14 - Castle Wall

"He... He cut... Th-the... Dragon... In Two!" a guard stammered, his legs failing him.

"Who is that!? Is that our King's Hand, Sir Nickelson!?"

"D-DON'T BE FOOLISH!! EVEN SIR NICKELSON...!! IS NOWHERE NEAR THAT STRONG...!"

"A... A God...!?" another guard murmured in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Sir Hicks stood in silent awe, watching as Van skillfully flipped his sword midair.

'At this height and from this distance, I'm invisible to them. I might as well be an ant next to that dragon... I've never seen a dragon this massive; even Alicia's bone dragon seems like a dwarf by comparison... Where did this beast come from...? Is this the work of The Dragon King?' Van pondered, positioning his greatsword for a horizontal swing using the flat side.

'Well, either way... If I swing like this... It should generate enough momentum to propel me back to the walls. The landing, though, that's going to be the tricky part.'

Van braced himself for the maneuver.

"Here we..."

"..GOO!!" he shouted, executing the swing. Another supersonic boom split the night air as Van rocketed towards the wall where the five guards were stationed.

He collided with the wall below them, the stone absorbing the impact. Van landed sprawled inside the wall's structure, lying on a cracked wooden floor. A lone torch flickered nearby, casting light over his immediate surroundings, while the hole his body had created in the wall allowed light from outside to stream in, illuminating his prone figure with beams of moonlight.

"Ahhh..." Van groaned, feeling the aftershocks of his rough landing.

'I'm inside the walls now... right below the highest point... Tsch, this is going to sting in the morning...'

As Van struggled to his feet, the five guards who had been stationed above him hurried down the stairs, stopping three steps above where Van, covered in dust, was regaining his stance.

'Not a single drop of blood... Not on him, nor on his sword...' Sir Hicks observed quietly as he scrutinized Van.

'That means... What killed the dragon... Was the sheer force generated by his greatsword...? RIDICULOUS...!! SUCH RIDICULOUS STRENGTH... Could it truly be a God who stands before us...?' Sir Hicks pondered, his thoughts racing as they all watched in silence.

Van patted the dust off his armor, standing tall amidst their quiet awe.

"Sir Hicks," Van began, causing Hicks to startle slightly in the tense silence.

"Regarding our deal. You remember it?" Van said as he turned to face Sir Hicks, who stood at the forefront of the five guards.

"...Hah. People are going to have questions about how this happened, and if we know anything. Given the magnitude of this event, even His Majesty the King and the royal family will demand answers. This is, after all, an unprecedented event in our capital," Sir Hicks responded.

Van growled softly, his frustration simmering just beneath the surface.

"But..." Sir Hicks continued, stepping forward towards Van with a resolved expression.

"I made a promise and gave you my word as a member of the Royal Guard. As I have sworn, I will take the knowledge of your involvement in this incident to my grave, as will my subordinates." He said with a smile.

'Odd. Is it because he's afraid of me that he's saying this? With my Untrusted passive in effect, there is no reason or way for him to trust me this much. He will spill, eventually.'

"May I inquire your name?" Sir Hicks asked, extending a handshake.

"…It's Van Hellix."

'Well, better they spill it as "Van, the guy who killed the dragon" and not someone else's name. It's not like I plan to hang around for long, so there's that.'

"I see. Van… Hellix… VAN… HELLIX… Van… Hellix…" Sir Hicks repeated, his gaze lifting as he seemed to search his memory.

"Where have I heard that name…? I swear it stands right on the edge of my throat…"

"Well. Hope you remember it. See you," Van said, then he leaped from the city walls, plummeting straight down into the city below.

"A-ah!!" Hicks exclaimed, reaching out too late to stop Van's bold departure.

"…Did he just… Jump..?" Another guard asked in disbelief.

"Well, it's not like he's going to die from this... I just hope he doesn't hit anyone on his way down..."

"Should we go after him, sir?" another guard suggested.

"No. You lot and myself, we are now bound by an oath. An oath is something you keep wholeheartedly until you die, or it is nullified by the party to whom you've sworn it. No matter how suspicious that individual was, you do not pursue him, as that might only escalate the situation for him," he instructed the five guards.

"Now, follow me. We need to calm everyone down... And align our stories," he said, leading them away from the walls.

"Besides… It's not as if you could stop him even if you tried…" he added, a hint of resignation in his voice as they moved to address the chaos.