The battlefield erupted.
"1st Company, CHARGE!"
The command thundered across the city.
Like a dam breaking, hundreds of soldiers surged forward.
"Everyone, ATTACK!"
The second order followed immediately.
Then came the roar.
Not from one man.
Not from ten.
But from hundreds.
"Protect the city!"
"Kill them all!"
"This is our home!"
"Destroy them!"
The streets trembled beneath the boots of charging warriors.
Steel met wood.
Spears pierced thorn-covered bodies.
Axes split wooden skulls.
Shields crashed against monstrous limbs.
The city guards who had once been pushed back now advanced with renewed courage.
The manor soldiers joined them.
The warriors of House Redsun joined them.
The citizens who could still fight picked up whatever weapons they could find.
For the first time since the rupture opened—
Humanity pushed back.
Lucas saw it all.
The courage.
The fear.
The determination.
The willingness of ordinary people to stand against monsters.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Good.
Very good.
But his eyes never left the true threat.
The Thorned Sovereign.
The monster still stood at the center of the devastation.
Unmoved.
Watching.
As if the deaths of its servants meant nothing.
Lucas knew the truth.
The battle would never end while that creature remained alive.
His grip tightened around his sword.
I have to kill that monster now.
Then he charged.
Again.
A knight's duty was not to survive.
A knight's duty was to advance.
Suddenly—
Hoofbeats.
Lucas turned his head.
His horse.
The very horse he had abandoned earlier when rushing into battle.
The animal raced through the battlefield.
Past monsters.
Past soldiers.
Past destruction.
Straight toward him.
Lucas blinked.
For a brief moment, even he looked surprised.
"You came back?"
The horse answered only with a sharp snort.
There was no time for further thought.
Lucas grabbed the reins.
Then vaulted onto its back in a single motion.
"Let's go!"
The horse surged forward.
Like a bolt of lightning.
Like a war drum given flesh.
Monster after monster rushed to intercept.
Lucas cut them down.
One slash.
A head rolled.
Another slash.
A torso split apart.
A third creature lunged from the side.
Lucas leaned low upon the saddle and drove his sword through its chest.
Black sap exploded across the street.
The horse never slowed.
Not once.
Together they tore through the battlefield.
A perfect partnership.
Rider and steed.
Warrior and companion.
The soldiers witnessing it could not help but cheer.
"GO, SIR LUCAS!"
"Kill that thing!"
"Finish it!"
Lucas heard them.
But said nothing.
His focus remained absolute.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
The Thorned Sovereign grew larger with every second.
The monster finally moved.
Its enormous sword slowly rose.
The living thorns upon its blade writhed violently.
The ground cracked beneath its feet.
Its antlers stretched toward the sky like dead trees.
Then it spoke.
"HuMaN..."
Its distorted voice echoed through the battlefield.
"YoU CoMe."
Lucas grinned.
"You're observant."
The monster tilted its head.
"WhY FiGhT?"
Lucas laughed.
Actually laughed.
The question felt absurd.
He pointed his sword.
Toward the city.
Toward the people.
Toward the countless lives behind him.
"Because they're mine to protect."
The Thorned Sovereign remained silent.
Lucas continued.
"Because this city doesn't belong to you."
The horse continued charging.
The distance closed rapidly.
Fifty meters.
Forty.
Thirty.
Twenty.
The Thorned Sovereign raised its colossal blade.
The horse sensed the danger.
Just before reaching the monster—
It came to an abrupt stop.
The sudden halt launched Lucas upward.
Exactly as he intended.
His boots left the saddle.
His body soared through the air.
The battlefield seemed to slow.
The wind roared in his ears.
Below him—
Soldiers fought desperately.
Citizens fled.
Buildings burned.
Ahead of him—
The Thorned Sovereign waited.
Its sword already swinging.
Lucas raised his own blade.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
Every lesson.
Every battle.
Every hardship.
Every sacrifice.
Everything led to this moment.
Then—
Lucas descended.
Like a falling star.
Like judgment.
Like a knight determined to carve a path through darkness itself.
His sword came down.
The Thorned Sovereign's thorn-blade rose to meet it.
And the moment steel and petrified wood collided—
The entire battlefield shook.
BOOOOOOM!
A shockwave exploded outward.
Windows shattered.
Stone cracked.
Both armies staggered.
For a single instant—
Neither moved.
Man and monster locked in a contest of strength.
The Thorned Sovereign pushed.
Lucas pushed back.
Their eyes met.
Though the creature's face was hidden behind rusted axes—
Lucas could feel its gaze.
And for the first time—
The monster smiled.
Not with joy.
Not with madness.
But with recognition.
It had finally found an opponent worthy of its full strength.
And Lucas realized the same.
The true battle had only just begun.
For a moment—
Neither Lucas nor the Thorned Sovereign moved.
Their weapons remained locked.
Steel against petrified wood.
Man against monster.
The ground beneath them cracked.
Lucas gritted his teeth.
The monster's strength was absurd.
Far greater than any human he had ever faced.
Then—
The Thorned Sovereign pushed.
The force struck like a battering ram.
Lucas was thrown backward.
His boots dug trenches into the street as he slid across shattered stone.
Before he could recover—
The monster was already moving.
Fast.
Far too fast.
The gigantic sword descended.
Lucas barely reacted.
BOOM!
The blade struck the ground.
An entire section of the street exploded.
Stone fragments shot through the air like arrows.
Lucas rolled beneath the debris.
The second strike came instantly.
The Thorned Sovereign gave him no time to breathe.
No time to think.
Only survive.
Lucas ducked.
The sword passed inches above his head.
The wind pressure alone sliced strands of hair from his forehead.
Then Lucas counterattacked.
His sword flashed upward.
CLANG!
Sparks erupted.
The iron blade struck the creature's side.
For the first time—
The Thorned Sovereign took damage.
A shallow cut.
Nothing more.
Yet the monster stopped.
It looked down.
Touched the wound.
Black sap dripped from the scar.
Then—
It laughed.
Or at least, the monstrous equivalent of laughter.
A deep rumbling growl echoed from behind the rusted axes covering its face.
"HuMaN..."
The creature stepped forward.
"HeArT..."
Another step.
"StRoNg."
Lucas wiped blood from his mouth.
"You talk too much."
The monster roared.
Then charged.
The battle exploded again.
The Thorned Sovereign swung horizontally.
Lucas jumped.
The blade demolished an entire building behind him.
Wood.
Stone.
Brick.
Everything vanished.
Before Lucas landed—
The monster punched.
Its fist struck like a falling mountain.
Lucas crossed his sword before him.
CRASH!
Pain shot through both arms.
Several bones in his hands nearly gave way.
The impact launched him through a wall.
He smashed into a building.
Wooden beams collapsed around him.
Dust filled the air.
Silence.
For one second.
Two.
Three.
Then—
A sword burst from the rubble.
Lucas emerged.
Bleeding.
Bruised.
Smiling.
The Thorned Sovereign froze.
Lucas laughed.
Not because he was winning.
Not because he was confident.
But because it had been years.
Years since anyone had pushed him this far.
Years since battle had felt alive.
The monster seemed to understand.
Its massive shoulders rose.
Then fell.
Almost like it was breathing.
Almost like it was smiling too.
Then both moved simultaneously.
Neither waited.
Neither hesitated.
Neither feared death.
CLANG!
First exchange.
CLANG!
Second.
CLANG!
Third.
The battlefield vanished around them.
There were no soldiers.
No city.
No spectators.
Only combat.
Lucas slipped beneath a swing.
Cut upward.
The monster blocked.
The monster stabbed.
Lucas parried.
The monster kicked.
Lucas rolled.
The monster slammed its sword downward.
Lucas dodged.
Each attack carried enough power to destroy buildings.
Each dodge demanded perfect timing.
One mistake.
One misstep.
One moment of hesitation.
Death.
Yet neither yielded.
The Thorned Sovereign suddenly unleashed dozens of living vines.
They erupted from the ground around Lucas.
Like hunting serpents.
Like chains.
Like spears.
Lucas ran.
Jumped.
Spun.
Cut.
His sword became a silver blur.
One vine severed.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Yet more emerged.
The monster was adapting.
Learning.
Testing.
Lucas realized something terrifying.
The Thorned Sovereign wasn't mindless.
It was intelligent.
Very intelligent.
Then the monster spoke again.
"LoNg..."
Its voice rumbled.
"LoNg TiMe."
Lucas cut another vine apart.
"What?"
The monster raised its sword.
"No FuN."
Lucas blinked.
Then laughed despite himself.
The monster was enjoying this.
Actually enjoying it.
For countless years perhaps it had crushed weaker enemies.
Kings.
Armies.
Heroes.
All of them insignificant.
All of them easy.
But Lucas—
Lucas could fight back.
Lucas could wound it.
Lucas could survive.
For the first time in ages—
The Thorned Sovereign had found challenge.
Lucas lowered his stance.
"Yeah."
Blood dripped from his sword.
"I get it."
The monster tilted its head.
Lucas smiled.
"I haven't had this much trouble in years either."
Silence.
Then both burst into motion again.
The collision was monstrous.
Their weapons met dozens of times within seconds.
The air screamed.
The ground shattered.
Each impact sounded like thunder.
Lucas finally managed to slip inside the monster's reach.
A perfect opening.
His sword thrust forward.
Straight toward the creature's chest.
The Thorned Sovereign reacted immediately.
Too late.
SCHHK!
The blade buried itself deep.
Black sap erupted.
The monster staggered.
For the first time.
Actually staggered.
Lucas pulled the sword free.
The wound was massive.
Yet even as he watched—
The flesh began healing.
Wood twisted.
Roots intertwined.
The injury started closing.
Lucas' smile vanished.
"Of course."
The monster's regeneration was real.
The Thorned Sovereign looked down at the wound.
Then back at Lucas.
Its voice became quieter.
More serious.
"DAnGeRoUs."
Lucas raised his sword.
"Likewise."
The monster slowly gripped its enormous weapon with both hands.
The air around it changed.
The ground trembled.
The trees outside the city began bending toward it.
Roots emerged from beneath the earth.
Something was gathering.
Something larger.
Something far worse.
And for the first time since the battle began—
Lucas felt genuine danger.
Not fear.
Not doubt.
But the instinct every warrior possessed.
The instinct that whispered:
The real fight begins now.
The Thorned Sovereign raised its sword toward the sky.
Lucas tightened his grip.
Both warriors stood amidst the ruins.
Covered in blood.
Covered in wounds.
Breathing heavily.
Yet neither wished to retreat.
Neither wished for the battle to end.
Because somewhere during the clash—
Knight and monster had discovered the same truth.
They had finally found someone worthy.
And that made the next exchange far more dangerous than any before.
The battlefield had long ceased to resemble a city.
The streets were shattered.
Buildings had collapsed.
Fire burned through broken homes.
Smoke climbed into the sky.
And at the center of it all stood two figures.
A knight.
And a monster.
Lucas breathed heavily.
His chest rose and fell like a bellows.
Every muscle in his body screamed.
His arms felt heavy.
His legs trembled.
Blood ran down his forehead, across his cheek, and onto the ruins beneath him.
He was exhausted.
Completely exhausted.
Yet his eyes never left the Thorned Sovereign.
Because the monster looked no better.
Cuts covered its body.
Pieces of bark-like flesh hung loose from several wounds.
Black sap dripped onto the shattered street.
Its regeneration was slowing.
Not stopping.
But slowing.
The battle had finally begun to tax even the ancient creature.
The Thorned Sovereign stared at Lucas.
And Lucas stared back.
For several moments neither moved.
Neither wished to waste energy.
Neither wished to make the first mistake.
Then the monster spoke.
Its voice was deeper than before.
More focused.
More deliberate.
"HuMaN..."
The creature planted its sword into the ground.
"WhY..."
Its antlers twisted toward him.
"StAnD?"
Lucas wiped blood from his mouth.
Then smiled.
A tired smile.
A painful smile.
But a genuine one.
"Because that's what a knight does."
The Thorned Sovereign tilted its head.
Lucas continued.
"A knight doesn't stop because he's tired."
He took another step forward.
"A knight doesn't quit because he's hurt."
Another step.
"A knight doesn't run because he's afraid."
His sword rose once more.
"And a knight certainly doesn't abandon the people behind him."
Silence.
The monster watched him.
Then slowly pulled its sword from the earth.
The massive blade pointed toward Lucas.
And for the first time—
The Thorned Sovereign nodded.
As though acknowledging him.
Warrior to warrior.
Then everything exploded.
The monster attacked.
Roots erupted from the ground.
Vines burst from shattered buildings.
Thorn-covered spears shot through the air.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
A storm of death.
Lucas charged directly into it.
Not away.
Into it.
His sword became a blur.
Slash.
Step.
Parry.
Turn.
Cut.
Every movement was precise.
Every action deliberate.
A vine lunged for his throat.
He ducked.
Another aimed for his leg.
He jumped.
Three more came from behind.
He spun.
The vines exploded into fragments.
Yet the attacks never stopped.
The Thorned Sovereign had abandoned brute force.
Now it sought to overwhelm him.
To drown him.
To bury him beneath endless attacks.
Lucas gritted his teeth.
His body was reaching its limit.
His vision blurred.
His lungs burned.
But still he fought.
Still he advanced.
One step.
Then another.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Toward the monster.
The Thorned Sovereign raised its hand.
The earth shook.
An entire section of the ruined street split apart.
From beneath it emerged dozens of enormous thorn-spears.
Each one thicker than a man's torso.
Each one aimed directly at Lucas.
The knight's eyes widened.
There were too many.
No room to evade.
No room to retreat.
No room to survive perfectly.
So he made a choice.
A warrior's choice.
The kind that separated soldiers from heroes.
The first spear came.
Lucas dodged.
The second.
He cut apart.
The third.
He slipped beneath.
The fourth.
He avoided by mere inches.
Then came the fifth.
The hidden one.
The one he never saw.
The one waiting behind the others.
THUD.
Pain exploded through his body.
Lucas gasped.
The world froze.
For a moment he couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't move.
The thorned spear had struck his right arm.
He had shifted at the last instant.
Protecting his chest.
Protecting his heart.
The attack had missed a fatal blow.
But not entirely.
The vine-like spear pierced through his arm and continued past him.
Its momentum carrying him off the ground.
For an instant—
Lucas hung in the air.
Suspended several feet above the battlefield.
The thorned growth holding him captive.
Blood dripped onto the ruined street below.
His sword nearly slipped from his grasp.
Pain surged through every nerve.
A pain so intense that his vision darkened.
His body screamed for him to stop.
To surrender.
To rest.
To collapse.
The Thorned Sovereign approached slowly.
Its footsteps echoed through the ruins.
Heavy.
Measured.
Confident.
The creature looked up at the wounded knight.
Then spoke.
"EnD."
One word.
Simple.
Final.
Lucas lowered his head.
Blood dripped from his chin.
His body trembled.
The monster was right.
He was exhausted.
Wounded.
Near his limit.
Perhaps beyond it.
Then Lucas laughed.
A weak laugh.
But a laugh nonetheless.
The Thorned Sovereign stopped.
Confused.
The knight slowly lifted his head.
His eyes still burned with determination.
Still burned with life.
Still burned with defiance.
"You know..."
Lucas coughed.
Blood stained his lips.
"...people keep trying to tell me when I'm finished."
The monster stared.
Lucas tightened his grip on his sword.
"Funny thing is..."
His voice grew stronger.
"I never agreed with them."
The Thorned Sovereign sensed danger.
Immediately.
Ancient instincts screamed.
Move.
Now.
Too late.
Lucas swung.
His sword flashed.
A single arc.
Clean.
Precise.
Decisive.
SCHHK!
The vine holding him was severed.
Lucas fell.
Rolling across the shattered ground.
The moment he landed he forced himself back to his feet.
Staggering.
Bleeding.
Barely standing.
But standing nonetheless.
The Thorned Sovereign stared.
The knight should have remained down.
Any normal man would have.
Any normal warrior would have.
Any normal hero would have.
Yet Lucas still stood.
Still held his sword.
Still prepared to fight.
Lucas looked toward the monster.
His right arm hung uselessly at his side.
Blood stained his clothing.
His breathing was ragged.
His body was failing.
There was no denying it anymore.
He could feel it.
His strength fading.
His endurance crumbling.
His injuries accumulating.
Yet something remained.
Something the monster could not break.
Something it could not cut.
Something it could not pierce.
His will.
Lucas raised his sword with his remaining strength.
Then pointed it toward the Thorned Sovereign.
A challenge.
A declaration.
A refusal.
The monster slowly lifted its own weapon.
For the first time since the battle began—
Neither smiled.
Neither spoke.
The duel had moved beyond excitement.
Beyond testing.
Beyond curiosity.
Now both understood.
The next exchange could decide everything.
And somewhere far away, hidden behind the safety of the manor walls, Bereshith unknowingly looked toward the burning city.
As though sensing that his guardian stood upon the edge of life and death.
And the battle between knight and monster entered its most dangerous stage yet.