Lancelot stood up and faced the hordes of Faceless, holding the bright rapier in his hand and standing beside his subordinate.
Seeing the figure of the Seraphim in the distance, he could quite shake the feeling of fear that was implanted in him previously.
It made him want to scratch and skin himself alive, it was as if that fear itself was a primal emotion that was embedded deep within humanity, waiting for it to get loose and spread all over his body.
It was real fear.
Not just any fear that makes you want to stop doing what you can and run away, but rather.. a true kind of fear.
Maybe it stemmed from the long ancestry of humans but it was a feeling he never thought that he would feel.
"Everyone retreat! Move to the top of the walls and bombard them with attacks!"
The figure in the distance seemed to be moving slowly, floating in the air while flapping its wings carefully.
Although they have already cleared a significant amount of Faceless below the walls, it could be said that they've only dealt 1% of damage to the abominations.
Lancelot jumped on top of the tower and witnessed the emerging Faceless that covered the entire horizon.
"There are millions! Not just hundreds of thousands but millions!"
Hope dwindled in everyone's hearts.
How could they, a mere count of a thousand knights, possibly deal with millions of enemies. In addition to that, a Seraphim of Hallowed Rank too!
They needed someone of the same rank as the Seraphim, or higher!
"Recuperate! We still have time to formulate plans!" He gestured to his fellow knights to leave and go back to the heart of the city to form a plan, "Knights stay and guard here, ring the bells when you notice peculiarity, and Cassius.. can you teleport everyone using your shadows all at once?"
He stared directly at his subordinate, his right hand man.
"It's going to expend all my Soul, I would be rendered useless. But I could make it work."
"That's good. Everyone! Return!"
Thus the knights ran back to Silver Borough where the heart of the city lies. Most of their barracks and headquarters were located there so there were a multitude of knights that crowded the place.
"These political monkeys are useless in times of peril! How could they abandon the people!?"
"All they think of are themselves and their money!"
Whispers resounded on the streets as knights criticized the cowardice of the nobles.
Most of them have already left the city or hid somewhere that could be considered as safe. But in this Faceless Apocalypse, they were merely delaying the inevitable as hiding wouldn't serve as a great option to do.
That said, the presence of Lancelot immediately made the surrounding knights calm down.
They straightened their bodies and showed their respect towards him.
"Head Knight!"
"Head Knight Lancelot!"
He walked through the crowd of the knights and headed towards a plaza where most of the civilians were located.
He reassured the people of the City, and used his elegant face to make them feel relieved.
"Everything is going to be fine everybody! The Knights have it under control!"
They silenced down and collectively stared at him.
"The nobles have abandoned us! But I believe that her majesty will return!"
They contested and lampooned his statements, doubting his words that evoke a feeling of rage within the people.
"How can you be so sure?! The Queen has been gone for months! My family is starving due to the improper management of the nobles and the lack of leadership!"
"Yeah! Her majesty is dead! That Seraphim is alive, yes? That means that she had fallen in battle!"
Lancelot didn't want to think of that possibility.
When he saw the Seraphim, feelings of loss and mourning enveloped his entire being.
He knew deep inside that the Queen was dead and the living Seraphim was the only proof of that.
However, he still hoped.
Hope is the only thing that could get them through these abominations. Without it, then what are they even fighting for?
They would only march only to lose and get killed.
Lancelot was very much conflicted but he had a convincing will that somehow.. the Queen is still alive.
Screams and yells echoed in the crowd and mini objects were thrown at Lancelot, striking his entire body and staining it with rotten tomatoes.
It was only normal.
The final hope that was needed had vanished.
Yet in a time of a hopeless world, one would have to sacrifice themselves to become an embodiment of such.
"Silence!" His majestic voice echoed and screamed throughout the plaza.
It reverberated and cut through the winds, almost sending out a vibration within everyone's body.
"You all have not seen what I've seen! You have not fought where I fought! You all know nothing of the truth of this world! You are all just mere people that live normal lives on a daily basis, and now that that was taken from you, you become discouraged?"
"I pity everyone. Weaklings every single one of you! You do not fight, nor do you struggle! You all just complain and complain and complain and still you are not satisfied?!"
He breathed deep.
"If you have a problem then stand on the battlefield. Die for your Kingdom!"
His voice touched the hearts of many but some were still enraged.
"Then, who are we supposed to fight for?! We have already been abandoned by the nobles and the Queen!
"Yeah! Why fight?!"
He glared at the sudden complaint.
"No one! Nothing! You fight for no one! The Queen is already dead so why fight? Why march towards your death knowing that everything will lead to an inevitable end?!"
"Why fight you ask? Because you are all people born of this Kingdom. It is not obligatory for you to do so."
"Either you die in battle or.."
He walked away from the people, making his way to the Knight's headquarters.
"Cower in fear like all of you have always done.."
His bloodied light-golden hair swayed with every step he took. Lancelot didn't even gaze back to stare at their eyes and faces, he did not care any more..
The Queen is dead, yet hope still lingers within his heart.
It was the driving force that led him to be satisfied with his own outcome.
Was it a reason for fighting? Maybe.
Was it a false hope that led to an inevitable end? Maybe.
Was it a conviction that filled him with delusions? Maybe
But in the end.. he will fight, not for anybody or for anyone. But for no one, he would fight because he would rather die than cower in fear, doing nothing.
Lancelot walked to the headquarters while the people behind him were silenced by his claims.
*
Every knight that could fit in inside the Headquarters, squeezed their way through. Not to the point where everyone suffocated due to the lack of space but the insides were very crowded.
Lancelot stood on a stage which was located in front of the Knights.
The people at the front were high ranking Knights that were either Pure-ranked or Beyond-ranked.
All of them could contend with a large number of Faceless alone, behind them were Pathbearer knights that were mostly composed of Impure ranks.
And then farther away from Lancelot were normal knights that have not unlocked their Paths yet.
Lancelot stared at the crowd below and breathed deeply.
"My Knights!"
The atmosphere tensed due to his words.
"Everyone already knows about the Apocalypse that's brewing to occur. In a matter of hours or even minutes, the Faceless could attack and destroy the entire city!"
He saw their panic stricken faces and hesitated to say the next words.
"...I'll make it brief."
Lancelot made his voice louder and clearer, perfectly suited to make everyone hear it even better.
"We will all die, within the next hours or so... No one will live, that includes the civillians, knights, nobles, and everyone!"
"Soon, this city will turn into a wasteland, completely devastating everything and everyone inside it."
Strands of his bloodied light golden hair flowed down his shoulders. Then, Lancelot opened his mouth once more, reachin his hands forward.
"Even so... Will you still fight with me?"