บท 27: Knight of the Wind
The moment I was somehow able to determine the enemy's rank before I could even do or say anything, the knight vanished from his spot.
In an instant, he appeared before Garret.
–SWOOSH!
Time seemed to freeze as the knight's spear moved with lightning speed, a blur of greenish light. Garret had no chance to react. The spear pierced his chest, and he collapsed with a strangled cry.
–SWOOSH!
The knight moved through our ranks like a ghost, each step bringing death. Mateo fell next, his throat slashed open before he even realized the knight was upon him. Felix tried to defend himself, but the knight's spear impaled him through the heart.
–CLANK!
Elias, his face a mask of terror, swung his weapon desperately. The knight parried with ease and delivered a fatal thrust. Elias crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
My squad members were being slaughtered one by one. None of them could put up a fight. They were all non-awakened, and the knight was an unstoppable force. Each blink of my eyes brought another gruesome scene, the knight impaling another soldier with brutal efficiency.
It all happened so rapidly that I did not even have any time to get up.
No, it was not because I did not have any time.
I couldn't get up.
'MOVE!'
My body was being suppressed.
It was refusing to move.
In the presence of the deadly enemy, in the presence of absolute strength, the instincts that were engraved in my body were not letting me move.
'DON'T STAND HERE! MOVE!'
"Kurghk-!"
But I did not want to stay here.
I did not want to stand here useless while everyone here was getting slaughtered.
On the corner of my eyes, Clara stood, her face pale but determined. She gathered her mana, the air around her shimmering with energy. She faced the knight, her stance defiant.
"Stay back!" she shouted, her voice trembling but resolute. "I won't let you harm anyone else!"
The knight paused, tilting his head as if considering her words. Then, with a flicker of movement, he was upon her. Clara unleashed her mana, a burst of light and energy aimed at the knight.
SWOOSH!
A smirk spread across the knight's face as he saw the measly amounts of mana coming toward him. The greenish glow around him intensified, effortlessly absorbing and dissipating Clara's attack.
"So they did have a talented Awakened here," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Too bad it's such a weakling."
Clara's face twisted in determination as she tried to muster more mana, her hands glowing brighter.
–SWOOSH!
But the knight moved with inhuman speed, his spear slicing through the air.
–STAB!
With a swift, brutal motion, he struck Clara down. His spear pierced her abdomen, and she gasped in pain, her eyes wide with shock. He twisted the weapon cruelly, and she fell to the ground, blood pooling around her.
"Clara, no!" I shouted, my voice breaking through the paralyzing fear. Desperation surged through me, but my body remained frozen.
The knight's smirk widened as he looked down at Clara's lifeless body. "Such a waste of potential," he murmured, almost to himself.
Rage and despair roiled within me. I struggled to move, to do something, anything. But the weight of the knight's presence pressed down on me like a physical force, pinning me to the ground.
My comrades, my friends, were all dead. The knight stood amidst the carnage, his greenish mana still crackling with power. He turned his gaze toward me, his eyes glowing with that same eerie greenish light.
"You," he said, his voice cold and commanding. "You're still alive. Interesting."
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. The pain was sharp, grounding me and giving me a focus amid the chaos. I had to do something. I had to move.
'I am going to kill you.'
They were the ones who had embraced me in this place of death when my own family did not.
They were the ones that did not judge me and talked to me like a normal human.
They were the ones who had accepted me for who I was, not because of my surname or anything.
Yet, this guy.
Just with a measly effort, he was able to erase them.
Garret was a guy who wanted to become a good blacksmith and make good weapons.
Matteo was a former farmer who was here to support his family.
Felix might have been a thief, but he was one of the most caring and generous people I had ever known.
Elias was a former scholar who liked to share stories and debate. He liked history and wanted to be a strategist.
Clara. She had just become an Awakened. Even though she was a girl and she had been harassed countless times by different soldiers, she always put up a brave front.
All of them are lying on the ground.
"I..."
With a supreme effort, I forced my body to respond. My muscles screamed in protest, but I managed to stagger to my feet.
'I am going to erase that expression on your face.'
The knight watched me with an expression of mild interest as if I were a curious insect.
"Well, look at you," he mocked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Standing up again? How admirable."
Before I could react, the knight vanished from his spot and then reappeared right before my face.
'Too fast!'
My eyes widened at the sheer speed he was moving. It was as if he had teleported.
In that instant, his spear was right at my neck, the cold metal pressing against my skin. The knight's smirk grew wider, his eyes filled with sadistic glee.
"You're brave, I'll give you that," he said, his voice a whisper. "But bravery alone won't save you."
I could feel the sharp edge of the spear, a hair's breadth from piercing my throat. My heart pounded in my chest, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady.
This was it.
The end.
Yes, I was going to die here.
Yet, despite the fear, a burning rage simmered within me. I locked eyes with the knight, my resolve hardening.
"I will kill you," I whispered, my voice shaking but defiant.
The knight chuckled, a low, menacing sound. "You? Kill me? How amusing."
He pressed the spear a little harder against my neck, drawing a thin line of blood. The pain was sharp, but it only fueled my anger.
"Any last words?" he asked, his eyes glinting with amusement.
I took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of strength and courage I had left. "You're going to regret this," I said, my voice steady and unwavering.
The knight's smirk faltered for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossing his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it came. He laughed again, the sound echoing around us.
"Regret? I doubt that."
–STAB!
He pushed the spear down to my heart. As if he was having fun seeing my face, he did it slowly.
In that split second, I saw an opening. With all the speed I could muster, I twisted my body, knocking his spear away with my own.
The sudden movement caught him off guard, and I used the momentum to drive my spear toward his chest.
Or, maybe he wasn't caught off guard.
No, of course, he wasn't.
I knew it from the start.
That there was no hope for me to win.
No matter what I would do here, I would die.
Regardless of how much I had tried, regardless of what I did.
I would never win.
Since this is my talent.
Even if I had tried my family's art or art that was given to me by the military.
None of them worked.
I was useless.
Talentless.
Destined to be weak.
'But still. If I am going to die, I am going to put my everything. I will try until the last drop of my blood.'
All the time that I had spent training.
They may not have amounted to anything.
But so what?
At the very least, I put my everything on the line. Every moment that I was free, I trained.
So, if it amounts to this much, then I don't care.
In the end, I at least tried.
–CLANK!
Just like that, the knight easily deflected my spear, looking at me with amusement. He parried my attack with a casual flick of his wrist, his expression almost bored.
"And here I thought you might surprise me," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Pathetic."
He raised his spear, pointing it directly at my eyes. "But you... I like the look in your eyes."
With a swift motion, the knight slit a wound from my right eyebrow down to my right cheek. The pain was immediate and excruciating, blood streaming down my face.
"Arrgh!" I cried out, staggering back, my vision blurred with blood and tears.
The knight looked at me with amusement, his eyes gleaming with a sadistic thrill. "When you get stronger, come and find me. I'll be waiting."
He leaned in close, his voice a chilling whisper. "The boy with the scarred eye. What is your name?"
I glared at him through the pain, my voice a shaky whisper. "Lucavion."
He smirked, seeming to savor my defiance. "Lucavion…..I will remember that name."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me bleeding and broken on the battlefield. The world around me faded to a blur, and darkness began to close in.
But even as consciousness slipped away, the knight's words echoed in my mind.
'I will find you, even if that means I will need to pursue you until the end of the world.
'Knight of the Wind.'
And then I will cut your head with my very own hands.'
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