What little reason he had left told him that trusting the promise of a Demon's lackey was dumber than stuffing his head with cow dung. But Reinhardt's fury still made him want to beat the hell out of the creature.
Lupu was filled with utter despair. 'This is it,' he thought. 'I'm dead for sure!'
The smile on the Fear Knight's face grew more hideous, like that of a fiery ghoul. It seemed to be savoring its prey's final struggles.
It abruptly shifted its gaze. The sulfurous fire in its eyes locked onto Lupu. It tilted its head slightly, its face splitting open in a hideous grin.
Although Lupu hadn't condensed his own Power, the Fear Knight's oppressive aura made his chest tighten, leaving him unable to breathe.
"You... what are you..."
The boy's slightly childish voice trailed off.
Reinhardt's expression changed drastically. He roared, "Lupu! Get out of the way—!"
A terrifying wind swept across the land. A large, dark-red hand punched through Lupu's chest and closed around his still-beating heart!
It all happened too fast.
Robie and Ober stood frozen, their eyes unable to even track the Fear Knight's movements.
An expression of fear and disbelief was frozen on Lupu's face. He struggled to turn his head, as if to ask for help, as if desperate to live. The clever light in his eyes, once full of mischief, rapidly faded.
"Boss..."
Robie's eyes filled with terror. He had never imagined that Lupu, the little rascal who was always giving him ideas, would die so silently right in front of him.
Pain.
Guilt.
Doubt.
All of it intertwined in that moment, stirring up the mockery of the past, silently tearing his soul to shreds.
That day.
When Reinhardt found him in the fortress, the seeds sown in his childhood had finally begun to sprout within his heart.
He fell to his knees in agony, staring at his trembling hands.
But tears had already blurred his vision.
Scene after scene from the past flooded his mind. It was painful, suffocating.
'My father was right,' he thought. 'No matter how much I pretend, no matter how I boast about my courage to everyone, I can never be like Reinhardt. His noble courage is like the midday sun—unyielding, tenacious, and fearless. It can even illuminate the darkest of corners.'
'That's why I'm jealous of Reinhardt. I wanted to defeat him to prove my own courage.'
'That's why I hate myself. I just want praise and attention from others.'
'I'm a natural-born coward, a disgrace to my family, just dragging out a pathetic existence in the shadow of my father and brother. I'm unworthy of the Sky Knight blood flowing in my veins. My spirit and soul are even less worthy of becoming a glorious Knight...'
And at that very moment.
Reinhardt was half-kneeling on the ground, his teeth clenched in fury!
The Fear Knight held Lupu's still-beating heart in its hand. Its towering body cast a long shadow, and its laughter seemed poised to completely consume Reinhardt, to shatter all his courage and resolve.
"Do you want... to save them...?"
This was the path every Knight had to walk.
Once pain and weakness extinguished the light of courage and valor, the darkness and malice of the Abyss would transform into a craving for power—even if it meant groveling at the feet of a former enemy.
But Reinhardt's heart held only rage!
Pure, unadulterated rage!
Lupu's death.
Everything that had happened to the Steel Knight Order.
The death of An Jie, his most respected and beloved training camp instructor!
"BASTARD—!"
Endless fury overwhelmed the excruciating pain.
The Morphic Armor silently enveloped Reinhardt's body. He shot to his feet, his right hand clenched into a tight fist. He poured all the volcanic rage in his heart into that one punch, smashing it into the Fear Knight's face with all his might!
CLANG—!
[Giant Devouring Current Layer Number: 858]
[Current Physical Enhancement Coefficient: 0.858]
[Calculating the sum of Physique and Spiritual Energy. Power awakening progress is full. Second Knight's Power, an ability outside the system's plan, can now be awakened.]
[Power Attribute: Destruction Force Field]
[Bloodthirsty Madness: While Knight Power is active, your neural reflex speed and Physique are increased in real-time.]
[Physique: The sum of bone density, muscle density, and recovery ability.]
[Unique Passive Trait: The power amplification from Bloodthirsty Madness continuously increases based on your total injuries and remaining stamina. Current maximum: 100%.
Lasts until stamina is depleted or until death.]
[Current Increase: 50%]
One hundred and fifty Heart Steel Layers.
The number was a silent whisper to Reinhardt, a stark reminder of the huge gap in strength between him and the Fear Knight.
It was a symbol of power far surpassing that of a Convicted Demon, which could only provide twenty Heart Steel Layers.
The Fear Knight didn't dodge Reinhardt's punch. It had assumed it could easily block the furious strike of a mere Two-star Military Rank Knight.
But the weight of Reinhardt's fist was clearly beyond its calculations.
The cruel smile had not yet faded from its face when the terrifying force and pressure of the blow extinguished the sulfurous fire in its eye sockets.
'What...?!'
A single punch—condensing all of Reinhardt's volcanic rage, amplified by the 50% Physique bonus from Bloodthirsty Madness, and empowered by Giant Devouring's 708 Heart Steel Layers—smashed viciously into the Fear Knight's face!
BOOM—!
The Fear Knight's body shot backward like a cannonball, kicking up a terrifying shockwave of dirt and rubble as it flew through the air at high speed.
The usually slow-witted Ober was completely stunned by Reinhardt's rampage, left gawking in place.
Robie remained lost in his pain and guilt, as if a pathetic barrier separated him from everything happening around him.
As for the Fear Knight, it flew backward and landed in the sights of the Convicted Demons who had pursued them from the fortress. They were every bit as shocked as Ober.
No one could have imagined that a mere Two-star Military Rank Knight could send a Fear Knight, whose power was approaching the Earth Level, flying with a single punch.
However, the gap in raw power wasn't something Reinhardt's rage and a single punch could erase.
Before his body even hit the ground, the Fear Knight's terrifying physical control and combat skill allowed him to forcibly twist his body into position. He landed on both feet, digging deep trenches in the earth as he skidded to a halt.
Then, the Fear Knight snapped his head up. His chilling, deathly gaze shot past Reinhardt and landed on Ober.
He raised an arm, revealing fingers of flowing fire beneath his red robe.
His voice, low and bestial, was still perfectly clear in Reinhardt's ears, even from a hundred meters away.
"Next, it's his turn."
Crush the target with overwhelming power.
Then, mentally torture them.
This was the Fear Knights' standard method for recruiting new members. Only by doing this could they awaken a target's true desire for power, giving them an opening to exploit.
After all, not every Knight joined them willingly.
Reinhardt's strength and talent had earned their recognition, which was why the Fear Knight was sparing no effort to pull the young Knight into the Abyss Faction.
Just as he was about to repeat his old trick—to kill Ober and continue torturing Reinhardt's mind—a dark purple figure appeared before him in a flash. Its left hand, like an iron pincer, fearlessly clamped down on his fiery wrist.
In that instant, the Fear Knight could not only feel the volcanic rage burning beneath the dark purple helmet, but he could also clearly sense that the young Knight's Power had grown stronger. And beyond the attributes of the Extraordinary Armament, the aura of another, different Power was beginning to coalesce!
"Your opponent is me, you mongrel Knight."
The Fear Knight broke into a terrifying smile, not holding back his praise.
"Impressive."
Possessing a Power with two different attributes—such talent was a rarity, even among the Fear Knights themselves.
If allowed to continue growing within the Radiant Empire, he would undoubtedly become a major threat to the Abyss Faction in the future.
But if they could guide him into the ranks of the Fear Knights, this young Knight would become the most terrifying shadow in the Human Empire—no, in the entire world.
The more pleased the Fear Knight was with Reinhardt's talent, the more excited he became. His voice dropped to a low, hoarse growl, like that of a wild beast.
"I will personally take you to see the Master, Knight."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Fear Knight no longer restrained his aura. The terrifying presence constructed from his Power swelled endlessly in Reinhardt's vision.