Book 3: Step 8 – The Eighth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “The climax – the clash between titans.”

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

 

When I opened my eyes once more, the first thing that went through my mind was – why is it that recently I seem to be constantly waking up in confusion?

"I knew it. And he said that playing the groom's man wouldn't involve running for my life…… Pope, that old geezer, is going to pay when I get back!"

I frowned as I dragged myself up and out of bed. This was partly because I was really, really hungry. I could have called for someone, but after not moving for so long, my whole body was beginning to become a little stiff. If this were to continue on, it's not becoming a pig that I have to worry about, but about being laid to rest in my coffin.

I walked to the door and was about to push it open when I heard voices arguing outside. I let my hand fall and slowly, quietly, placed my ear to the door. I could immediately make out Leaf and Ann's voices. They seem to be having an argument…… How unbelievable! To think that Leaf would actually have a disagreement with someone?!

Leaf was trying to keep his voice down as he shouted, "What is up with you and Princes Alice? She actually attacked us that day, and your reaction was very strange!"

Woah! That startled me! I never would have thought that Leaf would shout at anyone, and a princess to boot! Could he have decided to stop being a good guy?

"It's got nothing to do with you!" shouted Ann, her voice even louder than Leaf's.

"Nothing to do with me?" Leaf's voice was beginning to tremble with fury. "It's because of the two of you that Sun is lying in there unconscious till now, and you say that it's got nothing to do with me?!"

"Yeah, right. I bet he's only sleeping!" Ann retorted.

'Slap!'

When Ann spoke up, she sounded stunned. "You-you hit me……"

Leaf's voice was icy as he said, "Do not insult Sun, or it won't be just a slap next time. If it happens again I'll declare a duel against you, even if you're a princess, Your Highness."

I was stunned. My jaw had dropped open after hearing the exchange. L-Leaf actually slapped a princess?! O' God of Light! Could this be a side-effect of his resurrection? That he changed from a good guy to a bad guy?

Wouldn't that mean that I can no longer bully him in the future? God of Light, you're too cruel! Bullying Leaf was one of my few pleasures in life, and you had to take away that too!

"I'm sorry, Leaf. I didn't really mean it……" sobbed Ann. She sniffed as she explained, "I don't know why sister Alice would attack us either, and they had even killed you. I really didn't think she would do something like that. I'd only wanted to help her be with the one she loves, and had no intention of harming you or Sun. You have to believe me."

There was then some silence, broken only by Ann's sobs, until at last, Leaf's tone of voice softened a little as he said, "Alright. I'm sorry for hitting you earlier. I was just too worried about Sun and over-reacted. Please forgive me."

Ah, he believed her so easily and forgave her so quickly! Looks like Leaf is still a good guy! I'm sorry, O' God of Light, for misjudging you earlier.

Just then, Ann's voice could be heard stuttering, "L-Leaf, actually, the enchanted object that I've been using to trace my sister, well, it could be used for an Instant Teleportation – for one time only – and bring the bearer to her side instantly…… I'm sorry for keeping this from you! Please don't be mad at me!"

There was another silence, and when he finally spoke, Leaf sighed and said, "It's too dangerous to go after them now. Right now, Michael and Alston have gone back for back-up. After Sun and I have left, you should tell them about it then and see what they decide to do."

"Why wait until after you and Sun have left? Are you not coming with us?" asked Ann anxiously.

"No!" Leaf said firmly. "Sun must never learn about this, promise me!"

"Why? If you don't tell me why I won't promise you."

"You don't understand him, he-… sigh… Your sister and the Dark Knight shouldn't have killed me. If Sun were to find out that there was a way to get to Alice, he would never let them go. Your sister will be in danger. That's why you have to promise me that before Sun and I leave you will not mention this again."

Ann scoffed a little at that. "Even we couldn't defeat them, much less Sun…… I mean, he-he's not really that strong, right? Leaf, don't get mad again… I didn't mean to disparage him!"

"He's not that strong?…… haha!"

Leaf said exasperatedly, "If that were really the case, the Twelve Holy Knights wouldn't have the Shared Rule Number Three – 'No matter how lame/foolish the Sun Knight looks, never ever provoke his wrath'."

It was then that I decided that I had heard enough. I thought something over before walking back to the bed and lying on it. I then rubbed my eyes as if having just woken up from my sleep and called out, "Leaf! Leaf! I'm dying from hunger here!"

Leaf pushed open the door and came in, sounding pleased as he asked, "Sun, you're awake?"

"I'm wide awake and starving, or can't you tell?" I asked sarcastically.

Leaf chuckled at my antics and asked happily, "How about some porridge?"

"No," I quickly rejected. "I want to eat meat."

"But you've just woken up; you shouldn't eat something so hard to digest or you might--"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh save it, Leaf. You're not Judge, and you're a good guy; I'm not afraid of you at all. If I say I want to eat meat, then I'll eat meat."

Leaf frowned at this before giving in and saying, "Alright, I'll ask the kitchen to mince the meat and make some meat broth for you."

Leaf was very efficient. Not too long after that, he was carrying a tray with my meat broth on it into the room. As I drank the broth, I listened as Leaf explained to me about what had been going on. Actually, I had heard the gist of it earlier; mainly that Michael and Alston had gone back for back-up. As I had still been unconscious then, Leaf and Ann had stayed behind to protect and watch over me.

"Sun, I've asked them to send a messenger to the Holy Temple as well," he said. "I believe the Holy Temple will also send some people over."

'I hope it's not Judge,' I thought.

I nodded at Leaf before swallowing the last mouthful of broth.

Without the smell of the meat broth covering it, I could smell a faint odour. It couldn't be…… I looked down and took a sniff of myself. Eww! I nearly gagged. Looks like I've really become the Stinky Knight!

I frowned and said to Leaf, "Leaf, I'm all stinky! Go get me a new outfit for me to change into. And… Princess Ann…"

Ann, who had been listening quietly by the side all this time, paused before asking, "What?"

"Could you get me a bucket of hot water for me to wash?" I asked distantly.

Ann didn't reply, but Leaf immediately spoke up warmly, "Sorry to have to bother you with Sun, Ann. I'll go and get Sun's clothes now."

It was only then that Ann acquiesced, agreeing reluctantly. "Oh alright."

Before he could leave, I instructed Leaf specifically, "Get white clothes. And get a tailor to sew on the Sun Knight's insignia on it," I stressed. "Didn't you just say that someone from the Holy Temple is coming? I cannot appear less than my very best in front of everyone."

Leaf looked surprised at this request but nodded, "Alright."

Leaf turned and left to prepare my clothing, and not too long later, Ann brought up the bucket of hot water, setting it down with a loud 'thud' and saying shortly, "Here! I'm leaving now."

"Hold on," I stopped her as I felt the water. "It's too hot." I said coolly.

She probably did feel a little guilty about what had happened, or maybe it was because of Leaf's request, but even though she was unhappy with me, she still obediently bent down to test the temperature of the water herself.

I smiled coldly and immediately summoned the water element……

Instantly, the tub full of water merged with the water element I had summoned, forming chains that wrapped around Ann. She was surprised by this development, but only for a moment, for she immediately began struggling to get out of the water chains. But as water is fluid, her fists merely passed through the water with no effect. I then froze the water, trapping Ann in a pillar of ice and unable to move.

"That's impossible! Elementary ice spells couldn't have stopped me!" she cried as she continued to struggle in her frozen constraints, but the ice showed no signs of breaking.

I smiled faintly as I said, "According to my understanding of magic, elementary and elementary spells combined together would form intermediate spells. So I combined the ice spell with another ice spell, and did so repeatedly at least five more times. I wonder what level that makes it? But no matter how, this ice is no weaker than your own precious sword. Further struggling will only hurt yourself."

As I said that, I reached a hand into her clothes……

"You! You!" I could hear a note of fear in her voice as she cried out, "Stop that, or I'm screaming for help!"

At that, I waved a hand and summoned a whirlwind, directing it to circle around the room with the both of us inside it. This had the effect of keeping the sound inside the room. I then chuckled and said to her softly, "Scream all you want then. But it's a pity that no one would hear you even if you were to scream at the top of your lungs."

Her voice was trembling even greater now as she said, "Leaf-Leaf will be back any time soon. He won't just stand by and let you do as you want."

I replied nonchalantly, "He won't be back so soon. He still has to wait for the tailor to stitch on the Sun Knight's insignia onto my outfit."

"So you had this planned from the start!" she screeched. "You despicable, shameless worm!"

What is with princesses all loving to call me despicable and shameless?

I ignored her screams and yells and retrieved my objective from inside her clothes. It was a small box no bigger than my palm. When I opened it, a whiff of fragrance filled the air. Inside, the box was filled with cream, probably one of those girls's facial cream or something.

Ann had stopped her crying by then, and she sounded quite surprised as she blurted, "How did you know……"

She then hastily shut her mouth, but I continued on for her, "How did I know that this is the enchanted object you use to track the Princess Alice?"

"Y-You……" There was a tone of surprise in her voice as she said, "So you've been hiding your true abilities."

'Hmph, of course. No matter what people might say, I am the Sun Knight. You didn't actually think I'm just a useless piece of trash, did you?'

"You're too scary," she said unsteadily. "Even the way you held your sword and your footsteps have been hidden so well. Panting after running a few steps, as if you're a weak and unskilled swordsman. All this has been a carefully crafted image!"

She then smiled and taunted in a care free manner, "But, you won't be able to use this object, hahaha—Ah!"

I had used a small Wind Blade to cut her skin, letting her blood drip onto the box.

"H-how did you know ……" Ann's voice had returned to her panicky tone and she sounded close to tears again.

I rolled my eyes at her. The number of enchanted objects in Pink's house could rival the number of strawberry lollipops hidden there. I've been in and out of her house since I was small many times, so I knew all about them and how they worked.

The moment Ann's blood had dripped onto the box, the bottom of the box released a secret compartment with a click, revealing a tiny magic rune circle in it. I ran a finger down it. The circle had been delicately carved into the false bottom, and I could tell that it was a priceless artefact. However, like I said, items like this were abundant in Pink's house.

I then raised my head and told her, "The chains will disperse on their own about half an hour after I've left. Unless you want to be taken advantage by some stranger, I advise you not to call for anyone's attention. If you were to attract attention from the wrong sort I won't be held responsible. Oh, and tell Leaf that I'm going to avenge his death."

Without waiting for a reply, I directed the wind elements into the magic runes. The rune circle enlarged and encircled me, bringing me to Princess Alice's location.

~O~O~O~O~

The moment I felt myself moved to a new place, I immediately called out, "Dragon's Holy Robe, in the name of the dragon's successor, I order you to activate!"

"Sis?"

A woman's voice. She was wearing a robe and the level of wind element within her was extremely high. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this was the Princess Alice, a Wind Mage.

She was standing very close to me, not two steps away from me. I instantly stepped forward and grabbed her, shouting, "Don't move!"

Sadly, she wasn't very obedient and immediately sought to use her wind magic to retaliate. Unfortunately for her, her actions to summon the wind element was disrupted by me. I may not know much about intermediate and advanced magic, but when it comes to my ability in gathering the elements, even Alstier – that hundred year old mage – had admitted to my superiority in this.

She sucked in a breath of air and cried out, "You-you're not an assassin, you're a mage!"

"Wrong to both, I'm a holy knight," I said calmly. "Are you blind? Can you not see this big shiny Holy Sun Blade in my hands? I'm the Sun Knight!"

I have to admit, I've wanted to shout that out for a long time now. All this while I've been suppressing the urge to shout out: 'I'm a holy knight! Not a priest, or a mage, or an assassin, but a holy knight… holy knight… holy knight… (x 100)!'

Now that I had finally said it out loud, there was an immensely satisfying feeling, and if not for current circumstances, I would have even cried out in joy!

"The Sun Knight? Impossible!" said Alice, trembling.

"Alice!"

Just then, the Dark Knight came rushing back. It must have been my immensely heavy light aura that had alerted him to my presence. He quickly rushed in our direction……

"Stand still!" I tightened my hold on the princess, my Holy Sun Blade raised to her neck. I then said to the Dark Knight coldly, "Or do you not care about this woman's life anymore?"

The Dark Knight had slowed down, but he did not stop. I lightly pressed the blade into her neck, eliciting a soft cry.

"Stop it!" The Dark Knight finally halted in his footsteps and roared furiously, "You won't harm her, she's a princess!"

I laughed at that long and hard, before pressing the blade into her neck again. This time, the princess bit her lip and refused to emit a single sound. I asked mockingly, "Are you sure about that?"

The Dark Knight said tremblingly, "You are a knight; you're even the world-renowned Sun Knight. You would not harm a woman. It would ruin your reputation; you won't do that……"

I chuckled at that and asked, "Then do you know what 'the whole continent knows', what the Sun Knight hates the most?"

"The undead," he replied straight away.

"Wrong!" I roared. "The Sun Knight hates seeing his own holy knights dying the most!"

After that outburst, I quickly regained my composure and continued on calmly. "I'm warning you right now, if you dare to move even a muscle I will cut off this woman's hand. Depending on how many times you move, I will cut off as many parts of her."

The Dark Knight and Alice didn't say anything, whether it was because they were frightened by me or not, it's not important. I gathered large amounts of water element and formed them into thick icicles. More than ten of them floated in the air around the Dark Knight, but he did not move.

Instead, the Princess Alice trapped in my arms started crying. "You despicable shameless cur! Eagle, don't listen to him, he wouldn't dare to do as he threatened!"

I am now certain. Princesses all over the world know only of two cuss words: 'shameless' and 'despicable'.

I said to the Dark Knight nonchalantly, "Oh, I forgot to mention this. Activating frenzy also counts as moving."

And with that, more than ten icicles swung at his arms and legs and torso with loud thuds. But even when suffering such heavy blows, the Dark Knight kept still. Getting hit by such heavy blows whilst attempting to remain so still would have worsened his injuries, and I could hear the sound of several bones breaking echoing through the forest.

"Eagle……" Alice was limp and close to fainting to see her loved one tortured so, and it was only because of me that she had yet to fall to the ground.

"You can move now," I said coolly.

Only then did the Dark Knight slowly allow himself to slump to the ground. I then activated the last – and largest – icicle, directing it to swing down onto his back heavily.

"Eurgh!" he grunted.

What a prideful knight. I have to admit, I was a little impressed with him. That last blow must have cracked a few more of his ribs, but from start to finish he hadn't allowed a single scream to escape him.

I released the Princess Alice and warned her casually, "Don't even think of using magic against me, or I'll use Hell's Fire to disinfect your Dark Knight. I guarantee he'll be so clean, not even his ashes would remain. "

Alice shoved me away and ran to her knight. When she saw up close how serious his injuries were she couldn't stop her tears from falling. The Dark Knight was so heavily injured that he should have been delirious from the pain by now, but he still managed to pull himself together and attempted to comfort the princess, even if it was just words like 'I'm fine' and 'don't cry'.

Upon seeing this scene, I could sense the irony and started laughing. We had been searching so hard to rescue her, yet the princess is wholly ungrateful. How laughable. The knight in shining armour come to rescue the princess? But the princess doesn't even want to be rescued! To her, we were probably the evil adversary trying to separate her from her lover.

"You guys made a grievous mistake," I told them coldly. "You shouldn't have killed Leaf! If you hadn't killed him, I wouldn't have interfered and separated the two of you. However, I'm not trying to separate you now either, am I? The two of you can keep each other company in hell!"

A silence befell the place, and only the mutterings of Alice could be heard, "You're going to kill us? But how can you kill us……?"

"And why not?" I asked with a cold smile. "If you had dared to kill the Leaf Knight, you should have been prepared for the Sun Knight to come after you even till the ends of the earth!"

Hearing that, she cried out in alarm, "But I'm a princess!"

"Oh? Is that so?" I asked warmly and sincerely, "But I don't see any princess here, only the kidnapper and his accomplice."

Alice's breathing turned ragged and she threatened fearfully, "Sun Knight, if you kill me my mother will never let you and the Church of Light go!"

"Oh?" I asked calmly. "This assassin does not see any Sun Knight anywhere around here. Have you?"

A few sobs finally escaped from her as she fully realised their situation, but still she clutched the near unconscious Dark Knight and tried to carry him and escape me.

But with her meagre strength it would have been impossible for her to move a grown man, let alone a grown man wearing heavy armour. Yet still she persisted in her futile efforts, desperately trying to drag him away.

As I watched this pitiful scene, the explosive anger inside me slowly banked down. I had originally planned to torture them cruelly before killing them, but now looking at them, I no longer had the heart to do it. Oh man, I shouldn't have injured the Dark Knight so heavily. If he had still been able to retaliate and defy me, perhaps I could have continued in my anger. But now, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Alright," I said with waning interest, "I'll spare you from too painful a death then."

I gathered a ball of dark element, intending to use The Spread of Death which I had seen Alstier use once. This spell sent its victims to their death quietly and painlessly……

"Sun, stop!"

Surprisingly, this cry came from above.

At the same time, the gathered ball of dark aura in my hands was forcefully dissipated by someone.

I raised my head towards the sky.

Floating in the air was a figure wrapped in a robe. There wasn't a lot of dark aura coming from the figure, but one could still feel a sense of hidden depths of power from them. I've only felt this kind of feeling from one person before ……no! I should not say a person, for she had not been human for a very long time now.

I clenched my fists, and grinded my teeth in annoyance, barely managing to ground out through my clenched teeth the words, "Pink, so when you told me you were going to move, you were going to move to the Church of Chaos?"

 

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