Chapter 11 - Overrule

[Gah-!] (?)

[Infiltration, successful.] (Zero)

I knocked out a Royal Knight as I said that.

*KURIIIII*

[Glasses? I guess Ace started his attack as well. I better hurry and finish these guys up and meet up with everyone else.] (Zero)

About the current situation...

The Zephyrine Kingdom has about 20,000 Royal Knights at its disposal.

12,000 knights are stationed inside the Capital City, the heart of the Kingdom.

The remaining 8000 are scattered across the country to guard and monitor the entire Kingdom's territory.

Because of General Lawrence, the knights inside the city are now split into two separate armies.

He has deployed around 8,300 Royal Knights to confront the king's forces of 3,500 Royal Knights with 1000 Mercenary Warriors.

The battle sounds unfavorable at first, but they should be more than enough.

The king's goal is not to wipe out his enemies.

I've explained the possibility of the Royal Knights blindly following the general's orders.

I've proposed two out of many possible reasons why most of the Royal Knights are on Lawrence's side.

One being false promises about riches and pleasure and two being Lawrence blaming the king for his atrocious actions.

Knowing the original series, it's probably the latter.

That bastard, Lawrence, is a skilled actor despite his appearance.

Directly below him are the Kingdom's Seven Royal Captains.

Three of them, are traitors. Namely:

Sir Nostro Gaddi;

Sir Dred Jenkins and of course;

Sir Bernard Marshall.

Two are on the king's side:

Sir Hans Zorway and;

Sir Eliot Duskett.

The other two are:

Sir Iscaro Sandeev and;

Sir Wesley Haegon.

King Tyreon only fully trusted Sir Hans and Sir Eliot, so they were kept in the dark.

As a result, both of them were deceived by General Lawrence's masterful act.

However, without the general to manipulate the minds of his forces during the battle, King Tyreon will have the chance to obtain moral high ground and win his Royal Knights back over to his side.

Almost all of them were innocent, anyway.

The three of us currently inside the Royal Palace. There about two hundred knights or so left inside to guard the place.

The king sent half of Calypso's forces to help us with the infiltration.

As far as I remember, all of the couple hundred knights inside the Palace are red-handed regarding the heinous crimes I've mentioned before.

Most of them are probably indulging themselves at the underground prison.

I've sent our Calypso buddies towards the prison, instructing them to kill the enemies if needed.

Our party has nearly neutralized every knight on the surface. Only a few of them are left.

Right now...

Three Royal Knights were in front of me, hesitating to commence their strikes.

[Furtive Dash.] (Zero)

Surprised with my sudden disappearance, I hit their necks with the hilt of my sword and rendered them unconscious.

We really got stronger, huh?

I heard that these guys are Platinum to Diamond level.

But even normal intuitive attacks work on them.

...

Breeze?

As I was running through the hallways, I suddenly felt a slight blow of air...

Wind Magic.

[It must be Iris' {Gust} or {Breeze Blow}. But I wonder what she used it for...?] (Zero)

We immobilized as many Knights as we can since we got here.

The main course of the plan was for Ace to assassinate the General while Iris and I clean up the rest of them.

Of course, we were prepared to encounter Captains.

We split up to finish the job faster, but I guess I should meet up with her soon.

I'm pretty much done over here.

I ran towards the source of the wind.

...

[N-No! L-Let me go! Help!] (Iris)

I was happy to see her again...

But my expression began to crumble when I saw her pinned down by someone.

The guy was breathing really heavily, clearly ready to violate Iris' body while looking at her with those lustful eyes.

Mixed feeling of fear, anger, animosity and anxiety suddenly surged throughout my body.

My vision darkened...

*SHOOOOON*

In a blink of an eye, I grabbed the guy's head and slammed it into the floor as hard as I can.

*KABOOOOG*

The concrete that made the floor was gouged out by the force.

[Z-Zero...? Zero...?] (Iris)

She was in tears...

She was violently shaking...

[G-Gu...-] (Bernard)

[You're utterly disgusting you piece of shit... I hope you're ready for the consequences of your actions... You... You just tried to hurt Iris, didn't you...? I see... That means you're prepared to die...] (Zero)

I let go of him as I took Iris away at some distance.

[Zero!] (Iris)

The girl embraced me while tears were flowing down across her pink cheeks.

She buried her face against my chest as her body trembled in fear.

[It's okay, Iris. I'm here now. It's gonna be alright. I'm sorry for leaving you alone.] (Zero)

She shakes her head.

[Now that you're here, I feel safe. Thank you...] (Iris)

[Don't worry. I won't let anyone harm you. Stay back, I'll finish this soon.] (Zero)

[B-But, he's strong. You might-] (Iris)

[It's alright. Believe in me.] (Zero)

[B-Be careful... okay...?] (Iris)

[Yeah.] (Zero)

The man slowly lifted his head out of the ground...

Of course, it was the scum, Bernard...

My eyes were bloodshot-red, or at least, that's how they felt whenever I look at this pile of human garbage.

[Hmm...? Zero Hashura, huh? You... How dare spoil my fun? I'm surprised you manage land a hit on m-!] (Bernard)

[Die, trash.] (Zero)

I streaked towards his direction and punched his face without a second thought.

His body got blown away by the force.

Not long after he fell, he stood up again.

[Ho... A Speed type, huh? This will be fun.] (Bernard)

He's pretty tough.

I drew my sword as soon as he drew his.

[Lady Iris, we'll continue after I kill this guy, okay?] (Bernard)

I glanced at her.

She's shaking in fear.

I... won't forgive this guy...

Should the circumstances been the same as the original series, she wouldn't have to go through such horrible experience...

I see...

Once again, it's my fault...

[Iris, get out of here! Find Ace and help him!] (Zero)

[But-!] (Iris)

[Just go!] (Zero)

I yelled.

It must've startled her.

I turned my back to look at her.

She was extremely hesitant to leave me.

I just smiled.

I smiled like everything was gonna be alright.

While trying to hold herself back from crying, Iris nodded at me and ran away.

[Don't worry, Lady Iris! I'll find you later!]

[I'll kill you...] (Zero)

[I'd like to see you try.] (Bernard)

We dashed at each other and our swords collided.

The sound of metals striking each other permeated throughout the Royal Palace's long and wide hallways.

-Scene-Change-

NARRATOR POV

Meanwhile at Panya Plains.

[Alright! Gather them up!] (Yanzo)

It was a very beautiful sunset.

A number of loyal knights, Adventurers, and Mercenary Warriors were rounding up the enemy Royal Knights.

Why is this?

Wasn't there going to be a war between them and the Royal Army controlled by General Lawrence?

As it turns out, the battle was already concluded.

Although outnumbered, Zero's strategy worked like a charm.

They successfully slew Sir Nostro and captured the other two Royal Captains.

Without anyone leading them, the Royal Knights naturally surrendered.

Khandor Turio, the Captain of the Mercenary Corporation of Zephyrine, was arguing with Sir Wesley Haegon, who was tied up.

Beside him was Sir Iscaro, who was also tied up.

[Give it up, Sir Wesley.] (Khandor)

[Let us go! It is our duty as the Kingdom's Royal Knights to end our king's evil reign!]

[Ha?! What in the world are you talking about?] (Khandor)

[Forcing the General to abuse us every day... Working us and every citizen to the limit for his own gain... I can't let someone like that to rule the Kingdom and command me! How dare you and your mercenaries side with him?!] (Wesley)

Khandor looked at Wesley like he was talking to a retard.

[Whatever. He must be dead by now, anyway. I'm sure the general has taken his head after sending us here.] (Wesley)

[...] (Iscaro)

Suddenly, a man came rushing towards Wesley.

[Yooouuu Bastaaard!] (Eliot)

*PAAAK*

[Kah-!] (Wesley)

[How dare talk like that about his Majesty?! You don't even know anything! I am ashamed of you and everyone here!] (Eliot)

[S-Sir Eliot-..?] (Wesley)

Wesley received a punch from Eliot.

He couldn't bear to hear what Wesley said, knowing that his Majesty was a wise and merciful ruler.

[You're narrow-minded as always, Sir Wesley. As a fellow Captain, I can't help but feel disappointment.] (Hans)

Sir Hans followed.

[Stop it, you two.] (Tyreon)

King Tyreon, accompanied by Eliot and Hans, finally makes his appearance.

The opposing Royal Knights began to make noises. They were surprised by his presence at the front lines.

[H-How is the king here...? Wasn't he at the Palace...?] (Wesley)

[Fool. You should've realized as soon as you saw me.] (Eliot)

King Tyreon stood straight, overseeing the Royal Knights who were sitting on grass without their weapons.

He took a deep breathe before speaking...

[My Knights, I don't know what Lawrence has told you about me or promised you upon joining his side, but I beg of you; stop this pointless war now. I do not wish for any more deaths among my men.] (Tyreon)

Hearing this, the Royal Knights murmured in confusion.

...

King Tyreon, Karmen and Khandor explained the whole situation.

The Royal Knights were flabbergasted.

They were suddenly filled with guilt and shame.

They couldn't believe it.

They were actually deceived by their abusive general...

It was an easy persuasion by Karmen Dixey.

If what she's saying is the truth, it's a hundred percent sure that the ones who hear it would believe her.

After coming to a favorable conclusion, the Royal Knights knelt.

[We apologize greatly for this unspeakable insolence, your Majesty!] (Wesley)

[Forgive us, your Majesty!] (Royal Knights)

The Captains and Knights prostrated themselves in front of the king as they apologized in unison.

The sound of their apology was like thunder.

King Tyreon smiled in relief.

"It was just as he said." He thought.

[Worry not, everyone. We must suppress Lawrence and his followers. I shall punish them for their unforgivable acts. After this is over, we shall make the Zephyrine Kingdom a better place once more!] (Tyreon)

[OOOHHHH!] (Royal Army)

The knights roared with valor.

After hearing the King's words of encouragement, the knights began to prepare for another battle.

Now, it's against the general and his minions.

More than twelve thousand against a few hundred.

The united army of Royal Knights marched back towards the Capital City.

-Scene-Change-

ZERO'S POV

I can't underestimate this guy.

He proved himself to be a strong Knight even in the original series.

He gave Ace and Harvey a hard time who were both at the pinnacle of Mithril Rank, fighting the two of them at the same time.

...

After our swords met each other, I stepped back and shifted my stance.

At the same time, he dashed towards me while pointing his blade in my direction.

I tried to slice his neck but he crouched and dodged it.

He lunged his sword towards my chest.

I stepped aside to dodge it but it was too fast.

It stabbed my left arm instead.

[G-!] (Zero)

[Ta~ke~th~at. Bastard!] (Bernard)

After that, he kicked my stomach and my body got knocked to the side.

Damn it... How careless of me...

Tch.

I can't lose to this smiling maniac with raping tendencies.

Without giving me a chance to recover, he jumped towards my body and tried to slice it with his sword.

I saw it coming and I managed to parry his strike while lying down.

[Oi. Not giving up, huh?] (Bernard)

He stepped on my stomach with his right foot.

[Guha-!] (Zero)

[A-hahaha! Where's your confidence now, you lowly trash?] (Bernard)

I won't let you hurt me without any payback, bastard!

I grabbed his right leg with my wounded left arm with a lot of force.

He lost his balance and fell on his back.

I immediately went on top of him.

I jumped slightly to gain momentum, then I elbowed his face.

[Kah-! Gaaa! You bastard!] (Bernard)

He punched me right in the nose to knock me back.

Ugh...

That was one hell of a dog fight for our first bout.

Whilst taking his sword, Bernard stoop up once more.

His face was bleeding and so was mine.

We both recomposed ourselves and prepared our weapons.

We ran towards each other at full speed.

...

The two of us finally entered our battle trance.

Not feeling any pain from our previous injuries, we slashed each other with our swords.

We attacked each other from left to right.

One of us overwhelms the other from time to time but neither of us seemed to go down.

It was an equal battle.

[{Paradoxalis}!] (Bernard)

[{Execute}!] (Zero)

He struck my side.

I struck his head.

He sliced my arm.

I sliced his leg.

We exchanged blows continuously until we were on verge of collapsing.

His endurance can be compared to Ace.

Though his strikes aren't as strong, he lands more.

Let's not forget; this guy intends to kill me and harm Iris.

I must etch those things at the back of my mind.

...

My breathing was sluggish...

So this is what a fight to the death between two Orichalcum warriors is like.

[Slice... and Dice!] (Zero)

I streaked towards his left shoulder and managed to slice it.

But...

[Guh-! Heh! There you are!] (Bernard)

He grabbed my shirt and slammed my body on the ground.

[Ah-!] (Zero)

[My shoulder for yours, bastard! {Piercing Terror}!] (Bernard)

*CHKKK*

[G-!!] (Zero)

Knowing that I can't move my left shoulder to avoid the attack, his sword stabbed through my skin.

Shit. The pain was exceptionally high...

It must be this Skill's property...

The blade was covered in black miasma...

It must be a Dark type Enchantment...

Ah, this sucks... It hurts so bad...

I grabbed the blade with my hand.

My palm bled as I forced his sword out of my shoulder...

{Furtive Dash}... I thought.

Just by thinking about it, I disappeared in front him and swung my sword.

*SHIIIIING*

He slightly parried it.

His sword grazed my neck and my sword slit his cheek.

The recoil of that sudden attack separated us a few meters away from each other...

...

Coughing and panting, I fixed my posture with difficulty.

[It's about time we finish this fight...] (Zero)

[Exactly... I'll kill you... and your comrades and take everything... Hahahaha!]

His face is completely smashed like mine.

His body is full of wounds as well.

[Shut your damn mouth, scum...] (Zero)

Both of us are at our limit.

Our breathing was heavy and our eyes might close any time.

Seems like this battle will be concluded soon.

Our bodies can only take so much before we collapse entirely...

The atmosphere suddenly became heavier as we glared at each other for one last time.

...

[I'll finish this now! Foxtrot... Slash!] (Bernard)

[That's my line! Moonlight... Blade!] (Zero)

Our sudden attacks lit up the hallway.

The aura that his move emitted was orange while mine was black.

I can only imagine him as Goku.

It fits well with his blonde hair, too.

Foxtrot Slash, a powerful Physical Skill that simultaneously makes the wielder disappear from sight while moving onward to attack the enemy with at least three lethal strikes. Number of strikes increases with level.

Moonlight Blade, an exceptional Physical Skill that gathers the power of the moonlight to strike the enemy with a cursed slash without fail. (Optimal damage during a full moon)

The rubbles on the ground rose up as we dashed at each other.

[Haaaa!!! Die!] (Bernard)

[Oraaaa!!! Eat this!] (Zero)

*SHRIIIIIING*

The sound of our swords clashing can be heard even from afar. The shock from the collision of our moves created a powerful gust of wind.

The tension gradually weakened as the powers we emitted slowly faded from sight.

...

*KUSHIIIK*

[Gah-!] (Zero)

My body was suddenly covered in wounds. His strikes with {Foxtrot Slash} tore my clothes and flesh apart.

Five wounds...

They were significantly deep...

My knees weakened as blood started gushing out from different parts of my body...

Shit...

[Gehehe. It's my win, Zero Hashura. I shall gladly take your head.] (Bernard)

I feel weak.

I might lose consciousness anytime.

This guy... he's strong... but...

I slowly lifted my head and faced him.

I intently focused my eyes towards his approaching figure.

Suddenly...

[Bu-!] (Bernard)

Blood suddenly emerged from his mouth.

[Bastard... what did you- Kaa-!] (Bernard)

His face immediately changed its expression as he spat a great amount of blood.

Incidentally, a black slash-mark that extended from his torso to his stomach appeared and cut him open.

[Heh... You're not the only one that used a powerful Skill.] (Zero)

I said as I smiled.

{Moonlight Blade} managed to get a clean hit...

...

Victory is mine.

I did it...

...

I managed to protect what I want to protect...

...

[I-Impossible... For someone like you to defeat me... My life mustn't end here... M-My ambitions... My goals... I'll kill you... and take everything from you!] (Bernard)

He continued spouting his nonsense as his body slowly descended towards the ground.

[Tch. Naïve... I told you to be prepared for the consequences, right?] (Zero)

[Grrr... You lowly peasant... DIE!!! Gh-!!!] (Bernard)

...

I stabbed his heart...

...

I've done it now...

...

I killed... somebody...

A person...

A human being...

He slowly gathered the remains of his breath as his chin landed on my shoulder.

[M-Mur...derer...-...] (Bernard)

[I... I regret... nothing...] (Zero)

And with that, Sir Bernard Marshall's breath gradually fades as his life ended by my hands.

I fell on my knees and slightly panicked.

The shock of killing a person...

I thought I could handle it... but I still feel... guilt... and despair...

My knees felt extremely weak.

This is bad... My consciousness... I'm falling to the ground...

[Z-Zero! Are you okay...?] (Iris)

Iris...?

Iris-?!

What is she doing here...?

I told her to help Ace...

I wanted to ask her...

She catches my falling body...

Ugh.

She probably saw me kill that guy...

I need to apologize...

[Let me treat your injuries...] (Iris)

[Iris... I-I'm sorry... You had to witness something like that...] (Zero)

She shakes her head.

[You protected me, and I feel grateful for that. In fact, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I know you instructed me to find and help Ace... but... but I just couldn't help but worry about you... so I went back... I'm sorry...] (Iris)

Tears started to form from her eyes.

[I'm glad... I'm really glad I came back for you...] (Iris)

She embraced me.

She held me in her arms.

I don't want her to let go...

I want her by my side...

It hurts...

Not the pain in my body... but the pain in my heart...

[Thank you...] (Iris)

I'm not asking for any compensation...

I just wanted to protect you.

All these things that I'm doing for you...

I desire nothing in exchange...

I'm just doing what I think I should...

[Recovery... Restoration...] (Iris)

The physical pain that I feel gradually subsided as my wounds started to heal.

My Mana and energy started to fill up again, and my strength is slowly coming back...

[Thank you... Iris... You saved my life once again...] (Zero)

[It's only natural, dummy. What kind of comrade would I be if I can't do this much?] (Iris)

Her face was gleaming brightly...

She's like an angel...

...

[Besides, Zero... Even if it's only been about a month since we've known each other, you've opened up to me... and told me a lot of things about you... You even risked your life for me, and protected me...] (Iris)

Stop...

Stop saying these things...

[That's why right now... you're very, very precious to me...] (Iris)

...

Tears involuntarily leaked from my eyes.

She smiled at me as she uttered those words.

This is too unfair...

Stop making my heart race...

Stop making me want to hold you...

Stop making me want to make you mine...

Stop making me fall in love with you...