Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

“Haahh… Haahh… Haaahhh…”

A brave paladin was gasping for air, he looked exhausted. His eyes seemed dried after having cried, and his mouth was covered on the blood he had vomited.

His huge, muscular and slender body was covered with bruises, his armor was shattered and falling apart, yet his spirit remained unwavering.

His blonde hair seemed to have grown longer without him realizing, oftentimes because he always wore his helmet.

Now that his helmet was destroyed, his long hair waved by the wind, glistening like strands made of gold.

His brave blue eyes glanced into the opponent in front of him, after having battled hordes of Demonic Beasts, slain dozens of Demonic Wizards, he was pushed further and further away from his team and his army.

He was cornered, and yet he still fought against all and won, until he found him, the man in front of him. Amidst this entire chaos, he finally found him.

He planned to confront him much earlier, but because of how things started, he was unable to find him in time.

He didn’t want to let things be delayed any longer either way, this was, after all, his personal problem, not something he wanted to drag Planta and the Kingdom into.

This was something he had to deal with himself.

“Tell me son, David…”

The man in front of him spoke, tall, muscular, with a short brown beard, long brown hair, and sharp green eyes.

He was also wearing Paladin armor, holding a massive two-handed blade. He also looked a bit tired, his armor had cracks, his sword had many bruises, and so his face and the rest of his exposed body.

“When did you find out about me?”

His sharp emerald eyes were dead serious, as a glint of demonic energy surged from within him, which he had kept hidden this entire time.

“Someone else told me about it…”

David faced the man in front of him, preparing his stance. After he realized he had run out of potions, he threw away his pouch, he didn’t need extra weight.

He also threw away his shoulder pads, his chest armor, and his greaves, becoming as light as possible.

The only thing he had now was his sword.

“…Who?”

“It doesn’t matter now, doesn’t it?”

David smiled, glaring at his opponent.

“It is quite clear what you are… stepfather.”

David knew very well who he was, the man he called his stepfather.

Herbellstein Luminary, the previous Luminous Kingdom’s Captain, stepfather of David and his swordsmanship master.

And…

“Second in command of the Demon King Cult, right?”

“…”

Herbellstein sighed, looking at David, and waving his head.

“We don’t have to do this, David.”

“And what else do we do then?”

“We can escape. This kingdom is in ruins already. Look around you.”

“It is in ruins because of what you and your cult did!”

“My cult only reacted to this kingdom’s degrading society. We were tired of it all, you too, right? The King marrying a Player and having a child with her was the last straw! How ridiculous can it get?”

“Don’t you dare talk about her majesty in such a tone, Herbellstein!”

David roared, pointing his blade at his own stepfather.

“I’ve grown by their side, and I’ve learned so much about them… Queen Camilla, her majesty… She is a woman worthy of being the Queen of the Luminous Kingdom, Player or not! And her son, Young Master Gustav, is the brightest child I’ve ever known. It’s futile trying to convince me, I will never betray them.”

“I see…”

Herbellstein glanced at David again, smiling a bit, and giggling.

He realized his stepson was so stubborn because he had taught him to be that way.

“I’ve taught you well I suppose.”

“…Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you go so far? To sell your soul to a demon… I thought you had honor. I thought you ewre above these things.”

Herbellstein gripped the handle of his blade tightly.

“I am a human too, David. I am weak. I’ve grown older… I wasn’t as strong as before. I wanted power, you know? I needed it.”

“What? Why?! Couldn’t you retire to-“

FLASH!

“Ah!”

David gasped, realizing his stepfather appeared behind him, moving at a speed he barely could discern.

“I wanted to build a new future for our family, you know?”

“Mother is not here… she’s gone! Lady Planta brought her to a safe place. You can’t get to her anymore.”

“So that’s what happened…”

David quickly faced him again; their swords close to one another.

“So you betrayed the crown, put a demon soul inside of you, and all of that because you disliked the new Queen and wanted a “new future”? What sort of bullshit is that?”

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“Maybe that’s all there is to it, David… Maybe I am not the great man you imagined I was.” Herbellstein sighed, his eyes growing sharper, bloodlust surging from them. “If you don’t want to join me, then there’s nothing else to do other than eliminate you.”

“I was waiting for you to say that…” David nodded, as he swung his blade against his stepfather.

And he did so as well.

CLAAASH!

An explosion of magical energies erupted as their swords clashed against one another, shattering the ground beneath them.

BOOOM!

Both quickly stepped back as they saw the ruined houses around them collapse, only for David to be surprised, as a huge blade went down, rushing towards his head.

He rapidly infused Mana into his body, forcing himself to move like a puppet rather, managing to make his body move as fast as his thinking process, without delay.

CLASH!

He intercepted the sword with his own, as he pushed forward and then kicked Herbellstein in the stomach.

BAAAM!

“Hmph!”

Herbellstein groaned slightly, realizing David packed a punch despite how weaker he had grown. His sword glowed bright gold as he rushed back towards him.

“You’ve grown stronger son… You make me proud.”

“Shut up.”

David didn’t want to talk anymore, he wanted this to be over.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Their swords clashed, explosions of light erupting everywhere, the surroundings were rapidly being destroyed by their powerful Auras and destructive techniques.

Nobody else dared to even get between these two.

This was a battle between two men that had reached almost the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

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