"Be purged in dragonfire!" Valerius’ voice bood through the sky.
The clear blue was overwheld by erald flas that gathered, swelling like flowers fed sunlight. The verdant light shined down upon the valley enclosed by mountains; not even the sea breeze from afar could dwindle the heat that descended.
"For the next thirty seconds, I am immune to being burned, but I cannot move," Rowan imposed upon himself, watching the erald fireballs quickly plumt.
–Right as the command manifested, the plentiful flas rained down upon the desecrated camp, exploding into bright-green fireworks.
As one stray fireball ca towards the woman sitting at the bench, she snapped her fingers, conjuring a pitch-black rose around herself. In the presence of a dragon’s wrath, the deathly flower absorbed the heat completely.
Valerius watched from above as the field was bathed in the erald fire, "That which you find yourself being scorned by is the breath of Ocarian. A frightening beast, whose breath turns even the sturdiest tals to liquid–"
As the flas dwindled, the knight’s words were cut off as he found the Outlander of crimson hair, still standing there as the dragon’s wrath did nothing but burn everything around him.
"Impossible," Valerius scoffed.
It took a few monts of idle silence amidst the wandering inferno before Rowan was able to respond, pressing his boot down as a pulse scared away the burning fields around him, "It got a bit toasty, but that’s it. I wouldn’t call that anything special."
"I will carry out your execution nonetheless–that has not changed," Valerius claid, hovering high in the sky.
With but a hamr in his hand in the charred field, Rowan looked up at the airborne knight, pointing at him with his free hand, "You will lose your ability to fly for the next minute, in exchange, you will have be completely recovered."
"What–?" Valerius questioned.
Before there was any chance for the monster-slaying knight to refute the command, the ethereal wings were suppressed, bringing the figure down from the sky in a hurry. As the man in armor was forced to touch land again, the dents in his armor popped out, smoothing over as if touched by a world-class blacksmith.
Valerius stood there in silence for a mont, grabbing both of his blades, "--I understand now why you are the most wanted among the Heavenly Kings. This ability–you are an existence that cannot be sanctioned."
"It’s not like I asked to co to this world," Rowan responded as the air pushed through his scarlet hair, exposing the black roots. "But, since I’m here already, good luck getting rid of . Living is pretty damn fun."
As the greatswords of the knight danced in his hands, Rowan sprinted across the field, leaping up as he brought the hamr over his head. Bringing it down, it clashed against the crossed blades, colliding with a reverberating force–
"Grrrrhh!" Valerius grunted as the air around him shook violently.
Against the vibrations harshly emitting from the hamr, the steel of the blades cracked, crumbling away like brittle glass. Ultimately, the greatswords could not hold; the blunt force broke through, slamming against the cobalt helt. Like the blades, the helm was shattered, bringing the sa to the revered armor in the following shock wave.
Rowan imdiately followed up, unleashing another strike of the hamr at the air itself, commanding a wave of dismantling vibrations. There was no chance for resistance as the monster-slaying knight’s armor was shattered above the waist, leaving his body battered by the crushing force.
"Ghhhk!--" Valerius struggled, stumbling back as the remnants of the once glorious armor crumbled from his face, holding nothing but the handles of shattered blades.
Rowan placed his hamr over his shoulder, looking upon the broken knight, "You wouldn’t happen to know if Mastorn intercepted our teleportation magic, would you?"
For monts, Valerius gathered his breath, wheezing from his bruised sternum as he slowly picked himself up.
There was hardly anything "normal" about the unveiled physique of the Celestial knight; standing over seven feet tall with a fra like that of an ox. Shoulders that naturally looked like steel guards, with forearms thicker than tree trunks, without a single shred of fat present on his body.
"Do you think just because you have the upper hand, I will sell out my kingdom...?" Valerius questioned, spitting blood out from his teeth.
Rowan looked at the bruised body of the specin of a man, raising an eyebrow at the very fact he was standing, "Y’know...After a single hit like that, most people are turned to red mist. I imagine at least your guts have to be mush by now, right? All this for Mastorn."
"I have nothing," Valerius remarked as blood dribbled from his bottom lip.
"Huh? What’re you talking about?" Rowan asked from across the field.
Valerius spoke as his shaggy, blonde hair laid over his face, "...I have no family. From the mont I was brought into this world, my own parents abandoned . They sold for a single piece of silver."
"That’s rough, but I don’t get why you’re telling this?" Rowan listened with a confused look.
"I don’t bla. They struggled. In this cruel world, ravaged by war, they were left with nothing but the dirty clothes on their bodies...I was another mouth to feed," Valerius continued. "I would’ve lived as a slave for the rest of my life. But, it was Mastorn that gave a life–a reason to fight, sothing to strive for–"
Across the charred fields, plagued with the fallen soldiers of the Empire, the words of the seasoned knight flowed through the wind like hail.
"Mastorn will bring salvation. Mastorn is the one kingdom above all, blessed by the divine, overseen by the gods," Valerius spoke as if praying to himself.
"What’s that?" Rowan asked, cupping his ear.
"--I will give my life for it, without a second thought. If it’s to bring forth another day, one step closer to paradise, I shall do it!" Valerius suddenly shouted, plunging his hand into his own chest.
The unusual, grotesque act drew confusion from both the Outlanders who watched the wounded knight.
"What the hell are you doing–?!" Rowan questioned.
Astrid witnessed the unusual course of action from her seat, "Rowan, I would stop playing around now!"
"Huh? Do you know what he’s doing?" Rowan asked, glancing back at the woman in the seat.
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