Note: This chapter is comprised of what I originally planned to have Chapter 5 turn out like before I decided to change it. However, it seemed like a waste to just delete it since I had already written a mid-length chapter worth of content for it so I’m going to post this up for you guys to read.
You can take this as a teaser since the major event is still the same but this is more of a stand along thing.
Part 1
“So yeah… Oh hey would you look at that, a monster’s broken through. Better go kill it!”
Unable to stand the awkward atmosphere she had just created, Helena Bladerton, or Hel as she called herself, scampered away to intercept the groggy monster that had broken past the defenders on the wall.
However, by the time she reached it, it had already been shot down by Harris.
Having lost her purpose, Helena looked back at Godou only to see him chatting away with Inori.
A twitch of jealousy developed in her chest.
Well it would be too awkward to just go back right after running away…
Helena took a deep breath and calmed her state of mind, storing her emotions in a place to be channelled through later.
The reason for her jealous wasn’t because of the sight of Godou getting intimate with Inori though.
Helena’s bond with Inori was not so weak as to break because of some man after all. She also knew too well that the battlefield was no place for such petty emotions to control one’s self.
To put it plainly, Helena had just been envious of how easily they could talk to each other like that.
The atmosphere in the Kallamore Knight training centre was completely different from this sense of “freedom” she was experiencing right now.
The necessity of formality and displaying your respect for to your seniors and elders was something that was hammered deeply into all Kallamore Knights during their training. Trainees were to follow strict rules and routines that would help them develop self-efficiency and teach them the skills they needed as a knight. The atmosphere in the training was almost oppressive. The trainees had almost no control over what they could do.
However, this changed as soon as they graduated. After becoming a Novice Knight of Kallamore, they were no longer restrained by the strict rules and routines of their instructors. They were free! Or so they thought.
However, Helena still found part of herself longing to stay in the oppressive training phrase.
Although, she was now a Novice Knight of Kallamore who had the freedom to do what she wanted, she found herself severely lacking in any kind of self-confidence.
If a problem arises how would she be able to solve it? She could no longer rely on the wisdom and guidance of her instructors. Although her master was still stationed in the same place as her what would she do when people come to her for guidance instead? She was neither experienced nor strong enough at the moment and yet countless civilians would be relying on her protection.
The fact that she, the youngest in her platoon, was the first to be given this rank did not bolster her confidence either.
To be truthful, this newfound independence scared her.
Helena believed this fear led her to emit an aloof kind of atmosphere which repelled others from getting close to her.
She wasn’t that social of a person in the first place. And now that she was outside of the familiar constricting atmosphere of the Kallamore Knight training centre, she was completely unsure of how to interact with other people.
Even act of apologising and giving Godou her dagger had taken a lot of courage.
Thus, she was jealous of Inori for being able to interact with people so easily.
She was jealous of Godou’s easy going atmosphere that somehow made it easier for her to feel relaxed around.
Inori aside, Helena wanted to get to know the rest of her party better. However, she didn’t know how. Rather than rushing it, she had decided it get close to each person one by one. One step at a time.
The reason she chose Godou first was because she somehow felt that they could get along well. Although, he was a quiet guy who wasn’t lively and didn’t have a way with words, she somehow felt attracted to him
B But it wasn’t in a romantic sense or anything.
No, it was probably just the sense of wanting to be friends?
Right?
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A loud explosion from the top of the wall broke Helena from her musing. Although explosions were no very uncommon in a siege where mages were involved, this explosion was particularly loud.
Helena noticed a very bright flash of light before the shockwave of the explosion reached her. Through a stroke of luck, it had come from the direction of her shield arm.
Purely from reflex alone, she managed to lift up her shield to block just as the shockwave reached her.
Several objects were thrown over from above and a V shaped chunk of the wall suddenly vanished.
Rocks, rubble and corpses rained over the reserve forces behind the wall.
The reserve forces panicked and rushed to avoid the falling objects. Helena clicked her tongue in annoyance. It was going to be hard to regroup with her party like this.
She checked that she still had all her equipment and readied herself amidst the confusion. The wall looked like it had been cut by a giant blade of some sort.
What the hell happened? The walls around Tellap could withstand a dragon’s breath to a certain degree. Was there a monster on the same level as a dragon out there?
In their panic, their formation was broken and just like the situation on the wall, the reserve forces were places in a scene of chaos.
A horde of monsters suddenly became visible from the Helena’s position. This was bad!
The monsters seemed to have taken control of the top of wall. The defenders were being pushed back down the stairs by this monster force, adding more to the confusion.
In addition to that, it seemed as if all the flight capable units in the monster army were assaulting this area in particular.
A white robed figure suddenly jumped from the wall into the midst of the descending defenders on the stairs. Streamers of light followed the movements of this figure creating a mystical impression.
Helena felt this “figure” was distinctly different from the others. It felt dangerous and sacred at the same time. Which side did it belong to?
Had it been no their side then Helena would payed it no more attention. However, the figure’s next actions made its allegiance clear.
The figure spun its glowing scythe in a blur of motion. A bright light flashed and all the defenders around the figure were mowed down as easily as crops cut for harvest.
With absolute ease, it slaughtered the defenders as if they were nothing and opened a path for the monsters to rush through build momentum.
Looking at this, Helena felt that without a doubt that this figure was the one who damaged the wall.
From the looks of things the defenders were all too weak to pose a challenge for the figure.
Then wasn’t it her duty as the only Kallamore Knight present to engage the figure and stall for the others to retreat?
But was retreating really a good idea right now? If they retreated then the outer wall would fall and the defenders would be forced to rely on the makeshift second line of defence.
Insecurities plagued Helena again. She sincerely wished that there was a more senior officer around to make the decision. For someone as young as her, Helena felt that the burden was too great.
“Found you.”
A hand suddenly grabbed her from behind. Helena flinched and almost cut down the person who grabbed her out of reflex but stopped when she saw who it was.
It was a dark haired, white cloaked youth, Godou.
With him was Inori. The other members of the party were nowhere in sight.
Greeting them with a brief nod she turned her attention back to the figure that was causing so much trouble.
Regardless of the weight of the decision, it was the duty of a knight to maintain order and protect the weak.
Feel it and remember. The feelings of fear. The feelings of responsibility. The feelings of anger. Remember your feelings and turn it into your strength...
Helena remembered the last teachings of her master. Never before had she felt the need to follow this piece of advice.
Part 2
Godou followed Hel’s line of sight and saw the white robed figure which stood in the middle of the chaotic scene on top of the wall.
Armed with the icon grim reaper’s scythe the figure fought its way through the mass of defenders on the wall.
Somehow Godou knew that it was the cause of the explosion which had put the defenders into chaos. He also felt that it was very powerful, probably on the same level as the Divine Saint of Embinyu’s angel form.
“View lifeforce! Show party!”
Beside him, Inori used her powers as a priest to reveal some more information on this figure.
Knite, Elemental Lord of Light Candidate
HP: ????????/????????
MP: ????????/????????
Race: Ultimate level Light Elemental
A candidate for the position of the Elemental Lord of Light. Due to the difference between the caster of this spell and the target, any further information cannot be obtained.
The white figure, Knite stopped and stared at Godou from afar as if he had sensed him.
Then with superhuman agility, he jumped over 8 metres in the air and hurtled downwards with great force, landing in front of Godou. A crater formed at Knite’s feet as a result of this, killing the defenders around the area in which he landed.
Then Knite raised his scythe to point at Godou threateningly and spoke.
“An aura of Divinity accompanied by the possessor of a strong human aura and a priest. Are you the one who destroyed Lou’s temple?”
Who would have known that this would come back to haunt me?
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Godou somehow knew that if he lied then Knite would still attack the city and if that was they case then Tellap might as well have lost the seige. Therefore, in order to reduce the damage as much as possible, he told the truth.
“Not directly but-”
Godou was stopped as Hel raised his hand and pointed his sword at Knite and with a trace of fear proclaimed:
“Frankly, I don’t care what got destroyed. No matter what the answer to that question is it doesn’t change the fact that you have attack Tellap and its inhabitants. No matter what happened in the past, Godou is currently my ally. As such you are an enemy! ”
Knite looked at Hel dryly and unexpectedly responded.
“Such powerful fighting spirit, well, I will have to admit that I am curious about you as well. How bout a duel?”
Part 3
Having drawn the attention of Knite, Helena prepared herself for battle.
It was going to be a tough fight. From what little of what she could see about Knite’s abilities.
One where she couldn’t afford to hold back.
One where her chances of winning were slim.
However, in the face of such atrocities she had to act.
She could sense it. Regardless of Godou’s answer, Knite was going to destroy Tellap and its inhabitants.
Thus, in other to protect the civilians, Knite must be stopped.
She no longer had the wisdom and experience of her instructors to guide her.
Thus all she could do was rely on her training to pull her through.
The weight of the expectations placed on her pressured her.
And under this pressure, her tired limbs felt fresh and her mind clear and sharp. Turning your feelings and stress to channel hidden strength for short periods of time. This was something that had been drilled into her by her master.
This was aura.
Helena activated multiple buffs to ready herself for battle.
“Battle aura! Warrior frenzy! Guardian’s Pledge!”
You have activated Battle Aura
+ 20% Damage output
+ 20% Damage resistance
+ 10% movement speed
You have activated Warrior frenzy
+ 25% Strength
+ 25% Agility
+ 25% Fighting Spirit
You have activated Guardian’s Pledge
+ 25% Endurance
+ 25% Vitality
+ 25% Honour
As it was currently, this level of power was not enough. Therefore, she had to break her limits to fight for what she believed in.
Helena took a small bottle from her belt and drank its contents.
You have drunk a Rejuvenation Potion
+ 20% Health Regeneration
+ 20% Mana Regeneration
Duration: 3 minutes
Then she activated her recently learnt thump card.
“Knight Force 0: Surge Release!”
You have activated Knight Force 0: Surge Release
+ the effects of all prior buffs have been doubled
Current buffs
+ 40% Damage output
+ 40% Damage reduction
+ 40% Health Regeneration
+ 40% Mana Regeneration
+ 50% Strength
+ 50% Agility
+ 50% Endurance
+ 50% Vitality
+ 50% Fighting spirit
+ 50% Honour
Duration: 3 minutes
Helena was a Kallamore Knight in the level 200s. However under the effects of Surge Release, her combat ability easily reached the realm of the level 500s.
The only drawback of the technique was that it only lasted a short period of time and it could only be used once per day.
Silver lights covered her body. Empowering her movements and capabilities.
Intoxicated by her boosted fighting spirit and honour, she no longer felt the fear of failing to meet expectations.
Helena activated the movement type skill Shield Charge and rushed at Knite shield first.
Her amplified abilities gave him no time to avoid the attack and knocked him off balance from the force of the charge.
Taking advantage of this, Helena swung her sword, orange light streaming off it was she activated the Impact Smasher skill.
If Impact Smasher landed it would stun Knite through its high damage. Helena would then take advantage of that to launch a normal blow then use Shield Bash right afterwards to keep Knite stun locked.
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Well that had been the plan anyway.
However, what actually happened was a lot different.
Just as Impact Smasher was about to hit, Knite transformed to a mass of white flames resulting in the attack passing through him and smashing the empty ground.
Knite then solidified and began his assault with a swift horizontal slash. White light shone from the scythe, extending its range and power.
Helena dropped to the ground to avoid this and activated the Maim skill aiming for Knites Achilles tendon.
Knite jumped and at the same time swung his scythe in a loop, bringing it vertically on Helena who was still on the ground.
Helena tilted her shield in the path of the blow to deflect it. The force of the blow knocked her badly postured body to the ground. A deep line was created on the ground from the power of the attack.
What terrifying cutting ability.
Helena could only shudder imagining what would happen if she had tried to block the attack directly. No doubt her shield would have easily been sliced through.
She desperately rolled to her feet and leapt back to gain space.
Knite landed gently on the outer edge of the wall. He swung his scythe, launching spinning crescent of light, about a metre wide at her.
Helena almost attempted to block with her shield out of reflex but stopped.
Blocking an attack like that directly would likely result in the attack cutting through her shield and striking her directly. Knite had already demonstrated his destructive power with the attack before. She couldn’t deflect it because there were people behind her who would get hit if she did. Then…
Helena activated the Phantasmal Blade skill which allowed Knights to cut intangible targets. Simultaneously, she activated Impact Smasher again and smashed the spinning crescent of light back at Knite.
In the face of his own reflected attack, Knite simply turned into a mass of white flames and absorbed it.
“Oh you’re doing quite well actually mortal. How about if I crank it up a few notches?”
Helena was too busy trying to catch her breath to respond. In the span of a few seconds, how many blows did they exchange?
Knite rushed at her. She tensed and brought her shield up in front of her so that it prevented Knite from seeing where her sword was.
Just as Knite was about to launch another slash, he burst into white flames and rushed through her.
Helena staggered under the unexpected attack but her shield managed to block most of the fire damage from the charge.
The problem was that Knite was now right behind her.
Helena quickly turned around.
A rapid diagonal slash was coming her way!
Helena forcefully leant to the side. The scythe blade brushed her helmet, destroying her visor in the process.
She retaliated with a salvage cut that would have cleaved Knite from left hip to right shoulder if it landed.
However, it was blocked by the shaft of the scythe.
Knite then kicked her off balance and sent another mighty vertical slash.
Helena managed to recover in time and parried by shield bashing the scythe blade in a slightly different direction.
She followed up by using Shield Charge to rush at Knite again.
However, this time Knite was ready for it and turned to white flames again resulting in Helena rushing through him.
Or so he thought.
As Helena rushed past, she activated Phantasmal Blade while her sword was still plunged in the midst of the mass of white flames.
Knite instantly reverted back into a physical form. He leapt back, clutching a bloody stab wound.
“Tch… Not bad. How about this?”
Knite swung his scythe and several small spinning crescents of light flew out from it.
Helena raised her shield to block the attacks. This attack was obviously a small scaled version of Knite’s other attacks so she was able to safely block them directly.
However, raising her shield obscured her vision and caused her to lose track of Knite temporarily.
But the time she realised it, Knite was already in front of her initiating a sweeping blow at her legs.
Hurriedly, Helena jumped to avoid this.
However, that attack had been a feint.
The path of the scythe curved upwards as it rapidly approached Helena’s helpless airborne body.
At the last second she managed to intercept the scythe with her shield.
However…
“Arrggh!!”
The scythe easily pierced through her shield and impaled her shield arm beneath it.
The force of the attack knocked her several metres away.
Helena rolled to her feet, panting heavily. Blood tricked down her shield arm. She tried to move it but it wouldn’t move.
This is bad.
With only one good arm her chances of victory had just gotten smaller.
But still. She still had to try.
She glared at her opponent.
Knite smiled as he saw her fruitless display of vigour.
He rushed at her swinging his scythe as he did so.
A full power spinning crescent of light hurtled towards her.
Despite knowing it was futile, Helena activated the Phantasmal Blade + Impact Smasher combo and reflected the attack.
Knite transformed into a mass of white flames, absorbing the attack and engulfing her in flames as he brushed past.
“Argh!!”
Weakened, Helena fell to her knees. The flames were not enough to defeat her. However, Knite’s next attack would probably spell the end for her.
“Farewell, brave Knight of Kallamore.”
Having leapt past her, Knite turned around and swung his scythe.
Another full powered spinning crescent of light was shot.
So this was the end…
[Some stuff happens and Godou joins in the fight]
Godou ran towards the wall where the monsters were pouring through.
Away from the helpless forms his bound teammates.
Knite watched him and decided to follow suit. He walked leisurely behind in pursuit.
Godou hoped Inori understood his message to buy some time for her to move the team away from danger and wasn’t following him as well.
Thankfully, she did. Now with that one worry sorted out Godou felt strangely at ease. Knite suddenly jumped and landed lightly in front of Godou. Blocking off his path.
Godou stared at him with eyes full of fighting spirit.
Now that the situation had developed to his point there was no way to end this peacefully. Or rather after seeing Hel’s selfless efforts to protect this town, Godou felt that he himself had to do something.
Throwing away his hesitations, Godou entered a prepared himself for battle.
Divine Wind Decree has activated. You have used Body of Wind.
Body of Wind has successfully activated. Your speed and explosive power has been greatly enhanced. A divine aura of wind is being emitted from you.
Overpowering Will is now active.
Fighting Spirit is continually rising.
Survival Instinct is now active.
Current Bonus: + 17% Damage output
The wind raged and surrounded Godou, encompassing him in an armour of wind which sheared through everything it touched and blew wildly at everything around him.
“Haaaaaaah!”
Ignoring everyone else around him Godou charged Knite with explosive speed, intending to ram into him. A vortex of wind raged around him, leaving a path of destruction in his wake.
SMASH!
Due to his unfamiliarity with this skill, Godou misjudged his speed and rocketed straight past his Knite, ramming into the city walls instead. The section the stone wall easily crumbled from his touch.
“Oh what’s this? Another aura flare variant…”
Knite watched curious of Godou’s clumsy movements, as if he was a bug captured to be stared at.
Godou turned away from the wrecked wall, glaring back at Knite. From those movements alone a spiral of wind formed around him, further damaging the wall.
It seemed that the explosive power of this skill is really something to be reckoned with. With the little experience he had with using it, Godou could already sense that charging in blindly would only lead to failure. But if I can’t control my movements then I’ll just-
Godou teleported directly above Knite and stomped down with all his might. As always, a devastating wind accompanied his movements and accelerated his short downwards descent.
Knite wasn’t expecting this and so was caught in a direct hit from Godou’s assault.
SLAM!
Godou smashed him to the ground, a crater forming at his feet. Their current position such that Knite was lying face up in the middle of the crater with Godou kneeling on his chest.
Knite groaned and moved to grab his dropped scythe, Godou raised his wind encased arm and formed a fist. A gale blew upwards.
“Hah!”
With a yell, Godou brought his hand down and punched him. Knite twitched.
Godou struck him again.
And again.
And again.
With each punch a twister formed and dealt additional damage indiscriminately. Their current position became a scene of destruction.
Then for a spilt second, Godou thought he felt that Knite’s “presence” weaken significantly.
Godou punched again.
Knite stopped Godou’s fist with this hand.
“My turn.”
[This is… Get away from him right n-]
FLARE!
A sudden “explosion” of light erupted around Knite and formed a blazing white heatwave like aura around him.
Body of Wind has protected you from severe damage. Due to this, the remaining time you can keep this skill active is halved.
Current remaining time: 7 seconds.
Godou felt him forcefully pushed backwards from this explosion.
In spite of all the attacks that he seemed to have been hit with, Knite was still surprisingly energetic.
Taking advantage of Godou’s loss of balance, Knite flipped himself to his feet and delivered a devastating body blow which lifted Godou’s body from the ground and knocked the breath out of him.
Body of Wind has protected you from severe damage. Due to this, the remaining time you can keep this skill active is halved.
Current remaining time: 3 seconds.
Gritting his teeth, Godou tried to retaliate with a sweeping low kick. Although he couldn’t control his movements well with Body of Wind active, the wind attacks accompanying his movements should be enough to buy him some time and space to recover!
However as Godou’s attack approached him, the white “aura” around Knite blazed and condensed becoming a protective “shield” blocking both Godou’s leg and his wind.
Taking advantage of Godou’s surprise, Knite grabbed Godou’s shoulder and forcefully spun him around and threw him.
Godou was sent flying through several buildings eventually coming to an abrupt stop as he smashed into the town wall.
Body of Wind has protected you from severe damage. Due to this, the remaining time you can keep this skill active is halved.
Current remaining time: 1 seconds.
Groaning, Godou got to his feet and appraised Knite unhappily. Who would have known that he still had that much power to him?
At this rate it was going to be infinitely harder to defeat Knite.
Body of Wind has deactivated.
As if confirming his despise, a message popped up in front of him, notifying Godou that his time was up.
His hidden thump card, the armour of wind, dissipated and vanished. Though it seemed to be partially effective on Knite, the amount of time he had just in it was just too short.
His prospects of fighting and winning as he was now was bleak. Therefore it would be best to make a getaway while he still could and formulate a counter strategy for his next encounter with Knite.
A light shone and Knite appeared on the roof of a nearby building obviously he wasn’t about to let Godou get away.
Knite swung is scythe diagonally downwards from afar. A mass of light rushed at Godou in a line.
Can’t dodge this. Shit this was bad.
Ding!
Heretic Decree: Unknown has taken form as a useable power
Your race has evolved. New racial traits have been developed.
-------------
Word Count: 3,325
I will repeat this again in case you weren’t reading my note at the beginning, this chapter is not part of the actual storyline and is comprised of the deleted parts of chapter 5. (which was written in parts so I had to hastily connect them.) I'm changing the chapter to make it more interesting.
I’m a bit bogged down with real life stuff right now so haven’t written that much so far. I have a 1 week break from uni in about a week’s time so I might be able to post chapter 5 (the actual one) then. (That's if I manage to complete all the work I had to do during this break).
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