Kwooooosh! The slash fell with the intent to slice the entire galaxy in half. There was no creation that could stop this attack or avoid it. The hell's knight was literally screwed. That's what Sir Giolexius thought as he saw Javier's blade approach. However, being a commander in the hell's army and an honorable knight, he attempted to launch a counteroffensive instead of fleeing.
"Hraah!"
Kwoosh! Sir Giolexius's greatsword was shrouded in dark mist that could instantly send the poor victim's soul and body to hell upon contact.
Kwoosh! It ignited like fire near the handle and extended to the blade, until the entire sword was covered in dark energy.
Thump! And then Javier's slash smashed against Sir Giolexius's head.
"Urgh."
The hell's knight's head fell backwards as his entire ribcage, from number one to seven, all twitched violently as though they were part of the package. Sir Giolexius mumbled in the agonizing pain in a frustrated manner.
"My... dark powers..."
But Javier responded to murmuring words with another, even firmer slashing of his sword.
Clink! Thwoosh! Slash! Rib number three was pierced, his left pelvis was slashed, and right femur broke. "Ugh... Ack!"
Sir Giolexius inadvertently let out a cry of pain. He couldn't respond at all; it was supersonic speed that was on a whole new level, not to mention the power of the slash. Each time he sustained the hit, it felt as if the affected body part had disappeared for good, although the hell's knight hadn't lost anything physically yet despite the excruciating pain. Instead, his armor was being deformed. It took Sir Giolexius two more thumps on his body to realize why his body wasn't breaking down or being sliced.
"Wait a minute... Your sword... is sheathed..."
The eyes of the first corp commander of hell's army shook violently, shortly before the sheath of Javier's sword flew again, whacking Sir Giolexius in the head.
Thump!
"Agh!"
The strike with a blunt object didn't only rattle his skull, but also left a humiliating frustration in his mind. "How dare you keep your sword sheathed against me...!"
His ribcage twitched. He was a mighty hell's knight, and the first corps commander of the hell's army. There shouldn't have been anyone on earth that could withstand him. Not even swordmasters that humans took pride in could give him a challenge in battle. There was no one, aside from grandmasters that only existed in theory, that could stop him.
Ever since he was defeated in the previous battle, he constantly strengthened his resolve to exact revenge. He constantly prayed to the destiny to put him back on the battlefield against the humans that did this to him, in his complete form so he could restore dignity to his name, throughout the time a tiny fragment of his soul barely managed to linger around in the underworld. He patiently endured the humiliation and waited for the right time. And it had finally come. The destined fate had been altered by human intervention, and the gigantic flow was trying to restore it back to normalcy, resurrecting the hell's knight in this very place again. Sir Giolexius was overjoyed. He was determined to find Javier Asrahan and challenge him to a fair duel, in which he was going to claim victory to regain his honor.
But the reality couldn't be worse. The firm resolve he had harbored in his heart was breaking apart with each painful strike on his body.
"Ack! No...! Argh! No way...!"
Swoosh! Thump! Sir Giolexius's skull turned 180 degrees with this smash, sending a tooth flying in the other direction. The hell's knight saw in the heat of the moment and confirmed that it was indeed the sheath of the sword that smacked his face just now, destroying what was left of his pride as the knight from hell.
"Not an aura. Not a relic sword. At least draw your sword... Urgh!"
Swoosh! Thump! But the unsheathed sword of the grandmaster was so painful each time it struck. The hell's knight found this absolutely frustrating. He couldn't comprehend.
"But... how...?"
He couldn't understand how Javier Asrahan had made so much progress while he was gone, when the human knight could barely keep up with the hell's knight in his incomplete form. Sir Giolexius clearly had the edge over him despite missing an arm and a leg.
"I've ascended in my complete form. How?!"
Whoosh! Bam! The sheath flew at lightning speed and thumped the hell's knight's chest this time. Sir Giolexius was about to burst into tears, not because it hurt, but because he couldn't accept the reality. He realized Javier had improved that much. Javier had exceeded his expectations and gained beyond the imaginable boundary of might. The hell's knight thought how he could get out of this tight spot and ultimately regain his honor.
I must accept things as they are.
Bite! Sir Giolexius bit his lips and tightened the grip on his greatsword, resisting the ferocious attack by raising the dark aura around him. After taking a few hits, it was painfully obvious that Javier was far stronger than the hell's knight in his complete form. Perhaps he had really made the impossible breakthrough to become a grandmaster. He began to look at things in a different perspective.
Wait. This is a sacred and honorable battle against a mighty grandmaster, then!
His eyes lit up. There could not have been another hell's knight that faced a grandmaster. Sir Giolexius became ecstatic by the thought that he was the first one to walk this arduous path.
"Fine by me, grandmaster!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! He swung his greatsword shrouded in dark powers, encouraging himself and becoming spirited once again. The outcome of the battle did not matter to him anymore. The hell's knight was absolutely exhilarated by the fact that he was facing someone that would go down in history itself. Losing after going all out against a legendary adversary like Javier Asrahan was going to be an epic, honorable way to die. Having regained the passion, Sir Giolexius let out an even braver shout towards Javier.
"Hell's knight Giolexius, the commander of the first corp of hell's army, would like to challenge you to an epic duel-
Bang! The sheath flew again and whacked Giolexius's mouth while he was still speaking, crushing his front teeth and sending them flying everywhere. Sir Giolexius himself was pushed back like a plastic bag against the gust and crushed into the wall of the city hall.
"Urgh!"
The hell's knight ceased to feel anything after it felt as though all of his joints were dislocated and put back in their original positions barely. But Sir Giolexius endeavored to get up despite the lack of energy, lifting his head to glance at Javier.
"J-Javier Asrahan."
Step. Step.
"So you do not intend to engage me in an honorable battle."
Step. Step.
"Then stop dishonoring me and kill me right away. Draw your sword!"
Step. Step.
"What are you waiting for? Why do you appear reluctant to take my life? You must know how I feel, as a knight yourself! Slit my throat, unless you will engage me in a glorious battle!"
Sir Giolexius mustered all the energy that was left in him and let out a shout, causing Javier to stop.
Javier subtly frowned and loosened his grip slightly on his sword. He turned his gaze at Lloyd, who was watching with a smile on his face as a spectator.
Master Lloyd.
He signaled with his eyes.
Can I just end the fight already?
That was Javier's true wish. Killing the hell's knight in an instant was a walk in the park, and he believed it was the right thing to do.
But why would he want me to keep beating him until he loses all of his fighting spirit, without killing him...?
That was what Lloyd had instructed Javier prior to the battle. He was not to kill the hell's knight, but to apprehend him alive. Not only that. Lloyd had emphasized the importance of making the enemy lose the will to resist by beating the crap out of him, over and over.
I don't get it. Does he want something specific from the hell's knight?
But Javier glanced at Lloyd, silently asking for permission to grant the poor hell's knight a quick death, like a proper knight.
No, Lloyd firmly shook his head and denied the request. It was as if chivalry wasn't supposed to be alive, and Javier had to listen to Lloyd. Javier frowned and asked again in the same manner.
Is this really necessary?
Of course it is.
Lloyd shrugged his shoulders. As a matter of fact, this was absolutely necessary in Lloyd's perspective as he wanted to beat some information out of the hell's knight.
Killing him would be so easy for Javier. All he has to do is release a few slashes, and he'll dice him up like stew meat in an instant.
Lloyd wondered how many hell's knights it would take to stand against Javier. It would take at least thirty. Lloyd then proceeded to the next thought, putting the current one aside.
I'm only doing this because I saw the most recently updated ending spoiler.
He recalled what he saw in the newest ending spoiler, in which Lloyd faced the hell's knight alone while Javier was away. The battle against the hell's knight was lonely and arduous, and even hopeless as Lloyd had lost his life. But that wasn't why he had ordered Javier to whoop the hell's knight's butt. It was because of what he said before Lloyd lost his life in the ending spoiler.
"You finally meet your demise, Lloyd Frontera. But you should actually be grateful instead, because you're going to miss out on the real catastrophe that will strike your estate in the future thanks to me."
It was devastating. Lloyd had mustered whatever energy he could scrape to barely manage to ask what he meant by that, only to see the look of pity in the hell's knight's eyes alongside the response.
"The great king of hell has laid out a perfect plan that a maggot like you could never comprehend, let alone put a stop to."
And that was it. Lloyd's heart was pierced by the greatsword in the ending spoiler, preventing him from finding out more.
I must take advantage of this opportunity to hear more.
He felt iffy about just slaying the potential informant. In fact, Lloyd felt insecure.
The king of hell must be scheming something up right now, so as to bring destruction to my estate. I can't let that catastrophe strike.
Lloyd had taken a peek at his last moments through the ending spoiler, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. Lloyd couldn't accept the predetermined fate, and had come up with the plan to allow Namaran's Wall to be re-erected, evacuate the citizens, and to wait for the hell's knight to come back with just Javier by his side. His efforts were about to pay off, as the chance to interrogate his enemy was right around the corner.
I can't let this chance go. The grand plan by the king of hell is at least closely related to the enforced fate phenomenon and can even possibly present another opportunity to crush that damn phenomenon once and for all.
Although nothing was clear as of yet, Lloyd saw a glimpse of hope in this situation like a single ray of light shining through a tiny hole into the deep underground cave. That was why Lloyd took a step forward and approached the hell's knight on the ground, crouching down to make eye contact with him.
"It's been a while."
“...”
Sir Giolexius balefully glared at Lloyd, with hostility lingering in his eyes. Javier tightened his grip on the sword, preparing to crush his skull in time just in case the hell's knight managed to get up and strike Lloyd, as his master put a fake smile on his face and continued.
"It looks like you wish not to speak with me."
“...”
"Hmm. That's a shame."
“...”
"But you just asked Javier to grant you a quick, honorable death. Right?"
“...”
"I'm afraid I'm the one that can decide that."
“...”
"You're not going to die even if you want to, if you keep your mouth shut like that." "Kill me right now."
"I refuse."
“...”
Sir Giolexius grinded his teeth balefully as Lloyd's smile deepened.
"There is a surefire way to get your wish granted. Just answer my questions."
"Questions?"
"The king of hell. He's up to something, isn't he?"
“...”
"Tell me all you know."
“...”
"So you won't talk."
"I don't know anything."
"Really?"
"That's right."
"Tsk. What a bummer. I suppose you think there is honor in lying."
"All I want is honorable battle and death. Sharing my king's secrets with enemies isn't what a true knight does." Sir Giolexius's eyes glowed ominously. He had just declared that he wouldn't betray his lord as a knight chasing after honor, despite being from a realm full of trickery and dishonesty. However, the hell's knight had failed to take into account Lloyd's persistent and sketchy character.
"Really? Okay, then."
Lloyd shrugged his shoulders at the solemn response by Sir Giolexius. The estate developer's gaze soon turned into a rather nefarious one, however.
"I guess I'll have to torture you until you spill the beans, then."
"...What?"
"Let's start with your sense of hearing."
"What are you-"
"I'm sure you remember the singing lessons by Maestro Lloyd Frontera."
Lloyd put a big smile on his face and held his shovel up like a microphone. Sir Giolexius's face turned pale, as he obviously remembered what had happened in the past.
"W-wait!"
"Ahem. Mm. Ah. Ah. Testing the microphone. One and two and three and four."
"H-hold on!"
The hell's knight's voice became desperate, but Lloyd did not care. He turned to Javier and mischievously rebuked him.
"Javier. What do you think you're doing?"
"Huh?"
"Drop the beat box."
“...”
That was how Lloyd's merciless, ruthless, and inhumane torture session to draw out information from the hell's knight began.
