"Chivalry: First Step."
Helga blinked, and in the next instant, the man's wrist was flying through the air.
The child he had been holding was suddenly gone, replaced by a man in full plate armour, his helmet removed and cloak billowing as he landed in the centre of the clearing, holding the frightened child and gently patting their head.
"Are you okay, little one?"
The child froze in shock, but upon realizing that the knife was no longer at their throat, they burst into tears as the man continued to console them with calm, steady pats.
Meanwhile, the assailant who had held the child hostage finally realised his hand was no longer attached to his wrist, severed so cleanly that not a single drop of blood fell.
The sight of his flying wrist made him open his mouth to scream, only for his cry to be abruptly silenced as an armoured hand clamped over it.
A sudden gust of wind swept through, and the severed hand vanished without ever touching the ground, leaving the civilians staring in shock, unable to comprehend what had occurred.
Upon seeing the crest on the cloak of the man in the centre of the clearing, however, their expressions brightened with the realisation that help had arrived.
"It's the Knights!"
"Finally!"
Those near the assailant hidden among the hostages looked up and saw a second armoured figure holding the man down, silencing his screams and preventing him from thrashing.
Within seconds, the man went limp, and the knight hoisted him onto his shoulder before stepping out of the crowd, just as reinforcements charged in through the massive hole created when Herad had reflected Helga's first strike.
At the same time, more assailants came flooding in from the corridors.
Immediately, the knights formed a defensive line with blades drawn, mages descended from the roof with staves glowing with magic, and every weapon was aimed at the masked attackers.
In the centre of it all, the knight who still held and comforted the crying elf child finally spoke.
"Surrender."
It was only a single word, and the assailants' posture made it clear they still intended to fight.
Among them, Helga recognised the one her guards had clashed with outside, though he seemed to have undergone a demonic makeover, his fingers sprouting claws and curved horns rising from his head as he glared directly at the knight in the centre.
"I said, surrender," the knight repeated.
This time, power erupted from his body, and a crushing pressure descended on all the assailants. The force forced them to their knees, and some were slammed so violently against the ground that their skulls cracked on the stone.
"…World Law Manipulation…"
Eleanor muttered, immediately understanding what was happening. Once a being reached a certain threshold of power, they could begin to wield the fundamental laws of the world as weapons in combat.
What they were witnessing was the manipulation of gravity itself, the curvature of space-time by mass turned into an overwhelming attractive force.
The knight had simply amplified that pull upon the assailants, the result being their bodies crushed mercilessly into the floor.
As he did that, the other knights charged in, restraining the assailants with little effort. Following them into the clearing were four of Helga's guards, their bodies battered and marked by injuries.
"Your Highness!"
Their shouts drew the knight in the centre's attention to Helga, and he handed the now sleeping elven child back to their parent before turning and approaching her.
Bowing his head lightly before Helga, he spoke.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I hope you are unharmed."
Helga finally pulled her attention away from Eleanor, who was being supported by Marie, and turned to face the knight.
He was a tall man, his long brown hair tied into a low ponytail, framing a stern face with piercing blue eyes. The black-steel armour he wore bore the crest of the Imperial Knights on the chest, and a badge on his shoulder marked his rank.
He was Calvin Myers, vice-captain of the First Imperial Knight Order.
"Sir Myers," Helga said. "I am unharmed. Focus on the civilians, but get a medic here."
She then turned her gaze toward Eleanor and added, "For her, my attendant."
But just as Eleanor opened her mouth to respond, her eyes suddenly widened in alarm, and she screamed.
"It's melting!!"
Her sudden shout naturally drew eyes towards her, and when Helga and Calvin turned in the direction she was pointing, she hurriedly added,
"The body! That was their leader! Unmask him before it melts!"
And indeed, before their eyes, Herad's clone was melting into a waxy sludge, its lower body already completely liquefied, while the torso and head slowly collapsed into formless wax.
Hearing Eleanor call him the 'leader', Calvin's eyes widened, and he immediately dashed to the corpse's side, quickly tearing away the mask.
The moment the face was revealed, the last of the body dissolved entirely, leaving nothing behind but a puddle of waxy, unidentifiable sludge.
However, from the horrible expression on Calvin's face, it was clear that he recognised the face behind the mask at the last moment before it melted.
Helga naturally noticed this, and with eyes narrowed, she asked, "Who was it?"
"…"
Calvin didn't respond immediately, unsure whether to voice the name of the one he had seen.
He glanced at the assailants whom his knights were restraining, several of whom were clearly not humans, elves, or of any race native to their planet.
Seeing his hesitation, Helga spoke again, and this time, her voice was a lot more commanding.
"Who was it?"
At this, Calvin sighed, closed the distance and whispered a single name.
"Herad."
Hearing this, Helga's eyes widened. She already knew that they were dealing with the Azure Sky Cult, so the name Herad was enough for her to immediately connect the dots.
Archbishop Herad.
The man responsible for the fall of the Sacred Island 25 years ago. He was the one who had slaughtered the Pope and higher clergy of the churches on the Sacred Island, then summoned several high-ranking Noble Demons from the Infernal Dimension.
That's who they had fought, or at least a clone of him, because if it was the real Herad, then it would not have been a fight but a massacre.
The man was just that powerful after all.
The name mentioned had Helga's expression turn difficult, and her knights, who were close enough to hear, were also shocked.
But then again, it explained why the people they had been fighting outside had suddenly transformed into demons and had attacked them with double ferocity, injuring six of them.
That was the reason why there were only four present here. The other six had been injured to the point where they couldn't walk.
The entirety of the Oakwood Plaza's parking lot was also a complete mess, and the damage had even spewed onto the roads, across the streets, with several buildings destroyed in the course of the battles that had occurred outside.
Calvin silently considered the implications of Herad's presence here as he ordered the Imperial Mages to inspect the wax, to identify what that wax was and figure out whether they could garner anything from it.
Herad's corpse had been slowly disappearing, and none of them had even noticed, and they would not have noticed if Eleanor hadn't called their attention towards it.
His expression darkened at that, however, he quickly controlled himself and looked up towards Eleanor, about to speak when he realised something.
'Hmm? Is she using some sort of perception-blocking magic?'
Like Herad, he had instantly noticed there was something off about Eleanor's appearance, but he didn't comment as he spoke.
"Thank you for your help bringing it to my notice, Lady…?"
He then paused as he realised he actually didn't know who Eleanor was.
"Keishara," Eleanor responded. "Baroness Keishara."
Just as she identified herself, Helga then spoke.
"You can introduce yourselves later."
Turning to Calvin, she added, "Didn't I say you should get me a medic?"
Helga hadn't forgotten the fact that blood had dripped from Eleanor's nose after she killed Herad's clone.
Eleanor's pale complexion, her slightly heavy breaths, and the fact that the only reason she was standing was because Marie was supporting her all pointed to the fact that Eleanor needed medical attention immediately.
Calvin immediately turned and called one of the medics who was taking care of a wounded civilian, and as the medic quickly rushed over, his white lab coat fluttering as he moved, Calvin heard Eleanor's voice ring out.
"Uh-oh, that's not good."
Immediately, he turned his gaze and saw blood dripping from Eleanor's nose, falling onto her palm that was held in front of her chest.
Looking up, she chuckled and said, "Who would have thought the average human body wasn't built for supersonic movement?"
And with those words, Eleanor fell forward, Helga's and Marie's loud voices being the last thing she heard as her vision blacked out.