Chapter 277: The Knight in Your Heart
Steven had to admit, he hadn't expected her attack to work this well.
Her method of assault genuinely surprised him.
At the very least, he could feel it: his movements had become sluggish, as though some unseen force was binding his body in place.
The audience, on the other hand, erupted the moment they saw this.
After all, the overwhelming power the Black Hole Knight had displayed up until now had cast a suffocating shadow of despair.
But now?
Now it looked like he wasn't invincible after all.
He's trapped—caught in the Candle Knight's Art!
The crowd roared in excitement, their morale reignited.
But among them, only one person—Viviana herself—remained solemn.
Gripping her longsword in one hand, and a strange candelabrum in the other, she slowly raised the ornate holder before her.
From its tip, a beam of radiance burst forth—neither purely flame nor merely light.
It condensed into a solid stream of energy and shot toward the Black Hole Knight, who still stood motionless within the tangled mass of shadows.
She had no choice but to begin this battle with her strongest move.
Because when facing someone like him—someone who radiated overwhelming pressure just by existing—there was no room for hesitation.
No, she'd never expected to defeat him.
But even if she lost, she would lose with dignity.
As her condensed beam reached the shadows restraining the Black Hole Knight, it shattered midair—splitting into dozens, then hundreds of gleaming fragments.
A radiant downpour followed.
Each drop like a shard of flame or light, cascading from above and crashing down upon Steven.
Thud. Thud. Thud
The arena floor trembled beneath the impact, each strike landing with a heavy thump.
The crowd's cheers never faltered. If anything, they only grew louder.
Say what you will—but the special effects were on point.
After all, Viviana wasn't just any spellcaster—she was a seasoned sorceress from Laterano. Her Arts techniques were top-tier even when compared to the entirety of Kazimierz.
With an attack like that—even if the Black Hole Knight was absurdly strong—there's no way he could still be standing after that, right?
That's what the average spectator thought.
But those with a sharper eye—those who truly understood the fight—wore grim expressions.
Was Viviana's technique brilliant? Absolutely.
But if you measured it by raw speed, it was… honestly not very fast.
Even the Wind Knight—who was knocked out instantly earlier—would likely have dodged that initial binding shadow without much trouble.
So what about the Black Hole Knight, whose speed was on a whole different level?
If he'd really wanted to dodge, would he have had any trouble?
No.
But he hadn't dodged.
Not only that—he hadn't moved at all from the moment Viviana began her attack.
As though he was waiting for her to finish.
As though he was giving her the chance to do her best.
Only someone with absolute confidence in their strength would dare do something like that.
And clearly, the Black Hole Knight had that kind of confidence.
The light continued to rain down on him, drenching the area in a warm, not-quite-blinding brilliance.
And yet, from the very center of that radiance… a dark spot quietly began to spread.
A single speck of black—tiny, unnatural—grew slowly but surely, crawling outward like ink in water.
The cheerful glow of Viviana's Arts couldn't erase it.
Couldn't even touch it.
It stood in stark contrast to the gentle, elegant light she wielded.
A looming shadow. A presence that refused to be erased.
At first, it was just a tiny black dot—so small it was barely noticeable.
But in the blink of an eye, it had already expanded to engulf the entire area.
It swallowed not only the descending light-rain but even the shadows that had bound Steven.
"Sorry, but black holes are things that can even devour light, you know."
Whether or not the audience understood him, Steven's disguised, aged voice rang out as he stepped casually from the heart of the void.
There wasn't a single scratch on him.
Even his bizarre armor remained spotless—completely unmarred by the previous barrage of magical light.
Still as unbothered and composed as ever, Steven raised his head and glanced at the spectators.
The excitement that had lit up their faces was now swiftly fading.
How amusing.
The show outside the ring seemed even more entertaining than the fight within it.
"You did well. But… I still haven't seen any true strength or qualities in you that would define a knight."
"Why not consider becoming a proper caster instead? Or, just as you said, maybe a poet?"
He flicked the lever on the device at his waist.
Just as everyone expected another devastating kick—like the one that sent the Wind Knight flying—the Black Hole Knight instead took a single sharp step forward.
From beneath his foot, another familiar black hole bloomed outward, consuming the arena floor beneath him.
It devoured the shadows Viviana had conjured, swallowed the ground itself, and even pulled in the hovering broadcast drones—cutting the live transmission completely.
Now, with no feed to watch, the crowd was left craning their necks from the stands, straining to see what was happening on the stage with their own eyes.
"Just as you said… I've considered that path. But becoming a knight—that was the dream I found in books when I was little."
Viviana's voice was calm now, her long sword and candelabrum lowered to her sides.
"I wanted to be like those knights in stories—charging forward toward dreams and ideals without fear."
"So when I came down from the towers of Laterano and arrived here in Kazimierz, the birthplace of knighthood… I was disappointed to learn that all it takes to be called a 'knight' is popularity."
"That's why I understand your actions."
"Compared to someone like you—who had the courage to challenge the entire Grand Knight Territory with such a question—someone like me, who blindly carried the title of 'Candle Knight' just to get by… I no longer have the right to answer your question."
Without the eyes of the broadcast drones on her, Viviana spoke even more freely.
And as she looked at the Black Hole Knight who's walking step by step toward her, a gentle expression softened her noble face.
From the questions the Black Hole Knight had asked earlier, she sensed something—
That perhaps he too was simply disappointed in what knighthood in Kazimierz had become.
Unlike her, though, he had the courage to stand up and question it.
She didn't have that kind of strength.
She couldn't abandon her title as a knight, no matter how disillusioned she was.
But maybe—maybe—because of someone like him, she could one day find the answer to this question that had haunted her for so long.
And so, with her heart lighter than it had been in ages, she asked gently:
"But before that, may I ask you something?"
She blinked those eyes of hers—eyes that always seemed to smile—now filled with something more:
Hope.
"Ask away. I've got all the time in the world."
The black hole beneath Steven's feet wasn't just devouring shadows and drones—it swallowed up the irritating clamor of the audience as well, leaving a strangely tranquil silence hanging over the arena.
There he stood, composed as ever, facing the girl who, no matter how you looked at her, didn't seem like a knight at all.
And yet…
Despite appearances, the feeling she gave him was far closer to that elusive idea of a "knight" than any of the competitors he'd seen throughout the entire Kazimierz Major.
"I understand that… You asked that question because perhaps you yourself don't have a clear answer."
"But I want to know—has there ever been someone, in your heart, who you could truly call a knight?"
Viviana raised her head, locking eyes with Steven's behind the helmet.
In her gaze shone a flicker of hope, the kind that only comes when someone senses the answer they've been searching for is finally within reach.
She needed to hear his response.
Steven paused at her question. For a moment, he was taken aback… then quietly laughed.
"If I told you that what the Wind Knight said earlier wasn't wrong… That I, too, have no right to judge who is or isn't a knight…Would you think I'm a hypocrite?"
"But that's just the truth. Whether someone is a knight—it's not for me, an outsider, to decide. It's something only you knights can determine for yourselves."
"What does 'knight' mean to you? And have you lived up to that image? That's the real question, isn't it?"
As he spoke, a hazy yet radiant figure flickered across Steven's mind—someone he didn't know well, but whose brilliance left a mark.
At the very least, back then—when she had spoken about her ideals—he could tell that she truly lived by them.
In that moment, she had looked more like a knight than anyone else he'd ever seen.
"Of course, if you really want to know who I consider a knight, I'll borrow the words of a friend I once knew."
Steven paused, glancing once more at the sea of faces in the crowd—those filled with expectation, fury, jealousy, and hatred.
"—To be a knight is to be the noble light that illuminates the land."
He echoed those words in the exact tone Nearl once used, that familiar line of hers etched deeply into his memory.
Only by standing now on this soil—within the very heart of Kazimierz—could he truly understand what she had faced when she spoke those words.
Now he understood why she had so many supporters here, why her presence had stirred so many hearts.
"That said… I don't fully agree with her."
"Even if one's ideals aren't so lofty, even if the light they bring is just a faint glimmer… If they can bring that light into a land swallowed by darkness and despair—Isn't that enough to call them a knight?"
Having shared his view on Nearl's words, Steven gave a small, sincere smile.
He looked at the girl standing before him—this girl who bore the name of Candle Knight—and said it with gentle certainty.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
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