*CLANG*

The clearing held its breath. Everyone watched with awe and interest.

Astaroth moved first.

No warning or signal. Just steel cutting morning air and Kevin’s sword snapping up to catch it, the impact rattling through his teeth.

The Commander was already withdrawing, already swinging again before Kevin’s block finished, each strike arriving faster than the last like hammer blows from a man who had never once been tired in his life.

Kevin backpedaled. Boots finding wet grass. Another blow. Another. The ring of steel became a single continuous sound.

"He’s being pushed," one of the younger knights muttered.

No one corrected him. Kevin was, indeed, being pushed back since he was fighting the best.

Astaroth’s blade came horizontal and Kevin ducked beneath it, riposted hard at the man’s flank, and the Commander simply wasn’t there anymore, pivoting with a soldier’s economy of motion, redirecting Kevin’s momentum into nothing.

Kevin stumbled a half step. The pommel caught him across the shoulder. Pain shot white up his neck.

He circled and took a shaky breath before he looked for the gap.

There wasn’t one.

Every opening Astaroth showed was bait.

Kevin feinted left and drove right and met a parry so precise it felt expected.

He went low and felt the man’s knee come up to block the angle before he’d even committed.

He read the shoulder, read the footwork, found the rhythm, and the moment he thought he had it, Astaroth changed tempo entirely, doubling the pace, and Kevin was back to surviving.

Block. Recover. Block. Step.

"Kid’s still standing," someone said, with something close to respect.

Sweat dripped into Kevin’s eyes. His forearms burned. His sword felt heavier with each exchange and Astaroth’s felt lighter, the man moving like the fight had just begun.

’He is a beast.’ The younger inwardly muttered.

Another combination, four strikes folded into two seconds, and Kevin caught three of them and ate the fourth across his ribs, staggering sideways into the treeline’s shadow.

He steadied himself against nothing. Found his footing again. Raised his blade.

Astaroth paused.

Just for a moment. The Commander tilted his chin, the faintest acknowledgment, and lowered his guard by an inch.

A permission. He could use his biggest weapon.

Kevin felt it before he understood it. Something beneath his sternum. Something that had been sitting quiet and still behind every block, every concession, every moment of controlled desperation, waiting.

He let it move.

Aether came off him like a tide going out and coming back all at once.

The grass bent flat in a ring around his feet. The torches on the far side of the clearing guttered sideways. Knights leaned back without meaning to.

"Gods."

"Is that-"

"Stay put." A veteran’s arm going across a younger man’s chest.

Kevin exhaled.

He crossed the distance in one step.

Astaroth’s blade came up and Kevin’s went through the parry like it wasn’t there, redirecting the Commander’s steel with a force that wasn’t strength alone. There was something unnatural blended into it.

A second exchange, half a breath long. Kevin’s strike turned Astaroth’s guard open and he stepped inside, controlled and absolutely certain, and stopped his blade a clean inch below the man’s jaw.

Total silence.

The whole sequence lasted for four seconds.

Astaroth’s eyes moved, down the edge of Kevin’s blade and back up.

His expression did not change.

But Kevin noticed one of his fingers loosen from the sword’s grip.

A clear sign that he had panicked for a split second and was about to make a rash move.

The knights around the clearing remained silent. A few had already risen to their feet without even realizing it. One of them still hadn’t exhaled.

Then Astaroth casually swatted Kevin’s blade aside before pulling the younger man under his arm, grinding his knuckles against his head.

"Come here, you little punk. Threatening your commander now, eh?"

The tension around the clearing instantly dissolved.

Seeing the Commander act like his usual self relaxed everyone.

Even though this wasn’t the first time Kevin had outdone him in combat, Astaroth somehow seemed to grow more and more fond of losing to him.

It wasn’t that age was catching up to the Commander.

He was still just as fast and powerful as ever. The three injured knights who had fought him before Kevin stepped in could personally attest to that.

It’s just...Kevin was an extraordinary warrior.

Someone who constantly surpassed expectations in battle.

Someone who kept growing and adapting every single time he fought.

A true monster wearing human skin.

Kevin groaned as he freed himself from the man’s grasp.

"You would’ve done far worse if I had dropped my guard even once."

There was no holding back when sparring against the Commander. You either won against him or got the daylight punched straight out of your eyes.

And since Kevin was the only person in the battalion to have ever defeated the man, the others had long since reached the same conclusion whenever a spar took place.

Commander Dawntress grinned.

"You’re learning fast. Good, good. Keep walking this path, and you might earn your fourth star soon."

Kevin had only joined the army around half a month ago.

No one had ever entered the Imperial Legion in such a manner before, but since the order came directly from the central authority itself, Astaroth had no choice but to accept it.

And now?

He felt he had gained a knight truly worthy of standing among his ranks.

Just then, someone came rushing toward them.

"Hmm? Derry? What’s wrong?"

One of the knights called out immediately, drawing everyone’s attention toward the breathless man.

Derry bent slightly, panting heavily before forcing the words out between breaths.

"It’s... the Count."

He inhaled sharply again.

"Count... haah... Delimore has arrived."

The atmosphere instantly turned tense.

Ever since the incident at the academy and William’s betrayal after revealing his true nature, Count Delimore had remained under constant scrutiny from the central authorities.

Though the Count had never openly declared his allegiance, the King was fully aware of how deeply the man loved his family, especially his son.

Because of that, his authority and movements had been heavily restricted for the time being.

Which meant—

For him to appear here personally...

He had already crossed the boundaries placed upon him.

The Commander immediately grabbed his sword.

Every trace of amusement vanished from his face as he stepped forward with a deep frown.

"Why is he here?"

The surrounding knights rose to their feet as well, instantly preparing themselves for possible conflict.

Kevin remained silent.

His expression revealed nothing.

But the way his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword made his intentions obvious enough.

If Count Delimore showed even the slightest sign of rebellion...

Kevin would not hesitate.

Yet the next words from the messenger stunned everyone present.

"The Count... came with information."

A heavy silence followed.

"He was recently contacted by his son." Derry swallowed hard before continuing, "And he knows exactly where the two of them are staying."

Kevin slowly drew in a deep breath.

Finally.

A lead.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. If you have been enjoying the story so far, please leave a review or comment.