It was busy, yet strangely quiet.
New rumors spread through the streets of the Holy Kingdom like wildfire.
People whispered in corners, in markets, outside their homes.
"What is happening? First the rumor about the Holy Kingdom slaughtering a village… guards… and a pregnant woman with a message written in blood…"
"And then the rumor about a Saintess trying to summon a demon, and the massacre that followed…"
"And now they say there will be war?"
"I don't even know what's true anymore."
"Holy is only a name now…"
"I don't believe it. Someone must be trying to frame the Holy Kingdom."
"I heard the war rumor is real. My friend's mother told me—her son is a knight."
Fear and confusion slowly spread through the kingdom.
At the same time, neighboring kingdoms kept sending messages, asking the same questions.
High above the city, in the grand council hall, the Grand High Priest sat with the High Priests and High Saintesses.
All of them wore white-and-gold armor with red stripes, as if war could begin at any moment.
Suddenly, a cold chill ran down the Grand High Priest's spine.
His body stiffened.
He felt it.
Shin Yato had arrived.
His face turned pale, and in a cold, shaken voice, he spoke aloud:
"He is here."
Everyone in the hall froze. Panic spread across their faces.
Saintess Emma immediately stood up.
"Your Holiness, then we must order the Holy Knights to prepare for battle."
Everyone agreed nervously.
The Grand High Priest slowly tapped his finger on the table, then turned his gaze toward Priest Andrew.
"Priest Andrew," he said calmly, his face serious.
Priest Andrew swallowed nervously.
"Yes, Your Holiness."
"You will take charge of the Holy Knights and the Elite Holy Knights at the walls."
Andrew's eyes widened.
"M-Me?"
"Yes. Hurry. Go."
"O-Okay, Your Holiness," Andrew replied, his feet trembling slightly as he rushed out of the hall.
The Grand High Priest then turned to another man.
"Priest Jamis, you will be in charge of the Master Holy Knights in the inner city."
Then he looked at Saintess Emma.
"Saintess Emma, you will take the High Saintesses and Saintesses and support Priest Jamis."
"Understood, Your Holiness," she replied.
Then the Grand High Priest looked at Priest Herco.
"Priest Herco, you will guide the people to the safe houses."
Priest Herco hesitated.
"But, Your Holiness… there won't be enough space for everyone. Not in such a short time. If we had warned the people earlier, maybe… but now… we cannot save everyone."
The Grand High Priest remained silent for a moment.
Then he said calmly,
"It's fine. Even if some people don't reach the safe houses… they can slow down the demon."
Priest Herco's face went pale.
"Your Holiness… do you mean… using the people as meat shields?"
The Grand High Priest looked at him coldly.
"If you understand, then hurry up."
"But… Your Holiness… that is a great sin," Priest Herco said in a low, shaking voice.
The Grand High Priest's eyes turned cold.
"Do not tell me what a sin is."
He paused, then spoke again slowly.
"For a greater achievement, some sacrifices are necessary. Now go."
Priest Herco lowered his head.
"As you will, Your Holiness."
He left the hall, his face filled with fear.
The council hall became cold and silent.
"We will proceed as we planned," the Grand High Priest said calmly, looking up at the ceiling.
Everyone bowed their heads.
"Yes, Your Holiness."
One by one, they left the hall—some nervous, some frightened.
The Grand High Priest remained alone, still looking at the ceiling.
His feet were trembling slightly.
Outside, thousands of Elite Holy Knights rode toward the gates on horseback, while normal Holy Knights marched beside them.
The ground trembled slightly from their marching.
Inside the city, the Master Holy Knights gathered with the High Saintesses and Saintesses, forming another defensive line.
Seeing all this, the people became even more frightened.
"So the war rumor was true…"
"Why are all the knights gathering?"
"I'm scared," children said, clinging to their parents.
Among the marching knights were Knight Toras and Knight Ares.
Toras looked at Ares and smiled slightly.
"Kid, are you scared?"
"No," Ares replied calmly, looking forward.
"Don't lie. I can see your hands trembling," Toras said.
"I'm not," Ares replied, tightening his grip on his sword.
Toras smiled faintly.
"It's okay to be scared. You know… I'm scared too."
Ares looked at him in surprise.
"Why are you scared? You're strong. I know nothing will happen to you."
Toras smiled gently.
"Thanks for saying that. But being scared… is part of being human."
After a moment, Ares asked,
"By the way… did you tell your girlfriend about the war?"
"Yeah."
"How did she react?"
Toras sighed.
"At first she was surprised… then she started crying. She was scared something might happen to me."
"That sounds like her," Ares said with a small smile. "Did she come to see you off?"
"No. She said she would wait for me."
Then Toras asked,
"What about you? Did you tell the kids at the orphanage?"
"No," Ares replied. "I just told them I'd be busy. When I come back, we'll have a big feast."
He looked at the setting sun.
"After this war… I'm going to become the greatest knight."
Toras laughed.
"First, you have to defeat me."
"I will surpass you," Ares said confidently.
"You're a thousand years too early for that," Toras replied teasingly.
Suddenly, a loud announcement echoed across the city:
"EVERYONE, PEOPLE OF THE HOLY KINGDOM, PLEASE LEAVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS TO THE SAFE HOUSES. PLEASE HURRY. WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME."
Knights began guiding people through the streets.
"This way!"
"Be careful!"
"Keep moving!"
The people were now truly afraid.
Some cried. Some prayed. Some just walked in silence.
Toras and Ares looked back at the crowd for a moment.
Both felt a strange heaviness in their hearts.
Then they turned forward again and continued marching toward the gates.
The sound of metal armor and the heavy breathing of horses filled the kingdom. Some tried to pack their valuables, while the streets flooded with people—so crowded there was barely room to breathe. They pushed and struggled as dust filled the air, bodies crashing into one another.
"Hey, can you move?"
"Don't leave my hand!"
"Move, you're in the way!" someone shouted angrily.
Families were getting separated—children, wives, husbands, and elders lost in the crowd. Babies cried loudly.
"Please, I can't find my son!"
"Honey, where are you?"
"Mom, Dad, where are you?" children cried as they searched for their parents in the chaos.
A child dropped a toy and said, "Mom, I dropped Little Anni."
His mother, struggling to push through the crowd, replied, "Sweetie, I'll get you a new one. Now hurry."
Some knights guided the civilians, waving their hands and shouting,
"Please, hurry up!"
"Don't push each other!"
"This way!"
They led people toward the safe houses—underground tunnels beneath the kingdom.
The weather was dry, and the wind blew through the streets as the sun began to set, darkness slowly swallowing the day and the kingdom.
The Elite Holy Knights and the regular Holy Knights, led by Priest Andrew, reached the wall beside the massive gate made of iron and wood. Priest Andrew raised his hand and shouted, "Stop!"
He turned to the General Holy Knight, a man in his forties.
"General, wait for my signal."
"Yes, sir," the General replied.
Priest Andrew dismounted his horse and walked toward the stairs leading to the top of the wall. He was slightly nervous as he climbed and reached the top, where thousands of Holy Knights were already on standby with bows in hand. Bundles of arrows lay beside them, swords hanging at their hips.
A captain knight approached and saluted. "Sir."
Priest Andrew asked, "Any abnormal sightings? Anyone approaching?"
"No, sir," the captain replied, then paused. "But we found three people."
Priest Andrew looked surprised. "Where?"
"Outside the wall, about 800 or 1000 meters away, sir," the captain replied clearly.
"Lead the way."
"This way, sir."
They walked to the lookout point. The captain pointed into the distance.
"There, sir."
Priest Andrew narrowed his eyes and focused. He saw three figures—Shin Yato, Kore, and a bandit.
Then Shin Yato looked up.
Priest Andrew suddenly stepped back slightly, terrified, sweat forming on his forehead as their eyes met.
He took a deep breath and said quickly,
"Get the archers ready."
"Yes, sir!"
The captain turned and shouted,
"ALL ARCHERS, NOCK, DRAW, AND HOLD!"
Thousands of archers raised their bows. Arrows rested on strings, feet set shoulder-width apart.
Cre-eeak… twiiiing… The sound of bowstrings tightening filled the air.
They aimed steadily toward Shin Yato. Silence fell—only the breathing of the archers could be heard.
Far away, Shin Yato stood calmly.
"I guess it's about time," he said in a calm, bored voice.
He slowly turned his head toward Kore, who was clenching her clothes, her eyes hollow.
"You can stay here if you want," he said calmly. After a pause, he added, "And if you get involved, don't blame me if I accidentally kill you."
Kore looked at him silently, then without a word, she walked toward a large rock nearby and hid behind it.
The bandit, trembling, hesitated before asking,
"Sir… can I leave now?" he said with an awkward smile.
Shin Yato didn't respond. He gently patted the bandit's head. The bandit looked confused and scared.
Then Shin Yato suddenly grabbed his head tightly and, without giving him any chance to react, threw him toward the wall.
The bandit screamed as he flew through the air. Just before he hit the wall, an invisible barrier appeared. His body smashed into it and burst from the impact with a loud sound.
Priest Andrew looked shocked.
"What just happened?!"
The captain said, "Sir, something hit the barrier… and I think that person has started moving."
Shin Yato began slowly walking toward the gate with a calm, bored expression.
Priest Andrew said nervously, "Start it."
The captain shouted loudly,
"ARCHERS, LOOSE!"
Thousands of arrows flew into the sky, covering the setting sun. The sound of bowstrings snapped forward—Twaaaang-thrum!—followed by a swarm of shrieking whooshes splitting the air. Iron-tipped arrows howled through the sky like a storm.
The arrows struck the ground in a chaotic storm of thuds and clatters, like heavy rain hitting dry earth. Dust rose into the air.
But the arrows that were about to hit Shin Yato burned into ash by black flames before they could touch him.
He continued walking slowly toward the gate, calm as ever.
Priest Andrew, the captain, and all the knights were shocked and confused.
"Is he even human?"
"Why aren't the arrows hitting him?!"
"Captain, keep shooting!" Priest Andrew ordered.
"DON'T STOP! KEEP SHOOTING! NOCK, DRAW, HOLD, AND LOOSE!"
The archers reloaded and fired again.
"NOCK, DRAW, HOLD, AND LOOSE!"
Again and again they fired.
But slowly, the morals of the Holy Knights began to break.
"I'm running out of arrows!"
"Someone get me more arrows!"
"Hurry!"
Their hands started shaking as panic spread. They continued shooting until they ran out of arrows, but not a single arrow touched Shin Yato. The black flames burned every arrow before it reached him.
Hundreds of thousands of arrows lay on the ground like a fallen forest of barbs.
Shin Yato reached halfway—about 500 meters from the wall. He stopped and looked up with a faint smile. The sight filled everyone with fear.
He slowly pulled his sword from his back.
Priest Andrew panicked.
"He's about to attack! What are you all doing? Shoot!"
The captain replied nervously, "Sir… we've run out of arrows."
"What?!" Priest Andrew looked around and saw there were no arrows left. Fear spread across the wall.
Then Shin Yato swung his sword.
An air slash struck the barrier—but it held.
He swung again. And again. The barrier still held.
Then Shin Yato smiled faintly and swung once more with more strength. The air slash hit the barrier, and cracks appeared. The barrier vibrated and shuddered like struck glass; it echoed from the impact.
"The barrier is about to break any second!" Priest Andrew shouted.
"Captain, take half the knights from here and join the General!"
"Yes, sir!"
The captain shouted, "Half of you, come with me!"
They rushed down the stairs. Inside near the gate, Toras, Ares, and the Holy Knights were already waiting nervously.
The captain approached the General Holy Knight.
"Sir!"
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on the wall," the General said.
"Sir Andrew ordered us to join you."
Before the General could respond, Priest Andrew shouted from the top of the wall,
"General! The demon is about to break the barrier! Now go!"
"Yes, sir!"
Then the order came near the gate:
"OPEN THE GATE!"
"OPEN THE GATE!"
The General and the Captain stood in front, with thousands of Holy Knights behind them. Some were trembling in fear, some nervous, some excited.
The General turned and looked at the knights. He took a deep breath and shouted:
"HOLY KNIGHTS! I KNOW YOU ARE AFRAID, NERVOUS, OR EXCITED! SOME—OR MOST—OF US MAY DIE TODAY! BUT REMEMBER, THIS WAR IS NOT ABOUT US! IT IS ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LIVES! WE STAND HERE IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR HOLY GODDESS! SHOW HER THAT WE ARE HER TRUE CHILDREN! TRUST THE FATE SHE HAS WRITTEN FOR US! WE ARE ALWAYS UNDER HER GUIDANCE—EVEN IN DEATH!"
He raised his sword into the air and roared,
"SO TELL ME—WHO ARE YOU? TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE!"
The Holy Knights, filled with different emotions, slowly became united by one emotion—determination.
They shouted,
"WE ARE HOLY KNIGHTS! WE ARE THE PROTECTORS OF THE PEOPLE!"
The General shouted again,
"TELL ME WHO YOU ARE!"
"WE ARE HOLY KNIGHTS!"
"TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE!"
"WE ARE THE PROTECTORS OF THE PEOPLE!"
Their voices echoed through the kingdom. Even the civilians rushing toward the safe houses could hear the chanting.
The massive iron-and-wood gate began to open slowly, releasing a deep, guttural groan. Rusted hinges screeched like tortured metal—skreeeech-rrrrind—while heavy timber beams shifted with loud thuds and chains rattled loose.
Sunset on armor.
Horses nervous.
From beyond the gate came a violent KRA-KOOM, like thunder cracking glass, mixed with an ethereal shriek as razor winds slammed against the shimmering barrier before fading into sparks.
Some knights still had trembling hands, their hearts still racing—but their resolve was forged, and their voices, raised in unity, did not falter as they continued chanting.