The Stonehearted Knight

Hex was elated with the baron's presence. But before he could say anything the feeling of overwhelming pain assaulted him. 

A sense of weakness assaulted him, bringing him to his knees. The golden light wrapped around him, increasing his resistance to the energy, wreaking havoc inside him.

Ronan's eyes lit up, noticing the baron's attention on his disciple. He set off against the floor and flew forward. 

Hex had kept an eye on him. To his surprise, Ronan wasn't using the opportunity to escape. Instead, he was going for the monolith.

Hex was about to warn the baron when he saw the dust and debris move and transform into a row of guards before the monolith. 

Bam!

One of the guards turned and knocked Ronan back. To Hex's surprise, the guard looked exactly like the baron. 

The others in the row turned. They all looked identical. Each was life-like. Hex looked from the one at his side to the one in front of the monolith. Even he would find it hard to discern which was the real one.

Ronan had a solemn look on his face. He turned toward the baron beside Hex.

"This might be a Transformation-stage technique but the might of the figures is a bit too strong. You aren't at the Transformation stage?" Ronan asked incredulously.

"I never said I was," the baron said casually. Hex stared wide-eyed at his master. He too was told that the baron was at that stage. It seems no one saw through him, not even his close ones.

"The Enlightenment stage," chuckled Ronan dejectedly. "No wonder the entire council and the dimensional array failed to keep you trapped for long inside."

"They tried. They failed," the baron replied.

Hex sat between the two powerhouses, finding the current situation absurd. Both men were conversing as if they weren't enemies. He was happy to learn that the baron was stronger than imagined. But shouldn't he just finish the opponent and focus on helping his student?

"I see. But I still like to try," Ronan smiled, flicking his sleeve. Golden spears appeared in the air behind him. With a flick, the spears shot out, slamming into the figures resembling the baron. 

The power of the spears made the air burn around it but it wasn't enough against the figures. They were using the basic fists techniques but with each hit, they turned the projectiles into dust.

Hex watched the man who toyed with them, struggle against the six figures. 'And if you think about it, they are made of dust and debris. Doesn't that mean that even that man isn't equal to the dust beneath the baron's feet?'

Hex glanced at his master, who watched everything with an apathetic face. He was more focused on the golden light flowing into Hex than on the fight in the front.

"Aren't you going to finish him off?" Hex asked, trying to understand why the baron was taking his time.

The baron glanced at him but didn't reply. Hex gnashed his teeth in irritation and observed the fight. 

The golden spears started to reduce in quantity. The six figures began to surround Ronan. He had noticed that too. Before the sixth figure reached him, he tried to step away and create some distance between them.

But the moment his toes touched the floor, a silver chain appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his ankle. The chain yanked him to the ground. It was so sudden that Ronan lost his balance.

More chains appeared out of thin air, moving like tentacles, and tried to wrap themselves around his other limbs. Ronan struggled, fending the chains off with the golden spears but it was futile. His right arm and torso ended up being chained.

"Finally, after so many years, I caught you…old partner!" Silvera said triumphantly.

As soon as Hex had seen the chains, he had turned toward the silver-haired lady, who was supposed to be dead.

She looked tired and wounded. Her breath seemed to be haggard. But she stood firm and with eyes ablaze with fury.

Ronan had stopped struggling. He looked at Silvera and smiled. Even now he seemed unafraid. 

"The Nine Lives Technique?" He asked, sounding pleasantly surprised. "I never thought you would manage to learn that one. You were always afraid of pain."

"Things changed. After all, nothing hurts more than the betrayal of a partner you trusted your life with!" Silvera snapped at him in reply. 

She then looked at the baron. "He should be safe to be taken into custody. He burnt his soul too much. The Templars will deal with him."

"His soul is intact," the baron said suddenly, interrupting the silvery Templar.

"I sensed his soul burning and the power outburst," Silvera said with a frown. 

Hex's gaze was on Ronan for a while now. The man looked calm and peaceful. When his eyes met Hex, he even winked.

'He is not done. Something is off!'

Hex wanted to shout but right then it happened. Ronan's body started to melt!

No blood or flesh was falling to the ground. The body melted and started to transform. Before Silvera could react, Ronan had turned into a shining golden spear!

"Man-Weapon Unity!"

Silvera's shout came a bit too late. The spear shot, creating a shockwave that blasted everything back. The Templar was thrown against the ground, tens of meters further than where she had been standing.

The baron protected Hex. But the blast of air still made him gasp for breath.

One of the figures tried to stop the spear but was blasted into smithereens. 

It took a fraction of a second for the spear to hit the monolith. 

Boom!

The spear broke and shattered. But it achieved its goal. The strike had struck the base of the monolith, shattering it. The monolith lost its connection with the earth. 

Buzz.

When the shockwave settled, Hex heard a noise that sent a cold shiver through his spine. He hurriedly looked at the monolith. The black pillar was glowing bright red. He could tell at once that it was about to explode!

"Calm down," he heard the baron say. His dust figures flew out, grabbing Oron, Orvyn, and Adgar. The fourth took the Templar. With the fifth in the lead, they ran out fleeing the plaza. Only Hex and the baron remained.

The baron picked him up and they appeared in front of the monolith on the verge of exploding.

"W-what are we doing here?" Hex asked, feeling a sense of dread.

"You still have a lot of chaotic energy inside you. Try to refine that. Keep your hands on the monolith, no matter what happens."

"What? Refinement? Now?" Hex shouted, feeling perplexed by the baron's order. They should be escaping, not doing some tests.

"Do it. My light can only reduce the pain. It can't alleviate the problem. Only the monolith can help you. Don't worry, if you succeed you will have struck it big."

Hex finally understood the intention behind the baron's action. His action of drawing too much chaotic energy had dire consequences. He needed to take a risk. He nodded and got closer to the monolith. Just as his fingers reached the monolith, he asked the baron a question.

"And if I fail?"

The baron looked at him calmly.

"You die."