The Silver Knight did not draw his spear. Instead, he drew his sword and rushed at Yujin.
The spear strapped to his back looked ordinary—not the absurdly long pike Buldrokkas‘tee wielded, but a standard weapon seen anywhere. A spear with a sharp point, capable of both thrusting and slashing.
Watching the Silver Knight charge with sword drawn, Yujin took a step forward. His perception accelerated, his thoughts racing. In a world turned monochrome, he was the only one who could think and move freely.
Buldrokk had called this power "foresight." Theresis had called it "unreasonably perfect."
But it was neither. What Yujin utilized wasn't foresight or perfection.
It was insight into his opponent, finding the optimal path within the given situation.
It mimicked seeing the future, but it couldn't make the impossible possible. It was simply doing the absolute best within the limits of his ability and the circumstances.
His body, feeling lighter than ever, sped up. Blood flow and muscle response accelerated, and light bloomed along his blade. It became another edge, advancing to cut down the knight.
This wasn't an opponent he could gauge and counter.
Arts, thinned and extended, became visible on the blade. Holding a sword compressed to its limit, Yujin charged.
A moment an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to react to.
Clack.
To Yujin, it was a perfect strike. But to the Silver Knight, it seemed otherwise.
From drawing his sword to parrying Yujin‘s strike took only a single second.
Golden light blossoming on the knight's blade deflected Yujin‘s sword. Yujin‘s eyes widened as his weapon was effortlessly batted away.
Overpowered and thrown back mid-air, Yujin spun his body. He switched from a two-handed grip to one, launching a flurry of strikes to deny the knight any opening as he resisted the momentum.
BOOM!
But the Silver Knight dismissed the barrage with a single kick.
"Ugh, gah!"
Yujin groaned as a boot slammed into his stomach, sending him tumbling. He barely managed to control the recoil, driving his sword into the rampart to stop his roll.
A simple parry, and a kick with leg strength that seemed to rival Buldrokk‘s.
The Silver Knight tilted his head, as if yielding the first move had been a courtesy to a junior. Then, with a light hop, he charged at Yujin with impossible speed.
'No way...!'
The ground shattered. The knight‘s thrust carried the force of a storm. Yujin blocked the concentrated point of impact with his sword and was sent rolling across the rampart again.
An exchange that lasted less than ten seconds.
The knight could have followed up, but instead, he looked down at Yujin. Yujin met his gaze and stood up once more.
Just two clashes. With those two strikes, Yujin understood the opponent's level. But he couldn't give up. This was a duel. The honorable duel the boy had wished for was happening right here, atop this wall.
So Yujin smiled. As if he were enjoying this situation immensely. Seeing Yujin‘s smile, the Silver Knight, whose face was hidden by a helmet, laughed as well.
"Come."
"Here I go."
On a rampart unknown to anyone, the duel between two knights began.
2.
Since the duel began, Yujin felt only one emotion.
Astonishment.
From a frame similar to Yujin‘s, absurd power poured forth. And the leg strength when kicking off the ground?
Moreover, the knight used standard swordsmanship, seemingly devoid of special techniques. Textbook moves. Yet, Yujin was being overwhelmed by them.
But Yujin, who could stretch a fleeting moment into an eternity, could see it. The weight of the step crushing the earth, the force of the sword branching out like a tree. The perfection. The way the knight executed textbook swordsmanship so flawlessly it was terrifying.
No, "executed" wasn't the right word. It was as if these moves had belonged to him from the very beginning. Seeing such perfect, functional movement, Yujin let out a hollow laugh.
Platinum and gold clashed violently. A momentary exchange aimed at the throat. There were no gaps between movements.
Clang, CLANG! Clang!
Steel shrieked against steel, sparks flying. Yujin barely maintained his balance as he parried the knight‘s strikes.
Yujin‘s eyes moved rapidly.
His joy came from copying others' techniques. He could see most moves once and decipher them, using his accelerated thought process to mimic feats that should have been impossible.
The mirror-like performance he had shown before stemmed from this ability.
But he couldn't copy this knight‘s swordsmanship.
Even with his heightened senses and accelerated thought, the movements were too complex to follow. Even if he forced himself to mimic the forms, he was certain he couldn't produce anything close to what the knight was doing.
It was a certainty.
'Why does this knight remind me of...'
One person came to mind. An opponent Yujin could never defeat, even if he poured everything he had into the fight.
The Nachzehrer King, Netsalem.
The pinnacle of a race, one of the strongest Sarkaz. Looking at this knight, Yujin remembered his Master.
Perfect swordsmanship executed with a superhuman body. Recalling the feelings he had when facing his Master, Yujin took a step back.
It might have looked like a retreat out of fear, but the reality was different. To do his absolute best, Yujin raised his sword.
Kazdel Military Forms. A swordsmanship with no grand name, consisting only of simple forms. Every form of that style unfolded like a net.
Simple. Cut more, stab more in a short time. Sword strikes carrying that premise rained down on the Silver Knight.
Pouring everything he had into the attack, ignoring the throbbing pain in one arm, Yujin smiled. Can you break through even this?
Amidst the barrage of slashes, the knight laughed.
As if he couldn't contain his joy in this moment, he sheathed his sword.
"What...?"
Yujin frowned, staring at the knight.
Whoosh!
Until he heard the sound of wind being sliced behind his back.
He saw the Silver Knight, who had sheathed his sword and drawn his spear. From drawing the spear to thrusting it, Yujin hadn't seen the sequence of actions.
As if time had been cut out of that moment. A spearmanship he couldn't see even with accelerated thought.
The lattice of sword strikes collapsed. The platinum light shattered into fragments, replaced by an overwhelming golden radiance.
Then came the sound of tearing air. A massive storm battered his eardrums, flinging Yujin‘s body away.
That beautiful spearmanship he hadn't seen.
This time, Yujin widened his eyes, determined not to miss it.
Gold lingered on the spear. The Silver Knight moved simply within an action that was hard to react to.
Fast. Too fast. Yujin couldn't see the spear.
From legs to hips, hips to torso, torso to arms. A storm dwelled at the tip of the spear, channeled by the full power of the body.
Seeing the rotating spear fly toward him, Yujin raised his sword. Instinctively knowing that if he didn't block it, he would die.
The coiled Arts were unleashed, shooting out in a straight line of light. He managed to block it with his sword, but Yujin‘s body couldn't withstand the recoil and was launched into the air.
He flew over the rampart. Smashing through a watchtower, shattering the ground. As he flew, Yujin looked at the sky. The spear thrust the knight had first unleashed had pierced through the clouds above the wall, creating a beautiful spectacle.
As the knight receded from his vision, Yujin slammed into the wall.
"A knight is a noble being who illuminates the world."
The knight, who had followed him, looked down at Yujin. Having landed lightly, the Silver Knight gazed at him with unseen eyes.
"So, will you give up?"
Blood flowed from his body. His arms, having tried to block an unblockable strike, had burst veins and were dripping blood. Yet, Yujin stood up again, facing the knight.
"…It's not over yet."
Even if the opponent seemed like an insurmountable wall, he couldn't give up.
He could still move. The duel wasn't over. He still had techniques left to use.
Yujin steadied his swaying body and stood. The knight held his spear, watching Yujin without taking a stance.
Clad in a silver cloak, running across the earth. Recalling a memory that had become a distant past, the Silver Knight looked at Yujin.
"…If I had known I'd find someone like you at the very end."
Under a foggy sky, atop a ruined watchtower and shattered rampart, Yujin raised his sword.
Two stars rose. Each holding a story, the first star melted into Yujin‘s blade.
Seeing the two stars rising over the twilight, the knight recalled an unforgettable memory once more. A dark night, the past. Starlight that could no longer be seen in Kazimierz. The memory of running across the land with comrades and fellow knights, watching the stars in the night sky.
'Ah...'
In that moment, the knight realized why he had been summoned here.
Inheritance.
The Silver Knight readied his stance. The tip of the spear—the swordspear—held in both hands glowed with golden light again.
Then he had to fulfill his duty. That young knight, still retaining his boyishness, was trying to take a step forward. Naturally, as a senior, he had to bless the path ahead.
He had already fallen. In the end, he couldn't trust himself. Thus, he left unforgettable scars on his son and grandson.
But he couldn't leave like that until the very end.
This was a memory. A mere memory seen through his past. Even if it wasn't reality, as a knight, he had to give his all in an honorable duel.
Yujin‘s sword fell, tracing a trajectory. A strike that needed no correction, beautiful even in the knight's eyes. The knight extended his spearhead, responding to the young knight.
The star fell, scattering beautiful light. Gripping his spear, the knight planted his feet and straightened his back.
One strike.
Spear and sword collided. The recoil sent both flying back. The rampart crumbled from the aftershock as they faced each other, driving spear and sword into the ground.
The duel wasn't over yet.
The knight raised his spear again. Yujin swung his sword behind his back, taking a stance. The second star seeped into Yujin‘s sword, glowing with explosive light.
The knight was still fine, but the boy‘s body was visibly wrecked. Arms broken, fingers turned purple. Yet the boy didn't let go of the sword.
Eyes burning platinum.
Seeing the boy whose body was on the verge of breaking yet still blossoming with fire until the very end, the knight was satisfied. Thinking him the most excellent successor possible.
"Yes, I'll show you."
This wasn't the spearmanship of the order he belonged to. It was a technique and will transmitted solely by his own volition.
"You have the qualification!"
Shouting loud enough to shake the entire rampart, the knight gripped his spear with both hands. As the golden light settled, the floor shattered. Unable to withstand what he was stepping on, parts of the rampart began to collapse.
Passed down through generations, but with a technique and will that took different forms for each...
Golden wings unfolded, illuminating the world. Wings that looked like they could slice the sky and soar sprouted from the knight, shining over the earth.
Yujin gritted his teeth and gripped his sword. Like a burning star, like the final brilliance before an explosion, Yujin‘s sword blazed blindingly.
His body had reached its limit, but his will had not.
One step. The moment both took a step forward.
The spear charged, carrying a golden storm to tear Yujin apart. Yujin didn't dodge; he rushed head-on, thrusting his sword. Blood flowed from his eyes as he followed the trajectory of the spear, refusing to miss a single moment.
'Let us advance, looking at the earth, this land, and that night sky. Proud Campaign Knights of Kazimierz.'
'We shall fear neither hardship nor darkness.'
The words they had shouted with pride remained as fragments in his heart. We are the Knights of Kazimierz. The proud Silverlances. The knights who pierce the enemy before anyone else.
Memories he thought forgotten surfaced one by one. The knight rejoiced, thrusting his spear.
To show everything to the Starlight Knight before him!
Yujin took a step without a single hesitation. The knight unfurled the wings of the Pegasus and thrust his spear.
The moment the knight's spear and Yujin's sword collided.
The rampart crumbled once more.
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