"So, how long have you guys worked for Gray?" Olivia asked curiously.
"Several years now." One of Gray's guards said, giving a small smile. "He took several of us in when we had nowhere else to go."
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked as she and the other guards walked through the hallway of Gray's castle. She was being escorted by three of them, two men and one woman. All of them wore simple chainmail and leather and had a shield strapped to their arm and either a spear, sword, or wand at their belt. They had been walking her around the castle for a while, and she knew they were going in circles, but she was following along since she still had to wait for Davi to get back from his talk with Gray.
The guard she had been speaking to rubbed his chin. "Well, as a kid I grew up hearing stories about how strong and epic the Arcane Knights were. I naturally wanted to be one. I took the exam, but I wasn't able to make it." The guard chuckled, and he reached into a pouch that was at his side. He pulled out a flute and placed it to his lips, gently blowing on it. "I have melody magic." He said after pulling it away. "I can only cast a spell while playing on this flute."
"Wait, but if you are playing the flute, how do you cast spells?" Olivia asked.
"I can't." The man said sheepishly. "That's sort of the issue. I'm basically magicless aside from the fact I can use mana to improve myself. Naturally, because of this weakness, I was unable to pass the exam and failed to become an Arcane Knight. That's when Gray approached me."
"Gray often comes to people who fail the exam." The female guard spoke up. "A lot of mages can stress and despair about taking the Knights exam. Typically, commoners or villagers do this the most. Unlike nobility, commoners and the poor have less mana and fewer connections, making it harder for them to pass the exam. They also don't have special or rare types of magic since those are specific bloodline-based, which only the elite of the kingdom have. The less mana a mage has, the easier it is for them to become corrupted and turn into a Magical Mutant, and most mages will go crazy trying to farm dungeons or other places to train after they fail, so Gray offers us jobs as a way to try and prevent this process from happening. He saw the core root of the problem and helped remove it!"
The third and final guard nodded his head eagerly. "Anytime someone fails the exam but catches Gray's eye, he offers them a job as his guards, which is what the three of us are. We're sort of like squires, I guess, but we don't have any of the perks Knights do. We get to follow him around on some missions and guard his castle. He also pays us super well, which helps ease the nerves and helps our families."
Olivia wanted to disagree with what the guards were saying, but she held her tongue. On paper, it sounded good, and certainly it was, giving jobs to these people in order to stop them from pushing themselves to the breaking point and becoming Mutants, but if Gray really wanted to help, wouldn't it make more sense to do so by training the mages who couldn't make it?
Giving them a job was good; it gave them income, but she was willing to bet there were plenty of people who wouldn't take Gray's offer. She knows she wouldn't. If she failed the exam, becoming a guard for a Knight would be seen as a failure to her, and she imagined a lot of other kids would have the same viewpoint and not want to settle for that. They'd still go off and enter those dungeons and push themselves too far in order to chase the goal of becoming an Arcane Knight.
Yes, Gray helped some of the people by giving them a place to stay, but those were only the people who were willing to give up on their dream and not become Knights. 'The core root of the problem' would be stopping the Knights that failed from entering the dungeons in the first place or helping them grow so they could later take the test. That's what she would do if she were in Gray's position. It might have been a childish and foolish way of thinking, but it was a way that would allow people not to give up and have other chances.
Of course, this was just how Olivia viewed it. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself and instead hummed. "That's interesting. He really does all that?"
"Yeah." The first guard, the one with the flute, nodded again. "He does."
"Lord Gray is just amazing like that." The female guard stated. "That's why it's our duty to protect what he owns."
"Yeah!" The third guard announced. "No matter what, we won't let anything happen to him—"
The windows along the wall exploded in a shower of glass, and a loud, thundering boom echoed out for miles. The entire castle shook, and the stone crumbled as from outside something massive came crashing down.
Olivia felt herself get slammed back by the shockwave, and she gasped as her head smacked into the wall. She saw stars for a moment, and she looked up to see a gigantic avalanche outside, made of pure scrap and stone, that was pouring down.
"W-what the hell?" She squeaked out. "What happened?"
Meanwhile, back outside where Davi and Gray were fighting, both men let out a loud yell as everything in Davi's vault came exploding out of his shadow, which had connected to the darkness of the castle, making it massive in scale.
Swords, axes, shields, bullets, guns, rockets, bits of armor, clothes, shoes, food, spears, cars, boats, planes, manga books, scrolls, TVs, fridges, bombs, piles of treasure, stacks of money, empty boxes, stone bricks, dead monsters, including the snake, and even an entire house, half a city block, an undetonated warhead, and so much more all came pouring out, exploding through the ground and blasting high into the air. A rain of swords dropped from the sky as gravity took hold, and massive bricks smashed down along with the tidal wave of cold darkness. An entire building dropped and shattered when it smashed into the ground, sending jagged shards of debris everywhere, and still more rose and fell. The bombs all exploded, causing more junk to go flying, and fire engulfed the air, roaring out before the shadow dropped on it and froze it over.
Both Gray and Davi were caught in the chaos of it all, bricks and blunt weapons slamming into their heads and arms, as the two of them began to get buried underneath a pile of rusted gear, which Davi had collected over the course of his many years of adventuring. Entire dungeons' worth of stone was shoved onto them as the vault spat everything it had out.
Gray's front yard looked like a brutal battlefield that might have once contained entire armies when it was all done.
There was enough destroyed debris to build an entire second castle, and all manner of swords and spears littered the field, impaled into the ground. Both Davi and Gray had been blasted away from the sheer tide of wood, stone, and metal that had poured out, and when it was finally over, the vault closed, leaving Davi panting on the ground, his vision blurring.
A thin layer of frost clung to everything, and as Davi panted, his breath came out like a mist, ice sticking to his skin. His already destroyed armor was basically gone now, and the clothes he had gotten from Gray were tattered and stained in his own blood. Scraps of twisted metal poked out of his flesh, and a jagged spike of wood impaled its way through his side, but other than that, he had gotten lucky since all the sharp objects dropped closer to Gray.
"Well…" Davi croaked out and numbly looked up at the sky. "There goes everything I owned." With a grunt, he managed to roll himself over onto his stomach. He winced as more metal pierced his flesh. The ground was made up entirely of destroyed swords, which cut into his palms as he pushed himself up. "Did Gray survive, or did I accidentally kill him?"
Davi turned and looked at the largest pile of debris, which had all been dropped on Gray. It was a literal hill of stone, built like a mountain. His scar throbbed a bit, and the traces of Gray's mana came from beneath the hill.
He had buried the man under an ocean of junk.
Unfortunately for Davi Hawker, he was fighting an Arcane Knight.
A deep rumble emerged, and cracks began to appear along the stone. Davi felt a fresh wave of shock hit him as the stone began to shake and something began to rip its way out of it. The pile of junk broke away, a fist smashing out of the top as Gray roared, and like a demon being born, he crawled to the top of the pile and stood up.
"What the hell did you do to my home!" Gray bellowed out.
He was donned head to toe in jagged rock armor that hummed with veins of magma all along it, smooth rock forming a sleek helmet adorned with curved horns, his cape being molded out of lava. Mana danced across his suit, looking like pure fire, and the Arcane Knight took a single thundering step forward, shaking the field.
Davi felt his face pale. This wasn't the first time he had seen Gray. He thought back to when he had been in Gladiolus and he had seen two Knights. One was a man in glasses, and the other had been in armor shaped like a bull. Just like Gray was wearing.
What were the chances he'd run into the man again? Unless it wasn't a coincidence at all. After all, Gray had been nearby and mentioned Daisy. Just how long had the Arcane Knight been watching and planning this fight for? Gray already admitted he had set up the ambush with the golems. Had Gray been there during Daisy?
From the beginning, he was destined to fight Gray since the moment he stepped out of that tavern in Gladiolus.
"You managed to make me bust my Knight armor out." Gray might have sounded impressed if not for the pure venom that danced out of his mouth. "And look what you did to my yard!" Lava blazed out of a pair of eyeholes that were in the helmet as Gray glared down at Davi.
"How did you not get knocked out from that?" Davi hissed, trying to stay standing. The air was thick with mana, which bubbled like the magma that clung to Gray. It was heavy, and Davi was getting hurt, feeling his skin burn just by being close to Gray. It was insane just how strong a real Arcane Knight was.
"I told you, I'm an Arcane Knight," Gray grunted. His fingers twitched into motion, recreating the motions for his spells, and he held his hand out. "Row Earth Mace!" A jagged rock formed out of the ground, shifting itself into his weapon, which he flung over his shoulder. "We aren't just normal mages. Haru's mana resides in us. This is the gift the king bestows upon us when we reach the rank of Knight; our stats are massively increased. I told you, there was only so much training a person could do. We Knights are evolved and well beyond the level of traditional mages. Don't feel bad, though." Gray sauntered toward Davi, each step shaking the ground. "You never stood a chance. It's over. You lose—"
Pain exploded through Gray's senses, and his eyes went wide. He stared down in shock as a spot of red formed across his side. A knife had lodged its way into him, somehow stabbing past his stone armor. That wasn't the worst part, though. His nerves stopped obeying him, and he felt his body freeze up.
"Leave my friend alone!" Olivia rammed herself into Gray's side as hard as she could and caused Gray to slip and fall back. As soon as he was down, she scrambled for Davi and stared down in shock. Davi was still conscious somehow, but he was in bad shape. "Davi!" She grabbed his arm and forced it over her and struggled to pick him up. Even without his sword or armor, he was heavy. Luckily, he had shown her how to enhance her body with mana, so she was able to move herself. "Let's go!"
"Olivia?" Davi croaked out. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What does it look like! I'm getting you out of here before that crazy guy kills you!" Olivia said with wide eyes as she dragged him across the field of swords. "I can't believe that there's a fake Stone Bull running around here!"
"Fake?"
"Yeah!" She nodded and continued to carry him. "That guy's a fake for sure! No way two Arcane Knights would have a brutal fight like this."
"Olivia… He's not a fake."
Olivia's eyes went wide, and she glanced back toward Gray, who was getting back up. "Really? So the Stone Bull is actually evil!"
"No."
"What?" Olivia grunted as Davi shoved her off of him. She collapsed to the ground and looked up at the man in shock. "Davi?"
She knew what was coming. She had known. It was hard not to tell the longer she was around Davi. Even after making an excuse for him, it was obvious. She had looked the other way, pretended to be dumb, and acted like she couldn't see through the act because of how much fun she had been having, but that was all over now.
Davi's lips were moving, and she knew the words before they even came out of his mouth. The words that ended it all.
"I'm not an Arcane Knight."
Olivia shook her head. "No. You helped my village. Davi, you're—"
"I lied!" Davi yelled, raising his voice. "I'm not really a Knight. I'm not part of a guild and never took the exam. I know almost nothing because I never bothered to study up on this stupid country, so I barely know what's what. I only kept you around because I was bored. I get lonely traveling on my own so much and just wanted someone to talk to." Olivia's red eyes met Davi's blue ones, and her body shook as she stared up at him in shock. "Go."
"But—"
"Go!" Davi kicked out and sent Olivia flying back. Once she was launched away, he turned back to Gray and ripped one of the many swords out of the ground. "Now. Where were we?"
Despite the venom, Gray managed to stand back up, his mana so pure and powerful it already cured such a weak debuff. His resistance stat was likely off the charts. "Why did you send her off like that?" Gray frowned. "Do you want her to hate you or something? You could have just told her you didn't know, like you did to me."
"Just shut up and fight me," Davi growled, and he adjusted the sword in his hands.
Gray grimly nodded. "Very well. You did pretty well to get this far, but in the end, you've only managed to hit me twice. Three times if we count that girl's attack. I hate to tell you, but the cuts aren't deep." Gray lifted his arms, showing the flesh that had been sliced into, as his rock armor unfolded. The cuts were shallow and already starting to heal. "I coated my entire body in a layer of mana. Mana is tied to physical health, so you must be running low after all the spells you cast and the beating you took. To honor how far you got, I'll end this fight here and now." Gray held his arm up and summoned another mace of stone as his armor formed back up. "The moment this armor formed around me, you lost."
"So what, who cares if you have armor? I can summon some too." Davi reforged his shadow armor, though it was cracked and dented, his mana struggling to hold it together.
Gray just shook his head. "Since you're about to lose, I'll let you in on a secret. Your armor and my armor are different. You created your armor out of your own mana. It serves as a way to protect you, but that's it. My armor, on the other hand, is proof that I am an Arcane Knight. This suit is crafted by Haru's mana, rather than my own, and allows me to tap into her ancient power. When an Arcane Knight busts their armor out, it means only one thing." Gray got ready to swing his mace. "We've decided it's time to achieve victory. Get ready, Mr. Davi! This is it!"
Davi let out a yell and charged forward, swinging his sword out as hard as he could. Gray used another spell and caused the ground to shake and rumble, launching the Knight forward as he also swung out his weapon.
The two came at each other, launching out everything they had, but at the last second, before their strikes could land, something slammed into the ground directly between them, stopping their exchange and canceling Davi's spell. A wave of bright light shone out, blinding both men and causing them to grunt.
"That's quite enough." A new voice interrupted.
Gray's eyes went wide as they adjusted to the light, and he gasped. "M-My Lady? Lady Tori?"
Davi grunted and rubbed the stinging feeling out of his eyes, and he looked up at the new person who had arrived. It was a woman in bulky silver armor. She carried a lance bigger than him, and her white cape flowed behind her with the symbol of a sun on it.
The Lance of Victory had arrived.
The woman ripped her lance out of the ground, rays of light twirling out of it. It was bright, and it glowed and flashed as an intense heat began to flow off of it. Her armor lit up, turning white hot, and the stone beneath her started to bubble and melt. She rested her lance on her shoulder and gave an annoyed look at Gray.
"I thought I made it clear at the last guild meeting, but I guess you decided to ignore me then." She pointed at Davi. "The second Ebony Knight, the pretender Arcane Knight, is mine to deal with, and mine alone!" The woman declared. "I put his name on our list so no one else could search him up on the web, and pictures of him would be deleted if anyone tried to look into him, yet here you are? Explain Stone Bull."
Gray let out a sheepish chuckle and shrugged. The main reason Davi had been able to avoid capture for so long was simply because, for whatever reason, the guild's up-and-coming had set her gaze upon him, declaring it her mission. Most other Knights weren't too keen on getting in the way of the Lance of Victory, especially since Lady Tori was connected to some seriously powerful people. "Sorry, but he just showed up here, and he's a criminal. I figured I had to capture him."
The woman shook her head. "No. I claimed this mission years ago!"
"I don't really care who I'm fighting; can we just get this over with?" Davi asked. The woman suddenly stopped, and her eyes narrowed as she turned to look back at Davi. "Are we going to fight or what?" Davi asked bluntly.
Gray looked a little shocked at the way Davi addressed the famous Knight. "Watch your tongue!" He growled. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"Nope." Davi pointed his claymore at the blonde woman. "I just want to get this over with."
A twisted smile broke out onto the woman's face. "You're just as I hoped you'd be."
"Huh?" Davi made a face. "Are you a pervert or something?"
"Don't call the Lady that!" Gray said in horror.
The woman let out a low chuckle, and she lifted her lance, and the tip of it touched the tip of Davi's own blade despite the fact she was several meters away. Her grin was sadistic, and her eyes were shining with a joyous light. "My name is Lady Tori of House Estiria. I challenge you, Knight of Ebony, to a duel. Do you accept?"
Gray let out a low sigh and placed his hammer down. He folded his arms and looked away. He knew exactly how this was about to end.
Davi frowned and kept staring into the woman's eyes. "Sure—"
"Vil Light Beam."
A golden beam blasted out of Tori's finger and tore through Davi's stomach, making him gasp. It was a thin wound, but in a flash, a dozen more followed, riddling him full of holes and going past his armor. Davi collapsed onto his back in a puddle of red, and Gray just shook his head as Tori looked shocked.
"Why didn't he dodge or block?" The woman asked, stunned. "He just let them hit him? Is this part of a secret skill or power he has? Can he absorb damage? Oh! I bet he has a healing factor, right?"
"That attack was light speed; even I couldn't dodge it." Gray responded flatly. "My Lady, he might look like the Ebony Knight, but I assure you he isn't. It's simply a weird coincidence that another shadow magic user decided to forge armor that looked like that."
"Seriously?" Tori scowled, and she began to stalk forward. She loomed over the downed man and let out a soft growl. "Do you have any idea how long I spent chasing you, and you're not even half as good as the real deal?" She stopped when she saw that Davi was no longer conscious. His eyes had finally rolled into the back of his head. "Die." Coldly, Tori stabbed her lance out directly toward Davi.
"Row Blood Beam!"
Tori lifted her lance up, easily blocking the blood beam that was launched her way, and her already sour mood grew worse. Blood magic? Someone with blood magic actually had the gall to attack her? In front of Davi, someone stood. A girl with reddish-brown hair and bright red eyes who had her arms out, ready to use herself as a shield to keep the downed man safe.
"There are two of them?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow. Tori then shrugged. "Oh well, she's probably a Mutant anyway; I'll just get them both." She raised her lance up.
"W- We surrender."
Tori stopped her weapon, halting. "You give up?"
"Yeah," Olivia stated, not backing down. She barely processed the fact that this was basically her idol. "You're an Arcane Knight, right? Well, we give up. Take us to jail."
Tori remained standing there, and then she laughed. "So that's how it is." Tori struck out and lightly flicked Olivia on the forehead. It wasn't an attack, but her fingers were laced in mana, and in an instant, Olivia's eyes slammed shut, and she collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. "Stone Bull." Tori barked out.
"Yes, My Lady?" Gray asked, totally lost as to what was happening.
"Arrest them."
"Both of them?"
"Yes." Tori turned away. "Both of them."