Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 185 - Goodbye

At the very least, that was true. With her memories fully restored, Medrauta had no choice but to agree with Padraig's final statement. After all, Soleil herself had fallen for the Witch Queen's honeyed words during her weakest moments, leading to her downfall and the Versal Curse being placed upon her by Aluvsha himself.

"...Fine." Medrauta spat. "Perhaps you truly were deceived at the time, but that doesn't explain why you were trying so hard to kill Viviane and I. You weren't testing us or warning us to stay away. If Lady Scarlet and her knight hadn't appeared atop that shield tower the first time we met, you really would've killed us."

"I... I never wanted you to find out what had become of me."

"So your solution was to kill me!?" Medrauta asked incredulously. "What the fuck were you even thinking!?"

She had no idea what to think of Padraig anymore. At first, she had only been confused, the emotion quickly followed by sadness. Then there was rage, and now... Nothing. As she realized that the man who she had unequivocally respected for so many years was now gone from this world and replaced by the cowering, shameful fool who stood before her, she found that she felt nothing for Padraig anymore.

No. Not Padraig. Medrauta felt nothing for the Walpurgisknight.

The Walpurgisknight did not answer. There was nothing he could say to beg for Medrauta's forgiveness. Nothing he could do to wash away his sins. He regretted the choices he had made, but he knew there was no turning back anymore. Not when he had quite literally given Amelia his heart. At last, he raised his head to look his former pupil in the eyes one last time, barely managing to hold Medrauta's gaze.

His lips parted, hoping to utter words of apology, but they remained stuck in his throat. It was not because he could not muster the courage to speak them, but rather because the look in Medrauta's eyes had frozen those words in time. They were words meant for a time and place long gone. Words meant to be exchanged between Padraig the knight-captain and Medrauta the squire.

They were people who no longer existed in this world. The only two that remained now were the Walpurgisknight and Medrauta the Paladin. Such words meant nothing between them, and Padraig knew it.

The tip of Medrauta's blade rose from the earth.

"Put your goddamn helmet back on." Medrauta said. "You don't deserve to wear the face of a man I respected. You don't deserve to sully his image."

The Walpurgisknight obeyed, trampling over countless blades of grass to retrieve his damaged helm. He slid it on, obscuring his face once more as he assumed the identity of the last witch's champion, a role he would carry to the grave. He hefted his blade, resting it on his shoulder as he prepared for Medrauta's advance.

Now that Medrauta was aware of his true identity, the Walpurgisknight wondered if he could strike the silver-haired knight with as much resolve as he did before, but a single look at Medrauta's eyes told him that the she no longer thought of him as the person he was. He shifted his stance as Medrauta walked toward him slowly, silently wishing that the knight would end his life once and for all.

But he knew it would not be that simple. Even now, he could feel the witch's power course through every inch of his body down to the bone. The strange glowing dagger that Eris had wielded posed a very real threat, but Medrauta's current sword would not be able to sever his bond with Amelia no matter how sharp it was. But still, a man could hope.

The sound of clashing steel filled the air once more, replacing the brief and bitter reunion of the two who were once master and apprentice. Medrauta's blade flickered through the air from all angles, its vorpal edge biting deep into the Walpurgisknight's armor and drawing blood with each cut.