Point-of-View: Aries Velenet

———————————————————————————

"Damn it...just stay down," I muttered as I struggled to catch my breath, a massive Water Dragon towering over me with cuts all over its body inflicted with my blades, my feet ankle deep in water.

A large swarm of Catastrophic and Disastrous Grade Monsters had appeared outside the north gate of the capital, before breaking right through the protective barriers and flooding the city.

The majority of them had headed for the castle, where the King had taken control of the Demon Lucifer and had her fight off the Monsters. But there were still several more that had spread throughout the city.

I’ve managed to take down several, but I’m almost out of Mana at this point. I can’t maintain my Soul Weapon Ascension for much longer now...so I have to finish this off while I still can!

As the Water Dragon, blinded and bleeding, unleashed a massive torrent of water in my direction, I shot myself up into the air using the Jet Soles Spell, before sending all my blades shooting towards it from every direction, aiming for the cuts I’d already inflicted and piercing through those spots and into its body as it flooded the area with water.

I then grimaced as my Soul Weapon Ascension faded before I could burrow the blades deeper into the Monster’s body, no longer able to maintain the Ascended form of my weapon, or even the default form for that matter, the Dragon raising its head towards me and opening its jaws...no way, it can still stand?

I know I’m weakened and drained from fighting so many other Catastrophic Grades before this one, but still...suddenly, as a swirling mass of water before to appear in its jaws, its eyes rolled back and it went limp, collapsing onto the ground and losing consciousness.

Is...is it dead? No, it’s still breathing...but now that it’s immobile, I can take it down...

"Manifest Soul Weapon:...Justice Shards!" I uttered weakly, sending my blades zipping towards it and in through the gaps between its fangs.

I sent my blades deeper inside its body and tore it apart, slicing up its insides as quickly as I could...I’m all but out of Mana, it won’t be long before my Soul Weapon fades again...before that happens, I have to inflict fatal damage! 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I tore its insides apart, and as it stopped breathing and blood began trickling out from the sides of its jaws, I shakily floated back down towards the ground, falling onto my knees with a splash as I fell onto a large puddle of water, my vision blurring slightly as sweat poured down my face, my Soul Weapon fading.

I managed to avoid taking any serious injuries, but I’m battered and bruised all over. Even with my Soul Weapon Ascension, this really pushed my limits...damn those so-called True Nobility assholes, I didn’t think they’d attack the capital, and especially not the Royal castle itself.

"Oh, there you are, Commander. I’ve been looking for you. The castle is secure, and the Demon has been put back into hibernation. All the Monsters are dead," Came a familiar voice, as a young woman approached me.

She’s one of the Knight Captains, Mysst Jenwell. She’s in her early-twenties, and despite her young age, is immensely talented. The only problem is that she tends to struggle to find motivation, that’s why I had her stationed with me here in the capital.

I certainly considered sending her to one of the towns, but without a superior to keep an eye on her, she’s bound to slack off. Which is such a shame, because she’s probably the strongest of the Captains.

She had medium-short, messy raven black hair with a dark blue stripe down the middle, silver eyes and a pale, ghostly complexion. She was short and slender, with an enviably big bust.

Her attitude isn’t the only thing that leaves a lot to be desired though, her fashion habits are problematic too...she always wears a skimpy bikini top and shorts, with thigh-high boots. She does wear a jacket, but it’s always unzipped, her torso mostly exposed.

I wouldn’t care if she dressed like that while off-duty, it wouldn’t be any of my business, but she’s always wearing clothes like this even when on active duty.

Unfortunately I can’t complain much, because convincing her to join took a lot of effort, and in the end, she only agreed to join the Knight Order on the condition that she be allowed to dress as she pleases.

Of course, if I made an exception for her, I couldn’t very well refuse anyone else who wanted to stop wearing the uniform, which turned out to be most of the Knight Order.

A few do still wear the uniform, but the majority now wear whatever armor or outfit they want to. Well, maybe it’s not such a bad thing...the way most of them dress now isn’t too dissimilar to what Adventurers wear, so perhaps this could end up narrowing the rift between Knights and Adventurers further.

"Uh, Commander? You look like you’re zoning out," Mysst tapped my shoulder, snapping me out of it.

"Huh? Oh, don’t worry, I’m just exhausted...I’m basically drained of Mana, and I used up a lot of-...," I began as I got back onto my feet.

"Yeah, I’m gonna stop you right there. I’m not interested," She cut me off, before adding, "Anyway, since it’s over now, I’d like to go home and rest."

This little...!

"No. You’re coming with me to the castle, we need to report to the King," I replied with a slight huff.

"Is this because I said I wasn’t interested in listening to you complain? You can sense when a person is lying, so I was just being honest," She remarked, resisting as I pulled her along with me.

"Hmph, no, of course not. I’m not so petty. It’s simply a matter of due process, we can give a more complete report with the both of us," I responded dryly.

"Yeah, I don’t need a Skill to know that that isn’t true...you’re totally being petty right now!" She frowned apprehensively.

"Either way, you can’t just call it a day. The report aside, there’s still plenty of work to be done. We need to make sure no intruders snuck in by using those Monsters as a distraction, we have to clean up the mess those creatures made, not to mention identifying those who were killed by them and informing their families. We’ve got a lot of work to do, Mysst," I surmised, as she let out a dismayed groan, right before my phone started ringing.

Oh, it’s Lynks, I wonder what this is about? Maybe something happened in Kaygee Town?

"While you take that, I’ll just go on ahead...," Muttered Mysst, starting to sneak away.

"Not so fast, I’m not letting you out of my sight so easily," I remarked dryly, as I grabbed the back of her collar and stopped her, before answering my phone, "Yes, hello? What is it, Captain Lynks?"

"I have a lot to report, Commander, but first, I have a request I’d like to make."

"Oh? And that is?" I inquired curiously.

"Well, we were attacked by a large group of powerful Monsters, I’m guessing the other towns were attacked too. We managed to defeat the Monsters, but it wouldn’t have been possible without that Adventurer, Ilex.

He’s achieved it, Soul Weapon Ascension, but he hasn’t mastered it yet...and that brings me to my request. I’d like to ask you to send Captain Mysst here to Kaygee Town. There’s no telling when the True Nobility will attack next, so I’d like to use the power of her Soul Weapon here," He explained, as I felt Mysst stiffen.

Oh, I guess my audio is turned up too high, she heard all that. Good, that’ll make things easier...

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:

https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP