Chapter 307: Heard You Were Looking for Me?
Kazimierz Grand Knight Territory.
Today's weather: clear skies.
After several days of perfect sunshine, it should have been the ideal time for another round of the Major. Normally by now, the warm-up exhibition matches would already be in full swing, the crowds roaring with excitement.
But that was only if the string of disasters in recent days hadn't happened.
Now, the staff of the K.G.C.C, tasked with preparing the Major, sat gloomily in front of suspension notices. For every day the matches were delayed, their paychecks bled away—like a slow death sentence.
And yet, they understood. Holding another Major only to have that man disrupt it again would shatter the K.G.C.C's reputation beyond repair.
Still, a few days' delay was a pain only to the employees. For the K.G.C.C itself, it was a tolerable sacrifice. Profit could always be regained later—so long as the current crisis was resolved.
At this very moment, in the same chamber where Czarny had been judged and almost killed yesterday, the K.G.C.C's major spokespersons gathered around a telephone, enduring the scathing reprimand of the voice on the other end.
"I don't want excuses. I want results. Find that man. I don't care how. I don't want to hear another report of the Major being stalled because of him."
The middle-aged voice was taut with suppressed fury, his tone dripping with hatred for the mysterious knight who had turned everything upside down.
"And another thing—yesterday's archive breach. I expect an explanation. Where were the guards? And what of the Armorless Union's Darksteel, who were supposed to be stationed there? We pay them an obscene amount of money just to let intruders stroll in and walk out with sensitive files?"
"Where's the Darksteel? Put him on the line!"
The wrath that surged from the receiver was terrifying. Compared to the halted Major, the stolen archives were an even more grievous blow. Those files contained enough to bury the K.G.C.C if revealed. The K.G.C.C had deployed countless guards and even contracted the Armorless Union as watchdogs—only to see it all crumble.
Yet when the K.G.C.C's spokespersons heard the demand, they only trembled and exchanged wary glances, none daring to open their mouths.
Finally, a spectacled middle-aged Kuranta man stepped forward, voice low and hesitant.
"Chairman… since yesterday morning, we've been unable to reach any members of the Armorless Union. Not just Darksteel—the Lazurites, even Platinum—all missing. From what little we could gather, they've holed up at the Grand Knight Territory's hospital. Doing… something. We don't know what."
He knew saying this would only stoke the chairman's rage further, but there was no other choice. No one understood why the Armorless Union had suddenly slipped out of control, but there was no replacing them on such short notice.
In other words, the K.G.C.C's sharpest blade had quietly snapped in half—leaving them all the more vulnerable.
"…They dare to act on their own? Impossible."
Contrary to what the trembling spokespersons expected, the man on the other end did not explode in anger this time. Instead, his voice cooled, the fury replaced with a chilling doubt.
"Since that's the case, just keep a low profile for now. If the Major has to be suspended, then let it be suspended. As for that man, keep searching as best you can. But if he shows himself and causes trouble… let the Knights' Association deal with him."
"We've poured mountains of money into those knights. They're not being paid to bask in the joys of celebrity."
The hoarse, oppressive voice coughed twice, as though even issuing these commands had drained him. After a pause, he added coldly:
"If, in the end, you truly can't do anything about him… then let him be. His grudge is only with the Major. If it ends, we lose some profit—nothing more. We can always open up new ventures."
Now that his fury had cooled, "Newsman" Kain saw the reality clearly. With the Armorless Union crippled and their Darksteels out of the picture, subduing that knight was nearly impossible.
And the Darksteels weren't the sort to disobey orders without cause. Which left only one possibility: that knight was an opponent even the Darksteels weren't sure they could defeat.
For the K.G.C.C to throw themselves against such a monster, all for the sake of a Major, was nothing but folly.
"But… what if he turns his sights directly on us?"
One of the spokespersons, emboldened by the more measured tone, let out the fear gnawing at all of them. The earlier plan to not oppose him head-on was a relief—Czarny's crushing defeat had shown that knight was no ordinary foe. None of them wanted to be the next to "test" him.
Kain chuckled darkly. "Hmph. That's for the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi to handle. Didn't they already station a whole squad of Silverlance Pegasi along the Grand Knight Territory's borders? If that man truly dares make some grand move, the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi won't sit idle."
The reassurance landed like a dose of medicine. A whole squad of Silverlance Pegasi—knights whose reputation for overwhelming force even the Darksteels wouldn't face lightly. With such guardians present, the spokespersons' color began to return. Perhaps they could sleep at night again.
"Really? But what if I told you, I'm actually hoping that happens? And tell me—how can you be so sure I won't lay my hands on you?"
The unfamiliar-yet-familiar voice cut through the room like a blade of ice.
In an instant, every hair on their bodies stood on end. The speakers froze, their breaths catching in their throats, as their eyes swiveled toward the shadowed corner of the chamber.
From the darkness stepped a knight—slowly, deliberately.
That black-and-white attire was unforgettable. The elegant coat tails swayed like a banner, every motion drenched in confidence. And above all, his voice—magnetic, mocking, impossible to ignore.
The mysterious knight had come to them himself.
Of all the people the K.G.C.C least wanted to see right now—of all the names that could haunt their waking hours—he was the last one they expected. And yet, here he was. Silent as a phantom, standing in the very room that should have been locked down tighter than a fortress after yesterday's debacle.
The first thing they'd do once this was over—if they survived—was fire every last man in Security. What good were guards who let a monster stroll in without so much as a whisper?
The air in the chamber grew icy, breath frosting in their throats. No one dared to speak. No one dared to move. It was as though time itself had frozen, and all they could do was watch in mute horror as the knight stepped forward, his boots ringing softly against the stone.
He walked straight up to the telephone still buzzing with the K.G.C.C chairman's voice, leaned lazily against the desk, and stretched his arms like a man waking from a nap.
"I heard you've been looking for me," he said, his voice smooth, mocking. "Well—here I am. Why so quiet now? Could you do me the courtesy of telling me… what exactly you were planning to do with me once you found me?"
His words seemed aimed at the spokespersons trembling in their seats, but every man in the room knew the truth. None of them were worthy of his attention. The only one fit to answer him was the voice on the other end of the line—Kain, the K.G.C.C Chairman himself.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then the hoarse voice on the phone returned, steering the conversation far away from the question at hand.
"Sir, if your dissatisfaction lies only with the Major, then I have no argument. That was the will of the people of Kazimierz. We merely catered to their desires."
A beat passed, and then his tone hardened.
"Economic growth is the only path forward for Kazimierz. That is the people's choice. No one can stand in its way. Not even you, no matter how strong you may be."
He didn't want to say this. Not to him. But with so many of the K.G.C.C's key spokespersons gathered in one place, Kain had no choice. If they were all wiped out in a single stroke, the K.G.C.C wouldn't recover—not even if the knight himself were later brought to justice.
One or two spokesmen could be replaced. A dozen? The entire leadership? That would plunge the K.G.C.C into chaos.
"I understand," the knight said calmly, nodding as if the point were well-made. "But that wasn't my question."
His eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint sparking there.
"What if my target isn't the Major at all? What if my true enemy… is the K.G.C.C itself?"
The words dropped like a guillotine blade.
Every man in the room felt the chill burrow into his bones. Their backs slicked with cold sweat.
How dangerous was this man? They had only to recall the two shattered coliseums, each reduced to a yawning crater, to know the answer.
They had no strength. No weapons. No hope of fighting back.
Before him, they weren't opponents. They were insects.
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