The Legend of Sun Knight Side Stories 22: Hell

The Legend of Sun Knight Side Story: Hell

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我 (Yu Wo)

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“Hell”—translated by lucathia (proofread by Trespasserby)

“Tyler, stay. Everyone else may leave.”

When Hell Knight declared his chosen student, Elijah couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed even though he had already known he wouldn’t be the one.

Before the selections, Elijah had felt very confident about himself. He had good scores. Even though the opponents in some of the competitions had been decent, they hadn’t been comparable to him. Perhaps Hell Knight just didn’t like him. Even though he always watched him, he never looked happy, as if Elijah had done something wrong.

Thinking back on the selection process, Elijah racked his brain but still couldn’t figure out where he had gone wrong. He had tried his best to change Hell Knight’s view of him, but it was clear that his efforts had been useless.

After losing the selection, Elijah walked dejectedly in the streets. He even carried a small bag in his hand. He had thought that he would get chosen as the Hell Knight and would no longer need to return to the orphanage. Thinking that he would stay in the Church of the God of Light, he had even brought his luggage.

He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the faraway Church of the God of Light. I really wish I could live there…

Okay! When I’m older, I’ll join the holy knight selections. Maybe I can get chosen as a vice-captain—No, I’ll definitely get chosen as a vice-captain.

Just as Elijah decided on this, a pair of large hands suddenly grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth tightly. Then, he was dragged into the alley.

Suddenly getting snatched, Elijah couldn’t react right away. Then, he felt a surge of alarm. He recalled how the orphanage always warned them, “If you run around wildly, you’ll get kidnapped and sold.” His face lost all color from how frightened he was, but he didn’t give up. He struggled with all his might.

There was a large street right next to him. As long as he could shout, someone would definitely come to rescue him—

“Do not move. I am the Hell Knight.”

Hearing the low voice next to his ear, Elijah’s eyes widened, but he didn’t believe the person. However, the other person loosened his grip at this time. Elijah immediately turned his head to look at him.

The other person had a head of dark hair and a pair of dark brown eyes. He had a slight frown like always, his expression cold. He didn’t appear the least bit approachable.

It really is Hell Knight! Elijah was so stunned, he was frozen.

Hell Knight looked at the child whose eyes were wide and softly said, “I’ll let go of you now. Don’t shout. I won’t hurt you. I just need you for something.”

Elijah nodded vigorously in response.

“Excellent. Follow me.”

After saying that, Hell Knight let go of the child and led him toward a small house that had been prepared in advance.

After entering and shutting the door, Hell Knight immediately dropped big news.

“Elijah, I choose you to be my student.”

Elijah reflexively answered, “Wrong, you chose Tyler.”

Hell Knight refuted, “No, he’ll become your vice-captain.”

Huh? Elijah was even more confused. Tyler was clearly announced as the winning candidate. How is it me? Then why wasn’t I announced as the winner back at the Church of the God of Light?

Hell Knight dragged a chair over and sat down. He faced the child and explained seriously, “Even though I have chosen you, listen closely to what I am about to say. Then, decide if you want to become my student.”

Of course I want to! Elijah tried his best not to accept immediately. After all, Hell Knight wanted him to listen to what he had to say first.

“Even though I have chosen you, you won’t stay in the Holy Temple. You can’t even claim to be the Hell Knight. I will send you somewhere else. You must conceal your identity and become the secret eyes and ears of the Sun Knight.”

I won’t stay in the Holy Temple? Hearing that, Elijah’s eyes widened.

“The Hell Knight is the Sun Knight’s shadow. You will take the Sun Knight’s place to carry out unspeakable missions. Concealment, deception, and bloodshed will become your everyday life. Even so, are you willing to become the Hell Knight?”

Elijah didn’t quite understand why he had to deceive and harm other people. Even the people under the Judgment Knight were part of the Twelve Holy Knights. Although everyone was very afraid of the Judgment Knight, no one considered him part of the bad guys.

Seeing the child’s puzzlement, Hell Knight slowly said, “If you are unwilling—”

“I consent!”

Elijah blurted out somewhat impulsively. However, he didn’t regret it. He didn’t want to lose the chance of becoming part of the Twelve Holy Knights.

Seeing the child’s determined face, Hell Knight felt a trace of hesitation, but only a trace.

“All right, from today onwards, I will be your teacher. You will remain in the orphanage, but every night, I will bring you out for training…”

Elijah listened attentively to the Hell Knight’s instructions and nodded from time to time.

After finishing his explanation, Hell Knight watched the child skip away. He remained stationary, as if waiting for something.

A person walked out from a room inside the house. He had black hair, black eyes, and wore black robes, the staple of the Judgment Knight. However, he didn’t look all that harsh. Although he wasn’t smiling but was instead frowning, he still appeared gentle. On the contrary, the Hell Knight’s cold expression suited the image of the Judgment Knight a lot more.

The Judgment Knight Chasel said in a disapproving tone, “Hossa, are you really going to do this? Even though the Pope ordered it, as long as Sun Knight doesn’t agree, the Pope can’t do anything to you, and I promise that Neo will definitely stand behind you.”

“Behind me? I thought our Sun Knight only knows how to stand at the very front.”

Hossa snorted and angrily said, “I’ve learned the duties of a Hell Knight my entire life, yet I’ve never carried them out. As the shadow of the Sun Knight, I’ve never received any orders from the Sun Knight! In the days to follow, Neo won’t give any orders either. After all, he’s someone who can resolve everything with the sword in his hand!”

Chasel remained silent. Their Sun Knight was truly… too powerful and too stubborn.

Hossa looked at the door his student had left through.

“I hope that the next Hell Knight won’t be an existence in name only.”

Eight years later…

“Elijah, in a few days, the new Twelve Holy Knights will take over. I will no longer be the Hell Knight. His Holiness the Pope will be the one responsible for you.”

“Why isn’t it the Sun Knight?”

After all, Teacher always said I would become the Sun Knight’s shadow. Why is the Pope the one taking over?

Elijah was taken aback. Even though he was sad about his teacher’s retirement, he had also felt excited. He would finally be able to meet the Twelve Holy Knights. I can at least see the Sun Knight now, right?

Even though he was utterly disappointed, Elijah tried to suppress his emotions—restraining his emotions was a basic skill of going undercover—and asked, “Teacher, isn’t the Hell Knight the Sun Knight’s shadow?”

Hossa hesitated for a moment and said, “This generation’s Sun Knight has just taken over. The way he does things is a little… immature. Once the Pope feels he is able to handle heavier responsibilities, he will transfer you to him.”

Just a matter of maturity? Elijah clenched his fists. Just a bit longer, I just need to wait a bit longer!

“Elijah.” Hossa called out to him.

Elijah looked toward his teacher, waiting to be corrected. His expression just now was definitely not controlled. He had even clenched his fists.

However, Hossa instead said, “Even though I will no longer be the Hell Knight, I’ll still be your teacher. You can seek me out for anything. If your identity gets revealed, come find me right away.”

Hearing that, Elijah felt touched. Even though their time together hadn’t been long, and his teacher’s expression had always been cold, his conduct had never been cold. He had always taught him with patience and rarely ever reprimanded him. Instead, he patiently corrected him again and again.

Even though he answered with an “okay,” his heart had settled on not bothering his retired teacher.

“Be careful.” Hossa couldn’t help reminding him again. He fell silent after. Not long ago, Sun Knight had claimed that Judgment Knight nagged more and more as he aged. Secretly, he had agreed, but now, he found out that he wasn’t all that different.

Elijah was a bit amused. He answered in the affirmative again and then bade his teacher farewell like usual.

Watching his student’s departing figure, Hossa recalled the Pope’s words.

“You definitely can’t hand your student directly over to Grisia!

“You don’t understand Grisia enough. He will definitely use all sorts of methods to bring Hell Knight back to the Holy Temple.

“You don’t want your student’s years of hard work to go to waste either, right? Right now, the prince has total control. I’m sure it won’t be long before he becomes king. This is exactly when we need Hell Knight the most.

“Once His Royal Highness ascends the throne, we’ll have Hell snoop around for a bit before I hand your student over to Grisia. As long as going undercover yields results, he likely won’t insist on Hell Knight’s return. I’m hoping…”

Use all sorts of methods to bring Hell Knight back to the Holy Temple? Hossa almost responded that he actually wanted to see what kinds of methods Grisia would use to bring Elijah back to the Holy Temple.

Grisia’s personality is truly different from Neo’s. He has countless underhanded methods. Just how was he taught—or perhaps, he was forced to turn out like this?

If it’s him, he would definitely command the Hell Knight, right?

The Hell Knight is the Sun Knight’s shadow…

In the end, Hossa still agreed to hand his student over to the Pope to handle.

Today was the day the Twelve Holy Knights would take over.

Elijah, as the princess’s escorting knight, accompanied the princess to watch the ceremony.

Elijah looked at the new generation of Twelve Holy Knights on the stage. His gaze was mostly focused on the Sun Knight. However, when the Twelve Holy Knights were sworn in, he couldn’t help but look toward the Hell Knight’s location—No!

That isn’t the Hell Knight!

I’m the Hell Knight!

That’s mine! My teacher, my sword, my position!

Teacher didn’t even glance at him. Elijah knew this was the right thing to do. After all, His Highness the Prince sat right beside him. If Teacher were to glance over, it would only bring him danger.

However, Elijah still felt aggrieved.

The side of his thigh was suddenly patted. Elijah looked toward the princess who gave him a glance full of worry.

This was the only thing Elijah had hidden from his teacher.

The princess knew he was an undercover spy. She even knew he was the real Hell Knight.

Elijah didn’t understand why the princess knew the secret passages of the palace even better than the prince. The princess had spotted him using the secret passages again and again. In the end, she had even discovered his identity.

He shouldn’t have snuck the Hell Knight’s insignia into the palace. However, that was the only item his teacher had given him to prove his identity. Even though his teacher had told him to hide it outside the palace, Elijah hadn’t been able to resist bringing it with him.

Fortunately, the princess had only forced him to swear his loyalty and promise that he wouldn’t hurt the royal family. Or, he could pick the second option, which was to kill her to keep his secret.

There was of course no way Elijah could have chosen the second option. When he was younger, he hadn’t known how to behave in order to receive acknowledgement. So all he could do was his best at training. In the end, the princess was the one to approach him…

“You’re a knight even though you’re still so young? You’re a hard-working lil’ knight!”

It wasn’t until he grew up much taller than everyone else that the princess finally stopped calling him Lil’ Knight.

Elijah gently tapped the princess’s puffy sleeve in response. However, his ears had reddened. Before he knew it, the ceremony ended.

Elijah looked at the new Sun Knight, very much looking forward to receiving missions from him in the future.

After the ceremony, the new Twelve Holy Knights patrolled the streets on horseback. The princess of course couldn’t follow. She immediately followed etiquette and claimed to be tired and that she would be returning to the palace. She left behind her escorting knight Elijah as the representative of the princess’s group.

Elijah watched the Twelve Holy Knights leave. Even though he couldn’t help feeling a bit bitter, his feelings had calmed a lot after the interaction just now.

Before returning to the palace, he deliberately took the long way, wishing to bring back some desserts the princess enjoyed to express his gratitude. However, along the way, a burlap sack unexpectedly descended from the sky.

Before the burlap sack covered his head, Elijah had already reacted. He immediately dashed to the side, but out of his expectations, there was more than one person. Two other people saw that the burlap sack had missed its target and immediately pounced on him one after another. They hugged him tightly, not allowing him to move. The burlap sack was then pulled on.

Their familiarity with the burlap sack gave Elijah no time before he lost his field of vision. He was dragged into an alley and could only hold his hands up to protect his head. He was pummeled many times through the burlap sack just like that.

However, Elijah wouldn’t just sit around. He kicked out at the person beside him and rolled to dodge. He went on the offensive. Right after, he angrily drew his sword and sliced open the burlap sack. Then, he swung his sword at the closest person.

That person was taken aback, yet his actions weren’t muddled. He expertly blocked the swings.

Only after a few exchanges, Elijah discovered that the ringleader’s swordsmanship was shockingly good. He couldn’t help but worry that the prince might have discovered that he was a spy and had sent someone to get rid of him. Having thought of that, Elijah retreated several steps, about to turn and flee…

However, the other person suddenly said in confusion, “Wait, who are you?”

Huh? Elijah halted in his steps. At first, he had suspected this to be a trick, but then he glimpsed the person’s sword. It was a standard sword from the Holy Temple.

Things weren’t the same as he had imagined. Elijah decided to stay and see what was going on. He pretended to be angry and said, “You struck first, yet you don’t know who I am?”

The other person awkwardly said, “Shoot, I think we beat up the wrong person.”

B-Beat up the wrong person? Elijah was stunned. He had thought that his identity had been discovered. He had been scared for his life. Yet it was a case of getting the wrong person?

The other person put away his sword and apologized, “I’m sorry, we got the wrong person. I’ll treat you to wine. Don’t be angry.”

Elijah was so angry he couldn’t even speak.

“Drink or eat whatever you want! We, the Sun Knight Platoon, will pay for everything!

“I am Adair. Your swordsmanship is excellent. Let’s be friends? We can spar often.”

…The Sun Knight’s vice-captain? Elijah fell silent. Even though he wasn’t at the Holy Temple, he couldn’t help but research the ongoings of the Holy Temple.

Adair cast Minor Heal and promised to pay the bill. After all, there were more than twenty of them. It wouldn’t cost too much after they all split the bill. He ignored the aggrieved expressions from the rest of the platoon.

This healing is quite poor. Elijah felt that his healing spells were a lot better, yet he wasn’t allowed to cast them. He could only depend on the other person’s healing, which was only a bit better than nothing. Luckily, the other platoon members cast healing one after another. In the end, he was mostly healed.

“I am Elijah, a royal knight.”

Elijah responded. He didn’t want to get too close with holy knights, but introducing himself shouldn’t matter too much. Royal knights and holy knights didn’t get along too poorly, after all.

Before Adair could even respond, a holy knight to the side cut in and said, “So you are that ‘Elijah’ that the Storm Knight talks about.”

“Huh?” What is the Storm Knight saying about me?

Full of curiosity, Elijah followed the Sun Knight Platoon to the tavern and drank until he was drunk. His head hurt so much the day after that the princess helplessly had someone make hangover soup for him. She even made fun of him for the black eyes the Sun Knight Platoon had given him.

Elijah drank the hangover soup as he repented. He really shouldn’t have ordered “drunk-in-one” just because someone else was paying. That wine was really too deadly. I’m never going to order it ever again!

“Elijah, stay behind. I have a mission for you.”

The princess dismissed everyone except Elijah.

However, Elijah knew the princess didn’t have a mission for him. He smiled at the princess and walked over—

Yet, she raised a hand and stopped his approach. She sighed. “Elijah, are you truly unwilling to give up your identity as a spy?”

Give up? Elijah couldn’t say that he had never thought about it. It had been three years since the Sun Knight had taken over. He had yet to receive any orders from him. He hadn’t even met him.

He had expressed his doubts to the Pope’s people and had only been told to wait a bit longer. After waiting and waiting, his expectations had turned into disappointment, and his disappointment had turned into hopelessness.

Elijah huffed and said, “I can’t.”

I’ve been undercover for so many years already. If I give up, then won’t my efforts have amounted to nothing? And the Church of the God of Light would never let me go, right?

Elijah didn’t dare to bet on this. If his teacher had still been in position, then he might have been able to ask for forgiveness, but he had no relations with the current Church of the God of Light.

Perhaps a little with Adair and the others. Elijah couldn’t help but smile wryly. This relation was one born through the language of fighting. It had nothing to do with his identity as the Hell Knight.

The princess sadly said, “Elijah, I’m about to marry.”

Elijah stared at her, stunned.

“Today, Brother told me that he wishes for me to marry the Son of the God of War. I will leave for the Kingdom of Moon Orchid.

“If your identity gets revealed in the future, I will no longer be able to save you in time.”

The princess begged in tears, “So, could you quit? Stop being a spy, and be a royal knight instead? Before I marry, I will ask Brother to give you a high position, one that will not lose to the Hell Knight’s position.”

Elijah looked at the princess’s tears, his heart full of pain.

“I don’t need such a position.”

The rejection made her tears fall like rain. She didn’t know what to do in order not to hear of his demise in the future.

“I will—leave with you!”

The princess froze. She lifted her head and stared at Elijah in disbelief.

After Elijah blurted that out, he discovered that he didn’t regret saying it at all.

From the past until now, from expectation to disappointment, the one who had always been by his side was the princess.

Elijah kneeled down and swore, “I am your guardian knight. I swear to be loyal to you. Wherever you go, I will follow.”

The princess understood now. She was happy, yet sad.

Elijah was willing to give up on the identity of Hell Knight for her, yet from now on, they would only be princess and knight.

“Rise, my loyal knight.”

The two of them stared at each other. Even though he had just sworn to follow her forever, their gazes were full of yearning and farewells.

After informing the Church of the God of Light his unwillingness to continue as a spy, Elijah remained on tenterhooks, and the princess was the same.

When the Church responded with news of wishing to meet to discuss this, the princess was so worried that her face broke out with several pimples.

The princess, who normally cared so much about appearances, paid absolutely no attention to the pimples. She kept telling him, “Elijah, you have to make it clear to them. If anything happens to you, anything at all, I’ll count it against the Church of the God of Light. I’ll never let them go!”

Elijah consoled her. The Church of the God of Light would never do that to the Twelve Holy Knights. However, in actuality, he himself wasn’t sure in the first place.

He even considered whether or not he should plead with his teacher for help, but in the end, he decided he should resolve this on his own first. If he really couldn’t, then he would seek his teacher out.

There’s no way the Church of the God of Light would kill me the very first time we meet to discuss this, right?

They won’t! Elijah was uneasy as he left for the meeting spot. He couldn’t help overthinking on his way there.

What will they say? Will they accuse me of being a traitor?

That I am the Hell Knight, so how can I betray the Twelve Holy Knights and forsake the God of Light?

If the Church of the God of Light is unwilling to let me go, and even wants to kill me… What should I do?

Elijah slowed down more and more. He didn’t even feel like continuing forward, but when he glanced toward the meeting spot, he saw a head of brilliant gold in the distance.

Could it be… Elijah couldn’t really believe it. His footsteps hastened, taking him all the way over to the other person.

Only for him to see the Sun Knight give him a brilliant smile.

“Blessings from the God of Light. Sun finally has the pleasure of meeting you, Brother Hell.”

[Hell] END