Way of the Knights

---action

Everyone felt a suffocating presence as soon as the Devil Prince talked.

In contrast of his melancholic expression, forces of the Final Haven Kingdom had their expressions sank upon his arrival. This goes specially well to those who were familiar with him.

Even though he was just standing there, everyone could feel the thick blanket of evil radiating off of his body. Looking closely at him, one could almost see faint images of tormented souls wailing around him.

The Devil Prince was clad in a skin-tight suit reaching up to his neck and ankles, he wore a tight-fitting robe on top of that which gave off a slight elegance in his demeanor. His face was extremely pale, almost seems like he had no blood, he also wore earrings that looked like skulls, he had a short spiky hair and top it all of off, it was his strange eyes that captivated most people.

His eyes were all black, there are no whites in them at all. This makes one incapable of deciphering where exactly he was looking, them might guess the general location but they won't be able to pinpoint what exactly it is that he's looking.

The Emissaries felt an incredible joy upon seeing him. They wasted no time in dealing with their enemies and welcomed the arrival of the Devil Prince. The Emissaries kneeled and greeted him with deep reverence, they could finally see hope, now that he's here.

The Guardians re-assembled as well, all of them had very somber faces as of the moment. Although they thought about the possibility of this person coming here before, they of course hoped that it won't come to this. Unfortunately, the worst case scenario still happened.

Somewhere in the middle of the underground district, Raven also saw the arrival of the Devil Prince. And similarly, his face also sank upon seeing him.

'So he came, huh?' Raven thought. There was a heavy feeling in his chest which made his breath somewhat stagnant. Without a doubt, this person was the strongest individual that he had ever met so far in this lifetime.

Taking advantage of the stillness in the place, he sent sound transmissions to his friends and told them to retreat in a safe distance.

The Devil Prince ignored the welcoming gesture of his subordinates, after getting briefly distracted from the memories that came flooding in his brain upon stepping in this place, he raised his head and gazed at the guardians. A chilling smile crept up to the Devil Prince's face, his voice echoed once more.

"It's been a while, Brother Lee. I trust that you have been well?"

"Shut your mouth." Old Lee spat with sheer disgust and hatred, "I don't associate myself with the likes of you."

Despite his harsh words, the Devil Prince instead laughed. He then said: "Still as rigid as ever I see. I'm glad that you're well."

Many people were stunned upon hearing the words of the Devil Prince, from what they could tell, it seems that Old Lee and the Devil Prince had a history, whatever it was though, they had no clue or whatsoever.

In fact, not many knew the story of the Devil Prince. Who he is and where he came from are questions that are shrouded with mystery. Only a few people in the kingdom knew about his origins and there is a good reason why it was kept as a secret.

"Well I'll be..." A voice suddenly disrupted the silence of the underground district. "And here I thought I'd never see that hateful face of yours, but here you are."

Out of nowhere, a man materialized out of nowhere after he spoke. Everyone then felt the suffocating aura that the Devil Prince disperse with the presence of the man.

He floated in the air, arms crossed in his chest and a somber expression on his face. He was clad in brilliant gold armor, a spear manifested on his hands as he levitated close to the Guardians. This man had a head full of white hairs, ash colored beard and a pair of almond eyes. His golden armor was bulky, specially on the shoulder part. On the surface of his armor, one could see carvings that looked like serpentine dragons, it gave off a feeling that they will come alive at any moment.

Balmung's eyes shone as soon as he saw this man. Sensing the prince's gaze, the man looked at him and nodded in greeting.

"Ah! So it's Brother Morel. I'm glad that you're well." The Devil Prince greeted back.

Before anyone could say anything, another presence materialized. It was a lady excluding a prideful elegance and a majestic heat.

She similarly had a set of brilliant golden armor. However, hers was covered with flames that pulsated whenever she moved. She had an aged look on her face as well, but she seems slightly younger compared to Old Lee or Morel.

"Teacher!" Luna silently exclaimed upon seeing her.

"Sister Leona, you're still as beautiful as I could remember." The Devil Prince smiled as he greeted her.

"Ready to die?" Was Leona's reply to his greeting.

Old Lee's face twitched as he heard this, he thought inwardly: 'She's extremely irritated right now.'

"Oh, how nostalgic this is! I didn't expect that our reunion would be in this kind of circumstances!" The Devil Prince said while smiling widely.

Compared to his reaction, the majority of the people including his own subordinates were wielded out by his attitude. It had to be known that the Devil Prince is facing three Golden Knights currently, Old Lee, Leona and Morel, yet he didn't appeared flustered nor particularly worried.

"If only Alexander was here, how nice would that be?" The Devil Prince said in a slightly regretful voice but his fiendish grin told a different story.

When he uttered that name, the Guardians including the two newly arrived Golden Knights exuded a thick killing intent. Even Luna who was watching from afar was affected. Their reactions were understandable, after all the Alexander that the Devil Prince was referring to, is the current King of the Final Haven Kingdom.

'Prince.' Old Lee uttered in a somber tone, he used voice transmission to do so. Balmung faced him then he heard him say: 'Leave this place along with the troops. I'm afraid that this battle is going to be explosive, I can't look after you. Retreat to the palace, you will be safe there.'

'But grandpa…'

'This is not the time to argue, Your Highness.' Old Lee pressed on, 'I already failed your father back then when I failed to kill this man and I can't fail him again. You must leave.'

Balmung wanted to say something but in the end, he couldn't do anything. He knew that even if he insisted, he will only hold back their forces due to his weakness. He gripped his hands tightly and threw a harsh glare towards the Devil Prince. He then turned back and yelled: "All forces, heed my command! Retreat!"

Victor, Luis, and Bradley hurriedly formed defensive stance around Balmung, making sure to be on the look out for any possible ambush. When the forces of Final Haven Kingdom heard this command, they followed it despite their unwillingness.

Of course, even without the direct command of the Devil Prince, forces of the Black Curtain Guild wouldn't allow them to safely retreat. They harassed the retreating forces repeatedly, they wanted to make them stay but couldn't since the remaining guardians and some knights are covering their rear.

The Devil Prince shook his head when he saw the Prince and rest leaving. His gaze was locked onto Balmung's retreating figure as he spoke: "What an unfilial child. Didn't even said hello to his Uncle."

With that, he raised his hand and immediately, the underground district darkened. Flesh and bones rose up to the air, forming a massive hand that reached out towards Balmung.

When the prince heard the commotion behind him, he turned around to look and his face immediately paled. A foreboding sense of despair and death gripped his heart, he never felt so afraid before. Him and the guardians protecting him tried to defend but they knew that they couldn't.

It wasn't until then that Old Lee suddenly spurred into action. Golden light covered his body, turning into pieces of armament that transformed his seemingly old and feeble existence. With a loud grunt, he raised his hand in the air as his energies were roused into motion.

His energies transformed into an enormous sword that emanated a sharp and deadly intent. Old Lee grunted once more and made a quick chop using his hand. The sword energy descended and severed the enormous hand.

Leona similarly raised his sword and a small orb of condensed fire emerged at the tip of her sword. She snorted and pointed at the enormous hand, the orb of fire flew towards the hand and incinerated it with a frightening heat.

Morel lifted his hand and waved, suddenly the prince and his guards felt light and discovered that they were hovering in the air. With another push of Morel's hand, the Prince and rest of the retreating forces were carried away towards the exit of the underground district.

After making sure that the retreating forces were safe.. The three of them faced the Devil Prince who wore a menacing smile in his face.