Others Summon Dragons, I Summon Legendary Knights

Chapter 508: The Era Begins

A black, gauntleted hand wreathed in smoke burst out of the mound of ash and soot. It startled the wolves, causing them to rise.

The white wolf tilted his head. He was still in Godfrey’s skin. As the stranger rose, the wolf manifested Imperial over himself, rising in tandem.

His one eye watched the strange being nestled on one knee, head toward the ground. What was this? the wolf thought.

Who was this strange being made of gathered smoke? It had similarities to the demon kind but possessed such regality that his heart drummed.

Almost unconsciously, the wolf laid a hand on his chest. His claws met the breastplate of the Immortal Armour, who had claimed its new host. Its golden frame accentuated his beastly frame.

Yet, a great unease rose like disturbed waves of the sea. His impressive form was dwarfed in the presence of this shadow. This unknown.

The wolf heaved his greatsword, resting it on his pauldron.

Snowflakes swirled around this dark creature as if paying homage to his presence, like servants did in welcoming the arrival of a king.

Howling rose. The pack howled, growled, and snapped their jaws, yet remained fixed to the snow-covered ground. A safe length away.

The Unknown King rose to his feet. Almost everything about him was just pitch black, like the night itself formed a being in the shape of a man.

Almost... His eyes stood in the way. Bright like gold polished to its finest sheen. There was this longsword strapped to his waist. The Wolf King didn’t know how that appeared.

Just like he couldn’t explain how an armoured being made of starless night rose from a corpse.

The Unknown King first looked around, then fixed his eyes on the Wolf King. "You wear a man’s skin," he said, glancing at the pack that was slowly and cautiously encroaching.

"But I see the beast beneath."

"The beast beneath." The Wolf King repeated those words in a gruff scowl. "I am indeed a beast. A predator of men and gods." He cocked his head.

"A predator... an honest title," the Unknown King whispered. "You bear ill toward me, beast. You hunger for my life."

"That obvious?" The Wolf King squatted at the lip of the stone platform, sword over his shoulder, one eye examining the man made of night like a lion did prey.

"But I called you for what you truly are. A beast in the flesh of a man."

The Wolf King chuckled. "You sound soft. Not exactly what I expected when I saw you rise. Indeed, I wear a man’s flesh. Your flesh." He snarled.

A wolf pounced at the Unknown King. A calculated strike from behind. It was fast. But that speed only took it straight into the grasp of the Unknown King, whose hand tore through its throat like a blade.

Blood splattered on the snow as other wolves got closer. They weren’t afraid. Instead, they wanted to kill him even more.

"I find you worthy enough to know my name. I am—"

"I gave you no such permission. I have lost my taste for this conversation." The Unknown King’s rebuke made the Wolf King lunge from the stone platform. He brought down his sword with great force.

The sword cut deep into the snow, blasting a great portion of it away. The Wolf King’s open eye went to the Unknown King, who stood just a line away from where he struck.

The moment he wrenched the sword free, a fist crashed into his face. Golden blood spurted out. Bones suffered cracks as the wolf was thrown back, slamming deep against the mountain wall.

He went deep into it, rocks collapsing from above. A loud howl tore through the cold air. Rocks exploded. The Wolf King lunged out, covering the distance with a wide sweep.

His head snapped up. There, the Unknown King flew. One with the drifting snowflakes. This dark, human-shaped creature glided over the strike as though he had seen it long before it was executed.

How could it—

An ironclad boot crashed into the Wolf King, tossing him helplessly through the snow-covered valley floor and into the mountain once more. There was a great, deep sound. The sound of the mountain groaning from the blows it had sustained.

Unable to hold back anymore, hundreds of wolves pounced at their target. They couldn’t exactly surround him all at once but were ready to replace an open spot.

The Unknown King faced them head-on. Not with his sword sheathed at his side but with his hands folded into fists. Those knuckles worked like a drill, tearing bloody holes through the part of a wolf’s body they hit.

Howls rang incessantly. At first, it was fury, then, with time, it dissolved more into pain. Finally, the howls that remained were of fear.

Blood dripped from the Unknown King’s hands. His forearms were coated in blood. The blood of over a hundred fallen wolves. Yet there was not one scratch on his armour.

His sword remained sheathed. Languishing in the lack of a true opponent.

Wolves still lurked around the Unknown King, but the sight of their dead brothers and sisters littering the snow all around him kept them at bay.

Rocks fell, some rolling out into the valley. The Wolf King pulled himself out of the mountain with a furious grunt. It had reverted back into its original form. A massive, fifteen-foot-tall wolf, easily towering over the Unknown King, who was just a little over six feet.

He was greeted with wolf corpses scattered everywhere while the Unknown King stood there, waiting. Waiting for him.

By the Congregation of GodKings above, what was this man? He didn’t spend much time stuck in that mountain, and his pack was severely damaged.

’This armour made me survive those blows. With this, I can ascend to become a Sovereign. All I need is that man’s core,’ the wolf growled. He would have to forfeit the core and use his Eye.

At this conclusion, the wolf took two heavy steps forward. "It was foolish not to attack me the moment I came out."

He opened his other eye. The deep blue eye pulsed, seeming to drink in the light around it.

The Unknown King lifted his head, staring right into the eye. "I await. Prove that my action was foolish."

That response struck the wolf’s heart like a battering ram against a gate. This man of night wasn’t affected. He had no personal identity. How was that possible? With a roar, he flung his massive sword at the Unknown King. It spun and spun, picking up a large gust of wind.

The Wolf King knew this dreadful being couldn’t be killed by that. Once he flung the sword, the wolf leaped over forty feet. He grabbed a crimp on the mountain, using it as a proper handhold to pull himself upwards.

It had to get away.

"You mock my memory? I do not recall granting you permission to leave my presence, beast."

’No.’ The wolf leaped up, exerting more strength, but that dreadful being uttered just one word.

"Fall."

It forcefully made him release his grip, sending him toward the valley.

"No... No! Gods above, save me.... Save me!" the wolf clawed at the air, desperately hoping it would solidify. Men had fled from it, cities had fallen to his might.

Curse that bloody deceiver. Curse that vermin that crawled into his home acting like a man at death’s bedside.

Curse you, Godfrey Daniels. Curse you!

***

Gabriel sat in Amazon City Square, with a drink in hand. He sat on a bench, staring at the bright clouds. Perhaps for the first time in months, nearly everyone on Earth was smiling at once.

But it wasn’t for him. This meant Godfrey succeeded. Over thirty demigods had fallen attempting trials. He didn’t even have a trial to face because of his identity as the Favoured One.

Gabriel sighed, crossing one leg over the other. The game had come to an end. Godfrey was ripe for the harvest, but the nurtured creature might prove to become a problem now.

Space twisted as if expelling a man. What it expelled was a man in dark armour. An armour Gabriel recognised quite well.

The Immortal Armour. But something had happened to it. It looked different, almost like it was carved out of darkness with a ghostly plume waving behind.

It never had a cloak. It did now. Two ornate brooches fastened the cloak to the pauldrons, letting it fall almost to his ankles.

Gabriel rose to his feet as the Unknown King looked around. This was what the mana tree created? Pathan’s make belief.

It was impressive... for a general. That’s all Godfrey would ever be in his eyes.

’A Godking.’ He mused inwardly, taking note of the Unknown King’s aura. All he had to do now was kill Godfrey. It didn’t matter if he killed him with his own hands or with the hand of another.

Suddenly, their eyes met. A king born from belief and a self-proclaimed god.

Gabriel tilted his head. ’He doesn’t remember me. Godfrey knows I’m a clone, so he would have at least shown ill toward me.’

He raised an eyebrow when the Unknown King reached for him with steady steps.

"You are not a man."

Gabriel’s smile vanished. The warmth drained from his face until nothing remained but cold calculation. The shocked people around them were of little consequence. In his eyes, only both of them existed.

The Unknown King cocked his head. He could see a man with an eagle head staring at him, boiling.

"Do you wish to fight me?" The Unknown King folded his arms.

"I’m a friend." Gabriel quickly smiled. A soft, harmless smile. So Godfrey remembered nothing. He could use this.

"I doubt that. I know for a fact that I hate you. Deeply, if I might add. I wish to understand that. That is the sole reason your head hasn’t rolled."

Gabriel scowled. He almost laughed. Not out of joy or because of how hilarious this sounded but out of pure anger. His pride was getting the best of him. Gabriel knew that, yet felt infuriated. This being looked down on him.

Him?

Him?!

Gabriel held his tongue. Unfortunately, deceiving this being Godfrey had become wasn’t possible. His hate had evolved with him. Since that happened, it also meant he could tell those he had relationships with but not truly figure out the reason why.

"Hey! Hey!" A bearded policeman noticed the armoured being. That air he gave off. There was no way that was a summoner. It was... a Humanoid Summon!

Dear Lord... they mentioned seeing the Golden Devil. Could this be one of his summons!

The policeman quickly pulled out his gun and began to call for backup. This information would be sent straight to the Directorate.

Nearby agents would troop in.

The Unknown King glanced at the policeman. Gabriel had vanished when he looked back. So, the policeman became his sole focus.

"No Humanoid Summoner is permitted to move without a suppressor. I know you can speak. Where is your summoner?" the policeman asked, maintaining a proper distance. He couldn’t fight this thing. He didn’t dare unleash his wolf. These humanoids eat beast summons.

And if this summon belonged to the Golden Devil, it was futile to engage in combat. He could only stall.

The Unknown King summoned a massive golden door. Golden fog rolled out as blinding light peeked through the gap between both sides of the door.

"I said you are under arrest!" the policeman yelled at the top of his lungs, yet the Unknown King didn’t even spare him a glance.

"I have important matters to attend to. Your ignorance is alarming enough I have decided to look away. It is already punishment enough." Those were his last words as he stepped through the huge gates, and they crumbled into harmless mist.

The policeman stood frozen. He had been ignored before. But never dismissed like this. Those words lingered, sinking deeper than a bullet ever could.

His eyes reddened.

***

It awaits.

A world promised. Names. Titles. Prayers. They all swirled through his head. The Unknown who shall come, who shall name kings and queens, who shall sit on the throne of an empire, commanding a great force. The Golden Order.

This was his purpose.

And so, it awaits. Soon, his eyes would behold in glory... the realm. Thousands upon thousands of golden-armoured knights. ’Men of Gold,’ a thought whispered in his head.

’Your fighters. Your honourable knights.’

These thoughts dug into his mind like a farmer burying seeds into land. They sprouted. Empowering his every step. The bright golden light scattered from his eyes, and before him stood that which was his.

"What is this?" The Unknown King stared. Golden eyes pulsing. Was it with shock, confusion, or anger? One couldn’t tell. Those metallic eyes barely showed much.

He stared at a massive ruin of what had once been a colossal capital. The home of the Order was now a centuries-old ruin.

There was no army, there was no order, and no palace. All that remained were broken buildings, fallen walls that once stood against tides of dungeon invaders, now surrendered to grass and creeping trees.

Grass and trees. It felt like reality itself mocked his expectations.

There was nothing. Nothing.

’No.’ the Unknown King said inwardly. Metal clanked as he marched toward the ruin. He walked past mighty yellow walls now part of the earth. Broken parts with sprouts of grass lying like carved slabs of rock.

"You will rise." The Unknown King commanded. And at his command, a great rumbling began. The earth tore apart, stones pulled themselves from deep beneath the ground.

Walls stood back up. Scattered scraps of stone long lost flew back into place. Timbers devoured by centuries knit themselves whole once more.

Part by part, a magnificent structure began to form as the Unknown King marched. Stone slabs laid themselves before his feet, forming a massive paved path.

The sun stood high. The world wasn’t crystallized between dusk and day anymore. But the sun wasn’t the only celestial who arrived early.

Impossibly, five moons lurked. Like uninvited guests watching from the shadows. Awed.

Cloak rippling in the turmoil of the trembling earth and the restless gale, the king marched toward an unseen throne.

It awaits.