“He is so precious…” a woman spoke with a soft and weakened tone.
She rested calmly on top of a bed, its sheets covering the lower half of her body. The woman was of light skin and short black hair down to the shoulders, her eyes proudly exhibited the radiant azure of a gladean knight, and the scars running down her porcelain skin the many battles she’s survived. In her arms, she carried a small boy with the same black hair as her own. The baby calmly breathed through his nose with half parted lips, keeping his eyes closed while sleeping comfortably in the arms of his mother.
The room she rested in was somewhat small, but brilliantly crafted with the sturdiest of woods, and beautifully decorated with fancy pottery and paintings. Surrounding her were a man and two women, all dressed in azure tunics that mirrored their bright pupils. The man sat next to her in a wooden chair, while the other two simply watched from behind.
“Hideko,” the man said. “Is this him?”
The woman giggled, and looked at the man in the eye with a smile. “Yes,” she replied. “He looks so healthy and strong… he is your son, King.”
“He is,” the man nodded with a smile full of pride. “A strong warrior, with the power of a daemon.”
“A daemon?” Hideko repeated with more disgust than confusion, returning her gaze to the boy in her arms. “Don’t compare him to those things… he is more than that… he is a champion in my eyes.”
King leaned back on his chair, maintaining a fixed gaze on the sleeping boy as he lifted his chin slowly. “How is your strength, Hideko?” he asked the woman. “It looks like your pathway has recovered for the most part…”
“Uh… I’m not sure.” She replied. “My body hurts, and I still feel a little nauseous.” Hideko met King’s eyes with a smile regardless of her state, a smile that would slowly fade alongside her own life.
In a surprising and violent assault from King, who lunged at her without warning. Hideko found herself almost jumping off the bed in order to save her life, but the sluggishness of her own body carried enough just enough strength to protect the baby in her arms. Her head was immediately buried between a fluffy white pillow, and the enormous pressure of King’s palm. Hideko saw no other alternative than lay the baby next to her, utilizing her now freed hands to fight back against the knight.
“…!” King’s eyes widened at the woman’s reaction—who did not intend to go out without offering a fight.
Hideko grabbed him by the wrists, and began to pull them apart in a desperate attempt to gain even the smallest window to breath. Her strength began to overwhelm the pressure of King’s fingers threatening to crush her skull, but the cards were not in Hideko’s favor during the most important struggle of her life—for everything was going exactly as planned. The two women in the room rid of their role as observers in an instant, and decided to join the man in his pursuit to suffocate her to death.
They held the mostly defenseless woman by the arms and angles, allowing King to freely envelop her head under his hand, and apply further pressure in his violent assault. Hideko struggled, and the turmoil of events inevitably caused the sleeping boy to be thrown off the comfortable bed. His head bounced off the floor with a crack, breaking the wooden planks of the floor on impact. The abrupt blow in his head snapped the boy awake, who’s loud cries resonated all over the walls as Hideko’s struggle came to a swift end.
Floating Island of Paradise, Knights District: 936, December 2nd, Sunday, 10:00 AM.
“I see you’ve gathered them all again,” Loki said as he casually stepped next to King.
At the highest point of the large colosseum, standing at the empty staircases handcrafted in stone were King and Loki. Both of them observed a fairly large group of men and women gathered at the center of the stadium, their feet, hands, and faces covered in the golden sand of the arena. The expressionless warriors kept their gazes straight, with their empty eyes staring deeply into the blank void before them.
“Took you long enough,” continued Loki with a smirk. “Though it’s a very depressing sight if you ask me… That rebellious daughter of yours has been doing numbers on them I see.”
“Numbers that could’ve been spared if you did not fail in your assignment,” the giant replied with a heavy growl, yet keeping his face in a neutral state.
The knight clicked his tongue, and rested both hands on the back of his head with little care for the man’s scolding. “Whatever, maybe she is just better than you think. Still, these pathetic husks will only get in the way in the Deadlands.” He told King. “Send them to snatch people out of their homes or something. I don’t really care as long as you don’t make me see them.”
“You will need as much help as you can…” the giant replied. “We cannot allow the Deadlands to expand any further, or...”
“Or you’ll be trapped up here and left to rot, I get it.” Interrupted Loki, proceeding to point at Paradise’s warriors with a mocking gesture of his hand. “Still, all I see down there is fodder for the god… Leave them behind. I can deal with him on my own.”
“Your arrogance was the catalyst of your defeat against Specter, champion.” King insisted against the untroubled knight’s claim. “You were blindsided by your eagerness to fight, and he took advantage of it…” he turned his body towards the knight next to him—whose confident grin didn’t waver even slightly. “We have The Golden Lightning and the champion to worry about as well, and my gladean knights will buy us time against them.”
“Us?” the knight repeated, cackling a mocking laugh before proceeding. “They want you, not me… remember?”
“…”
“Well then,” Loki shrugged before turning away from the giant with a yawn. “Aren’t you worried that your precious humans will try to escape the continent? They might leave for Kaldstein if given the chance, that place has become quite resistant to your influence for a while now.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Prepare yourself, champion…”
“Hm?” the knight turned his head to look at King from over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the soft-spoken reply of the giant.
Kingdom of Heildin, Remote Village: 936, December 2nd, Sunday, 10: AM.
“Ninigi…” Atalanta watched the injured knight with furrowed brows, gripping her fingers on a white shirt in hand. She was accompanied by both Gal and Maulik, who kept their gazes fixed on the many bruises and cuts in the man’s body—all of them lacking blood, but displaying an azure glow instead as his artery network kept him from bleeding out.
“Gigi?” Gal spoke without purpose, simply mentioning the name of her master with a throbbing heart.
“Did you go… fight someone when we weren’t looking?” Maulik asked with a half-opened mouth. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve helped you.”
“I’m fine.” Ninigi shook his head with a breezy smile.
His naked muscular torso exhibited many severe cuts and bruises, all too fresh to have happened even hours ago. Some of his larger wounds seemed grow on their own, healed by the knight’s pathway only to open once again in an instant. Despite his state however, Ninigi calmly stood in front of his former student and current disciples with a smile.
“Fine?” protested Atalanta. “Where did those wounds even come from?”
His smile almost faded at the blonde knight’s question, but was able to maintain it by clenching his jaw. Ninigi gulped down before speaking, wanting to reassure everyone about his condition. “They will heal in time,” he told them. “I just need to rest a little more.”
“But Gigi…”
“You haven’t answered my question,” Atalanta stomped forward. “If I didn’t sense something was wrong, you would’ve just kept this a secret from us.” she scolded him with scrunched brows—beginning to lose her temper as the tone in her voice grew. “Ninigi… what did you do?”
Maulik joined the conversation with a shy step, bowing to the champion before speaking. “I understand if you don’t want us to hear it,” he told the knight. “Gal and I can wait outside if we are the problem, master.”
The concern behind his expression did not escape Ninigi’s attentive eyes, who dropped his shoulders with a long sigh. “No… It’s not a problem.” He replied with a motion of his hand. “I didn’t mean to keep it from all of you, but I didn’t want to worry you either.”
“Well, it’s too late for that.” Atalanta crossed her arms.
Just as concerned as the rest, Gal lunged at the knight and tightly wrapped her arms around his waist—burying her face in his body. “You are not… dying, are you?”
Her question made him flinch more than the powerful tackle he just received, but the frightened concern in her quivering voice managed to bring a smile to the man’s face. Ninigi chuckled while gently stroking the girl’s hair, pulling away from her to meet her frown with a warm smile.
“Of course not, Gal.” he chuckled. “This is just…”
“Just…” Atalanta kept the pressure, her patience running thin.
As to not drag out the situation any further, Ninigi pulled Gal to the side before extending his hand towards the blonde knight—who still held his shirt in hand. Atalanta cleared her throat with embarrassment before handing it over, and eagerly waited for the knight to dress himself while tapping her foot on the wooden floor.
“This is a result of my previous fight with Specter,” Ninigi began—immediately interrupted by the blonde knight.
“You are lying,” she retorted. “I tended to your wounds myself.”
The knight calmly shook his head with eyes closed, opening them back to proceed with his explanation. “Those were the injuries caused by Specter himself. The ones you saw just now… are consequence of my own actions.”
The trio leaned their bodies in closer at the man’s claims, as if their ears caught the wrong words. Ninigi continued to explain the battle against Specter, and they all listened intently at the reason behind the knight’s mortal injuries. A single word in his story caught Atalanta’s attention more than anything else, one that prompted her to interrupt for a second time.
“Silver?” Atalanta repeated, to which Ninigi simply nodded in response. “But… our pathway is azure, that’s the source of our power. I never heard of a silver network before, not even the order said anything about it.”
“I can’t explain it myself, but it’s something I’ve had ever since Gladea gave me life.” The knight explained. “I’ve been meaning to master this state my entire life through rigorous training and meditation. Trust me, I’ve tried any and every method I could, but this is something I simply cannot control,” he continued. “You saw the state I was in when I found you and Loki in Paradise, Atalanta. That’s what happens when I use that power sparingly, or for an extended period of time.”
“Silver…” repeated the blonde knight once again. “But… that wasn’t enough to kill him? Specter?”
Ninigi lowered his head with a clenched jaw, avoiding his gaze from the curious knight with eyes of shame. “I couldn’t do it… sorry, but no matter how many times I try.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “It’s not something I can just do…”
Whatever frustration Atalanta felt at the time was simply lost at the sight of Ninigi. The strongest knight known to history, now bowed his head like a scolded child. Atalanta dropped her shoulders with a sigh, proceeding to casually approach Ninigi with a smile—stopping mere inches away from his face to slam both of her hands in his shoulders.
“Then I’ll do it,” she told him with not a hint of doubt in her voice. “That’s what you trained me for, and I don’t plan in losing to Loki either.” Her smirk widened as she nodded with determination. “I’m no stranger to obstacles or an opponent stronger than I am, and I will never give up on my bow as a gladean knight. That’s what we do, right? We fight until we win.”
“…” Ninigi’s gloomy expression lifted into a warm smile at the words of the blonde knight, huffing a chuckle before agreeing with a nod. “Of course.”
“Will you be able to fight?” Maulik chimed in—directing his question to the champion. “The specters have been lurking near Heldin from the south-east and west, but I’m not sure if, or when they’ll attack.”
“Gigi, let me do it!” Gal fired up with pumped fists, tackling Atalanta with her shoulder—to which the blonde knight didn’t even flinch. “I’m better than this woman! Let me do it!”
“I’m tired of telling you what my name is…”
Ninigi chuckled, but could simply not agree with the young girl’s demands. “You will be with me whenever we go out and fight, understand?” he told her. “I will you and Maulik to cover my back out there.”
“Yes, master!”
“Gigi!”
The enthusiastic pair replied to the knight’s words. Atalanta stepped back as she took her hands off Ninigi’s shoulders, placing them both on her hips instead. She watched Gal embrace the champion for a second time, pressing tightly against his waist as the knight struggled to breath. Maulik bowed at him, and reassured the champion that he will give nothing more than his best.
A quick chuckle escaped Atalanta at the cheerful sight, finding joy in the time she’s spend with the knight’s group. “I’ll find him, Ninigi.” She claimed with unwavering resolve, meeting the glowing azures of the champion with a similar glow of her own eyes. “I’ll put an end to all of this, just you watch.”
“We’ll be here to support you,” nodded the knight.
END OF CHAPTER