The Newest Knight

Matt stood above the resting bodies of dozens of Sasahara Knights, it was obvious that they were still alive from the way half of them were loudly snoring within the confines of this large tent. The sound was loud enough to resound through the room forming a strange music with the sounds of their sleep.

A dreadful, purple, mist continued to flow throughout the room gently swaying and shifting with the currents in the air. It no longer seemed to be approaching him, keeping a distance without forcing its way into his lungs or mind. He lifted out a hand to the shifting waves of mist, watching it curl at the touch of his fingers, reminding him of the way stama seemed to react to his touch.

He refocused his attention to watch the one other person in the room who was still conscious. The girl, who had once been Opi, but who was now someone else. Her lost arm now replaced with a dark claw, her skull adorned with a pair of large ivory coloured horns, framed by a head of flowing silver hair.

Her demonic arm was only around half the thickness of her natural arm, which had already been thin as that of any young girl her age. The fingers, stretching out form her new hand, were the same width as the stama running along her skin. In fact, the more he looked at the arm, the more it looked like stama had wrapped themselves around each other, like threads in a rope.

He’d already lowered his rifle and set the safety on, but that wasn’t because she posed no threat. Rather, because she posed far too great a threat for his rifle to mean anything at all. Not to mention the twitching taking over his muscles as an after effect of using his booster far too heavily.

Dizziness threatened his mind, almost forcing his body to collapse. To avoid the possibility, he lowered himself to the ground, accidentally slipping and slamming his knees into the hard, wooded, flooring.

Even as highly as he now paid for his earlier boost, it’d meant nothing at the time. He’d barely even kept up with the movements of the other Knights at the time, he might as well be a worthless insect to Ophiella. If she truly harboured any ill will towards him, he doubted that even that interference that had protected him, would have been able to save him.

Ophiella walked around the room, carefully stepping around the scattered, sleeping, bodies as she adjusted their positions. Carefully she sheathed their swords, and moved their limbs so that they would be more comfortable in their slumber. The sight was surprisingly natural to see, it was exactly what he’d have expected from Opi, even if it didn’t suit her new image.

A gentle smile rose on her lips as she lifted Myra onto her lap, rubbing at the small mark on her face where she’d fallen on the edge of the tub. “Sorry,” She whispered to the unconscious woman in her arms kissing her wound gently, as if doing so might heal it.

The dizziness had faded from his senses but his limbs still trembled as he attempted to move his arms. The rifle slipping down to sit on his lap while he continued to shiver. His eyes wandered the room, as he attempted to return to himself.

“You d- d- don’t want to kill me?” Were the first words he spoke as he stared at the woman in front of him, tongue moving unnaturally within his mouth as he shaped the words. He forced the words from deep within himself, clawing at and struggling to find the right words to speak. Speaking in her language stressing his mind so badly that he could feel the back of his brain contracting tightly in resistance to his attempts at speech.

Ophiella looked up at him briefly, while still holding Myra in her arms. Countless questions swam in the depths of her eyes as she looked upon him. She hesitated to speak, as she tore her eyes from him to look instead upon the ground beneath her, and eventually back into the sleeping face of Myra on her lap.

She wore the same ragged clothes as Opi had, and for all her similarities, Matt simply couldn’t join the two together. Stama swirled across her skin in dark shades of black, the shapes they formed peaceful and gentle, considering the incredible power they housed.

Her horns had grown through her skull, sprouting from her now silver hair as tall, thin spikes curving gently inwards. Not even nearly disguised by the hair that had used to be a dark shade of brown approaching black. She brushed at that silver hair now, as if confused by its new colour.

That still was not the most telling difference, her arm was thin and dark, composed of constantly shifting shades of black. The claws formed from a darkness that he’d seen only in those blades wielded by demonic women, while shifting and swimming around themselves like the stama on her skin.

After a long silence, she finally found her voice, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you all, but I knew… that if I was like this… they’d kill me before I could explain.” She was gently stroking Myra’s hair as she spoke with a caring voice.

“So, you stopped them by knocking them all out? How did you even know you could do that?” Matt was absolutely stunned at the young woman’s confidence. She was not at all the girl he’d met over the past few days, yet at the same time she was. The contradiction confusing him to no end.

“How do you know to breath or to walk?” She waved her claw at him, before suddenly staring at the alien limb now attached to her arm, “It comes naturally, and I can’t really explain it.”

The conversation between them died out quickly, Matt’s nose bleeding from the effort of speaking her language. If he pushed himself any harder he felt as though he would join the women sleeping on the ground.

Meanwhile, Ophiellia’s eyes were filling with concern as she looked out across the room of unconscious Knights, too distracted by their wellbeing to be able to keep the conversation running herself.

A slight shift in motion from the direction where Lilith had fallen stole Matt’s attention as he gazed through a veil of purple mist. She seemed to be stirring in the far corner away from them, her hand slowly and gently reaching out for the pistol she’d dropped.

Matt was too shocked and exhausted by everything to know how to react. Perhaps it would be better to stop her, since Ophiella didn’t seem to pose an immediate threat to them.

As he thought seriously about doing so, his muscles locked into place by Lilith’s stare. Her eyes freezing him as he attempted to call out, revealing only a hint of purple in the cores of her eyes as she forced him to cease his movements.

“Don’t interfere!” Her thought transferred to him with such a force as to drown out his own mind. The emotions that she summoned forth, sent his heart spiralling into despair and anxiety.

By the time Lilith grasped the pistol, Ophiella was already on top of her. Her motions faster than his eyes could track, faster even that Lilith’s own ability to counter them. Lilith stared up into the short girl’s eyes, hatred leaking out from her as she stared up at the young girl who stood over her. Eyes tracking every motion and every twitch of every muscle, yet still too slow to be able to react to them.

“Do you want to sleep again?” She asked, her demonic hand only a few centimetres from Lilith’s scalp. The voice surprisingly calm could easily be confused for threatening, but might as easily have been her childish voice from before the transformation. Her hand gradually summoning together the purple mist into a thicker concoction at her thin, clawed, fingers.

“I will never give in to a demon.” Lilith whispered her voice rasping as she forced the words from her mouth, eye still burning with fury.

“Good, I’m not a demon.” Ophiella replied, confidently walking away, leaving Lilith entirely unattended. Her short, self-assured, stride hiding an anxiety that was written plainly on her face, completely invisible to Lilith who stood at her back. Lilith took up the pistol and targeted the other girls back, hands trembling slightly as the thick purple mist washed over her hands, swirling gently without prying into her flesh or mind.

“Like hell, you’re not a demon.” Lilith sputtered trying to threaten the other woman with the gun, from her perspective she wouldn’t have seen the twitches in Ophiella’s facial expression. For some reason, she was taking great effort to disguise her weakness from Lilith.

“I’m not. Really, I’m like you, but… better.” She replied, turning to Lilith who hadn’t stopped threatening her since she awoke. Ophiella to enforce her words clenched her clawed hand as she stood over the bodies of the many Knights. The bodies that had been adjusted with careful hands to avoid cramps as they slept.

“No Knight has ever regrown a limb, or become as fast as you are now. That is the realm of powerful angels and demons.” Lilith pushed off the ground coming to her feet. “You are merely a demon possessing her body!”

Lilith was quivering so slightly that he barely noticed it, the purple mists running around them swimming in an uneven pace now as Ophiella faced the barrel of the gun. The stama of both women was a similar shape and motion, but Ophiella’s was subtly less sharp, while still moving at a slightly greater pace.

“I’m not Opi anymore… she died so that I could be born… that’s how it works isn’t it?” She asked holding out her hands and looking down at her own body hesitantly, “But I’m no more a demon than you.”

Her hands reached up to the horns on her head, one of those hands made from something other than human flesh. “These horns, they’re a part of me now, aren’t they?” her words a mere whisper. “They’re from the demon, aren’t they?”

Lilith hand’s shifted on the pistol, yet she didn’t lose her sight on Ophiella. “You… what are you?”

Ophiella’s eyes grew distant as she spoke, “Who are you?” She asked aloud, clearly not addressing anyone in the room. “You are… you are the demon, aren’t you?” her words spoken aloud towards the voices in her head.

“Well… hi. Don’t do anything… stupid and… I hope we can get along well together.” He and Lilith remained silent as they listened in to Ophiella’s self-addressing conversation, “Take on the monsters? Well I guess it’s worth trying so long as you don’t try to take over.” Her words kept on for a little longer, spoken more hesitantly than Lilith spoke to her own demon.

Lilith paused looking over the situation, staring at the bodies that were still breathing and Matt who was still kneeling down with blood dripping from his nose. That last sight gave her a particular shock, since he, of all the people here, had been able to resist the force and power of this newly formed Knight.

“You didn’t kill anyone?” Lilith asked glancing at the bodies nearby, some of which were snoring.

“Of course not, they’re my allies now, some of them even friends.” She approached Liliith carefully as she spoke, “I would like to think of you as a friend as well… if you would have me.” Her voice was delicate, she even looked towards the ground much like the young girl she really was. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone, it’s just… you all tried to kill me the moment I came out of the tub.”

Lilith didn’t seem entirely convinced but was gradually showing a little more hesitation to shoot at the girl. “And how do I know that you’re not lying?”

“Because you’re not dead.” She replied, “I could have killed you any number of times but I didn’t… even though the demon wants me to. I kind of like you, Lilith.”

Matt himself was still unsure as to whether this Ophiella girl was genuine or not, but he didn’t want to see more blood shed pointlessly today. Carefully he spoke up.

“Lilith, I think she’s telling the truth.” He broke the silence forming between both of them as he spoke, “She didn’t even knock me out earlier. I don’t think she wants to hurt us.” Radiating out from the bond with Lilith he felt something trying to silence his words. A force unwilling to listen to his words, even Grikith seemed deathly quiet in the face of the forceful storm raging inside of her.

Lilith didn’t let up, pointing the pistol at the body of the girl who she’d just put so much effort into trying to save. Meanwhile, the bodies around them began to stir, their limbs stiff as they staggered to their feet forcefully. Many falling back down as they struggled against the forces of the real world.

The purple mist invading the room faded away as Ophiella slashed her clawed hand diagonally through the air, sending a shock wave through the mist. The colour seemed to fade from reality into the same place where it had spawned.

“I didn’t mean to scare everyone.” She said, loudly while holding the still sleeping Myra on her lap. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked, lifting her up in her human arm as the women awoke.

The many awakening Knights didn’t seem to know what to do, Ophiella was posing no immediate threat but they still held out their weapons hesitantly. Cassielle, who’d recently awaken was stumbling closer to where Ophiella was holding her friend in her arms.

“Are you… one of us? … or… are you?” She left her sword in her sheath as she spoke, keeping some distance between them.

“I’m… probably like you.” She replied, moving her clawed hand carefully as she spoke.

Cassielle walked with considerable care as she moved forwards, watching Ophiella with great concern, “So who are you now?” She asked.

Ophiella looked up at her elder with some considerable respect, “I’m Ophiella now.” Her voice was quiet as she curled up around Myra. “Opi… is dead.”

There was only silence as a reply to her sad words. Cassielle attempted to stand taller, still watching the girl with great apprehension, her hand resting on her sword.

Matt pushed himself off of the ground, finally recovered well enough to try standing again. The wood beneath his feet offered some grip to his slipping feet as he managed to find grounding and balance. One hand was held clutched to his skull which was still filled with a concentration of pain.

Lilith half stumbled over his direction, the pistol wavering slightly as she kept it trained on Ophiella. Her expression revealing some of the uncertainty filling her heart.

“What do you know about this, Krilm?” She asked him cautiously struggling to contain her emotions.

He hesitated, thinking back to what he’d seen before. Ophiella certainly had the opportunity to kill anyone in this room at the time, with the possible exception of Matt himself. “She isn’t like the demons we fought in the city.” He finally let out.

“She isn’t filled with the same bloodlust, and she didn’t take over my mind like they had.” He added, thinking back to the monster at the time, “And after you were all asleep she made sure to lie you down comfortably. She really seemed to care about you people.”

“And why didn’t she knock you out, like she did us?” Lilith replied looking at him suspiciously.

He hesitated for a moment, thinking back to the light that had pushed back the purple mists at the time. The light that had held back the demonic hand that had forced even Lilith into submission.

“Something protected me,” He whispered pulling the hairpin from his head and staring into it’s now faded colours.

The emerald glow that had formed around it earlier was now completely faded away leaving only the natural shine of the gem remaining. “Something?” Lilith asked him, “Can’t you be more precise. I don’t know of many things that could stand toe to toe with such power on even ground, so what was it?” Her voice was firm as she spoke with him, suspicious of his sudden secret power.

Matt hesitated, inspecting the gem. If he told her about it she might just take it for herself, something he didn’t want to risk. “I don’t know,” he forcefully buried his thoughts so that she mightn’t notice.

Lilith was thankfully too distracted to investigate any deeper, looking over at the newly born creature; self-named Ophiella.

“Opi?” The weak voice came from Myra as she finally awoke, looking up into the face of Ophiella. “You… you made it?” She wore a smile on her face while she lifted her hand to embrace the cheek of the creature leaning over her.

“Thanks to you… and Retil… even everyone else here helped.” She held her friend tightly, finally forcing Lilith to lower the pistol at the sight. She seemed far too affected by the scene, considering how she had been untouched by the previous arguments.

“No… it was all because of your strength.” Myra replied, holding her tightly. A few tears seemed to fall down her cheeks as she was forcefully holding Ophiella into her.

Matt was still lost as to what was happening around him, still surrounded by slowly waking Knights who were shocked by their sudden downfall. Some of them awoke while rubbing their heads with confusion, others immediately grabbed for their swords scanning the tent for the enemy that had gotten the better of them.

Even those with swords drawn didn’t move to attack, instead staring silently at the newly formed Knight before them. She was still holding Myra on her lap, though the woman was quickly coming to her senses and lifting herself to her own feet.

“Is it all… okay?” Myra eventually asked touching the strange clawed limb that had replaced the girls lost arm. Her hand moved along the phantom limb, seemingly without being harmed by the clearly inhuman flesh that it was constructed of.

“I can hear it speaking to me… but it’s not taking control.” Ophiella slowly and carefully tightened her hands into fists, moving them around carefully as if testing her control over them. “It doesn’t seem to want control, like it’s afraid.”

Myra looked at the girl with some concern, before standing to her own feet. “I guess each demon is unique. Don’t let it get the jump on you. With as much strength as you’ve borrowed from it, such a mistake could turn you into something incredibly dreadful.”

“I won’t let it get the better of me.” Ophiella responded gripping her fists tightly. “Besides I can feel Ritel still with it, it’s like when it consumed her she changed it.” The woman who’d stood as Ritels friend and her executioner, before she’d donated her life, looked towards Ophiella with sparkling eyes.

Every ear was listening in to her, still suspicious of the newly born Ophiella. From what he’d heard from passing conversation, this wasn’t an ordinary ritual. It shouldn’t come as a surprise for the outcome to be equally unordinary.

Matt stumbled over to Lilith while Myra and Ophiella talked. “What do you think?” he asked, Lilith still had her pistol out and ready, even though it had been lowered from her target.

“I don’t know,” She didn’t turn her eyes from the newly birthed woman in their midst, “Nothing here makes sense, from a Krilm surviving such a blast of indrikate power, seemingly unaffected. To a creature, so powerful, born from the demon of a Knight, yet apparently untouched by the evil in the demon’s soul. Everything is so wrong that even your machines seem to be normal in comparison.”

Matt, having not yet been here for long enough to realize what normal was, felt himself hesitant to comment on that, “Maybe we should talk to her, find out how much she’s still herself.” He proposed thinking about the sudden changes in the girl’s behaviour. It was certainly enough of a change for him to feel that her change in name was more than just sentimental.

“Besides I doubt we’ll be able to stop her should she decide to have us dead.” He added looking at the powerful being in their midst.

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that I’m willing to submit just because I cannot win.” She spoke forcefully, hand gripping her weapon tighter as she spoke. The pistol constricted by her white-knuckle grip was increasingly twisting from her influence, the colours darkening and shifting far more blatantly than it ever had before.

Matt had seen that determination before, but every single time the harsh realities of the world had eventually shattered it. Willpower alone could not stand up against real power and influence. The only way to stand against power such as that was with comparable power of your own.

While everyone was still recovering, Matt gently pried the emerald hairpin from his head once again. The glow had long since faded, but he could still imagine some presence hidden deep within it, some conscious power which had for some reason protected him.

Lilith looked across to him for a moment, gazing into the gemstone within his hand, before speaking. “Before I fell, I felt something. Something coming through you, protecting me from the indrikate power. That gem is connected to it, isn’t it?”

Matt didn’t reply rubbing against the filth coating the gem as if trying to pry into its depths. “I don’t know.” He held it up to the light as he stared at it, as afraid of the power that had come through it, as he was afraid of losing his most precious possession.

“Hand it here,” She reached out for it, but he instinctively pulled it back from her. He hesitated to let go of this one possession, whether or not it carried any real power to it. This was the last piece of his past that he could carry with him, everything else was gone.

“What? I’m not going to damage the thing. If it was something powerful, then I doubt that I could break it without great effort.” She still held her hand out to him demandingly.

Matt looked into her eyes for a moment, feeling out their bond hoping to find some hint of her intentions. From that shore that was the ocean of her soul he heard a faint voice.

“Just give it to her, if this other Knight wasn’t able to cut through its power then Lilith is beyond too weak.” Grikith spoke to him with confidence it its weak voice.

“Silence Grikith, you have nothing to do with this conversation.” He could feel a shock of anxiety stirring in her ocean at the sound of the creatures mind reverberating through them. This was the first time she’d joined their conversation, perhaps the first time she’d heard them.

“Don’t listen to Grikith, ever, or else I will eventually have the pleasure of killing you.” She persisted in holding out her hand.

“So, I shouldn’t give it to you?” Matt, suddenly confused by her intentions lost his defensiveness of the gem in his hand.

“Ktsu,” She spat out of her teeth again, “Just give it to me.” She stated, snatching it from his hand quicker than he could defend it.

Matt reached out to her momentarily before he froze in place, watching her holding up his most cherished possession with great care. Her eyes glowed with a hint of purple light as she gazed into the depths of the gem.

“What is this?” she asked staring into it deeper still, until a small emerald spark ignited in retaliation to her gaze. “It’s not demonic, or angelic, but it’s spirit based, not magical.” She continued to rub at the stone, staring into it.

Matt watched her carefully feeling a growing anxiety at the sight of her eyes, “What’s wrong with it?” He asked her carefully.

“It’s got traces of spiritual power. It’s not imbued with it, so to you it might as well be powerless, but it seems as though some kind of being has interacted with the world through it. It’s strange, I cannot tell whether it’s angelic or demonic, let alone how it managed to force its power into our realm.”

She eventually lowered the gem from sight thoughtfully before refocusing her attention back onto Ophiella. Throwing it back to him carelessly, she gave her analysis of the situation, “I’d like to investigate that with a little more detail, but there seem to be more pressing concerns to this world at the moment.” She let out a gentle sigh, before whirling back to Ophiella, who was now turning to face the awoken Sasahara Knights.

“I have successfully completed the ritual, now sisters let us move on.” She spoke carefully to the silent crowd who were still unsure about how to react. After a pause that lasted for far too long, she turned back to Myra, “That was right, wasn’t it?”

“That was fine,” Myra replied to her, standing by her side, “Today another sister has joined with our ranks, sisters, now let us gather her gear so that she might become one with our intent and one with our strength.”

The Knights that were gathered in the area failed to react, still frozen by the sight that they faced. Still unsure as to whether they were facing an enemy or an ally.

Cassielle took this opportunity to walk forwards with confidence, taking the lead of the group gathered. “We will first test her resilience to the demon currently holding over her body.” She carefully walked forwards towards where Ophiella was now standing.

“Yes.” She replied simply, holding her hands tensely before her.

Cassielle carefully removed her sword out from its sheath, this time clearly without intent to kill. Ophiella, without hesitance, offered her arms, one of which was unnatural in nature.

Cassielle swiftly cut with her sword too fast for him to keep pace with, and the human arm offered out before her sprouted a series of bloody marks. The blood dripped to the ground while her other arm remained unscathed by the blade, the stama shifting and swirling around tensely as they reacted to the cuts.

Blood fell from her arm naturally, which came as some surprise to Matt. This powerful demonic being bled just like him, she winced just like him as her arm was cut apart. It was obvious that the pain was still affecting her as she continued to stand without shifting from her position.

“Remain firm in your convictions, remain firm in your control.” Cassielle gently spoke to her as if reading a line well-rehearsed.

Ophiella’s face was growing pale as the blood continued to flow from her arm. Myra was already preparing her kit to start healing the girl when the ritual was finished. Unlike earlier, Matt felt no need to interfere now.

With the sheer power that she had it was worthless to try and intervene here. Eventually something changed, it was as if she’d reached a certain threshold. Her eyes darkened and she smiled slightly as she looked at Cassielle.

The woman still had her sword drawn as she watched the newly birthed Knight. With the quickest of motions, she snapped her sword into place at the girls neck. Ophiella failed to react, her arm faster than any bullet remained steadfastly at her side as if she was waiting for something.

Cassielle continued staring into Ophiella’s eyes for a while, facing the girl who stood at the other end of her blade. Eventually that blade lowered, releasing only the slightest of metallic sighs as it was sheathed.

“Get her the clothes.” Cassielle demanded of no one in particular. At her command one of the many Knights gathered, ran out of the main tent, leaving a silence inside as everyone slowly came to realize that Ophiella had been accepted into their ranks.

Some, looked on fearfully. Others, with a glimmer of jealously in their eyes, but the most common reaction, other than standing in shock, was excitement. Whispers soon grew rampant within the tent as the Knights turned to one another.

“Can she beat them?” The voice keen and boisterous was barely constrained to a whisper

“Maybe…” The safe reply given in quiet voice as the woman still stared ahead, her face painted in shock.

“If she really is herself then…” A taller woman considered, mumbling the possibilities to herself excitedly.

“Maybe we should all have been born like this.” The voice drew many harsh eyes but no one had anything to say in rebuttal to her words.

The woman made her return with a small pile of clothes before the whispers had grown into anything more. Cassielle waved her forwards taking the clothes from her and offering them to Ophiella who was standing still. Trying not to look at anyone in particular, her face aglow knowing that she was the centre of attention as she took the clothes from her elder with a few words of thanks.

She slipped away into a nearby room, and in literally the time it took Matt to blink his eyes, she was back in her new set of clothes. Considering her speed, he wondered why she even bothered to leave the room.

The clothes she now wore were the same as what the others wore under their armour, it was made from some sort of treated animal skin not unlike leather from the old world he’d read about. The clothes were obviously not meant to be worn as something of their own, covering only where the armour would be layered on.

She wore a set of something between boots and socks made from a supple leather, they seemed to bend and shift with her every motion. He couldn’t see any kind of strap or lace, their surface completely untarnished and strangely smooth. For their simplicity, they gave off the appearance of durability.

The set of shorts looked far more durable, adorned with various loops at the waste, presumably to later be burdened by skirt armour plates. Given that detail they seemed to be quite flexible without giving the appearance that they cut into her flesh.

The small shirt that she’d put on, ended at around the bottom of where the chestplate would cover. That being half way between her breasts and belly button, revealing a mass of swirling lines forming on her exposed belly.

In all, the clothes seemed to be designed to show off the stama that were now covering her body. The addition of armour wouldn’t change that detail, he noted, looking at the fully armoured Knights around him.

At their elder’s signal, the others slowly formed up, looking at Ophiella with concern but eventually sheathing their swords as they accepted Cassielles decision.

Silently the group was led out the large opening that served as an exit, Cassielle at the head of the pack with Myra and Ophiella following at her heels. Lilith dragged Matt in behind them, taking frequent glances at his gun and gem while gripping at her own pistol tightly.

Outside was still a light drizzle of rain washing down on them from above. None of the women around him flinched, but he found it distracting as he continued to blink away the rain that fell on his face.

Surrounding them he noticed the burn marks on tents, and many suspicious marks in the mud that seemed far too concerning. Some seemed like impact marks of shrapnel, others drag marks from someone no longer able to walk.

Slowly they made their way forwards towards a larger tent where a large collection of equipment was stacked away under treated cloth. One of the larger women stepped forwards, moving aside the cloth covering and unveiling the equipment hidden away underneath.

In among the equipment were numerous large chunks of metal shaped strangely in ways that he didn’t recognise. But he could see a few large hammers scattered between the other pieces of metal equipment and barrels.

First the woman removed a sword and sheath from the collection of equipment, quickly unsheathing it and looking along its blade.

A grey blade shined in the dull light from the sun, which was hidden by clouds far above. The sword was an exact design of the other Sasahara Knights, with a sole exception. Its colour was far closer to that of an ordinary sword in this world, a dull grey that reflected the light only barely.

The woman after drawing out the sword, turned towards Ophiella. With the sword held out by its blade with the edge pointing upwards, she offered the swords grip. Ophiella reached out with her clawed hand tentatively, as if unsure about what she was doing. As soon as her ‘flesh’ touched the metal grip, the blade sunk into a blackness that was incomparable to that of the other Knights.

It seemed to drain all the light from the world, yet even still it swirled like a thick mist. Matt could feel all his sensibilities fading as he stared into that blade that shouldn’t even exist, not in any world.

Everyone was shocked at the sight, “So fast.” He heard a whisper from the crowd. While Ophiella held the sword carefully, Myra attached the sheath to Ophiella’s waist so that she might put the blade away safely.

With a little hesitation, the blade soon swept itself home, corrupting the sheath as the blade was hidden away from the light that it consumed so completely.

Next came the armour, brought from a small chest which the woman opened swiftly. She pulled out the chest plate, that was attached to various straps of leather. Again, it was built from well-crafted steel, reflecting light in a dull grey colour.

With little effort they quickly strapped the armour plate on over her clothes, the plate remaining it’s dull grey even after they finished tightening the straps.

Next, they moved on to her armoured skirt which was carefully strapped into place on a belt that looped through her pants. In no time, they were strapping the boots into place around her feet, the front and back plates needing to be strapped together after her foot was put into place.

“The armour fits perfectly.” Matt muttered to himself, quietly watching as they fit the plates on. Nothing was even the slightest bit out of shape.

“Of course, you don’t think that we’d do all of this without smithing the armour to the woman?” Lilith snapped at him her voice sharp as she continued to grip the pistol. “We are not some guard of a little town who wears what they must.”

Just as she finished speaking, the metal plated gloves were added, or more accurately a number of metal plates were strapped to her still naked hand. The plates like all of the others covering her body were beautifully shaped, which was so much more apparent in their grey colours than it had been for the darkened armour worn by every other Knight.

In her instance, they failed to armour her demonic hand which was far too small to wear the armour that they smithed. In any measure, those claws were durable enough to snatch a sword from a Knights hands and redirected it. He had doubts that any armour would offer less than half as much protection as the very flesh of such an arm.

As everyone stepped away from Ophiella she closed her eyes, breathing in deep, slow, breaths. She closed her fists and looked upwards to the heavens with closed eyes, letting out a low growl as power flowed from the stama that swam across her skin with an increasing pace.

Her stama moved faster and faster as she continued her strange pose, until eventually they tore free from her skin, crawling into the metal plates that were strapped to her body. In an instant the colour grey faded into distant memory, replaced with the same swirling blackness of her sword.

Matt had little doubt that the armour would likely consume any sword that attempted to strike it, leaving behind not even ash.

Ophiella opened her eyes looking over the crowd of Knights as they stared at her with a mix of fear and awe.

Keeping up the fast pace Cassielle rushed them back into the tent where they’d just witnessed Ophiella’s birth. By the time the fully armed and armoured Ophiella had been returned to the room, the blood and corpse of the Knight become demon had already evaporated into the air.

The woman who had posed as her executioner only a few hours before was now standing quietly, observing the scene with a sad aura radiating from her expression.

Lilith was doing nothing but following along carefully, watching the new Sasahara Knight who’d just been born from a pair of corpses. Of what they had been, not even a drop of blood remained.

Ophiella was soon talking with many of the gathered Knights speaking with a gentle voice. Whether it was because she herself was intimidated, or because she was avoiding frightening the others he couldn’t be sure. Myra stood by her side confidently, excitedly, pressing her onwards trying her hardest to endear her to her new sisters.

Before they had time to fully digest the new situation, a Knight ran into the room. Whoever they were, they hadn’t been present for the ritual, staring in shock at Ophiella. She quickly threw off her cloak of shock and spat out words thoughtlessly into the group.

“The King is making an announcement!” She called out loudly.

The many Sasahara Knights gathered expressed nothing but tired expressions as they looked towards the woman.