Rain of blood

The knights surrounded them both. They drew their swords, ready for any attack order.

"What is the reason for your arrival?" asked the highest-ranking knight. His armor was different; it was black. It also had gold decorations on the corners.

Kaiser signaled Void to stop with his hand. "I have him under control..." he whispered, taking a few steps forward.

The knight intensified his gaze as he saw him approach. "Are you not listening to me?" he asked again, this time with annoyance.

"We are guests of the emperor..." Kaiser said, his eyes turning yellow. "I don't think you want to upset him." he added.

Clang... The sound of metal echoed throughout the room. At the same time, above their heads, the stub of a sword could be seen gleaming in the sunlight, spinning in the air. After a few seconds, it slammed sharply into the ground.

"What is this...? Sir Knight?" Kaiser asked angrily, noticing that the knight had tried to kill him.

Luckily, Void had noticed the attack in time and was able to strike the sword with his katana.

'My strength and speed are doubled by each of them here...' Void thought, staring at his palm in surprise at the power he wielded. 'It feels incredible...' he thought again, excitedly, letting out a smile full of euphoria.

Meanwhile, the high-ranking knight recovered. He borrowed a sword from another knight. "I didn't think I'd need to use my strength..." he said, cautiously eyeing the sword he had taken. "Anyway, your brainwashing isn't working, so... you're going to die." he added, pointing the sword at Kaiser angrily.

Kaiser let out a sigh. "Void..." As soon as those words were out, the high-ranking knight's arm was severed.

'Taking advantage of the fact that there are so many enemies, I should go for the highest-ranking knight first.' That was what Void had thought. However, his power was such that the high-ranking knight had died in a few short seconds. Beside him, the knights around him were rapidly falling.

Void's power diminished considerably with each person he killed, yet in less than ten seconds, all the knights had already died.

The sky began to turn gray.

The stone walkway turned red. The metallic smell of blood had filled the surroundings. Void lay in the center of that mess, his tattered white shirt dyed red, and his face stained with blood.

His heart pounded excitedly. The excitement Void had lost from his days as a bounty hunter was slowly returning to him. However, the invisible chains of the promise to never be the same quickly calmed his raging heart.

Kaiser, walking through the sticky blood beneath him, opened the enormous golden gate leading to the imperial palace.

As soon as he took a step inside, an alarm began to sound, seemingly signaling reinforcements. They quickly arrived.

In the distance, Void and Kaiser watched as dozens of knights emerged from the palace and headed toward them. Once again, battle seemed inevitable.

Blood stained the beautiful palace garden. The path to the gate seemed to become a kind of red carpet. The clouds began to weep as this happened.

Dampness began to mix with the scent of blood. Beneath the fine threads falling from the sky, dozens of soldiers' bodies fell, again and again. The purity of the rain was unable to wash away all that filth.

Clang... Clang... The metallic sound of breaking swords echoed among the prayers of the fallen knights. The knights watching from afar, terrified, desperately begged for rescue.

However, in the face of this threat, their pleas fell in vain. An endless emptiness absorbed all those pleas.

The sound of falling rain was finally the only thing that persisted. The soft sound of drops bouncing on the bloody road quickly brought calm, as if nothing had happened.

Kaiser reached the door leading into the palace. The deep, solemn creak that came as it opened resonated throughout the palace. It was dark.

CRAAAACK! The sound of lightning resounded loudly throughout the city. Its intense light provided a glimpse into the empty palace interior.

The two entered cautiously. The sound of Kaiser's wet shoes echoed constantly. Behind him, Void walked thoughtfully.

'I'm only doing this to return to Earth...' he tried to convince himself of his actions. The remorse of all those knights remained etched in his mind.

They all had a family, a life. However, this is what human selfishness is all about: taking something away from someone else to have it for yourself. Void wanted to return to his family; to do that, he must take someone else's family away.

In front of them was a wide staircase leading to an upper floor. With measured steps, they began to climb.

The majestic smell that had once been there was now filled with the dust that had previously entered. It was oppressive.

When they reached the last step, a long hallway became apparent; they had to choose which place to go next.

Kaiser, convinced, headed to the right. "It's this way..." he said in a dry tone.

As they walked, the sound of rain slowly began to fade, and could only be heard through the huge windows to one side of them.

The hallway, which should normally be filled with knights defending the emperor, was empty. The journey became uncomfortable. Although Void could tell if there were enemies if his power increased, this didn't prevent him from feeling nervous that something dangerous might appear.

The metallic sound of footsteps began to echo in the hallway. Void's heart warmed, reflecting that an enemy was near.

And as expected, a knight appeared before them. This one also wore black armor, signifying his high rank. Unlike the previous knight, however, this one wore a helmet protecting his head.

This knight had a large wingspan; he was taller than Void, roughly two meters tall. His body also appeared voluptuous and muscular.

A metallic screech echoed in the hallway; the knight's enormous sword was being dragged across the carpet, which was being cut.

The sound stopped. Calmly, the knight raised his greatsword and pointed it in the direction of his other hand. His hand was bare, without any gauntlet to protect it, yet that seemed to be his objective...

Without any fear, he made a cut in the palm of his hand. Blood began to flow down the surface of the greatsword and slowly spread over the metal.

After a few seconds, the blade of the greatsword was completely covered in blood, and after a moment, it began to burn.

Void watched the scene in disbelief. "They have a different way of using abilities..." Kaiser explained seriously. "This is going to be annoying." he added, finally clicking his tongue loudly.

Seizing the opportunity to explain, the knight launched himself at high speed toward them. The target of his attack was Kaiser, who was lying in front of him.

"Exchange."

CRAAACK! The greatsword cut deep into the ground. Void had swapped positions with him, so now they were in the same situation as before.

Void grabbed Kaiser's shoulder. "Give me this," he said confidently. His gaze fixed on the knight.

The hallway, on the other hand, began to burn. The battle surroundings were quickly about to unfold under the blazing flames. The knight pulled his greatsword from the floor and slowly turned toward them.

Void gulped. "The only reason I won the previous one so easily was because there were so many enemies..." he thought, remembering that he no longer had an advantage in this battle.

He glanced at Kaiser out of the corner of his eye. "His brainwashing ability seems to be useless against those who are strong..." His gaze returned to focus ahead. The knight had disappeared.

Trying to find him, he looked up, where all he could find was the descending blade of the greatsword.

"Stop." Kaiser's voice echoed, and the knight's broadsword stopped descending at high speed. Taking advantage of the pause, Void exchanged blows with him again.

Void spun in the air and tried to slash the knight hard. However, the armor made the katana bounce off. 'Can't I penetrate him?' he thought, puzzled.

The knight seemed to escape Kaiser's ability and grabbed Void's foot. He forcefully threw him into the wall.

BOOM! Void crashed hard into the wall. Shards of glass from the window began to rain down on him.

"Cough... Cough..." The heavy impact made Void spit out blood. He tried to get up, but he no longer seemed to have the energy to continue. His body screamed for him to stop, but the burning broadsword descending on him made him refuse.

Void grabbed a piece of glass as quickly as he could and threw it to the side. "Exchange." BANG! The greatsword pierced the wall, leaving a huge crack.

In pain, he began to observe the knight, wondering if he could really win. But this wasn't something he should wonder about; whoever the enemy was, Void had to survive; he hadn't had to die yet.

Resolutely, he stood up. He gripped the katana and took a deep breath. 'This will be the last attack.' After thinking this, he charged at high speed toward the knight.

The knight did the same and charged at high speed toward Void. He couldn't win a battle head-on, however, an idea had occurred to him.

The two were close enough, and the knight launched a powerful vertical slash, determined to end this.

"Exchange." Again, Void used his ability, but this time, what had been exchanged was the knight and a small piece of glass behind it.

This caused the slash to land with force a few inches in front of Void. Pieces of stone flew up, yet Void continued. He ran onto the blade of the greatsword and quickly positioned himself in front of the imperial knight.

The helmet had thin slits through which the knight peered. Void accurately aimed for them.

SCHIIIN! The katana pierced the metal slit in the helmet. Blood flowed from it.

The knight, desperate, began to move euphorically. He delivered a powerful punch to Void's side. The young man rolled down the corridor.

He spat blood again; he was at his limit. The knight rushed excitedly toward Void, who slowly seemed to lose consciousness.

The sword began to descend toward him. Void began to see everything black; this was going to be his death.

However, amidst all the darkness surrounding Void, the knight was standing, moving in slow motion. A line of light appeared around his neck, shining brightly.

Void didn't know what it was, but with the last bit of strength he had left, he swung his katana toward that line. Slash... The knight's neck was sliced ​​as if it were butter.

Void's surroundings returned to normal, and the knight fell, defeated. Void, on his knees, began to sweat, exhausted. "Lucky me..." he stammered before falling to the ground, his energy gone.