The location was dark. It was difficult even to see one's hand even if it was placed before one's eye.
Up above, the place the moon should have been was completely shrouded by dark clouds that rumbled every so often. However, even this rumbling couldn't mask the heavy breathing that pervaded the atmosphere.
At that moment, a group of men and women ran with everything they had. But, their speed was slow. Whether it was because of the disadvantageous terrain or the fact they were at the end of their ropes, both were reasons.
The group of 30 or so wore bits of torn linen covered in dirt and mud. It was impossible for fugitives to appear in the Border Region. The only explanation was that these few consciously chose to discard their armor.
At that moment, one of them suddenly stumbled and fell..
An older man snapped his head around, reaching beneath the arms of the fallen knight and pulling him up.
He was the only one who stopped. It wasn't that the others were callous, but rather that they were under expressed orders not to.
An eerie laughter caused the blood of the group to run cold. They dug deep, pulling all the reserve strength they had left to power forward.
The forest they ran in could hardly be called as such. It looked as though a blazing fire had charred everything to ash. Let alone having canopies of greenery, the various trees didn't even have branches, they were made entirely of blackened and battered trunks.
It was one of the roots of these godforsaken trees that had tripped the young knight.
It was quite hilarious. Even as the young knight held back tears, unable to take his eyes off of the commanding officer who had come back to save him, he too found the humor in this situation.
He, a dignified Three Star Official Knight, had been beaten and battered to the point of tripping and falling. Not only that, but he had actually fractured his ankle and couldn't even walk on his own anymore.
"Captain, just leave me."
"Shut up, kid. You know how many sacks of potatoes twice your size I've carried in my life to reach my current strength? You're as light as a feather. Don't look down on a Grand Knight, rookie."
The young knight was speechless. In the end, he could only chuckle and shake his head.
The eerie laughter only grew with each passing moment. And, despite the blustering of the Captain, he was falling further and further behind the group ahead of him.
At that moment, the Captain felt a sharp wind assaulting his back. With his years of trained reflexes, he didn't even need to think before he jumped to the side. He had already reached a state of his mind and actions being as one.
At this point, the Captain knew that it was useless to keep running.
With a SHIIING, he unsheathed his long sword, setting down the young knight that hung next to his hip.
"Keep running kid. I'll hold these bastards back."
The young knight clenched his teeth.
Run? He probably could. If he used his Force to reinforce his ankle, he could probably last another half hour. Such a skill was something he had learned as a mere Apprentice Knight. The only reason the older knight hadn't allowed him to do so was because their Force was already running low. If used on such a technique, his likelihood of surviving would plummet with each passing moment.
But, he was completely unwilling.
"We'll do it together, Captain."
The young knight grit his teeth, his Internal Strength blooming and shielding the fracture in his foot. He pulled out his own sword, standing tall.
The Captain wanted to say something more, but the sharp wind of another arrow came forth.
He stepped forward, his long sword arching beneath the night air. It became the only source of light in the darkness, drawing the arc of a beautiful crescent moon.
The Captain stumbled backward, his wrist quaking beneath the pressure. His expression couldn't help but change, how could an arrow have so much strength behind it? Just what was happening?
At that moment, a shadow slid out from the darkness. Even though it was just a few steps away from the pair, it was difficult to see it even now.
However, after a moment, the Captain quivered.
He didn't know who it was, nor did he need to know. All he needed was his years of experience to tell just how powerful the existence before him was.
The young knight felt his heart seize.
"Kid, I'm going to go all out. When I engage him, turn back and run as fast as you can. Don't stay here for some meaningless sacrifice."
The old knight stepped forward. The means of a knight truly weren't few. Amongst them, there were even techniques that could be used to overdraw one's potential. It was precisely such a technique that the Captain was planning on using now.
He didn't give the young knight a chance to respond. His aura blazed, his arm bulging with muscles and wildly pulsing veins.
In one motion, he hooked a hand behind the young knight, took a half spin, and sent him flying into the distance.
Though he had been just blustering before, that didn't mean his words didn't have a kernel of truth to them. As? a One Star Grand Knight, throwing 200 pounds a few dozen meters away wasn't a problem at all.
However, what happened next left the Captain stunned.
The young knight should have been sent into the distance. But, just as he was passing between two trees, and before he could even pick up any true momentum, he rammed into something.
"Hey Captain… Your aim needs a little help…"
A light, awkward cough sounded. The trouble was that the old knight didn't recognize the voice at all.
At first, he shuddered. Was there another enemy he hadn't noticed? In this darkness, it truly was too difficult to see. But, even then, shouldn't he have sensed an aura?
Anyone who could utilize Force had Internal Sight. It was a prerequisite. However, the Internal Sight of a knight was destined to be weaker than that of a mage.
That said, as a Grand Knight, how could the Internal Sight of this captain be so weak to the point of missing someone just meters from him? That was impossible… Unless…
This foe was just that much stronger than him?!
The captain felt a cold chill. He was already ready to die, but the direction he had thrown the young knight in was the direction the others had fled. Didn't that mean that this monstrous individual had already eliminated them all? And in that case, what was the point of his sacrifice?
However, just when he was despairing, words that shocked him were spoken.
At that moment, the eerie laughter had come to a full stop. The shadow looked toward the voice that had caught the young knight as well for one simple reason… it too hadn't sensed another person until now.
The sound of soft footsteps sounded as a young man vaguely came into view.
"To think all these Light Elemental luminescence arts would actually come in handy…"
The voice muttered to himself, his words completely lost beneath the rumbling of the dark clouds above.
"#62 Demon Lord Maugrier, is it? Come taste my spear."
Leonel grinned, the whites of his teeth shimmering beneath the night sky.