Chapter Four: A Hard-Fought Struggle After Ten Years

Chapter Four: The Bitter Battle Ten Years Later

2017 – The Tower of Desolation

Characters: Shuster, Nero

Tap—tap—tap—tap—tap—the sound of footsteps crisscrossing in swift motion.

Bang—bang—the echoing gunshots mingling in the chaos.

“Lightning Blade!” With a crisp shout, Shuster brandished his crackling katana, bringing it down upon a Chill Hunter. The beast raised its forelimb, its blade-like appendage parrying the strike with a sharp clang. Yet though it blocked the steel, it could not withstand the thunder magic entwined in the blow; instantly, it stiffened, paralyzed where it stood. With a final bang, the last Chill Hunter fell.

“Nero, you promised this one was mine, and you stole the kill again! I’m ignoring you.” Shuster shot Nero a fierce glare. Yet, aside from Nero, who else could witness these two famously stoic knights of the Order bantering with laughter? Most astonishing of all was the feminine beauty of Shuster’s face; even our stoic twenty-one-year-old Nero felt his heart skip at that adorable pout—though of course, Shuster himself was oblivious, and expressionless Nero would never say a word.

“I—” Nero had just begun to speak when the ground trembled violently beneath their feet.

“What’s happening? Wait—what’s this?” Shuster braced himself with one hand, steadying his body, only to notice a faint blue glow emanating from himself. Behind him, the ruins of the toppled tower also shimmered with light, a strange sense of kinship resonating between them. “How odd.” Stabilizing himself, Shuster began approaching the ruins, curiosity piqued.

As the earth stilled, Nero saw Shuster walking toward the wreckage. “Shuster, get back here!” Nero shouted.

“Hm?” Awakened by Nero’s call, Shuster shook his head, startled to realize he had almost stepped into the chasm. He sighed in relief at the narrow escape. A hand landed on his shoulder, bringing him to his senses. Turning, he saw Nero had come to stand beside him. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing much. Just… it feels like something inside is calling to me.”

As they spoke, a Chill Hunter emerged from a fissure in the ruins. Shuster moved to attack, but someone else was faster—a blur of black, nearly too quick to see even for them. A scream tore the air as the Chill Hunter was enveloped in a pall of black mist. The mist thickened, becoming a dense fog, exuding an unnatural menace that made both knights instinctively retreat. The black haze, sensing it could not catch them at its current rate, began to contract.

Shuster and Nero noticed that as the mist shrank, its power seemed to intensify, their expressions growing grave. Nero reached beneath his cloak and drew his revolver—Azure Rose, his own twin-barrel modification capable of firing two energy rounds at once. Shuster, too, produced his ranged weapon: a beautifully crafted Desert Eagle, smooth in design, its caliber speaking of its destructive force, with two golden stars embroidered on its wings. He called it Heavenly Spark—a symbol of judgment descending from above. Like Nero’s, it was an energy weapon, with magazines conjured from pure magic.

For the first time, something had made both knights treat a foe with such seriousness—the black mist was formidable indeed. Gradually, the mist contracted to a one-meter sphere, growing denser and taking on the shape of a cocoon. From within, a heartbeat echoed, throbbing with the coming of something dreadful. Shuster and Nero’s guns began to glow with magical energy; as the charge built, the colors changed—Nero’s Azure Rose flashing from blue to violet to red, Shuster’s Heavenly Spark arcing with one, then two, then three bolts of lightning.

Inside the cocoon, the light flickered with the beat of the unseen heart, as though nurturing a terrifying power. At the zenith of their weapons’ charge, the cocoon cracked—a fissure that made both knights tense, as a chilling magic radiated from within. The cracks spread, webbing across the sphere. With a thunderous crash, the cocoon shattered. At that instant, both Nero and Shuster fired.

Bang—bang—Nero roared, “Die!” Shuster cried, “Thunder God’s Execution!”

The mist dispersed, revealing a humanoid figure. Flames and lightning arced around its form—clearly, their attacks had struck home. Two seconds later, the being fully emerged: two meters tall, clad in black armor, a black helmet bound with a red scarf, a crimson cloak trailing to the ground, a sphere of fire set in its left breast, a globe of lightning embedded in its right.

Seeing the knight before them unharmed, the two laughed—not from mirth, but mockery, deriding the black knight’s ignorance. In the next second—

Boom! The fire sphere in the black knight’s chest exploded, his entire body erupting in flames. The lightning orb became a crackling net, singing with the cries of a thousand birds. Smoke and dust billowed skyward. When it cleared, the black knight was kneeling on one knee, red light glowing through the visor, hiding his eyes. In a flash, the red light flared—and the black knight vanished. The sudden disappearance stunned both knights, who rolled aside just in time.

Shuster braced himself with one hand, firing several rounds mid-air to drive back the black knight, who had wounded Nero’s right arm. At last, their attacks seemed to have left an impression on the foe. Only now did they see that their previous assault had left two gaping holes in the knight’s armor—but inside, there was nothing. The sight shocked them both.

Recovering quickly, Nero launched his counterattack. With a shout, he lunged forward, forcing the black knight to abandon his pursuit of Shuster and defend himself instead. The clash of immense strength sent Nero reeling, leaving him momentarily exposed. The black knight seized the opportunity, swinging his giant sword in a sweeping arc. Yet Nero’s quick recovery allowed him to dodge back, then launch an upward strike that sent the black knight airborne. Seizing the moment, Nero leapt after him. On the ground below, Shuster took aim with Heavenly Spark, unleashing a barrage of shots. In the air, Nero struck four times, splintering the knight’s armor with each blow. The fourth sent the black knight crashing down toward Shuster, who, having just holstered his gun, shouted, “Perfect timing! Thunder Dragon’s Roar!” As the black knight closed in, Shuster’s katana flashed with arcs of lightning, slicing innumerable afterimages before finally unleashing a massive bolt—the knight’s arm was severed completely.

Just as Shuster breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Nero shout: “Watch out!” Turning sharply, he saw the one-armed black knight sweeping his greatsword across, darkness flickering along its edge. With no time to dodge, Shuster could only block. He raised his blade just in time—clang, crack—the katana stopped the sword for a heartbeat before snapping in two. In a split-second reflex, Shuster twisted his body, shifting his vital points aside and channeling magic to reinforce the struck area. He was blasted away, crashing into a stone pillar. Blood spurted from his lips.

“Careless…” he muttered.

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PS: This is my interpretation based on the official novel. In the next chapter, our great System God will make his debut! Two more chapters coming tonight!