[Completed] Legend of the Five Knights I: Rise of a Guardian Angel

Episode 63: Serpent Pillar

[Meanwhile- Abyss]

Serrano panted as he spun around, slicing through beings of darkness. He ran toward Setsuko, but the dark beings returned to haunt him once again. It was like being within a nightmare. No matter how often he destroyed them, they kept coming back for more and each time stronger than the last time.

He sliced another one, splattering black ink everywhere, and ran to the princess' side. She had cleared her area, which was littered with orange shards. He caught her staring at the silver-haired man dressed in a black suit battling with Eiji and his oldest son.

Something about the man felt strangely familiar to him. Had they met before?

The abysmal had injured many of their fellow soldiers. As soon as he and the others had stepped into the abyss, the man was there to greet them. He even managed to somehow drag the older Seven Hills and the king though the portal they had used to get there.

"He's too strong," Eiichi said, panting as he fell to one knee. None of his attacks had done any damage to this opponent.

King Osamu nodded. "He sure is, but we mustn't waiver here. Retreat if you must."

Setsuko shook her head. "Father, it'll be best for you to retreat as well." She glanced at the rest of the battlefield. Blood and crystal littered the ground. "I fear that we've been set up."

The king clenched the red spear-like sword in his hands as he impaled one of the creatures with it. "I know. Someone ratted us out. Likely those two friends of your sister's!" He pulled the spear out, revealing a red core stuck to the tip of the spear. "Serrano, take Setsuko and the others away from here. The other Seven Hills and I will hold back this guy."

"Hey, about that, a little help," Eiji said as he blocked a chop from the silver-haired man by using his staff. Shadowy snakes sprung out of the man's cloak and coiled around the Seven-Hill's arm.

Eiji reached for the serpent, but it dissolved into a tar-like substance only thicker than the dark waters around them.

"Say, who are you?" Eiji asked as he unleashed a fury of light from his hand, vaporizing the goo.

The silver-haired man grinned. "You've all done a pretty good job at holding up against me, so I'll tell you. I'm Collin, The Serpent Pillar. Honestly, I rather not fight you. If you folks would simply surrender peacefully, we can let you live."

"So you're part of that council of thirteen Kuroshi mentioned. Ha, like we would surrender without a fight!" Osamu yelled as he swung his spear-sword at the man.

Collin sighed as snakes flung out from beneath his cloak and grabbed hold of the weapon's long hilt. "I have lived longer than you have and met my handful of foolish people, such as yourself. If you wish to forsake your lives for the sake of your crown, then so be it."

"Guys, we need to stop fighting him one on one," Miyuki shouted. She coiled red string around a twenty-foot serpent, halting its movements completely. She snapped her fingers, causing cold air to radiate from the string. The serpent's body froze as if dipped into liquid nitrogen. The seven hill knight yanked on her red string, slicing the creature's body into large chunks. She raised a cube with an orange crystal embedded within it over to herself and placed it into a bluish hypercube for future study.

"Lady Miyuki is right, we won't win like this," Serrano said as he slashed a dark serpent with his sword only for its head to split into two.

"These are like hydras," Setsuko said as she slammed Alma against the serpent her fiancé was fighting. "Hyosetsu, do as your mother did and freeze them!"