Vol 1 Chapter 35 – The Knight of Knights【Vol 1: The Beastkin Hero Arc】

Her painful breathing returned to normal, and Leonhardt pressed a hand to her throat while coughing.

The impact of her fall had knocked her helmet off. Lying face down on the scorched earth, Leonhardt only raised her gaze.

In her expanding field of vision, she could hazily make out the back of the masked swordsman.

His back overlapped with that of the black-clothed knight standing with a pitch-black cloak fluttering in the wind. Reisel let out a loud cry as if in relief.

Then, Leonhardt’s eyes widened completely at his profile as he slowly removed his mask.

“—You did well. Leave the rest to me.”

Ah, those words.

“From here on out, I’ll be more than enough on my own.”

In the Demon Lord’s castle, high in the distant sky.

The words he spoke when he let his immobilized World Knight comrades escape. His profile, the corners of his mouth lifted in a fleeting smile, was exactly the same as back then.

Is it happening again? Am I being saved by that person again?

“…Allen…”

This time, make sure you come back properly.

She no longer had the energy left to say it out loud. Tears overflowed from her eyes, and with that as her final act, Leonhardt’s consciousness faded into the darkness.

*　　　*　　　*

From the impact of being kicked away, Null went tumbling, bouncing off the ground multiple times.

Confirming that Leonhardt had passed out, Allen stared down the two Artificial Heroes facing him without letting his guard down.

His mask was off.

Null seemed to resent Allen a great deal. If he sees this face, his target should shift from Leonhardt to me.

“…Vier, what are you doing!? Why haven’t you killed this guy!”

Getting up unsteadily in the distance, covered in dirt and sand, Null’s vision seemed to be obscured by the blood flowing from the side of his head.

He still hadn’t recognized Allen’s face.

“Null. Look closely at that person’s face.”

There was no hostility from Vier. He didn’t really know why, but it was convenient since he didn’t want to hurt a girl.

Null wiped the blood away with his arm, and his gaze met Allen’s. In that instant, his eyes flew wide open, and his lips trembled.

“…No way… To think you were alive…!”

“It’s been a while. Those orphans from back then sure have grown up.”

“…Obsidian Knight. Why, why are you here…!?”

“There’s no master who wouldn’t rush to their disciple’s aid.”

Speaking concisely, Allen drew his black longsword from its scabbard.

“This is a massive misplaced grudge. Leonhardt is a victim just like the rest of you. The ones you should hate are the Empire and Shedim. And—”

“And you, right, Allen Norsh… Do you want to know what happened to us after we survived those painful experiments and were taken into custody by the Empire under the guise of protection?”

Vier cast her eyes downward. Eins’s body trembled.

“…The experiments didn’t end. We were forced to accumulate a massive amount of combat experience in order to master our abilities. We were made to slaughter each other, comrade against comrade.”

“…”

“No matter how strong the power we obtained, it was meaningless if we couldn’t master it completely. Useless weapons get disposed of.”

“…I see.”

Allen understood.

If he hadn’t handed them over to Helmis that day, there might have been a completely different future. There was a possibility that all five of them could have laughed together with Leonhardt and built a relationship with him.

“I understand how you feel. But, I also have something I won’t compromise on. I want to save Leonhardt.”

“Then we have no choice but to fight. Eins and I intend to kill her.”

“…That’s a shame. I don’t really want to fight.”

Allen closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

(…I guess I have no choice but to use it. A Brave Skill.)

He opened his eyes and surveyed the battered terrain. There was no sign of the villagers, but there was no way Leonhardt would have let them die.

She had probably used her ability to evacuate them. When he looked back, he could make out several bean-sized figures on a distant hill.

“You’ve got quite the composure, Allen.”

“Yeah, I do. By rights, there’s no way Leonhardt should lose to you guys. She was exhausted, and more than anything, she couldn’t go all out while protecting the villagers.”

“…I wonder if you’ll still be able to say that after seeing this?”

Snap. Null clicked his fingers. At the same time, countless pitch-black magic circles deployed on the ground. Green mist spewed out from above them, and giants even larger than the Giant race appeared one after another.

An army of one-eyed monsters, Cyclopes. They were led by a giant with eyes all over its body, an Argos.

“Yeah, I can still say it.”

Allen nodded without hesitation.

Allen’s Brave Core, its name is the Knight of Knights Core.

Its ability is a power truly befitting the knight of knights.

It mimics the Brave Skills of past World Knights.

“Brave Skill <Knight of Select>.”

There is no limit to the number he can mimic, but he cannot exercise multiple simultaneously.

The power he would use this time was that of Allen’s disciple, the hero of the beast-kin race of the current generation. By using her power, he would make it known that she would have won by rights.

“<Knight of the Falling Stars, Leonhardt>.”

At that moment, a golden barrier expanded with Allen at the center. The gravity inside became dozens of times stronger, and all at once, the giants fell to their knees.

Null and Eins widened their eyes in shock.

This power did not consume mana; instead, the golden aura clad around Allen’s body was consumed. Allen calls this aura “Renown Power.”

The more his fame rose, the more this aura steadily increased, and now it had reached an amount that soared to the heavens. That was why he named it that, but he himself didn’t know if it was correct.

Incidentally, this aura was invisible to anyone but Allen.

“—Well then, shall we begin?”

The returned, strongest hero smiled fearlessly.