The Silverlance Pegasi. The Silver Lances of Kazimierz.
There isn't a knight in Kazimierz who doesn't know that name. Even if their prestige has faded slightly with the rise of the Sport Knights, no one can ignore them.
The knights who have traversed countless lands to protect Kazimierz.
The Greatest Spears.
The walking fortress of Kazimierz.
They are the ones who deter Ursus, which is always moving ominously, and the knights who pierce and defeat the enemies of Kazimierz.
And among them, the Grand Knight who stands tallest and leads the order raised his spear high.
Their spearmanship has already reached its peak. They have discovered how to control the spear entirely with their bodies; even without Arts, their perfected technique is enough to kill.
A single thrust.
But it is a thrust containing a lifetime. The life he has walked, the order he belonged to, and the will of the knights who had to kill their enemies without falling.
It is all contained in that spearhead.
Over time, many knights have come to rely on Arts rather than their own strength. But the knight before Yujin proved that such reliance was unnecessary.
Furthermore, when peak spearmanship is combined with Arts evaluated as superior to anyone else's...
It cannot be dodged.
It looks like a casually thrown thrust, but with every inch the silver spear advances, the air is pushed away. Space distorts as if an overwhelming force is being fired.
Crushed, distorted, space unable to withstand the expansion is pushed and shattered.
It is just a thrust, but the concentrated force approaches to kill Yujin. Yujin gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
But he sees it. Blood flows from his eyes, and his body screams, but this time, he sees that beautiful strike.
Therefore, Yujin knew instinctively. Even if he swung his sword to cut it, he would only slightly alter its trajectory.
It is a peak (頂點). A thrust reaching the extreme, which Yujin can neither block nor dodge.
Platinum light explodes brilliantly, following in a chain reaction. It was an explosion with physical force, but the spear approached right in front of his nose as if such things mattered little.
Finally, the moment the spear and sword collide.
Crack.
With a sound of something catching, Yujin‘s sword shattered. Fragments of the broken sword scratched Yujin‘s face, scattering into the air like shards of glass.
The right arm that held the sword shook violently. Bones shattered, shaking to the point where treatment was impossible. But because the trajectory was slightly off, the strike that should have pierced his heart only destroyed his right arm.
Thud!
Thrown into the air by the impact again, the sight Yujin saw was the beautiful silver spear piercing his arm and even the clouds in the sky. Yujin opened his eyes wide, determined not to miss the sight.
The sound of air bursting followed belatedly as Yujin‘s body, flying through the air, plummeted.
Thump, crunch. The body flying through the air crashed to the ground. His vision blurred, and his right arm was literally pierced and severed. Having no choice, Yujin maintained consciousness and stood up using his left arm as support.
Unable to break his fall properly, he rolled on the ground like a worm. Having used the Stars and techniques, his body was at its limit.
Still, Yujin crawled to find his severed right arm. And looking at the lump that no longer resembled an arm, he grabbed the sword buried within it.
The blade was broken, leaving only the hilt.
Dragging his dying body, Yujin created a blade with platinum light. It was a very faint light unlike the beginning, but Yujin didn't give up.
"Gah, cough. Ugh."
Spitting out the blood clogging his throat, he looked at the enemy. The Silver Knight was looking at Yujin, holding his spear perfectly fine.
The rising dust settled, and Yujin tried to lift the sword, but his body wouldn't allow it.
His strengthless legs gave way, and his arm dropped. Yujin, dropping even the sword he was holding, planted his face in the ground.
"…Why go so far?"
The Silver Knight looked at the fallen Yujin and spoke as if pitying him. But Yujin gritted his teeth and tried to stand up again.
"I promised to change it."
"Change what?"
"This damn world. I promised to change this world where people aren't seen as people and death is too cheap. So I must never lose."
Hearing Yujin‘s words, the knight let out a hollow laugh. As if hearing something absurd. His laughter contained futility and regret.
"…I didn't know there was someone with a bigger dream than mine."
They respected each other and showed everything. The match was already over.
But the obsession that he must not lose to anyone was tightening around Yujin. Because he must not lose, he had to remain the knight and hero for the children until the end.
Yujin, collapsed on one knee, breathing heavily. And the Silver Knight watching him.
"You don't have the name Nearl, and you aren't a Kuranta... but you are the most qualified."
The Silver Knight reached out. Grabbing the hand of the exhausted Yujin, the knight slung his spear onto his back.
"Sleep for a while. The road is too long."
Flash.
Whether the knight used a trick or not, Yujin‘s body collapsed.
Carrying the unconscious Yujin like a broken machine, the Silver Knight looked at the crumbled wall and the world where night had arrived.
"…Too little time."
"…It's not a dream."
"Is that the first thing you say upon waking up?"
When Yujin opened his eyes and sat up, the knight was building a campfire with firewood he had gathered from somewhere. Yujin looked around; night had fallen, and the world was dark.
"Tsk tsk. To think the last one I have to teach is an idealist. This will be tough."
"Pardon?"
Yujin tried to ask what he meant by the knight's subsequent words, but the Silver Knight answered nonchalantly.
"You lost the duel, and I saved your life. Naturally, you must pay the price for the duel, right?"
"No, you didn't say anything like that when we started...?"
"I didn't say it because it's obvious, you fool."
Trying to get up, Yujin finally seemed to grasp the situation and checked his body, rotating his reattached right arm. The body condition he thought would be a mess after the duel was already restored to a ridiculously clean state.
Just like when he first met this knight.
"As of today, you are my disciple. An apprentice of the Silverlance Pegasi, and a squire as well."
"…Says who?"
"Naturally, it is the right of the victor to demand it. Why, do you not want to?"
"It's not that I don't want to..."
Being taught by someone who had reached the pinnacle was something to be grateful for, but Yujin still couldn't understand the current situation.
Fighting the Darkirons, dragged to an unknown place for a duel, and now a stranger wants to take him as a disciple.
"There is no time. If I had a little more, I would have taught you perfectly... but it seems you still have many things to resolve."
The knight threw a wooden spear that appeared from nowhere to Yujin. Looking at the wooden spear made honestly in the shape of the knight's spear, the knight took out his spear and sword.
"Now, it begins. Pick up the spear, squire. What you will learn from now on is..."
Everything of my life, and the essence of the Silverlance Pegasi.
2.
The teachings continued ceaselessly, day and night. As if there was no need for sleep or food here, the body was always maintained in perfect condition.
It also possessed a mysterious healing power. Even if the body was exhausted or injured, it recovered quickly. Even if an arm fell off or a leg was shattered, it was at the level of quickly reattaching and regenerating.
Unlike the first day, the Silver Knight conducted the education at a rapid pace. As if to give everything he had.
Not dying even after suffering injuries that would be fatal was a huge advantage. Even if the heart was crushed, the head cut off, or limbs shattered. As long as Yujin held onto his consciousness, the blood vanished like a mirage and he recovered.
The problem was that the pain was felt as is.
"I want to stop experiencing my head being cut off!"
"You said you learn best by getting hit, you stupid disciple."
Yujin‘s unchanging problem was one thing. His excessive reliance on Arts. The knight clicked his tongue seeing it.
"I can tell those spellcasters taught you. That's why they're no good."
"Master, your teaching method is even more brutish..."
"Hmph, don't compare me to those spellcasters. Our starting points are different."
If Arts must be used, one must know how to use that power efficiently. If Netsalem taught perfect control of Arts externally, the knight taught Yujin how to control Arts internally.
The best is not relying on Arts at all. But there is a limit to that.
"Disciple, your body is worse than cookie crumbs."
"Unless you're going to fix it, Master, please be quiet. It's sad enough as it is..."
He didn't just teach Yujin the sword. Rather, he made him wield the spear more than the sword, enabling him to utilize both weapons in the right place.
"Look. If you can utilize everything I taught you... you can do this too."
"…Is that an assassination technique?"
Throwing a spear using only body strength, piercing a rampart cleanly like a gun without collapsing the building, and shattering the ground.
The spearmanship Yujin knew was pushing forward honestly with force. Since Buldrokk used the spear with such techniques.
"Heh, yes. That's it. That is our spear. You have to do at least that much to walk with your head held high anywhere."
"My arm feels like it's going to fall off. Throwing a spear without reinforcement..."
"I tell you again and again, you must reduce your reliance on Arts. You must be able to subdue the enemy purely with your body."
Again, again, again.
Time flowed.
The world was still night, but their time continued to flow.
"Damn it!"
"Why the sudden outburst?"
"This is cheating. This is a scam. It took me a year to learn that!"
"…Ugh, seriously."
They didn't count the flowing time. Considering even counting it a luxury. Yujin silently followed the traces left by the knight.
Even though the knight said that, the more Yujin followed, the happier he became. As if he had to leave something behind with his own hands.
Once, when Yujin blossomed the Nearl Arts, the knight stared into the void as if losing his mind without a word.
"Master?"
"Ah, right. Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment."
Knowing Yujin could even use the Nearl Arts. The teaching gained more momentum. Because the Nearl Arts shone bright gold, golden wings cutting through the sky.
He didn't give grand names to his techniques. As if saying all of this should be considered basic and usable at any time. He taught Yujin, swinging sword and spear.
Fight, lose, fight again.
Colliding with his body and breaking, Yujin moved forward. The knight laughed with satisfaction seeing such Yujin.
And, at the very end, when Yujin executed the exact same thrust as him.
He let go of the spear and sword from his hands.
Naturally, the outcome didn't change. The knight was still the winner, and Yujin was the loser, but the knight let go of the sword and spear, planting them in the ground.
"Yujin."
"Yes, Master."
"Disciple."
"Yes, Master."
Yujin called him Master before he knew it.
"Excellent. It couldn't be better. To continue the essence of my life like that... I have a talented disciple indeed."
The knight looked at the sky as if with no regrets. Yujin approached him and reached out his hand.
"Still, there is much to learn. Correcting posture, I haven't even reached Master yet..."
"Time is up."
Hearing those words, Yujin‘s body flinched.
"Time is up... I have taught everything I can teach. Now it depends on how you use it."
"…Master."
"You are not lacking. I wonder how I met such a disciple only at the very end. Others would be envious and beat the ground in frustration."
The knight began to slowly remove the helmet he had never taken off until now.
"I... still have things to learn."
"No, the teaching is over now. We can't delay any longer."
Golden hair flows down from beyond the removed helmet. That face is...
"…It was you."
Yujin knew instinctively. That man's face resembled someone Yujin knew all too well.
"You were... the Grand Knight of the Silverlance Pegasi."
"Yes."
The knight's bitterly smiling face contained many emotions. As if he were a sinner, he lowered his head and looked at Yujin.
"I lost too much. Only at the end did I remind myself and throw my body into the fire. Until the end, I couldn't be called a knight."
"..."
"Disciple. This is but a memory. I don't know why we met like this... but if this is truly the will of God."
It must be proof that God hasn't abandoned Kazimierz yet.
Not knowing what to say, Yujin could only keep his mouth shut. It felt like another heavy responsibility had been placed on his back.
"Take it."
The knight handed the spear to Yujin. The silver spear the knight handed over was old and stained with handprints unlike when he first saw it, but the sharpness of the blade remained the same.
"Now go, save your world. Do what you can do. Do what you want to do. Shout proudly what kind of human and knight you are."
"You have the qualification."
Qualification.
What is qualification?
Hearing the knight's words, he wanted to say a lot, but he didn't voice them. He couldn't sound weak. For the sake of the two stars engraved that day.
"…I still have much to learn."
"Yes."
"But, I promise. To not be ashamed of this spear you gave me, I will always do my best and fear neither hardship nor darkness."
Do not fear hardship or darkness.
Words the knight repeated like a habit. If you are a knight, you shouldn't fear the hardship and darkness befalling you. He always said.
But, the night that seemed eternal was slowly ending, and the sun was rising. It seemed time was truly up now.
The knight pulled his helmet down deep again and walked toward the rising sun, turning his back on Yujin. Yujin kept the knight in his eyes as if not to miss him until the end.
However, the knight stopped walking abruptly and looked back at Yujin.
"Still, I didn't want to say it..."
The knight muttered quietly and looked at Yujin.
"Tell my son and grandson that I'm sorry for being such a foolish person."
"…No. You were."
Although you said you weren't knightly with your own mouth.
You were knightly until the end.
It was something Yujin could say because he knew the knight's end. Hearing Yujin‘s words, the knight opened his eyes wide. Then he laughed.
As if realizing why he and Yujin had met.
Laughing for a while, as the laughter subsided, the knight placed his hand on his chest, tapped it, and said to Yujin.
"Where is the Chivalry?"
"…!"
"You already know the answer, Yujin."
With those words, blackout.
Yujin opened his eyes again in the original world.