"Hm?"
Knox tilted his head ever so slightly before letting out an amused chuckle.
"I didn't expect my face to become this famous." He casually shrugged as though they were discussing the weather instead of standing in the middle of a battlefield. "To think even the Holy Federation recognizes me now. I'm honored~."
His playful remark was met with nothing but silence.
Knox didn't seem the least bit disappointed by the response. Instead, he slowly swept his gaze across the Intelligence Division before looking toward Lethe, then back again.
"By the way..."
His voice remained as relaxed as ever as he glanced between the Holy Knights and Lethe before asking, "Why did you all stop arguing?"
"..."
No one answered. The silence only prompted Knox to continue, lightly waving a hand between the Holy Knights and Lethe as though introducing two actors on a stage.
"You were just getting to the interesting part." Knox gestured between the Holy Knights and Lethe with an encouraging smile. "Come on. Fight more."
"Fight! Fight!" he chanted with obvious amusement, sounding no different from a spectator urging two fighters to continue their match. "I'm still enjoying the show."
The entire plaza fell silent, and as the last of Knox's words faded into the air, a vein visibly throbbed on Lethe's forehead.
After crossing paths with Knox several times already, she had unknowingly built up a certain resistance against his infuriating personality. Instead of exploding on the spot, she merely glared at him with enough hostility to freeze an ordinary person's blood.
If looks alone could leave holes in someone's body...
Knox would've resembled a honeycomb by now.
The captain, however, wasn't nearly as fortunate.
This was the first time he had ever met the infamous White Devil in person. His squad had just been humiliated by an unknown enemy, barely escaped with their lives, and somehow found themselves caught in a heated argument the moment they arrived.
Now, the very person responsible for forcing the trio into battle stood before them, applauding as though they had just finished performing in a theater.
The last thread holding together his already fragile patience finally snapped.
"Bastard!" one of the Holy Knights roared before the captain could even stop him. "Are you mocking us?"
Knox blinked once before answering with complete sincerity. "Of course I am~."
His reply came so naturally that the entire battlefield seemed to freeze for a brief moment. Knox merely tilted his head again, looking genuinely puzzled by their reaction. "What? Did you think that was a compliment?"
The Holy Knight's face instantly turned crimson as his composure snapped. "YOU...!!"
"Enough!"
Before he could charge forward, the captain suddenly raised a hand to stop him from escalating the situation any further. Although his own expression had darkened considerably, his voice remained surprisingly calm as he slowly drew the sword hanging at his waist.
"...Knox Aznable." The captain uttered his name without taking his eyes off him.
"I've heard enough about you. Whether the rumors surrounding your strength are true..."
"We'll confirm that ourselves!"
"Heh."
Before Knox could respond, another voice interrupted, drawing everyone's attention toward its source. One after another, their gazes shifted until they found Lethe standing there with her arms crossed, looking at the Intelligence Division with an expression somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
A faint smirk slowly spread across her lips. "That's rich. Coming from the squad that got beaten senseless by a single enemy."
"!!!"
The captain's jaw visibly tightened, and one of the Holy Knights nearly charged forward again.
"You...!"
"Pfft!"
Knox quickly covered his mouth, but the corners of his lips kept twitching as his shoulders trembled ever so slightly. A muffled "Pfft..." escaped through his fingers before it gradually grew louder.
The laughter lingered on the edge of bursting until he finally gave up trying to suppress it.
"Hahahahaha!"
His laughter echoed throughout the plaza without the slightest intention of hiding it, causing the Holy Knights' expressions to darken even further. Even Lethe could only look at him with mild annoyance.
"What are you laughing at?" the captain asked through gritted teeth.
Knox slowly wiped the corner of one eye before taking a deep breath.
"Pfft... Sorry, sorry." He dismissively waved a hand as though brushing the whole matter aside before letting out another quiet chuckle. "I just realized..."
The smile on his face lingered as another chuckle escaped him. "Looks like none of you have figured out the situation you're in."
As the last words left his mouth, his crimson eyes slowly shifted away from the captain and settled on Lethe.
For a brief moment, she couldn't understand why Knox was suddenly looking at her.
Sure, she knew she was exceptionally beautiful. In fact, she firmly believed she shone brighter than the stars themselves.
But...
She seriously doubted Knox Aznable had enough free time to admire her beauty in the middle of a battlefield.
If Knox could somehow hear what was going through her mind right now...
He would probably think The Herta had descended upon this world.
Then, just like Newtypes instinctively understanding one another without exchanging a single word, as though they shared a private chat room that no one else could enter, Lethe suddenly understood the meaning behind Knox's gaze.
"..."
"!"
A faint smile slowly appeared on Knox's lips.
Almost at the same time...
Lethe smiled back.
It was a strange sight.
No words were exchanged.
Yet somehow...
It felt as though they had just finished an entire conversation.
Knox: You understand, right?
Lethe: ...Interesting. Alright, I'm in!
Without another word, Lethe suddenly took several steps backward before casually dropping herself onto the ground.
"Urgh..." She lazily stretched before comfortably resting one elbow on her raised knee, completely ignoring the stunned looks from the Holy Knights. "I suddenly feel tired."
"So..." Casually waving at the Intelligence Division, she continued, "From the way all of you were talking earlier, it sounds like you're pretty confident you can defeat him."
A sweet smile spread across her face as she lightly shrugged.
"Then go ahead."
"Feel free~."
Luckily, she was wearing pants.
If not... ahem. The atmosphere would've become awkward for an entirely different reason.
Moses slowly turned his head toward Lethe, then toward Knox, before looking back at Lethe once more. His expression never changed, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Lethe's sudden change in attitude had something to do with Knox Aznable. Even so, he had no evidence to support that suspicion.
Meanwhile, every Holy Knight wore the exact same confused look. Their eyes practically screamed the same question.
Since when did this gorilla woman suddenly become so cooperative with the White Devil?
No one understood. Not even the captain.
"Oh my~." Knox's tone remained as gentle as ever.
"If the lady here feels tired, then by all means..."
He politely gestured toward the Holy Knights.
"...please allow these uncles to handle the rest."
"..."
Several veins instantly appeared across the Holy Knights' foreheads. The veins bulging across several Holy Knights' foreheads became even more pronounced.
One of them actually twitched.
"...Uncles?"
The younger Holy Knight who had been arguing with Lethe moments ago stared at Knox in disbelief before pointing at himself.
"Who the hell are you calling an uncle?!"
Another Holy Knight immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"...He's talking about Captain."
"That doesn't make it any better!"
The already fragile atmosphere instantly became even more chaotic.
"...Enough."
The captain finally stepped forward.
His exhausted voice wasn't loud, yet it immediately silenced the bickering among his subordinates.
Slowly, he drew his sword completely from its scabbard. The blade reflected the pale light hanging above the Neutral Zone, its once pristine surface now stained with dust after everything they had been through.
"Knox Aznable." His eyes never left Knox.
"I've heard enough stories about you. Some call you a monster. Others call you a devil."
Slowly lowering the tip of his sword toward the ground, the captain's grip tightened around the hilt before his voice rang across the plaza.
"Today... we will hunt down this devil!!!"
The surrounding Holy Knights exchanged determined glances before unsheathing their weapons one after another.
Shing.
Shing.
Shing.
The clear sound of steel leaving its scabbards echoed throughout the plaza as priests quietly raised their staffs, the Holy Knights adjusted their stances, and even the exhausted members of the Intelligence Division forced themselves back into formation.
Watching the scene unfold, Lethe merely rested her chin on one hand before smiling lazily.
"Good luck, everyone~"
The captain's eyebrow twitched at the sound of her voice.
Knox quietly looked around at everyone surrounding him before letting out a small sigh.
"...Honestly."
Knox scratched the back of his head while slowly sweeping his gaze across every member of the Intelligence Division.
"I was wondering where all that confidence suddenly came from." A faint smile gradually formed on his face as he casually rested one hand on the sheath of his tachi. "Then it finally hit me..."
"You actually think you're the ones surrounding me."
Several Holy Knights instinctively frowned.
"...What?"
At that exact moment... a strange silence descended upon the battlefield. The wind ceased to blow, while even the surrounding mana became unnaturally still. An oppressive stillness spread across the plaza, swallowing every sound around them.
"..."
The captain's instincts suddenly screamed.
Something...
Was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Everyone!" He instinctively shouted. "Be caref—"
Before he could finish...
A deep violet pulse erupted from Knox's body.
BOOOOOOM!!
The violent wave exploded across the plaza like an invisible tidal wave, sweeping through the entire battlefield and forcing everyone's clothes to flutter violently.
The Holy Knights instinctively raised their arms as several priests stumbled backward beneath the overwhelming pressure. Even Lethe's playful expression slowly disappeared, while Moses' eyes narrowed for the first time since arriving.
At the center of the storm, a violet aura slowly flowed from Knox's body.
It didn't erupt all at once. Instead, it quietly spread across the ground, and before anyone realized it, streaks of deep violet began weaving through the darkness, expanding farther and farther until they covered the entire area around him. Wherever the strange aura passed, thin cracks spread across the their feet, while an invisible pressure gradually settled over the battlefield.
At the same time, Knox's appearance began to change.
His white hair slowly darkened from the roots, the black steadily spreading until not a single white strand remained. Moments later, the familiar crimson in his eyes quietly faded away, replaced by a deep, luminous violet that seemed to glow from within.
[Knox Aznable Original - Eclipse]
No one spoke. It wasn't because they had nothing to say, but because the pressure pouring from Knox left them struggling to even draw a proper breath. Their bodies felt unbearably heavy, as though an invisible force had suddenly intensified gravity itself, pinning their feet to the ground.
At that moment, it almost felt as though the battlefield itself had acknowledged a new ruler.
Knox let out a slow breath before his hand gradually tightened around the hilt of his tachi. Only then did he slowly draw the blade.
Shiiiing...
Violet-black aura immediately coiled around the exposed blade, distorting the surrounding air as he slowly raised the weapon and pointed its tip toward the dozens of Holy Federation members standing before him. A faint smile gradually appeared on his lips.
"Looks like you guys still have the previous misunderstanding."
His calm voice echoed throughout the silent plaza as the tip of his tachi slowly swept across everyone standing before him.
"You all seem to think..." His violet eyes calmly passed over each of them before the smile on his face deepened ever so slightly. "...that you're surrounding me."
"No."
Every word fell with an almost unsettling calmness, gentle enough to sound polite, yet heavy enough to press down on everyone present.
"In fact."
"You all are surrounded by me."