Kyle gritted his teeth, widening his stance as he braced himself for the battle.
He was here to single-handedly take on the most powerful Tainted he had ever encountered before.
The Decayed Knight let out what sounded like a low chuckle.
Then it stretched out a hand.
Sparks of ethereal light suddenly formed within its palm, flickering like dying stars before weaving themselves together into the shape of a long, shadowy sword.
The blade was grotesque, Dark and almost seemed, alive.
It seemed to drink in the dim light of the crevice as it formed, its surface constantly shifting like smoke trapped inside solid steel.
The Knight chuckled once again.
Then it began to close the distance between itself and Kyle with a slow, deliberate walk.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Its obsidian armor scraped softly against itself with every movement.
"Let’s get this over with."
Kyle sprang forward.
The speed at which he moved was unbelievably fast, his figure becoming nothing more than a blur as he crossed the distance between himself and the shadowy Knight in only a few seconds.
His sword cleaved toward the throat of the hideous Knight.
The attack was fast, Precise and most certainly deadly.
Yet the monster effortlessly parried the strike, its shadowy sword rising at the perfect moment to intercept Kyle’s blade.
Clang!
The sound of metal colliding echoed throughout the crevice.
The Grim Knight’s purple eyes flashed brightly.
Its free hand suddenly moved.
A fist was thrown directly at Kyle’s face.
Kyle ducked underneath the attack, feeling the pressure of the punch pass dangerously close above his head.
He immediately jumped backward, creating distance between himself and the monster.
And thankfully, just in time.
The sword of the Grim Knight flashed through the air a mere few feet from his chest.
Had he been even slightly slower...
The blade would have sliced deeply into him and injuries were something he could not take at the start of sure a battle.
Another attack came almost immediately.
The Grim Knight thrust its gruesome blade directly toward Kyle’s heart.
"Shit..."
Kyle sidestepped.
His sword moved instinctively, deflecting the blow as best as he could.
The shadowy blade grazed his shoulder armor, scraping across the metal with a shriek of friction before narrowly missing his flesh.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
The Grim Knight was fast.
Too fast.
And strong.
Each one of its attacks carried enough force to knock Kyle’s sword from his grasp if he wasn’t careful when blocking.
So Kyle was careful.
Very careful.
His feet moved almost as quickly as his sword.
He shifted his stance constantly, repositioning himself after every block and redirecting his body away from the Knight’s attacks.
He wasn’t merely fighting, this was utterly surviving every passing second for him.
Though, this entire battle...
Kyle had already played it out inside his head.
He had imagined how it would turn out.
He had imagined the Knight’s speed.
Its strength.
Its strange fighting style.
And with the amount of experience he had gained during his time in this cursed realm, he was not going to lose this battle.
Not now.
Not ever.
"I see, you have learned the art of swordplay."
The Grim Knight’s voice carried a hint of amusement.
Its sword suddenly swept toward Kyle.
Kyle twisted his body, allowing the blade to pass beside him.
But the Knight was already moving again.
It shoved its foot directly into Kyle’s chest.
"Urgh!"
Kyle staggered backward with a grunt.
His boots scraped violently against the ground as he struggled to regain his balance.
Yet his eyes never left the horrid Knight.
The moment he stabilized himself, the monster was already upon him.
It moved with terrifying speed, slashing directly toward his throat.
One fatal blow.
"Bastard!"
Kyle raised his arm.
Instead of blocking with his sword...
He blocked with his shattered gauntlet.
CLANG!
The shadowy blade struck his arm.
The force of the attack drove the sword deeply through the damaged gauntlet and into his flesh, cutting into his arm with terrifying force.
Blood splattered.
The blade threatened to sever the limb completely.
But Kyle’s bones were strong enough.
Much stronger than they had been before.
They withstood the attack.
Kyle gritted his teeth against the pain.
Now!
His sword moved.
He swung with everything he had, cleaving through the air toward the Grim Knight’s neck.
For the first time since the battle had started...
The Knight’s face contorted.
The purple lights within its eyes flashed.
Shock.
Then fear.
It hadn’t expected Kyle to block with his arm.
It had expected him to use his sword.
That brief moment of surprise was all Kyle needed.
Sploosh!
Kyle’s sword tore deeply into the gauntlet of the Grim Knight.
Blood suddenly spewed from the arm of the monstrosity.
The Knight had copied his block pattern.
Kyle’s eyes widened slightly.
’This bastard...’
"You fucking bastard..."
The Grim Knight laughed.
Then it suddenly released its sword.
The shadowy blade disappeared from its grasp as though it had never existed.
Kyle’s eyes widened.
Before he could react, the Knight’s free hand seized his armor.
The monster twisted its body.
And with frightening ease...
It maneuvered Kyle over its shoulder.
"Shit—!"
Kyle was thrown.
His body flew across the cave before crashing heavily against the ground.
BOOM!
Pain erupted throughout his body.
Kyle rolled several feet across the rocky ground before forcing himself back onto his feet.
He immediately pushed himself upward.
But—
Wham!
The knee of the Grim Knight rammed directly into his face.
Kyle’s head snapped backward.
The force of the blow nearly knocked him unconscious.
His legs gave way, and he staggered backward, his hands flying toward his face.
"Ahhhh!"
Before Kyle could recover—
A fist tore into his gut.
BOOM!
Pain exploded through his entire being.
His organs seemed to shudder from the sheer force of the attack.
Kyle grunted.
The color drained from his face.
His body froze for a brief moment as his mind struggled to process the pain.
The Grim Knight chuckled once again.
Kyle’s vision blurred.
The monster raised both hands.
Kyle hunched over, one hand grasping his stomach as he desperately tried to breathe.
The Grim Knight’s fists were positioned above him.
Ready, with intention so obvious.
It was going to plunge both fists downward with devastating force and shatter Kyle’s skull.
If that attack landed...
Kyle was as good as dead.
There were a number of attacks his affinity as a Roach could endure.
His body could survive wounds that would have killed an ordinary human.
He could withstand unimaginable pain.
But a direct attack on his skull?
Definitely not.
The Grim Knight chuckled once again.
Then it sent both fists dropping down toward Kyle with devastating force.
"Shit..."
The fists descended.
And—
Wham!
A figure suddenly appeared from Kyle’s side.
Lord Roach.
The Loyal Summon drove his fist directly into the face of the Dark Knight with devastating strength.
BOOM!
The force of the impact was so tremendous that a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the entire crevice.
The Grim Knight’s body was sent staggering backward.
One hand immediately grasped toward the visor of its helmet.
Kyle stared.
And then...
Clack!
Clack!
Pieces of the Knight’s armor began falling from its face.
One after another.
They struck the ground with heavy metallic sounds.
The Grim Knight slowly steadied itself.
It grunted.
"You wretched bastard..."
Its purple eyes glowed dangerously.
"What an unfair way to fight."
Kyle grunted as he pushed himself upright.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and stared at his opponent once again.
His gaze shifted briefly toward Lord Roach.
Then back toward the Knight.
’Even with the full force of Lord Roach...’
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
’This bastard just lost a few armor plates.’
The Grim Knight was far more durable than he had expected.
Lord Roach’s strength was enough to crush most enemies Kyle had encountered.
Yet this Knight...
It had barely been pushed back.
"I guess playtime is over."
The Grim Knight laughed once again.
Kyle’s expression hardened.
The Knight reached toward its face and pulled its hand away.
The damaged armor revealed more of its grotesque, decayed face.
Its purple eyes burned brighter.
Then it stretched out its hand toward Kyle.
A sword suddenly resurfaced from thin air.
The shadowy blade materialized directly within its grasp.
But that wasn’t all.
Around the Knight...
Puddles of shadows began to form.
They spread across the ground like black stains. Dozens of them.
Kyle’s expression slowly changed.
From within those pools of darkness...
Figures began to emerge.
Resembling the Grim Knight but more primitive in build.
Their armor was crude and incomplete, their weapons little more than twisted pieces of metal and sharpened obsidian.
But there were dozens of them.
Dozens of undead warriors.
Their purple eyes glowed within the darkness as they slowly turned toward Kyle.
The entire crevice seemed to fill with them.
"My legion..."
The Grim Knight raised its sword.
"Against yours."
Kyle frowned.
For a moment, he simply stared at the army standing before him.
Then...
The shadows beneath him began to move.
His own legion started to emerge.
One after another.
The Iron Giant.
The Veined Abomination.
Monstrosities of every size.
Dangerous, ghastly creatures that would make any mundane man bend over and vomit...
Or scream himself to death.
Horrors.
Creatures Kyle had once faced and barely survived.
Every single one of them now stood before him in their apex forms.
Their monstrous bodies emerged from the shadows, their terrifying presence filling the ancient crevice.
With the sole purpose to kill and destroy. To slaughter anything standing in the way of Kyle, their master.
Kyle looked at the opposing legion.
Then at the Grim Knight.
A grin slowly formed across his face.
"I came prepared, you bastard."
Kyle stretched out his hand.
He walked forward and picked up his sword from the ground, his blood still dripping from the gash in his arm.
The Grim Knight’s purple eyes stared at him.
Kyle raised his sword.
The blade pointed directly at the rotten corpse standing before him.
"And I am going to take your head off that rotting corpse of yours..."
His eyes burned with determination.
"...and claim my fate, you bastard."