Dromos 16 – Dromos 20, Imperial Year 1644
The Southern Road, Mercia – Near the Free Cities Border
The class had been on the road for a week since leaving Ironfast. Grom walked among them now, still quiet, still adjusting to freedom. His chains were gone, but the scars on his wrists remained, and his eyes still held the darkness of twenty years underground.
Elara led the group south, toward the Free Cities. They needed supplies, rest, and information. Vesper Nightshade's curse was advancing – tied to a lesser earth dragon that laired in the eastern hills. Dangerous, but not impossible. They had perhaps two months before the curse reached her heart.
The road wound through rolling hills, past small villages and fallow fields. The spring rains had turned the ground to mud. Elara called a halt at a crossroads inn called the Wanderer's Rest.
"We stay here tonight," she said. "Tomorrow, we figure out how to kill a lesser earth dragon without getting ourselves killed."
Roderick grunted. "I'd rather fight ten men."
"You might get your wish," Gregor said. "Dragons attract treasure hunters."
The common room was crowded. Travelers, merchants, and off‑duty guards filled the benches, nursing ales and swapping stories. The class took a corner table near the hearth. Rosalind ordered bread and stew. Roderick pulled his hood lower to hide his tusks.
Miku nudged Elara. "Everyone's whispering about something."
Elara listened.
"…not the Raven," a merchant was saying, his voice low. "A new group. Call themselves the Black Knights."
"Black Knights?" another traveler replied. "Never heard of 'em."
"Hit a drug lord's compound outside Velathri. Blew the gates off with thunder. One shot – tore through iron and stone like it was paper. Left the merchant for the guard with a stack of ledgers."
"Thunder? Like the Raven's rifle?"
"Louder. Much louder. They say the leader has a weapon that can punch through castle walls."
A third traveler leaned in. "They freed a slaver camp in the eastern marshes, too. Left the slavers in a pile."
"And a tax collector in Velathri confessed after someone in a mask paid him a visit. No one saw them come or go."
The class exchanged glances.
"Another reincarnator?" Rosalind whispered.
"Or the same one with friends," Reinhard said.
Elara signaled the merchant over. He was a fat man with a red beard, wearing a stained leather coat. He sat down, eyeing them.
"You heard about the Black Knights?" Elara asked.
"Half the Free Cities has." He shrugged. "They wear masks – different from the Raven's bird. One's a giant with a hammer. Another's a ghost. No one knows who leads 'em. They just appear, do their work, and vanish."
"The weapon – the one that destroyed the gates. What did it look like?"
"No one knows. They just heard the thunder and saw the damage." He finished his ale and went back to his table.
The class sat in silence for a moment.
"A weapon that can punch through stone," Kaito said slowly. "That's not a normal rifle. That's a cannon. Or something close to it."
"The Raven had a rifle that could kill from miles away," Roderick said. "This sounds like the same person. Just… bigger."
Gregor shook his head. "Or someone who learned from him."
"Black Knights," Daiki said. "Huh. Isn't that from Code Geass?"
Kaito looked up. "What?"
"An anime. Old one. A masked guy named Zero leads a resistance group called the Black Knights." Daiki frowned. "It's too specific to be a coincidence."
Reinhard leaned back. "So the leader is a reincarnator. Or someone who heard the stories."
"Does it matter?" Elara asked. "We have a dragon to deal with. A lesser earth dragon. We can handle it."
Rin snorted. "We barely survived a mine with a few guards. A dragon – even a lesser one – will kill half of us."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Rin looked at the table. "The Black Knights. Their leader has a weapon that can destroy gates. If anyone can kill a dragon, it's someone with that kind of firepower."
The table went quiet.
"We don't even know who they are," Rosalind said.
"We know they exist," Roderick said. "And we know they hunt monsters. That drug lord was a monster. The slavers were monsters. A dragon is a monster."
"So we just walk up to them and ask for help?" Miku asked. "They might kill us on sight."
"They freed slaves," Grom said. His voice was rough. "They wouldn't kill us."
Elara rubbed her temples. "We don't even know where to find them."
"They're in the Free Cities," Kaito said. "Velathri. That's where they hit the drug lord. If we go there, ask around, maybe we can get a message to them."
"And if they say no?"
"Then we're back where we started." Reinhard looked at Elara. "But at least we tried."
Elara stared at the fire. She didn't like it. Asking strangers for help – masked strangers with thunder weapons – felt like begging. But Rin was right. A dragon, even a lesser one, was beyond them.
"Fine," she said. "We go to Velathri. We try to find the Black Knights. We ask for help."
"And if they want something in return?" Rosalind asked.
"Then we negotiate."
Dromos 18, Imperial Year 1644
The Road – Morning
They changed course toward Velathri. The rumors followed them – more tales of the Black Knights, more feats of impossible violence. A corrupt baron found tied up on his own doorstep. A shipment of weapons intercepted. A brothel owner hanging from a bridge with a note: "Justice is not blind. It watches."
"They're not subtle," Rosalind said.
"That's the point," Roderick said. "They want people to know."
Grom walked in silence, his hand on his sword. "They freed slaves. That's good."
"It is," Elara said. "But we don't know if they'll help us."
"We won't know until we ask."
Dromos 20, Imperial Year 1644
The Forest – Evening
They camped in a grove of oak trees, the fire small. Elara sat apart, staring at the map. Velathri was two days away.
Kaito poked the fire with a stick. "If their leader really is Zero… he's sending a message. To us."
"Or to no one in particular," Roderick said.
"The name, the group, the theatrics – it's all from our world. He wants someone to recognize it."
Elara rolled up the map. "Then let him recognize us. We're not hiding."
She lay down, but sleep didn't come easily.
Zero, she thought. Black Knights. We need you.
The fire crackled. No answer.
End of Chapter Thirty‑Five