“I just want a normal life,” Claire said while sitting on the sofa as she brushed Lucy’s hair—preparing the girl to return to headquarters.
Sovereign put on his black vest, buttoning up the last button in his red dress shirt under it. “I remember you saying something like that,” he commented. “You are pretty good at this to be honest. One would think you were born a soldier.”
“The better I am at my job, the faster I can leave it behind.” Replied the lieutenant, patting Lucy’s head as she released the girl—who proceeded to hop her way to the bathroom. “When all of this is over, I think I’ll look for a new home for father and I to live in. I miss taking care of the animals. Father used to show me around the village in one of the horses, but I never learned how to ride one myself.” A nostalgic chuckled escaped Claire. “Hopefully this will all end soon…”
Sovereign observed the pensive girl for a second, falling deep in thought himself before speaking. “Right… You think Cerberus is the answer?” he casually asked.
“Why wouldn’t it?” Claire replied without a single hint of doubt. “Nobody can fight the specters like we do. We have the empires support, and you seem knowledgeable on not only the Deadlands, but the gladean knights as well.”
“So, you do trust me.” Joked Sovereign.
His words caused the lieutenant to raise an eyebrow, replying immediately after. “Depends on what you mean by that? I believe you have humanities best interests in mind, and I will follow your lead as long as those values don’t change… but you are immature and out of shape, so I wouldn’t trust you for anything unrelated to the company’s management.” She pointed at his body, with her chin. “You need to walk more, and maybe stop bothering me with date invites. It’s not gonna happen.”
“What? But I’m a good man.”
“Why don’t you show me your phone?”
“Welp, it’s about time we head back to HQ. Yeon will get worried if we take too long, let me get the car ready for you.”
Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, August 12th, Sunday, 5:30 PM.
Ducking under Ninigi’s rapid horizontal slash of his blade, Specter placed his right hand just above the hilt of his weapon. As he stretched all five fingers, the broken sword shot out of its holster with a sharp metallic sound that burst into crimson sparks—revealing its broken steel, which was extended by another blade made from pure crimson energy.
Once out of its holster and in Specter’s hand, the god reeled his upper body backwards before launching a powerful slash towards his opponent. The crimson energy blade of the sword, caught Ningi from below—traveling upwards at an angle from his hip, and into the shoulder. Despite being no blood, the knight was forced to retreat with a backwards stumble—feeling the burn of Specter’s blade.
“Gr…!” he grunted in pain while holding his shoulder, lifting his head to look at the demon in the eye. “You know that won’t be enough to beat me...”
Unlike a common blade, Specter’s crimson sword was capable of slicing the artery network of a gladean knight—dealing greater harm than a physical attack could in such an opponent. Taking the opportunity to strike once again, the god rushed the champion with a frontal assault—taking his chances with another attack of his blade.
Preparing himself to evade, Ninigi crouched in one knee under the demon’s first strike—watching as Specter shifted his movements quickly to continue with a vertical swing instead. Stepping to the side however, the knight not only pulled himself back on his feet, but earned an advantageous position to counterattack—responding with a brutal knee to the god’s abdomen, forcing saliva out of his mouth as his body forcefully bent forward.
“Grargh!” Specter held his stomach while slowly stepping back—releasing his broken sword, which hit the ground and vanished into crimson particles. “…!”
Spotting a straight punch approaching rapidly, the god moved his head aside to avoid Ninigi’s fist—the sharp wind created by the sheer force of the knight’s motion slicing his cheek open. Having predicted the demon’s reaction however, the champion twirled around while lowering his body to land a powerful elbow to the god’s stomach—finishing his assault with a side kick, planting the sole of his boots on the face of his opponent, and catapulting him far into the distance.
Specter’s back scrapped the scorched earth as he was violently hurled away by Ninigi’s attack, leaving fragments of his spectral body behind as the ground shredded his body. The god bounced off it before coming to an abrupt stop, causing his face to hit the dirt.
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“Grh…” while trying to pick himself up, the demon suddenly realized the weakened state his body found itself in—spotting the falling shards of obsidian pilling off his body, which drew a nervous gaze in his one crimson eye. “No way… I can’t…” he muttered in between painful grunts. “Should I… should I call him?”
Desperate for an answer, his mind quickly retreated to the last card in his hand. A daemon of tremendous power, whom not even he could keep under control. The myth that once stood against him. Afflicted by his stunned mind however, Specter failed to concentrate enough to make the decision—watching helplessly as his body continued to fall apart on its own.
“You’ve lost…” claimed Ninigi with heavy breaths, puffing air through his gritted teeth—sheathing his curved sword back into its sheath. His flowing azure vest was completely torn, and the shirt he wore underneath was now burnt to a crisp—revealing the powerful structure of the knight, with every muscle in his body toned to perfection—covered in cuts, bruises and blood. “Killing you now will mean that you get to regenerate once again,” he continued. “But if that stops you from harming the people of this world, then you leave me no choice.”
“Grh!” the words of the champion caused the demon’s eyes to widen, feeling his consciousness escape him. He planted both palms on the ground, gripping the dirt tightly in a desperate attempt to gather the strength to stand. “You will allow him to get away with this…” protested the demon. “Was she not worthy of being protected too, champion?” his voice quivered slightly, rage and sadness overtaking his confused state.
“King will pay for what he did to Ki-Joon, and every other person he’s harmed.”
Struggling to keep his breath steady, Specter huffed air through his nose rapidly as his mutated body failed to give him the strength to stand back on his feet. “Gh… no… all of my work… just to get this body… everything I did… Paradise will fall by my hand, champion. You know about her statue and the fountain… you know what it can do.”
“I will destroy them both,” claimed Ninigi with no hesitation. “The souls of many humans, hybrids and knights…. are trapped inside it. They will be set free once destroyed, and that will put an end to King and his order.”
“No… I have to save him first.”
“What?” Specter’s growl took the champion by surprise. “Who are you talking about?”
Finding enough strength to kneel down, Specter’s trembling body begged him to fall to the ground—feeling every cut and bruise burning his flesh. “I promised… I promised her that I would...”
As the god slowly raised himself to stand once again, Ninigi pressed his fingers tightly on the grip of his sword—taking a defensive stance. Specter however, had no further strength to respond, and his efforts only served to plummet him back down against the ground—falling in his face a second time.
A thought crossed the champion’s mind as he watched the demon fall, recalling his battle with the exile only a few months ago. “You mean him?”
“I promised… I…” grunted Specter, continuing to speak as if he has lost his mind. “My head… I can’t…"
“…!” taken off guard while he was listening to the rambling man in the ground, Ninigi skillfully leaped away with a spiraling jump—landing away in one knee. “I should’ve known…” he said under his breath.
In front of him—standing tall with a massive sword resting on his shoulder, Sebastian arrived to assist Sovereign with a cheerful smile plastered in his face. “Hey!” he made a quick motion with his hand. “Sorry about this, but he is the boss and I got a family to feed.”
“Who… are you?” inquired the young CEO, lifting his face from the dirt to stare at the uniformed man protecting him from the knight.
“Hm?” the major turned his big smile towards the silver-haired man, replying enthusiastically to the question. “I’m Sebastian, your good ol’ pal, best buddies, inseparable companion and true friend. Remember me?”
“You… what?” Sovereign could barely bring himself to speak, grunting before every word while holding his head with one hand.
Confidently turning to look at the champion, Sebastian placed his free hand on the holstered shotgun strapped to his left leg. “You get out of here before the worst comes to pass,” his voice became softer—offering a more serious tone. “I need you to protect my daughter,” he said while glancing at the injured CEO. “We are both counting on you… I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that promise you made.”
A faint gasp escaped from between the man’s lips, his furious and sorrowful frown fading into a contemplating gaze. With the remaining bits of strength that he could muster, Sovereign forced his trembling legs to stand with painful groans. He turned away from the imminent fight, glancing back at Sebastian from over his shoulder.
“Don’t get killed... or I won’t know what to say to her.” Claimed Sovereign before slowly limping away into the crimson fog.
“Haha!” the major chuckled, unconcerned by his own safety. “Ninigi and I are good friends now! We are just going to have a friendly spar,” he turned towards the knight. “Right?”
The champion offered no reply however, clenching his jaw as he contemplated his options. “I want nothing more than to leave things here but…” his mind wondered while simultaneously attempting to gather the heart and courage to pursue—finding himself incapable of chasing after a wounded man, a human.
“Maybe he’s got a stomachache?” wondered Sebastian with curiosity filling his amber eyes.
“Don’t stand in my way… Sebastian.”
The major’s innocent smile widened, replying to the knight’s request. “Don’t worry, it’ll be just a friendly spar like I said. Nothing wrong with a couple of friends playing at being warriors of legend, right?”
“…Have it your way,” Ninigi took a deep breath before vanishing his azure steel sword into thin air—leaving him unarmed for the battle. “But if I win… you will stand aside and no longer interfere.”
“Yep, sounds good to me!”
END OF CHAPTER