Way of the Knights

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Kyrie was shuddering at her spot. 

Even though there was some slight distance between him and Raven, she was still able to see what happened closely. 

She was already aware that her Young Lord was a Cleansing Flame Seed bearer, she saw him practicing multiple times and saw him using it. Raven also told her that he personally met the Flames of Olympus and even talked to it, which brought great shock to her. Seeing him experiment with using the Cleansing Flames earlier didn't surprise Kyrie at all, but when he used it against the Converted Devil, the result shook her to the core. 

Once she saw Raven restraining the Converted Devil, she immediately understood what he's trying to do, and frankly she was nervous since this is a huge deal. 

She personally witnessed many disciples turning into devils before and no matter how many times she saw it, nothing could numb the pain of witnessing it…

It was a cruel fate…being the very thing you vow to destroy. She can't even imagine how that must've felt. 

But then she witnessed it…that slight glimmer of hope. 

Even if it was just the briefest of moment…she saw the respite and clarity returning to the eyes of that Converted Devil. 

She saw that clearly. In fact, she the world seemingly slowed down for her, allowing her to see that moment for an extended period of time, and thus she could guarantee that it actually happened. Sure, it might've not succeeded but this doesn't change the fact that this was a huge deal. 

There is hope! 

Maybe…just maybe. Raven would eventually be able to return the converted devils back to their human form. 

Kyrie gazed at Raven with scorching eyes. She couldn't help but noticed that, as time passes, this Young Lord of hers is slowly becoming more and more unfathomable. 

Meanwhile, Raven released a deep sigh. 

His gaze was locked into the scattering ashes of Converted Devil, feeling a bit lost and empty inside. 

'He had been corrupted for far too long…' He muttered inwardly. 'It turns out that the 'Will' of the Devil Emperor is that harmful. It turns into little creatures who had nothing but maws and an instinctual desire to devour the soul of humans.'

'It's cruel. Any injuries they deal was permanent, I'm not confident that medicines could cure that. In fact, I'm afraid that even if I succeeded, they wouldn't want to live anymore.'

"Y-Young Lord that…" Kyrie approached him, wanting to say something but she saw that he's in a deep thought.

"I saw it too, and I know what you're thinking." Raven replied, "All I can say is, it's going to be difficult but I'll try my best."

"That's good. Very good." Kyrie said, she doesn't really know what to say since everything that she saw in this trip was shocking to her. 

"I just hope that once the seed blooms, I'll be able to use it more efficiently. Let's just hope that I can really do it." Raven said as he turned around and continued going towards the depths of Asphodel.

Kyrie watched Raven's back and released a silent sigh, she didn't say anything and just followed him.

***

"Keep it up guys! It's nearly over! Remain vigilant as well as aggressive! We can do this!" 

At some place within the Inner Depths of Asphodel, three people were currently fighting against a huge enemy. 

The Devil was about ten meters tall. It has a lower body of goat, a human torso, a lion's head and living snake tail. It radiated with a malicious aura and could breath black flames. It's fast, strong and it's snake tail was venomous. 

This three people were fighting against a Devil known as a Chimera. 

Chimera Devils were usually found on floors 20 and above of the Devil Emperor's Pagoda. They are dreadful and claimed many lives so far. Their favorite snacks are humans, more specifically, heads of humans. 

"Derek! Watch out for the tail! Janine, tried to poke its eyes. I'll suppress it for you guys! Come on!" The leader of this three man squad named Julius dished out tactics on the fly, hoping that it's work against the Chimera. 

The three-man squad was familiar with each other as they've been working together for quite sometime now. They went this time to Asphodel in hopes of clearing a mission which specifically calls for hunting a Chimera. 

These three haven't been inner disciples for long and clearly this mission is a bit too dangerous for them. Unfortunately, they needed to take risks or else their status is in danger.

As the three moved as one, they tried their best to end the battle as soon as possible since collision of this level will surely attract the attention of stray devils. Just the Chimera Devil alone is already a headache for them, they wouldn't necessarily want to torture themselves beyond this. 

Unfortunately, the Chimera was too strong. It was clear that they've kicked an iron plate this time around. 

Even though their leader - Julius, was saying that they can do it and keep encouraging them to do their best, it's clear that they will most likely lose a limb or two here and that'd be the best result they could hope for. 

They were tired, partly due to the irritating heat around them which constantly saps their energy, and because they've been fighting against this Chimera Devil for about fifteen minutes now.

Yes, fifteen minutes might sound short, but in a hectic fight against a very strong enemy, fifteen minutes might as well be an entire hour. 

Julius, Derek and Janine were injured already, and their wounds aren't that light either. Any injuries dealt by a Chimera Devil aren't easy to heal which is why some disciples flee at the sight of it. In fact, treating injuries caused by it would be expensive, and for Inner Disciples who were barely meeting the mark for their living conditions, its enough for them to feel the pinch. 

"Janine! Watch out!" Julius roared in panic as he saw the Chimera turning into a blur and charging towards his teammate with open maws. 

Julius did his best to force himself and save her but the accumulated injuries caught up to him at this point. He was tired, and so was Derek and Janine.

'It's over...' The woman named Janine thought as she saw the Chimera going after her. 

Her life flashed past by her eyes. All she could feel was exhaustion. She was tired. She just wanted this to end. She didn't want to struggle uselessly anymore. She doesn't want to feel any pain anymore, all she wants is to rest. 

Janine was prepared to accept her fate, in fact she was even trying to implode herself just to make sure her teammates gets away from this. 

But just as she was trying to do that, a shadow appeared before her.

*Booom!*

The appearance of the shadow was accompanied by a huge explosion. The three-man squad were shocked to see the Chimera Devil tumbling back like it was tripped. It groaned in pain and tried to get up, but it suddenly noticed that it can't even move a muscle. 

It's body mysteriously levitated much to everyone's surprise. They could see it struggling to break free from an invisible binding but no matter how hard it tried, it can't.

The Chimera Devil's body was then suspended in front of Julius much to his shock. He was puzzled and felt frightened inwardly. But then he heard a voice beside him. 

"Don't just stare at it. Kill it and harvest whatever you need from it." 

Julius woke up from his stupor. He let out a roar, mustering up whatever's left of his energy and beheaded the Chimera Devil in one swing. He also sliced the snake tail off of it. 

After doing this, he was left panting for breath. He could only stand with the help of his spear. Julius then looked beside him in search for the mysterious person who helped him. 

They then saw him. It was a man wearing a mask and black hood. He was tall and looked just like a mortal since no aura could be felt from him, but that's exactly what makes them think that he's an expert. 

"Thank you, Senior. For saving us." Julius said while panting. 

"Senior?" The masked person repeated in an amused voice, "I'm no Senior. In fact, I should be the one calling you that."

Hearing his words shocked the three, but before they could say anything the masked man brought out a formation on his spatial ring and started setting it up. 

All of a sudden, cold winds started blowing, causing them to shudder in disbelief. If it weren't for the stinging pain that their wounds cause them to feel, they would obviously think that this is all an illusion.

Once the formation was up an running, the masked man then lifted them up using that same mysterious force. 

In his panic, Julius asked: "W-what are you going to do to us?"action

"Healing you, what else?"