Chapter 5: Paladin
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The golden knight moved at the speed of light.
He charged straight at me, swinging his blade down.
The sword of light sliced through the earth...
But I had already dodged.
A flash of light tore through the battlefield as he reappeared in front of me, his sword already swinging down.
The blade of light cleaved through the air, carrying power capable of splitting mountains and sea.
I dodged instinctively.
The earth behind me shattered, a massive trench carved into the ground as debris erupted into the sky.
So fast…
Yet—I could see it.
When this body awakened, something inside me changed.
The world slowed.
Light itself left traces behind.
“You damn traitor!” the golden knight roared.
He stepped forward again.
Then again.
Then again.
Slashes rained down on me at sub-light speed. Each strike carried holy radiance, each one meant to end my life.
But—
He was slow.
No.
That wasn’t right.
He wasn’t slow at all.
I was faster.
My body felt impossibly light, as though gravity had loosened its grip on me. My limbs moved before my thoughts could catch up, reacting purely on instinct.
I raised my sword.
Clang!
Our blades collided.
A deafening metallic shriek echoed as sparks burst forth. The shockwave cracked the ground beneath us, sending fissures racing outward.
“That’s impossible!” the knight shouted.
“How can my strength be matched by a brat like you?!”
His eyes trembled.
I understood his confusion.
Just moments ago, I couldn’t even protect the people behind me.
Now, I was standing toe-to-toe with a Golden Knight.
If our positions were reversed, I would have doubted reality itself.
He leapt back and attacked again.
One s***h.
Two.
Three.
Each one faster than the last.
I parried them all.
Clang—clang—clang!
Our swords collided repeatedly, sparks flying like fireworks as shockwaves rippled through the battlefield.
Our power levels…
They were evenly matched.
The knight snarled and twisted his blade, swinging it horizontally.
A massive arc of light erupted from his sword.
The surrounding forest was sliced cleanly in half. Trees collapsed as if erased by an invisible blade.
But then—
Blood splattered across the ground.
The knight staggered.
His chest split open, crimson spilling from the wound.
He retreated rapidly, dropping to one knee as he stabbed his sword into the ground to support himself.
“Huff… huff…”
He glared at me in disbelief.
When did he get injured?
I didn’t even remember striking him.
The golden knight growled and pulled out a green bottle.
Without hesitation, he drank it.
A healing potion.
Green light enveloped his body, knitting flesh back together as the wound closed completely.
“…What the hell is wrong with your speed?” he muttered.
“Something about you is off. I can’t understand it.”
“I don’t have time to explain,” I replied calmly.
This power—
It felt like cheating.
As if the world itself was favoring me.
But cheating or not didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered was Liane.
And the people of Nide.
They had accepted me even after I lost my memories.
“I don’t know what you did, kid,” the knight said as he rose.
“But I can’t lose here.”
“Slaying dragons is my only goal.”
“You’re not laying a hand on Liane,” I said coldly.
His gaze darkened.
He reached into his sleeve again and pulled out something smaller this time.
A pill.
“I don’t care,” he sneered.
“Don’t think you’re the only one with power.”
“Even if it means using the power of dragons themselves—
I’ll destroy every last dragon in this world!”
He swallowed the pill.
Instantly, his body convulsed.
Golden light turned violet.
Horns burst from his forehead.
Sharp fangs extended from his mouth.
Scales crawled across parts of his skin.
The Golden Knight’s appearance twisted—
Becoming something that resembled a dragon.
His aura exploded.
It surged violently, growing stronger with every passing second.
The pressure alone cracked the ground beneath his feet.
So this is his trump card…
Can I still keep up?
He raised his sword overhead.
Light particles gathered rapidly, condensing into a massive blade of pure radiance—dozens of meters long.
The air screamed.
“I’ll pour everything into this strike!” he roared.
“For everything I lost! For every smile I couldn’t protect!”
“I’ll erase this town from existence!”
The power compressed into a single point.
This wasn’t an attack.
It was annihilation.
If it landed—
Nothing would remain.
Even my speed wouldn’t save me.
I clenched my sword.
There was no retreat.
I focused my aura.
Golden light ignited along my blade, flowing like liquid flame.
“Arthur!” Liane cried.
“What are you going to do?!”
I didn’t turn around.
“Just watch me,” I said softly.
“I told you before… I’ll protect you.”
“And after this—
we’ll travel the world together.”
I took a deep breath.
Memories surfaced.
I said and took a deep breath.
The goddess like girl imprinted back the sword style that was teaches to me when I was a kid.
The technique that let me deliver a powerful finished blow by focusing my aura in my sword and releasing it in the form of a giant golden blade.
Now, full power!!
The finishing blow of the Paladins.
The technique that condensed every drop of aura into a single decisive strike.
Now—
Full power.
“DIE, TRAITOR OF HUMANITY! LIGHT RAY BLAST!”
The giant blade descended.
I answered it head-on.
“Heavenly Sword—EXCALIBURN!”
Golden light erupted.
The collision obliterated the battlefield.
Mountains crumbled in the distance.
Oceans surged, tidal waves forming beyond the horizon.
The ground beneath us collapsed into a massive crater.
My goal was simple—
Deflect it upward.
My arms screamed in protest as I poured everything into the strike.
Then—
The trajectory shifted.
The beam twisted skyward.
A massive explosion detonated high above, lighting up the heavens like a second sun.
The crimson sky vanished.
Stars filled the night—brilliant, beautiful, peaceful.
“My… final technique…” the knight whispered.
“Parried…?”
I was still standing.
I still had strength left.
I stepped forward.
One final swing.
“Now… be gone.”
Golden flames engulfed my blade.
His body was consumed—
Reduced to nothingness.
…
…
…
The sky returned to normal.
Silence fell.
The Golden Knight was gone.
My strength vanished all at once.
My legs gave out.
I collapsed onto my back.
“Arthur!” Liane cried.
She rushed to my side, tears streaming down her face.
“Liane…” I whispered.
“I kept my promise to your mother.”
“You saved me…” she sobbed.
She held my hand against her face, trembling.
She didn’t say it—
But she was terrified.
Then—
“Liane! Arthur!”
Miyu ran toward us, breathless.
She threw her arms around Liane tightly.
“I was so worried about you!”
“I’m glad you’re safe too,” Liane said.
Miyu’s expression darkened.
“But… what about everyone else?”
“So many dragonfolk… we’ll never see them again.”
Tears fell freely.
Liane and I fell silent.
There was nothing we could do anymore.
“What was that power?” Miyu asked.
“Was it yours, Arthur?”
“I just awakened something that was always inside me.”
“You remembered your past… because you almost died?”
“…You could say that,” I replied.
“I still don’t remember everything.”
“The swordsmanship of the Paladins.”
“Paladins?” they repeated.
Warriors of heaven.
But in my understanding, after remembering a fragment of my memories. A paladin are warriors of heaven.
Servants of a god.
And there we serve something that we call a god. We delivered the best in every order that was given to us.
My memories were incomplete—
But someday. I know that my past would fully awaken.
- ผู้เขียน
