Eternal Elysium

A deep silence permeated the great hall as the knight remained still, unmoving as if it had fallen deep in thoughts.

That thought itself was enough to make me shudder.

"What… What is that thing?"

I muttered, my voice trailing off longer than I could have hoped for.

The knight… The ruined knight felt like a being that had crawled its way from hell itself.

It wouldn't be wrong to call it a demon.

"It feels like a beast." Chris whispered, a cold sweat trickling down his chin, as he held his spear tightly.

"But…" Chris paused, glancing my way and said in a serious voice.

"It looks stronger than any beast I have ever seen… It's as if it's an avenger but not quite one as well."

"Hell, I won't even call it a high-rank beast."

Just as those words left Chris' mouth, a suffocating pressure descended upon us.

The demonic knight rose from the ground; its movements remained heavy and restricted, as if it didn't know how its body worked momentarily.

We all remained still, watching it.

Just as the demonic knight moved its arms and grabbed the bone blade at the center of the ruined hall, a blue spout of water came right toward it. A chain so light, so fast that it became hard to follow.

My eyes widened as it hit the dreadful knight right on its arm. The knight didn't flinch nor did it react at first. He simply shook his head softly and then turned his head to face Maira before grabbing the chains with his other arm and pulling them slightly.

Maira's face went pale. She parted her lips and yelled in our direction.

"It's a corrupted beast!"

As those words echoed, bouncing in the hall, we froze.

'Corrupted?'

It was a term I have not heard in a long time. But I knew what it implied—I was also keenly aware of how dreadful things had turned.

Chris suddenly rushed forward as I saw Captain Maira fly into the air, her chains dissipating into nothingness.

A small cry escaped her lips as I raised my hand, slowing her down. As she reached one end of the hall, Chris caught her, falling alongside her on the floor with a loud thud. A painful groan escaped their lips.

At the same time, the knight freed his sword from the broken piles and rubble of the ancient stone floor. And rushed toward us with a maddening fury.

I raised my sword as, in the blink of an eye, the corrupted knight appeared before me. His tall figure shrouded with dark fumes and shadows consumed me in an instant.

It raised its sword and swung it toward me like a sledgehammer.

Boom!

"What?"

I gasped as I stepped aside, dodging on time—almost losing my balance as my legs pushed me off the ground.

The moment the sword had touched the ground, the floor shattered, cracking like spiderwebs as if unable to bear the weight of the sword. The knight looked surprised, surprised by the fact I had managed to dodge in time.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

And I was glad I did.

Being in his presence made my blood run cold.

My hands were shaking.

The sword I held felt meaningless.

I could feel it…

Something dark…

Something profane radiating from his very being.

I pushed the feeling aside. Closing all my senses with my will, I raised my head to look ahead. The knight had pushed his sword on his shoulder; the armor plate clanked as he moved toward us.

Summer from behind raised her hand and fired a direct shot, a red line that came piercing through the dry wind. An explosion erupted behind him, thrusting him ahead.

Then, as if on cue, a barrage of strikes began. Several onyx hands came from the depth of the great hall and lunged at the fallen knight.

His figure was now shrouded in darkness; the lights in our hands failed to pierce the darkness.

It was but just for a moment.

The onyx arms, before they could reach the knight, vanished as the bone sword moved in an arc with a deafening roar, destroying them.

The knight stood up.

This time anger flared behind his armor with blazing intensity.

However, I couldn't understand something.

Monsters weren't supposed to be intelligent… Not this much, at least.

But that was not the only thing.

The knight felt humane, but he clearly was not one.

The knight felt sane, yet he was insane.

The knight felt like a warrior, but he was honestly corrupted.

My thoughts couldn't keep up as I again pushed myself forward.

In my pupils suddenly flames flickered, and a dark surge of light rose in the air, surrounding the corrupted knight's sword with force that felt surreal.

He then swung it down toward us with a chaotic strength.

The winds howled as if weeping. The knight's rage reached us like waves.

As hope looked dim to dodge unscathed, Jamal joined in.

He raised his shield, taking the attack head-on.

The shield didn't budge as if it were eternal. The same couldn't be said for Jamal, as I couldn't support him on time. The land beneath him cracked, and his knees buckled down, hitting the cold floor.

Luckily, he was not alone.

Chris rushed forward; his spear grazed the knight's chin as he took a step back. The armor made of cold metal didn't take a single hit as they clashed.

I took a deep breath and pulled my attention toward Chris and the knights' fight.

Chris' spear moved with a blur of speed and the knights slowed down. His movement rusted, and the momentum died as Chris only flared more with my support.

Even in his weakened state, the corrupted knight was a beast. One of his many arms rose, claws curled, and he struck Chris hard in the stomach. The impact forced the air from Chris's lungs in a single gasp. His armor splintered, shattering where the blow had landed.

Seeing this, I rushed forward. My one hand pushed Chris aside while the other holding the blade moved to stab the knight through the gap in his armor.

A slick sound happened as the knight bent like a beast and stepped back with a sickening roar.

My blade missed its mark by an inch as we both again dashed at each other.

I appeared near it with a terrifying speed. A barrage of strikes followed after as the knight pushed my sword away with a simple swing of his sword.

I was weaker in terms of strength. That was obvious to me.

But still I had my own advantage in hand.

Twisting myself, I pushed myself off the ground and took a defying step in the air. My boots pushed through the sky like stairs as I came above the corrupted beast.

Then the knight froze on his spot with his head raised.

A sharp pain pierced through my mind.

It was heavy. My head throbbed like never before as I let out a painful groan, making my mind waver even further. Before my blade could slit the knight's throat, [Static] broke, freeing the knight from its shackle.

Suddenly I was pulled down as he threw me off its back. My back hit the cold stone floor with a loud thud as if my spine had broken. I pushed my hand on the ground, trembling to stand up on my feet.

Taking deep breaths, I saw my vision return back. My head still felt like it could explode at any moment now, as I held it tightly.

From the corner of my eye I saw blasts and shadows stopping the beast from coming my way.

The room was heated.

As the knight let out a loud roar, his body covered in dark fumes flared up in flames. His attack rushed past us as I plummeted to the ground. The attacks, the flame that spread, were violent and unpredictable as they filled the great hall at once before finally hitting something.

The pillars fell out of the great hall one after another as the attack hit it.

Booom!

The way we had come from was gone. There was nowhere left to run now.

Gritting my teeth, I stood up and started to walk toward the knight first with slow steps and uneven breathing before finally joining the fray myself.

As sparks flew in the air, our clash continued. The knight's attacks were heavy; each of its swings held a ton of weight behind it. While mine was light, it could only scratch the surface of its iron plate.

The knight was free from any restraints as the shadows and chains of blue reached to grab him, only for a fury of flames to reach out and burn them.

Chris held his own as his invisible strike finally cut the monster's face, making it bleed. An inquisitive laugh filled the hall as the monster sprinted toward his path only to be stopped by Jamal and his shield. The knight punched the shield twice but it didn't budge. Jamal's body quaked, but as he smiled, the monster was pushed back by an invisible force, his head craning back at an impossible angle as the knight staggered back.