A hoarse voice pierced the annoying ringing in my ears, dragging me violently from the darkness of unconsciousness.
"Wake up, you bastard. You started this."
I opened my eyes with difficulty. My vision was blurred, and the smell of blood and scorched earth filled my nose. My arms were bound and raised slightly off the ground, while my right hand remained locked in a deadly grip around the hilt of the black sword.
I tried to move my body, but I froze. Dozens of glowing, crimson-bladed spears surrounded me in a tight circle, their tips resting mere inches from my throat, chest, and limbs. They hummed with a lethal magical current, like the fangs of a beast preparing to snap shut on its prey. One wrong move meant being skewered entirely.
Outside this cage of spears stood the squad commanders.
"You finally woke up, Devil," sneered Tatsuka, commander of the Black Crows, his tone dripping with hatred.
I blinked in confusion, my throat dry as ash. "Devil? What are you talking about?"
Achilles, the massive commander of the Red Lions, laughed with biting sarcasm. "Are you feigning ignorance now? Look at your neck, boy."
I couldn't move my head, but I felt a strange, stinging heat just below my left jaw.
Shinji, commander of the Blue Whales, said coldly, "That black, horn-shaped tattoo beneath your ear... that is the Seal. You are no ordinary monster. You are the chosen vessel of the First Devil."
My heart raced violently, hammering against my ribs. Did that bastard Nikerson leave a mark on me? I had to play the victim perfectly. If they executed me here, I would be sent straight back to the Eighth Gate.
"What are you saying?!" I screamed, forcing panic into my voice. "I am not a devil! I am a human! Just a human!"
Tatsuka pointed lazily at the crimson weapons surrounding me. "Then touch one of them. These are Blood Spears. They form a holy barrier that incinerates demons and absorbs their accursed power upon contact. As for a human, touching the blade will cause painful burns, but it won't kill him. Prove it."
Without hesitation, driven by a desperate need to survive, I reached out with my trembling left hand and grabbed the blade of the nearest spear.
A muffled scream escaped my throat. A searing, blinding heat surged through my arm, as if molten iron were eating my flesh and bone. I pulled my hand back instantly, panting heavily as beads of sweat gathered on my forehead. My palm was charred and covered in blisters.
"Did you see?" Tatsuka said with obvious malice. "You pulled your hand away. Are you just now discovering your truth, boy?"
I bit my lip until I tasted blood, clinging to my human mask. "No... I am human!"
With a persistence fueled by my absolute terror of returning to Hell, I reached out and grabbed the spear again with both hands. The pain was beyond description. The smell of my burning flesh stung my nose, terrifyingly reminding me of the fires of the Abyss. But I didn't let go of the spear. Instead, I squeezed harder.
"I am Andrei!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face, my body violently trembling. "Son of Leon! Grandson of Mark! My father and grandfather were humans who defended this land! It is true I have no magic, but I will not stain their honor, no matter the cost!"
The commanders stared in stunned silence as the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Tatsuka stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with a sadistic thirst for murder. "You say you won't stain their honor? The Devil's seal on your neck has already stained it. If you want to preserve what is left of your family's dignity... then die here, boy."
Shinji intervened, furrowing his brows. "Stop, Tatsuka. Don't be reckless. The spears did not incinerate him completely."
But Tatsuka had already made up his mind. "Stay out of this, Shinji. I despise those who try to escape justice with pretty lies." Tatsuka looked at me with a terrifying smile. "Boy, I am starting to like your stubbornness. Fine. I will put my weapons aside and deal with you with my bare hands. But be careful what you wish for... my power surpasses yours by light-years."
He turned to the other commanders. "What do you think? The boy has chosen the way he wants to die."
When no one stepped forward to stop him, Tatsuka raised his hand, addressing the Wind Commander. "Wind barrier, if you please!"
Suddenly, a raging wall of stormy winds surrounded us, completely isolating us from the outside world, leaving me alone to face the Master of the Black Crows.
"Thank you, Lord of Wind," Tatsuka muttered. Then his smile widened to reveal pure darkness flowing from his body. "Now, let the shadows swallow you."
In a fraction of a second, Tatsuka evaporated into a cloud of thick black feathers.
Before my mind could process his speed, the world drowned in pitch-black darkness and deadly silence. I could no longer hear the howling wind. I couldn't even hear my own breathing. He had stripped my sense of hearing with a cloak of darkness!
He disappeared again. A sharp, sickening pain exploded in my left eye. I stumbled back, clutching my bleeding face. He had gouged it out with a claw of shadow.
Tatsuka appeared a few feet away, surrounded by a terrifying black aura. I couldn't hear him, but I read his lips clearly. "Come on, Devil. Don't tell me you can't hear or see? Use your dark power and regenerate your body."
Blood poured down, covering half my face and blinding my remaining vision, but this disrespect ignited the ancient rage of 'Olaf' within me. I ignored the agony in my burned hands, snatched a Blood Spear from my surroundings, and hurled it at him with all my desperate strength.
"I won't rest until I pay you back double!" I roared.
Tatsuka laughed, easily dodging the heavy spear, letting it melt into his shadows. "A good throw, but weak. A throw is executed like this."
Black spears materialized out of nowhere. One shot forward to pierce my right foot, pinning it deep into the stone floor. I collapsed, completely helpless. He showed no mercy. The darkness began tearing at my limbs, my hands, my legs, every inch of my body.
As my consciousness faded in a dark pool of blood and pain, a deep, mocking voice echoed inside my mind.
"Are you this weak?" Nikerson's voice roared. "What a pity... It seems I will have to wait a few more centuries to find a worthy partner."
"Shut up... you cursed Devil," I replied in my mind, gasping for my last breaths.
"I see the terror in your soul," Nikerson scoffed. "You refuse to use my power? Why? Because your heart is kind?"
"No," I spat my reply internally, my pride flaring even in the moment of death. "Because if I use your power, Heaven will judge me. I will be sent back to the Eighth Gate. I will never give you control."
Nikerson laughed, a sound that shook the foundations of my mind. "Foolish human. Do you think dying here will save you from Hell? If you die without accepting your fate, you will return to the flames anyway. Your torment hasn't even begun."
I gasped sharply. My eyes snapped open.
I scrambled backward in panic, frantically feeling my face and chest. No blood. My eye was intact. My foot was not pierced. I was completely unharmed, and the darkness had cleared.
I looked up, trembling, and saw the commanders standing in their exact positions from before the wind barrier appeared.
"What... but I was dead!" I stammered.
Tatsuka stood near me, the darkness fading from around him. The hostility in his eyes had retreated slightly. "That is the power of the Crows. I can create an 'Illusory Zone' of pure darkness. Everything that happens inside it feels entirely real, but your physical body returns to normal once the illusion ends. However... if you had used the Devil's power to regenerate your body inside the illusion, my secondary ability would have executed you in reality."
A heavy silence hung over the hall.
"It is better that you do not know the exact details, boy," Shinji sighed. "But the question remains... if you truly aren't a devil, how were you able to draw the black sword?"
"I don't know," I lied, keeping my voice shaky. "The sword... it was speaking to me before I even touched it."
The commanders exchanged worried glances.
"Speaking to him?" Achilles hummed, crossing his massive arms. "Then there is a missing link here. We must monitor the boy constantly. He should be placed in one of our squads. I suggest he joins the Red Lions."
"No, I want him," Tatsuka interrupted firmly. "If this boy turns into a devil at any moment, I want to be the one to drown him in darkness forever."
"I am standing right here among you," I said with bitter sarcasm. "Doesn't anyone want to ask my opinion, at least?"
They ignored me completely.
Commander Mark suggested: "Since this situation is unprecedented, how about we take the matter to the Commander of the Seven Knights? Let Commander Alexander decide."
Everyone agreed. As they freed me from the chains and dragged me out of the arena, I caught a glimpse of Charles standing in the shadows of a distant corridor. He was watching me, his fists clenched so tightly they were almost bleeding. I saw the furious, desperate worry in his eyes.
Stay out of this, Charles, I thought. Do not do anything stupid.
We headed toward the Knight Commander's headquarters. I expected a luxurious, towering palace befitting the strongest warrior in the kingdom. Instead, we stood before a ruined, burned-down palace. Its walls were black and covered in soot, as if it had been the center of a grinding, forgotten war.
We entered the open courtyard to find Commander Alexander. He was an elderly man possessing a calm, overwhelming prestige. Yet, he was sitting humbly on the dirt ground, surrounded by a group of refugee children, smiling warmly as if he were an affectionate grandfather, not a living legend.
A little girl named Maya asked him curiously: "Sir Alexander, how did you become the Knight Commander? Is it because you are the oldest?"
Alexander laughed from his heart, his voice echoing off the burned walls. "What? And not because I am the strongest? You should know that I am very strong, little one."
Maya laughed with childish defiance: "Really? I want to see!"
He smiled gently and pulled a piece of paper with runic lines drawn on it from his pocket. "Alright. Can you push your magic into these lines to make them glow?"
The girl furrowed her brow, pressing her small hands over the paper. "No... my power is too weak."
"Look closely," Alexander said gently. The paper suddenly lit up with a warm, bright light. "It shines brightly with me. Not because I used my power violently, but because I guided it gently to where it belongs, giving it only exactly what it needs. Try again. Put a very small amount of power in your hand, and let the paper do the rest."
The girl did as he said, and the runes glowed with a faint light.
"Ah! I did it!" she cheered happily.
"Well done, Maya," Alexander smiled.
A guard stepped forward, interrupting the moment. "Sir Alexander... the Squad Commanders are here to see you."
Alexander stood up. In an instant, the affectionate grandfather disappeared, replaced by the imposing, towering presence of the Knight Commander. "Ah, the Commanders. I will go see them."
The children cheered excitedly and immediately ran past Alexander, swarming around the squad commanders with sparkling eyes.
Alexander muttered playfully as he dusted off his knees: "After all my lessons, you still love them more than me? My heart is broken."
As we walked deeper into the burned corridors, one of the accompanying soldiers leaned in and whispered to me: "Boy, be respectful in front of the Commander. If you try to do anything, I will end you myself."
I looked at the charred walls and muttered: "I expected the Commander to live in a palace of grandeur. Why does he reside in ruins?"
"Because the one who burned this palace down was Commander Alexander himself," the soldier answered strictly.
My eyes widened in genuine shock: "What? And why?"
"He says it is for the future. We do not understand it, but we know he sees things we do not. He possesses a power that goes far beyond physical strength. We only pray he never has to use it again."
We entered the main hall. There was no throne and no luxurious seats. Alexander stood proudly in the center of the burned hall, towering like an unshakable mountain.
The guards stood at attention and shouted: "Presenting the Magic Knights!"
Tatsuka stood beside me and hissed sharply: "You. Bow."
When I hesitated for a fraction of a second, Tatsuka kicked the back of my injured knee. I fell hard onto the stone floor, grimacing in pain before the Commander.
Alexander looked at me. His voice was calm, but it carried a heavy weight. "You are still the same, Tatsuka. If the boy does not wish to bow, that is fine. Let him be."
Alexander raised his gaze to the commanders and asked quietly: "So, who is this boy?"
Shinji stepped forward respectfully: "Sir, there is an urgent matter we must discuss regarding him."
Alexander approached slowly with measured steps. His ancient, piercing eyes examined my face meticulously. Then, his gaze suddenly settled on the black, horn-shaped tattoo beneath my jaw.
The Great Commander's expression froze completely. It felt as though the air in the hall had turned to ice.
He did not bow down, and he did not whisper. Instead, his pupils dilated slightly, and in a deep, resolute voice—loud enough to echo throughout the burned hall and strike the ears of every Squad Commander and soldier present—he said:
"So... the clock has started to move."