"..." The wind felt much different this time, instead of the piercing cold air that shook the leaves of the trees, it was hot. Almost as if summer had arrived.
Gerard firmly walked through the grassy fields towards the Templar Knights, their fixed gaze on him put an insurmountable pressure—yet he remained unfazed.
As Gerard walked up the hill with his bardiche in his left hand, cloaked in a dark-red robe, Velox and his wife—alongside Nicolla and the rest of the people slowly retreated to the forest.
"..." Gerard stood Infront of the brigade. The blade of his weapon pointed at the ground.
Only glares were exchanged. Each front stood tall and still, it was Gerard versus a brigade of Templar Knights. If a single Templar Knight can kill a hundred soldiers, then Gerard can eradicate a platoon of Templar Knights.
His odds were stacked against his favor. Gerard had marched towards his death. There was no way for him to stop such a ridiculously large army by himself.
Unless there is another way for him to make use of time. But only one thing had came into his mind. As a former member of a mercenary group, he had a chance when it comes to implementing traditions.
You see, Gerard was a member of the Kronos Corp, but in order for him to manage to pass and become one of them, he had to go through many trials ranging from physical to mental and psychological.
In this case, "Cutlass Circle," one of the longest standing traditions of the Kronos Corp—involves two people, standing in a circle, their eyes blindfolded and their feet chained a few meters apart.
Each were given a dull cutlass, and whoever gets the most wounds in a minute will be the loser, and would have to swim in alcohol if ever there is a festival.
Knowing this Gerard proposed, such an ambiguous goal. He broke the silence in a statement,
"I wish to challenge you all to a one versus one. As you can see, or rather from the text books—I am what they call Gerard. The Shadow of Yuuyhrar City, The Heir of Solitude. If you wish to have the opportunity to spar with such a noble figure, then I suggest you come forward." His voice resonated throughout the field.
The Knights were astounded—they couldn't believe their eyes, it was Gerard in the flesh?! But that was impossible, their Intel stated that Gerard had disappeared. But now, seeing the Hero who saved Yuuyhrar from getting wiped of the map, filled them with animosity.
Their colonel stood still, fixing his gaze upon Gerard with such, incompetence. He doesn't look like the one in what was described.
The Colonel's halbred that carried was suddenly pointed Gerard's face, inches away from his nose.
"Look, I'm not here to start a circus performance with my men. State your business and get out." Sharp words had struck Gerard, yet he remained unfazed.
"What's wrong, 'gentle' men? If you're going to be a sissy like this, might as well leave your wife to me—I would've been the sexy mail man in your neighborhood!" Gerard chuckled, almost as if he shook off those insults from earlier.
Gerard gently pushed away the Colonel's halbred. Making a mocking face and danced to taunt the Templar Knights before him, like a clown trying to make them the opposite of laughing.
Before the Templar Knights drew their swords, Gerard followed with a question,
"Tell me folks, have you ever felt what it's like to be loved by the people around you? I've heard your little performance plays and my god, they're so touching!" Gerard exaggerated his movements, almost as if acting a play in a theater.
"Really touching... Imagine going through almost 20 years just to be above a soldier, you could've just played with your dolls and be the mother or dog in your childish games." Gerard laughed and mimicked the hand movements of someone doing chores. The Templar Knights couldn't hold their anger anymore.
The scorching heat, the taunting, the way their formation is so tightly packed it made them even more stressful, causing them to get slightly agitated.
In the heat of the moment, one of the Templar Knights broke formation and charged straight at Gerard. Only to be met with his neck being pierced, and his head getting cut in half—a clean stab and slice.
The Templar Knight fell, his pristine armor shines as his head is now a sloppy mess. The other Templar Knights watched in shock as to how he, Gerard, effortlessly killed one of them, while looking like a peasant from across the street.
"..." All of them stood in silence, the dead body of a Templar Knight in front of them was a sight to see. But to their bewilderment, they didn't noticed how Gerard used almost 80% of his strength just to one shot a Templar Knight.
Gerard brandished his Bardiche again, in a few swings—the blood is gone, tainted the green fields with it's opposing hue.
"So, who's next?" Gerard rested his Bardiche on his shoulders, smirking to show absolute power to men who think they are the pinnacle of human strength.
Seeing this, the Colonel wasn't mistaken. It was the same as it was written in their books—throughout Gerard's textbook history, he was a playful yet sinister fighter, using cheap tricks to capture and neutralize his opponents in one quick motion.
His Bardiche, was hand-crafted by his dad, it was a representation of his family's strength not just in one area of power, but in other aspects of utilizing their own genetic trait.
Gerard's trait was dormat for a long time. After The Siege of Yuuyhrar City, he had unlocked his trait—just like his father.
For a moment, a faint red glow emanated on Gerard's whole body. He can feel his muscles getting denser as his sweat evaporated in the air.
It was a first in a long time for him to experience such phenomenon—the urge to destroy everything in sight.
"Y'know what... Fuck the one versus one. I'm going to destroy every single one of you here right now." Gerard unleashed large amounts of smoke, in a single moment—the vapor all converged into one point.
Gerard's body had changed... Not just his body, everything about him had changed. That feeling of seeing a side that shouldn't be shown to you. His beard vanished, he became more youthful and overall ripped from head to toe.
The cloak that was once there became a cape, a long and thick black cape that seemingly covered the sky. His body clad with the abyss, like a black hole that will tear everything apart.
"It's actually him... The Shadow of Yuuyhrar." The Templar Knights began to finally notice who they're up against. It wasn't a normal opponent or a peasant from the streets.
It was The Heir of Solitude. And this was his first massacre in a long time.