Chapter 78: The Guardian of the Altar
Arthur’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade, his knuckles white with tension.
He had only an instant to register the gleam of the knight’s helm—a flash—before the armored figure moved.
The knight’s speed defied comprehension. One moment it stood motionless, the next its right hand abandoned the hilt of the blade where it rested, balling into a steel-clad fist that blurred through the space between them. Arthur’s muscles tensed to dodge, but his body couldn’t match his mind’s commands.
The knight’s gauntlet drove into Arthur’s torso with devastating force, the impact reverberating through his entire being. Air evacuated his lungs in a violent rush as his body folded around the armored fist like paper. For a suspended moment, Arthur hung there, impaled on pain, before the knight’s arm extended fully and sent him hurtling across the chamber.
Arthur’s back collided with the ancient stone wall with such catastrophic force that the weathered masonry cracked and crumbled beneath the impact, dust and fragments showering down as he slid to the floor. He landed on hands and knees, body trembling with shock, vision swimming with dark spots. Warm saliva dripped from his gaping mouth as his diaphragm spasmed desperately, lungs burning in a frantic attempt to reclaim the breath that had been so violently stolen from him.
"ARTHUR!"
Aziel’s panicked cry echoed through the chamber, laced with horror and disbelief. His eyes widened as he tore his gaze from his fallen comrade, his attention snapping back to their armored adversary—but it was already too late.
The knight had closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, its blade cutting through the air with lethal precision. light from the dim torches reflected off the polished steel as it arced toward Aziel’s exposed flank.
Aziel reacted fast, bringing his spear up to intercept the blow. Steel met steel with a sound like thunder, sparks flying from the point of impact. But with his injured leg robbing him of proper footing, Aziel couldn’t withstand the sheer power behind the knight’s attack. The force of the blow lifted him from his one good foot and sent him flying across the chamber.