“ARS” The cursed Eclipse Knight

German placed the scythe on his shoulder and charged toward them with full speed. But he was caught off guard by the werewolf who had a deep scratch over his eye, striking him. The werewolf tried to stab him with his claws.

German stopped the blow with his scythe. The white-eyed werewolf appeared behind German and slashed his back deeply.

The scratched-eye werewolf seized the opportunity and struck German hard in the face, slamming him into the bridge's chains, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Why do I feel like my power is suppressed? As if someone has stolen it from me. These cursed werewolves look weak but share the same mind." German was wounded badly… thinking desperately of any way to kill them.

Suddenly, German appeared behind the scratched-eye werewolf and delivered a terrifying blow to his face, but the white-eyed werewolf blocked it with his claws. Then he stabbed German in the abdomen.

German became so furious that he didn't care about the claw piercing his chest. He struck the white-eyed werewolf so hard in the face that he crashed into the ruined wall.

The scratched-eye werewolf screamed and attempted to attack German, but German grabbed his neck and gouged out his eye.

The werewolf screamed in agony as blood splattered everywhere. German approached him and broke both his arms… then grabbed the werewolf's face and spoke with terrifying rage:

"Listen, do you really think you can defeat me? A fool like you will never stop me from reaching my goal."

The white-eyed werewolf appeared behind German, trying to strike again. But German raised his scythe and cut off both his hands, then sliced his head into small pieces.

"Seems like you wanted an early death. You got it, bastard," German's eyes glowed with fury as he approached the remaining werewolf and said:

"You tore my clothes. They were simple, but I had grown fond of them. You also gave me deep wounds on my back and stomach. I know I'll recover somehow… but I want to kill you in a way that'll make you wish you'd shut your mouth."

"Ans… Ans——"

"What? Trying to speak? I'm not surprised. I've seen monsters before you that could talk," German leaned sarcastically, putting his ear near the creature's head.

"You are not a true hunter… but a punisher," the werewolf spoke to German, his voice weak with exhaustion.

German stood up, raised his scythe high, and gave one final look at the dying werewolf… he spoke with sharp, overwhelming confidence:

"You may call me the Punisher Hunter."

As German moved to behead the werewolf, a strange creature appeared. It grabbed German's head and slammed it violently into the ground, then dragged him and smashed him into the ruined wall.

The force of the strike made the massive chains tremble. The creature spoke with a terrifying, royal voice:

"By order of the Nameless One, we are here to kill you for causing chaos in the cursed region of Yarakmen—cursed by the Ancients. The sentence has been passed."

German rose from the ground, holding his head from the impact. His vision was blurred, but he regained balance.

He looked at the one who struck him—it was a very tall figure wearing black armor with deep scratches and strange engravings. A sun eclipse-shaped hole was near his chest. On his back, he carried a massive, heavy sword inscribed with strange runes glowing black and red. His helmet was black iron, adorned with six white feathers that seemed to belong to a long-lost era. His crimson eyes shone toward the horizon.

German stood, consumed by madness and fury, and spoke in a terrifying tone:

"The Nameless One? Just as the texts said… seems they weren't mere myths. Listen, creature… knight… go back to where you came from, or I'll make your head a decoration in my new room."

The knight appeared in front of him so suddenly that German hadn't felt his approach.

"I am one of the Cursed Eclipse Knights… a summary of the Nameless One… I am called Knight Ars. I have come to kill you," Ars spoke in a dark tone and grabbed Loundis by the neck, throwing him high into the air, then jumped and kicked him toward the public market.

Explosion… explosion…

The sound of crashing stones echoed.

The public market was destroyed by that meteor-like blow. Massive gates with chains fell, sealing off all exits.

Even the weather turned strange, the sun had long set, but its light still hovered in twilight.

"Try surrendering, hunter. You stand no chance against me," he stood ominously, his crimson eyes doing all the talking.

German stood up, pure madness in his eyes, which began to vanish.

"I will destroy you… and whoever sent you."

German charged at Ars and struck him hard in the liver. Ars flew into the wall of an old building—but German appeared behind him and hit him again in the back… sending him flying to the other side. Then German appeared once more, aiming to stab him, but Ars grabbed German and smashed him into the building.

German grabbed the knight's head, dragging them both into the ruined structure. A fierce exchange of blows erupted until the building exploded from their clash.

German placed the scythe curved around Ars's neck, aiming to cut it, but the knight bent forward and struck German hard in the stomach.

Then Ars grabbed German's scythe and stabbed him in the chest… followed by a strike directly to the wound, sending German flying into the gate.

The giant chains shook, emitting a sky-piercing alarm sound…

Ars walked toward German and spoke to him in a commanding tone, pointing at the chains:

"What's with your weakness? Why are you so fragile, Punisher?"

Knight of the Eclipse, Ars, continued:

"German, is that your name? You're not worthy of such a name."

German spat blood onto Ars's armor, smiling arrogantly:

"Man, don't make me laugh. My power in this unknown place was sucked into the void. I can't even transform into my faceless form."

Ars kicked German in the stomach. He vomited blood from the force of it. Ars grabbed his hair harshly, speaking with a terrifying royal rage:

"Is this what you rely on? Waiting for a miracle to save you from battle? How pathetic and useless."

He slapped German across the face hard enough to break his nose, then continued:

"Seems I was sent to someone worthless. German or Loundis—both useless fools. You're nothing like the Fifth Emperor or even your brother Abraham. Just someone who screams and rages."

Ars grabbed German by the collar, his hand burning with hellfire. He looked at his flaming hand and spoke in a terrifying tone:

"You see this hand? It's from the ancient nightmare, the age of the boy Danis. If you think you're dreaming, you're wrong. This is a nightmare from an era long before—when only the Ancients roamed, before humans, destruction, and ruin."

German grabbed Ars's hand, breathing heavily from the damage and the strange words. He tried to speak through bloody lips:

"I don't care about anything you say, knight. I have the rage of vengeance. A rage you'll never understand. Have you seen your mother's head hanging from some bastard's hand? Have you seen your father's heart eaten in front of you? Of course not… so don't speak of things you don't know. I don't even know if my brother is alive or dead… to hell with legends and the Ancients. I'm just someone trying to escape this nightmare."

"Nonsense," Ars roared as he slammed German to the ground, his voice terrifying and mighty.

"This is nonsense, boy. The pleasure of revenge is like laying with a cheap whore. Fleeting. Worthless. You should aim for something greater… to become the Third Nightmare Emperor," Ars's voice carried ancient weight and mystery, finishing with the phrase First Nightmare Emperor, which caught German's attention.

"Nightmare Emperor? Me? Hahaha, man, I couldn't even survive the hunter beast, and you think I'll become an emperor and face stronger entities? I'm not worthy of any of that," German laughed, mocking himself with a pitiful laugh even a dog would pity.

Ars appeared, grabbed German, and slammed him into the ground over and over, until his face was soaked in blood and his teeth were shattered.

"Are you a coward? Answer me, are you a coward? How can you be the grandson of the Emperor? How can your arrogance and rage fade because a part of your power vanished? Wars aren't won by hoping for miracles. They're won by striking… the first blow."

Ars grabbed German by the collar and flew into the sky, standing mid-air. He forced German's face to look at something.

"The red s at dusk remains… but have you seen the sun anywhere? Nooo, you won't see it—it vanished in fear of my presence. Do you know what these chains are? They're tools that bring fear to weaklings like you."

‏German could barely see, as blood blurred his vision. He slowly turned his head toward Ars, struggling to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Ars glared at him with burning fury, then struck him with a powerful blow to the stomach, tearing a large hole through his body.

‏"Can't even speak? Seems there's no hope for you after all. What did the Nameless Ancient see in you? Looks like killing you is the onl—"

‏Ars didn't finish his harsh words… because he was stunned—German's eyes had turned golden.

‏Without hesitation, Ars launched German like a missile straight toward the ground.

‏The impact was so powerful that the chains nearly broke. Ars looked down at his hand, still radiating dominance and authority despite the surprise on his face. He spoke into the black air:

‏"Is this real? Has the Golden-Eyed One truly returned? In such a body… it seems the ancient war is about to be reborn."

‏German struggled to see. He wiped his face with all five fingers, clearing the blood, then looked directly at Ars, standing in terror as he faced him.

‏Ars descended near him with intense force, lifted his head slightly toward the sky—

‏The red sky split open, unleashing a horde of terrifying, colossal entities. The rift looked like the collapse of the universe itself. But the horror didn't stop there…

‏A giant hand appeared, covered in ancient carvings, gripping a massive golden sword that descended straight toward German—

‏as a booming voice screamed just one word: "LORD!"

‏"Is this a dream? What the hell is this—A giant sword coming straight for me?" German muttered in confusion, watching the enormous blade fall upon him.

‏"This is for the Ancient Gideon, the Cursed One," Ars spoke cryptically.

‏The colossal sword pierced German's body.

‏"AAAAAAHHHHH!!" German let out a blood-curdling scream, clutching his chest. In this state of shock, he looked around—

‏and suddenly found himself inside the Faceless One's office, sitting on the same Gothic chair with the tall back.

‏German looked toward the Faceless One, who was standing by the window overlooking the destroyed city. The Faceless slowly turned his head toward German… and in a chilling voice, he said:

‏"How was the nightmare of Yarakmen? Just as described in the Book of Danis?"