Page 1
The armored knight's voice is low and dangerous:
"Who are you to stop my punch. How dare you."
The old man speaks — his voice quiet as a blade drawn slowly:
"I didn't want to do this."
A pause.
"But you made me."
No shouting. No threat.
His hand darkens slowly. The Stone Mantle coils around his knuckles with complete calm — like a man pulling on a glove he has worn for years.
One punch.
Dust rises. The armored knight rolls across the arena floor — stained with the blood of those who came before him.
Page 2
The crowd goes silent for one moment.
Then erupts.
The announcer screams in disbelief: "The old man knocks out the festival champion like a training bag! Where did he come from?!"
Mabu shouts: "Grandfather! Don't fight! Let's go!"
The old man doesn't turn:
"Watch… and learn."
Page 3
The armored knight rises slowly. He tears off what remains of his shattered armor.
He raises both hands toward the sky.
A white aura covers his body. His muscles swell beneath his skin.
The old man doesn't wait. He accelerates and drives a full-weight punch into the knight's stomach.
The armored knight shifts back one single step. Just one.
He smiles — cold — and answers.
Page 4
The punch reaches the old man's face.
He spins quickly to absorb the impact. Staggers. Recovers.
He answers with two rapid punches to the armored knight's face. Barely any effect.
The armored knight seizes the old man's right hand. Draws a knife from his belt.
One slow moment.
Page 5
A shadow leaps from the side.
A punch connects with the armored knight's face — with force that has no right to come from that size.
Mabu stands between them. His hand still raised. Teeth locked.
The armored knight turns toward him slowly. His eyes ignite.
"You little—"
He grabs Mabu by the face with a hand like iron pliers. Begins to squeeze.
The old man's voice changes. Deepens. Becomes something else entirely.
"S t o p."
Page 6
From the sky.
A violet light tears through the arena like a bolt of lightning and strikes the ground between them.
All three fall. The earth cracks beneath them. Gravity doubles without warning — as if something invisible is pressing down on their chests.
The old man tries to rise. He manages — barely. The armored knight too. Mabu cannot lift his face from the ground.
From the entrance, orange armor enters in measured, unhurried steps.
Page 7
A man at the front. No rush. Walking as if the arena is empty.
He withdraws his power. The violet fades.
Gravity lifts. Mabu breathes deep — still pressed against the floor.
The man speaks in a dry, formal tone:
"Hello. I am Deputy Linsan. I received reports of disturbances."
Page 8
The old man sees Linsan.
Something shifts in his face. Something very old wakes up behind his eyes.
He takes his fighting stance. In silence.
The armored knight looks at the old man. Then at Linsan. Doesn't move. Watches.
Linsan smiles — a smile that never reaches his eyes:
"Hello… Sharo."
Page 9
"The conversation we had eleven years ago was very clear."
He steps forward. His hand rests on his sword's handle.
"And I have every right to destroy you now."
Mabu pushes himself upright with difficulty. He looks at the old man. At Linsan. He doesn't understand what is happening — but he takes his fighting stance.
Page 10
Linsan sees him. Stops.
He studies Mabu with eyes that miss nothing.
Then continues speaking to the old man as if Mabu hasn't moved at all:
"However. King Bumer's orders are clear to all his soldiers. No one is permitted to approach you after that day."
He lifts his hand from the sword's handle. Slowly.
"You may leave whenever you wish."
Page 11
Silence.
Then Linsan turns toward the arena — the fallen fighters, the shattered wall, the wreckage.
"By the way… I received complaints that someone disrupted the festival and ruined the crowd's enjoyment."
He looks at the old man with eyes that already know the answer:
"Do you have any connection to this, Sharo?"
Page 12
Mabu sweats. His eyes move back and forth between the old man and Linsan.
The old man exhales once. The darkness fades from his hands.
He smiles — warm, completely manufactured.
"It's nothing serious, Linsan. My foolish grandson fell from the stands by accident."
He gestures toward the armored knight:
"And this person attacked him. I simply defended him."
Page 13
Linsan looks at Mabu with eyes that read everything:
"Your grandson?"
"Yes." The old man grabs Mabu by the shoulder and pulls him close. "This is Thian."
Mabu opens his mouth. The old man's fingers press into his shoulder and close it.
"We were just about to leave before you arrived."
Linsan looks at Mabu for one moment longer than necessary.
Then he slides his sword back into its sheath. Turns.
"We will meet again… Sharo."
He walks out. The soldiers follow.
Page 14
The silence of the empty arena.
The armored knight stands among the fallen. He looks at Mabu.
Then smiles — a real smile, for the first time.
He ruffles Mabu's hair once.
"We'll meet again."
He turns and walks toward the darkness.
Mabu watches him until he disappears.
He whispers — barely loud enough to exist:
"Yes. We will."
Page 15
They walk through the market in silence.
The lights. The noise. The smell of food. Everything exactly as it was when they entered this morning.
But Mabu walks differently. Heavier.
He sees children running and imitating the black knight — shouting, hitting each other with wooden sticks.
He stops.
Page 16
One of the children shouts: "I'm the black knight! Nobody can beat me!"
The children laugh.
Mabu watches them with eyes that don't laugh.
Inside his head — the black knight walking out of the heart of the storm. His hand catching the blade. His body breaking stone.
Mabu's fist tightens until his knuckles go white.
Page 17
The old man speaks quietly — without looking at him:
"What are you thinking about?"
Mabu speaks in a low voice. Tears he doesn't want form in his eyes:
"I'm thinking about that moment in front of the armored knight… I saw the power in my hand."
He stops.
"And I didn't use it. I was afraid of killing someone again."
Page 18
"And because of my fear… you almost got hurt."
The old man takes him by the shoulder:
"Listen, Mabu. Sometimes a person must kill to stay alive. If you keep treating everyone as you would wish to be treated — you won't survive long."
Mabu raises his head. His eyes are red.
"Next time… I'll do it."
Not a shout. Not a promise made to anyone.
Just the sound of something deciding itself in the deepest part of his chest.
The old man looks at him.
And says nothing.
Page 19
They reach the door.
The old man opens it. They step inside.
Then Mabu freezes.
Thian is standing in the kitchen brushing his teeth — hair a complete mess, eyes half-shut from sleep.
He sees Mabu. Raises one eyebrow.
Mabu doesn't move.
Page 20
Mabu's face breaks apart.
A smile. Then one tear. Then he runs.
He throws his arms around Thian with his full weight — nearly takes him off his feet.
"I thought you were going to die."
Thian raises one arm slowly and places it across Mabu's back.
"Here I am."
He doesn't say anything more than that.
Page 21
Mabu lifts his tear-streaked face:
"I sat next to you for so long while you were just… lying there…"
Thian goes still. Then everything comes back to him at once. His face shifts — becomes serious.
He looks at his bandaged hand:
"What happened? I remember fighting someone on the road — and then the stab wound in my hand…"
The old man: "After you fell, Mabu defeated them and saved you. Somehow."
Thian: "So you saved me?"
Mabu scratches his head: "Don't say it like that… I was just scared."
Thian laughs: "Scared? You? Impossible. How did you manage to save me?"
He hits Mabu's shoulder — light, affectionate.
"Idiot."
Mabu crumples dramatically on the floor from the impact. The air in the house goes lighter. Laughter fills it for the first time in days.
Page 22
The three of them sit around the dinner table. The old man eats in silence.
Mabu is telling Thian about the festival:
"There was a black knight — incredibly strong! He took out four fighters by himself!"
Thian: "And where were you?"
Mabu winks: "I was studying combat techniques from the stands…"
Thian looks at him sideways.
"…until I fell."
Thian slams the table trying to hold in his laughter. Mabu erupts into a string of outraged words that make no particular sense.
Page 23
The old man looks at the two of them and smiles — quietly, with pride.
He stands. He lifts his cup.
"Today you saw what people can do when they truly train. Now you both know where you need to begin."
He walks toward his room.
"Sleep well. Dawn doesn't wait."
Page 24
Night.
Mabu in his bed. Eyes open. Fixed on the ceiling.
He thinks about the black knight. About Linsan. About his grandfather. About the Stone Mantle.
He thinks about all of it — until his eyes finally close.
And the night takes him.
Continued in Chapter Eleven