17. Black Knight

Heya it's me again if you wondering why i keep using Orchid and Orchis in this chapter because both of them is different people.

It's gonna be explained in later chapter so don't forget to give me your feedback on this chapter

Thank you ~

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After Rei and Lyria plus Io is now back at the inn used by Djeeta and the others.

They then introduced Io to Djeeta and the others, and when Io met them, she immediately apologized for following them and ran away after being helped previously.

They then explained what happened after Rei and Lyria parted ways with them and walked around the city until they met Drang and Sturm again, along with being surrounded by many golems.

Additionally, Io tell them that she sensed magic from her teacher or archduke when the golems attacked them.

After that, they agreed to go to the island mentioned by Drang the next day to search for clues as to where the archduke could be.

<The Next Day>

<Arsenal, Abandoned Mine>

The Grandcypher landed on one of the islands near the Valtz Duchy. They all looked towards the old mine and could immediately see that this place had been abandoned for a long time.

"Landing complete... And mooring successful. That shouldn't have attracted too much attention to us," Rackam cautiously landed the Grandcypher, as they were not sure if there were any Empire soldiers still around here looking for the Archduke.

"Sand, rocks, and more sand... Is that all there is in Valtz?" Vyrn looked around, but besides the old mine, he could only see sand and more sand.

"Captain, I know we just sort of ended up here, I don't mean to offend you or anything. But...you...are strong, right?" Io asked Djeeta, as she didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her.

Io knew that Rei was strong enough to protect himself, as she had seen him fight twice before.

But Djeeta looked like an ordinary people, unlike Katalina who wore soldier armor, so she knew that at least Katalina had an unusual background.

"Don't worry, Io! Djeeta, Katalina, and Rackam are all super strong!" Lyria answered Io.

"Yeah, you don't need to worry, I'm strong so those empire soldiers are no match for me," Djeeta also replied to Io.

"If you say so... I suppose it's fine."

After that, they all started to get off from the Grandcypher and walked through the desert to head towards the old mine.

"Hey, Io, what kind of person is the archduke?" Lyria suddenly asked Io about the archduke.

"Well... he's sloppy, slobby, and forgetful. But he has a heart of gold. He truly believes that magic exists to make people happy. And you can tell from the way he uses his abilities," Io answered Lyria while looking at the desert around them and reminiscing about his past.

"The first time he showed me his magic, he kept calling it a secret spell. But looking back... it was just a simple magic trick. I was incredibly sad about something at the time, but that cheap little trick made me smile from ear to ear. That's when I decided... I was going to be like him someday."

Listening to Io's story made them all smile, and Lyria hugged Io again. "You can definitely become like the archduke!"

"Ahhh! Stop treating me like a child!" Io thrashing around in Lyria's embrace, making them all laugh.

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They continued to walk through the desert to reach the old mine, defeating many monsters that appeared along the way, until finally they saw the entrance to the abandoned mines.

"Over here! They tried really hard to hide it, but it looks like this is the entrance to some abandoned mines!" Vyrn pointed at the entrance to the cave.

"From here on out, we're entering enemy territory. Io, this could be dangerous. You have to be careful..." Katalina warned Io.

"O-okay! But I'm still a mage. I won't hold you back." Io replied to Katalina, holding her staff tightly.

They then entered the cave in order: Katalina, Rei, Lyria, Djeeta along with Vyrn, Io, and Rackam.

Inside the cave, Io created a light source with her magic, allowing them to see inside as they continued to walk cautiously.

"Io, what are you going to do if we find your master here?" Lyria suddenly asked Io.

"First I'll wallop him!" Io replied without hesitation.

"Knowing his talent, he might just be working on something awesome to impress you all. But that doesn't excuse him for teaming up with the empire and disappearing. How's an apprentice supposed to feel about that? I don't know what the archduke is thinking, but we're taking him back with us... even if it means giving him a beating first!"

Io continued to speak relentlessly, as she was very upset and wanted to confront her master who had left her and sided with the empire.

"How could he run away and not say anything to his apprentice about it? I've been worried sick about him... He's supposed to be my master... and I'm supposed to be his apprentice... Sniff... Waaah!"

But eventually Io cried, as despite acting like an adult and hating to be treated like a child, she was still only 11 years old and saddened by being abandoned by the one person she respected.

"C-could you spare me the waterworks? Katalina! Lyria! Do something, will ya?" Rackam panicked as he was not good at handling children and didn't know what to do.

"Maaaster! Waaahh!" Io continued crying, remembering her time with her master.

Rei, seeing Io cry, was also unsure of what to do, as he was not good at handling children. In the end, he could only pat Io's head and try to comfort her.

"There, there, Io. You've been a real trooper. I know you've been holding it in all this time."

Io opened her teary eyes and looked at Rei, initially wanting to protest but eventually feeling that it was okay to be comforted like this once in a while.

"Sigh... This is exactly why I can't stand kids." Rackam sighed as he watched them both.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Io's sadness disappeared instantly after hearing Rackam's words and she turned to him angrily.

"Not a word, Your Highness." Rackam stood up straight and saluted to Io after seeing her glaring eyes.

They continued walking through the cave, going deeper and seeing many broken objects and destroyed golems around them.

Seeing this made them curious about what experiments the Archduke and the Empire had been conducting that led to so many golems being destroyed like this.

But suddenly Katalina stopped, causing Rei to bump into her back.

"Ouch!" Rei held his nose, which hurt from hitting Katalina's iron armor.

"Katalina? Why did you suddenly stop?" Djeeta asked Katalina that standing in front of her.

"This dark, heavy feeling... No. It can't be!" Katalina did not hear Djeeta's words as she was focused on one of the room around them.

"Don't lose your head, woman. You once bore the name of my empire, did you not?" Suddenly, they heard a voice that sounded blocked and muffled, whether male or female, making it difficult for them to determine only from the voice.

Then someone emerged from the room and entered the range of Io's magic light, allowing them to see who it was.

They saw the person wearing full black armor and a gold cloak, with their left hand resting on the hilt of their sword at their hip.

[IMAGE]

"I should have known... What are you doing here, Black Knight? What business would one of the Seven Luminary Knights and top advisor to the Erste Empire have here?" Katalina observed the Black Knight cautiously, in case they might attack and kidnap Lyria.

Meanwhile, Rei looked around the Black Knight searching for Orchid, but he didn't see her at all and thought maybe she left Orchid on her airship.

"That is for me to decide... along with the fate of the world. Now know your place and close that insolent mouth of yours." The Black Knight observed them one by one, but Rei realized that the Black Knight looked at him a little longer than the others.

This made him think that Sturm and Drang had informed the Black Knight about him, but Rei wasn't bothered by it because the Black Knight wasn't evil, she just had daddy issues and cared for Orchid, willing to do anything to help her.

(When It's Rei thinking he's gonna call black knight "Her" because he know black knight gender, But I'm gonna use "They" when it's everyone else because they don't know)

"An imperial knight? Tell me where my master is!" Upon hearing Katalina's words, Io suddenly appeared in front of everyone and shouted at the Black Knight.

The Black Knight looked at the child yelling at them and answered firmly, "What a plucky little brat. I presume you speak of Archduke Tzaka? I know he's not here, but little more."

The Black Knight looked around while continuing their speech, "I'm searching for him myself."

Hearing this, except for Io, they remembered Drang's words that the empire was also looking for the Archduke, meaning everything he had said was true.

"Don't lie to me! You guys kidnapped him, didn't you?" Io still didn't believe the Black Knight's words and still believed that they were the ones who kidnapped her master.

"You need to learn how to address someone superior, little girl." The Black Knight emitted a slight aura as they was slightly irritated by Io.

"The Archduke proposed this collaborative research project to the empire, but suddenly withdrew his support and disappeared."

The Black Knight then walked deeper into the cave, and seeing this, they followed them cautiously.

They continued to walk following the Black Knight, and before long, they saw the Black Knight stop. They could see a doll sitting, hugging a cat doll on her lap.

[IMAGE]

"I'd be careful if I were you. The Archduke is trying to create something terrifying, and to do so, he needs this doll... and Lyria." The Black Knight held the shoulder of the doll girl while looking towards Lyria.

Rei recognized the doll being held by the Black Knight immediately. 'Orchid? I thought she was on the airship, so the Black Knight must have brought her here too.'

Hearing this, Katalina asked something to the Black Knight, "The Archduke is targeting Lyria, you say?"

"Yes. His Excellency seemed obsessed with something when I last held an audience with him. He had this truly awful look on his face. His eyes were completely bloodshot yet strangely full of energy."

"Primal crystal technology... The Archduke was clinging to it. Lyria will be targeted just like my doll."

The Black Knight continued to explain the Archduke's intention to kidnap Lyria and Orchid for experiments on both of them.

As they spoke, they could sense the Black Knight's aura growing stronger as he talked about the Archduke attempting to capture Orchis.

This made them realize how important Orchis was to the Black Knight.

But suddenly, they were surrounded by more golems that appeared out of nowhere.

They drew their weapons while surveying the area.

"More mechanical monsters just showed up, Djeeta! They must have come in from the entrance." Rackam yelled to them.

"Speak of the devil. The Archduke wastes no time... we shall meet again. May you be spared a meaningless death." The Black Knight looked at the many golems and then left, along with their doll.

"That knight could at least try helping us out! Let's head back to the airship for now!" Vyrn watched the Black Knight leaving them slightly annoyed that they didn't help them more.

Rei sighed and drew the sword given to him by Djeeta few days ago. He couldn't use the Sword of Repudiation in a confined space like this, fearing it might cause the cave to collapse.

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They then tried to exit the cave while defeating the golems attacking them, but as they ran, Io suddenly spoke to them.

"I can feel it! There are traces of his magic on those machines!" Io spoke to them.

"Master... why would you do such a thing? Sniff..." Io started to cry again, and then they saw the exit door of the cave.

"Okay, there's the exit! Once we take care of those monsters, we're home free!" Vyrn spoke to them when he saw they were close to the exit.

Hearing this, they ran faster, trying to fend off the attacking golems.

But suddenly, Io stopped running and turned around, shouting at the many golems chasing her.

"Master! Master! You can hear me, can't you? It's me, Io! Where are you, Master? Hurry up and come home..." Io cried out to the golems.

"Io! Stop! You're going to get hurt!" Lyria saw Io stop running and ran towards her, trying to pull her away.

Lyria saw that the golems seemed to pause briefly before moving towards her to grab her and take her to the Archduke.

"Lyria!" Katalina and the others shouted towards Lyria as they saw the golems moving towards her while trying to pull Io out of the cave.

"Tch!" Rei quickly drew the Sword of Repudiation, then spread his 2 black wings and enveloped his sword with his aura.

"Phosporous." Rei swung his sword at the golem, instantly destroying the one trying to take Lyria.

"Atheism." He then used a force field around them to protect Lyria and Io from the effects of the attack.

Rei's attack destroyed everything in front of them, including golems, monsters, the walls of the cave, and even the ceiling.

But his attack caused the cave to tremble and start to collapse, prompting Rei to carry Lyria and Io and run out of the cave with the others.

They managed to exit the cave and ran away from the collapsing cave.

*Booooommm* The cave collapsed, and they saw that the entrance to the abandoned mines was closed off by rocks.

"Everyone okay?" Katalina spoke, checking if anyone was injured.

"Sniff... Sob..." Rei put down Lyria and Io, but Io seemed to still be crying.

"Whew... She doesn't look hurt at least. Kids are such a pain." Rackam checked on Io and found that she was unharmed.

"How about you, Lyria? Are you alright?" Rei checked Lyria's body and found no injuries.

"Umm... I'm fine..." Lyria answered a little embarrassed as Rei touching her body because he was examining her body.