Chapter 6: The Lightning Knight

“The situation is dire.” On the northern plains of Fabome, Isabella was showing a crystal ball to Sid that displayed the situation in the capital. “Someone has completely sealed off the royal city in a separate world. It’s covered in a magical fog. Escape from the inside and infiltration from the outside are impossible. You may think you’re heading for the inside of the capital when you enter it, but you just wind up back outside, it seems.”

“That’s a problem. In that case, Alvin probably can’t summon me.”

“What’s more, a powerful monster from the depths of the fairy world, a black dragon, has been summoned to the southern section of the city. With its current limited defenses, it will only be a matter of time before it becomes scorched earth. And, of course, Alvin and the others will be...” As Isabella trailed off, Sid listened in silence. “Neither of these spells are simple, and they appear to be powerful magic used by witches long ago. They were probably prepared little by little over a period of time...along with the invasion by the demon kingdom.” Isabella said, and Sid continued to listen in silence. “We’ve completely lost. With the main force of the fairy knights cut off from the city, there’s nothing we can do. The Kingdom of Calvania...will fall.” Isabella sank down in despair at Sid’s feet. “What will I say to my ancestors? If only...if only I realized it sooner.”

“It’s still too soon to give up,” Sid said. He dropped to one knee, coming to Isabella’s eye level, and placed his hands on her thin shoulders. “Is there no other way, priestess? What about sneaking inside?”

Isabella was silent but eventually answered in a small voice. “There is a way...”

“Oh, so there is a way. Tell me.”

“The royal city and the fairy world are two sides of the same coin. The dragon was summoned by directly connecting a path to the depths of the fairy world. In theory, it would be possible for us to dive to the deepest part of the fairy world and use that path to enter the capital.”

“Well, then it’s simple. Just open the door to the fairy world for me then. You can do it, can’t you?”

“I’m able to, but I just can’t do that!” Isabella said, refusing Sid as she shook her head. “Down there, it’s crawling with terrifying monsters that can bend nature and the rules of this world! Do you actually think you can just go into that place and come back alive?!”

“What’s so bad about some monsters that can bend the rules of this world? I can do it,” Sid proclaimed.

Then, after gritting her teeth for a moment, Isabella said, “I-If you were as strong as you were in the legendary era, it would be possible for you to pass through the depths of the fairy world. But not with the way you are now!”

“I knew you’d notice,” Sid said as if he wasn’t really hiding the fact. “Yes, that’s right. I’m not going to be around much longer,” he said as casually as if he were talking about what he would have for dinner.

“Sir Sid... When I first met you, you were overflowing with an unbelievable amount of mana. You had so much it’s hard to believe that you were weaker than you once were,” Isabella said, but Sid was silent. “And what about now? You pale in comparison to when I first met you. I heard that you use a technique called Will where you take in mana from outside your body and turn it into your own, but...could it be that you aren’t actually able to take in mana?”

“So, you’ve found that much out, huh? Good grief,” Sid said, wincing. “Will isn’t a special skill. As long as they train, it can be used by any living being. So it seems like someone dead like me isn’t able to do it. Well, a dead man coming back to life is already pretty unnatural. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust and all that.” That meant that up until now, Sid had been using the mana of his own life force and, in other words, was reducing his very life as he fought.

“You’ve been fighting like that this whole time...”

“It doesn’t matter. Now, Isabella. Lead me to the depths. Time is of the essence, right?”

“Please wait! If you went there in your current condition, you’ll surely wither and die! In the depths where the dragon lives, there lurks monsters so terrible they make even the Kirimu seem like an infant, yet you still plan on going?! I don’t understand. Why?! Why are you going to such lengths to help Prince Alvin and us?! You have the right to enjoy your second life! You have no obligation or duty to go this far. So why are you?!”

“Because I’m a knight,” Sid answered naturally with no hesitation. The look in Sid’s eyes was intense, and in his gaze, there burned a straightforward conviction. Seeing his expression, Isabella was no longer able to object.

“Fine. I’ll open the gate to the depths of the fairy world and do my best to assist you. Please save Prince Alvin and this country,” Isabella said.

“Leave it to me. I’ll run straight through, so just follow me,” Sid said, giving Isabella a huge smile.

Sid had told Alvin, “Your Will is still too untrained to be used in a real battle.” However, as Alvin raced through the city toward the dragon, she took a deep breath to burn her Will like she always did, and it exploded with an overwhelming force. Perhaps it was because the royal capital was on the edge of destruction or because Alvin had a desire and a mission to protect everyone, but this time, its force was unlike any Alvin had felt before. An incomparably large amount of mana was sent from her Will to her entire body, and it seemed like it was on fire. Right now, at the eleventh hour, Alvin had grasped onto something.

“Whoa!” Alvin said in surprise. Though bewildered, Alvin desperately operated the flow of her mana like she did in practice and sent it to her limbs so as not to waste it by letting it go outside her body. As she did, a strange sensation suddenly struck her again.

“Is this...” Alvin’s body was hot like it was on fire, and she felt as light as a feather. She could feel an unbelievable amount of power in her thin arms and legs. “This is Will. This is a glimpse of the world that Sir Sid sees?!” Alvin had thought that the very idea of fighting the dragon was foolish, but with this, perhaps she could handle it. Thank you, Sir Sid. Thanks to you, I can fight! Alvin thought. She then took a deep breath and burned more Will. She sent a large amount of mana into her sword and spoke to it.

“Tayweed!” Alvin said and activated the green fairy magic, “Gale.” That next moment, with a roar, an incredible gust of wind pushed Alvin forward, and her running speed increased. Alvin’s fairy sword glittered from the mana it received and was so vibrant it looked like it was alive. “Daybreak, lend me your power!” Alvin prayed to her sword. With the strong wind at her back, Alvin leaped and flew across the rooftops of the buildings of the city.

“Over here!” Alvin was fighting against the dragon all by herself. Using the green fairy magic Gale with all her might, she moved just like the wind as she fought the dragon. However, truthfully, it couldn’t be called a fight. The only way to really describe it was that she was running away from the dragon.

With a swing of its huge tail, the dragon created a tornado. Alvin quickly jumped onto a nearby roof and leaped even higher into the sky to get out of the way. The dragon’s tail whip smashed several buildings at once and sent the rubble flying. She darted away as soon as she landed, and the dragon’s arm smashed down on that spot half a second later, blowing it to smithereens and creating a huge crater. Relying on her tailwind, Alvin ran along the wall of a nearby building. The dragon snipped at her again and again, its jaws chomping at the spots where Alvin was just an instant earlier. The dragon then looked up at the sky for a moment before snapping its neck like a whip, opening its mouth and spewing forth a fearsome blaze that could make stone boil red hot.

The swirling whirlwind of scorching hot flames was coming to swallow Alvin whole, but she activated her wind shield right in front of her. It split the oncoming ocean of fire apart, and she barely dodged a direct hit, but intense heat still mercilessly scorched her entire body. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted by pain. Alvin jumped away as quickly as she could, and the dragon roared again, swinging its tail from the side and crashing down from the heavens with its feet to try and crush her. The dragon’s movements were so agile. It was unbelievable that they were coming from its mountain-like body, and all the fairy knights who underestimated the dragon, expecting it to be slow, were completely taken out because of their overconfidence. Alvin continued to dodge the dragon’s attacks, albeit just barely. Truthfully, the only reason Alvin was able to take on such a superior opponent was due to her speed and evasion-based fighting.

Using Will is working after all! I can manage to fight! Alvin thought. Yes. Right now, Alvin was actually fighting while using Will. Her Will was burning inside, and she was producing more mana than she normally did. By sending the mana to her fairy sword, its output of fairy magic was far greater than usual. Although it was still unstable, this Will was Alvin’s lifeline—but that’s all it was. Even if Alvin burned her Will with all her might, she still wouldn’t be able to take one step within striking distance of the dragon, and even if she did manage to, she wouldn’t have any way to defeat it. It would be one thing if it were Tenko’s sword, which had great offensive power, but Alvin’s blade probably wouldn’t even be able to pierce the dragon’s most vulnerable part, its eye. What’s more, Alvin wouldn’t be able to keep going all out in this soul-consuming battle for very long. She would inevitably reach her limit, and it wasn’t very far away.

“It’s getting hard to breathe!” Alvin said, panting and coughing as she jumped and dodged multiple strikes from the dragon’s tail. She couldn’t hear anything aside from the sound of her own heart and breathing, and it was like all the blood in her body was boiling hot as it rushed through her. Her body hurt like it had been shattered to pieces, and her vision was slowly turning bright red. Alvin had a strong feeling that, at this rate, she’d be dead before the dragon killed her.

“I won’t retreat! I can’t retreat! There’s no way I’m going to!” Alvin brandished her sword and continued to challenge the dragon. “I can’t lose. I won’t lose! I’m a king! I’m the king of this country! I’m going to protect everyone, so I can’t lose!” Alvin said, shouting her determination between coughs while nearly out of breath. She continued to fight the dragon as she burned her Will. Meanwhile, Alvin was being watched.

“M-My word. It’s the prince...”

“Poor Prince Alvin!”

“King Auld...Éclair...please protect the prince.” Those who hadn’t been able to evacuate and were left behind in the royal city were watching from afar and praying for Alvin.

“The prince is fighting all by himself.”

“Dammit, what are we doing, letting a child fight for us?”

“I have to get up. I have to move.”

“Our factions don’t mean anything right now, but I can’t.” The fairy knights, who had been scattered and were lying on the ground on the verge of death, looked on in frustration.

“What the hell is he?!”

“How can he fight an enemy this powerful?!”

“But he’s just supposed to be the king of the garbage-heap class!”

“There’s no way he can win, so why is he fighting?!” The squires of Durande, Ortol, and Anthalo class were stunned as they looked on from a distance, and everyone in the capital burned the image of Alvin into their eyes and hearts.

Tenko Amatsuki was a member of a proud clan of Cerians known as the noble-tails. She was the daughter of a noble warrior family. They served the royal family that ruled the small nation of noble-tails known as Tenkagekoku. However, one day ten years ago, when Tenko was five, her country was attacked by the knights of the Dark Order of Opus. In one night, without so much as a thought, the kingdom was destroyed. Looking back on it now, it happened so fast it was like a bad dream. The royal family was killed, and the citizens were slaughtered. The few people who survived, especially the noble-tail women, were sold to slave traders—it was their beauty that they valued most. Of course, Tenko was also treated like merchandise, and she went from being a high-class warrior noble to a slave of the lowest order in one wretched night. Even among her people’s beautiful women, Tenko’s looks were exceptional, and as such, she sold for an exorbitant price to a rich person with a fondness for demi-humans. She was chained up, thrown into a cage, and transported to her buyer.

At the time, she felt nothing but despair. She had lost her country, her people, her family, and even her freedom. Because of the “mark of servitude” engraved on her body, she couldn’t even end her life by biting her own tongue. She was going to be stripped of all dignity, and her life was about to become the saddest kind of existence in the world. She no longer even had the energy to cry about her misfortune. However, as she sank into despair in the corner of her cage, she was saved...by Alvin’s father, Auld, the now former king of Calvania. Despite his sickness, the king himself led the fight in exposing all those who engaged in illegal acts of slave trading in an effort to save even one of the survivors of his ally nation.

After he cut down the slave traders and saved Tenko, he hugged her. In tears, he said, “I’m sorry I’m late, and I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything. Even still, I’m happy I was able to save at least you.” The king welcomed Tenko, who no longer had a family, into his own. He raised her as if she were his own daughter, and Alma also treated Tenko like her own sister. Tenko, who had lost everything, including the will to live, was saved by King Auld and Alma. She owed a great debt of gratitude to the king, and when he was on his deathbed, he said to her, “Please take care of Alma...of Alvin. Please protect Alma and be by her side.”

I was supposed to become a knight, a knight who would protect Alvin...who protects Alma, Tenko thought as her face was wet with tears. She lifted her head and could see from her place on the high ground Alvin fighting with the dragon in the central square. Why am I not right next to Alvin? Why am I so far away, just sitting here pathetically? Tenko thought.

“I-I...” The harsh truth of what was happening to her was as clear as day. Tenko’s body wouldn’t move, and she was afraid. From the depths of her soul, she feared fighting the dragon. More than wanting to protect, she wanted to be saved. Tenko no longer had any right to be Alvin’s knight. Upon realizing this, Tenko sank to her hands and was about to cry out when she heard a voice.

“Jeez, you guys are a sight for sore eyes. You’re shaking in your boots from one little old lizard,” the voice said, and a hand was placed on Tenko’s head. “It’s said, ‘A knight’s bravery glitters in their hearts.’ So, getting over your fears is something a knight should do, right?” It was Sid, and he stood there looking into the distance with a fearless smile.

“Sir Sid?!”

“A-All right, Sir Sid is here! We can win!”　

“The dragon won’t be a problem for Sir Sid!” The students of Blitze class, whose spirits had been devastated, were now excited from Sid’s arrival. At least, they were until they noticed his appearance.

“Huh? Sir Sid? What’s going on with you?” They were all shocked by what they saw. Sid looked like a ghost. Particles of mana were spilling from his body and appeared to be fading away. His whole body looked ragged, as if he had gone through battle after intense battle to arrive here.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Everything’s okay now,” Sid said and smiled as if nothing was wrong. However, Isabella, who came with Sid, stood behind him and shook her head with a look of anguish. It was then that the students realized what was happening. They didn’t understand exactly what was going on, but they knew that Sid was going to disappear soon. It wasn’t anything strange. After all, it was unnatural for someone from the legendary age to be resurrected in the present day. Things were just returning to their natural state.

“You can’t do it after all?” Their faces once again transformed into a look of despair.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry,” Sid said firmly to put his students at ease. “I have enough strength to take down one or two of those baby lizards in a flash. After that, I’m going to leave the rest to you guys. So long,” Sid said and was just about to head off to fight the dragon when he was stopped.

“P-Please wait! Sir Sid, do you intend to die?!” Tenko shouted, and Sid halted in his tracks. “What are you doing?! Even I can see that you’re dying right now, Sir Sid! You’ve already lost so much mana. There were problems with bringing you back from the dead after all, weren’t there?!” Sid answered only with silence. “Why are you still trying to fight?! You’re just going to die!” Tenko ranted and raved like a child. “But why?! It’d be okay if you ran away, right?! There’s nothing wrong with that! There shouldn’t be anything wrong with that!”

It was hard to tell what Sid was thinking as he turned around toward Tenko. However, he looked straight at her and said, “Look, Tenko. Who are you—no—who are you all making excuses to? Why are you lying to yourselves like that?” Sid said, and Tenko froze at his words. It wasn’t just her. Sid’s words struck a chord in the hearts of the students who were watching Tenko and Sid with bated breath. Even though they didn’t say it out loud, what Tenko was saying represented what everyone was feeling inside. We’re weak. We can’t win. We’ll just die in vain. We have no choice.

However, after Sid looked around at the students trapped in such weakness, he clearly stated, “A knight tells only the truth. Their bravery glimmers in their hearts. Their swords defend the defenseless. Their power sustains virtue. And their anger...destroys evil.”

Everyone listened to Sid’s poetic words, and they stood there dumbfounded. It was like a list, where each string of words was just some flimsy, cheap ideal. However, the words had a power to them, and they lit a mysterious flame in the hearts of those who heard them.

“What was that just now?” Tenko asked, puzzled.

“They are the ways of an old knight,” Sid said a little proudly. “A knight isn’t just some vassal who blindly serves the king—or a mere professional soldier. Knighthood is a way of life. A knight is one who lives righteously without any pretense in their heart and soul.” Sid looked around at his students and questioned them. “Aren’t you knights? When you look at Alvin, you don’t feel anything? Is nothing burning in your souls? Does nothing tremble when you see the will and determination of this young future king who is trying to save everyone?” Tenko gasped, but Sid was indifferent as he looked at Alvin fighting far away. “I’m sure Alvin will be wise and kind, the perfect king, and his light will shine hope into everyone’s heart. But reality is infinitely cruel. No matter how many noble ideals a king may have, there is only so much one person can do. The perfect king needs a knight. It is a knight’s duty to bridge the gap between the king’s ideals and reality.” The students were silent. “So, I’ll ask you all again. What are you?”

Alvin had finally reached her limit. Considering the difference in power between her and her opponent, it was a miracle it hadn’t happened sooner. A strike from the dragon’s tail, which swung like a mighty storm, finally caught Alvin. Of course, it was not a direct hit but a hit through Alvin’s wind shield. However, Alvin was unable to take the impact like she did before and was blown away like a ball hit by a bat. She slammed into the wall of a nearby building, which collapsed from the impact. The building instantly became a mountain of rubble, and Alvin lay on top of it, powerless. Her entire body hurt like it had been shattered into pieces. The consequences of burning her Will and moving her body past their limits had caught up with her in a terrible way. Something inside Alvin severed, and the heat from her body drained out all at once. Alvin could barely move a single finger and was unable to fight.

“I still...” Even so, Alvin tried to use her sword like a cane, urging her trembling body to stand. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t do it. Every time she tried to stand up, her legs would lose strength and she would collapse in a heap on the ground. Then, with a roar, the dragon leaped high into the air and in an instant landed right in front of Alvin. The impact caused the royal capital to shake violently, and Alvin’s body bounced around helplessly. The dragon roared at the sky and pointed its open jaw toward Alvin as it prepared to devour her once and for all. The dragon’s mass of swordlike fangs in its large open mouth filled Alvin’s dazed vision as it drew closer and closer.

I had a dream, Alvin hazily thought while on the verge of death, gazing at her impending doom like it was happening to someone else. Indeed, ever since Alvin was a child, she had a secret dream. It was a childish dream where Sir Sid, whom she idolized from the tales passed down in the royal family, would serve her as her knight and be by her side when she became king. Having to live her entire life as a man, it was the one dream she was able to hope for. I’ve idolized Sir Sid in those stories ever since I was a child. I was in love with Sir Sid long before I met him, Alvin thought. Looking back, he was probably her first love. It was silly, falling in love like a character from a story like that but...that was how she truly felt in her heart. So, when her first love really came back to life just like in the royal stories passed down, her heart leaped. She was so excited it felt like her chest was going to burst. But Sir Sid isn’t my knight. He’s the knight of my ancestor, Arthur, Alvin thought. Of course. Sid had once offered his sword to Arthur from the bottom of his heart. His loyalty was always to Arthur, and it was only out of this devotion that Sid protected Alvin. Still, if I could one day become a king worthy of your sword, then... Alvin believed that if she did that, then Sid would swear allegiance to her as her knight. That was the only salvation and only hope for this girl who couldn’t even wish for a normal love. But it looks like this is it...

Alvin’s first love, and the dream she always held, was coming to an end. On the path to her goal, she was going to be eaten alive by this dragon. She had so many regrets. What would happen to the royal city after she died? What would happen to her friends? However, what she regretted most of all was being unable to gain Sid’s loyalty as a knight.

I regret it. I truly do. Alvin couldn’t help it when tears slowly began to roll down her face. Still, this is okay, isn’t it? The knight of my dreams came back to life and stayed by my side. He protected me, and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? After all, that in itself was a miracle that should have been impossible. I should be satisfied with that. I was able to stick to my path to the throne. Everything was unfinished and half-baked, and, in the end, I didn’t accomplish a single thing. Right now, the only person who might praise me in the afterlife is my father, Alvin thought in a daze. At last, the dragon’s opened jaws, which were like a cauldron from hell, closed in on Alvin. If the dragon snapped its jaws shut, Alvin’s upper half would be finding its way to the dragon’s stomach. Goodbye, Tenko, everyone, and Sir Sid. As to be expected at one’s final moment, Alvin tensed up and closed her eyes.

However... “Hey, it’s a little early to be closing the curtain on your path to the throne, isn’t it?”

Following those words was a resounding crash, and the dragon’s howl of pain echoed throughout the royal capital.

“Huh?!” Alvin opened her eyes and exclaimed in surprise. Standing right in front of Alvin was the knight she had wanted to see more than anyone else right now. It was Sid, right in the middle of her blurry vision. Sid had dealt a blow to the side of the dragon’s head, and the impact sent it reeling. The dragon was so shocked that it took several steps backward as it shook its head. “S-Sir Sid, what are you doing here?!”

“It’s not just me,” Sir Sid said with a grin.

“Alvin!” At that moment, several figures rose up around the dragon, and with a yell, Tenko boldly leaped from the side and fiercely thrust her sword into its right eye. The sharp edge of the sword pierced the eyeball, and it began to flail its arms and legs in more and more of a frenzy from the intense pain. Just then, Christopher, Elaine, Lynette, and Theodore all appeared with a battle cry. They surrounded the dragon and slashed at it from all directions with mortal determination. The dragon was dazed from Sid’s first attack, which had given it a severe concussion, and Tenko had crushed its right eye. This combination of attacks had put the dragon into a complete state of confusion, and it was completely unable to catch the students who were attacking it like winged insects.

“E-Everyone?! Why?!” Alvin said, astonished at what she was seeing. Alvin’s friends then all spoke.

“Alvin, sorry we’re late!” Christopher said.

“We’re truly sorry and ashamed of our weakness!” Elaine added.

“W-We’ll fight too!” Lynette stammered.

“Yeah, this is no time for aspiring knights like us to just stand back and watch!” Theodore exclaimed.

As they all spoke, they desperately attacked the stumbling dragon. Carelessly getting caught by the dragon’s feet as it writhed in pain meant instant death. However, despite these deadly circumstances, and despite everyone being pale with fear, they were fighting with all their courage.

“Alvin! I’ll fight too!” With tears in her eyes, Tenko shouted as she released a series of furious attacks. “I may not deserve it anymore, but please let me be your knight! Right now, I’m weak, but one day I’ll be a great knight like Sir Sid!” Tenko said as she and the others fought their desperate battle against the dragon.

“Thank you...everyone,” Alvin said as her heart became full.

“You’ve done well too, Alvin. Great job,” Sid said. “Now it’s time for me to do my last job.”

“Y-Your last?”

“Yeah. It was short, but living for a second time wasn’t so bad.”

“Sir Sid...your body?” Alvin said, finally noticing that there was something wrong. Sid didn’t answer, and for a while, the two of them were silent. Eventually, Alvin realized something else. “I see... Yeah, that’s right,” Alvin said, and her gaze fell sadly. “The truth is...I knew that there was no way a dead person could truly come back to life. No matter what kind of miraculous magic you use, it’s impossible.”

“Yeah...”

“So, you’re going to disappear...”

“I am.”

“But I finally got to meet you. No, I hate this. This is...this is...” As Alvin hung her head, large warm tears spilled from her eyes and soaked the ground.

Sid looked down at Alvin as she cried and said, “As for your battle just now, you really aren’t fit to be king,” Sid said harshly. “Why would the king charge in all alone by themselves? If the king is killed, then that’s it for their country. That’s why you should have sacrificed everything else to escape.” However, despite Sid’s harsh words, he gave Alvin a gentle smile. “But I like it.”

“What?”

“I’ve seen the path you’re taking to the throne. You are no less than Arthur. You’re a king worthy of my service.”

“S-Sir Sid?”

In front of the confused Alvin, Sid kneeled down and placed his hand on his chest. He then swore an oath to Alvin. “Please forgive my rude words and actions up to now. I hope that you will allow me to be among the knights who serve and dedicate their sword to you. From now on, my sword, my soul, and my everything belong to you. And please, give me your final command. Soon, I will leave you behind to depart to the afterlife, but I swear to you on my name, Sid Blitze, that I will fulfill your last command with all my might, my lord.”

“Y-You mean...” Sid’s words left Alvin temporarily stunned, but she did her best to give him a smile. “I’m really glad I got to meet you. And I’m truly happy that I got to become a king with you as a knight! Thank you, Sir Sid...my knight,” Alvin said, and then something happened. Inside of Alvin and Sid, something started to resonate. “Huh? What’s happening? I feel hot!” Alvin exclaimed.

“What the hell is this?!” Sid said, and they both felt a burning sensation on their right hands. When they looked at their hands, they were shocked to see that the crest of the sword was burning brightly. The crest had changed—a crown now appeared over the sword. Then a large amount of mana rose up from Alvin and became particles of light.

“Huh?! Wh-What’s happening?!”

“This is...” The sword crest on Sid’s hand also began to glow and had changed shape in the same way.

“S-Sir Sid! Your body!” Something strange was happening to Sid’s appearance. The mana that came from Alvin floated down and was pouring into Sid. After just looking like he was going to disappear at any second, Sid’s figure returned to normal. His depleted mana was replenished, and Sid regained his original power. “Wh-What is happening?” Then, an unfamiliar image and unfamiliar words played in their minds like some kind of flashback or memory of unknown origin.

“That is the crest of the bond between a king and their knight. When the king has true faith in their knight, and the knight holds true loyalty toward their king, the crest will show its true power, and you will be truly revived.”　

As Alvin was dumbfounded next to him, Sid opened and closed his fist. For a while, he continued to do this, like he was thinking about something, before eventually speaking up. “I see. So that’s what it was, Arthur,” Sid murmured like he had figured something out and turned to look at Alvin again. “Alvin, there’s nothing to fear anymore.”

“Sir Sid?”

“I take back what I said. I won’t be heading to the afterlife for a while. You have me, and I am your loyal knight now. I will absolutely live up to your expectations and lay the path for you to walk to the throne. Give your first royal decree now that I am your knight,” Sid said, and Alvin was at a loss for words.

However, Alvin gradually understood what Sid was saying. As her body trembled, she smiled happily and said, “I am honored and proud to have earned your loyalty. Please lend me your strength! Protect everyone! Protect this country! My knight, Sir Sid!” Alvin said with tears in her eyes.

“Yes, my lord,” Sid answered with a grin. A new lord and servant had been born. Just then, Sid jumped high into the sky and leaped at the dragon.

As Tenko and the others were desperately fighting the dragon, their eyes went wide with surprise. Suddenly, several lightning bolts fell from the sky with a mighty roar and pierced the dragon’s entire body. Then a burst of blinding light caused their vision to flicker black and white. Sid descended from the heavens and slammed his right fist into the dragon’s skull. As soon as he made contact, the dragon let out a roar of anguish and stood on its hind legs, throwing its head back from the unbearable pain.

“A-A lightning strike?! What was that just now?!” Tenko said.

“Jeez, you guys are pretty good when you put your minds to it,” Sid said, landing softly. “Still, a monster of this class is too much for you guys to handle. Leave the rest to me.”

“Sir Sid?! I-Is your body okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to Alvin,” Sid said, and his students gave him a confused look. “All right. I was burning a lot of my life energy till now, so I was sealing this away. But now I’ll show you all magic from the legendary age...and just how a magic knight fights.”

“A-A magic knight? Wh-What is that?” While Sid and his students were talking, the dragon had righted itself and rushed toward Sid in a rage. It shook the earth as it charged forward with its tremendous mass, aiming to crush and destroy everything in its path. Seeing this, Tenko and the others instinctively cowered at the sight of the dragon. Sid, however, chanted some old fairy words in rapid succession. With a buzz, purple lightning sprouted from under his feet, drawing countless lines around the dragon, like a spider’s web or a birdcage. The next moment, Sid suddenly disappeared, and a fierce flash of light erupted along the lines of the lightning web.

“What?!” Tenko said, and her eyes widened even more, but before she could even blink, the dragon had been slashed deeply all over its body. The dragon roared and writhed in agony from the dozen-plus deep blows it had been dealt in an instant.

“Lightning Step,” Sid said. However, despite being by Tenko and the others’ side half a second ago, he was now on the other side of the writhing dragon with his right hand swung out and half open. None of his students could figure out what had just happened. Of course they couldn’t. Sid had drawn a path made out of lightning and rode on it at super high velocity as if he were gliding on a track. Then he cut the dragon while moving along this track—literally at lightning speed. There was no one in this world who could track such speed with their eyes.

The dragon roared, and its eyes burned with rage as it glared at Sid and prepared to bathe his back in flames. However, the purple lightning appeared again, this time with two tracks running over the dragon’s head. A moment later, Sid’s body flew through the air as if he were tracing the trajectory of the lightning bolts, and moving just as fast. Then, before the dragon could spew its flames, its lower jaw was lobbed off and the dragon screamed in even greater agony.

“Hey, I’m back,” Sid said as he returned to Tenko and the others in an instant.

“Wh-What was that? Fairy magic? But you don’t have a fairy sword.”

“Look, I said it before, right? Fairies reside in all things. If you look hard enough, if you listen hard enough, they’re everywhere. I mean, who said that magic is something exclusive to Nimue—or that people can’t use magic without fairy swords?” Sid said, and once again, lines of lightning appeared from under his feet and were drawn around the dragon. A moment later, a flash of light cut through the world. That flash was Sid. He had become one with the lightning and used it to freely run around the dragon and cut it to pieces with both his hands. With a flickering flash, the dragon’s tail was cut off its body, and its right leg was severed. Its scales were being torn apart like paper, and the dragon couldn’t even follow Sid’s movements with its eyes. It was becoming a one-sided assault that was laying waste to the dragon. It was as if the lightning that shook the heavens themselves was being sent down to deliver a wrathful divine punishment upon the dragon.

“Incredible.” Tenko and the others were awestruck at what was unfolding in front of their eyes.

“Tenko...” Just then, Alvin finally caught up with them and shakily made her way over to Tenko’s side.

“A-Alvin, are you all right?” Tenko asked and ran up to lend Alvin her shoulder.

“I’m fine. More importantly...” Alvin trailed off, gazing with a far-off look at Sid’s battle. The dragon showed its resolve as an absolutely superior species and tried to bite Sid. However, a purple track snaked between its feet. A second later, Sid zigzagged with tremendous speed underneath the dragon on a flash of lightning.

“Lightning Legs,” Sid said, and the dragon roared in agony. Countless slashes from his half-open right hand carved the dragon’s legs, chest, and abdomen into a mess. A shock, like it had just been hit by a thunderbolt, ran through the dragon’s body and a shower of red burst from its wounds. Without a moment’s hesitation, another bolt of lightning ran along the dragon’s back, and Sid moved at breakneck speed on top of it, cutting deeply into the dragon’s flesh. All the while, the speed and power of Sid’s strikes and steps increased without limit.

He was doing the unimaginable and overwhelming the dragon. Countless thunderbolts ran freely through the sky and struck the ground, and Sid could be seen there moving at lightning speed. Sid had become a flash of light, and the slashes from his hands mercilessly cut into the dragon. The whole scene was intense and majestic as it played out. It truly was the return of the battles from the legendary era. It was as if this battle between a knight and a dragon was a legendary painting that had been brought to life or the kind of classic staple you could expect from a knight’s tale. However, the power, majesty, and bravery witnessed in this battle were far greater than the scale written in those tales. Everyone witnessed Sid’s battle in silence. The two who were closest to Sid as he fought, Tenko and Alvin, also watched. It was all they could do. Sid’s fighting and swordsmanship were so beautiful that it left them awestruck and stole their hearts.

“Th-This is the real Sir Sid?” Tenko said. She was mesmerized by the sight of Sid’s otherworldly battle. It was like watching a dream. “I want to be this awesome of a knight too.” She watched Sid as tears ran down her face. However, her tears didn’t come from a place of bitter opposition or jealousy.

Alvin said, “Hey, Tenko, did you know?”

“Know what?”

“Sir Sid has another name aside from the Barbarian. It’s one that no one knows anymore and has been lost to the ages.”

“What is it?”

“Sir Sid the Lightning Knight,” Alvin said, truly understanding for the first time the meaning behind Sid’s other name. This short battle, that felt like it had gone on for much longer, was finally about to come to an end.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a dragon. Truly, the top species in nature,” Sid said fearlessly as he moved at breakneck speed along a lightning bolt drawn on the ground. “Even after being hacked apart this much, you haven’t lost any of your fighting potential. Impressive.”

On the contrary, the dragon was gradually getting used to Sid’s lightning-quick movements and began to bite at Sid. At this rate, it could eventually catch him.

“Let’s end this,” Sid muttered to himself. He calmly crouched and stared at the dragon. Just like before, a line was drawn underneath the dragon’s feet and stretched far out. Another line ran all over the dragon’s body, from its head to the tip of its tail. A tremendous amount of lightning swelled up in Sid’s hand until, with a buzz and a blinding flash of light, it exploded out from him, turning the area all white. The dragon once again let out a roar that shook the city and charged. It was likely that its pride as a conqueror was on the line with this attack, and no one could stop its stampede. It was a charge that oozed the dragon’s desire to kill. It sought to crush and trample everything in its path. The dragon’s charge was like a great wall of overwhelming mass, and Sid faced it head on. Then, he moved. Sid became a single flash of lightning and flew blindingly fast along the line on the ground. Sid followed the line drawn along the dragon’s body, and his right hand, full of lightning, cut through the dragon at thunderous speed. It was a lightning-quick strike carried by a lightning-quick movement—a fearsome blade that was unavoidable. The lines drawn on the ground were like a musical score, and his movements were like a song that rang throughout the heavens.

“Heaven’s Song,” Sid said as a deafening thunderclap rang out for miles. Sid had gone through the dragon and was now standing behind it, posed with his right arm extended. Meanwhile, the dragon’s huge frame had stopped moving. For a moment, there was silence and everyone watched with bated breath. Before long, the dragon’s body split down the middle. Following the line that Sid had drawn from its head to its tail, the dragon’s body separated in half. It had been carved into two mounds of flesh that hit the ground hard with their tremendous weight, and at the same time, turned into a huge amount of black mist that quickly disappeared. “That was a good fight to the death,” Sid said and swung his right arm to fling off the blood. Then, Sid slowly closed his half-opened right hand into a fist as if he were sheathing a sword. “Dragon, you have become the foundation for my lord’s path, which I have carved open with my sword. Rest in peace,” Sid said, whispering a small prayer. For a while, Alvin, Tenko, the students, and the capital’s citizens stared in silence, dumbfounded. Time, which felt like it had stopped, began to move again, and a great cheer filled the capital city. The battle for the survival of the country had finally come to an end.