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nSylvester only wore a rank plate that showed his rank as a wizard, but nobody knew his knight wizard rank. So this was the day the world shall know, the day the world learnt that he was not just a wizard and a bard, but a ruthless knight too.

nHis spear shined bright, and crystal-like edges appeared at its tip. He didn’t walk towards the enemy as that was foolish, though he used all his knightly magic knowledge to strengthen his body. ｎｏｖ𝚕．𝚌ｏｍ

nHis arms and legs, all the joints, appeared to have a vaguely invisible light shrouding them as if it was armour over his armour. His red cape stopped fluttering as if it had become heavy, and the ground beneath his feet started to crack.

n“The rune you made has a flaw.” Sylvester started. “And that flaw is…”

nThe Sons of Fire were somewhat scared of him as Sylvester’s reputation was too big and too legendary. But they only came after him because no other A-ranked bounty paid five hundred thousand Gold Graces. With that much money, they all could live forever in peace, or so they believed.

n“All attack at once! Don’t give him a chance to react! Don’t take him lightly; keep your distance from the rest.” The leader of the group shouted and ordered.

nImmediately, all the knights in the group rushed up to kill Sylvester. They made various forms of fire from the edges of their blades, and at the same time, the wizards from the back threw balls of fire with their secondary magical talent imbued in them.

nSylvester sidestepped easily, so fast that with each step, he made a small crater in the ground. His form was untraceable for the most part, and before anyone could even notice, he had reached behind the enemy lines, where the wizards stood, for they were his greatest foe first.

n“The biggest flaw of your runes is… It only suppresses the solarium in the air, not within! Which means…!”

nWoosh!

nSylvester easily lifted one of the wizards off the ground by the robes and threw him towards the carriage where Lady Aurora was waiting.

n“Wizards are weak inside the rune, but a knight still reigns supreme!”

nWoosh!

nSylvester started pushing and throwing the wizards into the rune circle as they all strategically stayed out of it. Once inside, their magic got suppressed, and they became an easy target for the rest.

nSir Dolorem easily sliced them up with his sword, Elyon used his claws to rip throats out, Felix beheaded a few, Gabriel took the lord’s name while stabbing hearts, and Lady Aurora cut them into pieces. Meanwhile, Bishop Lazark turned the dead into undead and sent them back towards the other enemy knights that had circled them around.

nChaos and conundrums spread wide in an instant. The enemies didn’t know that most of the allies of Sylvester were wizard-knights, which meant they could fight in any circumstances, like the one now.

n“Do not fear them! They are still suppressed magically! Attack at the same time!” The leader commanded.

nSylvester went all out once that announcement came. He targeted the knights and used his spear as if he was dancing. He pivoted on his feet, letting the tip of his spear reach the many necks around him.

nHe threw the spear or used its butt to break many legs. He did feel regret for not knowing how to use the spear to the fullest by expanding it, but he didn’t mind as he could already masterfully use it.

nNot only the spear, he also used his entire body.

nBam!

nA fist to the jaw, and he easily broke a man’s entire face, throwing his teeth metres away and knocking him out. But no mercy was shown even then. When enemies fell from passing out, Sylvester stepped over their necks and killed them in a gory mess.

n“Weak! You came here to kill me? Then why do I only see your blood?” Sylvester asked them in a roar.

n“Aaargh!”

nA knight cried as Sylvester ripped out the throat of one and stabbed the spear in the eye of another. There were more than a hundred knights, and they could not stand against him at all. He ploughed through them with ease and left a trail of blood left and right.

n“M-Mercy!”

n“No!”

nSuddenly, Sylvester looked away towards the left, far in the distance and shook his head as if signalling someone to stop coming closer. After that, he went on a killing spree again.

nBut the biggest fear for the enemies was behind Sylvester, as Bishop Lazark turned every fallen knight into an undead, effectively flipping the numbers.

nSylvester didn’t use any wizardry the whole time and still easily kept winning every single battle. Eventually, an hour passed, and the number of knights became lower than the number of undead.

n“How are you this strong? You killed my golden Knights with ease!” The leader of the group asked in a panic.

nSylvester started walking towards him, looking bloodied. His face, hair, and armour had bits of pieces of the men he slayed. It was just gore and blood, and he was the god of death.

nHe looked towards the carriage, where Felix and the rest had finished killing all the wizards long ago and now worked on fixing the carriage’s wheel. Only Sir Dolorem and Gabriel watched the remaining fight and ensured no knight could leave.

n“W-We will leave! Let us leave, please!” the leader pleaded. “We haven’t hurt any of you yet.”

nSylvester didn’t stop. He had vowed to kill all assassin organisations that dared come after him and his mother. If he let them live now, they’d only come after him later with a vendetta. He could not afford that with his hands full already.

nWoosh!

nSylvester threw his spear. It plunged into the assassin leader’s leg and firmly planted him down on the ground. Now scared for his life, the man did everything he could to escape. “What do you want? You’ve already killed all my men!”

nSylvester reached him, slowly knelt down to the man’s level, and grabbed the throat. “You committed a grave mistake.”

n“What mistake?”

nSylvester clenched his hand a little. “Your mistake? You’re still breathing!”

n“Aaaargh!”

nSylvester clenched his fist into the throat and easily plunged his fingers into the flesh. He caught the throat firmly and started to pull it out, ever so slowly, so the man suffered through the pain.

n“Aaaaa!”

nThe maddening screams echoed all around, making the birds sitting in the distance fly away in fright. Eventually, Sylvester pulled the throat out entirely and let the man die in pain and gore. Not once did he ask the man for his name, for he was just another useless hindrance meant to be stepped on.

n“Felix and Gabriel! Come and help me burn all these bodies. But we will put the leader’s body on the roadside for display. Let this be a reminder for any A-ranked assassin group not to come after me.” Sylvester called his friends for help.

n“What if an S-ranked comes after you?” Felix asked.

nSylvester sighed and jerked his arms to get rid of the blood. “They will come after me anyway, Felix. At least I can avoid these small ones with this.”

n“You need a bath,” Gabriel added.

nSylvester chuckled wryly. He knew he had gone a little overboard this time. There was no need to make all the men die so painfully and brutally, but he still did so in anger. Although he had no regrets, he hoped not to lose his touch with humanity.

nThen he proceeded to destroy the rune circle made underneath them. “True, I need a bath. Let’s hurry home after this. We wasted too much time on these buffoons.”

n“Why didn’t Lady Aurora help you out? She’s a knight too. Or use Ashra; she’s a giant snake.” Felix asked him while glancing at the carriage.

n“I asked Lady Aurora not to. She’s too strong for most, Felix. If we always take her help, we will never grow up. So while we still have to exert ourselves, she does not have to. Killing these ants is useless for her. Meanwhile, Ashra is better kept in secrecy for her own safety. Come now, burn these bodies.”

nSylvester placed all the bodies in a small pit and lit them on fire. It didn’t matter if they were believers of Solis or not. The moment they attacked Sylvester, they went against the church, which, by default, made them heathens — deserving of death.

nAfter burning the bodies with magic, Sylvester created a flagpole with a tree trunk from nearby and hung the body of the assassin leader on it with a plaque around his neck. “I am an unholy assassin. I deserve this.’

nOnce done, he poured a lot of water on himself using elemental water magic and cleaned himself quickly. Then he entered the back of the carriage and decided to have some rest while Felix and Bishop Lazark drove the carriage this time.

nWith there being so many of them, they did not need to stop and drove the whole day and night in turns. They stopped only for food in a few locations and then continued. A few days later, the Holy Land finally came into view.

n“Ugh! What happened to this place?” Lady Aurora grunted alongside Sylvester as they sat in the front seats to steer.

nSylvester rubbed his head in joy and worry. “I-It appears… All the people there are standing in line for the Bard’s.”

n“Your shop?”

nSylvester wanted to stop there and check out the shop, as it seemed it had become too popular. He was worried for the safety of his staff and didn’t want them to overwork.

n“Let’s continue. I must report to the Holy Father directly. The matter we dealt with was too important and cannot be kept as a mere report.” Sylvester continued.

nThey crossed the tunnel and entered the Holy Land. After that, they all headed to the Pope’s peninsula, but only Lady Aurora and Sir Dolorem joined Sylvester at the Pope’s Palace.

n“I will see you tomorrow. Felix, take Darius and this lady along and let them live at your house. You have two extra rooms. Bishop Lazark, give your analysis of Emperor Lich as well. I’m sure the Holy Land will wish to have more information about such a powerful undead creature.” Sylvester commanded everyone swiftly.

nOnce all left, they climbed the tall stairs of the Pope’s Palace. They entered and moved straight towards the Pope’s office without asking anyone.

n“Ah, Lord Bard!” The assistant to the pope, Gunther, saluted. “Only the Eighth guardian is with His Holiness. You may enter.”

nSylvester nodded and opened the door to walk in. He had not even changed his clothes, and his armour reeked of blood, sweat and rotten meat.

n“May the holy light enlighten us, your holiness. I am delighted to announce that the Barbarian issue from the north has been rectified. All the remaining barbarians have accepted the faith of Solis wholeheartedly.” Sylvester formally saluted and gave a summary of the report.

nThud!

n“Haha! There you are!” The Pope, however, was too excited and easily pushed his giant table aside, placing Sylvester in a fatherly hug, even picking him up a foot. “Just what I expected from my greatest protegee!”

nSylvester didn’t like this closeness, but he accepted it as it was beneficial. But, as always, it also brings problems that, in time, could grow into cancer.

n‘Ugh! The Eighth Guardian reeks of jealousy and all things negative.’

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