She flawlessly ducks down, dodging the sword from cutting her. She swipes the offender's legs from beneath him before she flips back to dodge the flail. She quickly rises to her feet, already prepared to handle two opponents that are heading straight to her. She avoids one fist and blocks the other. She grabs one by the neck and throws him to the other.

She quickly turns to the first two attackers. They're coming back to her, rewind their attacks. She doesn't move back this time. She strategically places herself between them and ducks just in time to avoid the weapons, letting them swing into each other and the flail wrapped around the sword. Now bound to each other and distracted to get free. She easily takes them both out with just a swift kick.

A new asshole tries to kick her, which is a big mistake on his part. Being the Knight known for her extreme kicks, she swings her leg around much faster and much harder, connecting with his leg before he could fully swing his leg around. She hears a crack coming from his leg but she doesn't know if it affects him because another swing of her legs to his head quickly knocks him out.

Her sensitive ears pick up the sound of wind slicing. She quickly tilts her head to the side just enough to see a knife fly past that would've put a slit at the back of her head. She turns around quickly, dodging a few more knives coming her way before she leaps towards the offender. The offender manages to take out two more knives in his hands and uses them as melee weapons. He swings down, but she manages to block them with her armored forearm.

"For a Knight using muscle power and hand-to-hand combat, you carry a long knife with you," the fucker says to her face. She knees him in the stomach, catching him by surprise and knocking his breath out from his lungs. She quickly grabs his wrist to prevent him from slashing her if he recovers.

"To take down someone like you, I don't even need the knife," she says to the fucker before she kicks his feet from under him. As soon as his body falls onto the floor, she immediately puts her weight on his back, completely immobilizing him. Then, she quickly scans the surrounding.

The four opponents she had fought against earlier are sprawling on the floor, either passed out or groaning in pain. The rest of the riots are being taken care of by the local Knights. She quickly turns her attention to the Prince and finds him a little away from the chaos that had erupted in the dining hall in another kingdom.

Besides the unconscious thugs at his feet, he looks relatively unscathed.

She can finally release a breath of relief.

"Tie him up," she orders an approaching junior Knight. She releases the fucker to let the junior takes over.

"Why carry the knife when you're not going to use it?" the junior Knight asks. She must've heard the fucker earlier for her to ask.

She stares down at the sheathed long knife hanging by the belt on her side. The square and very boxy sheath stands out due to its unique shape and its lack of usage.

She still remembers the time she first received it.

She still remembers why it is in her hand

She gives the junior a toothy grin.

"The knife will leave my hand only when the owner is no more."

.

She glares at the beaked mask fucker, teeth grinding against each other so hard she could hear it in her ears.

She tries not to pay attention to the burning houses surrounding them.

She tries not to pay attention to the screaming civilians running away from them.

She tries not to pay attention to the bodies lying around by their feet.

It is all thanks to this motherfucker and his so-called "Invaders of Hissaikai". It was out of nowhere, with zero warning or any prior Intel of their invasion. This son of a bitch had been scheming to invade the Kingdom of Yuuei for a long time, gathering troops and making alliance with the enemies of Kingdom of Yuuei. He had been prepared.

The Kingdom of Yuuei has not.

Right now, the remaining citizens are evacuating as fast as they can, led by the King and his Knights. The only thing currently standing between the evacuation and the invasion is her.

She wasn't fighting alone (for once, she can't let her ego get over her; this is no time to be all solo) but the rest of the Knights with her went down. She is the only one left standing.

She will fight until the end of her life for her people and nothing can stop her.

"You've done well, Miruko."

Her blood freezes over but she can't risk turning around. She needs to keep her eyes on the fucker.

"The Prince has decided to show his face," the fucker before her says, probably seeing the Prince coming from behind. "Your pretty little Knight has done quite a good job."

"Your Highness, what the fuck are you doing here?" she demands as she hears him approaching her.

"I can't leave my Knight defending alone," he answers, stopping right by her side. For the first time, she tears her eyes away from the fucker and gives the Prince a wide disbelief look.

"You are the Prince of the Kingdom of Yuuei, the next heir in line for the throne," she says with a hard voice. He has his eyes, sharp, alert with muted anger, locked on the fucker, so she is a little safe. "As the Prince, you have your duty to lead your people."

"As the Prince, I have the duty to protect my people as well," he quickly retorts, voice very unlike what is seen in his eyes. "This is no different. And you are my people as well."

"I am just a Knight-"

"You are more than just a Knight to me," he cuts her off with a hard, almost commanding tone that straightens her spine out of instinct. "You are one of the few that I will protect the most among others."

"But-"

"Do not forget your order, Miruko."

That instantly zips her mouth shut.

Of fucking course he would use that.

"You are not capable of taking that many opponents alone," she tries to reason, even though she knows she is already lost. "At least let me fight along your side."

"Have you two done talking?" the beaked mask motherfucker cuts in. She's instantly on high alert, returning her glare back on him and her hackles rise. "The little Knight has done a splendid job that I am impressed with. She had not once ever drawn out her knife. So I've decided to show a little bit of kindness."

The beaked mask fucker then raises a hand and points a finger directly at them.

"I usher a challenge to the wielder of the blade," he proclaims.

Instantly, her body goes cold.

The Prince beside her doesn't show any reaction, like the true stoic man that he is.

'No…'

"If you win the duel between me and you, I shall give you a ten minute head start in your little escape. But if I win, you have to surrender your kingdom and your people to me," he adds, and she could hear the glee in his voice.

An honorary duel is something that is almost impossible to decline, as the one who ushered it must follow their words without questions asked. There is no reason to decline it, but…

She lowers her head. She grits her teeth. She squeezes her eyes shut.

She could see his tactic, ushering an honorary duel to her. He is fully aware that she is weakened from her fight earlier, while he barely pulled a muscle. With this, it is as good as defeat. She won't even last a minute.

"If you want your people to live then draw your knife," the fucker mocks. She clenches her fists tightly. It's hard to do it, hard to accept it.

But he doesn't see one thing coming.

The Prince still doesn't give any reaction to the honorary duel.

'It can't be helped.'

It all came to this.

When she grabs onto the hilt, it feels like it burns in her hand. When she tries to pull it out from the sheath, it feels like it weighs a thousand tones.

When she throws it into the air, she feels her entire spirit goes along with it.

When it falls back down, it is not her who catches it.

"The time has come," the Prince says calmly, way too calmly, with one hand wrapping around the gray hilt of the long knife, still sharp as ever.

She could hear the sad smile on his lips. She doesn't need to look up to confirm it.

"What is this?" the fucker demands, practically venomous anger dripping out from his tongue. "I ushered a challenge to the Knight. This duel is invalid."

"You challenged the wielder of the blade," the Prince tells the fucker as he steps forward and away from her, now stopping her from seeing his face anymore. "I am the wielder." The Prince points the knife at the fucker.

She can't help but feel grim satisfaction seeing the asshole's face morphed into a deep scowl despite that disgustingly horrible mask.

But can only stare helplessly at the Prince's back with her heart grown cold.

"Rumi," she hears him, not turning around to face her, keeping his eyes on the fucker before him. "Don't forget your order."

She flinches.

With great reluctance, desperately trying to keep her emotions in check, she turns around and sprints to where the civilians are escaping.

Along the way, her tears start flowing. There is no way she could stop it now. This is his order to her, for her to follow.

"When the time comes if she were ever to choose between the Prince and Eri, take Eri and never turn back."

'How am I going to tell this to Eri?'

.

She watches with wide astound eyes as the Prince slices and slashes the air with the long knife that he is wielding. The blade itself is not unique; the thing that is standing out is the gray rectangular hilt, completely matching with the sheath. She thinks he just got it after being commissioned from Blacksmith Powerloader under an anonymous name.

"You're… incredibly good with the knife, Shou," she can't help but compliments as the Prince straightens up, seemingly finished in his training. "If you pair it with that cape of yours then you're a monster to take down."

And if he were to include his nullifying power then he's pretty much unstoppable.

Of course, practically no one knows about his power. Only she, King Nedzu and granny RG know about it. Everyone else assumes that he is powerless. He decides to keep it as a secret weapon, to surprise any unexpected opponents. It's so powerful that Knight All Might and Knight Endeavor became weaker than him.

The two Knights didn't know what was going on, so seeing their baffled face was quite the treat.

"I am too good with it," the Prince admits, looking down at the blade. Then, he slides it in the sheath hanging from his hip. "I am unnecessarily good with it," he adds as he takes the sheathed knife from his hip and holds it out towards her. "Hold on to from now on."

She gives him a confused look. She hesitantly takes the knife from him, looking down with a confused frown.

"Why am I holding on to it?" she asks, not quite understanding his decision.

"There is no need for me to use it when I have you around," he answers. "It is a last resort, in a sense, when you are unable to do your duty or facing a hindrance."

Well, she guesses she could see the reason. She might need to get a belt to hang the knife on to. The look of the sheath does not suit her style, making it stand out a lot.

"When the time comes, I will need it to protect."

:^)