A silver lance materialized in his hand. Yujin wordlessly sheathed his sword and aimed the spear at his enemies.
No one spoke. But every honed instinct screamed a warning.
Right now, that exhausted boy might just kill us all.
Sona stepped back, intending to protect the children with her back to the wall, but Kiril ignored her and stepped forward.
Yujin had formed the spear from Originium. But its shape was one Kiril knew all too well.
It bore the marks of time, an old weapon, yet its edge had lost none of its chill. It radiated a cold, silver light.
It was the spear his grandfather had carried.
Kiril stared at it blankly. Yujin spoke to him without turning.
"Kiril, watch closely."
Yujin took a heavy step forward, bending his body like a coiled spring, ready to launch.
"This spear... is your grandfather's chivalry."
The Armorless Union didn't wait idly. Silver, blue, and finally, the strongest black arrows were fired simultaneously.
The projectiles accelerated instantly, entering their field of vision in a blur. Larin raised her bone-whistle to intercept, but Yujin moved faster than she could write.
A human body moving faster than an arrow. Seeing the impossible, the Union members instinctively raised their shields.
They turtled behind their heavy defenses, but Yujin didn't care. He thrust the spear.
Cutting through the wind, gathering a storm at its tip, designed to pierce the enemy in a single strike—fulfilling the duty of a Spear of Kazimierz.
The rotating spear struck the shield. In that instant, the massive slab of steel crumpled like paper and was punched through.
It didn't stop there. It crushed the hand holding the shield, pierced through the arm, and continued forward. The unstoppable spear finally drove through the holder's heart, shattering the formation.
Crunch! BOOM!
With a single thrust, Yujin broke the formation and left a gouge in the massive iron gate he needed to pass. Panting heavily, he glared at the Darkiron.
"You... how...?"
The old man had retreated quickly enough to avoid the shockwave, but his mouth hung open. He knew that spearmanship better than anyone.
The essence of the Silverlance Pegasi.
Why does that boy have it?
The old man knew for a fact the boy had never made contact with the Silverlances. And while the Nearl archives held records, that technique was not something that could be learned from a book or oral tradition.
It was a spear meant to charge head-on, breakthrough, and shatter the enemies of Kazimierz.
For some reason, the old man saw another knight—a ghost he had killed with his own hands—sneering at him. He drew his bowstring.
"Just one step. Just one more step...!"
The Armorless Union could never come out into the light. They were assassins who handled the Merchant Association's dirty work, destined to remain in the shadows.
But one cannot be a slave forever. The old man had worked tirelessly to break his leash, and he was ready. He had prepared a dagger to strike at the heart of the Association.
But everything was ruined. Because of this knight who appeared out of nowhere.
The Nearl family, which should have fallen, held its head high. The Adeptus summoned the Silverlance Pegasi, forcing the Association into caution.
He could wait for next time, but that future was too distant. He hadn't wanted to pass this burden onto his granddaughter... but she had returned to him as a cold corpse.
There was no turning back. All that remained was to kill this knight.
It was the only thing the old man could do.
Arrows rained down. Swords and spears struck from behind shields.
Arrows aimed at his head. Blades seeking to wound him. Yujin moved simply, dodging every attack in a single breath.
Even airborne, he maintained balance and thrust his spear. With every breath, a shield was shattered.
Behind the broken shields were faces frozen in fear. Yujin didn't hesitate to end them. When a strike came that the spear couldn't block, he drew his sword to parry.
Slash!
Even from a broken posture, leaning backward, he swung his sword one-handed to sever an opponent's leg. No matter how thick the iron wall, there was always a gap.
As shields broke, enemies faltered and retreated. Yujin rushed them, swinging sword and spear in tandem.
Raquelamalin didn't charge in; she supported Yujin with her Arts, syncing her movements with his. Every time ash-gray Words rose, an enemy fell.
The other Darkiron groaned. The soldiers here weren't executives, but they were elites chosen for this task. Yet they were falling like scarecrows.
Platinum eyes stared at the Lazurites and Darkirons with mechanical indifference. The roughness Yujin had shown in their first encounter was gone.
"Dammit..."
They considered targeting the children, but if their focus split even slightly, the opponent would likely tear through the battlefield and take their heads instantly. That was why the Darkirons and Lazurites couldn't move rashly.
'...A little faster. I have to break through.'
But Yujin felt as if stones were weighing down his insides. The accumulated fatigue was too deep. His wounds hadn't fully healed, and his limit was approaching.
Crash.
If his rhythm broke even once, he would stop. having started running, he had to see the end.
"Huff... huff..."
Breathing raggedly, Yujin looked at the old man. The Darkiron narrowed his eyes and fired an arrow with lethal precision, aiming to end Yujin‘s life.
Lazurites and Darkirons were not ordinary archers. Their shots looked random, but they calculated Yujin‘s path, his movements, even the objects and people around him.
Two stars connected to form a constellation. Though still incomplete, the shining stars were blindingly beautiful.
"Yujin!"
A moment of breath. A fleeting gap created in that instant. The beasts didn't miss it; they bit down.
"Gah!"
An arrow pierced his side. It was the old man's shot. Yujin twisted his body at the last second, avoiding vital organs, but it stuck fast.
Blood gushed out. Yujin touched the flowing crimson.
The path was open, but he couldn't take it. The massive shields that had filled his world were all shattered on the ground.
"No! You... yooou...!"
Larin tried to rush to him, but the Lazurites and Platinum blocked her path. Armored and faceless, they stood between her and Yujin.
Cornered. Driven to the edge. Knowing Yujin‘s death was near, the old man‘s eyes curved into crescents.
"How does it feel? To have death right under your nose?"
"..."
"Understand. As you get old, you get talkative. I don't know where you learned that spearmanship and swordsmanship, but..."
Yujin glared at the old man. The Darkirons nocked arrows and drew their strings.
The arrows were poisoned, making Yujin‘s breathing even more labored. The roles of hunter and hunted had swapped. It was Yujin‘s turn to retreat.
As the arrows were loosed again, just as Yujin prepared to twist his body...
"Argh! Seriously!"
Red hair flashed in front of his eyes. Sona, having thrown herself to dodge one arrow and cut down another, looked back at Yujin.
"You! What about the kids?!"
"I don't know! Those brats wouldn't listen even if I threatened to kill them!"
Kisha had appeared beside him, her face set in grim determination as she reached for his side. An Art similar to Yujin‘s but different—containing the night sky—began to spread through his body.
"Kisha, no. Run. I can't protect you all right now..."
"If I'm just going to be a burden, I'd rather die."
Pushing her Arts to the limit to heal him, Kisha looked into Yujin‘s eyes. Kiril also approached, extending a hand glowing with faint golden light.
Offering his meager healing power.
"Master, I don't know how you have that spear."
Kiril‘s eyes remained unchanged. From the moment they met until now, the young boy held the same uprightness in his gaze.
"But you are the most knightly person I know. So, that spear must have its own meaning."
Kiril‘s gaze shifted from Yujin to the old man. He glared at the Darkiron, suppressing the fire erupting from his heart.
"So don't lose. Not to people like that. Show them what kind of person you are."
"Heh..."
He stopped for a moment because he was tired, and now his disciples were making a fuss. Yujin laughed hollowly, gripping his spear and sword as he stood up.
"Aaaah! I'm dying! Seriously dying! Help me!!!"
The woman who had navigated the battlefield like a flame was rolling on the ground. Sona, agile as a squirrel, looked exhausted, having reached her limit.
The two Darkirons were still hale. Yujin moved to Sona‘s side, weapons ready.
"Ugh, really. When we first met, I never thought I'd get dragged into something like this."
"So, you hate it?"
"No? Actually, it feels like a last chance. A chance to kill those murderers who slaughtered my kin."
Though she shouted playfully, her eyes were sunken deep. The Darkirons were monsters who had consumed the lives of hundreds of Infected.
"I'll make an opening somehow. Just hold on until then. I can't do it alone. I need your strength."
"…Can you do it?"
"Even if I die, I'm taking those bastards with me. They won't remember me, but I remember them."
Sona threw herself at the Darkiron. Naturally, the archer didn't just watch; he fired an arrow in response.
Not like Yujin, but like a tightrope walker, Sona‘s body performed acrobatics. Specialized in evasion, she couldn't reach the Darkiron alone, but with Yujin, it was different.
Make an opening. Yujin closed in and swung his sword, clashing with the Darkiron‘s bow.
They succeeded in reaching one, but the other—the old man—remained elusive. Every time he pulled his bowstring, Yujin was knocked back heavily.
"Unfortunately, this is the end."
With the old man‘s short declaration, the clatter of metal was heard. Boots stomped the ground as dozens appeared—armored men with swords at their hips.
Seeing Yujin and Sona, they charged without hesitation. Sword tips rushed for Yujin‘s throat, and Sona could barely dodge in the chaotic melee.
"Raquelamalin!"
"Got it, just...!"
Thwack!
Like a snake biting, an arrow pierced the arm of Larin, who had been looking at Yujin. Without a scream, she grimaced and rolled on the ground.
He had closed the distance, but to protect the children and retreat with Larin, Yujin pulled back.
The balance crumbled. Other knights rushed toward the children, and Kiril drew his sword with hardened eyes.
"Damn it—!"
Yujin roared and threw himself forward. But the distance was too great, and he couldn't stop the blades aimed at the children.
———Until a red comet trailed across the sky.
A clear sky. In the twilight, where city lights were returning but darkness still lingered, a strange red comet streaked down.
And then, impact.
The object that looked like a comet fell from the sky. Piercing through the clear sky and clouds, the comet—no, the spear—smashed the enemy rushing toward Kisha and Kiril into pulp.
Kiril stared in shock at the spear embedded in the earth amidst a rising cloud of dust. Everyone froze, staring at the scene. As the dust settled, Yujin let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha... you took your sweet time, you bastards..."
Something else fell from the sky. Two figures appeared in the dust cloud. One fell to his hands and knees, retching.
"Urrgh... motion sickness... You crazy reindeer... You actually thought of jumping that distance...?"
"Given the situation, I thought it was unavoidable..."
Red eyes scanned the surroundings. Larin with an arrow through her arm. The bewildered children staring at him. And finally, the face of a friend he hadn't seen in a long time.
"As expected, my judgment was correct."
A massive figure moved. The man with reindeer antlers walked forward, red eyes shining.
"…Who is the enemy, Yujin?"
Buldrokkas'tee and Theresis.
Another calamity had descended upon Sector Zero.