Devil Knight of the Makai Order

Chapter 16: The Beast Knight Appears Part 1

(Liebe's p.o.v.)

It's been a year since Asta has received his Makai Armor and took on the family name: Sternritter. Since then, he has been training to master the unique abilities of the armor, including it's special weapons. Not only that, he has also perfected the use of Mana Skin to lengthen the time limit for wearing the Armor, making it possible to don it for 20 minutes at a time. It was such a great boon for the Order that it made the Senate allow the enlistment of women into Knighthood, and several of the female students who were enrolled into the Priest course to transfer into the Knight's course.

As for me, I had progressed quite a ways in my studies at the academy myself. In fact, I was just notified by the Headmaster that the Order has decided to test me to see if I'm qualified to gain a titled Makai Armor, which they planned to have forged for me as well as a Mado Tool like Iska has. He told me in a week the Makai Knight who will test me will arrive and he suggested that I use this time to train for the sparring match to come. That was what I planned to do as I have been sparring with Asta and Kazuto everyday, and going out into the forest to battle magical beasts with Alice. Speaking of, she and I have grown quite close over the past year. So much so, I eventually realized that I have come to develop feelings for her, but I have yet to tell her as I knew that if I wanted to confess to her, I had to reveal that I'm a Devil to her. Why was this a problem? Honestly, it was because I'm afraid that if she knew what I really was, then she may come to fear and loathe me, like nearly every human does. I was shown such cruelty by humans as a kid for simply being a Devil, despite me never so much as talking to them. They'd just get scared and try to kill me. I have known only pain all of my life, from my hellish life in the Underworld to the day Lucifero kill my adopted mother with my hand when he tried to possess me. If the first woman I love were to find out I'm a Devil and started to hate me because of it, then, without a doubt in my mind, my heart would shatter. That's why I'm hesitant to tell her how I feel about her. So, I've decided that it would be best if we stay as friends, and kept my feelings for her to myself.

Anyway, we have been hunting magical beasts since classes ended 3 hours prior and we were fighting numerous beasts. Now currently fighting a pack of 12 large wolf-like monsters with claws and fangs made of what looked like crystal. The two of us decided to go 50-50 on this as there were plenty of them for the both of us to fight. As three wolves charged at me, I slashed at their sides with my Makai Blade faster than the eye can see, cutting through them with ease. Then, two more came at me from the right, trying to flank me. However, it didn't work on me as I sensed their Ki and spun around while performing a horizontal slash to cut them in half. That was when the sixth wolf tried to pounce on me from behind, but I simply thrusted my sword backwards, piercing through its head and killing it instantly. I then slid the wolf off my sword flicked the blood off before I turned my attention to Alice, who was finishing off the rest of them using only her sword skills. Once she killed the last one, she flicked the blood off her blade before sheathing it in its scabbard. She then looked at me and asked with a smile, "Already done on your end? You're a lot quicker than last time, Liebe." I smiled back and said, "Thanks, though I doubt it'll be enough for my match tomorrow." That's right, my test was going to take place the next day. So, I was hellbent on getting as much training in as I could before then. The reason for that was because I had no idea who I would be facing and what would their capabilities were. Alice said, "Liebe, you should relax. Being wound up like this won't help you at all for tomorrow's match. There are other ways to win a fight other than speed and strength, wits and skill can be deciding factors in combat as well." I sighed as I knew she was right. Stressing about it won't help me at all, and I needed to calm down if I wanted to pass tomorrow's test. Then, Alice asked me a question that made me rather uncomfortable, "By the way Liebe, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now. Why did you want to become a Makai Knight in the first place?" I was hesitant for a moment but gave her an answer. Although, I chose to keep it a bit cryptic so she would catch on. "I wanted to punish my foster mother's killer, that's what I wanted more than anything at first. But after spending so much time here at the academy, I found something that I wanted more then revenge. Something that I wanted to protect more than anything, and would lay down my life for it." She seemed a bit curious about the last part and asked, "And what is it that you want to protect?" I replied, "I'd rather not say." My answer made Alice more curious but she chosen to say more to respect my privacy. She then said, "Well, I must say it's good that you chose to protect than seek revenge. While I do understand wanting to avenge someone you care about, revenge won't solve anything. Also, that's not the way of a member of the Makai Order. Whatever it is that you wish to protect, I hope you stay strong to defend it." 'If only you know what I want to protect.' I thought. "Let's head back and get some dinner, shall we? All this training has worked up an appetite." She suggested and I agreed before we went back to town to get dinner. As we were walking back into the city, I couldn't help but wonder which Makai Knight I was going to fight the next day.

Timeskip - Next Day: Combat class

I was currently standing in the training grounds, waiting for my opponent to arrive. And a crowd of students and teachers were gathered to watch my sparring match with a Makai Knight. After a few minutes of waiting, someone finally arrived and I was surprised by their appearance. My opponent was a huge, muscular man with ginger colored hair, blue eyes, a hardcore mustache, and in his hand was a battle axe.

The huge man greeted, "You must be Liebe, the student I am to test? Pleasure to meet you, my name is Escanor, and I bear the title of Giga the Beast Knight. Today, I'll shall be the one to see if you are worthy of earning the new Makai Armor that has recently been crafted. Are you ready to begin?" He brandished his axe and I drew my Makai Blade as I replied, "As ready as I'll ever be." I took my stance and waited for the match to begin. The combat teacher, Rafael Banderas acted as the referee for the bout, like he did with Asta's match against Kazuto. He asked us both, "Are the two of you ready?" Escanor and I both nodded yes. "Very well, this match may.........begin." He brought hand down to signal the start of the fight. Once he did, me and the Makai Knight charged towards each other. This is where I see how far I've come during my time at the academy.