight.” she looked at the man with amazement.
He bowed slightly to the pair and introduced himself. “My name is Ninigi,” he said with a polite and soft-spoken voice. “Please, leave everything here to me.” He concluded with a calm smile and turned to face the dragon once again.
The massive specter recovered from the piercing strike of the knight and stood back on its four legs, stretching its wings and releasing a thunderous roar before rushing at the trio like a homing missile. Ninigi fearlessly sprinted towards the dragon, stopping himself seconds before making contact with it. The dragon snapped at him the moment he entered its range, but was received by another powerful strike from the knight’s fingers to its snout.
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Ninigi continued to pierce through the sturdy surface of the specter with multiple fast attacks, surrounding the creature with inhuman levels of speed as his fingers shattered the scales of the dragon—like a hammer crashing into a thin glass surface. The defenseless specter recoiled rapidly after every strike, its body becoming riddled with massive craters as it let out screeching cries of searing pain.
Letting up on his assault, the knight allowed enough breathing room for the creature to retaliate—raising one of its claws and bringing it back down against Ninigi. Its sharpened blades collided with the ground as the knight shifted his body to the side, jumping over the dragon’s next attack with a swing of its second claw.
Infuriated, the dragon stomped the ground and lifted itself into the air. The few remaining specters engaging bloodhound in the distance fell to the floor and vanished instantly, their embers joining with the dragon’s core as it spread its wings in the sky. Overflowing with crimson energy, the dragon’s body began to glow like heated metal on top of an anvil.
The ground shook aggressively as the specter gathered all the energy around it, absorbing the power from the belfry itself into its core and shutting off the entire tower. Once its eyes set on the knight standing below it, the dragon proceeded to dive straight towards the ground with all its might—falling down like a flaming meteor about to impact the earth.
“T-that’s unreal...” Scott said under his breath, taking pictures with his phone.
With the vanquishing of the remaining specters, Bloodhound stared dumbfounded as they witnessed the fight between the knight and the dragon from afar.
“Who is that?” Tori asked, looking at the unflappable man looking straight up at the comet heading his way. “Why is he just standing there?” she raised her concerned voice.
The dragon let out a deafening roar while rapidly descending towards the ground, putting all its energy into burning the earth and everything around it. As the creature approached him with intimidating speed, the knight stretched his arm out towards the meteoric attack—ignoring the extreme temperature caused the blazing gust.
The dragon made contact with Ninigi’s palm, releasing an extraordinary amount of power that shook the region and broke the ground below violently. The dust cleared out and the creature’s eyes opened wide with disbelief, looking at the knight holding it in place with little effort. Its breath quivered and its body froze in place at the sight of his azure eyes, peacefully staring into its own.
“I’ll deal with you now,” Ninigi calmly stated.
His eyes began to glow with intensity as an azure light wrapped around his body, making use of the unique trait given to the knights by the goddess and the source of all their power. ‘The divine pathway’, an internal network of arteries connecting the knight's mind and body—supplying them with their supernatural strength and abilities.
Ninigi’s azure energy ran through his body and into the dragon’s, vanquishing the mortal flames around it. The specter fell to the ground unceremoniously as the azure light devoured its crimson veins, turning its black and crimson body into a pale gray with azure veins running inside. Offering little to no resistance, the dragon groaned softly as its body dissipated into embers at the knight’s touch—peacefully terminating its life.
With its core destroyed, the belfry immediately followed as it crashed and burned to the ground. The damage caused to the region by the specters savagery quickly fixed itself into its previous state, returning to normal as if nothing ever happened. The large crater on the ground left by the belfry closed itself promptly, the scorched earth regained its color and the grass grew once more in the span of a minute—bringing back the beauty of the grassy fields.
Bloodhound used the opportunity to regroup while the knight dealt with the specter. Gaspard carried Eric on his back while Scott and Tori held Claire steady by the arms, all of them staring intently at the events that just unfolded in front of them. The knight turned and waved in their direction, approaching the group with a placid smile on his face.
Ninigi reached Bloodhound not long after, all of them sitting on the ground as the gentle breeze swayed the tiny blades of grass of the field. “Is everyone alright?” he asked gently.
Cerberus HQ, CEOs Office: 936, February 7th, Wednesday, 1:30 PM.
Sovereign stood with his left hand on his pocket as he observed the red fog of the Deadlands through the window in his office. On his desk lied the broken sword accompanied by a white flower and a document regarding a child named, Lucy Engel. Providing data on the girl and Cerberus’ rival company, Chimera.
“I knew you’d call sooner or later,” Detective Tormod’s nonchalant voice came through the phone in Sovereign’s right hand. “What is it this time?”
“I’m planning...” he began to explain calmly. “A vacation of sorts for some of my employees,” he smirked with his eyes fixed on the fog. “But there’s something I need taken care of before that happens.”
“What is this ‘something’ that needs taken care of?” Tormod responded, playfully attempting to match his client’s soft and eerie tone.
Sovereign moved towards his desk and picked Lucy’s document with his right hand, leaving the phone on the desk. “An old promise I made; a friend of mine will bring you the details soon.”
“You don’t even know where I am,” the detective chuckled.
“Don’t be too sure of that,” Sovereign huffed a laugh. “An acquaintance of yours will provide you with assistance, I know you’ll be happy to see her.”
The multiple loud noises of aluminum cans hitting the ground leaked through the speakers of the phone, followed by Tormod’s amusing laugh. “You never fail to make things interesting, lad.”
END OF CHAPTER