Black orbs peeled themselves out of the air in front of her, dozens of them spiraling inward, folding and grinding together with a sound that made Enochia’s ears pop. From it, armor formed first, plates of midnight steel locking into shape. The helm sealed next, its angular faceplate carved into a knightly visage, narrow eye slits burning with a red glow. Antlers rose after, curving from the helm like a grown crown, before lastly, a clean black cape erupted from the knight’s back.
He stood there for a moment, then, with slow movement, he lowered himself onto one knee. Armored fingers clenched as his head bowed, the gesture reverent and practiced, like something engraved into his very existence. It was not submission born of weakness, nor obedience forced by power. It was recognition. Something old, carved so deep into his existence that it no longer needed thought.
Enochia just stared at the knight. Her heart tried to claw its way out of her chest, and a nervous, breathless giggle escaped her before she could stop it. She swallowed, fingers twitching at her sides, then lifted one hand in a small, uncertain wave, because apparently this was happening and she had no better response prepared.
“Uh…” she said, her voice cracking despite herself. “Hi?”
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STATUS:
Name: Cervain
Title: Knight of the End Days
Level: 11
Grade: 1
HP: 2,500 / 2,500
MANA: 1,050 / 1,050
STR: 45
AGI: 38
VIT: 50
FAI: 35
LCK: 13
DEF: 20
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She couldn’t help herself. “Ho ho ho ho! Excuse my poor etiquette, my good sir! How does thy day bid thee? Thou possess the utmost exalted appearance!” Enochia said, with a grin that was equal parts amused and awkward. But as the words hung in the air, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. No response came from the knight as his glowing eyes locked on her. She quickly corrected herself, brushing off the odd formality, "Uh, that was dumb… let me just check something."
As she looked him over, a chill crept up her spine. With stats like these, he could probably kill her in a fair one on one fight. “Holy crap...” she muttered to herself, but before she could finish that thought, the knight moved.
His towering figure shifted as he slowly rose, and the sudden motion caught Enochia off guard. She jumped back in alarm, instinctively falling into a defensive stance, hands raised like a ninja caught off guard by an ambush. Her eyes narrowed, then relaxed as she realized that the knight wasn’t attacking. Instead, he was simply… standing there.
The air around them felt thick with power as she let out a nervous chuckle. “Yo, I really need to know this. Even though I kinda know, are you mine?” The knight nodded, but it was enough to make her heart skip a beat. Enochia visibly relaxed, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Thank God."
"By the way," she added, giving him a quick once-over, "Your horns look badass!" To her surprise, the knight reacted, gently placing a hand on his horns before looking back at her. Enochia swore she saw the faintest gesture of appreciation in his eyes, even though he hadn’t said a word.
She blinked, her mind racing. "Wait, hold up. This is a Grade 1 creation?" She had expected something much lower tier, something she could work up to over time, but this... this was beyond what she’d imagined. "I didn’t think even Matthew Steel had a summon this great..." She paused. Her gaze darted back to the knight, who was still silently watching her. "This is the first time in my life I’ve even seen a creation like this."
It hit her then, she had always heard of the different tiers of creations, but she never thought she’d be in a position to witness the highest tier in person.
Enochia’s eyes locked on him again. "Can you speak?" she asked, hopeful, but the knight shook his head slowly. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Yeah, from what I understood, you’re severely weakened," she said thoughtfully. "So you’re nerfing yourself to match my level?" The knight’s head nodded in response.
"Why though?" Enochia asked aloud, her voice heavy with the question she couldn’t seem to shake.
Before she could ask again, Roo’s voice answered.
[The difference in power between Enochia Adams and Cervain is too vast. Thus, as per the creation’s wishes, he was weakened to escape the state of non-being, and to acknowledge the user, Enochia Adams, as his master.]
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Enochia blinked, her mind racing to process what she just heard. "Ohhhh, okay, okay, so I’m like your breakout of jail card?" she asked, a bit more nervous than she cared to admit.
The knight shook his head again, and for the first time, Enochia’s confusion deepened. She stepped back, crossing her arms. "Wait, so what does that mean? What are you trying to tell me?"
The knight did not respond at first, but something shifted all the same. Cervain tilted his head, and she realized how dumb of a question that was.
“Yeah… okay, that was unfair,” she muttered. “That’s like asking someone their favorite color when they can only nod or shake their head.”
Her expression softened. “Okay, so here’s the deal. I saw that your level is the same as mine, so I guess you’ll only get stronger as I do.” she said, pointing a thumb at his chest. “I level up, you level up. And when you level up enough… you’ll be able to talk to me, right?”
She held her breath as she asked it, heart thudding in her ears.
And Cervain nodded.
Her face lit up instantly. “YES!” She laughed, clapping her hands. “Okay, that’s it, that’s settled, that’s the goal. You’re getting your voice back ASAP.”
On pure impulse, she stepped forward and grabbed his hand, fingers wrapping around the cold, armored gauntlet with zero hesitation. “Alright, Knight of the End Days,” she declared, grinning up at him. “We’ve got a lot of XP to grind!”
She pulled and nothing happened.
She blinked, frowned, and pulled again, boots scraping slightly against the floor. Cervain didn’t budge an inch. He just stood there, looking down at her, helm tilted faintly to the side, like he was genuinely unsure what this small, loud demon was trying to accomplish.
“…Wow,” Enochia muttered, glancing down at their joined hands. “Okay. Yeah. You probably weigh a metric ton.”
For a second, she worried she’d messed up, that she’d crossed some invisible line. But then Cervain took a heavy step forward. Another step followed, and suddenly he was walking with her, matching her pace with an ease that made her heart lift.
Enochia looked up at him. “See? That wasn’t so hard,” she said softly, squeezing his hand before letting go.
They passed through the doorway together, the ruined chamber giving way to the corridor. Enochia slowed her steps, curiosity finally overpowering adrenaline. Now that the immediate shock had worn off, she let herself look at him.
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Title Effect — The Knight of the End Days
? For every Horn of the End blown, the user gains +10% increased damage on all fronts.
? For every Horn of the End blown, the user gains +10% damage reduction.
─────────────────────────────
“Okay… wait,” she muttered, tilting her head. “So those are the horns. Like, not metaphorical horns. Actual, literal, end-of-the-world horns.” A slow grin crept across her face as the implication settled in. “And since two have already been blown, with the third on its way soon. …”
She snapped her fingers, pleased with herself. “You’re walking around with a permanent twenty percent boost.”
Having a title at all was already sorta rare. Having one with stacked, scaling effects was ridiculous. Having one attached to a Grade 1 creation, the first she had ever even heard of someone personally possessing, made her stomach flutter.
This meant that he was important. And somehow, for reasons she absolutely did not want to unpack right now, he had ended up kneeling in front of her. “I’m not pulling on that thread right now. That’s a future-me problem.”
Her eyes slid down the rest of his interface, curiosity flaring again as she noticed the final section waiting beneath the title.
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Lv. 1 — Horn of the End
Cost: 0 Mana Cooldown: 12 h
Effect:
The user sounds the Horn of the End for 10 min
? Enemies within range suffer severe suppression, reduced attack speed, and impaired coordination.
? The sound carries across terrain, ignoring obstacles and line of sight.
? The effect grows stronger with the users level.
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Lv. 10 — Goring Crescent
Cost: 30 Stamina??Cooldown: 6 s
Effect:
Create a crescent arc.
? Deals (90 + 70 % STR) Dark damage in a 180° arc.
? Enemies hit are Lacerated, taking +10 % damage for 7 s.
? If at least three Horn of the Ends are active, the arc extends slightly and applies Fear (1 s) to enemies.
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Enochia nodded to herself, the excitement settling into something more thoughtful as she skimmed the skills again. She couldn’t really complain. In all honesty, these were solid.
Still… a small part of her sagged with disappointment. A tank would have been perfect right now. Something loud, immovable, with a fat taunt skill. That would’ve gone insanely hard with her kit.
But a frontline melee wasn’t bad either.
And really, if Roo hadn’t screwed her over yet, she wasn’t about to start doubting it now. Gratitude beat paranoia nine times out of ten, and the tenth usually got people killed anyway.
The hallway ended only a few steps ahead, swallowed by a heavy door that looked like it hadn’t been opened in a very long time. Enochia slowed as she reached it, and Cervain mirrored the pause instantly, stopping at her side.
After slightly opening the door, she checked her map.
One red dot appeared. Then another. Then several more, blooming into existence beyond the threshold, clustering and coming into existence right in front of her.
“Oh,” she whispered, amusement threading through the spike of adrenaline that tightened her chest. “Perfect timing.”
She glanced sideways at Cervain, eyes bright now, her grin sharp and a little feral. “Alright,” she said lightly. “Guess this is where we find out if you’re as scary as you look.”
