I Will Eventually Embark On The Path Of No Return Called A Hero

[Arc5] - 53. A Knight Can Bend and Stand Firm

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"The situation with Bartra is probably quite serious if he let Elizabeth come looking for us without notifying us."

Given Bartra's overprotective nature toward his daughter, he would have sent Elizabeth out right away rather than have her trekking around in ill-fitting armor. Bartra has a personal knight order, yet it hasn't been deployed, meaning Bartra is likely cut off from the outside world.

"Instead of worrying about the king, you should worry about yourself, Vice-Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, Cyd."

"Worry? What's there to worry about?" Cyd snapped back, seeing a girl wearing armor with a floral pattern pointing a thin sword at him.

"Is it because you look down on women?"

"No, I'm on the side of gender equality," Cyd replied, exhaling over his fist. "Unless it's a child, I'll punch anyone square in the face regardless of their gender."

"Hmph, you have quite a mouth. Let me put that to the test." The female knight struck a fencing pose, her body, agile and coiled like a serpent, exuding a palpable menace. "I am Holy Knight Guila, here to eliminate the Seven Deadly Sins."

Cyd sighed, hands on his hips.

"Kids these days…"

He dodged, and Guila's thin sword grazed his cheek.

"So reckless." Just as he finished speaking, a blast of heat struck his upper body.

"Maybe worry about saving yourself first, former hero."

Guila's magic was [Explosion], a powerful blast capable of igniting almost instantly and carbonizing flesh with ease. Although a fledgling knight, Guila was skilled, but she had chosen the wrong opponent for her debut.

The outward explosion was suddenly drawn in, as though swallowed into Cyd's scarf, which was made of tiny scales. The flames vanished between the scales.

"Honestly, going all out against a kid feels beneath me," Cyd said, keeping one hand in his pocket and holding his weapon, the [Reforged Pandora], with the other. The scarf around his neck extended like a dragon, unfurling two claws.

"This should do."

"I'm not…"

Boom!

A dark claw brushed past Guila's cheek and embedded itself in a large tree behind her. She felt its scales expanding and contracting like breaths, each opening revealing a fierce heat.

"What?" Guila stumbled back, unwilling to believe Cyd had missed on purpose.

"You have a strong physique but immature magic, with a hint of impurity in it." Cyd controlled the twin dragon claws with ease, as though playing with a cat toy, though to Guila they were deadly weapons.

"Damn it! Are you two just going to stand there watching?" Guila yelled toward the forest, barely holding back her frustration.

"You told us to stay back and let you claim the sinner's head," said two men emerging from the woods. Unlike Guila's unsteady magic, their auras were deep and powerful, the mark of well-trained knights.

"Ten years, Gilthunder," Cyd said to one of them, a young man with pink hair inherited from his mother's red and his father's white. Time hadn't meant much to Cyd, whose companions showed little sign of aging. Yet a decade had indeed passed, turning Arthur into a youth, and even the once-teary-eyed child had become mature.

"Zaratras would probably be deeply moved seeing you like this. And this other one… seems to be the blacksmith's son."

"Ah, I'm surprised you remember me, Lord Cyd! I was just a kid with a dream of becoming a knight back then." Hauser, wearing heavy armor with his hair tied up, grinned sheepishly, unlike Gilthunder's severity or Guila's battered state.

"You're still a kid in my eyes." That pure, admiring gaze had long been absent, and perhaps some people became "heroes" just to see such admiration.

"True enough, but I'd still like to challenge you." Hauser's smile grew intense, with a slight breeze swirling around him.

"I want to know how far I am from you Seven Deadly Sins. Right, Gilthunder?"

"Don't misunderstand. I'm here to hunt sinners," Gilthunder replied coldly, addressing Cyd with solemnity. "I'm already stronger than any member of the Seven Deadly Sins."

Not an opinion or a boast—this was a signal.

"I see, the kingdom's situation must be tense," Cyd nodded, retracting the dragon claw back into his scarf.

"Use whatever moves you have; I'm in a hurry."

"I thought Escanor represented [Pride]. Or does the Vice-Captain carry all the sins?" Guila, her eyes half-closed, began to gather magic as a faint crackling sound accompanied her breath.

While Guila was furious, Hauser was all excitement, and even the stoic Gilthunder couldn't help but smirk.

They were up against a knight famed ten years ago, while they had only just earned their titles. What gave them the confidence to challenge the Seven Deadly Sins?

"It's not so much carrying as bearing witness. I merely know the reasons behind their sins. I…"

Boom! A bolt of lightning struck Cyd from above, and a raging wind followed, encircling him.

Gilthunder and Hauser maintained their attack stance. Though it was more akin to an ambush, this tactic slightly raised their zero chance of winning.

"As expected from the Vice-Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins," Hauser's face strained with tension, as the whirlwind with lightning should have torn the figure inside to shreds. But at the storm's center was a figure undeterred.

"Hey, flame girl, just going to stand there?"

"Don't call me that! I know what to do!" Guila, furious at Hauser's crude nickname, channeled her magic into the storm, turning it into a firestorm where tiny lightning bolts darted like needles through the flames.

Fire, lightning, and wind—the most destructive elements combined in a storm powerful enough to destroy a city. Yet…

"Not bad," Cyd remarked, dusting himself off as he emerged from the storm unscathed.

"No way… Are all of the Seven Deadly Sins this strong?" Hauser's face was frozen in disbelief as Cyd casually adjusted his fist.

"Most are around this level, but I'm not the strongest," Cyd said with a faint smile. "Alright, I've adjusted; this punch should be just right."

"W-Wait… I'm still—"

Boom!

Before he could finish, Guila was slammed into the ground with no resistance.

"The Hammer…"

"of Thunder Emperor!" Gilthunder swung his twisted sword at Cyd, imitating his father's technique, only to meet the same fate as his father.

With his sword seized, Cyd hurled Gilthunder to the ground, creating a crater that left the Holy Knights defenseless. For Cyd, who had honed this move on Ban for ten years, it was a high-precision skill.

"Holy Knights…" Hauser managed, watching as Cyd effortlessly floored Gilthunder and Guila, leaving him as the only one standing.

"You're good, but to us, it's just child's play," Cyd said, dusting off his hands. "You stay put; I need someone to carry these two out."

"Or you could endure the punishment of being left in the wilds."

Without hesitation…

"I surrender."

For the sake of his comrades, a knight could bend and stand firm.