Chapter 53

The cathedral was almost packed to the brim. Residents from outside tried to look in from the stained glass windows of the cathedral. The only important figures in the cathedral were Rimuru, the ones being knighted, Artoria, and Shuna. There was no restriction on who could come in, It was on a first-come, first-serve basis. Anyone could witness it if they wanted to. 

There was some muttering among the crowd while they waited. One of them was Gabiru. He was among the general audience, accompanied by some of his men. He had to struggle a bit to get in, but he wanted to witness it. He wasn't part of the ones getting the honor of knighthood. Even though he was named by Artoria and tried his best to restore the honor, he wasn't chosen. Even though he and his team took down some megalodons during the Charybdis attack, that was hardly the last thing on his mind.

The only thing on his mind was what he felt witnessing the attack Artoria did on Charybdis. The emotions he felt when he saw that only further made him want to improve himself further. He wanted to feel worthy of being able to be in the presence of that light. He wasn't the only one feeling that way. Every single soldier that was on that battlefield felt the same thing. 

Gabiru could only watch from the sidelines as he saw Benimaru, Soeui, Hakurou, and Shion, all in formal and ceremonial clothing, standing in front of a display of Artoria. The cathedral had undergone a small renovation, to fit the occasion. 

In front of them was a statue of Artoria. Behind it was stained glass depicting her on a battlefield while riding on Dun Stallion. The rays of the sun hitting the glass made it look much more colorful while casting the colors of the stained glass on the floor. It was truly a magnificent display.

While everyone was muttering, the sound of armored footsteps sounded throughout the cathedral with an echo that instantly silenced everyone. Everyone's attention was immediately captured by the ones walking in. Artoria Pendragon.

Artoria walked in, looking completely different. Her cloak swayed as she walked, Her clown exhibited a small glow. The aura she was putting out was much more than they had seen from her before. They had usually seen her as relaxed and friendly to approach. Her…very healthy appetite was known to many, but no one in their right mind would say something about it to her face, less she misunderstand what they were trying to say. The only one who could get away with that would be Shuna. But now, things were different. Very different. 

She exuded an air of complete royalty, nobility, and of a warrior. Everyone rose from their seat immediately as they felt it was disrespectful to her, Benimaru, Souei, Hakurou, and Shion, stood up straighter than they thought possible. They presented themselves absolutely flawlessly. Anything less and it felt disrespectful. 

Following Artoria was Shuna. This didn't surprise anyone, since everyone already knew their relationship, but the ones who were close to her felt something different about her. She got stronger.

'When did my sister grow in strength like this? I know she's been training, but this sudden increase is…different.'. Benimaru thought to himself as he saw Shuna walk. 

As Artoria arrived in front of them, Shuna stood to the side, also presenting herself with elegance. Knowing what was going to happen soon, she also tried to be as respectful as possible, even if she got a little favoritism from Artoria. 

Artoria stood in the center, the light from the stained glass behind her painted her in an an even better light. She looked around at everyone in the cathedral until her sight landed on the four in front of her. They felt like they were under pressure. This only reinforced the idea that she was taking this very seriously. 

Artoria took Excalibur from its sheath and placed it in front of her, the blade pointing downwards, her hand on the pommel.

'Alright, its speech time. Yay.', Artoria thought to herself sarcastically. She would rather just say what she said to Shuna, but these people's expectations are a bit high after witnessing the atmosphere present. Artoria cleared her throat and commenced her speech.

"Everyone, we are gathered here today to bestow the honor of knighthood to Benimaru, Souei, Hakurou, and Shion. I stand before you with the power to make you stronger than you are, but you must realize that the power you gain here today will represent more than just personal strength. You will represent the values and oaths of a knight of Tempest and more personally, me. The oaths you will take today will serve as a framework and guide for how you should act. Remember that after today, you will have new responsibilities, but face them with your head held high. The people of our nation will look up to you, so remember who and what you fight for. You will find that it can get you through any situation on the battlefield. Now, come forth and kneel, so that you can undertake your oaths.".

Benimaru, Soeui, Hakurou, and Shion stepped forward in perfect unison and kneeled in front of Artoria. Artoria took Excalibur and went up to Benimaru first. Excalibur glowed with a yellow outline and the fairy letters lit up, just like what happened with Shuna. 

She put the flat part of the blade on Benimarus's shoulder. "Do you swear upon my blade to be loyal to your king and nation? To show courage on the battlefield and never leave someone behind, to be faithful to the religion of this nation, to always give your service to this nation, no matter what it may be. To always seek to improve yourself and be the best version of yourself? To bring justice to those who would harm our nation and its people?".

"I do.". Benimaru without any hesitation accepted. The same process happened to him.

"In the name of Artoria Pendragon, Excalibur, Avalon, and Rhongomyniad, I dub thee, knight.".

Benimaru stayed kneeling even as he heard the Voice of the World talk to him. [As a gift of being knighted by Artoria Pendragon, you have received the Unique Skill: Tsubame Gaeshi.] 

Knowledge of the skill filled Benimaru's mind, but even after seeing how strong it was, he stayed calm and composed. Artoria went to Soeui next, who also accepted the oaths and heard the Voice of the World

[As a gift of being knighted by Artoria Pendragon, you have received the Unique Skill: Delusional Illusion.] 

Artoria went to Hakurou next.

[As a gift of being knighted by Artoria Pendragon, you have received the Unique Skill: Lightless, Three-Stage Thrust.] 

And finally, Shion.

[As a gift of being knighted by Artoria Pendragon, you have received the Unique Skill: Vengeful Lightning of the Ox-King.] 

After successfully knighting them, Artoria went back and stood in front of them. 

"You may rise now, knights. May you bring honor to your name and may you be remembered throughout history. Know that you have my blessing from this point on as knights.". Artoria finalized her small speech and the cathedral erupted in cheers celebrating the new knight.

"Now everyone, let's enjoy the celebration and feast.". Artoria said while looking at the crowd, She spotted Gabiru in the crowd and focused on him for a split second before leaving.

Gabiru noticed it and his thoughts started wandering about. 'Is she trying to tell me something? She must be. This is probably a message saying that I'm still not ready and that I need to prove myself further. I'll do it! I'll prove myself!'

/\\//\\//\

'I still don't know about Gabiru. Eh, eventually. I just have some more important things to think about.'.

Artoria went back to her home in a bit of a small rush. Benimaru, Soeui, Hakurou, and Shion weren't the only ones who heard the Voice of the World. She also heard it and her mind was racing thinking about the skills they got.

She went to the kitchen and quickly poured herself some sweet tea before chugging it.

'What the hell is going on?'. Artoria went to the kitchen table and sat down on it so she could focus. 

'Ignoring the source of those skills and who they belong to, I guess it does make a bit of sense for them. I guess depending on the Noble Phantasm, it could be seen as a Unique Skill, but still. Oh that rhymed. FOCUS! Let me go over what I heard. Benimaru getting Tsubame Gaeshi and Hakurou getting Lightless, Three-Stage Thrust is something I can accept. There are very few people in this world who could learn a skill like that and Benimaru and Hakurou are part of the very few that could. Maybe that one guy from the Eastern Empire as well, but whatever. It makes sense, except that these 'Unique Skills' have some physics-breaking and causality shenanigans going on with them.'. 

'Then there's Souei. Him getting one of the Noble Phantasms of one of the Hassans makes total sense. He likes to use clones as part of his espionage and stuff. It can be argued what's better, his clones or the ability of Delusional Illusion to make 80 servants who are their own entity. I hope he doesn't develop a multi-personality disorder or something. I trust to him to be able to reign in all those servants he summons.'.

'There's also Shion. Minamoto-no-Raikou is an oni or at least part oni so that part makes some sense. Also the part where she would get a skill from a berzerker. Whatever, but Vengeful Lighting of the Ox-King is literally using power from Indra or Gozu Tennou. Something like that. That…How? That skill literally summons armaments of the Four Heavenly Kings. You know what, I'm not going to question it. That seems the most unreasonable and unlikely of the four.'

'And Finally, Shuna. She got more than the others. Those Extra Skills aren't so 'Extra'. They can be up to the level of a Unique Skill if properly utilized and trained with and that's not to mention Rule Breaker. She literally has an anti-magic skill on her. That is going to be so useful in so many ways. I should have Kaijin and Kurobe make armor for her. Something light. Maybe something like a magisteel weave. I'll talk to him later about it.'

Artoria sat there thinking until she sensed something approaching the town. 'Oh. Milim's back. Is it a coincidence that she returned as soon as we are having a festival and feast in the town? Maybe. But that means she's back with those souls. Alright, it's almost time to level up Rhongomyniad.'.