Josen's expression hardened immediately.
"So you're the rats responsible for all this?" he asked, voice sharp with hostility.
Harian shrugged mockingly. "And what if we were?"
That was all it took. All four knights drew their swords in perfect unison, blades pointing directly at Harian and Muliad.
"Then we cut you down here," Josen declared.
But Harian could read their intentions as easily as he could read their stances. Fear. Pressure. Urgency. The need to return to their captain because they felt it.
Harian tilted his head, eyes glimmering.
"You're wondering who your boss is fighting right now, aren't you?" he said with a sly grin. "You felt it too, didn't you? That immense essence erupting from that direction."
Josen's jaw tightened. He hated that Harian was right.
He could feel it Leon's essence clashing with another monster's. A storm only a Grand Knight could produce and it terrified him.
"That is exactly why we don't have time to waste, we'll cut you down now and return to the Captain."
His essence flared blue light coating his blade with pressure strong enough to crack the ground. Harian's smile widened. He drew his sword lightly, like it weighed nothing.
"Instead of worrying about your boss and making rash decisions…"
He activated Null Steps and his form dissolved gone and reappeared beside Josen in the blink of an eye.
"…focus on the matter at hand first," Harian whispered behind him. "If you want to live, that is."
He swung. Josen reacted purely on instinct his blade snapping up in desperation.
CLANG!
The impact rattled Josen's bones all the way to his shoulder. His feet slid across the stone and his knees buckled.
What the hell…?
Had he been even a fraction slower, his head would've been rolling across the floor. That footwork the movement, he had never seen anything like it. And the weight behind the boy's sword?
It was like blocking a collapsing mountain. For the first time since arriving…Josen realized this "boy"… was far more dangerous than any criminal they had expected.
"Who are you?"
Josen growled as he poured essence into his arms and shoved Harian away with brute force.
Harian let the push carry him backward, twisting lightly mid-air before landing with graceful precision. His sword hung loosely in one hand, body angled into that ridiculous stance again.
[VEX: ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE? THAT STANCE IS A DEATH FLAG.]
Harian ignored him, smiling faintly.
But Josen…Josen saw something completely different.
What posture is that…? It was like watching a swordsman and a dancer fused into one. Beautiful. Controlled. Lethal.
And worst of all. There was no opening.
Josen's breath hitched. This boy was dangerous.
Realizing this, he crouched low and let essence surge through every vein and muscle. With a sharp exhale, he activated the renowned sword technique granted only to Rezia's elite
"Sword Song Art."
His aura changed. Heavy. Rhythmic. Deadly The other knights sensed the shift and immediately moved to flank Harian.
"We'll assist-!"
BOOM!
A blur slammed into them before they even reached Harian.
A fist wrapped in shimmering essence crashed into the ground between them with explosive force, the impact throwing the knights back in a shockwave.
Dust exploded outward. And standing there, arm still extended from the punch .....Muliad. His essence burned around him like a raging beast.
"he told you," Muliad said coldly, eyes sharp.
He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
"Focus on the matter at hand."
Behind him, Harian casually twirled his sword. This time, even Josen felt a chill crawl up his spine. They weren't dealing with just a boy anymore. They were dealing with two monsters.
Josen could understand who Muliad was, a monster who had once shaken the kingdom. But the boy? He had no idea who Harian was.
Skinny. Young. Barely looked strong enough to lift a sword.
Yet the strike earlier the weight behind it, the sharpness, the precision and how his own hand was still trembling from blocking it… Josen understood a single thing with perfect clarity: Underestimating this boy was a death sentence.
That was why he wasted no time.
He steadied his breathing, closed his eyes for half a second, and thought of his captain. Of Leon Lighthart. Of the responsibility placed upon him.
If his captain fell…If the kingdom's strongest knight went down here… Rezia would crumble. He would not allow that.
So he roared from the depth of his lungs:
"Sword Song Art FIRST MOVEMENT!"
This was no ordinary technique.
It was a sacred art one known only to the upper echelons of Rezia's elite. The Sword Song Art allowed its user to collect world essence with flawless efficiency and distribute it perfectly through every fiber of the body. It demanded absolute focus, absolute discipline, and the breathing technique of a master knight.
And the First Movement was a barrage of swift, destructive sword strikes, propelled by enhanced footwork taught only to Rezia's highest-ranking swordsmen.
Josen gathered essence into his legs. The ground cracked beneath him as he launched forward like a missile. Then the blade came a clean, merciless arc, essence shining along its edge
He gathered essence into his legs and launched himself forward, the ground splintering beneath him. His blade arced toward Harian's neck a clean, lethal strike meant to kill instantly.
He was certain he had him. But-...Harian blocked the attack. Effortlessly. With one hand and a smile. Josen's heart lurched.
Insane…It was insane.
Harian's blade...It was infused with essence too. Josen's eyes trembled in disbelief.
This boy shouldn't have had that level of control. This boy shouldn't have had that much power. Yet here he was blocking a master knight's killing blow like it meant nothing.
"What… the hell…?" Josen muttered instinctively.
"Surprised?" Harian tilted his head mockingly, his grin sharp.
He pushed forward lightly, almost casually and Josen was blown backward, boots screeching across stone until he crashed and rolled to the opposite side of the hall.
He forced himself upright, breath ragged. His eyes flicked to the side and he saw his fellow knights were struggling against Muliad. Being pushed back. A rare sight. But Josen understood why. Muliad wasn't ordinary.
What chilled him wasn't that.
It was Harian.
A young boy who not only infused essence into a weapon but wielded it so naturally that Josen, a master knight, was being pushed back. He steadied himself, jaw tight.
This boy… This unknown variable…He could not be allowed to threaten the kingdom. Josen clenched his teeth.
"Sword Song Art...Second Movement."
Essence surged Faster , sharper and deadlier a disciplined storm of sword strike the technique only the top of Rezia's knights could use. This was no longer caution. This was Josen acknowledging Harian as an enemy worthy of his ultimate art.
But Harian? Harian simply smiled.
"Oh? I know something similar too."
A pulse of dark energy flickered around him. His essence spiked then instantly converted.
Void essence flooded his body.
[VEX WARNING: IF YOU TAKE IN TOO MUCH, THE STRAIN ON THE BODY WILL BE CATASTROPHIC. YOUR CURRENT PHYSICAL STATE IS NOT-..]
"Yeah, yeah," Harian muttered. "Untrained body, catastrophic strain… blah, blah."
He knew Vex was right. But he had no choice.
He inhaled sharply. "You know…" he said, his tone almost casual, "I'm a hypocrite. I told you not to be rash and impatient."
His eyes change glowing faintly with void essence.
Black vapor seeped from his blade like smoke dripping backward through the air.
"But the thing is-... I'm kinda in a hurry too"
Null Steps. Activated. Void Infusion. Activated. Harian lifted his sword. The black vapor thickened, swirling like a living shadow. His grin widened deadly, thrilling, cold.
"Come at me, Josen."