SSS Rank: Spellcraft Sovereign-Chapter 33: Knight (1)

They didn’t hear him at first.

Just the drip of water from somewhere unseen, and the sound of their own boots hitting stone. One step. Then another. Then twenty more.

The corridor narrowed again before it opened.

Lucen stepped past the last archway and paused.

The chamber ahead wasn’t huge. Not like the grand hall upstairs. This one felt closer. More personal. Like it had been carved by hand. For something specific.

Stone columns ringed the edges, each etched with vertical slashes and runes faded to scratches. The floor was smooth. Polished in a way that didn’t make sense. Like no one had ever touched it, and yet it had been walked for centuries.

And in the center stood the man.

Tall. Still.

His armor was rusted in places, but full. Plate over chain. Blackened steel with silver trim that flaked in the light like ash off a dying fire. A longsword rested point-down in front of him, both hands on the pommel. Fingers gloved. Motionless.

He wore no helmet.

Only a cloth band wrapped over his eyes. Tied once at the back, frayed on the edges. Stained at the middle with a mark Lucen didn’t want to guess at.

Senna raised her blade automatically.

Mira didn’t speak. Didn’t move.

Callen froze.

Lucen’s mana ticked up again.

[Mana: 16 / 61]

’Okay. That’s new. No chant. No guard. Just standing there like a quest objective that hasn’t loaded yet.’

Lucen took one careful step into the room.

The man didn’t move.

Senna followed.

Her voice was low. Quiet. "I’ve seen these before. A few in Eastbridge records. Never one this deep in the city."

"What is it?" Lucen asked.

"Blind Knight. Classed as a miniboss."

Lucen looked at the sword.

It wasn’t glowing. Wasn’t cursed. Wasn’t doing anything weird.

That was worse.

Callen’s voice was tight. "Why blindfolded?"

"No one knows. Some say they used to be sight mages. Saw something they shouldn’t have. Others say it’s the sight itself that kills you."

Lucen tilted his head.

"Great," he said. "We’ve got the haunted anti-eyesight paladin."

The knight didn’t react.

Didn’t blink. Didn’t twitch.

Senna took one step closer.

The sword twitched.

Not the knight.

Just the sword.

Lucen’s brain caught the detail half a second late.

’That wasn’t a warning. That was a calibration.’

The blade moved again.

It turned in place. Slowly. Soundlessly. The tip never lifted from the ground. Just rotated. Point dragging in a perfect arc until it faced Senna’s left knee.

She moved immediately.

Back. Fast.

The knight moved with her.

No wind-up. No prep.

Just steel through air.

Lucen dropped to one knee and slammed mana into the ground.

[Hold Point – Activated]

The glyph snapped up like a snare.

The knight stepped through it.

Lucen’s head jerked. "It didn’t even—?"

"It’s not a spirit," Senna snapped, dodging again. "That’s a real man. Bound, but real."

Mira fired.

The arrow hit the knight’s pauldron. Ricocheted with a shriek.

No damage. No flinch.

Callen moved forward, slower this time. His shield up, but not charging.

The knight pivoted toward him.

Lucen’s system pinged.

[Pattern Recognition Triggered – Formation Reset Imminent]

He didn’t know what that meant.

But the knight raised the sword with one hand.

Lucen shouted, "Spread out!"

Too late.

The blade hit the floor.

Not hard. Just... placed.

And the whole room flared.

A circle lit beneath the knight. Etched lines. Symbols. A spiral with six notches.

Lucen saw the pattern complete just as the light reached the edge of the floor.

[Area Glyph – Repeater Seal]

The light flashed again.

Then shattered outward.

Lucen threw himself back.

Mira dove.

Callen raised his shield and slid six feet.

Senna wasn’t hit.

She was already moving, fast and low.

She aimed a strike at the knight’s back.

The sword met hers without turning.

Lucen’s heart dropped.

’He can’t see. He can’t hear. But he knows. He feels everything in this room like we’re standing on his nerves.’

Senna reeled back. Her blade sparked.

The knight twisted. No wasted motion. No anger. Just correction.

Lucen cast again.

[Gravitic Snap – Active]

The pulse caught the knight mid-turn.

He staggered.

Senna moved in again.

Another clash. Her blade against his chestplate.

This time, it scraped. Not deep. But it left a mark.

Lucen saw the knight’s head tilt.

Not toward her.

Toward him.

Lucen’s pulse kicked hard.

’Oh no. I made the list.’

He backed up. Quick. Reached for another glyph.

Mana: 11

’One more. Then I’m dry..I need time.’

The knight shifted.

Lucen planted the glyph.

[Tension Mark – Active]

It flicked on. Sharp and clean.

The knight’s boot stepped inside.

Nothing.

Lucen blinked.

Then the glyph popped. Quietly.

’He cancelled it? With pressure alone?’

The sword pointed at Lucen.

He swore and jumped back behind Callen.

"Don’t let him line of sight!"

Callen stepped forward, gritting his teeth. "I can tank three hits."

"After that?"

"Pray," Callen said.

The knight stepped forward again.

Slow. Mechanical.

Senna darted behind him and slashed again.

The blade scraped sparks.

No damage.

The knight turned slightly. Adjusted stance. Raised his sword again—

Lucen’s system chimed.

[EXP Threshold Approaching]

[New Skill Insight: Pending]

He barely noticed.

Because the knight’s head turned slightly again.

And the blindfold—

Shifted.

Lucen froze.

Senna stopped moving.

Mira’s breath caught.

The cloth over the knight’s face fluttered. Just once. Just a breeze. But it felt like the temperature dropped ten degrees.

Then the knight’s voice finally came.

Low. Ragged. Like sand dragged through old lungs.

"You aren’t ready."

And he moved again.

The voice didn’t echo.

It landed.

Flat. Heavy. Like it already knew it didn’t need to be louder than anything else in the room.

Lucen flinched.

Senna gritted her teeth and lunged again. Her blade traced a tight crescent across the knight’s flank.

It hit.

Didn’t cut.

Sparks flew. Nothing gave.

Lucen backed further behind one of the side pillars. The stone was cracked already, half-ready to collapse, but it felt safer than standing in the open like an idiot target.