Kaytrin smiled at the behavior of Friks shown, who was still gawking as he continued to inhale and exhale. Watching people who had experienced the air under Aeros' atmosphere for the first time was quite entertaining. They were like a fish coming out of the water and growing lungs to breathe and then feel very lite.
Friks, Kaytrin and Arthure were out in the open now, the grass as orange as the eye could see. The room where the portal had been had turned back into a stone cube with The Guardios still inside, and above it the pure blue sky of Aeros. A blue two-headed bird flapped its wings as it flew by. The ground in this place was yellow with a tinge of red, unlike the earth, which was dominated by brown. Several small animals were crawling and slithering about, their shapes indecipherable as to whether they were dangerous or not.
Aeros was indeed different from Earth, living things and everything seemed strange to Frik's eyes. But there was a growing feeling inside Friks that he too seemed to know this place and was slowly getting used to it. It was the influence of the starbow he wore on his left arm. The starbow gradually began to transmit all the knowledge that the other Star Archer Knight's before Friks had once possessed.
Suddenly, somehow, a black mist enveloped their surroundings, obscuring their vision. Arthure sensed a threatening aura from behind the black mist surrounding them, and he was immediately alarmed. He soon realized that the black mist was a spell cast by someone to make them feel panicked and confused.
"Get ready and look out, someone's coming!" shouted Arthure alertly.
"Who?" Kaytrin asked and looking around.
"I don't know, but this black mist doesn't bode well." Arthure said.
Kaytrin watched as the mist grew thicker around them. Out of the black fog, the silhouette of a person began to appear in front of them. Arthure was certain it was the person who had cast the spell that created the black mist. An evil aura emanated from the newcomer's body, and Arthure instinctively knew that he was a formidable opponent.
"You guys! Stand behind me!" Arthure suddenly ordered, muttering an incantation and strangely pulling out the sword in his hand.
"What's going on?" asked Friks in confusion, but he obeyed Arthure's command and began to stand behind him.
Kaytrin was also alert, she cast a spell and instantly her hand grasped a long staff with a large sharp scythe curved at the end.
The Dark Knight appeared before the three of them, walking calmly yet menacingly. The aura of darkness covered with the thirst to kill emanated from the Dark Knight's body, making an ordinary person's knees tremble and fall down in fear. They would not be able to face such a terrifying and oppressive aura. It was as if he could take the life of anyone he wanted just by using his aura.
Friks trembled as the Dark Knight's aura pressed down on him. He had never felt such fear. A feeling of fear that exploded out of him, as if all the fears he had ever experienced were gathered together and slammed into his soul instantly, breaking him to pieces. As much as possible, Friks wanted to run away from this place, away from the knight in black armor, as dark as the night, who was coming closer.
But Arthure and Kaytrin were not, both were Aeros' chosen knights and had proven their mettle. They were not afraid of the aura of darkness deliberately emitted by the knight in all-black armor who now approached. They were used to dealing with evil auras like the one the Dark Knight was emitting.
The Dark Knight was now a few meters away from the three of them, he stopped and looked at each of the people in front of him. His gaze then sharpened when he saw the Star Archer's bow on Friks' left arm. He knew immediately that it was the thing that had caused the resonance and disturbance to Raykogi as well as the Dark Lord Leburo.
"Give me the boy and I'll let you both live!" the Dark Knight ordered Arthure and Kaytrin, pointing at Friks.
"Who are you? Are you Leburo's men?" asked Arthure, still not lowering his guard.
"I am the Dark Knight! And yes, my master is Leburo, now hand over the boy!" declared the Dark Knight as he repeated his order.
"You will have to face me first if you want the boy!" replied Arthure.
"Fine, if that's what you want." Dark Knight said in a strange voice.
Dark Knight muttered an incantation and a sword appeared in his hand. The sword had a green blade, but a black aura seemed to surround it. The black aura curled around the green blade of the sword that appeared and was now firmly grasped by the Dark Knight.
Arthure recognized the sword that Dark Knight has summoned.
"You...?! How can you have that sword?" asked Arthure in shock.
"This is my sword. Now be prepared because you're gonna be dead!" shouted Dark Knight.
Dark Knight jumped up with his sword, and Arthure parried Dark Knight's sword with his own. Flames sparked from the collision of the two swords, forged from special metals and anointed with spells.
Immediately realizing the difference in strength between himself and the Dark Knight, Arthure turned to Kaytrin and Friks.
"Kaytrin, take Friks away from here now! You must go to the Great Oracle. Go!" he ordered in a shaking, panicked voice.
"But what about you?" asked Kaytrin, she couldn't quite see the difference in strength between her and the Dark Knight.
"Don't worry about me, your job is to take Friks to the Great Oracle. Go now!" Arthure shouted at the increasingly worried voice.
Kaytrin remained stubborn and stepped forward to help Arthure.
"Don't come any closer! Go quickly and take the boy to the Great Oracle! I leave this task to you now! For the sake of Aeros and Earth!" Arthure shouted in a loud, booming voice. He could still withstand the Dark Knight's blade with his strength, but Arthure knew it would not last long. One false move and he would fall and be slashed by the Dark Lord's men.
Kaytrin finally understood, she muttered an incantation, drew her great scythe weapon and summoned her mount. A large swan appeared, and then Kaytrin told Friks to climb onto the swan's back with her. Kaytrin gave a command, and the swan flew off in the direction of the Great Oracle's residence.
Arthure breathed a sigh of relief, for Kaytrin had made the right choice. Now he could concentrate on fighting the Dark Knight, Leburo's henchman.
***