Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 132 - Amelia's Prize

"Welcome back, Medrauta." Viviane grinned. She wasn't sure what Medrauta had just gone through, but she was sure the knight had fallen into some kind of trance. From the looks of it, Viviane could tell that she had been unconscious for several minutes, but the situation had changed drastically in that brief amount of time.

"I... Nevermind." Medrauta pushed herself off the ground as Viviane dismounted her. There were a whole host of questions darting about in her mind at the moment, the first of which was answered the moment her gaze fell on Ritya and Bastiche.

The black-clad knight clutched her head as if she were in great pain, her brow furrowed deeply as she appeared to be fighting back the urge to scream. The last thing Medrauta remembered was kneeling over her lady's unconscious body after having lost the will to fight. She heard Ritya's sword whistling through the air as it descended toward her neck, and then there was only darkness from that point on. Clearly, Medrauta had somehow managed to survive the blow, and judging from Ritya's current state, she had dealt some serious damage to her opponent as well.

"...Let's finish this, Medrauta." Ritya said through gritted teeth. Though her wounds had long closed, their pain was still fresh in her mind. It fueled her rage, and she drew strength from that as she advanced toward the silver-haired knight. Despite having lost her sword, Medrauta was now similarly disarmed, and though Ritya had been utterly dominated by her opponent thus far, she was confident that she would be able to win. After all, Medrauta couldn't decapitate her without a weapon.

"Agreed," Medrauta replied, clicking her tongue in an expression of annoyance. The fact that she had almost allowed herself to be slain by Ritya frustrated her endlessly, but she also couldn't imagine fighting for a world without Viviane. Even now, the only reason why she had regained consciousness was thanks to her lady's efforts.

Behind Ritya stood Bastiche, a twisted amalgamation of hatred and rage plastered across his face as he glared at Medrauta. The silver-haired knight had no knowledge of the violence she'd enacted upon Ritya's body, but that did little to change the fact that Bastiche had been forced to witness it all. Four black-red orbs crackled to life around the nobleman even as Viviane bestowed her Crest upon Medrauta once more.

The moment Medrauta's silver armor burst to life around the knight's body, Ritya charged forward with all her strength. Though they were long gone from her body, the countless incisions Medrauta had made into Ritya's head still throbbed painfully and the black-clad knight swore she would return that pain tenfold. With no weapon in hand, Medrauta was hardly a threat.

Leaving herself wide open, Ritya shot straight at Medrauta, lobbing a hard punch at the knight's head. Of course, she didn't expect it to connect without consequence, but she doubted even Medrauta could avoid such an attack when she was devoting all of her body's resources to making sure it landed.

"Aaaaugh!" Ritya screamed in pain as Medrauta slipped to the side and threw a hard cross counter that shattered Ritya's jaw and sent her stumbling backwards several feet. Her own attack had grazed the knight's cheek, but aside from a light bruising, Medrauta was unharmed.

It's fine... Ritya seethed. I'll regenerate in a moment.

Ritya eyed her opponent warily, stepping backward several paces as she waited for her regeneration to kick in, but even after several seconds, her jaw showed no signs of recovering from its damage. Instead, the pain only intensified with each passing second as it overpowered the adrenaline coursing through her body.

Medrauta dashed forward, taking advantage of Ritya's confused state to hammer a flurry of blows into the black-clad knight. Though she only possessed one functional arm, her speed more than made up for it, and as each earth-shattering strike shot into Ritya's body, the witch-sworn knight finally gave way to her injuries and fell, collapsing onto the floor.

"Ritya!" Bastiche shouted in alarm. He cursed the explosive nature of his attacks, but most of all, he cursed his very own arrogance. As far as he knew, the ability Amelia had given to him was not one that remained fixed. It was an ability that could evolve and grow with training, developing as he increased his skill at manipulating dark mana. Unfortunately for him, he had only mastered the basics of his ability, believing that the overwhelming destructive power of his blasts would be enough to overcome any foe.

While technically true, the destructive blasts were a terrible tool for supporting his knight thanks to their large area of effect. In that regard, Viviane's arrows were a far superior option when it came to fighting as a pair, but that was also something Bastiche had never considered. As a tried and true noble, Bastiche had always believed that his place was on the dais, high and safe in the rear while he supported his knight with his Crest. It was only after Aluvsha took away his gift that he began realizing a noble functioned as more than just an almighty observer who gifted powerful abilities to their chosen warriors.

Now, he was paying the price. He had no idea why Ritya fell to what simply appeared to be unarmed strikes. Amelia's gift of pseudo-immortality should have taken care of whatever injuries she suffered as a result of Medrauta's onslaught, but even now, Ritya did nothing but writhe in pain as she coughed blood onto the slate floor.

"It's over, Bastiche." Medrauta said simply, walking toward the nobleman who trembled with both fear and rage.

She wasn't sure why Ritya had ceased to regenerate either, but she suspected it had something to do with Viviane. Though the noblewoman's Crest hadn't changed at all, there was something about her that Medrauta found unfamiliar. Perhaps it was her lady's newfound sense of inner confidence, or perhaps it was the somewhat otherworldly feeling that Viviane now gave off. Either way, it was a question for later.

"...No. I won't let it end here!" Bastiche's eyes snapped wide open, an almost haunted stare in his eyes. Ritya was slowly expiring before him. His dreams and aspirations had been crushed by the knight he despised the most. There was only one thing he could do now. One last act of defiance.

"The conditions are right! She will have her prize!" Bastiche roared, his chest tearing open as an enormous beam of black-red mana burst forth from the very core of his body, shooting toward not Medrauta, but Viviane. In doing so, he had condemned himself to death, but not before he fulfilled his last act of vengeance and his promise.

The beam hurtled toward the defenseless noblewoman at an incredible speed, but Medrauta had begun moving even before she realized what Bastiche was about to do. Gathering all the strength she still had in her body, Medrauta pushed off against the ground and leapt. She had already failed to save her lady once, a failure that she would never allow again.

This time I'll protect you for sure, Viviane!