The pain didn't last long. If he had gone all out, he would have collapsed and been unable to fight the next match, so he had to be careful with the price he paid.
The Iron Arm Knight was a tougher opponent than expected. After fighting Buldrokk dozens of times, Yujin thought he had grown stronger, but perhaps he still had a ways to go.
Chewing on a lemon candy Larin had given him, Yujin looked up at the sky. The clear summer sky was cloudless, the sun beating down with a lukewarm heat.
"Well, it just means I still have a long road ahead."
Even if he had grown stronger and others praised his talent, he had no intention of stopping or becoming complacent.
There was still much to do.
Crunching the candy, Yujin stood up. Training was his daily routine, but today, he had an unexpected visitor.
Someone he didn't expect, and frankly, someone he had no connection with.
Informed by the butler, Yujin walked out to the manicured garden. From the distance, a man draped in beast pelts approached. His face was hidden behind a red mask. Yujin walked out to meet him.
"…Nice to meet you."
"Likewise, though I didn't expect to meet like this."
The visitor was the man known as the Darknight Knight.
The sharp, predatory aura he displayed during the match was gone, replaced by the demeanor of an ordinary man. The red mask was unusual, but in Terra, eccentricities were commonplace.
"What brings you here?"
"Do you prefer the short version or the long version?"
"Either is fine. Whatever is comfortable for you."
"Short, then."
The Darknight Knight sat on a garden chair, his red eyes visible through the mask's slits. Yujin found his gaze peculiar—impossible to read.
"The Merchant Association is targeting you."
"…Isn't that common knowledge by now?"
Anyone involved in the industry knew the Association disapproved of Yujin. Daniel had warned him, and it was a danger that would loom over him until their hostility ceased.
"I know. Everyone knows. What I came to tell you is that they will use different methods now."
Different methods. Yujin frowned immediately. He had a feeling he knew what those methods might be.
"They will become more overt in their hostility. Given the chance, they will put a blade to your throat and try to leash you. If you cannot be controlled, they will create a weakness to ensure you are."
The Darknight spoke bluntly, but the weight of his words was heavy. There hadn't been a direct armed conflict yet, but according to him, it was coming.
"Are you prepared?"
"…I knew it was coming, but I suppose I have no choice."
Yujin sighed and looked at the Darknight. Why had he come to deliver this warning? A faint sense of goodwill? It felt odd coming from a stranger.
"Is there a reason you‘re telling me this? We‘ve never met before, yet you seem to be doing me a favor."
The Darknight silently touched the pommel of his weapon—twin serrated blades hanging at his waist. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke quietly. His reason was different from what Yujin expected.
"I have experienced something similar. Perhaps not to the extent you will face, but to them, I was also an outsider."
The Darknight was a Nightzmora. And Kazimierz could never harbor good feelings toward a Nightzmora. They were one of the reasons Kazimierz was formed, and the ones who had trampled it.
"Do you know of the Kheshig tradition?"
"No, I‘ve never heard of it."
"It is one of the customs of the Nightzmora. Upon reaching adulthood, one leaves their homeland on a pilgrimage to find meaning in life."
Pilgrimage. Naturally, Yujin hadn't heard of it. His knowledge of the Nightzmora was limited to the weight of their name and the legend of the Great Khagan.
"I, too, had to find meaning. As one of the premier warriors of my tribe, I wished to walk the path the Great Khagan had walked."
The path of the Kharanduu Khagan.
The first land the Khagan had conquered was Kazimierz, the realm of the Golden Pegasi.
"So I came to Kazimierz... but I was utterly disappointed. This was not what I expected. Instead of finding meaning, I found nothing."
When he arrived, the name of the Knight was on the verge of ruin. What kind of knight turns their duels into a spectacle for gamblers?
Results were rigged, convictions were absent. In that hollow reality, the Darknight couldn't hide his disappointment.
Hostility. The Campaign Knights he had hoped for were nowhere to be seen. So, to shatter those illusions himself, the Nightzmora entered the tournament as a Sport Knight.
"Naturally, I gained fame and climbed to the top, but..."
The Merchant Association despised it.
Now, as a Great Knight with significant fame, they couldn't touch him easily. But in the past, they had tried to crush him underfoot.
"So you‘re helping me out of sympathy for a similar situation?"
"No. I simply wish for you not to die. The fruit is sweeter when it is ripe."
The Great Khagan had crushed Kazimierz by breaking the wings of the Pegasus.
Naturally, the Darknight held expectations. But seeing the descendants of the Pegasus falling into ruin alongside the title of Knight, he had almost given up.
Then, Yujin appeared. Just as the Darknight planned to win the Champions League and leave Kazimierz.
He saw it as fate. The final trial. Moreover, according to the bracket, the Darknight and Yujin were destined to meet in the finals.
"Do not break, Knight. I look forward to your ascent."
"…Aren't you being a bit too confident? What if I make it to the finals and you get eliminated?"
For the first time, the stoic Darknight reacted. A faint, mocking smile touched his lips, and his arrogant eyes locked onto Yujin.
"That will not happen."
Confidence that spoke of the inevitable. Eyes that knew no defeat.
Yujin swallowed hard. Just looking at him made it clear he wasn't an easy opponent. Like Yujin, the Darknight had never shown his full strength.
As the Darknight turned to leave, Yujin called out. It felt rude not to even know his name.
"What is your name? People just call you the Darknight Knight..."
"Tola. It means 'meadow.' And yours?"
"Yujin."
"I will remember it."
With that, Tola, the Darknight Knight, vanished. His business concluded, he left the mansion without looking back. Yujin sat back down in his chair.
Putting Tola aside, Yujin‘s immediate concern was the Merchant Association's schemes.
If they targeted Daniel, Kiril, or even Kisha, Yujin‘s options were limited. He was outnumbered and lacked reliable allies. Even with Daniel‘s private guards, he couldn't expect them to match the Association's elite enforcers. It meant either he or Larin would have to stay by their side constantly.
In a situation where he didn't know when or how the attack would come, covering all variables was difficult.
As he pondered, Larin approached. She had been going out frequently lately, though she never told him where.
"You look troubled. I heard another knight visited?"
"…Yeah."
Yujin looked at her as she sat beside him. He couldn't let her go out anymore. Even if she was strong, he didn't know what the enemy might try. Especially if the Armorless Union got involved—even Yujin couldn't guarantee victory against them.
Hesitantly, Yujin explained the situation to her. He felt uneasy dragging Larin and Kisha into his mess, but she pinched his cheek.
"You worry about the strangest things sometimes. You helped us, so obviously, we‘ll help you."
"…It could be dangerous."
"And you making enemies of the Confessarii because of us wasn't dangerous?"
"That's..."
That's different, he wanted to say, but he shut his mouth, knowing Larin would get angry if he said it.
"Don't worry. I‘m not weak enough to fall to some nobodies. And besides... if I'm in danger, you'll come save me, won't you?"
Seeing her smile, Yujin said no more. Preparing for the worst was good, but drowning in negative thoughts wasn't.
"…Right."
Yujin had a trump card of his own. If things truly went south, he would use that method.