Roel was used to travelling alone, so waking up at dawn to find soldiers scrambling about, packing up supplies and hurriedly choking down their nearly stale bread was actually quite pleasant for him. He helped where he could, and then they were off into the woodlands.

The dense forest area went by many names, but it was mostly referred to as Ferdinand’s Woods because Sir Ferdinand, the 28th Paladin, had once led an enemy army deep into it and single-handedly annihilated them. This was many years ago, and although the forest now had many sprawling paths, it was still dangerous to journey through. Of course, a large army would scare off beasts and bandits alike, but there were some monsters who savored a challenge.

The morning passed by uneventfully, but it was noon when they heard the first sign of trouble. There was a monstrous roar in the direction they were headed, followed by a large flock of birds taking flight from that area.

The prince, who was riding on horseback next to him, looked at him pointedly. “Well, it’s asking for you.”

Joseph came over on his own horse. “Will you need support, Sir Roel?”

Prince Ghislain spoke before he could. “Of course not, he’s one of the pillars supporting our country. If he can’t beat one measly forest dweller, then we’d be doomed. Isn’t that right?” He gave Roel a wry smile.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Joseph stared at his sword. “Will we be given the pleasure of seeing your swordplay?”

“Joseph is quite fond of swords. He was an accomplished swordsman in his day.” Prince Ghislain also stared at the sword expectantly. “Or perhaps Durendal isn’t as impressive as they say.”

“No, His Majesty had a point earlier,” Roel said with his own wry smile. “A paladin doesn’t need any weapons to defeat a mere monster.” He had no doubt that Joseph would immediately notice that his sword was a sham.

“Well, however you do it, do it well. Don’t expect us to help.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Roel pretended to be at ease, but his eyes scanned the forest. The monster must be quite large, so they should be able to see or hear it coming, but he didn’t let his guard down. He was well-informed about Sir Ferdinand’s tactics. Everything in the forest had a pulse. Nothing was independent; the shake of a tree branch in the middle of the forest could send tremors that reached to the very end of it. With that mindset, tracking and ambushing the army must’ve been effortless for the paladin.

It had been Lady Romane who had taught him to pay attention to information, whether it was a seemingly generic story about a paladin or the histrionics of a palace maid. Rumors beget rumors beget rumors, but you could always extract some morsel of truth if you asked the right questions.

He always felt nostalgic when thinking about her. He hadn’t seen her since his training, and he hadn’t had any luck in tracing her through listening to stories and songs. Generally, a senior paladin trained a junior for several weeks at most, but due to his young age and Lady Romane’s insistence, they had worked together for four months. He supposed she was to blame for the early onset of his cynicism, but he didn’t blame her for it.

It was thanks to her training that he could detect the beast coming now. It was agile and stealthy, moving through the forest with soft-padded paws. Most likely, it would arrogantly rush in and out with a human in its jaws. However, its status as a great predator meant that the world would always open a pathway for it. Its arrival was signaled by the sounds of the other beasts screeching in warning as they moved out of its way.

“Prince, take caution!” he yelled, and he saw Joseph pull out his longsword. For a moment he wondered if he should steer the beast towards the prince somehow, but he dismissed the thought. The king seemed to want to frame his death as an assassination by the heretics, and he didn’t have enough time to think it through. Better to go with a carefully thought-out plan than rush into it.

Of course, that thinking didn’t go for this battle. He called upon the Lord’s Favor, coating his body in it, and with a golden flash, he jumped just as the beast did, literally rushing into it in mid-air. It seemed to be surprised at his speed, and that allowed him to grab it by its neck and throw it down. Despite the strength of his throw, the beast rolled and landed on its feet.

It was a large white feline-like monster. As tall as two men and as wide as four, it towered over him and bore its long, jagged jaws at him. Dark scars, which he had first thought were stripes, marked its sleek fur. A bloodshot left eye observed him carefully, the other eye white and cloudy.

The soldiers and the prince were watching him just as carefully. He tried not to feel self-conscious, but he knew with this many observers, the news of this battle would spread. He had to show that fighting such a large monster was effortless for paladins.

The Lord’s Favor was very simplistic. There were two functions to it, the first being that he could exert great strength that a normal human couldn’t. All he had to do was focus on a certain body part and a golden aura would coat it. The farther he stretched his concentration, the weaker and less dense it would be. At the same time, it was also a defensive tool in that it would protect him from most things. A Divine Paladin’s individual power was in how much of the Lord’s Favor he could invoke and for how long.

His right arm glowed with energy. Beasts were easier to deal with than humans for one reason: you could be as brutal as you wanted with a beast and no one would blame you. He ran at the monster, his speed amplified by a light golden blur that covered his legs. The monster stared him down and when he came close enough, it quickly tilted its head to the side and sunk its jaws into his left arm.

It had been wary of his right arm; he had expected as much. When it had tilted its head, he had already spread the Lord’s Favor to his other arm to protect it. The monster tugged violently, but his left arm remained firmly attached to his body. Those few seconds of tugging would cost it its life.

He lifted his right arm high into the air and smashed it on the monster’s hard skull. However, even with the Lord’s Favor, it wasn’t enough, so he lifted his fist again and bashed it over and over on the same spot. The monster regained enough sense to release its jaws and attempt to flee, but he pulled himself onto its back and continued bashing. It managed a few weak cries before its head was pummeled into the ground. Before long, the head was a bloody mess, its body lying flat on the ground.

The forest, which had been a flurry of noise, was now silent. He looked around and saw everyone – Gilles, Mateo, Prince Ghislain, Joseph, Rados, and the woman he had talked to in the prisoner wagon – as flickering, indistinct shadows of themselves. As he stood over the monster’s carcass, he felt a familiar but indecipherable emotion.

Then, someone stepped forward and it took him a moment before he recognized that it was the prince. The prince held out something to him and, still in a daze, Roel took it without knowing what it was.

“I was misled into believing you would be as milquetoast as you looked. You paladins are usually so delicate,” Prince Ghislain said. Roel couldn’t tell what expression he was making or how his voice sounded. “You have blood all over you. Wipe it off.”

Roel realized that the prince had given him a cloth. His face and armor were coated in the monster’s blood. This wouldn’t make a pretty picture for the fables – or would it?

“Was that normally how you fight? You weren’t like this at the siege,” the prince said. Was his voice disapproving? Amused? He still couldn’t tell. “Tell me, what is the difference between this monster and a human?”

“Isn’t it the context?” he said quietly, and he didn’t look at the prince as he wiped himself off. The Lord Favor’s defensive properties only protected him from physical harm. It would never shield him from the blood he shed. “We should go. There’ll be more coming if we stay around for too long.”