Episode Fourteen: The Battle Of Two Knights

"Sora-"

A voice called out faintly through the quiet abyss, its tone light yet carrying a weight of familiarity with the unmistakable warmth of maternal care. It was soft, gentle, yet strangely insistent, cutting through the silence of the void like a thin silver thread.

"Sora,you need to wake up immediately," the voice echoed again, reverberating through the emptiness that surrounded her.

Sora drifted weightlessly, her body suspended through the ocean of darkness and emptiness, a cold feeling biting at her skin, her eyes closed shut as the voice had barely reached her, muffled by layers of thickness. Then, without warning, a golden light pierced through the void, its radiance illuminating her face, forcing her mind to stir.

"Sora… open your eyes," the voice called once more, this time with a firmer, more commanding presence.

With much effort, Sora's eyes fluttered open, her senses slowly reconnecting her with reality. The darkness faded before her eyes, replaced by the damn, stone-cold surroundings of what looked like a cavern. Her vision adjusted to the dim glow of the fire flickering a few feet away. Her ears caught the distant drip of water echoing from the cave walls. She inhaled, taking in the scent of burning wood mixed with the musky dampness of the underground.

Then, she saw him.

The make knight she was had encountered in the pathway sat beside the flames, his face half-illuminated but the orange glow, his body relaxed yet alert, lacking a single garment to cover his torso. The system's interface suddenly blinked before her eyes, snapping her out of her haze.

[System Rebooting]

"Re… Rebooting," she stammered, her voice dry, hoarse. The strain of speaking sent her into a small fit of coughing.

Sora tried to stand on her feet to meet the man. She faced him, then she stopped.

There he was, still sat beside the fire he had made, but this time his gaze was directly faced towards her, "And the rookie has finally awakened, not bad for a rookie who had been slumbering for quite some days, now"

Sora squinted her eyes in annoyance, but when the young man mentioned her being there for quite some days, she was shocked, "Some days?," she muttered.

"Four days to be exact," he replied, facing the flames where a metal pot stood on top, taking a wooden cup, he scooped water from it,"But I must say, you healed quite fast, which is surprising for someone like yourself"

Sora raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?," she asked, being not appreciative of his tone.

The young man stretched his hand with the cup of transparent liquid in his hand, "You're excused," he said.

Sora stared at the man with a rageful expression, not planning to take the cup from his hand.

The young man sighed, "You seem to be very prideful for a lady, I do hope you showed no disrespect to Lady Sorelia," he said with an annoyed expression on his face, "But if you want to stare at me all day with those eyes, I can pour away this act of kindess"

Sora relunctantly took the cup from his hand, though not liking the tone which the young man had used to define her, she was thirsty and only he knew what had been going on since there were trapped in this cave or rather, tunnel.

As Sora sipped from the liquid, she couldn't take her gaze from the young man, her yellow eyes darted from his face, tracing down to his body. Her cheeks flustered as she glanced at him, her heart rate increasing, 'What's happening to me?,' she muttered to herself, inwardly not understanding why she felt such way, besides, he was just a stranger.

She looked down at her chest area, her heart beating profusely. Mustering the courage to speak up, she needed to inquire about who the man was. If he was a knight as well, she also had to know about him, "Hey," she called out to the man with a stern voice.

The young man turned towards her, looking away from the flames, "Can I help you?," he asked, his emotionless demeanor remaining unchanged.

"W.... who are you?," she stuttered.

The young man faced the flames, giving Sora the impression that he wasn't going to answer her questions. Sora couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"My name is Merric Valencia" he spoke out, surprising the young lady, "Just like you, I am a knight at the Bureau Of Knights as well, one of the very first five to be accepted into the organisation from a very young age"

Sora was overwhelmed as he answered her question, "I... I'm Sora," she introduced herself, taking a final sip from her cup.

Merric nodded, "Pleasure meeting you, Sora," he said, as he grabbed his blade that had been lying on the ground, and began to walk forward, limping as he used his blade for support.

Sora glanced down at his leg, and the many cuts on his body, "Hey, where are you heading off too?," she asked, concern filling her demeanor.

"The Scourge looms outside the tunnel, the reason why we have been here for four days and couldn't get ou, I'm going to kill it," Merric replied confidently as he continued forward, "You should head on back to the citadel, once I have distracted it"

In that moment, the system emerged before Sora.

[System Booted, Welcome Back, Crafter]

[All Vitals Intact]

[Health Points Restored]

Sora stood to her feet, a look of determination on her face. She was certain that Merric Valencia had came here for the same reason as hers, same as the other knights who she hadn't met at the time yet, and since she knew of the same purpose, she wasn't going to return just like that, "I'm coming with you," she said with a stern voice.

Merric, who was clearly angered by Sora's stubborness turned to face the young woman, "You seem to be very stubborn, rookie," he said, before turning to walk away, "When I say, return home, you do as I say. You're in no form to fight this battle"

Sora raised an eyebrow to Merric's choice of words, "No form?," she said with a slight smirk, "Look at you, you're covered in bruises all around you and you say I'm in no form to continue?"

Merric stopped walking, his fists clenched. Sora noticed this and a sense of worry filled her as she stood in a defensive manner, forging a blade from her system as she sensed something was wrong and the male knight did not like her tone.

And just as she had suspected, Merric turned around quickly, roaring at her as he flung his blade towards the young lady. Sora, who was shocked by this sudden act, bloacked the weapon just in time.

But Merric didn,t stop there, despite his injury, he was still extremely fast-dashing forward at Sora and landing a kick straight to her abdomen. Sora was sent crashing to the ground by the force of his kick.

He was strong,

This sudden display of strength was quite shocking to Sora as she coughed loudly, rolling on the ground as she wrapped her hands around her stomach as she winced in pain.

Merric stared down at the young lady with a look of simpathy and a mix of annoyance as he picked up his blade that had been flung by Sora, "I tried to warn you," he muttered under his breath before Turing his back on Sora and making his way towards the exit, thinking he had won the battle.

Sora recovered, rising from the ground as she charged forward, leaping unto Merric's back as she proceeded to wrap her arm around his neck. The two struggled like animals as Merric tried to get the little woman off his shoulders but she held tightly.

[Siphon Skill Activated: Minotaurous]

Sora's body glowed intensely as her strength increased, and with final death squeeze, she paralyzed the young man, leaving him motionless on the ground. Sora was left, breathing heavily as if she had raised a whole continent.

She fell on her behind, trying to catch a few breaths before rising back on her feet, raising her weapon that had been thrown on the ground. She looked down at Merric's body with a heavy heart,

Though, he was still alive, Sora felt guilty of her actions. Summoning the system inventory tab, she took out one of her health potions.

Crouching down to the man, she forced his mouth open, pouring the potion in as all his cuts began to close, his body restoring back to its fresh state. Sora breathed a sigh of relief before heading off, sharing a subtle, "I'm sorry"

Now arriving at the exit leading up from the hole they were trapped in, Sora activated the siphoned skill as she leaped on the rocks, climbing as fast as she could. The climb was long and almost unbearable, reaching to a point that Sora's arms began to shake, but she had to keep going forward.

The more she gave up, the more the memories of why she embarked on her journey began to flood in her mind, the thought that it was already two more days before the system's punishment manifested and she wasn't ready to face that. If she let it happen, she wouldn't be able to save the poisoned Lucan.

She had to keep on going, no matter the cuts, bruises and burn she felt in her arms.

With a final leap, she made it to the top, lying on the ground as she chuckled, rubbing her hair back. But her joy was short-lived as she remembered her true mission.

Standing up to her feet, she could finally get a clear view of the area around her and it wasn't how she had left it the last time she and Merric fell into the death pit. The whole area now looked like a wasteland, what looked like a vast, desolate land with greens and hills was now an exact copy of the Scourge's nest.

Merric stood over her, a mix of sympathy and disappointment on his face. "I tried to warn you," he muttered softly before turning his back on Sora.

But the young lady wasn't done.

Summoning all the strength and resolve she had, Sora lunged, wrapping her arms around his neck. The two struggled, their movements similar to that of wild animals mating.

[Siphon Skill Activated: Minotaurous.]

Power surged through Sora's body in the form of a blue glow, and with some final squeeze, she has a rendered the young man motionless. Gasping for breath, she released him, her heart pounding as the sheer amount of strength Merric possessed was much to overwhelming and she felt genuine fear.

Guilt washed over her as she retrieved a health potion, crouching down and pouring it into Merric's mouth which she forced open. Slowly his wounds healed, his cuts closing shit and his bruises reducing as the young lady whispered, "I'm sorry," despite knowing he wouldn't hear it.

Then, without another word, she stood to her feet, turning and making her way toward the surface.

The world she emerged into was not the one she had left. The land was unrecognizable—twisted and ruined, a desolate reflection of the Scourge's nest.

And she was right in the middle of it..