Part 2

Note: Godou still thinks that Hel is a guy. However for simplicity’s sake I will be referring to Hel as a girl from now on. Similarly, while Knite is of neutral gender, I will be referring to him as a male.

“So yeah… Oh hey would you look at that, a monster’s broken through. Better go kill it!”

Unable to stand the awkward atmosphere she had just created, Helena Bladerton, or Hel as she called herself, scampered away to intercept the groggy monster that had broken past the defenders on the wall.

However, by the time she reached it, it had already been shot down by Harris.

Having lost her purpose, Hel looked back at Godou only to see him chatting away with Inori.

A twitch of uneasiness developed in her chest. Almost akin to jealousy.

Well it would be too awkward to just go back right after running away…

Hel took a deep breath and calmed her state of mind, storing her emotions in a place to be channelled through later.

The reason for her jealousy wasn’t because of the sight of Godou getting intimate with Inori though.

Hel’s bond with Inori was not so fragile as to break because of some man after all. She also knew too well that the battlefield was no place for such petty emotions to control one’s self.

To put it plainly, Hel had just been envious of how easily they could talk to each other like that.

The atmosphere in the Kallamore Knight training centre was completely different from this sense of “freedom” she was experiencing right now.

The necessity of formality and displaying your respect for to your seniors and elders was something that was hammered deeply into all Kallamore Knights during their training. Trainees were to follow strict rules and routines that would help them develop self-efficiency and teach them the skills they needed as a knight. The atmosphere in the training was almost oppressive. The trainees had almost no control over what they could do.

However, this changed as soon as they became apprenticed to a Great Knight and graduated. After becoming a Novice Knight of Kallamore, they were no longer restrained by the strict rules and routines of their instructors. They were free! Or so they thought.

However, years of rigorous training developed into a habit and Hel found that life was no different from when she was still being trained. The only difference was that she no longer had a teacher to rely on or seek advice from.

Granted, her master was still in the same town as her but she could no longer depend on him to fix all the problems which she couldn’t solve herself like an ignorant apprentice.

There were 3 main phases of training for Kallamore Knights. The first phase involved trainees learning the basics of combat through drills and performing missions in platoons and squadrons. Technically, one would be considered a Kallamore Knight after finishing this part of training.

If a trainee managed to attract the attention of Great Knight of Kallamore, they could be offered a position as an apprentice to that Great Knight. Learning more advanced techniques and strategies from an experienced master, this was the second phase of their training.

Hel was currently at the third phase of training. Having been approved as a Kallamore Knight by her master, the only thing left for her to do was gain more experience herself. Thus, she was a Novice Kallamore Knight.

Although, she was now a Novice Knight of Kallamore who had the freedom to do what she wanted, she found herself severely lacking in any kind of self-confidence.

If a problem arises how would she be able to solve it? She could no longer rely on the wisdom and guidance of her master.

After discovering the identity of her master, the legendary dragonslayer Badas Sky, people tended to look at her with the same awe and admiration that should only be directed at her master. Those looks betrayed the expectations that they had for her. The expectations that she would be every bit as capable as her master.

But how could she ever do anything on the same level as her master?

What could she ever do to match up to the reputation of a Knight said to have slain a dragon?

If people looked at her for guidance and protection, what could she ever do?

She was neither experienced nor strong enough at the moment and yet countless civilians would be relying on her protection.

To be truthful, this newfound independence scared her.

To fight this fear, Hel had tried to imitate the awe inspiring manner and actions of her master. However, she was not him. Thus she was not able to hold the same charismatic presence as her master. (Admittedly, that might have been because she was unwilling to copy her master’s strange eccentricities)

She wasn’t that social of a person in the first place. And now that she was outside of the familiar constricting atmosphere of the Kallamore Knight training centre, she was completely unsure of how to interact with other people.

Even act of apologising and giving Godou her dagger had taken a lot of courage. In fact Hel almost would have preferred to be forced to fight an entire monster village empty handed.

Thus, she was jealous of Inori for being able to interact with people so easily.

She was envious of Godou’s easy going atmosphere that seemed to completely lack the stress and worries that she was facing.

Inori aside, Hel wanted to get to know the rest of her party better. However, she didn’t know how. Rather than rushing it, she had decided it get close to each person one by one. One step at a time.

The reason she chose Godou first was because she somehow felt that they could get along well. Although, he was a quiet guy who wasn’t lively and didn’t have a way with words, she somehow felt attracted to him

B But it wasn’t in a romantic sense or anything.

No, it was probably just the sense of wanting to be friends?

Right?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A loud explosion from the top of the wall broke Hel from her musing. Although explosions were not uncommon in a siege where mages were involved, this explosion was particularly loud. Accompanying the loud explosion were battle cries coming from the defending side.

“Kill him!”

“Focus fire!”

Hel suddenly had the impression that a horrifyingly oppressive presence was drawing near close by. What was going on?

There were a bunch of flashes coming from the other side of the wall. Whatever was casing the commotion seemed to be approaching.

Hel hesitated, part of her wanted to investigate while reason told her that she shouldn’t abandon her party in this sort of situation.

Chaos was erupting from the top of the wall. The yells and screams were becoming louder. Whatever was causing this commotion wasn’t normal. Was it a boss monster that caused this turmoil?

Hel turned and made eye contact with the most collected player present, Harris. Harris also seemed confused but shook his head when he noticed Hel’s glaze. Then he pointed to where Spade, Godou and Irori were standing.

So he wants just to regroup huh? Indeed, that might be for the best.

Hel started to make her way towards the rest of the group. Just as she started to move something fell from the top of the wall.

No, rather than falling it would be more accurate to say that it jumped from the top of the wall.

Despite the high drop, it landed lightly on the ground, completely defying the laws of physics. A monstrously powerful fighting spirit accompanied its arrival as well as a brilliant white radiance.

Hel unconsciously took a few steps back as she got a clear view of what had fallen.

A pile of bodies, monsters and men.

And a figure that exuded an overwhelming sense of presence.

Shining with light. Clutching an ominously burning scythe. An armoured warrior.

Spiked shoulder plates. Masked visage. A brilliant cloak of white.

About 2 metres tall, the warrior stood wrapped in robe-like armour which also appeared to be part of his body.

Fierce eyes shone brilliantly from the depths of the mask, burning with fighting spirit.

You have been affected by High Elements Pressure.

- You have been placed in a state of fear

- Fighting spirit has fallen

- All stats have been reduced by 60%

- Skills and spells are likely to fail

By merely making eye contact with the warrior, Hel could feel her body stiffen and freeze from terror. Even with the high fighting spirit of a Knight of Kallamore, this warrior was able to make her tremble by just being in its presence!

This is…

Just like the Peerless Dragon skill!

The only other time she had experienced such a situation had been when she witnessed her master’s battle with a dragon.

Back then she couldn’t even fathom how powerful the dragon was. However, she had grown since then.

Now she could tell.

This thing was much stronger than the dragon!

The warrior looked around and with a surprisingly enthusiastic voice it yelled:

“Found it!”

It was that yell that snapped Hel out of her trance. This warrior was insanely strong. It probably wouldn’t be incorrect to say that it was in a different league from her.

However, if she didn’t step up to stop it, who would? To cower in fear whilst a monster ravaged her town, this would be a stain on her honour which could never be removed!

“…………..!”

She opened her mouth to yell a battle cry, but no sound came out.

Frustrated, she stabbed her sword into the stone ground, the impact of the hit rebounding through her arm and snapping her out of her trance. Hel took a deep breath.

“Attack! If that gets past us then Tellap is doomed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

You have used Rallying Call.

- State of fear has been dispelled

- Stat debuffs have been reduced by 40%

A weak cry amid the suffocating pressure of the battlefield. There was silence. And then…

“That’s right get him!”

“Blast him!”

Hel’s rallying call was successful in rousing the fallen spirits of her fellow defenders. As others started their own rallying calls and launched their attacks at the warrior, the effects of his intimation slowing but surely weakened.

“Oh!”

The warrior seemed impressed by their efforts. Nevertheless, the combined attacks of all the defenders present didn’t even seem to faze him.

A barrage of ranged attacks, both magical and physical hurtled towards him. The warrior suddenly let out an explosion of light and created a shockwave, neutralising all of the attacks in one go.

Everyone present tensed, but no further attacks were thrown.

The warrior looked over at something as if torn.

Then, he turned around and approached the one who started the rally, her.

Hel tensed. Every fibre of her body was telling her to run away. To get away from this… this monster. But still she stood her ground. If the leader of the charge doesn’t set up a good example, what can you expect the men behind them to do?

The warrior seemed impressed by her foolhardy courage. He suddenly pointed his scythe at her and declared a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear.

“So such people still exist in the mortal world… Brave human, tell me your name.”

“When challenging someone to a duel, it is good etiquette to state your name first. Nevertheless, I will answer you. I am Hel Bladerton! A Knight of Kallamore!”

Desperately controlling her body from shaking, Hel did her best to appear strong.

Surprisingly the warrior did not seem angered by her response. Instead he laughed and said:

“How rude of me. I did not intend on challenging just you to a duel though. I, for one, am not fond of bullying the weak. Against one or against many it makes no difference. I came here to perform I task but I hope you all will be able to provide me a minor distraction before I go to complete that task!”

Rather than arrogance, the whole statement had been delivered as if the result of their fight would be set in stone. The sad thing was, Hel knew the warrior was right.

Continuing, the warrior declared his identity.

“I am Knite, Candidate for the position of the Elemental Lord of Light. Not counting the Elemental Lord of Light, I am the tied as the strongest Light Elemental currently in existence! And I challenge you all…”

The warrior, Knite made a sweeping motion with his hand, indicating everyone present.

“… to a duel!! Those who don't wish to participate can leave. However, if you get in my way, I will take care of you regardless!”

Knite suddenly ran at her, launched a horizontal sweeping slash. Fast!

But considering the amount of power he had displayed before, surely Knite would be more capable than this. Was he holding back his power to enjoy the fight more?

You have activated Blood Burn Release. For 1 second the following bonuses have been applied:

X2 Reaction Speed

+ 50% Movement Speed

+ 50% All other Movement Speed buffs

Due to the strain on your body, you have lost 300 Health.

Hel had no more time think as the scythe blade approached her, forcing throwing herself back she dodged the blade by a hairbreadth.

Dodging alone wouldn’t win the fight so Hel stomped the ground and her strongest attack. Her sword became engulfed with a harsh orange light as she countered with a heavy vertical strike.

“Impact Smasher!!!”

Clang! The sound of weapons colliding!

Although, she could activate skills silently, Hel’s master had always encouraged her to verbalise them. It made it easier to place spirit, to place aura into, he had said.

For normal humans, aura was controlled by emotions and emotions could be more easily expressed through sounds. Thus using sound with attacks had a higher change of enhancing them. Like “Kiai” of martial artists or the grunting of professional tennis players. Something along the lines of that.

Hel’s attack was blocked by the shaft of the scythe. Had a normal monster tried to block her attack in such a manner, they would have been stunned through the weight of her blow.

However, Knite was no ordinary monster.

Shifting his scythe around Knite swung and executed a counter attack of his own.

A swift diagonal slash from left shoulder to right hip!

An assassin type defender suddenly appeared in between them and leapt at Knite’s throat, dagger in hand. At the same time a warrior armed with a massive hammer leapt from above, intending to smash Knite’s head in with the hammer.

“Tch”

Knite was forced to change his attack from this two pronged assault. Altering the trajectory of his attack, Knite switched targets and slashed the assassin. Simultaneously, he used the opposite end of his scythe shaft to parry the warrior’s hammer and redirect it to the ground.

Whirling his scythe around, Knite cut the warrior as well.

A seal like pattern formed around both the assassin and the warrior. The equipment of both fighters showed no sides of damage from these attacks.

Knite returned his attention to Hel.

Hel tried to gauge Knite’s power from this short exchange. No good, Knite was holding back too much for her to get an estimate of his real abilities.

Just defending wasn’t something that you would call a duel so Hel initiated an attack of her own this time.

Making an offensive stance, Helraised her sword horizontally and launching a series of quick jabs at Knite. Initially, Knite deflected each of these strikes with the middle of his scythe shaft. After a few blows, he stopped blocking and simply dodged the attacks, calming advancing closer and closer.

Realising this, Hel did a feint and changed her attack pattern, mixing in all sorts of different attacks. Nevertheless, they all failed to hit Knite directly and soon he was able to easy dodge these as well.

Timing, reach, attack pattern. Within such a short period of time, Knite had completely deduced and memorised Hel’s capabilities.

Having learnt all he could about Hel, Knite suddenly when on the offensive. A horizontal swing from the right!

It was a wide swing and almost seemed as if he was testing what Hel could do. Nevertheless, it took everything Hel had to avoid the attack.

You have activated Blood Burn Release. For 1 second the following bonuses have been applied:

X2 Reaction Speed

+ 50% Movement Speed

+ 50% All other Movement Speed buffs

Due to the strain on your body, you have lost 900 Health.

The flicking white flame on the scythe blade scorched her slightly, damaging her visor which then partially obscuring her vision.

Crap! I can’t see.

Knite moved to deal the finishing blow but was stopped as Ice Wall spell cast by mages erupted between them.

Although, that wasn’t enough to stop Knite for more than a second, Hel was able to use that time to leap away from Knite, throwing her damaged helmet off as she did so.

Immediately afterwards, Knite destroyed the Ice Wall and was bombarded by a series of attacks from everyone present. Unable to dodge, Knite was struck by all these attacks.

From up close, Hel noticed that something strange was going on. It almost seemed as if Knite was being protected by a thin layer of light around his body.

Other melee fighters rushed to her aid and started to engage Knite but from the looks of it they wouldn’t stop him for long.

Hel took this moment to take a deep breath to reorganise herself, her fear forgotten in the thrill of battle.

A flash of light. A whirling blade. Within seconds Knite disabled the melee fighters who had rushed to engage him.

Hel noticed a white seal like pattern around the fallen fighters. She noticed similar patterns on the bodies that Knite had originally fallen down with. Why would you go through all the trouble of sealing corpses?

Unless… Knite hadn’t killed anyone and had just rendered them all unable to battle?

Hel shook her head clear of such thoughts. This was no time to be thinking about such things!

Not giving Knite a chance to relax, Hel decided it was time to enter the fray once again. She shifted her weight forward and focused mana to her feet. A charging type footstep technique!

Knite had spotted her hurtling towards him.

Anticipating her speed, he made horizontal slash from the side.

Using the longer reach of his scythe, Knite was aiming to cut her before she reached him!

But Hel had already predicted that he would do something like this. No matter how looked at it, her attack was like a reckless that was asking to be countered. In other words, it was a move that would bait out a counter attack.

Knite probably knew this as well but went along with it anyway. A warrior with complete confidence in his physical abilities.

But it was only because Knite was such a person that Hel dared to take a risk.

The most obvious thing she could do was to stop for a split second.

Wait for Knite’s attack to pass her.

And then continue on with the attack while Knite was exposed. However, considering the difference between their speeds, that sort of attack would lead to nothing but failure.

But, if you can’t match the defensive abilities of a dragon, then simply outdo it in offensive prowess! If you can’t beat Knite’s overall speed, then simply outdo him in instantaneous speed!

Hel stepped within Knite’s range of attack.

Time appeared to slow down.

Knite attacked. Scythe blade rapidly incoming!

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!”

Simultaneously releasing her aura and activating multiple buffs, Hel focused everything she had into increasing her speed.

You have released your Battle Aura

x 3 Movement speed

X 3 Damage Output

+ 50% Damage reductionYou have activated Warrior Frenzy.

+ 20% Strength

+ 25% Agility

+ 15% Fighting SpiritYou have activated Knight Charge.

+ 15% Movement Speed

+ Ability to accelerate to top speed has improved.

+ Charging attacks have a lower chance of being blockedYou have activated Step-in

+ 300% Movement Speed for a single step You have activated Fleeting Steps

+ 20% Agility

+ 15% Movement SpeedYou have activated Blood Burn Release. For 1 second the following bonuses have been applied:

X2 Reaction Speed

+ 50% Movement Speed

+ 50% All other Movement Speed buffs

Due to the strain on your body, you have lost 2700 Health.

Enveloped in her blazing orange aura, Hel ducked under the path of Knite’s attack.

Clang! The sound of blade scrapping on shield.

Even with all of her buffs, Hel wasn’t able to completely avoid Knite’s attack. Nevertheless, she managed to deflect it away from her body using her shield.

Chance!

Having mostly avoided Knite’s attack, Hel charged her sword with mana and transferred her aura to it. Time for a counter!

“Sword Wave!!!!”

Hel swung her sword in the upward stroke. A mass of power gathered around it…

A line shaped explosion erupted as her attack scored a direct hit against Knite.

Due to high speed, you attack has done 381% additional damage

Hel spun past Knite from the momentum of her charge, skidding to a stop after a few metres.

All this occurred in the span of a second.

Panting, Hel turned around to see what affect her attack had on Knite.

There had been no effect.

No way… To have such a high defence on top of his evasive capabilities…

Hel gritted her teeth, reading herself for another exchange. Her shield arm felt strangely numb.

Knite looked at her, but then looked away as if search for another opponent to fight.

Wait what are you…

Hel wanted to question him but words wouldn’t come out. Her vision started to blacken. She noticed a white seal like pattern on her shield arm.

Crap…

You have been affected by a Light Elemental Seal.

- Until the caster of this seal is no longer in the immediate area, you will lose consciousness

- Due to high curse resistance, the effect of this seal is slightly weakened

--------------

Word Count: ~4000 words

Posting this now because next month is my exam period.

Btw there are still 2 more parts of chapter 5 after this. Just imagine how long this chapter would have been if I posted this altogether. Godou was originally going to talk to Knite in this part. But the fight got too long so i cut it out and put in the the next part instead.

On side note, I added another spoiler/deleted part which I intend to rewrite to Chapter 5 Alternate Storyline

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