Encounter with Galahead
-Blood begets power and power begets blood.
So it was until the light was shown!
At the time of the rending, when the hearth vomited demonic beasts out of the bellies of hell, the First Pope and Founder of the Church was amongst the first expedition to explore the dungeon.
And amidst them all, Pope Arogan the first was the one who discovered magic, the magic at which the portals to hell operated and spawned demon beasts.
With the news of the first dungeon exploration a success, people soon began to desire the power of magic. To attain mastery over elements of the universe, one needed to kill demonic beasts to obtain the Mana Stones or crystals and then, ingest them by whatever means possible.
However, the temporary power that came with this did not last. Mana needed something strong, strong enough to bind it to the human body.
And so, a group of power-hungry traders, who would later be known as the Sorcerer Circle found a way of binding Mana. And that way, was by blood.
And the most binding blood of all was the human blood.
Blood sacrifice... A crude act that was soon accepted all around the planet.
No one questioned the barbaric acts so far as it helped create mana warriors capable of tanking the hits of the strongest demon beasts
Then, people no longer fought wars to win land, power, or whatnot... It was all for human blood.
Slave trades, blood bounties, blood tournaments, and the likes of every evil Abominable thing.
Everything revolved around blood so far you could use magic.
However, Most High Pope Aganoke 1 of most blessed memories sought better ways for humanity to live and yet use mana. And it paid off as he soon found that to bind Mana to one soul, one needed to have a powerful Will.
When the Highest Explorer, First Pope Aganoke, came with the news, he was branded as a heretic, a refusal of the new tide, as well as the people who believed in him.
But, His Lordship never was bothered.
While the Mana style of the Sorcerers required blood binding periodically, the Mana style of Pope Arogan and his followers who soon came to be known as The Church of Will, stood the test of time against demonic beasts waves as one no longer required to recharge Mana binding via blood.
With this advantage, The Church of Will came to prominence, waging successful crusades against the devil's portals -dungeons-, spreading Light and love and of course, vanquishing the Sorcerers.
And for decades strong, the Church of Will still spreads the light.
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Okay... I'm not going to lie.
The charisma of these guys is rather big. They seem so enthusiastic to fight...
Or rather die?
I mean, by the looks of it, those dark steel knights have better well-equipped armor than these knights by my side, charging out.
It seems rather silly to me. But, it's not like I can complain. My whole female body is exhausted and I feel like fainting every now and then as I'm jostled onwards.
Is this what it means to be a sickly lady?
Phew!
Now, we are in the open fields and the pungent smell of fresh blood is the first thing that hits my senses.
Oboy!
Silver steeled knights are all fallen on every side. Some of them appear to be dried up on the inside while some have charred skins and stuff that I can't even describe because it's so gory...
BWWAAARGGHH!
Yep... That's right!
I gasp because I just doubled on my knees and threw up like crazy.
Eew!
Damnit… The stench is unforgiving and bloody. Steel knights have bashes here and there. And some knights have their heads turned all the way to the back.
A m******e!
Rising from the ground, supported by the same knight who has a shield out, I observe the nature of the battleground.
And it's rather a very simple place.
In Front of the grey walled castle behind me is a blood-dyed green field that has the resentment of a battleground. A few trees spurt here and there, bordering the long cleared road that leads to the Castle Doors.
Away from the trees on either side are buildings built in different fashions and I will go mad if I commit the designs to my head for the sake of description.
Basically, it's all medieval style but some buildings seem to have signposts around them.
Signposts that probably identify each building but I am not interested. With this thought, I shifted my gaze further left, ignoring the clang and smash going on in front of me and the occasional shifting of my Knights Shield to counter whatever was coming our way.
"Wait... Is that a dragon?"
"Yes my Lady. It is the Dragon belonging to the Order of Titledom. Only you can command it now seeing that the Lord and his Lady, our mother, is slain." The Knight answers my question, as his circle-shaped shield swings to my face, a ricochet of something metallic sounding off.
The Shield is wooden at the back, a frame of an inscribed wooden '+' supporting the thin plated metal sheets in front.
To be honest, I've played enough Medieval Games to know shields like this are useless.
"Why are the knights under-equipped?" I groan as the Knight turns heel to the right, pulling me with a hand along.
As we run, I notice that the Silver Knights are kind of forming clusters around the path we are taking as they fight bravely against the handful of dark armored knights.
And David, donning a black cape that is crudely tied at his neck with an emblem that I cannot make out yet at the back ducks his shield here and there as his body slams with opponents while wielding a broken sword.
"My Lady, Titledom is but a small town, lacking many structures and of course finance, but what we lack in equipment, we make up for in spirits and skills."
Yeah, the typical excuse!
*KOFF **KOFF...
Gawd!
The dust is choking. And the screams of Silver steeled knights falling to death is not helping at all.
These Dark Knights...
Their armor is well defined with helmets having tiny visors, shoulder pads, breastplates, greaves, and everything an armor should contain.
But what is quite unsettling about them is the heavy swords they wield, engraved with something like runes?... It has to be runes and these runes shine whenever a skill is used.
And the most common type of skill used is Dark Arcing Sword Energy or Sword light that flashes here and in the distance, a Knight is neatly halved.
As if that is not enough, there is an unsettling red eye that seems to blink each time a silver-steeled knight gets a chance to test their swords on them, in the middle of a red pentagram right at the center of their chests.
The system identified them as Dark Knights led by a certain Sir Galahead who I definitely do not desire to meet.
I mean, if his men are this powerful, then what do I expect from Sir Galahead?
To think that he was once a Knight of Titledom.
I know, I should be leading the Knights to victory as the stupid system briefed but now, man, I just got in the game.
I can't afford to be killed in the first scene!
And being anywhere around these Knights is definitely game over.
Faster, you knight! I growl at my Knight handler in my mind. Not like I can actually talk right now.
I'm out of breath and my chest hurts painfully. And my legs feel like lead.
And...
Wait...
Speaking of which, this Knight of destiny game isn't VR stuff... You know, those equipment gamers wear on their body to play a virtual reality where they exist and can feel almost everything they feel in real life...
It's a pad game... At least, my Knight of destiny is a game I was going to play with a pad on my PlayStation...
So, how am I feeling all of this in real-time?
Everything is so real but this shouldn't be happening.
Gawd! This is confusing!
"ARRRH!" A sharp s****m bursts into my line of thoughts. And the owner of the s****m is none other than my Knight handler who is falling down beside me.
The source of his death, a heavy rune encrusted Lance that penetrated the shield into his chest, a clean aim that has the sharp point escaping from his back a bit.
Despite the fact that he has his own armor on?
If you think Knights are indestructible...You definitely haven't seen the chicken-like death of these Knights of Titledom.
Just then, the air heats up causing every hair on my body to tingle with nervousness as I look up mechanically.
That's when I see a heavy bolt of raging miasma hurtling down on me and...
BOOM!
"Argh.." I yelp in agony as my body tumbles over the fallen knights…
But this pain is not what I expected.
Rather, I see David with bent knees in my former position, a hand in front of him that wields a burning destroyed shield while a sword is in the other hand as he heaves, his frame visibly trembling.
David had knocked me off to the ground in an attempt to take the hit and shield me.
How sweet!
Oh, Come on, he's a guy... Are you Gay Sam?
"My Lady, You're safe now!" He says with his head turned to the left, facing me.
"I'm safe... But are you?"
Those words don't leave my mouth as David plummeted high into the air, leaving an almost lifeless body tumbling down helplessly.
I barely have time to watch when...
THUD! A pair of steel dark boots walk into the place
"Hello, Lady Samantha, you're the last piece of the puzzle I need for total control of Titledom." A thick gruff voice says but all I see due to my sprawled position on the ground is the greaves but I don't need an astrologer to tell me that the person talking is none other than Sir Galahead himself.
Oh... Curse my bad luck!