"Jez!" the General said loudly as Jez passed the open door to the General's office, and Jez paused, walking back and pausing in the doorway. "Come in and shut the door," his father commanded, and Jez did as he was told before stepping towards the General's desk. "Yes, father?" Jez asked, and for a moment, Jez thought he could see something like pride in his father's eyes. "I have a mission for you," he said, and Jez nodded, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. "We have located the last Spectre," the General said, "He is hiding out in a medieval-style town. They have knights and horses at the ready for any attack, which is why you will be teaming up with the Black Knight and his Black Riders to capture him." Now Jez was surprised because he had thought he would not end up working with anyone from his crew again.
"Go to the gym; fetch your sword from your locker, and then report to the Black Knight at the front of the school. You will not need armour, all you need is to show up, capture the Spectre and then escape." Jez nodded, and his father waved his hand, commanding Jez to leave the room. Jez felt like he was walking through cement as he headed to the gym, approached his locker, unlocked it and took out his sword and sheath, carefully tying the sheath around his waist before securing the sword to it. Several students stared as Jez walked through the hallways toward the front of the school, but he did not care. He found the Black Knight instantly, propped onto a black horse in the carpark, another empty black horse next to him. "Ah, good to see you," he said, but Jez did not say the same.
He headed towards the horse, gripping the reins and then climbed onto the saddle. The Black Knight watched him, his expression unreadable as his visor was down, and then he began riding off, Jez hot on his tail. "Have any experience with horse riding?" the Black Knight asked absent-mindedly, and Jez shook his head, which seemed to surprise the Black Knight, but the Knight said nothing. They trotted down the concrete road, not a car in sight, and then the Black Knight suddenly veered off, now galloping into the Black Forest, Jez kicking his horse's side and giving chase. Jez arrived side-by-side with the Black Knight, who suddenly drew his sword. "Had experience fighting with a sword?" he yelled, and Jez nodded, "A bit!" The Black Knight sighed loudly, threw his sword to his left hand, and jabbed it at Jez. Jez ducked, withdrawing his own sword and parrying another jab.
The Black Knight was incredible, his sword flipping and twisting through the air with tremendous speed and accuracy. Jez blocked and parried, his sword flashing through the air as the Black Knight quickly struck upwards, sending Jez's sword flying into the air as they sped along a dirt path, and the Black Knight caught it. "You need to improve your game if you are to kill this Spectre," the Black Knight said, sheathing his sword, handing Jez's back to him, and then gripping both his reins tightly. Jez sheathed his sword, sweat already dripping from his face, and he too gripped the reins. "Are we headed straight there?" he asked, and the Black Knight laughed, "No, you are. My Black Riders are going to wait, and then we will attack." Jez thought of protesting this tactic, but he thought better of it.
"How far is it until we arrive?" he asked, and the Black Knight laughed, "A day of riding, but by the time you arrive, you will have to be ready to face down their knights." Jez felt uneasy, but he nodded and proceeded with riding. Their horses continued their gallop until the two came to a river, where they allowed their horses to drink for five minutes before moving on. "I don't suppose that I can have that?" Jez asked, pointing at the Black Knight's hips, where a shiny dagger was hanging. The Black Knight quickly unbuckled it and handed the blade to Jez, who thanked the Black Knight, stopped his horse, turned, and flung it high into the air. "The hell do you think you're doing?" The Black Knight hissed, also stopped, but then there was a loud thud, and he saw someone dropped from the trees, a dagger in their chest.
"A scout! This close to our Zodiac Empire!" The Black Knight exclaimed as Jez hopped off his horse, approached the man and took the dagger from his chest. "He looks like another knight," Jez said, looking at the bright blue uniform, and the Black Knight growled. "He is a knight! That's one of the ones who are protecting the Spectre!" Jez sighed, looked around, and saw something glinting from a nearby tree. "Will your horse run away from battle?" Jez asked, and the Black Knight laughed loudly, "No she won't. Why?" Jez looked around more, sighed, and approached the Black Knight's horse. "Go to your men; tell them I am close behind. I shall arrive in a day or two," Jez murmured, and then he slapped the horse's side. The horse neighed loudly and shot off, the Black Knight shouting out in surprise, and Jez's horse followed. "That was a stupid move, boy," snarled a voice, and six people leapt down from the trees.
"So the Zodiac Empire is near?" one asked, and Jez sighed, drawing his sword with his right hand while holding the dagger with his left. "You will never reach your masters with this news," Jez said, holding the sword and dagger ready, yet the knights laughed. "Alright then, boy. You will die in vain," said the closest, and as one, they withdrew their swords. "This is for Lythum!" shouted one, and he charged forwards, the others right behind him. Jez ducked as the man slashed through the air, quickly kicking out behind him and sending the man sprawling into the dirt. Jez then rose, flicked his sword through the air, and began the fight. He blocked several blows with his sword, parried a strike and then darted forwards, impaling the dagger into the knight's chest. The knight dropped, and two more replaced him, spinning and slashing their swords.
Jez moved steadily backwards, his sword darting through the air to block the two swords at once before pushing them back. Jez spun on the spot, slashing his sword out before him, and the two fell, their chests sliced open. Another ran at Jez, but he jumped up, kicked the man in the face, and then drove the sword through the man's just. Jez grabbed the man's sword as he fell and held two swords, one in either hand. Three knights remained, their swords drawn, and Jez quickly flipped his two through the air. They all ran forwards, and Jez ran to greet them, pushing both his swords out to the side and knocking the outer two away. The one in the middle slashed and stabbed through the air, but Jez moved aside in time, quickly slashing the knight through the back, and he dropped dead.
The other two came from different angles, both of them stabbing forwards, yet Jez easily overpowered them, kicking one in the shin, slashing him across the neck and then finally stabbing the last knight through the chest. Jez stood, panting, in the middle of the six dead bodies. He looked around, making sure no other knights were about to spring out at him, and only then did he notice his arm was bleeding, blood steadily dripping off his fingertips and onto the ground. He must have been hit while fighting, but due to shock, most likely, he did not feel any pain. He sheathed his sword, held the other sword in his right hand, and proceeded down the dirt road again, feeling tired yet victorious. He walked for a majority of the day, his legs feeling dead by the time he reached an open field. He sat against a large boulder, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
He looked around at the tall, green grass that swayed against the wind and, to his surprise; he saw light sparkling against something amongst the grass. As Jez neared, the sound of rushing water filled his ears, and when he pulled the grass apart, he saw a running stream. He dropped to his knees, bent forwards, cupped his hands and immediately began drinking, water dribbling from his chin as he gulped down the freshwater for minutes on end until he had his fill. He lay back, wiping his face dry of water and sweat, stood, and began following the water upstream. He figured that if the Spectre were hiding at some kind of castle, there would have to be a water supply nearby, so he followed the stream. This walk took him well into the night before he staggered out the forest, and then he saw it. The castle stood against the hill mightily, its stone walls clean from dirt and the main gate open wide.
"Lad!" a sharp voice came, and Jez turned, finding the Black Knight emerging from the trees with several others behind him. "What happened?" asked the Black Knight and Jez sighed, showing his sword sheathed at his side and the second sword he had acquired. "I won," Jez replied simply, and the Black Knight did not move, the way he now held himself making Jez think he was shocked. "You beat all of them?" the Black Knight asked, bewildered, and Jez nodded. "What happened with you lot?" Jez asked, and the Black Knight chuckled, "We were waiting by this forest, and the Duchess herself comes by. We scared her, but when she slashed me across the face, we had to put an end to her. Then, of course, the Spectre comes! We corner him, and the bastard escapes." Jez sighed, turned, and stared up at the castle. "I need to finish this," he murmured.
The Black Knight nodded, made a gesture with his hands, and he and the other Knights retreated amongst the trees as Jez started sprinting towards the main entrance. The sprint itself took no more than ten minutes, and by the time Jez arrived, he saw a blue-haired figure headed into a building named Weapons Room. Jez ignored the room, looked around, and then found two knights patrolling the main gate, their swords drawn and shields attached to their left arms. Jez snuck up from the side, keeping the stolen sword in his left hand, and then he darted forwards, slicing the sword forward. One knight collapsed and began rolling down the hill, blood spilling from his chest, and the second turned, only to be impaled through the chest. Jez left the body there, quickly wiped the sword against the wall to clean the blood from it, and then he proceeded into the main gates.
He watched a group of knights pass nearby, not noticing the Zodiac creeping into the town, and then Jez snuck the other way, hoping to gain access inside the castle. He shouldered into someone, and when they turned, he leapt back, sword ready. It was a knight, although instead of a sword, they held a large hammer. The knight seemed surprised too, and then he violently swung the large hammer through the air. Jez ducked and rolled away as the knight brought the hammer back and crashed it into the dirt where Jez had been moments ago. Jez skidded along the dirt, brought himself up, and ducked again as the hammer whistled through the air, the knight grunting loudly. Instead of striking Jez, as it was meant to, the hammer crashed against his sword, bending and warping the weapon. Jez groaned, still holding the smashed sword.
He rolled again, kicking out as he did, and striking the knight in the knee. The knight suddenly buckled forwards, crashed onto the dirt beside Jez, and Jez quickly rammed the bent tip of the sword through the knight's helmet. Blood instantly began oozing from the slash in the metal helmet, and the knight fell aside. Jez, panting, realised that someone might have heard the fight, so he ran. Still gripping the sword, he ran towards the nearest building he could find. The Weapons Room. He skidded to a halt when he saw two knights speaking right outside the door, and then he charged, butting a knight in the side of the helmet with his sword and then wrapping fingers around the other helmetless knight's neck. The knight choked and spluttered loudly, and with a crunch, he fell to the ground.
Jez heard the sound of marching, grabbed both knight's, and dragged their bodies underneath the wooden staircase next to the door. The group of knights halted right next to the staircase for several minutes, turned, and then marched off. Jez sighed with relief, reached for the door handle, and opened it. Nothing happened. He roughly shook the door several times, leaned back, and delivered a powerful kick to the door's middle. It sprung from its hinges and crashed inside, Jez hurrying in, looking around to make sure he was alone, and then seeing a mending table in the corner of the room. He approached it, picked up the hammer, and began hammering down on his broken weapon. He hammered for minutes on end, each strike of the hammer almost soothing his mind, and then he looked around again to make sure he was alone. The Spectre had emerged from behind the furthest wall.
"You?" he asked, sounding amazed, and Jez stepped away from the table, "Me." The silence was deafening as the two stared at one another, and then Jez spoke. "Isn't it odd that our paths cross so soon?" The Spectre didn't say anything, seemingly distracted by the two red scars on Jez's cheek. Jez let him stare for a minute, and then the Spectre resumed their eye contact. "Why is it you are here?" Jez felt on edge being asked that but why he was not sure. He then shrugged and replied, "I never finished the job. He then drew his sword and held it ready, the tip pointed at his enemy. "Must we do this today, of all days?" the Spectre asked tiredly, withdrawing his own sword. "I thought you would have known better after our last encounter," Jez said, hoping to sound intimidating, and then the Spectre drew his sword against Jez's loudly.
"Not really," muttered the Spectre, and then the Spectre dashed forwards, slashing his sword through the air. Jez stepped back, using his sword to deflect the several slashes as the Spectre neared. The fight was not really a fight at all, in Jez's eyes, as he swept the Spectre's sword away, stepped forward quickly and kicked the Spectre in the chest. The Spectre fell back onto the sandy floor, and as Jez neared, he rolled aside, quickly kicking at Jez's leg. Jez grunted as he fell onto one knee, and before he could slash at the enemy, the Spectre got to his feet and ran to one of the wooden turners. Jez got up and gave chase, stabbing his sword at the Spectre, who leapt up onto the woodturner with a golden sword in his hand now. He struck at Jez, who managed to block, parry and deflect the many sharp blows until his sword struck against the wooden turner.
The Spectre jumped off the turner, and Jez was quick to take his place, towering over his enemy and slicing his sword through the air. The Spectre stood tall, returning the slashes and jabs toward Jez, who began panting as he blocked and swept. The Spectre began to slow down, and Jez doubled his attacking strength, feeling as though the end to this battle, ready to finally draw an end to the great Spectre. Footsteps sounded behind Jez, and then the sound of smashing glass filled the room. However, he did not have time to see what happened, because his world instantly went black.