Volume 1 Chapter 32
Before Jeane could elaborate on her plan, Bayard dashed towards the doorway where he crossed swords with someone. The two of them were in a deadlock when the man shouted at the footman
“Lady Iona has shown us the light. We will serve her in return for immortality! Long live Lady Iona!”
Dreu watched Bayard sidestep the man causing the belligerent to lose his balance. Then, the footman beheaded the man without hesitation.
“He’s wearing a knight’s armor,” commented Gaenor.
“There are others!” shouted Bayard. “Don’t let your guard down! We'll make our stand here!”
As soon as he retrieved his ax and shield, Dreu peeked out a window to see a dozen or so knights approaching the shrine. What leaped out to him was their lack of shields. The footmen all gripped their swords with two hands as though they were wielding longswords.
“We’re surrounded!” shouted someone behind him.
Gripping his ax tighter, Dreu took several deep breaths. He then spotted one knight trying to crawl inside through a window and aimed for the man’s head. Having taken Bayard’s lessons to heart, he didn’t use the blade of the ax and instead used the hammer bit. The knight went limp after the first strike but Dreu landed a few more hits to the head for good measure. By then, a few knights had gotten inside due to the group’s inability to cover all the windows. They all turned to face Dreu.
“To kill a follower of Lady Iona is a sin!” shouted the knight closest to Dreu.
Dreu tossed his ax which hit the knight right in the face. While his opponent was stunned, the young man unsheathed his new blade and beheaded the knight. As he readied himself against his next opponent, Dreu made a mental note of how easily it was to cut through everything. He then had to engage the next opponent who had taken the initiative in charging at him first.
So many openings.
After sparring with Bayard, Dreu realized how lousy the knights were when it came to their swings. The swings focused heavily on power but the knights ended up with poor stances and more openings. Dreu easily sidestepped the knight and ended the man’s life. Even though the young man knew he should feel terrible for killing other human beings, he felt that, due to self-defense, he was justified in taking the lives of others. He had a taste of being helpless against his opponents and there was something incredible about controlling his fate with his own hands. Before he could admire his newfound power further, two more knights dashed towards him with their swords drawn.
“Wind’s Blessing!”
Dreu felt his feet grow light as a feather. After a hop or two to adjust to the change, he abandoned his shield and easily dashed past the two knights. During his dash, he positioned his blade in the path of one of the knights slicing the man cleanly in half. Before the other knight could register what happened, Dreu had already beheaded the man. Following the kill, a red mist formed at the tip of the blade. Yet, the young man had no time to ponder on it as three knights charged straight at Jeane. Using his new speed, Dreu easily intercepted two of the knights, killing them easily.
“Improved armor,” said Jeane.
The cleric simply pivoted so her shoulder pads took the hit from the knight’s sword. While the knight was focused on Jeane, Dreu slayed the man and stood between the cleric and the knights.
Is there no end to their numbers?
"Are you okay, Jeane?"
"I'm fine! Just focus on the battle!"
Dreu continued fighting the knights and eventually noted the location of others in the shrine. He didn’t know how but Gaenor was standing on a platform at a high elevation where she picked off the knights with impunity. Sadon and Bayard were fighting back to back near the doorway where most of the enemy knights were gathered. Meanwhile, Jeane was just casting buffs and heals where needed. The young man, after realizing how easily his blade sliced through the knights, focused on evading attacks and going for the kill. The combat made him appreciate the shield a lot more. The knights wielded swords but their lack of a shield made them very weak on the defense. A shield might not give the knights a fighting chance against him but they would make it a lot harder for him to evade their attacks. Bayard’s shield bash was the first thing that came to mind.
“Lady Iona!” chanted the knights in unison. “Give us strength to crush these heretics!”
All of the knights took out a crystal the size of a walnut and the men proceeded to break them. Just as darkness swirled around them, beams of light shone from the altar and hit every single man disintegrating them upon contact. By the time the light dissipated, the adventurers, Dreu and Bayard remained in the shrine. The corpses of the numerous knights scattered across the shrine also turned to dust until there were no signs of them. Only their equipment remained from the battle.
“What happened?” asked Sadon once everyone gathered at the altar.
“Those knights sealed their fight once they tried to absorb the dark powers within those crystals.” Bayard gestured to the symbols carved into the front of the altar. “I suspect the knights were merely mind controlled so they didn’t trigger the powers within the altar. As soon as they possessed something that originated from the underworld or hell, the defensive mechanisms on the altar triggered.”
“How powerful is the deity of this shrine?” asked Jeane.
“I could be biased but I believe the goddess of this shrine is stronger than Xemir himself.”
As if in response to Bayard’s words, the altar shone brightly. Then, the light suddenly engulfed the entire room with Dreu struggling to make out the others.
“Fascinating! I didn’t expect to see a successor to the emperor class.”
A silhouette of a being appeared in the light before the young man. The voice was very soothing, stopping Dreu from reaching for his sheathed blade.
“Are you…”
“I’m Xyheia. Nice to meet you!”