Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 21

Despite not having a weapon, Caspian didn't back down. As the magically mechanized creations charged him and Elincia, he moved to intercept.

"Ele! Duck!"

A lance was thrust at him. Caspian sidestepped, grabbed the lance, and spun on the balls of his feet. Elincia had done as he'd asked and was crouched down. The lance passed over her head.

Using the machine's forward momentum against it, Caspian jabbed the spear into the cobblestone street. As rock shards exploded from the ground and Elincia screamed, metal squealed as the automaton crashed into its own naginata.

Gritting his teeth, Caspian ignored the way his kneecap jolted with pain as he kicked the machine in the shoulder, sending it spinning into one of its counterparts. A domino effect took place as one machine crashed into another, and then another, sending four other automatons to the ground.

Caspian picked up the nearest weapon—a sword that had come from one of the machines. It felt unfamiliar in his hands, awkward, but he didn't have any choice other than to use it. Spreading his feet until they were shoulder length apart, he gripped the weapon in both hands until his knuckles turned white.

"Ele! Can you summon some help?"

"W-what?" Elincia looked startled. One of the machines lunged at her. She shrieked in surprise and stumbled backwards.

Caspian sprint in front of Elincia, swinging the sword diagonally from his left hip. His arms were nearly ripped from their sockets when he knocked his sword against the naginata. How much power did these things have?

He bit back a yelp and redirected the spear over his head, away from Elincia. Then he slammed his sword on top of the spear, forcing it into the ground before following through with a powerful slash at Elincia's attacker.

Metal squealed and sparks flew. His weapon glanced off of the metal chestplate, and Caspian jumped back. The machine slashed at him with its naginata. He could feel it tearing into his clothing, feel the wind being push against him.

If that had hit me, I'd have been done for!

"Ele! You need to summon help!"

Another figure stalked up behind Elincia. Caspian snarled and threw his sword at the automaton. It glanced off the machine's metal, but the action distracted it long enough for him to snatch his weapon out of the air and land a flying kick to its head. His foot felt like it broke against the metal helm, but at least it sent the metallic monstrosity stumbling back.

"Baldur! Please help us!"

Light appeared around Elincia, protecting her from harm. A sword glanced off of the light, which seemed to have the sturdiness of a shield. From within the light, a hand emerged, wreathed in a gauntlet made of iron. An arm, muscular and strong, followed the hand, and then a second arm emerged. Inch by inch, a figure appeared from within the light. Wreathed in steel, he emerged. Baldur. The spirit of bravery. Lord of Warriors.

Light coalesced around his hands, transforming into two weapons—swords, one of which he tossed to Caspian. While Caspian was surprised, he quickly dismissed his shock, catching the blade and standing beside the spirit that Elincia had summoned.

This weapon...

Caspian swung his new sword around, creating blurred lines of light. His enemy, an automaton wielding a poleaxe, fell apart as he cleaved through it like a blade slicing through water.

His ears twitched as he sensed movement to his left. He spun around, bringing up his sword and slicing off a mechanical hand, along with the cutting the spear that it was gripping in half. As the hand clattered uselessly to the ground, Caspian prepared to finish it off—when a scream pierced the air.