Chapter 1 The Fallen Knight

Astarian Empire

North-West Border

Day of Tria, 3rd Luna, Year 1110 Central Moon Calendar.

The war had been going on for 12 years now.

In these 12 years, our forces had been reduced from ten millions to two millions.

There were new enlistments, of course, but they were not enough.

Training new recruits in such a short span of time, under such condition, was not easy.

Our resources were depleting.

Our processing sites were destroyed.

Our weapons were becoming scarce.

Our enemies were too numerous.

Was it too far-fetched a struggle?

A struggle against those who controlled the world using demons and devils as helpers?

A struggle against people who had lost their humanity and oppressed others…

Those who made contracts with the devils…

For power.

In exchange, they did the devils’ bidding.

“Those who are not with us, are against us.”

So they say…

They destroyed our cities, towns and even villages.

They burned our farms, our homes, and our folk.

Even women and children were not spared.

Again, they were too numerous.

Their demonic beasts were too strong for our forces.

Their main armies were humans, of course.

Yet backing them were…

Minotours, Lurkers, Giant Snakes, Behemoths, Shriekers, Mummakill…

They covered our skies…

Growlers, Fire Drakes, and Demon Wyverns…

For their human Knights,

Demons took possession of them, and giving them strength and magic of extreme magnitude.

Can they still truly be called Knights? Selling their souls to the devils,

For power.

We were once called the strongest, among humans.

We were hailed as heroes, those who would treat others, even enemy prisoners, justly.

Of course, as long as they’re not demons or contractors of demons.

In the first 6 years, we were winning.

We liberated many minor nations from the clutches of the devils worshippers.

We gave them food, build homes, and guard them from danger.

We provided them work, freedom and happiness with their family.

However,

In the last 6 years, we were losing.

Slowly, but surely.

We had so much strong Warriors, Elementalists, Mages and Gunslingers.

Yet we could not win against them.

Not in this 12 years of struggle.

One by one, we lost our comrades.

Even I… lost my dearest.

Stephenie…

This war, I am of the opinion, is lost.

Yet our Emperor keeps on struggling.

Why?

For he believe dying was better than submitting to devils.

Of this, I agreed.

People who took devils lightly, who said it would be okay to submit…

That it would be better than dying, was deluding himself.

Once you submit, even if in your heart you still wish to fight on someday…

The Devils, being the smart-ass as they were, would know how to corrupt you.

The Devil’s Corruption is strong…The chance of any human to ever escape its clutches… was nil.

...

Stephenie, I hope you’re in God’s embrace…

Please forgive your foolish husband for failing to protect you.

Ah, why am I writing this in my diary?

I’ll just sleep…

…

…

…

This story originated from another world.

In that world, there existed a certain unique Empire, filled with unique people.

Astarian Empire.

An Empire consists of 60 million people, situated in the centre of the most modern continent of this world. It was an empire ruled by a just Emperor who loved his people dearly, and with his great intellect, rebuild the empire into a magnificent Empire without any slavery and oppression, be it physical or in any other way, in envy of many other countries. Capable people gathered around such leader, molding the empire into such a capable entity…

An solid entity of which those who controlled the world could no longer ignore…

…

Astarian Empire,

Central Capital, Great Gorge of Astaria

Taiga, 4th Luna, Year 1110 Central Moon Calendar.

Sunlight finally filled the surroundings.

A man fully clad in bloodied light armor, was holding his sword on his shoulder. He took from the ground, a ragged cloth. He cleansed his blade of blood with it. It was a sword of curves, light yet thick. Red lines were shining along the blade.

The stench of blood was in the air.

In front of him, dust cloud was forming.

Another wave of enemies was coming.

He stood looking towards the coming catastrophe.

None could stop that rampaging wave this time.

It was twice the amount that was stopped here.

The place he was standing was a very tight gorge, capable of only accommodating a dozen people shoulder to shoulder at the same time. It was a crack in what could be seen from space, a colossal plateau. And within the crack, was a route pinched by huge walls, the gorge. Lowering his gaze, his eyes met the atrocities of war.

Thousands of bodies, friends and foes, lay on the ground. The reason the man could see the incoming wave, bypassing the accumulated corpses was because… He was standing on dozens of slain Minotaurs.

Directly in front him, the body of a huge silver snake separated from its head. There were some more in his sight, head separated as well. Further, a gigantic fish-like head was separated from its human-like body.

The man with flowing black hair, tied at his back… knitted his eyes. From where he stood, he could see a head high up in the dust cloud. Large enough to see from that distance, its flaming breath. As it moves on, another head could be seen. With long necks, both heads spew fire of great magnitude onto the air.

“Long time no see, you bastard…”

KLAK, KLAK, KLAK.

Two horses came galloping towards him. Rushing through the corpses, both stopped just behind the man.

From one of it, a knight came down and kneeled. He slightly took a glimpse of the knight. The Knight threw him a water skin. He caught it and jumped down from the mountain of bodies. He sat in front of him and drank the water.

“Water, a gift of God, mercy of the Mighty and Wise Creator of all.”

He said, satisfied.

“General. Everyone’s evacuated as per ordered.”

“Emm, good job Athmus. You may go.”

He put the waterskin on his belt.

“Sir, I bring a horse for you. Let’s go.”

“…I’m staying.”

“Sir?”

“…I’m staying, Athmus. Please tell the others I’ll go meet our Creator first.”

“Sir! This is no time for a joke.”

“Haha… I’m afraid I’m not joking this time, dear Athmus.”

“Why? I know we’re in desperate times, but surely there’s no need--”

The general stood and lift his sword, pointing towards the incoming wave.

“We didn’t get any info from scouts since all of them did not return… but can you see that?”

“Another wave? We know that already—What! That head in the air… is that…”

“A Demon Dragon, yes… but watch closely.”

Athmus gazed intently at the incoming wave. Another head popped up from the dust cloud. It’s huge body was barely visible from all the dust from the cavalry... yet clearly, it was humongous.

“Two-headed Demon Dragon!”

“The very same dragon from that time…”

“From the battle of Canterra. This is bad…”

“Worse perhaps. Fire from that thing could not destroy our sanctuary, of course… but even with Asmodite rock heat-resistance, it would take a little over a week or so for the heat to roast us in the ground... even with all those water there. It has two heads after all. Ah, I’m also worried about the air our people need to breathe in… the vegetation down there might die before people would.”

“But the transfer would take two weeks to finish.”

“The transfer… our last hope.”

He pondered. Within the last year of the war, the Court Mages finally managed to offer the Emperor a way out of this mess. The solution… was to transfer as many people as we can to other dimension.

It was a great feat, to the credit of the Court Mages. Transferring one million citizens of the Capital into other dimension, thus finding refuge in another world. The Emperor did not like it, yet he had to accept the harsh reality that it was the only way to preserve the next generation.

He did not like it, since it felt as if he was abandoning his people.

A million, out of 60 million.

A mere 1 out of 60, evacuated.

Of course, 8 million already fell in battle.

So it was 1 out of 52 million… meh, let’s not be so technical...

Of them, 2 million were soldiers. Actually less than that, since many fell from day to day… Of the 50 million civilian, around 30 million were already under the reign of the demonic worshippers… human in form, but what of their souls?

A few millions were burned, eaten and killed before things settled down. There were already a million people within the safety of the underground spring covered by layers of Asmodite rock, covered again with layers of high-intensified magical barriers intended to hold out for a month.

400,000 people were within the Asmodite rock. They were soldiers and Knights, guarding the outer layers.

Three gates had been prepared.

Enough to transfer all one million and a little more into another dimension. Half of the soldiers and Knights would be transferred with the civilians, under the orders of the Emperor. Thus another 200,000 joined the evacuation. Most of them youngsters, too young to die yet.

Thus it is actually 1.2 million… whatever.

The other half shall wage the bitter struggle. No surrender, till the end.

Despite the pleas of many, the Emperor chose to stay…

“Let me die along with our folk, millions of our brave men and women, in the very same land our fathers lay slumber.”

“Sir?”

“The Emperor said so too when he decided to stay.”

“Sir! You’re tasked with the duty as the Head of the Evacuation. You’re our new leader, the next Emperor..!”

“I never ask to be one. Another general can do better than me. The Emperor thinks too highly of me.”

“You can’t possibly defeat the Two-headed Demon Dragon by yourself! Let me call--”

“AHHH--- Stop you fool! Athmus, in this tight gorge, what numbers mean are more corpses for that fire-breathing beast over there. I’ll stop it alone… with our God.”

“But—Alone with God? You can’t mean...”

“Yes, Sovereign Ascension.”

“Sir, don’t! How am I going to explain to the Emperor? Plus, Lady Faith would beat me to death!”

“Athmus, calm down.”

He said so strictly. His fighting spirit was directed to his subordinate. It calmed him effectively so.

“Sir…”

“Emperor would understand, and Faith is not that barbaric, you know. Trust me on this.”

He gulped.

“Still--”

“This would be the forth…”

“Sir?”

“Just one Demon Dragon could kill hundreds of our soldiers in seconds. You know out of six Demon Dragons, how many had been slain Athmus?”

“Three, Sir... Lightning Demon Dragon, Earth Demon Dragon, and Water Demon Dragon”

...

“Yes, three… all slain by Knights more capable than yours truly… with contributions to our Empire uncontested by a young, inexperienced one like me. They gave their valuable life while I, the coward I am, was trembling at the sight of such beast. Remember the campaign in the South? We lost because of my cowardice.”

“That’s not true, Sir! It was because of you many of us survive the battle of Canterra!”

“Ah, that… I might do something outstanding once a while, but…”

He gazed the sky. A certain longing could be felt by Athmus. As the one who had served him as aide for five years in the war, he knew what he meant.

“That demon over there… was the one who burned thousands of us…”

He took in a deep breath… and released it erratically.

“Stephenie was burned in front of me. What kind of man am I, can’t even protect the one I should be protecting?”

“… Sir…”

“Along with her, my family, hundreds of citizens… in one single breath.”

He closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and this time, he released it slowly in orderly manner.

He opened his eyes, took out his sword, and held it upward in front of his face.

“That demon shall be slain today, the forth Demon Dragon slain by Astarian Knights… I, Averon Arcad, hail from the North of Astaria, Leader of Arcad Family, husband of Stephenie Arcad, father of son Isaac and daughter Isabel… all of now in God’s Grace…”

Athmus, in his kneeling position, was holding his tears. He rose, wiped his eyes, and took out his sword and placed it in front of his face.

“And Commanding General, Astarian 3rd Strike Corps!”

Athmus added.

Averon smiled, and nodded.

“And this is my vow… This life, granted to me, O my Creator… I shall use to slay my enemy. Not for myself, but for a Just Course. Grant me your blessing, and may the enemy tremble before your might.”

“May the next generation uphold the right conduct, inherit the legacy left behind.”

Athmus added again.

“O Creator, I am thankful.”

“And I am grateful.”

“For this life, granted by you… to be used in a manner you told us to.”

“To protect our Faith, uphold Justice and make Kindness a legacy for the next generation.”

“Do forgive me for all faults and sins I’ve committed, whether I’m aware of or not. For you we fight on, for you we live, for you we die…”

“For we are merely, human and your servants.”

Athmus closed his eyes, his head lowered.

“In my final breath, I implore you O Almighty Creator, grant me the power…

He stood silent. The rumbling of incoming enemies was now apparent. Growling in the air by Growlers, the bat-like beasts, could now be heard.

“With my life, grant me the power, The power of a Sovereign.”

FSHUUU--------------!!

A BURST!

A great burst of air, spiraling around the General…

Soon the air spiraling him seemed solidified, and left behind a soothing air circulating him.

Occasional stream of lightning appeared around him.

He turned to his aide, now in tears.

“Athmus, you’re still young… how old are you?”

He spoke. His voice was deeper than before, as if his voice was echoing. The power called Life Nature’s Aura, a self-sacrificing power left behind by the ancestors of old. It granted the wielder the power ranging from ten to twenty times of his original power, depending on his faith and affinity to nature. This was the power used by the other Generals to slay the three Demon Dragons mentioned before.

“Ah,” *sniff* “36, Sir…”

“I see, 36 huh… When you arrived to the other dimension, make sure to make lots of babies. Heh.”

*Sniff*

“You’re still joking now, Sir…”

“I’m not. You’ll make a great father, Athmus. You’re honourable, more so than me.”

“You… You’re belittling yourself, Sir…”

“Haha…”

Averon took a chain with an insignia of a bird inside his inner pocket, and threw it towards him.

“This is…”

“The Emperor would know. Please hand that to him.”

He kept jumping up a few times.

“It really felt light now, my body… I guess this is goodbye, Athmus… Thank you for your service all this time, and forgive me for any inconvenience I’ve caused you.”

He stopped crying, and stepped up, with chest held high he gave a salute, with his knuckle slanted on his chest.

“I’m honoured to have been of service, General.”

“Likewise, Athmus. Send my regards to our Emperor and everyone. Tell him and them, I’m sorry…”

Hearing this, Athmus nodded while holding out his tears.

“May the Might of Our Creator be with you, General Averon Arcad, my leader.”

“May the Peace of Our Creator be with you, Athmus, my friend.”

With the farewell, he walked towards the entrance of the gorge. Several Growlers as big as horses came with their fangs hurled at him. Each was cut in half with a mere swing of his sword, even at a distance.

The lone knight walked up towards the mass of dust cloud, his sword on his shoulder…

Shrieks piercing the sky could be heard, and from the mass of dust cloud, giant crawlers appeared in the dozens. In the middle, even higher than the giant crawlers, was the bloody red Two-headed Demon Dragon, with black-red fire kept coming out from its mouth.

He walked towards them calmly, and surely…

FUUUUUUSSSSS------------------

Gust propelled the lone knight towards the final battle…

“Let’s go with a bang, partner. God is watching.”

He said so to his curved sword.

***