We kept walking through this forest for quite some time until finally I could see that we reached an open area in the middle of the forest... why did we come here?
"Umm Scarlet knight... are we lost?" I asked Scarlet knight who was in front of me.
But Scarlet knight just turned to face me while drawing his sword.
"I promise you'll leave intact... So unsheathe your weapons. The empire has no part in this. It's just the duty I'm given. A duty shared by those who wield the greatest might in the skies.
Djeeta, you've chosen Lyria as a companion. That fact alone means you must be tested. Now come... And do not hold back. I wish to see what you are capable of."
Ehhh?? Why did it suddenly turn out like this? I just wanted to finish this and go find Rei, but now I have to fight a knight that get called the Seven Luminaries.
"Whoa! If Djeeta goes all out, then sparks are gonna fly!" Rackam seemed interested in all of this.
"W-what should we do, Djeeta?" Lyria also looked confused as to why Scarlet knight suddenly wanted to fight me.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He's one of the greatest warrior in the skies, and he's allowing us to face him on even footing!" Katalina spoke excitedly.
For Katalina, a knight fighting someone called The Seven Luminaries is a privilege for her.
But I'm not interested in any of this at all.
"You're being tested, Djeeta." I heard Rosetta speak.
"Show me the very strength that led you to take Lyria's hand on that fateful day."
Huh? I didn't hold Lyria's hand in Zinkenstill... it was all Rei who helped us with the hydra and saved all our lives, he the one solved the problem with Tiamat, and he even the one that helped Lyria when she was held hostage...
I could even see that Katalina, Lyria, and Vyrn also seemed confused by what Rosetta said.
"So? Are you willing to accept my challenge?" I heard Scarlet Knight speak again.
I finally just sighed and stepped forward while drawing my sword.
"Alright, I accept your challenge. Besides, I want to see how my abilities compare to yours."
I could see that everyone started to move away from us so that Scarlet Knight and I could fight in peace.
Once in position, I looked towards Scarlet Knight who was holding his weapon without taking a fighting stance.
It seems like he won't take this fight seriously at all, but I will make him regret underestimating me.
I tightened my grip on my sword and began to prepare to attack.
Since my opponent is big and tall, I am confident his attacks will be a bit slow, so I will use my agility to avoid his attacks and counterattack.
"You can do it Djeeta!"
"Yeah, beat him up Djeeta!"
"Be careful Djeeta, this fight is going to be different from your previous fights."
I could hear my friends cheering me on, but I remained focused on the fight and prepared to move forward.
First I quickly advanced towards him, but Scarlet Knight remained still, holding his weapon.
I quickly got behind him to pretend I was going to slash him from behind, but then I immediately changed the direction of my attack to the weak point of his armor on his thighs.
*Clang* However, my attack was easily blocked by Scarlet Knight, and I quickly retreated to avoid a counterattack from him.
But he just stood there and didn't counterattack at all.
"Not bad" Scarlet Knight spoke in a tone that showed no sign of being impressed.
I began to attack Scarlet Knight repeatedly, but every time I attacked him, he could easily block all my attacks.
This pattern repeated several times, where I would attack, but Scarlet Knight would effortlessly block each of my strikes.
"Is this all you've got?" I heard Scarlet Knight mockingly say.
"Come on, Djeeta, you can do it!" Lyria continued to cheer me on.
I didn't expect our difference in strength to be this vast, all my attacks were always blocked by him.
Luckily, he remained standing still and didn't counterattack. If he did, this fight would have been over a long time ago.
If surprise attack doesn't work, then I can only attack him directly.
I then began to close my eyes and take deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling deeply several times.
I will use my strongest technique to attack him.
My sword began to be enveloped in my green aura, and I opened my eyes, looking seriously at Scarlet Knight.
Seeing me looking at him with eyes full of determination, Scarlet Knight begins to assume a fighting stance. It seems this time he will truly attack me.
"Come forward," Scarlet Knight spoke.
Hearing that, I quickly moved forward, targeting the sword that Scarlet Knight held.
I must separate him from his weapon before I can harm him.
"Tempest Blade!"
*Clang* *Booooom*
When my sword and Scarlet Knight's sword touched, a strong wind suddenly emerged, causing everyone to step back a bit.
"Uwaaaa!! This wind is so strong!" Vyrn panicked as he was thrown back by the sudden gust of wind.
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
I continued to swing my sword rapidly, trying to put pressure on Scarlet Knight to make him release his weapon. But he just stood there and easily blocked all of my attacks. Even Rei and Katalina found it difficult to parry all my strikes when I used this technique.
But I couldn't stop swinging my sword because I was sure Scarlet Knight would counterattack if I did, and I would end up losing.
"Come on, swing your sword even stronger," in the midst of swinging my sword, I could hear Scarlet Knight speak again.
"If you're only like this, how can you defeat the empire? As a captain, how will you protect your crew members? You chose to hold Lyria's hand and venture with her, how will you protect her?"
Scarlet Knight continued to taunt me, and I never held Lyria's hand, that was all Rei! But still, his words reminded me of what happened before...
I who was too weak was always protected by Rei since Zinkenstill, and every time we fought primal beasts, we always let Rei handle it. How many times has he been injured because of it, and every time I see him hurt it hurts me deeply too, so that's why every night I train alone to strengthen my techniques.
But all that training, and I still couldn't harm Scarlet Knight, it really made me very angry!
I wanted to become stronger than Rei and then we can protect each other, but if I can't pass this test I will never be able to do that.
"Hyaaaaaaa!!!!" I began to exert all my energy to swing my sword faster and stronger. But suddenly, I felt something flowing from within me. I didn't know what it was, but it made me feel incredibly powerful.
I could see my green aura surrounding my sword beginning to show another color, covering half of the green aura. Strangely, the aura was bright blue, a color I had never seen before, but I didn't question it.
With this, I could penetrate Scarlet Knight's defense and pass this test.
And just as I thought, I could see Scarlet Knight slowly stepping back due to the pressure of my attacks, which were much stronger and faster than before.
"Wow, look at Djeeta! She's become stronger than before," Io said as she watched Djeeta successfully forced Scarlet Knight to stepping back.
"Yes, indeed. But what is that blue aura on her sword? I've never seen it before," Lyria also commented.
"I've never seen that aura either... Djeeta never used it at all during our training," Katalina told them.
"Hahaha, it doesn't matter what aura it is, what's important is that this way Djeeta can pass the test from Scarlet Knight," Eugen laughed happily, seeing his captain force one of the Seven Luminaries to stepping back.
"Hyaaaahhh, C'mon!!" I shouted and finally gathered all my auras into my sword and swung upwards to make Scarlet's sword fly.
And it worked, Scarlet Knight finally released his sword, and it flew upwards, leaving him defenseless.
I then aimed my sword at Scarlet Knight's chest armor and used another technique.
"Reginleiv: Recidive" An aura attack began to emerge from my sword, striking Scarlet Knight at close range.
[IMAGE]
*BOOOM* Scarlet Knight was thrown far destroying many trees after being hit by that attack.
"Hahhh...hahhh....hahhh" I was truly exhausted after all that.
Finally, I fell to the ground, gazing up at the sky. The aura surrounding my sword slowly began to dissipate, eventually fading entirely, leaving only my usual sword.
"Yeaa, Djeeta, you did it!" I could hear the others approaching, but I was too tired to turn towards them.
"Haha.... yes, I did it... but I'm so tired. We haven't even found the Black Knight yet..." I tried to respond to them.
"That was certainly... unexpected," I heard Rosetta speak.
What did she mean by unexpected? Was she hoping for me to fail or what!? Here I am struggling against someone out of the blue, and she just says unexpected?
"Well, well! I must say, you're quite skilled!" I heard Scarlet Knight's voice approaching.
I tried to look at him to see his condition, and wow... his armor was severely damaged, with a hole in the chest area. I could see a deep wound on his chest, but strangely, he acted as if nothing was wrong and casually walked here.
"Look, Djeeta, you managed to injure Scarlet Knight. You should be proud of your achievement," Katalina looked pleased to see me manage to hurt Scarlet Knight.
"Shouldn't we help him?" Lyria asked, as Scarlet Knight's injuries were quite serious.
"No need, as a knight, I am used to experiencing wounds like this," Scarlet Knight refused Lyria's offer.
"That will be more than enough for today. I've learned everything I need to... I look forward to the day our paths cross once more."
After saying so, Scarlet Knight left without saying anything more... Huh? Just like that?
I truly regret accepting his challenge; he didn't even give me any reward for all this trouble. Plus, the food supplies on the Grandcypher were running low because we didn't have time to buy ingredients due to the Leviathan incident.
"Fufufu~ you managed to drive off the Scarlet Knight! I knew there was something I liked about you, Djeeta!" Rosetta began speaking again.
"And that's why I've decided to tag along on your little journey. I'm quite looking forward to it, Djeeta!"
Hearing that left us all speechless...