War of Underworld

Renly Synthesis Twenty-Seven

Renly

Renly sits in one of the tents of the supply camp, hopefully hiding from all sight. Despite being far from the battle (unknowing about what’s happening not too far away), the young man internally fights himself on what he should be doing. “Get up. You have to go back to your position. No… Even if I were there, I’d only be in the way.”

“Renly. You...seem to be broken.”

“Broken?”

“You are broken! A defective knight!”

“Renly, it seems I have no choice but to punish you to cryostasis. After all, despite being chosen as master of those Twin-Winged Blades, you’ve never managed to achieve the Perfect Weapon Control art with them. As a knight, you’re lacking something crucial. Good night, Renly.”

The Pontifex, the one who made him an Integrity Knight, called him a failure, and if the former leader of the realm believed it, why shouldn’t he? “It doesn’t matter whether I exist or not.”

“What about here?”

“Yes, this tent looks safe. Let’s hide him in the back and guard the entrance. It’s dark, so be careful.” Renly peeps out and sees two human girls enter the tent. He unintentionally gasps, revealing his presence. “Is someone there?”

Renly sighs and steps out. “I’m not the enemy… Oh, Lady Tiese, Lady Ronie. I apologize for startling you.”

Tiese calms down and puts her sword back in the sheath. “S-Sir Renly? Forgive our rudeness!”

“No, it’s my fault for scaring you. And besides, I’m not...an Integrity Knight anymore. I ran away again. The unit that I was supposed to command must be in a panic now. I’m sure there have been some deaths, too. And yet, I can’t bring myself to leave this place, so how can I call myself a knight?” Renly looks up and sees a boy sitting in a chair behind Tiese. “Kirito… That’s Jaymes’ friend and who killed the Pontifex? The woman we consider the Pontifex, that is.”

Ronie nods. “Mhm… Sir Renly, forgive me if I’m being forward, but would you be so kind as to help us out? No matter what… No matter what, we must keep Master Kirito safe. To be honest, while we could defeat some beasts, defeating even a single goblin is beyond our abilities. But that’s our mission right now. To protect him, entrusted to us by Lady Alice, Lady Eydis, and Lady Medina, at all costs. If for no other reason besides being my teacher, he’s Master Jaymes friend, and we owe him this.”

“Jaymes… Is he…” Renly is interrupted by a strange noise from outside the tent.

“No way! They’re here already?” More noise from outside draws Tiese to the drapes of the tent, and she peeks outside. “There’s smoke!”

“Tiese, are the tents on fire?”

“No, it’s just some kind of strange smoke wafting in. No, wait, there are a lot of people coming out of the smoke!” Tiese gasps and slowly steps back, reaching for her sword, just for a blade to cut through the drapes.

“A goblin!”

“Ooooh hoooo! I found some white Ium girls. What a haul for me!”As the girls stand in front of the goblin, knowing they cannot beat it, Renly himself is mostly frozen in fear, his right hand lingering over the Twin-Edged Blades but not touching them.