It was a lion.
Its head was covered in chitinous armor, while countless razor-sharp quills extended backward from its skull, each as keen as a blade.
The pair of fangs protruding from its upper jaw resembled the curved sabers wielded by elite cavalry, glinting with deadly cold light beneath the sun.
Its limbs were encased in a natural armor unlike anything found in nature, their surface gleaming like polished metal while retaining both the hardness of stone and the flexibility of living flesh.
Most terrifying of all were its foreclaws They could effortlessly slice through any armor.
A knight's armor was no sturdier before them than paper.
No matter how one looked at it, this Great Beast had long surpassed the limits of natural evolution.
Its body had been twisted and warped by Chaos corruption into something horrifyingly grotesque.
But its mutated appearance was the least troublesome aspect.
The true danger lay in the all-encompassing enhancements Chaos had bestowed upon it.
An ordinary beast could be blown apart by a single bolt round.
Great Beasts, however, could shrug off bolt shells with scales, chitin, or sheer flesh.
Should the fight devolve into close combat, the knight would immediately find himself at a tremendous disadvantage because of the enormous disparity in size.
The monster before them embodied that advantage to the utmost.
Standing five meters tall, it even towered over the Primarch.
If the Order had faced this Great Beast alone, they would likely have suffered more than half their number as casualties before finally bringing it down.
Yet despite watching the Lion charge straight toward it, every knight believed without question that Lion would deal with it.
Because he was the true Lion.
ROOOAAAR!
Without warning, the Great Beast suddenly exploded forward in the middle of its charge.
Its massive body became little more than a blur, accompanied by a foul wind as it lunged directly at the Primarch.
Within a nanosecond, Lion calculated every possible injury the beast's attack could inflict.
At the very last instant, he sidestepped the sweeping claws.
At the same time, the power sword in his hand carved a razor-sharp arc across the beast's flank.
Though he was evading he showed not the slightest hint of panic, instead, he counterattacked with effortless composure.
This wasn't merely experience it was simply the Primarch's instinctive battle sense.
The crackling disruption field ripped open the beast's incredibly tough hide.
Scalding blood erupted like a crimson fountain, staining Lion's armor a brilliant scarlet.
The wounded monster let out a howl of agony.
Its massive hind leg swung toward the Primarch like a battering ram.
Lion evaded it once more as though he had foreseen the attack before it was launched.
Then during that split-second exchange the horrific wound across the beast's abdomen finally tore completely open under the force of its own movement.
Its ruptured flesh could no longer contain its internal organs.
Viscera mixed with thick black blood spilled out in long strands, dragging through the underbrush.
The unbearable pain caused the monstrous lion to freeze for one fatal instant.
The Lion would never let such an opportunity pass.
He stepped directly into the beast's reach.
Raising his power sword high overhead.
CLANG!
The armored plates protecting the beast's neck produced a heavy metallic crash upon impact.
But even they could not withstand such an overwhelming blow.
With a wet sound of flesh separating the grotesque head spun through the air before crashing to the ground, the cloud of dust it kicked up marked the end of the battle.
The assembled knights did not cheer.
Instead silence fell over them.
They were simply too stunned many hadn't even seen how the battle had begun before it was already over.
The Lion's victory had never been in doubt but no one had imagined it would end so effortlessly.
Both the Primarch and the Great Beast stood at the pinnacle of their respective races.
Each was an apex predator, a battle between such supreme beings ought to have been spectacular.
Instead it ended as casually as an adult disciplining a child.
The beast's roar still echoed in everyone's ears but the Lion already stood motionless.
There had been no dazzling swordsmanship, n prolonged exchange not even unnecessary movement.
When Lion finally stopped the five-meter-tall Great Beast overlord suddenly seemed to lose every trace of life.
Like a collapsing mountain it crashed to the earth.
He was too fast, so fast that everyone unconsciously held their breath.
None of them had truly seen his movements.
Many knights even doubted whether they had actually witnessed the battle or merely been deceived by afterimages too fleeting for the eye to follow.
"Lion!"
Zahariel's flushed face broke the silence first.
His shout was like a spark cast into dry tinder.
The crowd instantly erupted.
"Lion!"
Weapons were raised high the cheers crashed across the wilderness like tidal waves.
Their voices shook the heavens.
Lion sheathed his sword with a soft metallic scrape.
Then he slowly walked toward the assembled knights.
His blood-soaked cloak billowed proudly behind him.
Looking over every knight present, he spoke in a voice every man could hear clearly.
"This is the end, my knightly brothers."
"The war is over. We ended it with our own hands."
"I can proudly declare"
"It was we who brought an end to the thousands of years of brutal domination the Great Beasts held over the people of Caliban."
"From this day forward... the world truly belongs to us."
After a brief silence, the crowd's cheers thundered.
"For Lion!"
"For Lion!"
The knights' cries echoed across the wilderness without end.
Every face bore the same reverence, very pair of eyes reflected only one figure, the knight standing at the head of them all.
Yes. They had won.
Every knight had contributed but no one had contributed more than Lion.
He had begun the Great Hunt. He had slain the monstrous overlords. He had united the people of Caliban.
Just like the Great Beast overlord lying dead before them no one except Lion could have defeated it.
Any one of them could be replaced only Lion could not.
At that moment they weren't merely celebrating victory.
They were witnessing the end of an age and the one who ended it was the Lion.
Amid the thunderous celebration the sky suddenly darkened.
It was a massive stone.
A tremendous shadow cut across the heavens.
The knights instinctively looked upward.
Reflected in their eyes was an enormous monolith hurtling through the sky.
It soared over everyone's heads in complete defiance of physics before crashing heavily to the ground beside the Lion.
The bizarre sight instantly silenced every cheer. The knights felt their throats tighten. They recognized the stone.
For the past six months this was the very monolith containing the Sword in the Stone that had defeated countless challengers.
It should have remained thousands of miles away in the center of the city.
When they departed the stone had still been there.
Yet now, it had somehow flown here.
How?
"Watchers!"
Someone suddenly cried out.
Without anyone noticing hundreds of Watchers had silently appeared around the gathered knights.
The little green-robed figures remained hidden beneath deep shadows.
Every one of them gazed silently toward the same person.
'Did someone overturn the Watchers' nest or something?'
Meeting their gazes Lion seemed to understand.
"I tried many times I could never draw the sword."
"I wasn't worthy."
"You are now."
The knights exchanged astonished looks.
No one had spoken aloud.
Yet every one of them had heard the voice.
It seemed to echo directly inside their minds.
Only after looking toward the little green-robed figures did, they realize, it was the whisper of the Watchers.
'Were the Watchers acknowledging Sir Lion?'
Lion asked, "Why?"
"Once you were only a sword with an edge. Five years ago you became a knight who wielded a sword."
"But now you are a king who commands all knights."
Lion murmured softly, "A king"
His expression remained perfectly natural.
But inwardly he couldn't help feeling somewhat awkward.
Acting simply wasn't his strength.
Fortunately, the performance had been entirely improvised.
There had been no script no fixed dialogue every participant was making it up as they went.
It had been his father's suggestion.
The scene followed the ancient Terran legend of the Sword in the Stone almost exactly.
The Primarch didn't wish to reject Father's wishes.
Besides his father was only worried about him.
How could he refuse such concern?
"Draw the sword."
The voice spoke.
Lion silently approached the stone. His gauntleted hand gently rested upon the hilt.
This time unlike every previous attempt the grip felt strangely warm.
As he pulled there was no resistance whatsoever.
The blade slid smoothly free of the stone with only the faint sound of metal brushing against rock.
It was a magnificent power sword.
Its size fit the Lion perfectly.
The blade shimmered beneath the sunlight with dark golden radiance at the center of the crossguard gleamed the emblem of a winged sword.
It was the symbol of the Order and the symbol of the Lion himself.
"He actually pulled it out?"
The knights stared fixedly at the enormous power sword in Lion's hand.
Its size was utterly impossible for any ordinary man to wield but when they themselves had attempted to draw it, it had never seemed this large.
It was almost as though the sword had grown the instant it left the stone.
Every one of them had failed before the Sword in the Stone.
Now it rested in the Lion's grasp.
What did that mean?
"Knight King!"
Someone within the Order shouted first.
Instantly the entire Order erupted.
"For the Knight King!"
"For the Knight King!"
In the blink of an eye the formation of the Order dropped by half.
Almost unconscious every knight knelt on one knee their eyes burned with almost fanatical devotion.
The Lion raised the power sword high overhead.
The golden light flowing across the blade bathed him in a sacred radiance.
The knights from the other orders wore conflicted expressions.
They fell into an awkward silence. They acknowledged the Lion's unmatched strength. They were willing to show him respect.
But kneeling that was another matter.
The Order could kneel before its own Grand Master without hesitation.
But the Lion was not yet their king.
Even so many young apprentices from the other knightly orders found themselves unconsciously kneeling.
At that moment Lion El'Jonson no longer resembled merely a majestic lion.
He looked every bit the King of Lions.
"For the Knight King!"
The Grand Master of the Knights of the Star Cup knelt upon one knee.
Submitting himself to the Lion King of Caliban.
This surprised no one, their order had long been the closest ally of The Order.
The knights of the Flame Haze Order exchanged uncertain glances.
Their kneeling came a heartbeat later but with far greater unity.
Their submission shocked everyone far more than the Star Cup Knights.
Like dominoes one reaction triggered another.
The tiny knightly orders required no deliberation whatsoever.
They lacked strength not intelligence with the Great Beasts gone Caliban would inevitably enter an age of competing powers.
Large knightly orders would absorb smaller ones.
Conflicts over territory and interests would become commonplace.
Small orders simply couldn't compete, most would struggle to retain even their rightful share.
So, they would inevitably need the protection of a stronger power.
Among every knightly order The Order stood at the very summit. It was the strongest pillar anyone could lean upon.
Its reputation was among the finest as well.
True recruiting commoners had led many ancient knightly orders to oppose them but the smaller orders had never shared such deep prejudices.
When forced to choose between tradition and survival, they chose survival.
Only by surviving could tradition continue. If they would eventually have to seek protection anyway
Why wait?
As the smaller orders knelt the medium-sized knightly orders followed en mass.
For exactly the same reason The Order had become unstoppable.
Supported by all these smaller allies they could sweep across Caliban.
Anyone unwilling to be swept aside had only one choice.
Join them.
As more and more knightly orders bowed
Only a handful of the great ancient orders remained standing.
"Lion El'Jonson."
One Grand Master stepped forward.
Looking directly at the Primarch, he asked, "Tell me."
"Whose king are you?"
Lion answered calmly, "I am the Knight King."
"I am the King of Caliban."
Not merely King of the Order but king of every knightly order upon Caliban.
"Do you swear to respect our traditions?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear to treat us all equally?"
"I swear."
The Grand Master slowly knelt, "If you swear it, then allow me to pledge my loyalty King of Caliban."
As he knelt his entire knightly order knelt with him.
Another row fell, the remaining great knightly orders finally bowed one after another not a single knight among the tens of thousands remained standing.
Lion looked over every knight kneeling before him.
His voice boomed like thunder.
"I swear upon my honor as King of Caliban from this day forward we shall stand united beneath a single banner. My will shall never be swayed by birth!"
"From this moment onward, we are brothers bound together by blood."
"We swear never again to wage war upon one another. We shall fight side by side for one future, for one ideal."
"The extinction of the Great Beasts is not the end of our glory."
"It is merely the beginning. Our glory... lies among the stars."
"Rise my brothers."
Thousands of knights rose as one.
The King of Caliban raised his power sword high above his head.
"In the name of Caliban!"
"Knights of Caliban, onwards to the stars!"