Sword of the Demon Emperor

Stood in the centre of the room wearing only thin clothes and armed with her spear, Hilda stood in silence with her eyes closed, breathing calmly.

Mania had told Hilda that today would be her final test and, if she passed, she would be worthy to serve as the Demon Emperor’s knight.

However, Mania hadn’t told her what she had to do to pass the test.

Over the last five months, Hilda had gone from fighting a single skeleton to fighting an entire team of adventurers by herself.

She had been beaten, bruised and wounded, but she had never stopped fighting.

She’d even requested that they held more training sessions together after Scylla and Charybdis had been summoned.

Every time Hilda overcame Mania’s tests, Mania escalated the difficulty by a considerable amount which was why Hilda was steeling herself for the hardest challenge of her life.

“Hilda, I want you to listen to me very carefully,” Mania said from across the room. “In a moment, I will release your opponents into the arena for you to kill, not defeat. Do you understand?”

Hilda nodded.

“I do not expect you to hesitate for even a second,” Mania continued as the rattling of metal cages echoed around them. “If, for any reason, you do not strike down your opponent with the intention of killing them, then you will not be qualified to become his majesty’s knight. Do you understand?”

Hilda nodded.

“Say that you understand.”

“…I…understand.”

“Good. Now.” Mania clapped her hands twice and the heavy footsteps of Machai soon followed. “We shall be releasing your thirty opponents in one group of ten and the other as a group of twenty. You will kill all of them with only your spear before they can kill you. If they kill you, then they get to go free. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Then, on the count of three, the first cages shall be opened and your opponents will fight you to the death. If they try to run out of the arena, we’ll just push them back in. Won’t we, Machai?”

The Machai grunted and beat their chests, terrifying the prisoners in their cages.

“Release the first batch.”

The steel door of the cage was thrown open and ten humans in ragged clothing carrying rusty weapons stepped out, panicked, crying and scared out of their minds.

As soon as Mania had ordered the captive’s release, Hilda struck.

She flew across the room with a powerful kick and thrust the tip of her spear into a man’s heart, instantly killing him. She tore it free, spun around, and cut another man’s head off. Hilda then took out the legs of the next person closest to her before stabbing them in the face.

The remaining seven combatants panicked.

Two fell onto their knees and begged for mercy, one tried to run but a Machai pushed them back into the arena and the other three charged at Hilda. Hilda easily parried the first and second attacks, then bent beneath the third attacker’s blade. She then grabbed the third attacker by the collar and slammed them head first into the stone floor.

The woman’s skull cracked open before Hilda discarded her corpse and swept her spear through the stomachs of the other two attackers.

With them dead, Hilda easily decapitated the last three as they screamed for mercy.

Per Mania’s instructions, Hilda didn’t hesitate once.

“Release the rest.”

The twenty remaining prisoners all decided to charge at Hilda after seeing how ruthlessly she’d dispatched the others.

However, even outnumbered like that, Hilda wasn’t fazed.

She increased the speed and power behind each of her strikes, cutting through them like butter.

She avoided their attacks and speared them through the chest whenever an opening appeared.

When a few tried to get behind her, Hilda fell back a few metres to stop them encircling her.

No matter what the desperate prisoners did, Hilda cut them down ruthlessly and efficiently without once hesitating.

When the last body hit the floor, the room and Hilda herself were covered in blood.

“Congratulations, Hilda,” Mania praised, clapping as she approached her. “No honour, no chivalry and no quarter. All that mattered to you was performing your duty.”

“…Yes, Lady…Mania.”.

“Why did you fight like that?”

“Because…you ordered me…to.”

“Even though you didn’t know who those people were? Where they came from? Whether they were criminals or not? Did none of that matter to you?”

Hilda shook her head. “You told me…to kill…so, I kill. There’s no need…to think…about anything else.”

Mania’s smile widened. “Excellent. As you said, that is all that should matter to you. If his majesty tells you to do something, you do it, no matter what. That is your duty as his knight.

“The people you killed were members of the Sons of Tartarus and a few curious peasants that got too close to the Dread Keep.” Mania giggled. “Of course, that meant sending Ravens disguised as soldiers to inform their loved ones that they’d offended Lord Kelsey and were dead. If there’s one thing those birds excel at, it’s their illusion spells.”

“I’d say they excel as assassins, too, Mania,” David said as he entered the room. Mania, Hilda and all the Machai knelt before him as he approached. “It seems that I was too late to see Hilda’s finest moment.”

“If I had known you were coming, I would’ve gladly postponed it for you, Master.”

“It’s fine. How was she?”

Mania raised her head and flashed David a bright smile. “She was beautiful. She passed her exam with flying colours; I truly believe she is worthy to call herself your knight.”

David smiled. “High praise, indeed, and it would seem like she did excellently. Hilda, while I am sad to have missed your finest moment, I am pleased to hear that Mania’s training has paid off.”

Hilda kept her head low. “…Thank you…very much.”

“Although.” David frowned a little. “I am surprised that you were so easily able to kill so easily, especially when your opponent was human. You haven’t let her kill any humans before today, have you, Mania?”

“I haven’t, Master.”

“I thought so. Hilda, tell me, why were you so easily able to kill other humans?”

Back at the Shadow Tombs, I spent five minutes mustering my courage before I could kill Connor and his team, David thought. How did you do it without hesitation even though it was your first time, while I struggled to swing the sword?

Hilda slowly lifted her head, then stood proudly with her back straight before David and spoke slowly.

“Humans abandoned me …raped me, tried…to kill me…Why should I…have any love…for any of them…outside this castle’s walls?”

I’m happy she at least considers Eva and the others that way.

“I think Hilda’s hard work has earned a reward, don’t you, Master?”

“Yes, she has. Bring it in here.”

Mania clicked her fingers at two of the Machai standing off to the side. They promptly left the room before returning a minute later with a mannequin covered in a cloth and a long leather case.

The Machai dragged a table before Hilda, placing the case on top of it and the mannequin beside it.

“…What is…this?”

“When the Sons of Tartarus fell, we found many great treasures in their vaults,” David explained as he walked towards the mannequin. “They had many great things that would help us with the coming war, including the world’s strongest, and rarest, metal. To even make one suit of armour from it would bankrupt a duke.

“However.” David gripped the cloth tightly with his fingers. “We were not only able to salvage hundreds of ingots of it, we also found talented blacksmiths who were more than willing to forge the Dragon Metal into armour and weapons. They’re making new equipment for me, my generals and the rest of the council, but.” David started to pull on the cloth. “I asked them to make this one first.”

David pulled the cloth off the mannequin, revealing a suit of Dragon plate armour tailor made to fit Hilda.

It looked like a normal knight’s uniform made of steel, but it had a black and white trim along the plates and an obsidian-coloured satyr’s skull on the chest piece. The helmet was based on one David had seen in his old world: the Sutton Hoo helmet which had metal guards to protect the mouth and ears.

In order to make Hilda’s armour look even more demonic and befitting of the Demon Emperor’s knight, he had two satyr’s horns modelled onto the side of the helmet.

“As of today, you are the Satyr Knight, my personal knight and a member of my council,” David proclaimed. “I have also had a mighty spear crafted for you and you alone to use. Mania.”

Mania smiled and opened the case, revealing an imposing looking two-metre-long spear with a crossguard beneath the tip, and a spike at the bottom of the shaft.

Hilda slowly reached to grasp at the spear but hesitated.

She looked to David for approval and he nodded. Hilda swallowed and picked up the spear.

Despite its size and fact that it was made of metal, it was lighter than her usual spear. Hilda then examined the blade more closely. She gently grazed her fingers over it and drew a little bit of blood.

Hilda put the spear back in the case and dropped to one knee before David, lowering her head.

“Your majesty…from this day forth, I…Hilda…swear eternal, undying loyalty…to you…my saviour…the Demon Emperor. No matter what you…ask of me…I shall…perform my duty as you…will.”

David smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. “I thank you for your pledge, Hilda, and have great hopes for your future.”