“I’m sorry, Gladea...” the young knight said—keeping his head low with his hands clasped together on his knees. He sat in a chair inside the small room of a wooden cabin, the sunlight illuminating its interior through the windows. “I can’t do it...”
“Ninigi...” a woman kneeled in front of him—taking both his hands into hers. “It’s alright, I’m not going to force you into anything.” she offered a tender smile.
“A knight that doesn’t fight is nothing but useless,” a gladean knight claimed with an angry frown. He was accompanied by another group of warriors that waited behind him at the door, all of them dressed in tunics and azure shoulder capes—a look of disappointment filling their already irritated expressions. “Forgive my bluntness, Gladea... but Ninigi does not deserve your attention, let alone to be called a gladean knight.”
“He is just like the rest of you, Adam.” The goddess calmly expressed—keeping her eyes in the discouraged knight before her. “Like humans, gladean knights are different in nature.” she stood back on her feet—her hands still holding the knight’s. “You will find your own path, Ninigi... just give it time.”
“Gladea!” an agitated knight suddenly broke through the crowd and into the cabin. “It’s Specter, he is back!” he breathed heavily.
The gladean knights tensed up at the mention of the god’s name, many uncertain looks were thrown around between each other as angst and silence reigned over the room. Gladea remained calm at the news, letting go of Ninigi’s hands and offering one last encouraging smile. She laid her hand in the azure sword to her side, striding her way out of the cabin—her loyal army following behind her.
All but Adam—who stayed a moment longer than the rest. “Many lives have been lost in order to protect humanity, the goddess and our fellow knights.” A disdainful expression covered his face as he clicked his tongue in contempt for the man before him. “You are a coward and you are not worth the brave heroes we’ve lost.”
As he watched Adam leave to catch up with the rest, a sense of guilt and fear overtook the young knight’s mind. While he possessed power unmatched by any other, Ninigi had a strong distaste for violence, and that repulsion only grew as he witnessed the gruesome fights against Specter—his only desire to be left alone to live a quiet and peaceful life.
“I don’t want to fight...” was the only thought in the gladean knight’s mind.
Kingdom of Heildin, Outside the Capital Walls: 936, March 16th, Friday, 12:30 AM.
Ninigi’s back bounced off the concrete wall after receiving a powerful attack, Loki rushed in to continue his assault—charging at his opponent with his dual blades ready to strike. Reacting fast enough, Ninigi pressed his hands against the wall to lift the lower half of his body, and respond with a frontal kick—connecting against Loki’s chest and knocking him a large distance away.
The impact caused the knight to slid on the ground—leaving a trail of dust in his path. Loki recovered quickly and retook his fighting stance however, holding both swords to his sides. “Is that really it...?” both anger and disappointment enveloped his face.
Charging at his adversary in a straight line, Loki hurled one of his swords towards Ninigi—who promptly stepped to the side to evade the attack. As the blade pierced the walls of the capital, Loki’s body dissipated quickly into sparks of azure light—reappearing in front of the sword buried in the concrete.
With a strong pull of his arm, Loki ripped the sword off the wall and released a strong horizontal swing against his opponent. Already one step ahead of the relentless knight, Ninigi caught the blade with his bare-hands—locking it in between his palms.
As anticipated, Loki reacted with an aggressive vertical swing of his second sword. Bracing himself for a risky counter, Ninigi used the sword locked between his hands to pull Loki’s arm upwards—deflecting the second attack with the knight’s own blade and pushing himself backwards to gain distance.
Loki cracked a pompous chuckle, amused by his master’s skill in combat. “You are not that bad, Ninigi.” The smug knight claimed. “You are still however, a failure... to the goddess... the order... your fellow knights...” Loki strolled around lazily while slowly cutting the distance between them both—twirling one of his swords. “But I am not... I am strong... I am... better than you... you want to know why?”
Disappearing with an azure light once more, Loki teleported himself in front of Ninigi—making the first move with a horizontal swing towards his opponent’s neck. Ninigi ducked under the attack and responded with a quick strike using only two fingers. Loki evaded the attack by teleporting behind him however—countering with a vertical swing of his sword.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Because I am the champion!” he roared with an eager expression as he brought his weapon down on his foe.
In a disadvantageous position and unable to turn his body in time, Ninigi reacted fast enough to barely block the blade with his arm—receiving a brutal cut in his forearm. Perceiving his unfavorable situation, Ninigi spun with his arm out in an attempt to take a hold of Loki’s leg behind him—but the knight jumped over his hand, evading the attack.
“...!” a powerful kick to the chin awaited Ninigi after his failed offensive, the strength of the impact catapulted his body away as his back slid on the ground—ripping trails on the dirt with a screen of dust.
“You understand now?” Loki teleported on top of Ninigi, plunging one of his swords in the knight’s arm—holding the other one still with his boot. “The goddess was wrong about you...” the grin in his face grew wider—his sadistic eyes enjoying the sight of the injured knight.
“King is not the answer, Loki...” Ninigi growled in pain. “He will only bri—"
“Oh, I don’t really care.” Loki interrupted, stabbing the wounded knight in the other arm—restraining his movement. “I was chosen by him you see... by the order.” a quick chortle escaped his lips. “Chosen to kill Specter with my own two hands,” he stomped his opponent’s chest with the sole of his boot. “The world will soon fear the real champion... me.”
Balling his hand into a fist, Loki raised his hand and brought it down with all his strength—aiming at the knight’s head. The attack went through, but hit the dirt instead of Ninigi—shaking the ground and leaving a large crater underneath. “What the...!” Loki stared in shock as his target disappeared in a flash.
Using his own technique against him, Ninigi teleported behind Loki and swept his legs with a low kick. The force lifted his body and caused him to spin backwards—leaving his head pointing to the ground. As his opponent remained in the air, Ninigi placed two of his fingers a mere inch away from Loki’s chest—closing them into a fist, and releasing an extraordinary amount of energy against the knight’s heart.
The impact caused a small ignition of azure light that hurled Loki away a great distance—bouncing off the ground multiple times. Burying his hand on the dirt, Loki stopped himself from being dragged away further—standing back on his feet with bared teeth and raging eyes.
“There is good in you, Loki...” Ninigi calmly approached him, taking an inoffensive stance. “Don’t let King manipulate you into something you are not.”
“You really are this stupid... aren’t you?” Loki snapped back, the anger boiling inside him. “There’s nothing wrong with King or the order...” he began to ramble. “Humans are weak, defenseless... we are strong... superior in every way.” The knight cracked his neck—taking a fighting stance. “They need to be reminded who’s in charge.”
Floating City of Paradise, Knight’s District: 936, March 16th, Friday, 12:30 AM.
“The goddess was right about them...” King spoke with a voice full of melancholy—his giant figure towering over his already tall assistant, Theo.
They both stood at the top of a massive wall that enveloped a large portion of the floating city’s center—leaving only small portions of land surrounding the interior. Their backs were facing the gladean knights district—both men contemplating the outer side of the wall under the silver light of the moon.
“Look at them, Theo...” King said. “Their lives are so fragile, yet so precious...”
Theo nodded in agreement, keeping his eyes closed with his hands clasped in front of him. “The order will keep its oath to the goddess and protect them from Specter, my king.” the fragile looking man responded. “It is what she would’ve wanted.”
Beyond the walls of the knight’s district, lied the human side of the city. A total contrast to the healthy and beautifully kept fields of the inner walls, the lucky residents lived in small run downed shacks, while the less fortunate slept outside in the dry and dusty ground—trembling from the cold as their tattered clothes could barely protect them from the environment.
Their gaunt bodies displayed scars of mistreatment all over their backs, legs, arms and abdomen—their depressed faces covered in dirt. Multiple groups of gladean knights patrolled the areas constantly, keeping an eye on all residents.
“They need our protection,” King stated—his voice heavy and resolute. “Too many times have they faced death... we can’t allow her creations to suffer under Specter’s actions any longer.” he closed his palm into a fist—a vein popping out from his forehead. “They are inferior to us... weak... this is why the goddess created us knights, to preserve human life... to rule over them and guide them... those are her wishes.”
“Specter will face retribution by your own hand, my king.” Theo expressed calmly. “Our champion is already on the field... it’s only a matter of time until the god reveals himself.”
At Theo’s words, King’s anger faded like a camp fire in the rain—breathing slowly through his nose to calm himself. However, one of the residents jolted up on his feet and pointed his finger at the pair of knights on top of the wall—his words couldn’t be heard from the large distance, but his rage filled expression was enough to understand his intentions.
One of the guards patrolling the area, took the man by the arm and dragged him through the ground with ease—the man squirm and cursed to the stars in an attempt to break free, but his struggle remained fruitless. He was led into a batch of tiny fortified concrete rooms with no windows—their size could barely fit a single person inside them. The knight forced the prisoner into his new home, trapping him inside by slamming the thick iron door shut—a strong azure light leaked through the tiny cracks between the door and the frame, disappearing immediately after.
“They don’t understand yet...” King turned to face away from the humans. “But I will make them understand... their lives should be protected and preserved forever.”
END OF CHAPTER