Magic Knight of the Old Ways: Volume 1, page 2
Still, Sid was silent.
“I’m not asking you to swear fealty. I just want you to protect them. They are the hope of this world. So...”
Sid stared at Arthur, who looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Hey, come on,” Sid said, his lips twisting into a thin smile. “I don’t want the person who’s supposed to be my lord to have such a sorry look on their face.”
“Sid?”
“Ha ha ha. Fine, I get it, my friend. How can I say no when you’re this persistent?” Sid gave a mischievous smile and quickly looked over his former lord. “If that is your wish, then I’ll do my best to fulfill it—because I am your knight.”
“Th-Thank you, Sid.”
“However, Arthur,” Sid said in a carefree manner as Arthur smiled. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to need to find out for myself whether or not this descendant of yours is a king worthy of my blade.”
At that moment, a powerful bolt of lightning cut the darkness of the night and struck the gravestone standing on the hill. With a roaring sound, it turned the gravestone to dust and scorched the earth. The world was turned incandescent, and when the light had subsided, there was a figure crackling with electricity. He seemed to be around twenty years old. He had black hair and black eyes. His body was thin but sturdy, and he wore simple old-fashioned knightly garb.
“All right, so who am I pledging my sword to this lifetime?” the man, Sid, said firmly. Then, with a flick of his cloak, he stood up.
“Huh?!” Alvin was shocked by the man apparently summoned by lightning on top of the hill. Presently, Alvin’s entire body was battered, and Jeeza was holding him up in the air by his collar. However, all of that instantly vanished from his mind.
Jeeza was licking his lips as he finally planned to—“Wh-What?” His attention was completely stolen by the man who suddenly appeared.
The man in question was on top of the hill quietly opening and squeezing his hand like he was making sure of something. Though, he soon looked at his surroundings and noticed Alvin and Jeeza.
“Who the hell are you?! Wh-Where the hell did you come from?!” Jeeza howled, but the man ignored him and locked eyes with Alvin. Then, he squinted as if he realized something and vanished.
“Huh?” Alvin’s body was suddenly yanked away from Jeeza’s grip. For an instant, his body was weightless, and everything around him was a blur. By the time Alvin realized what was going on...
“Are you all right?” the man asked as he carried Alvin.
“Um...”
“Wh-What was that?! H-How did you move so fast?!” Jeeza yelled, as he was now a dozen or so meters away from them.
The man didn’t have an ounce of hesitation and was completely on guard as he held Alvin and glared at Jeeza. Also—
“M-My hand?!” Suddenly, Alvin felt a scorching-hot sensation on the back of his right hand. He looked, and there was a crest in the shape of a sword that felt like fire.
“You’re the one who summoned me, right?” the man said as he showed Alvin the back of his own right hand, upon which the same sword crest had emerged. Alvin felt himself connected to the man through this crest—it was something like a spiritual channel.
“Wh-Who are you?!” Alvin hastily asked, still being held by the man.
“When you ask someone else’s name, you should say your own first. Isn’t that right, boy?”
“Y-Yes! I’m sorry!” Alvin said and shrank in fear as he introduced himself. “I’m Alvin Noll Calvania, descendant of Arthur, the founder of my lineage.”
“Alvin, huh? I see... It’s a good name.” Sid grinned and said, “My name is Sid, Sid Blitze. The first knight of the great holy king, Arthur.”
“Y-You’re Sid? You’re really the legendary Sir Sid?”
Sid smiled gently at Alvin’s inquiry. “Yes, I am. I answered your summons and came here. That man is your enemy, right?” Sid asked and looked over at the speechless Jeeza, who was standing a dozen or so meters away.
“Y-Yes! He’s my enemy.”
“Then stand back. I’ll take care of this quickly,” Sid said and set Alvin down, but his injuries were so severe that he couldn’t stand and slumped to the ground. Sid then stepped forward as if to hide Alvin behind him. “I’ll protect you.”
“Th-Thank you, but please be careful! The enemy is a dark knight,” Alvin shouted nervously.
Sid spoke firmly and said, “Hmph, relax. I’m pretty strong myself.” Then, with his back to Alvin, he faced Jeeza head-on.
Jeeza clicked his tongue in disgust and became obviously wary. His prior carefree attitude was nowhere to be seen, and he now had the eyes of a warrior and ruthless killer. However, Sid didn’t waver or flinch under his gaze.
“Just where the hell did you crawl out of?” Jeeza said.
Sid answered with only silence.
“Still, that’s some pretty big talk. Sid? That’s the name of that knight from the legendary era a thousand years ago, isn’t it?”
Sid didn’t speak.
“It’s said he was the ultimate knight—even better than the three great knights. His twin blades were unmatched. You’ve got to be pretty cocky if you’re calling yourself the cruel and inhumane Sid the Barbarian, huh?!”
“Ha ha ha!” Sid laughed at Jeeza’s words. “Cruel and inhumane? Is that what I’m being called these days? That is rich! It’s an honor for a knight to leave his mark on history, but being infamous isn’t so bad either!”
“Ha! Yeah, you just keep talking!” Jeeza said, and then shouted in the fairy tongue, “Yates Slaatz!” which meant “feed and tear.” Irritated by Sid’s aloof attitude, Jeeza made his move toward him. While shouting in the ancient fairy language, he flourished his sword and made a sharp left diagonal slash at Sid from overhead. Sid reacted effortlessly and moved to dodge the attack. Even though the slash completely missed him, a diagonal wound was carved into Sid’s chest.
“Sir Sid?!” Alvin cried in distress.
“Ha ha! That’s what you get!” Jeeza sneered and then his onslaught continued. “Ha ha ha! Here I go!” Jeeza attacked Sid ruthlessly like a storm, slashing upward, cleaving to the side, and arcing the blade around. The tip of his sword was like a flash of lighting as it slashed, but Sid narrowly avoided his attacks with precision. However, Sid’s body was sliced again and again, and blood spilled from his wounds.
“Hey, what’s the matter?! Ha ha ha!” Jeeza’s sword howled like a whirlwind as it flashed a dozen or so times. When there was a break, Sid jumped back, landing right beside Alvin and putting some distance between him and Jeeza.
“S-Sir Sid!” Anxious, Alvin saw that Sid had been slashed all over and reduced to a wretched state.
“Ha! You’re so weak. You’re calling yourself the legendary Sid when that’s all you got?” Jeeza boasted triumphantly.
Unfazed by Jeeza’s mocking, Sid said, “I see. Your sword...is a fairy sword?”
“Good guess,” Jeeza said, with a huge grin. He showed him the ominous curved blade of his sword. A pitch-black darkness oozed from the blade like droplets of water and trickled down. “This is the dark fairy sword ‘Violence’ and its dark fairy magic is called ‘shadow blade.’ It creates blades from shadows that I can fire at high speed, which is how I was able to cut you from outside of striking distance. In fact, if I felt like it...” Jeeza casually swung his sword, and with a loud slash, a gash was carved into the ground next to Sid and ran in a straight line far into the distance behind him. “I could just slice off your head from this distance.”
Hearing Jeeza’s words sent Alvin into shock. In the dead of night, like this, those shadow blades are practically invisible. His fairy magic is truly fearsome! Alvin thought.
Knights all use special weapons known as fairy swords, which are swords created from the fairies that dwell in all things in the world. They amplify the wielder’s physical and regenerative abilities and have the power to manipulate the “concepts” that each fairy controls. That power is known as fairy magic, and through the use of their fairy swords, knights are able to use this magic. It’s one of the main reasons why a fairy knight’s fighting ability is a cut above an ordinary warrior’s.
Judging by the power of his fairy magic, that man’s sword rank must be considerably high, Alvin thought as he stared at Jeeza’s blade. Only a fairy sword can compete with another fairy sword. But Sir Sid is the most powerful knight of the legendary era. Surely, his fairy sword’s rank must be impressive. As long as he has that, he can compete with Jeeza.
“Sir Sid, your fairy sword you once wielded in the past!” Alvin shouted as he stared at Sid’s back. “A knight and their fairy sword are one and the same! If you call out its name, it will transcend space and appear before you! Now, quickly, please summon your sword! If you do, then—”
“Fairy sword? I don’t need that,” Sid replied casually.
“What?” Alvin was speechless as Sid calmly removed and threw away his now mangled cloak. Sid then grabbed the spare dagger that was hanging from Alvin’s hip and spun it around in one hand.
“I’ll be good with this for now.”
“What?!” Alvin shouted upon seeing this strange behavior. He pleaded with Sid. “W-Wait! You do know that’s a regular dagger with no powers at all, right?!”
“I do. That’s why I want it.”
“Th-This is no time for jokes! Hurry and summon your fairy sword! You’ll be killed if you don’t!” However, it seemed as if Sid was serious about fighting with the small dagger. So without summoning his fairy sword, he loosely held the blade in his hand and stared at Jeeza with composure.
“Y-You can’t be serious!” Understandably, Alvin’s mouth hung open in shock.
“Ha ha ha!” Jeeza’s laughter echoed loudly throughout the battlefield. “What is this?! Are you telling me some idiot who’s using a dagger against a fairy sword is calling himself the legendary Sid?! Ha ha ha!”
Sid chose to silently accept Jeeza’s mockery. All the while, an intense regret overwhelmed Alvin.
I was too naive and got carried away! I thought that if I could just summon the legendary Sir Sid that things would somehow work out! I wanted to believe that’s what would happen!
Sir Sid, the most powerful knight of the legendary age. However, in truth, he was just a third-rate knight lacking too much common sense to battle another knight.
I can’t believe this. He’s going up against a fairy sword with just a dagger! What kind of crazy person is Sir Sid? In the end, was his legend nothing more than a lie?! Alvin’s fascination with the legend of Sir Sid, passed down in the royal family, had led him to make the wrong decision. He shouldn’t have relied on someone from the past for help. He should have let him sleep peacefully. As Alvin’s regrets consumed him, a hand pressed tenderly on his head and gently ruffled his hair.
“Sir Sid?” When he looked up, Sid had a fearless smile on his face and was patting Alvin’s head.
“‘A knight speaks only the truth.’ I said I’d protect you, didn’t I?”
“Huh?”
Sid gave the astonished Alvin a backward glance and once again proceeded forward. It was strange. Even though Sid was trying to recklessly use a simple dagger against a knight wielding a fairy sword, Alvin still felt like he could truly rely on this person.
“But I’m sorry. It looks like I made you uneasy with all of this,” said Sid.
“What?”
“Well, it seems like my current body is far from perfect, you see. I wonder if it’s an effect of my resurrection. Both my physical strength and the mana that flows through my body are weak. That’s why my actual movements don’t quite match up with the image I have of them in my mind.”
Then, as Alvin blinked his eyes, Sid declared, “But there’s no problem. I’m already used to it.”
“Used to it? What are you saying?!”
Sid left Alvin’s question unanswered as he faced Jeeza with the dagger at the ready. As he did, Jeeza was already annoyed at Sid’s mysterious composure.
“A small fry thinking he’s some knight in shining armor—it’s not funny anymore,” Jeeza spat out, and the next moment his presence and the pressure it exuded became even greater. His fearsome killing intent seeped from his whole body and was thrown directly at Sid and Alvin.
This must be a joke! You’re telling me this man wasn’t even being serious until now?! Realizing this horrible fact, Alvin’s face turned pale and he shivered.
“I’ll show you what hell is!” In an instant, Jeeza swung his sword and let loose a shadow blade. In the darkness surrounding them, it was barely visible, but it flew at great speed toward Sid. The next moment, Alvin saw Sid’s head fly through the air and roll on the ground...
But he was only imagining that terrible future. The scene that actually played out before his eyes was much more unexpected.
“Ahhh!” What was actually thrown into the air and rolling around on the ground in a sad state was Jeeza.
“Huh?” Alvin said, befuddled. Before he realized it, Sid had closed in on Jeeza, followed through on a strike with his dagger, and was now rigidly on guard. His majestic appearance was as beautiful as a scene from a solemn painting of a knight.
“Gaah! B-Bastard! What did you just do?!” Jeeza said as he shakily stood up, coughing blood.
“I just smacked you with the flat part of my dagger,” Sid said as if he were surprised he was even being asked.
“That’s ridiculous! When did you even get close to me?! My sword attacked from completely outside of your range!”
“I mean, I could dodge something that obvious with my eyes closed.”
“What?”
“You’re some kind of squire who’s still just starting out with a sword, right? You seem to be full of yourself because you got your hands on a fairy sword, but a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, you know? You should give up quickly before you get yourself killed.” Sid’s words were simply a warning without a hint of provocation or insult. However...
“Y-You bastard! Who are you calling a squire?!” It looked like those words were enough to deeply wound Jeeza’s self-esteem. “Die, you bastard!” He kicked the earth and charged at Sid. He swung his sword down with a fierce overhead strike to split Sid’s head open, but Sid swiftly found an opening and deflected Jeeza’s sword with his dagger. He then struck Jeeza sharply in the face with the flat part of the weapon.
“Ahhh?!” There was a thud, and the incredibly heavy impact threw Jeeza backward, screaming. It was unbelievably powerful. Just how could a dagger that small and that light produce such force?
“Okay, now here I go.” This time it was Sid making the first move. What happened next was like a replay of the scene from earlier—a one-sided beating that couldn’t even be called a fight. However, this time, the roles were reversed. Sid swung his dagger while moving at high speed around Jeeza, leaving afterimages of himself. He completely dodged Jeeza’s defense and struck sharply and powerfully all over his body. His head, right arm, left leg, torso, right shoulder, left arm, right shin, back, waist. Sid’s strikes landed over and over again like he was fighting a wooden training dummy. Every time a strike landed, Jeeza’s body flew awkwardly to and fro, almost comically.
“Gaah! That hurts! Ahh!” Jeeza desperately tried to defend by shooting off shadow blades, but he didn’t land even a scratch on Sid, who was moving like a whirlwind. He was barely even able to slash Sid’s afterimages.
“No way. How?” Alvin muttered, dumbfounded in front of such a scene. “You should only be able to counter the power of a fairy sword with a fairy sword!” No, that wasn’t true. Their caliber was fundamentally different from one another. It was simply that the tremendous difference in their abilities couldn’t be overcome by just having a fairy sword.
“I-It’s amazing...” Alvin gazed at the scene. His heart trembled with admiration at Sid’s swordsmanship and fighting skills. “So this is a knight who lived the age of legend?!”
The story of Sir Sid that Alvin heard from his late father, the king, and admired since he was a child—it was all real. Watching him now gave his heart the exact same thrill as when he first heard the story. He was enthralled by the fight and wanted to see more of the legend. Eventually, though, much sooner than later, the battle raced to its conclusion.
“Ha!”
“Ahh!” Jeeza was blown away by Sid’s right-upward slash and rolled away on the ground.
“Just give up. Knights don’t kill for no reason.” Sid declared casually to the exhausted Jeeza.
“This strength! I can’t believe it!” Jeeza said, coughing and tottering as he used his sword like a cane to bring himself to his feet. “Dammit. I had heard rumors about a knight who rested in the forest of Shaltos. Are you telling me that you’re really Sir Sid the Barbarian and that you actually rose from the dead?! Just what the hell kind of magic did you use?!”
“Who knows? I’m curious about that myself.” Sid’s laid-back presence alone was enough to overwhelm Jeeza. Completely outmatched, all he could do was feebly withdraw.
“Ha ha ha. You got me. If you’re the infamous barbarian, there’s no way I could beat you no matter how hard I try.” Jeeza smiled wickedly as he dripped with a cold sweat. “But you should have finished the job!” Suddenly, Jeeza swung his sword again, casting another shadow blade, but as it cut through the rain, it didn’t fly toward Sid.
It was aimed at Alvin. He couldn’t even react as it came at breakneck speed, invisible. Just then, there was a splash of blood. “S-Sir Sid?!” Sid had moved like the wind to reach Alvin and protect him by taking a shadow blade to his back.
“Hee hee hee! Oh, how tables have turned!” Jeeza howled.
“You...” Sid turned around, and Jeeza didn’t miss the anger on his face.
“Hee hee. Nice reaction. The cruel and inhumane Sid the Barbarian is a lot more of a softie than he was in the legend, so I figured that would work!”
Sid stood, silent.
“I’ll only aim at the prince. If you try to defeat me and move even a little bit away from his side, I may die, but at the same time, the prince’s head will go flying! So can you do it? Can you abandon the prince and take me down? You can’t! After all, you’re such a splendid knight, aren’t you?! Ha ha ha!”
