Knights Apocalyptica 2: A LitRPG Adventure, page 10
The Church, the merchants, and this entire party. Something had to break.
One of the priests reached his grubby little hand out toward him.
Erec grabbed the invading hand by the wrist, yanking the man forward with a quick jerk. It didn’t take much application of force to slip behind his back and use the twisted arm to control him. Within a second, he had a human shield between him and the rest of the closing zealots. There were gasps from the crowd, someone dropped a glass of wine… Those details faded from his head as red colored his vision.
They thought themselves worthy to challenge him? He tired of playing games. Erec barreled forward with the priest, turning his human shield into a fleshy battering ram, slamming the guy into the group of priests trying to close him in. Poor bastards couldn’t imagine him fighting back; pushing through their barrier was easy. All it cost was a few bruises to the fool who’d tried to grab him.
Like that, Erec broke past.
As soon as he was free, Erec slammed his foot into the back of his shield’s knee, causing the man to let out another yell as he fell face-first onto the ground. Fire roared inside, and his heart went wild. Excitement.
This was what he’d been meant for. Living the way he had the past couple of months—how’d he let life slip into such dullness for so long? He wasn’t meant for it, wasn’t meant to question every decision and live in fear of the future; the cold fire in him tempered the heat. He’d have to solve his issue with the Church later. His priority was getting out of here.
Erec ran hard towards the hall to the exit.
“Coward!”
He slid to a stop, turning his head and looking at the lead priest behind him. The man’s eyes burned.
Coward?
“Do you want to die?” Erec asked, the words tumbling free from the beast inside. Gasps from the crowd. But this man had challenged him to a fight. Maybe these worms needed to learn their place before the merchants. Now that the beast was free, trying to rein it in would be impossible. He’d thought to give these people the benefit of the doubt, to give them distance to consider their mistake. Maybe save himself the hassle of starting this fight—but if these red-robes were so determined to escalate, then…
It wasn’t worth pushing away who he was.
Erec cracked his knuckles and grinned.
[This is bad, isn’t it?]
“Submit yourself for judgment, Mad Knight!” the priest screamed.
He wasn’t mad. These people were. For the first time in months, Erec saw with perfect clarity what this situation was. Again and again, the people around him tried to use him as a piece on their board, a new noble to manipulate and wring from him whatever they wanted. They wouldn’t respect him until he showed them they had no choice but to. With Strength like his, he shouldn’t be subject to the whims of the weak.
This ballroom was as fine of a fighting arena as any he’d been in. It was time to decorate it with blood.
“No!” Was that Boldwick? A storm of fire burned from the far end of the ballroom; a river of fire flowed between Erec and the priests before exploding into a massive wall of flames.
Erec snarled and took a step closer to them. His skin burned from the proximity, even if it didn’t catch his furniture on fire. Why or how that was, it didn’t matter. As if something like a flame was enough to stop him now. Acting civil and conforming to what people expected was the way of these people. He’d played by their games and lived by their rules. Where had it gotten him? Let the beast take control and let it all fall apart. If these priests were to exile him anyway, he’d face it on his own terms.
The fire inside him burned just as bright as the inferno in front of him. Erec stretched a hand towards it; the flames licked his fingers and burned his skin.
Any pain only led to more Strength.
Inside, the hell raged, and deep within it, something else burned.
It was neither hot nor cold. Instead, it felt like a natural extension of life, an eternal moment that burned and sparked with an ethereal fire. Within it was something new.
Erec let it loose. His fingertips burned silver where they met the flames of Boldwick’s wall. The magic around them bent, and the fires leaped away as if to avoid him. Even it knew that he wasn’t to be stopped. Not now. Not until he’d had his fun.
Boldwick closed the distance, yanking Erec by the shoulder, or trying to, at least. Erec stood firm, struggling against the Master Knight’s attempt to control him. People were shouting and fleeing, Erec couldn’t see the priests, but somehow Garin had slipped past the fire and rushed toward them. Erec let out a growl as his arm shook from the effort to resist the Master Knight. He pulled with all of his force.
It wasn’t enough.
Step by step, Boldwick was dragging him away. Erec turned his eyes to the wall of flames, watching it wrap around the priests to stop them from following.
In a desperate bid, Erec clawed at them with his burning hand. The silver flames were bright as they burned away everything inside of him, leaving his body feeling like nothing but a hollow pit—all he had was that hope that the silver fires were the solution to this situation There was something there, he was sure. An instinct long forgotten that might get him what he wanted.
Suddenly, the silver fire burned out.
Erec’s vision was spotted with black. His head swam like it only did after downing a whole bottle of wine. Boldwick dragged him away with sudden ease as his Strength gave out, and as he did, Erec’s stomach churned. Vomit spewed up from his gut, hot and out of nowhere, and Erec hunched over on the ground and let it spill. It was pure black. Unlike anything he’d eaten at the feast, it reeked with the distinct smell of rot.
After that, Boldwick threw him over a shoulder and fled.
— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —
Erec shivered near a fire, he and the flames but mere specks compared to the small spot near the steel curtain where Boldwick had tossed him. Remote, for the Kingdom, and hard to find if anyone were seriously looking for him. Garin sat nearby, as did Munchy, the fat squirrel wasting no time before feasting on the fresh vegetables that Boldwick had brought.
The night sky above glittered with stars, beautiful. Yet Erec felt awful. There was nothing in him that could admire the gorgeous night. Only a profound worry and lingering nausea from whatever the hell happened in his manor. While it was true he wasn’t dead, Erec couldn’t be sure of how much longer he might have. And those merchants… The weight of the mistake he’d made only weighed heavier the more he thought about it. How could he have been so stupid?
Now he was out here, huddled near the wall like a fugitive. Could this have been how his mother felt?
There was one other thing—that which scared him more than anything else.
A notification flashed in the corner of his vision.
But he couldn’t open it. He couldn’t look at his Blessing; every time he’d tried, it failed, and he received a massive headache like a knife stabbing his brain. When he’d told Boldwick, the Master Knight gave him a worried look and told him to quit messing with it.
“Go back with him when he shows up next,” Erec said to Garin, nearly gagging from his own breath. That bile was still on his lips. Everything around him felt floaty and unnatural. As if this world were a murky falsehood.
“Not happening,” Garin said, grabbing a pepper from Munchy’s stash and stabbing a twig through it. “We’re in this together. For better or worse.”
“You’re not going into exile with me. I couldn’t live with that.”
“Nobody said you’re going into exile. You’re being dramatic.”
“Garin, they came for me in my own home… The last time I saw the priests do something like that, it’d been for my mother.” Erec leaned closer to the fire, wrapping his arms around his knees. That’d been the last time he’d seen her before her great betrayal.
As he stared at the fire, he saw a flash of her face. His imagination. What was wrong with him? Was he going to die? It was as if whatever was binding him was coming apart.
“…Sorry,” Garin moved closer, the skin on his bell pepper popping and burning with the flames. “We’ll get through this, man. When things are their darkest, you have to rely on the light burning inside. It was the priests, not the Kingdom, who came for you. I’m sure that’s important.”
“It is,” Boldwick called from the darkness, striding into the light with Dame Morgana at his heels. He’d donned his Armor and looked every part of a noble Master Knight. “And for that reason, our timeline for the expedition has been accelerated. I’ve sent someone to fetch your Armor. We’ll be leaving the Kingdom tomorrow.” Boldwick looked at the Iron Walls. “May the Goddess have mercy. It is never a good idea to leave without all your preparations…but a Knight must be ready for anything.”
CHAPTER 16
DIVINE CORRUPTION
If you wanna survive out here, you gotta do a few things.
Avoid the glows, for one.
See a Rift? Run.
Vega? Stay only as long as you got money in your pocket. Stay longer, and someone’s going to get you knee-deep in shit.
Close to the coast is where most keep, but stay away from the water past it; anyone who tries telling you to sail is playing a game with death. Further inland you go, worse it gets, least from what I’ve seen.
Above all, keep this in your head: humans can be monsters too.
- Sally Snakes, Surviv’n (293, 3rd Era)
As the sun rose to the middle of the sky, a steel wagon came into view. One of the first things on it to catch Erec’s eye was VAL—or rather, the Vallum Model that VAL had taken over and called home. Given that he’d left it at the Academy, Boldwick had thankfully managed to retrieve it. Which meant that at the very least the Church’s call to bring him in didn’t extend that far.
They’d spent the entire night out here, not quite sure what was going to happen. Dame Morgana used most of it instructing Garin, claiming she’d only taken the opportunity to teach. All of them knew her real job was to look out for the Church.
Accompanying the Caravan were a whole centurion of soldiers and a few Verdant Oak Knights. And then there were the people Boldwick had said would be coming along on their expedition, with two surprise guests.
Colin was walking alongside his father, the Unbroken General.
Erec couldn’t look away as Duke Nitidus strode up in his cerulean Armor, a suit not unlike the model he’d supplied to his son for the trial, but also adorned with a deep purple cape. Like the first Armor Erec saw him with, the suit had the distinctive diamond-like helmet. His screwlike spear rested on a shoulder as he stopped and examined their small camp.
“I informed you that your apprentice wouldn’t be further bothered. Pursuit by the Church is unlikely, as of now. They’ve concentrated on manipulating public sentiment and making their moves against the Royal Family.”
"Can't be too sure. This operation isn't completely in my hands now. Nobody predicted they'd make such a bold move before we returned." Boldwick hopped off the wagon, and a wave of dust blew away as his Armor impacted the ground. "This escort seems a little excessive, especially since it's not too far from the gate, but I'm grateful nonetheless."
"Orders from the Royal Family are followed without question. This expedition has been granted by authority." Duke Nitidus shrugged. "It was foolish of them to act so rashly. Their decision has left the Silver Flames in an awkward position within the Orders. But enough of that for now; let's focus on the matter at hand.”
"There will be plenty of time on the road to plan for our return." Boldwick walked over and clapped Erec on the back. "You two, get your Armor on. Then we'll get moving."
— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —
A minute after Erec donned his Armor, they started moving again. Soon the escort brought them to the closest gate, which opened with surprising speed. Erec and the rest rushed outside, and the gate slammed shut just as quickly. The speed at which everything was happening almost gave him whiplash.
His recent recovery from what the silver fire had done to him didn't help, leaving him wondering if the past few days had been some prolonged delusion.
To his surprise, the Unbroken General and Colin remained with their group. The old man was already busy explaining some of the finer points of military tactics to his son as they walked. However, Colin barely listened, only offering one or two affirmations until his father's tone became harsh and demanded an answer.
It seemed everyone had something to preoccupy them. Olivia was harassing Garin while Gwen, Dame Juliana, and Boldwick were talking and trying to get their bearings while consulting the map. Dame Morgana drifted alongside them as a physical manifestation of a ray of sunshine, humming as she moved. The woman opted to leave her Armor on the wagon and ignored Boldwick’s calls to wear it. Instead, she chose to remain in her flimsy black dress.
Erec dragged his attention away from them. He was still processing the abrupt twist in his life. The group's near-ease was a weird contrast to how things must be within the Kingdom.
After the move the Church made and his royal fuck-up with the merchants, thinking about the situation behind them left him feeling sick.
"Try to live in the moment," Dame Robin said quietly from his side.
Erec twitched with surprise and turned to her, head still filled with a bit of that fog. "Huh?"
"It isn't that difficult to figure what you must be thinking. Especially with how you looked upon our arrival. As you can see, everyone else is focusing on the present."
"I don't understand why, though. Aren't they worried about leaving the Kingdom right now?" Erec said.
"I'm sure they are. For that reason, most of them decided it was better to focus on the goals in front of them. They laid aside their affairs in the Kingdom before they left, and will adapt to changes when they return. I'm not sure you're aware, but the Silver Flames has been courting the Duke as a major ally. Marrying his son to the House of Doctus was a seal on that alliance—considering that House has deep ties to that Order. But now he's out here, and they can't rely on his support, and it leaves them in an odd position with the Church’s recent action." Dame Robin kept up easily, and Erec felt a thrum of appreciation for the woman run through him. Whenever he felt low, she always took a moment to set him back in place. Not for the first time, she reminded him of his mother.
"He did this intentionally?"
"Likely, he wants this Kingdom to be stable and to put himself into position to act as an intermediary between both sides. I can only speculate, though." Dame Robin shrugged. "My recommendation? Don’t dwell on it. Each day out here could be your last. Then how ridiculous would it be to have spent your time worrying about things that didn't matter."
It was easier said than done. But the idea of putting his head away from the clusterfuck of the Church and the Kingdom was preferable to torturing himself over it when he couldn’t do a single thing to change it. The conversation lapsed into silence as they moved along.
They had their destination, and only had to follow it, Erec was about to go deeper into the western wasteland than ever before. The nearest “civilization center” was almost triple the distance from the Kingdom to the ruins of Worth.
The sky above was a bright blue with few clouds drifting across it. Far above it was the bright sun, radiant as it blessed their journey with fine weather. With its light, and the day's atmosphere, Erec began to cast out his regret of being played by the merchants and let his mood rise. Nothing he could do within the Kingdom made him feel quite as alive as he was in moments like this.
No binding chains were out here, only a group of people he knew he could rely on. Let the Church think they'd won—let the merchants have their way for now. Court life was never where he belonged.
After an hour of marching, he began to feel better. Not just the mental confusion, but the feeling of unease and brain fog slipped away. Once it was gone, a piercing white box filled his vision, followed by a burning sensation in his chest.
Soul Advancement: Rank [NULL] - Tier 0 → Rank E - Tier 1
The pain. Erec clutched at his heart as his knees buckled. VAL must’ve sensed something going wrong as it locked the servos.
[Whoa, Buckeroo. Easy now. You alright?]
“What the hell?” Erec asked.
Dame Robin turned around and tilted her head at the sudden holdup. It burned inside, a blazing, searing pain that kept going, and sweat rolled down his forehead.
Erec desperately pulled up his Blessings to grasp what was going wrong even though it hadn’t been working since last night.
Name: Erec of House Audax
Health: 100% | Mana: 100% | Stamina: 100%
Virtues:
Strength: [Rank D] | [Tier 5]
Vigor: [Rank E] | [Tier 7]
Agility: [Rank E] | [Tier 5]
Perception: [Rank E] | [Tier 5]]
Cognition: [Rank E] | [Tier 4]
Psyche: [Rank E] | [Tier 7]
Mysticism: [Rank F] | [Tier 4]
Soul (Aspect: Fire): [Rank E] | [Tier 1]
Talents:
Fury
There it was. Right where the messed-up Faith had been, a completely new and unexplained Holy Virtue. Or rather, it had been a Holy Virtue before. But that’d changed too; now the sheet only listed it as Virtues. Divine Talents changed as well—now only Talents. Erec scrambled to figure out what it meant as he forced himself to move forward. Aspect of Fire?
This couldn’t be right.
Not unless…
Was the Church right?
Was this the Goddess’s scorn? Looking at it at pure face value, this significant change couldn’t be possible unless he concluded that. Their pursuit against him was righteous—panic swirled with the burning pain inside.
Was he to end up like his mother?
A vision of an uncaring Goddess on her throne tumbled through his mind, the same vague delusion he’d had months ago after defeating the Stag.
