13 - Second Moon

"YOU!!!" A guard's scream pierced the chaos, his hand heavy on Van's shoulder.

"Ah, y-yeah?" Van responded, a veneer of calm masking his confusion as he turned to face the guard.

"Run with me!" Urgency laced the guard's command.

Without hesitation, Van fell into step beside him.

"Where are we going to?" Van inquired, his voice steady despite the turmoil around them.

"I don't know who you are or why you're here...!! Normally, I'd take you in for questioning, but as you can see, this is a crisis, and we're short on guards!! Since you're all the way up here, someone must've let you through, right!!? Nevermind!! I don't care if you're a murderer or a thief, help us now, and I might consider letting you off the hook, even if you're a criminal!! GOT ME!!?" The guard's words rushed out in a desperate plea.

"Right..." Van replied, his mind racing as he assessed the situation.

Glancing up at the looming dragon, he pondered, 'A dragon, huh...? I guess they'd want to take that thing down. Would it work on it...'

"What's your name, royal knight?" Van queried.

"Mine...!?!? You shall address me as Sir Hicks! I require you to man the cannons and—" Sir Hicks began, but Van interrupted him with a stern tone.

"Sir Hicks," Van interjected, causing the guard to turn around abruptly, confusion etched on his features.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!? THE DRAGON'S ABOUT TO USE HIS FIRE ROAR AND NO ONE'S ARRIVED YET TO STOP HIM!!! EVEN THE ELITE KNIGHTS WILL TAKE A MINUTE OR TWO TO BE HERE!!! HURRY UP OR WE'LL ALL BE BURNED TO CINDERS—" Sir Hicks's frantic words were cut short by Van's intensity, the dragon looming ominously in the background, preparing its fiery breath.

"SIR HICKS," Van's voice commanded attention, freezing the guard in his tracks.

"Seeing as you prioritize the capital's safety... Can you keep a secret if it ensures this threat is handled?" Van's tone remained calm yet resolute.

"HUH!!? IF YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION TO SAVE THIS CITY, EVEN IF YOU'RE UNDER THE SHEETS WITH HER MAJESTY, I SHALL TAKE IT TO THE GRAVE!!" Sir Hicks bellowed, his loyalty unwavering.

'Good...' Van thought to himself with a sigh of relief as he drew his greatsword—a massive blade that cast a shadow beneath the moonlight, obscuring the guard's view entirely.

"SIR HICKS!!" Five more guards rushed over, their voices urgent and tense.

"Who is that guy...!!? WE NEED TO MAN THE CANNONS!! THE WYVERN RIDERS ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT IN TIME!!!" one shouted, his eyes wide with urgency.

Hicks watched Van stride away, the greatsword twirling effortlessly in his grasp. He turned to his men, his voice firm. "Men... whatever you are about to witness, keep it to yourselves. That's an order," he commanded.

The guards simply nodded in silent agreement.

'When we battled Alicia over sixteen years ago, her powers were largely sealed to match Magus's, due to his Passive: The Blessing of The Goddess,' Van recalled, reflecting on the past conflict.

'Yet, when I went to propose to her in the Demon Realm, she absolutely destroyed me with her strength at its prime. Without Magus around, she was unstoppable... I never really fought a Goddess before, but if I would call anyone a Goddess just for their strength, it would be Alicia."

'The brutal ways in which Alicia killed me... It has transformed my muscles, condensing them beyond anything I could have ever imagined...' he mused, his eyes scanning his own form and the greatsword he wielded.

'Holding this sword now feels like grasping air,' he thought, feeling its weightlessness as he faced the dragon, observing the ominous crimson glow intensifying in its throat. 'My Strength Stat, along with my Vigor and Resistance, now all exceed 999... I achieved this milestone about a year ago,' he noted as he crouched, gathering energy in his legs for the impending leap.

"What's he doing!!!? Is he going to jump!!?" a guard exclaimed, his voice a mix of disbelief and fear.

"THAT'S SUICIDAL!!!! THE DRAGON IS OVER 2,000 METERS ABOVE US, AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY!!! HE'LL HAVE TO CLOSE A DISTANCE OF OVER 8 KILOMETERS IN A SINGLE LEAP!!!!" another guard added, panic rising in his voice.

"WE'RE DOOMED!!!! I'VE ALSO NEVER SEEN A DRAGON THIS BIG BEFORE!!!" another chimed in, his voice cracking under the stress.

The guards ducked, covering their heads in anticipation of disaster.

All but Sir Hicks, who stood firm, watching intently as sweat streamed down his face.

'I think I'm far enough from the guards... Hopefully,' Van thought to himself.

"Sorry for the damage..!!!" he called out as he launched himself into the air.

A supersonic boom shattered the commotion, sending guards, rubble, and cannons flying backward.

As the dust settled, the guards rose, bewildered and confused, only to see the armor-clad figure already over half the distance in the air, rapidly closing the distance to the dragon looming above the city.

"What... Strength...!!" Sir Hicks murmured in awe, while the others simply stared, speechless, holding their breath at the spectacle unfolding before them.

Time seemed to stretch into eternity for Van as he soared through the air, coming face to face with the dragon just as it unleashed its devastating roar.

[Frozen Synapse Soundtrack #01 - Welcome to Markov Geist]

'I never received another active skill since after we transmigrated and got our initial skills. The only one who enjoyed that privilege was Magus... I only had that seemingly useless Hard Swing throughout our time in this other world, while he got a variety of skills that made him utterly broken,' he reflected with a mix of resignation and bitterness.

The stark contrast between his solitary skill and Magus's arsenal highlighted the uneven fates they'd been dealt in this strange realm.

'At first, I thought there was even no point to my Active Skill [Hard Swing]. Since I also had a passive that does the same thing...' Van mused, gripping his greatsword tightly as he prepared for a vertical swing.

"THE DRAGON BEGAN ITS ROAR..!!!! WE'RE ALL DEAD!!!" a guard's voice pierced through the air, thick with despair.

'But apparently... If I use the active skill despite that...' Van pondered, his fingers tightening around the sword's handle.

'...Then it becomes a REALLY Hard Swing...' he concluded, just as the dragon's flames licked his helmet.

"Active Skill: [Hard Swing]," Van announced calmly, his voice cutting through the chaos as he swung his sword with all his might.

In that instant, Sir Hicks' eyes widened as he witnessed the unimaginable spectacle—the colossal dragon, caught in the full force of Van's strike, was cleaved in two. A thunderous sound, like dozens of thunders colliding simultaneously, echoed across the capital as the two halves of the dragon were hurled just outside the city walls by the sheer force of Van's blow.

The guards stared in stunned silence, their faces a tapestry of awe and disbelief. As they watched, the reality of their miraculous salvation unfolded before their eyes. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though a second moon had appeared in the sky—a brilliant, ephemeral glow emanating from where Van hovered, his greatsword tracing a perfect, full circle.