Immortal Paladin

310 A Vow of Freedom

[POV: David_69]

The moment her saber came down, instinct carried Dave.

“Holy Sword!”

Light blazed from his hand in the shape of a sword. Before the sparks died, Dave chained into Flash Parry, steel ringing as the edge of her weapon met his. The war tent shuddered with the clash, canvas walls rattling like thunder.

Through the haze of qi, Dave caught sight of her face. She looked ragged, and her hair was streaked with gray. It was… Zai Ai. The woman had stormed through their camp’s defenses as if they were nothing more than paper doors, and now she stood before Dave with killing intent so sharp he could taste it.

Lightning split the ground as Tao Long summoned his great spear, his killing aura swelling with draconic might. “She dies,” he growled, ready to impale her.

“No.” Dave caught her sword arm with a Monkey Grip, twisting just enough to hold her in place. “Don’t hurt her. There’s no need to resort to violence… we can talk.” His words strained under the weight of her strength, but I held firm.

Yi Qiu burst into the ruined tent, eyes blazing. “What is the meaning of this?”

Zai Ai’s lips curved in something between a sneer and a smile. Without warning, her arm detached at the shoulder. It detonated.

The blast was like a full-powered Tenth Realm strike amplified by spirit stones. Canvas, poles, and half the camp were torn apart in a surge of fire and steel. Dave barely threw up Shield of the Eternal, layering it with Shield of Faith, but the force still ripped through him. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth, and he spat crimson into the dust.

Tao Long’s voice snapped from the storm of debris, “I don’t think you should spare her. She just tried to kill you.” He reappeared in a burst of azure lightning, spear lancing down in a deadly arc.

But she only raised the stump of her shoulder, and before their very eyes, the flesh twisted, pulsed, and regrew. A new arm burst forth, whole and unscarred, as if nothing had happened. “My business,” she hissed, “is not with you.” 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Her qi surged. Dozens of artifacts tumbled from her pocket dimension, clattering across the ground like shards of a broken star. In the next heartbeat, they rose, clicking and grinding, fusing together at incredible speeds. Metal whirred and shrieked as gears locked, plates folded, and parts slotted into place. A sinuous body coiled upward, and with a roar that rattled the bones, a dragon of living metal unfurled before them. Its immense frame shimmered with countless moving parts, scales of steel shifting with terrible grace.

Around them, adventurers screamed and scattered, fleeing from the monstrous construct.

The metal dragon lunged, its segmented body rattling like an endless chain of blades. Tao Long braced, his great spear sparking with lightning as he thrust upward to intercept. But the construct’s skull-like head slammed into the weapon with a force that split the air. Tao Long was hurled skyward, a streak of azure lightning against the clouds, as the dragon snapped after him, the power of qi carrying it aloft.

Yi Qiu stepped forward, planting himself between Dave and Zai Ai. “I understand that sometimes, master–disciple relationships could go awry. But surely, there’s a better way to solve this than slaughter.”

Zai Ai’s lips curled into a sneer. “And what are you supposed to be doing here? “Shouldn’t the Master of the Martial Alliance be presiding over his heavenly halls, commanding his vast armies, rather than meddling here in petty disputes?” Her qi flared with contempt, like black smoke against firelight.

Dave stepped forward, sword lowered but ready. “There’s a better way to do this. We can talk.”

Her answer was venomous, spat like acid. “There’s nothing to talk about. You stole my disciple away from me. Give him back.”

Yi Qiu glanced at Dave, brows furrowing in confusion. “What is she talking about?”

Dave exhaled slowly, his grip tightening on his blade. “I can explain.”

Zai Ai cut him off, her voice a shriek of fury. “Explain? You stole my disciple’s body, and now you parade with his name and accomplishments. How dare you?! Don’t you know shame, Da Wei?”

The name hung in the air like thunder. Yi Qiu’s expression darkened, the easy calm falling from him like ash in a storm. Crimson blaze licked across his skin, his aura swelling until the ground beneath his feet cracked. He turned his glare on Dave, voice like iron. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Before Dave could open his mouth, Yi Qiu moved. His body blurred, faster than lightning. In the blink of an eye, his hand was clamped around Zai Ai’s throat, lifting her from the ground with terrifying ease.

“But first,” Yi Qiu growled, his fiery aura wreathing him like a living inferno, “you have to behave.”

“Arrogant to no end… Nongmin and your lot are no different, deluded in your own strength. Your martial arts are meaningless before the Heavenly Temple. Whatever you scheme here, it will only serve to provoke them, and when their wrath comes, it will bury you all.”

Dave did not waver. His blood still boiled from her explosive strike, but his gaze remained steady, like a mountain unmoved by the storm. “And that is why we must unite more than ever.”

Yi Qiu’s fingers tightened around Zai Ai’s throat, veins of crimson qi flickering across his arm like molten fire. She resisted, struggling against his grasp, yet her glare never lost its venom. “I will hear nothing of your nonsense, Unholy Taint!” she spat, voice thick with loathing, “You corrupted my disciple’s flesh and soul. You dare wear his name as though it were yours!”

Dave’s chest heaved faintly, but not from her accusations. Deep inside, beneath his cultivated essence, he felt the tether stir. The golden-furred Animal Soul growled softly within his heart, its presence warm, a shield against doubt. And from that same bond, another presence emerged, suffused with unbearable weight.

A familiar and vast voice echoed, laced with power that made the marrow of Dave’s bones tremble. “Let me handle this,” it said, each syllable like the toll of an ancient bell. “There is no need for you to suffer such a misunderstanding. I will speak, and all shall know.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The sound brought a pang of longing. Nostalgia surged like a tide, memory of the one he once served with reverence… his Lordship. Yet Dave’s lips only curved faintly as he steadied himself. He shook his head, a silent refusal, and through his spirit he projected one feeling in return: unyielding confidence.

The Holy Sword in his hand shimmered with divine radiance, its edge humming with wrath. Slowly and deliberately, he canceled the skill, the blade dissolving into threads of light that returned to his core, sinking into the sea of his cultivation. The war tent lay in ruins around him, the sky above torn by spear and dragon, yet Dave’s voice cut clear.

“I am neither Da Wei,” he declared, each word ringing with conviction, “nor the Unholy Taint you curse. I am his Holy Spirit, born in his image, yet my own being.”

Zai Ai’s killing intent surged like a flood, her saber gleaming with blue radiance. “And that doesn’t change anything. With my saber, I shall exorcise you from my disciple’s body!”

Dave stood tall, his tone steady, even though her words cut sharper than any blade. “Master Yi,” he said, glancing at Yi Qiu, “can you please let her go?”

Yi Qiu’s crimson mane flared, his aura burning like a blazing torch. “And what? Leave your fate to her blade?” His eyes narrowed at Zai Ai. “Zai Ai might be known as an artisan, but make no mistake, she is still a Tenth Realm cultivator. And you—” his voice pressed heavily, “your ‘real identity’ does little to steady my trust. We’ve come too far, invested too much, to let it all shatter here. I would be damned if I didn’t see the fruits of our labor.”

Dave pressed forward. His voice carried no force, yet there was weight in its simplicity. “Please.”

For a moment, Yi Qiu’s grip faltered, as though something in Dave’s tone pushed him back. He finally released her.

The instant her feet touched the ground, Zai Ai erupted into motion. Her saber flashed once, clean and precise, cutting through the air and rending across Dave’s chest. Blood blossomed. The impact ripped the Animal Soul from his being, golden fur scattering like sparks into the night.

The Animal Soul barked furiously, its growls echoing like thunder across the ruined camp as it skidded to a halt beside Dave. Yet Dave only whispered, voice steady despite his wound, “Please, stay…”

The loyal spirit froze mid-snarling, ears drooping as it looked at him with worried eyes.

Dave steadied himself, ignoring the searing pain. His gaze met Zai Ai’s with something almost like admiration. “It’s a fine saber.”

Her saber moved again, the second strike faster, fueled by madness and grief. The slash split through light and shadow, and in that instant, Dave’s form wavered. His mortal shell melted into another likeness, the visage of his Lordship, the one the world reviled as the Unholy Taint. Da Wei’s features carved themselves onto his body, grim and divine.

At the same time, Mao Xian’s slumbering form fell before Zai Ai, as though shed from Dave’s influence itself. The boy’s chest rose and fell faintly, his breath even but deep, lost in a world beyond waking.

Zai Ai’s saber clattered against the dirt as she stumbled forward. Her hands shook as they cradled the unconscious figure. “Wake up… wake up, my boy…” Her voice cracked, soft and desperate.

Dave’s words carried sorrow, but no cruelty. “He can’t.”

Her head snapped toward him, eyes bloodshot, her voice trembling with fury. “What did you do to him?!”

“He is under the effect of the spell, Divine Word: Rest. Even I do not know how long it will take before he wakes again.”

Dave was speaking the truth.

Even if he wanted to soothe her wrath, there was no lie to lean upon. He didn’t know how long Mao Xian would remain in slumber. His Lord had been under the effects of Exalted Renewal when the Divine Word had been cast, empowering its strength beyond natural limits. The depth of that slumber was impossible to measure.

But Dave did know the life Mao Xian had lived. He had seen it, felt it, every fragment of memory woven into a dream. Under the effects of Divine Possession, Dave had walked through them as if they were his own, Mao Xian’s happiest days with his tribe, the warmth of his people’s embrace. Then the tragedy, the screams and blood of genocide that tore it all away. The desperate survival in the aftermath, and at last, the tender hands of Zai Ai, who had taken him in, raising him as her disciple.

Dave’s voice cut through the tense silence of the ruined camp. “Let’s not pretend the boy had been without sin.”

Zai Ai’s head snapped toward him, her eyes blazing.

Dave pressed on, his tone unwavering, his aura steady as he revealed what he knew. “I saw the life he led, his memories, his dreams, and how it all led here. Do you think my Lord did this to him without reason? My Lord might be reckless, often misunderstood… but he was not insane, not like the rest of the world believes!”

As his words fell, his body flickered. Dave quickly fed more quintessence into his corporeal form, ensuring his shape stayed whole before it unraveled into spirit. His presence sharpened like a blade drawn free.

He continued, every syllable heavy with conviction. “Your boy schemed behind you, Zai Ai. He made deals with forces far beyond his reckoning. And because of those actions, the woman I cherish is now trapped within that domed city… a place swarming with monstrous angels. She slumbers there, forever, bound by what he set in motion.”

His hand clenched, nails drawing blood from his palm. His voice cracked not from weakness but from raw, desperate resolve. “To save her, I need Mao Xian’s strength. The way I am now, I cannot do it. But if I can wield what he carries within him… then maybe, just maybe, I can make this right.”

Zai Ai’s hands trembled around her disciple’s unconscious form. Her face twisted, pale with grief and rage. Her voice tore the silence apart, a scream so raw it shook the air itself:

“IT HAS TO BE LIES!”

Her anguish cracked the sky like thunder.

Dave’s gaze hardened. His aura trembled with divine force, and his voice was resolute. “Then I will just have to make you see…”

He extended his hand, weaving the power that shimmered with holy light. Threads of his quintessence unspooled, wrapping around Zai Ai’s consciousness. She struggled, her saber quivering, but Dave’s power pressed down gently yet irresistibly, pulling her into the depths of Divine Possession.

Her body stiffened, her mind falling into the world of another’s memories.

…

..

.

The dreamscape unfolded.

Mao Xian stood alone on a barren plain, his eyes burning with ambition as a radiant light descended from the heavens. A colossal hand, forged of runes and holy fire, stretched down to him. In his palm, a crest of divine sigils imprinted itself upon Mao Xian’s soul.

A voice, vast and unknowable, whispered in tongues older than the Hollowed World. The boy trembled, then straightened, as the Paladin Legacy fused into him. Armor of white-gold briefly shimmered across his form, a mantle not of mortal making but of something far beyond.

The vision twisted. Mao Xian back-stabbed a backstabbing warlord, who otherwise had been revered by thousands. With one strike, her blood was spilled; with another, her soul was chained. She rose again, not as herself, but a puppet of Mao Xian’s will, bound by the mysterious divine force that claimed him as proxy.

The scene darkened.

At the Summit, where four great powers had once stood in tense peace, Mao Xian raised his hand. Divine presences blazed in his eyes as his body convulsed, reshaping into something monstrous. His inner world split, revealing a vessel not his own, a channel for an unfathomable existence. Heaven wept, earth cracked, and the Summit was torn asunder.

…

..

.

The dream shattered.

Zai Ai gasped, her knees threatening to buckle as the memory broke free of her. The war tent, the camp, and the present rushed back into place. Dave stood before her once more, his eyes steady, his voice calm.

“It wasn’t my Lord who sundered the Summit,” Dave said, each word striking like a bell. “It was your disciple. I know you are aware this is the truth, because I cannot lie when my very being touches yours. I have only spoken truth, and shown truth. Whether you accept it or not is your choice. What you can do, Zai Ai, is accept the hands you are dealt with.”

His aura softened. “I am willing to give Mao Xian back to you. I will even petition my Lord to find ways to heal him, to free him from that influence. In exchange… you will help us take down the Nameless City.”

Zai Ai’s lips trembled. Her saber lowered a fraction, her eyes glassy with disbelief and grief. “You pity me, is that it?”

Dave shook his head, resolute. “No. I don’t pity people. I give them hope.”

The tension between them hung heavy, like a sword waiting to fall. But then, slowly, Zai Ai exhaled. Her qi swirled, brightening faintly, as if some invisible chain had loosened.

In that moment, they spoke not as enemies, nor as strangers bound by fate, but as two souls burdened by their bonds.

So, Zai Ai and Dave made a vow… hers, for the freedom of her disciple; his, for the freedom of his Joan.