Chapter 24 : Knight

"It's over?"

The guild members, who had been hiding far away, stared at the scene by the lake, but the distance was too great to see clearly. All they noticed was a flash of bright light, followed by the lake being torn apart into a massive gap hundreds of meters long.

The overwhelming magical fluctuations began to dissipate, and everyone felt the winner had already been decided.

"Who won?"

"Knight won!"

A harpy's wings spread wide as she flew up high to get a better view. From the distance, it was clear Knight was still standing.

Everyone was in shock. Did Knight win?

"Is Erza alright?"

"Nate's magical power isn't as strong as Erza's, but he still won?"

"Magic power doesn't always determine the outcome of a fight. Anything can happen in battle."

"But the scale of their fight was incredible… They changed the terrain!"

By the lake.

Erza lay on the ground, her Black Feather Armor shattered, leaving only her black undergarments. The pain in her body was secondary to her frustration. She had been careless—and that had cost her the match.

She had actually lost to… photo magic? A wave of regret washed over her. She wished she could challenge Knight again—there was so much stronger armor she hadn't even used.

"Are you alright, senpai?"

Knight's face suddenly blocked the glaring sunlight, breaking into her vision.

"For the last time, don't call me 'senpai,' call me Erza," she muttered for the third time, a golden light flashing around her as she changed back into her default armor. Without armor, she always felt exposed.

Trying to sit up, she winced as pain shot through her abdomen, biting her lip to suppress it.

"You shouldn't move," Knight said as he reached out and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you."

Erza attempted to take a step but nearly collapsed again from the sharp pain. Knight quickly caught her, his mind racing. He had been too rough.

But it had been necessary—he had to hit hard enough to break her Black Feather Armor, or he couldn't have won.

Wait… Black Feather Armor? Was she going to ask him to pay for the damage?

"Sorry," Erza said, interrupting his thoughts, "Could you carry me to the infirmary?"

Knight hesitated only briefly. "Alright, but you can't ask me to pay for the armor."

"Pay for it?" Erza looked confused. "Why would I ask you to do that? I proposed the spar, and the armor damaged in the fight is my responsibility."

Knight couldn't help but admire her practicality and carried her on his back. As they moved, he felt the sharp, hard edges of her armor bump against him. So sturdy, in more ways than one, he thought.

Back at the guild infirmary, Knight gently placed Erza on a bed.

"Thank you for carrying me back."

"You're welcome. I hurt you, so it's the least I could do." Knight pulled out a small silver ring and placed it on the cabinet next to her bed. "As an apology, here's a magic ring for you."

"A magic prop for connecting to the Internet…" Erza's curiosity was piqued. She had seen guild members wearing them before.

Just then, Mirajane entered the room with a medical kit.

"Erza, your arm is swollen!" she exclaimed, noticing the redness and swelling along Erza's right arm where her armor hadn't protected her. Opening her medical kit, she added, "You two really went all out for a sparring match."

"Thanks, Mira," Erza said, smiling gratefully.

Mirajane smiled warmly. "Take off your armor first…" She glanced at Knight and teased, "Knight, are you sticking around to watch? Erza has a great physique."

Knight, smiling but a bit flustered, quickly left the infirmary.

Returning to the guild's tavern, Knight sat at a table, opened his laptop, and resumed writing code. The fight with Erza was just a brief interruption, nothing more.

The tavern was buzzing with chatter about the battle.

"Knight!"

Knight looked up to see Natsu running towards him, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Who won, you or Erza?"

"Knight won, Natsu," Happy interjected. "You were knocked out in one punch earlier. When you were unconscious, Knight had already won."

"Damn it, I missed it!"

Natsu's fists clenched, flames dancing around them as he shouted, "Let's spar, Knight!"

Knight sighed. How am I supposed to get any work done around here? The guild was always too lively.

Back at the infirmary, Mirajane was finishing up tending to Erza, now wrapped in bandages.

"You're really beat up. Knight didn't hold back."

"Don't blame him. I was the one who asked for the fight. In a situation like that, he had to give it his all to win."

Erza, ever the warrior, defended Knight even while lying injured on the bed. Only her left hand was mobile under the layers of bandages.

"You need to rest, Erza. It'll take at least a week for these wounds to heal."

"I know. Thanks, Mira. Go ahead and get back to your duties."

Once Mirajane left, Erza lay still, staring at the ceiling for a long while. Eventually, her thoughts turned to the silver ring on the table.

"Magic that can change the world of magic…"

She reached for the ring and slipped it onto her finger.

A digital interface appeared before her:

[Welcome to the world of the Internet.]

[Please enter your Internet nickname.]

[Nickname cannot be changed, so choose wisely.]

[Nickname: ______]

Erza stared at the prompt, lost in thought. No magical power… No magical text… How does it work?

"This is incredible magic," she murmured, entering her nickname.

Fairy Queen.

Wait, no—that was too embarrassing. She quickly deleted it and re-entered a new nickname:

Knight.

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