Chapter 66: Chapter 53: The Knights.

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 53: The Knights.

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While I stood in front of a group of buffoons with a satisfied expression on my face, the screams of an older man suddenly reached my ears. 

“You idiot! What the hell have you done!?” The man yelled only a bit more loudly than the clanking of his heavy armor.

(The knights arrived just in time, exactly as you said they would Lia…) I nodded to myself as I looked over my shoulder at the approaching knights.

For now, only a pair of knights were coming. A man and a woman, both with cat ears and a tail. The knights in question both resembled a certain feminine catboy friend of my new aunties. Those knights were Felix’s parents.

The man, or rather, Felix’s father had short brown hair and amber-colored feline eyes. He was around 1.60 meters tall and looked like he was barely able to run with the heavy armor he was wearing. In other words, he looked quite feeble. He had a small yet powerful wooden wand filled to the brim with mana in his left hand. Just like his son, his facial features were a bit feminine.

The woman, or rather, Felix’s mother had long ash-colored hair and a pair of yellow eyes. She was way taller than her husband, being around 1.80 meters tall. She was running behind her husband while wearing that heavy armor with ease. A gigantic two-handed sword was hanging on her back. She had a cold, aloof, and not particularly friendly expression on her face. That’s what I’d say if I didn’t know better as I had already met her before.

Those two were part of the Knights of Nebandia, the order that Ophelia leads, and the order of knights that accompanied us on our trip to the capital.

(It was fortunate that those two were already done with their morning duties and were allowed to patrol their own neighborhood. You did a good job handling the situation with those guys and reassuring Luna, well done Julius!) Catris suddenly praised me.

(Indeed. Those guys got what they deserved, but I need you to remain focused, Julius. The people from the neighborhood are gathering to find out what the whole commotion is about and more knights are on the way… We just blew any chance of keeping you hidden from the Laurents and the Emperor until the tournament, so we need to handle this carefully before they sent all the thugs they have in retaliation.) Lia said with a serious tone.

Sure enough, just as Lia said, people were arriving by the dozens to investigate about my flashy magic spectacle from before. The people that recognized Gideon and his pathetic goons immediately gasped in horror and started trembling in fear. They were not afraid of that quartet of stupidity, but of the people their parents have connections with… The Laurents, the noble family that rules over the underworld of the Empire, and my adoptive father’s former family.

Getting the people of the neighborhood involved in this left a sour taste in my mouth, but it was something inevitable since Gideon and his dumbass friends live here after all. I was not particularly worried about the Laurents taking action against them, but I imagine that they must be quite terrified about the idea of them coming after them because of my actions.

(Of course, Lia. I know that I need to stay cool. But before we handle everything, there are a few things that I need to do.) I nodded in agreement with the goddess.

Still, despite the terrified neighbors and the knights running towards us, I took a step forward and looked at Gideon and his buddies, who I had made completely silent with magic.

“You must be surely thinking about how you’re going to make me pay and whatnot, aren’t you?” I said as I leaned closer to look Gideon in the eyes.

“...!” Gideon stared back at me, however, the result wasn’t what I expected.

I thought there would be rage in his eyes, but I was completely mistaken. I could only see a pair of eyes full of terror in the teenager who was laying on the ground in front of me. His friends were not particularly different as their eyes quickly became filled with fear the moment I made eye contact with them, more in particular, Emeline and Tabitha who looked like they were going to pass out just by me looking them in the eyes.

“Or maybe you’re too terrified to even think of that? That works perfectly for me.” I spoke with disdain while making the sweetest and warmest smile I could. “I’d like for you guys to come and try to come and take your revenge and torment you all even more for what you did to Liliana and Luna, but… I suppose you having nightmares about this until the day you die is far better than dealing with you guys being an annoyance again and again.” I just shrugged in response before turning my back to them.

Their spirits had been thoroughly crushed. I could not sense any will to fight from any of them.

(Lia, just to be sure… Is there any chance that they will try to attack me again any time soon?) I asked just to be safe. I didn’t want to risk getting stabbed in the back by someone stepping out of the shadows.

(Right now, there’s no chance for that to happen. You can leave them be as long as you keep the [Curse of Silence] active on them.) Lia gave me the reassurance I needed.

(Thank you. You can consider it done.) I thanked Lia in my mind while I walked toward my older sister.

"You okay, Luna?" I asked the poor girl who was clearing her tears.

Without even giving me an answer, Luna basically jumped at me and hugged me tightly once again. She then buried her face against my shoulder.

I suppose this response is only natural… I'm getting pissed off at those guys again…

"Take all the time you need, alright?" I whispered in Luna's ear while patting her head.

Luna only nodded in response as her tears started to drench my shirt… I was happy to be able to comfort her.

"Julius! That was incredible!" Leaf suddenly flew at me at her top speed and then landed on top of my head. "You completely kicked the butts of those bullies! So cool!" She started jumping around with excitement and admiration.

"You were amazing! You really ended up saving us again! It seems that rather than my Beloved Prince, I will have to start calling you my Beloved Hero~." Mia followed shortly after Leaf. She was looking at me with a strange satisfied expression. She was also blushing a bit.

I was expecting to suddenly get an announcement from the system about me getting a new strange title again thanks to my fiancée, but surprisingly that didn’t happen… It was actually a little baffling.

“Jeez… You just had to show up and steal all the glory from me, didn’t you? I was going to kick their asses by myself! When are you going to let your older sister have her time to shine!? You almost got stabbed and everything! It is my job as the older sister to beat up punks like them!” Despite her words of complaint, Liliana’s face was filled with relief while looking at me and Luna.

When Liliana finally reached us, I simply answered her complaints with a smile… All before pulling her into a hug as well. She was definitely caught off guard but she didn’t resist.

“No need to play strong with me, okay? It is fine if you want to cry too.” I whispered in Liliana’s ear.

I’ve lived with her long enough to tell when she’s trying to hide something. She might not look like it, but I know that just like Luna, she was deeply affected by all the things Gideon and his dumbass friends did to the two of them. The visions Lia gave me where Liliana’s eyes are filled with tears are proof enough to me.

“I’m not…” She tried to refuse, but she stopped herself before finishing her sentence. She quickly grasped my shirt tightly while she wrapped her arm around Luna and then started sobbing.

As I thought… I should’ve buried my blade in Gideon’s neck… Not that it would have made this situation any better, but at least I would have gotten some satisfaction out of it, I think. Well, it is what it is… I will just comfort these two while I can before things start getting messy. Sigh… 

And that’s exactly what I did... I poured all I had into comfort the poor girls that were hugging me ever so tightly while ignoring the rest of the world. Those two were the only thing that mattered at that moment.

However, there was someone in the world I wouldn’t be able to ignore for long…

“Are you actually crazy!? Do you have any idea of what you just did!?” Felix’s father shouted at the top of his lungs while running straight at us. His wife just followed him silently. 

Yep… It seems like this is going to be a birthday to remember, that’s for sure…

“Dad! Wait, wait!” Felix was the first to react to his parents' impending arrival and ran to place himself between us and his father. "It was all self-defense! We have several witnesses! They started everything!" Felix said in a panic.

Felix's father stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw Felix with an expression of befuddlement on his face. That befuddlement turned into anger and frustration shortly after…

"Felix, it doesn't matter if it was in self-defense or not! Don't you remember who's backing the parents of those kids!? The Laurents! The fucking Laurents! That kid just condemned the entire fucking district!" Felix's father said while pointing at me. "We'll be targeted by every single fucking assassin and thug at their disposal! They won't care about who was the one who beat them up, they'll attack everyone indiscriminately! We are screwed, Felix! We are all going to get killed!" Felix's father was understandably freaking out. I was able to see a vein popping off in his forehead and all.

"Gods, you're being so loud today, Rick…" Felix's mother said with a deadpan tone as she stood beside her husband.

"How could I not, Martha!? That boy just messed with the most powerful criminal family in the entire fucking Empire!" Rick shouted with frustration and fear.

"I forgot that you weren't there to witness it… I suppose that I should tell you that the boy you're talking about is none other than the rumored adoptive son of the Skull Crusher." Martha let out a sigh before telling her husband about me. 

"Wait…? Is it him…? That's the new great-grandchild Bruno was shouting about yesterday…? A child adopted by his little Lilia and the mighty Skull Crusher…" A man from the crowd spoke with befuddlement.

"Hey… is it me or the kid has actual black hair…? Am I not seeing things?" Another man was focusing on my rare hair color.

"You're not seeing things… He does have black hair! It looks a bit spooky but so mesmerizing at the same time!" An older lady commented on my hair as well…

Spooky huh…

The reactions from the people of the neighborhood varied… Most of them were focused on the fact that I was the child of the Skull Crusher or my hair. Despite that, not a single one of them called me a Demon-touched.

"You should be aware that the majority of our order went out of the capital to hunt down the Band of the Warhawk and their leader, Rexon of the Blazing Spear, right?" Martha asked her husband with a raised eyebrow.

"And what of it!?" Rick was still understandably freaking out.

"Shut up for a second and listen to me… Jeez…" Martha frowned and let out a sigh. "Do you know what we found when we were finally able to catch up to the bandits? A complete slaughter." Martha spoke with a serious tone.

For a moment, Rick seemed like he wanted to say something but he remained quiet after witnessing the frown on his wife's face growing deeper…

"Half of the bandits were murdered and turned into bloody corpses. The one responsible for that was the Skull Crusher himself.” Martha explained. “As for the half of their group including their leader Rexon and his close subordinates were all subdued and captured alive. Can you guess by who?” Martha said as she started walking towards us, not bothering to wait for the answer of her husband.

“Wait… You aren’t possibly implying that he…?” Rick’s eyes widened while looking at his wife and then me and my sisters.

Martha didn’t confirm her husband’s suspicions at first. When she reached me and my sisters, the first thing she did was start patting all of our heads… My sisters did nothing but continue to hold tightly onto me and drench my shirt with their tears…

“Sheesh… I was already expecting some trouble because of your father returning to the city, but I must admit I’m quite surprised that you were the one getting into trouble first, and boy you really got into some big trouble! Lady Ophelia will really laugh her ass off when she finds out about this!” A playful smile suddenly appeared on Martha’s face. “Though I have to admit that I didn’t think I would see you again so soon and especially in this kind of circumstances… But don’t worry, your ol’ aunty Martha will do everything in her power to help you out! In fact, I’m sure that everyone in the Roses will want to help out too, especially Lady Ophelia!” Martha spoke with confidence.

“Wait… Mom, you actually know Julius from before?” Felix asked with a bit of befuddlement.   

“Yeah, since little Julius and his father took care of the Band of the Warhawk in our place, Lady Ophelia decided that us Blue Roses would escort them to the capital while the Red Roses handled the prisoners. We spent a week traveling together, so I would say that at this point I’d that we are far more than just acquaintances, you know?” Martha said to Felix before giggling. “So? Do you want some candy? I have more than enough for you to eat until your teeth fall so don’t hesitate to ask!” Martha smiled at me, clearly ignoring the seriousness of the situation.

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Yep, it is as she says… We are really more than acquaintances. After Ophelia and Neris, Martha was probably one of the knights that tried to spoil me the most… Despite her seemingly cold and unfriendly expression, her real personality is quite opposite of that. She’s basically your usual kind, sweet, and caring older aunty that always wants to spoil you rotten. 

“Martha! Are you telling me that this kid didn’t kill but that he captured alive the infamous Rexon of the Blazing Spear!? Are you fucking serious!?” Rick was understandably losing his shit.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. And if you swear again in front of the children you’ll be sleeping on the roof again.” Martha said nonchalantly.

“I don’t care if I have to sleep on the roof! Do you understand how crazy it is what you’re telling me!? How do you expect me to believe that!? How can I believe that such a little kid took care of a group of bandits that have wreaked havoc wherever they went!? A group that has been able to escape from the grasp of our order for weeks and has killed dozens of knights!” Rick shouted with anger.

It seems this going to continue for a while… Might as well keep taking care of my sisters until they calm down and then I can deal with this situation…

“It is not that unbelievable, you know? We are talking about the son of the mighty Skull Crusher, you know? Even if he’s not related by blood to the Skull Crusher, Julius is way stronger than he looks. I’m convinced that even the two of us working together would have a really bad time trying to defeat him. He really lives up to his father’s name in my opinion.” Martha spoke as if she was certain it was only natural for something like this to happen. “In any case, shut up for a bit. You’re southing way too much today. Unless you start proposing ways to fix this situation, please stay just as quiet as those guys. Your complaints and your shouts won’t help us in the slightest now.” Martha was clearly a little annoyed as she pointed at the terrified Gideon and his friends.

“That’s…” Rick seemed like he wanted to continue shouting but a single glare from his wife was enough to make him shut up.

“Mom… Umm… How to say this…? You look a little bit more unworried about this whole situation... More than I thought that you’d be… I was actually expecting you to scold us more harshly than dad when I saw you running here…” Felix expressed his disbelief.

“I kinda thought the same thing…” Mark said before laughing nervously.

“I can’t deny that I considered it for a moment. After all, if you guys were really starting some crap with these pathetic excuses of people who go around flaunting their parents’ connection with the Laurents, I’d smack all of you in the head for lowering yourselves to their level and getting us all into a life-threatening situation…” Martha explained with a less than amused expression. “But after seeing Julius standing up to those little annoying brats and looking all serious and very heroic, that idea disappeared from my mind completely. Instead, I felt pretty relieved and pretty happy.” A smile appeared on Martha’s face as she suddenly walked away toward Gideon and his buddies.

Gideon, Emeline, Tabitha, and Rufus, all stared at Martha with the same fear they stared at me before.

“You know? I’ve been waiting to say this to all four of you for a very very long time… I can hardly contain my excitement!” Martha spoke with a terrifying cheerful voice. “Your parent’s connection with the Laurents means jackshit this time. This time, you won’t get away with all the shit you’ve pulled over the years with just a slap on the wrist, you know? If you moronic brats and your opportunistic parents are backed by the Laurents, then Julius and the family of the Skull Crusher will be backed by the Roses of Nebandia. By my honor as a knight, you four will be placed under arrest until an investigation of this incident is finished.” Martha suddenly placed her hand on the hilt of the gigantic blade resting on her back and drew it in a menacing manner.

Just by the sight of that Gideon and his group looked completely terrified as Martha held her gigantic blade over their heads.

“I’m sure that all four of you have at least a minimal understanding of what would happen if you resist your arrest and go against the law.” Said Martha while looking at the quartet of idiots with a cold expression. Her excited smile from before was nowhere to be seen. “I am not in the mood to have to kill a bunch of nasty brats, even if it would give me some satisfaction. It would be a hassle to deal with the aftermath, so please comply and stay quiet just like that.” Martha kept her blade raised while obviously threatening the group.

(This is going better than I expected… It is a good thing that Martha and her husband were the ones patrolling the area, otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain this situation to any other knight…) Catris spoke with some relief.

(Yeah, I do agree with that. Since Martha and Rick are aware of all the things Gideon and his group had done over the years, an explanation of why they were beaten up wasn’t really needed. Though, we are not entirely out of trouble just yet…) Lia said with a serious tone. (And here they come… Don’t beat them up too much, Julius.) Lia said with a bit of concern.

(You make me sound like I’m some sort of thug or a super-violent person…) I couldn’t help but frown a little.

(You are one who’s planning to beat up those fools’ parents, aren’t you?) Lia retorted.

I knew she was right, but still, before I even could say anything back to the goddess to defend myself, a deafening and annoying screech reached my ears… It was almost like a banshee was screaming directly into my ear.

“YOU…! JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING TO MY BABY!?” A middle-aged woman who looked very similar to Emeline, mainly thanks to the long cyan-colored hair they both shared, screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Oh, gods… We are screwed… We are definitely screwed…” Rick

“Sigh… And here I thought I’d have some time before having to hear that voice.” Martha let out a big sigh as she looked over at the owner of the screaming voice.

“Do you have any idea of who you’re messing with, you sorry excuse of a guard!? You’ve sealed your own fate!” A tall and bald middle-aged man followed shortly after the woman who looked like Emeline. The man looked an awful lot like Rufus.

“You’ll pay dearly for touching even a single hair strand from my daughter’s head, you dirty peasants…” A plain middle-aged woman with short dark blonde hair said with anger as she walked behind the bald man from before. This plain woman clearly resembled another plain person I just met, Tabitha.

“Oh my… I can’t believe that there are still morons out there that would try to go against us and harm our children despite knowing who is backing us. Their foolishness is completely laughable.” A good-looking middle-aged man with short light brown hair spoke with pride. That man was clearly Gideon’s father.

Gods, I knew their personalities would be bad but this is ridiculous… Sigh, I guess it is like people say… The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? I can see where Gideon and his idiot friends got their personalities from…

Of course, Gideon's and his friends' parents didn't come alone… They were accompanied by a rather large group of burly men and menacing women, all armed to the teeth. Clearly, they were a group of thugs. There were at least 25 of them.

Normally, most people would be scared to face such numbers, but considering that I already faced a more menacing and larger group a few days ago, to me this is hardly intimidating.

"First of all, I am a proud knight, not a city guard. Second of all, this is all the thugs you guys brought with you? Frankly, I find this very insulting." Martha spoke with a fearless and confident tone as if she had been waiting for this moment for her whole life.

"Martha, what the hell are you doing!?" Rick immediately panicked even more after hearing his wife's words.

"I didn't expect to witness such bravado coming from you out of all people, Martha. I thought you'd be smart enough to know what you're getting into for threatening my children." Gideon's father looked at Martha with amusement before giving a nod to one of the thugs, a man who happened to be bald just like Rufus and Rufus's father.

The moment the thug nodded back at Gideon's father, all of the thugs drew their weapons at the same time. Most of them brandished their weapons with cocky smirks on their faces.

"So we are teaching a lesson to another knight who doesn't know their place. Heh, nothing makes me happier in life." The bald thug said with joy. "Each day I thank the Gods and Lord Laurent for giving me the greatest job in the world. I guess I'll have to thank you as well for this opportunity, Braun." The thug smirked as he looked at Gideon's father.

"I should be the one thanking you for the spectacle. As usual, it will be very entertaining to see you teaching these poor souls why it is a bad idea to mess with us, Bron." Braun replied with satisfaction.

"The Laurents will always take care of people as long as you're on our side and you remain useful Braun, so this much is only natural." Bron said as rested an enormous scythe over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this little chit-chat of yours, but what makes you think that someone from the Knights of Nebandia will lose against the likes of you?" Martha spoke up as she pointed her blade toward the fools' parents and the group of thugs. "Don't you dare to underestimate me. Your days of doing as you please and treating this place as your playground end here." A burning determination was sparked in Martha’s eyes, much to her husband’s despair.

“Oh, and you will be doing that on your own? If that’s how you want to play, I should give you a little warning, Mrs. knight… We don’t play fair. My people and I are experts on ganging up on people like you.” Bron said with a dirty smile on his face while the laughter of his goons echoed in the neighborhood despite the multitude of onlookers.

“That’s fine by me! I don’t exactly play fair either, you know?” A malicious smile appeared on Martha’s face as her blade was slowly being dangerously filled infused with elemental water mana.

The tension in the area was growing by the second, yet nobody dared to move a muscle… Everyone was waiting to see who would be the one to strike first.

“Oh, fuck me sideways… I might as well fight to the bitter end even if we are going to get fucked… This is not the way I imagined I would go, but I suppose there’s nothing back in a somewhat heroic death.” Rick said as he reluctantly pointed his wand towards the Laurent goons. “Felix please run away with the children, look for your siblings, and take everyone to our headquarters. Lady Ophelia will be able to protect you from there. I’m sorry for placing this heavy burden on you…” Rick spoke to his son with the determination to give his own life in the next battle.

“Dad, that’s…-” Felix looked at his father with shock.

“Oh, don’t be so fucking dramatic, Rick. These weaklings are barely good enough to be called a warm-up, especially if we have someone like Julius on our side.” Martha gave her husband an eye-roll before looking back at the goons. She was already planning her moves.

As I looked at the thugs, I was able to more or less measure their strength. Most of the thugs were at the same level or perhaps a little stronger than the bandits from the Band of the Warhawk. Their leader, Bron, seemed to be their best fighter, but he didn’t really look much stronger than Rexon. Because of that, I didn’t really feel nervous about fighting them.

(Well, the situation has certainly escalated…) Catris said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

(Indeed. Normally, I would have preferred to not handle these kinds of situations in such flashy manners and keep Julius hidden, but since he is already participating in the tournament on behalf of two princesses, it is fine for us to be as flashy as we want. Especially now that we have you on our side, Catris.) Lia spoke in a calm manner.

(Speaking of flashy… I’d like to keep comforting Liliana and Luna, but I’d rather not leave Martha and Rick fighting these guys alone. Especially considering that I also have some grief against the parents of those idiots. So could any of you tell Sarana to teleport these two away while I fight?) I asked the two goddesses in my mind.

(Consider it do…-) Catris said with enthusiasm but she was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

(Actually, that won’t be necessary. The heavy cavalry has arrived earlier than I expected. You should just sit tight and watch, Julius.) Lia spoke as if she was looking forward to what was about to happen next.

Just as I heard Lia’s words in my mind, I spotted something falling from the sky with tremendous speed, almost like a meteor… It was a familiar figure, one that I have seen each day ever since I recovered my memories from Earth…

As soon as that familiar figure landed on the ground, a huge crater was formed beneath his feet… The cobblestone was reduced to nothing but dust in the huge explosion of wind that followed after… That figure belonged to a tall and muscular man, my Dad.

“Yo… Heard some motherfuckers here had a death wish even though I told them what would happen if they came near my children again.” My Dad said with a serious yet strangely friendly tone.

My father had arrived, however, he was not alone. There was a seemingly delicate and youthful woman being carried in his arms. My Mom.

“Some people need to be taught the hard way. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for years.” My mom spoke with a harsh and cold tone as her boots touched the ground after escaping from my father’s embrace. “I never really liked that nickname, but I suppose it is time for the Crimson Witch to make her grand return.” My mom said as she snapped her fingers, making dozens of small fireballs appear around her in an instant. 

Those small little fireballs soon started dancing around my mother… It was a magical waltz that announced the imminent demise of her enemies…

“Aye. I believe it is time for us to settle the score.” My dad nodded in agreement. “Prepare yourselves. There’s nothing holding me back this time.” My father spoke with a voice that sent chills down my spine, even though it was not directed at me.

A true carnage was about to begin…

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Chapter 53: The Knights.

END

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