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The crowd muttered among themselves as pained expressions appeared on most. The fate of those who give in to the darkness was worse than death. Lusica looked with gratitude through his tired eyes at the Knight of Courage, who managed to sway the crowd to his side.

"This is not a heroic tale," staggered Lusica as he tried to stand on his own and looked at the rest. "We were all given a home by the Seika, where ranks and classes do not matter, where life was peaceful as it should be. Nevertheless, I will fight for this cause, and I hope you do as well."

The words of a young knight moved the crowd. It was true, even if they were afraid of the battle. The Seika allowed them into his city without asking for anything. After the long fight, the Devil Hunters were promised a reunion with their families.

As the crowd stood there silently, a group of people walked from the direction of the city. The soldiers got ready for another battle but soon realized their princess led the group. Following her petite figure were countless knights, carrying looks of hesitation.

"My lord," the Knight of Courage tilted her head with confusion as she looked at the knights behind Diana. "Are these war prisoners?"

"New comrades," presented the Lord of Runera. "They have realized the ongoing bizarre events surrounding the capital. I explained our cause, and they decided to see for themselves the state of the capital."

"And what did they find?"

"Dried corpses, mostly," sighed Diana as she looked at her corpses. "Our enemy has changed. The knights who were within the borders of Livia are now of uncertain fate, and the capital is infested with vampires."

"That raises the difficulty by a margin," sighed the Knight of Courage before she turned toward the knights' captain and added. "No offense."

"None was taken, Honorable Knight," saluted the captain. "I am simply devastated that in the short span of the battle, we lost so many young men and women."

"This is the truth behind the capital," said the Titled Knight before turning toward the rest. "The battle ahead will be a merciless one. The Ruler of Blood births the vampires, and their regeneration is no less than immortality. Therefore, the best strategy is to apprehend them first. Understood?"

"Yessir!" shouted the army in unison, shaking the battlefield. Then, Courage turned toward the knights who joined their ranks recently. There might be vampires among them, but it was better than fighting an army because of that.

"You are not our enemy, and you have never been. Our arrays escorted the citizens to a safe location until this war ended. We want you to be safe and to rid this kingdom of this plague known as the Ancient One, who is the vessel of Kar, Overlord of Vampires."

The knights lifted their heads after hearing her words. The Titled Knight of Courage was no stranger to them, as she was known as the kindest knight and one of their kingdom's strongest. It was only for a moment that they thought of her as an enemy.

"I trained some of you and knighted more. We are not the enemy," she said before pointing her sword toward the capital. "The enemy is there!"

"OOOOOH!"

The knights cheered after the Knight of Courage made them feel like this was their battle and that they had not lost yet. Then, the army turned toward the capital, now twice as big, and marched toward the barrier.

Lusica looked at the scene in awe. His powers to destroy were almost laughable compared to Courage's ability to unite. A few words from her struck the honor among the knights and used it to make them allies.

"We should not dilly dally, Lusica," she said while walking closer to him. "I know we fought once before, but respect is earned through battles."

"My respect toward you never wavered, Wrathful Demon."

"You youngsters are truly fascinated by such embarrassing titles," she said as a slight blush appeared on her face. "Now, let's follow the rest because we need you to break the barrier."

"How old are you... Honorable One?" he swallowed back his words as he reached the end of the sentence. The Knight of Courage turned toward him with surprise, which he shared, because he was never interested in befriending anyone.

"A few years from thirty," she said without a hint of embarrassment. "And you are barely twenty. Are you offended that I called you youngster?"

"I just thought that among all of us, the Seika is the youngest, except for Hana. We followed someone so young, so blindly."

"That is true," nodded the Knight of Courage with a pondering expression. "However, the Seika doesn't give out the aura of youth. When I first met him, he was being chased by Skywalker, like a wounded wolf without any ability."

"I cannot imagine it."

"You can because even when wounded, the wolf was terrifying. That man carried beneath his tongue countless questions, and his eyes betrayed how desperate he was for the answers. He was kind, but when he needed to be not, he did not hesitate."

"And is that the reason you followed him?"

"I followed him because he showed me miracles," said the Knight before slapping Lusica on the head. "You need to do the same now and destroy the barrier for us."

"I understand..." Lusica rubbed his head with a smile. It might be because he allowed the darkness outside, but his body felt lighter. Furthermore, his heart was beating for the first time in years.

***

Solomon stared at his barrier breaking apart from the direction of the battle. He thought his knights would buy more time, but this was enough. The vampires will hinder the army for long enough.

It was not his battle, but he somehow knew that when the Seika learns of the knights Solomon sacrificed, he would kill him. This feeling grew stronger after he talked to the man standing behind him.

"You are a stepping stone," declared the Healer Guardian to the king who was standing on the balcony. "I am unaware how, but I know that the Seika is the true fated one to save this kingdom. This makes you... the villain."

"I cannot help but find this amusing," laughed Solomon. "When I rose against the unjust king, who pursued knowledge of the future even if it disfigured his son, I was also the Seika. Now, I am the unjust king, and the Seika is coming to dethrone me."

"Do you think that the Seika will be the same in a few years?" asked Abraham as he walked to stand beside the king. "Are we all living an endless cycle of struggle?"

"We failed this world," said Solomon with a sad smile. "That is the final line in the Scholar Guardian's knowledge, which I chanced upon before rising to be the king. Then, I did not understand it, but now, I do."

"You understand now," turned Abraham toward him, "because you saw me ally myself with the calamities? A vessel of a guardian working with a calamity disgust you?"

"I am no better, but I am not a god," shrugged Solomon. "You are not a god either, Abraham. A god will never be this selfish."

"Haha," roared the lazy guardian with laughter. "The gods are the most selfish because only the selfish becomes a god. We tore through our friends, enemies, and everything to obtain this power. And when we did... we just wanted more."

"Is there an end to this pursuit?"

"There is no end until that pursuit is replaced," replied the guardian after he calmed down. "The Seika will not be the unjust king because he will never become a king. That man does not pursue anything, and that makes him the strongest."

"That makes no sense."

"It does not, and it doesn't have to be, because life is that absurd. This world will not give its strongest powers to those who desire it. This is the paradox because no one will seek something they do not desire."

"However, there was an exception?" concluded the king, and Abraham nodded.

"Can you tell me, wise king: what do you call a man who wields a power he does not desire and might even hate?"

"A power that he does not desire and might even hate..." repeated the king. "That makes him nothing but..."

"That is right," interrupted Abraham. "It makes him a cursed man. This world is cruel because those who are destined to save it are those cursed by that destiny."