Chapter 119 : The Knight & The Princess (Part 1)

*BOOM*

A large boulder was thrown at the carriage where Rei and Iris stayed.

The scene made the two other carriages stop, and they all came out to see what just happened.

Albert saw his sister's carriage being crushed by this boulder, and he was about to rush towards it, followed by Silvi and Harson.

"Iris!!—"

But the Adventurers team immediately stopped them.

"Stop!—" Fang was trying to hold Albert back who struggled to break free from his hold.

"Don't stop me!! That's my sister in there!!–" He shouted as his eyes were filled with tears, 'No...it can't be...'

*CRACK*

But the boulder suddenly cracked.

*SHATTERS*

Before it shattered into pieces. Underneath it, Rei and Iris were safe.

Rei retracted his black shield and covered Iris' entire body with his to make sure she didn't get hurt.

"Ughh..." Rei didn't expect such a thing to happen to them, "Are you okay?!" and immediately checked whether Iris is fine or not.

"I'm fine." Iris responded, her right arm was stretched out and pointing at something.

Rei looked at his surroundings and saw a white barrier had been attached right beside them and when he looked closer. '...The coachman?'

Inside of the barrier, there were the coachman and the horse.

"This is..." He looked at in surprise, 'Did she put the barrier on the coachman to protect him??'

'She's quick.'

After the boulder was shattered down and cleared up so it couldn't hurt anyone else, Rei stood up while holding onto Iris' hand to help her stand.

"Thank you, Crimson-san for saving me." Iris thanked him while retracting her barrier from the coachman.

"Iris!!" Albert ran towards her after they saw that they were safe from danger.

"Onii-sama! I'm fine now! But we need to attend to the coachman and evacuate them first!" Iris told him, and directed it to her servant as well, "I won't let anyone get hurt!"

She spoke like a true leader that was not flinching against such danger that was just thrown at them before.

Albert found it difficult to listen to what she said, he was in shock and almost broke down after seeing his sister's carriage got crushed by this large boulder.

Iris approached her brother and clapped his cheeks with both of her hands. "Focus Onii-sama! We must not lose ourselves and retreat before it got worse!"

Albert widened his eyes and looked at her while touching her hand, 'There's something different...'

Albert, who always observed his sister, found something had changed from Iris' looks.

"You...are you really Iris?" Albert asked her and that caught Iris off guard.

Iris realized that she accidentally released the illusion on her eyes. Her sky blue eyes that she inherited from their mother must have looked blood red to him now, which was the same color as Albert.

Meanwhile, Rei stayed behind them. "Everyone! Stay in formation and keep the client and the coachman safe! Wield your weapons and focus on your surroundings! Do not be shaken!"

Rei made sure to order his team to stand by, as they immediately grabbed their weapons and hold it while looking at their surroundings.

*TAP*

Then Rei heard something.

*TAP*

A footsteps that approached him from the forest.

*TAP*

And it's from the direction where the boulder was originally thrown.

*TAP*

Rei steadily pulled his sword out from his [Inventory] and got into his stance.

*TAP*

Until the footsteps finally stopped and a man wearing a hood came out from the bushes.

Rei widened his eyes to see this man just appeared and calmly walked out from the forest right after the incident, like it's not a big deal.

And that moment, Iris shifted her direction towards the man as well. His face was completely covered but Iris could see that the man was not wearing any shoes and his hands were muscled and that hinted her on a certain job.

'A [Martial Artist]? and this aura?!' Iris who have more sensitivity than others, realized something wrong.

"Who are you?" Rei asked while gripping his sword tightly.

The man with a hood lifted his head and showed his sharp teeth in a wide grin.

"Heh."

At that moment, Iris could tell something...

"Crimson! Do not engage! I repeat!!! Do not engage—!!"

That Iris was too late to warned him.

*SWOOSH*

At such a blinding speed, the man in a hood appeared right in front of Rei when his attention was on Iris.

Then the man grabbed Rei by his helmet(face) and they disappeared from their vision.

"Kugh—!!"

*SWOOSH*

Everything happened so fast, Rei was too late to react as his body was dragged by this man.

They were flying in mid-air after he made a huge jump. After that, the man crashed Rei's body against the ground and dragged him all the way around while he was running like he was piece of rugs.

His body crashed against the trees around them.

*BAM*

*BAM*

The trees continued to fall as Rei was still being dragged by this man, his HP depleted rapidly.

'This need to be stopped!—' Rei quickly gripped his sword tightly and swung his sword towards the man to interrupt him.

But the man dodged the sword by a hair's breadth and caused the hood to fall off, revealing the man's identity.

Before Rei could recognize him, he was thrown up in the air as the man stopped dragging him away.

In such a short moment in the mid-air, the man positioned himself by spinning his body and swung his feet towards him.

'Huh—'

It was too late for him again.

*BAM*

Rei was kicked off from mid-air and flew another miles away, then crashed against several trees causing a devastating damage to the forest.

*COUGH*

Rai coughed out blood from his mouth as his body finally stopped from moving.

Eventually, the man landed on the ground, "Heh...this sensation, did he put on a barrier in such a short moment?"

He spoke, recalling where Rei was about to get kicked.

Rei couldn't react to such speed and because of that he couldn't use his shield to defend himself in time, but luckily he had one item that he could use to protect him.

[Aegis Necklace].

If his body couldn't react that fast, then his mind could.

'[Aegis Shield]!'

Rei used the barrier skill from the necklace and protected himself from getting severely damaged by that kick.

But despite having been protected, he couldn't stop the momentum caused by that powerful kick.

Rei found himself crashing on the trees that served as his cushion.

"U-ughh..."

As he tried to get up, he could finally see the identity of the man before him.

"Aren't you an interesting fellow?~ As expected of the one who killed a dragon in a single strike."

This man has spiky orange hair, a pair of beast- like eyes and sharp teeth as he grinned.

His body was toned to the extreme until the shape of his muscle was visible through his black tank top and light brown baggy pants on his lower half.

"Hah~ I guess that kick wasn't enough to defeat you." The man spoke, still with his wide grin.

Rei tried his best to stand up on his feet.

*DRIP*

"Ughh..."

Despite protecting himself from the kick, he couldn't mitigate the impact that resulted in an injury to his arms and head, the attack was strong enough to make him bleed and it dripped down from his armor.

The man seemed to enjoy observing him like this as he couldn't help but licking his own lips, pleased that he just cornered a good prey.

*SWOOSH*

But then a sudden appearance came out from behind him, a small silhouette.

Rei recognized whose silhouette it was.

'Iris?'

Iris showed up with her rapier that was clad in a spinning white and black magic burst.

"Get away from him." She let out a lot of bloodlust through her eyes as she swung her rapier.

'[Divine Art: 13th Pillars].'

In such a blinding speed, her rapier blade split into thirteen strikes that rushed toward this man.

When the man turned his face around to meet his attacker, Iris widened her eyes.

"You..."

The man smirked widely.

*TING* *TING* *TING*

With a swift movement from his hand, he swept away all thirteen strikes with just his bare hand.

Iris was knocked back due to the strange yet quick movement that blocked her strike.

'It didn't pierce through?—No...rather, did he just use his hand?!—'

What's more shocking is that his hand didn't suffer any injuries from her magic skill, 'And that sound...it's like I just hit a hard iron!'

"Kugh—!!" Iris then clad her left leg with a barrier and swung it to this man's side, taking this chance to counter.

*BAM*

The kick landed with this man's forearm that he used to block the kick, it caused a loud noise from that kick, meaning it was that powerful.

And yet...

'Tsk...it didn't affect him in the slightest!' Iris could see the man handle that strike and that kick calmly.

Iris retreated first and took a few distances away from him by pushing herself with her feet.

"Oya~"

*SWOOSH*

"Where are you going~?"

When Iris just finished taking her distance, the man closed his distance again towards her in a blink.

'What?!—So fast!—even with my current speed enhanced with magic!'

Iris couldn't react to his speed in time and the man was already clenching his right fist.

"Huff—!!" And swung with high speed towards her.

'Dammit!—I won't make it!' Iris was about to deploy her barrier but his fist was already close to her face.

"Get away from her."

At that moment, Rei appeared from behind him and swung his black sword at his back.

*SWOOSH*

But his sword slipped away, as this man just bent his body to the side so he could dodge his sword.

"Wow~"

The man still kept his calm and wide grin, in such a weird position in mid-air, he spun his body so he could swing his fist at Rei instead.

*SWOOSH*

But...

*BZZZTT*

Then Iris created several dark energy balls in mid-air and pointed her hand towards this man before his fist could reach Rei,

'[Dark Pulse]!'

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Iris fired them all, creating a large explosion, causing them to be pushed away due to the shockwave from the explosion.

Rei and Iris quickly landed on their feet as they finally got away from this man's grasp.

Both of them were breathing heavily from the intense moment that they just had as if the adrenaline within their brain finally caught on to their tiredness.

'This is...who is he?' Rei asked himself as he was unsure of what just happened.

'Houston.'

'No...I don't know who he is. This is my first time seeing someone this strong other than my master.' Ray answered while gulping from just observing the intense fight.

'He is...at a pinnacle no one could reach.' Ray estimated based on the aura that this man showed.

"Phew~ I guess I underestimated you both~" As the smoke from the explosion dissipated, the man stood there as if nothing happened.

'No injuries?!' Rei and Iris were shocked to see him uninjured and brushed away their combined attacks like it was nothing.

'I used my all on that one, but to think not only he's uninjured from [Dark Pulse], he also deflected [Divine Art]?!—as expected...he is...'

"Are you...one of the [Six Underworld Kings]?" Iris asked.

'One of the [Six Underworld Kings]?!' Rei and Ray were shocked to hear it.

Then the man smiled, "Ohh, how would you know I am one of them? I haven't introduced myself."

"I could tell...since there's only one who has this kind of strength, a man who used his entire body as a weapon, a martial artist who had reached his peak at a young age, and the one who was also rumored to be the one who killed a Dragon with bare hands."

"[The King of Destruction, Kajia]."

"....?!?"

The man grinned widely with his set of sharp teeth, "Correct, to think you are this young to have such knowledge…not many people would know me."

Iris smiled as her sweat dripped down through her cheek as her eyes glinted a bit, 'Well I cannot say...that I used [Status Appraisal], but to think with just a guess, he would answer it right away.'

'Such a strong pride and confidence.' Iris gulped.

Rei gulped as well, '[The King of Destruction, Kajia].' Rei repeated that name in his thoughts.

'How unlucky...to think we have met the most dangerous person from that group.'

'Really?'

'If you compare him to Banzana, Banzana is like a fire that spreads out in a village that would lead to destruction in just a matter of time.'

'But Kajia...he is definitely a natural disaster that was born as a human, a [Martial Artist] who was said to be the Strongest and when compared to the Hero, he is probably stronger than him.'

'Stronger than the Hero and a natural disaster? Is that even possible...'

'I cannot say, but from the way he fought us before...he hasn't used any skill nor used his full strength.'

'What? That kick took half of my health if it wasn't for the barrier! it's as if I just fought against Jormungand!'

'Hah, if you think Jormungand is scary...then you should be terrified to fight against this one, since he killed a Dragon before.'

Rei then gulped.

'Unlike us we defeated a young Dragon that just evolved, while this man...he defeated a Dragon that was 10 times his size with just his bare hand.' Ray gave more details on how monstrous this man was before them.

'Is he even human at this point...'

'Well…then we're going to find that out.'

Rei finished his discussion with Ray while facing this man.

"So? Even if you are the King of Destruction himself, why are you targeting us?" Iris asked.

Then Ray widened his eyes, 'That's right...the King of Destruction was known for his love to challenge people, but the way he just attacked us right away, is unusual for him.'

Kajia would smile at this moment, "Targeting you? I just merely throw a rock at you to get your attention~"

'Just throwing a rock...is he insane?' Iris thought.

"What if we died when you threw us that rock." Iris spoke.

Then Kajia began to think while folding his arms, "Hmmm...then that's it, I guess you both are just that weak~" When he answered like that, he would smirk widely and show a hint of bloodlust that made them shiver.

'Crazy.' Rei and Iris thought.

"The exact answer is, I was not trying to get your attention missy~ I was aiming for...him." Kajia pointed his finger at Rei.

Rei was surprised to hear that, 'Me?'

"Why are you targeting him? He doesn't have any connection with me, a noble and you guys. If you want revenge for what I did to the lab and to those people, you should target me instead."

Kajia blinked his eyes and began to laugh, "Pfft—hahaha!~ It seems you have such a wild imagination, young lady~"

"Do not misunderstand us, even though those people belonged to a certain woman from our group, that doesn't mean they have a connection with me~" Kajia explained.

"Besides, what would I gain from fighting you who haven't matured yet?~"

Iris felt irritated to hear that, "Huh." Despite her young looks, within her is the Iris that came from the future and so she's much older than anyone in here.

"You said that he has no connection? Did you forget...who did he kill before?~" Kajia threw them a hint.

Rei then decided to take a step forward, "Are you trying to exact revenge on me for killing the [King of Bandits, Banzana]?"

Iris then looked at him in surprise, 'He defeated The King of Bandits?' It was the first time she heard about that, which was understandable because she just awakened from a long slumber. She had yet to take a look at all her memories.

"Yet, another misunderstanding~" Kajia sighed, then shrugged his shoulder, "I don't care about that fucker's death, besides he deserves it anyway~"

"Then how did you know that I was the one who killed him?" Rei asked him since he was curious.

'The only one who knew that I defeated him...is the people from the village, the Guild Master and their staff, also my team and Iris.'

'Nobody knows...but no...it can't be...' until he suddenly realized something.

"You...what did you do to that village!!" Then his red aura spiked out as his anger gradually swallowed him up.

Kajia was surprised to see such a reaction from him but then he smiled once more, "Ahhh~ that village?~ I wonder...maybe~ it got obliterated~"

"Kugh...—!!" Rei gripped his sword tightly as he was about to rush at him but Iris extended her arm to stop him.

"Iris!"

She shook her head, "Calm down, Crimson-san! He is trying to provoke you! I am sure the village is safe! I swear in my name!"

"But...."

'Right, Kiritsuka...calm down, do not blind yourself from the anger.' Ray spoke to him.

A few seconds passed and his aura slowly calmed down.

'That was weird...Kiritsuka was never this angry before, even if he did I could feel the spike of emotion.' Ray thought of it.

'What is happening.'

When Kajia saw him calm down, he frowned.

"Ahhh~ that was too bad, I thought I could rile him up to attack me~" Kajia spoke.

"Your cheap provocation won't work this time, as long as I am here." Iris responded.

"Oh really?~ Then how about we get straight to the point, shall we? I challenge you both to fight me, how about that?~" Kajia offered them.

"We refuse, we have to go home to fulfill our duties." Iris was quick to reject it.

"Same, there's no merit for us to fight." Rei rejected him as well.

"Ohhh! there is a merit for me, you see, I love fighting and especially to our death~ as a Martial Artist, I have been living to fight the strongest and yet I couldn't do so since my best friend won't allow me."

"Your best friend?" Rei repeated his words.

"Yep yep, my best friend~ though I cannot say his name but surely you would know him soon." Kajia smiled at them.

"Enough chit chat~ as I said before I wasn't allowed to fight strong people because it might disrupt his plan."

"But surely he will allow me to fight one of them if they are trying to get in his way."

"And that falls down to you, [The Wrath Knight, Crimson], an Adventurer who just came out all of a sudden without prior notice, an unknown figure who killed one of the Six of us."

"Together with a little girl who is known for her villainous attitude, [The Villainess, Iris May Welford], who destroyed that vixen lab, and fought against a Demon not once but twice~" Kajia explained about them one by one.

"I'm not into rumors, but this might be the first time I am curious about these people who have been making a fun mess without my notice." Kajia spoke.

"So you jump here just to fight us? That is ridiculously stupid." Iris spoke out.

"Talk all you want, this is my policy, my oath, that I promise myself to be the strongest and toppled everyone with every means to accept my challenge, of course without cheating~"

"But since you refuse me, it makes me wonder....what should I do for you both to fight me~" Kajia spoke.

Iris and Rei tightened their grips on their weapon.

Then Kajia suddenly smiled, "Ohh~ I know, how about I kill your friends first~ since you seem to love them that much~" He spoke such a horrible thing with his wide smile.

"Are you threatening us." Rei spoke while pointing his sword at him.

"Nope, I am just thinking about it~ since that would be the easiest way to make you both fight me~" Kajia grinned widely.

"Don't you dare touch them." Iris spoke in such a cold tone for the first time as if it triggered her all of sudden.

"Why should I?~" Kajia spread his arms, still with his wide smile.

"Because—"

*TAP* *SWOOSH*

Suddenly Rei and Iris dashed at him at high speed, then swung their weapons at him.

"We will fucking kill you!"

And that put a smile on Kajia's face.

To be continue…