The princess was talking to a tall man in a lab coat, but as soon as the royal army came, she ran straight to Sarjes. She asked him about the initiation excitedly. He answered her with the same energy.

The rest of the knights watched in both awe and envy. But while they're jealous of the attention he was getting, they were also glad that the girl was so happy.

She continued to ask about his condition, worrying over the slightest detail on injuries that she noticed. And yet, every time, the boy would grin and proudly call them his medals from battle. The man in the lab coat piped in a comment or two, to which he would retort as well.

The surroundings suddenly fade, and the boy was suddenly no longer so scrawny. The girl was no longer so small.

Several years had passed and the vision shows the two in the palace garden, looking over a beautiful moat.

"Father... Why did you have to leave me alone..."

"Princess! Please don't cry! If you cry, then the king would be heartbroken!" Sarjes called out to her, surprising her. "The king fought until the end. He was great and valiant. Don't be... sad..."

And yet, despite being the one to say so, he was the louder one to burst into tears.

"Sarjes..."

~~~~~

"Sarjes and Katora... and there was Potomuri too..." Tenma recalled them one by one as they reawakened in their own reality. "Are these all events that happened before Kiel was destroyed...?"

"So that was the fucker that hijacked my body..." Seeing Mizukawa cracking her knuckles, those standing near her quickly decided to stop doing so.

"Chill out. He's already dead."

"M-Matatagi!"

"What? You're gonna yell at me for telling the truth now too?"

"T-That's not...!"

Kimiko placed a hand on Shinsuke's head to stop him, because quite honestly, that conversation wasn't worth continuing. Then, she turned to the rest. "Let's go. Pixie's already on the move again."

She pointed downwards, where the little creature was headed. Their only choice was to follow through the discs again.

After teleporting to another rock, the one below the door this time, they found many more broken monuments as they scoured for another disc. It was starting to feel like they were going through some sort of monster movie.

Or an alien movie would be more fitting I guess... Kimiko's thoughts made it into the navy haired boy's mind.

So he casually responds to them as usual. With a side of dystopia and drama.

The drama bits are just from the flashbacks that we're seeing though.

That doesn't denounce my point.

... Fair.

Finding the last disc on top of a set of stone steps, they teleported to the final island they have yet to explore.

Upon first glance, they could already tell the island was different from all the rest. It was at the area's lowest point, and a gigantic circular contraption took up most of its space. Pixie was floating on a disc placed on one side of the contraption, the only side with stairs they could climb up. But as soon as they got up top, they found that there was no platform. There was just a hole, one much darker than the space surrounding them.

"One black hole was enough for my lifetime, thanks..." Tetsukado muttered as he backed away.

"You don't think we're gonna have to jump in, do you, Tenma?"

The brunette had a complicated look as he replied to the smaller goalkeeper. "I'm... not sure."

"I can always go first." Kimiko offered.

"Not a chance." The entire team chanted at once, but Tsurugi's voice was by far the loudest and most annoyed.

"I appreciate the sentiment though." Matatagi piped in with a smirk.

"Same here." Mizukawa said with an identical look.

"I don't..." Konoha's voice was barely audible in comparison, but Kusaka, who was standing right beside her, placed a comforting hand on her head.

"I'll headlock her if she tries."

"Tsurugi wouldn't like that." Ibuki whispered his way.

"And he's already ahead of you anyways." Sakura pointed at the striker, who had their blonde manager's neck on his inner elbow. While she seemed to still be able to breathe, the posture her head was in did not look comfortable.

"Piku!" Pixie called out, gathering their attention once again. And just like that, they were sucked into the vision again.

~~~~~

"It's finally Princess Katora's ceremony! I-I think I might cry..."

"Hey, hey. Why are you the one crying?"

"Our Princess Katora is finally going to be the reigning Princess of Kiel! And we have our Chief Knight, Sarjes of A Thousand Slayers!"

"... It's true that this long war will finally end, and Kiel's unification is thanks to his efforts..."

As the other knights bicker in the back, Sarjes was having a one on one conversation with Katora.

"It'll finally come true, right? With this, we can finally create a world without war!"

"Sarjes... But is it really possible to reach eternal peace?"

"Princess..."

With that question unanswered, the scene changed to one of the princess speaking to Potomuri.

"Where is Sarjes?" She asked.

"If I remember correctly, he was headed to the enemy village with a few other knights."

"I see... I hope nothing goes wrong down there..."

"Princess Katora!" One of the knights from the previous conversation appeared in a rush of panic. "It's about Sarjes! He's been charged with the murder of some of our allies!"

"What?! Sarjes would never do such a thing!"

"Y-Yes... Of course, he also denies this, but..."

"Sarjes..." Potomuri went into thought for barely a minute before saying, "He must've been framed. The true culprit might be from the village we are waging war with."

"Surely Sarjes isn't guilty. I will appeal to the Congress about this."

Hearing that, the scientist's face fell. "I'm sorry, Princess Katora. But there is only a small chance that you would be able to persuade the Congress..."

"But Sarjes..."

The scene changed once again, this time to the front of the castle. Sarjes stood out in the sun, while Katora, Potomuri, and some knights stood under the shade of the large gates.

"Sarjes... How dare they banish you from the kingdom..." One of the knights sobbed.

"You didn't commit the crime, so you shouldn't have to do this!"

But the now ex-knight kept his cheerful smile up. "I'm just grateful to Princess Katora. Thanks to the princess, the death penalty wasn't given to me. At least I still have my head on my shoulders. And if the princess lets me hide here, she could get into big trouble."

"Sarjes..."

"I guess this is goodbye."

"... I believe in you. I'm sure you will be able to return."

"Princess..." And like that, a fire was lit in his eyes, the same kind that he felt during that tournament. "Of course! If the princess is ever in a pinch, I will definitely come save you!"

"Yes... I believe it."

And with a polite bow, he left the kingdom.

~~~~~

"Sarjes..."

"To think Kiel had such a sad story..."

"Yeah, and all this was before the whole thing was destroyed by a black hole."

"On top of that, just what is this place? And how does it show us what it has?"

"I have no clue what even is going on anymore, but damn do I feel bad for that guy."

"Oh hell no to the rest of this, I'm allergic to emotions."

"Same here. Either they show a bit more action, or I'm going back to the― What the fuck?" Matatagi's eyes widen as soon as they landed on the machine they stood on.

The once pitch-black hole was suddenly glowing bright pink.

"Piku!" Pixie, without waiting for anything, dove headfirst into it.

"So...?" Kimiko side-eyed her friend, who still had her head in a headlock.

"Do we have any other choice?" Tsurugi asked, ignoring her gaze.

Minaho stepped up. "Seeing how the disc isn't glowing, I don't think so."

"Death plunge it is, then!"

Kimiko and Minaho were the only two who had smiles on their faces as they jumped after the yellow creature. The rest were either annoyed or terrified. Or both.

~~~~~

As Katora and Potomuri chatted in the gardens, two knights were conversing near them as well. One mentioned how amazing she was at inspiring people, while the other replied that it was only natural as she lives to be their voice. And yet, no matter how many people she was able to bring a smile to, she no longer had one for herself.

"All of this just makes me think of Sarjes. I wonder how he's doing..."

The other knight remained silent.

"Princess!" Someone else came running, interrupting the peaceful garden. "We have a situation by the gates!"

With those words, they all rushed outside.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Dozens of soldiers were lined up in the castle gardens. Soldiers that were not their own.

"We want revenge for our kingdom! We're going to kill the princess and take our kingdom back!"

"Are these lot from the village that we were fighting with?" One soldier asked.

"This is bad. We need to protect Princess Katora!"

"Princess Katora, please head inside the palace. We will handle this!"

And the three knights went on ahead into battle. But with Katora's hesitation to leave them, she and Potomuri were cornered on the balcony overlooking the field. Just as fear entered her eyes, so did a flash of yellow.

"S-Sarjes?!"

"I made a promise to save you when you're in a pinch, remember?"

"Yes! Thank goodness!"

"Potomuri, let me take care of this!"

"Have you gone mad?! How are you going to fight a whole army by yourself?!"

"I can do this!"

Without waiting for another comment, the ex-knight jumped right into the middle of the battlefield.

"Stop right there, troops! I was hoping that I could rid the world of war, and it seems you're going to make me fight for this cause! But don't you see? Nobody is happy when war occurs! Let me ask you a question. How did your village manage to get this far? Did your village get back on its feet because it got lucky? No! It's because our princess was merciful..."

"Sarjes..."

"Another decision to finish off your village could have easily been chosen, however... It was the decision of the princess to show mercy! She's not a horrible person that deserves to be attacked! So if you're going to attack her, I'm afraid you're going to have to get through me first!"

"W-What's with him?" One of the enemy soldiers said. "Isn't he afraid of dying?"

"He follows the same morals as the princess. They believe that all life is important. He sure is loyal..."

"So... She really does see value in everybody's life."

"Is what we're doing wrong?"

"This man believes in Katora... Maybe we should believe in her too..."

"So this is Kiel's Chief Knight, Sarjes of A Thousand Slayers. What a guy..."

"Sarjes! Sarjes! Sarjes!"

One by one, the soldiers began chanting his name. In less than a moment, the sea of enemies were on the blonde's side.

"W-Wha..." Kiel's own soldiers were left in awe at the sight.

"His words... were able to move their hearts..." Potomuri himself was barely able to believe it.

"Sarjes..." Katora was just about to smile when he suddenly collapsed upon returning to her side.

"Sarjes!"

Potomuri did a quick examination on his condition. "This is... Were you wounded when you protected Princess Katora just now?!"

"No...! Sarjes!!!"

The scene cuts after the princess' pained cry. Moving to weeks later, she was seen once again on that same balcony she was attacked on.

"... Sarjes, the planet of Kiel has truly become one thanks to your courageous act. Your name as Kiel's legendary knight will be remembered for eternity. Thank you... bull-headed Sarjes."