[Raul PoV]
Black armor, black hair, late twenties—there was no mistake; he was Remilio de Banderra, one of the youngest Holy Knights of the Temple Authority of Goddess Diana.
Actually, I had known of his arrival in this city after the chaos caused by the Blackfire Dragon Syrax a few days ago. For that reason, after our last two completed missions, the Keeper hadn't given us another specific task. However, while Puppeteer and I were heading to the orphanage to help Sister Giada, we felt a massive explosion of Mana here.
Puppeteer and I rushed here to find out what was happening. I didn't expect to see Runa, Thomas, and Deana surrounded by dozens of Inquisitors. Additionally, I saw Sister Giada's body lying not far from Runa.
There were so many things I wanted to ask about how this event occurred. However, we first had to evacuate these three children and the rest of the children from this city immediately. After successfully securing the three children, I intended to neutralize Brian and then leave the area. However, I was suddenly intercepted by someone else's magic attack.
It was Remilio de Banderra—one of the Holy Knights from the Empire.
We stared at each other, our swords gripped tightly, the wind blowing the black cloak I wore. Dust entered my eyes, making me blink. But when I reopened them, the Holy Knight suddenly appeared right in front of me and swung his sword.
— Tang!
Sparks flew as our swords clashed. The Holy Knight smiled and launched several attack combos. I focused on parrying and dodging his slashes. However, he suddenly combined his sword combos with several kicks and punches, making it harder to read his attacks.
— Bam!
I blocked his kick with my arm, my body pushed back; both of Remilio's legs emitted grains of red light. He then lunged and appeared beside me in the blink of an eye.
— Slash!
I avoided his sword slash by jumping backward; this time, he didn't follow up with an attack. Despite having avoided his slash, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left hand; a cut appeared, and blood slowly began to wet my hand.
"What is it? Is this your first time fighting a Mana Spectrum user?" Remilio asked.
Mana Spectrum... A magic manipulation ability that can only be used by high-level knights and mages. The concept is making our Mana an extension of a weapon or magic to pierce enemy defenses. This Mana is invisible and can only be felt by the user. The enemy can only realize it once they have made contact with this Mana.
It was as if the sharp part of Remilio's sword had expanded by a few centimeters. Thinking back, I avoided his attack by a margin of two centimeters. Counting the depth of the cut I received, the length of the Mana Spectrum coating his sword was three centimeters. That meant I had to further adjust my dodge timing to avoid his Mana Spectrum.
However, Mana Spectrum can be countered with an Unreality Field. But my Unreality Field would break if Remilio's Mana Spectrum was stronger than mine.
"You also look very young..." Remilio muttered. "Were you just recruited by The Masquerade...? Is that Heretic group joking, making a brat like you a Performer!?"
Furthermore, his speed was faster than someone using Acceleration or Accel magic. That was because he used a magic superior to both, which was Asphalt.
"I thought I would get an interesting fight finding a Performer here," Remilio said, his legs starting to emit red light particles again. "But it turns out I am only facing a fighter who is 'still green'."
He lunged toward me very quickly and launched an attack combo. Coating my sword and body with an Unreality Field, I parried and avoided the combos he launched.
"Hoo~ your Unreality Field is actually quite good," the Holy Knight said, smiling at me. "It seems I have to try harder to wound you this time!"
Remilio's sword was enveloped in a reddish light; he then performed a diagonal slash. I could hold it with my sword. However, because of the strength of his swing, my body was still thrown back several meters.
"..."
Suddenly, something pulled my legs, and my body moved toward Remilio. He smiled and launched a powerful slash with his sword.
— Taangg!
I twisted my body and parried his attack with my sword. Jumping back, I tried to keep my distance to analyze what had happened before. However, my legs suddenly felt pulled again; my body was carried toward Remilio, who was ready to slash me with his glowing sword.
"Big Bang Slash!" the Holy Knight shouted, swinging his sword powerfully.
I blocked his attack with my sword, but my body was thrown very far and rolled on the ground repeatedly until it hit a building.
Ughhh... my whole body was in pain. I tried to get up and analyze what had just happened.
My legs were suddenly pulled, making my body approach him. To be honest, Remilio de Banderra was not a character who appeared in the game Path of Destiny; his name was only mentioned two or three times. That was because he didn't have a significant role in the story.
After living in this world for a year, I started gathering information that didn't exist or wasn't explained in the game. Including the Holy Knights. Remilio de Banderra... He had only been a Holy Knight for two years. Before his record was broken by Princess Lunaria, he was the youngest Knight who could reach the position of Holy Knight. If I'm not mistaken, he was better known by the nickname Metal Knight.
Does this nickname have something to do with his power?
I then looked at the shoes I was wearing; there were several metal accessories attached to them. Realizing this, I took them off and threw away all items containing metal, iron, or steel attached to my body. And finally, I threw the sword I was holding to the ground.
"Hooo~ You realized it quickly," the Holy Knight said. He then raised his hand into the air. "It seems we can start the real fight now."
Suddenly, the area where we were fighting turned dark because the sunlight was blocked by thousands—no, hundreds of thousands of objects made of iron, metal, and steel that suddenly lifted into the air. Remilio gathered them and then compressed the collection of metal and iron until it formed a giant iron snake.
The snake then hissed and lunged to attack me. I tried to run to avoid it. However, because of its large size, its attack range was also huge. Building debris flew and was thrown everywhere; some even hit my body. But it didn't stop there; the giant snake also attacked me again with its tail.
Realizing I wouldn't have enough time to dodge, I activated Repel magic and blocked the snake's attack as best as I could.
— Bamm!
My body was thrown, hitting and destroying building walls until it finally stopped on top of the city clock tower building.
"Ughhh... That hurt quite a bit..." I moaned.
But I couldn't relax, because the giant snake turned back to prepare to attack me again. It was two hundred meters in front of where I was; the Holy Knight was on top of the giant snake's head, controlling it comfortably.
— Shhiiisshhh!
The snake hissed and then moved quickly toward me again. The reptile opened its mouth wide, showing two intimidatingly sharp teeth. I jumped with Axio magic to avoid it; the giant snake then bit into the clock tower.
Landing on the snake's head, I immediately activated Accel and lunged toward Remilio. He performed a horizontal slash; I avoided it by sliding on both knees.
— Bam!
A punch I had strengthened with Temper magic hit Remilio's knee, making the Holy Knight kneel on one leg. Not stopping there, I punched his chest, solar plexus, and ended with an uppercut to his chin, making Remilio fly back and fall from the snake's body.
— Shiiissshhh!
The snake hissed; it then twisted its body, making me have to jump back to the clock tower building, which was slightly destroyed from the snake's bite. I saw Remilio, still falling from the height, stretching out his hands while murmuring something.
"Stormfall..."
Suddenly, the giant snake's body beside me broke into several small parts; then those small parts formed hundreds of swords floating in the air.
"Rain of Kastamir!"
The swords then lunged toward me. I quickly jumped to another building using Axio magic. A loud thundering sound was heard as the swords hit the clock tower I had just left. However, the remaining swords started lunging toward me again, forcing me to keep jumping from one building to another to avoid them. Nonetheless, some of those swords managed to slash my body. As much as possible, I prevented the attacks from hitting my vital organs directly.
"Meteorite Punch!"
Remilio suddenly appeared from the side and punched my face squarely. My body was thrown, hitting and destroying a building wall nearby.
"Cough! Cough!"
I coughed and spat the blood collected in my mouth onto the building floor. Both his speed, strength, and magic were superior to mine. As expected of a Holy Knight. Rising to my feet, I walked slowly toward the wall that was destroyed because it was hit by my body. Looking at the city street, the Holy Knight seemed to be murmuring something.
Not long after, several pieces of metal, iron, and steel floated toward his body. Those objects covered his left hand, forming a fairly long Railgun cannon. The Holy Knight's right hand held his left shoulder, taking a stance as if about to shoot.
Electricity began to appear on the Railgun cannon on his left hand; red magic particles began to form around his body and were absorbed into the Railgun cannon.
Was he going to utilize his magnetic power to fire a magic projectile that exceeded the speed of sound at me?
"Try to avoid this, Heretic!" the Holy Knight shouted. The Railgun cannon on his left hand began to glow brightly as if holding a large amount of Mana to be fired.
"Baltazar Cannon—Magnesia Disparia!"
A dark red laser shot out from the Railgun toward my position. Activating Acceleration and Axio, I immediately left the building.
— Swoosshhh!
The laser shot past my side very quickly. A very loud explosion was heard as his attack hit the building where I was previously. A plume of smoke towered into the sky; the large building was destroyed with nothing left in one strike.
However, I couldn't relax, because I saw the Holy Knight gathering mana in the Railgun cannon to be fired again.
"Eat this, Disparia Barrage!"
This time, not just one, but eight magic projectiles aimed here. I ran and jumped from one building to another again to avoid them. However, two of the magic projectiles hit my body; I began to feel excruciating pain. My body collapsed, and I began to have difficulty breathing due to the Shock Effect from being hit by one of his shots.
Getting up, my hands and feet were still trembling. On the other side, the Holy Knight was refilling the Railgun cannon with Mana. However, I felt this time he would fire a magic projectile far stronger than the first one. Wind began to blow hard around Remilio's body, the ground shook, some scattered rocks began to lift, and electricity covered the Railgun on his left hand.
Activating Acceleration magic, I ran to the edge of the building and then jumped toward the Holy Knight using Axio magic.
"Fool, it will be harder for you to avoid this shot while in the air!" Remilio shouted, looking ready to fire his magic.
"Baltazar Cannon—Final Destination!"
A blackish-red laser shot toward me. It was certain that if I were hit by that powerful magic projectile directly, I would die instantly. For that reason, I stretched out my left hand and uttered a spell.
"Endless Nightmare... Never Ending Suffering..."
I began to gather enough Mana in the palm of my left hand and started reading the second Chant of this spell.
"Protect Me from Harsh Reality of The Real World..."
The magic projectile was right in front of me. My whole body began to feel like it was burning even though the shot hadn't hit me squarely.
"Shield of Anguish..." Magic particles began to form in front of my left palm. "Mirror... Forceee!"
A shield shaped like a lotus flower was created in front of my left palm, protecting me from the magic projectile fired by the Holy Knight. His face looked shocked as my body wasn't destroyed by his powerful attack.
"Arrrrghhhh!" My left hand shook from the contact of the magic projectile with the shield I had summoned.
I continued forward unstoppably toward the Holy Knight. A few moments later, the magic shot stopped; I had also arrived right in front of Remilio.
"Radical Blow!"
Without further ado, I launched an attack combo on the Holy Knight.
— Bak! Bik! Buk!
My punches hit Remilio's solar plexus, ribs, and stomach, making him stagger backward while clutching his stomach. However, I didn't let him escape and continued launching powerful punches. This time, I hit his face and chin with my fist strengthened by Temper magic.
"Die you, Shigaraki! Full Vengeance of... SMAAASSHH!!!"
I hit his chest as hard as I could using the buff from my Profound Codex, which was Full Vengeance. Remilio's body was thrown far until it hit and destroyed several buildings before finally stopping after his body collided with a statue in the city area.
Silence was created... Only the sound of the wind blowing could be heard. However, the result I expected didn't happen. That was because the Holy Knight could still get up after being hit by my Full Vengeance attack. His face looked battered, hand clutching his stomach, blood coming out of his mouth; he was very beaten up after I finished trashing him.
"Hahaha! Very interesting! Very interesting!" the Holy Knight said while laughing crazily. "Yes... this is how a fight between a Holy Knight and a Performer should be!"
Remilio's body was surrounded by a dense black aura; all the iron, metal, and steel in the area gathered again, spinning around the Holy Knight.
Damn... it seemed he was going to release even more troublesome magic this time.
"Esperanza... Fuego... De la Macedonia!"
All the iron, metal, and steel spinning around Remilio then began to attach to his body, forming a strong and intimidating armor. His figure this time was like a destroyer Cyborg from the movies played by the Austrian actor.
But not only that, the collection of metal, iron, and steel also formed nine other Cyborgs similar to Remilio's current figure.
"Is this the Awakening he has?"
With armor that thick, it was impossible for my attacks to affect him. If so, there was only one way I could kill him this time. However, I had to loosen his defense and execute him with a surprise attack. If this plan failed, my only chance to survive was to escape from this place and regroup with Puppeteer.
"Are you ready, Heretic!?" His voice echoed as if using a loudspeaker. The nine Cyborgs resembling Remilio began to lunge toward me simultaneously.
They came...
I moved to the side to avoid the first Cyborg's kick, then parried the punches from the second and third Cyborgs.
— Baaamm!
I blocked the fourth Cyborg's hard kick; my body was thrown to the side because of the strength of that Cyborg's attack. No mistake, all these Cyborgs Remilio formed had the same strength and speed as his original body.
A flash of light entered my vision; Remilio was aiming at me with a Railgun attached to his left hand. I immediately ran to avoid all his shots. The sound of explosions was heard behind me; the shockwave pushed my body forward slightly, making me almost fall from losing my balance.
However, I couldn't breathe a sigh of relief, because the nine Cyborgs made by the Holy Knight attacked me again simultaneously. Damn, there were too many of them; I couldn't counterattack and free myself from their attacks.
— Baaamm!
My stomach was hit by a solid kick from one of the Cyborgs; my body was thrown hard, my back then hit a city lamp post, and I lay on the street.
Ughhh... my body had almost reached its limit. I couldn't fight ten figures who had the same strength and speed as a Holy Knight. I had to be able to limit their movements...
It seemed I had one way to create that condition. However, this would be a gamble. If Remilio was an honorable Knight, my plan would succeed, but if the opposite, I could lose this fight.
After making that plan, I then picked up a sword lying on the street. Also... where exactly was Puppeteer? Why didn't that Tsundere old man hurry to help me against this Holy Knight!?
***
[Puppeteer PoV]
After successfully escaping from the Inquisitors' pursuit, I brought the three children to a temporary hiding place near a river flowing not far from Grenaut City. There was a building there where I moved the children from the orphanage inside the city.
Upon arriving there, I put down the children carried by the three dolls I controlled.
"Go inside and wait for our arrival," I said to the three children who were still hanging their heads crying. "I promise, we won't be long there and will come here to protect you."
When I turned and was about to return to the city, suddenly someone pulled my cloak. A blonde girl with red eyes was looking directly into my eyes.
"Please, Puppeteer... help Joker there," the child said with a trembling voice. "I know he is still fighting those bad people there. I don't want anyone to die again; I don't want to lose people who care about me again!"
I just nodded in response to her request and returned to the city area where we previously fought the Inquisitors and Imperial knights.
This area was completely destroyed; many buildings had collapsed and were badly damaged due to the battle. There were no signs of city residents becoming casualties; it seemed that before we arrived, they had already evacuated the residents elsewhere.
— Booomm!
I heard the sound of an explosion from the east. "It seems the fight is still continuing from that direction."
I then approached the source of the explosion to find out what was happening. Last, before leaving this area, I saw Joker facing one of the Holy Knights. A very tough opponent and a threat to our group. Could he survive against a Knight of the Holy Knight class? Even my previous partner—The Fool—died at the hands of one of the Holy Knights.
However, when I arrived at the location of the explosion, I was surprised to see Joker giving the Holy Knight he was fighting a complete thrashing. Joker performed a very strong punch to the Holy Knight's chest, making the black-armored man fly far and hit several city buildings.
However, the fight was not yet over; the Holy Knight could still get up and then create nine copies.
"No mistake, that Holy Knight has used his Awakening power..."
To make a Holy Knight release his Awakening ability... it seems Joker's fighting ability cannot be underestimated at all. However, at such a young age... with a modest amount of Mana... he could match a high-class Knight like a Holy Knight...
I think there's a reason he could inherit that Fool's Mask. But let's see how far your true strength goes, Joker!
The fight resumed; Joker seemed to start struggling to face the copies made by the Holy Knight. The white-haired man was given no chance to dodge or counterattack.
"Is this the end for you, Joker?" I murmured, seeing his body already covered in wounds. It wouldn't be long before he reached his limit and lost if this continued. "Will you be the next Performer to die at the hands of a Holy Knight?"
Let's see where the fate of the world will take you in this great battle!
***
[Holy Knight Remilio PoV]
I didn't expect to have to use my Awakening power to fight someone that young. Awakening power is a strength someone can use once they have opened their entire Profound Codex to the highest level.
The Guider will give someone that Awakening power. However, after someone receives that Awakening power, the Guider will disappear and that person will not be able to access the Soul Room they have. This is because when someone receives the Awakening power, the Guider's task and the Soul Room's function have been achieved.
My Awakening ability can create copies that have the same speed and strength as me. However, my copies cannot use magic. But this is enough to turn the tide of the fight in my favor.
Proven now, the Heretic I am fighting is having difficulty facing nine of my copies simultaneously. After being hit by a kick from one of my copies, the Heretic's body was thrown far until it hit a street lamp post. He tried to get up, but it appeared his body was almost unable to hold out much longer.
If it continues like this, my victory is already in sight. He then stared at me sharply; a light particle appeared covering his legs. Was he going to attack directly? But my copies would always block him; it was impossible for him to reach me far back here. On the other side, I would always look for an opening to shoot him with my magic projectiles. He wouldn't have a chance to fight back.
However, beyond my expectations, the man instead ran away quickly toward the north. Tsk, what a coward!
My nine copies immediately chased him; I followed behind by jumping from one building to another. Up here, I could have a wider firing range. However, I just realized that the Heretic was currently running into an area where many residents had not yet been evacuated.
If we fought there, many casualties would fall due to my attacks. This would make it difficult for me to fight freely and reduce my chances of defeating the man. It seemed I had to do it now; there was no other way but to use this step so that there would be no casualties from innocent citizens in this fight.
It seemed, realizing he couldn't fight me fairly, the man wanted to involve the citizens so I would have difficulty fighting him. Tsk, Heretics indeed have no honor at all in fighting fairly!
Gathering enough Mana, I began reading a Spell to activate my next magic.
"Target Lock..." Aiming my right palm at the man, I began to activate this magic. "Magnesia Ultimo!"
After uttering that magic, the man's body was suddenly pulled backward and merged with my nine copies that were chasing him earlier. All the iron, metal, and steel that formed the nine copies now attached to the Heretic's body, making him unable to move and standing still in the middle of the city street.
I then descended from the building and landed on the street, about 150 meters from the Heretic who currently couldn't move because his movement had been locked.
"This is the end! I will kill you here, Heretic!" I shouted at him while aiming the Baltazar Cannon at the man.
Seeing his very bad condition, the man looked panicked and tried to rebel so he could be free from the iron and metal lock that secured him. However, he didn't know that his effort was in vain.
This time, I wouldn't miss; he also wouldn't be able to use his shield in this condition. I would gather as much Mana as possible to perform one powerful shot to kill him instantly.
Electricity began to cover the Baltazar Cannon on my left hand; a magic particle began to gather and was then absorbed into the muzzle of this cannon. My left hand shook; I started to feel heat as the large collection of Mana was being held inside this weapon.
"Any last words before you face the end of your life?" I asked him. However, he didn't respond and just kept trying to rebel to escape.
"Too bad, go to hell, Sinner!" I shouted as I started firing my attack at him. "Baltazar Cannon—FINALLL... FLASSSHH!"
Magic energy shot like a comet toward the Heretic's body; the path taken by the magic projectile was destroyed and flew into the air because of its strength; the wind blew hard and the ground began to shake.
— BOOOMMMBBBB!!!!
My shot hit the target; a large explosion was created, making a plume of smoke that filled the area. I protected my eyes with my right hand to avoid scattered pieces of earth flying everywhere.
A few moments later, the plume of smoke began to disappear, showing a crater about 30 meters in diameter with a depth I didn't know. The area around where the man was had now disappeared without leaving a trace.
"It has ended..." I murmured, feeling relieved. "I won this fight..."
Finally, I killed a Performer. Everyone would surely talk about my victory; my name would be written in the history books as the Knight who was able to kill one of the Performers from the famous Masquerade group.
However, while thinking about the impact of this victory, I suddenly felt someone's presence behind me.
"Dismantle..."
The instant I heard that word, the Armor I was wearing suddenly detached from my body. A sword then came out piercing my chest from behind. My body went weak, my breathing became irregular, and blood began to come out, wetting my body.
I tried to turn my head slowly; I saw a masked man who had stabbed me with a sword he had previously picked up before running away.
"How... Could it...?" I said weakly, questioning how he could escape from the very strong magnetic lock of my magic. My vision began to blur; death would soon come to me.
The man pulled his sword from my body and then answered, "The same way I dismantled the Armor covering your body."
My body then collapsed to the ground; my eyes saw the beautiful blue sky during the day. Silence was then created before darkness came to meet me, a sign that I had died at the hands of this man.