The Prince Of Magic

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In the east of the island, a furious battle had taken place in a small clearing of crystallized trees.

Yan Qing, Astolfo and Medusa fought against an enemy Servant that they had recently uncovered.

The clashing sounds of metal upon metal and the noises of punches and kicks making contact against one's skin disturbed the tranquil silence of the area. The three retainers glared at their mutual enemy, determined to not give their foe any breathing room.

After a few clashes that led to an eventual draw, the three retainers retreated to a safe distance, disengaging from the enemy to gather their bearings and reassess the situation.

The trio had been fighting the intruder for quite a while, and they have yet to make actual progress in capturing the damn interloper.

Recently, they had a bit of success in uncovering their foe's cloak off (courtesy of a certain pink haired paladin), but trying to knock them out unconscious was much easier said than done.

The source for their failure and difficulty was due to the intruder himself, and they also can't help but tense in his presence.

Standing eleven meters away from them was a tall man in his late 40's, who still has a hale physique and broad shoulders despite his age.

Said man has a long light gray hair, coupled with a pair of blood red eyes and a beard.

He was attired in a complete set of black plated armor, the left side of which was almost completely stained with blood, and a crimson red, tattered cape that attached around his shoulders and neck. The cape was pinned together by two fang-like ornaments to keep it from falling off.

In his hands were two different polearms, one was made out of dark gray metal and the other was a dark bronze. Both have different structures, but has the same needle-like point.

Although, they look simple and almost regal in style, the polearms gave out a dreadful aura that reminded them of a certain crimson spear that was favored by one of their allies.

The polearms does not emit an awful bloodthirsty aura like Gae Bolg does.

Rather than an aura, they felt as if the polearms in the enemy's hands has a history that was as dark as the (in)famous spear of Scandinavian legend, as if they too had been used to kill many people, regardless of whether the victims were innocent or not in the eyes of its wielder.

What was more disturbing about him was the crazed look in his crimson eyes.

They held the glint of someone determined yet deranged. The combination of his blood stained figure, the zealous light in his red bloodshot eyes, and the manic grin on his bearded countenance left a very intimidating impression upon those who looked at him.

Medusa might be unperturbed by him due to her having seen something worse before, but Astolfo and Yan Qing were not. Therefore, their tense expressions were understandable in this case.

The two had fought against monsters before in the past, especially after they have been summoned by their liege, but never have they seen someone like him before.

Unbeknownst to the two, Medusa stared at the intruder with her usual placid expression. Yet, her light lavender eyes held a hint of familiarity in them, as if she recognized the enemy's identity.

Medusa has her suspicions as to who the black knight was, recalling that she had seen him somewhere before, but she was not sure where and when.

It was somewhere in the back of her mind, but she could never remember it for the life of her.

Nevertheless, the white-haired knight's presence does make her wary of him. She simply had more experienced in hiding her emotions than her allies.

As if to prove their thoughts, the blood-stained knight let out a bellowing eerie laugh.

Unlike how most B-rate villains in movies would do it, the one that the bloody knight made was unsettling enough it caused the smalls hairs on both Yan and Astolfo's skin to rise as they watched their mutual foe with cautious eyes, inwardly resisting the urge to take a step back.

"Mon dieu, this guy's not quite right in the head, isn't he?" Astolfo chuckled nervously, perturbed by the intruder's sudden laughter.

"Ya sure have a knack for understating things, pinky." Yan muttered with a sigh of exasperation.

"Well, they do say that it's one of my charming points." Astolfo grinned, almost forgetting about the enemy.

"Says who?" Yan retorted, looking annoyed and skeptical.

"Why, the beautiful ladies I encounter in my journey, of course." Astolfo answered right back, amused by the glare he was given.

"Here he comes, brace yourselves." Medusa warned, interrupting their bickering.

"Oh f.u.c.k…!" Yan cursed under his breath.

"Merde!" Astolfo grimaced.

"Huhuhuhahahaha! More! More! MORE!" The bloodstained Servant raved out loud, a maniacal grin on his face. "Show me your struggles! Show me your love!" Here, his red bloodshot eyes grew even wider, if that was even possible. "And let me paint! The ground! With your BLOOOOOOOOD!"

Right after he shouted, the blood-stained knight ran towards them and vanished in a sudden burst of speed after a few steps, almost leaving an afterimage behind his wake.

He reappeared in front of Astolfo, who nearly flinched at the quick appearance of the mad black knight a few feet in the air above him.

"Where the hell did he come from?!" Yan complained from nearby.

The pink haired retainer was quick on his toes, materializing a white and gold paladin lance in his hands a split second later before he used it to guard the intruder's overhead attack.

*BANG*

*CRACK*

Astolfo managed to block the attack in time, but he didn't expect the force behind it to nearly overwhelm him.

Violet eyes widened in shock when he felt his feet sunk slightly into the ground, nearly causing his knees to buckle and the earth under him to fissure once the intruder's weapon came into contact with the shaft of his lance.

The idea of the interloper being strong enough to make him almost kneel down through strength alone was as startling as it was vexing for him to accept.

"Damn…" Astolfo grunted through gritted teeth.

He held the lance above his head, trying to push back using the strength in his upper body.

The pink haired servant might have the most delicate appearance in their group (with his Master following as the second to this claim) and an unreliable servant for most of the time, but he was confident in his strength.

And yet, the more Astolfo tried to push him off, the more he slowly felt the shift in balance as the intruder continued to lock weapons with him.

Astolfo nearly flinched when he saw the crazy bearded servant leaned in close, crimson eyes flashed as the manic grin turned almost unhinged and bloodthirsty.

A pair of fangs made their appearance as he opened his mouth and let out another roar of laughter, glinting ominously despite of the lack of sunlight.

"Kuahahaha! Yes! YES! Struggle! Show me your mettle! Show me the will for your love!" He bellowed passionately and zealously.

'Ugh! What are those two doing?!' He shouted in his mind, feeling uncomfortable.

As if sensing to his thoughts, he heard footsteps nearby and a quick charge of magical energy nearing close in his direction before he heard the familiar voice of an ally.

"F.U.C.K.I.N.G BASTAAAAAAAAAARD!" Yan roared.

"… Eh?"

Astolfo blinked in shock, feeling surprised when the bloodstained knight disappeared from his peripheral vision, as if blinking out of existence.

Instead, what greeted him was Yan, who looked at him with a dubious expression of his own. His fellow retainer and friend, Yan Qing.

The Yan Qing, who was currently in mid-air with his body positioned in a flying kick, and whose foot was charged with his distinctive bright yellow magical energy.

Knowing of what was about to happen, Astolfo just felt like crying at that moment.

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