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Chapter 42: Losing a Fallen
The dungeon was still heavy with silence.
The golden knight stared at Daniel’s lifeless body with emotionless eyes. In the culture of knights, what Daniel had done—sacrificing himself to save others—was honorable. Even if he was an enemy, his bravery deserved respect.
The golden knight stood there for a moment longer, then turned to walk toward the King of Knights.
But suddenly... a strange, living wave of energy shook the entire area.
He froze. Turned back. His eyes locked on Daniel again.
At that moment, the Mother System’s notifications appeared in front of Daniel one by one.
[One of your "Extra Lives" has been used.] n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
[Body is under reconstruction...]
[Status: Stable.]
[Remaining Extra Lives: 3]
Daniel’s body started to heal with a deep red glow. His skin slowly regenerated, wounds disappeared. His eyelids twitched—then opened.
[One of the current "Fallen" must be sacrificed.]
[Please choose...]
Without hesitation, Daniel said the name Pride in his mind. Lana was his weakest Fallen. Losing her wasn’t a big deal.
Well Vorak was his best fallen—and was by far the strongest. As useless as Aron was, he was still the second strongest Fallen after Vorak. And Neve... well, he had solid potential overall.
[Fallen: Pride has been destroyed.]
"So this is what coming back to life feels like, huh?" Daniel took a deep breath and slowly got up from the ground, stretching his body like he just woke up from a nap.
The golden knight was still standing there, eyes locked onto him.
"How... are you alive?" he asked with a frown.
"Well, I’m immortal," Daniel answered with a smile. He wasn’t lying—he still had three lives left.
The golden knight narrowed his eyes, his frown deepening. But before he could say anything—
A loud, eerie laugh filled the dungeon.
Both turned their heads toward the sound. The King of Knights, who had been still until now, was sitting on his throne with a heavy, menacing grin.
Daniel was surprised for a moment. But the golden knight... for just a second, he felt fear. That reaction from the King... wasn’t normal.
Still, he understood what it meant.
"Slave. Your friends escaped. Now you’ll fight on their behalf," the golden knight said with a smile, looking at Daniel. His voice calm but full of power.
"That’s exactly what I wanted." Daniel nodded. Truthfully, he hadn’t expected things to go this way, but it created a great opportunity for him.
The golden knight nodded slightly, and then the rest of the golden knights in the battlefield stepped away and returned to the King of Knights.
At that moment, one of the gray knights came from the far end of the Colosseum. He wore heavy gray armor, and his movements were slow but powerful.
"This is Garmok, the Gray Knight. Your first opponent," the golden knight said, turning to Daniel.
Daniel nodded.
The battle began.
The Gray Knight charged toward Daniel with heavy steps. He raised his massive sword and brought it down with full force.
But Daniel didn’t even blink.
In a split second, his body vanished like a black shadow. Before the sword hit the ground, Daniel reappeared right in front of Garmok.
With a simple, but brutal punch, he slammed his fist into Garmok’s stomach.
The sound of armor cracking and bones breaking echoed through the dungeon. Garmok flew back like a ragdoll and hit the ground, unmoving.
"Next," Daniel said lazily, with a mocking tone.
The golden knight’s frown deepened. With a hand gesture, he summoned the next knight.
A platform rose, and a knight in shining silver armor stepped into the arena. His movements were calm and precise—not heavy like Garmok, but not fast either.
"This is Caldrias, the Silver Knight. A swordmaster," the golden knight said in a rough voice.
"Got a spare sword around here?" Daniel suddenly asked before the fight could start.
"For what?" the golden knight frowned.
"To fight properly. It’d be rude otherwise." Daniel shrugged.
The golden knight glanced at the King of Knights. The King nodded with that same grim smile.
Moments later, the golden knight reluctantly tossed Daniel a long sword. Daniel caught it mid-air. It was light.
"This’ll do... thanks."
He looked at the Silver Knight. Caldrias slowly drew his sword. His movements were perfect.
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
"A swordmaster, huh? You better be good."
The fight began.
Without wasting time, Caldrias dashed forward using his first skill. His sword, like a silver mirror, bent the light as he charged Daniel.
[Silver Mirage]
Caldrias’ body split into several semi-transparent copies, all rushing toward Daniel at high speed.
Daniel didn’t blink. Calmly, he held his sword in front of him and watched.
"So, movement-based mirages... not just visual tricks. Nice, but still predictable." With a quick spin, Daniel slashed diagonally.
He scattered all the clones with one strike. But Caldrias followed up with his second skill:
[Silver Fang]
His sword was suddenly covered in tiny blades, and a wave of them shot toward Daniel’s chest.
Daniel stepped back, but didn’t retreat far. The blades flew past him, cutting his clothes slightly.
"Huh. If I’m not fast enough, these attacks can be dangerous."
"Angle of attack, strike precision, footwork... guess all of it matters, huh?" Daniel took a step forward, analyzing everything in his mind.
Caldrias frowned briefly, seeing Daniel still so calm. Then he raised his hand.
[Lunar Severance]
His sword gleamed like a silver scythe and unleashed a crescent-shaped wave. The pressure shattered the ground and shook the dungeon walls.
"Now we’re talking." Daniel smiled this time.
He gripped his sword with both hands. But instead of backing off, he charged straight at the wave.
The best defense is attacking
At the moment of impact, Daniel slashed diagonally at the moonlight wave.
"What the—? Sh*t!" Daniel cursed as he realized what had happened and tried to pull back.
Suddenly, a silver light swallowed everything. Dust rose thick around them.
The sounds died.
And through the mist, Caldrias’ armored hand shot forward—straight for Daniel’s throat.
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