n

n

n

"Descend

"

nThe Special Grade Treasures of mine fell from thier heights and rained down from the portal.

nI saw her face as the treasures fell, that is a face of regret. Well... Not my problem.

n

"Why.... Why am I still not happy?!!

" She yelled out in tears.

nSuddenly, all her remaining summons gathered around her and converged above and in front of her.

nThe Relics descended in many directions, so not everything was going to hit her anyway.

nThe ones which went toward her, clashed with the shields and her other weapons and objects.

nMy treasures easily destroyed them, but they kept coming and shielding her from that. What a desperate rat.

n

"I... I can't die now!

" She cried.

nThe debris of flying and chipped away armor and shields were sent flying in many directions and the collision between my Treasures and the earth, as well as her own items caused sparks, smoke and rising dust, temporarily impeding my vision.

nI quickly adjusted my sight and heightened my senses, but...

n

"What a surprise... She's not there?!

" I muttered.

nI couldn't sense her anymore.

n

"How is that possible...?!

" I asked myself.

nThen it suddenly struck me, so that's how it is. Such a sly woman until the very end. She wants to live that badly? However, she won't be having her wish so easily. Time for a hunt.

nI looked around me, surveying the area to decipher where she could have fled to. I looked eastward and I saw the woods.

n

"Bingo

" I smiled.

nI retrieved my Special Grade Treasures into ROOT and walked toward the direction I set for myself, placing my hands back into my pocket.

n

"H-Hold it right there!!!

" A voice suddenly yelled after me.

nI looked back, only to find the three surviving Imperial Knights.

n

"Oh, you guys... I totally forgot about you

" I muttered to them.

n

"Y-You... How dare you. You murdered sir Gwain and now you've also killed our Apostle. You monster!

" One of the Imperial Knights, a young man, yelled at me.

nWhat a loudmouth. His tone and volume is annoying. But from his words, I'm certain they are not aware the Apostle is still alive, well not for long.

n

"With my very hands... I'll end you!

" He growled, drawing his sword which glowed green.

nIs he an Idiot? He basically just saw me own their leader, the Apostle. Surely he understands he stands no chance against me. Even someone like him should know that. But what's with that look in his eyes? Does he think if he tries hard enough things will work out somehow for him and he'll push through?

nSuch childish hope, such utter foolishness... It's certainly nice to uproot them myself.

nSince these Knights have no way to interfere with my Art, maybe I ought to try it out.

n

"HEX #99

" Orb of Beginning

"

nMany white orbs appeared around me and hovered about.

n

"H-He uses Hex?! No... Come back young man!

" The Commander let out.

nBut it was too late. The young knight ran forward with his Relic on hand.

n

"I'll surpass you, Sir Gwain... Right here and now!

" He said under his breath.

n

"I'll win! Surely, I'll wi-

"

nI cut his thoughts short as I sent the white orbs to him.

nHe used his high speed to evade them, twisting and using his footwork to close the distance between us. He's pretty good at running, but I have no time to waste on such small fry.

nI combined all the white orbs surrounding me and added a little juice to it, until it inflated and turned to a giant orb, as big as a massive boulder.

n

"Try dodging this

" I said.

nI immediately launched the orb and it charged toward him. Despite it's size, it's even faster than the smaller ones.

nThe young Knight couldn't evade the orb since it's surface area was too large, and since he was already in motion, he couldn't avoid the hit.

n

"Rahhhhhhh

" He yelled, raising his sword to slash through it.

nSuch foolishness.

nAs the orb approached, his face tightened more in resolve.

n

"There's a wall in front of me...Higher than my limits, the enemy is stronger than my capabilities... I know that!

" His thoughts flowed.

n

"But, what kind of knight would I be... To refuse to stand in the way of evil and fight till my last strength to vanquish the enemy! If the foe is higher than my limits Then I just have to surpass it and rise above the challenge...

"

n

"... Such is the nature of my Relic!

"

nHe inhaled deeply and concentrated all the power he had into his sword, making it glow even brighter than ever before.

n

"Limit Breaker!

" He declared.

nHe brought down his hand and with all his might slashed the massive orb.

nAs his sword came in contact with the orb, it disintegrated it immediately, rendering it to nothing but dust.

n

"N-No... W-way....

" He muttered as the white orbs reached him too.

nHis 'Limit Breaker' allows him to overcome any obstacle by raising his power to match the strength opposing him. Whether raising his power by twice, thrice, maybe more... He always ended up overcoming the challenge.

nBut...

nThe obstacle before him transcended his limits by far. He couldn't overcome this one! By the time he came into this realization, it was too late.

nThe orb consumed both him and his sword, turning them to dust, along with the ground in contact with it.

nThe white explosion made a loud 'BOOM!', before finally quieting down. After the dust settled, nothing could be found of the foolish young knight, or his trusty weapon.

n

"I can never understand some humans

" I said, shaking my head.

nI glanced at the remaining two Imperial Knights and smiled. The one who looks to be the commanding knight was shaken with fear, a natural response. The other one, a girl, was also shaking. But it wasn't with fear.

n

"Is that... Excitement?

" I asked myself.

nHer cheeks were red and her eyes bulged with her grin widening. She hugged herself tightly as she gazed at me intensely.

n

"S-Strong... So-Strong

" She said.

nWhat a sick girl.

nBut with this, i find a good opportunity or those two.

n

"ROOT

"

n

"Summon Talia and Shamac

" I commanded.

n<>

n<>

nImmediately, my two trusty slaves appeared from within Root.

n

"Wha- Where are we?

" Talia let out with surprise.

nShamac also looked shocked by the sudden change of environment and landscape. They still had their wounds, and were still roughed up, so they were disoriented.

n

"Welcome, you two

" I said to them with a smile.

nTheir countenance changed when they heard my voice. Fear filled them as they stepped back apprehensively when they saw me.

nTheir reactions are to be expected. After all, I nearly killed them to enact my plan. However... They are still my slaves.

n

"The both of you, pick one knight each and kill them off for me

" I told them.

n

"Wha-?!

" Talia said in surprise.

nShe definitely wasn't expecting that.

n

"B-But Y-You...

" She wanted to protest.

n

"It'll be a bother to explain everything to you now. Do as I say

" I interrupted, staring intensely at her.

n

"But master... We are not currently in the right state to fi-

" Shamac tried to give an excuse.

nI used Hex to immediately heal the both them.

n

"O-Oh

" Shamac let out, before shutting his mouth again.

n

"Well then, I trust you won't disappoint me... I'll see you all later

" I told them before walking away.

nThe both of them are surely still confused by what is going on, they've missed a lot of events after all, but this is a good opportunity to test their worth and pit them against professional fighters. If they can't handle this much, then I'll simply have to dispose of them and find replacements.

nBesides, I shouldn't be the one to take care of the trash, I leave that to my servants. My true target is up ahead.

n

"Warp

" I said.

nImmediately I teleported from my location, disappearing from the sight of all the people present.

n

"Don't disappoint me, you two

" My voice echoed as I vanished.

nTalia and Shamac swallowed nervously after Hexarion disappeared. They looked at their opponents, Imperial Knights... They had to pick one.

n

"Dibs on the hot chick!

" Shamac let out immediately.

nWith Hexarion gone, his natural teenage self resurfaced.

n

"What are you even...?

" Talia sighed in disappointment.

n

"What? You expect me to pick the old geezer? No way!

" He told her.

nThe two Knights looked at them awkwardly as the two slaves argued about sharing them.

n

"That's enough!

" Gerund suddenly let out.

n

"You two... Tell us where your master is, or die!

" He said, summoning his spear Relic.

nHe smiled within himself.

n

"The one to fear is gone now. If we take care of these small fry, we'll be able to survive!

" Gerund thought to himself.

n

"Hey, we're fighting them, get ready!

" He said, referring to his depraved knight, Pheobe.

nShe merely smiled with excitement, not able to withold it anymore.

n

"Finally, I'll be able to kill some more?!

" She said excitedly.

nWhen he heard this, Shamac immediately became creeped out and her obsessive gaze unnerved him. He could sense her bloodlust.

n

"You know what? On the second thought I'll take on the old geezer, yes. He reminds me of my grandfather, you know?' Shamac let out an awkward laugh.

n

"Lies. You don't even know who your parents are

" Talia responded to him with an unbelievable look.

nBut the matchup was fine with her as well.

n

"Fine. We'll do it that way!

" She said with a smile.

nShamac heaved a sigh of relief.

n

"What do you both think you're doing. Where is your master? Tell us now and maybe we'll spare you!

" Gerund asked in a commanding tone

n

"Shut it geezer.

" Shamac said to him.

nGerund was surprised by the slave's reaction toward him.

n

"How dare you... Do you know who I am?!

" Gerund growled in rage.

n

"Yeah yeah, you're an Imperial Knight and all that. Look, we don't even know where the master is right now. So why don't we just get this over with?

" Shamac said nonchalantly.

n

"I'll slice you up real good

" The female Imperial Knight smiled, licking her dagger.

n

"Gross

" Talia said in disgust.

nThe match was set.

nTalia versus Pheobe, the female Imperial Knight

nShamac versus Commander Gerund.

nWhile Hexarion had other businesses to attend to.

n